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Apr 20, 2024
Unless you are looking for mindless entertainment, don't waste your time watching this movie.
Spy x Family, at this point across all adaptations (both the TV series and this movie), is essentially a filler anime, meaning that nearly every single episode is defined by a stark lack of momentum in the storyline.
Or, perhaps it is more accurate to call it a kids show, a cartoon; something akin to the likes of the Powerpuff Girls, even Spongebob Squarepants (not to belittle these shows, they are great... at times, but both are structured very similarly.) Rather than being your typical villain-of-the-week, Spy x Family employs something more
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unique: trivial/mildly-infuriating problem that could be easily prevented by better parenting (i.e. "discipline")-of-the-week.
Even this movie, which is clearly stated to be non-canon, it still feels like your typical Spy x Family episode. That is,
1. An opportunity to gain a Stella / a problem threatening Westalis presents itself.
2. Anya makes it worse.
3. Yor tries to resolve the problem, only to do nothing, get side-tracked in a pointless side-plot, or makes it worse.
4. Loid is left to fix up the mess, as usual.
5. Everything is resolved and we return to the base-line: nothing is learnt, no development is made, no Stella acquired, and Anya still a sniffling, nose-picking dumbass.
Now, an argument does present itself; doesn't nearly every story follow this exact same principle when boiled down to its most simplest form? Yes, to an extent, but the issue lies in the fact that Spy x Family provides absolutely no development, no gratification at the end of this episodic plot line, for all arcs and episodes. Believe it or not, Code: White follows the exact same principle. And chances are, if you're anything like me, you would prefer to watch a story unfold, develop, watch the characters grow and change, rather than seeing it remain stagnant, deflated and completely formulaic.
However, it goes without saying that of course Spy x Family is quite an entertaining series. Each of the characters has their own charm and the idea strikes me as something quite endearing; people who have never experienced the love and care of a family and have been rejected from institutions or society are pushed together to become a family, thus experiencing what it means to be a parent, to love and to be loved, to be a child. Code:White does a great job at bringing out those emotions. And it is important to keep in mind that Spy x Family is not your typical shonen, which is why its such a great watch with people of all ages. There's not many anime that you can genuinely say that you would be comfortable watching it with your parents, even grandparents, and Spy x Family is one of those anime.
Code:White is a kids movie, simply. And if you like the series, understand that this movie is not-canon and is unfortunately not going to contribute anything to the overarching plot of the series — not like the actual anime is doing that anyways — then by all means, watch it with some friends, family, its a great watch. But because it is so trivial and silly and pointless, especially considering the ending, I simply cannot recommend it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Dec 21, 2023
I walked into the cinema not knowing a single thing about The Boy and the Heron.
And I walked out still not knowing anything. Nothing about the plot, the characters and what they represented, especially the rather 'Okay, I guess that's it,' ending and, in particular, what Miyazaki was getting at, what he aimed to actually achieve with this movie. You can't just come out of a 10 year long pseudo-hiatus and decide to come back out swinging with a nearly 3 hour experience with literally nothing to tell. Yet, for some reason, that's exactly what happened. Walked out with absolutely no clue what the hell
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just happened.
No, I had not left immediately after entering. And no, I did not fall asleep; yet after a while I was borderline comatose. I sat and watched the full 2 and a half hours, completely observant in the first three quarters, and my attention slowly waned ever since. At about the halfway point, the film dissolved into an incoherent mess, flooded with Miyazaki's mindless ramblings of literally nothing. If I had to describe The Boy and the Heron, it would be like listening to a lunatic ramble on and on, the words meaning and inferring nothing, his speech slurred and delirious, yet so desperately we grasp for something out of it, some meaning, that after a while of listening to what is essentially incoherent rubbish, we just give up and move on.
As a preface, I should add that, while I do enjoy Ghibli films, I wouldn't consider myself a fan, yet I do get excited when I'm about to watch one. I know that a good time is about to be had, where the animation is amazing, often the emotions are so touching and endearing joined with an amazing soundtrack. Most times, I rarely dislike a Ghibli film. And, if I didn't find it as good as I normally do, it's generally just an 'okay' film. However, for this one in particular, admittedly I had some anxiety because I honestly believe that Miyazaki had not made a single good movie since 2004, when Howl's Moving Castle came out. Ponyo and The Wind Rises were alright, the others completely mediocre and forgettable.
So, Miyazaki's streak of completely amazing movies was long gone, and the Boy and the Heron is just another poor attempt to bring himself back up to his level. He has long gone past his prime, his peak.
Coupled with the fact that there was no advertising for this film and that it was absolutely boggled with ambiguity, so much so that it honestly felt that not even Miyazaki himself knew what was going on, it was impossible to even grasp a fragment of an idea. And, it's not like it does anything particularly well. While I do agree that not all pieces of media need to have a central message and that they can be good without one, for instance Pulp Fiction, the Boy and the Heron just does not impress me with its writing. Some scenes should have been highly confronting for Mahito but I didn't even know what the hell was going on. Even the plot line literally made no sense. It's set in WWII, because of course it is, you can't have a Japanese film not talking about WWII in some regard, and follows a boy called Mahito. After a while of trying to go through some character development, he takes psychedelics and everything makes 0 sense.
You can't be like, 'this film is ambiguous so you can draw your own conclusion,' and tell me that the parakeets meant something to you. Perhaps I should also add that, for some unknown reason, Miyazaki is fucking obsessed with birds in this film. I don't think there was a period in the film lasting longer than a minute that did not have a bird in it. But never in the film is it ever made clear why he had to have so many birds throughout this movie. We get it man, you fucking like birds! But please, for the love of God, give me something to grasp on, some idea or anything. Yet, we don't get a single thing.
There is absolutely no wonder as to why there is no advertising, no promotion and nothing about this film disclosed before its release, aside from the name and a poster.
That is because Miyazaki does not have a single fucking clue what the hell the Boy and the Heron is about.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Sep 28, 2023
You may call me a misogynist. You may call me a pervert, a ‘hentai’ if you will. You may call me a filthy bastard. You may even call me a horrible anime reviewer.
But, I will always stand for Prison School. No matter what insults you hurl at me, I will say every single time:
THIS. IS. PEAK.
“On this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not over come it.”
- Matthew 16:18
As is the case with any anime reviewer who would dare considers themselves a connoisseur of the arts, although all others are but imitators, there must be some sort
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of foundation when reviewing any anime. Oft times, it is tempting to resort to cliches, to standard conventions of reviewing that can be used generally for all types of anime. This type of foundation, while formidable against criticism most of the times by appealing to easily understandable guidelines, is nothing but banal. ‘Story: 7, Characters: 6, Art: 8,’ etc. You may have even seen that awfully reused review type on Steam with a list of check-boxes that are ticked off; as if any piece of medium can be condensed into such categories! But, when you approach an unconventional anime such as Prison School, an entirely different approach must be taken, out of respect for the artist’s integrity and a true appreciation of the work.
When faced with the beauty and mystery of the Mona Lisa, would you give it a grade rating? A mere ‘A+?’
No, of course you wouldn’t.
So why treat Prison School any different?
Forgetting about the ‘mark,’ we must appreciate this magnum opus for what it’s really worth.
There exists a very odd breed of anime, one that you must be courageous to venture downwards because when you eventually put it on your MAL, you will be bullied. It threads beneath two valleys: the soft-core ecchi with innuendos and metaphors to suggest, and blatant pornography. In that rift, you will find Prison School. While not appropriate for watching out in public, you can’t exactly jack off to it.
Prison School is simply unabashedly erotic, so much so that it’s ridiculously easy to get slightly queasy, especially for the layman. Water sports, BDSM, scat, bimbofication, foot fetish, bondage, CBT, voyeurism. If you can name it, you can probably find it in Prison School. But, at the same time, this is not porn. No, Prison School is not porn. And, no matter how close they get to unleashing it all, we, the audience, are left edging and keep blue-balled. So, if you can’t call Prison School an ecchi or a hentai, what would you call if?
A goddamn masterpiece.
All of the fetishes in this anime are so blatant, almost ridiculous in nature, that it feels like nothing but a celebration of sexuality. Yes, oft times they do feel satirised and maybe even ridiculed, but is that not the very nature of our sexuality? It’s ridiculous, crazy even, but at the same time it’s fun.
Well, obviously it depends on who you’re asking because you would never see me doing scat, but you get the point.
Prison School excels where other anime would fumble. It doesn’t try to hide any sexuality, it goes all out and says, ‘this is a fetish, this is also kind of weird, but that’s okay.’ There is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in Prison School. You like what you like, you’re into what you’re into, and that is completely okay.
And, I should also mention that Prison School is, quite frankly, one of the funniest anime out there. Many times I’ve found myself wincing and even crying ‘please stop’ at some of the scenes, but at the same time, it was ungodly hilarious. That being said, I can sort of understand the negative reception that Prison School has gotten. Im sure for many people that the sexual humour is a just a bit too much and I get that. But, if you’re like me and find humour in the dumbest of things, then Prison School is a definite must-watch.
Just make sure that you do it behind closed doors. With headphones on.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 28, 2022
66 million years ago, the dinosaur-killing asteroid slammed into Earth. What people don't know is that the "asteroid" was actually a tiger patterned UFO that crash landed when aliens had decided to invade Earth.
Coordinating the attack and leading the space armada was Rumiko Takashi.
Unfortunately for the aliens, due to the crash, the invasion was abandoned. Since then, Takahashi has been drawing character designs for Ranma 1/2, Inuyasha, and Maison Ikkoku using a piece of charcoal on the walls of a cave.
These would then come to inspire all generations of mankind henceforth.
The Mona Lisa was inspired by Shinobu from Urusei Yatsura.
American Gothic was inspired
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by Ranma 1/2.
And so on.
The influence and legacy of Rumiko Takahashi is outstanding, and none can refute the impact she has had on the manga/anime industry. One of her greatest works - which is really the only one I've actually seen from Takahashi - is the film Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer. Not only does it embody the essence of Takahashi's signature crazy and unpredictable style found in her manga, but it also has a deep message, or at least that's what I picked up from the movie. At this point, I'm not really sure if the message was intended or pure coincidence considering how the movie falls flat on it's face towards the end, but we'll still go through the analysis. Unfortunately, I won't be able to go into this message considering that it's essentially a major spoiler.
The story is chaotic, crazy, unprecedented, unpredictable, absurd, and just plain fun. Of course, that only lasts until the final parts of the film in which it's explained why things are happening this way. The ending, in short, was absolutely terrible. But if you can look past that, you will most certainly enjoy this movie.
The animation and sound design are absolutely superb, and what if I told you that the movie came out in 1984? You'd be completely surprised, considering the prevailing quality of both over the anime that's coming out nowadays. Technicality and creativity are fundamental to great sound and art, and the movie excels at both. The same can be said for the voice acting as all VAs execute their characters brilliantly.
If you've watched Urusei Yatsura and are familiar with the characters, then seeing them again for the second time would entice you, probably. But if you're like me and tend to enter this movie not knowing anything, then it wouldn't be too much of an issue. Just don't expect any character development.
All in all, I highly reccomend this movie to fans of Urusei Yatsura. People who haven't see the original series on the other hand? No way.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 28, 2021
Kadokawa's 'Isekai Quartet' and the amalgamation of the world's most overrated anime of the worst genre. Type Moon's 'Carnival Phantasm' which you're likely only watching for Fate and don't even know what a 'Tsukihime' is, aside from the funny cat. Now, Key has joined the fray. Kaginado is the gathering of Key's most notable works, from Clannad to Air to Kanon to Little Busters and et cetera. Each episode lasts for a mere 4 minutes and you always feel like there should be more... Let's talk about it.
Like 'Isekai Quartet,' all of the characters from numerous Key works are gathered into a single high school
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where they live out their lives in unrelenting comedy, a breath of relief for those who've cried their eyes out with each show/visual novel. Basically, it's a high quality shit post.
Do you want to see your favourite characters like over-sized babies? Then Kaginado is for you!
Everyone is here! Every seiyuu is voice acting their respective character and it's truly a relief.
The characters are the same. LMao.
If you still haven't recovered from the emotional trauma of that Key visual novel/show, then Kaginado is a great place to go on from there. At some point in the future, you'll see your favorite characters reimagined like a tinny little twerp with other characters that you probably don't know.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Dec 17, 2021
** This review does NOT have spoilers, because nothing ever happens in Komi-san **
The formula is this: self-insert main character that the fans can relate to (primarily because he's bland and average or simply has black hair), an idealized version of high school with all the heart-throbbing moments and none of the stress, a league of mutually attractive women with a controllable and predictable personality who surrounds the MC, and the most 'good-looking' one out of them has a crush on said MC for the cherry on top.
Do this, and the money rolls in.
The anime/manga fans will gobble this shit up happily, pour
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in copious amounts of money for merchandise, and defend it like a patriot. And, the most credible thing about this formula is how it can be used every single season, and next to no-one says a thing. The money just keeps on rolling in, baby.
Isekais use this formula, albeit slightly altered, slice-of-life anime use this exact formula, and now Komi-san is using it as well. And why does it work?
Because anime fans are fucking idiots.
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Grab your imoutos (who refer to you as onii-chan), do the buttons up on your gakuran, and summon your beautiful female harem who can all be defined in a single 'dere' archetype, because we're reviewing Komi-san, the show that anime and manga fans globally will simply not shut the fuck up about.
If you've ever watched a slice-of-life anime set in a highschool, then you have most certainly watched Komi-san.
= The beach/pool episode where the guys get bloody noses seeing the harem of girls in bikinis and swimsuits, who get flushed and call them 'baka!'
= The summer holiday where the protagonist idly waste out their days only to suddenly get a call from their harem/girlfriend/female MC inviting them to the Japanese summer festival. And, once the MC gets there wearing just casual, they go absolutely apeshit at seeing the female cast/MC wearing a yukata or kimono.
= The cultural festival where the MC's class ALWAYS picks a maid cafe.
= The karaoke scene.
The list goes on and on, and I haven't even gotten started on the characters — which I will get to later in the review. But to my dismay, all of these cliches and nuances of slice-and-life are all present in Komi-san. EVERYTHING that I just described above is present in Komi-san; I'm absolutely not joking. The biggest issue of Komi-san is that they don't even try to be original. I'm not saying that a good story needs to be completely original, sometimes just adding a bit of flair and creativity to already used ideas can contribute to good writing. But when you rehash everything without even adding your own unique spark to it, then it starts to get concerning. Now, let's talk about the story.
The most prevalent theme of Komi-san is social anxiety and the inability to communicate with others effectively or being unable to do so at all — it's even in the title; Komi-san can't communicate. But the light that the anime shines onto communication disorders is barely scratching the surface. The issues and struggles of someone who has a communication disorder is hardly touched at, and at times Komi-san disorder even feels like a petty gimmick that the anime has used to supposedly add a bit of creativity to the story, obviously poorly though. Even Mushoku Tensei, one of the worst Isekai out there — not that it's hard to find a bad one — yet ironically the only good anime airing this season, has gone more in-depth about social anxiety in a single episode than Komi-san has ever done in its eleven episodes of running (at this point of time that I'm reviewing the anime). Shouko Komi doesn't have to fear getting bullied or harassed for her inability to speak without being able to stand up for herself because she is treated like a goddess every where she goes. Sometimes she can speak and other times she can't. She can freely 'communicate' with the other gender without any concern whatsoever. On the other hand, Komi would fret to go inside a store and she would also be unable to say how she feels. The struggles that she goes through are minor and barely reveal the iceberg that is social anxiety, only observing the tip and not realizing that it reaches deep into the water. If you want an anime about social anxiety, watch NHK ni Youkoso.
Komi-san tries many times to be funny, but it never works. They re-used a joke where Komi-san goes to a resturant, doesn't say anything, and the staff somehow understands her, at least three times. All of the jokes come from the fact that Komi-san has a communication disorder, and every single one is explained. I don't know why, but for some reason OLM studio is obligated to explain every single thing that happens in the show in a tiny sub-box with a voice-over. I mean, considering that the fanbase for Komi-san consists of insufferable idiots who find cute little chibi faces funny, it does make sense, but not everyone is stupid.
I'm gonna be real with you; the art in Komi-san is slightly above average at best. All the character designs look generic, and you can even say that the side characters all have the exact same faces with slight differences like eye color. Although, this isn't a particular surprise considering the character designs of most slice-of-life anime like Oregairu and Hyouka. HD ≠ Good animation
Whistle or hum one of the OSTS of Komi-san right now.
I'm willing to bet $5 that not a single one came to your mind.
And, if you did the opening or ending, that doesn't count.
The voice-acting in Komi-san is pretty average, and there's not a whole lot of criticism that I can give. The voice actor for Tadano sounds pretty average, fitting for the character. That pink haired... thing... is pretty okay. It's not groundbreaking and sometimes it derails the jokes, but it's fine.
My biggest gripe of Komi-san is the characters. The backbone of any slice-of-life anime are the characters, and the story can be easily overlooked. So, what do you get when you have characters who can be defined in a single arch-type? Komi-san.
I hate self-insert characters so much. All the time, every time, your standard slice-of-life anime has a black-haired MC — which is naught but an insult to people with black hair — with virtually no personality whatsoever that the fans can somehow put themselves into. Stop fucking using these characters; they only make the writing so much worse. Komi-san's Tadano is absolutely horrendous, and I hate him to my very core. You can even just call him Kirito, and it's not like there's a particular difference whatsoever. And, the fucking cherry on top, is that both characters have an imouto who call them onii-chan.
Shouko Komi. Her entire personality is driven by the fact that she can't talk 'properly.' But, she is also a Mary Sue. She never ever struggles at anything — aside from communication which is honestly just a plot device — and when she fails, she always comes out on top a few minutes afterwards. All of the side characters always talk about her solely as if they have no other purposeful meaning in life. Everything is surrounding her.
The side characters can all be defined in a single archetype, I'll name a few. Chunnibyou, masochist, yandere, obsessive rival, country bumpkin.
It's impossible to enjoy Komi-san. I simply cannot recommend this show to anyone, aside from the nerds who read the manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Nov 12, 2021
"March Comes in Like a Lion is successful and no-one plays Shogi. So let's make a story about art, and who cares if we've never picked up a pencil? We can just google everything."
There is this one episode in The Disastrous Life of Saiki K where Saiki, Kaidou, and Nendou goes to an art museum in London. Nendou blankly stares at the works of art and makes these general and rather flat comments on all of the paintings and sculptures like, "This one is pretty good," and, "This looks cool." Even Saiki, the sigma genius, is on the exact same page of Nendou for the
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very first time; "...I cannot understand art, to be honest." And then, Kaidou walks up to it. Like the chuunibyou he is, he 'unravels' the mystery and meaning behind the works of art, treating every single shape and swiggle as if it has some abstract, convulted meaning behind it that no mere mortal can truly understand, and only once one starts seeing rather than looking they can truly gain a fundamental idea of the work. A circle among squares? Individuality takes many forms, and to call one a mere 'contrarian' is naught but supercilious. A cross in blood? Someone has been watching too much Evangelion. You get the idea.
In Blue Period's case, it's Kaidou and I'm Nendou. And, in more ways than simply making pretentious comments on drawings. Blue Period is the very essence of how Kaidou acted in that one episode; every single comment he made was if he just searched it up prior or ab-libbed it in the spur of the moment. For Blue Period, the former is much more likely. Let me explain.
Now, I'm not going to discard other shows/manga that may have done the exact same thing. God knows if they actually knew about the skill or hobby that they were writing about. But for Blue Period, it's so bluntly obvious that the writers are just googling shit and calling it a day. The story is tailored for profit and is completely uninspired; it's as if an amateur writer wanted to get into the trend of 'making a story about a hobby/skill' and decided to google everything, without ever picking up a pencil in the first place. And even if they have actual experience in the arts, they certainly have no experience in writing. For one thing, there is just so much dialogue about random bullshit about art. Who gives a shit about how if you mix white and green paint together it can make skin in paintings look light green? I certainly don't, and I don't expect you to either. Coming in, I was interested in the art aspect about Blue Period, and came out completely irritated and the lust for knowledge completely washed out. Every single thing they talk about feels so contrived and uninspired. They toss these random words around like 'dessin' to give the show some 'artistic flair' and hardly ever elaborate on what it actually means to the characters, merely using it to pretend that the writers know about art. And all of the comments about the drawings that the MC makes are so pretentious and completely exaggerated; who looks a picture of a statue and says, "Woah. This gives off an air of silence and elegance. Why do I feel so cold all of a sudden?" If it was a joke, as in Saiki-K, then it would be fine and pretty humorous. But they are completely 100% serious about everything they say, and it's completely ridiculous.
Utterly devoid of passion and uninspired, Blue Period is another attempt of joining the fray of the big-shot anime that are based around a hobby that becomes a way of life. Ping Pong the Animation? Made me interested in the sport's technical dynamics. Food Wars? Made me cut my sandwiches into triangles. Your Lie in April? Almost made me purchase a piano. And, Blue Period? Made me hate art. Blue Period is a total disgrace when it comes to the visual arts, and I don't even know to paint let alone draw anything. It's that obvious. Every single moment is just absolutely appalling and emotionless because absolutely nothing happens. The expository dialogue fills the majority of the show, and you can hardly ever take your eyes off of the subtitles just to look at the visuals, not that you ever would want to because of how bad it looks. And the humor? It's so forced. It's as if every single joke was written by a robot because it never connects with the audience. The comedic timing and joke in itself is absolutely terrible. I had to go back about 10 times while watching Blue Period simply because I realized that there was a joke, about a minute after it was said. And once I did, it's not even funny. Moving on, the drama as well is just absolutely stupid. Its as if the writers realized how long the show was dragging on so they decided to put in some random bullshit and call it a day. An example of this is the reveal that one of the characters is actually not female but a guy, which is never elaborated on because the writers don't give a shit. And, don't even get me started on the protagonist's major decision to do art for a living, and potentially for the rest of his life. He makes a single painting, which is more-or-less just a blue background and some scribbles. But it was so much fun! Which is why he devotes art for the rest of his life. His parents don't care for some absurd reason, and they don't even say anything about how he just picked it up and decided to make art for the rest of his life.
The art. No, calling it 'art' is too exaggerated. Power-point presentation makes much more sense. Whenever a character talks, the show lingers on that scene where they're just blinking and moving their mouth for way longer than it should be. It's almost hard to believe that this anime came out in 2021, the exact same year with Dragon Maid Season 2. And it's even harder to believe that this show is about art! The animation is so god damn bad. Only once or twice did they actually decide to exert some creativity into the animation, which is primarily making a 'chibi' version of a character or exaggerating a scene abruptly. The character design of most of the characters are so bad and forced. They are designed to be 'quirky' and 'artistic' when really it comes out like the animators are crying for help. It's just that bad. The only promising thing about the animation is the art (i.e paintings the characters make), which doesn't look that bad at all. But when you're spending the majority of the show looking at still images accompanied by random babbling, it's hard to notice it all.
Sound doesn't even exist for the most part. At least 10-15 minutes of an episode has no soundtrack at all, and the only thing you can hear is the characters talking. I'm not even joking, I'm 100% serious. And the voice acting is not even good at all. All of the voice-actors are complete amateurs. Like the story and the art, there is simply NO emotion whatsoever in the sound. It's not even worth talking about because of how bad it is.
Like their designs, the characters are all 'quirky' and 'random.' However, despite this, they can all be summed up in a single word. Too little thought was put in the characters, and I can somewhat forgive them when it comes to the side-characters. They aren't supposed to be that important to the story, but they are way too boring and one-sided that it directs all of our attention onto the MC. And he, Yatora Yaguchi, is just as bad. As I mentioned earlier, he jumps onto the visual arts train after a single picture. Before this awkward and abrupt transition, he was even more boring. Just a mere delinquent who is also a hardcore smoker who watches football with his buddies, who are also boring as well. I'm talking about the 'I really want to get laid so I'm going to look hardcore as shit' kind of guy, except he lacks the charm and humor of The Inbetweeners. As soon as he paints a drawing, all of his 'personality' is completely washed out. There isn't even a single word that I can use to describe him.
As I mentioned Saiki-K earlier, let me bring that point up again. Sure, I might be Nendou and have no experience whatsoever when it comes to art and don't particularly understand it, but I know that there people who do. And after watching Blue Period, I can only feel sorry for them because of how it completely washes the paint out. There's no charm, wit or anything about Blue Period. It's nothing, and is simply tailored for profit, especially when you consider the campaign done to advertise it. That's the only reason why people have bothered to pick this awful show up in the first place, and they were completely scammed with the waste of their time. Leave this one alone.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Sep 21, 2021
Violet Evergarden is seductive. Animated by Kyoto Animations, who would expect otherwise? Almost every single moment is movie quality, and the visuals and music sucks you in. Panoramic shots of this gorgeous world at almost every moment, Violet's prosthetic arms glistening in the sunlight and it's accompanied with an amazing soundtrack. This fictional world feels so... beautiful. And then, the mask is taken off. What lies behind is a complete mess. The main protagonist is exceedingly boring, with almost every move easily anticipated. A story is present yet gets shoved aside by the majority of the episodes for a side-character's — who appears never or
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only once afterwards — 'emotional' piece. When really, it's only emotional because it's either one or a combination of two things: love and loss. Blinded by the visuals and audio, it's no wonder why so many people have rated Violet Evergarden high. They convince themselves that this is truly an amazing show that makes you cry every episode, when really they pay little attention to how it flows at all.
Rei Ayanami, who is sometimes not Rei Ayanami, is a former soldier who becomes a postman to find out what 'I love you,' means, the final words of her major. Throughout the anime, she learns the importance of letting your feelings be clear to someone and moving on from past traumas and scars when she goes on a mission. She proceeds to write a letter or more for someone and it's the tool that helps her learns about love, empathy and how to unlock her feelings. However, we spend the majority of the show learning about a random side-character and how they move on with their lives following the letters, and not really about Violet at all. It feels like most of the show was completely filler and even though you can say that Violet learnt something, some episodes are just blatantly pointless. There's this one episode where Violet goes to the 'Auto Memories Doll Training School,' and spends 80% of the episode trying to get a badge. And, once she finally gets the badge, it's only relevant for the rest of the episode and doesn't get mentioned at all afterwards. Her boss, Hodgins, even says that if you want to become an Auto Memory Doll you don't even need the badge in the first place. At one point, KyoAni was probably saying to themselves, "Shit! We spent the past six episodes on completely unrelated bullshit and the show is about to end. Quick! We have to make a flashback episode!" I'm just glad that the side-character's stories were actually more interesting than Violet's, although that's not really saying anything. Besides, unless Violet has Byakugan — which would make the anime really cool if she did — how the hell would she know where to deliver the letters? In some episodes, it's pretty obvious where she has to deliver them but in others it's downright cryptic. "Please, deliver this letter to my son. But, I won't tell you where he is." "Sure, no problem." Overall, the story wasn't terrible but at times it was poorly executed.
For God's sake, it's a KyoAni production so what did you expect? The animation as everyone knows is great. Every single scene is what you'd expect to come out of a movie. It all pops right out of the screen and really comes alive. My only complaint about the animation is that some of the fight scenes are slightly corny and poorly executed. There are several scenes when Violet just starts jumping around and kicking people to oblivion in the middle of a god damn war zone. We're supposed to believe that Violet is mentally scarred from these events, but when the flashback starts rolling in it's like a scene out of HunterxHunter.
Honestly, what's the deal with all the fucking orchestral OSTs? What was the budget for this anime? I mean, it is a Netflix original series after all. While we're on the topic of sound, let's cover the voice acting. For the most part, Ishikawa, Yui did a great job for Violet. Emotional scenes feel authentic and even though Violet is monotone for most of the anime, it doesn't feel too emotionless. Other characters, such as that bob hair and glasses girl was absolutely horrendous.
Violet Evergarden — the character — is extremely boring. As I stated before, she is literally just Rei Ayanami. A mere tool who lives solely to obey the orders of her superior. Her every move is anticipated and this transition from lifeless robot to 'I'm going to cry every second' is just simply boring. She's literally just a kuudere. Besides, if she did participate in the war it doesn't make much sense as to why she would be so disconnected with people's emotions. In the midst of a battlefield, she would have seen soldiers die, people remembering their family in their last moment, and people making bonds with others. It just comes off as a petty gimmick to create this 'emotionless character who lives solely to be used.' I would assume that for most people she is simply impossible to relate with, aside from struggling to move on from scars and losing a loved one. The most mindboggling thing about her aside from all the 'I'm just a war-tool' bullshit is the fact that she's only 14 years old. Moreover, rather than developing on existing side characters such as the ones at Violet's Auto Memory Doll workplace, the show adds new ones who are barely mentioned afterwards. For a single episode, we learn about the struggles of these characters and their perceptions on love, only to completely ignore the ones who already exist.
I'm shedding tears... but this time, it's out of disappointment. Time and time again, I've heard numerous people say that 'Violet Evergarden' is an emotional, tear-evoking show and after watching it, I completely understand why. The feels were real deep with this one; I went from excited, to disappointed, to bored and finally glad that it's over. Every single god damn episode, I would check how much time is left just because of how long it drags on and doesn't get to the point. It feels like a major waste of time learning about these random side-characters and not the single protagonist of the show. Violet Evergarden had major prospects of being an amazing show, but once you actually shove aside the facade of "gorgeous" animation and music, you just get another 'emotional' anime. I would only recommend this anime to people who are illiterate.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Sep 19, 2021
Sorry, but I won't give you an 'orgasm-worthy' review by saying everything about Re:Zero was good. In truth, it wasn't.
HAREM. MEDIEVAL WORLD. MAGIC. KNIGHTS. EVERY FEMALE SIDE CHARACTER REPRESENTING A 'DERE.' ISEKAI. CRINGY ANTAGONISTS. RE:ZERO IS CORNY AND GENERIC.
Set in your steretypical, medieval-reminiscient Isekai world, Re:Zero is the edgiest piece of shit you'll find in a long time. It has the quality level of an AI writing a generic, Isekai story and a 13 year-old emo editing it to be more dark afterwards. It irritates me heavily the amount of trauma they throw towards Subaru, not that I like the guy but because it's
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supposed to matter when really it doesn't. The very fact that every time Subaru dies he goes back in time ruins everything. It's a double edged sword; it's a decent plot point but everything that happens in the story is ultimately pointless. Sure, Subaru might get traumatized and lose his sanity but are we seriously forgetting the fact that after one conversation with Rem, everything is back to normal? No more emo antics, no more grovelling and especially no more Death Note Kira moments because of one single fucking conversation. It's like Berserk for tweenagers who are obsessed with Isekai. To substitute for the lack of a decent story, it throws mindless gore and violence every five minutes after a certain point. There was a point after the second dosage of gore when I became numb to it. Subaru might cry and look pathetic as hell with his trauma, and that might be shocking the first time. But after the millionth time a character get's their head chopped off, it's just boring and corny as hell. And, the 'Return by Death' aspect just gets thrown out the window out of a few episodes and is barely mentioned.
One out of two good aspects about Re:Zero is the animation. Fight scenes, though sometimes rough, were animated rather well for the most part. At many moments, it was extremely expressive and done brilliantly. CGI was present but only used for scenes when there would have been too many characters and not everyone should be animated (such as shopping districts.) There are absolutely no complaints when it comes to the animation but a little touching up on the fight scenes would have been nice.
Surely, I can't be the only one who gets irritated to oblivion when the "uh-heh-huhhhhh..." sound effect comes in after something 'shocking' happens. Stop fucking using it all the god damn time! It's like the Danganronpa 'Found a Dead Body' sound effect, except you hear it every three minutes instead of when it actually matters. The soundtrack was decent but you're unlikely to look it up afterwards; it did it's job well with upbeat tempos for light-hearted moments and distorted themes for gore and other depressing moments. Now, the other good aspect about Re:Zero: the voice acting. Major kudos to Kobayashi, Yuusuki for voice acting Subaru. I hope the guy doesn't tear out his throat because holy shit the amount of times he had to scream is absurd. He had carried out his role outstandingly; vocalizing Subaru's utter despair was done great.
The show primarily focuses on Subaru. Like any other Isekai protagonist, he is a NEET and spends his time playing videogames. We explore his transition from an energetic, sometimes too gung-ho, individual who just wants to help people to a complete and utter train wreck. The measures he's willing to go out of desperation is absolutely ridiculous and there were times when the show was so hard to watch because of what he'd do. This, although present in numerous other anime like Death Note, was done rather well and entertaining to watch. And then, one conversation. It took one fucking conversation to dramatically flip Subaru on the verge of insanity to become normal. He goes from "Please subscribe, I'm deranged and mentally insane," to, "Hey guys, if you have the time, please go and check out that subscribe button." This pissed me off so bad. Then, we have Emilia who fortunately wasn't god awful. Unlike other female protagonists in anime — especially the Isekai genre — she is independent and doesn't particularly rely on the protagonist. In fact, I'm even willing to say she is significantly more interesting than Subaru and could've potentially starred in a medium of her own. Despite this and even being a main protagonist, she isn't really present for the majority of the anime. Rem is a yandere.
I wanted to enjoy Re:Zero. I thought that it would have been a decent Isekai when really you can just throw it into a pile of waste. My disappointment was immeasurable and I am on the verge of tears from wasting my time. In reality, Re:Zero is just another Isekai that tried to be Berserk.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Sep 18, 2021
***THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS***
Put on your cheongsams and grab your chow mein, because I'm about to write a review that will lose me 15 social credits!
First of all, why is this considered the 'hidden gem' of 2021? The voice acting is horrendously emotionless for the most part, the animation is so inconsistent by changing from mediocre YouTube fan animation quality to KyoAni on drugs, and the character development is non-existent.
Everyone's favourite, totally not cliche, sci-fi theme is time travel. Except this time, Link Click is not another Steins;Gate. Like Tokyo Revengers — another time travel themed anime in 2021 — Link Click says
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'It just works.' There is no fucking explanation as to why these two Chinese men can travel back in time. Anyways, Link Click incorporates this element of time travel into the story; Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang work at a photo studio and can travel into photos at will. Xiaoshi would enter the body of the person who took the photo and can control their words and actions at will. As a result, their numerous clients ask them to go back in time and do shit, for example: saying something they wish they had said years ago. It's like the anime had only 4 canon episodes and the rest was entirely filler because it has had little to no impact on the show's development. In addition, the ending was such a major let-down. Rather than giving a proper ending, they raise the expectations for a second season.
Like I said in the introduction, the animation is rather unusual to cover. It's good but bad as well. It seems amateur but also a high-end production. For the most part, it was mediocre. The opening's animation is fluid but it makes no sense why all the characters are dancing considering the rather somber tone of the story.
Now, sound. The opening is still suck in my mind and I just can't get it out. The soundtrack is completely forgettable. Now, for my biggest point about sound; voice acting. First of all, let me get this out of the way. This has been the first time I have ever watched anything recorded in Mandarin. I'm not aware of how they handle about voice-acting and how the general audience perceives good and bad. In my opinion, Link Click's voice acting was horrendously monotone. If it wasn't for the animation, picking up character's emotions in dialogue would almost be impossible.
Link Click contrasts the two characters Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang. Xiaoshi is brash and boisterous, and his partner in crime Guang is a mediator between the two acting as a calm and pragmatic 'controller.' Xiaoshi goes into the photos and does whatever Guang tells him. Except, Xiaoshi is reckless and proceeds to do shit that is detrimental to both client and him. This contrast is rather obvious and not particularly well done; 'Let's just give them different color hair so people can differentiate who each person is because they look the exact same.' There's also Qiao Ling, but she doesn't matter so who cares. Link Click tries to go into detail about Xiaoshi except it ends up falling short and seems like a major waste of time because they cover generic shit. 'Oh no! His parents died in an earthquake when he was younger?' Honestly, it's pathetic how desperate they are into trying to make us emotionally attached to this character. Rather than having any reason to care about him through the progression of the show, they just shove into our face his tragic backstory and expects us to care. He ends up getting all of the attention and we know absolutely nothing about Lu Guang, the other MAIN PROTAGONIST.
If you couldn't tell already, I didn't enjoy Link Click.
All in all, Link Click really makes you really feel like Batman. Watch it for the conversations about '2021's hidden gem,' regret it forever. Disappointing. Now, save this review in a document because chances are it will get taken down.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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