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<Potential Spoilers>
There’s a lot of new stuff to go through.

This first part of Attack on Titan season three takes a break from fighting titans. It draws from the themes of war and sacrifice of the first season, and combines the world building of season two. Creating a fresh entry in the Attack on Titan story, with Wit studios animation and some more focus on building up characters.

I mentioned earlier that at this point in the Attack on Titan story, the cast have stopped fighting titans and are forced to fight humans. A dilemma that I love, as these soldiers have seen the worst of humanity ... and understand the consequences of sacrificing human life. So when they are forded to kill human life, they question their morality throughout the series. You see the unfair treatment of the Survey Corp in the government, it’s clear that they have the most dangerous and most horrific job in the military. Yet they are discriminated against the most and paid the least. We see the government disband the survey Corp and frame them for crimes they didn’t commit. We consistently see themes of corruption, morality, and the lengths to which the government will commit unlawful acts to keep themselves in charge. The world building in this season is a vast improvement from the world building of season one and two. We get a slight more detailed understanding of the titans and their origin, a look into how the walls were created and the outside world. However, we still aren’t given enough to fully answer these questions. Allowing for the series to lead on viewers to keep on watching.

The sound design of season three part one is a definite downgrade from the previous two seasons. The sound design itself is still as great as ever, whether it’s standard sound effects or the sound of ODMG it’s still got good sound effects. The voice acting is brilliant, we have brilliant performances from several different characters in this new season. However, the soundtrack is what lags down the other sound categories in this first part of season three. By no means is it horrible, as it does sound and feel like music from the Attack on Titan world. While also conveying the basic emotions of any scene. It’s just that the soundtrack of season one and two are so much more recognisable and iconic. The Red Swan opening is a horrific downgrade. I don’t care about the visuals or symbolism in the opening. It’s a series that shows the bleak fight against human corruption and this opening feels like it’s the opening for a high school drama.

I’ve said once that the animation that Wit studios produced was arguably so good that when the studios changed for season four, there was an uproar of pissed fans. While I do believe Mappa’s work on season four was outstanding, Wit also has some animation that is top tier. Characters seamlessly blend into the environments even if the environments are cgi, the environments themselves are animated near flawlessly. The crystal caves, the rural setting of the world, the towns within the walls, all feel so detailed and alive. Wit studios truely shines with their action scenes. Whether it’s the battle against Rod Reiss, the fight in the crystal caves or the Levi fight against the military police brigade. All the action scenes were animated at a top tier level.

Characters like Historia, Eren, Erwin and Levi are given more of a chance to shine during season three. The new Levi squad works together and seeing them work in one of their toughest positions is something that really shows the bonds between the cast. Eren learns more about his Titan ability and the whereabouts of his father. Historia learns the truth of her family and completes her character arc in this season. We see Levi act as a true leader and bring everyone together, he’s the realistic character who understands it’s either do or die. Erwins reasoning behind his motives and his true character are further explained in more depth. Making his character far more interesting then a simple smart guy in a position of power. Majority of characters receive a lot more depth and complexity, allowing for characters to further evolve from their first appearances in season one. The introduction of Kenny was groundbreaking, to see a force that is more terrifying then Levi is something we haven’t really seen in Attack on Titan. His presence gives a level of true fear, as before you could easily say Levi could save everyone. But at that time, there was a force stronger when Levi that was against the main cast. The main problem being that they don’t expand on this character stronger then Levi past part one of season three.

Despite a slight downgrade in sound design, the fresh narrative, the return of Wit studios animation, and the return of memorable characters made this season something I could truely enjoy.

Overall, I rank this 8/10.

<Potential Spoilers>
It took a fair bit of time for this season to come out.

This had something to do with troubles of manga or the author but regardless of the reason. It resulted in the hype for Attack on Titan to die out until the trailer for season 4 released. Despite the short 12 episode run, the season had amazing plot points, sound design that is somehow better then the first season. The return of Wit studios top tier animation and the best character arcs in the series.

This season allowed for us to focus more on building the characters that had a very minor presence in ... the first season. Krista and Ymir have an entire arc together where they both decide to live for themselves and not for other people who hate them. The set of episodes where they are surrounded in a abandoned castle, was one of the highlights. You could make a fat list of all the highlights in the series. Such as, the big reveal, Krista’s identity, Ymir’s identity, The clash between Eren and Reiner, etc. This season definitely had the same themes as the first season, the horror of war and sacrifice. But the second season focused more on world building and character exploration. Something I’m truely grateful was the main focus of the story.

The soundtrack somehow managed to improve from the first season. While the sound effects haven’t improved much, they’re still good. But the soundtrack is where this second season is a major improvement upon the first season. I mean, they must’ve been good if fans were sending death threats because the music wasn’t used in the latest season. But as a whole, the soundtrack was a major improvement. The music feels weirdly modern and tech like yet fits the medieval world of this anime perfectly. It conveys both the world and evokes the mood of any scene perfectly. The music during the “big reveal” was easily the highlight of where music is the backbone of emotion. Anyone who’s seen the anime knows exactly what I’m talking about. And don’t even get me started on the opening, the opening has become iconic and is something I can listen to and I doubt would ever get old.

The animation has improved for the most part. Wit studios are extremely talented and experienced with animation. That talent is present throughout the entirety of this second season. Characters blend well with the characters characters environment, characters movement is realistic and smooth, the environments are beautiful, etc. The animation of the ODMG is smooth and satisfying. And the Titan battles are vastly more intense. As we are no longer facing against pure titans. We’re fighting Titan shifters. The battles between Titan shifters are brutal and the animation doesn’t feel weird. As animating two titans, you would have to consider the physics and the way that titans of that size would move. Titan shifters are animated in a way that takes into consideration that giant moving bodies will move in a way that isn’t weird or unrealistic. However, the CGI of the colossal Titan does look weird. The colossal Titan has a weird combination of cgi and 2d animation that blends so poorly with the environment that it doesn’t even feel like it’s apart of the world.

Season 2 allows for many characters who were presented in the first season to be built up upon. Characters like Sasha, Ymir, Krista, Reiner, Bertholdt and Connie. They are all given more backstory and character significance. Ymir and Krista’s relationship has a major significance that allows for Krista to grow and sets her up for a bigger role. Bertholdt, Ymir, and Reiner allowed for more world building. Their characters answered many of questions of the first season but also created more questions like where do they come from, where is there home? Reiner feels like a genuine person with guilt and his character is far more complex then the strong brute that he was portrayed as in the first season. Sasha is also given time to build her character, as she manages to take on a Titan without any ODMG while also saving a girl. Sasha is given a backstory about living in the wild. This addition of a backstory and her demonstration of fighting spirit instantly made her character so much better.

Despite the short run of episodes, the improved narrative, soundtrack, animation and characters all made this one of the best seasons in Attack on Titan.

Overall, I rank this 8/10.

I can only really say that this is ok? I guess.

The OVA of Attack on Titan is a mixed bag, you’ll have the No Regrets or Lost Girls OVA which dives into really interesting stories. While this set of episodes are good they just miss the same level of interest that the other OVA had. The narrative leaps from truely interesting to unnecessary plot lines. The sound design is the same as the original if not kind of more ok. The animation is still amazing, and we do get some interesting character insight that we’ve never seen beforehand.

The best of the three episodes was ... the episode titled; Ilse’s notebook: Record of a Fallen Soldier. The episode followed the perspective of Hange, by far one of the best characters in Attack on Titan. We follow Hange attempt to capture a Titan, which leads to Ilse’e notebook. Which described a weird encounter with a Titan that was actually giving hints on the true lore behind the titans and the world itself. Hange’s character and the hints of lore was the highlight of these three episodes. The other two were sorta just there. One of about a cooking competition, and was just Jean being an asshole. While the third episode was actually pretty good. While I consider it pretty unnecessary, it was fun watching the 104th training Corp work together. Seeing their interactions with each other before their Trost district experience. However these last episodes just miss the same interest that I had towards no regrets and lost girls.

The sound design was pretty decent, I remember the sound where the Titan that Ilse posted encountered made such a distorted voice. The unnatural sound made the titans feel that more terrifying. Looking across all three episodes, the sound design is pretty decent and does everything that makes good sound effects. The world feels realistic and the sound effects don’t feel like they were ripped from a stock site. The soundtrack was the same as season one, and anyone who has seen season one can tell you that the soundtrack is top tier. The sound design is about the same quality as the sound design in season one which is pretty good. So I would rate the sound design pretty high.

Majority of the tiers in this OVA series are ranked the same as season one. Which includes the animation. The three episode span demonstrates everything that Makes animation good. Solid line work, grounded character movement, characters seamlessly blending into the environment, etc. I discussed the art style in my previous review, but I will mention again that the art style is perfect. It reflects Isayama’s art style in his manga and whenever you see the art style you instantly know that this is Attack on Titan. It fits the world perfectly and conveys that this isn’t some light hearted world full of fun. The art style shows terrified characters in a disturbing world. While their isn’t as much ODMG use in the OVA, whenever it is there it’s satisfying and amazing to look at the animation. And commander Pixis acid trip was the funniest shit I’ve ever seen, it fit well in such a morbid franchise.

The characters were alright. Only two real aspects of the characters ever stood out to me in the OVA. That being Hange in the first episode and the teamwork of the 104th training Corp in the final episode. Hange in their attempt to capture a Titan and explore the true meaning behind the titans is what makes Hange unique. Majority of people want nothing more then to exterminate them, while Hange considers factors like, what is their origin? Why do they eat humans? Seeing a full episode that explores the best attribute of Hange was amazing. The final episode shows the teamwork of the 104 to save Krista from a group of kidnappers. Seeing them work together was so fun and if you want to see more of the 104 and their journeys. This OVA is definitely for you. The second episode did have its moments, it was nice seeing the characters being happy and enjoying their time together before post battle of Trost District. However, this episode just ended up turning Jean from a misunderstood asshole to a definite asshole.

While I do enjoy these episodes, they are flaws in more ways then one. Great animation, deeper looks into different characters and decent sound design end up lagging behind due to the unnecessary plot lines.

Overall, I rank this 6/10.

<Potential Spoilers>
If I’m being honest I don’t know where to begin.

Attack on Titan was the first anime I watched that was violent or had mature themes. At the time I never thought animated could be violent, it definitely shocked me at first. However, I eventually got around to watching the entire first season when I was younger. I got extremely hyper fixated on the series and forgot about it until the announcement of the final season. After rewatching, I found an anime with a hooking narrative, great sound design, top tier animation and memorable characters.

Attack on Titan instantly hooks you in the first episode, the ... peaceful life in the walls is very abruptly shattered after the colossal titan breaks the wall and lets the the titans in. We see the protagonists mother die and what appears to be the remains of human society reach the brink of collapse. All within half an episode. The series constructs themes of loss, war and the true horrors of war. The series initially sets itself up as a standard shounen anime, dead mum, pissed off protagonist with a motive, the basics of shounen protagonists. But that couldn’t be any further from the truth. The series stands out because the cast can’t just train or use will power to reach their goal, they can very easily just get killed. No power of friendship or never giving up is going to save them. The world is a cruel and horrifying place, an idea which made this anime unique and truely interesting.

The sound design of season one is amazing, it is easily top tier. After all, Wit studios combined top tier sound design, voice acting and soundtrack. The sound design was amazing, the sound of titans was disturbing and made them just as scary, the sound of the ODMG being used felt so satisfying and made every scene where characters were using the ODMG that much more satisfying. The voice actors created some of the best performances in anime. Whether it be Eren, Levi, Erwin or Mikasa’s voice actors, they all did amazing and memorable performances. The soundtrack was something else, the majority of the songs are instantly recognisable to anyone who’s seen the series. They convey the world of Attack on Titan perfectly and fit the emotions of any scene perfectly. I feel as though the soundtrack still hasn’t gotten old yet, I can still listen to them and feel the same intense set of emotions I felt when I first listened to them. And don’t even get me started on the opening, as Attack on Titan easily has some of the best openings in anime.

The animation of Attack on Titan is something else. Back in 2012, Wit studios was able to animate something top tier that competes with animation created almost a decade later. Titans are animated in a way that they look disturbing and absolutely terrifying. The way characters move whenever they use the ODMG is intense and satisfying, making any fight scene unique and that much more intense. The art style fits the world of Attack on Titan perfectly, characters feel far more real. The body structure of characters remains realistic and consistent. The characters appearances remain consistent too. The world itself is animated in a way that it looks so unique and at times beautiful. Like the medieval/Victorian style of the world combined with the walls makes this world so much more unique and interesting.

The characters don’t fit the standards of shounen. If it did, Eren would be a genius soldier who graduated at the top of his class or at the very least had potential to become the strongest soldier. This is very much not the case in Attack on Titan. In fact Eren is outshined by the female side protagonist who is considered the genius soldier. Something you never see in anime. In fact, it’s very clear that the characters in the series don’t fit shounen archetypes. Characters can die at anytime. What makes the characters of the show interesting is the way they react with sacrifice and war. A lot of them were just standard teenagers who never experienced true horror. We get to see how they react when confronted with sacrifice, death and war. Seeing how the characters react in a world as horrifying as Attack on Titan, and watching characters who don’t conform to shounen archetypes. Was something I absolutely loved about Attack on Titan.

With the great combination of a grotesque and hooking narrative. Along with great sound design, animation and characters. Season one was able to set up the true potential of Attack on Titan.

Overall, I rank this 8/10.

<Potential Spoilers>
Nostalgia didn’t hit me like everyone else.

People likely got into anime through studio ghibli films, they likely watched Howls moving castle, My Neighbour Totaro or this anime, Spirited Away. Being a film that is praised years later and is the only anime to win an Oscar, I expected a flawless anime. However, after rewatching Spirited Away at an older age. While I did very much enjoy it, I found that Spirited Away is extremely overrated. While it has amazing animation and a brilliant soundtrack, the story and characters aren’t that deep or interesting.

While I do believe the story is not the best part of ... Spirited Away, that doesn’t mean it is bad. The story follows the perspective of a girl who is trapped in the spirit world. The story has a decent structure. Where our protagonist must overcome their flawed traits and find a way to save her parents. The spirit world itself looks amazing, the train ride across that ocean, the bath house, the world is so unique and memorable. However the main flaw is that we never learn how this world came to be there. Like why is there a bath house for spirits, what or who even are these spirits? The story also introduces new aspects about characters out of nowhere. Like for some reason the story turns from finding parents to a love story to finding parents again. It just seems out of place to me.

The sound design of the film is definitely one of the greater aspects of the film. The soundtrack conveys a lot about its film, the soundtrack is very fantastical and conveys perfectly the mood of any scene as well as the world of this film. While the soundtrack of the film isn’t for me, I can acknowledge that it is a recognisable soundtrack that fits the anime perfectly. The sound effects were pretty good too, whether it’s the sound of certain spirits, the environment, it’s all great and for some reason created a massive sense of nostalgia for me while rewatching the film. The voice acting was done great. The film has both a good English and Japanese dub. To me the soundtrack was alright and if I’m being honest isn’t for me. But that is just my overall preference, I will still acknowledge that it the film has a recognisable soundtrack, effective sound design and great voice performances.

The animation is by far the best Studio Ghibli has ever done. Everything is so detailed and random scenes where there are a lot of people are animated so everyone is moving. The animation makes the world feel so alive and dense. The environment is by far the best part, the detail within the environment makes it feel alive. It’s detailed enough to be top tier animation but not so detailed that it’s in the uncanny valley. Studio Ghibli has its own unique art style that is present in all of their work. The art style itself is instantly recognisable by anyone who has watched more then two films by Ghibli. Their overall aesthetic of their films is instantly recognisable. It’s easy to say that Studio Ghibli has top tier animation and Spirited Away is no exception. The detail of the environment, characters and art style are some of the best in anime.

The character aspect of the film wasn’t the best part but that doesn’t necessarily mean the characters were bad. In fact the characters are still pretty memorable and the protagonist goes through a well constructed arc, where she must overcome her bratty personality and flaws to save her parents. Characters like Haku, Lin, Kamajii, Yubaba, and even Kaonashi are all memorable characters that support Chihiro through her journey. The character designs fit the Ghibli aesthetic perfectly, in fact I’d consider the character designs to be the most notable parts of the characters. I may forget their names but I definitely won’t forget their appearance. However, the character arcs throughout the film felt generic. While I get that the film was meant to be simple and not really explore any complex themes. The characters felt to generic and was almost like they had a missing aspect to them.

The near flawless animation and memorable soundtrack are the obvious highlights of this film. The characters and story were good, but they are pretty basic and the other aspects of the anime are far better.

Overall, I rank this a 7/10.

This season wrapped up this second season brilliantly.

This will mostly be a rewrite of my review of the first part of Re:zero’s second season. Like the first part, the highlights of this part are the animation, and the introduction of new characters and deeper exploration or returning characters. However this part does suffer from the same flaws as the first part, that being slow pacing and just lazy sound design.

The story is fairly good, there were many parts I liked about it. The main highlight being how Subaru was able to bring together a cast that was conflicted with each other together. How he strengthened ... his resolve and was able to stop the invasion on the mansion, save the inhabitants of sanctuary, and save Beatrice from a 400 year long imprisonment. All while being a normal human in a world where everyone around him has powerful magic. Bringing together everyone was a great moment in the series that finally allowed Subaru to escape the death loop. However, the flaw of this story was the horrifically slow pacing. I mentioned this in my previous review, but this season we only transition past one death loop. Compared to the last season where we progressed through several death loops. I understand the reason for this was because Subaru needed to be met with an impossible situation that rested his resolve. I just would’ve liked a better situation that allowed us to progress past sanctuary and explore more. After all, there are a lot of things that need to be explored outside of sanctity that we’re going to have to wait a few years to see.

As mentioned in my previous review, this season has some of the worst sound design that is only saved by the voice acting of the series. The voice actors make the characters feel so much more real and complex. The best voice actor being that of Subaru. Another voice actor that was brilliant was The voice actor for Roswall, having voiced so many character. Takehito could made Roswall feel both threatening and lighthearted in a creepy way. However, the soundtrack and opening are a downgrade from the first season. There was a lot of music in the soundtrack in the first season that I could instantly recognise as something in Re:zero. However all the music in the second season is forgettable and doesn’t convey the world of Re:zero in the slightest. The opening is an obvious downgrade too.

The animation of Re:zero return with flawed but good animation. I say flawed because I can’t stress how stupid the faces look. I get that it’s the art style and all that, but the faces still look fucking retarded. Mostly present in Elsa, Rem and Ram. Regardless, aside from this the animation and art is pretty good. Characters movements don’t feel weird, the structure of their bodies is realistic and consistent. The characters blend into their environment well. Hitting all the basic markers of what makes animation good. However, the highlight of the animation would’ve been the way magic animated. Whether it was Emillia’s ice magic, Beatrice’s magic or the witches magic. It was all animated brilliantly and made fight scenes that much more great to watch. The animation as a whole was great and I am truely grateful for the efforts the animators have put in.

The three best character moments in the series were all great points that evolved the characters far more. Making them far complex and interesting. The way they have developed is something top tier. Otto giving Subaru the lecture that strengthened Subaru’s resolve. The point where Subaru was in the worst possible scenario with multiple conflicts going on at once. He was at a mental breaking point. However, Otto lectured him and told him that he didn’t have to do everything himself and that he could trust his friends to do everything he couldn’t do. Both evolving Subaru to understand he can rely on his friends. As well as, making Otto far more notable as a character. Garfiel when he learned the truth of his mother, allowed him to develop from an annoying hothead to a charismatic and loyal friend. Beatrice forming the contract with Subaru and finally leaving the library was a great movement that changed Beatrice from an annoying shit to a reliable person. And there were so many more moments in the series with the old and new cast of characters.

Despite the flaws, this second part of Re:zero season two has highlights that outweigh the flaws. The animation and characters make this season just that more interesting.

Overall, I rank this 8/10.

<Potential Spoilers>
Re:zero comes back for a second season that while I believe isn’t as good is still pretty enjoyable.

While watching this second season, I found that I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first season. That doesn’t mean I found this reason to be bad, I mainly found it to be a downgrade. Which is mainly the poor pacing within the story and very slight downgrade in the sound design. However, the new and interesting characters combined with brilliant animation save this season from being an absolute nightmare.

The narrative of this second season isn’t horrible by any means. I actually enjoyed a lot of ... parts about it. Like the sanctuary region and the trials allowed us to see more of an insight to characters like Subaru’s life before he was summoned, Emillia’s past, and Garfiel’s past. The introduction of the seven witches was a part I definitely enjoyed and found interesting. So when I say the story isn’t bad it definitely isn’t. There’s just a lot of stuff that makes the series much more flawed then it should be. Mainly problems with the pacing and unexplained events. I found the second season staying on the single death loop for the entire first part got frustrating. I kind of wished that they could expand more and explore more. Now I get the point that this death loop is testing Subaru’s resolve. It was just annoying when we have only progressed through one death loop. Compared to 8 death loops or something in the first season. I was also confused about the part where the witch of envy appeared in the physical world. Even though she is meant to be dead. She just sorta destroys a lot and then Subaru uses his return by death. This is never explained.

The sound design was also a fairly decent downgrade. Despite this, the voice acting was as good as it’s ever been. Subaru’s voice actor captures his characters pain perfectly. While also capturing Subaru’s light hearted side. A lot of characters have really good voice acting throughout the series. However, in terms of sound design the voice acting is the only good part. The sound effects, sound track and opening were all mid tier. The sound effects did the minimum effort to be passable but they weren’t amazing. The soundtrack felt weird, many parts of the OST didn’t feel like they belonged in the world of Re:zero. The opening music was just plain out boring and not memorable in the slightest way. Luckily this tier is saved by top tier voice acting.

The animation was one of the factors that saved the season from being a dumpster fire. The animation itself hits majority of the criteria that makes animation good. Such as realistic and smooth movement, blending characters with the environment, consistent and realistic body structure, and character design. However, the art style looks retarded. Many of the faces of the characters look annoying and make me want to bash the moniter screen. Everything about the art style is good except how the characters faces look. The magic within the world is animated brilliantly. Whether it’s Satella’s aura that she emits or the look of the trial rooms. All the magic looks amazing.

The characters of Re:Zero season 2 part 1 are by far the best part. With the old cast going through new journeys and the introduction of new characters. It is easy to say that the characters were the highlight of the season. We got to see Subaru’s past in the modern world as well as, him coming to terms with the fact that he may never see his parents again let alone make them proud. Emillia’s past and her journey in becoming stronger. The new cast is also a great part of the season. Although Garfiel was annoying at times, I’d like to see him develop and become a better character as the series goes on. The introduction of Echidna was great, seeing a witch and having Subaru interact with her was a great time. The highlight was when Subaru told her about his ability. Up to this point Subaru physically couldn’t tell anyone about his return by death. So he had to hold in his pain. But seeing him finally tell someone was shocking, emotional and amazing to watch. Otto was another great character that I didn’t really expect to see so much development put into. But regardless seeing him having a divine protection made his character stand out. Making his place in Subaru’s team known.

It is important to know that this new season isn’t horrifically worse then the first season, just a downgrade. Despite the downgrade in its narrative and sound design. This first part of season two is saved by its old and new characters as well as, the animation.

Overall, I rank this 8/10.

<Potential Spoilers>
For me, Re:zero set the potential for Isekai anime.

Isekai anime have slipped more and more into mainstream anime. The reason for this abundance of Isekai started with the release of Re:zero. This anime goes out of its way to eliminate fantasy Isekai tropes. Before watching I thought this was an anime that used its fan service as a back bone. And while that is semi true, the show has a complex story, brilliant sound design, animation, and well constructed characters.

The story follows the perspective of Subaru. A modern day otaku who is suddenly summoned to a fantasy world on his way home from a ... gas stop. This is the part where Re:zero goes against Isekai tropes. Subaru isn’t summoned to save the world like other protagonists, he is simply just there. He doesn’t even get any amazing ability, only a self destructive one. Every time he dies, the world is reset and Subaru returns to a checkpoint in the past with memories of his experience before he died. It seems like a strong ability, but the return by death ability psychologically breaks Subaru consistently. Re:zero does its best to portray how any normal person would be if they were in a fantasy Isekai world. The story has Subaru overcome conflict in a unique way compared to other anime. Subaru must overcome conflict with the ability he has and his own wit. Something I found really interesting to watch. However, the story at times spends too much time on one death loop at times. Which I found annoying. So aside from some pacing issues, the story of Re:zero is top tier.

The sound design is definitely something to talk about. While the sound effects were passable. The voice acting, sound track and opening hit all the markers for good sound in an anime. Performances from the voice actors were brilliant, they could put true emotion and the characters felt so much more real through the performances of their respective voice actors. Especially Subaru’s voice actor, he made the character feel so much more real. He was brilliant at voicing the character when he was either lighthearted or in pain. The soundtrack definitely did a good job at making itself stand out. Some of the tracks I could instantly recognise from anywhere. They do a good job at portraying the feeling of action, sadness or dread. The first opening song is amazing, even without the amazing visuals the song by itself just hits all the right places.

The animation was really good, the occasional use of cgi was decent, the character movement was great. I do find the art style to be good but it isn’t anything new, while the way characters are drawn is ok. It art style doesn’t stand out to me. Which isn’t horrible, as their can only really be a finite amount of art styles that can be implemented into anime. So I won’t judge harshly as the art style is still good. However, some characters just look really retarded, like Elsa’s face just pisses me off. The strong point in the animation for me was the way that magic was animated. Like whenever Subaru returns from death, the magic of other characters like Emilia or Rem. Even the fight scenes where Willhem is fighting has smooth animation that makes the fighting that more brutal.

The characters of Re:zero are by far the best part of the show. Characters like Rem developed in a way that at first I absolutely did not like them. Then I got to know them more and I saw her as a far more interesting and enjoyable character that I didn’t hate. Emilia is another character I liked as her journey mostly cantered around the prejudice she faced due to her half elf origin. The most interesting character was easily Subaru. He is a guy who represents the average watcher of the series, he portrays how normal people would react if they were suddenly in a Isekai anime. The main focus of his character is his journey of overcoming his pride. Subaru had to learn that he was by far one of the weakest characters in the show. He had to understand that he needed the help of other people and that people weren’t going to blindly support him. He needed their support and he needed to treat them like normal people that wouldn’t blindly die for him. I feel that Reinhard represents the average Isekai protagonist, who serves to contrast the difference that the average Isekai watcher has with an Isekai protagonist. An idea I really liked within the series. Subaru is a character who is extremely flawed and he must overcome these flaws throughout the series, because he isn’t an Isekai protagonist that automatically becomes flawless.

The interesting take on Isekai anime, through its story, sound design, animation and characters. Was so effective, it was able to start a massive surge of interest within the whole Isekai genre.

Overall, I rank this 8/10.

<Potential Spoilers>
This is ok, but compared to season 1 “this” is shit.

One-Punch Man returned for a second season and while I do believe this anime is horrifically over hated. There are still a lot of really bad parts of this second season. The somewhat enjoyable narrative and interesting new looks into both old and new characters. Are often overshadowed by the criminal downgrade in animation quality and the both repetitive and poor sound design.

The story of this second season is far more linear in comparison to the first season. Focusing on this association that is trying to destroy the hero association. The story now focuses ... on more characters then just Saitama and Genos. Which I’m not too bothered about, I like the introduction of newer characters and their fights against the, monsters association? I don’t remember what they are called. The tournament to me was actually really good, it showed how desperate people were for power and becoming stronger. Something about it felt really interesting, suggesting how strength meant everything in this world. The main problem with the story is that I feel as though it’s missing something. I’m not too sure what that something is though.

The sound design was just not it. One of the tracks in the soundtrack was good when it was first shown, it felt eerie and fit the introduction of Fubuki. But they continue to use this track, again, and again. To the point where it’s like, why don’t they use other music? The sound effects themselves were poor to say the least. At one point during the tournament, I swear one of the sound effects used sounded similar to a gun shot from cs:go. Majority of the sound effects felt like stock effects. The opening music I could get used to but it got old quick.

I feel very uncomfortable talking about poor animation, because even behind poor animation is an animator that is both starving and being deprived of sleep. All while getting paid worse then an American working at minimum wage. I will say however, changing studios was a bad idea, the animation was not god awful like everyone said it was. Just comparing it to season 1 or the manga really puts into perspective what we could’ve gotten. I would’ve rather have waited another year to get season 2 if it meant we kept the same studio or same animation quality. Either way, the poor animation can be summed up like this. The characters in certain fight scenes felt blocky and weird. The animation of Saitama’s punch against elder centipede was underwhelming to say the very least. There are more examples of bad animation but this paragraph has gotten too big.

While there are some good moments in this second season, the new insight and exploration into characters that were previously introduced. The introduction of new characters and a somewhat enjoyable story. Could barely outweigh the dog shit sound design and downgraded animation.

Overall, I rank this 5/10.

<Potential Spoilers>
There are so many good things about Tower of God yet so many flaws.

When I first started, the series was an instant hook. The premise was simple and something that I could truly enjoy. However, while there are aspects of the show that are brilliant. The flaws of this series become abundantly more clear and are treated by the show as aspects that aren’t flawed. The unique and interesting premise, surprisingly enjoyable ost, unique art style, and memorable characters are overshadowed by annoying characters and the way flawed aspects are treated by the show.

Tower of God’s premise relies heavily on the world the series ... takes place in. The world itself is a mythically large and complex tower where the world's residents live. A select few people are chosen to climb the tower and those who reach the top are granted god-like powers. The premise is really interesting and was something that instantly got me hooked into the show. The world also has a futuristic, medieval feudalistic style of world where royalty is a huge aspect of the show. However, the main problem is the pacing. In these episodes before the finale they, progress three or two floors. Before the finale where they pull an SAO and skip several floors. To me this felt kind of lazy, and they could have just progressed to level 20 of the tower by going through each floor instead of just skipping them. Regardless the premise still outweighs this part of lazy writing.

The soundtrack is surprisingly really good, it feels very fantasy-like and conveys the world of Tower of God extremely well. The voice acting was pretty good, I wouldn’t really consider it amazing and top tier but it still does a decent job and hits all the markers that voice acting requires. The sound design was similar to voice acting, it was good but definitely not something I would consider top tier. Overall, the sound design is carried by its soundtrack. The opening was ok but felt like one of those 2015 motivational edgy songs.

The animation is great, there is a vast improvement from the art style of the webcomic. The art style in a similar way to Devilman: Crybaby is awfully simplistic, but in an age where all art styles strive to be more realistic and complex. Tower of God’s arty style stands out and conveys the fantasy story of this anime really well. The movement of the characters feels smooth and realistic. The anatomy of characters remains fairly consistent and the designs are unique and make each character feel like their own person. However, this simplistic art style trend may grow into the mainstream. With more and more series using simplistic art styles. The art style itself risks losing its standing out the factor which is what made it good, to begin with. This is no inherent flaw in the series. Just the risk that an original art style format will lose its originality.

The characters of Tower of God range from really likeable and memorable characters to god awful and why the fuck are they still alive. Characters such as Bam, Khun and Rak are really fun to watch and have a great dynamic. Bam is the protagonist which drives the story, Khun serves as someone to guide and help Bam, and Rak not only serves to help Khun and Bam but also provide comic relief. A really great dynamic that made the series really fun to watch through Bam’s perspective. However, characters like Rachel made me feel pure anger, she has no true reason right now to be as selfish as she is. And Anaak was just an annoying brat who even though she had a backstory that justified the way she acted. She still was annoyingly selfish, after all, why would she care so much for Bam having the Black March sword, His holding onto it only makes the lives of the royalty people who own these swords more difficult. The worst part is that the series treats her as a good character when all she really is, is an annoying brat.

Despite an abundant amount of poorly done elements in the show, Tower of God is still a great anime with a unique premise, interesting characters, a great ost and an art style that stands out.

Overall, I rank this 7/10.