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What a chameleon. On the one hand, the first 7 episodes are fantastic. It's a crime thriller and you want nothing more than to see the villain get taken down. The cinematography shone frequently, using multiple angles and specific aspect ratios to establish the shots. It was a treat to see a villain with enough wit to always seem one step ahead of the MC, and the stakes grew, with the MC using more resources as the story progressed.

On the other hand, the last 5 episodes abandoned that premise, and the show goes into the most philosophical drivel about what is good, and what is ... evil, and whether or not legalizing suicide is logical. Wait, what? First, suicide isn't illegal, because once you do it, you're dead. Second, the exploration of the meaning of good and evil has been done to death and can be summarized with Saturday morning cartoons. A whole episode is spent on this pretentious pseudo-intellectual debate.

The ending was a non-ending and one of the least fulfilling that I've seen. But the first 7 episodes were so good. I'd be conflicted on Babylon's final score, but because episode 7 wasn't a conclusion, Babylon goes down as a complete disappointment.

I was curious as to how a noitaminA show could have such a low score on MAL. noitaminA shows are generally unique and aimed at the mature viewer, and some of them are masterpieces like Your Lie in April.

Battery isn't a sports anime like Haikyu or Kuroko's Basketball. It's a drama with baseball in it. Well, it would be, except that not a single baseball game is completed in 11 eps.

The MC, Takumi, doesn't respect his catcher, his teammates, or even his mom. All he can do is throw a baseball very fast by 12 year-old standards (87mph). But you won't be impressed because the ... show doesn't make you marvel at this skill. Due to a certain event, the school's principal withdraws the team from inter-school competition, so the second half of the show sets up for a single unofficial game.

** STORY REVIEW - SPOILERS (WHY IT'S A 1/10) **

Battery's ending is one of the worst betrayals to the viewer for slogging through 11 eps. In the final five episodes, we're led to believe that there will be an epic showdown between Takumi and the best baseball player from a neighboring school. They spend plenty of time hyping it up. And then, just like the Krusty Krab training video in Spongebob Squarepants where it abruptly ends as the secret formula is about to be revealed, Battery ends in the middle of Takumi's first pitch to him. Yes, it actually did that.

** END SPOILERS **

So in the end, none of the characters grow, we don't see a single complete baseball game, and we don't know what happened in the at-bat between Takumi and his rival. This show had promise in the first half, but it ended up giving the middle finger to the viewer. What was the point of this show?

This is a chilling, yet spectacular masterpiece, and its low MAL score, combined with its snubbing at all of the 2018 anime award ceremonies, truly makes this a diamond in the rough.

At what cost would you take to protect your dream of peacefully living with someone? What if that dream were impossible? There have been shows with a yandere as a deuteragonist, most notably Future Diary, but this is the first one I've seen with the yandere as the protagonist. And with it comes a psychological angle that few anime can match.

The mainstream audience just doesn't get it. This isn't an easy watch. It plays ... with the idea that immoral actions aren't done for the sake of being immoral. The characters truly believe that what they are doing is just, and feel that the social system they've tried to adhere to has failed them. It goes into the calculated logic and thinking behind every move. You're not supposed to like Satou. This show doesn't try to influence you one way or another; it just presents everything at face value. Even if you hate Satou the character, and are adamant that no one is above the law, the show makes you respect her thought process and internalization, as well as the psychological conditions of most of the supporting characters. And that's what matters.

The sugary moments, juxtaposed with reality, are a work of art. As it's a cat-and-mouse thriller with one continuous story, I won't go into much of the details, but each episode left me wanting more and more. The cinematography during the flashbacks and internal monologues was fantastic. As everything is presented, it's up to the viewer to decide whether to root for certain characters, given their past and present actions.

I'd say it'd get more hype if it weren't on Amazon only. A North American physical disc release isn't on the horizon, either, probably due to the subject matter. The mainstream would never accept this as a critically acclaimed show, but not only was this my pick for 2018 anime of the year, it's one of the best shows I've ever seen.

** STORY REVIEW - MINOR SPOILERS **

I enjoyed S1, but I felt the show kept sabotaging its comedy with its narrator. It's as though the show pandered to the least intelligent denominator by requiring everything to be explained. S2 still has the annoying narrator, but he doesn't talk as much, and he is kept out of the more serious moments, such as the two arcs. I wondered why the show had such a high MAL score. And then came episode 11, where Ishigami grows out of being a simp. I didn't expect that.

** END SPOILERS **

Kaguya-sama S2 falls short on the top tier of my ... comedy preference, which is "intelligent" slapstick like Aho Girl and Asobi Asobase. And the serious arcs don't compare to the best dramas. But what Kaguya-sama S2 did was blend both elements together into a show that satisfies almost everyone. It means that the show remains entertaining for all, though it lacked some of the thought-provoking moments of more ambitious shows.

Though I had a negative bias going into this show, no thanks to the narrator, I'm happy that this one ended up being a nice improvement over S1 with its skit creativity. The serious arcs were a nice cherry on top.

Watched the English dub.

** STORY REVIEW - MINOR SPOILERS **

The first half was a fun romp with an "American Idol" arc. The second half seemed quite unfocused. In typical Shinichiro Watanabe style, there were a number of one-shot episodes with one-shot characters, similar to how Cowboy Bebop was handled. Instead of developing the main characters, the show wasted plenty of time with a number of side plots.

The dark and ugly side of this show, the one thing that will turn off many people, is that the show became woke and political in the second half. Certain events in the show seem suspiciously familiar to ... what is going on in the USA. There's a presidential candidate who will pledge to deport illegal immigrants. There is police brutality.

The show handles this in a progressive, idealistic manner, in ways that only liberals could dream of. The presidential candidate apparently only has a single trusted advisor. The finale, telegraphed from the beginning, is a 7-minute "miracle" song. Are we supposed to believe that a single song sung by a bunch of 1% singers will change the world? Live Aid sure didn't.

** END SPOILERS **

There are good ways to handle progressiveness. Zombieland Saga handled it wonderfully. Carole & Tuesday, on the other hand, force-fed its progressiveness (depicting a nonbinary person just because they could) and pro-immigration stance in your face without showing both sides of the coin. The Crunchyroll awards reveled in this, nominating Carole (but not Tuesday, nope!) for best girl at their anime awards earlier this year. I loved Carole & Tuesday's songs. The production value is great. But I just wanted a fun music show without political overtones.

This one details a high school club trying to produce an anime. Shirobako (8/10) tackled this idea 6 years ago, but that was in a professional setting, and Shirobako had double the eps. It was one of my favorite shows for 2014, which I feel was the greatest year of all-time in anime.

I quite enjoy shows that delve into the production process. Both seasons of New Game (S1: 6/10, S2: 8/10) were enjoyable, though S1 took bit of time to get polished. But both New Game and Shirobako didn't actually explore what goes on in a visionary's mind. How are ideas created? And how is ... everything put together? And because of this, Masaaki Yuasa is the perfect director, as he is an auteur with seemingly boundless creativity. This has its ups and downs: Ping Pong (8/10) and Devilman Crybaby (8/10) excel from their unconventional presentation, but I felt Tatami Galaxy (6/10) pushed the limits on randomness, and Night is Short Walk on Girl (1/10) set loose the chains. Nevertheless, I feel Yuasa's offbeat style generally executes better than that of Kunihiko Ikuhara, whose shows appear just as random but end up formulaic.

**STORY REVIEW - MINOR SPOILERS**

The creative process reminded me of Stickin' Around, and while it was a cute gimmick at first, I couldn't imagine the show being any good if it stuck to just that. However, as the show progressed, it became clear that the non-creative production process was more interesting. Kanamori is the star of this show. Eizouken, more than New Game and Shirobako, touched on the realities of the business side of production. The show did hurt itself with some unrealistic scenes that suspended disbelief, such as a militant student council, but every negotiation scene involving Kanamori was gold.

However, she is 1/3rd of the team, and the reason why New Game and Shirobako never really covered the creative process is because it's almost impossible to have a creative aspect remain interesting after it's explained. Asakusa's creative vision is haphazard, and I felt increasingly apathetic at her grand explanations of the characters and settings in their anime. When their anime is presented in full at the final episode, it wasn't particularly any good. It was too abstract, which is a weakness of Yuasa in general.

**END SPOILERS**

This show also had the most grating OST I've heard in a while. There aren't a lot of tracks, and having the same "70s Beach" piece play during every creative breakout got old fast.

Western fans who despise moe got on board this show real quick, and I think it'll be an AOTY contender for the mainstream. However, I felt that focusing on the creative process hindered the show overall. Shirobako is definitely the better show, but Kanamori is a much-needed anchor to Asakusa's dreams.

All the jokes about shoujo manga production were absolutely hilarious. But if the show were only about that, it'd have run out of material real quick. So there's a huge supporting cast that keeps the comedy rolling.

Unfortunately, this strength is also the show's greatest weakness, because all the B-line jokes weren't as strong as the A-line shoujo manga jokes. I felt all the school drama club scenes were below average. I also felt that many of the supporting cast didn't get a chance to break out of their initial established personalities. Still, this is one of the stronger shows of 2014. Highly recommended if you ... like safe random comedy!

It's difficult to review slice-of-life shows through a critical lens. It's the one genre that is seemingly immune to poor reviews, simply because as long as the show is comforting, then it'll get a good score. I particularly like it when slice-of-life intersects with progress. Last year's Comic Girls did that, as well as Barakamon a few years back.

One of my first favorites when I became an anime junkie was Hikaru no Go, which also centered around a competitive board game. With 75 eps and a controversial ending, it has largely faded from memory today. But it was enjoyable, and Hikaru had significant growth throughout ... its run.

March Comes in Like a Lion explores much of Rei's past. But I felt empty when the show didn't use this past to really affect the person he is now. And at the end, I felt the same way he did. Nothing much got accomplished during S1, and I didn't feel Rei had grown as a person. Instead, he was still wallowing in self-pity. Without significant progress, S1 felt like a disappointment.

It didn't help that the humor in the episodes felt completely forced, as the artstyle turns into chibi silliness. This is supposed to relieve the view from the seriousness of Rei's depression, but I felt it was out of place and more annoying than how it was used in Your Lie in April.

Hikaru no Go inspired a generation to learn Go, including more than a handful of western fans at anime conventions. I don't think March Comes in Like a Lion will do the same with Shogi. I hope S2 impresses, I really do. But S1 was a slog to get through with its strange chibi takes and generally inconsequential cast.

Three years ago, I watched S1 on a whim. I loved it. It and Your Lie in April were the two 2014 shows I gave 9/10. In the end I narrowly chose YuYuYu S1 as my 2014 anime of the year, despite the controversial final episode. I was okay with S1's ending because YuYuYu wanted to forge a hopeful path rather than one of desolation.

The prequel, Washio Sumi, aired earlier in Japanese theatres. Though it never approached S1's greatness, it still mixed the slice-of-life and magical girl elements well. Though it was a straightforward show with a telegraphed ending, I gave it a solid 6/10. ... The first "half" of YuYuYu S2 is the Washio Sumi movie, but repackaged into episodes. The real S2 is this, the Hero arc.

The reason why Washio Sumi went to theatres and not YuYuYu S2, unlike what Madoka Magica did with Rebellion, is simple. YuYuYu S2 is inferior and is completely void of the magic that made S1 so good.

S1 explored each of the characters and still had time for plenty of magical girl action. There were episodes that focused on each club member, allowing the viewer to care for them. So what happened in S2? It decided to not be a magical girl show. In the first five episodes, there is only about 1 minute total of magical girl action. The "new" girl, Sonoko, added absolutely nothing to S2 and was only there just to sell more drama CDs based on the star power of Kana Hanazawa. Itsuki and Fuu became background characters. Karin had one moment alone with Yuuna but that was it.

By episode 5, there is a complete reversal which makes the previous episodes irrelevant, as the show throws away the main plot point. In the final episode, we're given a deus ex machina ending that makes you wonder why this hadn't already happened. How come none of the other girls up to this point had the courage to do this? What makes Yuuna so special? I felt absolutely no emotion as Yuuna delivered her final hero punch.

Some people said that you get more out of S2 by taking in the surrounding media in the franchise, such as the light novel, visual novel, and manga. However, I believe that an anime should be able to stand on its own. While YuYuYu S2 wasn't the worst 2017 anime I've seen, it is by far the most disappointing. I don't know of any other show that completely threw its second season like this. What a damn shame, because I had it pegged as an anime of the year contender. I can only imagine what this could've been had it been 12 episodes like S1.

ORIGINAL REVIEW (2014 Oct 27) - Minarai Diva gained some notoriety as the first-ever live anime. Two voice actors speak unscripted with the goal of producing a new song every episode. Their movements are captured and turned into 3D CG. Viewers could tweet and influence the production.

Unfortunately, this idea is as bad as it sounds. You won't get any pleasure out of this unless you were one of the people who tweeted during the live airing. The voice actors are easily distracted and talk about pointless topics. At times, the 3D CG program crashes and a "technical difficulties" screen is put up. Some 45 minutes ... later, the finished songs are sung karaoke-style and sound absolutely dreadful even by bubblegum j-pop standards.

Whatever you do, don't watch this show. This is my pick for the worst anime of the year, even worse than the much-maligned Pupa and Glasslip. At least both of those had some production value. If you want to turn off your brain and enjoy a different ED song every time, watch Super Sonico, which is infinitely better than this.

EDIT (2020 Oct 19) Six years later, the Vtuber industry has exploded with full-scale agencies like Hololive. It's clear that this show was just far too ahead of its time, and that the technology wasn't there yet to make Minarai Diva a success. This is still one of the worst shows of all time, but as a predecessor of Vtubing, the historic significance of this show should be remembered.