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Ooof this anime is taking some lumps in the reviews and i respect all points of view, so not saying they're wrong. Still, . I'm still glad to see it's scoring over 8 because as a non-middle aged male, in fact, a girl lol who was desperately in need of some sweetness and positivity this was truly an adorable happy.

No needless conflicts, just joy for the thing you love and learning how to share that joy with others and gasp! maybe even find a little innocent blossoming romance in the process? There's an innocence that comes with learning how to find the joys in life ... that strips away at cynicism and *whispers a secret of a middle aged forever child* ... keeps you from getting old. Never mind creams and surgeries ... embrace joy and innocence and i promise :) you never have to worry about getting old young ones :)

Ok so ... for the things that this has been criticized for ... i don't want to be argumentative but i do want to put up a counter-argument to those that scoff "waifu-bait" and warm/fuzzy slice of life and sweet boys developing adorable romances with darling girls ... why is it okay for everyone else to have their fantasies? Mind-boggling powers in other realms with protagonists that never lose even when they're beaten? The only time anime fans seem to demand realism is with slice of life and romance.

Anime is escapism. It's a happy little time spent in "what could be". An illustrated game of make-believe. Have your things, but pretty please let us have ours? :)

This was such a joy to watch. I love when a writer can take something we know is utterly unrealistic and fantastical and pretty much the complete opposite of anyone's gaming experiences and say "So what?! What if it WAS like this? C'mon! Let go of realism and let's have fun with it!!!" and they do it so well that you agree. It's the kind of liberty that's hard to hand over to a show, rarely pays off, but oh it's just so great when it does. I adored this anime. It doesn't weigh itself down with overly complex character development, in fact, there's not ... much sense of who the characters are outside of the individual spirit of fun that drives each player to develop their gaming style. That is the achievement here so character development is not lacking. It's just the drama is left at the login. I dearly hope that the show stays focused on the joy of the game as it moves forward and continues to reward us for being willing to say "Yeah! How awesome would that be?!"

Finishing season 1 with tears in my eyes, heart aglow, my only conflict is trying to decide whether to give it a 9 or a 10. Nine ONLY because i give 10's to things i know i will rewatch again and again.

Finishing season 2, glaring at the screen: "Baka baka baka!"

Season 2 RUINED everything that was so delicate and precious and real about the 1st season. Its hamfisted pointless convoluted drama bludgeons rare and beautiful character development, cheapens the rich pacing that had me hanging on every word through a season twice as long. Season 2? I could not WAIT for the misery to be ... over. Awful!

If this was as a result of Season 1 popularity and the powers that be that drive storylines went this direction to try to appeal for $$ rather than stay true to its original vision, then SHAME on you. Shame. On. You. You defiled a precious thing.

The only reason this is getting a 5 is because i can't bear to go any lower out of my love for these characters from season 1.

I was absolutely down to invest in the anime the first episode set up. Strange exceedingly powerful young girl that doesn't understand human interactions being dropped in to learn just that from a Yakuza (hilarious blind-leading-the-blind set up) while i assumed part of what would form their bond is protecting each other from the dangers each of their lives are rife with.

And then that just didn't happen. It was like they got a new showrunner for episode 2 that came in blind and just made it up as they went along. It was incoherent, disjointed and downright irritating because i wanted very much to ... continue watching the anime i started.

I will say there were animes within this anime that could be pulled out and given their own storyline that i would watch in a heartbeat. Anzu doesn't need to be a powerful girl from ... uh... where? who knows really but the story arc about a group of these old, weary homeless men imparting values to this little street urchin trying to survive and forming a familial bond with her would be an instant watch for me. I am sad that Anzu's anime doesn't exist.

Likewise a comedy about Hitomi would be hilarious.

But all of it together was a jumbled mess and it's just proof that while I rely heavily on reviews for recommendations, once in a while I will just not get what all the hype is about.

Headline: Dagashi is a Snack Crate anime

Wow this is one love-or-hate-it anime. In America, for sure, but I'd imagine all over the world, we humans have a lot of nostalgia for toys or licensed cereals, foods that came from our favorite childhood shows or cartoons. That's what this anime reminded me of, and while i only have tasted a couple of the dagashi from the show, it made me excited to try many more. Snack Crates are enjoyable for the same reason this anime is. But also, the characters were fun, the interactions were innocent but cheeky, people keep saying it was a 4.5 ... hour commercial for Dagashi but, if so? It was a great commercial. Made me wish to travel and visit a dagashi shop :)

I love slice of life. I love cute girls doing cute things. This was a let down in every conceivable way. I won't even bother with how much Mika Kukuri's character grated on my nerves, how underdeveloped the main character was, how much I wanted to enjoy the rich potential of a daughter connecting with the mother she never knew through the medium of pottery and artistic self-discovery making lasting friendships along the way all taking place while getting to learn about a beautiful craft and the regions that produce them. What bothers me most is how much there was i could have loved, ... wanted to love, and how much of a wasted opportunity this was to make this something I would have treasured. The ingredients were all there but the dish was a flop.

So, having watched the original, nothing could have prepared me for Season 2, Episode 10 when it became apparent that Fruits Basket is a full-throated story and not just a sweet, slice-of-life, familiar feel good world to slip into.

One of the things I love and am fascinated by (not to mention rebuked by) is how emotionally intelligent anime's treatment of character development can be. I realize how self-indulgent and often childish and flailing I'm used to being, how entitled to outbursts and my own selfish motivation I am by comparison.

The themes anime plays with ... what does it truly mean to be unselfish? ... What does it truly mean to fall in love with someone and how can that be perverted by interior motivations ... um ... WOW! I wasn't planning on being Akito-styled face-slapped in my values by FRUITS BASKET today but that's what happened.

And I love it.

GORGEOUS character development. For those struggling a bit with the first season and Tohru's unending cheer and what seems, at times, over-the-top giving nature ... I promise if you stay with it, this remake brings that into focus in a beautiful way in season 2. I wasn't expecting this to suddenly become THIS good and isn't that the great thing about anime?

Shirokuma Cafe has shot up to become my favorite anime of all time. The characters are so dear, funny, touching ... honestly i thought nothing could dethrone Usagi Drop for me but this anime has. I've rewatched it so many times and no matter how low i'm feeling it always manages to lift my spirits.

The voice acting is phenomenal. The absolute star is Pengie-san of course, but they're all brilliant. The art is simple but it doesn't need to be more than it is. The character creation is ridiculously perfect and has everything to do with the voice acting. It's filled with humor and even ... touching moments. It's truly a special anime ... every frame is meme-worthy. I force everyone I know to watch it and no one has failed to love it yet : )

I'm glad to have met the characters, the world itself wasn't all that interesting, but all-in-all I'm just so glad to be done with this. Was it good? Sure, okay, yeah, tell you what? It was good done wrong? Like a roller coaster at a snail's pace wouldn't be much fun but it's still, technically a great roller coaster? Structurally? That's how I feel about Railgun. It had loops and turns and drops and swoops in all the right places and I liked all the folks on the ride, but, telling this story this slowly made all those things tedious.

I don't even know what to say. This anime accomplished something I didn't think possible. The best way I can put it is that if this had been played out by live actors this would have won an Oscar. I can honestly say I've never seen an Oscar-worthy anime until this one. Every review tagline you can think of that would go with a music-related Academy Award winning film belongs as tribute to Sakamichi No Apollon.

I love music, have dabbled in song-writing, singing, but I'm not very talented. My skills are basic at best and I don't have it in me to strive for small ... gains. The musicians I idolize are natural-born Gods and I know my place. I still enjoy what I do, but, I always dreamed of what it would be like to have that capability and then experience that synchronicity with fellow musicians ... to meet on that plane and just exult in the connectivity and joyousness of being in the moment and being one with each other and our art. I always imagined it must feel very much like flying. Watching this anime is about as close as I'll ever come to experiencing that bliss.