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Nov 14, 2024
I need to start this review with not one but two disclaimers- 1. As I write any time I review very old anime, the only fair and proper way to review anything is in its own time and me reviewing it now, nearly 28 years later, is imperfect 2. I am well aware of how unbelievably influential this manga series, anime and IP as a whole would go on to become and that the entire Souls series, the iconic Buster Sword from FF7 and many, many other acclaimed pieces of fiction are heavily inspired by Berserk. Nevertheless, I'm here to discuss only this anime and ...
Oct 25, 2024
Grave of the Fireflies is a timeless Ghibli classic that largely still holds up as we near 2025, more than 35 years after the movie was created and released, which is a true testament to its quality. The disclaimer I'm obligated to provide when reviewing any old anime is certainly applicable here- the only fair and proper way to review anything is in its own time and watching it now for the first time 35 years after the fact is not the same and never can be. Nevertheless, here are my as objective as possible thoughts after watching the film for the first time last ...
Aug 14, 2024
Memories (Anime) add
Memories is tricky to review for two reasons- 1. Rather than being a movie in and of itself it is actually a collection of three entirely different movies, which are completely unrelated to each other and from different directors, and 2. At the time of this writing it is nearly THIRTY YEARS OLD, and while you can certainly look back at something and review it from a modern perspective or discuss how well or how poorly something has aged, the only proper and fair way to review a piece of art is in its own time. With those important items out of the way, let's ...
Jul 8, 2024
The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes is not nearly as well known as the works of Studio Ghibli or Makoto Shinkai, but I don't think it would be all that difficult to convince the average anime watcher that this is a product of the latter. This is both a positive and a negative comparison. On one hand, the strongest individual element of this film is, by far, its visual presentation. It could easily be mistaken for a Shinkai film visually and with his works being the absolute gold standard as far as visual presentation, that's very much a compliment. On the other hand, ...
Apr 8, 2024
Kyokou Suiri (Anime) add
In/Spectre wasn't what I was expecting and was largely a disappointment. While I could certainly finger-point to forgettable characters, multiple filler episodes in a twelve episode anime and an inorganic romance that barely hangs on by a shoe string, for me the most egregious flaw of the program is that it's insanely dialogue heavy and most episodes boil down to two characters sitting near each other and having a seemingly never-ending conversation. There is little to no action, only one actual mystery to solve throughout the entire show and nothing to break up the monotony and repetition of talking, talking and more talking.

Having come out ...
Mar 10, 2024
Mixed Feelings
This review is for the entirety of what is currently available on blu ray in North America as of the time of this review (March 2024), which is all of seasons 1 and 2, through episode 48. In mentioning the blu ray, I'd like to start this review by quoting, word for word, the back of the blu ray case for the very beginning of the series- "Ordinary 37-year-old Satoru Mikami dies and is reincarnated as the most unremarkable creature imaginable- a slime. Initially things are pretty grim. He's blind, deaf and weak". There's a bit more, but it's these opening remarks I'd like to ...
Feb 3, 2024
I'd like to start by saying that this anime gave me an existential crisis. Demonstrating my unparalleled creativity, my username here on MAL, RyanSpring, is literally just my real life first and last name. So, going into this completely blind, in a world where every female character in anime is Mai, Sakura or Mikasa, I really had a moment when it was revealed that the lead in this anime is named Aries Spring. Do I... have a daughter somewhere? Is this a sign from the anime deities above that I SHOULD have a daughter and that I should name her Aries? Is Aries Spring in ...
Jan 12, 2024
Overall, while never truly original in any of its components, I found that the many solid pieces of Heavenly Delusion largely came together to form a well-paced, engaging, cohesive whole despite ending on what is clearly a stopping point rather than a proper conclusion. Elements of mystery, adventure, horror, drama and even light comedy are thrown into the blender here and in this case the chef followed the recipe correctly and wound up with a product that works.

Bits and pieces from other shows I've already seen- This paradise isn't as it seems and has something sinister behind it (From the New World), we're on a ...
Dec 19, 2023
Mixed Feelings
Summertime Render is almost a tale of two different anime. For the first third or so of the show, maybe even the first half, I was largely glued to my seat. It had the right blend of mystery, action, genuine creepiness and plot twists that were still within the realm of normal human comprehension. The latter half, however, goes completely off the rails and continuously tries to one-up itself over and over again until the plot is so bloated, convoluted, over the top and hard to follow that it just feels like a mess. It absolutely tries to do way too much rather than simply ...
Dec 10, 2023
Mixed Feelings
My wife and I saw this in theaters last night. Other than watching the trailer for the film the day before, we went in completely blind. My abridged thoughts are more or less unless you're a really hardcore Ghibli fan who likes anything and everything they put out just because it's Ghibli, you'll probably be some amount of underwhelmed with this.

The Boy and the Heron very much LOOKS like a Ghibli movie. It has the classic Ghibli art style with a 2023 coat of paint. It's not the prettiest anime I've ever seen but it definitely looks nice and it brings a very vibrant and ...


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