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Feb 22, 2024
Knight's & Magic
If I had to describe the show with one word it would be: Competent
The world-building is fundamentally a baseline on how to do a fantasy setting right, everything is correctly built up, we get more than enough info of both the world and the magic-system so it is fully logical, understandable and intriguing.
I made fun of the base premise*, but it was an effective and necessary setup for the story to be told this way.
The characters are really well done, all have their agencies, several of them have their own arcs, and even their own lives and thinking are completely logical and intelligent
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so they feel relatable and human, even their flaws come from their base character so even when they fail it is sympathetic.
For the plot I just go back to the word of today's review: competent. Sadly, it is mainly the base element I can criticize, especially as it felt like the story, they wanted to tell would've needed more than 13 episodes, but as they only got that many, they tried to cram everything into those 13 episodes, which contributed to a lot of time-skips and rushed plot-lines. The story was kind of predictable for a more experienced eye, but it might just be a routine issue. [When a racer can predict the second half of a racecourse, just by how the 1 half went.]
Still, it was really engaging and full of twists and turns that kept the interest always high, with new elements and challenges for our heroes to overcome.
To summarize I'd say that competence is the main element, but it does feel as if it was written by an AI. Everything is designed to a mastered textbook level, but there were really few peaks of quality. In numerical terms there was no moment that went below a 7, but there was no moment above a 9 either.
8.6/10
Subjective parts: I don't like CG, but it was nothing egregious, and maybe it is a hot take, but although I like Rie Takahashi, and she did manage to make a 10-12yo boy voice, for the latter part it was really weird having a 15-17 boy/man still having Rie as a voice actress.
*2017 isekai show about a successful company-man getting reincarnated into a young fragile body, where he uses his knowledge from his previous life and integrates it with the magical elements of the new settings, because of that he quickly climbs the ranks and becomes a child prodigy, but with every promotion the situation just gets more and more dangerous for both him the team he gets to lead [which was specifically granted/created for him by the country's leader].
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 19, 2024
It was awful, the only positive thing that I can say that is was competently and not offensively bad. The creator wanted to tell a story. and 0080 told that story, the problem was that their story was terrible.
I think the fact that the title says 0080 (after the peace treaty) but the show takes place during 0079 (before the peace treaty) already tells a lot about the world-building. It's like if they'd call a movie 1946 Recovery from the War, but it would take place in 1945 April during the Siege of Berlin.
Second big problem was with the power-levels, the mobile suits get defeated
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like it was nothing, which makes a really huge contrast with the base concept of Gundam, making Mobile Suits devastatingly superior against conventional weaponry.
The characters were both really cliché and templated, which based on how few characters got any characteristics was such a shame, but nothing was worse that the MC. Who contrary to Gundam habit wasn't 15, but 11 who acted like 7 (although at least he was shown to be quick-thinking and street-smart). The habit Gundam still retainted (I wish it wouldn't) is the terrible parents, I don't think I've a single great parent in the entire franchize yet.
The worst offender is clearly the plot, you can see every thread a miles away, it tries to be emotional, but fails at almost every point, because of how cliché and artificial it feels, and most of it just doesn't make sense. Most characters act in a way that is at best only partially natural, and worst completely moronic, just to advance the plot in the direction the writer wants to go. Which (to emphasize my previous point) makes the entire thing brutally artificial and takes away most of the emotional effects.
3.8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jul 26, 2023
Season 3 is the first 'mixed bag' of Overlord, which started to have cracks and becoming mundane, without the thrill we'd been used to.
The first aspect where the problems started to show themselves is the World Building. The presentation and implementation of the Bamaruth Empire was pretty much flawless as worthy of Overlord, but other aspects and certainly power levels began to radiate minor inconsistencies.
The problem transmitted to the Plot as well, but it wasn't its most garish aspect. Most of the 13 episodes were centered around Characters who we do not really care about, or who were either stationary or not in danger. While
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it wasn't a flaw character-wise, it meant that there wasn't much stakes as it became obvious that the developed legacy characters weren't in mortal danger.
That aside, there were characters who got developed further and it was done pretty exemplary. Both their actions and arc were sound and logical, based on their characteristics and information, even the better parts of the World Building were tied to them.
On a more personal side, the CGI is still very ugly, which was amplified and evinced by the overzealous action scenes.
Also, the overuse of a certain joke regarding the knowledge and wisdom of Ainz quickly became really jarring and old, not to talk about the inconsistency problems it could create if the trend continues.
I would still recommend Overlord as a whole, but mostly because of the merit of the previous season, while I hope III was just a rocky road between II and IV.
I would give it a 7.4/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 19, 2023
A solid second season, which was built well on the foundations of the first one, advanced the established characters and even introduced new ones. But it not just achieved everything that a good sequel should, but kept the overall story of Overlord interesting to keep the hype up for the third season as well.
The world building is as solid as it was previously, but unfortunately it inherited the slowness and murkiness as well. After 26 full-fledged episode, we still have little knowledge about the world, the factions, the power levels and the magic system. While it is no way a bad thing it has a
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sour aftertaste, an ominous feeling, that it is this slow by the sole intention to be used as the main tool to keep the potential interest above a certain level, instead of leaning on the characters.
The plot would be the aspect that is obviously somewhat of a downgrade from season 1. Not much is happening, and while there are stakes, most of it is centered around !side! characters.
What the show maybe lacks in plot it balances in characters. The character-work is awesome, we got a lot of side characters, that have their own actions, motives and characters, making the world lived in and dynamic on a level that even exceeds the likes of Re Zero. Everybody acts on basic competency and logic, what makes overcoming obstacles a real thrill.
While this season didn't have much of stakes, if this trend continues it could be a potentially masterclass of culmination. Clearly worth of high praises.
Sadly some plot conveniences and plotholes got introduced as well, one of the most grave is (without much of a spoiler):
"One of the side characters happens to run into someone who is a relative of another character whom the main character is indebted to. And that incident is what puts the whole story into high gear."
Although I liked it very much that the obvious traitor is recognized by the heroes at an instant. [Looking at you Revan(the book)]
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 3, 2023
Overlord Season 1
If I had to describe the anime in one word it would be "interesting".
The premise, while overused, had enough unique elements to make it special. The world-building is fair, nothing out of the ordinary in either way.
The story takes its time, so around ep7 when there are two ways it can go, the course is still uncertain.
The characters are almost all stationary, but they are that by design, so the entertaining element is not in the direction of their arc, but in the learning of their character.
The culmination of those things is Overlord's biggest catch, and its biggest flaw at the same time.
It's
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enough to pique interest, to learn about the uncertainty of the world, plot and unknown characters, but as neither seems to be capable of evolving ever further. Once you reach the point where your curiosity is satisfied, the anime does not offer much more to keep you hooked.
Of course, no matter how slowly the story progresses and how slowly you are fed information I can see this point being much further than Season 4.
Season 1 was felt like a demo for the story, a glimpse of what it could offer and what is the utmost point it would be able to offer.
Currently I would guess in its entirety it is around a 7-8, the first season achieved everything it set out to do, but other than that, it did not offer anything astonishing.
The visuals were fine in most places outside of the fight-scenes, which were atrocious looking CGI.
Because of that the fight was not just bland, but in a lot of them the characters moved much less than they should to save money, but that caused some problems with the narrative, power-levels and the working of the magic system, in that way a somewhat subjective flaw caused objective problems which cannot be overlooked.
7.6/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 16, 2023
It was one of the best arcs and the second-best season overall (in my opinion)
The season can easily be divided up to two parts, the first being a 12 episode long battle scene.
While it was visually entertaining, nothing much happened with the characters and the plot that couldn't be summed up in 5 lines. There are two UA characters whose arc got to a 'mark point' and some interesting arc development for others, but it was mostly just a set-up,
The mistakes made are done by incompetent outsiders which on one side infuriating, but at least they were immediately punished for their idiocy. The characters who
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died are sadly weren't fleshed up characters and while the swiftness and no remarks (naturalness) on characters dying is welcomed in BNHA to finally show some stakes, it made the death even less impactful.
Part 2 changes gears completely with the most worldbuilding the show has ever done, turning the whole situation upside down, and creating an entirely new and unseen story built on the previous 5 seasons. The plot and characterwork rivals every other BNHA arc, while starting new threads to build upon as well. The second part in its own is maybe the best BNHA arc in the entire story yet, what makes you want to see more to know if it can be improved even further.
8.6/10 (Separately: 8, 9.2)
https://myanimelist.net/anime/49918/Boku_no_Hero_Academia_6th_Season
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 2, 2023
The World Building is solid, they studied the historical environment really well, the plot is tightly moving forward, and the characters are done brilliantly.
Tanya is a really great MC (lawful evil), her firm stance by her principles is really inspiring, and her internal struggles with one of the shows themes: rules vs morals is really intriguing.
Seeing how strongly and frequently her worldview is challenged, as she almost completely succeeds to stand by her principles is really entertaining and exalting. Although there are a few times when she abandons them (while could be infuriating to some) it makes her character human and mortal, which could
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help the audience empathise with her even more.
Outside of the main character we even have living side characters, with their own motivations and distinct behaviours as well.
What makes this a tier above most is the realist aspect that interweaves the whole world. Everything has reasons, everything makes logical sense, you can see the world working in a way that is sensible, logical and really familiar. Everyone behaves according to their personality and acts upon their knowledge following the information they have. The whole thing feels like the real world, played by real people who act like one. Everyone has their own goals, personality, character strengths and weaknesses, which makes every decision important and all the plot elements a part of the whole story.
To name my two biggest criticisms, one (minor) that Tanya is somewhat of a hypocrite in some instances, but that does not contradict her character, just makes her a little bit less rational and somewhat harder to emphasize with.
The graver is the arc with Sioux, it does not break plot or character, but it is a huge cliché and as such really predictable, which made the whole arc somewhat less intriguing.
The Rhine theatre leader was too strict and a somewhat incompetent bureaucrat with no insight, which starts a question of how he managed to be at that position.
Lergen is somewhat all over the place with his relation to Tanya which is somewhat offputing and confusing
And (at least) I had no idea how the doctor still has the job as leading scientinst after that much failure and that low regard to operational stability and reliability which are one of the most important aspects of any military technology.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Mar 23, 2023
The premise was interesting, and the world building was more or less consistent.
The plot is dragged somewhat, which was weird in the way that there was enough for 22 episode yet some arc got rushed, while others dragged.
A couple characters were really interesting, but most were just 2 dimensional/cliché.
The one I would underline is Magane, she started as interesting, but became really boring in the second half. [Also even the anime is forgot about her existence, as she just stopped getting included in the episodes and nobody reacted at all, about searching for her whereabouts.]
The ending was great (especially the emotional beats), even with the
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lackluster preparation, if the other parts would be just as good it would approach a strong 9.
The animation was lazy at times, especially with the backgrounds and masking.
All in all it's a 7.5/10, for the ending I would say it is worthwhile to watch it.
Also it is frustrating how the anime forgot to even mention, about the lack of free will it implies for certain characters, and how those characters just never deal with the fact that basically they gained sentience and they will probably lose it and could become mindless pawns again.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Feb 19, 2023
The Anime really excells at certain parts of its story, which is really refreshing, the World Building and the shocking imagery are really it's strong points, but sadly on terms of characters and certain points of consistency it lacks the quality it needed to live up to its hype.
Starting with maybe it's best element, the World Building is clearly exeptional even considering that there are a lot of stories with very similar elements. The rules and laws of the world are clearly set down at the start and they have been adhered to throughout. This i not limited to only the rules but the character's
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situation, place in the world and chances as well.
The Plot is straight forward with clear and easy goals, which is one the most well-known fact about this anime. That does not just make it unique, but memorable and empathetic as well. The clear and easy plot also leaves place for the World Building and Characters to shine even brighter.
Sadly, on the Characters front the anime does not excells that notably. While all characters have all their basic elements, they do not emerge in any way, we could even call most of them basic. This takes a toll on imersion as well, as most characters aren't even approachable because of this from the audience's standpoint.
On top of that there are certain flaws with the anime as well, a lot could be amended in the second season and most of them are barely outstanding from nitpick category, but they are still lowering the potential enjoyment, and even the objective score.
Minor Spoilers from now on:
- We meet a type of species in a random mission for the first time, then after the mission ends, we get introduced to a new character of the same species we got just introduced to.
- Characters either directly contradict themselves or their said motivation, without anyone acknowledging it.
- Certain characters are said to be human, but have superspeed and strength, the first exceeding the speed of sound.
There are a lot of editing errors, but as they are mostly nitpicks as they did not affect the overall story in any major way, I'll just leave at mentioning the fact.
On the somewhat subjective style, I hated the artstyle, the contrasts were really weird for my eyes, and that half 3D was just uncanny valley for me. The worst part was when the background, foreground and character were all on different layers, but they weren't synced so they did not track properly. For me the most noticeable was at Ep8 2:19-, but friends complained that it was even worst in certain fightscenes.
On the subjective positive side, the anime did surprise me, with one thing. [Major Spoiler Warning]
At ep8 I knew that most major people were not dead, so I was somewhat distanced from the whole fight scene as I knew that most won't have drastic consequences, but X's death dragged me from my complacency which was really refreshing.
The last time that happened to me was Danganronpa 1, where the character I thought to be a tutorial one turned out to be someone else. (Maybe I am just too stuck with a western media mindset, as after the fact I realized both have a somewhat same arc as they got character so they can die now.)
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 9, 2023
Darling in The Franxxx manga
The setup is really interesting, a post apocaliptic setting, where children/teenagers that brought up to be soldiers have to pilot mecha robots in male-female pairs, defending mobile cities that cling on survival.
It was intriguing in multiple psychological planes. One is the child/teenager soldier aspect which is not that new, but the female-male pair with the teenager aspect rejuvinated the setting. Of course it got more crazy with veteran soldier (who's seen to many death) vs naive rookies, love interests [pretty well worked out, especially considering teenagers], and how those rookies learn and mature into the people they need to be the
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defend humanity..
The main duo was the highpoint of the show, but even the other characters in the squad have distict personalities, which made it really enjoyable. Sadly some of their character arc was cut shot, which brings me to maybe the biggest flaw I had with the series.
Pacing. The manga takes it's time introducing WB and characters in really great manner, but the mange shift pace around chapter 40 which could be considered act 2, then atc 3 start at chapter 55, the onyl problem is? the whole series in only 60 chapters. So in the last chapter they needed to come back from the lowpoint, have a big final showdown, and then close al the threads. It felt really rushed.
I would give it an weak 8/10, it could be better even a strong 9, but the pacing, the missing character arc ends, and the rushed ending hurt it significantly.
How it fare against the anime?
I would say most of the direct changes is in favour of the manga, is has far superior characterwork. Although some changes can be justified because their are sometimes a dozen chapters without any fight and just introspection and character building, which wouldn't translate well in anime format for some viewers.
The story of the two deviates around the halfway point, which is also great considering that the anime just jumped off a cliff after ep 16, but sadly it meant that the good elements in the anime after the halfway point wasn't in the manga as well, and certain times the things we got instead were inferior.
Still would recommend the manga over the anime, even if we only consider the first 16 ep canon, although...
Tasteless and unnecessary nudity. I am not fond of any nudity in storytelling, but I learned to accept it, when it is important for the story. The Darling in the Franxx manga is not that. There are chapters were the first two pages just show a character showering. And I was just thinking why do I have to see an !underage girl! showering, what purpose can it serve in terms of the story? The answer is: nothing. The manga just wanted to be (h)ecchi and show naked girl any chance it got.
Does it take down from it's objective score? Maybe.
But it surely lowered my subjective take on it immensely.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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