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Jun 30, 2020
Princess Connect! Re:Dive is an anime that initially, wasn't on my radar at all and It didn't seem like it was something I would be interested in. I gave the first episode a chance on a whim after a cut of animation in the first PV caught my eye. What I then stumbled across is what has become a surprise hit for me this season.
The story follows the adventures of a group of four friends Yuuki, Kokkoro, Kyaru and Pecorine. The tone of the show for about 75% of the show is a slice of life with elements of light comedy as we watch the
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group try to put together their guild and all the hilarious problems they come across along the way. It is the comedy that is one of two things that hooked me onto the series as it was in a style that I enjoy. After looking up who was directing Princess Connect! Re:Dive, it turns out it was Takaomi Kanasaki who was the also the director on the Konosuba series so it made sense to me why I was enjoying Princess Connect! as much as I had been. While I was having a great time with the show, there wasn't any strong semblance of an actual story until the last quarter of the show where we start to see hints about what's going on with Yuuki and also Pecorine's backstory becomes a focal point here as well. Strangely enough, I started to feel like "Oh so this is where it's all going to get started from" even though there were only a couple episodes left from the end of the season. By the end, not a lot gets resolved but it wrapped up in a way that made sense given the tone of the show and I left the final episode feeling extremely satisfied.
I mentioned earlier that there were two things that hooked me on Princess Connect! Re:Dive, the second of those two things being the art and animation of the show. So many times I would end up thinking to myself "There is no way a show like this should be looking as good as it does" while watching the episodes. The art style is very vibrant and colorful, the character designs were also well done in my opinion. There was use of 3D animation here and there but it never felt too jarring for me. The animation surprised me the most definitely. For example whenever it became time for Pecorine to defeat something for a quest the group was undertaking, you would expect it would just be a couple simple swings of the sword and that would be the end of that but it is in these instances that we would get a little something more than you would be expecting. Other times I would notice the animation is when it came to some of the interactions between characters. So many times there would be these little things done to make the characters feel more expressive and I appreciate the show for this.
Speaking of characaters, the cast of Princess Connect! Re:Dive isn't too shabby. At first the mute male protagonist feels nothing more than comic relief but as the show progresses I grew to like him more and more. Kokkoro is probably the most stable individual in the group. Maybe she would be too plain all on her own but within that group of friends she's a great fit. With Kyaru, the tsundere cat-eared girl of the group, we witness the most character turmoil from for most of show as she struggles with the inner-conflict between having to complete her mission and realizing she enjoying the company of her guild-mates more and more as the days past by. Then there is Pecorine, the bubbly personality that kind of naturally just pulls everyone around her at her pace but there is something more to her that she's not willing to share with the rest of the group. The show also has a colorful cast of side characters which really helped the comedy of Princess Connect! and I always looked forward to what was going to happen next whenever they reappeared on screen.
Overall I had a great time with Princess Connect! Re:Dive, far more of a great time than I thought I would have. For an adaptation of a mobile game I had no prior knowledge, an excellent job has been done and I hope that at some point there is a continuation for it in the form of another season for the show!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 10, 2020
This ended up being quite the interesting discover after randomly stumbling across it the other day.
"Hello World" is a Sci-Fi movie with a core theme exploring how far one is willing to go for the person they love.
The story will appear to be pretty standard, maybe even a little less than that on a surface level in the first half of the film. At this point, it's just the beginnings of a love story for the main characters, Naomi Katagaki and Ruri Ichigyou with the caveat that there's a "guide" for Naomi Katagaki that comes from someone in the form of himself 10 years in
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the future. In the second half of the film you see a lot more of the Sci-Fi elements come to the forefront of the story. Initially I thought some of the directions the story headed towards would have been to the detriment to the film but by the end I thought everything wrapped up in a satisfying manner and made sense.
I thought that the Art for "Hello World" was great, especially when it came to the background environment but that may have been thanks in part to the film being in 3D/CG. However the 3D then comes to serve as a detriment a little when it came to the Animation as I don't think that aspect of the film was the strongest. In particular, there was scene near the beginning of the film that involved a character's running animation that I thought was horrible. Funnily enough, there's a reason for the 3D/CG that will be made clear as you watch the film where even looking back at that particularly bad running scene I mentioned previously, it made sense and maybe even elevated that scene a little for me.
The OST for "Hello World" was very good. The tracks had more of Romance anime vibe than a Sci-Fi one if I had to make any other comment on it. Also, the few insert songs that the film had were excellent.
The characters may have been the weakest part for the film in my opinion. It's not like they were horrible or anything but I also wasn't able to fully get invested into them. That may be because the movie run time didn't allow for enough exploration of some of the characters that may have been necessary for me to connect with the characters or it just may be the characters weren't super interesting by design in the first place.
In the end I was able to get quite a bit of enjoyment from "Hello World", especially when a came to the "plot twist". By the last third of the film, you would be able to feel that something like that may have been coming, but what happens in the end is all what was needed to elevate the film for me. It was the last piece that was necessary to get the full picture for everything in "Hello World"
If you have an hour and a half to spare, why not give "Hello World" a try?
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 27, 2020
Babylon ended up being one of the more interesting Psychological/Thriller shows I've watched. I got a lot of what I tend to look for in a show of this genre although minor issues here or there holds me back from giving it a perfect score.
The story follows the protagonist, Zen Seizaki as he tries to get to the bottom of a case he is currently working on but as he finds one answer, more questions start to pop up in it's place and soon the story turns into finding the person responsible for the string of events happening in the Shiniki district. This makes for
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a very compelling game of cat and mouse between Seizaki and the antagonist. This was probably my favorite part of the show as every week I was eagerly looking forward to what crazy turns would occur as I watched Babylon. At the end of the seventh episode a certain event happens and then from the next episode onward, the focus of the show changes to the concept of what constitutes good and evil. I don't think this shift is necessarily bad as it was introduced earlier in the show and it formed the basis behind how Seizaki and the protagonist interacted. However at that point in the show you realize all the previous seven episodes were just a really long prologue and then you begin to worry if the show will be able to conclude in a satisfactory manner. By the end, my worries were abated for the most part although maybe I wasn't all that impressed with how the religious symbolism was done. I was surprised with the ending that we got but was also appreciative of it as well.
The art of Babylon was solid and this type of show doesn't really need amazing animation. There are however, several well directed cuts of animation that help enhance the scenes in which they were in. Most of those being scenes where the antagonist is on the screen and is displaying her "power".
The soundtrack is great and does a fine job of building a tense and eerie environment for Babylon. I also thought how the soundtrack was directed along with the sound effects was well done.
The characters in Babylon are fine with not much to complain about. The standout character by far in my opinion though, is the antagonist of the story. She is quite the intriguing villain although one can certainly argue that her character is a double-edged sword for the show. The characteristics of her "power" is what makes her so dangerous and interesting, but because everything else in the show remains relatively grounded in reality, the believability of the story is lessened slightly. Also for better or for worse, the show doesn't do much in removing the mystique behind the antagonist's "power"
Babylon is an anime I got a lot of enjoyment from and although I have a strong feeling that enjoyment won't be universal here, I think the show is done well enough to warrant a recommendation from me.
With this show alongside Seikaisuru Kado, Mado Nozaki(the original creator) now has two stories in his collection that I enjoyed. I look forward to future adaptations of his work or even just reading those works myself eventually.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Mar 26, 2019
Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan is a nice short-form anime that is in an anthology format where each episode has a different director and voice actress for the main character. This type of format in my opinion, is a good fit for anime with a shorter duration and in Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan's case it certainly helps push it above a lot of other shorts that I've watched previously.
In terms of story, there is little to none given the nature of the show but by the end of the series I think the viewer can get a sense of how a narrative involving Ekoda-chan would play out, seeing that there
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were characters, topics and themes that would repeatedly appear throughout the skits.
As for the art, animation and sound, those are all down to the discretion of the directors and hence the perceived quality of these aspects may change from episode to episode. For me personally, it's always exciting for me to anticipate how each director would interpret the source material. Overall I think a good job was done with the art and sound.
Where there was a lot of variation with the art and sound, in terms of the character of Ekoda-chan herself, the essense of what composes that character remained more or less the same throughout the series. In this instance that's a positive since what's going on from skit to skit would vary it's nice that there is something for the audience to connect with in the form of the main character.
One thing that has to be mentioned is that although Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan is a short with a duration of 3 minutes, there is an interview portion that goes on for the remaining 20 minutes of the run time. That may be interesting or not to look at depending on the individual and it's something that I think could be skipped if it doesn't interest you.
Overall I think Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan was a decent watch although I don't know it's something I could easily recommend to someone to check out.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 30, 2018
Himote House was a fairly intriguing show with many obvious glaring issues thinking back on the show now. The show had one of the dumbest first episodes in which they try to introduce some semblance of a premise or reason for why the main characters get together. I knew before watching the anime that it would be a comedic short so I wasn't expecting the strongest story but even then, the way that they went about the set-up for the comedic moments was chaotic and often not in a good way.
The art was just as bad, with the bland CGI character models along with the
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way they animated, made it feel like I was watching something with low effort put behind it.
The soundtrack was okay but very forgettable at times. However I remember feeling like the use of sound effects when it came to the comedy was decent.
The shining light as far as I'm concerned in regard to Himote House, is the characters or more specifically the seiyuu behind the characters. They brought life to the show when it might have been very easy to write it off as having none at all. They shone especially well in the segments of the show that felt like it was unscripted. This lent itself well with the apparent chaos of the show and served to make the comedy more enjoyable despite the faults of the show.
In conclusion, Himote House is not a show I can recommend because of how bad some aspects of the show is, however the great seiyuu along with the short run time, makes it a more palatable watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Sep 20, 2018
You read the synopsis for Back Street Girls: Gokudolls and it's one of the best yet weirdest set-ups for a comedy series I've seen. I was instantly excited to see how everything would unfold in the show and I actually got what I had expected and a little more.
For a sketch comedy, the story was good in that it was entertaining and a lot of the skits had an inter-connectivity to them and a lot characters that appeared early on aren't just there to serve the purpose of the joke being portrayed in that particular sketch alone. One drawback to the story is that there
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isn't a strong conclusion to the season although it isn't too detrimental given the nature of the show. Also comedy is subjective and there are definitely some jokes that may be hit or miss depending on who the viewer is.
When it comes the art and animation, the art is actually fine and it lends itself well to the comedy of Back Street Girls: Gokudolls, especially when it comes to what is done with the characters' facial expressions. However it is the animation of the show that is actually atrocious to the point where one almost wants to think it's intentional. Even if that was the case, there is not much excuse for the amount of shaky camera use I saw used in the show.
The sound for the show is pretty standard with a small exception in that because this show is based around a cast of Idol "girls", the insert songs you would hear the main characters sing were interesting, catchy and the lyrics were actually very funny as well. Also the Opening and Ending songs for the show ended up being some favorites of mine from the current season.
The characters will definitely be a draw for many people when watching Back Street Girls: Gokudolls. Whether it is the three former yakuza now turned idol girls, their boss Inugane or the many side characters that end up affected in some way or fashion by the Gokudolls.
In conclusion, Back Street Girls: Gokudolls is a show that I think will probably stay underrated. However I wholeheartedly enjoyed it despite its flaws and would encourage anyone reading this to give this anime a try!
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 27, 2018
Gurazeni is a baseball anime with a few things that set it apart from the more regular ones that you may be accustomed to seeing. The main focus isn't so much on the playing of the sport but rather it's on the things you may see around it. This would entail the livelihood of the baseball players(ex-players and current),the staff, media etc. Most importantly however is the money that would be involved within all of those things which is where the show gets it's name from. With Gurazeni being a seinen series, it will bring with it a different vibe as opposed to the shounen
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ones that may be more recognizable. Related to this point, Bonda, the main character of the show is a relief pitcher which is a stark contrast to the ace pitcher protagonists that are the norm.
I had expectations of good things going into the first episode but those were shattered pretty quickly as the episode had a really rough start. The main causes of this is the CGI which felt jarring and also the story which felt like it was weak. After a while the CGI becomes tolerable as it doesn't happen often and you learn that the story of the show is an episodic one and after about three or four episodes it starts to become enjoyable, so much so that in terms of enjoyment it ranks highly among the shows I've seen in the season at the point in time this review was written. Apart from the CGI, the art of Gurazeni is average at best which would make it the worse component of the anime unfortunately.
The soundtrack itself wasn't really memorable however the show does have very good, catchy tracks for it's Opening and Ending songs.
The characters are a selling point for Gurazeni as they would need to be in slice of life type of show like this one. The aforementioned Bonda, may take a while to warm up to but you eventually grow to like his character as the stories unfold. As the show is episodic, each of the mini stories within the show are tied to newly introduced characters and for the most part they are enjoyable as well and some will even appear again from time to time.
Overall I think Gurazeni is a nice niche show but it's a difficult show to recommend because of some of the issues it has. If maybe you're looking for a change of pace from the regular baseball anime then Gurazeni is one that you can consider giving a try.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 22, 2018
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby is an interesting hybrid sports anime. It's basically track & field under the guise of horse girls. Initially this show was one of the ones that I thought I would drop after an episode or two but luckily that wasn't the case. The Idol aspect of the show that popped up in the first episode didn't take up too much time and also wasn't a main focus for the remainder of the series thankfully. Also there was a race happening almost every episode so I think there was plenty for a sports anime fan like myself to enjoy even if I
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didn't particularly care for some other elements of the show.
The story is your standard one that you'd find in some other sports anime, a new character arrives at a new school/town with dreams of being the best. They then compete, find new friends and rivals along their journey. So in that respect, the story is average with the high points coming from the emotions you would feel watching the races and the low points being the slice of life moments between the characters in my opinion.
I think the best aspect about Uma Musume: Pretty Derby is definitely the art. I loved the character designs and always thought that there was a lot of thought that had to have gone into color coordination because while everything is very colorful it never once feels like it was obnoxious. The animation was okay but maybe it wasn't the style I had in mind for when I want to watch track and field.
The soundtrack was pleasant and when the idol moments did happen, the songs were nice. I had a minor gripe with the sound effects as I thought the audio balance may have been off a couple times and they were too loud as a result.
The characters were good and I liked the main character pairing of Special Week and Silence Suzuka. The show did a decent job of getting the audience invested into what each of these characters desired. The cast of side characters are good as well but the big problem was that there was so many of them that at some point you just end up not caring for most of them after a while.
While I recognize that Uma Musume: Pretty Derby is a very good show, there were a couple things aesthetically that took away from my enjoyment of the series. Nevertheless I still think that this anime is worthy of a recommendation.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 26, 2018
Reading the synopsis and looking at the poster for Mitsuboshi Colors, I thought it was going to be an uninteresting CGDCT anime that I would check out the first episode for and then never watch it again afterwards. I ended up getting something completely different from my expectations in that I found the comedy to be very good, often hilarious at time and that the cast of characters were very entertaining. Flash forward all the way to the last episode and I'm a bit sad that this fantastic show has come to an end.
Now if I were to summarize some of my thoughts on Mitsuboshi
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Colors, firstly, the story in the show is basically non-existent and serve merely as a vehicle for the other aspects of the anime. You walk in with expectations of seeing the adorable escapades of the little girls but as you get to know the main characters, Yui, Sacchan and Kotoha, you learn that there is a little dark but humorous mischief underneath all that cuteness.
I thought that the art and animation was simple but good and effective. In particular the background for many of the scenes in the show caught my eye. The OST is a level below the art but at the very least if fits the style of the show and gets the job done.
The best part of Mitsuboshi Colors is definitely it's characters. There is the always jolly Sacchan who has the weirdest obsession with Poop. The intelligent but sometimes sinister Kotoha who can always be found playing video games. There is also Yui who surprisingly plays the role of leader to the bunch and at first seems like the only normal one in the group but even her character comes into her own as the series progresses. The side cast of characters are just as entertaining as the main bunch and it's fun to see their interactions on an episode to episode basis as it's almost like they are all in on The Colors' shenanigans.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Mitsuboshi Colors and I wouldn't mind revisiting this someday and I hope for a second season in the future. I highly recommend it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 24, 2018
When it comes to horror, they generally don't evoke the feeling of fear in me and I haven't really seen horror done well in an anime format. While Ito Junji: Collection isn't great overall, I did appreciate the way in which it went about trying to portray it's horror. Rather than fear, this show will try to creep or unsettle you more than anything else. For whatever reason it reminds of the Goosebumps books I read when I was younger. Also Ito Junji: Collection has a tendency to sometimes be unintentionally(or maybe it's intentional) funny which definitely helped me enjoy the show more.
As the anime's
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title would suggest the story here consist of a collection of Ito Junji's work. What ends up happening as a result is that there is a lot of inconsistencies when it comes to the quality of the stories. The stories can often range from okay and entertaining to bland.
I thought the art style was very good and it did it's job for the most part in being unsettling to watch. However I think what really brings the show down is the animation which is on the bad end of the spectrum. There are some cases where the poor animation doesn't matter but there have been too many times during the series where I thought to myself "The animation there isn't the best."
In terms of the sound, it was good in my opinion. A lot of the OST fits the atmosphere one would expect from a show like this. In this regard, I thought the sound design for the effects and what not also meshed well with what the anime was trying to do.
The characters are okay for the most part and although most of the stories are unrelated, there were a couple of reoccurring characters such as Souichi and Fuchi that I thought were entertaining. However, some of the other cast were forgettable though.
Overall, although the show wasn't great in a technical sense, I thought it was enjoyable and it's one of those 6/10s that I feel I can at least recommend you try to see if it would be something that you like.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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