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Stuzfin Review #3: Refreshing Romance

We (mostly me) watch romance shows not because we want to see realism. We watch them to experience fantasy settings that we might not encounter. What would having a child be like? What would having a lover with terminal illness be like? But here, Horimiya gives us the pleasure of experiencing both realism and fantasy. What would having a perfect relationship with the perfect significant other be like?

My likes:
Every character was likeable, especially the two lead roles which you would expect. Heck, the supporting characters could have their own shows and it would be awesome to watch. There was not a ... single boring episode, even though you can argue that sometimes 'nothing happens'. Every episode felt very short. The emotions portrayed felt REAL, and they didn't need heavy drama and plot twists to make us feel it. But what I loved most has to be the relationship that Hori & Miyamura had.

My dislikes:
Not much in all honesty. Maybe the fact that they tried to bait you in early on with the opposite personalities the two leads had. It didn't turn out to be a big deal to the plot. And I prefer it like this anyways.

Conclusion:
When you've seen a lot of love stories in media, and have experienced your own fair share of romantic relationships IRL, this show just hits you in all the right places.

Thanks for reading.

Stuzfin Review #2: A pleasant surprise

Asobi Asobase is akin to one of those loot boxes. You never know what you're gonna get inside, and they can even get pretty ridiculous. But most importantly, they're really fun to open. I went into this series with no prior knowledge. I just stumbled into it by chance. And let me tell you, I'm sure glad that I did.

My likes:
The cast of characters is actually very small for once, but each character stands out & manages to get me laughing more times than not. It doesn't need to rely on fanservice to get you invested, the gags do that ... just fine. You can tell that a lot of effort went into the animation, voice acting and soundtrack. I love that they intentionally used a misleading OP too.

My dislikes:
The baby character at the end of the series was honestly disturbing. Also, the series ended so abruptly, I feel like I haven't gotten closure yet. That said, there isn't actually a proper story or plot, so the ending doesn't really matter.

Conclusion:
I found Asobi Asobase to be a pleasant surprise. Went in thinking it was a Moe anime. Turns out it was roller coaster of gags.

Thanks for reading.

Stuzfin Review #1: An appreciation for the industry.

Shirobako is a series that's been on my "plan to watch" list for a while. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed watching and learning about the struggles and challenges faced when producing an anime series; this form of media that we all love. I'm sure this feeling of mine is mutual with many other anime fans. So if this series has been on your "plan to watch" list as well, I highly encourage that you put it way on top of the priority.

My likes:
I love the way the show introduces us to the world of animation. It doesn't ... start off heavy, instead it chooses to begin by showing us the general flow of a weekly airing anime series, before slowly but surely introducing more and more concepts and difficulties that arise during production. I also believe that what we are shown may be a very simplified outlook on an actual animation studio. Add this with an overall easy going environment with many gags & comedic relief, you get a show that does a terrific job at explaining a very complex and difficult work environment to the average viewer without overwhelming them. This series has indeed enlightened me. After watching over 400 titles, I now find myself looking back at previous series I've watched and think about how much that had to be put into making each and every episode.

My dislikes:
A couple of characters were extremely annoying and downright rage inducing to watch. The kind of rage that would make you want to punch them in the face or let them rot in a sack. In hindsight, this might be exactly what the creators wanted; to showcase the kinds of difficult people they have to deal with when making an anime series. Apart from that, I found that the story was too focused on the main girl, Miyamori Aoi. Since the story began with all 5 girls on equal footing aspiring for the same dream, I would have liked to see more of the other girls in action in there respective fields. Particularly voice acting, script writing and 3D CG, as I think these three weren't given as much action.

Conclusion:
Shirobako is a must see for every anime fan out there. The more you love anime, the more hooked you'll be with this series.

Thank you for reading my very first anime review.