- Last OnlineJun 19, 10:34 AM
- GenderMale
- BirthdayOct 3, 1998
- LocationIn the jumbled words of my reviews
- JoinedAug 24, 2013
Also Available at
|
Apr 5, 2018
13 of 13 episodes seen
|
1
people found this review helpful
|
| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
The 'Double Entendre' is a figure of speech that's used to be understood in two ways; one obvious, and one hidden or harder to figure out. While simple, words can be twisted in ways to have more to them like the double entendre, resulting in things like pieces of literature and the review you're currently reading. Admittedly, Violet Evergarden is kind of like a double entendre, so I'm gonna be sticking with that analogy going forward.
Story:
After years of conflict in a country similar to that of Industrial Europe, the Great War that plagued the continent has finally come to an end. After receiving artificial arms
to replace the ones she lost in the war, Violet Evergarden, the Battle Doll of Leidenshaftlich now finds herself at a loss from the last order she received from her superior, Major Gilbert Bougainvillea, "To Live." Coupled with the phrase "I love you", Violet enters the line of work as an Auto Memory Doll, girls who write letters for people to those dear to them in order to find out what those words the Major told her mean.
Much like the double entendre, Violet Evergarden is a show that attempts to instill two different types of storytelling to tell the tale of our main heroine: stories that come on an episode by episode basis with their own self-contained story, and an overarching story involving Violet's journey to find out what the Major's words mean and grow as an individual. The issue of this arises from the imbalance of the show heavily leans it to favor one style of storytelling over the other, eventually leaving Violet feeling underwhelming as a character by the end.
Most of the episodes are focused on Violet tending to a client and learning their story/writing their letter so that by the end of the episode, the side character's conflict gets resolved and the story moves on to the next. Now you would think that Violet would get significant character change from each instance and slowly shed away her doll-like exterior. After all, she's there every episode writing letters for people and hearing their thoughts/life story. But much of what she does is play the observer role. She hardly engages in the story or plays an active role during these parts, leading to most of her involvement in the show being playing dumb cause she doesn't know any better in order to further the plot. That being said, this is the area where the show truly shines. Despite the compactness of some of these stories, a good number of them are really good at tackling some circumstances and the personal problems with parties involved. Sometimes I found myself at a loss by how some of these stories ended because they had heart, a quality to them that solely focused on these people and what personal problems or loved ones they lost.
But on the other end of the spectrum comes Violet's story which I honestly can't say many positive things for. Since the majority of the story treats her like an outsider who often times does more harm than good since she does the equivalent of poking a sleeping bear with a stick using her blunt expressions and lack of social tact, what we get is a story about the heroine that feels fractured and incomplete. Pretty much all of her character growth is funneled into two episodes at the halfway point of the series when it really should've been fed in gradually with slow but noticeable changes to her character. But instead what we got was an emotionless doll who stays practically the same with a past the show tries to play fill in the blank with when in reality we already got the gist of it by episode two. It doesn't help that after this happens the story goes back to the episodic storytelling before switching back to a Violet-related story, so the structure for this show is really just all over the place.
Much of the world feels incomplete too, as the show goes in fair detail about what the Great War is and how it's affected people, but we don't really get any info beyond that, and the show just paints the picture of "War is bad" without the usual motives from higher powers that would spark a war in the first place. An arbitrary reason is better than no reason. All of these missing details ends up painting Violet Evergarden as an ambitious piece that ends up succeeding very well in some aspects, but falling flat in others. Because of Violet's lack of involvement for most of the series, I found myself at odds with even sympathizing with her plight because by the point we get to know more about her, I've already poured more investment into more of her clients than I did for her. It didn't help that I became disinterested for the overarching war that seemed to still be ever present in the series, so that didn't do the show any favors for me either.
Overview:
+ Really good side stories
- Overarching story is heavily lacking
- Violet feels detached from her own story
Characters:
Violet Evergarden is a girl with a doll-like expression, an obedient tool given orders by her superiors and used by the military to aid in their victory in the war. Because of her upbringing, many social conventions like tact and common sense escape her and make up the majority of why she as a character is so odd and detached from the country that she helped save. While I will cut her some slack in the early episodes due to this being the start of her journey, her doll-like existence goes on for far too long. As mentioned before, it takes until the halfway point of the series for the show to even begin trying to make the effort to how she views herself and provide the necessary revelations to change her character. Yet somehow even that feels disingenuous as by that point, the show takes a dramatic shift to focus solely on her when really that should've been what should've happened from the very beginning. All of this culminates in a journey that doesn't feel satisfying to watch because the show has to do a complete one eighty on character focus just so Violet can even get a taste of the spotlight. Admittedly everything does come together for her in a neat bow, but I find the payoff for that to be kind of fabricated since she was only really the star of the show for a handful of episodes.
By extension, the her coworkers at the CH Postal Office feel like wasted potential. The show teases at the possible stories to come from the people she works with, with only one of the girls she works alongside getting a dedicated episode to herself with many of her coworkers getting teased at a potential story down the road without results cause those just end up being throwaway details that I suppose I shouldn't bother with.
So enough with the subpar stuff. Due to the show's primary focus on side stories involving Violet's letter clients, what we get from these people are personal journeys, climaxes filled with struggle and conflict, and tales of the different kinds of love that people can have from one another. Each of these stories gets only one episode, but I felt so much more involved with these stories due to their limited runtime and just how much emotion they were able to pour in a short twenty four minute episode. There's always a payoff with these stories, and a satisfaction to them that lets me appreciate the show in light of the negative qualities I say the show has.
Overview:
+ Fantastic side characters (with arguably better stories)
- Recurring characters feel subpar
- Violet herself feels severely underwhelming by comparison
Art:
It's Kyoto Animation. To my knowledge, they have not made a visually bad looking show, and Violet Evergarden is the peak of what the company has been able to do with their level of quality. The show is beautiful, no doubt about it. A beautiful shine over a light color palette complete with amazing panning shots, some very choice animation moments, and an absurd amount of different backgrounds, each looking just as impressive as the last.
Sound:
Both TRUE's "Sincerely" and Minori Chihara's "Michishirube" are similar sounds/encompassing songs that set the stage for what Violet Evergarden as a story is. We start off with 'Sincerely', a yearning piece that gives the show the emotional propelling that sets the mood for the audience, before ending off with its counterpart, a more somber piece that ends on a much lighter note by comparison. Both of these pieces have the emotional power to back up the show they're attached to, and I personally find this pair to be a worthwhile set worth remembering.
Personal Enjoyment:
Kyoto Animation, a story on the path to self-discovery, really pretty animation, this was a show that I had high hopes for. Did it deliver? Sorta? My appeal for the show ended up coming from how much emphasis it put on the cast that showed up all but once in the series and the care that was put into each of their tales. I still stand by that Violet is an underwhelming protagonist, a figurehead for these stories to even begin to exist, which is a shame because if she was more involved, this would've been one of my favorite Kyoani works.
Indeed the show does try and get her to make the jump by asking questions on things she doesn't know, but her doll-like exterior was so strong for me that I found it hard to believe that she would ever change, and it did happen, I kind of lost interest. It's also weird to me how the show treated its halfway point like the 'ending' when there was still plenty of story left to go. In fact, the show switches back to dealing with several more clients after the whole schtick with Violet, and she still feels like the same character, just with a few minor and subtle changes that didn't matter much cause I didn't feel personally invested in her to care.
I still think the show is still worth watching, but my reason for suggesting it is for everyone else's sorrow, strife, and growth, not Violet's. The show's attempt at creating a double meaning for itself by not only making it an episodic story, but also an overarching one, led it down the path to succeed in one aspect but not the other. If Violet's story was better meshed into the show, then I would've given it a pass, but as it stands, she's only the lens we watch the show through. Not exactly the premier role for the main protagonist.
read more
Apr 1, 2018
22 of 22 episodes seen
|
7
people found this review helpful
|
| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
There's something special to said about a show that gives you not only sympathy for the characters, but also a torrent of emotions and feelings when watching. Despite its cult-like status as a hidden gem that doesn't get talked about, Shaft was still managed to create a worthy sequel of the story of Rei Kiriyama. (Honestly, the analytics are kind of boring, so I'd suggest you just skip to the 'Personal Enjoyment' section.)
Story:
We return back to March Town, following the story of Rei Kiriyama as his story comes to fruition after digging himself out of the hole he's found himself in for years, turning its
attention to how he's able to help, and give back to those that have given him the support he's wanted and needed for years.
The biggest and most obvious part about this season is that the story is not centered around Rei, which is something I see as a detriment to the series. He's the main character, and the main character should have the brunt of the story or at least have a major hand in most of it. As a result of this change, Rei is relegated mostly to a deuteragonist role, often times bouncing in and out of the story's focus where he's either on the main stage, or accompanies someone else who has the spotlight.
It also doesn't help that there're a number of characters that don't ever get their stories finished, and instead get loose ends or are stopped halfway without much development or time left to them. Kyouko is the biggest culprit of this, and it's honestly a shame considering how the previous season built her up to be an antagonistic and bittersweet character towards Rei, and that hardly got touched upon, which I find odd considering she had a story that existed prior to the series, so having that just vanish in thin air in place of a different character who before his time in the spotlight was just a side character is disappointing to say the least.
But rather than what could've been, what the series is is a show of raw human emotion that feels both genuine and impactful. The show explores into the various lives and struggles of various other characters, some closer to Rei, others not, providing a broad spectrum that tackles very real personal problems; bullying, expectations, sickness, depression. The portrayal of these themes through its characters is a gut-wrenching adventure that doesn't let up till its end, gripping the audience through Shinbou's visual storytelling that leaves the viewer with a mix of random feelings of emotions.
By the end of it, 3-gatsu is a whirlwind of emotions that tells the stories of the people of March Town, detailing their hardships and their willingness to break through their problems, fighting tooth and nail through tears and anger, sorrow and sickness, to find themselves in the world that they want to be a part of. It's a beautiful journey that despite not primarily featuring its main character, makes up in spades with amazing characterization for the parties involved.
Overview:
+ True, raw, human emotion
+ Compelling stories
- I honestly wish Rei was more involved
Characters:
Rei really only the tail end of everything. Much of his story is in Season 1, so much of his role this time is to be on the sidelines supporting or helping those close to him in need. Again, I wish he was more involved or the center for even a little bit tackling some other stories, but what we get from him is the culmination of everything he has been working towards. The changes are subtle among other things, but the noticeable change in his character brings him into another light that truly feels like he has found himself on the right path, an aspect of the show that seems to still be progressing even beyond his story has finished.
But apart from him, characters like Hina, the middle child of the Kawamoto sisters, and the meijin of the shogi world, Touji Souya, take the spotlight in their own sections of the series, telling their stories through the parts dedicated to them in fashion similar to how Rei's story unfolds. As per usual with how character driven stories go, there's a clear imbalance to how much weight each of these characters hold, with Hina especially getting a buildup before it hits you hard right in the middle of the show, punching you emotionally without letting up until you finish the episode.
Overview:
+ Great character-based stories
+/- Rei kinda gets sidelined
- Imbalance in story importance
Art:
Shaft. Shaft, Shaft, Shaft. I've stated before that Shaft is the one production company that I have a problem with due to Akiyuki Shinbou's overwhelming presence in the company as its primary director causing me grief because his style of visual storytelling often leaves me scratching my head because I for the life of me cannot understand nor are willing to understand the kind of shit the guy pulls off, especially in the Monogatari series.
But honestly, this is the one show that I can say with certainty would be incomplete without his touch. The visual metaphors do nothing more but complete the experience. There are things about animation that you can't do anywhere else, and one of those is to convey a person's emotion in outlandish ways. Everything about the style from this show; its use of colors contrasting from dramatic black and white to bright and fluffy colors, the distortion of anatomy when someone is distressed, and the blankness of eyes from lack of empathy and emotion. These little details make the show, and I give Shinbou and his team all the respect I have for bringing this series to life the way that they did despite the flack I give him for some of his other projects.
Overview:
+ Shaft just makes this show. No questions about it.
Sound:
Alright, I'm gonna say this outright, nothing can beat Bump of Chicken. The band wrote the songs used in as the OP and ED of the first season as homages to the series as fans. The power and emotion in their songs is something that personally I don't think can be outmatched.
As a result of this, both sets of OPs and EDs in season two really just aren't great in my opinion. For such an emotional show, having similar pieces that lead into something that sounds happy go lucky where in scene we physically see the struggles and despair of characters like Hina and Nikaido, I'm sorry, but it just doesn't do it for me. They're good on their own, but tacking them onto 3-gatsu is not really doing it for me.
Personal Enjoyment:
3-gatsu is definitely a show that places near the top of the list for me. To be honest, most of what I wrote above is rubbish; really just a formality to give the show the equal analytics I give every show I review.
This show is something you watch for the experience. You watch it for the characters, the stories, the emotion and gut-wrenching struggles of it all as the people in it give their all to achieve something meaningful in their lives. The show has very high highs and very low lows, a veritable rollercoaster of emotion as issues like bullying are shown with the painful truth. Episodes twelve and thirteen will forever stay as two of my favorite episodes of anime period. I was so enthralled watching it, struggling with my own emotions as I had my own emotions played with, eyes glued to the screen the whole time. Bar none some of the closest things to perfection in anime that I've ever seen.
Shows like these are things that I hate putting under the analytic scope. I find that it devalues them by telling others what the show could be rather than what the show actually is. And that by doing so, I sour my own experience by meticulously nitpicking at everything that's bad so I can separate it by saying what the show succeeds in doing and what it didn't do. It's for these reasons that the show get my recommendation to watch it. Just watch it. Season one, season two, all of it, start to finish. Rarely does a show portray life in the manner that 3-gatsu does, and even rarer does the show ever scream the word 'human', and all that it entails in trying to succeed in life and find a way to fulfill the gaps that we or others leave in our hearts. Cause really I just want more people to experience this show and give it the attention that it deserves.
read more
Mar 31, 2018
12 of 12 episodes seen
|
1
people found this review helpful
|
| Overall |
5 |
| Story |
4 |
| Animation |
4 |
| Sound |
4 |
| Character |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
4 |
You know those ads on Youtube that let you skip them after 5 seconds? Think of this as that and season 1 as the 30 second unskippable ones.
Story:
As expected of a sequel, Dagashi Kashi 2 returns back to Shikada Dagashi, where Kokonotsu continues his youth out in the sticks subjected to the eccentric Hotaru bringing about new cheap snacks and the history behind them before disappearing halfway and continuing that plotline anyway despite not having the character that made the show interesting in the first place do all of the narration.
Alright in short, the show is...sorta like the first season with its runtime cut in
half. Much of what to expect from this is what is seen in the first season, just toned down because Hotaru being the girl whose sexual preference is snack isn't present for a good half of the show. It's with this lack of hyper energy that season 2 feels dull by comparison, which doesn't help its case when its attempt at an overarching narrative at the end feels out of place and poorly executed because up till that point, the show never even bothered to tackle Kokonotsu's character or interests since prior to that he was just the guy who was either being talked to or talking about dagashi.
So really at the end of the day you're left with a show that tries to break out of its mold, but fails to do so because it's still stuck and is content with being in it. There's honestly not much to say about it since the show's total runtime is the sum total of half a cour, which while helped me get through it much faster because the twenty four minute runtime of the first season felt agonizing cause it almost felt like nothing was even happening aside from a history lesson on a snack I never heard of. Even ads have to be interesting if you want people to watch them.
Overview:
+/- Pretty much the first season chopped in half
- Less energetic and therefore became less interesting
- Poorly executed 'final arc'
Characters:
Out of the entire main cast, Kokonotsu is really the only matters? There's a focus on him in the later episodes, especially the last two that tries to give him characterization due to the polarizing paths that he's presented throughout the series, but it just...doesn't work out. The tonal shift of it felt pretty out of place, especially with how somber the show tried to be in the very last episode, and at the end of day, Kokonotsu still remained as the son of a Dagashi shop owner with very few actual changes in his character despite what the show tries to paint.
There are however two new characters that the show presents; Hajime, a new part-timer, and Beniyutaka, a man who seems way too obsessed with the concept of convenience stores. In Hotaru's stead, these two attempt to fill in the gap by being both the 'Dagashi' and 'High-Energy' parts of her personality respectively, which only kind of worked because Hajime managed to be entertaining without being too over the top whereas Beniyutaka proved to be the opposite. Apart from them, the rest of the tiny cast involving the Endo twins and Kokonotsu's father return with very few changes to them.
Overview:
+ Saya's still kinda awesome
+/- Kind of average characters
Art:
Production this time was transferred from Feel to Tezuka Productions, which comparing the two is like seeing something in 1080p then going into 360p. There's a certain lack of quality with how season 2 looks, with much of the colors looking much duller and darker in comparison to Feel's work in making everything look brighter and shinier by comparison.
It's a weird shock with how different the qualities are that honestly I feel was for the worse. Yes, Kotoyama's style is still recognizable, but it's one of those things where you're used to one thing, and now seeing it in a different style ends up looking weird because it's not what you're familiar with, which is especially telling because the series's high octane and light hearted comedy is now contrasted by this super dull and dark color palette that doesn't match up.
Overview:
- Overall lower quality
Sound:
Both Ayana Taketatsu's "OH MY Sugar Feeling!!" and Hachimitsu Rocket's "Okashi na Watashi to Hachimitsu no Kimi" are songs that emphasis the show's energy as a snack-based comedy more than anything else. They're not tracks that I would give praise for simply because I just didn't care for them. They're alright I admit, but they didn't have anything interesting about them that truly grasped my attention, and for that I personally gave them a pass.
Personal Enjoyment:
I often put sequel seasons on my list for 'obligatory reasons', as I call them. I'm usually in it for the long haul and very rarely do I not continue a series, even if I dislike it, whether that reason be its main character or if I get so annoyed by the plot that I flat out refuse to continue it. While Dagashi Kashi doesn't fall into either of those categories, and even with a shorter runtime so at the end of the day I'm still watching less of the thing overall, I still don't think it was worth it.
Honestly, I'm pinning it on the fact that the novelty of the idea ran out. Sure there're a million different snacks and/or cheap toys that exist out there, but having that be the primary running joke/focus in the series runs the well dry pretty fast cause it's the exact same thing. Sure the show tried to spice it up by bringing in new characters, but it did it at the sacrifice of getting rid of the one character that pretty much gave the show reason to exist, which again, doesn't help the show's case. There's also a criminally small amount of Saya featured in this season, and that is a downright crime. Best girl should not be benched like that, especially during the show's "downtime".
So if you ask me, unless you really like this show, you're best skipping this. Granted I wasn't expecting anything grand from this sequel, but at least let me put "It's a sequel, what you saw in the first season is what you're gonna get here", cause that is not at all what happened damnit, and that's the bare minimum you could've done where you instead went directions that didn't help your case in the end.
read more
Mar 30, 2018
12 of 12 episodes seen
|
1
people found this review helpful
|
| Overall |
5 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Character |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
"The one with the sharpest fangs wins. That is what Killing Bites is." -Uzaki Hitomi.
Yeah so...that's said every episode whether you like it or not. Think of it as the catalyst for the plot armor to activate. I wish I was kidding.
Story:
Four powerful companies fight for power and control over each other. In order to settle their feuds, the four companies have put funding towards therianthropes, people who've had their genetic code infused with that of an animal that allows them to transform into the biological weapons of the animal of their choice called Brutes (cause that's totally how genetic engineering works), participating in cockfights
called 'Killing Bites', where the Brutes fight one another and the winner gets dominance over the other three companies as a result. And so we find ourselves with Brute Ratel, a fairly unknown fighter who throws a wrench in the Killing Bites...and the guy who I guess is the main protagonist.
Alright, not gonna sugarcoat this; Killing Bites is a glorified dick measuring contest disguised as a giant cockfight with the politics and warring powers who sponsor and host the Killing Bites acting as a backdrop to the whole thing and don't really matter. The story features only one official "Killing Bites" match, featuring twelve participants who gloat so much about their supposed dominance to the point that when the show decides to give them each a pitiful excuse for a backstory to explain how and why these Brutes even went through with the therianthropy treatment to become the human/animal hybrids that they are. Something that you end up not caring about cause it doesn't matter anyway considering prior to this knowledge, much of what you know about them is-
"I AM THIS ANIMAL. I CAN DO THIS. YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME BECAUSE I CAN DO THE THING THAT THIS ANIMAL CAN DO." Which doesn't really count for much cause you lose your impact when everyone fucking does this.
Because of how the show's structured, the story is mostly style over substance, utilizing the egos of Brute Ratel (Hitomi as she's called), the other Brutes, the members of each company...basically everyone but the one guy who's supposed to be the male protagonist of the show to enhance the viewing experience of the savage battle royale to make it feel exciting. Which honestly kind of works, if only to make the show dumb fun. Every aspect of the show is exasperated to the point that everything is so bullshit that it's more funny than anything, especially because the show has a dedicated narrator who explains animal facts like the Animal Planet so that the viewer is aware of each animal's parameters and why/how they're able to pull off the bullshit that they do, which isn't hard because the amount of things the show tries to get away with with is so out there that not even suspension of disbelief alone will get you very far.
As a show, Killing Bites is a show whose entire identity lies in how brutal its fights can be and how big of a dick everyone has from showing off their strength and proving that they're better than everyone else. I'll give credit where credit is due, the show's actually pretty brutal. And though from a narrative standpoint the show flops because the entire narrative is just a backdrop, it's at least fun enough to watch just to see the kind of bullshit that they'll do, cause bullshit can be fun if you're in the mood for it. There're also a few weird tone shifts in the beginning episodes, and a major twist at the end of the series that's pretty "What the fuck?!", so watch out for those.
Overview:
+ Savage as the box said it is
+/- Lots of things require suspension of belief
- Gloating gets really old, really fast
Characters:
"The one with the sharpest fangs wins. That is what Killing Bites is." Yeah, even if you're sick of it, it's not gonna stop her from saying it all the fucking time. Hitomi, or Brute Ratel, is a character that in four words, "Doesn't give a fuck". As a human/ratel, or as it's more commonly known, the honey badger, Hitomi's defining trait is to get what she wants, pick fights with anyone who doesn't agree with her, and threatens to kill said person who doesn't agree with her. She is the human embodiment of the honey badger, which as amusing as it is, makes her a terrible character. Though her personality doesn't come into play so much as the amount of plot armor that she has, which weirdly enough is validated enough that I feel does get a pass in the realm of bullshit. Cause honey badgers are basically nature's middle finger, capable of fighting predators many times larger than itself, shrug off cobra venom, and survive gunshots if shot in the wrong place, which only makes them angrier. It is because of this quality that makes Hitomi such a weirdly polarizing character, in that everything does make enough sense when put in context, but it's still bullshit.
Nomoto however is one of those characters you really can't make a positive case for. The guy's spineless and just ends up being dragged through everything that happens in the show, having little to no impact to the overall plot cause he quite frankly doesn't want to be in the world of illegal human/animal cockfighting and doesn't really make much of an effort to escape or man up, which in the one scene he tries to make an effort ends up getting shot down cause the show always wants him to play the beta male, which becomes even stranger with the weird buildup at the end where he's put into the spotlight which, prior to that, was someone who had almost no reason to be in this show in the first place.
Other characters don't really matter. The Brutes themselves all have a pretty simple and self-explanatory backstory that you probably won't care about cause they take all but five to ten minutes to explain with very little impact to your feelings towards them because half of the time they're gloating about how strong the cobra, the tiger, the alligator, (insert another animal here) is before getting an arm or a leg chopped off because they didn't pay enough attention in zoology class to know that their opponent's animal is capable of doing such a thing. In the same vein as that, the company heads don't matter in the slightest and their power war is basically irrelevant. The only other character I would say matters in this show is Dr. Shidoh, Hitomi's guardian who acts more like a plot device cause despite what everyone in the show says, he doesn't actually do anything and only serves to advance the plot vaguely towards a penultimate thing that leads into the next arc that we'll probably never see unless we get a sequel.
Overview
+ Characters are...entertaining
- Male MC is pretty useless the way through
Art:
On the topic of art, what Lidenfilms ended up producing is honestly not all that interesting to look at. The show at most looks average, and the quality of the show itself is far from anything strikingly appealing to look at. It also doesn't help the fact that most of the show takes place at night, so that in and of itself makes everything that much harder to see, especially because about half of the fights take place in near darkness, and seeing only the glowing eyes of the characters isn't great.
The fight scenes however were honestly what I expected, and then some. The fights are very messy and brutal in nature, constantly filled with injuries and bloodshed from the savagery of these people fighting which honestly was the best part of the entire series. Cutting off limbs, pouring out pools of blood; the show didn't shy away from being as gruesome as it could possibly be, and that's something that I can give the show credit for because it at least proved that it could be as unforgiving as nature can be. Though can I just take a moment to say how dumb the names of their attacks are? Slash. Freaking..."Slash". Like come on, you can come up with something better than that. A seventy power a hundred accuracy move is not cool a enough name to say when you're cutting some poor fucker's arm off.
I also find it weird, but not at all surprised that the designs of the Brutes are what they are. Because this is Japan, the girls end up looking like Kemonomimis primarily looking human with a few animal parts when transformed, while the guys pull off a complete transformation and look like a bipedal version of the animal of their choice. And Hitomi fights wearing a white tank and her underwear. Truly this show would not be complete without its fanservice. Clearly. It's also worth noting that two brutes in the series are rendered in CG in, which is glaringly obvious when they show up on screen. Thankfully it's not overly jarring, so it's at least acceptable to an extent.
Overview:
+ Gruesomely good fight scenes
+/- Fanservice designs?
- Terrible attack names
Sound:
Fripside's "Killing Bites" is really what you would expect from the band. Most of their work is very samey sounding, and listening back to both Clockwork Planet and Black Bullet gives me the same feeling as I get from listening to the other two, though personally I prefer those two to what Fripside has done here, so I regard this OP as inferior in comparison.
Kitsunetsuki's "Kedamono Damono" on the other hand is a pretty generic rock song with a numerous amount of guitar rifts to give it flair between the lyrics. I'm not really feeling this one either, and the entire OST by itself is not really all that exciting if you ask me.
Personal Enjoyment:
Honestly I think I enjoyed this show a hell of a lot more than I ever should have. I partially blame this on the fact that I generally go with the flow on things, and since everything here was a big case of "Just go along with it", I think that's the reason why I'm able to sit here and say that I liked the show simply for its dumb fun. And that's saying something with the amount of crap they try to pull with the amount of abuse any of these animals can take without dying, cause some of those 'nonfatal' wounds are very clearly fatal, especially from the blood loss of severed limbs.
I also want to point out that they have a character who looks like fat Wolverine with a puckered butthole for a mouth. Which that to me is hilarious cause I could not go one scene without laughing with him in the picture and take what he was saying seriously. Not like I was doing that in the first place, but you get my point. (No his animal is not a wolverine, no matter how great that would've been.)
Now the question is...should you watch this show? Personally...no. I mean unless you want to kill some time and watch something stupid, then no. There's honestly nothing of value to be had watching this show aside from dumb fun. I just watched it out of morbid curiosity and I ended up having way too much fun with it cause I've reached the point in my life where anything can get a laugh out of me. I guess another reason would be...if you want to watch a nature show but you also want to watch anime, this could be that niche you're looking for. A very odd niche, but one I'm sure exists...somewhere.
read more
Mar 30, 2018
12 of 12 episodes seen
|
5
people found this review helpful
|
| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
Slice of Life. As a genre, it's become so oversaturated with content that it's branched off into comedy, supernatural, romance, what have you, causing the trend of missing a few diamonds in the rough here and there is a common occurrence. Hakumei to Mikochi is in this reviewer's opinion, the poor victim of this phenomenon in the Winter 2018 season, and one that deserves light being shed on its deceivingly cutesy self.
Story:
In the woods lives the little people, a species of three inch tall elf-like beings who live their daily lives in the woods. In Hakumei to Mikochi, we peer into the lives of the
titular duo, Hakumei and Mikochi, as they quite literally live their lives in the woods in the town of Makinata.
Not surprisingly, Hakumei to Mikochi is a show that follows the day to day lives of these two girls as they encounter various obstacles in their lives like surprise adventures, daily disappointments, overcoming various hurdles, or unwelcome guests in their home. Each episode is structured mostly in an A part and B part format, with the occasional roundabout episode with an overarching episodic narrative. As such, the show is mainly episodic in nature, and very contained within its own story with aspects such as character relationships carrying over from episode to episode to give it natural progression.
But beyond that, the thing I feel makes Hakumei to Mikochi special is its generally somber and relaxed tone. Even in tense situations or scenes with higher stakes, the show never elevates itself to a level that separates it from its established tone, doing all of this surprisingly well due to the show's themes of life and self reflection. Often in the show we see moments of characters by themselves collecting their thoughts by the adventure or event that has just occurred, letting what has happened sink in both for the characters and for the audience. As such, the show exudes this strangely natural feel about it, an almost therapeutic feeling that has put me at ease with each proceeding episode. The show never goes out of its way to be too outlandish, and stays grounded in being about its characters, telling its stories simply for the desire to tell each episode's story.
Much of this is also spiced up by the show's more fantasy elements, creating a society filled with talking animals that live alongside these tiny people with a surprising amount of details slowly fed into the overall narrative to give the audience more to process. My favorite aspect of the world building is the 'tiny' element to all of this, as fruits and vegetables, as well as their animal coworkers/neighbors are scaled to match the actual size of the characters, which while small, gives the show a stamp for attention to detail because of how consistent these elements of the show are, and quite hilarious how something like one whole peanut can serve as a fulfilling snack for two people.
When culminated, Hakumei to Mikochi is comes off as a whimsical and episodic story that exudes both charm and whimsy with its episodic stories and world building that ends on a nice somber note that lets the entire self-contained adventure or event come to a solution that feels both comforting and satisfying to watch. It's for this reason why the story feels worth investing into, and makes the show something more than just a 'slice of life adventure'.
Overview:
+ Good worldbuilding
+ Rooted and consistent tone
Characters:
The titular characters Hakumei and Mikochi are in a way two sides of the same coin. Hakumei is the more rowdy of the two, working as a repairwoman and enjoys more physical labor whereas Mikochi is more of the homemaker, usually cooking for the duo and makes homemade products to sell. But this only scratches the surface of these two girls, as each episode slowly feeds in more details about their past, more of their talents and fears, ultimately giving them both a nice and smooth polish that turns them into well-rounded characters that work well both individually and when together. I felt really invested with these two because they always had this nice positive vibe about them, and the show's whimsical and lax nature prevented them from having any annoying traits that would spoil their overall positive qualities.
But more than that, the side cast manages to be just as impressive than the titular characters. Adding in various characters both animal and little people like Konju the songstress, Iwashi the weasel repairman, and Sen the 'necromancer', the show provides an expansive cast full of recurring characters that get built upon with each proceeding episode. As a result, the cast feels like a group of people rather than one-sided background fodder, providing a richness to the cast that makes them all feel alive and enhances the already solid worldbuilding that the show establishes.
Overview:
+ Well-rounded characters
+ Equally well-built side-cast
Art:
Produced by Lerche, Hakumei to Mikochi has bears much of the company's style in having a lighter color palette with more of a white blend to give everything a light air about it. The show also provides extensively detailed background images from the various towns, the forests, and the main characters' home, all of which are very consistent in quality and are very nice to look at, especially with how leafy and full of life the forests look.
I do also want to bring attention to the character designs and just how much I love them. If nothing else, the designs for the little people especially are adorable. The chibi design of them really makes them look far more appealing than they have any right to be, and Konju's design especially with the linens on her arms and the harp on her chest is something I really, really like. They also all wear an adorable hat that looks just slightly too big for their heads. There really is just something to love about how they look.
Overview:
+ Adorable character designs
+ Consistent and quality art
+ Very detailed backgrounds
Sound:
Much like the story, sound plays much into the series's overall somber and relaxed tone. "Urar", by Chima is a mix of both bizarre yet calming, where the song is primarily harmonious tones with Chima's voice primarily acting as the song's melody. It's an interesting song that took some time for me to grow fond of, especially because the accompanying visuals were real life pictures of the forest rather than either Hakumei or Mikochi doing anything in the show, which at first glance is quite odd.
The ED by contrast is something that sounds more on par with the series. "Harvest Moon Night", sung by Aoi Yuuki and Shino Shimoji, the voices of both Konju and Mikochi, is a more energetic piece in comparison to its OP counterpart, providing a piano flourish that leads into a more festive beat that comes with a joyful duet of two characters noted as being some of the best singers in the series' canon.
Overview:
+ Great ED
+/- OP is a tad strange to me
Personal Enjoyment:
Hakumei to Mikochi is my favorite slice of life of the season. And that's rivaling Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san, a series that takes the title as one of my favorite romance series. For me, I appreciate this show more for what it did to expand more from the 'slice of life' bubble, providing highs and lows throughout each episode, always making sure to end on a nice somber note as a sort of closing statement so the audience feels relaxed, something that I felt after every episode and pushed me more to want more.
More than that, I love Konju as a character. Aoi Yuuki is already an amazing voice actress, and having her play my favorite character in this show made Konju even more fun to have, especially since she was a recurring character. More than that, the show made me care about these characters. At the end of it all, I felt happy about Hakumei's journey from where she came from to where she is now, I smiled at how even the grumpiest of characters managed to smile, and how not a single character in this entire show was either annoying or overly annoying that I wish they weren't there, cause there's always one I'll tell ya. I've even gone back and forth on which of the main duo is my favorite, often times switching from Mikochi to Hakumei, to back again because each episode managed to give more information about them that made me favor one or the other. I just think they're that good as characters.
If you're looking for a diamond in the rough, Hakumei to Mikochi is the show to provide that. It's a show that I haven't seen under may peoples' radars, and I feel goes unappreciated for more popular picks. Its emphasis on the somber and relaxed parts of life are something that gives the show its own identity, a rare occurrence in a genre that's oversaturated with many of the same or similar shows that battle it out for dominance. So if you ever feel like you want something to relax to, something to end the night off on a pleasant mood, this is a show that's definitely one for that role.
read more
Mar 26, 2018
12 of 12 episodes seen
|
3
people found this review helpful
|
| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
"Ah, youth", a phrase that harkens back to a simpler time without adult responsibilities like taxes, work, or complicated interpersonal relationships, and everything can be summed up with having fun with friends or having an innocent crush on the girl sitting next to you. Ooo, I've been waiting for this one.
Story:
Our story starts between the two middle schoolers who sit next to each other in class, Nishikata and Takagi. It's become glaringly clear for Nishikata that Takagi enjoys seeing his flustered reactions and teasing him at every opportunity she can get, leading this boy down the rocky path to get back at this girl for
all of the light torture he goes through, persevering day after day to get his first win unbeknownst to the fact that he has already stolen her heart.
Wholesome. That's the word I would use to describe this show in a word. Throughout its twelve episode run, Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san paints a picture of youth and moments of childhood fun as each episode compiles several mini stories, chapters from two of Yamamoto-sensei's works, primarily focusing on the school mishaps of the titular character outwitting and teasing Nishikata despite the boy's desperate attempts at getting back at her. While the concept at first appears stale, much of its presentation varies after the initial few takes of Nishikata failing to outwit the girl who's always two/three steps ahead of him, creating different scenarios in how he gets teased rather than him having his plans fail ninety five percent of the time. All the while, the story manages to make slow, but noticeable progress on the relationship between these two that creates something of an ideal 'youth romance' that feels warm and fuzzy to watch.
Quite often, the story will also switch from its main focus to adapt chapters from "Ashita wa Doyoubi", a different manga series from the same author that follows the adventures of three girls who are canonically take place in the same town and school as Karakai Jouzu, providing a change of pace that still manages to emulate the same air to it as the casual and lax nature of these girls is nearly identical to the tone that we're normally used to. Personally though, I feel these stories generally have a lot less weight to them compared to the show's main story, as the unlike Takagi and Nishikata, the three girls Mina, Yukari, and Sanae don't have a developing relationship that creates personal investment, and instead emulates more of the 'slice of life' with girls story we're used to.
Overall however, Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san is a show that does a solid example of a slice of life show with a slow but positive impacting romance element that gradually grows to fruition with each passing episode. It's a fun and relaxing school comedy that's just a blast to watch trying to see the various things Nishikata tries to do in order to get back at Takagi, blissfully unaware that he has in a sense already claimed the biggest victory of them all. Personally I would've liked the show to have ended on a different chapter (Chapter 31), as it would've given the show a more definitive end, but if Shin-Ei decides to do a second season, I wouldn't mind.
Overview:
+ Well-paced development
+ Wholesome. Very wholesome.
- Ashita wa Doyoubi sections feel lackluster in comparison
Characters:
As with any slice of life show, the most important parts to take into consideration are the characters, and how good they are as characters since they do carry the show.
Takagi-san as the titular character is a mischievous girl who always manages to triumph over Nishikata despite his vain attempts to tease her for all the teasing he gets, and Nishikata is the boy who tirelessly and fervently desires to be the one standing over Takagi-san, even if it's for one time. The duo is an inseparable aspect of the show that gives the show its charm, their interactions acting as both the heart and soul of this series. While from a story standpoint, it seems like as characters they can't function without each other, much of the series dedicates to various their various quirks and interests, filling in blanks like their relationships with other members of the cast, favorite manga, and what they do without the other around, which helps to expand this show to be more of a slice of life on youth rather than just a school slice of life, as is what is commonly seen with much of the genre's school examples. As a result, these characters feel a lot more believable and leads the show into many other situations outside of school which for how often they're seen at school, is really refreshing to watch.
And as mentioned before, we get the girls Mina, Yukari, and Sanae who spend much of their screentime creating character dynamics within each other; Mina is the kind of dumb energetic one, Sanae is the blunt and deadpan one, and Yukari is the levelheaded, almost sensible one of the group. Apart from them, the few characters we do see don't get explored much if at all, and really only serve to fill up cast slots and make it so that Nishikata doesn't just spend all of his free time with the girl he sits next to (even though that is totally the case). Everyone but the main protagonists are pretty bare in characteristics, but it's definitely not a dealbreaker in this case.
Overview:
+ Well rounded (and very entertaining) main characters
- Side cast is lacking in comparison
Art:
Produced by Shin-Ei Animation, a studio who is noticeable for being the studio responsible for the Doraemon series, the quality of Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san is not...great. While I will give the show credit for being very reminiscent of Yamamoto-sensei's style and doing an excellent job at all of the closeups that help emphasize the psychological warfare going between two seventh graders, the art is not all that impressive.
The art wavers in quality and background frames look slightly off and different from scene to another, making the overall style quite inconsistent and not that amazing to look at. The color palette used is indeed bright and gives a nice shiny coat over everything to give the show its bright atmosphere, but really nothing to me stands out as 'amazing' from this style. Which is a shame too considering how much I like this series.
Overview:
+/- Average art
Sound:
On the flipside, the sound is almost an inverse of quality. "Iwanai kedo ne." by Oohara Yuiko is the song that really emulates the kind of ride you're in for when you're watching this show. It's bright, it's cheerful, and its light tone really hammers in how lax and fuzzy the series feels while watching it. One of my absolute favorite parts of the OST comes with a woodwind version of the OP, which comes appears very often in the series to give each scene the extra push it needed to make it from just a normal teasing scene to a really fun to watch teasing scene.
ED's are a bit of a different story, as we have seven different songs all sung by the voice of Takagi-san, Takahashi Rie. Most of the songs fall under the same category of being relaxing and cheery songs, each of the seven falling into a spectrum between energetic to calming, which is honestly a nice variety that I didn't expect from the series, but is something that's quite welcoming. My personal favorite is "Chiisana Koi no Uta", or the fifth ED in the series, as it falls in the midway of that spectrum so you sort of get the best of both worlds that way.
Overview:
+ Bright and energetic OP
+ Varying but all very good EDs
Personal Enjoyment:
Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san is bar none one of my favorite romance series, both to read and to watch. As someone who has followed and loved the original manga to the extent that I drop everything I'm doing just to read the next translated chapter, seeing that it was getting an anime was like euphoria. And I'm so happy that the show fulfilled everything I as a fan could've ever wanted. Seeing my favorite chapter get animated was so great to see, and I feel embarrassed to say just how excited I got every Monday just to see the next episode. I love the gradual pacing, I think the show is wholesome to a fault, and Takahashi Rie while at first I was apprehensive at her casting, is now something I'm so glad they did.
While I admit that I didn't do much but spout just how much love I have for this series, it's genuinely nice to see an adaptation get the amount of care and attention that the show got. The chapters were adapted almost 1:1, the accurateness of the characters blew my expectations, and the music was so much better than I ever thought it would be. While my recommendation is heavily biased, if you enjoy a good slice of life romance without any melodrama, watch this show. It's cute, it's fun, and most of all, it's wholesome.
read more
Mar 25, 2018
12 of 12 episodes seen
|
8
people found this review helpful
|
| Overall |
6 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Character |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
A trend I find with children in anime is that they're always painted 'cute'. Small human beings surrounded by glittery and sparkly effects who do cute things so that the audience falls in love with the tiny people characters. It's not often that I see children portrayed as what they actually are, monsters, and it's even stranger to see a more realistic representation portrayed in a shoujo series of all things, a genre where virtually everything is depicted a lot more flowery than they actually are.
Story:
Kashima Ryuuichi and his little brother Kotaro have met with the unfortunate fate of becoming orphans after their parents passing
due to a plane crash. It is then that the boy is contacted by the headmistress of the high school that he will be attending, and told that from that day forward, he will live with her with room and board all taken care of, but in exchange, he must spend his spare time at the babysitters club, a daycare center at school dedicated to the teachers' children while their mothers work.
The show is pretty standard for what one can expect from a shoujo-style slice of life. The story is very lax in nature with the only real high points being slight bumps that get resolved in the episode, thus leading to the show's mostly episodic nature with very few connecting points. The episodes are based around Ryuuichi and his relationships with both the people he meets at school and the children in the daycare center, without really much weight to them since the show ends up going back to the status quo and resetting all but a few plot elements that don't get touched very much in the later episodes.
But there are some points that I found irritating, mainly the fact that the parents of our two main protagonists ARE DEAD. It is the story of a four year old and a fifteen year old entering a stage in their life with their parents just recently deceased. Yes, this is a happy go lucky slice of life show, but you cannot ignore this looming fact. They do touch on this point a fair bit in the early episodes, but it felt like it was played off and largely ignored in sacrifice to showcase Ryuuichi playing with kids, which does not feel right considering how heavy of a topic this is.
Another more glaring problem is the romantic subplot. There are two girls in this show that seem to have an interest for Ryuuichi, and everything about their interactions with him feels so unsatisfying, as these scenes feature either a tsundere who does the classic tsundere thing of being a bitch before regretting it later because that's apparently how people work, and a super shy girl who very clearly has a crush on the guy, but never gets the time of day because the show's not about her, but we still have to know she exists anyway. The subplot eats up a surprising amount of the show's time and while none of the runtime is really lost since the episodic episodes featuring the children are wrapped up well enough to not warrant me yelling at Brain's Base for wasting time, I can't help but feel cheated because they set up the potential romance only to have it not go anywhere because audiences apparently like unresolved plot points/ideas.
Overall, Gakuen Babysitters is pretty much a show that's what you get on the box. It's a show about a guy babysitting kids with the occasional funny thing happening cause it's a slice of life comedy show that entertains. It wraps itself neatly at the end to show how far the two brothers have come, as a sort of recap episode to show the fruits of the labor the entire runtime has built up to, but largely what you're going to be seeing here are "School babysitters". Babysitters who babysit at school.
Overview:
+/- Pretty much what you'd expect with the title of the series
+ Has some heartwarming moments
- Romance goes nowhere, so why even include it in the first place
Characters:
Ryuuichi is about as interesting as sandpaper. He cares very much for his little brother (to be to an obsessive degree for various reasons), and is extremely passive, being far too nice to everyone and not getting upset in the slightest. Honestly there's not much to say about this guy cause weirdly enough, he's not involved with the plot all that much despite being the protagonist and the story beyond the first few episodes doesn't do much to shed light on the reality of him now being an orphan despite a few choice moments. Kotaro is sort of an off-branch of his character since the two in the show are basically inseparable, and Kotaro on his own doesn't really have any traits of his own either cause the kid is usually silent with this perpetual bored expression that makes me question whether or not he knows what's even going on in his life.
Then there're the kids. Who, if you know what kids really are like, will probably be reflective in your experience with them. Simply put; they're loud, they're jerks, they do whatever the hell they want, and they can be cute. Sometimes. As the core of the show's existence, the six children featured in the show each take turns and sometimes altogether being the show's focus (some more than others), taking the protagonist and various members of the side cast along with them on their little adventures doing what children do. The brat, the girl, the twins, Kotaro, and the baby; I have my own gripes with each of the kids, as their actual characters are something of personal preference, but I have to say they did a good job at showing their audience what snot-nosed brats children are actually like most of the time. So I guess they did get the important thing right.
The rest of the cast involving recurring characters like Kamitami Hayato and Yoshihito Usaida, two characters who are commonly seen around Ryuuichi, the childrens' parents, and other members of the side cast all weirdly enough have more personality than our main protagonist in that they fill in the gaps to enrich the world surrounding Ryuuichi with people who're more experienced with the other kids in the series, being family members and other people who simply have been around the children longer to be able to handle the little headaches much easier. The outliers to this rule are Inomata Maria and Ushimaru Yuki, both of whom are the girls that seem to catch Ryuuichi's fancy, but don't do anything about it cause even if you try, romance isn't wanted in this story.
Overview:
+ Realistic depictions of toddler behavior
+ Amusing sidecast (for the most part)
- MC's not very interesting
Art:
Produced by Brain's Base, Gakuen Babysitters focuses more on the light aesthetic with very few points of animation to take note of. The show itself is very consistent with its art quality, vying for a simple style with pastel colors that emulate the show's normally cheery and bright nature cause the show isn't a slice of life shoujo for nothing.
Comedy is relegated primarily to very simple comedic faces that at times don't even feel like a real anime comedy cause nothing's exaggerated which I guess by extension makes it less intrusive on the situation as a whole. Though I do question what kind of comedy can be derived from a family who disciplines their members with a sharp blow to the head. I mean it's kinda funny, but it got kind of stale after the twentieth time they did it, which doesn't help when the Kamitami family has the most irritating child in the entire series as one of its members.
Overview:
+ Consistent quality
+ Soothing and simple style
Sound:
Both Daisuke Ono's "Endless Happy World" and Hyorotto Danshi's "Oshiete yo", which is sung by the VAs of Ryuuichi and Hayato are both mellow songs that emulate the slice of life/happy go lucky tune that the show sings to featuring the day to day lives of looking after children who spend half their time drowning in their own imaginations playing.
Suffice to say, they're not really the most memorable tracks, but they do their job in emulating the feeling the audience is supposed to get when watching this series cause everything about these songs is meant to create the feeling of children having fun more than anything else. Personally though, I'm not much of a fan and I found them to be kind of generic and nothing really noteworthy.
Personal Enjoyment:
Honestly, I watched this show more for the novelty of the idea more so than any interest in the show itself. I sat there looking at 'Gakuen Babysitters' and thought to myself what the actual hell they could do with a show as literally titled as this. The show pretty much met my expectation on what I thought it was going to do, but kind of killed them at the same time cause the show's attempt at a romantic subplot was one of those things that shouldn't have been there, but surprise surprise, was there because why not. I was actively upset at Yuki's lack of involvement in the plot because she kept showing up in the series with nothing of value to add with every appearance. Which is sad because they try to mix her into everything by the end of the series and every fiber of my being was asking "Why didn't you do this earlier?"
But I think the one part of the show that irked me the most was Taka, Hayato's little brother and quite possibly the worst character in this entire show. Simply put, he's a brat. An annoying kid that spends the entire show trying to get his way and shove his way into everything without any acknowledgment for anyone else's thoughts or feelings. I don't like him because not only is he an annoying character, but he reminds me of a member of my own family who is the exact same way, and that's not a fun comparison to think about when you're watching an episode of anime on Sunday night to relax dreading the coming week.
But all in all, Gakuen Babysitters is a show that I felt was...alright, I guess. I don't think it helps that I'm not much of a shoujo fan, and the shoujo-style of storytelling isn't my favorite, so I think my enjoyment of the show would've been skewed from the beginning. If you're a fan of the shoujo genre and you got some time to kill, this would be a fun show to watch if you're trying to fill in time. Just be prepared to turn down your volume at times cause like a real group of children, the kids in this show can get pretty loud, and Taka's voice is like cheese graters, so here's your early warning.
read more
Mar 24, 2018
24 of 24 episodes seen
|
4
people found this review helpful
|
| Overall |
6 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
The concept of magic and its similar fantastical themes in the realm of anime have ended up turning into worlds with stats and RPG elements due to the constant stream and popularity of Isekai shows clogging up seasonal lists with various titles of the same type with small gimmicks in between each other to make them 'unique'. But recently we've entered into a renaissance of series' involving magic as part of nature, venturing back to the roots of where the concept first originated; folklore.
Story:
Our story follows Hatori Chise, a girl who willingly sells herself at an auction in hopes to find a better home, now
having been abandoned by her family and rejected by those that find her ability to see the fae and the mystical, terrifying. It is here where a mysterious magus named Elias puts down a humongous sum of money for her, inviting her to his home in the countryside of England, now told that she was bought by him in order to become his mage apprentice, and perhaps in the future, his bride.
At its core, the Ancient Magus Bride is a story centered around its characters, particularly Chise, mixed in with a setting that gradually expands further and further into the world of magic and the fae with each new event and problem that our protagonists encounter. Based on European folklore, we, along with Chise, embark on a journey that paces itself well and does a fantastic job at gradually feeding the information that we need to understand the show's whimsical characters and creatures, as well as the lines between humans and those in the magical realm, a topic that's so heavily discussed in the show that it serves as one of its core foundations for shaping the point of views and decisions that Chise especially makes now that she has made the plunge into the world of magic that she was previously scared to dip her toes in.
Despite that, the show is still primarily a character-based show, and sadly is not one worthy of praise for its impact. Most if not all of the characterization featured in this show is funneled into the realm of backstory, which includes virtually everyone, especially recurring characters and those with problems our protagonists must resolve. The problem from this stems from how in order to characterize the characters like this, the sacrifice of development at the present time, must be made. Since all of the more harmful or character shaping events happen in the past, the character we're presented with in the series comes after the fact, and most of the impact from their past has already happened and we're only presented with the result, not the more worthwhile journey.
Another problem I find is the lack of emotion in this series despite the show trying to be character-driven. The times that the show tries to create huge drama never feels very impactful due to the show's strangely monotonous manner of its protagonists, and the little impact that comes before and after the situation has happened. Indeed subtleties are present, but personally, I expected a more drastic change if you're doing something like almost murdering the same character multiple times.
This doesn't mean that the show doesn't have its shining moments. While Chise's journey might have floundered at the end due to the show's mostly monotonous atmosphere and how by the point of her overcoming her trials, everything has been resolved for the most part, there are a numerous moments in the show that scream beauty and awe in many of the early episodes that make the show worth a look at. These scenes really capture the beauty of a world enraptured by magic, and creates many an enchanting moment that drew me in and really had me thinking that I was going for a wild ride, which unfortunately was not one I wanted to get on coming towards the end.
At the end of the day, the story of the Ancient Magus Bride is a well-paced show that makes up its lack of pure character impact with its expansive worldbuilding and choice moments that give it a magical air about it that feels genuine, rich, and very much alive. Though try as it may to be a drama with how much emotional baggage Chise and the rest of the cast has, it isn't, and the times that it does try to do that feel very conflicting to how much of a slice of life series the show emulates during the rest of the show that isn't backstory.
Overview:
+ Fantastic worldbuilding
+ Great pacing
- At times tries to be something it's not
- Drama eventually takes over much of everything
Characters:
Baggage. If I had to describe this cast in one word, it's baggage. Chise is the prime culprit of this generalization because much of her character is surrounded in self-pity due to her making trouble for Elias and her new acquaintances, and the desire to help others because of this shortcoming with no thought on the repercussions her reckless behavior would have on both her and those around her, thus creating a vicious cycle that plagues this series. I'll be honest, I'm annoyed by Chise. While I do believe that she is a well-written character as her previously closed-off self gradually opens up as the episodes roll by in a somewhat sluggish, but acceptably paced way, the harmful and borderline suicidal cycle that she falls into gets exhausting to witness because at times it doesn't feel like she learns from the other seven times she's gotten herself or others killed, and instead dives headfirst in an admirable yet stupid attempt to save or help others despite the fact that literally EVERY other character tells her to 'think of herself first' before others. Seriously, there is something wrong if everyone, even the villain, thinks you being too selfless is a problem. Her backstory also comes around at the very end, and by the time that comes around, we're already aware of almost everything that's happened in it, so it loses most of its impact that way.
Elias on the other hand is almost an inverse of Chise. An old mage with unknown origins, the 'Thorn Mage' is a character almost entirely characterized by his lack of understanding and desire to grasp the concept of emotion from the humans he's lived around for so long. Being an amalgamation who's neither completely fae nor human that puts his own interests above others, his existence in the series creates many situations where traits of both come into play, portraying him as a monster that struggles with his plight, and a backstory detailing unknown origins that are never get resolved. Together, the two create an interesting dynamic where the two supposedly use each other to fulfill their own desires, creating a strange bond that's weirdly heartwarming despite the implications that arise when you get down to brass tacks.
The side cast is focused entirely on those involved with magic, from sorcerers, denizens in the land of the fae, and various people who come into contact with the world of magic for various reasons, whether it'd be intentional or not. Characterization for the side cast comes only for the human characters, and only through backstory, as their addition serves to expand Chise's view of the world of magic and provide more insight to how magic can impact people, both good and bad. Sadly the characters that're part of the fae don't get the same treatment, but rather serve as an antithesis to the human world as they're amoral beings that help provide a duality to Chise's entire world view and generally cause the kind of mischief that fairies in folklore are typically known for.
Despite the show's diverse and expansive cast and the stories that each of these people carry, I found myself having a hard time attaching myself to them despite the series's attempts to throw so many characters a pity party and show that they've come far from the lowest point in their lives. Personally, I feel like the show tried too hard to create conflict when there really was none, especially because this aspect of the storytelling really started to overshadow the beautiful and magical moments that the show previously had in its earlier episodes and soured the experience as a whole cause feeling depressed for a character all the time is quite exhausting.
Overview:
+ Interesting and well-made main characters
+ Involved side cast
- Characterization almost entirely told through backstory (especially for side cast)
- Chise's character at times runs in circles
Art:
Produced by Wit Studio, the quality that one can expect from the company who produced both Shingeki no Kyojin and Owari no Seraph is nothing less than consistent quality with beautiful backgrounds, something that the studio's track record can attest to.
While the standard art bears only a consistent quality and crisp, clear visuals to give it a baseline, the moments that the show really shines in quality are the landscape shots and the moments filled with light and color from the various scenes of magic being casted over the course of the series. Combined with the OST's pension for flourishes, the combination of these two aesthetics create a beautiful and powerful whimsy that really make it feel like 'magic'. (Also this series really likes flowers. And they're fucking good.)
Overview:
+ Consistent quality
+ Beautiful backgrounds
+ Stellar scenes of magic
Sound:
As far as the OP's and ED's go, I feel as it's worth noting how each of them really needs to be listened to all the way to get a scope of what they really are, especially for the second OP and ED set for the second cour of the series. Cause their beginnings are really weird in that they sound generic, but as you get into them, they start to sound more unique and more...I guess 'magical' is the way to put it. (Cause you know, it fits with the show and everything.) Personally, I'm not really a big fan of them? I never really paid much attention to them, especially because the tone of them exudes the more drama/baggage-heavy parts of the series which isn't something that I would ever attribute the Ancient Magus Bride to because that aspect of the show only really happens towards the end of the series.
But more than that, the OST for the series beyond the title and credits sequences are what I feel to be the true MVP's of the series. Full of harmonizing, wind instruments, bells, and flourishes, the OST bears the series's whimsical feel that captures the feelings of Chise exploring the realm of magic and the fae on her journey to become a mage. It's a calming group of songs that really give the show its defining quality of being a true fantasy with magical creatures and magic in the air set in our world.
Overview:
+ Good title tracks (though I'm not too fond of them personally)
+ Fantastic OST
Personal Enjoyment:
I guess this is the part where I say that I say that I don't like 'The Ancient Magus Bride', huh? There was a time when I was intrigued at the potential the show had with what it could do with European folklore, its interpretation of the Fae, and what kind of magic could be done in this magic show; what would become of Chise's journey and perhaps solve the mystery of the mysterious Thorn Mage, Elias.
But what I thought would be a light series with darker elements eventually became a dark series with lighter elements, an inverse that I was not particularly fond of because I feel like the show was too heavy-handed in its pity party and ended up shooting itself in the foot trying to make every character be pitiful in some way with a backstory that didn't impact anything in the end because the actual plot is focused on Chise's journey of becoming a mage, not how the side character came to be. It's almost as if the story focused so much on filling the blanks on everything else that it kind of forgot what it was in the first place. Cause there aren't many moments like what happens at the end of Episode 3, and that's really what I was really looking forward to more of that from the rest of the show as that never really came in the spades that I wanted it to.
By the end of it, I found myself not really caring for either Chise or Elias, and felt kind of cheated with the numerous plot holes and/or loose ends that happen at the end of the series. Like what the fuck happened with the main villain? I genuinely don't know if he's defeated or not, how things got resolved, or whatever. Like seriously, what the actual fuck happened in the last episode?!
Despite all of my negativity, I still believe that The Ancient Magus Bride is a good show, but not without numerous flaws and a shifting plot focus that changes it from magic and characters to just characters and the advent of how questionably healthy the relationship between our main duo is. It is still at its core a true magic fantasy, and has amazing worldbuilding that elevate it to become a target of interest if only for that.
read more
Dec 27, 2017
12 of 12 episodes seen
|
1
people found this review helpful
|
| Overall |
6 |
| Story |
5 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Character |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
Goddamnit JC Staff. When I heard that the third season was gonna have 2 cours, I thought that I could hold off on watching it till next season. But no, you chopped it in half and put me behind schedule. Personal salt aside, the third heaping of Food Wars porn starts putting the show into some bittersweet territory.
Story:
The first half of the third season of Food Wars brings us a duality of arcs from its original manga, serving us up the moon festival and the beginning of the series's downfall respectively in a somewhat bitter tasting presentation that begs the question of
where the show is going to go from here.
At first, we're given a nice sampling of more of Totsuki's culinary festivities with the moon festival, doing what Shokugeki does best by creating your standard shounen rivalries in a competitive atmosphere where each side brings their own tools and weapons to the table to create an action and thrill driven plot that we've come to know from the series. The arc is actually pretty satisfying to watch and provides some good screentime for the just introduced elite ten members the series has been hinting at for some time. But the second half, oh...the second half.
I honestly don't know what direction the series is going at this point. What started as a heated and competitive series that pit young chefs, each with their own style and personal stake in every competition or event escalated so dramatically into the equivalent of a battle for the end of the world that I fail to understand the logic of why things had to elevate so fast, especially for students that're still in their first year of high school! (We still have 2 more years left if the trend of school-based shows are any indication.)
The series turns its head into something of a fascist vs. capitalist kind of argument where many, many leaps of logic have to be considered for any of this to make much sense. It begins the eventual long trend of series slowly lending itself to a battle for survival with a hilarious amount of twists and turns presented that boil down to the villains being narcissistic assholes without any redeeming qualities to serve as fodder to show that our protagonists have the will to fight and aren't willing to back down. At least in the past they gave SOME positive merit to the opposing force in the way of the protagonist that actually turned many opponents into supplementary allies. Here though? Aside from the elite ten, everyone's an asshole that's not worth the time of day to talk about.
Overview:
+ Good first half
- Second half...starts going rancid
Characters:
If you're curious, Soma and the rest of the Polar Star Dorm (or main protagonists I guess) don't really change all that much. So I'm not covering them.
If there's any silver lining from the second half, it's Erina. Finally getting much needed explanation and backstory for one of the most stuck-up characters in the series made her so much more redeemable than what we were presented with before, and gave her positive growth that I for one was thankful to see. She feels a lot less annoying to watch, and it's one of the few things from the beginning of 'Central' that I can praise the series for doing.
Aside from her, we're given a taste of several members of the elite ten, giving more depth as to what these esteemed prodigy chefs specialize in so we're familiar with how they operate when the time to face these final bosses come. The introductions are done pretty imbalanced cause several take the spotlight above others, but when we get to the second half of the third plate, we'll get to everyone else eventually.
Then halfway through the series there's what seemingly is the big endgame boss to the Shokugeki no Soma series as a whole, Nakiri Azami. This guy is just designed for you to hate him. The man who instills a fascist regime over Totsuki really doesn't have any positives going for him, especially when he's drawn monochrome and has Aizen's voice. (Which I admit, sounds cool, but the character himself is shit.) At least with previous antagonistic characters we get some form of redemption and reason behind their actions, qualities that make villains interesting and more complex than being the guy sitting there twirling his evil mustache. This man has no redeeming qualities and simply just stands there with a coy smile as the pillar that siphons all of the hate I have for potentially having a really cool endgame antagonist who isn't just doing what he's doing cause of dumb reasons.
Overview:
+ Redemption for Erina
+ Depth for new cast additions
- Seemingly main villain is severely disappointing
Art:
J.C. Staff always pulls out all the stops for Soma, giving us the bright and colorful style that they've done for 3 cours in the past with gourmet food that literally glistens when you look at it and makes you want to eat at that very moment. The typical stripping scenes combined with orgasmic moans are also rather commonplace so...expect that. All of that's the same, but what else is on the menu?
Some...interesting stylistic choices for parts of the show were made for the art aside from the standard quality we're familiar with. For one thing, several scenes in the first half are done in CGI which while are brief, are pretty noticeable for the time they're on-screen. Not only that, but the show turns to create these super detailed and super ugly faces at times for several of its characters. (Especially for that one battle in the second half) It's not...bad per say, but it's just a kind of interesting style choice that was done cause it was put in the show previously.
Overview
+ Some interesting...style choices
+ Standard, still really good looking art and food
Sound:
To be honest, I didn't really pay much attention to the soundtrack. Much of it was largely uninteresting this time around and definitely didn't have the same quality that previous OPs and EDs have.
Personal Enjoyment:
Now this is the part of the review where I get to have fun and rant, cause Central is a piece of hot garbage that I really am not looking forward to. I just don't understand why the show had to turn itself from a heated and sometimes overly dramatic cooking-based battle series into an end of the world scenario where the heroes have to fight an oppressive force in a David and Goliath story that turned things on its head so fast that it's hard to put into words have quickly things escalated. What's worse is that there's just SO MUCH SMACK TALKING that an entire episode will be filled with nothing but how 'great' and 'refined' the people of Central are that I could only come to the conclusion of: they're assholes. That's it.
Like...you had Subaru, an intimidating guy who despite being a bit of an asshole, actually had something to him that you could at least sympathize with. Erina, a girl who has had her fair share of pompous problems in the past, soften up and grow as a character. And even Kuga from this season, who has so much more depth than these new asshole characters who exist only to be assholes. I fail to wrap my head around why a series that's had such a good history of providing antagonistic characters with positive traits go so wrong by filling those in the 'bad guy' role with irritating stuck-up characters that make Erina's previous actions those of a saint.
Did I like this series?
The moon festival was a good arc, and I really liked the way the show provided brought some struggle and positive qualities to a member of the Elite ten who from the show's own volition made them out to be like gods.
What didn't I like about this series?
Central. I LOATHE this arc and everything that this new story direction stands for. And this shit goes on for a LONG WHILE. So if you're like me and not a fan of it, don't expect it to go away any time soon.
Would I recommend this series?
I'm honestly torn because on one hand, Shokugeki is a good series, and those who like it should continue liking it. But Central is just one of those things that irks me about the show cause in doing this, the show becomes less about the students and the individual stories of these chefs and their plight to learn and hone their craft, and more of a battle of good and evil just using cooking as the weapon. Really, if you're a fan of the series, continue watching, but be wary that the Shokugeki you knew before has changed form.
read more
Dec 26, 2017
13 of 13 episodes seen
|
1
people found this review helpful
|
| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Character |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
Osake wa Fuufu ni Natte Kara is a drink as sweet as it is intoxicating.
Week after week, immerse yourself in a three minute long episode of watching a house husband provide different kinds of cocktails and alcoholic beverages to his working wife as she swoons over the each drink like the lightweight she is, regressing from a strict and disciplined worker to a free spirit with her hair down.
In addition, learn how to make each drink featured through the help of a happy little lemon complete with a recipe and instructions from the house husband from the show. So if
anything, you can learn new recipes for your kitchen through this show.
There's not much investment, and if you got about 40 minutes to kill and you want some nice romance that isn't dragged out for an entire cour or god forbid 24 or more episodes, then consider a show that exhibits 'relationship goals' thanks to alcohol.
read more
|
