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- BirthdayAug 15, 1997
- LocationLos Angeles
- JoinedOct 10, 2014
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Jun 28, 2025
I was pretty gutted when Non Non Biyori ended. It was a stunningly relaxing show that really knew how to take its time, not rush through scenes, and just let the moment take over for an extended period. No other show could quite replicate its unique blend of comfy and comedy. That is, until I discovered HibiMeshi, made by many of the same people (Atto included), airing this season, which is very much a spiritual successor to Non Non Biyori.
Even the character archetypes are largely similar, just all aged up to be university students, and taking place in Hachioji as opposed to some rural backwater.
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Ren-chon, Hotarun, and especially Nattsun are all back, alongside a Mama-type tsukkomi and some unholy amalgamation of Bocchi and Kita (Ironically Bocchi's seiyuu is voicing the Nattsun analogue here). While the character archetypes aren't anything novel, the show still does a masterful job of depicting their day-to-day lives. Oshinko is especially a highlight, being an obnoxious genki aho that somehow manages to keep the whole gang together. Being in university as opposed to high school does open up a lot more avenues that other shows normally do not explore, like panicking in your first highway drive, or the concept of meeting up with old friends you once went to school with.
Of course, as with most CGDCT shows, the primary gimmick is just a vehicle to explore the character personalities and interactions with each other. And, unlike with Mono, the show never really abandons its primary gimmick to focus on other things. It does commit to being about food, and there is no compromise with depicting how good the food looks. The comedy is top notch too. Atto's signature "awkward moments punctuated by long uncomfortable silence" returns, and the writing is as sharp as ever with punchlines catching me out of nowhere at times. It's very Non Non Biyori, which is a very good thing.
But to me, the best part of the show is simply how relaxing it is. Turn off the lights when you watch the show. The soothing music paired with the gentle visuals make for an excellent viewing experience under the right conditions.
For a show that I only discovered literally on the day it started airing, HibiMeshi has been a complete joy to sit through. While I'm bummed the show is over, the manga adaptation it spawned can hopefully tide me over until it gets renewed for a second season.
9/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 24, 2025
I've once had a discussion with a few friends on how we don't get real trainwrecks anymore. The current industry being too risk-averse to even do originals, let alone something so batshit and over-the-top that you stop and question what you're watching. GQuuuuuuX isn't quite Valvrave level, but it'll do for now. I'm satisfied with how stupid, poorly thought out, batshit madness that has transpired over 12 episodes, though I wish they'd make another cour to continue the insanity.
GQuuuuuuX presents itself as an "Alternate Timeline" if Zeon won the One Year War, but in actuality, in a similar vein to Higurashi Gou/Sotsu or Final Fantasy
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VII Remake/Rebirth/Rewhatever, a Meta-Sequel that very poorly tries to answer the question "What if Franchise tried to give everyone a happy ending?". However, unlike with Higurashi or FFVII, I have no nostalgia or biases towards Gundam (my first Gundam was Birdie Wing of all things), so I ended up really enjoying GQuuuuuuX , though your mileage will of course vary, if you're the type of septuagenarian who grew up watching 0079 when it was airing.
Let's see, Machu and Nyaan are unlikable, and their infatuation with Shuuji comes laughably quick with no buildup (Nyaan especially), and Shuuji has all the personality of a wet rag. But of course, they're not important, because as the Meta-Sequel demands it, the only real important characters are the legacy characters from the original series, being Char, Lalah, and Challia Bull. Now Challia I do find his antics quite enjoyable seeing as he was otherwise a throwaway character from the original series, although his (and Comoli's) inexplicable ability to read the actual GQuuuuuuX script is never explained.
I suppose part of the charm is seeing familiar elements distorted or remixed for the show. Familiar designs taking on new life thanks to being reimagined by Gainax (you're still Gainax to me dammit) brings something fresh every episode, and really does add to the "Why would they do this, Sunrise would never" pile.
Call it a guilty pleasure or whatever, but GQuuuuuuX has been a fun ride throughout. After Witch from Mercury I feared a majority of the show would be Clan Battles but I'm glad to be proven wrong as the whole show wraps up in just 12 episodes with pacing equivalent to a 52 episode anime. It's the closest thing to a trainwreck wild ride in the Reiwa era, and one that is nowhere near as aggravating or infuriating as the Higurashi meta-sequel.
Thank you Gainax. Next time maybe cut down on the EVA references.
7/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 28, 2025
Let me tell you a story, I never intended on watching this show. I was cooped up in an AirBNB on New Years with some friends and the TV was on and this ended up playing. We were shocked at its quality: Everything was off, from the animation, to the offputting designs, but most of all, the tone of the entire thing. My friends were of course put off entirely by this, but somehow, there was something in Momentary Lily that drew me in.
GoHands had became infamous in the post-SYD days where they've seemingly eschewed conventional design wisdom to make... whatever the hell it
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is they make nowadays. Seizure-inducing fights with strange camera angles, disorienting cinematography, and "cinematic" compositions for the sake of having cinematic compositions, it's like if Battlefield Earth was an animation studio. In a way, for how esoteric and strange Momentary Lily is, it just works and serves to highlight the unreality of it all. Gohands, for all their questionable animation is worth, doesn't half-ass things. They go full ass (and tits) in their questionable direction and by God, will they see their vision through.
The tone of the show is what stood out to me. Especially in the first episode, you have several scenes clashing in tone as to what the show actually is and wants to convey. Is it an action show? Fanservice slop? Edgy drama? A fucking cooking show? Magical girls? What the fuck? And the schizophrenic tone doesn't end there. A fanservice pool episode can end with the discovery of a mass grave, or a funny cooking episode can have a scary scene where they stumble upon corpses. It's weird, but it keeps you guessing, and by the end of the show you start to understand the show a lot more and anticipate how the show will move on and build itself from there.
Despite sharing no similar staff, the one thing this show reminded me of most is Blue Reflection. You have post apocalyptic magical girls, questionable animation, a boppin' soundtrack, weird eldritch abomination alien things, cooking, fanservice ,all the hallmarks are there. I enjoyed Blue Reflection, but Momentary Lily sure doesn't have nearly as good a story. In terms of feel and tone? Yeah, it's pretty much there give or take. Momentary Lily's story ultimately ended up being very standard and predictable once the novelty has set in, but by then you'd probably have been suckered into watching the entire show.
That said, Momentary Lily isn't great, nor is it for everyone, but I do recommend people with even a slight curiosity to the show give at least the first episode a go. Who knows, you may be surprised. Unconventional shows like this are rare, especially given how risk-averse most companies are, so I'm generally more open to watching shows like these and get a feel for how my tastes can be challenged.
7/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 27, 2025
I find myself grappling with how much I ended up enjoying Ave Mujica even after the final episode. Throughout the weeks as this show was airing, I often found myself second guessing at the creative choices in its story, as well as coming to terms that the story I came up with in my head will never be the same story put to TV.
There had been tremendous amounts of hype going into Ave Mujica, in part due to its very unconventional (especially by Bandori standards) ARG, portraying Ave Mujica as being this dark, cult-like underground band that kidnaps unsuspecting young girls. Not helping are all
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the interviews and advertisements depicting the show as “The craziest band anime ever”. I had been through Revue Starlight and how that turned a wild premise into a boring conclusion, surely, I’d have learnt my lesson going into this, right?
Well, I’d be lying if I said I was completely satisfied with the final package. The ARG and Live Intermissions painted a very different picture of the show for me, not helped by the exaggerated hype from the many interviews. Still, if Ave Mujica had aired immediately after MYGO, I’d have enjoyed it a lot more, although that still doesn’t discount the show from some questionable decisions when it came to its storytelling.
Episode 12 was tipping point for me, as I was initially disappointed at how fast and rushed it all wrapped up with the main characters effectively telling the viewer to forget about it. It took me a long time to mull it over, but over time, I’ve came to accept the ending for what it is, and how it thematically connects to the overarching theme in Ave Mujica. That is to say, everything sucks and there is nothing you can really do about it, so forget about things and live happily. It’s surprisingly nihilistic especially for Bandori, it’s just wrapped up so cleanly and neatly that you really just wouldn’t notice on the first go around. Effectively nothing has been resolved, and there’s the sense that nothing really will be. The execution however, was lacking in almost every way.
Interviews have described this as being a “horror” anime, and that’s just really not the case even in the most charitable definitions of the genre. Occasionally Ave Mujica does use the language of horror to construct some scenes, but horror is almost never the intent, and if it was, there is no scene in the entire show that comes across as even remotely frightening. Not to say that “Band” and “Horror” are mutually incompatible, look at Alan Wake for an example of something that manages to combine those two genres well for instance, it’s just that by calling Ave Mujica a “horror” or even “psychological” series, you’re setting up a series of expectations that the show can never quite reach.
Credit where it’s due, Ave Mujica does go further than most similar shows in some aspects, I just hoped that they went a bit further than what we have in the show. There’s an underlying sense that the producers are too afraid to take just that little extra step in fear of losing revenue in regions with heavier censorship regulations. We have explorations of mental health, domestic violence, and lesbian romantic relationships that would make SayoHina look tame by comparison. Yet nothing too far out, punches get pulled at the last minute, there is no kiss, and most other things just get brushed off without much care or thought.
Which brings us back to execution, which is where I find the show most flawed. The show is incredibly rushed. With MYGO, it was a simple story told very well, with the show paced so well it had room for an extended epilogue and even extra time to set up Ave Mujica. Ave Mujica on the other hand is juggling at least 3 different plot arcs which don’t mesh together well. You have: Mutsumi suffering from DID, Saki working out her issues with CRYCHIC, and Uika’s mad obsession over Saki. There are only the loosest plot threads connecting these three arcs together, and they all come at the cost of essentially ignoring the other two main characters, Nyamu, and especially Umiri. And not all arcs are created equal. Mutsumi’s arc got the most attention at about 8 episodes, CRYCHIC’s fallout took about 5 (5 times longer than it needed to be), and barely 3 episodes for Uika’s arc, which was hyped up to be the craziest thing ever, and it kind of is, but resolved in the most disappointing way imaginable.
Sakiko is just not very likeable as a main protagonist. The show does occasionally (and correctly) call her out for being a spoiled rich girl callously toying with other people’s lives while pretending that she isn’t, but she never takes charge or responsibility for her actions until the very end. And even then, it’s less character growth and more “We’ve got to wrap everything up in one episode so let’s call back to the original themes in a rushed and haphazard manner”. Two of the three arcs just have her in an antagonistic position as Mutsumi or Tomori drive their arcs forward as Saki just reacts to the world around her passively.
In spite of all this, I still thoroughly enjoyed Ave Mujica. For what it is, it has never been boring. Look no further to Bandori’s own S1-S3, which are the very definitions of safe, stale, and mediocre idol/idol-adjacent shows, being only slightly better than something like Cue or World Dai Star, yet completely outclassed by shows like Love Live or even Show By Rock. The reverence for the status quo is what kept Bandori in its rut, unwilling to explore any possibilities in its storytelling. MYGO was Bushiroad being willing to test the waters, even a little, and Ave Mujica is them diving head first into the Mariana. It’s strange, mesmerizing, and even a little uncomfortable at times. Sure it’s not as polished as it could have been, but the ambition is admirable, even if it fumbles along the way. What I can’t fault Bushiroad at the end of the day, is that they’ve tried doing something different.
At the end, I suppose that may explain the final score you see in this review. Ultimately, I’ve enjoyed the show, but it is a very personal enjoyment and most of the enjoyment came from extrinsic factors unrelated to the show. I love the music, I love thinking about the show, and I certainly love the fanart and memes sprouted from this show. It’s better than Bushiroad’s previous attempts at something different, ie Revue Starlight. It’s just that I wish it could have been so much more. And maybe at the end of the day something simpler like MYGO may just be the peak of what’s possible within the confines of this genre and the 13-episode format.
9/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 19, 2024
Let's get this out of the way: Yes, the whole series is butt ugly. But, I happen to have a very high tolerance for lousy animation so long as the underlying narrative is any good, and boy, on that front, KamiErabi certainly delivers, and then some.
What I enjoyed most was the show's unpredictability. The premise of it being a death game might as well be a lie, as that notion is pretty much abandoned halfway through the first cour. And yet crucially, the show manages to resolve all of its loose ends very satisfyingly. It's also possibly one of the few cases of a Deus
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Ex Machina being used well. YokoTaro has a knack for combining cringy lighthearted moments and a dark narrative and somehow making those two elements work.
While the show may take some time to get used to, especially if you don't have a high tolerance for shitty animation as I do, it is well worth it in the end. Rarely do you see an anime original fully commit to its themes and resolves itself so satisfyingly in the end with no sequel bait or any baggage. It's not easy to sell the show without spoiling anything, but the show does shake off the "Death Game" aspect relatively early to reveal itself for what it really is, and if you're any familiar with YokoTaro's other works, you'll feel right at home.
8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 23, 2024
You know what we need more of? Violent, mean girls with an awful personality as the main protagonists. The moment Mayonaka Punch opened with Masakichi socking a girl right in the jaw, I know I was in love.
Mayonaka Punch is about the business of YouTubing and dealing with being cancelled. Shockingly, despite how wrote this premise is by now, the show manages to keep fresh and doesn't treat its audience like brainless numbskulls in need of simulation every two minutes (coughVtubercough). Even more surprising is how it manages to pull off some pretty good character drama and have it stick without taking away from
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the overall core of the show. It even pulls off the "Antagonist joins the protagonist's group briefly for the finale" much better than Na Nare ever did by writing in actual foreshadowing and having said antagonist not be a no name character out of nowhere.
The real star of the show really is Masakichi. You don't know how tiring it is to go through so many shows where the MC's personality is either "Bored, too good for the world" or "Naive and dumb but kind hearted". No, fuck that, Violent bitches with anger issues are what makes shows like these interesting. Even after being cancelled, she still punches people every now and then with actual consequences to her actions. But, it is fascinating and surprisingly heartwarming to see her interactions with the rest of the cast, her former fans, how she treats her family, and her character growth from "Reimu but less mean" to "Almost a decent person".
And again, despite its premise, the show does showcase a lot of creativity with regards to its scenarios. Most of them hilarious, with that one Fuu episode just making me feel miserable inside. Somehow, whenever comedies do one-off sudden drama episodes, they usually stick with you more than usual.
Even the occasional weird Youtube short videos are fun to watch and are pretty much essential viewing, though personally its where I think they dump some of the more boring ideas (ie the actual video parts from the show) to keep the actual show's pacing tight. The director's own bizarre videos on the other hand, now those are absolutely essential.
Mayonaka Punch is that rare anime original (and rare as in not associated with some multi-media project, or some tourism ad for a prefecture no one visits) that punches above its weight (and punches a lot of other things too). A tightly paced show with great comedy, some decent character drama, and tons of unpredictable moments.
Oh and there are Vampires too. Thought I should mention that.
8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 22, 2024
When the Summer Season was announced, two Anime Originals were announced for PA Works, Na Nare and Mayonaka Punch. I initially thought, that given that this show is largely made by a lot of the same people behind MyGo, I had assumed that this show would be the better of the two with a focus on character drama. Oh how wrong I was.
While ostensibly about using cheerleading to bring cheer to others, the show actually has very little cheerleading in it. In fact, most of my gripes with the show is how it seemingly doesn't know what it is about. Several plot points and character
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traits are brought about, but virtually none of them have been followed through or received any meaningful development of the sort. Things are bad when the main antagonist is abruptly introduced in the second last episode, promptly goes through a redemption arc, then goes missing and the show expects the audience to sympathize with her? I mean, huh? Throughout the whole ordeal I was questioning who this character was when everyone was treating her as if she had been part of the main cast since the start. (she had very minor appearances and maybe 2 spoken lines up to that point too).
It's apparent that the character Mari (ie the no name last minute antagonist) and Megu were likely initially conceived as the same character, but, either because someone in the team or higher up didn't want to have a crippled wheelchair user as the main antagonist, decided to drop her and what we're left is an absolute mess of a plot.
Not to say that the other episodes were any better. With the exception of the Ouendan episode, every other episode is either pointless or boring. Again, for a character-driven show that is mainly drama focused, it is not a good look to establish some personality traits for a character only to not follow up on how that affects the character at all. Take a look at Megu for instance, she's crippled and Kanata blames herself for it. That's interesting. What's disappointing is that, despite the novelty of having a crippled cheerleader whose backstory is pivotal to the formation of the group in the first place, she does almost nothing and fades out into the background. Apart from one really cringe worthy scene that I'm trying my hardest to forget.
If anything, everything I had wanted from Na Nare, I got it from Mayonaka Punch instead. Everything from character drama to plot structure to even the idea of having a last minute antagonist join the protagonist group, all of these were executed incredibly well in Mayonaka Punch. Even the very idea of setting up a Youtube channel and getting flamed online is only done well in one show. Na Nare even fails at being a Gunma shilling show.
As Kanata would have said, cheer is like cabbage. It's course and rough, and it gets everywhere.
4/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Sep 18, 2024
Have you ever got the feeling that a show was only "just good", even though you've had unreasonably high expectations for it to be an all-time classic? Shikanokonokonokokoshitantan was the show for me, and the part that scares me is how my negativity may be a reflection of the existential reality that I'm getting older and am slowly losing interest in shows like these.
Let me explain. When I was younger, I've held Oota's shows (mostly from Doga Kobo, sometimes other studios) in high regard as some of the best examples of comedy: Yuru Yuri, Gabriel Dropout, Umaru, the first season of Minami-ke, hell even Uzamaid
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were all classics in my book, being exceptionally well directed comedies that are just the right amount of wacky while having memorable characters and scenarios. And there is Sabagebu which is arguably the greatest show of all time. So, after a lull in the 20s with a fairly mediocre Onipan, which I then chalked up to being a kid's show, him and his team are coming back with a new proper full length show in the form of a funny deer show. The OP came out and became a huge meme on YouTube, I don't know why, but that just hyped me up even further. I was ecstatic, finally I could relieve all those carefree days where I didn't have to worry much and could enjoy anime all day.
Then I watched the show. And then I finished it. I enjoyed it. I even thought it was fine, with a handful of exceptional, really funny moments. But that's the thing, maybe it's an age thing, but something felt missing from the show. Something that would have taken this show to all new heights and become an all time classic, but as it stands it's mostly just fine. Not that the show was lacking in wacky and unpredictable moments, it has that in spades. But honestly this time round I'm more attuned to the show's negatives than I am to simply accept the show on its own. The show's humor can honestly feel overly referential (haha the artstyle changed isn't that hilarious), or overly random but without an actual meaningful point being made. Then the more I thought, the more I am aware that the shows I mentioned earlier, back in the second paragraph... don't those shows have the same issues as well?
I can't go back and take an objective look at the shows I once enjoyed. If I were to rewatch those older shows, I will most likely ignore the same flaws I can't help but notice in Shikanoko. But the thing is, I'm afraid to even go back to those shows, and that terrifies me. There is a part of me that seemingly realizes that maybe my tastes have changed over the years, I've gotten older, and I have way more occupying my life than anime. And so, this brings me back to the show itself. Is it good? Yeah, I think it's fine. It's funny in a lot of places. But for all its worth, it just didn't fully click with me the way other similar shows have.
But crucially, is it all that different from the shows I have mentioned earlier? The sad truth to this is that, it really isn't. It's at its core, a wacky comedy that is very similar to shows like Yuru Yuri or Umaru, and the fact that I can't bring myself to enjoy this show as much as those shows shakes me to my very core.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Sep 16, 2024
Much like the two main characters, the experience of watching Shoushimin has been uncanny to say the least. From the direction to the writing, every aspect of the show feels unnatural and strange, as if an alien without an understanding of how humans work but has read countless LNs decided to write and direct an LN of their own. It's weird, but not in a good way.
Let me elaborate further. Making hot cocoa in the least amount of steps and a kidnapping should not be treated as dramatic equals, yet the show depicts the two events with equal gravitas with similar inner monologues and
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strange inhuman dialogue sequences that feel like it was strung together by two chatbots. Compounding this is how our perspective character, Warm Wat- I mean- Kobato-kun is innately interested even in mundane, who cares-type mysteries (a trait it shares with Hyouka I suppose). Kobato is like if one of those detective books for children came to life and manifested as a high school boy. He may be interested in these things, but I sure wasn't. I almost dozed off watching this show, and no, I don't care how one of the Berliners should have had mustard in them.
Then there is Osanai. I get the novel's original intent was to portray her as this eccentric psychopath trying to become ordinary, but in the show itself she just comes across as stupid with no sense of self-preservation. If this hadn't taken place in fantasy Gifu where nothing bad really happens, Osanai would've ended up in a ditch before the kidnapping arc. Her one-track obsession with creating mysteries for Kobato to solve comes across as annoying and frustrating rather than endearing, and there is no reason why Kobato should put up with her antics beyond Kobato himself being a lost cause.
But the real issue with the show is how shockingly boring it is. While Lapin Track did a decent job animating Shoushimin, it really does nothing to help its watchability. Some shots do look nice, but the material just doesn't deserve this kind of presentation. The problems with Shoushimin are with its writing and characters, and no amount of letterboxing can fix that.
I don't recommend this show unless you have insomnia, but the hot cocoa episode was kinda funny and pretty emblematic of the show's overall problems. So watch that episode only if you must.
5/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jun 29, 2024
We're two for two for the unusually specific genre of "Disgraced former idol finds new life through a bunch of amateurs looking to make a name for themselves complete with a twintailed antagonist who is the vocalist of the former idol's group" in this season. Although, despite its superficial similarities, Girls Band Cry and Yorukura have different focuses and priorities, with GBC more focused on Nina's personal drama, and her outlook on her choices that took her there.
You follow through Nina's journey with TogeToge all the way through the finale, whilst unravelling Nina's backstory on why she became a victim of bullying, and how she
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came to love the original iteration of Diamond Dust. It's a simple story told exceptionally well with masterful directing. The drama doesn't become too overbearing, and the characters have a rawness to them that is refreshing coming from the past decade or so of idol/band anime. All this is accentuated by the exceptional animation quality.
I wasn't initially onboard this after looking at the trailers, as years of mediocre anime has made me biased against all 3D animation. It does take several weeks to get used to, but I can honestly say that GBC has some of the best animation I have ever seen this whole year, 3D or otherwise. One of the reasons why is that it's not trying to emulate the look of a 2D anime, but rather it's trying to do it's own thing. The animations are expressive and the frame-rate is higher than your typical anime, allowing for very smooth motion that you just don't see in a typical 2D show. Combined with great direction and pacing, the show looks natural and is a league above most other attempts at a 3D anime.
If there is one nitpick, it's that the ending does feel rushed, and it's one of those shows that really needs an OVA epilogue to really wrap things up nicely. I also do wish Tomo and Rupa had more screentime, though them having any screentime at all is appreciated given that the crux of the show is Nina and Momoka.
Girls Band Cry is a pleasant surprise. One that I did not see coming from the director + writer combo from Love Live Sunshine. But maybe, when given room to experiment and do something risky, some creators do excel in providing an unforgettable experience.
8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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