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Jan 20, 2021
3 Things I Liked About This Show:
1. The soundtrack was pretty darn good.
2. Anaru looks cute. Hm, that's more like half a point. Um, Menma hugging her brother was also cute?
3. The final episode finally allows the actors to act for the first time and they do decently for around half of it.
10 Things I Hate About This Show:
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1. Every character has at least three names they are consistently referred to by: the first name, the surname, and the nickname. This makes keeping track of what character is being referred to annoyingly difficult at best and frustrating at worst.
2. Despite this, I had to look up everybody's names whenever I referred to them in this review. They somehow picked the 15 most forgettable names I've ever heard.
3. There is no defined goal or path to that goal. The main guy wants the ghost to go back to heaven. Why? How? What does this mean for him? How does this change things? None of this is addressed until the final episode, and by then it's too little too late.
4. The characters are awful people, except for Menma, who never interacts with anyone in any meaningful manner, and Tetsudo, who is constantly upbeat and tries to encourage everyone at all times. For this, everybody treats him like trash and the show makes fun of him.
5. The show tries way too hard to lean into its drama and the pain of losing a loved one. Yeah, that's hard, and can screw up your life even ten years down the line, but because the show never puts any sort of spin or moral center on the idea, it gets old remarkably fast, and without personality, charm, or humor as a focus to land back on, watching further episodes gets progressively tiring.
6. Maybe don't have your main character the one who is emotionally distant and disconnected if you don't know how to write characters like that. Mob from Mob Psycho, Saitama from One Punch Man, Roy McBride from Ad Astra, Jack Harper from Oblivion, Kousei from Your Lie in April, these are all excellent examples of how to write a main character who lacks emotion due to repression. Jintan is unlike any of these; he is no active force and never is pushed into being one. Every single confrontation he finds, he runs away from. I got so sick of watching him do the same thing scene after scene after scene with no emotion, no care, and no progression.
7. Jintan's dad is a terrible parent and a terrible example of proper parenting. I don't care how much he smiles and talks excitedly, any father who lets their child sit and do absolutely nothing and doesn't care whether they go to school, work, get into trouble, or sit around all day doing nothing and mooching off them, they either don't love their kid or aren't fit to be a parent. This is a person that needs guidance, help, and a swift kick on occasion, and there is nobody to give him this. Despite that, the anime goes out of its way to show what a loving, perfect father he is. It upsets me to no end.
8. Why are all these six-year-olds in love with each other? Why do they all retain this exact infatuation ten years down the line, even when they go years without seeing each other?
9. Why does everybody have the same alignment and goals but their individual relationships are complicated beyond reason? Why did the writers draw name out of a hat to determine who would have what feelings towards who? "Jintan is in love with Menma, but hates everyone, including Menma, oh, Matsuyuki is also in love with Menma, and also Anjo, but Matsuyuki hates Jintan, but not because of the love rivalry, but Anjo is in love with Jintan, but hates Menma, but not because of the love rivalry, but Tsuruko is in love with Matsuyuki, but hates Anjo, but not because of the love rivalry, and Menma loves everyone!"
"What about Tetsudo?"
"Who?"
10. This is an 11-Episode series. It takes nine episodes - NINE, before three of the main characters believe Jintan about Menma's ghost. And it's not like its hard to believe or that they kept their disbelief a secret, or like Jintan and Menma weren't around when they were being accused of lying and drudging up painful memories. And here's the thing: Menma isn't like a regular ghost. She is treated the exact same as a normal person, just invisible and inaudible to anybody except Jintan. But she cooks food, sleeps, plays games, and interacts with the outside world regularly. There is no reason whatsoever she couldn't just slap the disbelievers, or, if she wanted to be nice about it, pick up some rocks or something and show off an invisible force moving them around. Or Jintan could tell Menma to do something, like, say, turn off the lights, and she would do it. Almost half of the first eight episodes are spent on nothing but people trying to figure out if Jintan is telling the truth or not, and it all could have been solved in less than ten seconds. It is unbelievably aggravating just how stupid these characters are.
There's more, such as subplots that are never explained, arcs that are never finished, and a heart-to-heart that, while quite good, needed to happen in the first few episodes instead of the very last one. Narratively speaking, this is one of the most unfortunate experiences I have ever had with an anime. There is so much out there that accomplishes everything this tries to, but does it in a quarter of the time with ten times the effectiveness. There is no reason to watch this mess.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Jan 3, 2021
"It is an undeniable and, may I say, fundamental quality of man, that when faced with extinction, every alternative is preferable."
~ Dr. Leonard Church
Would I call it horror, as everyone else is? Not hardly. It is, however, thrilling, offers an excellent premise and a satisfying mystery, and showcases several good characters that act realistically in their current situations; the world would be a better place if more people were like Emma. Some notable plotholes and "why don't they just do this thing to get out of this situation" moments cause the story to falter in the places where it doesn't lag, and neither the art
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nor sound design is anything worth noting, at least to me.
I would, however, like to note that the actor for Norman is the same as the one for Hamefura's Catarina Claes - in both Japanese and English Dubs. That's fun.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jun 25, 2020
Holy bajeez.
I can count on one hand the amount of times any show, game, or book I've seen/read has shot up THIS much in quality between releases.
The animation is fine, but it was always, the music is great, but it was always. What Railgun S does is give you an intensely gripping plotline to follow that changes characters, alters the narrative of the world in a big way, and remains consistent in quality throughout the season. The cast of characters were...fine, I guess, in the first season, but I would have never believed you if you told me I'd be so attached to Misaka (the
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main character) and to be visibly panicking whenever something potentially dangerous was going to happen. I would have laughed if you told me that these writers could introduce a character at the beginning of an episode and have me fall in love with them before the episode was halfway finished. And I would have slapped you if you told me I'd be staying up all night line, binging episode after episode, because I suddenly couldn't put it down.
The show focuses a lot more on pure character and emotional moments, which works wonders, and the plot twists, reveals, and new introductions are all fantastic. The fight scenes are easily the best they've ever been; there was exactly one fight scene in the first season that I liked, but all of them here are great. There's a simple two-episode fighting sequence gauntlet where Misaka faces tough opponents one after another, and it reigns among my favorites battles in anime history due to the animation and soundtrack working perfectly with the pacing, dialogue, writing, and creativity employed.
There are also a few slice-of-life episodes sprinkled in, and each are just as good as the best of Season 1 and make for an excellent break from what begins to be a serious show. The new characters are fun and interesting. And the Chekhov's Gun that is Misaka's rival from Season 1 comes to a head and plays out masterfully, far better than I could have predicted.
There's a second arc after the first, main one, which isn't quite as good, but is better than any in the first season, and by some distance. It has lots of slice-of-life elements while filling things in with a suitably engaging plotline, wrapping things up from the last arc and acting as a sort of celebration of the series. I quite enjoyed it myself.
The season isn't perfect. There are serious pacing issues in some episodes, characters that were main characters from the last season are either seen rarely or never touched upon, and while it's lost a lot of its bad writing, childish humor, and ecchi-ness, those aspects do crop up again, albeit rarely.
Still, put simply, it rocked my world and made me invested faster than almost any other show I've seen. I only hope Season 3 is up to the task of following this one.
Also, Saten's little "kun" noises when she tries to sniff something is literally the most adorable thing I have ever seen.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 23, 2020
Stumbled upon this one by complete accident. I'm honestly not sure why I kept watching it after the first few episodes; it sets up an interesting world and a cast with potential, but completely ruins a lot of its interest with awful writing, ecchi moments that really, really didn't need to happen, and little to no serious plotlines.
The show does have three or four "arcs," all of which are boring and unfulfilling in terms of story, development, and action. This show was actually at its best when it focused purely on the slice-of-life elements. Seeing this group of four friends just hang out and enjoy
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life together was surprisingly refreshing and their personalities all mesh quite well. That beach episode genuinely became one of the most pleasant surprises I've had when watching anime.
It also sets up one or two interesting threads to pull on in the second season, most notably the mysterious rival for the main character. He very rarely appears, but is certainly the most fascinating characters in the show thus far. I expect something above average from him later on.
Probably not worth watching for most people, but I'm kind of glad I watched it for those six or so episodes that are quite enjoyable. I'll watch Season 2, but I'm sure going into it expecting anything grandiose would be a major mistake. Just...please, more of that slice of life stuff. You could almost have a good show on your hands if you went that route.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jun 23, 2020
I was so ready, so, so ready, to give this a 3/10, say it was just another High School Harem Ecchi Manga that had 95% of its humor and plot be through simple misunderstandings and could not go a single chapter without somebody being in their underwear or found in what looked like a compromising position.
But the simple fact is, it's a lot more than that. A lot more.
The drawings are expressive, the humor pops out of the pages and works every time, the stories and arcs each and every character go through are wonderful and at times heartbreaking, and main plot serves as a
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perfect catalyst for every situation the manga wants to show off and as a great representation for each of the main character's feelings.
It's hilarious, inspiring, ridiculous, and yet realistic. The main character is as dense as any harem manga protagonist (so, you know, supermassive black hole levels), but always does his best, every day, to improve the lives of those around him. Sometimes, well, actually quite often, he doesn't succeed. I really like that. He has a lot of the qualities of a Gary Stu, but also many flaws and personal issues he has to work through. A number of small arcs are focused on him having to surpass some emotional roadblock, and each time it's done very well.
The three main girls of the harem are actually maybe the best characters I've ever seen in a manga of this type. Their personalities are eccentric, yet relatable, their goals are strange, but interesting, and their personal lives are unique, and still believable. What I like most about them is their friendship with one another; a harem manga this may be, but if they ever have to pick between their friends and a relationship with the protagonist, it's always, always their friends. They're all different people, but they're all genuinely good people. They support and love each other, and will be more than willing to sit down and talk through any sort of emotional problem, or even publicly embarrass themselves for the sake of their friends. They make every chapter come alive, and each one's unique relationship with the protagonist feeds perfectly into the meat and the flow of the story.
The other two harem members are separated from the others through story means. Whenever a chapter focuses on one of them, it's almost always JUST them, or them and the protagonist. They themselves are just as unique and wonderfully strange as anybody else, but each hold their own understanding of the world and love. Their personalities are always on display, and are never boring.
Maybe one of the best ways to describe why these girls are so different from many other harem manga would be through Kominami, one of the members that is somewhat separated from the rest. Kominami is introduced to both the protagonist and us dozens of chapters after the beginning, and immediately sets up a unique relationship with the main character, setting a precedent that he's lower on the food chain than she is (which she proves by easily working her way through schooling problems the main character had extreme trouble with) and, while not denouncing his existence as a worm or anything like that, showcases a difference in their ranking in life. This is shortly afterwards challenged when he learns that she works in a maid cafe in order to raise money to get through college. But, instead of flaunting it over her, or her becoming deeply embarrassed or owing him in any regard, she instead decides to reveal to him her other main weakness: that she's failing at science, but wants to become a doctor. Being good at science, he helps her out for a number of hours. The arc ends not with the shoe on the other foot, or with her joining the rest of his harem as just another pretty face, but with the two gaining a mutual respect for each other and their own problems in life.
Over the course of dozens of further chapters and many further small arcs, the two become good friends, find themselves in a number of ridiculous situations, will hang out together to study or to just take some breathing room from the rest of their lives, and accidentally convince Kominami's dad that they're engaged. Throughout all of this, they grow closer and gain further understanding and respect for each other. They even confide their fears and secrets to the other, and often trade friendly jabs (with Kominami always getting the upper hand in such arguments). Throughout NONE of this is any real romantic implication shown. For the first hundred chapters of the manga, the two simply grow closer as friends, and showcase a unique and happy relationship that neither really has with anyone else. Until a much later chapter, where the main character finds out more about Kominami's family, the reason behind her dreams, and what being a doctor actually means for her. It's a surprisingly emotional arc that ends with her crying in his arms...and she realizes that somehow, somewhere along the line, she fell in love with him.
And yet, somehow, Kominami is still my least favorite of the five. Because she's amazing. But the rest are even more so.
What's also fantastic is that each and every main character has incredible chemistry with every other main character. We can spend an entire chapter with just a single character, and we leave totally satisfied. We can spend an entire chapter with just a single character and the main one, going through a humorous situation or going through a touching moment, and we leave totally satisfied. We can spend an entire chapter with just a single character and any other main character just hanging out as friends, and we leave totally satisfied. Some of my favorite chapters didn't involve the main character at all, or only involved him to a minor extent. Everyone has specific ways they interact with every other specific main character, and each and every one of these routes is explored and grows over the course of the manga. This gives you so much time in only 130 chapters to grow to know and love everyone involved, no matter where they are or what they're doing.
Also, this manga has an extremely unique and extremely welcome characteristic: multiple endings. Like a visual novel, after Chapter 130, you can choose which path to take for the character you most want to end up with the main character, following it down to one of five endings. We've gone through two so far, and I was shocked at how well-written and perfectly handled both were. Both are extremely true to every character involved, and are quick to show you the only real difference in each timeline is that the main character and that specific girl love each other just a little bit more than they did originally, and how that changes everything. The arcs are solid, the plotline excellent, the humor great, and the confessions amazing in both endings. I was rooting for someone else entirely, and yet I did actually come to tears out of happiness at the endings for the two characters so far.
We're in the middle of the third route now (my personal champion, Fumino) and I can't wait to see how it ends. It, and the rest of the routes to come.
How did this happen?
I don't know.
But I'll never regret reading this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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