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*WARNING*

*Piled up heavily with feels* No spoilers tho. Here it goes:

Lies, friendship & love seem to be elements of almost every anime these days (even hentai if you ask me - just twisted version). In terms of love, Shōnen like Naruto, One Piece, Bleach and other classics have given all of us a big fat dose of all these elements including a never ending supply of "ai". Yet we still look for more in new, progressively shallow anime, which ultimately leaves us feeling empty and unmotivated to finish that damn paper, to run that extra mile to confess our feelings and speak louder than our vices.

I've been keeping up with almost any new show, just to feel the rush Luffy, Naruto and their friends gave me as I clutched a tissue box and listened to their monologues. Time and time I find myself disappointed.

Don't get me wrong, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso is no Shōnen anime. It's not filled with tangible enemies, monsters and moral issues solvable with fists and a little love. This anime explores monsters that each and every artist struggles with on their path to success.

I'm an artist. I've plundered a sea of fear, dropped my trumpet, screamed and pounded my piano, trashed countless texts I work on for months. I understand the struggle, and am 100000000 x grateful to Arakawa, Naoshi for creating such a masterful piece of work.

Characters: 10

Individual character development is well thought out, changes in behaviour are reasonable and very well transitioned. The four friends, fighting for each other, supporting each other despite their diverse hobbies and ambitions capture the essence of their bond: To push on, to keep going despite dark days, losses and the pain their ambition infuses deep into their heart. To endure the pain with a raised chin and proud stare.

Arima the seamlessly negligent kid, momentarily inspired despite the pain his muse inflicts on his
fragile heart. Kaori a headstrong moron, with a suffocating secret which she battles just to stroke her delicate hands passionately over her beloved instrument. Tsubaki the broken crusader whom tries to fix everything and everyone around her, but forgets to think about the burning emotion in her heart. Ryouta, the unmoral sunshine.

Each characters bursts with passion and love toward something. Striving, reaching, struggling. That's what makes us human. That's what makes them real. That's what makes them human.

Story: 8

Crushing, enjoyable, genuine, emotional - some phrases that popped into my head when thinking. Why just an 8? Well. Having 22 episodes, I thought it would present a large amount of musical performances that would get me all emotional and...yeah. Instead there were always at least 3 or 4 episodes that built up to the performance. Not bad, just occasionally dragged on.
However the characters described above, blended perfectly with the storyline and it's themes.
Warning...Prepare that tissue box bro.

It's very different from Hibike! Euphonium. Not as many ecchi scenes, but the story is often ruined by weird and out of place attempts of comic release. Still not a disappointment, those lame comic relief moments will save your state of mind.

I'd give you a long commentary about the art and sound, but I'm not an expert and won't BS my way through sections I can only label: SUGOOOOII

Cheers=

Maria-san

PS: If this review don't satisfy you (*feels wise*) watch the anime.

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"I am a dragon. You are a tiger. And tigers and dragons have been considered equals since ancient times." he whispers to the fan crying all over their laptop.

Yes. I shamelessly reward this anime a 10. Yes, it is romance. Yes, it is in a school environment. But don't judge hastily. I promise this will not disappoint as "Say I love you" did.

Author (of manga) Takemiya Yuyuko , used cliques but twisted them into a magnificent, unique love story (I did not read the manga). But as I read reviews, form most I got the feeling that the anime was adjusted by the amazing director Nagi Tatsuyuki. Compared to Aoi Hana, a simplistic, well animated and completely clique series directed by Nagi, he outdid himself this time. Each episode was genuinely sweet, but not over-the-top in terms of screaming,kissing,rejection etc.

In terms of the PLOT...*cries*
I loved it. Yes that is awfully generic. But mark my words. It gives a special underlying comfort as it progresses. The development of the plot is slow at first, which gives you time to scrutinize and stalk each character on whatever social media, but speeds up eventually giving you more detail and insight on the circumstances/background info of each character.

To tell the truth, the plot is carried by more than two protagonists. Thats what makes it special.You get a few internal monologues of that weird guy that stands in the back of the class, or the nut-job of a bird as he chokes on his feathers.

There is no point in NOT fan-girling all over each character. You'll get your share eventually.

Nagi made each character as important as any other. I mean of course the story surrounds Taiga and Riuji, but it does not ditch the fact that they are in a school and have friends. And those friends have friends etc. (You don't get funny hair or XXXXXXL sized hands to highlight the protag. Their personalities are special enough to neglect such pesky animation tricks.)

In terms of ART
Oh my. I adore each and every character (in terms of how they are animated). Riuji is tall, and as the description states, his eyes are that of a serial killer which contradicts his personality. Taiga is a smurf (size-wise), but she has the power of a bull which causes everyone to fear her power. Baka-chi has the perfect body proportions but a rotten personality. Yuusaku represents the nerd and is animated that way, yet is the dream of every girl at school. You get what I'm poking at? The animation is targeting stereotypes with traits of each character: "What is on the surface does not define who we are." And it made me cry when I realized how deeply that is exploited by the art.

In terms of SOUND

Magic Capsule was responsible for the sound (as well as other corporations). However, even though I had HD versions of each and every episode, I could occasionally hear weird bursts of (whatever) in the background. The openings and endings were actually quite catchy (Vanilla Salt is sung by Yui Horie, Orange by Rie Kugimiya, Eri Kitamura, Yui Horie and others; Look Wikia page). But exept for that one glitch once in a while, the sound was perfect :3

If you have any other questions about Toradora! don't be shy and ask ahead. Give it a shot. It's an amazing, entertaining and lovable bunch of characters that will capture your heart and you will not forget about it so easily. (I promisse)

PS: SPOILER

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There is no kissing or anything until the very very last episode. But it's adorable anyway

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Why are you all hating?

The plot may be difficult to follow, but when it all finally clicks into place you end up sitting there like "HOW COULD I HAVE MISSED THIS?" Don't give up on Dramatical Murder just because you don't understand what is going on in the first episode. Or the second...Or third...Or...Well you get the point (Amnesia fans understand the struggle).

Each time I clicked 'next episode', I felt as if someone rammed something into my brain and started picking on it : "Oh look..You've seen this character before. Haven't you? Ohhhh he seemed suspicious! I knew it! I knew it!". In essence the author did an amazing job at trowing javelins at my imagination through plot twists. You'll never know what will happen next.

In reference to the art...Well hella. The detail of the landscape is quite similar to Durarara or Cross Ange (basically a 'society in the future' landscape). However, it has it's own 'high' to it. When you watch, notice that most of the city is animated as if behind a block of ice. It's blurry, shiny and magnificent. But the blurriness foreshadows the instability of perfection created by humans in Dramatical Murder. And the characters...Well they're all completely (and I mean totally) to die for. Each of the (significant or insignificant) characters have incredibly beautiful eyes that pierce straight through your anime/manga-loving heart. But...That's not all that captivated me when it came down to their looks. All of them were unique in a million different ways. You need to see it to understand.

Characters? Characters...Yes...Well...I need you to promise me something ok? Have tissues near (Not just for tears if you know what I mean). The moment I laid my eyes on Aoba and Ren, I needed more. Aoba is the main character, and let me tell you... Everyone wants, loves and adores Aoba (For whatever reason). However...His personality pivots between Kaneki-ken (and his struggle to remain human) and Mikado Ryuugamine (who fights to stay a simple human despite his curiosity). He is beyond special and so is his Grandma and his dog, and all his friends ( :D ).

But I don't want to be too specific, or i'll spoil everything for you.

In general the characters were all quite well developed (Even supporting characters had a unique personality that made them stand out). Each radiated a different side of humanity. They all had their fears, goals, grudges and dreams that eventually lead them to Aoba. I bet you'll find yourself in at lest one of them.

I don't know If I motivated you to watch DM, but please consider it. It's a work of art. You will remember the names of the characters even if it's a 12 episode anime.

Cheers --

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A dystopian world. A world built on a "make-believe" utopia. If...For say, there was such a world where would the Rats go? Would they even be allowed to exist? Obviously the answer is NO. Even tough some may argue that the plot of "No.6" is nothing new I would argue that to some extent the claim would not be accurate. Sure the environment of No.6 district may be much like the fake utopia created in Ergo Proxy. But plot wise...? It's describable as a George Orwell "1984"/Attack on Titan combo. The forever repeated slogans of the party ("WAR IS PEACE," "FREEDOM IS SLAVERY," "IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH") are represented indirectly within the plot of No.6. The protagonist Shion battles with his feelings toward the No.6 district just as Winston Smith did. The protagonist Nezumi (Rat) battles with his feelings for Shion and his hate toward the party just as Winston did with his illegal lover Julia. But I guess that doesn't cover it. The plot can also be associated with "Attack on Titan" where everyone sits tight because they desperately hang onto the fake sense of safety provided by the walls that surround their city as do the citizens of No.6. I really don't want to talk about the plot any further because in all fairness the ending completely destroyed my (already unstable) mental state. It was a very entertaining, action packed anime and I genuinely drooled all over my laptop. Thats about it from me. Hope I helped. Oh! I almost forgot. If you're looking for a lovely dovely kawaii anime...Just go back to browsing. If you have any emotional reaction to anime (I don't get who doesn't) you'll need a box of tissues and a hand to hold. Good luck

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Don't judge. But I accidentally started watching Soul Eater Not first, and I haven't watched the original yet. I've read some negative feedback about it, but in truth it's an easy going anime. You don't have to guess or wonder about much, it's not like Hakuouki. The characters are very shallow and there is not much development throughout the 12 episodes. But...Regardless, if you've just finished watching/reading something brutal or brutally cute then Soul Eater Not is just what you need. It's mediocre in plot, but exceptional in quality (I simply love the animation). So go for it, I promise you won't have a mental breakdown like you did after the first episode of Attack on Titan or a completely and utterly confused look on your face after watching 3 episodes of Ergo Proxy.

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