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Aug 15, 2022
(Personal review from Facebook) My first anime finished after more than a month of preparing for Anirevo and Otakuthon over watching anime.
Anime can be a frustrating because they usually don't have a conclusion. They're glorified ads to read the source. That's part of the industry. It's so difficult to break out get a smash hit that once someone does, I don't blame them for milking the cow as long as possible. Romcoms in particular have this issue more than most.
Personally, I feel that romcoms too often fall short on both the comedy and the drama, since they are both diametric opposites of each other. I
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love dumb fun comedies like Asobi Asobase. A romantic drama, ef - a tale of memories, is my favorite anime of all time. There are also many other romantic dramas that I felt positive about. But romcoms? When someone asks me what the best romcom of all time is, am I supposed to say the first half of Clannad? Toradora was great but it couldn't meld everything into one union. I don't think Kaguya-sama did this well, either.
I felt S3 was a weaker season than S2, as it dropped much of the comedy in favor of a progressing arc. But the arc was centered around the saddest, most common trope in anime: the school culture festival. This arc tried to be as inoffensive as possible and lacked any real drama to stir strong feelings or investment from me. It didn't help that the narrator was still as obnoxious as ever.
Kaguya-sama S3 is currently the #2 ranked anime of all-time on MAL with a score of 9.13. While I have some shows that I agree with the public praise, far too often my tastes don't align with the mainstream. I can't dislike any of the characters in this show. But I didn't love any of them. And maybe that's why this show is so popular, because it doesn't provoke anyone. Kaguya-sama S3 is competent, but it's still a romcom with typical romcom issues, and won't be on my best-of-the-year short list. The ending suggests there won't be a S4 even though the source keeps going. It's still better than most other romcoms that don't go anywhere. 6/10 (This is usually a recommended score, but my expectations were so high that I feel mixed.)
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jan 16, 2022
NOTE: SPOILERS FOR THE TV SHOW AND CERTAIN SECTIONS OF THE MOVIE
This movie sequel takes place after the TV show. There was a recap movie called Rondo Rondo Rondo but I didn't see that. I'll be completely upfront here and admit that I didn't like the TV show very much, giving it a 3/10. However, having recently enjoyed Kageki Shoujo, which took a more grounded approach to the world of theater, I was willing to give the Revue Starlight franchise another chance. I was hoping that the movie would address my grievances with the TV show, and convert me into a fan.
The reason I disliked
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the TV show was because of two main factors. First, it had presented a fascinating plotline halfway into it. One of the girls, Nana, had repeatedly won her duels, then kept turning back time to re-experience the moment. This set up Nana to be the primary antagonist, and for the show to take a dark, complex turn. But then the main girl, Karen, inexplicably defeated her in one episode and continued the poor main storyline.
The second factor, and more importantly, was the entire premise of the show itself, where girls faced off in rapier swordfights, all set up by a mysterious giraffe. They kept talking about "glimmers" and wanting to be the "star" of the play. And the show didn't make me care at all. The fights held no weight to them, because it was playfighting and not some life-or-death matter. You could argue that I'm being too dismissive of the show's fantasy elements, that there are elements the viewer should just accept. In magical girl shows, we don't need a full explanation of why magical girls are able to transform; we just accept it. However, even in magical girl shows, there's some semblance of universe believability, such as a key moment where the girl acquires her powers, or a cathartic scene that causes her to unlock additional powers from within. But in Revue Starlight, the stages were all mysteriously created for the girls in a world that supposedly resembled modern-day Japan. And the whole Starlight system was never fully explained. But at the very least, there was the story for Karen to be the main star, however contrived it was.
The movie, on the other hand, took the pretentious and abstract elements of the TV show, and turned it up to eleven. Kinema Citrus correctly knew that virtually every viewer who sees this movie were already fans of the TV show and accepted its shortcomings. Instead of improving on the TV shows weaknesses, it dismissed them. It went for the grandest, most pretentious spectacle without a care in the world for the haters. It reveled in its absurdity and lack of stakes by proudly showing explicit, graphic footage of exploding tomatoes, then passing it off as fake blood from fake rapier stab wounds.
There is virtually no explanation of present-day events in the movie. There are numerous flashbacks, but the movie fails to connect them to the present storyline, other than that Karen and Hikari were best friends when they were kids. But you already knew that in the TV show. I felt nothing as the stages became more elaborate, with the use of vivid imagery that appeared because the writers thought it would look cool, such as trucks, trains, and neon lights. Abstract literary devices and symbolism only works when the viewer is able to make a connection, but the movie made no attempt to explain this. Rather, it wants fans to come up with their own theorycrafting to explain everything. As fans attempt to channel their inner life experiences and thoughts, they may see some of themselves in the girls. And perhaps that's why Revue Starlight has such fervent fans, because to criticize the franchise would be to criticize their inner selves.
As for the production value, it is incredible. This movie is certainly an audiovisual treat, and Kinema Citrus is at the top of their game. But what good is it if the story is such incomprehensible garbage? I couldn't tell you what really happened in the movie. I couldn't tell you why the giraffe transformed into fruit salad, or why the final revue ended in an unnamed desert. Even as the numerous revues ended, I couldn't understand what had happened between the dueling pairs. Revue as an artform had its golden years in the 1920s, but lost popularity as the audience found it too patronizing compared to regular theater. In a way, the Revue Starlight movie is a summary reflection of that. It is so grand and spectacular. But yet, it is so pretentious, arrogant, and abstract, leading to emptiness for those who don't understand it. The movie laughs at them and throws tomato blood at their faces, while the fans will latch on to it as some form of higher entertainment.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Nov 23, 2021
I was fortunate enough to watch a screening of this at the Anime NYC convention in November, months before the public release. It was part of a double billing along with Belle, the latest film by Mamoru Hosoda, whom you might know from Wolf Children. While Belle packed the auditorium and received far more hype in the form of its own booth and advertisements all throughout the convention, Pompo felt like the actual masterpiece.
From the very beginning of the movie, the cinematography stunned me. Compared to most other anime, the world of Nyallywood seemed very much alive, colorful, and dynamic. Every scene transition was
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fancy, sort of like how Akudama Drive was initially presented. But while the snazzy effects tapered off after episode 1, for Pompo, it remained for the entire movie. Perspectives and establishing shots were wide and varied, and any flapping mouth scenes were kept to a minimum amount of time. The character designs may be simple, but that allowed the characters to act more fluidly.
Pompo's creed when it comes to movie production could be considered controversial. It constantly drove home the point that a story shouldn't tell everything that happened. It should tell everything IMPORTANT that happened. The movie itself listens to its own advice, as its runtime is 1.5 hours. Some may disagree with Pompo's aggressive "scorched earth" method of film editing, that there is inherent value in savoring every bit of the story. There are many fans of long-running epics such as One Piece. Even live-action movies are trending towards ultra-long runtimes, such as Avengers Endgame at 3 hours. Fans who prefer grand world-building shows with a cornucopia of characters and side stories will hesitate to accept Pompo's film editing method as a proper and correct way to tell a story. However, as a fan who prefers all stories to wrap up in 2 cours (26 episodes) or less, Pompo's message resonated with me. Many directors who love to pad their stories could learn a thing or two from this. Despite Pompo's tight runtime, not once did it ever felt rushed, and every scene felt like it lasted for just the right amount of time. It certainly had more substantial content than Belle, which ran 32 minutes longer, and had sluggish scenes that I wished would end already. Could Pompo have been longer? Certainly. But even at 1.5 hours, it gives every character their moment in the limelight, and makes you care.
At the two-thirds point in the movie, the film editing for the movie being created is complete. Had the movie concluded like that, it would've still been a great watch. But there's a powerful final act, and this final act was what put Pompo over the top as an all-time great. It recognized the sweat, devotion, and sacrifices needed to be the very best, whether it's for a hobby or a profession. As a content creator, I understood this all too well. Sometimes "good enough" isn't what you really desire. You want to leave it all on the floor and have no regrets. Pompo had spent significant time developing the lead character's backstory, in which he had absorbed film knowledge and wrote his own ideas in his notebook since childhood. Even then, he wasn't a miracle worker; he had to put in a backbreaking amount of time and effort to create the final product, affecting his overall health. The supporting characters were also developed enough that you could believe they all got to where they are through hard work and effort. Even the stereotypical attractive actress introduced at the beginning of the movie, whom I thought was a throwaway character, showed another side of herself.
The final act of Pompo did what other "work creation" shows could not: convince me that the work being created was actually fantastic. With the critically acclaimed Shirobako, there was no illusion that the three anime the studio produced would be classics. The one-shot anime in Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken, another well-regarded show, was an admirable attempt by amateurs, but ultimately wasn't all that special. Remake Our Life skipped showing whatever the main characters created, probably because the author couldn't write anything of that level. But the movie made in Pompo, called Meister, looked like a legitimate award-winning work, and I'd watch a full version of it.
Pompo is an absolute gem. With its rapid direction and loveable cast, this was the movie at Anime NYC that should've received all the attention. There's enough in its playful, colorful appearance to appeal to a wide audience. But it's the thought-provoking ideas, such as its "scorched earth" method of film editing, and unconventional cinematography, that will leave a long-lasting impression on viewers.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Sep 14, 2021
This is a direct continuation of season 2 and concludes the story. Though it takes place 10 years in the future, the time skip only serves to display some new minor characters. The main characters don't appear to have aged or have gained much wisdom. Everything looks slightly better with the movie budget, and improvements in 3D animation technology from 2014 to 2021. The choppy framerate, which was the largest criticism of the TV show, still appears at times, though this seems like a stylistic choice as there were some scenes that were animated smoothly.
Sidonia S1 was a bombastic marvel, and led to many people
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declaring it as Attack on Titan in space. It had the perfect balance of character-driven story arcs and action, and it seemed like a fresh take on the space opera, giving backroom politics a lesser role in favor of the frontline drama. Our hero, Nagate Tanikaze, had to make difficult decisions again and again. But S2 was a strange departure. The immediacy and horror of the Gauna threat took a backseat to rom-com antics with the introduction of Tsumugi. I felt S2 was a much weaker season than S1 and it left many questions unanswered. This movie needed a great payoff and return to the grim seriousness that made S1 so great.
The movie returned to its serious form after a short introduction that breaks the ice a little. But it's a jarring switch, as the rom-com elements were eliminated entirely, and there was no closure to the harem that Nagate accumulated in S2. Instead, Nagate swiftly and suddenly made his choice without too much on-screen brooding. This allowed more time for the space battles, which looked and sounded better than ever due to the movie budget.
My biggest criticism of the movie was that it tried to do too much and juggle too many characters at once. The screentime of the new minor characters took away from what could've been more screentime and development of the characters we were already familiar with in S1 and S2. Nagate himself felt like a minor character, as he wasn't the main focus for much of the movie. Giving a large cast enough time for each of them to shine is an issue that many anime adaptions must deal with. Notably, the two shows in which Sidonia evokes memories for me, Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Attack on Titan, had much more time to develop things. Sidonia had only 24 episodes and this movie. Though the movie clocked in at almost two hours, it really could've used some more time to explore the mystery of the Gauna.
The antagonist had great potential, but he wasn't given proper development. Instead, he ended up acting comical, delivering hammy dialogue instead of being nuanced and making an attempt to convince viewers that his grand plan had any merit. This is a shame, as S1 had the compelling drama and fallout from the fate of Shizuka Hoshijiro. S2 and this movie's writing were significantly weaker. The climax sets up the final battle as the Gauna's last major stand, but with a hammy villain behind it all, I didn't get the same thrills as the climax of S1.
The ending is satisfactory, and it is certainly the slickest space opera production in years. But while everything wrapped up nicely, I can't help but feel that we were cheated out of something completely epic. Nagate needed to be more than just a nice guy with amazing Garde combat skills, and the Gauna needed to be more than just an evil alien force. It's clear that underneath all of the technobabble, the Sidonia movie didn't intend to present a deep, substantial story that will resonate with viewers long after everything's over. But hey, if you want shiny space battles with some of the best sound production you'll ever hear in anime, this movie delivers that in spades.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Aug 30, 2021
This is the second part of the post-TV movie trilogy, taking place after the events of the 3 TV seasons (Animation/Natural/Origination) and the first post-TV "movie", Avvenire. But while Avvenire was divided into 3 20-minute episodes, Crepuscolo and the upcoming final part of the trilogy (Benedizione) are a 1-hour movie.
It's more Aria, which we would've never imagined happening after Aria the Origination in 2008. Origination wrapped up the journey of the main cast and their senior undines very nicely, and to this day, it is still considered one of the finest iyashikei (healing slice-of-life) shows ever produced. 3 years after Origination, the voice actress for
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Athena Glory, Tomoko Kawakami, passed away. Avvenire was released in 2015 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Aria S1's original airing. As a sign of ultimate respect, they didn't recast Athena. Instead she only appeared as a cameo, and a stock audio recording of one of her past singing performances was used.
Fast forward six years later, and the second part, Crepuscolo, is finally out. What you'll immediately notice is this one isn't animated by the original studio that did Aria TV and Aria the Avvenire. Instead, it's animated by JC Staff. This decision was probably because they did Amanchu, which was by the same author as Aria, and also directed by Junichi Satou. The background art, which has always been one of Aria's strengths, was stunning as usual. But JC Staff revamped the character designs, and despite everyone looking more detailed, this is one of the few times where the detail update makes the aesthetic worse. It's jarring and off-putting, as everyone now looks too sharp and "Amanchu'd", as the style suggests they jumped out of that show. The original designs were softer and simpler, with more rounded outlines, which invited a sense of relaxation and comfort.
The main issue I had with Avvenire was that the three new singles weren't given enough time to make the movie theirs and launch a new generation of undines. Crepuscolo doesn't do this either, as the movie is squarely focused on Athena and Alice. It is clear now that the new singles will play second fiddle to the Aria TV cast for the whole movie trilogy, which is a shame. But what's worse is that they did the unthinkable: they recast Athena, and then made her one of the main characters.
Yes, it's more Aria, and fans will take anything they can get. But I felt that they disrespected Tomoko Kawakami's legacy by recasting Athena. Her story, along with the other senior "Water Fairy" undines Alicia and Akira, had concluded nicely. They didn't need to be in this movie. Two of them have moved on from being an undine. The movie trilogy should've focused on the new singles and their mentors. But the author was content on just having this be a supplement to Aria the Origination episode 9. Certain scenes from that episode are re-animated here, so at times this felt like a rehash rather than something new like Avvenire. As a result, this one didn't have the tranquil magic of Aria that I so fondly remembered.
The synopsis for Benedizione makes it appear to have a more substantial story, so hopefully Crepuscolo was just a rare miss and that JC Staff is able to conclude the movie trilogy in a satisfying manner.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jun 10, 2021
This one was missed by many in 2020. That's because the first 3 eps aired in the Spring season, then it went on hiatus for 3 months due to Corona-chan. The remaining 9 eps were aired weekly form the end of last July, but by then the damage had already been done. No one cared about the show anymore, and without any positive momentum, the MAL score was below 7.00 for much of its run.
And that's a shame, because this is a diamond in the rough and is one of the best SoL shows I've seen. Breakwater integrated the educational bits very well into its
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skits. It didn't need any narrator like Laid-Back Camp, as the club members taught Hina how to cook. And it didn't need any texting. The skits were quite creative.
But what puts this show above other SoL shows is that Hina doesn't automatically succeed. She hesitates and fails. A lot. But the show carefully crafted this in a way that doesn't break the iyashikei experience. The other 3 club members all mentor Hina in their own unique ways. Though some of the methods were a little spicy, it always ended up with good results. By the end of the show, Hina has experienced significant character growth, and enjoys being in a club that she was averse to in the beginning.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 20, 2021
Also known as the 13th episode of season 1, there is absolutely no reason to watch this. It's a troll episode.
This was made 4 years before the NNB movie. At the time, they didn't know whether S2 (NNB Repeat) would be made, let alone the movie or S3 (NNB Nonstop). Early on in this episode, the cast wins a trip to Okinawa. They then spend the rest of the episode preparing for the trip, and it ends when they're on the plane, before they land.
The movie re-animates much of this episode with a higher budget, and by the 14th minute of the movie, the cast
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has landed in Okinawa. Now that the movie exists, just watch it after S1 or S2, but before S3. This now only serves as a relic for the morbidly curious, who want to compare scenes from this episode against the movie.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Apr 10, 2021
Being a fan of the original 4 seasons of Selector/Lostorage WIXOSS, I was willing to give this show, the next WIXOSS, a fair chance, despite the poor initial reception. Both seasons of Lostorage WIXOSS sold poorly compared to Selector WIXOSS, so the executives probably thought that another dark WIXOSS season wouldn't be financially viable. But idol culture has exploded in popularity, so why not cash in on the craze?
This WIXOSS has nothing to do with Selector WIXOSS. Battles are done via an online version of the game, WIXOSS Live. This game is slightly different because now there are support LRIGs implemented into the ruleset, allowing
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teams of 3: the center and 2 supports.
By focusing more on the actual card battles instead of the story, the viewer needs to be presented with some sort of strategy. Yu-Gi-Oh's drawn-out method of explaining every card is a bit extreme, but at least it means that even a non-player knows what's going on. There are also plenty of themed deck battles with cohesive strategy in Yu-Gi-Oh. We didn't see that here other than the team that had a punk rock theme and used sound-based attacks. Selector/Lostorage WIXOSS avoided discussion of specific cards, which made the game mysterious, and it relied on the coolness factor of 2 LRIGs powering up and fighting each other. In WIXOSS Diva(A)live, it was all about the correct topdeck, then winning without any explanation.
So with the card battling itself not being a highlight, how about the story? The main characters of our WIXOSS Diva team, No Limit, aren't special. One of the girls in particular is one of the nastiest unlikable protagonists because she has repeatedly abandoned her old teams. The story is just a typical "trying to be better at the game" plot, but without No Limit exhibiting real effort to move up. One episode was a call-out to Selector/Lostorage WIXOSS fans, as they dangled what could've been a dark and edgy plot development, but it's resolved in 5 minutes. It's either the best episode in the show, or the worst one, because of the tease.
As for the idol aspect, this show was made on a very low budget. It certainly doesn't have the refinement and care of something like Love Live or BanG Dream, as those are much larger and more lucrative. The animation quality is significantly worse than Selector/Lostorage WIXOSS, and character models are very basic.
WIXOSS Diva(A)Live tried to be a card game show, and an idol show, and failed spectacularly at both. It has none of the psychological elements of Selector/Lostorage WIXOSS. And there's absolutely no reason for Selector/Lostorage WIXOSS fans to watch this. It is one of the weakest shows in the Winter 2021 season, a season that many have declared as the greatest season of anime of all-time. You have plenty of better things to watch than this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Mar 21, 2021
Dramatic tragedies are a genre that I love in anime. Shows like WorldEnd, Planetarian, and Your Lie in April tear me up. So what would it take for me to give a tragedy a low score? Is it even possible? Or is the genre immune, similar to slice-of-life? Flying Witch two years ago proved that I could hate a mundane slice-of-life show.
Lights of the Clione is very simple. It's about a perpetually sick girl who gets bullied all the time because she is constantly absent from school. Two classmates befriend her before her time is up, while everyone else is guilt-ridden. The animation looks like
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something out of the early 2000s. With plenty of introspective monologue, the friendship between the sick girl and the two classmates is heartwarming. Then tragedy strikes.
It's difficult for me to score this show so low. This show did finish its story, after all, and I don't want the score to suggest that I condone bullying in any form. But because anime is such a great medium for drama, there are countless other shows that do a dramatic tragedy better.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Mar 14, 2021
The first two seasons, when I watched them, were charming. But S2 was five years ago. The first season introduced the girls and focused on their quirks. The second season introduced Chino's friends to the mix. This season, S3, brings them all together. This season looked much better visually than the first two seasons. Technology has advanced to the point where there's shadowing and lighting glare on everything. But as I kept watching, it dawned on me... I was finding all of this boring.
Have my tastes changed? Or has the slice-of-life genre evolved to the point where simple CGDCT (cute girls doing cute things) just
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isn't enough anymore? I feel that slice-of-life shows today must contain some sort of progress, or must have a unique gimmick to be interesting. Laid-Back Camp has the camping gimmick, and How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift has the exercise gimmick. Endro has the fantasy gimmick. The Demon Girl Next Door involves befriending the supposed antagonist. Sakura Quest had the backdrop of a conservative town. These are all slice-of-life shows that went beyond everyday school life.
Is the Order a Rabbit has been such a staple of the CGDCT sub-genre that it didn't transform itself, instead preferring to do more of the same. But S3 didn't focus on the cafe setting, instead shifting many of the skits to everyday school and off-work settings. S3 went through all the motions in a lazy manner, such as doing the Summer culture festival, then the Halloween festival, then the Christmas festival. Too many skits involved the entire cast of 7, instead of doing more focused skits with 2 or 3 girls. The season attempted to show character growth by not relying on each girl's quirks as much. But that just made the skits bland, because you could exchange the girls and the skit would turn out the same way.
If you just want more fluffy, sugary friendship skits, then this show does the job. But S3 to me was disappointing, because the show didn't grow up and evolve like the rest of the slice-of-life genre.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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