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Dec 12, 2022
At heart, Doomsday with my Dog is a comedy show. Initially I was drawn in by its name and the prospect of venturing through the remains of a destroyed world much like in Girls' Last Tour, but the show places much more emphasis on the day-to-day ramblings of the main cast, which ends up creating a much more light-hearted atmosphere than one might expect.
We follow an unnamed girl - the last human alive - and her talking dog - Haru - as they wander aimlessly about in the apocalypse. The dynamic between Haru and the girl resembles the classic Japanese comedy roles of boke and
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tsukkomi respectively, with Haru often making puns, begging for food, or simply being a lovable goofball. The girl is more level-headed and provides the metaphorical hammer that hits Haru over the head when he goes too far. A cast of side characters pop up here and there - more dogs, for example - but there are never any humans for obvious reasons. They add some flavour to the comedy and the philosophical discussions they have are genuinely thought-provoking and insightful, as well as being funny.
A lot of the jokes are aimed at a Japanese audience and as such there are references to Japanese folk tales and traditional beliefs that a an unfamiliar viewer might struggle to understand, but the show uses its visuals and the pair's commentary to provide enough context for it to make sense. Each episode is extremely short and consists of multiple skits, so a joke never overstays its welcome, though because of this, it's sometimes too fast for a skit to be fully developed.
Its animation is its most unique aspect - it basically looks like a manga. A still, clearly hand-drawn frame stays on screen for several seconds, with perhaps only the mouth moving, and massive speech bubbles with huge text inside them. It makes the show feel very static and doesn't lend itself to immersion, as the text takes up a good 25-75% of the screen most of the time. It's hard to tell where the main cast actually is, but usually that doesn't matter, since the focus is on the dialogue, not the setting.
Speaking of the setting, there is absolutely no worldbuilding to speak of nor is there any mystery as to what the world-ending event was. This is in stark contrast to shows such as the aforementioned Girls' Last Tour and Dr Stone but I think this is irrelevant. The setting is seldom important to the jokes or plot and could honestly be set on the moon or in a high-school and still make just as much sense.
Overall if you want a simple short-form comedy show with a hint of adventure, then this is perfect, but if you're looking for a more gritty tale about life after the end-of-the-world, then this is not the show you are looking for.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 1, 2020
Zankyou no Terror is hard to concisely describe. It takes a lot of aspects from Death Note - it's a crime drama where the "protagonists" are wanted criminals, and we watch as they try to evade law enforcement. However ZnT is not "the new Death Note" for reasons I shall explain below. Keep in mind there will be minor plot and character spoilers, so watch the show first if you care about that - nothing major will be spoiled.
Let's start with the positives. The art is great; it's an aesthetic mix of Death Note and Steins;gate, with some really creative shots and amazing use of
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colours. Most scenes have a strong juxtaposition between light and shadow, which might embody the fact that the main characters are neither the good guys nor the bad guys. The character design isn't anything unique however they're all memorable, like in Steins;gate. You never struggle to recognise a character, nor do you confuse any two with each other.
The soundtrack is unrepetitive and atmospheric, embodying a dark and melancholy feel throughout the show, amping up and calming down where tonally appropriate. No piece stands out as particularly amazing, but equally every piece fits nicely in its scene.
For the first 6 or so episode, Zankyou no Terror is an exciting and gripping cat and mouse chase between two savant-level teenagers and the Japanese law enforcement, with the teenagers - who call themselves Sphinx - upload public videos containing riddles that the police must crack in order to prevent preplanted bombs from going off. This simple yet potentially interesting premise keeps you hooked and wanting more. Many questions arise, for example "what are Sphinx's motives?" It keeps the viewer both entertained and yearning for more.
However the show takes a massive nosedive at the halfway mark. For reasons I cannot divulge, the show devolves into a mess of confusing motivations, annoying character choices, and unintelligent plans. There are many egregious examples that would be spoiler territory and thus can't be mentioned, but suffice to say that most of the time I was left either annoyed or confused. The show commits two deadly sins: it has blatant deus ex machina moments and there are unnecessary plot contrivances, one of these being Lisa, who will be looked at in the next segment.
The characters are somewhat ok for the first half. 12 is a reasonably upbeat guy who has a sadistic undertone to him. 9 is the traditional cool, calm, and collected intelligent socially reclusive teenager. These two compensate for each other's flaws and their dynamic is interesting all the way through. Shibazaki is the main detective - this show's version of L, so to speak. He is the most flushed out and believable character, despite some deus ex machina moments when he solves the riddles out of nowhere. His decisions and strugglers are realistic, motivated, and most of all relatable. Lisa is a reluctant accomplice to 12 and 9 who simply serves as a hinderance. She does nothing good for the two - all she ever does is accidentally mess up their plans with near disasterous consequences. About halfway through, a Near-like character is introduces, who is even worse than Lisa. Her motivations are revealed to be absolutely ridiculous, she flaunts international law at every possible opportunity, and has the most grating personality in the whole show.
Despite how bad some characters are, the story is even worse. It starts really well but crashes and burns more spectacularly than Darling in the FranXX. It isn't an exaggeration to say that it has one of the most anticlimactic endings I have ever seen. Without spoiling anything, I don't mind how the character arcs end - they're summarised and concluded quite satisfyingly. What I hate is the motivation. To make a story believable and entertaining, one must make the events of the story a logical consequence of how the characters act, however ZnT throws this out the window and has them making stupid decisions at every possible moment.
Overall it's average. The start and the art are extremely strong, but the second half and the lacklustre story really bring it down in my view. Some people might not be so bothered by my criticisms, but it really clouded my view of the show. In conclusion, the writing is awful but if you liked Death Note (especially the last third) and don't mind awful writing, it might be worth it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jul 1, 2020
VERY MILD PLOT SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Death Note is nearly a masterpiece; it certainly deserves to be one of the most popular anime of all time. The mystery and drama are played off incredibly, and the two MCs bounce off each other perfectly.
Light Yagami is a student who, one idle school day, sees a book fall from the sky. He learns that writing somebody's name in said book will cause them to die soon after, with more caveats and freedoms explained later in the show. The book's associated Shinigami, Ryuk, is entirely ambivalent towards Light, and couldn't care less whether he kills anyone or
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not. Of course, being a bored and borderline psychopathic student, Light starts murdering prisoners. The police catch onto the suspicious deaths and send their best detective, L, to figure out what's happening. Every time L gets closer to the truth, Light is one step ahead, having prepared for it nigh perfectly. The intelligence of both characters is probably my favourite part of the show. Their personalities play off each other brilliantly, and their plans both make sense and are amazingly well thought out. It was a blast watching each of them make a leap forward, only for the other to make two immediately afterwards. It stays interesting with very few low points. Light and L interact on many occasions, with L even asking Light directly whether he is the murderer. Of course, Light pretends to be innocent by feigning ignorance, but L still suspects him. This part is outstanding, since neither character has the abject advantage, and both are struggling against the other. The other side characters aren't worth mentioning due to spoilers, but suffice to say they're uninteresting yet play a vital part in the plot development.
The book, or Death Note, is more complicated than simply a book as expected, but thankfully there are no plotholes - it stays self-consistent and entertaining. There are more Death Notes in existence, and this comes into play partway into the show in a brilliant way. Light comes up with several plans regarding them, including recruiting other people to help him survive.
Whether Light is a protagonist or an antagonist is debatable. He wants to fix the world by killing criminals, but by doing so he is a mass murderer. This moral quandry is extremely captivating since you never know if Light is going to win or not; it is kept ambiguous until the very last episode, where it ends satisfyingly. I cannot say whether he wins or loses, since that's part of the fun, but the ending is done well.
The worst part of the show is when a new detective, Near, is brought on the scene to deal with Light. It starts to get boring - Near is smart almost beyond comprehension. It always seems like he knows exactly what's going to happen, but not in an interesting way like L did. The battle of intelligence devolves into a constant exchange of "no u". Near is uninteresting, to say the least. He's basically a stripped-down version of L, and I have no idea why he was introduced as a character other than to serve as Light's enemy. Still, Light remains smart and manages to evade Near in some ingenious ways.
To wrap up, Death Note is an outstanding anime with one relatively minor flaw. If you're at all into anime, this is a must-watch. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. It's a little heavy on the brain, but of course that's part of its appeal. A solid 9/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 1, 2020
10th September 2020 Edit: I had no idea just how much DitF copies from a show that I cant mention because of major spoilers, but because of this I have had to lower my overall score from a 7 to a 6. Everything I have mentioned below still accurately represents my thoughts however I now see the later events of the show in a much less positive light.
Darling in the FranXX is a rollercoaster of quality. Starting with the characters, some of them seemed very one-dimensional - they embody tropes with no subtlety or dynamic to make them interesting. The main cast is of a
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large enough size that no one character is made to have an excessive amount of screen time, bar the two MCs - Hiro and Zero-Two. The side characters all have their own arcs, but none of them are particularly interesting, with the one exception being Mitsuru, and that's solely because it's fleshed out more than the others. Hiro is your typical anime protagonist: he wants to figure out the mystery behind why he exists and how to overcome the oppressive society in which he finds himself. He isn't quite as plucky as, say, Eren Jäger, so he's certainly tolerable. His motivations make sense despite being rather basic and predictable. Zero-Two, the other MC and Hiro's explicit love interest, is an interesting case. She has a well-done backstory and I found her to be quite likeable, if a little typical "waifu-bait". Being clearly different from the other characters, she struggles to fit in initially, disguising her confidence issues with overbearing affection towards Hiro, who struggles to reciprocate initially. She has some decent character development for the first two-thirds of the show, learning social norms and winning over the side characters and thus fitting in better. Her design is quite unique, and her radical hair colour stands out, so she is always recognisable in a scene, making her more memorable than the others. Personality-wise, she's a bit stale - she wants to be with Hiro and that's about it. Overall I find the characters to be nothing special, but also nothing atrocious. There's nobody I outright hate nor is there anyone I adore. Zero-Two is probably my favourite due to her being so unique and - to put it bluntly - inhuman.
The sound design is fine. I like the OPs and endings, but in the actual show itself it's nothing special. I wasn't taken aback nor appalled by any of the effects or music.
As for the plot, this is where it gets into slight spoiler territory, so beware. I shall avoid giving anything major away, however some small worldbuilding titbits might slip through. The main cast are children who pilot robots called "FranXX". To pilot, there must be two pilots - normally one male and one female - in a rather... suggestive position. They use these robots to defeat the Klaxosaurs, an enemy race that cohabits the Earth. There is more to it than that of course, but that's part of the mystery, so I won't spoil it. The setup is done well, and the tension and mystery of what the Klaxosaurs are going to do and what they actually are was perfect. However that's where the positives end. At a certain point in the show, it takes an absolute and unforgivable nosedive. Plotlines are abandoned, characters switch motivations at the whim of the screenwriters, and all the work done setting up the world comes crashing down in the least satisfying way possible. It ends conclusively but not satisfactorily. I was left wanting something very different to happen, and this seems to be a common criticism. Avoiding spoilers, it's extremely unpredictable (in a bad way) and destroys the foundations already set.
Overall Darling in the FranXX has some great bits and starts off extremely strong, but crashes and burns near the end. If at some point in the future it ever gets reimagined and the final 10 episodes get rewritten, this honestly could be a 9/10, but with its flaws it struggles even to get a 7. I rate it a 7 because of the awesome setup, but if the start was just a little worse it would be a 6. I do recommend DitF, however it is certainly not a masterpiece.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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