Back to Sargossa's Profile Sargossa's Profile

*Spoiler Free*
This show stands up remarkably well, and I consider it a must watch.

I've been on a Ghost in the Shell binge marathon lately, and going into this I barely remembered anything from the show apart from the main characters. In fact, now that I've binged it, I'm not even sure if I had ever seen the first season in full. I didn't realize how old this show was, it certainly doesn't feel like it was made in 2002, apart from maybe the intro which uses poorly aged CGI (but the intro song EASILY makes up for it - The whole soundtrack is bangin')

Ghost in ... the Shell can be most accurately described as: "CSI: Blade Runner - Spec Ops"

It takes place in the alternate future, where "cyberizing" your body is becoming the norm, and androids have become common place in daily life. It follows the team of Section 9, a Special Operations unit that specializes in counter-terrorism and domestic security.

The show poses a lot of deep philosophical questions regarding humanity, inter-societal structures, and "What makes someone or something alive?"

The show goes back and forth between periods of "main plot" episodes, and I guess you could call "Stand Alone" episodes (pun intended). Kind of like Naruto filler. BUT the show actually shines the brightest with those stand alone episodes, as it has the remarkable ability to fit deep, fully coherent stories within a single episode - Each one leaving you with a lot to think about afterwards.

But this ability to fit a huge amount in a short time is also the show's Achilles' Heel when it comes to the main plotline. The show moves too fast, and there is a lot to absorb. It can get confusing real quick if you aren't paying close attention.

The show can be stunningly deep and insightful when it's not trying to be, but pretentious and convoluted as Hell when it is.

I'm torn on giving this a 9 to be honest. It doesn't deserve an 8, as no other show is like it, and it leaves a strong positive impression. But the issues with going too fast, and being overly pretentious at times makes this a low 9 for me. Totally worth a watch, I rarely ever give 9s or higher, just know it's a show you gotta invest in. There's no casually watching Stand Alone Complex.

This review will be for both season 1, and season 2 of Sekirei as my opinion will be largely the same for both, with some slight variances.

I've just seen Sekirei for the first time, after hearing it's similar to DearS, which is one of my favorite anime despite not being anything groundbreaking. I have to say, the comparison was pretty spot on in a lot of areas. I enjoyed Sekirei a lot to be honest, and I feel bad I had to give it a 7. But I couldn't in good conscience give it an 8, as it has some glaring flaws. Looking at it ... critically, It's undeserving of a rating that high. That said, a lower rating does not mean I enjoyed it less.

Starting off, the animation for season 1 is incredibly inconsistent in its art style. The female characters are drawn thicker than a Snicker for the first few episodes, then weirdly broad shouldered for the next few, and finally very "hippy" for the last bit (like overly-hourglass shaped). It gets distracting at times, and I found it difficult to overlook. Season 2 doesn't share this issue.

The characters are all enjoyable, and likeable, albeit very much tropes. The only character I didn't like, apart from the main antagonist (for reasons not involving the *quality* of the character itself) was the main character Minato. He is an unbearable pussbag, and has little to no character development. He exists as a dated "viewer avatar" character. More effort was definitely needed in his character, he is the definition of forgettable, and throwaway. Other than that, the only minor irritant I had with the characters was they way overdid the "Scary-Innkeeper" gag.

Alright so spoiler warning:

This series is ultimately incomplete. It ends on a cliffhanger, which assumed there was going to be a season 3 - Which never happened.

Although there are rumors of a third season getting announced soon, it has been 10 years now, so I think it's fair to judge this show based on the assumption it will never be completed.

I wanted to see the main antagonist meet a horrible fate, there are several plotlines that never got a sense of closure. An anime's ending can make or break your overall impression of the whole experience, and this ending was a standard: "Just read the manga if you want to finish the story."

I likely will end up reading the manga, because I do want to finish the story. But this review is for the anime, not the manga. My opinions are based on the anime alone, as someone who has just seen the series for the first time, and never read the manga.

Ultimately this show needs, and frankly deserves a proper ending. It's by no means a masterpiece, or even anything that special. I just genuinely enjoyed watching it, and think it could be a fun series to see continue.

(Note: This is a repost with some updates, because - Like a dumbass - I accidentally reviewed the single episode special and not the show itself.)

Whenever I rate a show, I start at 5; which in my mind, is a cookie cutter show, that is about as average as average can be. I then move up or down accordingly so as to give the show a fair chance in its own right. It's not a perfect system, as I will likely not bother watching a show 4 and below. But it allows me to review each anime on an individual, one to one basis.

This show is inconsistent in its quality. Not it's art or production quality, but rather whether or not the author wants to make this series one with ... a relatable underlying life lesson to state - Or simply a generic throwaway isekai, where the protagonist is a pushover.

Essentially the moral of the story the writer wants to convey is to push yourself, even when things in life seem hopeless - Which is a great message to have. The problem is, the writer doesn't consistently stick with this message throughout the overall character arc. The main character will have moments of bravery, overcoming a challenge of some kind, and seemingly experience character progression in accordance with the plot - Only to immediately revert backwards when faced with the next challenge - And he reverts *hard*.

I actually think this character regression "Whiplash" is the show's fatal flaw. You'll have moments where you can relate to the main character, only to be shown just how pathetic he really is, and it immediately pulls you out. They go too far in some areas, and it metaphorically digs itself into a hole.

If they make a season 2 of this show, I'd actually watch it, because it really does have its moments, and I'd like to see where it goes. If they would focus more on building the main character up, rather than constantly dumping on him, I think this could be a pretty decent series.

This is a charming, but weird show. It's very "of its time". That is to say, I can't remember watching a show that screams 1990's/early 2000's anime this much since Pokemon. Despite never growing up with this show, I felt strangely at home with it. But it has not aged well. You need to go into this show wanting to see an anime that embodies all of the 90s. Otherwise what you'll find is a show with pretty terrible animation, and a barely coherent story.

While you can tell there was love and care put into this show, the creators had to of been just starting ... out. The budget was clearly not there, and they definitely tried to fit too much of the source material in their limited timeframe. What you end up getting is a jumpy mess with some of the editing.

The characters are all tropes, except the main "antagonists", or I guess foils would be a better term. They're like Jessie and James from Pokemon, but if they just did a bunch of crystal meth. At first I couldn't stand the guy one of the duo, but now I kinda think he's the best character. He's literally the only thing I'm probably going to remember about this show - He's insane.

So should you watch it? Well, do you wanna be instantly transported back to the 90s/early 2000's? Then yes.
Otherwise there are a million other shows worth watching.

This show has heavy Mirai Nikki and Big Order vibes (both of which were written by the same author). If you would have told me Gleipnir was written by the same author (it's not), I probably would have a believed you. Fortunately, Gleipnir does not suffer from the same issues Mirai Nikki and Big Order had.

Gleipnir follows the same formula - Character gains abilities, and is thrust into a high stakes life or death game, with a crazy female companion. Granted Clair is an endearing "everything or nothing" type of crazy, whereas Yuno was a hysterical manic kind of crazy.

The soundtrack is actually pretty awesome, ... not gonna lie, and I really liked the unique kind of lanky character design and animation style.

But I think the show's biggest strength is also the biggest hindrance to me being able to give it a higher score.

Gleipnir really plays it safe, and stays in its own lane in terms of tone. Which I appreciate the focused approach, being unfocused and trying to do too much is what hurt Mirai Nikki. But it kind of forces the show into a disposable seasonal watch for me. It focused on entertaining the viewer, while remaining straight forward and coherent.
I think this tunnel vision in terms of story and tone really hurts its rewatch value. I'll watch the next season, but there's no point in rewatching it when there's nothing else to be found here.

While I give this show a 7/10, consider this review to be 7.5.

I was thoroughly charmed by this show. It's a show that doesn't at all take itself seriously, except when it needs to. Which, when it does, it's heartwarming and uplifting.

Every other moment I was entranced by its likeable characters, lively animation that's full of personality, and was either smiling or laughing the whole way through.

It just barely missed my mark for an 8/10.

I think the main issue with this show is it's too fast paced. It doesn't give you time to process anything, which, for it's humor it works for the most ... part. But I often found myself mashing the 10-second rewind button just to re-read what they said. The show would do well to diversify it's humor, and slow down some.

But other than that, if you're in need of a good laugh, I definitely would give this show a recommendation.

While I'm giving this show a 7, that's just because I have to adhere to my personal rules I've made for myself when it comes to reviewing. An 8 or higher has to either have an artistic message to state, or at least stick out in your mind. While it does the latter, I feel that's just kind of cheating for this kind of show :P

My all around enjoyment was an easy 9.

This is a comedy, pure and simple. This is like Seinfeld - It's a show about nothing. If you've seen and enjoyed all 4 of the Isekai shows (which I HIGHLY recommend) you'll ... love this show. The way the characters play off of each other is witty, and actually had me laughing. There are a few other Isekai show's characters sprinkled in, but I'm only familiar with one of those.

Just give it a watch, you won't regret it.

This show was not at all what I expected. I did not expect that I would end up giving this show an 8 (albeit a low 8)

I was lead to believe this show was nothing but trash, and who doesn't like rotting their brain every once and awhile?

But what I found was that, underneath the loli painted exterior is a show that actually has a lot of heart put into it.

I have a rule when rating shows that anything that is an 8 or higher either needs to either have an artistic message to state, or at least sticks out in your mind. Shockingly, ... Eromanga managed to do both.

Not spoiling anything, but the overall message it tries to get across is you are capable of creating your own happiness. Find something you're passionate about, find a reason to care, and work towards making that dream a reality. Even the greatest of artists start small, but kept going because they loved what they did, and loved making other people feel good too.

If I had any complaints, I'd say I feel some of the characters are highly underutilized - Especially the main female interest. Elf-San basically becomes the Rem of the show in my opinion. Where, despite being a side character, she's far more interesting, and likeable (eventually haha)

This show is highly underrated, and I recommend giving it a watch.

While I know probably no one will read this, I had to rewrite my review for this show.

I love this show, both out of pure enjoyment, but also on a nostalgic level.

I have read the manga, and also seen Chobits and Heaven's Lost Property.

People liken this show to Chobits, which I both agree and disagree with. (Not giving spoilers) In the author's notes of the final volume of the manga, the author more or less addresses the similarities. She explained that it was their first major project, and their editor/publisher/can't remember which wanted them to play it safe at first. But after a ... certain point, they got free reign, which both the manga, and the show steers far away from Chobits.

For starters, pretty much all the character's are more fleshed out, incredibly likeable, and funny. Character's actually develop, and the humor has a distinct charm to it that was definitely ahead of its time. The townsfolk side characters they have for the anime (and sadly not the manga) makes the world feel alive.

While yeah, the show definitely has fan service, I never particularly considered this a fan service show.

Is this a Chobits clone? Absolutely not. Heaven's Lost Property, which I literally just watched for the first time very recently, definitely took elements from both DearS and Chobits, Ikaros is virtually identical to Ren personality wise (DearS was 2004-05, HLP was 2009).

Should you watch this? Absolutely, this show, and series, deserves way more credit than it gets.

I honestly don't understand the hate this show gets. Because of the reviews, I went into this show expecting a trainwreck. Instead I found a show that was actually pretty decent.

This show put out serious Mirai Nikki vibes from the get go, only better written. Even Rin, one of the main female leads, looks and acts kind of like Yuno, only less insane and more tsundere. Also the main character Eiji is not unbearable like Yukki.

That being said this show also has one of the biggest flaws Mirai Nikki has - Where it feels like wasted potential.

I am not familiar with the manga, but it ... feels like there is chunks of the story missing due to the show's short episode count. Honestly it needed more episodes, as the story is too ambitious to fit into such a short span.

So if you like Mirai Nikki, you might like this. Just realize the same things that were bad about Mirai Nikki, are likely present here. (Minus the irritating leads)