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Tomoe is just killing someone.
He's either too paranoid to keep a straight mind or too caught in the act, but for some reason, he couldn't stop stabbing the red lights out of the woman in front of him. And she is, his mother. He kept stabbing on and on, and at one point, he took out the intestines that fed him when he was in her womb and finally confirmed, that he committed matricide. But something's not making sense. What pushed him so far? Why can't he find the color red anywhere?... What just happened?

The fact that this movie is an actual fucking 2-hour movie ... is one of its many enjoyable aspects. All four of the previous films didn't feel like "Films"; rather, they were more like haphazard OVAs, 40-minute shorts, or prologues with high production qualities at the time of release. Speaking of "randomly jumbled," this movie completely embraced this storytelling technique by changing several scenes in between rather than juggling between films as this series typically does. The outcome? The experience is definitely Mind-Fricking.

One of the key characters is seen committing matricide as the film begins. What unsettles us in this scene more than the act itself (and the fact that he can genuinely feel the warmth of his mother's intestines) is this sense that something is strange because it defies logic.
The movie's best aspect lies in its capacity to ensnare the audience in a tangle of paranoia and paradoxes while incorporating aspects of horror, mystery, and even action. Most of the film has this "doesn't add up" feeling until the final half n' hour when everything starts making sense, well most of it.

This otherwise fantastic movie just has two issues for me: Alba, and Touko's reveal. I despise erratic dicks like Alba. The majority of the time, these characters are annoying, especially when the rest of the cast doesn't share that trait, and these characters are merely there to provide convenient drama. Although Touko's revelation isn't horrible in and of itself (it's quite a nice twist), it wasn't effectively foreshadowed.
The dialogue in the entire series is one contentious aspect. It can either come across as try-hard crap or as corpus linguistics that touches many things from psychology to philosophy. Your capacity to persist and to keep an eye out for new terminology will be key factors for appreciating this film.

The animation and other technical elements of this movie are excellently done. Despite dealing with a non-linear plot, the direction and editing provide a compelling thriller. Some vistas merit their own analytical posts or videos, and the soundtrack performs an excellent job.
The entire film centers on Tomoe Enjou's guilt about the murder he thinks he committed. Two viewpoints on his persona are presented in the film, those of Shiki and Mikiya. While Mikiya's perspective offers an understanding of Tomoe, Shiki's perspective provides new information that clarifies a few issues from the previous movies and advances the main plot. Everyone else received enough screen time to establish their own motivations and there are some amusing interactions, such as Mikiya's willingness to accept his girl's gender transformation and Touko's reflections on these (seriously, what happened to these?). Even the villain was a fascinating character, and that's how you know a story is good when you can even understand the villain's motive.

Who should watch this?
If you love urban fantasy and kickass female leads, then I recommend this film and the entire series, so far. The order is for you to decide.
You can watch it chronologically as I planned, 2-4-3-1-5-6-7. Or just linearly 1-2-3-4-5-6-7.
Either way, this film will reward you with a great experience, as it did with me.

"Ghost Hound" or "Shinreigari" follows three middle schoolers Tarou Komori, Makoto Ogami, and Masayuki Nakajima who are experiencing OBE (Out 0f Body Experience), or as they like to call it "Soul Travelling" which allows them to explore the 'Unseen World'. Each member utilizes this strange phenomenon to get over their anxieties and terrible pasts while also learning all the hidden secrets of the village of Suiten.

"Shinreigari" tackles a variety of topics, including mythology, occult practices, quantum theory, psychology, and even life after death. Considering that the series was created by Masamune Shirow, the same person who created the "Ghost in the Shell" franchise, this shouldn't ... come as a surprise, but that doesn't imply it will be a chore to watch. "Shinreigari" is part mystery/thriller, revealing the dark secrets of the town & its mysterious characters, part horror, the dread of something unknowable lurking around outside or sometimes even inside our characters, and part sci-fi/psychological, exploring the mental state of its many characters with a lot of (faux) science.

The anime uses a variety of contrasts to illustrate its ideas, such as the above-mentioned nuanced distinction between souls and people. See how the formless bodies of the soul (above pic) contrast with the distorted depiction of man's senses by "Penfield" (below pic). There are more of these that I'm sure I occasionally missed, but one of these contrasts that I loved was the opening song with the remaining OST. The soundtrack is odd and plodding, gradually evoking a sense of mystery and suspense in opposition to the jazzy intro song. The tone has changed, yet the mystery is still present.

The Art style and Sound direction in "Shinreigari" are two obvious standouts. The character designs, particularly the ghosts, are distinctive enough to set the art style apart while still seeming conventional enough to be called your typical anime from the 2000s. Their designs are more unsettling, from the black distorted giants, the insect-like beings in the unseen world, to the "snark," For the Snark was a Boojum, You See.
And the sound is strange, as I have mentioned. It is frequently detailed and includes recognizable sounds like pendulums, breathing noises, and heartbeats. The sound starts off slowly and quietly (nearly undetectable), but as it gets louder, even the conversations get occasionally interrupted. Every episode starts off with significantly distorted dialogue from earlier episodes, mostly for ambiance.

Shinreigari is a thematically rich show with a lot of scientific and occultic babble backed by a foggy atmosphere but it is narratively flawed, the show doesn't weave them into a tight-knitted story. The characters will converse about things like "how a ghost possessed my girl" and other things you wouldn't expect to hear two men discussing in broad daylight. Even more perplexing to me is how readily they accept one another's word, while talking about matters that could put them in danger. Additionally, the last episodes don't make sense with everything that came before. The "Overcoming traumas" narrative never had a satisfying conclusion. The conflicts in earlier episodes of "What occurred in the past?" were heavily built up, yet they were never resolved. The character's abrupt personality change offers a hazy resolution, or the episode simply leaves it hanging. It is a little sudden when the show finishes on a coming-of-age note because there were no signs that the theme of the initial episodes was "Letting go of the past and/or Accepting the present and yourself."

I would usually end this section by answering "Who should watch this?" but there's something else I want to talk about.
(You can skip this section and go directly to the end; this adds little to the review).
Have you ever woken up one midnight all of a sudden? Either you had some unfiltered thoughts or stress or insomnia or something similar, but you somehow can't go back to sleep. I had this moment during middle school, so instead of counting sheep on my bed, I went down to the living room and switch on the TV. I was a bit scared that my mom would come down and scold me for watching TV way past midnight (Spoiler: That didn't happen) but I managed to reduce the volume to 1, get close to the TV, and start surfing at light night cartoons that I've never known. At this point, there's this show on CN, about a sheep roaming in a metropolitan night city. I couldn't find my favorite cartoons like Ben 10 but it's past screen time, so I just watched it. At that time though, I related to that sheep more than anything. It would jump across buildings, escape from dogs and other shenanigans that past me really liked. I'm not sure if the new gen could relate to this, in an era where Netflix and such are available, so you could watch whatever you want.
I've been watching 2 or 3 episodes a day of Shinreigari at midnight for the past week, which helped me to go to sleep while not regretting it. In Japan, these kinds of anime are called Aniraji (a combination of 'Anime' and 'Rajio'(Radio)) shows that are used to air from 10 PM to 4 AM. Normally, these kinds of anime are very heavy in their plot or presentation (shows like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Berserk, Serial Experiments Lain) and are usually targeted toward adult audiences and often help the viewer to surpass their restless state to fall asleep.

Who should watch this?
If you are a fan of dialogue-heavy Anime like "Ghost in the Shell", I would recommend it. If not, skip it. This can cause you to fall asleep if you are disinterested or forced yourself to watch it.

It's incredibly cute because that's all it ever wants to be.

Well, let's start by saying "I'm not too interested in Yuri", which should hint at why the score is not in majority's favor, and I'm really sorry if this review might've attacked your opinions or preferences.

Our main characters, Yamada and Kase, are in love, and both are girls. That's the basic plot.
Throughout the whole runtime, all I ever thought was, "Looks like they (the creators) just wanted to show a sweet romance between cute girls" and that's pretty much the only thought I had been carrying throughout the whole thing. It was hard to feel ... a strong connection to their romance because it felt like I couldn't comprehend what they were going through whenever there was a conflict. I just liked the momentary slow moments, ones where music and atmosphere take the front instead of the plot and characters. That ending though, just made me want to quit but thankfully it's the end, so I skipped that one part and directly went to the credits.

I don't want this review just to be me ranting, so I'll do some work.
The whole thing looks really cute (I actually watched this because it looked cute). Throughout the whole 58 minutes, the warm and fuzzy atmosphere continuously shines, literally. What it really does well is the character animation. The occasional leaves pop up on Yamada's head emphasizing her confusion or embarrassment, the shiny rays of light that drop like the rain, and to glimmering eyes of our characters whenever they talk to each other. So much care was given to make them look cute and it's truly beautiful. Even in that dreamlike sequence where Yamada dives into her pool of thoughts with her friend's voice, even in that heavy moment, the tone of being a heavily light-hearted romance doesn't disappear.
The romance, the unpopular and popular fall for each other, isn't new or original, and probably the only gimmick is that they're already in a relationship, and now they are just figuring out what they should do. Strictly speaking, the story is really forgettable, and with enough time, the same can be said about the characters. The main reason being it works on cliches and tropes, which is nothing wrong with the case regarding any other romance work, it just didn't work. Bluntly put, this looked like that one heterosexual love story that I eventually forgot, got a Yuri remake.
After my watch, I started to question what even necessitated this work at all, but then I find out the manga which the OVA adapted from, got this following of being the best in the fanbase, and the only Yuri that the majority of Yuri fans enjoyed (A cliche for every fanbase I guess).

Who should watch this?
If you can relate to Yuri works, or just enjoy Yuri works, or just want something cute, then I think you should give this a try.
While I didn't regret my time watching, I thought I could've spent my time watching something more enjoyable.

When I was a kid, I loved "Man vs Wild". The fact that this retired army man is challenging nature by doing the most caveman shit I've ever seen fascinated me (Though it was extremely hard to take a meal after watching that show lol).
This manga reminded me of that show, except instead of the Bear, we're watching a force of nature in motion, Gon.

Action speaks louder than words
The entire manga consists of no dialogue, not even the reaction sound effects. It entirely depends on the artwork to portray the story.
Sometimes, it's better to do than to say. We can talk about many things, even ... explain them but in course of development or understanding, it's what we do that matters the most than what we say. This is something we see throughout the manga and the lack of dialogue or words just portrays it all the more powerful.

The story takes place in various locations and throughout the journey, Gon meets other animals where sometimes Gon befriends them, accepting their lifestyle, which gives the reader a window to see the ecosystem of these wild creatures. Or sometimes, animals themselves accompany Gon's journey. And sometimes, Gon faces the wild. No matter the obstacle, Gon challenges them. Gon is unstoppable, who only eats, sleeps, and moves on, a force of nature that's meant to live in the wild; a harsh, unforgiving yet mesmerizing place, And the manga don't hold back any punches to portray the harsh reality of the wild.
In nature, there's no place for the weak. You have to be strong or be eaten by the strong.

A chibi dragon and quite an iconic character who you have probably seen in Tekken games. Gon can be quite hard to understand as a character. There are times when Gon shows no mercy and quite literally be a villain, who just oppresses others with his thick skull out of spite or for Gon's own needs. And other times, he helps other animals. So, it's hard to understand what Gon's moral compass is (or even if Gon has one in the first place). This doesn't mean Gon is emotionless though, we see it showing empathy and respect. The only thing we know for sure is that Gon has a better understanding of itself and all we can do is accompany it on its journey, marvel at nature and the occasional human emotion it shows, and most importantly, move on and see what's on the other side of the world.

Who should read this?
I don't think many people will enjoy "Gon". Despite the amazing (or even realistic) artwork, it barely holds that 7.2 score. There's no overall plot, character development, or anything you would see in a commercial story. It's just the adventures of a small dragon in the wild. If that sounds intriguing enough, then give this manga a try. You will not regret your time.

An incredibly oblivious and overprotective pastor 'Lawrence' and the lazy saint 'Cecilia' who loves him, treasure one another's company as they live together in a church.

The entire story is about the two main characters, their daily life activities, and their interactions with other characters. Narrative-wise, it's a slice-of-life story that portrays the themes of love and kindness, and plot-wise, it's a love story that gradually reveals each of the character's personalities and pasts and develops the relationships between them. There are hints of a side romance, but it didn't dwell on it too much (so far).

Though it's a slice-of-life/romance, I think a better term to ... describe it would be an 'Iyashikei' (Think of Anime like Natsume, except it's more of a romance).
As far as I can tell, Iyashikei stories are feel-good series that are meant to relax the viewer/reader, and an obvious technique is to progress the plot slowly, letting the audience connect with the characters, setting, and world.

I'm not sure what's considered the average chapter length, but each chapter in this manga is pretty long. Half or more than half of the chapter will be filled with easily readable and funny character interactions, while the rest of the chapter puts more emphasis on the drama side, like talking about someone's past, their own feelings, etc. which are often filled with plain characterization or setting rules.

The fantasy element isn't something extravagant that is filled with different types of creatures or power systems but is more akin to a fairy tale, like the fairies which only exist as small glowing orbs of light or the protection spell that the saint often blesses with. The fantasy is not brimming with logic derived from some grand mythology with heavy references or such, it's only shown as a cause-and-effect kind, where the magic is reflected through the characters' actions and emotions.
And the art is gorgeous, perfectly capturing the magic within the story and characters.

I guess the writer, Hazano Kazutake (who's also the artist), likes this overprotective-tall-guy-and-clingy-short-girl combo because his other work Hakanai Kimi wa Moukou wo Hajimeru, is pretty much same as this, except it's just a regular slice of life.
I would also recommend that if you like this one.
Who should watch this?
As I said before, the plot progression is slow, and so far, there are indications for a greater conflict than just realizing true feelings and I'm just waiting in anticipation for that.
If you like the overprotective-tall-guy-and-clingy-short-girl combo, then read this, or wait for the Anime adaptation that's gonna air in 2023.
If you don't like the 'clearly in love but are not realizing it' or 'dense main character' kind of love story, then you probably won't like it. The characters aren't dumb or act illogical though, I can guarantee it.

During the late 1950s, an American physicist "Hugh Evertt III" proposed the MWI (the "Many-World Interpretation"), claiming that wave function never collapses and that all possibilities of a Quantum Superposition are objectively real. Alright, let's condense it using a simple good old, cultured question.

Are you a boob person or an ass person?
... Chances are you are both, chances are you are none, chances are you do fall into one of those categories, but they are physically real and don't just exist as a 'possibility'.
Now I know what you're thinking baby.

What does any of this have to do with "Space Dandy"?
"Space Dandy" is about a guy ... named 'Dandy'... in space!
The MWI is a very central concept in the entire show and what really hammers this point is the finale of Episode 1 where it ends up killing Dandy at the end of episode 1... YES! Dandy literally gets exploded in what he calls a Plan 'B', the "last resort", which is to explode the entire planet by self-destructing his own ship and capture them later, not realizing that he is on the same planet as the aliens. What makes it even more absurd is when the next episode... just happens. No one seems to know about what happened in the previous episode or even cares about what happens in the next episode. Every episode feels very different with a different undertone or message, sometimes it's a space action filled with amazing sequences, sometimes it's a fluffy high school musical or about a rock concert or disco dancing, and sometimes it goes all philosophical & often leaves the viewer being bewildered with what just they witnessed. The show has this wacky and carefree exterior which might have led many to believe that it's nothing more than a silly comedy featuring weird aliens and often sexualized female characters but it's definitely more than that.

Dandy and Evertt
Die-hard fans might've already caught 'Evertt' in beginning and sensed where this is going, especially if you're a fan of that JP ending song (like myself). And there's a connection that I found when I was searching through Evertt's wiki page. And this is what his son, "Mark Oliver Evertt" regarding his father's sudden death, said the following:

" I think about how angry I was that my dad didn't take better care of himself. How he never went to a doctor, let himself become grossly overweight, smoked three packs a day, drank like a fish, and never exercised. But then I think about how his colleague mentioned that, days before dying, my dad had said he lived a good life and that he was satisfied. I realize that there is a certain value in my father's way of life. He ate, smoked, and drank as he pleased, and one day he just suddenly and quickly died. Given some of the other choices I'd witnessed, it turns out that enjoying yourself and then dying quickly is not such a hard way to go."

... Isn't that just Dandy?
(This might just be Dandy's 'dandy' lifestyle being reminiscent of older works, but I like this interpretation better).
Our lives are really unpredictable and so is the reality we live in but, there's still a beautiful world out there. We just have to catch those stars instead of shedding tears for a lost cause, so it's better to just enjoy life (Not to say you should abandon your responsibilities though, You should carry that Weight.)

Technical Aspects
Watching UN-GO and Space Dandy hand-in-hand made me appreciate the technical qualities of the show so much. Apparently, each episode is scripted and sometimes even directed by different people, which really tells why it varies so much. The animation is really top-notch, and the overall colorful art style and backgrounds are a sight to witness. I really love both the opening and ending songs (again), they really grew on me.

Who should watch this?
If you're a fan of 'cool' animation lovers like Mob, then you should definitely check out except Dandy is episodic and only progresses the plot at the near end.

But the question remains:
Are you a boob person or an ass person?

Open lies or Hidden truths: What makes a human soul?

For the past 1 week, I've been watching two anime from "Studio Bones".
Un-Go and Space Dandy.
And I'll be reviewing both of them this weekend, starting with "UN-GO". Because I feel like these two need a bit more recognition, especially UN-GO.

Title Meaning
At first, the odd title really grabbed my interest when I was going through the studio's catalog "Un-Go". Is this some sort of strong indication about our characters to un-go (kind of like un-do) their life and re-do their choices or something? But a quick google search made me realize my stupidity, as always.
The title has ... two meanings.

The anime is a re-imagination of the Japanese novel, Meiji Kaika "ANGO" Torimonocho written by Sakaguchi "ANGO"... Yeah, UN-GO looks cooler.
The word/title アンゴ also means "Code to a secret", which is a pretty reasonable title for a detective show, but there's a bit of an irony here

UN-GO doesn't work well as an entertaining detective series (maybe that's why it has low ratings), mainly because of one character "Inga" who's both the main attraction and a drawback to the series. Inga's identity is unknown; for most of the show, 'Inga' appears as an annoying Shouta who can transform into a buxom woman (and many other forms, apparently) and can make any human confess their truth to feeds on their souls, just for once. Since the anime follows an episodic structure, this ability feels like a cheat because no matter the amount of investigation that goes on, the overall mystery collapses when Inga does the questioning, which makes the whole mystery rather unengaging. But what's reassuring is the show being aware of this itself. It never pretends to make a mystery any more complicated (or simple) than it already is.
Which really begs the question, "What's the point of a mystery that is obvious?" It's simple, really.

THE TRUTH
(Now I know that sounds like a really broad answer but bear with me for a second).
Many mysteries work on the good old question of "Whodunit?" Introduce many characters, throw them into a crime-possible setting, give a reason for every character to commit a crime (even to the protagonist if you will), and bring the detective at the end to close the case. A tried-and-true formula. But most of the time, they are just entertainment. Running solely by suspense and tension, they never seem to care to tell something, something that can move or influence their viewers. And this is where UN-GO shines. In each episode, you tag along with this detective named "Yuuki Shinjirou", the 'Defeated Detective', whose pursuit of Truth is not just simply a who how, or why. Our protagonist believes that the hidden truth that people hide in themselves is what makes them who they are, which goes against the ideals of the antagonist, "Rinroku", who believes that some truths are worth hiding in order to make a better world. This truth is always tied to the war and how war tore the lives of people.
Ango Sakaguchi's novel the anime is based on was released way back in 1945s, just after Japan's loss. I would argue that many of us can't even comprehend the horrors of war and how much war influenced today's life, and I don't either. We look at those Ukraine war footage videos, might hear some speeches, or watch war dramas but the most we can do is empathize with them. It shows like UN-GO that'll shed light on the topics of war to people that really don't the effects.

Regarding the Movie
There's a 48-minute prequel titled UN-GO: Inga-ron which I recommend watching between episodes 6 & 7, rather than just watching this before the show itself. Inga-ron focuses on Shinjirou's past, and a certain being called Bettenou, which is a major plot point in the later half. It's just my recommendation but either way, watch it before episode 7.

OP & ED
I want to make a separate section for this as I really liked the songs so much. The ending actually hints at a certain event in the second half and it's also the only few cases in the Anime that has some wonderful animation sequences. The rest of the series mostly has still frames which was well balanced with some good direction so it won't be that much of a bother. The OST is pretty standard, it reminds me of some outdated mystery movies with the main detective always pointing at things while a supercool OST plays in the background to make a supercool scene. Not bad though.

Who should watch this?
The concept of truth and souls is something akin to "Ghost in the Shell", though UN-GO is not as cyberpunk-Ish as GITS and differs in the undertone a little.
The supernatural detective mystery is something akin to "Bungou Stray Dogs", though UN-GO is not as comedic and doesn't have many characters as in BSD.

It's a waste of time to get into a show without knowing anything about it. Of course, you can check out UN-GO even if you don't like the things, I mentioned but I just felt like saying it. If the description;
A mystery drama with supernatural demons set in a futuristic Japan where the internet and the media are monopolized by the Government? sounds good enough then watch it anyway.

Surely, it's not perfect but where else can you find such an oddball combination as UN-GO?