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"What do you want to be when you grow up?" It's such a simple question that often times has no answer because many people just honestly don't know what to do with themselves.  It's here where P.A. Works brings their storytelling flair to answer that question, giving us Sakura Quest, a journey of one girl and her friends to save a dying town.

Story: Koharu Yoshino is a girl with a dream of finding something special.  Leaving her countryside home for the big city, she finds herself in a rut unable to find anything stable.  With one last chance given to her way out in the countryside to help the dying town known as 'Manoyama', she ventures out to the almost forgotten town, and finds it in shambles with a giant castle dedicated to the Chupacabra.  It's here where she becomes the town's 'queen' (aka, tourism spokesperson), and helps to revitalize the weathered village.

Focused on the progression of Yoshino and her new friends aiding the residents of Manoyama, Sakura Quest is a twenty five episode long journey showcasing the different ways its main female cast tries to resolve its low population and tourism rates be it through gimmicks, events, or by making the quality of life better for those who live in the town's buildings.  As a result, the show has a clear sense of progression and character growth as the show builds upon and explores the different facets of its cast and the culture of the town they live in.

What's more is that the show sets the place up as a living, breathing community with episode after episode building more and more of the town that is Manoyama, giving the audience insight and history on how everything came to be.  It feels genuine and like something that's actually alive, a quality that benefits the show greatly by giving the side cast a role that's essential for the storytelling of the overall product.

Despite that, the show runs itself in two different directions with two diverging themes.  With the tourism board and the rest of Manoyama, the show focuses mainly on the idea of 'home is what you make it', as Sakura Quest showcases a heaping amount of worldbuilding with its sidecast showcasing their way of life to make the place feel as alive as it does.  On the other hand, its quintet of five girls is funneled into 'what do I want to do?', as each of the five girls are given a sort of mini saga pertaining to their individual problems on what they want to do moving forward.  The latter is quite stilted, as when compared to the former, the progression doesn't really feel that natural.  P.A. Works tries to use both at once on several occasions, but the former usually comes out on top and the supposed character progression, while nice, doesn't come off as meaningful as it probably should.

All in all though, Sakura Quest was a solid show that fulfilled a great amount of what it set out to do.  The progression of seeing how the characters grow and change to help the people of Manoyama is a very rewarding storyline to witness, and the little stories about each of the town's residents was one of its best story elements as it gave the show an unexpected vibrancy that only improved its story.  Indeed the progression for the main cast needed much help, but overall, the story was firm enough to stand on its own merits.

Overview:
+ Good, gradual sense of progression
+ Excellent worldbuilding
-  Main character growth feels forced

Characters: The Queen of Chupacabra herself, Koharu Yoshino, is a bright dreamer who puts her all into the tasks in front of her.  Despite being initially confused and disgusted by the state of the place that her year long contract sent her to, she gradually becomes involved in all states with Manoyama, earnestly trying to help the people of the town and fulfilling her end of the contract.  Her qualities as a protagonist really shine when you see her attitude change as the episodes roll by as she invests more and more time into learning and understanding the people of the town.  Personally I think her progression is the most prominent and rewarding out of the bunch, as it feels more natural than the rest.

Maki and Ririko, or the actress become handywoman and the UMA girl, get the second-most attention in the series.  Their stories refer to a wavered dream and self-expression respectively, and a good portion of the show dedicates their growth to overcome their struggles from the past in a semi-meaningful way.  The problem I find with these two is, while they are given the time of day, their progression happens in a matter of episodes, placed back to back to give them a quick story to progress their character.  In a show where things are slower, having this rushed progression made their stories feel more artificial than they should've, ultimately creating stories that while do impact the grand scheme of things, lose quality because they're thrown in kind of haphazardly.

Sanae and Shiori however really don't get the time of day.  An IT girl and a country girl respectively, both of their stories are only mildly existent.  There're only about two, maybe three episodes that even mention the kind of internal struggles they have, and even then it's so little that they never seem all that important.  The imbalance becomes quite clear once the show picks up, and it sucks how the show left these two in the dust without really much payoff for them.

In terms of side cast, the majority of its members are the residents of Manoyama who as mentioned before, get a large majority of the show's attention as Sakura Quest builds up its thriving community with more and more people with each passing episode from members in the board of merchants, to those in the tourism board and beyond.  What I like most about this side cast is, there's always something.  There's never just a generic trait or anything randomly tacked onto them.  You might not remember their names, but you remember their story and the kinds of things that they had growing up.  The side cast are treated like people, not characters, and that's a quality that really stands out for the show.

Overview:
+ Great main protagonist
+ Detailed and alive feeling side cast
-  Other protagonists don't feel as good

Art: Produced by P.A. Works, the art for Sakura Quest is...less than stellar.  The show has the customary 'P.A. Works' look to it with a bright color palette and rather nice backgrounds, but the overall quality really isn't something worth batting an eye at.

Sure the quality is good, but when compared to a good number of the company's previous works: Angel Beats!, NagiAsu, Charlotte, the quality just isn't there.  Of course I'm really just criticizing the art based on the show's previous track record.  In the grand scheme of things, it's still...average.  Nothing wrong with average, but it's just...average.

Overview:
+/- Average art

Sound: Since the show is two cours long, the show has two pairs of OPs and Eds all made by (K)NoW_NAME, each with their own flair and tone that separates one pair from the other.

For the first half, we have "Morning Glory" as the OP and "Freesia" as the ED, a pair of soft pieces with a bright and cheerful, and soft and somber tones respectively.  Personally, when I think of 'Sakura Quest', I think of these two.  They really connect to the slice of life theme that the show exudes and the bright optimism that Yoshino has when she's trying to help the people of Manoyama.  Not to mention both of them are really nice tracks with memorability due to the OP's repeated chords and the ED's soft chords complimented by snapping fingers.

In contrast, the second half has the songs "Lupinus" and "Baby's Breath" as the OP and ED respectively.  In contrast, Lupinus is a rock song with heavy emphasis on electric guitar as its instrument of choice.  To be honest, the song doesn't really fit Sakura Quest.  Despite being a decent song, it's a bit too energetic for what the show is, and doesn't have that special quality to it to make it memorable.  Its ED on the other hand is very similar to Freesia, relying instead on acoustic guitar accompanied by a softer voice to make it sound like you're returning to your roots.  Personally I think they're all good songs, each with something to offer, though some more than others.

Overview:
+ Good, memorable songs
-  Second OP doesn't really fit the show

Personal Enjoyment: There's something about P.A. Works that I attach to.  Maybe it's the fact that they manage to input a fun little quirk within their shows to give them that special quality along with their message, the fact that most of their shows are original, or maybe it's because a number of my favorite shows come from them.  Regardless, P.A. Works is that one company I always anticipate, adoring their good shows and heavily criticizing their bad shows.  They've done some bad shows in the past, and some...really bad ones (Haruchika, Glasslip, looking at you), but thankfully, Sakura Quest wasn't one of those.

While Sakura Quest certainly isn't one of their best works, or even their most noticed, it's a show that is an honest return to form from the company.  Admittedly it wasn't the highest priority on my watchlist, but it was still something that I earnestly enjoyed because it really had the spark and quality of storytelling mixed with the inherent character wackiness that I like from P.A. Works.  And honestly, that's all I as a fan could ever hope for.

Did I like this show?

Yes.  In particular, I really liked how the show shed light on some of its crankier members of the cast, changing them along with the story and turning Kadota and Chitose into likable and redeemed characters that I actually wanted to see more of.  (Also Yoshino too, but that's kind of a given.)

What didn't I like about this show?

I don't fully understand the need to do the whole five girls thing.  They did this back in Shirobako, which albeit worked better, but quite honestly, seriously developing five characters takes a lot of time and effort, and the problems really show when Yoshino is the only one who greatly improved.  Sure the others have change to them, but it's really not that good.  Also Sandal.  He's a...weird character.  That's just kinda shoved in there for the sake of being weird. (There's also a surprising amount of Engrish in this show.)

Would I recommend this show?

Yes.  Personally, I see Sakura Quest as an underrated gem that never really got the time of day it deserved.  Sure the premise is weird, and it's got a number of character problems, but the setting and the growth of the show over time feels so alive when you're watching it that a number of those mistakes can be forgiven.  But only some.  Iunno, I just want people to watch this show cause I'm just happy we got a good P.A. Works for once.

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It is said that humans are the most intelligent creatures on the planet.  Who said it?  Why humans of course.  And as much our species loves to boast about its dominance over dear mother earth despite the logical fallacy, there're always gonna be a couple...less than stellar members of the bunch.

Story: With a title that literally translates to 'Idiot Girl', Aho Girl follows the comedic school romp of an idiotic girl named Yoshiko and her childhood 'friend' Akuru filled with fast comedic misunderstandings, leaps in logic, and some vaguely illegal things, ultimately creating a show that when you put it into perspective...makes absolutely no sense.

In a word, Aho Girl is pure nonsense.  Based on a 4-koma manga of the same name, the entire runtime of Aho Girl spans roughly six full length episodes (or twelve, twelve minute long episodes) purely about pure insanity about a high school girl with a head so empty you'll wonder how she ever got to high school, and if she even has a functioning brain stem.

The show primarily uses a double act style of comedy, where someone (usually Yoshiko) begins a chain of misunderstandings and high energy moments only to be counteracted by the few members of the cast who act as the straight man for a resolution to the whole thing and bring the energy back down to earth after it's spiraled out of control to astronomical proportions.  You'd think the show would be tiring after using this routine in basically every scene, but each episode manages to bring out different situations with different members of the side cast to really create a...unique viewing experience.

I think the best part about Aho Girl is the fact that the jokes don't overstay their welcome.  We get the setup, the buildup, a little more buildup, the payoff, end.  It's quick, it's snappy, and it makes just enough impact for the viewer to know what's going on and potentially want to continue watching just to see what kind of shit Yoshiko's gonna bring the rest of the cast into.  So as a result, the show feels refreshing and is honestly quite amusing to watch.

Overview:
+ Quick, snappy comedy
+ Jokes don't overstay their welcome
+/- Comedy is subjective

Characters: Hanabatake Yoshiko, the Aho Girl herself, is no doubt the show's biggest selling point as not only is she the titular character, but her character is so devoid of intelligent or rational thoughts that it's a wonder how a character like this hasn't really been advertised like her.  A simple creature with an extreme fondness for bananas, Yoshiko spends the entire series dragging in practically every member of the cast into her brainless schemes, usually dramatizing everything up to the payoff for the sake of comedy.  As expected her character both doesn't change and is incapable of change, but has a nice healthy dose of comeuppance to counteract the crazy shit and splintering headaches that she gives to those around her who have even half of a working brain.

Then there's Aktsu Akuru, the show's primary straight man and childhood friend to Yoshiko.  As a man who primarily focuses his time on studying, Akuru is a character who is completely out of fucks to give, easily giving into his temperament when it comes to what Yoshiko does in order to try and involve him with things.  So I guess he's kinda stupid for falling for that so many times...  Which actually brings up a very good point.

While the show does follow the style of a double act, everyone in this show has a few screws loose, and the straight men as a result have problems maintaining their position given the state of the situation spiraling out of at hand.  Each member of the side cast brings their own brand of insanity from stalker, to lonely and needy housewife, an intelligent dog, to even comedically branded learning disabled children (poor Ruri), mixing around who is involved in what situation so we get to see how some of these characters react with others, and wait and see to witness what in the hell we're about to see in front of us.  They're wacky, they're nonsensical, and quite honestly, that's what makes them at the very least fun to watch.

Overview:
+ Strange yet fun cast
-  No one is safe from stupidity.  NO ONE!

Art: Produced by Diomedia, the art for Aho Girl really isn't that noteworthy.  It's of decent quality and has enough to it so that you're aware with what's going on, but the nitty gritty of it has very few interesting things to tell.  This is most likely because the characters are so animated and bounce all over the place that any additional effort on the quality of the art would increase the amount of work needed to produce the show.  Really though, it's not that bad.

Sound: This show has only one track to show for itself.  Its OP named "Zenryoku☆Summer!" is a sporadic, nonsensical, fast piece that...for some reason sounds like it veers into like three different genres of music.  It's such a weird piece that I can't help but call it memorable simply for that reason alone.  It's not actually that bad either, and it's very fitting.  It's just...I don't have words to make of it.

Personal Enjoyment: As someone who read and enjoyed its source material, Aho Girl is a very faithful replication of the 4-koma with the right amount of insanity added in to have it make absolutely no sense, yet somehow still be interesting yet fun to watch.  I'm a simple person, I like stupid shit, so yes, I did giggle like a schoolgirl watching the sheer lack of brain cells and logic leaps that these failures as human beings showcased in their daily lives.

Did I like this anime?
Yes.  My favorite parts involve the disciplinary committee chairwoman.  I find it amusing seeing a character fall from grace all because of one person and the kind of depravity they fall into without knowing the full extent of their descent from the moral high ground.  Also the dog.  The dog is great.

What didn't I like about this anime?
Yoshiko.  To be fair, I believe you're supposed to hate her because she's the epitome of 'dumb' but still acts all high and mighty sometimes to an almost annoying degree only to get comeuppance later by Akuru later so she can't bask in her self-satisfaction.  Or something.

Would I recommend this anime?
If you want some quick and stupid comedy, this is a perfect fit.  It definitely is a 'turn off your brain' show, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  The show was made purely for entertainment reasons, so watching something dumb for the sake of getting a good chuckle is good enough in my book.  Plus, you'll probably never find this many characters with this much lacking thinking power in one place again.  So that's something.

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High school romances are often the most delicate things.  The fragility of youth is complimented by equally fragile yet pure relationships that're formed when two people discover feel their pulse quicken when being near the people they want to spend time with.  

Story: Tsurezure Children follows a rotating cast of characters where each of its twelve minute long episode is split into three parts, each part focusing on a different couple or in some cases, successive parts that focus on the same pair.  With it, the show gives off a sense of progress as each couple grows closer to each other and gives the viewer a variety of stories varying from those that lead up to the typical confession scene in most romance shows, or show us the rockiness or steadiness of different relationships given the two parties involved.  As a result, the show is quite varied and despite the flipflop, feels like it has more to it due to the progressive feeling of the show.

The one downside for the story however is how a good number of the couples really don't get that much screentime.  More than half of all of the featured couples in this show are barely given any attention, so it becomes awkward to watch when you're following one couple and their story for the past two weeks, but all of a sudden, these people who haven't gotten any mention since episode two show up and suddenly get a bit to themselves.  The imbalance is quite clear towards the end of the series, and it's a bit of a disappointment cause some of my more favorite couples are those that didn't get much attention at all.

Overview:
+ Varied show with a sense of progress
-  Heavy imbalance with the presentation of some couples

Characters: Honestly there is no way you're gonna remember the characters.  At least a majority of them.  More than anything, the show sets them up in such a way that should you forget their names, the interactions with their partner are recognizable enough for you to remember which couple is being featured at a given time, something that was quite common for me because the later episodes pretty much focused on only two to three of the total eight or so couples in this series.

The imbalance with the stories becomes painfully clear when Gouda and Kamine or Kana and Chiaki become the only centerpieces the show is willing to focus on.  (Maybe Sugawara and Takano too.)  I remember those names specifically because the show liked to focus on their story so much that they completely disregarded the astronomy girl or even the couple who had the first scene in the whole series without batting an eye.  Indeed while some of the lesser stories got enough attention to fulfill some kind of small saga, and others are larger in detail and require more time for an overarching story, I can't help but shake the feeling that things could've turned out better with better screentime balance.

Overview:
+ Large cast of still recognizable characters
-  Imbalance becomes painfully clear later on in the series (I only remember about half of the couples' names by heart.)

Art: Produced by Studio Gokumi, Tsurezure Children bears a simple style with bold and easy colors complimented by the cartoonish nature of the character designs.  While the art quality itself isn't that amazing, it's the character designs that's the art's selling point.

Every character is defined in both hair color and hair design.  Personally I think this is a really good way of distinguishing a large cast because during the switch to a different story, the couples's hair color ends up becoming the main indicator for the audience as to who we're focusing on since pretty much everyone has a different style or color to their hair, making us think "Oh, this couple" rather than struggling to remember their names and what quirk they have.

Overview:
+ Simple yet bold artstyle
+ Different hair colors makes couple distinguishing easy (Probably overthinking it, but it's my theory.)

Sound: Performed by Inori Minase, the show's OP "Aimai Moko" is a cheerful and happy song that despite sounding good, isn't really all that memorable if I may be honest.  There's nothing about it that screams memorable and honestly wasn't a song that appeared in my radar.  The rest of the soundtrack I feel is the same way so there's really nothing special to note here.

Personal Enjoyment: Despite the imbalance, Tsurezure Children was a fun watch.  It had all of the elements of a bunch of different romance anime without cluttering itself because the show always focused on only one story at a time.  I admit I was mildly annoyed by how the show only just told the story of two of the existing couples.  Especially because there were so many others who were just as deserving of that screentime but didn't get the time of day to really show a lot of progress.

Did I like this anime?
More specifically, I like Hanakana's character, Minagawa.  Her and Furuya were my favorite couple out of the lot and I'm so sad that they didn't get more screentime.  It was fucking gold and I wanted more.  Why didn't you give us more?!

What didn't I like about this anime?
Honestly, Gouda and Kamine's relationship is...boring.  Or at least the show made it boring.  Every time they came on, it was the exact same thing with not much progression to move things along.  Puppy love is cute and all, but if you're not gonna do much with it, you might as well give the screentime to a couple who needs it.

Would I recommend this anime?
If you want something cute, Tsurezure Children is a really good fit.  It fits along a broad spectrum of different romance stories and packs them all in a neat little series that works surprisingly well despite having eight or so different stories happening at once.  Indeed the imbalance is annoying and your favorite couple might not get the time of day, but the show is still fun and enjoyable to watch, so I would recommend it.

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Isekai is a very tiresome genre.  Quite honestly with all of the new 'transporting to a new world' adding only one or two arbitrary things in order to make it unique, the concept just appears...lazy.  So, now we're gonna transport a restaurant to another world.  And...it's actually pretty good.  Huh.

Story: There are legends of a strange door that appears all over the world on the day of Satur known as "Western Restaurant Nekoya".  Within the door lies an establishment that takes in gold and silver coins in exchange for food not seen or known to others.  Marvels like curry, parfaits, and natto that people have never seen before.  It is a gift, a strange magical occurrence wrought about by fate.  At least that's how I expect someone from the 'other world' to explain whatever's happening.

With the plot point of an oak door inexplicably showing up in random places all over a fantasy world really never being touched on in the series, ever, the plot of Isekai Shokudou focuses primarily on the stories of its patrons as we're shown their dining experience in the restaurant and get a glimpse at what this 'other world' is like.  In essence, the entire show is centered around world building with the restaurant being the centerpiece that draws in all of these beings from all walks of life to come and tell their story and reaction to the food.

And that's it.  That is literally the entire show in a nutshell.  The show's simplistic nature is definitely its one and only strong point because each week brings about something new for the audience to watch due to vast variety of characters that come in through the restaurant's hallowed door.  It's a story that could be regarded as boring to some, but ultimately is a relaxed experience that didn't need to be high octane due to how well its formula worked, despite the formula being incredibly stale.

Overview:
+ Simple story
+ Tons of worldbuilding
-  Can be boring for some

Characters: The nameless chef simply known as 'Master' is really just a figurehead to the whole thing.  Rarely does the show ever focus on him, and when it does, is very little that it's clear that we're only getting a small sample of something that could be developed more.  The amount of detail he gets is ok, and it does actually explain the inexplicable door if you infer enough liberties, but selfishly speaking, I would like a little more detail.

Despite that slight problem, the rest of the cast is rich and vibrant with a whole host of fantasy beings eating in a place that has a menu somehow large and diverse enough to satisfy and feed the desires of so many different patrons.  (All prepared and cooked by only one guy no less.)  While remembering everyone's names is virtually impossible, the one takeaway is the audience coming out of every episode having heard a new story or event involving the restaurant.  Each A part and B part of an episode focuses on someone different, thus making the formulaic setup for the show all the more enjoyable because in one episode, you could be seeing a treasure hunter reminisce about her grandfather, and in another, you're watching lizardmen do a ritual.  As a result, every episode feels fresh and different, making the viewer coming back wanting seconds to know who's gonna show up in the next episode.

Overview:
+  Very good side cast
+/- Wish the master got more attention

Art: Produced by Silver Link, Isekai Shokudou has a bright and glossy look to it with rich and bright colors to accentuate the entirety of the show's fantasy image.  Despite that, movement is rather limited in this show, as the calmer feel of the show seemed to divert all of the budget from animating movement to the quality of the characters and backgrounds.  Not to say that's a bad thing, but it's the show itself seems to have an overall lack of character movement because you're basically watching a bunch of people and creatures eat rice omelettes and curry, so anything beyond brisk walks and sitting down is too much to be expected.

Also the food.  It is very high quality.  It also makes me hungry.

Overview:
+ High quality, clean art

Sound: Both the show's OP and ED compliment the two combined aspects of the show's centerpiece: the fantasy element and the homely element.  "One In A Billion" is an energetic, bright piece that evokes the show's fantasy feel and the kind of wonderment that these beings have when they embark on a journey into a strange place they've never been to.

In contrast, "Chiisana Hitotsubu", the show's ED, is a somber piece with a soft piano beat as a sort of cap off to the visual meal that the show presents.  It's a satisfying piece that has its merits present with how, like many, the restaurant's regulars have attachments to the foods that they order when they visit.

Overview:
+ Good, satisfying tracks

Personal Enjoyment: Despite this being one of the shortest reviews I've written in recent years because the show is so easy to explain, Isekai Shokudou really isn't something that I can really detail without meticulously picking apart and explaining the twenty four to twenty six individual stories that the show features.  It's such a simple yet flexible concept that I can't help but want more.  It's relaxing, it's satisfying, it may be formulaic, but it's still good.

What did I like about this anime?
Honestly, the lizardmen one is probably my favorite of the bunch.  Iunno, it's just really amusing to see how they created an entirely new ritual for the arrival of the door.  Also Lionel's was pretty satisfying too.

What didn't I like about this anime?
I wish Kuro was given the time of day.  She shows up so late in the series and really doesn't make as much of an impact as her coworker does.  (Granted Aletta did have more time.)  I just wish we got more with her because she was too amusing to not have more of.  Also a number of the later stories aren't as well written as some of the earlier ones.  Also I wish the show gave us at least one scene with all of the regulars showing up at once and rambunctiously associating with one another.  Cause the restaurant always looks so empty with the show having only the featured character story be the only patron in the restaurant at one time.

Would I recommend this anime?
If you want something healing, Isekai Shokudou is a great fit.  Again, the show is very formulaic.  Week after week it's the same thing.  But every story is different and there's a sense of progression as more and more regulars enter the establishment and start sitting among the new arrivals.  It's the kind of storyline leaving you hungry for more with each new episode that really makes the show interesting and fun to watch.

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You walk to your boring, mundane job with your head down thinking it's just going to be a normal workday where nothing happens.  On your way to work, you pass by this beautiful, stunning girl that catches your eye.  Without word or warning, you run to her, heart beating, wanting to see or know more about this strange maiden that you just happened to go by.  That...is love.  Or rather, that's a common, idealistic idea of 'love'. 

Story: In reality, the subject of love is messy business, where commitment and relationships are tested only to end in separations and heartbreak.  To counteract this, the Japanese government has enforced a policy where everyone is assigned a marriage partner with positive statistics showing that this method ends with happy marriages and better, healthier people.  It's here where we meet our main protagonist who, despite having an arranged partner himself, attempts to defy the system by trying to chase after the feelings he's harbored for another for several years.

With the interesting situation of natural love vs. artificial love when you compare the two situations against the corresponding results (aka ending poorly and ending successfully), Koi to Uso presents us with an interesting predicament that doesn't get the execution that it deserves.  While the show does initially present the characters' problems in an interesting light and really throws the audience in for a loop with what happens, everything after the beginning two episodes ends up spiraling in a mildly interesting yet disappointing kerfuffle that every so often reminds us that the show has this really great premise only to not go into it that deep as it continues with more middling and slice-of-life routine.

The only really interesting parts occur when the show presents us with the mystery surrounding the hidden structure of the arranged partners, as the show's main conflict is derived from an unclear government mishap.  But once again, the potential is wasted because nothing actually gets answered.  Like its source material, the show ends up being more aggravating than interesting because every scene not pertaining to the main quartet having fun only adds another layer to everything without clearing out what's underneath.  Like a really bad board of Tetris.

To describe this show would be in a word...unsatisfying.  Quite honestly, Koi to Uso is a show that ultimately has no payoff for its viewers because even with the ending of our main character actually deciding what he's going to do in regards to his 'natural love vs. artificial love' conflict, the show doesn't make a convincing argument for his decision because not only does the show seem to have more than it's willing to let on (which it does.  I will attest to that), but the protagonist himself doesn't seem that convinced of the end result because the show apparently hates being definite on its own argument.

Overview:
+ Really interesting story idea
-  Poor execution
-  Unsatisfying Results

Characters: If I may be honest, having the unsure, spineless harem protag as your main character's trope is probably the worst things to have as a main character with a story concept like this.

Aside from being obsessed with burial mounds, Nejima Yukari's only other quality is the fact that he's so unsure of himself of who he likes that it becomes the show's main hinderance.  Indeed the trait is necessary, as the show attempts to showcase the benefits of both arguments with natural love being organic and following your heart while the arranged notices are statistically better and have happier marriages.  As such, him being unsure with what he wants with the two options placed in front of him makes sense.  But at the same time, it's really hard to make that argument when your protagonist is so damn passive.  As a character, Yukari stays on the sidelines and let his fellow cast members, or anyone else for that matter, dictate the plot because he doesn't make his own decisions.  A protagonist is meant to dictate the story, drive the plot so that there's some kind of direction that the story should be heading.  He doesn't do anything, and because he doesn't do anything, we're left with a piddling mess of what could've been.

For "natural love", we have Takasaki Misaki.  For "artificial love", we have Sanada Lilina.

As the target of Yukari's affection for several years, Misaki poses as one of the show's problems simply due to the fact that nothing about her is told.  Sure we know that she loves Nejima, but that's IT.  The show is so secretive about her past and the various actions she takes in the show that it becomes so fucking aggravating to watch.  Imagine two of your close friends laughing at something and when you ask them what's so funny, they say 'nothing' with a smile.  Now imagine that like...thirty times.  That's basically Misaki's entire character arc for the entire twelve episode runtime.  There comes a time in every story where you do have to spill the beans, damnit.

As for Lilina, the show paints a surprisingly better picture of her despite the show really trying to shoot for the 'natural love' agenda with her character.  Regardless, as Nejima's assigned wife, Liliana learns of Nejima's love and wishes to learn what 'true love' is, going so far as to tell Nejima to chase after Misaki so she could learn what natural love is like.  The show even goes to the extent of giving her a more detailed and involved backstory (comparatively) to both of her main counterparts so the viewers resonate with her, as well as basically giving her among other side characters the active role in the situation.  She is what basically drives the plot and yes, while I do like her character, as we see her change over the course of the series (which is more than can be said for her 'hubby') the burden is too much to bear on her little shoulders.

Then there's...Nisaka.  Honestly, Nisaka is a side character.  While yes he is involved with the quartet, he doesn't really do anything or have much of a presence in the series.  There is one particular scene that does give him some kind of definition as to what his stance on everything is like, but he, like Misaki, is so wrapped in secrets that it's not even worth bothering with because you already know that you're never gonna get answers.  Hell, there's supposedly history with him and Misaki, and it's so vaguely touched on that it might as well not have EXISTED.

Side characters range from side cast who really don't matter in the grand scheme of things, and government workers who really would've made a better story with Koi to Uso's concept.  There's also Shuu who again, is wrapped in mysteries that'll never be solved.  Yes, yes, I've repeated this many times, but repetition is really about the only way for me to irritatingly drive in the point that this show has far too many unanswered questions.

Overview:
+ Lilina is a decent character
+/- The government workers would've made a much better version of this story
-  Far too many 'mystery' character traits
-  Main character doesn't do anything

Art: Produced by Lidenfilms, Koi to Uso has a light and clear artstyle with a relatively glossy look in order to really give the show that finishing touch.  It's a nice style that's very appealing to the eye and has few and far between faults that aren't really all that noticeable.

Occasionally the show goes on different spectrums with occasional simple artstyle moments to add comedy to a certain scene, or blacken the whole screen and fill it in with a couple pictures to drive in a metaphor to the situation.  Quite honestly, the art is rather flexible and is one of the more positive points of the whole thing.

Overview:
+ Good, clean artstyle
+ Flexible to fit the story point's needs

Sound: Honestly, the soundtrack for Koi to Uso is...kinda weird.  "Kanashii Ureshii" is a poppy rock song that while yes has an interesting beat that makes it actually quite memorable, doesn't really fit with the show.  It's actually quite fun to listen to cause its beat is so clear that it's like a song you bop your head to.  My question is, why is this kind of song in a romance/drama?  It's a good song, but it doesn't really make sense for a show that's supposed to be about the trials and tribulations of falling in love.

On the flipside, "Can't you Say" is a lighter and softer song compared to its OP counterpart, as not only is it a good song, but vaguely fits more with the supposed 'drama' theme.  Both tracks are pretty good and are honestly worth a listen to at least once.  They just feel like they're part of the wrong show.

Overview:
+ Good, somewhat memorable tracks
-  Why are they in this show?

Personal Enjoyment: The original manga has like six to eleven pages a chapter.  Literally the moment something good was gonna happen, the shit just ended.  However even with roughly eighty normal length manga chapters put into a twelve episode anime with a majority of the fat cut out of it (trust me, they cut out A LOT), the adaptation really brings to light why I've grown so disinterested with the series.

Nothing is in a rush to get resolved, and the slow crawl is so painful that I want to cry because an idea like this is wasted on such a horrendous plot that hates resolution.  My theory is that they just don't want either one of the waifus to lose, so they drag the story along on this seesaw of death that swings side to side on which girl will win.  It sucks, but I've invested too much time into this, so I'm not stopping even though I should.

Did I enjoy this anime?
Rather than enjoy the anime, I enjoyed more of understanding why I like Lilina as a character.  Compared to almost everyone else, she actually does something and has more than just one or two traits that aren't held under wraps and wraps of secrets to be revealed at a later time.  Plus she's the cuter one of the two so yeah, I like her more.

What didn't I like about this anime?
While I did complain about a multitude of things, Yukari especially is such a boring and nonsensical character.  He has almost no traits to him.  That is worse than having an unredeeming trait.  At least with shit asshole characters, they give you a reason to hate them.  This guy however gives you no reason to care for him.  And he's the main character.  So you end up hating him because he has no reason to hate or like him.

Would I recommend this anime?
Aside from maybe the first two episodes, Koi to Uso really isn't a show worth investing time into.  The show is so devoid of anything useful in its presentation of its central conflict that it almost becomes insulting to the viewer because it pretends to be clever when in the grand scheme of things, NOTHING IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING.  As such my recommendation is to just...skip it.  A good concept is one thing.  A good execution is something entirely different.

Also I got cheated out of my sex scene again, so I'm still pissed about that.

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For the most part, romance in anime centers around the build-up to the relationship and not the relationship itself.  While examples of stories revolving around established couples exist, the common way to write romance involves making the audience wait for the confession/kiss before ending things when things get good.  So...what happens when you put an established couple...in a harem comedy?  

Story: Hashiba Junnichi is a dreamer.  Despite being an ordinary student without many redeeming factors to speak of, he hopes one day that he'll get a girlfriend and 'graduate' from being a virgin.  So, after his idiot pervert friends pressure him into confessing to a gal named Yukana, he...gets the girl and is now dating a gal.  Yeah, he actually gets the girl.  Who'da thunk?

Following the original manga with a few liberties taken at the beginning in order to introduce the rest of the cast, Hajimete no Gal presents itself as a romantic high school comedy with all of the charm and delicacy of a bull in a tutu running through a china shop.  The structure of the show has each episode act as a 'test' for our protagonist as he attempts to get closer and understand his new girlfriend, as various members of the cast get in the way and try to in loose terms, sabotage the new relationship that Junnichi has with his new girlfriend.  As a result, Hajimete no Gal manages to pull off some meaningful and important growth for our main protagonist that otherwise would've left him as some bland protagonist without redeeming qualities.

Going back to the metaphor however, the show plagues the genuine and positive relationship that it's trying to establish between its dual protagonists by littering as many scenes as it can with awful, perverted antics, conflicting motives, really uncomfortable moments, and many, many daydreams from Junnichi himself that often times rescinds the positive outlook that it's trying to establish for its main character.  As such, the show combats itself with what it wants to do, going back and forth trying to decide if it wants to be a genuine romance story between two unlikely candidates, or some perverted comedy without anything of value besides entertainment.

The show also leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to pacing, as everything from its character arcs and comedic timing really leaves a lot to be desired.  With a runtime of ten episodes, the show managed to squeeze as much of the original manga as it could by rushing through the more prominent character arcs into one or two episodes.  As a result, these 'character arcs' become rushed and lack impact due to how fast they go by, leaving very little emotional impact for the audience to feel.  Comedic timing also seems to be this series's weak suit, as so many of the gags and jokes the show uses become tired and old due to their frequency and the subject matter at hand.  

Ultimately, Hajimete no Gal had a story that faltered because it felt like it wanted to be a meaningful between two people in a relationship, but also really wanted to focus on explaining the glory that is having a sexy, busty girl straddle you in an uncomfortably annoying and needy fashion.  Its ending tied itself up with a contrived, cliché two parter that creates a problem only to resolve it quickly and return everything back to the status quo, and any genuinely good moments that the show displayed were overshadowed by the tidal wave of garbage perverted comedy that it really wanted to exemplify.

Overview:
+ Has genuinely good moments between the two main characters
-  Rushed character arcs
-  Terrible comedic timing
-  Confused identity

Characters: At face value, the characters in this show really fall into two camps.  You have the main couple, and then you have the other people who feel like they're just kind of there.

The harem trope of having a bland protagonist so that the male viewer can project onto them because they lack any kind of personality really comes into play here with Junnichi.  At first, all he wants to do is have sex and lose his virginity because that's apparently so important that that needs to be your only character trait.  While it's easy to dismiss his character as that, time and time again in the show, we see Junnichi act faithful as we're shown that unlike his male compatriots, he's actually a genuinely sweet guy that thinks about the feelings of his girlfriend rather than having his genitals decide what should be done.  It was actually refreshing to see moments of him going out of his way and try and prevent anything bad to happen to Yukana and the rest of the girls and really was a redeeming trait that I really liked.

In the same vein as that, Yukana, despite boasting the 'trashy gal girl' persona, is similarly a sweet girl who wants to spend time with her boyfriend.  She teases him, gets close to him, and above all, genuinely seems to like him aside from the generic 'nice' characteristic that all bland protagonists like him seem to have.  While certainly not used as much, as Junnichi's trials and tribulations to become someone worthy of her is a far more prominent plot point, Yukana manages to be somewhat of an endearing character cause she never seems to boast any overly annoying or outlandish traits for the sake of making her another rehash of a trope.

The rest of the cast is split into the other six 'friends' of the main duo with an even split between both sexes.  The girls themselves are the ones with 'character arcs', as the early episodes focus on each of them one at a time with how they react to the the main characters' relationship and their attempt to sabotage what's already been established.  They're not great, they're all basically just a rehashed trope (Yuri, childhood friend, and queen bee complex respectively), and they all really could've used more time, but they're at least tolerable and add SOMETHING to the individual characters.  The guys on the other hand...

There's something to be said when the entirety of your male side cast is comprised of nothing but a trio of scumbags who want nothing more than to getting into a girl's pants by ANY means, going so far as to force them do stuff via the King Game in one episode.  The latter half of the show has these jackasses act as the major obstacle for Junnichi's success in his relationship with his girlfriend.  And if that wasn't bad enough, they even established one of them being a straight up pedophile who does nothing but talk about how great grade school girls are.  Why was this allowed?!  Who thought this was a good idea?!

Overview:
+ Relatively good main duo
-  Female side cast could've used a lot more time
-  Absolutely god awful male side cast

Art: Made by NAZ, Hajimete no Gal's art is standard fare with very few outstanding qualities.  Colors are bright, the animation's fluid enough to convey what's going on, and the comedic aspects of the show are filled with your typical exaggerated expressions in order to better give off the perverted comedy that the show's trying to convey.

However what is outstanding is the show lack of shame when it comes to gratuitous fanservice.  While the designs for the girls are quite overdone with sexual traits, Nene in particular just exudes problematic character design, as she is a four foot girl with breasts so large that they're three times the size of her head EACH.  It's really uncomfortable to look at, it's not attractive, why would you do this?

Additionally, the show will on a dime, pad out the runtime with scenes involving the females in various poses and articles of clothing in order to accentuate their womanly aspects.  There're at least thirty or so flashbacks/transitions into Junnichi's raunchy fantasies/inner turmoil, all of them involving Yukana in some way 'taking the lead'.  Again, it's just gratuitous, and honestly really doesn't have any value.

Overview:
+ Decent art
-  Far too much gratuitous fanservice
-  Some problematic character designs

Sound: In terms of sound, both "Hajimete no SEASON" and "GAL-tic Love", the show's OP and ED respectively, sound remarkably similar with the only difference being that the ED has a more rock-based tune compared to the OP's cheerful and upbeat tune.  I'd say they're pretty average, so they're not really a song worth pointing out.

Personal Enjoyment: Having read the original manga, I could see a lot of carryover with a heaping dose of gratuitous fanservice in order to pad out the show's runtime cause apparently, they didn't have enough source material to fill up a runtime shorter than most anime.  In the end however, I can't really note the show as something I really enjoyed.  I didn't hate it, but it wasn't great.

Did I enjoy this anime?

In terms of actual enjoyment, the relationship between Junnichi and Yukana was definitely one of if not the only highlight this show had.  There actually seemed to be something between the two of them, and that was an aspect of the show that I really appreciated cause it gave some value to what would otherwise just be some trashy show.

What didn't I like about this anime?

Fuck you, Minoru.  Like actually, fuck you.  Pedophile characters aren't great, but when the show actively tries to establish a character having a map of all of the houses of where little girls live, get hot and heavy just thinking about them, consistently say "Grade schoolers are the best", choose to go to the men's side of the hot springs for the sole purpose of seeing little girls naked, and going up and talking to them just to say how much he loves them, THEN YOU HAVE A FUCKING PROBLEM.  It's not funny, it's super uncomfortable, oh my god why the hell would you think this is a good idea?

Would I recommend this anime?

Honestly...the show is not worth it.  Despite me claiming that it actually has a decent romantic relationship between the two main characters, I would highly advise against watching this show.  Its good traits are overshadowed so much by its less desirable and downright uncomfortable aspects that it actively becomes a burden just to see the glimmer of quality development that the show has.  And seriously, why the hell would you make one of your characters a godforsaken child predator for the sake of comedy?  I cannot stress why that is such a terrible idea.

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Ah, Danmachi. With the harem/fantasy show’s legacy leaving behind such wonderful memes about its busty loli goddess heroine like the famous boob ribbon and ‘Hestia is Bestia’, it’s no wonder the show had a tough time having a complete positive footing in the anime community due to various aspects about it like its multitude of female characters wishing to breed like rabbits with its main protagonist. So how can you make a show like that into something that’s similar, but objectively better in comparison? Well, for starters you could follow the source material.

Story: Sword Oratoria is the Danmachi story shown from a different perspective. Instead of following the adventures of the Hestia Familia with Bell and his journey to become adventurer that he wanted to be, we follow the story of the Loki Familia and its sword princess, Ais Wallenstein, as she and those in her familia unravel the truth of strange going-ons in the dungeon and uncover a darker plot happening in the town or Oratoria.

In contrast, the story of Sword Oratoria is a more serious take on the fantasy dungeon story of Danmachi, as it features an overarching mystery plot that those in the Loki Familia attempt to uncover as stronger and more bizarre monsters appear both in the town and in the dungeon. As such, the plot feels a lot more serious and more involved, as the story shifts from a generally lighthearted adventure involving a boy climbing his way to the top, to that of a slightly darker story featuring a girl coming to terms with some of her demons from the past. The overall plot just feels better written due to the fact that it feels like there’re consequences and that there truly are stakes to be had.

If that were the case, then we’d have no problems. Unfortunately, the story falls flat on delivering that darker and weightier atmosphere that the story at first glance seems to promise. A lot of the heavier and more gruesome moments from the manga are absent, and instead we’re treated to the fangirling delusions of an elf mage desperately trying to monopolize the full attention of the sword princess. While the story is objectively better from a tone standpoint, the actual content of the series is littered with random moments of our new character Lefiya attempting to be what appears to be a shoddier attempt at being another Bell. This results in a lot of tonal shifts that draw away from the impact of the main plot, thus not only making things a lot less dire, but also making the new character we’re supposed to support, a lot less appealing to the audience.

The ending is a culmination final standing point for progression to the next point of the series. It’s an ‘ending point’ that only finishes the first part of the story that seems to be real final stakes moment, but doesn’t really feel that way when you look at everything before it. Arguably it’s not a terrible ending, but when put alongside the journey to get to that point, things could be better.

Overall, Sword Oratoria, while considered to be a better story due to the show’s more serious atmosphere involving character exploration and some disturbing aspects about the dungeon that weren’t mentioned before, still falls in its own pitfalls and makes unnecessary sacrifices that resulted in the show feeling less impactful and slightly more irritating to watch. Simply put, if we cut out all of the fluff involving Lefiya’s obsession over Ais, this would’ve turned out a lot better.

Overview:
+ Different and better viewpoint of the Danmachi story
- Sacrificed emotional weight for less important fluff aspects
- Changes from source material suffered

Characters: Instead of Hestia, Bell, and the rest of their familia, we’re treated instead to Loki and the expansive (and well equipped) myriad of misfits that she has managed to raise and grow.

Of course, if you’re talking about someone in the Loki familia, you have to talk about Ais Wallenstein, the mysterious female swordsman that Bell idolizes after she saved his ass. Several times. While shown to be a cool and collected girl in the original Danmachi, Ais’s character really shines through in Sword Oratoria as its main focal point. We’re given a look into her past and her own internal struggle, pushing her away from the idealized sword princess that everyone treats her as, and instead as someone who feels more human and wants to improve based on her current state when we’re introduced to a different side of her character. We also get to see her interactions and opinions about Bell in a different light, and it’s really refreshing to see who I thought initially was a boring character become something that had more to her with each passing episode.

Then…Lefiya… I’ll be honest; I don’t like this girl. Lefiya is what I would describe to be everything that’s mostly wrong with this adaptation. The show initially treats us to her as a compatriot of Ais, as the two of them are in the same familia and are often put on the same team together. Her entire character can be described as a low level mage who looks up to Ais and wants to be looked at and praised by the sword princess. However, what sets her apart from a certain rabbit boy is the fact that the show goes so far with her wish that it becomes uncomfortable. When she’s not busy getting her ass saved by everyone around her, Lefiya spends a good portion of her screentime fantasizing about spending time with Ais to almost disturbing levels. It takes away any potential screentime to be dedicated to the main plot, and it detracts any likeable characteristics that this girl may have had in the first place because obsessive jealousy is not a cute characteristic.

Aside from these two, the rest of the screentime is split amongst more commonly known members in the Loki Familia including Loki herself, some new additions to the cast, and a couple other known characters in the series that don’t get as much as a role since they’re not all that important to the story of Sword Oratoria. In terms of development, the majority of it is dedicated to either exploring the inner workings of the Loki Familia itself and how its members interact with one another, and some of the stories of the new additions to the cast that we’re given. I lot of it really is more akin to world building, but that really doesn’t serve as much of a problem since it only furthers expand the world and the kinds of people within the world of Danmachi, which is always a nice little extra to have.

Overview:
+ Ais’s spotlight develops her well
+ Side cast aids in providing more of the world to the audience
- Lefiya’s apparent obsessive personality.

Art: Made by J.C. Staff, the art for Sword Oratoria is the same quality as the original Danmachi. The colors and animation is clear, colorful, and evokes a bright adventurous feel, the action is fluid enough for it to seem like a good enough fight scene/rpg battle for those in the viewing audience, and things are pretty consistent throughout. It’s standard fare, nothing too amazing or anything worth getting excited over.

Sound: Similarly, the soundtrack isn’t something that’s worth really writing home about. The OP is cheerful and adventurous sounding, but nothing that memorable or special. Its ED ‘Day by Day’ on the other hand is a more laid back piece that completely contrasts the supposed more serious nature of the show. It’s a decent piece, and worth a listen to, but not really something that I’d personally give too much thought on.

Personal Enjoyment: A lot of things I’ve heard from the grapevine about Sword Oratoria is the fact that it was collectively renowned as a spin-off that is superior to the main story. Poking through it, it certainly was of better quality at least story-wise, as had a much more involved story with aspects that the original was simply lacking. This adaptation however wasn’t dressed to impress. While maintaining a slightly more serious tone, Sword Oratoria always felt like it was missing something, and the struggles with the characters in their fights felt too easy when compared to the scale of the creatures they had to fight. (This ain’t some tiny Minotaur anymore.) Needless to say, while I really hoped the adaptation met the expectations of the original, it’s unfortunate that things didn’t really turn out that way in the end.

Did I like this series?

Despite that, I did enjoy the series…relatively. Aside from the depth with Ais’s character, I really liked what they did with Bell and how they showed parts of his journey in the original story from Ais’s perspective. It’s strange to say, but I actually liked and felt a lot more involved with Bell’s story when the camera wasn’t focused on him.

What didn’t I like about this series?

Lefiya. Lefiya wasn’t like this in the manga, so the upped ante with her admiration for Ais to an almost disturbing, creepy, and downright mean-spirited nature towards anyone foreign who’d want to so much as talk to the sword princess was definitely not an aspect that I was a fan of.

Would I recommend this series?

If you’re an anime Danmachi fan who chooses not to touch or read any of the source material, than this is probably the show for you. The contrasts between the source material and this adaptation would make anyone who came from the manga side definitely unhappy. Despite that, the series still keeps many of the story’s aspects intact, and is still what I would think to be a much better version of the story simply because the core aspects of it are centered more on a centralized story and characters, rather than just one character like the original.

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These days, witches are regarded as practitioners of magic and act as the female equivalent of wizards in what would be considered as the pop culture norm for magic. While their original existence no longer has any place in society today, the history of evil witches, people who have made deals with the devil and practice witchcraft still lingers in the ugly recesses of history. With that said, what would happen if you put both of them together? To create a world where in a sense, both the meaning of witches in history and pop culture come together?

Story: The Grimoire of Zero story starts us off in the land of Wenias, a place plagued by those who practice magic known as witches and men who born as animal known as Beastfallen. It is here where we meet a certain beastfallen simply known as ‘Mercenary’ for the entire series (and for the sake of simplification), a self-explanatory character that does the mercenary work of killing witches for hire. On one trip through the woods, he comes in contact with a little witch by the name of ‘Zero’, who tells him that she is on a journey to find what has been stolen, her book of spells, the Grimoire of Zero.

Taking up all twelve episodes of the series to cover just the first book of the original LN series, the adaptation becomes an intriguing story with many facets to its characters, as its main duo of large tiger man and tiny witch protagonists act as a faction-less duo that do practically whatever they want so long as it benefits them and their goals. We’re given a realistic depiction of the reaction to witches in our own history put into a fantasy setting, which to me is a good way to shape up the main conflict. As a result, the show allows the audience to view both sides of the main conflict, testing many of the other characters’ morals and actions while providing a good blend of action and humorous character interactions to aid in filling out holes that the main plot leaves behind.

Adding to that is characterization. Personally I feel as though the show does have some imbalance with how it chose to develop its characters. Due to the nature of the show having two ostracized groups of characters in its society (Beastfallen and Witches), the show primarily focused on the witch characters and the witches’ struggles in society rather than the Beastfallen. Our main protagonist doesn’t really get the time of day aside from a couple choice moments in order to be ‘developed’. Aside from that, the rest of the series is devoted to the problems that the witches in Wenias face and their on-going war for freedom from oppression.

Despite that problem, the show is one of the most well paced series that I’ve seen in a long while. Taking account as many details as they could, White Fox managed to create a series that neither felt boring nor too rushed to watch, letting things continue as they went along at an even pace so that every moment felt engaging. Many times, I felt as though the episodes were too short because I was so engrossed in watching it.

While less eventful than the climax and many other sections of the story, the ending manages to cap off the first main arc of the series that acts both as an ending to the entire series while being open-ended enough to welcome a second season if White Fox so chooses to do so. Not really a big fan of how many things were thrown into exposition, but I guess to develop the whole scope of the story’s events, they had to make a couple things via time skip to make things a lot easier.

Overall, despite its imbalance with who and what it chooses to characterize, Grimoire of Zero was a show that was gripping from start to finish. Having a simple plot that was explored to almost its full extent, the show managed to be both engaging and entertaining to the end while providing good world building that mixed in the central conflict of the series. Every episode felt too short for me to fully appreciate, and it left me wanting more. My only complaint really is that there is no second season. Please White Fox. Do it.

Overview:
+ Well-paced story
+ Simple, yet effective plot
- Who they characterized was imbalance
- Ending is a bit…uneventful comparatively

Characters: As mentioned before, the show’s plethora of characters act as members of one side or one motive while our main characters act as a ‘third’ or ‘faction-less’ group that gets involved with their own sets of goals in mind.

The first is Mercenary; the giant fluffy tiger man that despite having a giant FFVII-esque sword, is actually quite soft and fluffy on the inside with a pension for cooking. Being a Beastfallen, Mercenary is a character that despises witches and dreams of one day curing him of his beast curse and opening up a pub once he’s human. As a character, Mercenary is very much a character that sits in his own morals but doesn’t act outside of what he isn’t involved in. As such, he’s less of a by the numbers fantasy protagonist, and more of a ‘does whatever he wants’ kind of guy, which fits into the story perfectly. He acts as the more grounded character of the duo and gets some significant change once the series starts picking up and his more ‘lone wolf’ demeanor softens up.

Then there’s Zero, the tiny white-haired witch who enjoys the simple things in life: food. Comparatively, Zero is the freer, more airheaded member of the main duo, as she had spent her life in a cave up until her book was stolen, and lacks any kind of basic knowledge of the outside world. Rather than being a ditzy klutz (mostly), Zero is a calm airhead simply because she doesn’t know anything aside from the intricacies of magic, leading to a majority of the show’s comedic and enjoyable moments due to her hilariously blunt nature and lack of what would widely be considered as ‘common sense’. As such, she has something of a unique identity that when mixed with her mercenary, creates fun character interactions between two quite likeable characters.

For the supporting cast, we’re treated to a myriad of characters who act as players to the bigger stage of the kingdom of Wenias, as most if not all of them have some kind of affiliation to one faction or another in the war for magic. As such, characters like Albus and the Sorcerers of Zero are clearly defined to think one way while the royal kingdom and its citizens think the other in order to give clear definition on their opinion of the matter and thus easily explain the overall conflict of the scenario. While less interesting than our main protagonists, the majority of them play their part as the background scenario well, which is the most you could ask for in a series featuring two clearly defined sides. The only one of the supporting cast that differs from this rule is ‘Thirteen’; a character similar to our main protagonists as he only does what he believes is right/based in his own goals and a compatriot of Zero.

Overview:
+ Very intriguing main protagonists
+ Fitting and clearly defined side cast

Art: Produced by White Fox, Grimoire of Zero has the clear fantasy look that the studio has used for previous projects in the past (such as Re:Zero, for example) More or less standard fare in terms of the quality of this day and age, the animation and art quality for the show is good, but not overly amazing or budget breaking.

I do however want to bring attention to the various forms of magic used in the show, as the intricate circles and various effects of the spells enhance the art quality to truly feel like a fantasy/magic show. Additionally, and this is more personal than anything, the character design for Zero is amazing. It’s the right amount of complexity and really fits with the overall aesthetic of the show.

Overview:
+ Nice touch on the magic usage
+/- Standard art

Sound: “Hakkensha wa Watashi”, the OP for Grimoire of Zero is a whimsical rock song that helps provide an adventurous tone to the travels of our main characters and contrasts the more serious tone of the magic war in the series. Personally, I feel like the song itself isn’t all that memorable, but it is a good track that’s been on a few of my own song loops.

To contrast, the ED, "Hajimari no Shirushi” is a laid back piece that relies more on strings and light piano to elevate a sense of wonder in our characters’ journey. Accompanied by a children’s book graphic, the ED feels a lot better than its OP counterpart, as it has a nice style to it that gives us a nice contrast everything that the show has given us up until this point.

Overview:
+ Good tracks
+ Memorable ED

Personal Enjoyment: At the start of the season, I always handpick about a dozen shows to watch/review for the season. Some are ‘obligatory’ as I watched and reviewed a previous season of it so it’s only natural that I do the same for subsequent seasons, and others are those that I personally find intriguing. As a fan of fantasy, I found Grimoire of Zero to be interesting at first glance. Before I knew it, it had become my most anticipated show of the season. The overall plot had more to offer than just a simple magic-based story and had a lot of aspects that meshed well with each other to culminate into what we have. I was so sucked into it that I was left wanting more, and I really, really want a second season of this because I really want to see more of Mercenary and Zero’s travels throughout the world plagued by magic.

Did I enjoy this series?

I think I may have enjoyed it a bit too much, but you can’t really blame a guy for having a preference, right? Personally I found Zero to be the highlight of the series. Her character was always such a joy to have on-screen, and I always appreciate a unique character to help tell the story.

What didn’t I like about his series?

Albus was really the big stickler for me. They admittedly do play a big part in the series, but I just kinda found them annoying with their constant, constant preaching for their look on everything while I just sat there wanting to see something else involving Zero.

Would I recommend this series?

If you’re a fan of fantasy of magic, I would highly recommend watching this. It has a unique enough identity large enough to completely separate itself from a majority of the cookie-cutter magic-based shows, showing that original ideas really can be successful. The main characters are interesting, the entire plot is fleshed out, and it has such nice pacing that it feels almost like magic that this kind of even pacing can even exist in this era of rushed adaptations.

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With a very peculiar look into the unique relationships that people forge with each other, the Eccentric Family was a very intriguing show featuring a tanuki named Yasaburo as he interacts with various characters, both protagonistic and antagonistic, as he inches closer to the truth about his father's death. Now with a second season, we're brought back into the world of Uchouten where everything has changed, yet nothing of significance has been really altered.

Story: Our story returns us back to the world of Uchouten, where Tengu rule the skies, tanuki mess around like the fools they are, and humans apparently eat tanuki served via hotpot. It's here where we see Yasaburo's idiot blood get the better of him as he encounters both new and old faces in a strikingly similar plot to the original.

At face value, the story for Uchouten 2 is remarkably similar to the original series, so much so that the series is more or less a shameless rehash of the original. Our main protagonist gets thrown around all over the place screwing about and living his troublesome life, before we the audience are tossed in the series ourselves via a political conspiracy plot thanks to a familiar face. Because of this, the show feels less interesting tension-wise because if you watched the first season, it's not exactly hard to anticipate the end result once everything has been said and done.

That being said, what the show lacks in plotline creativity makes up in heaps and bounds with the characterization with every member of its cast. All faces both new and old are given the limelight in some sense or another, so we're treated to the heart and soul of the series, the characters. A majority of the show's runtime is dedicated seeing what everyone is up to and the kinds of unique alignments that the characters in the show each have. We learn the pasts of the new editions while discovering more about the familiar characters that we didn't know before, thus giving the audience reason to care and be involved into these characters' lives.

Ultimately, the Eccentric Family 2 continues what the series is best at, which is heavy characterization centered around an extremely peculiar cast of different races. Indeed the story itself really isn't all that interesting when you describe it as "A bunch of characters fucking about", but ultimately that's what makes the show interesting in the first place, as these new interactions are what give the audience the reasoning to watch the show. Cause otherwise, it's basically just a rehash of roughly the same plot as the original. (They even did the whole train crash part again. Like seriously?)

Overview:
+ Provides more heavily involved character interactions
- Basically has the same plotline as the original (copying yourself still counts as cheating)

Characters: A majority of the cast stays consistent even through this second season. We still follow the story of Yasaburo as he goes around town messing with his family, his master, and other familiar faces while also tempting fate with newer characters like the Nidaime and other slightly less important, but interesting side characters.

As far as large cast changes go, the biggest changes that we're treated to are the ones involving the new character known as 'The Nidaime', and a more involved role in the series with Kaisei. While Nidaime doesn't get as much screentime or attention devoted to him as I wish he did (what with him being a very weighty introduction to the cast), he still plays quite a relatively large role in the series and provides a new perspective to tengus and their prideful existence, something that the first season didn't really touch up on. As such, the inclusion of his character provides us with a slightly bigger look and welcome into the world of the Eccentric Family. Just personally, I wish his backstory was fleshed out a lot more because it felt so haphazardly placed in the end without much buildup. Kaisei on the other gets a lot more screentime and involvement in the series than before, which was something that I really wanted from the series since she had potential, but just wasn't used that much. The fleshing out of her character and in particular her relationship with Yasaburo was a very nice addition to the series that put in a lot more detail to her character, which was both sweet and very nice to see.

Additionally, the series introduces a multitude of other characters in the series like Gyokuran, a tanuki with some affection for a certain member of the Shimogamo family, and Tenmaya, a sly man who escaped Hell. Both of these and more add to the already vibrant cast of the series. While their roles are less important comparatively to the Nidaime and several other members of the family sans the sons of the Shimogamo, everyone provides their own spin to the overall story, thus making sure that every episode is a fun episode.

Overview:
+ Main cast largely stays the same (and interesting)
+ Large amount of characterization for cast members new and old
+ Everyone is interesting

Art: Produced by P.A. Works, the art for Uchouten is quite different than what the company usually produces. The style replicates that of the original series and has its own sense of boldness with the color palette, and whimsy with the show's stylistic choices. Characters look a lot simpler compared to the normally glossy and shiny look of the company's usual track record, and both the characters and the backgrounds have a sort of painted style that furthers showcases the peculiarity of what the show has to offer.

Overview:
+ Unique art style that works well for the series

Sound: "Nasugamama, Sawagumama", Uchouten 2's OP, is quite similar to the first season's OP as it's made by the same band and bears a similar rambunctious rock song reflective of our main character's typical nature of fooling around and causing a wake of trouble behind him. Though not as memorable as I'd like, the song is still quite good and worthy of a listen due to how energetic it is. Inversely, we have "Moon River" by fhana for the ED, which is a calmer piece that gives a nice, smoother contrast to the chatter-filled OP. Similarly, it's not that memorable, but it still is a nice listen.

Overview:
+ Good tracks
- Not as memorable as I'd like

Personal Enjoyment: Uchouten Kazoku was both a very intriguing series to watch and ponder about. Because a greater majority of the characters aren't human, it made sense that they wouldn't follow by what we would consider to be 'normal human conventions'. As such, they mostly did the opposite of what a human would do, thus leading to very peculiar yet fascinating behavior. On top of that, the sheer volume of involvement the series had with its characters' interactions made every scene, no matter what it was, a joy to watch.

Did I like this series?

I really did enjoy this show. It's very hard to accurately explain this show, so I'm just going to say that I outright loved watching this show and anticipated every episode to come my way. In particular, I adore Kaisei as a character. She serves as a nice compliment to Yasaburou's character and the extra involvement that she got in this season was something of a dream come true for me with her being my favorite character.

What didn't I like about this series?

I have to say that I'm not really a big fan of Benten. I know a good majority of people like her, but her aloofness and typically described as 'selfish' nature really gets on my nerves because I feel like even the show doesn't have a good idea on where she should sit. Her actions to me don't really make much sense, and as such, hampered my enjoyment of the show a bit. (Though her comeuppance was quite rewarding.)

Would I recommend this show?

I would recommend it to everyone simply because this show is an experience. Uchouten is very unique in the sense that the unconventional nature of it all lends itself to be truly something that becomes very hard to describe when you really sit down and think about it. Indeed not everyone may like it, but if you ask me, it's the kind of fun 'unknown' that the show has with its bizarre yet amusingly quirky nature that makes it something worth watching. After all, a fun thing is a good thing, and that's a motto worth living by.

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The 'imouto genre' is a very peculiar sub-genre to the whole moe craze that we have in anime today. Mostly relying on the forbidden fruit of romantic sibling relationships, most of these shows tend to have ankle-deep plotlines with heavy reliance on fanservice and your typical misunderstanding plots in order to fill out its runtime. If I may be honest here, Eromanga-sensei really is no different.

Story: Masamune Izumi is an LN author in high school. Due to familial circumstances, he must now support himself and his little stepsister, Sagiri, so that the two of them may continue living together. With Sagiri shutting herself in her room 24/7, Masamune has a hard time connecting with her until he finds out one day that his little sister is actually the illustrator for his books, Eromanga-sensei. And thus, hilarity (I guess) ensues.

The story for Eromanga-sensei relies primarily on two things: the on-going plot of our protagonist trying to make a new book, and a harem comprised of entirely middle school girls. When combined together, the show creates a decently meshed story, but is ultimately nothing too special as a lot of the dialogue repeating similar lines to each other to boast the audience's appeal to root for the main characters and their dreams, and many of the scenes and episodes are repeated ecchi gags like the beach episode, unnecessary challenges, and the girls hiding their true feelings for a greater portion of the series. Not only that, but the show puts in far too many attempts at creating dramatic or interesting character introductions that are honestly more cringe-inducing than welcome to see. (Looking at you, Muramasa.)

While the show is at face value, a cheap rehash of many of what would considered to be the norm in anime, the show does have several genuinely cute moments with the second to last episode in particular being the highlight of the entire series as it explains a backstory that I guess we never really asked for. (Was still nice to see.) On top of that, the show's overall playful nature with its character interactions and lighter storyline leans it more towards a piece of fluff entertainment, so expecting more than what's on the cover is asking for too much.

However I'm not really keen on the ending since all they did to finish the series off was to chuck in a throwaway episode that had no handling on the main story. If anything, they probably should've just left episode 12 to be an OVA or something cause comparatively, it follows it own storyline, and it's just weird for the audience to expect some kind of conclusion when really you just leave it on some kind of weird cliffhanger that doesn't make anyone at all very happy.

Overview:
+ Actually nice backstory that caps everything off
+/- Pretty much what'd you expect for a little sister/harem series
- Last episode is worthless in terms of continuity

Characters: As expected with a harem-based series, the cast or Eromanga-sensei consists primarily of the main, dense protagonist, the girls who he trails behind, and a bunch of side characters whose only purpose is to add to the story in a minimal way.

As expected, Masamune Izumi is your typical run of the mill harem protagonist. Well, not so much 'run of the mill', just not particularly all that interesting. With his dream being to have one of his works get turned into an anime and getting the chance to watch said anime with his little sister, Masamune ends up being less of your typical dense harem protag, but more of one that is aware of each of the girls' feelings, but doesn't really act on them. He wants his little sister to be able to comfortably step out of her room, but does so without changing much of the status quo of things with any sort of foreseeable impact later on down the line. Ultimately, he does have several aspects of him that make him more interesting than some other harem protags, but not enough to make him not only his own character or anyone really interesting to watch.

As for Sagiri, or Eromanga-sensei (an alias that she refuses to acknowledge despite the fact that she came up with it herself), Sagiri plays the role of the cute little sister who secretly loves her brother but is too shy and scared to say or do anything despite getting jealous of all the attention her brother gets cause literally everyone he hangs out with on a daily basis is female. Despite being a 'main character', Sagiri's existence really is more of a glorified supporting character. Because of her shut-in nature, she never leaves the house, and as such relies mostly on video calls to give her a majority of her interactions with other characters in the series. As a result, Sagiri's screentime is severely lacking for a 'main character', so it feels very strange to even call her that. I do however find her closet pervert antics quite amusing. It's just funny to see seeing this 13 year old girl act like an old man half the time because of her fascination of women's underwear and the like.

The rest of the harem, Elf and Muramasa, actually have a much bigger role in the series than the supposed heroine. Playing the loud, aggressive narc and the more soft-spoken chuuni, the duo of these two authors create the rest of Masamune's harem and act as comrades in arms to our main character, thus giving them more screentime. While the series provides us with some backstory and explanation to how these girls become authors, their characters similar to the rest of the cast, don't really change all that much. The comedic nature of the series leaves their characters stagnant in order to keep their appeal, really only cropping up new aspects of them at the end when Ithere's nothing related to the plot of writing a book happening.

As mentioned before, the rest of the cast doesn't really do much. Consisting of a middle school girl who outright says she loves dick, various editors, the guy author who pretty much only shows up at the end and barely does anything, and other characters of similar importance, the side cast is there to enrich the cast, and nothing else.

Overview:
+ Main cast (and harem) each have some interesting aspect to them
- Stagnant characters
- Side cast practically does nothing

Art: Produced by A-1, Eromanga-sensei looks bright, is quite clean, and is general standard fare for the company. Using a heavy moe-stylized appearance, the whole point of the artstyle is to look cute and appealing to the audience. Nothing really outstanding about it, but nothing really that bad.

I do want to fact that because the show literally has 'ero' in its name, Eromanga-sensei is indeed a fanservice show. With many gratuitous shots of underage girls, from beach scenes to underwear, thigh shots, etc...it's pretty much impossible to avoid any kind of blatant fanservice when the word 'erotic' is written on the box. So if you're not a fan of fanservice, probably not something for you.

Overview:
+ Clean, consistent quality
+/- Quite a lot of fanservice (Depends on your opinion of fanservice)

Sound: The OST for Eromanga-sensei isn't all that special. Both its OP "Hitorigoto" and ED "adrenaline!!!" are cheery pop songs that sound nice, but are ultimately quite generic in the end. The ED is a little more poppy than the OP, but they're still the same kind of song.

Personal Enjoyment: If I were to describe Eromanga-sensei, I'd say it's 'enjoyable'. Nothing about it is spectacular, ground-breaking, or really all that special. It's the show of the season that people devote the season's memes to because of just how painfully average it is. Personally, I don't really have anything directed towards it: no vendetta, no appreciation, just an entirely average "meh" to the whole thing.

Did I like this series?

If anything, I find Elf, amusing. She was always my favorite of the three girls because while her bold and brazen attitude can be annoying, she was the most consistent character and was more honest than the others. I also like Sagiri's 'old man' antics. Her being a perverted 13 year old was always amusing for some reason.

What didn't I like about this series?

Aside from the last episode being a throwaway, Muramasa's introduction was one of the shoddiest character introductions I've ever seen. Especially when you learn why things played out the way they did, it just boggles the mind with how or why things turned out that way. (Also a certain cameo at the end of episode 11 is just...no. Why do you remind me of that?)

Would I recommend this show?

If you're looking for something kinda trashy and not expecting much from it, Eromanga-sensei fits the bill quite well. Again, the show is really more of a piece of entertainment than any kind of impressive story or overarching plot, so don't really expect much when watching it. Personally, I don't think it's bad enough to be panned, but it's not really good enough to be worth anything but a timekiller, so my standing on its merit is that it's something that's ok for when you have the downtime for it.

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