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The dang Cup Noodles are back! But this with a “Bump of Chicken”!

Background:
In 2017: Nissin's "Cup Noodle" made a series of ads called “Hungry Days” with the theme of "Youth" & using characters from classic anime depicted in a modern High School setting.
In 2019: Another set of das focus on the characters of "One Piece" as a part of its 20th anniversary. With this Music Video rounding out the collaboration.

Even someone like me, a person that never read or watched the One Piece series when I 1st saw this MV can still enjoy the characters in this high school setting. Each one is ... drawn with mỏ realistic designs with simple but layered background animation and transitions with references and cameos of the original series without it clashing with the modern High School setting and Youth theme.
It's hard to believe that such lengths would start from a noodle commercial, but it was breathtakingly good. It makes me want to a whole AU of this, but just the idea of this being a thing is enough for me. It makes me laugh with each rewatch until I tear up. And all because of a dang ramen ad. Even years later, it still looks good now.

As someone who never read the original series, this series is still a blast.

- Art, (8 / 10): the character design seems to be accurate to their main story counters parts while keeping them human (i.e. hair cuts or hats). The art style it general is really good and more sharp & eye catching than the current chapters of the the original series (around ch. 360’s).

- Story, (8 / 10): Pretty heartfelt for a mafia story. You get the quirky/zany optimism you’d expect from Iruma, there’s a still a dark undertone of stakes due to the mafia setting that keeps things entertaining especially when ... it comes to the forefront like in recent chapters (around ch. 14).

- Character, (7 / 10): the characters & their dynamics seem pretty fun so far. We’ll have to see what more heart-to-hearts lay head but it’s solid for now.

- Enjoyment, (7.7 / 10): I breezed through this series quicker then I thought and wish there was more. I’d recommend this to anyone that’s into the semi-light hearted mafia story.

Basically Black Clover mixed with Harry Potter with a fair amount of spectacle but barely have half of the substance. If you think I’m joking the summary is basically: magicless sword wielder wants to be the best in a magic school to obtain a high title that he promised to a friend… What else am I missing?

- Art, (8/ 10): Even with anime coming out in the 2020s raising the bar of anime quality, this show often meets that standard. The magic & fight choreography helps push it above that bar and one of the main draws for the show. It you’re looking for pretty ... boys, you’ll find a few to pick here.

- Story, (6 / 10): Typical “I want to be the best as part of a promise” storyline that you’d find in most shonen with not much to make it stand out from them though. The fact the we’re not introduced to the potential main villains until the last 3rd is a bit disappointing.

- Sound, (6.5 / 10): Nice medieval music you expected from a fantasy show, oddly satisfying SFX from the spell, and overall solid.

- Character, (4.8 / 10): All the characters are a**holes, and boring one on top of that. Aside from the MC, his initial friends, & one of the teachers, everyone else is classist or some form of discrimination that instantly make them unlikeable. The level of rudeness doesn’t balance out how the MC befriends or make acquaintances with them.There would need to be a bit more funny banter like in the last episode to make up for that.

- Enjoyment, (6.3 / 10): This is some nice looking shonen junk food. It looks nice and scratches that shonen itch, but it doesn’t do much beyond that. If this had subpar animation, I would only watch this as a show to play in the background while I’m doing something else. I would only recommend it to someone for a similar reason or if this was their 1st fantasy shonen to just dip their toes into the genre with sometime light & recent.

Summary: A college girl has her dreams come true when she wakes up into her favorite romance novel as Ripley, a comedic side character that makes it to the end of the story. Happy to life in the lap of luxury while watching the novel unfold in real time, she couldn’t ask for more… that is until she has a one-night-stand with the the MC’s love interest.

- Art, (7 / 10): The quality was solid with a pastel tone that gives certain scenes a “watercolor & ink” vibe at times.

- Story, (7 / 10): The initial premise feels like a dime of dozen nowadays, ... so the main draw is from the characters and how they play with the meta without it getting too complicated and contradicting the characters’ motives.

- Character, (8 / 10): The main draw for the series (in my opinion). Many times with stories like these, the main character is either dumb as bricks & but OP socially or calculated but completely inept to improvising on a social level. Ripley falls into the dumb but social category but she is somewhat aware of this, so it’s played to comedic effects instead of drama. And to top it off, the other character’s reactions to Ripley’s shenanigans makes it all the more enjoyable.

- Enjoyment, (7.3 / 10): Although there’s a dozen of otome-like webtoons to read, I always found myself checking back to this story to see what hair-brained idea Ripley is up to now. Sort of like Team Rocket, the plan isn’t always as expected but it works out in the end and gives me a good laugh.

Definitely Recommend 👍🏾

The Hype Train can be a blessing or a curse for any adaptation of a long running series. It almost ruined this story for me, but this season pulled though for being the first of a shonen manhwa being animated. But possibly not impressive to the extent that some may have hoped.

Art (9/10): Before I even knew what this was, I was gripped by the art style. It was colorful and fluid. With only glimpses of it in trailers until the show premiered, made me crave more. And when the show finally came, it didn't disappoint. The style of the original webtoon counterpart varies, and ... thankfully anime’s style is on par with chapters seen later in the webtoon.

Story (6.5/10): This was the real kicker at the very beginning. It’s not so much that it was slow, but too little details. The more that there was only enough info given about the main character to leave you with questions, but not enough intrigue to make you care quickly enough. (especially if you’re following the 3-episode rule). When I check the webtoon chapters equivalent to the episodes covered, the dialogue can come off as long-winded or redundant at a glance but it contained details that gave the aforementioned questions more weight and intrigue. I understand that some details were cut for time, but there has to be a way to address them as the anime continues without disrupting the pace too much.

Sound (7/10): The sound effects and music were good. The opening and ending songs sound more like pop songs than your traditional anime openings and endings, but not unwelcomed.

Character (7/10): With shonen, you bound to have a one-note protagonist until some big reveal, but the other characters were interesting enough to keep attention and intrigue until said big reveal. It was hard to route for someone as naïve as Bam being the definition of a SIMP at the beginning until he befriends other characters. These other characters have interesting backstories, abilities/skills, or both. As for Racheal (the person he’s simp-ing over), it was frustrating that there weren’t that many hints to her deeper motivations until there was a narrated reveal.

Enjoyment (7/10): I couldn’t initially enjoy the show because of my previously mentioned frustrations with Bam and Rachel. But once I looked pass that, the other aspects of the show so far met my expectations i.e.: the style/quality of the animation, the other characters’ motivations, the complexity of the tests, and the potential of what’s too come.

Overall, I had high hopes for Tower and God and I was more or less satisfied. If they are going to do the 2nd season of the webtoon, then they will have to separate it into at least 2-4 parts with 24 episodes each if they want to make the different layers of the story doesn't get confusing.

“An outsider is better in the afterlife” --- An interesting find that was a must read for me by the second chapter. An actual “not your typical romance” that’s just as enjoyably messed up as the pair involved. If this had more attention and official translations, this would be a hit for sure!

Story, (8/10): I don't know why I thought this was going to be a comedic shoujo romance at first, but I quickly found that this was more of a dark romance seinen with hints of comedy. The writing can come off as clunky at times (maybe because of the translation that I read). ... This clunkiness is more apparent when you trying to understand the mind games taking place, that are somewhat simple but still engaging. The pacing of the storyline takes it's time for the characters to interact in either dramatic or comedic ways.

Art, (9/10): The covers and colored pages were very eye-catching, with it's vivid colors being balanced with the dark shading. Most of the characters designs share common style that makes them long, clean, elegant, and lean without making them too skinny. The most intriguing thing is the way that that the heads are drawn in a way that can be expressive to being comedic one minute and intense the next. There are a good handful of fight scenes that’s not complexly choreographed but makes the violence within it apparent.

Character, (9/10): So, the female lead, Somei Yoshino, has an arranged marriage with the masochist yakuza male lead, Kirishima Miyama, who becomes a yandere once she piques his interest. But because Yoshino grew up in a yakuza household, she knows how to handle herself and maneuver the mind games of the underground world. Despite all of this, these and other characters are written in a way to make everything balanced. The other named male characters aren't just brutes and other named female characters aren't just a pretty face.

Enjoyment, (10/10): The characters can be intense and funny, sometimes in an odd way. The art style complement the story. The story leaves me wanting more. It’s one of the few instances where there are physical copies, but they aren’t available in English or at least with romaji. Which is a bummer, but can only change if more people are invested in this series. Whenever they are far enough in the story, I would love to see this animated by a studio with the skilled artists to do it justice but not too busy with other big named anime that would overshadow this. Maybe someone like Production I.G., NUT studio, idk.

Overall, (9/10): If you a fan of yakuza themes, yandere themes, simple but playful mind games, or all of the above; then you’ll like this. The only downside asides from the aforementioned limited translations, is that the story publication is a bit slower. However, the switching back and forth of intense to funny moments keeps things interesting and makes you anticipate one chapter after the next.

It's hard to measure up this movie to the main series. Overall, I would recommend this movie if you're looking for more HxH content, but wouldn't mind that it's not something that can top the final arcs of the main series. It's not bad from an "anime movie/spinoff" stand point and better than the other movie, but just okay from a "Hunter x Hunter" stand point.

Story (7/10): Where this falls within the timeline can be a little confusing since its not entirely clear when this takes place. It looks like it takes place between the Greed Island arc & Chimera Ant arc, but the 2 ... story arcs as so back-to-back that it's hard to fit this story in.
But when it comes to the actual storyline of this movie, it's a pretty straight forward revenge story. The concept of "On" is a bit odd, but I guess you can see it as a combination of Ten (from the covenant) & Zetsu (from grudge) [to make bloodlust] with Hatsu (as the dark energy)?
With they way that the plot was handled, I would give it a 7, but on a HxH scale I would give it more of a 6.5.

Art (9/10): Huge upgrades in animation quality compared to the 1st movie and on par from the quality in the series. It would have been nice if there was fighting through out the whole movie and not just he 2nd half, but the last fight was visually great.

Sound (7/10): Maybe its because I'm used to hearing some music or distinct sfx always playing in the anime, but the moments without it was not unwelcomed. And between the sub and the dub, the sub is better because the lines in the dub can come off as a bit rushed to match the lip-sync.

Character (7/10): Their pretty on par with how they act at this point of the timeline. The new antagonists', their motivation, and their backstory was a good amount of angst without making it a complete sob-story, but still fitting level dark would you would expect from HxH.

Enjoyment (9/10): The timing of when you watch this makes a difference. After a couple years and rewatching the series a few times, I'm a bit more forgiving than someone that saw this when it 1st came out. However it's debatable on whether or not the movie should be watched before or after it, because the early reveal of Netero's special ability... I don't know.
So this movie has that similar feeling of nostalgia of times before the high tension & feels of the Chimera Ant arc. I was surprised how the fights involving On had awaken some feels that I've tucked away since the final match-ups in the Chimera Ant Arc. And for that, I applaud this movie for at least measuring up to my expectations.

If I had to boil down my thoughts on this movie. It's harmless, nicely made, and I would say that I would watch this again.

A charming story of friendship with hints of mystery that's a short, but nicely wholesome read.

Story (8/10): Despite the short length, the story makes sure to hit all it's points without making anything feeling shorthanded. To balance the elements of bullying, there are several small but meaningful moments of expressing friendship that create warm & fuzzy feelings throughout the story.

Art (9/10): One of the most striking features of the story, which is ironic considering it has a somewhat muted color palette. Despite that the style still has a great deal of color that gives off the vibes of a small niche cafe or the backdrop ... to some lofi hip-hop. Heck some of the artwork is makes for a great wallpaper for your phone.
It's strikingly simple & mellow in the best way possible.

Character (7/10): The characters are defined enough, but may come off as basic to some readers. I would argue that if the story was longer then the 5 or so recurring characters could have more development, but in the end it might not add that much so it may not be worth the change.

Enjoyment (8/10): So many times, I've started a webcomic only to have it last forever and not being able to keep up or stop without any resolution. Having a something that I could read entirely, in one setting, and with an admittingly open but still proper ending was nice for once. The platonic fluff! The simple, but still relatable scenerios!

It keep it short and sweet (much like this story), this was a wholesome quick read that everyone should have in either their digital or physical library.

Not as good as the 1st season, but not as bad as some people say. It’s just that such a high level Shonen would drop to an average level and it was enough to disappoint fans that expected the same quality as before. This season didn’t quite match up to what I was hoping, but that’s not a bad thing.

Art - (6/10) - JC Staff has always had shiny still & panning shots (Food Wars is a testament to that), but they don’t quite match up with the speed and motion of action scenes like Madhouse. Considering how the visual style was what made a ... lot of people like OPM, some are bound to be upset by the changes.

Story - (7/10) - In season 1 there wasn’t much of a plot, but I was intrigued with the introduction of Gauro and the Monster Association. It was really the main thing that kept me watching the show to see where they would go with this.

Sound - (6/10) - same old same old.

Character - (7/10) - the characters in the 1st season were funnier, but this season allowed the side/new characters to have more depth.

Enjoyment - (5/10) - I wouldn’t lie, without the usual Madhouse visuals I was a little bored every now & then during the 1st half of this seaosn. But I became more attentive in the 2nd half.

OPM a stable anime from modern Shonen & MadHouse fans alike. So to see it go to a different studio would cause some hiccups among the fandom. Instead of the S-Class action show that we loved 4 years ago, and it’s just a B- or C-Class now.
But much like Mumen Rider, being in that Class isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

As someone that didn't grow up with Naruto, I can say that this series is somewhat lower average shonen. (5/10)
To give this series it's best chance, I watched the original Naruto series along side Boruto. Even then, I have got to say that I would choose Naruto over Boruto if I had to choose. There has been other shows that tried to pass the torch, like Gohan in Dragon Ball Z Kai still keeping pace with Goku in Dragonball Z. Boruto doesn't quite measure to Naruto in terms of quality in both story and character.

Story -- (4/10) -- Being the kid of the hero, doesn't ... mean much if you didn't have attachment or knowledge to the hero like I did going in. You can argue that Naruto was the same way, however he had a goal, unlike Boruto. (more on that later) The fact that there wasn't much of a storyline for a while and the slice of life was mundane at best, gave this show a rough start.

Art -- (5/10) -- A Hallmark that I knew from this franchise was the almost realistic fights that they had. Those are here, but their in short supply. And the rest of the fights that were "meh", and aren't impactful because of the lack of general weight if you're not familiar with past characters/storylines. The rest of the general artwork is alright, but not noteworthy.

Sound -- (4/10) -- Nothing Noteworthy

Character -- (4/10) -- Both series relied on character tropes to introduce their characters. What Boruto lacks is that the characters never grew beyond those tropes or given development that explained why they were in those tropes. They went too far into the series before Boruto himself had a set goal in mind and even then its weak compared to his peers in some aspects. It's gotten to the point that the other members of Team 7, Sarada &/or Mitsuki, have deeper development than Boruto and therefore can be more engaging when the focus shifts to one of them.

Enjoyment -- (5/10) -- Despite everyone hating on Boruto, I don't mind it that much. The fact that I put Boruto on hold instead of dropping it should be enough evidence of lack on interest for Boruto compared to Naruto, but not enough for me to give up on it comopletely. But as a show by itself, I would rather binge through this instead of something like Black Clover, where a third of each episode's runtime is some form of recap. The glimpse of the future from the first episode is the only thing that has be curious and lets me hope for the series getting better later.

The only reason that I was reminded of Boruto after not watching it in a while was because there is currently a filler-arc involving Bourto & Sasuke traveling to the past. (episodes 128-136) The fact that I skipped a chunk of episodes to watch this arc should have me at least a little lost, but I'm not. From a writting standpoint, there should have had mentioned something from the 50+ episodes that I skipped that should make me hesitate skipping anything from the lack of info. But nope, I more or less jumped ahead and not missing a beat. Even seeing the characters for Naruto back to their younger-selves, seem a little stale compared to how they act in their original series.

What can I say, I gave Boruto a chance. But watching at the same episode count as the 1st Naruto series was rough. They both can be too general & slow, but what the number of times that Boruto had me intrigued wasn't nearly as much as Naruto.