- Last Online3 hours ago
- GenderMale
- BirthdaySep 10, 2002
- Location璃月港
- JoinedJul 17, 2019
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Mar 24, 2022
23 of 23 episodes seen
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147
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
5 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Character |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
***THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS***
Just like Studio Wit’s first project, Attack on Titan, Ranking of Kings succeeded in making waves across the anime community. In comparison to their other projects that I've watched, both series’ first couple of episodes contain some of the best attention grabbers in anime. Ranking of Kings in particular excelled in selling profound and heavy emotions to the viewers. After all, Ranking of Kings is a story about a child who was born with physical disadvantages and his struggle in the journey to becoming someone who would gain respect from everyone. The way Ranking of Kings manipulates its viewers is by demonstrating
Bojji’s tough inner will as an inherently weak person. This results in the earlier episodes being incredibly inspirational to watch. However, the constant usage of tears and plot conveniences throughout the show abates the actual message that the series tried to convey.
It all starts with Kage, a creature with the appearance of a black puddle whose clan was wiped out for the sins the family members committed in the past. Kage was generally hostile all-around before witnessing Boiji’s heroic losing fight against Diada. Even though Bojji was broken to the bones by his brother during that gut-wrenching sword fight, Boiji’s unwillingness to give up stirred up emotions within Kage. And later, their heartfelt swore of comradery scenes brought more emotions to the screen for the viewers. It was genuinely a good sequence because it was moving. But like I said, the show was dependent on this aspect too much. You’ll see Bojji and Kage cry again; the supporting characters like Apeas and Domas also shed a tremendous amount of tears throughout the show, which isn’t as nearly focused or emotionally developed as the other two. The issue lies with these scenes is that they’ll be used in situations that aren’t required later on. These later scenes don’t hold the same thematic values that the earlier episodes entailed. Which then significantly deteriorates the overall quality of the show for me.
Once King Bosse died, Bojji’s stepmother, Queen Hiling, ousted Bojji as the next in line to the throne and put her son, Prince Daida on the absent throne instead. This setup created an interesting conflict between the two brothers. Bojji, who, by the rule of Daida, was kicked out of the kingdom and begin his journey for the eventual return and confrontation with Daida.
I would argue that the stronger parts of Ranking of Kings aside from the earlier episodes were the ones focused on Prince Daida and his dynamic with his big brother, Bojji. Even though the show is about Bojji’s journey in becoming a king, his story isn’t exactly new or innovative either. But Ranking of Kings did have one massive potential in the character of Daida. The inner conflict and vulnerability of Daida’s character provided the needed nuances in the show more than Bojji ever did. And the earlier episodes demonstrated some promises when Ranking of Kings presented some elements of contrast between the two, unlike brothers. However, the anime then stopped exploring Daida’s character and added the character of Miranjo.
Once the original potential of the plot was shifted by taking Prince Daida out of the equation, a new antagonist was introduced: Miranjo. This part of the narrative was the least interesting shift plot-wise because we learn that Miranjo was just a tragic girl who wanted nothing more than just to make her savior, King Bosse, happy. The gist of Miranjo’s relationship with the previous king is that of atonement by King Bosse. After he failed, however, it was Bojji and Daida who ultimately saves Miranjo. And because Daida, who supposedly have seen Miranjo’s tragic past, decided to marry her out of pity. This is where I lost it. The more Ranking of Kings continued, the more the series derailed from its initial promises. Initially, Ranking of Kings presented some of the most interesting character explorations of Daida, the story of the conflict between the two unlike brothers, and they were all thrown out of the window for a tragic girl plot!
This is along with Bojji, whose journey is filled with noticeable plot conveniences. It’ll become very apparent later that Ranking of Kings ceases to be what it once was because the show shifted from a genuinely inspirational story to a show full of fake deaths and superficial emotions. There are numerous times when a character in the series got revived back to life after suffering a major death blow. This is all done through Queen Hiling, and later, through some bullshit circumstances without a clear-cut explanation, Bojji too. I swear every single episode in the second half of Ranking of Kings has a scene or two where someone gets killed. Dead. But got revived back to life because it was supposed to have resonated with strong emotions. The constant usage of this dying and reviving undeniably annoyed me because it took away the good tension and story that the first couple of episodes established. Oh, Boiji also learned his way of sword fight that shatters armors and bigger opponents with just a tiny needle. Yeah, that’s bullshit.
Score: 5/10
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Mar 19, 2022
12 of 12 episodes seen
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335
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
5 |
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4 |
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5 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Character |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
86 tells the story of discrimination, human rights, and the moral values that are built on the societal structures that were put in place. 86 as a series is the byproduct of a liberally indoctrinated ideal society. In liberalism, one of the fundamental values it believes in is the rights of human beings and the unquestionable equal treatment of all people. But of course, that is impossible to achieve because discrimination will always be present. 86 demonstrates these aspects clearly through the first cour and a bit more in the second cour.
This is why 86 is very typical. We have seen these types of
stories from other entertainment mediums: be it books, live-action TV series, films, and most importantly, history. The series as a whole offers nothing more insightful that goes beyond the usual tragic tales of the oppressed. As I progressed through this series, I began to form an overall arching question: What’s the point? The series incorporates the element of contrast between the Federal Republic of Giad and the Republic on the treatment of human rights. Yet, the hypocrisy is still there. On the one hand, the newly formed country of Giad proudly claims that they’re different from the Republic. They claim that they treat everyone, even the foreigners which are the Spearhead Squadron, the same. But the soldiers alongside the members of the squadron and some of its citizens despise them by blaming and ill shaming. This is all true in the real world, but what are the changes that are needed to be made to alter this type of behavior in a rigidly constructed society? I feel that for a series that has delved into this aspect needs to continue exploring it. Because as of currently, 86 as a entertainment is utilizing these elements in its narrative to victimize and only victimize. 86 is manipulating the viewers by giving in to the never-ending victimization, to squeeze out the emotions of the viewers because the series has no affirmative values to offer other than the surface-level presentation.
The victim-playing aspect becomes even more apparent during the turning point of the second half of 86 Part 2. During the turning point, 86 chose to shift the focus away from it. By shifting the focus away from continuing exploring for possible solutions to the problems at hand, the series is telling us that it doesn’t have affirmative answers. To which, in my eyes, this is no different than any other liberal media that have presented the same stories that contained the same themes as 86. This is where my problem lies with 86 as a series. I understand what the series is trying to portray, but I can’t help to feel that I’ve seen these types of shows before. I can’t help but feel that the same old themes and message that the series is trying to convey are not offering any distinctive answers; or in any profound way in its presentation. And over time, I can only predict that it’ll lose its meaning. In a world where these types of stories are saturated into our everyday lives, I can only see 86 as something that’s nonunique and nonrevolutionary when it had the potential to do so. I’m not saying 86 is downright terrible or utterly bad, but what I’m saying is that the series as a whole feels redundant given the field that 86 is playing in. To me, it’s upholding the same old status quo regarding the executions of its narrative and themes while not offering anything new for me to ponder over.
In consideration of its characters, 86 is at times feels more worth the investment when the series has little moments that are dedicated to the characters--specifically, the Spearhead Squadrons. When the series spends an episode or two on the character study of someone like Anju Emma, Shinei, or Raiden Shuga, it gives more insight into the minds of these characters. We get to learn more about their personas beyond being soldiers and apathetic war machines. I find that when the series utilizes their past to develop the people they are today is more interesting to watch because there’s a huge potential for explorations and again, character study. One of my major problems with the first installment of 86 was that I found Lena to be distracting and uninteresting. But by taking Lena away and focusing the narrative around someone like Emma—who’s not privileged and ignorant like Lena—it creates more compelling reasons for me to care and give a damn. However, I lament that part 2 doesn’t present enough of it. And that the increase in character dynamics between the rest of the cast and Lena will further decrease my liking of the series as a whole.
Overall, 86 is still a solid series that has a decent amount of attractive elements in its narrative and characterizations. But at the same time, it has nothing that innovates this media as others would claim it does. I find it very typical of how series like 86 in presenting themselves. I guess what I’m saying here is that 86 could’ve been a series that offers a more unique way for us to think about its presentation of its message and themes. If only 86 could be that unique.
Score: 5/10
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Dec 25, 2021
12 of 12 episodes seen
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7
people found this review helpful
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The title is misleading. Well, sort of, just not in the way you think.
When I first glanced at the promotional picture of My Senpai is Annoying, along with its anime title, I instinctively thought the “annoying” part was applied to the big, muscular guy in the promotion picture: Futaba Igarashi’s senpai, Harumi Takeda. I thought this show was going to center its gags, plot, and moments around Takeda actively teasing and annoying Igarashi to no end. I was proven wrong. The “annoying” part is really from the perspective of Igarashi. In the office space that she has been working in for the past two
years, Igarashi wants to impress her co-workers and her senpai. It’s the natural thing to do. But given her unusually short height, cute, and charming personality, Igarashi’s co-workers and her senpai often make fun of her in a light-hearted demeanor. They, including Takeda, appreciate Igarashi’s driven personality and dedication to her work, of course. So one of the ways they acknowledge Igarashi is by interacting with her in a manner that makes her think they’re just teasing her. And the anime emphasizes this in clever ways. But as the series progresses, Igarashi also realizes this and plays along. The bonding moments between Igarashi, Takeda, Touko Sakurai, and the other co-workers make up the large majority of the wholesome moments.
What I like about this show is that the moments of wholesomeness, interactions, and developments feel natural. The chemistry between Igarashi and her supporting cast is just right. Their personalities and quirks play off each other nicely. When all these elements play well together, it makes the romantic pieces between Igarashi and Takeda, Sakurai and Kazama, feel genuine.
An anime isn’t complete without a great cast of voice actors who fit the personalities of the characters in their roles. As Japanese voice casting normally goes, the voice castings are more often than not fit the characters up to a T. Take Takeda, for example. Takeda has the voice of a deep, raucous, yet gentle tone. The multi-tone shift that the voice actor of Harumi Takeda can convey gives more liveliness and affection to the big guy that Takeda is. The same goes for Igarashi, Sakurai, Kazama, and so on. Each of the character archetypes is accompanied by the right voices. My Senpai is Annoying is episodic, which adds another positive aspect to this anime because the series utilizes this structure in a crafty way. While each of the episodes is structured individually to continue its episodic entertainment, there are still threads within the narrative that connect one episode to the next. Because of this type of presentation, the characters, and narrative have a feeling of progress rather than being stagnant.
My Senpai is Annoying is one of those shows in a season that can’t go wrong. It’s a fairly conventional series that follows the formula of its predecessors, and just like them, it’s a blast to watch this anime.
Score: 7/10
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Dec 22, 2021
12 of 12 episodes seen
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125
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
2 |
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***THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS***
The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated into Another World as an Aristocrat is an isekai that’s centered around an old, about-to-be-retired assassin who gets himself killed by the very “organization” he was loyal to during his final mission. Just before he was destined to die, he was reincarnated and placed in front of a god, which the entity tasked him to slay the hero of her realm. As it’s said by the entity herself, if the hero wasn’t slain, the hero would bring destruction and annihilation upon the world in which he saved.
Well, that would have been the plot of the
series if it actually intended on carrying out its original narrative.
Cause once the former assassin was reincarnated into a new family of assassins, he was given a new identity: Lugh Tuatha Dé. Under this family’s name, he was rigorously trained by his father to be the best assassin in the vaguely touched upon Kingdom in which they resided. Lugh was obedient. As a former assassin, he does everything that his father taught him to do. Besides his usual training, he also had to learn the ambiguous magic abilities from Dia, the instructor/teacher. Except he was bestowed with all the magic skills when he was first summoned into this fantasy world. Everything that Dia instructed him on was everything he already knew. So what it ended up being is just Lugh showing off his skills apathetically to his instructor and the viewer of this anime for an episode. This type of presentation is seen everywhere in these generic isekai anime, which is why it makes them mind-numbing to watch. And in the desperate attempts to incite any sort of emotions and reactions that are falsely representative of the viewers, the series has Dia, Maha, and Tarte, aka, Lugh’s harem, to perform the tedious, over-the-top, and irritating admirations of him. Now, this usually might not be a problem because after all, these tropes have been done many times. But this type of lazy-ass presentation does add up to everything else that’s appalling about this series.
The World’s Finest Assassin comes from the same author as the infamous work: Redo of Healer. If there’s anything to be learned about this dipshit is that he’s obsessed with the concept of rape, and he incorporates it into his narrative in a way that neglects the responsibilities regarding the real implications and consequences.
Maha, before she was recruited by Lugh, was kidnapped along with other girls to a secluded area where nobody could reach them. In there, Maha and the other girls were basically fed like pigs so they could be used as sex objects to god knows what. This single episode in the series went out of its way to demonstrate how each of the girls were mentally and physically destroyed each day after being raped. Although this part of the depiction was seemingly handled with authenticity and care from the author, it’s the conclusion that ultimately turned everything that the girls went through meaningless, and disclosed the true intention of the writer. After Lugh exposed the sex traffickers and had them detained, the girls were suddenly uplifting and completely erased of their past trauma. They were written off as a one-note thing. They were used so that Maha was the only one left in the group who was saved from what they'd gone through to justify her being part of Lugh’s harem. But the real issue is that the girls and Maha were used to blind the viewers from seeing through the real thing: The elements of rape, sexual assault, and human trafficking were ill-handled not only in this garbage of a series, but in today’s Isekai anime in general.
You could say that anime is fiction. You could say that I’m being overly dramatic about all these things. But in my eyes, if a series is to incorporate these elements, it’s the duty of that particular series to handle these real-world systemic problems with the utmost care and justice.
As it is common with these self-insert isekai anime, the protagonist is portrayed to be this smart and witty man. He can solve any conflict of affairs with ease because of the author’s pretentious writing. The world which Lugh inhabits has never encountered the product of moisturizers because it just never existed even though the fantasy world was very well into the likes of the late middle ages of our own, and that the usage of moisturizers was long-established of our own. Because Lugh was the first one to have invented a moisturizer, he was able to successfully form a business selling his novelty to quell the disputes between a noble house and his. The writing then treats this as an absolute accomplishment by touting Lugh to absurd heights. It may look like I’m nitpicking, but I swear I’m just highlighting the moronic writing that’s dispersed in this series.
The World’s Finest Assassin is just another installment of abhorrent works by the infamous author, much like his other notable works, it offers nothing of value in not only its writing but enjoyment as well.
Score: 2/10
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Dec 19, 2021
12 of 12 episodes seen
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44
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
3 |
| Story |
4 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Character |
2 |
| Enjoyment |
1 |
The original premise of Mushoku Tensei that captivated an audience was the idea that a person can live a life that is fulfilling. A life where they can reflect on their past and change for the better. In a way, I wanted to witness that aspect of it. But for a person to change and grow, there’s a need for the right environment to stimulate that personal growth. Henceforth, I praised the slice-of-life aspect of Mushoku Tensei Part 1–a part where there were people such as Rudeus’ parents despite being flawed themselves.
However, I feel like that original concept was completely disregarded towards the conclusion
of part 1. By the end of part 1, the narrative had shifted in the direction of fantasy adventure, which is fine. But by neglecting the original core premise that made up this show is where the structure fell apart for me. Additionally, Rudeus’ pedophilia nature was not changed in part 1 and nor was it challenged and changed in part 2. The series just let him do whatever he wants regarding his uncontrollable sexual temptations. This aspect of the anime is not only reflective of Rudeus, but also the series as a whole. Men in the world of Mushoku Tensei are all degraded to one aspect: fulfilling their sexual desires/fantasies. The series even went out of its way to write about scumbags like a prince of sovereignty who openly touts his fantasies of kidnapping Roxy and turning her into his personal sex slave. But fans of this series argue that it’s a trope. An aspect that’s used to further the development and contrast for Rudeus. Except it isn’t a contrast because Rudeus is a man who couldn’t resist his desires either. Sure, he might not have gone to the extreme level where he openly admits his fantasies to others. But Rudeus definitely thought about these temptations, committed the act of preserving Roxy’s underwear, and even groped Eris. The fans of Mushoku Tensei argue that it takes time for Rudeus to make that change. If this aspect is rushed, it only makes the transition feel unnatural. Except that defense is completely illogical because he had years between the point he was reincarnated and the point he’s at now.
The worst part is that none of these actions are held accountable, belittled, or battered on. It’s all viewed as a normal part of their society. Men are shown as the dominant force, while women, on the other hand, are used to fulfilling men’s wishes, and I realized that’s the point of this anime.
Speaking of wish-fulfillment, the entire secondary female cast is part of Rudeus' love interests. Let’s be honest here, the female characters in Mushoku Tensei, like Eris, are the typical embodiment of overly done anime tropes. But it wouldn’t have been so bad if Eris as a character could stand on her own. Because other than developing her physical strength in the art of swords, she doesn’t have any other drive. She has no other struggles, which is disappointing because I was expecting some sort of conflict to be inflicted inside of her after being taken into the unknown. And no, I don’t consider her being more open and kinder to Rudeus is significant because, in my eyes, that falls back into the trope that she embodies. Finally, by the end of part 2, she leaves Rudeus after she had sex with him. This single moment solidifies it even further in the wish-fulfillment fantasy, as Rudeus brags about it afterward. And I don’t care if Rudues’ reincarnated body is the body of a teenager. The fact that remains is that he’s still the same 36-year-old pedophile. The series is only disguising it with a younger body.
Now, what about Roxy? The only interesting exploration that we got about Roxy was that she couldn’t communicate telepathically with her people since birth. And the series emphasized that was the sole reason which led to Roxy’s alienation among her people and her eventual break away from her family. The forced break away from her family was supposed to have a very traumatic impact on Roxy as a person because of all the emotional conflicts that were accumulating inside of her. Except the series was very surface level about it. Instead of fully exploring her state of mind at the time, the series brushed it off with a surface-level presentation in one episode and shifted the focus back to Rudeus because Roxy’s sole purpose is to serve him.
In regarding its magic system and world-building, I would say it’s still a major strength that the series has a grasp on. Never once were the rules that were set in place being abused or broken. Characters in the fantasy setting of Mushoku are still limited by the boundaries set in place. Because of this, the series demonstrates that intelligence and cooperation with a bit of luck is the only way to get through the difficulties that are set in place. And each of the regions in its world has its own distinctive social structure, though it’s somewhat ambiguous. Regardless, this tiny positive is insignificant overall when compared to the overall faults I formed while watching through part 2.
The main reason I wrote this review in the first place is to discredit the praises I gave for Part 1. I was ignorant to think that Mushoku Tensei was anything but a wish-fulfillment fantasy. I was fooled into thinking that Mushoku Tensei was a series that would take its initial powerful concept of redemption, self-growth and execute these themes without ever losing its focus. Mushoku Tensei’s continued usage of superficial elements in resolving personal conflicts and drama between Rudeus and characters like Paul only further devalues the series for me. The series has long lost its original concept and has shifted into a more male power fantasy, but I do understand that some might not feel this way. That’s fine. After all, this is my perception of how the anime has progressed and it isn’t indicative of one’s own.
Score: 3/10
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Dec 19, 2021
12 of 12 episodes seen
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50
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
6 |
| Story |
5 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
Even though Mieruko-Chan labeled itself as a horror anime, the series itself was never about horror. It’s more about you watching Miko, the protagonist, doing her best to not give out any sort of reactions to the horrific-looking spirits that happen to exist and only people like Miko can witness. And that’s where the entertainment really lies. This show, Mieruko-Chan, instead of keeping its viewers constantly at the edge of their seats and anticipating the next jump-scare, it’s more about following the daily life moments of someone who can see these hideous spirits and not lose sanity. These creatures were supposed to be presented to
incite the feeling of creepiness in both of its characters and the viewers. But the reliance on this element in the anime does get aggravatingly repetitive and can lose its purpose.
While some of that concern is valid, I think the series does a good job of surprising its viewers every now and then in unexpected ways. One of the aspects of Mieruko-Chan is that it’s unclear what these spirits truly are because the series never really delved into it for possible explorations. But it’s safe to say that a spirit can be a deceased family member or a relative, or even an entity that can express emotions. One such that was presented in the series: A deceased elderly man who found his way to his current living family and helped his equally old spouse to remember a key lock to a small metal box that she had long forgotten. Another random incident in the show was when a spirit hid inside a cardboard box with a cat, intending to provide protection from an evil spirit. It’s random moments like these that I’m quite fond of because it was something that I was not expecting. To a degree, moments like a deceased spirit interacting with the world of the living can provide a deeper meaning than it seems.
In a way, the belief in benevolent and malevolent spirits is something that I think is universal because we can acknowledge that there’s no such thing. However, we do subconsciously think of it from time to time. It’s pretty much a reminder, for me, at least, that these feelings and beliefs can still creep their way into the scientific and progressed world.
Earlier on in Mieruko-Chan, there were bickerings among the viewers about the unnecessary fanservice in the show. Ranging from ass shots of Miko and other characters to a horny spirit that’s dedicated to an episode. In the end, however, the fanservice served no purpose to the show and as the series progressed, Mieruko lessened its usage as the plot changed direction to more interesting aspects.
Other than those little moments, Mieruko-Chan as a show really doesn’t shine much in the horror compartment. However, that’s not to say there aren’t any horror moments. The very few horror moments in the show were decently executed in my eyes, it’s just that there aren’t that many. Additionally, the series is not about finding the intricacies of how these spirits came to be and I think that’s perfectly fine. If the show isn’t really aiming for an in-depth explanation and is still able to provide a sense of entertainment, then I believe that is more than justified for its existence.
Score: 6/10
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Sep 25, 2021
25 of 25 episodes seen
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178
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To say I was going into the 5th season of My Hero Academia with high expectations would be an understatement. Even though I’m not a My Hero Academia enthusiast or even a fan for that matter, I can wholeheartedly say that this season of My Hero Academia was supposed to be the series game-changer and tone shifter. The 5th season was supposed to set My Hero Academia in a new and more compelling direction. A direction that would’ve brought My Hero Academia’s writing to a new height because of the fascinating and enchanting thematic value that it has to offer. As the egregious season has
finally encroach to its end, I can say that the changes the anime made will devalue and potentially destroy the story that Kouhei Horikoshi originally intended to tell.
The anime only had one job: Adapt the source material faithfully and bring the spirit of the manga onto the screen. The studio behind the anime has done it before and is capable of doing it, but they purposely dragged out the pacing of the first arc to this season just so enough time is given for a non-canon side film. The second half of the season was pretty much filler content mixed in with minuscule canon manga materials, which ultimately created an unnecessary mess that the future installment must clarify later on. The choice of dragging things out and making changes to the narrative structure ruined how the future narrative will play out.
You could advocate that I should evaluate the 5th season of My Hero by excluding my knowledge of the source material. But that would, in my eyes, be doing a massive disservice to myself. And in no way that I’m comfortable in doing so. Furthermore, I’m dubious that even people with absolutely no knowledge of the source material have praises for this season alone.
Honestly, there’s really nothing else to expand on because everything is just pointless. There’s little to no driving force in its narrative, nor was the season even entertaining. The 5th installment of My Hero was just a filler. Skipping the 5th season and you’ll miss nothing. At this point, I’m just hoping My Hero Academia will continue to fade into obscurity because the previous installments aren’t much better.
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Sep 18, 2021
24 of 24 episodes seen
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21
people found this review helpful
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| Overall |
4 |
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4 |
| Animation |
3 |
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3 |
I went into Tokoyo Revengers for the delinquents. I wanted to see the intricacies and inner perspectives of being a gang member. I wanted to see how they think and operate. Well, it’s safe to say that I only got crumbs of it. Instead, what I got from this anime is about a 26-year-old man in the body of a middle school kid running around crying and whining about his incapabilities and lamenting for a girl he dumped long ago. To that, I couldn’t care less.
Welcome to Tokyo Revengers. A 26-year-old who got his life fucked up from his times of being a delinquent
now lying in his squalid apartment eating chips and working in a shop to clean the dust off the shelves as a job. On his way back to his filthy apartment, he was pushed off of the train station, practically murdered, and got transported 12 years into the past. It is here where he’s tasked to save Hinata, the girl he dumped, from being killed 12 years into the future. The biggest obstacle to this task is to stop Toman, the gang he was part of, from going evil. And the sole trigger of Toman turning into a pure violent and cruel faction is the eventual installment of Tetta Kisaki, who was the catalyst for corrupting Mikey.
The problem with this narrative is that Kisaki is presented horribly as a threat to the series. He’s first shown as this cruel-looking delinquent with a ton of experience and knows how to manipulate others to his will. When we first met him, the narrative made us believe he had already devised his evil deeds. That Kisaki will slowly unravel the intricacies of turning Toman evil. That Kisaki will provide the needed tension for the series. But the series does none of that. Kisaki was forgotten as soon as he was introduced. Instead, what we got from Kisaki is that he’s just another edgy and angsty teenager like so many others in Tokyo Revengers. This becomes even more ludicrous to see when the narrative kept insisting on the importance of Kisaki even after the first arc, where he isn’t even prevalent anymore.
Another issue with the writing is Takemichi. He isn’t the type of protagonist that pushes the story. He’s just there. If he’s given a task, he’ll do it. If he’s caught in a horrible situation, he falls into this pathetic state of inner monologuing about how bad his current situation is instead of using his head. If things went south, he charges straight at the problem like an idiot. There are no steps of planning and executing his desired goals. It doesn’t help when he also whines about every bad thing that has ever happened to him. There’s nothing that makes Takemichi grounded to reality. There’s nothing that makes him likable as a character. There’s no progression to his way of thinking and how he adapts. But what bothered me the most was how the characters in the show touted Takemichi for his minuscule contributions. The series assumes that the viewers won’t see through the obvious problems of Takemichi and, by having others praising the main protagonist would be enough to sell his hard will. Takemichi is written worst than a shounen protagonist that we have seen. And frankly, he’s just uninspiring to watch as a character.
Because the series doesn’t delve anything more profound into the world of delinquents, Toman as a gang feels shallow. It’s just a group made of high look-alike kids following equally uninteresting, unimpressive kids that looks cool. Mikey and Draken are, to put simply, bland--just like the rest of the cast. Mikey looks cool. He has a kind heart and is capable of turning evil when the right buttons are clicked. However, when Mikey does turn evil in the future, as Takemichi has supposedly stopped it from happening, we don’t get to see the process. He’s just evil. All this is to play up the drama that feels empty. There’s nothing to take away from Tokoyo Revengers. The series doesn’t have any particular subject that it wants to tell and express that could’ve made itself stand out.
There’s no animation in Tokyo Revengers. The studio behind Tokyo Revengers anime simply took the manga panels, colored them, and called it a day. Fights and certain character moments that were supposed to have brought out emotions to the viewers were left unsatisfied due to stillness and jarring animation. When watching the anime, there’s also a noticeable amount of camera shots that pan away from the scenes that took place. The Tokyo Revengers’ plot and its involvement of delinquent lured people in. The first episode sold people because of how the show presented itself: A brutal, cool, and aspiring show. However, as the series progressed, it became bluntly clear that Tokyo Revengers was made to be edgy due to a lack of appealing writing and its lousy direction and animation.
Score: 4/10
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Sep 17, 2021
12 of 12 episodes seen
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10
people found this review helpful
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6 |
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Vampires. A fascinating group of creatures generally depicted as merciless monsters across many works of literature of its existence. Their conventional roles in a story are either misunderstood and victimized, or they’re straight-up one-dimensional adversaries--a hurdle for the hero to get through. And The Case Study of Vanitas is no exception--the series follows the conventional flow of writing.
Set in 19th century Paris, the story follows a vampire and a human doctor that goes around the city to cure the recent phenomenon that corrupts vampires. A phenomenon is known as the “Curse Bearer.” Once the phenomenon corrupts its target, the victim loses all sense of
normalcy and goes berserk, killing anyone in its sight. This is where the conflict comes in. In the world of Vanitas, vampires and humans have long ended their disputes. There is a harmonious establishment between humans and vampires. However, that’s not to say that there isn’t any stigma between the two races. As demonstrated on the vampire side, vampires, in general, still despise humans to an extent. As for the reasons, they are unknown. But I suspect it has to do with the history between the two and what humans did to the vampires.
Seeing the emergence of corrupt vampires in the human realm, the ministry for the vampires was searching for ways to mitigate the situation before it turned to complete chaos and disorder. Thus, long story short: Noe and Vanitas went against the ministry’s cruel method of dealing with corrupt vampires and insisted on their own solutions for the matter, which was to use a special book to purify the corruptions. Through this journey of curing vampires that Noe and Vanitas were tasked with, the reveal of themselves and the people around these two makes a large chunk of the series. The narrative thus far hasn’t conceived anything new. It follows the formula of a duo protagonist in their quest of eliminating chaos and dissipating fomentations.
The heavy reliance in The Case Study of Vanitas is the character dynamics. Yet, the interaction between Noe and Vanitas, or the protagonists with the supporting casts such as Janne and Dominique, are uninteresting, to say the least. It is shown that there could be more to the characters, that each of them can change one another--the four of them. But that’s barely the focus. We were only being given hints between each episode before it disappears and goes back to lackluster comedy. The poor placement of tone shifts is mainly derived from the cheap comedy, where there’s also dependence on chibi art. Some of the writing and presentation lands, but the comedy is a hindrance for most of the time. The jokes in this show are whatever. We can essentially ignore the humor since it doesn’t add anything valuable to the series. The sole reason for its existence is to provide a tone shift, which, in all honestly, can be done better. But in The Case Study of Vanitas, the transitional scenes are just jarring, which for the majority of the time, ruins the immersion of a particular scene.
Besides the poorly placed comedy and inadequate casts, I am gravitated by its art and visuals. The beautiful depiction of the realistic colors of a city, characters, and overall atmosphere facilitate narrative in an immersion sense. When watching The Case Study of Vanitas, the show was always able to let viewers be placed in situations. Usually, both the writing of its story, characters, themes, and visuals are needed to immerse the viewers, but Vanitas only really succeeded in visuals for me.
The Case Study of Vanitas is a solid yet straightforward story. Conventional writing does have its charms and faults since it doesn’t flourish into anything outstanding. Its major appeals, I would say, are the character dynamics and visuals. If this series was to be compared with others of its similar playing field, I believe The Case Study of Vanitas would stand shoulders above them.
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Jun 28, 2021
13 of 13 episodes seen
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9
people found this review helpful
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2 |
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This anime is not good. Higehiro tries to deceive its viewers by presenting itself as a more mature, well-researched, and well written by having some serious approach to pedophilia, rape, sexual harassment, and child abuse in anime. Yet, the anime also contradicts itself by neglecting the very same thing. I find it extremely baffling that the anime gets away with its hypocritical depiction of these elements.
Now, let me explain: To start off, Higehiro tries to showcase the trauma and tragedy that Sayu suffered from her days as a runaway on numerous occasions. The anime deliberately went out of its way to show flashbacks of
Sayu being forced by a random grown-up working man to his, presumably, residence from a busy city street and forced her to have sex with him so that she could have a place to stay. Sayu herself even stated that she had many sexual activities with different men because that was the only way she sought temporary placement. Now, the anime was depicting these elements carefully and seemingly condemned such actions.
To enforce the tragic experience that Sayu had even more, in one of the later episodes, the anime showcased a brief scene of Sayu being fucked by a rapist; the whole scene was depicted as disgusting and traumatizing because Sayu was literally dead inside as she was being fucked over. My initial takeaway is that the anime showcases this to facilitate its message: Condemning rape, pedophilia, and essentially, child porn. But when Sayu reencountered the rapist, the rapist manipulated Sayu because of her vulnerable position, forced himself into Sayu’s current shelter. When they got into her current shelter, the rapist pinned Sayu down onto the floor and attempted to rape her again in SOMEONE ELSE’S home. Yet, in the very next episode, after the rapist was caught and kicked out, he was FORGIVEN! That’s right. The rapist was not arrested and put into custody after he was caught. Instead, he was forgiven. In fact, no one actually made the damn call for the arrest! Not even Yoshida, who was portrayed as a mature and morally right adult through the entire fucking anime. What’s even more mind-boggling is that the rapist and Sayu were allowed to work in the same job environment. And somehow, after a brief little talk with the rapist, Sayu seems to have washed away all her trauma, worry, safety, and allowed the rapist to act friendly towards her.
This resulted in the complete destruction of this anime’s original intention: Condemning rape and pedophilia. A complete contradiction and neglect of its themes. What this anime ended up portraying is that people who have committed immoral, nefarious, and sinful acts can be forgiven. They won’t face any consequences for their actions—a criminal act, at that.
There’s this saying: You can’t make this shit up and expect to get away with it. But somehow, Higehiro found the loophole.
Another egregious writing choice in Higehiro that makes this anime even more despicable is that this anime victimizes Sayu in the worst way possible in order to try and make the viewers be sympathetic towards her. The whole incident that initiated these cascade of events is the suicide of Sayu’s one and only friend due to bullying. The anime, again, depicted this as traumatizing and that the bullying should be dealt with. Yet, Sayu doesn’t do anything to help her friend. She doesn’t even report the bullying of her friend to the school staff or trusted adults. Sayu lets the incident continue until her friend jumps to her death. And then she has the audacity to play the victim by crying, lamenting, and playing with other people’s emotions. That’s the problem I have with this anime. It’s victimizing Sayu in the most illogical way possible.
Furthermore, immediately after her friend’s suicide, her household was in the spotlight of the news. Sayu’s mother was obviously stressed and couldn’t handle the burden, which is understandable. But the mother blames everything on her daughter when she knows full well of the incident makes no sense to me. Apparently, the mother believed that her daughter’s friend suicide and bullying was all her daughter’s fault and said it directly to her daughter with no remorse. In fact, due to her obstinance to sympathize with her daughter, the mother is depicted as someone who hates her own kid!
I’m sorry, but at that point, I saw this as nothing but to play up the drama. There’s no logic in its writing. It’s just a pure bullshit attempt to get me to sympathize with Sayu in the worst way possible. This is the problem: The anime victimizes Sayu in the worst way possible in order to squeeze out the melodrama.
Going into the latter half of this anime, the melodrama becomes the main driving force for Higehiro, and the drama makes no sense whatsoever. As the drama was amplified, so does the neglect of its original intentions of this anime: condemning rape, pedophilia, and overcoming trauma. It’s absurd how the authors of the source material can be this deranged from their own work.
As the anime progressed, the writing of this show went down the toilet. Not only was the narrative full of bullshit and contradictions, but the characters themselves also became increasingly pathetic and pointless. Yoshida, who was the mature adult in the anime at the beginning, turned into a character that is only there to spew out the most obvious moral dilemmas through his monologues and dialogues. Sayu became the victim of her own show. The original intention for her character was to confront her past, to find the right environment for her to overcome her traumas and grow. Initially, I thought the confrontation of Sayu with her mother was the main arc--the factor that will facilitate her growth. But instead, Sayu was turned into a plot device that drives the melodrama of the show. There’s nothing to be taken away from the set of characters in this garbage anime.
Higehiro devised a perfect beginning by deceiving its viewers in trying to present the notoriously badly handled topics in anime and tried to sell it at something more deep or sophisticated than it actually was. If you were to take a moment and contemplate its setting, writing, characters, and themes that Higehiro presents, the more offensive the anime is.
Score: 2/10
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