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While not necessarily a continuation of the actual Azur lane anime (though you could kind of bend it to be one), Slow Ahead! again follows our four destroyers from the four main fleets in the series: IJN Ayanami, USS Laffey, HMS Javelin, and KMS Z-23, or Niimi for short. Together, the four destroyers experience life around the naval base, interacting with various ships from each of the four fleets in a slice of life experience that’s objectively more lewd than daily life really should be. And that’s really it. Look, the show’s only about six minutes a pop and based on a 4-koma manga, so there really isn’t a lot to go off of here. Oddly enough though, I would consider this a somehow better example of the Azur Lane story because every short is contained, straightforward, and actually quite lax. There’s not much else to talk about since all we have are slice of life romps, although the situations vary heavily from hunting in the woods to doing some spring cleaning, all the way to finding out which of the several dozen girls featured in the show have the best ‘pillows’ to sleep on. Yes that is an episode plot; don’t think about it too hard. That being said, this kind of story is predominantly why I think it works so well for Azur Lane specifically and why I would consider it to be a ‘better adaptation’ for fans or newcomers. The game currently has 521 ships at the time of writing this. What Slow Ahead! does is take a small handful of the more popular ships and themes one of the episodes around them to create the self contained story. Rarely does the show ever focus on more than two ships from the plethora pool of many aside from the destroyer quartet, so the show doesn’t end up feeling bloated or anything because before, left right and center had a character from the game that we just don’t get the name to because there’s not enough time in the show to explain who or what they are. And since Yostar has their own animation studio now, much of what we got in terms of animation quality at least looks and feels the part to make it seem like ‘Azur Lane’. The artystyle is certainly more bubbly than I was expecting, and there were a lot more physics and…shot decisions than I would’ve liked, but considering this is a game that has bar none one of the most expansive cosmetics selections to choose from, so much so that they practically give skins away in certain events, I really should not be surprised. I will say that the inclusion of certain skins from the game (and oddly enough game mechanics?) was a welcome treat because it really shows that the showrunners cared enough to do a good enough job with advertising their game in addition to making it admittedly kind of a fun watch. Which leads me to calling this a fun watch if nothing else. The show in total is only a little over an hour to watch the whole thing, and for Azur Lane fans, this show is a more rewarding watch than the original adaptation that was attempted before. Though certainly not something that’s stellar by any means, it is entertaining nonetheless. Admittedly I would’ve preferred the show to at least have a little bit of dignity with who they chose to showcase and in what fashion to showcase them in, but after playing this game for about three years, I really should’ve expected this and it was stupid of me to think this could’ve gone any other direction. Oh well. At least I got to see Shokaku and Zuikaku talk to each other again; always a fan of watching voice actors just talking to themselves. read more
Story: Hori Kyouko is a girl that seems like your general popular girl with people surrounding her at every turn, hiding the fact that at home she pretty much fulfills the homemaker role due to her parents typically working extended hours. Miyamura Izumi is a boy that is seen as gloomy with few if anyone knowing who he really is with some assuming that he’s just a creepy otaku. On a chance encounter with Miyamura meeting Hori’s younger brother, the two of them cross paths. And the secrets that each of them harbor start to be revealed, sparking a relationship between the two of them. I’d like to start this off with a history lesson because Horimiya being a 14 year old series at the time of writing this isn’t really a stretch of the truth. As the series first started as a webcomic under the name of “Hori-san to Miyamura-kun” in 2007 before getting adapted in 2012, remade in the same year under the name “Horimiya” before being adapted so many years later again. Why does this matter? Well because so much of the original spirit and tone of what the series was built upon even back when it was first a webcomic exists even in this adaptation. While the setup would have you believe that Horimiya has a more involved or ‘deeper’ story regarding two individuals coming to terms with their feelings for one another, (basically another road to confession story) Horimiya is more like a slice of life series that paints a somewhat idealistic picture of high school life with few if any of the bells and whistles that the anime medium has put in place as ‘commonplace tropes’. While the series does build up the romance between our titles characters in a way that’s reminiscent of most romance series, in reality, most if not all of Horimiya is less drama filled and focuses more about some of the small bumps and hurdles that come from worrying about things that only happen when you’re young and in school. As a result, Horimiya feels genuine and isn’t a series that’s bogged down by many tropes as the character dynamics between members of the cast give everyone a unique space to occupy that doesn’t fit into neat little boxes. Which is personally one of my favorite aspects of the series as a whole because it gives everyone the kind of three-dimensionality that they need in order to give us this rose-tinted version of high school on a screen. On top of that, the show’s tone and mood feel somehow muted in a landscape where high energy or exaggeration is the norm. The episodes feel soft and quiet, immersing the audience in an almost soothing aura because life typically isn’t all that bombastic or crazy. True the show does have its slightly exaggerated moments, but they’re nothing but small bumps that break up the monotony a bit and show off more of the character dynamics between the cast, demonstrating the kind of relationships that everyone has with each other. All of that being said, this adaptation still doesn’t sit right with me. And the pacing is wholly the reason to blame. At least when it comes to the manga, Horimiya is kind of a slow series, and the slow burn of tension and or the time characters spend with each other is crucial to some of the more dramatic story bumps that show up. This adaptation feels more like an abridged version of the entire story, picking out primarily early sections in the story from the first thirty chapters as well as a few additional ones from the middle sections of the story where other characters come into play to give the story more oomph. All to cap out with the manga’s exact ending. The pros of this are obvious, as a lot of the lackluster middle chapters where day to day life happens are cut out in favor of more character-filled moments with some internal struggle. The downside is, the show ends up feeling rushed with not enough time in-between sections of the story in order to let things sit. As a result, the show feels a lot more dense than it really should be, which kind of sucks since it’s clear that the showrunners wanted to squeeze in as much as they could, but in my opinion, lost what I believed to be part of what made Horimiya special in the first place. And when you factor that in, the adaptation comes out to being a relatively faithful rendition of the story with maybe a few more bumps than I wish it initially had. It’s still competent and hits on a lot of the bigger points (though I wish some smaller stuff was also in here), but the pacing I think is where the show loses points and becomes only a good adaptation instead of a great adaptation. I’m glad that Horimiya finally gets the attention it deserves as an adaptation after so many years of quite frankly just existing, but a part of me still wishes the show either got more time or just tried to do certain things like adapt only the first 30 chapters instead of picking and choosing whatever they wanted from a list of 123 chapters. Characters: I find it both difficult to talk about Hori or Miyamura without each other and with each other. Reason for this is because both of these characters are usually not seen without each other, but they each also stand on their own two feet without the need for the other character’s involvement due to the series having a lot of individual character interaction with one of the pair talking to other members of the cast. As a result, the romance between the two feels more like an actual relationship instead of an idealized puppy love. They poke fun at each other, learn small, insignificant parts of each other, care for each other, and above all, fulfill each other’s kinks to the best of their ability. While Miyamura is more soft spoken than his more rowdy partner, there are so many more facets to their relationship than what’s first seen, making the show altogether feel more genuine because it’s just two kids who love and care for each other with compromises, vulnerabilities, and arguments sprouting up in the midst of their time together. The one thing I’m not sure was communicated well here though was Miyamura’s past, an important section of the story yes, but one that felt like it was adapted with a lot of holes in the backstory. Enough holes that made it seem less impactful than it really was considering that was the entire reason why Miyamura looks the way he does starting out. And because this is a slice of life story, there are a…lot of side characters. Some of which who get their own mini-arc within the adaptation because it was part of the original story and served as drama points to kick the story up whenever it wanted a little more than just everyday life interaction. You have Tooru and Yuki who with Miyamura and Hori create a typical character quartet, the student council trio of Sengoku, Remi, and Kono, a couple odds and ends characters like Akane and Shu, Hori’s entire family, and a few leftovers like Shu’s sister and Sawada, who is bar none the worst character in the series. While this isn’t really cast bloat due to all of these characters showing up in the original source material, the show definitely makes it feel like it. Again, pacing is the problem here as characters aren’t really introduced at an even pace, but rather just kind of thrown at the audience, getting larger and larger as more episodes pan out. They’re certainly not bad additions and most of the cast has enough character interactions with everyone else to actually make it seem like they’re friends and not just a bunch of characters slapped together. But I really wish we kind of fed them in at a more even pace than we did because all of their introductions ruined the flow of the story a lot more than once. A lot more than what I would’ve liked at least. Though altogether my complaints with the cast are relatively minor. True the pacing made some developments seem a lot more wonky than they should be, but from a general perspective looking over most of the scenes where the characters are just talking to one another, it’s a lot more faithful and a lot better than I had initially hoped for. Aesthetics: While I typically see Cloverworks as an in-between studio that can succeed or fail depending on whatever mood they’re in, Horimiya undeniably got the gold star treatment from them, and I’m all the happier for it. The softness of the series is really at play here with the visuals and general art direction of the series. The characters are a lot more…colorful than I would’ve liked them to be (even though they’re like that anyway), but the color isn’t very intrusive and the show overall looks really good. Backgrounds and the many closeups of the characters look fantastic, which is probably helped by the fact that the characters have generally really simple designs and the need for in-between frames isn’t all that required given how the most animation the show needs is for a snappy comedic moment that usually requires a small act of violence. Speaking of which, I don’t really know who decided to use like…child drawings for backgrounds during the comedic moments, but I’m all for it. Yes there’re still some typical exaggerated backgrounds, but a surprising number of the more comedic moments sport a crayon aesthetic which surprisingly works given how often these dumb teenager characters act and are stupid to one another. It’s refreshing. Additionally, a lot of the show has moving panels of characters, which again is not a choice that I thought would be made for Horimiya, but it surprisingly works to fit the mundane yet dramatic aspect of the show without dramatizing everything to an annoying degree. I will say for all intents and purposes, the OP/ED pair sound a lot more dramatic than I think they really should be for Horimiya. Yoh Kamiyama’s “Irokousui” is quite a somber yet emotionally charged sounding piece that fits with some of the more emotional bits between the main couple, but while I consider that to be some of the better parts of the series, I feel like it feels a little too heavy for what’s being painted as a healthy romantic relationship between two people. By contrast, “Yakusoku” by Friends is a song that fits a similar bill, being a lot more somber than I really think it should be. I think it fits a little better though if only by virtue of it being an ED and helps give off the feel of a mundane yet fun everyday life with friends and that special someone. It’s nice and quaint, but isn’t really much beyond that. I also want to note the soft OST that usually plays in the background and just how much I love that that was the direction that they went with the OST. It didn’t really need any energy and I’m glad the show’s tone was retained with the softness of the OST as well. Final Thoughts: While Horimiya certainly doesn’t have a…tumultuous history, it definitely took a long time to get to this point of a ‘full’ adaptation of the story. Hell if you told me back in 2014 when I started reading this that it would get an adaptation 6 years later, I’d have thought you were crazy because why would you wait that long to adapt a story that already has quite an interesting history behind it given it’s already a remake of an even older series. History aside, while I do have a number of issues with this adaptation, there were enough moments in here to make me feel happy for revisiting the series again. Hori and Miyamura feel like a gold standard for how to write a proper anime couple given how the two of them bounce off of each other in such a way that feels genuine with mutual dependence and communication that so many romance series seem to really lack. This is especially true since Horimiya isn’t purely just a ‘road to confession’ story, and rarely, if ever, does the show fall on the trope of characters freezing up when they talk to their crush and stammer for the next five minutes. A really annoying trope that should be fazed out of existence because at that point you’re just wasting both the runtime and the audience’s time. All of this is why I tout Horimiya as one of the best romances in anime and have longed to find something that comes close to the kind of multi-faceted relationship that these two have. Something that despite my complaints, still remains in this adaptation. Unfortunately the pacing really bogs down what could’ve been an amazing adaptation to just being a semi-competent one. The content of the story I feel is what drives this show to be as good as it could be, but because so much is thrown at you at once, some stuff just doesn’t stick and there’re way too many holes for me to be comfortable with given how many small yet crucial details are put in here for the sake of trying to deliver as many high points as possible. When in reality, Horimiya isn’t about that, but rather about the little things like spending time with another person. It’s such a shame that this is how things turned out because I really wish the quality of the story was prioritized instead of cramming everyone in the show and making sure everyone got their turn in the spotlight. Which would be fine if the show got more time, but it ends up feeling a little disingenuous given how fast everything is. Truthfully though, I can’t hate this as much as I really want to. I have my complaints sure, but being able to see some of my favorite moments again in animated form and relive parts of the manga that kickstarted me in wanting to seek out romance as a genre was fun if not nostalgic. I’d definitely recommend this show if only because the anime is a pretty good abridging of the story because the manga kind of drags on in its later parts before just…ending. It’s the same ending either way, so it’s really up to you. Although I will mention again that the manga has a lot more smaller moments that help build up the slow burn that the anime lacks, so you really end up having to pick your own battles with what you want out of this series. Still a high recommendation from me because very rarely do we ever get a couple of this quality, and maybe someday in the future this series will be remade again. Because why not at this point? Also, I swear Hori was blonde. I still cannot get over the fact that this girl is actually a brunette. read more
Story: Several years after the raid on Humanity within the Walls, we find ourselves within the country of Marley and watch how the supposed enemy fends off and conquers nearby lands in order to spread its influence. But, knowing the threat of Paradis Island, the home of Humanity within the Walls, is looming… Well, war is coming. Or rather, war is already here. For an adaptation that started in 2013 as a somewhat gratuitous gorefest with giant naked humans as the main antagonists, I don’t think I ever imagined the series to evolve into the state it is right now. In a span of sixteen episodes, the story of Attack on Titan manages to expand well beyond the confines of the three walls that the show previously had before, worldbuilding the series into a more interlinked universe that has seen its fair share of conflict and bloodshed. Thanks to some previous groundwork established in previous seasons, we get a much clearer version the ‘other side’ and how Marley operates and functions. Bearing some nods to Nazi Germany as a part of its framework while maintaining its own identity as a militarized nation that subjugates those not born of the same blood, as much of the Eldian race can attest to that idea. Not only that, but this several year timeskip from the previous season lends this season to showcase some changes to Humanity within the Walls as well, noting vital events and changes that’ve occurred since the first time Eren has stepped foot in the ocean. All of this to say nothing of the drastic shift in tone and story direction now that the truth of everything: the truth about the Titans, the truth about the Walls, and the truth about who the people within the walls are, is all out in the open for everyone in the cast to see. Compared to the hopefulness that came from previous seasons, the ‘Final Season’ feels bleak and sometimes difficult to watch. The rawness of the series’ showing of war and conflict paints a grim picture to the reality of the cost of freedom or liberation. While the series never had much of an ‘us vs. them’ mentality to it, this truly feels like an instance where there really isn’t an answer to anything. To a point that the plot feels more like a showcasing of how brutal conflict can be, as well as the metric tons of blood it costs to get anywhere. That’s not to say that the story is comprised of only death and the effects that death. True to the name, this season feels like the series is coming to a sort of ‘finality’ as the now immensely diverse and wide cast of character diverges off into different groups with oddly enough, similar goals of ‘peace’ at the end of the day. The narrative juggling them in a way that feels good to watch and while it might be mildly confusing at first given how many perspectives there are, works in the end due to the commonality that every faction in the series seems to have. That being said, one sticking point that I have in regards to this ‘season’ is its ending and how it ends in a place that makes it obvious that it would be incomplete at the start. My gripes with this comes with the fact that they kind of end the season just when things are starting to ‘get good’ so to speak, with what feels to be a ‘last confrontation’ happening just before the screen cuts to black. It’s really unfortunate and it makes it obvious that the decision to chop the thing in half was made for presumably corporate reasons, but thems the brakes I suppose. Not only that, but the show somehow feels a little rushed. I think this is partly because the series has a timeskip, and the changes from the characters from the end of Season 3 to now are told solely through backstory which in and of itself is a little muddled with what’s happening in the present time. Regardless, density is only a minor issue since the storytelling is competent enough to handle that level of depth and content. And all of the death and carnage is surprisingly enough to carry the story all on its own by showing what’s happening instead of just laying it on thick with monologue or reports. Which is something I can definitely get behind because with how much is shown as ‘setup’ vs. how much is told to help get the ball rolling, I can definitely get behind the former over the latter. Characters: It’s at this time where I also think that characters have begun to lose their individuality in a way and kind of get swept into the greater narrative. Much of what remains of the characters we knew of before are (understandably) shells of their former selves who have PTSD or have something missing in them as a result of so many years of fighting. Mantras and personal missions or goals effectively fill in the spots that these characters used to take up, metamorphosing the cast into a vast array of individuals who are barely holding on or seek something new as a way to be noble or serve the ‘greater good’. With a few notable exceptions like Levi, much of the original cast are hardly like their younger selves, and it feels harrowing to see what used to be a bunch of reckless teenagers grow up to be the kind of people they’ve had to become. Much can be said about the many new additions to the cast, though to a much less notable degree. I’d like to say that the ‘effects of war’ are essentially the reason why these characters come out the way they do. New inclusions like Falco and Gabi not only have story relevance but also show the effects of racial divide and the supposed need for liberation. While much of the other groups that have stake in the future of the world manage to also show the audience both the best and worst of humanity, as well as the mantra that “The road to Evil is paved with Good Intentions”. Which brings us to Eren, our once hot-blooded shonen protagonist who wanted to kill all of the titans. While his character changes are drastic to put it mildly, the shift in his character encapsulates so much of what has happened up until this point, and while at first I was confused at the direction, as time went on, I kind of understood why Isayama went this direction with Eren. And considering that in addition to everything else that we’ve seen up until this point, who Eren is now serves as a fantastic focal point for the series to beam down on as it’s clear that everything from all sides has clearly affected him in a way that feels impossible to return from. There’s a weight, a heaviness to his character that evokes a sense of hopelessness to everything that’s happened up until this point, contributing to the overall tone of the show that permeates every minute of the season. Which for character depth and development is a hell of a way to change things around. And I’m all for it even if him and a lot of the cast feel a lot more like loons than people I’d trust to hold a rifle. Aesthetics: The change from Wit Studio to MAPPA certainly is a big blow for the series, and it honestly kind of shows. The overall artstyle of the show hasn’t changed as much as I though it would, but there are some notable differences. The biggest of which being the CG titans, which previously were all hand-drawn and if they were CG, they were a lot less obvious with it. On top of that, the art quality itself has gone down a bit, but aside from that, there really isn’t much to say in terms of the aesthetic changes. For me personally, I’m glad they kept the shading lines that Isayama uses and it’s frequent in all of the characters, especially in the close-up shots. I’ve always felt like it was one of Isayama’s hallmarks with the way he draws the series, and not having that would’ve felt wrong. So I’m glad they kept it. More than that, me thinking that Season 3 was going to be bloody was really giving this season not enough credit. To be fair, Season 3 did have a giant pile of corpses that Erwin was sitting on, but here we have chopped up bodies, squishing people like packets of ketchup, the whole nine yard with people being eaten, and beating up children or other people (but mostly children) till they’re battered and mutilated. There’s absolutely no subtlety with the body count in this series now, and every death, mangling, and bit of carnage this show has is showcased full force in the center of the frame with only mild censorship on a case by case basis. As I said, this show is raw. As in raw meat is spilled in every corner of the screen. While most AoT OPs have sat somewhere on the ‘patriotic’ side of the spectrum by sounding like patriotic songs taht you would sing as you were heading out into the battlefield, “Boku no Sensou” by Shinsei Kamattechan is in a way the inverse of that. While it bears some very, very vague bars that sound similar to previous OPs that is where the similarities end. This song sounds twisted, dark, almost insidious in a way with how the normally patriotic bars of the previous opening are given these different meanings. Almost as if the patriotic songs give recruits the false sense of security that they’re going to war to fight for their country when in reality they’re just more blood for the slaughter as they face the reality of war. It’s a great OP, but works even more fantastically because of the show that it’s tied to. When you compare it to Yuko Ando’s “Shock“, we get a very somber song. Like the dust in the battlefield settled and there’re only peaceful dead bodies as everyone who was a part of the fighting is free from the pain of war. It’s again a deep departure from the rest of the EDs we’ve gotten before, although this one is still on a somewhat similar vein to those other songs due to most AoT EDs sounding a lot quieter by comparison. Personal Enjoyment: Another year of waiting for the actual, actual finale of the series, eh? I mean if you’re calling the finale ‘part 2’ of the ‘Final Season’, is this one really the ‘Final Season’? I’m gonna keep nitpicking this because this trend is honestly really annoying and I don’t want to fall into the idea of “Season X is only like half of Season X. The other half will come later” being commonplace since the cut-offs are usually at either really awkward moments, or JUST as things are happening. Yeah good hook and all for next time, but it’s not a good look if you keep baiting the audience like this. Just give the staff enough time to make it all in one shot, will ya? All of that aside, I’m again, really at a loss for words for a show that just kind of blew any and all expectations I had for it. Never did I think that Attack on Titan was going to ever elevate itself to this point, and I concede to Hajime Isayama for creating something that truly questions the worth of life and the worth of living. From what started off as a simple series about wanting freedom from captivity turned into a grander question of asking what it truly means to be ‘free’ and even more so what the cost of that freedom is. Every bit of the narrative has some kind of handle over the whole thing, the questions of which the show tackles being asked to both the characters and to the audience. By this point, I cannot tell you who is right and who is wrong. Beyond what’s presented, there’re so many additional layers that could be theorized to be built upon what’s been presented, smaller stopgates that hinder the march of progress towards freedom, all of which necessitate a toll of blood to be paid in order for those gates to be lifted. And that’s what I love about this story. There is no right answer to the problem; only ones that others will see as wrong. And the only guarantees in battles like these are that friends and family in one way or another will be lost along the way. Weirdly enough, I’ve never felt this helpless watching a show before. I was so immersed in the narrative and the story that I was oddly enough at a loss for words at what could be done. Which is why I don’t really have that many quips for this show and why I’m anticipating the end of the series so much. I do have a few other nitpicky details here and there regarding certain parts of the show, but there’s not a lot else that can be said without risking spoiler details. But I will say this: this series will most likely end up being one of the greats. And that’s not just because this show is unilaterally regarded as one of the best products of the medium. This show really does not pull any punches with what it wants to showcase, and does it at such a pace that feels even without only a few minor bumps in the road. More than that, it makes the audience think. Is it worth saving one life if it costs dozens? Is freedom worth it if we have to suffer to get it? Or is it better to survive but live in fear with your head down for the rest of your life? Is your life more valuable than another’s? Because no matter what you say as an answer, someone else out there will disagree. read more
Story: If the Sanctuary isn’t liberated in a few days, a terrible snowstorm will envelop the place and call upon the Great Rabbit to consume all of the denizens within the protected barrier. If no one comes to help the mansion in a few days, a pair of assassins will clean out the place of all of the girls that’ve stayed behind. And with Emilia struggling to conquer the trials of the Graveyard in order to liberate the Sanctuary of the barrier that keeps its people inside, Subaru is forced to make a choice: save the people in the mansion or save the people in the Sanctuary. And, of course, he chooses option three. While I’ve described Part 1 to be primarily setup with a lot of redos on Subaru’s part in order to try and figure out this puzzle box he keeps resetting to, Part 2 by comparison is the ‘solution’ with resolutions and notable answers that help round out at least a few of the things that I was asking during the first half of the second season. The dichotomy of the question and answer structure that Part 1 and Part 2 seem to have with one another makes this section of the story a more satisfying experience as all of the parts finally fall into place with the correct sequencing of events done so Subaru and co. can finally move forward with the story. More than that, this section of the story comes with a lot of ‘answers’, or rather, character backstories and/or development that answers at least a number of the immediate problems I’ve had with Part 1 due to practically the entire cast having a level of secrecy that annoyed me to the point of partly not wanting to continue watching. At least half of the show this time around is devoted to detailing the past, whether it be explaining how the Sanctuary came to be or showing off an important character’s backstory that not only feeds into character growth, but also provides an insightful look into how certain players in the series go from their past selves to their present day counterpart, as well as showing off any new potential threats or players who may or may not be important pieces or obstacles down the line in later arcs or story moments. This bulk of ‘character’ is something I greatly appreciate because I’ve always felt like Re:Zero was always missing that aspect of storytelling despite having a great number of mysteries and obviously scarred individuals that have just never done anything because no one in this godforsaken medium thinks that talking is a viable situation to helping one person understand another. That being said, in order to get a few of these answers or character moments, the show defaults to a rather unfavorable solution in order to give either a good push or raise some personal stakes or establish a multi-layered relationship between two individuals. And that is….monologuing. Or more specifically, character shouting where many words from one person are exchanged to the other in order to either convince them of something or to establish one’s motives as a sort of big reveal so the audience can finally understand why one character is going through such asinine lengths to do something. Re:Zero is already a pretty dense series given how many moving parts, worldbuilding, and conflicting motivations and/or parties are set in place with the structure of this fantasy world. And the fact that the characters default to sometimes backwards-sounding personal philosophies that sound both insane and genuinely confusing does not do the show any favors. There’re more than a handful of these in this season, and every time they show up, I always question whether or not I’m just too dumb to grasp the sheer amount of rapid-fire dialogue the series is throwing at me, or if the show is just trying to sound a lot more profound or smarter than it really is. And because of that, we end up with a rather mixed bag of storytelling. By the end of it, Part 2 manages to give the audience a number of answers, leaves a few questions both new and old unanswered, and leaves the series on a generally good note despite previous things…happening. All of which makes me look forward to what’s coming next because we’re undoubtedly treating this section of the story as a save point. But by contrast, the density of the series and by extension, individual character motivation feels wonky and actually kind of out of place in this series. A lot of the dialogue-heavy or character specific moments feel dragged on or excessively convoluted to the point that whatever payoff they result in feels spontaneous or unearned. It’s not a major part of the show by any means, but they are semi-key points that end up bothering me because it never feels like there’s much build up prior, but the plot just demands that things happen so we can move forward with everything else. Which is fine…I guess, but convoluted doesn’t always mean better, and this series could really do with a little bit of simplification with either it’s its sometimes cryptic dialogue or how it goes about setting up the story. Characters: With Subaru have already gotten his time in the spotlight in part 1, we turn our attention to our resident half-elf that everyone likes. Right guys? Well like it or not, Emilia’s role in the series is solidified with Part 2 as a result of a quite expansive backstory coupled with a number of key growth moments that turn her from the object of Subaru’s affections to a slightly more realized version of herself with a bit more depth, individuality, and above all, an important backstory that ties into the greater scope of the series. It’s certainly a nice surprise since I didn’t expect the show to even put in half of what we got here, but I think it’s a well-deserved bit of time devotion since up until this point, Emilia hasn’t really gotten much if anything to her character and was mostly just a figurehead for the series. Now that she’s actually a character, things feel a lot more rounded out in the cast given how now the person spearing the ‘Emilia Camp’ now has an actual character spearheading the whole operation. Of course Subaru’s there, but I’d like to think he’s more of the one who pushes other characters to their destined areas. Much of his involvement in Part 2 is pretty much only plot-based as he’s the one making sure everything moves along correctly and gives a gentle (or hard) push to characters that need it. Since he got the spotlight last time, I’m not all that bothered that he didn’t get it this time, especially since there’re more pressing things that needed to be talked about since this arc was severely starved of answers. But to make up for that, we have the rest of the Emilia camp, consisting of but not limited to new entrants like Otto and Garfiel, as well as older faces that were in the Roswaal mansion like Roswaal himself and Beatrice. Two previously really mysterious characters who held onto their secrets until only and only when the time was right. This area is really where the show decided to regurgitate everything it was holding onto before, as practically every major player in the cast this time around gets something to them whether or not it be a part of the larger backstory that sits as prior worldbuilding or present day development to shift their character away from their past selves. It’s honestly kind of liberating to understand everyone’s deal even if I think everyone is either a psychopath or a moron. While I do have my own qualms about a few characters and their questionable motivations, the whole is definitely an upside to the series. I’d like to bring up the characters in Emilia’s backstory as a final point as important plot points and framing devices for her character. Which I believe were quite effective and helped serve the dual purpose of explaining things and giving way to new questions that need to be answered. Because this was pretty much our only source of new characters this time around, and it definitely does a good job of creating intrigue even if the only thing we know about the new faces are their theoretical power levels. Aesthetics: There’s not really a lot I have to say about the art this time around since White Fox has pretty much set in stone how they want the series to look and there’s nothing that’s truly a spectacle that’s worth noting. True there’re fight scenes that have a hilarious amount of projectiles being thrown (cause all magic in this world is just elemental projectiles), but the quality or technicality of those fights aren’t really anything to note no matter how suspenseful the show tries to frame them as. Still glad that White Fox wants to dip into that gore aspect of the series, although it’s much less pronounced than it was in seasons prior. I will also say that the creepiness factor for the series wasn’t really here. Which I’m actually really sad about. I guess that makes sense cause this section of the story was more about a string of good things happening instead of…anything else, but the certain eeriness or brutality that came with Re:Zero normally just wasn’t here. Which maybe in the next arc we’ll get some of that back, but I’m not holding my breath. On the note of music tracks, honestly White Fox, just don’t even bother making music for this series anymore. Similar to Part 1’s OP, “Long shot” by Mayu Maeshima is a song that shows up so few times that I legitimately thought until halfway in the series that we weren’t going to get an OP/ED duo to listen to. Episodes are structured to use as much of the airtime as possible to tell the story, often sacrificing the minute thirty OP slot in order to have ninety more seconds for the series’ story. Which is fine due to how involved Re:Zero wants to be. So why do you even bother commissioning or writing songs for the show when at best they get used for like three episodes? It makes no sense from a business perspective! For the song itself, I’d honestly rate it lowest of all of the Re:Zero OPs. It’s not a bad song, but something about it sounds generic enough for me to not really care much about it. It’s definitely got the same tones as Realize or any of the Myth and Roid tracks, but it just doesn’t hit the same notes for me that would make me classify it as a ‘Re:Zero’ song so to speak. nonoc’s “Believe in You” is the emotional counterpart which I would say is much better than its OP sister. I think it’s partly because a lot of the episodes end on emotional notes and this is a great supporting song to that since unlike the OP, this one pretty much always plays at the end of episodes. It’s a worthwhile song for how the story beats are structured this time around, and I much prefer this one as a listen. Final Thoughts: While I’m satisfied with how this arc wrapped up given how the show provided answers and the plot seemed to finally move forward instead of run around in circles in order to solve the same problem (as per usual), a part of me still doesn’t fully buy Re:Zero’s deal as some of its glaring problems stand in the way for me to really enjoy this show or recommend it as a must watch for those interested in something that by all accounts is fairly unique. The show’s density still bothers me greatly. For a show that barely has fifty episodes to its name, the plot seems to have gone both somewhere extravagant and nowhere at the same time. While the Sanctuary plot certainly has its moments and answers to give, almost everything and everyone that was involved with the first season was replaced completely by a new cast, thus making all of Season 2 feel more like a detour rather than an inclusion to the overarching plot. Hell, as I’m writing this I don’t actually remember what really happened in the first season since it’s been so long since I’ve seen it and almost none of the characters over there are a part of what’s happening over here. And stuff regarding the royal selection should in theory be the main plot of the show. Not only that, but character monologues in this show are more gibberish that vaguely sound philosophical instead of actual monologues with meaning. I feel like the author wrote these with the intention to try and tie them back to the seven deadly sins that the witches represent and try and be edgy and/or intelligent sounding by having characters shout big words or contradicting phrases to each other, but it all just sounds like rubbish and/or the story trying to hard. The same result could really be achieved with some simpler dialogue strings with maybe not trying to speedrun conversation, but I digress. All that being said I still find interest in knowing what’s happening next due to the fact that Re:Zero seems to have some more dangerous players in this game, but by contrast, my interest wanes in anticipation of having to experience the same kind of writing as what I got here. Re:Zero is such a mixed bag for me because it both has some really interesting storybuilding points and interesting, albeit dangerous, worldbuilding that makes me want to know more about all of the crazy psychopaths that seem to populate every corner of this fantasy world. But by contrast the show has some really weird and some seemingly not so well thought out story and character moments that make me question the validity of this series. Definitely a show that’s nice to look back on but while watching…gives me a heavy sense of apprehension. Especially since if the series is going to continue this track of question and answer with every twenty four episodes being structured as 12 episodes each of ‘QUESTION’ and ‘ANSWER’ chunks, then I’m not really too invested in experiencing major story whiplash before getting a carrot on a stick that explains everything, but will still be tugged along in order to lead to the next section of ‘stuff happening’. As such, I still recommend Re:Zero with heavy caution since while the show definitely deserves its popularity, to an extent it really doesn’t deliver on everything or deserves getting the elicited reactions that the show expects the audience to have when certain things happen. Because quite frankly I’m not interested in ham-fisted philosophy or words from a cast comprised of solely morons, psychopaths, or sociopaths, especially when aggressively yelling at a character that you love them and vaguely insulting them is considered as a positive bit of character growth when in any other situation I think that falls under the line of emotional abuse. But, you know, that’s the story I guess. read more
Story: A show about a quartet of girls in the Japanese countryside, this third season is about exactly as what you would expect from a slice of life show that features nothing but a bunch of character interactions from its practically all-female cast in a place where the most remarkable thing to happen over a 24 hour period is the spontaneous desire to do something. The joy that comes from the story of Non Non Biyori is honestly just seeing what kind of episodic romps the girls get into this time. Typically the episode has a sort of theme, whether or that be an object or a character, running with that over the course of the entire episode until the girls say in the ending screen that “that’s all we have today” and the ending starts playing. Much of the excitement that comes from Non Non Biyori exists within the character interactions since every episode practically has the members of its cast decide to play some kind of game or do some kind of activity whether or not it be on the spot or pre-determined by one of the adults in their lives. Something that feels even more so here in the third season since we’re now in the thick of things where Hotaru has been completely integrated in this group of characters and the day to day lives of everyone have been solidified for almost an in-universe year by this point. Additionally, the tone and playful cheeriness of the series makes everything feel warm and innocent, and watching it just felt joyful because we got a surprising amount of situation variety from a show marketed as a ‘cute girls doing stuff’ series. That and the comedy of Non Non Biyori sits in a unique category where the ‘dead air’ makes things funnier. Often times the show just freezes in place and does a zoom out while the characters just stare off into space. There’s no noise, no dialogue, and no exaggeration. Just pure silence with only the score in the background playing a few notes on occasion. And for that I commend the show for making me laugh from nothing happening, although that may be on part of the fact that I laugh pretty easily. All in all, Nonstop remains as a solid season that reminds me why I found Non Non Biyori so entertaining and fun to watch in the first place. While what we get is printed exactly on the tin, the mix of fun and sometimes touching character interactions mixed with its carefree tone and presentation becomes a breath of fresh air that’s a lot more entertaining than it has any right to be. The show feels genuine in what it’s trying to showcase, and it becomes all the better because of it. Characters: While there’s not much to speak of in terms of changes from the 2nd season to Nonstop, I think what this third season manages to do is to solidify and closer knit this cast of characters a lot more from before. Indeed there’re some backstory sequences like before, but instead of being references to past incidences, much of what we’re presented is meant to get some characters reflecting on their relationship with each other in addition to pointing out various flaws like Natsumi being a complete dumbass in most situations she’s in. There might not be a lot of overall character growth, but with what we’re presented here, I’m satisfied with the direction. Luckily though there’re a few new characters to take into consideration, such as Akane and Shiori, who stand as new additions that slowly get added to the fold of characters. Both of them appear a lot more than I initially expected, which both gives the series a little bit of added spice to interactions that sometimes take some directions I didn’t think the series would actually take. Because eight year olds discussing the laws of friction and gravity were not part of the Non Non Biyori agenda that I was expecting, but it exists anyway. Overall, the cast feels all the better because of these new editions and I’m glad the show expanded more on its cast rather than just sit with who we already had before. Now if only Nii-chan would talk… Aesthetics: Silver Link’s work on Non Non Biyori hasn’t exactly changed much throughout the series’ lifetime, and I’m glad for the consistency that the show has. That being said, a part of me feels like the quality that we got this time around is just ever so better than what we got previously. While the characters are typical cel-shaded fare for character design, the backgrounds stand out to me as one of the more detailed aspects of the art direction. Often times the show just kind of plasters one of these seemingly painted backgrounds onto the screen and just sits there to let the audience admire the view alongside the characters. It’s a little detail, but adds enough for me to equally appreciate the aesthetics of the show because given how in this small town, we get a scope of the fields, the mountains, and the forests that serve as this giant, natural playground for these girls to play in. And it just looks so eye-pleasing. nano.RIPE’s “Tsugihagi Moyou” is honestly pretty standard fare for the series, being a more laid back song that’s nice to listen to, but honestly doesn’t provide all that much in terms of memorability. I will say that it’s a nice song that serves as a welcome back to the series, and for that I welcome it as a nice feel good song. By the same vein, “Tadaima” sung by the voice actors of the main four girls falls on the same vein, although I kind of like it more simply because the song utilizes instruments like recorders and light percussion reminiscent of the OST often played in the episodes to give it that extra push to being a ‘Non Non Biyori’ song. It’s cute, especially when paired with the graphic of two of the girls coming by to close off the episode when it starts playing. Final Thoughts: The older I get, the more special Non Non Biyori feels to watch. While I’ll never have the experience of having grown up in the Japanese countryside and know just how there’s absolutely nothing to do and you have to make up your own fun in order to pass the time, the beauty I find in this series is reminiscent of a carefree childhood where you just kind of lived day by day and played away to your heart’s content. Not many shows I find actually give that me that proper sense of childhood nostalgia, and both the tone and the activities within each episode are different enough to give me something new to look forward to since every game, event, or activity is just another new thing or event that happens within the lives of these characters. On top of that, the surprising amount of more character-based moments, especially those surrounding Renge give the show such a well deserved bit of heart that says very little but speaks a lot. Renge is by far the best character in the show, and I’d be remised not to mention all of the little things that both happen with her and because of her. And that the show managed to create such a well-rounded child character who’s curious, quirky, and above all, interesting is something that should be commended for due to how good her execution is. Without a doubt, Non Non Biyori is a series that deserves a watch. It truly encapsulates the idea of a ‘slice of life’ show and manages to keep its pace with surprises and twists that give it the little oomph it needs without becoming something it isn’t. An inoffensive and quaint show with nothing much else beyond a bunch of girls living their lives, sure, but one that not only delivers on that promise, but excels in using the concept as much as it can to showcase it in the best way possible. read more
Story: Putting it simply, God got too bored or busy to make all of the animals on Earth, so he did as all corporations do and outsourced his work to a group of designers that have God himself be the main client to fulfill any vague animal requests that he thinks should exist. And so we follow our group of nine designers and administrative staff on their day to day life of designing all of God’s creatures for him. Hoping that not only does their client give them his stamp of approval, but that hopefully he’ll be a little more specific in his requests because vagueness really doesn’t help a creative’s mindset whenever they’re trying to fill out the whims of someone else. And that’s about it for the synopsis. An episodic series by nature, Heaven’s Design Team is a show that devotes all of its time and effort into the client’s various requests and fulfills a small handful of them each episode. The general storyline starts out with a vague set of parameters from God, to which various members of the design team work to create something that fits within those parameters before the final reveal is shown when God himself gives the animals its stamp of approval to just simply exist. A pretty generic formula for sure, but one that somehow never feels old or unfulfilling to watch. This I believe is because part of the fun in the show is just kind of guessing what animal the team ends up making or what facts the audience ends up learning as a result of being introduced to a new species that they’ve never seen before. And this educational guessing game is why I think the show succeeds. At no point does the show try to be anything more than an educational anime with quirky characters, and everything always leads back to the various ‘projects’ that the design team is working on. The animals at the end of the day are always, always the stars of the show. This, combined with the various talking points on the logistical and evolutionary factors that animals have developed in order to survive contribute the bulk of the show to a degree that almost seems like a documentary, yet never feels like a lecture because of how the material is presented. Now, do they also introduce some really weird and oddly hilarious facts about some of the more well-known species in the world? Absolutely, and I love the show all the more for diving into the weird and the obscure to balance out the more common species that everyone learns about when they’re a kid. Characters: The cast of characters that we have here mostly consist of Shimoda, a new administrative angel, and the design team, each of whom are named after one of the nine planets in the Solar System. (Yes, Pluto is actually the name of a character in this show.) While they certainly aren’t deep characters with much to them, the show gives the designers in particular surprisingly memorable personalities nonetheless. This is mostly because each of the six designers have a specific ‘niche’ of animal that they each specialize in/create. Neptune mostly builds the cute-looking animals like otters and pandas, Saturn made the horse (and he will remind you of that every day), Venus specializes in bird design, and Pluto makes all of the weird or dangerous shit. Each member of the main cast stands on surprisingly even footing with everyone else, and their interactions and varying design philosophies are part of the reason why the animal creation process just ends up being so damn interesting and fun to watch. There’re a number of side characters like the insect team, Ueda, Shimoda’s senior, and God himself, but they mostly exist on the sidelines and in a sense, just expand the show a little bit more beyond just the main design room and the Galapagos Island testing grounds that’re featured as the series’ main setpieces. I’d mention the animals here again due to how vital they are to the show, but they’re more plot points or relevant story bits rather than important characters that mean much on the cast side of things. Aesthetics: Asahi Production being a production studio I haven’t really heard of really surprised me with how pleasing this show looks. Everything is very bright and colorful, being reminiscent of kids anime with the kind of popped out pastel colors that the show has going on. It’s consistent if nothing else and definitely gives a friendly and fun vibe to the show if nothing else. And while the show definitely has only a handful of setpieces, the general comedy and flair that the show manages to muster out of both its characters and the various species that get featured is honestly a lot more fun than it has any right to be. Especially when the series always does a shot of the final design of the animal followed by God’s stamp of approval for the design. Again, enjoyable, with few complaints due to how well it fits the mold at the end of the day. 96neko’s “Give it up?” is probably the only autotuned anime OP that I’d give a full pass for. It’s a really fun song that has a lot of charm to it despite being a really poppy song that has little else to provide aside from the ear-pleasing upbeat tone that it has going for it. Would highly recommend a listen because I think it really sets the mood and the tone that Heaven’s Design Team has throughout its entire run. By contrast, “Designed by Heaven”, sung by the voice actors of the two administrative angels is a song that I would describe as being ok, but is vastly overshadowed by its OP sister. A nice palette cleanser that gives the show a nice ending note to close off the episode, but little else I feel beyond that. Personal Enjoyment: Given how absolutely inoffensive the synopsis of the show was when I first saw this, I had a hard time believing that this could be fucked up in any way and threw all of my chips in the middle betting on the fact that this show would end up being just an absolute marvel by the end of the day. And it was just that. And I have absolutely no complaints about it other than the fact that it ended. And I want more. Heaven’s Design Team taps into that bit of childlike joy I have with just discovering more things about the natural world. The mystery and vagueness of each of God’s requests really give each episode the hooks it needs in order to draw the audience in, and the way that the characters interact with each whether they be collaborating on various assignments or competing against one another give each animal created just the right amount of added flavor in order to keep the runtime interesting. Not to mention the science to explain why every animal is the way it is. Even the unexplainable shit that gets approved by God anyway cause it looks fun to have on Earth. At the end of the day, while there really isn’t much to talk about due to the show’s simplicity, I’d argue that’s the reason to watch the show in the first place. It doesn’t try to do anything beyond its means, and the thing that it’s good at, it’s REALLY good at. And this show ended up being way more fun than I had ever expected it to be. Personally I would recommend everyone to give this show a whirl and see where it leads you. Because if there’s anything that this show has taught me, it’s that nature really is a lot fucking weirder than it should be. And I am inclined to believe that that is a good thing because, as always, life always finds a way. read more
Story: The I-Chu academy is a prestigious idol school that ‘s known to deliver some of the most promising boy group idols that (apparently) the world has ever seen. Here we’re introduced to the newest groups of I-chu, one of which being Fire Fenyx, a group of three hopefuls who hope to stake their claim in the idol world. But what stands in their way is not only about 20 or so rivals that all form about 6-7 different groups, but also the principal who stuffed himself in a giant teddy bear suit for the lols and tortures all of them with potential expulsion if they don’t meet the requirements. So just like how real idols work; glad this show’s got some real world parallels here. Given this show’s origin as a mobile rhythm game, I wasn’t surprised at all with how the story of this show ended up. The story has pretty much only two different kinds of plot threads. Either we have a small overarching thread where all of the characters have to collectively pass over the hurdle, or we have individual episodes which focus on a small handful of the characters in an episodic romp that basically has no lasting consequence over the rest of the series. I’m sure this anime was made specifically just to advertise the franchise and sell the cute anime boys to the audience, but even on that front, I feel like they did the absolute bare minimum in order to try and convince the audience to try and delve further into the series. This is mostly because as a result of the story direction chosen, the show feels painfully generic and fabricated to the point that some episodes feel like there really wasn’t a point for them to exist in the first place. Often times while watching I just kind of zoned out because there really wasn’t anything on the screen that interested me, and the bloat of the cast really didn’t do the series any favors as a result. Of course this is nothing new to I-chu, as many mobile game adaptations have suffered similar problems, but I’d argue that it’s worse here since there came a point where I feel like the fabricated stakes meant nothing, and character moments just kinda got glossed over like they were just functioning off of a script. And at the end of the day, there really isn’t much I can actually say about the story. The story is really just the framework that’s meant to give the characters the anime’s trying to sell you on a platform to stand on. Kind of like a fancy display box that moves. Now, could they have really put in the effort to deliver a good enough story to make this idol game better? Yes, but of course it’s not the story the show is trying to sell us on now is it? Characters: The boys and all of their quirks both in their group and as individuals are pretty much the reason to watch the show/play their game. And I cannot remember many if any of their names. Cast bloat is a major problem I have with mobile game adaptations because they attempt to shove in as many characters as they possible can in order to showcase the wide array of different tropes that they have. I-chu offers a wide array of characters from spunky boys, to moody boys, child-like boys, cool distant boys, and basically traps. But because they’re all so one-note, all of them are hardly characters in their own right, with even fewer of them getting dedicated episodes in order to try an expand them. Which mostly just end up being reassurances that their only character trait is ok or some kind of other artificial reconciliation for something I didn’t think was even a problem, but hey, gotta fill up the time somehow. This problem extends further as more and more characters end up being put into the fold, thus homogenizing the cast into a variety of different faces that all end up serving the same role because barely anyone has any form of individuality that’s worth noting. The other two characters worth any kind of mention are the Producer and the Principal, characters who’re really only there to help explain the plot to the audience and create the bastardized situations that the boys have to deal with. Sure the principal is eccentric given his speech pattern and willingness to torture the boys for the sake of ‘helping’ them, somehow, but I’d argue that’s not really much of a character, but rather the series’ conflict given form. Aesthetics: Lay-duce’s art for this series is probably one of the better aspects of the show if only for how colorful everything is and how nice the boys look. On a design level, all of the boys have a distinct look from one another which sure, while I don’t remember their names, at least gives everyone a distinct look reminiscent of the trope that each of them represents. Something that becomes more prominent when you look into the overall group dynamic of each idol group that the 30+ boys are put into. I’d argue this is a byproduct of the cast originating from a mobile game, but at the very least Lay-duce’s art for the characters and the look of the series on the whole is nice to look at. That being said, the amount of shine in these characters’ eyes are staggering. Everyone has like 4-5 white circles inside their pupil, and it’s actually kinda scary because it makes it seem like these characters have blindingly bright futures ahead of them despite being idols. But of course since this is an idol show, the music plays a big part of the the series too. Which is what I would be saying if the show put in any effort to the music. All of the music in this show is representative of pop idol culture with the OP and ED each being sung by a myriad of seiyuus that voice this show. Likewise all of the groups each have one single that they sing throughout the show. Meaning at no point in the series will one group sing anything else except the song that the first sung when they were introduced. Which is a little disappointing for a number of reasons. One because after a while it gets really boring to hear the exact same thing over and over again when idols should in theory have an entire playlist to pick from. And two because the plot often tries to have someone from one group demonize a member of a different group for not being ‘up to snuff’. Which leads to a mini character arc for the demonized character to better themselves. Only for them to later show the person or group that demonized them how much better they got by singing the exact same song again using most likely the exact same recording. Making it seem like there’s significant change when really it doesn’t sound like it at all. Leading to further artificiality with how the show presents itself. It’s all a bit disappointing at the end of the day because while I do think the songs are honestly not that bad, the enjoyment of hearing them starts to wear thin when this becomes the ninth time I’ve unwillingly heard “Jewelry Dust”, and Fire Fenyx has only sang “Jewelry Dust” throughout the entire series. Personal Enjoyment: I wanted to try something new this season, maybe go out of my comfort zone a little bit by throwing caution to the wind and watch an idol show for no reason other than I can and I will. Was this a rewarding experience? Not really. While I was dead set on making fun of the show for one reason or another because of either the massive cast bloat, the fact that I had to take a giant stuffed bear as a school principal seriously, or the “power of friendship” trope through the power of song, over time I lost interest in even trying to have fun with the show because I-chu didn’t feel like it was trying itself. I-chu is just so painfully bland and uninteresting from all angles that episodes could probably be summed up in one or two sentences with little to no loss on what was going on. The show also doesn’t have a lot of consistency about it since we practically jump from one group to another in a form of whiplash that I just kind of got used to because I didn’t remember anyone’s names in the first place, so it didn’t really matter if we went from the spunky shonen kid to the chuunis in the span of 15 minutes. Over time the cast actually got larger with about 3-4 new groups being introduced over the course of the series which feels pretty excessive considering by the time the show tried to solidify who or what we already had, we just got more idols. All of this combined with the fact that the music side of all things felt like they put in the absolute bare minimum in order to make it seem like these guys were actually idols leads me to put this series in the bucket of ‘failed advertisement anime’, since I’m certain the only reason why this show exists was either as fanservice or as a way to potentially attract new people to play or try out the game. While I’m certain that I am nowhere near the correct demographic for this kind of show or genre, I can almost say for certain that if fans of this series wanted an anime adaptation, they should get something better than this. Cause more than anything, this show feels unmemorable. And that I think is a worse fate than just being a ‘bad show’. read more
Story: While the regular Cells at Work has a generally…brighter atmosphere with the soothing voice of Mamiko Noto to educate the audience on how the biology of the human body works, Black is for the most part, quite the opposite. Now with Tsuda Kenjirou as our much gruffer sounding narrator instead. Much like the original, we follow the adventures of a rookie red blood cell as he carries nutrients and oxygen around the body. But instead of dealing with comparatively more harmless things like allergies, the common cold, and…hemorrhaging, our newbie must combat substance abuse, STDs, and various dangerous blood clots to vital parts of the human body. Which in turn makes this work environment, a Code Black situation. When comparing Black to the original, there’s very little if any true difference between the two in terms of presentation. Black has much of the same storytelling, focusing primarily on episodic problems that offer a new challenge to our protagonist and related cells working with the current problem. All wrapped up with a thin chronology that leads from one episode to another. To me, the ‘Cells at Work’ formula is one that works with very few drawbacks to the kind of show that this is. It’s an educational show that teaches something new each episode, and the representative hijinks that our characters get up to are how the show presents these materials or situations that our bodies deal with every day. But of course because this is a ‘black’ situation, everything is a lot serious and darker than the original. As expected, the subject matter and especially the state of the body presented in this series is in a more dire state. The story of Black thrives in its darker subject matter of substance abuse and other more dangerous illnesses or ailments that can damage our body. And the grim nature of everything gives off a much more serious tone compared to the relatively jokey and carefree nature of the original. Almost as a kind of warning of how much damage having too much of one thing can have on a person. But if you strip that away, there aren’t really many other things to talk about. Cells at Work kind of thrives on the novelty of its concept, so what you see is what you get with little else to drive the show forward. At least that’s what has typically happened with the Cells at Work series thus far. In addition to dealing with a new ailment of the week, Black is also something of a character arc as we watch our resident red blood cell slowly go insane from watching the mass genocide of his coworkers, mass invasion of pathogens, and a failing workplace that doesn’t provide any form of safety to the cells that try and keeping running. All while being yelled at to ‘keep working’ despite the hazardous environment. It’s certainly a thread that gives the story a form of chronology, but by contrast demands a bigger suspension of disbelief than usual as he and other cells question the decisions of the person who owns the body they work in. Which kind of starts a revolt in one episode, leading me to believe that these representations of cells have their own conscience and sentience, but try not to think about it too hard or else everything’s just gonna end up seeming weird. All of that is to say that Black is just a little more than just a tonal shift to the original. While I do have some personal gripes with how the series is essentially just beating the audience over the head with the exact same message over and over again, the presentation and representation of a whole host of different bodily issues, functions, and ailments proved to be very…interesting to watch, and the kinds of effects it has on the body visualized is still a treat regardless. Characters: While AA2153 and AE3083 both start out as similar characters being that both of them are bright-eyed red blood cells who’re both ready for the line of duty, the paths that both of them lead couldn’t be any different from each other. Due to the severity of the body, much of AA2153’s character is like that of a soldier changing throughout a war. Much of his character exists because of his environment, making him more of the resulting effect or product of everything around him instead of the cause. Because of this, AA2153 doesn’t really have a lot of autonomy as a character save for the few instances where he puts his life on the line for his job because he still needs to make his deliveries. If anything, he’s a PSA for those who put their body through the wringer as a kind of weird empathetic effigy that reminds us that whatever we do to our body affects the things that keep us running. On the same vein, U1196 and U1146 are also similar characters. But compared to their red blood counterparts, they don’t actually have much deviance in character despite their different working conditions. U1196 is still believes in her duty to protect the body, and does so full well knowing that the body isn’t strong enough to fight off the horrifying amount of pathogens she has to deal with on a daily basis. But because she’s not really at the forefront of the story, she kind of just serves as the series’ deuteragonist and provides helpful insight for our main character through all of the trials and tribulations that he faces coming to terms with the fact that everything just kind of sucks but you still have to work anyway. The variety of cells that we get this time are for the most part, different to what we see in the parent story. We still have the main floaters in the bloodstream (i.e. platelets, T-cells, and macrophages), but everyone else that’s presented range from stomach cells, kidney cells, and liver cells; cell types and related organs that weren’t or haven’t been covered by the original series at the time of writing this. Much like the parent story, their appearances are mostly one-off showings that explain how one function of the body works and showcase what happens when X organ or function is being inhibited. Aesthetics: Taken the reins by LIDENFILMS this time, Black has an understandably darker and less saturated color scheme to its parent with a much more industrial and toxic-looking world/body that’s being showcased. I personally like the change since the original Cells at work always seemed too bright for me, so it’s nice to have something that’s a little easier on the eyes. To add to the darker tone too, Black has a much, much higher body count and is overall a much more gruesome show as cells are murdered at such an alarming rate that the show even goes to the lengths of putting a massive pile of bodies in the center of the frame to show the audience how hazardous of a work environment this is. Which to an extent almost feels comical because the show really emphasizes how crappy everything is, and really doesn’t let that go since there’re so many shots of other cells grabbing AA2153’s collar and shouting in his face. I also want to mention character design briefly since the representation of everything in Cells at Work has always been my favorite parts of the show. Everything from how the cells themselves are designed in order to represent the designated job or function they’re given, as well as the whole host of manmade things like drugs and other physiological problems are really some of my favorite aspects of the show since I never know how a given body part of cell is going to be represented. Now, did all of the neutrophil cells really have to be very chesty women who have their shirts open down to the base of their cleavage? No, but hey, it’s an aesthetic choice. “Hashire!” by Hiroyuki Hayashi is a song I’m personally not that much of a fan of. It’s an energetic rock song that uses way too much autotune in a way that makes it not too much fun to listen to. Of course it doesn’t really match up with the rest of the show’s tone anyway, but the autotune is really the kicker for me due to how much it distorts the singer’s voice without adding much to the song’s value in return. By comparison, “Ue wo Muite Hakabou” is much more cheerful. Almost worryingly cheerful because while it doesn’t use any autotune, the song appears completely out of left field sometimes and is such a massive tension breaker that it makes it all feel so ill fitting for this show. Had it been used for a different show, I’d give it a pass for being something that’s fun to listen to, but for Black? It feels almost comical to attach it to this show. Final Thoughts: While Black was advertised to be the ‘darker’ version of Cells at work, truth be told the only real difference between the two is their respective topic matter. In an attempt to be dark, Black feels like it tries too hard to be the more serious of the two, resulting in a show that feels more edgy than anything else and falls on a few shonen tropes in order to carry its storytelling. True, Black deals with more life-threatening problems than its parent does, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s much different or ‘better’ than the original; it’s just a slightly different flavor of the exact same show. As such, my feelings and rating for Black are about the same as the original Cells at Work. The novelty is what really carries the show, and the representation of the body, its cells, and its various organ functions are the heart and soul of the show that keep it as a fun watch if one is looking for something a little more unique to watch. That being said I really do wonder if this show was meant to be a social commentary in any way. Especially given how this particular body in the show is afflicted with sleep deprivation, poor diet, high alcohol and caffeine consumption, blood clots in very specific areas of the body, and hair loss due to stress. All of which are factors that either contribute to Karoshi or are the result of Japan’s specific work culture. That and he fact that the cells are all basically working a lot of overtime with little if any time to themselves and exhaust themselves to death in order to keep the body running. You know, food for thought. read more
Story: While I’m tempted replicate Mamiko Noto’s narration spiel about how the body has 37 trillion cells that all work hard to keep a human body alive, I’m instead going to just let everyone know that this season is essentially the intestine and digestion system season since that, broadly speaking, eats up a greater majority of the show’s runtime. Compared to the first season’s multitude of episodic romps that end in one or two multi-episode arcs to cap off the season, season two by comparison starts off with a multitude of half-episode episodic romps before transforming into a larger narrative picture that ends in a single multi-episode arc. Very similar on paper, but different in execution. For starters, season two feels like it flows a little better once it’s past the half episode romps. This is largely due to the fact that the series introduces four little plot devices that help move the story along. Which plays into the larger scope of the intestine’s role in the body, as well as the rest of the smaller minisodes that occur while our characters are stationed in the intestine. By contrast, the beginning parts of the season feel more awkwardly paced than everything that comes after that. Primarily due to the fact that the show plays out like Saturday morning cartoons where each episodic plot is only eleven or so minutes long. Which as a result, create some really choppy stories that narratively don’t really mesh well with each other or the other two-thirds of the runtime that’s dedicated to the digestion system. This is in part due to the fact that each of those short form stories are focused solely on various immunity cells that we’ve met in the past, but also because each of these stories are vastly different from one another since each cell’s job is different. And featuring two polar opposite short stories next to each other in a thirty minute timeframe can create a bit of whiplash. I’ve also learned that because the body is so indecisive and dangerous to itself, the plots that come out of this show, while biologically correct…need a surprising amount of suspension of disbelief to be taken into consideration. Which I guess is part of the charm with Cells at Work given its anthropomorphizing of human cells to show off the kind of harrowing crap we humans put our bodies through every day. Unfortunately, this leads to the series seeing a little nonsensical at times with some philosophy and deeper meaning that personally I don’t think needs to be there since just the concept of this show is wild to begin with. And making the cells think about their place in the world and why they’re in this perpetual cycle of work and death is a bit too meta for this mostly educational show to handle methinks. Characters: Compared to Season 1 where it seemed like our resident air-headed red blood cell got all of the attention, this season seemed to shift the focus off to our resident White blood cell and his line of work in protecting various parts of the body. (Aka just the intestine for a majority of the show.) This is partly due to the fact that every episode tackles a greater problem that the characters are notified of prior compared to the first season where our resident RBC just kind of stumbled into every major situation that occurred, screaming her way into next week running for her life while clutching onto her precious deliveries. While I’m happy the show swapped its perspective to give us the ‘other’ perspective so to speak, so too comes the philosophical aspect of Cells at Work which in my opinion is shaky at best. Which comes to play only because the story demands that the Neutrophil that’s designed only to take out foreign contaminants has human thoughts and emotions. And questions the validity of their job when they’re supposed to take out all foreign threats, but doesn’t in favor of giving alternate parties the benefit of the doubt. By contrast, we have Ordinary Cell, a normal cell that lives in the throat who wishes to be something more than just someone who gets free deliveries and is meant to just proliferate so the body can grow. His character arc feels a lot more fulfilling by comparison because he kind of has his own hero’s journey that has both a sense of pacing and closure that’s well contained within the span of his time in the show. While also contributing to the greater scope of the series by essentially being the gateway for the larger span of the show without intruding on things too much. All around probably the best aspect of the show that was also one of its most surprising aspects too. As for the rest of the character cast, the most that the various immunity or bodily function cells get are a few important scenes or an entire half episode to explain a process or function they have. And what happens if that function isn’t done or executed. All the while Mamiko Noto is in the background narrating everything that’s happening as if she’s reading off of a college grade biology textbook. They’re certainly characters that get their time of day when it happens, but serve less plot prominence beyond that. Aesthetics: David Production taking the reins for Cells at Work again wasn’t something that I thought wasn’t going to happen, and I’m glad they kept the license for it even if Black is being handled by a different production studio. Compared to the first season, the vibrancy and amount of hue we get with the color palette in the show is a lot more intense than I remember it being. It’s not all that different from Season 1, but there’s enough of one that I feel like it’s worth mentioning. This also works in tandem with the darker areas of the show where the characters appear a lot more…sinister than I feel like they should. Which creates some incredible contrast where we have bright and cheerful clashing with dark and edgy. There’s also some CGI used but it’s not that big a deal considering how rare it is. But that’s not all. Now, when I talked about the fact that Cells at Work was made by the ‘Jojo people’ in my first review, I said it really only in reference to David Production’s most popular work currently so people kinda knew who they were. I didn’t expect to have actual jojo references in this godforsaken show. This is by no means a bad thing, but it’s clear that the animators working on this wanted to do something stupid or fun, so while I’m not sure that this was their ultimate intention, I feel like someone definitely wanted to throw in a few references in there. (The lactic acid bacterium literally did the Oraoraoraora. You cannot tell me that someone didn’t want to make a jojo reference here.) “Go! Go! Saibou Festa” sung by a greater majority of the ‘important’ cells in the series is not exactly the kind of song I thought would be featured in this series, but hey, I’m not against it. Personally I think the first season OP is a lot better because that one sounded like it had the urgency of working to it whereas this one kinda just has everyone sing about their jobs. With occasional ‘Nyus’ for obvious reasons when watching the show. ClariS’s “Fight” by comparison is a song that’s much more lax and personally not one I’m too thrilled about personally. A good feel good song, but nothing that’s noteworthy enough to get an individual listen to on its own. Good tracks, but nothing immensely worthwhile. Final Thoughts: Cells at Work 2 was a show that surprised me in many ways, mostly because I didn’t really think that’d we actually get a sequel to the series, and we would only have the one season to show off the novelty of the concept. But because season 2 is actually a thing, I guess we have more of that novelty given form. Truth be told, the novelty is what I think gives Cells at Work a greater majority of its intrigue. It’s a very non-committal show, focusing primarily on education and the imagining of what the human body would look like if it was actually a sprawling society. Beyond that and the body’s relationship to various pathogens that attempt to infiltrate it, there wasn’t really a lot to say about the show when it first came out and the same holds true here. Cells at Work to me is one of those really good novelty shows that works to its strengths and offers what’s on the box, but does little else beyond that. A show that’s worthy of recommendation, but mostly because it’s good, non-offensive fluff that you can learn something from. Also the show is only eight episodes. So if you got a busy schedule but want to finish a decent show, it’s here for you. read more
Story: In front of Narukami Youta stands a small girl named Hina wearing a nun outfit who claims herself to be Odin or some form of god. She comes bearing a warning: “The World will end in 30 days”. And she has come to him hoping that perhaps he can help stop that from happening before his last summer break as a high schooler can end. Given the absolute trainwreck that was Charlotte’s second half and especially its finale episode, I’m legitimately surprised that P.A. works gave Jun Maeda a second chance to make yet another show with Ayane Sakura voicing the main character. To put it simply, this show has very little understanding of how to structure or pace itself that I’m surprised this was greenlit in the first place. Despite the overarching threat of ‘the world ending in 30 days’, more than half of the show is devoted to never hurrying up or figuring out why or how the world is ending, and instead focuses on random bullshit that only pertains to the confines of a single episode before going onto something else that also has nothing to do with the world ending. Shit like Uno Mahjong, Ramen, and making movies takes precedence over the looming threat of the end of the world apparently. The absurdity of these episodic subplots takes away any and all tension that the show could’ve had and legitimately don’t make any sense as to what kind of rhyme or reason they’re doing any of it in the first place; they just kind of happen. As a result, a majority of this show feels like filler. Filler that goes on for so long that the last three episodes end up feeling like a completely different show that only tangentially makes sense in context to what we’ve seen before, but feel wholly disconnected because the whiplash from watching everything else prior makes connecting the two parts feel like putting a square peg in a round hole. And it’s because of this kind of stuff that both the pacing and the worldbuilding of the show extraordinarily suffers. So little of the show is actually devoted to the climax or explaining the bigger picture of why this little girl has omniscience or why the ‘world is going to end’ that it ends up feeling like a cop out when things are actually explained. Cause it’s all done in these massive info dumps that end up feeling like they don’t matter because neither the plot or the characters are interested in understanding why things are happening, just what is happening. Which feels pointless because it begs the question of, “Why even bother trying to explain it in the first place?” This problem extends further to side characters as more time the show doesn’t have is invested into creating backstories for the side characters that are only mildly important to the plot at the time. The show is only 12 episodes. Fitting things like that alongside 8 episodes of episodic slice and life, about 2 episodes of info-dumping, about 3 episodes of proper climax to finish off the series’ story and the forced romantic subplot only constrains the show even more than it already is. And personally, I think that’s where the problem lies. Kamisama ni Natta hi feels like it tries to do so much in so little time, acting as a Frankenstein’s Monster of Jun Maeda’s previous works as it takes bits and parts of Charlotte, Little Busters, and Rewrite’s stories in order to create something that ultimately crumbles under the weight of what it tries to achieve. Sporting an entire subplot of saving a ramen shop from bankruptcy takes away from the complexity of Hina’s condition and the further ramifications behind it since there’s even more stuff in regards to it happening even further behind the scenes. Had the show been drastically cut down to get rid of all of its extraordinary and unbelievable elements and simplify it to a linear story that didn’t try to raise up stakes by bringing up the fucking United Nations, there’s a chance that this story could’ve survived as a digestible piece that could’ve narratively made sense. But as it is, the show would’ve needed at least twice the amount of time the show actually had in order to tell its story in any meaningful fashion. By the end of it, no part of the story much less its conclusion feels earned in any way, and while Jun Maeda is standing over this crumbling pile patting himself on the back for all of the risks and narrative genius/emotion he’s managed to get out of the story, I’m just sitting here wondering what went wrong and in what universe this could be considered competent storytelling. Characters: Hina feels kind of out of place. While she is the focal point of the show in some respect, going so far as to kick off the show by proclaiming the the world is going to end and calls herself ‘God’, the most she really does in the series is give a good kick to the plot in order to get it to happen, and then comment on the sidelines, letting her omniscience take over. She’s admittedly kind of a fun character given how she’s just this hyperactive brat that draws everyone’s attention to her (Like Haruhi Suzumiya in a way), but loses a couple points because the story kind of forces her to go along with the ebb and flow of the narrative. Going so far as to inject a romantic subplot regarding her which is only one of the dumber narrative choices this series has made given how she is factually one of the youngest members in the cast by about five years at least. As a character, she never really takes a spotlight until the plot needs her to, in which case it’s all hands on deck for the ‘deeper’ parts of the series with information dumps and an unearned climax that end up stripping her of anything interesting that she had before. Which is the greatest disservice to a character because what you end up with is character sympathy that comes from purposely gutting everything they were to become something else. Youta by contrast feels like a visual novel protagonist with very few positive traits to go along with him. Aside from his initial affections for his childhood friend and a love for basketball, his character is almost entirely wrapped around the movement of the story where they push him from Point A to Point B in order to keep the story going. He has very little autonomy in the story, only having those moments whenever he acts on instinct and the story needs a moment of tension or drama in order to show the audience that ‘now is when things get serious’. All of this ends up making him a wholly unlikeable protagonist that similar to everyone else in this godforsaken show, just kind of goes along with whatever is happening since the story is the only driving force in this show. The rest of the cast from its antagonists to its supplementary side characters and the ‘Friends we made along the way” end up filling a roster that only serve to move the plot along whether or not it be episodic subplots or to serve as antagonistic forces that serve as the supposed ‘end of the world’. There’s not really a lot to talk about them since their involvement with the story is dictated only if the story needs them to show up, and even then it’s more of a slideshow of all of the people that’ve been featured over the thirty day period, which feels incredibly superficial given how it makes the characters feel more like a collection than actual characters. Aesthetics: Well, if there’s anything that I can give P.A. Works, it’s the art. And I’m glad the show at least looks good. Yeah it’s the same style the the company uses, but it’s nice to see care put into the visuals of the series down to the smallest details like eggs being broken. Because that scene did not need to look as good as it did. The absurdity of the series also having a bunch of side plots also factors into this by giving the show a surprising amount of visual variance as a greater majority of the show has Hina’s omniscience portrayed in wacky and overly bombastic ways that neither had anything to do with the situation nor needed to really be there. But was appreciated since it took my mind off for a second until I realized exactly what I was watching. Similarly, the music of the show also deserves some praise. “Kimi to lu Shinwa” made by a joint effort of our very own Jun Maeda and Nagi Yanagi is a genuinely good song that evokes the energy and emotional beats that I assume the story was supposed to try and hit. It’s a worthwhile listen to in my opinion, and I think it paints a nicer picture of the show at least at first glance. My only gripe with this song is the fact that there’s also a music box version, which is played during some of the more ’emotional’ parts of the show. And is played so frequently that it loses a lot of its luster and the scenes it’s played in aren’t nearly as emotional as I think Jun Maeda thinks it is. Same for the rest of the OST because the way it’s composed makes it sound like it only belongs in really emotional and important scenes. “Goodbye Seven Seas” by the same duo hits similar notes and emotional points that its OP sister attempts to hit. And I think to a slightly lesser degree, it succeeds. And it’s for these reasons that I’m actually a little sad, because it’s kind of an unfortunate how these pretty songs are unfortunately tied to this show of all things. Final Thoughts: Given who was working on this show and the studio involved, I steeled myself for the almost guaranteed possibility that this show was going to end up being a narrative flop. Which is ironic given how I actually kind of like Charlotte until that series shot itself in the foot at the very end due to some scarily similar reasons as with what we see here with Kamisama ni Natta hi. I was prepared to be disappointed, but I legitimately didn’t think that it was going to go in such a way that would anger and frustrate me with its narrative choices. This show is emotionally manipulative, trying so hard to make the audience feel sympathy amidst a whole host of other emotions in order to get the audience to feel invested in a plot that doesn’t even understand what it’s supposed to be. Every little backstory that the show sprinkles in is riddled with tragedy in order to make the audience sympathize with whatever plight the character may have, going so far as to do it for a character we just met like an episode ago in order to fold them into the larger narrative. It’s almost like the show is yelling at the audience to get/feel sad because this is an emotional show, when all it’s really doing is providing situational whiplash that I want nothing to do with because just last episode we were making movie references and stepping on their copyright. All to wrap it up in a supposedly bittersweet bow that pushes the narrative of ‘good memories’ to its height as if we’re supposed to forget that the only reason why we even have that as a narrative point was because you intentionally shot the series in the foot at the very end in order to force us to be sad and feel emotionally invested in these characters with at best superficial traits. This heavy-handed storytelling alongside the show’s obsessive need to be complex and have completely baffling magical/extraordinary reasons in order to make the stakes of the situation have any kind of impact is my biggest gripe with the show and ultimately why I think it fails. You literally could’ve achieved the same kind of show climax by letting Hina get hit by a semi, but no, you had to create a completely new syndrome and bring hackers and the United Nations into this shit because that was clearly the most important thing that this show needed when it came to its narrative. All of this not even touching the fact that all of this needed to be set up, explained, given a climax to, and resolved in the span of about five hours and an in-universe time frame that ended up speeding through about two entire seasons in the year in around twelve minutes. No part of me wants to remember that this show even exists, and the same part abhors from even thinking about recommending this to anyone. Jun Maeda and Key may have made a name for themselves in the early 2000’s, but I feel like at this point they’re just recycling narratives and running on empty on ways to produce any kind of story. It’s clear that Kamisama ni Natta hi was made with a larger timeframe in mind due to just how much content it tried to squeeze in such a small timeframe, and the fact that they even greenlit this idea baffles me further because I genuinely don’t know what they expected an audience reception of this show to be like given how strongly the show suffocates the audience with different reasons to feel bad about what these people are going through. And if you’re just trying to force your audience to give a shit without a reason why, they won’t. read more |
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Why yes I did just play exclusively Operation Siren while watching this show. And yes, I finished playing my dailies faster than it took to watch this. META ships don’t farm themselves.
While not necessarily a continuation of the actual Azur lane anime (though you could kind of bend it to be one), Slow Ahead! again follows our four destroyers from the four main fleets in the series: IJN Ayanami, USS Laffey, HMS Javelin, and KMS Z-23, or Niimi for short. Together, the four destroyers experience life around the naval base, interacting with various ships from each of the four fleets in a slice of life read more
You know, I still can’t believe that Hori is actually a brunette. The manga doesn’t shade or tone her hair at all, so I assumed for so many years that she was actually blonde. Did anyone else think that? I’m not going insane, right?
Story: Hori Kyouko is a girl that seems like your general popular girl with people surrounding her at every turn, hiding the fact that at home she pretty much fulfills the homemaker role due to her parents typically working extended hours. Miyamura Izumi is a boy that is seen as gloomy with few if anyone knowing who he really is with some assuming read more
“The Road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions.” To live means to die. To be right, that means someone else must be wrong. To have peace means that first, there must be war.
Story: Several years after the raid on Humanity within the Walls, we find ourselves within the country of Marley and watch how the supposed enemy fends off and conquers nearby lands in order to spread its influence. But, knowing the threat of Paradis Island, the home of Humanity within the Walls, is looming… Well, war is coming. Or rather, war is already here. For an adaptation that started in 2013 as a somewhat gratuitous read more
I feel like you really could’ve just made the whole thing one season instead of splitting it up in two parts, but I think I’m just yelling at an empty crowd on this point considering the thing got made in the end anyway, so supposedly, there’s not really any reason to complain.
Story: If the Sanctuary isn’t liberated in a few days, a terrible snowstorm will envelop the place and call upon the Great Rabbit to consume all of the denizens within the protected barrier. If no one comes to help the mansion in a few days, a pair of assassins will clean out the place of read more
For all of the isekais, shonen series, crappy harems, or a variety of more engaging or seemingly more interesting shows with more involved plots, I’m glad we have Non Non Biyori. Because god willing, this is the kind of stuff I’m gonna be turning to whenever I just need a break from life.
Story: A show about a quartet of girls in the Japanese countryside, this third season is about exactly as what you would expect from a slice of life show that features nothing but a bunch of character interactions from its practically all-female cast in a place where the most remarkable thing to happen over read more
You know, if God really did ask for even half of Earth’s creatures to be made just on the whims of really vague requests, I’d believe it. Because nature is often times really fucking bizarre and the things that’re considered as ‘evolutionary advantages’ really test the limits of how ‘life finds a way’ no matter the situation. Fun, but also really…really weird.
Story: Putting it simply, God got too bored or busy to make all of the animals on Earth, so he did as all corporations do and outsourced his work to a group of designers that have God himself be the main client to fulfill any read more
I find it mildly amusing that the anime idol industry is just as saturated as the actual idol industry. I mean there has to be an extent to which too much is too much, right? Maybe I’m just thinking too hard about this; let’s just talk about pretty anime boys singing.
Story: The I-Chu academy is a prestigious idol school that ‘s known to deliver some of the most promising boy group idols that (apparently) the world has ever seen. Here we’re introduced to the newest groups of I-chu, one of which being Fire Fenyx, a group of three hopefuls who hope to stake their claim in read more
I can’t help but feel like this show is also an allegory to the kinds of working conditions that a typical white-collar worker in Japan experiences and reflects upon Japanese society as a whole as some kind of social commentary on how toxic work culture can be detrimental to not only one’s own health, but also how it can impact society to an almost unhealthy degree. Eh, it’s probably just my imagination.
Story: While the regular Cells at Work has a generally…brighter atmosphere with the soothing voice of Mamiko Noto to educate the audience on how the biology of the human body works, Black is for the read more
I think we’re really stretching what constitutes as a ‘season’ now. Like…it’s usually supposed to be 12 or 13 episodes. We’ve established this. This has nothing to do with how it impacts the quality or anything else with the storytelling, but rather a PSA on the fact that it seems like the definition of ‘season’ now is ‘whatever the showrunners want it to be’. I guess.
Story: While I’m tempted replicate Mamiko Noto’s narration spiel about how the body has 37 trillion cells that all work hard to keep a human body alive, I’m instead going to just let everyone know that this season is essentially the read more
I’m not going to stand for this; shame on you, Jun Maeda. Shame on you for using the mentally disabled as a way to get your audience’s empathy. Of all of the possible story routes you could’ve went through, this is the most vile, most sickening ways you could’ve made this story end.
Story: In front of Narukami Youta stands a small girl named Hina wearing a nun outfit who claims herself to be Odin or some form of god. She comes bearing a warning: “The World will end in 30 days”. And she has come to him hoping that perhaps he can help stop that from read more |
