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Much as I'd like to troll with this, I can't. Why did I even watch this film? I mean sure, perhaps I went in with my expectations a bit too high, but still. We have Shelter, which was able to tell a fantastic story in 6 minutes, and then we have Oira no Ski. Literally just about some animals going skiing, which is boring as fucking hell.

But, I suppose I'll do a proper review.

Story - 1
What was the story? I get that a lot of short films aren't really made to have a story, but c'mon. You gotta do more than just FUCKING ... SKIING. I mean, what's interesting about that? Although the story was horrible however, I understand that it wasn't made to be something great so I really can't say much here. I believe there is no story, and thus this can be pulled into the enjoyment section, which I will write about later.

Art - 1
I mean, this was made in the 1900s, but so was anime like Evangelion and some Ghibli movies- it looked like absolute shit. With the staticky background and monochromatic colours, it failed to create a level of interest to the viewer. This being said, I don't actually mind this art style that much, but if one wishes to use it, the rest of the film must be executed well. Oria no Ski failed to do that.

Sound - 1
All I heard was static and used soundtracks in the background; in fact, I can't even remember any particular pieces of music that actually conveyed real emotion. Even if the music is just to help set the light-hearted mood, it needs to be notable and impactful in one way or another. I understand that my expectations are quite high, again, but the work with music in this film seemed to be really lazy.

Character - 1
What characters? I get that a short film isn't supposed to portray the idea of fantastic characters, but this film didn't even have any characters. Even with fucking Skelter+Heaven we had characters (which were awful and forgettable, but they were still there). If they'd shown us even one personality trait, even just one, then the character score would shoot up.

Enjoyment - 1
Boring as fuck. I don't wanna watch an anime where some animals go fucking skiing and literally do nothing else. No drama, no emotion, just nothing. It's shit.

Overall - 1
Don't do it.

This. Anime. Is. Absolutely. SHIT.

It sucks. What can I say? IT FUCKING SUCKS! It has virtually no depth to the story, no character development aside from that bitch Yuka and the MC, and absolutely EVERYTHING seemed to revolve around the MC. At one point it was like he was the only relevant character; and yes, it is nice to have an interesting MC at times, but the side characters have to be of equal standing! And as interesting as they were, the show completely abandoned them for the shitty MC.

Well, here goes. Keep in mind that this is most certainly a spoiler-free review, ... although it may hint at some things.

Story - 3
To be honest, I had to skim over the last few episodes because it was so bad, but from what I got of the story, it was a cliche mess. I mean, where have I heard this idea before? Even though I haven't even watched that much anime, I've heard of this concept many, many times before. While I do admit that the supernatural aspect added a nice flair to it, it was overall done in the wrong way. It just felt messy and forced, which is a horrible trait to have in an anime. I will say that I did fine the story of the MC and his sister to be somewhat interesting, but the anime revolved too highly around that lone aspect. I wanted to see some real depth and not forced depth, but I never got that. I'm pretty disheartened, to be frank.

Art - 5
The art was alright- but quite frankly, it did look quite cheap. While it doesn't have to be anything fantastic like the animation from Shaft or Ghibli, I would appreciate if there was a little more effort put into it. Nevertheless, it looked alright; the character designs were pretty mediocre, but pretty and thus the art is no higher than a 5.

Sound - 7
I admit, the sound was good. The theme song wasn't the best but quite catchy, and while I never really listened to the ending song, it seemed alright from the first couple beats. The background music featured in this show was also quite nice and WOULD help to set the mood if the rest of the show didn't fail to do so. I do quite like some of the soundtracks here, and I'd like to see them put into other anime, although they weren't too special.

Character - 2
Oh my, the characters. Absolutely dreadful- I can't think of a word better-fitting, and thus I score this section a 2. While I won't give any spoilers, the characters were awfully cliche and bland. Most of them had little development and selling points, failing to capture the viewer's interest. This being said, the MC seems to highly stray from this category to the point where it's too much, and he becomes the only relevant character. At one point, everything seemed to revolve around him and the side characters became increasingly weak. The thing is, the MC wasn't even that interesting since the layers of his character were so messy, cliche and cheap. Really, absolutely awful work done on the characters here.

Enjoyment - 2
SNOOOOOORREEEEE. I had to speed up some of the episodes 4x and skim over the last few because it was just so utterly boring. It didn't have a nice tone to it, and it left a bad flavour in my mouth- even though I didn't exactly watch the whole series, it was a total waste of time. It lacked the suspense and drama that it attempted to bring, and that was where this anime really fell for me. I couldn't engage in it no matter how much I wanted to, and thus I rule it as complete shit.

Overall - 3
PLEASE, for your own sake, do not watch this anime. Perhaps newcomers might enjoy it as everything may seem fresh, but if you are experienced with anime and especially this genre, do NOT decide to give it a go.

"I haven't been following your orders because I had to, It's because... I love you."

Masterfully crafted, Skelter+Heaven is the very reason I watch anime. Every single moment I was on edge, and it will make you laugh and cry in the span of 18 minutes. I was a mess when I watched this anime, because I couldn't decide whether to cry or laugh. It was so good that I had to play it in 2x speed because I couldn't take the tears.

Story -
I couldn't even comprehend the story it was so good. I won't spoil you on anything tho. A giant squid ... attacks a city and a team of girls in mecha suits have to go stop it, suffering heartbreak and tragedy in order to achieve their goal. The one girl even told that guy that she loved him after having two flashbacks before she died. THIS IS HEARTBREAKING!! I just know I'll be depressed and unmotivated to live for weeks after seeing this fantastic, stunning film. It has completely changed me!!

The thing is though, that if you think it's not sad, Misaki and Midori died. Misaki is also the best waifu, so it's very sad to see her die.

Art -
THE ART IS STUNNING!! It takes me back to my childhood and I just love it! With all the colours and the amazing 3D animation (in particular of the squid), this anime tops any others I've seen! It's beautiful, it's just... wow! The design of each character is unique and beautiful to the point where they all seem like background characters and yet they're not, which is amazing! I've never seen anything like this, and even if the rest of this anime hadn't been good, I would watch it for the amazing art alone! It's just like a Studio Ghilbi film!

Sound -
The sound. Omg. The weird wooshing sounds in the background and lack of music really set the tone for this masterpiece. The amazing, catchy theme song and tearjerker ending song absolutely stole me away! The staticky sounds and the high-pitched screams of the main character in her dying stages were amazing! They were heartfelt and you could really feel emotion in them, unlike other animes which fail to convey that. Also the danger song is amazing since it really puts you there in that situation with them!

Character -
Ah, the characters... they were so good! In the span of 18 minutes we saw cool side characters that were so great I couldn't even distinguish their personality, a love interest that was so fantastic that he became boring, and immense character development with the main character! With fantastic flashbacks that really set the move, what can I say? The characters were fantastic in this anime, but I'd have to say that my most favourite was the squid. It was so mysterious, and it really made you think, "what could this guy be going through?!"

Enjoyment -
Laughter and tears. 2x speed. Eyes locked on the screen. It's beautiful.

I don't know what to say.

I'm truly feeling rather listless, as I just cannot even begin to fathom this creation. I'm at a loss for words; but if I got anything left, here goes.

---

Prior to watching this anime I heard a lot about it. I read the description and saw the overwhelmingly positive feedback it received, although never really took it upon myself to watch it. I'm not really a huge fan of romance anime (and romance in general), nor am I one to sit down and dedicate roughly two hours worth of my time to a show; but I mean, the premise ... sounded kinda interesting. Simple, but interesting, and after all it did indeed receive all this incredible praise... so in the dead of the night, I found myself watching Kimi no Na wa, for I just couldn't bear the curiosity no longer; why was it so good? I never really received an answer to that, even now, for words cannot explain.

I won't talk about the general ratings I give on the story and art, or any of that jazz... I'll just talk about it, I guess. First off, to say the least, I found myself kinda mesmerized by the beautiful graphics and fluid animation that this movie contained; I mean, it all looked bright and frankly quite pretty. It's rather appealing to the eyes, but even more so than one could possibly imagine. All of the scenes, literally every second worth of screen time is perfected; there was not one moment I could correct. Not to mention that I have particularly high expectations when it comes to overall animation in a film; very rarely would I consider those expectations to be exceeded. Kimi no Na wa did that.

But the art and animation is just the very surface of the... well, onion that this movie is. I say onion for it has layers upon layers of churning depth that lure the viewer into this fantastical, fictional world; a rather sophisticated way of talking about an onion, yes. But the main point that I'm trying to focus on here is that... it's just, I don't really know how to put it; upon watching it the first time, you won't quite be capable of completely fathoming it; you will likely have but a inkling of the trail this movie leads you on. Is there any sequels, and do you need to rewatch it to get that effect? No, for it will come naturally; your mind will be paralyzed on the thought of this movie and unknowingly you'll unravel the pieces and be able to just partially understand the create that is Kimi no Na wa. I believe there are many surfaces to this piece yet to have been broken by even those with the most keen of eye. How could I possibly imagine such a bottomless world that is Kimi no Na wa, how could I possibly be able to delve into this unsolvable puzzle? It is not frustrating trying to fit the pieces together, but rather a exercise that would typically make me content. It is beautiful, and rewarding in it's own way.

Another one of the exterior, yet absolutely brilliant surfaces of Kimi no Na wa is the utterly beautiful soundtrack; I admit, I cannot remember most of the music featured within the movie, but what I do remember is that feeling; that paralysis in which I became so entranced within these beautiful melodies. In which numbed my brain in such a way that I cannot even begin to recall. For each setting, the music follows in blissful harmony; once more, I do not find a single note that I can correct. Truly stunning, truly outstanding tones that shape the mood, the atmosphere and the feeling that practically radiates off of whatever screen one is gazing at... both in that of tragedy and love, it never fails to impress.

I want to focus more on the overall experience however; but before I do that I need to get the whole character thing off my shoulders. Yes, I do believe the two main characters were absolutely brilliantly contrasted, but I admit the others fell a little short; that doesn't mean they were bad by any means at all, and they were in fact still fantastic, but there essentially could've been more development on their part. That being said, that is much of a false argument seeing as Makoto was able to portray so much in the mere span of roughly two hours; adding extra character development could've ruined the beauty that this is.

But moving on- the experience. I- as I previously stated- am not a huge fan of romance anime; I find it rather uncomfortable to watch at times and dislike a overwhelming romantic appeal between two characters. In fact, a couple hours prior to watching this I had watched the train wreck that is ef: a tale of memories (which I wrote a review on). With my opinion already obscured, that completely tore apart romance anime for me; while I was sure that there had to surely be better out there, I couldn't look away from the horrible experience I had with ef. I thought it was likely I wouldn't watch a romance anime for awhile, but the curiosity was far too much to bear; so then came along Kimi no Na wa, and as if a light flicked on my vision was cleared.

Furthermore, I never cry. Often times when something sad comes along I find myself at struggle to become emotional; I can barely so much as get sad, and thus it is nearly impossible for me to shed a tear over fictional works such as anime, despite me thoroughly enjoying them. I'd been looking for something that could provoke emotion within me, that could stir what seemed to be my still heart to life; I'd been searching for awhile for one series, any series, that just gave me this crushing and yet hopeful feeling. And while during the beginning of Kimi no Na wa- despite being a little on the emotional side- I couldn't shed a tear, I soon found myself practically sobbing at my computer, gazing blankly at the screen. I didn't even realize I was crying at first; and when I did it was already too late to stop. Even now I'm not sure whether it was tears of joy, or tears of sadness; but must I say, it felt good. It'd been awhile since something had stirred up such feeling within me.

Kimi no Na wa... there was moments I chuckled, smiled, and then cried... I remember upon finishing the movie I found myself shaking; I just... couldn't really fathom what'd just happen to me. Tears were still pooling down my cheeks at the time, and I remember talking to my sister and chuckling rather breathlessly after every sentence. I remember sleeping that night with a smile on my face, I remember waking up with a smile on my face; I felt hope. A hope far unimaginable to those who have never experienced it; just hope, pure and raw, and it felt... well, great to say the least. With my heart pounding so firmly within my chest I just felt an urge to move forth, an urge to conquer... I felt at peace with myself. I felt happy with myself. While some would think otherwise, for all humans, that's kind've a rare feeling... a time in which I can be free of doubt, of judgement or of worry. Even if it only lasted for that one night, the effect that this movie had on me will continue to push me forth. I feel more connected with all my dreams, more in touch with all my goals and ready to pursue the path to where I aim to be; I don't really know what to say... It kinda spoke to me, y'see. I just feel as if the clouds have begun to clear... it feels good, really good.

So, will I recommend this anime to you? I'll go with I guess. I say that because this is a rare beauty, a film that you must decide to watch yourself... decide when your ready to sit down and spend roughly two hours staring at a screen, and keep in mind, it's worth it. If you're feeling down, look no further, for this... whatever this majestic creation is has arrived.

This anime has received generally quite positive feedback, but the issues that it contains are not ignored all in the same. While I do not believe this is a bad anime by any means, it is not too good of an anime either; overall, I have a fairly mixed opinion on this series.

(WARNING: May contain spoilers)

Art-
The art in this anime is quite bright and cute; but that being said, it isn't anything special. Really, this is to be expected of any slice of life series, so not much problem there. It is kinda fun watching the colourful cast of characters animate, but ... not more than that.

Overall Art Rating: 6

Story/Plotline-
The story follows a rather simple, everyday girl whom suddenly takes in a dragon maid; from there, the anime shows growth in the bond between Kobayashi and Tohru, following their everyday adventures. I admit the plot is kinda cute, but it's nothing special; then again, that is to be expected of your typical slice of life anime. It's enough to keep me entertained, but not much more than that. I don't really have too much to say on this.

Overall Story Rating: 4

Sound-
Again, sound is nothing special, but it's decent. Nothing particularly memorable or anything, and the opening isn't too good either.

Overall Sound Rating: 4

Character-
This is probably the main point of my review; for there are a lot of issues with the characters in this series. While some come across as cute and awfully likeable like Tohru, Elma and Fafnir, others like Lucoa were a huge problem. There was also Kanna, whom despite fitting into the same category as Tohru, got ridden with child pornography. That doesn't go to say that I don't like her character, but it was just too much; sure, her relationship with Saikawa was cute at first, but it kinda got out've hand. Kids, while they may show interest in each other in the form of crushes, should in no way be acting like that; and even if they did, it's definitely uncomfortable to watch on screen. I admit at times it was funny, but the majority differed. That is really a minor problem however when compared to the worst issue with this anime.

And that'd be Lucoa, as I'm sure most of you whom have watched this anime can guess. While she initially just starts as a slutty, fan-service character, that changes drastically over the duration of her screen time. What I thought was hints at potential depth was merely the very outer surface of her horrible character, in which is an utter and absolute pedophile. Sure, maybe if they joked about this a bit it would be fine, but when it gets to the point that she's attempting to sleep and bathe with a much younger boy in a sexual way, it's inexcusable. It's just really uncomfortable to watch with her wearing purposefully slutty outfits and then trying to be a companion towards Shouta in a frankly lewd way; similar to watching Saikawa and Kanna but much worse, it's incredibly uncomfortable watching pedophilia. For there is no other bond between the two apart from the sexual desires Lucoa has for Shouta- gee, the poor kid.

On the bright side of this anime however, I did really like the emphasis on homosexual relationships; it was really cute watching Fafnir and Takiya get along, as well as Tohru and Kobayashi. I also really like the general personalities of many of the characters, and in particular Fafnir who I can kinda relate to myself; so while it is overall pretty good, there are underlying issues within that.

Overall Character Rating: 7

Enjoyment-
Not much to say on this either; it's a slice of life anime, and it's fun and cute to watch. That being said, it's not overwhelmingly engaging or especially deserving of a positive review; but that doesn't go to say it's bad or anything. Thus I give a solid 5 on this one, for I have mixed feelings on it.

Overall Enjoyment Rating: 5

Overall-
If you like cute, fun slice of life anime, this is for you; but only if you can handle the discomfort that this series otherwise brings. I do believe it is overrated, but it's not so bad either.

I don't even know where to start with this. What kind've shit did I just watch? I have sorrow upon my poor eyes that had to suffer through 19 FUCKING EPISODES of this mess. I practically choked on my bagel when watching this, especially after hearing the praise some people gave it. I can't even write a proper review on this, it's so bad.

I am convinced that anybody whom rates this anime above a 4, is a troll. I feel as if this is the goblin of all anime; I feel as if I just watched Skelter+Heaven II. This is essentially watching Kim Kardashian ... in an alternate universe; dreadful, a prissy bitch and their servant, and a "dark past" that caused them to do all this shit. I mean sure, that's a dark past, but holy fuck we don't even know the full details of it. We don't even know who exactly caused it all.

I feel as if I need therapy after watching this and hearing some people rate it good. The only good thing about it is Grell's weave. If you are a masochist and enjoy suffering, this anime is for you.

Alright, here goes- but before you sit at your computer (or phone, whatever) and angrily glare at this post, hear me out first; I'm not judging this anime from a professional's perspective, nor am I putting deep thought into this review. Rather, this is simply the initial impressions that I received from this anime; I completely understand that some people like it, but I however do not.

Story-
The story of this... how to put it. It was... dreadful, absolutely horrific. Alright, although I may say that, and although you may be getting all aggravated just reading through this reply, allow me to justify.

(trying ... to give as minimal spoilers as possible, although will include some)
The story opens with our 6 main characters, in which half of I forget the name of. Only one of them is really interesting, as they seem to be hiding somewhat of a darkness lurking underneath them. That's Chihiro I'm talking about, perhaps the only truly memorable character of this series; and barely even memorable at that (I'm sorry I didn't even realize). We get our two pairs of characters that are undeniably gonna end up lovers; but as we see the story follow them, it's just... ugh. Constantly flipping from one to the other in a predictable manner; I feel as if I'm just watching a documentary on different couples.

But that's not the truly bad part; this story, this "work of art" is so utterly plain. I just cannot stand how awfully, how tragically plain it is. Did you want a satisfying moment? Nope, you don't get any. Did you want something shocking to suddenly happen? Nope, you don't get any of those moments. I am nowhere near to being as close in talent as the creators of this series, but even I saw several moments where they could've made the viewer go "wtf" in a good way. Here are some examples of what I mean, and caution, there will be minor spoilers.

First, remember that one episode where it showed Kei looking up at the sky, you know, looking all treacherous and utterly envious? It showed the train tracks, and then later we see a scene with here talking to Miyako rather confrontationally. Threatening her and all that jazz, so I thought "holy fuck she's gonna push her on the railroad." Did she? No. No, she merely stalked away like a little bitch. So, in counter you may say, "but that would be too predictable." But in that, you're wrong, for I only made that assumption a couple moments prior to the actual event. If it had happened, perhaps my opinion would be changed a fair bit on the series. But alas, it didn't, and this utterly plain vibe continued throughout 10 (not even 12) episodes of mere suffering.

Second, how about when Chihiro kinda got all glitchy when she was asking Shinji (or whatever his name is) to kiss her? Did we ever see anything else regarding that later? No, and that was arguably the only cool and actually interesting scene in this anime. Not to mention, I'd automatically assume "hey, she's some sort of demon or something, she's not as innocent as she seems." Is she? Nope. Which is actually fine, but it angers me how many places they could've gone with that; they could've completely twisted her character into a very unique and intricate one that could be described as an antagonistic protagonist. But they didn't. She just remained Chihiro, and that was it.

Third, lets take a look at the scene where Miyako was rapidly texting that manga guy (I forget his name) when he wouldn't meet at their spot. The pacing and visuals of this scene are done well, although the rest is absolute garbage. I expected that he was gonna be dead, and perhaps Kei (whatever her name is) would appear and threaten her. Did that happen? No, turns out that manga guy is perfectly fine, and Kei doesn't do anything except bitch about it. Again, they could've gone tons of places with this scene, but instead they stick to the very basics. Garbage.

I could go on about this, but I don't got all day to write about such a shitty anime. The one last topic I will mention however is episode 10. Episode 10, the horrendous episode 10. It made me go "wtf" in a really bad way. I mean, the manga guy's best friend or whatever just tells him how he's indecisive and can't make up his mind about anything leading others to get hurt. So you know, he's gotta do something honourable about it, right? Thus he goes up to Kei, and after she confesses her love for him, he practically does the same for her. You'd think they're good with each other now and that she's the one for him, right? No, then he goes up to Miyako and professes his love for her. I mean, which way do you swing? Pick one or the other, because unfortunately due to the plain nature of this anime I can assume he's not just polyamorous.

Story Rating: Absolute shit, a 2

Art-
Now the art was pretty good, I do say; of course, it isn't entirely my style (Danganronpa is an example of said style) but it's good. The anime features many unique scenes and often pretty visuals that could perhaps spark some emotion; if everything else wasn't such shit. The art in the opening is also quite fantastic; but my score does not go above 6 as I just simply cannot single out this quality from the horrible rest.

Art Rating: Pretty damn good, but since the other, dreadful aspects far overshadow it, a 6

Sound-
The sound is nothing special; the only thing I like is the opening, really. The opening is quite good and does quite a good job at attempted portrayal of the story; in fact, it actually tells the story better than the actual anime does itself. And while it actually does a good job in representing it, this is only because the anime fails to represent it at all. It truly seems to have wasted potential.

Sound Rating: Good, but only the opening

Character-
...
I won't even talk too much about how utterly horrendous, how utterly plain the characters were. Name me one defining trait of that manga guy, other than the fact he writes manga; how about one defining trait of bigger characters like Miyako. The only character that can be defined is Chihiro; and the only words I can think of is "timid, cowardly". All of the characters are horribly predictable in what they do, and all tend to fall in sappy, cliche love drama.

Enjoyment-
I found myself struggling to get through this anime. You know that anime that you just want to finish so that you can see the ending and move on to another one? You know the anime that you think has some potential to finally tell a good story, but fails to do so? Yeah, that's this anime for me; eventually I just got tired of it and dropped it, even though I was only two episodes away from finishing. The whole anime is filled with sappy, cliche romance (as mentioned above) that is too utterly plain and predictable; wow, they have secrets? Dark pasts that trouble their relationships? Wow, what a shocker. While I am not a big fan of the romance genre, it can be executed in an absolutely fantastic way; this typically involves chemistry between the two but not entirely blatant chemistry, that slowly builds up rather than "love at first sight" or whatever. It also may involve surprising twists and turns that change the story and effect the characters. Not to mention the characters are good and definable, not entirely revolving around one another; examples of this include Spice and Wolf, Akatsuki no Yona, any ship in Danganronpa, Fullmetal Alchemist, Naruto (although it does not focus too much on the couples), and even Tokyo Ghoul being the shit anime that it is. But this is just... ugh. It's bad.

Overall-
Horrible, would not recommend. Again, this is my personal opinion, so I would kindly ask you don't get all fired up if you are in favour of this anime. The only good thing in it is the art, and otherwise it's utterly painful and cliche. Do yourself a favour if you're not a fan of cliche romance dramas and stay far, far away from this anime.