- Last Online8 hours ago
- GenderFemale
- BirthdayApr 4, 2000
- LocationElkhart, Indiana
- JoinedOct 5, 2012
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May 19, 2017
1 of 1 episodes seen
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3
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
Understanding someone with a disability can be quite a challenge, but if you're willing to overcome that challenge, chances are that you will become friends with that disabled person.... wait, haven't I already said this before? Well, regardless of whether or not I did, it's true that I somehow became aware of this movie while it was still an ongoing manga series. When I heard it was being adapted into an anime, even when it was confirmed to be an anime movie, I was already intrigued to watch it for myself; however, when I heard that Kyoto Animation would be the studio behind it, my
interest exploded from there. I also read the manga to prepare myself for the movie, and needless to say, I really enjoyed it; however, because I enjoyed it, my concern for how a 2-hour-long movie will adapt the seven volumes grew. So, how did this realistic story of a young man's path toward redemption for bullying a deaf girl fare on the big screen?
Ladies and gentlemen, please read my review for "A Silent Voice", known in Japanese as "Koe no Katachi". (Gosh darn it, not again!)
A Silent Voice follows Shoya Ishida, a young man who was quite a jerk back in elementary school. You see, he was classmates with a deaf girl named Shoko Nishimiya, and he and his classmates used her deafness to bully her into eventually transferring out of school. However, the target of the bullying soon shifts from Shoko to Shoya, causing him to realize exactly how much of a jerk he is; that brings us to the present, where Shoya is a third-year high school student with no friends and suicidal thoughts. However, this changes when he happens to meet Shoko again. From there, Shoya seeks out to set things right.
I'm sorry, but there is just so much I have to say about KyoAni's animation here. The movement is solid, the backgrounds are beautiful, and the fact that they were able to capture the original style of the manga instead of resorting to their own style so much is just magnificent! The voice acting is quite superb, as well, with solid casting choices. I also have to genuinely give Saori Hayami, Shoko's voice actress, some credit for her performance; although I am unable to compare her performance to how a real deaf person speaks, since I admittedly don't know anyone who is actually deaf, it's easy to tell that she is doing her best with her speaking lines. Finally, there's the ending theme, "Koi no Shita no wa" by Aiko; it perfectly matches the overall tone of the film, and I've actually listened to it multiple times before even watching it!
Unfortunately, while I thought the story was the best part of the manga, I can't say the same about the anime; it is here that some of the concerns I had before come into play. Many parts of the story that I remember so clearly from the manga are either rushed through or cut out completely, and it kind of upset me. I mean, I understand why this was done; it's difficult for 62 chapters (7 volumes) of a manga to be squeezed into a 2-hour-long movie, so leaving some things out was going to be left out. Still, this upset me because of how some of the things that were left out of the movie were supposed to give us a better understanding of some of the characters. You know what, though? What we WERE given was still as effective on an emotional scale as the manga was, so I guess I can let this slide just this once.
Overall, A Silent Voice was as great of an anime movie as it was of a manga. If you're in the mood for two hours full of beautiful animation, a realistic story and characters, and emotional moments, I advise you watch this. Perhaps it could show you that no matter how many regrets you have, you've just got to open your ears and listen to the voices of others.
read more
Apr 7, 2017
13 of 13 episodes seen
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1
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
Move out of the way, catgirls! We've got a new thing coming from Japan, and those are dragon girls! As if that's not enough, they've got dragon girls that are maids! In all seriousness, I first discovered this anime when I found out it was getting an anime adaptation; I was, at first, just slightly intrigued because of it being based off of the same mangaka as Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken, but when it was announced that Kyoto Animation would be the animation studio behind it, I decided that I was going to watch it for sure. I even read the
manga to prepare myself for the anime, and it was rather amusing, to say the least. Despite all of this, however, I still wasn't prepared for exactly how good this anime was going to be.
Ladies and gentlemen, dragon maids all around, here is my review of "Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon", known in English as "Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid".
Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon begins when Kobayashi, an office worker, finds a dragon standing at her door that day; the dragon then proceeds to transform into a cute girl with D (for dragon)-cup breasts and introduces herself as Tohru. As it turns out, Kobayashi and Tohru met on the mountains one night when the former had taken a drunken excursion there and the latter got defeated and fled to this other world; seeing that she had nowhere to go, Kobayashi offers Tohru to live with her. As a result, Tohru has arrived to not only accept her offer, but she has also become her maid! Albeit reluctant at first, Kobayashi agrees to let Tohru stay. With Tohru around, it's needless to say that Kobayashi's life has gotten more interesting, especially with other dragons arriving in this world, too.
I'll say this first, just to get it out of the way and prevent me gushing over it too much; the animation from Kyoto Animation is, once again, a sight to behold. With its fluid movement, simple (although simplicity is perfect for an anime like this) backgrounds, and cute character designs, it goes without question that the folks at KyoAni has provided excellent animation once more. The voice acting is pretty solid, too; the voice actors do their best with their respective roles, and not only do they succeed, they also seem to be having fun with their roles. The opening and ending themes, which are respectively "Aozora no Rhapsody" by fhana and "Isshuukan Communication" by Choro-gonzu (the seiyuus for Tohru, Kanna, Elma, and Lucoa), are also excellent songs that both fit this anime's atmosphere to a T.
As for the story, it's rather simplistic; if you're looking for an anime that has both dragons and a complicated plot, you're not going to find the latter, so unless you're just going to settle for the dragons, I suggest looking elsewhere. It's not a huge problem for me, though; as a fan of slice of life anime, I enjoyed the story this anime had to tell. There were also quite a few jokes that were thrown my way that made me bust up laughing. For example, there is one running gag where one character, Saikawa, goes crazy for another character, Kanna, in certain situations; those moments never failed to make me laugh, especially because of the facial expressions she has as a result.
Now, let's talk about the driving force behind Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon, and that is its characters. Kobayashi is a rather standard protagonist, but even she has her moments of amusement; that, along with the strong bonds she has with Tohru, Kanna, and other characters in the series, made her a great character through my eyes. Tohru is also a fun character; her energetic personality and genuine determination to make Kobayashi happy make it easy for the audience to root for her. However, the best character is, without a doubt, Kanna; her antics are definitely adorable, and every time she was on screen, a smile never failed to grow on my face. There is also a great number of lovable supporting characters, such as Saikawa (for reasons I've already mentioned), Takiya, and Fafnir; all of the supporting cast have a role in bringing color and life to this anime.
Overall, Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon is an extremely well-executed anime. If you're in for a cute slice-of-life/fantasy anime, you're in for a real treat. After all, who can pass up dragon girls, especially if they're dragon maids?
read more
Apr 6, 2017
12 of 12 episodes seen
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2
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
6 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
I'm just going to say it outright; if anyone is going to remember this anime at all, it will be as Amagami SS's eccentric little sister. The "eccentric" part comes from the fact that the story presents some rather bizarre events and quotes, while the "little sister" part comes from not only the fact that it not only noticeably comes from the same universe, but a couple of the characters are actually younger siblings of Amagami SS characters! (Let's not forget the omnibus format both series share, too.) In fact, this connection with Amagami SS was why I selected this anime to be among those
from the Winter 2017 anime that I watched in the first place; in spite of this decision, however, my expectations were actually quite low. Unfortunately, I was proven right.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my review of Amagami SS's eccentric little sister, "Seiren".
Seiren follows the romantic misadventures of Shoichi Kamita, a second-year high school boy. Similarly to Amagami SS, four episodes each cover the heroines that Shoichi ends up romancing, except the number of girls is halved this time. First, we've got Hikari Tsuneki, the cheerful "idol" of Shoichi's class with a secret job at a restaurant. Then, we've got Tooru Miyamae, a gamer girl who joins Shoichi and his friends in playing what I've come to think of as "a deer version of Pokemon". Finally, we've got Kyouko Tono, Shoichi's childhood friend who just joined the Home Economics Club. As time goes on in each of the girls' arcs, Shoichi becomes closer with either one of these girls and gradually falls in love with her....whether or not he actually has any chemistry with any of them.
What could I possibly mean by that last sentence? I mean exactly what I said; Shoichi does not have very strong chemistry with any of these girls. I mean, when you're creating an anime with this format, it's hard to build a strong connection between our protagonist with all of the girls he gets with, but there's bound to be at least one girl who has a believable relationship with him. Unfortuately, in Seiren, there is none of that; in the best case scenario, I would see Shoichi and the girl whose arc is ongoing as just friends, and that's pretty much it. Each of their stories suffer a bit because of this, too, and when an anime's story is taken down with two characters' chemistry, especially when it's done three times in the same series, we've got ourselves a bit of a problem. Although the story can surprise you with its bizarre ideas at times (for example, there is a character with a real thing for bunnies), it doesn't help too much.
Now, let's discuss the characters. I remember liking Junichi, the protagonist of Amagami SS, a lot, especially since he had what Shoichi didn't: a believable personality. Shoichi, on the other hand, is a rather boring main character with little personality; it's not as easy to root for this guy. The heroines aren't much help, either. While Hikari is definitely the most interesting of the bunch, it really didn't feel like she got a lot of development, so I couldn't get myself to like her. Tooru had potential, but as time went on, she seemed to become less and less of an interesting character; by the end of her arc, I had given up on her. As for Kyouko.... ugh, where do I even begin? Out of all of the heroines - no, out of all of the characters, period - she has to be the character, or at least one of the characters, with the least amount of personality, and I honestly felt that her relationship with Shoichi, as well as her entire arc, was the weakest. Out of the supporting cast, there are a few memorable characters, but most of them are pretty forgettable.
The animation, done by Studio Gokumi, wasn't terrible; sometimes, the movement of the characters was a bit awkward, but for the most part, it wasn't terrible. After all, a particular diamond in the rough from Seiren came from a beautifully-animated scene in episode 4; I won't say what it is because of spoilers, but anyone who has actually watched this series might know what I'm talking about. The voice acting wasn't too bad, either; for the most part, the voice actors played their roles well, although some weren't really as good. The opening and endings themes were also nice to listen to, albeit not songs to listen to over and over again.
Overall, Seiren was a below-average anime. I won't stop you if you're desperate to watch it, but if you're looking for an anime with an omnibus format where the protagonist ends up with more than one girl in more than one alternate universe, I'd prefer that you watch Amagami SS. I mean, let's be honest; it's more memorable than Seiren.
read more
Feb 20, 2017
7 of 7 chapters read
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2
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
2 |
| Story |
2 |
| Art |
6 |
| Character |
1 |
| Enjoyment |
1 |
To be honest, I'm feeling a little pissed off right now, and it's not because of my stupid pun just now. That anger is mixed with the surprise that anyone could ever think about creating a manga like this, but I guess if your mind is twisted enough, a few "masterpieces" could emerge, and some unfortunate victims could end up reading those "masterpieces". Take me, for example; by chance, I encountered a lowly-rated manga on MAL and, out of curiosity, decided to read it in order to see why it was so bad. (Keep in mind I ignored the synopsis.) The end result was me
realizing that there are, indeed, manga out there that could disgust me more than any borderline-hentai manga could. Of course, there is fan-service, but this is not just mere fan-service; this is pee-service!
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my review of the "masterpiece" of a manga, Alice no 100°Cc!
Alice no 100°Cc follows Aoi Kururi, a high school boy who practices onmyou-ji - or should I say, onmyou-pee - magic. He has a very sensitive nose, and he can smell it when girls have to pee. Whether it's breaking spells related to pee or girls who are triggered into peeing by certain things, this manga is a pee-fetishist's dream come true!
....I'm sorry. I just can't come up with a good synopsis to write for this freaking manga. I can't really blame myself, though; the plot of this manga is practically non-existent. There are two arcs that last two chapters, but that doesn't help much, especially considering there are only seven chapters in this manga overall. The short length also harms the characters; they're barely given any time to develop as characters, if character development was even possible. To summarize all of the characters, Aoi is a disgusting pervert, and the rest of the cast is always like, "I have to go really, really bad!"
If you haven't already guessed what is the main driving force for this manga, it's a whole load of pee jokes! The mangaka, Chizuna Nakajima, has obviously put in as many pee jokes and urine itself in as possible in an attempt to maybe get the reader to laugh. News flash, Nakajima-sensei; it's disgusting, not funny! Sure, the art is okay (albeit nothing special), but it doesn't distract us from any of the urination that takes place in this manga; considering that it's actually drawn, it only makes it worse!
Overall, Alice on 100°Cc is, without a doubt, the worst and most disgusting manga I have ever read. If you have a pee fetish, I only have two things to say to you. The first is that you may be one of the only people who might find pleasure in this manga; the second is that you need to go see a therapist right now. It's obvious that you and the mangaka who even came up with this in the first place need some serious help.
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Jan 6, 2017
13 of 13 episodes seen
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1
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
If you love something or someone, you should have a right to express that love. For example, if you love music and singing, you should have a right to sing your heart out; no one should hold you back. The anime that has caused me to say such a thing is one that, along with another anime called Hanasaku Iroha, I discovered through a music video that kind of crossed over those two anime and True Tears. However, I held off on watching it for so long, but after listening to some songs from it enough times, I decided that I couldn't stop myself from
watching it anymore. I swear, not watching this particular anime sooner has to be one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my review of Tari Tari.
Tari Tari follows the final year of high school for Konatsu Miyamoto, a former member of her school's choral group. She had quit the group because of the adviser and vice principal not allowing her to sing due to an incident from the previous year's recital. Despite this, she wants to sing at one more recital before she graduates, so what would she do other than form her own choir club? She recruits Sawa Okita (an archery club member who dreams of becoming an equestrian), Taichi Tanaka (a badminton player), and "Wien" (a boy who returned to Japan after living in Austria for 12 years) for her club; she also tries to recruit a friend of hers, Wakana Sakai, but she has given up music as a result of her mother's death. As the anime goes on, Wakana slowly but surely becomes able to love music again, and the choir club moves forward with their ambition to sing.
The story of Tari Tari is quite good; there are moments that got me laughing, and there are other moments that nearly got me to cry. Another reason for the story being great is the outstanding character development; although not all of the characters are necessarily likable, all of them have depth to them, going through real dilemmas. I especially liked Wakana's character development; I was originally annoyed at her for constantly running away from music, but as the anime went on and she started to come to terms with things, I came to like her, as well. If you want to know my favorite character, though, it was Wein; every time he was on screen, he just simply put a smile on my face. I also liked the bond between each of the members of the choir club; their friendship is perhaps the most genuine I've ever seen in anime.
P.A.Works is the animation studio behind beautifully-animated anime such as True Tears, Angel Beats, and Charlotte; luckily, I can say that they also did a good job with the animation for Tari Tari. It's not the most breathtaking animation I've ever seen, and I'm not sure if I can say that the character designs are anything special; however, it was very pleasant to watch. The voice acting was amazing, as well; with talented voice actors such as Saori Hayami (Sawa) and Nobunaga Shimazaki (Tanaka), there's no going wrong here. However, the best part about this anime, without a doubt, is the music; considering what this anime is about, this is definitely a good thing. The opening theme, "Dreamer" by Airi, is a song that I constantly found myself singing along to, and the ending theme, "Shiokaze no Harmony" by Ayahi Takagaki, Asami Seto, Saori Hayami, Nobunaga Shimazaki, and Natsuki Hanae, is also a very catchy song; all of the insert songs are charming in their own ways, with my favorite being "Radiant Melody".
Overall, Tari Tari is a great anime. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for an anime with a great story, lovable characters, and of course, music that you'll find yourself listening to again and again!
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Dec 29, 2016
13 of 13 episodes seen
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5
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
"And then, the next piece begins." -Kumiko Oumae
When season one of Hibike! Euphonium aired back in 2015, anyone who watched it was in for some beautiful animation, band performances, and yuri bait. I only watched it because of Kyoto Animation, but I ended up enjoying it a lot; it really connected with me, considering the fact that I am a flute player in my school's band. When it ended, however, it definitely felt like there should have been more; that was why, when season 2 was announced, it was welcomed with open arms. However, now that season 2 has finished its run, can I honestly
say that it lived up to season 1? Yes, it did and more.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my review of Hibike! Euphonium 2.
In case you don't already know, Hibike! Euphonium revolves around the concert band at Kitauji High School; they were once a great band, but they have since fallen flat (bad pun alert). However, with the instruction of the new adviser, Noboru Taki, the band ends up getting back on its feet and working hard toward the goal of making it to the Nationals and subsequently getting gold there. The main character, Kumiko Oumae, is one of the first-years who joins the concert band as a euphonium player, although she was originally reluctant due to an incident back in middle school. She ends up reuniting with trumpet player Reina Kousaka, and although they aren't on the best terms at first, they end up being able to get along. The second season focuses on not only the drama involving the concert band, but Kumiko's own family.
The first thing I must mention about this anime is its beautiful animation. As always, Kyoto Animation had produced some breathtaking animation, both in the first and second seasons of this anime. Another remarkable thing about this anime is, of course, its music. Whether its the opening and ending themes ("Soundscape" by True and "Vivace!" by the Kitauji Quartet [a.k.a. the voice actresses of Kumiko, Reina, Hazuki Katou, and Midori Kawashima, respectively], respectively) or the performances from the band, there was a lot of great music from this anime; since it is a music anime, this is, of course, a good thing. The voice actors also did a good job at their respective roles.
As for the story, my opinion about this season is the same as my opinion of the story in the first season; there were some bumps in the road, but the story was very good overall. This season gave us some great new characters, as well as giving development to some old ones. Among the new characters, my personal favorites were Nozomi Kasaki and Mizore Yoroizuka; not only is the former a flute player like me, but the arc that revolved around them and the character development they got as a result was done splendidly. We also got to learn a lot more about Asuka Tanaka, the vice president of the concert band; I like her a lot more now than I did in season one, and I already did like her in season one! Taki-sensei was also a noteworthy character this season; he was a rather mysterious character in season one, and in season two, we get to learn some more about him, too.
Overall, Hibike! Euphonium 2 was a more than worthy successor to Hibike! Euphonium, as well as a solid conclusion to the series. I highly recommend any and all fans of season one to not miss the second. If you'd like to know who I'd recommend the series as a whole to, it'd be to those who appreciate good stories, beautiful KyoAni-style animation, yuri teasers, and most of all, the hard work that concert bands to make a wonderful sound.
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Dec 24, 2016
12 of 12 episodes seen
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14
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
There are anime where there is a girl who ships two guys together, and there are anime where there is a girl who has her own reverse harem. Well, why not combine them into one? Behold! A girl who ships the guys in her own reverse harem! I first heard about the manga for this anime before the anime was even announced; it seemed interesting, so when it was announced that it was getting an anime adaptation, I was immediately on board. Thus, I watched it as it aired, and honestly, I'm really glad I did.
Ladies and gentlemen, here is my review of "Kiss Him,
Not Me", a.k.a. "Watashi ga Motete Dousunda".
Kiss Him, Not Me follows Kae Serinuma, an overweight fujoshi who ships her classmates, Yusuke Igarashi and Nozomu Nanashima, and is in love with a character from the anime "Mirage Saga", Shion. However, in one episode, Shion ends up dying; as anyone who has had their favorite anime character die can relate to, Kae does NOT take his death well. She locks herself in her room for a week, refusing to eat.... and when she comes back to school, she comes back very attractive as a result of all of her weight loss. Needless to say, she catches the attention of not just Igarashi and Nanashima, but she also ends up attracting an underclassman named Hayato Shinomiya and an upperclassman named Asuma Mutsumi. Unfortunately, she's not romantically interested in any of them, but still, the competition begins....
I'm just going to be honest; the story wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be. There were episodes where I wasn't really as engaged in what was happening as others, and the ending was slightly unsatisfactory. However, that does not mean the story is bad; on the contrary, it's actually a good one. There were a lot of funny moments that at least made me smile, and it was interesting to see the characters' development. Plus, with Kae being an otaku and all, there are a few Easter eggs from other anime scattered here and there, especially from Attack on Titan, so that was interesting to see!
Now, let's talk about the characters. Kae is someone who any otaku girl can relate to, whether they're a fujoshi like her or not; that, along with the funny moments involving her, make her an interesting protagonist. Each of the boys in her reverse harem have their own quirks, too, and without exception, each of them gets their time to shine. Mutsumi is my favorite out of all of them; he's very kind, it's obvious he cares about Kae whether in a platonic or romantic way, and the episodes focused on him were my favorites. There's also Shima Nishina, a girl who joins the reverse harem a bit later than the rest. As a yuri fan, I'd like to rejoice, but honestly, I never saw the relationship between her and Kae as anything more than platonic; however, she was still an amusing character nonetheless. The supporting cast was amusing whenever they appeared, too, especially Kae's friend, A-chan.
The art was really pretty, and the character designs were solid. Brain's Base did a really good job with the animation, too. Both the opening and ending themes, "Prince x Prince" by From4to7 and "Dokidoki no Kaze" by Rie Murakawa, were both extremely catchy songs that I've already listened to a million times! As for the voice acting, I was originally a bit sad about the cast from the drama CD being changed (especially Yu Kobayashi replacing Kana Hanazawa as Kae), but all of the voice actors really nailed their respective roles. I'll admit that it's a bit strange how different Kae sounds between her fat and skinny forms, but it really goes to show you how her voice actress can do different kinds of voices.
Overall, Kiss Him, Not Me was an enjoyable anime. If you're tired of the same old reverse harem anime and want one where the protagonist is a fujoshi, I'd definitely recommend this one. Who knows? You may ship one of the boys with Kae, but you may ship the boys with each other even more!
read more
Dec 22, 2016
1 of 1 episodes seen
|
1
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
(WARNING!: There may or may not be slight spoilers.)
It's really amazing how you can just fall in love with someone else after interacting with them for a certain amount of time, even if you've known who they are due to the two of you being classmates. It's also amazing how sometimes, that "someone else" may even be the same gender as you. Let that last part sink in for a second, okay? Okay, this anime movie was the one yaoi anime for me to be truly interested in watching, mainly because of Hiroshi Kamiya, one of my favorite seiyuus, having a role in it; under
normal circumstances, I don't really watch yaoi or shounen-ai anime (although I did try to make an exception once), but with a certain milestone approaching, I decided to make a true exception in order to make hitting that milestone extra special. All I'm going to say is that if Doukyuusei ends up turning me into a fujoshi, I really wouldn't mind becoming one.
Doukyuusei, or Classmates in English, begins when Hikaru Kasukabe, a student at an all-boys school, takes notice of a classmate, Rihito Sajou, as their school's choir festival approaches. When he catches him singing by himself in a classroom one day, he offers to help him prepare for the choir festival, with Kusakabe being in a band and all. As the festival looms closer and closer, Kusakabe and Sajou end up developing feelings for each other; eventually, the two of them begin a relationship. From there, the film covers some of the things the two boys go through as a couple, especially when the time comes to be seriously thinking about their futures....
The story is divided into four parts, and not every single part is perfect. However, the overall story is admittedly better than some of the straight or yuri romance anime I have watched; it's got some funny moments and some heartwarming moments. I also really enjoyed the relationship between Kusakabe and Sajou; they say that opposites attract, and with this relationship, that saying really holds a meaning! As individual characters, they're pretty enjoyable, too; Sajou got some interesting character development, and Kusakabe was overall fun to watch. Although there was barely any focus on the few side characters, that's okay; Kusakabe and Sajou did a good job carrying the story along.
The voice acting was pretty stellar, especially Hiroshi Kamiya as Kusakabe. Maybe it's just me being biased, since I'm a fan of him; however, his voice suited his character, and I could feel the emotion he put into his acting. The same goes for Kenji Nojima as Sajou; he did a pretty great job with him, as well. The ending theme, "Doukyuusei" (same title as the anime), was a beautiful song, and if I could just find it somewhere, I'd love to listen to it again. As for the animation, I absolutely loved it; the art style was very unique, and A-1 Pictures was able to impress me once again with the movement of each scene.
Overall, Doukyuusei was a really enjoyable film, and I'm glad to say that it was the first yaoi anime for me to complete. If you don't mind watching anime where the main characters are homosexual dudes, I'd definitely recommend it. If you're a hardcore fujoshi who likes watching those homosexual dudes do the nasty, they won't go all of the way.... although this was a subject touched upon.
read more
Sep 17, 2016
12 of 12 episodes seen
|
5
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
6 |
| Story |
5 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
When it comes to romance, one thing you must keep in mind is that appearances aren't everything. I'm not just talking about personalities, either; what I mean is that chances are that a hot guy you've seen before is actually WAY younger than you. Let me get one thing straight; I knew all along that Hatsukoi Monster wasn't going to be good. The manga already isn't all that well-received, and when I read a few chapters of it myself, I found myself getting more bored with it than a lot of other shoujo manga I've read. Just for the sake of writing a review, though,
I ended up watching the anime adaptation, and.... well, you'll understand when you read this review.
Ladies and little boys who look like gentlemen, here's my review of "Hatsukoi Monster", a.k.a. "First Love Monster".
Hatsukoi Monster follows a girl named Kaho Nikaidou, who is from a rich family and moves to an apartment building at the start of high school. When she arrives, she is almost hit by a truck and is saved by a handsome "young man". As it turns out, the "young man", Kanade Takahashi, is living in the same apartment building as Kaho; soon enough, Kaho confesses her newfound feelings for him. Kanade accepts her confession.... only to reveal to her the next day that he's a fifth grader. From there, a slightly chaotic story around their relationship forms.
As you can see, everything about the story of Hatsukoi Monster is cliché, even the fact that Kanade and two of his friends, Tomu and Gin, are elementary school students who look older; I can easily name two other anime that do the same thing (Recorder to Randoseru and Yoiko). However, it's the fact that all of the elementary school students who actually LOOK their age who are more mature than them, even their friend Kazu, that especially bugs me. Yes, they're young, but these three behave the most immaturely out of everyone, making poop jokes and other things like that; honestly, it's kind of cringey. Speaking of jokes, while a select few of them did manage to get me to grin a little bit, none of them actually got me to laugh. This anime plays itself off like a parody, but there's a right and a wrong way to do a parody; this isn't the right way.
As I mentioned before, Kanade and his friends have got to be some of the cringiest characters in anime history, and I wasn't really a fan of any of them. I'll give Kanade credit for one thing, though; he has said some pretty deep things throughout the series for a fifth grader. I still wasn't a fan of him, though. I really didn't like Kaho, either; except for one scene in the last episode, she spent the whole series as a wishy-washy Mary Sue (okay, maybe not exactly a Mary Sue, but the word just happened to come to my mind) with something obviously wrong with her brain if she's going to stick to loving Kanade with that age difference and his extreme childishness. The rest of the cast comes out either bland or just plain annoying; I will admit, though, I did kind of like Kazu at first.
The voice acting was decent, considering the fact that one of my favorite seiyuus, Yui Horie, is part of the cast - and as the protagonist, no less! (Too bad her voice couldn't save her character.) The opening and ending themes, "Innocence" and "Kimi ni Sasageru Chinkonka" both by Shouta Aoi, were skippable yet not bad songs. Hatsukoi Monster does have one thing I can honestly praise, though, and that is its animation. This year, Studio Deen gave us Konosuba and Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto (with the former getting a second season next year), two favorable anime with good animation. Despite this one not turning out as well over all, the animation quality manages to survive; it's bright and colorful, and it's overall pretty to look at.
Unfortunately, despite its few up-points, my overall opinion of Hatsukoi Monster was not a pretty one. If I were to recommend it at all, it'd be to someone who is looking for a cliché only someone who has seen enough anime would be able to spot. Oh, and someone who finds all kinds of poop jokes funny! You can't forget the poop jokes!
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Sep 5, 2016
53 of 53 chapters read
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2
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Art |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
Do you remember your first love? If you do, did you ever get a relationship started with that first love, and if you did, has it survived to this day? If you didn't.... have you ever wondered if you still have a chance? I first heard about Ao Haru Ride through its anime adaptation; it caught my attention before it started airing because of its beautiful artwork, so I decided to watch it. Needless to say, I loved it enough to want to read its manga adaptation, and.... well, I still loved it! In fact, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say
that it got a bit better past the point the anime ended at, is it?
Ao Haru Ride, known as Blue Spring Ride in English, is about a girl named Futaba Yoshioka, who, in middle school, had a hatred for all boys save one, Kou Tanaka. However, she couldn't get her feelings across to him, and soon enough, he moved away. Now, in high school, she acts as unladylike as possible, as her previous popularity among boys has caused the girls to hate her. Soon enough, however, she ends up running into the one boy she ever liked, except not only has his name changed to Kou Mabuchi, but his personality has also taken a drastic change. He says that he had returned Futaba's feelings in middle school, but things between them can never be the same.... Thus, the story starts....
The reason why I fell in love with the anime adaptation of this manga is how realistic it is; it's true that people change with time, and the relationship between others can become different if they haven't seen each other for a long time. To a certain degree, that's the same thing for the original manga; I could feel how realistic it is. However, I can't deny the fact that some elements of the story were kind of irritating, but I don't want to say what those elements are because of spoilers. All in all, though, the story of Ao Haru Ride is quite a touching one, and it's got quite a decent amount of character development, especially for Kou.
If we're going to talk about the characters in Ao Haru Ride, we're NOT going to leave out the two main leads, Futaba and Kou. Yes, Futaba can be a bit of an irritating protagonist to follow at times, mostly in the post-anime parts of the manga; she just can't seem to make up her mind. However, I loved her character to a certain degree, and actually, some aspects of her reminded me of myself. As for Kou.... well, I loved this guy through and through! Not only is this guy ABSOLUTELY HANDSOME, I enjoyed seeing him grow as a character, and he had quite a number of funny moments. The relationship between Futaba and Kou was cute as heck; whenever there was a moment between them, I couldn't help but grin like an idiot. Of course, most of the supporting characters were very likable, especially Kominato; I loved his personality, and I rooted for him and his feelings for another character, Murao.
However, perhaps the best part of this manga is its artwork, done by the same person writing this manga, Io Sakisaka. Of course, I've read some of her other manga, like "Strobe Edge", so I know what her style is like; however, the artwork in Ao Haru Ride is just ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. From the scenery to the character designs even to the occasional chibi, it's all just a pleasure to look at. As if the story wasn't already beautiful, the artwork just HAD to add to it; it's definitely one of the most beautiful shoujo manga out there.
Overall, Ao Haru Ride was a real pleasure to read; I got to relive the memories of its anime adaptation and more. If you're looking for an amazing shoujo manga, I'd recommend this one on the spot. After finishing this manga, the tears that come out of your eyes.... well, they're really pouring down, aren't they?
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