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- BirthdayNov 1, 2002
- LocationMünster (Westf.), Germany
- JoinedJun 19, 2021
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Apr 25, 2024
TL;dr: One of the better anime movies to be enjoyed by just about everyone, no matter if you watched the series before or not. The whole movie feels like a stretched out episode of Spy x family. Only critic: They've overdone it with Loid and Yor not figuring out each others identities after everything that happened in the movie.
Story 6/10:
Spy x Family has a very special setting. A pretend family of an assassin killer, a spy, a telepath and a dog that can see into the future; with the twist that they all don't know each others identities. Loid, the spy, brought this family together
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for an Operation, Operation STRIX, to try and keep the peace between East and West in after war Germany. I couldn't compare Spy x Family to a different anime even if I wanted to. However in this movie, they really overdone it with Yor and Loid not figuring each other out. I don't want to spoiler but they eventually get into a situation where they should have realized that their pretend significant other wasn't just a regular normal person with a regular normal job. But anime logic I guess. Otherwise as I said this whole movie feels like a stretched out episode of the series, with some good and actually really fun slice of life part, as well as some great animated action. The movie had a nice balance between these two things.
Characters 7/10:
The movie does a great job introducing all the characters to the viewers, so that even people who have no clue about the series can easily get into the characters and the plot, without boring those who already know all of this. However except for Anya I always found all the characters pretty cliche and basic. Loid is the typical Spy, Yor an assassin that however doesn't have a really deeper background or characteristics that make her too interesting. But Anya, oh Lord, after this movie I really gotten a liking to her. She changes the story in a better way. 90% of the funny moments in this movie all include Anya doing or saying something. She is the typical innocent child that doesn't understand a lot about adult life and the movie uses that to make a lot of fun situations later on. Out of all the characters I think she is the most fledged out.
Animation 8/10:
When the animation mattered, they delivered. All the action scenes look great, though the use of some CGI in one scene looked particularly mid but that's nitpicking since CGI wasn't avoidable TBH. Otherwise I couldn't tell a huge difference in animation compared to a normal Spy x Family episode.
Soundtrack 8/10:
The soundtrack fits very well to all the scenes shown, just like in the series. The soundtrack often seems familiar, as if you've heard it somewhere before, but that's only because its pretty much the soundtrack you'd expect to hear in a series / movie including a spy. But that's why it's just really great imo.
Enjoyment 9/10:
I like some action, I like some slice of life with good humor. The anime delivered on both parts and it can be enjoyed by a lot of people. It's one of the better anime movies I've seen in a while and I can only wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone. Even your parents :)
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 1, 2024
Too vague, too messy, that's what I would say if I had to give a quick review in 4 words. Now it might be a bit too early to say that but I am going to change this review should I change my mind.
Story - 5/10:
I am sure the story isn't poorly written but if there is one thing that is for sure then that it is hard to get behind it, even after 4 episodes. Now that might be because I am an idiot or that it's just all a bit too messy. From episode 1 the show keeps you on the hook
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with the story since you're being thrown into the cold water here, not knowing anything about the world, not really understanding any of the characters motivations or what's actually going on. I felt a bit overwhelmed after the first episode actually since there was really a lot switching from here to there with many things happening simultaneously. After that I thought that it could only get easier from here but up to episode 4 they still kept introducing more characters and plot threads so that it really didn't. I guess I can already say now that only with a rewatch i will really be able to tell how good the story really is. Anyways with that much mystery still being there as of now it's safe to say that it's hard to get emotionally invested with anything happening in the show since you are mainly focused on understanding what is even going on.
Characters - 5/10:
Same problems as with the story. I already mentioned that it's hard to get behind the motivations of the different characters that are being presented. Plus point for the MC however, she has a really likeable child-like personality that I got to love from the first episode and together with Naomi they make a pretty good duo, slightly comparable to the dynamic that Chisato and Takina had in Lycoris Recoil, if you watched that (if not, well... "polar opposites attract each other" is what you could call the dynamic between them, at least that's the first thought that came to my mind now at past midnight writing this).
Art & Animation - 6/10:
Being an anniversary project I gotta say I was quite underwhelmed by the animation right from the get go. That might just be because I had higher expectations for that fact though. On the other hand I like the character and world design. However the designs of some characters are still pretty unoriginal and are not really any different from any other typical standard cliche sci-fi anime. Same goes for the design of the different locations.
Soundtrack - 6/10:
OP is a banger, otherwise nothing extraordinary that I can recall so guess it's alright :)
Enjoyment - 5/10:
Some cool action, nothing that gets me out of my seat screaming and crying though. Still quite undecided how much I enjoy this show because of the problems I wrote about earlier. Will see how it goes from here.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Oct 29, 2023
Zombie Loan is one anime that made me question if it is better for a manga to have a bad anime adaption or just better not have an adaption at all because seriously, the Zombie Loan anime is not really good if we are being honest.
However I wouldn't call this anime bad because of the story. The story is really good, it's not just your everyday "We need to kill Zombies to survive" - series, it's way deeper than that (The main characters still kill Zombies in order to survive but it's different lol). The idea of how everything works in Zombie Loan with Zombies,
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why they exist, etc. is pretty refreshing and I've never came across anything similar so far. That's why I was pretty sad when I found out that the anime isn't complete.
I also wouldn't call this anime bad because of how it adapted the manga. I may have not read the manga but I was able to follow through the anime very nicely and the pacing was really really good. Apart from 2 episodes I can't remember any filler episodes so I like to think that the adaption was pretty well done even if I haven't read the manga myself.
Furthermore I also don't call this anime bad because of it's characters, though they are pretty basic. Nothing special to say here really except for that Michiru can be a bit annoying as she an absolute people pleaser to an extreme extend that she can get on your nerves for apologizing for the 100th time at some point.
I call this anime "bad" because it's clearly had issues with budget. Bland backgrounds, partially too simple / boring animation in an anime that partially focusses on fights with zombies / action and I also feel that the art style is something to get used to. It's just not pleasant to look at.
But I am still glad I found and watched this anime because I would have never ever started to read the manga just like that. And thats why (to answer my question from the start) I am happy that this anime exists. The manga is probably way better but without this adaption I would've never considered reading the manga. Well I do now.
To conclude, I would recommend you to read the manga or start watching the anime and then read the rest of the story. All I can give you is a warning that this anime is not completed.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Aug 7, 2022
Myself; Yourself is a pretty poorly written anime that teases you with interesting aspects and constantly hints that there is more to the story than shown. It's just in the last 2-3 episodes that you really get to see what you've been waiting for all along. This is the biggest weakness of myself; yourself.
For the most time the anime will feel very generic, there is some drama between the friends, however, partially only because some of the characters are the most stupid beings I've seen in the last time. What also shines through are some of the author or director's values, that a relationship between
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a 10 year old girl and a 16 year old boy is totally fine, however don't worry, in this anime the 16 year old boy I am talking about is in love with someone else, though otherwise that relationship would have been a possibility apparently lol. It might be just my overinterpretation but there is also a homophobic stance of the author in Episode 4 (in general Episode 4 is just a big mess; it's also where the 10 year old girl is introduced just to be never seen again later).
This bugged me, cause it's just so unnecessary and whenever an anime seems in whatever way serious about the "age is just a number" thing I just need to shake my head, especially when I feel that the author genuinely thinks this way.
On the other hand towards the end the anime is rapidly getting better and makes a valuable statement about PTSD and depression. How hard can it affect one's life? The anime is really taking it's time to show how unbelievably painful PTSD can be, even if it shows that from an outsiders perspective mostly. Do you think you would notice if a person was suffering from depression? Myself; yourself will probably proof you that you can't and that suicidal thoughts are mostly invisible. However if you are reading this and get a go at the series I am sure you'd get an idea.
Anyways, overall I don't regret watching this show, even if it is mostly not so brilliantly written, the last 2-3 episodes really saved the anime. If you can hold on for that long, I would recommend you to go ahead and give it a go. If not, there are probably other anime that pick up the same topics in a better way without keeping you on a hook for 10 episodes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Apr 8, 2022
I'll keep this one short since I don't think there is too much to talk about here. I went into the manga with high expectations since Umibe no Étranger even got its own anime adaption. In the end I can't say that I am dissappointed. It's worth a read, the story is pretty good and I totally fell in love with the artstyle. For the most time, it's easy to follow what's happening and how the characters are feeling. That's untill some of them start doing stuff that totally catches you off-guard, leaving you completely bamboozled for a moment. I didn't find these things to
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actually ruin the story for me tho.
I think Umibe no Étranger can be a 50/50 of whether you will like it or not but I think that it's worth to give it a shot, alone because of the artstyle. Just wanna say it again: Its beautiful and some of the best I've seen in some time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 17, 2022
Strike the Blood is so incredibly mediocre that it has set a new standard of mediocrity in anime for me. Finally I know what kind of anime I can give a 5/10! Yay!
But in all seriousness, Strike the Blood really manages to not do anything particular great while also not being terrible in another regard.
The Story? Okay-ish? There isn't really any system behind what is happening and unfortunately everything that is happening isn't really connected that much to what happened before so that many things can seem very random at times. At the same that makes the show somewhat unpredictable and you never really now
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what Strike the Blood will throw at you next.
The Art? Meh, really as mediocre as it gets, same for the animation. The artstyle is absolute basic, the character designs as standard as it gets. Don't really know what else to say.
The Sounds? The OST is pretty decent, actually. On the other hand, the sound design is sometimes pretty bad, I even had to laugh once cause of one of the sounds that they used in a fight. I think it was some "Familiar" (you'll get to know what that is) that dropped on the floor and the sound they used was something like a plate that is dropping on the floor. Hilarious
The Characters? Pretty much what you can expect from a show that is tagged with "Ecchi" and "harem". Your everyday harem protagonist that tries to be nice to all the girls that are giving him so much attention. The characters don't really have any depth by the way, cause all they talk about is the plot. And the characters that have some depth are really boring.
Enjoyment? Meh, in the end, all the arcs are the same and it gets repetitive. In the end, your harem MC will save the girls (and the day ofc).
In conclusion, Strike the Blood is a pretty basic harem anime with some Ecchi in it, eventhough the Ecchi part is not that dominant in the show and mostly only comes in place in the first episode of each arc.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Feb 2, 2022
I love World Trigger. I really do. But sadly it's far away from being perfect in any way really. It's sad becuase while I had a blast watching it most of the time, there are still so many things that are just wrong and bad about World Trigger so that you end up watching it for pretty much one thing only: The combat system and the fights.
Pretty much everything else about this anime and especially this first season is just mediocre at best. The story is very generic and combined with some terrible pacing you barely get anywhere after 73 epsiodes. Like honestly, if World
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Trigger had some normal pacing with the story you could have cut down all the content to a normal 24 episode season (for sure if you count out the filler arc that has been extremely boring towards the end of the season). Also the Artstyle and animation are pretty bland and the anime has some certified Toei "Animation" moments. I am pretty sure you can imagine what I mean with that.
The characters are pretty basic, however the big cast of characters is making up for it. Despite there being dozens of characters, they all give off a different vibe and it's really refreshing to have an anime with such a great cast of characters without the anime really forgetting it's many characters. You'll see most of them throughout the season again and again.
The soundtrack is one of the best I have heard recently and is really iconic. When you just get hyped from hearing the soundtrack you know they've done a good job. Especially when at least I even listen to it sometimes just for fun outside of watching the series.
Now getting to the last and strongest point of World Trigger: Its fights and its combat system. Many people have been praising it and I can only agree and say the same. It's similar to a combat system in a video game. Everyone has access to the same weapons and can customize their class with different abilities and other weapons. This combat systems makes all the fights in World Trigger really tactical and dependant on teamwork. That's why the later seasons of World Trigger have some of the best and suspense fights I've ever seen in anime.
Overall I can recommend you watching World Trigger. If you skip the filler arc I bet you'll have a lot of fun with it, even if it starts off slow and generic.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Dec 23, 2021
For a movie that was originally planned to release in a serial format Black Fox is actually pretty well done. In these short 90 minutes 3Hz Studios really tries their best to introduce you to the characters and their motivation as well as the plot itself. However because of the little amount of time they had to work with the content in the movie feels a bit rushed and some scenes are missing build up to make them as emotional or intense as they were portrayed.
It's because Black Fox got released as a movie that especially the story is suffering. Many questions remain unanswered which,
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yes, is normal, because the story doesn't find an end in the movie. However even then some things should have been further explained or resolved but you can feel how 3Hz Studio just didn't have the time to do so. Had the anime been released as a series the story would have had much more potential but like this it is decent at best.
The Art and Sound are good, the soundtrack isn't something to remember but it still suits well to the scenes and I liked the design of the characters. The overall artstyle of the anime is also solid but nothing unique.
As for the characters it's hard to say a lot. Here again, with the time they had the characters are well written and all got their own backstory, even if the movie isn't going to deep into those, because, well, time and stuff.
In the end I think Black Fox offers quite a bit. It has a nice change between serious and homorous scenes and I can't deny that despite the flaws the story has I really enjoyed the movie, from the start till the end. So I can only recommend you to give it a try, even if it doesn't have the best ratings on MAL.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 3, 2021
Initial D Forth Stage marks a new low of the series with bad and random characters as well as uninteresting, dull and repetitive races.
I might be the only one when I say that but when looking back at the first three seasons I always felt like that the mountain passes and races had some sort of identity, something that made them special, unique and therefore entertaining to watch.
You surely remember Akina with it's 5 consecutive hairpins or Usui Pass with Takumi's extreme endurance race againt the Sil-Eighty Duo or the AE86 vs AE86 race on that very old and horrendously maintained pass. However here, I
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can barely recall any race because they were lacking in identity. Unlike in the first three seasons, none of the mountain passes were introduced properly and there wasn't anything special about them. This wouldn't even be a problem if you wouldn't be thrown at with totally random and partly pointless characters that ALSO get barely introduced and just serve as race fodder for Takumi and Keisuke.
But without interesting tracks and characters to race against, all the races just feel boring. Then it doesn't make it any better that you basically get no break between them. It's literally race after race after race after race. The amount of more chill filler episodes featuring older characters like Iketani or Itsuki has been greatly reduced. Some might say that is a good thing but if I am honest in this long season more screen time for these characters wouldn't have been a bad thing.
However, there are exceptions. The first and last race are actually good and don't have these faults. Another positive thing about this season is also how deep it goes into racing, driving style & technique etc. It's not hard to see that this season is focusing heavily more on that with Ryosuke acting as a mentor for both Takumi and Keisuke trying to give them tips for their upcoming races (even if he basically starts speaking in riddles which is something i don't really know if I should like).
Apart from that Initial D Forth Stage is also building up towards a fight between Takumi and Keisuke sometime in a later season, something I really can't wait to see (even if I think I already know the result :D)
In the End, the forth stage of Inital D is still enjoyable but very repetitive and therefore quite a letdown. It just doesn't have the magic the older seasons had and instead just tries to include as many races as possible in 24 episodes which just wasn't a wise choice.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Oct 11, 2021
*This review will contain some minor spoilers*
Had some great ideas but sadly ruined it with the handling of the abilities later in the story.
It can be quite hard to find something new, something fresh in the supernatural genre when it comes down to abilities. But to my suprise, this is where Battle Game 5 seconds picked me up in the first place. The ability of Akira, the main character, is "whatever the other person thinks it is". From the point where I got to know about his ability, I was looking forward how he would psychologically trick the other characters to use the full potential
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of it. My perception was, that he really needed to make the others "believe", that his ability is XY... Unfortunately, when the anime goes more into how his ability works, it is revealed, that this is not the case.
Later down in the series, Akira befriends with another participant of the death game in the name of Yuuri and ends up telling her about his real ability. She now knows the truth of his ability, so his ability won't work on or with her anymore, right? right? Wrong.
From this point on, Akira is basically a god, because unlike I thought, he doesn't need to make others truly believe that his ability is this or that. Nope, he only needs someone to literally think or imagine a specific ability, thinking it is his; and BOOM, that's the ability he will have. That means, as long as Yuuri is on his side he can practically use any ability he... well to be correct... Yuuri can imagine. For me this is what killed this anime. From that point on, why didn't he just use some OP ability to get the hell out of this place or just insta-kill his enemies? A lot of questions to be asked...
So, the story is very poorly written, not only because of how the abilites are handled but also because in some fights, somehow, the characters are predicting the predictions of other characters. As an example: "Haha, I predicted you would make that move, I was prepared for that" - other character: "Haha, I predicted that you would predict my move, it was a trap all along!", and that went on for like 3 more times IN ONE FIGHT.
On the other hand the animation isn't too great (but it's also not bad either).
The characters are all right and you can sympathize with some of them. However there are also characters whose motivation I can literally not understand and that don't make a lot of sense to me.
Overall, as I said in the beginning, this anime had some aspects that could've made it interesting, especially the ability of the MC. Unfortunately, they handled it very badly and the rest is just mediocre at best. I wouldn't really recommend you to watch this show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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