"I'm sorry Japan but you've gone one step too far this is it I'm doing it." -President Harry S. Truman in 1945 after hearing Japan had released Akaneiro.
Akaneiro ni Somaru Saka, or Akane as it shall hence be known, is everything that is wrong with anime. A bland and boring cast and plot, combined with a stupid ending makes for a show that will either make you wish you had yor time back, or that you could remove the rest of your remaining time and end it all. So let's dive into this dumpsterfire of a show.
Story- 3
Spoilers inbound.
So our main character Junichi meets this
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Mar 6, 2018
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
(Anime)
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"When I'm president I'm going to force those Soviets to admit that Shigatsu is the finest piece of anime ever written." -Ronald Reagan 1984
Shigatsu is that kid at the back of the room, whom on first glance looks a bit weird. You steer clear of them until you're forced into a situation where you have to interact with them, and once you do, you realise there is nobody you would rather spend more time with than them. Buckles up Ladies and Gentlemen and strap yourselves in for my review of Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso. Story- 9 Shigatsu's story is somewhat predictable yet also beautiful in its simplicity. ... Arima Kousei, a young piano prodigy who has lost his zest for life meets a girl in the park who radiates a joyous aura and is immediately captivated by her. Sound simplistic? Well that's because I don't want to spoil anything for you. Needless to say these two people bond over their shared interest in music and soon become close friends. The story can take you from a warm fuzzy feeling to crying your eyes out (to this date Shigatsu is one of the only shows I have ever cried at.) using a combination of a good plot, combined with it's clever characters, emotive visuals and downright stunning soundtrack. Art- 8 The art is beautiful. I really like it. The character's faces look a little... Different to the standard copy paste style you see most of the time now, but they don't look any worse. Indeed it gives the show its own unique style and helps it stand out as not just another generic slice of life romance with comedy undertones. So why only an 8? Well there's one thing that annoys me about the art. During the show there are several flashback sequences that talk about the character's time during their childhood, and when I say childhood I mean they're between 5-10years old. The show draws them with weird heads (imo) and they don't represent the age they're supposed to be. They also look too old normally as well, but I can forgive that as a lot of manga/anime draw their characters looking slightly older than they are. It impresses me to no end that the studio actually employed professional musicians to play the pieces the characters were to play, so they could model their hands so we could actually see the characters play the piano properly, and not just clunk their hands up and down like every other anime does. Sound- 10 Now. This is the one bit I won't have anyone argue with me over. If you thought the story was bland, or don't like romance, or thought the art looked off. That's fine. I accept that, whilst I think this is one of the best anime I've ever seen not everybody will and that's fine. But this soundtrack. There's no way you can't like it. This is a musical show done right. A gorgeous originally composed soundtrack combined with uniquely played popular classical music really evokes a lot of emotions. Shigatsu's soundtrack truly can't be beat. I'm not usually one to like anime that focus on characters playing musical instruments/singing, but this show really gets a good balance between (actually useful and insightful) internal monolouges and actually playing the music in the musical scenes. The music played also does actually sound like it's brimming with emotion, and is something I'd definitely recommend people watch. Character- 9 The character building is brilliant. The cast actually have likeable personalities and develop said personality's a tonne. Kousei starts of dark and brooding and we watch as Kaori (Our main heroine), drags him into the light kicking and screaming and we watch his slow transformation into a happy and vibrant person. Kaori also develops her character significantly as well and isn't just a plot device for our MC, but is in herself a dynamic human being. It truly feels like most of the cast and crew are genuine people, and not characters in a show. There is one reason this section doesn't get a 10 and that's Tsubaki. To put it simply Tsubaki is a ****. I'm not a fan of the secondary girl who cares for the MC at the best of times. At best, if they are done really well (which would generally mean spending more time on them than the main heroine), it makes me feel bad for them. At worst, as in the case of a show like this, where their personality is very annoying, it makes me hate them. Tsubaki is the typical tomboy character. She is the only person in the show who to me feels like a direct cut and paste with no personality, and most of the time she is on screen she ends up hitting Kousei or telling him he is stupid, followed by her running off and feeling sad about it by herself. Indeed during the climactic and emotional final scene (which had me in tears), she comes along and drops her generic dumb****ery as per usual and I wished to no end that the train that came past would have hit her. Enjoyment- 10 Incase you couldn't tell by now I enjoyed this to no end. I don't think there's really much to say for this section other than how all the other sections have not only been executed either perfectly or near perfectly, but that they are all blended together superbly as well to create one emotional and though provoking show. Overall- 10 I don't often give 10's. I currently have three shows at 10's out of all the shows I've ever watched (and I've only submitted a fraction of those on this site.). As of right now Yojouhan shinwa taikei, Jojo, and Shigatsu are the only things I deem worthy of 10's, and even then Yojouhan and Shigatsu are the only two I would consider masterpieces. Do I recommend Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso? Yes. Yes. God yes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 19, 2017
Love Live! School Idol Project
(Anime)
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Mixed Feelings Preliminary
(11/13 eps)
"The only I thing I want to drop like it's hot is this anime off my watchlist" -Snoop Dogg when asked about Love Live! at MangaCon3030.
Love Live! An anime I've avoided watching for a long time as I'm not big into musical shows, however after seeing it plastered everywhere and recieve very positive reviews, I decided I'd give it a go. Love Live is that guy who gets bullied by everyone in the class including you. You don't mean to bully them, but their is just something about them that makes you. They're weird. Is it their speech, the way they dress, or how they ... go on about odd things? You don't quite know but you sure don't like them. Let's dissect why you don't like them together. Story: 3 Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh with the score here, as plenty of anime have sub standard plots that are driven through by comedic elements and flashy gimmicks and I wouldn't rate them badly. However, I like my anime to have some kind of worthwhile story to it, something that immerses and captivates me at some level. In my opinion, Love Live! lacks that ability. The school Honoka and her friends Nozomi and Kotori attend is on the brink of closure due to nobody wanting to attend. To remedy this, they decide to form a school idol club in the hopes of attracting more people. That's it. That's the entire season. The full 13 episodes feels like it covers as much as even the most slow paced anime cover in about 5, with setting up the idol club and recruiting more members. Basically nothing happens. The formula that has been given for this season is girls want to perform a song. They need stuff like lyrics and dance moves for the song. Spend an episode setting it up and delivering it. Spend the next episode adding a new character to the cast, rinse repeat. I already find the motivations of the characters stupid. I enjoyed my time at secondary school, I really did, and if it closed down even now I'd be upset. But there is no way on gods green earth that I, or anybody I know for that matter, would do anything tangible to stop the closure, and yet this school has about 6 people who are going to do everything they can to stop it. I also know that this is a cultural difference and maybe they have them over there, but school idols sound like such a farfetched and silly thing, and even if they are a big thing in Japan, why would any parent let a kid join a school soley based on the fact that between three and six girls who will be gone within two years do singing and dancing at a good level (in an extra curricular club that no staff have invested any time or money in). By that logic I should go find the tree Issac Newton sat under and get it to teach me, because a famous man learnt there. This is again, the whole show. There's nothing new and the constant smiley never give up sunshine and love attitude gets on your nerves after a certain amount of time. There are a lot of points where you think something will happen, either an argument or some big thing stemming from an issue and instead they just sweep it under the rug and decide to be cheerful. Art: 6 I wanted to like the art. I really did. And the art itself isn't the problem to be fair. On the whole Love Live! emmits a vibrant cheery attitude through its art style, with crisp clean and nice looking images. But. And it's a big but. CGI. C-god damn GI. This is far and away the worst part of Love Live! This show contains a lot of singing and dancing, usually one (but sometimes more) songs per episode, and in every song they will just jump cut between hand drawn and CGI at random points. I'm not a fan of CGI in general, but if you're going to use it for the songs at least stick to it. Instead you just get this mishmash of awfulness where they go from flat to 3d and back again constantly, completely ruining and enjoyment you may have had watching the song. Music: 7 Love Live! Has good music. It's no Shigatsu but the music is catchy and upbeat. I'm not a big fan of Idol type music but I can still listen through this without wanting to kill myself so I consider that well done on Love Live!'s part. Also they gave us Snow Halation (2nd season) which is a meme now. Check out SiIva gunner for some dank memeage (Definitely the best thing about this show). Character: 4 I don't understand why people seem to love these characters. They're all their own brand of bland and boring. "But Gandalf!" I hear you cry "They're all so different and Kawaii, how could you say such mean things?" Firstly, any of you who was fine with the use of Kawaii please leave. Secondly, these hyper caricatures of super sweetness aren't interesting or fleshed out in any way. Just making them different is not enough to give them a personality. We firstly start with Honoko, the pig headed, dumb one who just charges ahead and does what she wants. She is the only thing that drives this story, and the plot will basically form around her saying "We need to do X", somebody else saying no, and her going ahead and doing it any way. Her stupidity is only matched by her sickeningly sweet kindness, which isn't endearing but becomes obnoxious. Kotori is next, take the sweetness again, add a really high pitched and annoying voice, and stick her in a secret maid costume and hey you have a Kotori. She is basically worse Honoka, and ends up doing the same sort of shit she does, but just doesn't get as much screen time because she isn't the mainest of main characters. Then we have Umi. If Honoka is the main driving force of the plot Umi is the one that is there purely so the viewer doesn't ask "How did they get so good without doing anything.", Umi's only job is to tell the others to train. That's it. She'll tell them they need to run more, or do more exrecise, or eat less, or get ready for singing. Basically if X needs to be done and it doesn't fit in with Honoka's personality to do it, it's Umi's turn to day something. Maki is basically again discount Umi, someone who is constantly annoyed and constantly telling the others to do stuff, but again doesn't get as much screen time. Then we have Nico. Arguably the only one with any personality to speak of but still just as annoying as the rest. She wants to be an idol but has a terrible personality. She is one of those characters that everyone makes fun of/ignores (and usually calls gross but the show is too everybody friendly to call anybody gross), even when they do something good or clever, which is a trope I've never enjoyed. Nico has a dark side however. Her idol persona is so sickly sweet you will definitely get diabetes from watching it. The first time watching the contrast between her and her persona is kind of funny and I'll admit gave me a chuckle, but it soon wears off when it's used again and again. Then we have Nozomi. She's the standard breast groping character. That's her condensed down. She does divination and gropes other peoples' breasts. Eri is the final girl and is possibly one of the worst of them. She acts like a stuck up knob for the first 8 or so episodes, attacking the rest of them with everything she has, whilst simultaneously trying to save the school by asking the chairman to allow them to "Take action", whatever that means. I'm assuming she had some great idea up her sleeve to save the school that the chairman just wouldn't allow... Oh wait. Then it turns out she hates the idea of the idol club and seems to harbour a resentment for dancing because she was a professional ballet dancer when she was younger. It then cuts to a clip of her losing a competition at a very young age. Now most shows would take this in the direction of her parents were harsh/told her winning is everything, and made her dance/punished her for now winning. In this one the kindly mother tells her it was ok to lose and that she did her best. Cut back to Eri scowling. How this is supposed to signify her hatred for them (hatred is a very strong word as she joins their group almost immediately after) I don't know. It's not even implied that she doesn't have time to dance anymore because of her family/busy life so I really don't get what they were pushing for here. Just to help everyone out, Id like to clarify I don't hate nice things, or when things go well, and that nice happy characters can be good characters. It's just that this niceness is these characters personalities. They do nothing but go around basically going "I better be nice today guys. Hoo here's me being nice again. Isn't it swell?" They all seem to have one personality trait or feature and just amplify it 10fold. That isn't how you make a good character. Enjoyment: 5 The show is meh at best. It's a cutesy feel goody thing that just tries to pump you full of "If we do things hard enough it'll work", and "Friendship is the way to go!". If you're a bit more of a normal person that won't be your thing, but if it is, this show is a 10/10 for you. Overall: 5 It's alright. It'll get you through a rainy afternoon or a long car journey if you have nothing else available to you, but it certainly isn't something you should be prioritising over other anime. Should you watch Love Live!? Not unless you love diabetes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Dec 18, 2017
Mirai Nikki (TV)
(Anime)
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Recommended
Mirai Nikki is a show I watched many years ago back when I was a yound teenager with barely any anime under my belt. At the time I found it confusing, gory, and utterly fantastic, and whilst I don't really ever talk to others about anime, would have cited it as one of the best at the time. Coming back to it 5 or so years on I can say that it's definitely not all that, but still holds up as an overall good piece of work by Sakae Esuno, and one I look forward to rewatching in another 5 years time. So join me
...
now, as I try to mark as objectively as I can, and not look back at it with nostalgia tinted goggles, the show that is Mirai Nikki.
Story: 8 The story's premise is a relatively fresh and promising idea, that has a twist on the survival game genre of shows. Yukiteru, a lonely boy who writes in his diary is one day given the power to predict the future with his diary by the god of space and time Deus. However Deus is one forgetful and downright vindictive mofo at times and neglects to tell Yukiteru that he has been entered into a survival game with 11 other contestants, all who possess their own diaries which tell the future in different ways (These correspond to the diaries their owners kept. For example Yuno kept a diary all about Yukiteru and therefore her diary can predict his future). After he meets Gasai Yuno, a girl who reveals she has been in love with him and has been stalking him for a while, they manage to beat the man who is trying to kill Yuki and begin the survival games officially, with the prize being god of space and time. Unfortunately with any show that talks about predicting the future and changing it there end up being a lot of plot holes. A LOT of plot holes, whether they be just moronic things the characters do or actual incosistencies that don't make any sense. As I want to try and keep this review as spoiler free as possible I won't go into any specific incidents, but there are a lot. On top of this Esuno has written Yukiteru to have one of if not the best diary abilities, which, when mixed with a lack of clarification on how they work, leads to a large number of times when he has to nerf Yukiteru by making information just not be there, or make Yukiteru just not look at his diary when heading into certain situations, or other such stupid ideas. The largest plot twist in the series also raises a very large number of plot holes, as one of the characters actions no longer make any sense at all. As I had seen this before and was rewatching I knew most of the major points of the show, and I found it very easy to follow along and pick these holes, however, they may or may not be as apparent to people watching for the first time. I feel like certain sections of the show have been heavily rushed, which seems consistent with Esuno's works in general, however overall I feel that the story has been well fleshed out and is enjoyable. With several of the 'arcs' being very enjoyable. The story also sticks to the darker gorier side, with light hearted episodes being few and far between (that's not to say there aren't many light hearted/funny moments, there just aren't many full light hearted episodes), it's quite nice to see an anime that hasn't fallen to the fanservice demon (although there are a few moments, it isn't offensively bad), and actually manages to follow the manga and come to a satisfying end. Art: 7 The art style is nice and clean, although personally I think it can look a little off sometimes. This is sometimes actually a benefit, as it can create an unsettling atmosphere, however it sometimes just looks plain wrong. One thing Sakae Esuno really seems to like doing is making characters who have something planned really contract their pupil and make their eyes go wider, as well as sometimes giving an evil grin. This seems to have happend to 90% of the characters at some point, but Yuno seems to do the eye thing at least once every other episode. Sometimes it really puts the fear of god into you, whilst other times she just looks like she is having a siezure. Sound: 7 The music is good, both of the openings are good and I'm a fan of the first ending too (the second is alright, just not catchy enough for me to really listen to.). They're all quite pumped up and make you feel ready for action too. Some of the soundtracks, particularly "Together with you", is beautiful, and can invoke strong emotions in people who haven't even watched the show. The voice acting in general is nice too, although Yuno's constant "Yuki" can get on your nerves from time to time. Some people absolutely hate that, it doesn't bother me too much, but be warned it will be there all the time. Character: 8 I was tempted to rank the character a lot lower, as there are some glaringly large problems with Mirai Nikki's characters, however I've ranked it this high as I feel that for all it does wrong, there is also a lot the show does right. Firstly, it has the iconic Gasai Yuno, who is what people think of whenever some distant weeb mutters the word Yandere in a darkened room. The main character Yukiteru is also someone I think is written quite well, as there is genuine character development from him, starting off as a shy and downright pathetic character, who grows into something stronger and more likeable. However, he does have frequen changes of personality depeninding on how Esuno feels, sometimes wanting to abandon people for no reason and other times insisting on saving everyone even when they have tried to kill him not long before. Another notable character is 4th, who actually has some decent character development, as well as Akise. However the other characters can vary from ok to a big let down. Most of the 'villains' only last for one or two episodes, and almost every one of them follows the structure of; 1st episode- Do reprehensible and immoral things and just seem like a dick in general, try to kill Yukiteru and by extension, Yuno. 2nd episode- Yuki has the upper hand now, time to splice in between 2 and 5 minutes of backstory where the character has undergone something tragic (namely loss of parents or being raped), which has warped them into what they are. DO YOU FEEL SORRY FOR THIS MURDERER YET? While I feel this works occaisonally, or if enough time is given to the backstory and character, most of them feel very rushed, and doesn't really make you feel sorry for the character when you remember what they've done. For example Uryuu Minene, one of the most fleshed out B characters lost her parents at a young age and turned to stealing stuff for a living, before becoming a terrorist. Great, still doesn't change the fact in episode 2 (minor spoilers), she blew up about 80 children in a school. This is a literal child murderer who the show tries to make you feel sorry for because she had no parents. Or how about the girl who owns an evil sect and tries to kill the two protagonists, followed by trying to lure Yuki out by getting about 50 of her followers to pin Yuno down and telling them all to rape her. Yeah you heard me right. To rape her. But it's fine guys. We should feel sorry for her because she lost her parents at a young age AND was raped. Hoo, what a shocker. Speaking of Uryuu, she is the most dissapointing character in my mind. A lot of people love her because she is strong and badass and to a certain extent thats true. But they completely change her character from an absolute psychopath who like I said, literally murdered about 80 kids, to someone who then goes on to be a vital ally and become some sort of Shoujo female love interest character for no reason whatsoever. It feels unwarranted and intrusive, and there's one section that anyone who has seen it will no what Im talking about with her in, that makes no sense and ruins her a hell of a lot. Some of the other characters, funnily enough the ones they don't flesh out as much, have some real charm to them, and may make you hate them, or laugh, or feel something at least. Again. The score on this one is so high, as I feel whilst there is a lot to hate about the characters, there is also a lot to love about them, and at the end of the day watching it I feel like they are somewhat well designed (even if the vast majority of them make constant completely irrational desicions) Enjoyment: 9 This is an enjoyable piece. Maybe it's because it's one of the first anime I ever watched, and seeing it again I couldn't help but keep it up on its pedestal, but Mirai Nikki is a fast paced suspenseful show. It combines gory bloody combat with heartthrobbing romance scenes. It has stuff that'll make you laugh, make you gasp, and makes a lot of people cry too. Overall: 8 The show has a lot of kinks, there's no doubt about it, but Mirai Nikki is a show that has good art and music, and that manages to successfully combine Yandere romance with gory action to create something unique and interesting. The plot twists themselves can be somewhat surprsing and interesting, and I found myself genuinely invested in what was happening in the world, even through a second sitting. Is it the best anime ever as my 13 year old self once thought? Definitely not. Should you watch it? Definitely.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 18, 2017
Mirai Nikki: Redial
(Anime)
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Not Recommended
As a fan of Mirai Nikki it pains me to say that I not only disliked the OVA, but would go as far as to say it was complete trash. Taking place two years after the last episode, Yuno is living a happy life with her friend but constantly feels like she is forgetting something. Spoilers inbound folks, here we go.
Story: 3 Spoilers Time for the story. For the OVA's story to succeed, in my mind it has to do two things. One is show us what happened after the events and also tie up any loose ends (EG the end of the final episode), in a ... somewhat entertaining and unrushed manner. Unfortunately these events wizz past you so fast you'd think Esuno was a bullet train. After showing the end of the final episode, the show cuts to the third world Yuno lives a happy life two years in the future. Whilst I feel that showing the end of the final episode can be important and useful to give people a refresh and to keep the series chronologically anchored, when you only have 30 minutes I feel like the time could be used better elsewhere to fix some of the large plot holes. Then the show goes on to basically break all laws of common sense, as Yuno somehow is still friends with Hinata, Mao, Kousaka and Akise (Who shouldn't even be there as he died in the 2nd world and didn't have his data uploaded, and in the 3rd world Deus never needed to create him as he never made the survival game), after going through about 15 minutes of fan service where the girls all fondle each others breasts (Which is hyper annoying as the show managed to avoid overly gratuitous fan service most of the way through- Keep in mind these ar 14 year old girls folks.) and meeting all the characters apart from 8th in stupid, immersion ruining scenes (Tsubaki is stalking Kousaka because she has a crush on him, I mean how did she even meet him ever?), we finally start getting to some form of plot, with only half an episode to go. I'm fine with having what is essentially a catch up episode, but to have the characters all tie in so jankily is bizzare and stupid, however 12th's scene was genuinely funny to me, but that's only because of the over the top nature of 12th in general. Then the plot begins and Yuno basically starts recieving flashbacks of 1st world Yuno's memories, and wants to find out who the person she loved is. Menawhile Deus has decided to abandon a survival game and can't figure out who to make a new god. It's nice to know the god of space and time, who knows exactly when he is going to die and has knowledge beyond comprehension can't even begin to plan for (let alone actually pick) picking a successor before his death. Yuno then ends up throwing herself under a blanket and talking to Deus and then wakes up in the Akashiacikikikikik (wherever that place Akise was supposed to go) records. After Murmur trying to stop her and Ninth helping Yuno out, she walks down the corridor to find Akise, who in this world somehow has all his memories and says how much he hates Yuno, he then tries to kill her with a sword and somehow this world's Yuno (who is just a girl in every aspect, she has had no survival game training and isn't even hardened from killing her parents), manages to overpower him and take his sword. She then reaches the weird sphere thing and unlocks it, finding the 1st Murmur who has kept the 1st Yuno's memories and wants to give them to this Yuno. Sound bull yet? Because it really is. Also Deus has decided to 180 on his duties allowing Yuno to do this and infact aiding her. She then decides she wants to go see Yuki as her memories are all back and Deus just says "yolo" and smashes through space and time (not sure why he doesn't just time travel but needs to smash open a wall), and sends this 3rd world Yuno through to go see Yuki. This is wrong on so many levels. For a start this still isn't the same Yuno, why is she allowed to travel through space and time, why did any of this happen. It just seems a contrived way of allowing every character to be happy at the end instead of having the bittersweet ending of the actual show where Yuki and Yuno give up everything for the other to be happy (or at least another version of them). My favourite line comes from Deus where he basically says "I'm not going to pick a god, because I want fate to guide us instead of me for once." this may sound semi-profound coming out of his mouth, but we have seen what happens if he picks nobody. He crumbles and dies and then giant black spheres begin destroying everything, so he has basically said "I can't be bothered to pick a successor, so let's watch the whole world burn lol.". Still, at least it's better than the ending in the manga, where you get about three panels where Deus smashes down the barrier with a literal hammer and says that he is going to make Yuno god of the third world with no explanation as to why. Art: 7 Not really much to say here. It's the exact same as in Mirai Nikki which is nice. The only real difference is because all the characters are good in this world you don't get any of those weird pupil contraction shots and the evil grins. Sound: 7 Again, it's Mirai Nikki. If you liked the music there you'll like the music here. Nothing overly fast paced and pumped up as it's a nice episode again. Like a lot of OVA's it lacks an OP. Character: 2 This seems like an odd score I know but I do have a good reason. The score of 2 isn't necessarily for the characters themselves, as I quite like a few of the characters in Mirai Nikki, but it's about their portrayal and how they act in this OVA alone. For example whilst I was never a particular fan of Tsubaki's character they completely ruined what they built by making her stalk Kousaka and basically being any harem anime girl ever. The characters are semi spoilt by this OVA, only not being completely spoilt as they're in an alternate reality, however Uryuu Minene and others that carry over between the episodes really dissapoint me on this one. Enjoyment: 5 Why is the enjoyment higher than the story and the characters? Well that's simply because it's an end to Mirai Nikki. If you stuck around to watch all 26 epiosdes of the show chances are you became at least a little bit invested in it, and this does give closure to the series, ending it just about how everybody wanted it, with Yuki and Yuno together (even if it is an incredibly unsatisfying way of doing it). I can't say I left regretting watching it, as it ended it all for me, but I am dissapointed with it. Overall: 4 Mirai Nikki Redial is an overly rushed, very fanservicey dissapointment that really fails to hit any of the notes the actual show did, however it does tie everything up into a not so neat little package and once and for all lays the show to rest. Should you watch Redial? Only if you enjoyed the main show, because trust me this is far worse than it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Dec 18, 2017
Big Order (TV)
(Anime)
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Not Recommended
(This review will try to be as spoiler free as possible to help you decide whether you wish to watch this)
After having rewatched Mirai Nikki for the first time in three+ years and enjoying myself much more than I thought I would on the second run through (although I think a lot of that enjoyment was from nostalgia), I decided to check out so of Sakae Esuno's other works and after reading the plot to Big Order I decided to check it out in the hopes of some somewhat similar quality piece. Boy was I dissapointed. Big Order is like the somewhat awkward cousin you see once ... or twice a year due to distance/family issues. Semi enjoyable for the first ten minutes as you reminisce about the past and family matters, but then quickly slips into awkward silence as you stand there looking for any other member of the family at this gathering so you can slip away as quickly and kindly as possible without damaging your boring cousin's feelings. I know Mirai Nikki is a contensious topic with some hailing the anime as the next coming of Christ whilst others wouldn't cross the road to spit on it, but when all is said and done Mirai Nikki had some objectively good features to it, such as a nice soundtrack, some form of character development (and indeed personality in the first place), and genuinely good moments that would evoke certain emotions. Big Order takes all the good parts of Mirai Nikki and throws them out the window, whilst keeping the crap like annoying whiny characters, a bizzare plot that moves at a mile a minute and often makes no sense, and enough plot holes to sink a ship. So without further ado, lets discuss why Big Order royally sucks. Story: 4 Spoilers inbound. Hoo boy. The story. The story... Big Order sure is a piece of work. The basic premise is the main character Eiji believes he caused the great destruction of Earth 10 years ago due to a divine power he obtained, and also that his sister only has 6 months left to live. In the first episode we get the set up, the exposition which immediately feels forced and boring, particularly with his sister, who just sort of sits their and says "Onii-chan" a lot. Then all of a sudden he is attacked on the way home by Kurenai Rin, one of the other main characters, and he gets into a fight with her where he uses his Order power for the first time since the destrction to win. Following the fight he binds her to his will stopping her from hurting him and not allowing her to leave 'his domain'. Already we have run into several problems. Firstly, before I rant, I'd just like to say at this point you're thinking "Ok, so this is going to be some sort of Shojo anime where every week he attacked by another order user (mainly girls), and he dominates them and eventually they sort of warm up to him over time. Sounds a but stupid but hey, I can enjoy a light hearted semi romance Shojo every so often". However, the show has already set itself up for a massive fall. By giving him the power of domination, it falls in to the same trap as Mirai Nikki, as the main character is clearly the most powerful, they have to puropsefully nerf/make up convenient rules/ completely forget about their ability to be able to make other characters have a chance at beating him and providing any tension. This in and of itself makes the show feel completely stupid. Then in the next episode he ends up fighting some more guys and this time gets introduced to the ten, half of whom you will see again about once. These ten are a callous and cold bunch, and are using Eiji to take over the world, and are the definite enemies of the show. For about ten minutes. Then we move forward with the change to taking over prefectures and seeking people out instead of having people come after him. Here he stops two nukes, but he couldn't do it himself and needed help in a moment of plot convenience. Then the plot moves again to having them go look for a healer for Sena, who then gets killed by a mysterious man (who is supposed to be one of the main villains but you never really feel any hatred for him as he is only in it about three times), then it turns out the ten aren't evil, then it turns out the evil is Eiji's father, then it turns out he isn't evil, then it turns out Sena is evil, then it turns out Sena isn't evil. See a large problem here? Plot twists happen about every minute, and they always tend to take the same shape. There are a hell of a lot thrown in and Im not sure a single one made any sense/was a good idea. I'm going to cut the story review off here and move on to the next section as otherwise it will devolve into episode by episode plot bashing. Art: 6 There isn't really much to say about the art style, it's quite nice, and has the same feel of Esuno's other works (Mirai Nikki), just be warned if you weren't a fan of the creepy contracted pupil drawings that Esuno does throughout Mirai Nikki they're back again here, but this time with far less meaning as it the characters just aren't meant to be being creepy. Eiji and Rin are also carbon copy clones of Yuki and Yuno which docks a mark. Another one is docked as the Order's are basically discount stands from Jojo, but these use cheap looking CGI to make them. Sound: 6 The sound track is alright. It's no masterpiece thats for sure, but I genuinely enjoyed some of the songs, particularly the piece that plays when Eiji uses his domination order the first few times which was a genuinely fun piece that made me feel like I was watching a superhero show, however the rest of the soundtrack was unmemorable and unimpressive, there is at least nothing offensive to the ears in it though. Character: 3 Now we come to the dregs. The characters are without a doubt the worst part of this show. In the first three episodes we are introduced to somewhere between 10 and 15 characters, of whom half you can just ignore. Eiji, the main character is boring and bland, and never progresses throughout the show. We get great character development such as him going from "I want to save my sister.", to "I want to save my sister!". Truly astounding. His character also seems to lack set personality traits bouncing from brave to cowardly to relaxed to downright insane at times without there really ever being a reason for the character change. The only attachment I felt to this character was any lingering attachment I had to Yukiteru because, as stated above he is practically a clone of him looks wise. Then we have Rin, the 'Main heroine' if you will. I put it in quotes because she is absent for half the show, being abducted and just sort of never discussed again. She goes from hating Eiji to loving him in about 30 seconds, but that never gets explored because Eiji is too busy trying to date his sister. Speaking of his sister, Sena is a very 2d character whose only role is to occasionally say "Onii-chan" and get her brother riled up. She is held as a hostage for about 80% of the film and the only reason you want her to be rescued is so you dont have to hear Eiji obnoxiously scream "SENA!" one more time. She loves her brother very much yet does a complete 180 at the end of the show for about 30 seconds before flipping back again, but that's nothing new here. I'm going to talk about the rest of the characters as a whole as they're all cut and paste useless 2d lumps that have no souls. The rest of the cast are unimagined, lack any goals or purpose, and don't have any real reason for being their. Also the commander of the ten changes personality dramatically half way through, going from being evil to good in the span of five seconds. Enjoyment: 4 My enjoyment of this was pretty low. All in all I feel like I wasted my time watching this. The main reason I stuck around from the halfway point was because the whole thing is only ten episodes, and I feel like thats a lot of the problem with this show. Because its so short there isnt really any time to discuss or cover anything, so the plot jumps a mile a minute to keep up. I don't know whether this is faithful to the manga or not, or whether it is a lot more fleshed out and actually semi decent, but quite frankly, I don't want to know anymore. Overall: 4 Again, this was a poor piece, it is very rare I walk away from an anime series with absolutely no attachment to the characters or without a twinge of sadness that the journey is over, as with most things I watch/read, however, this was one of the rare times that I can just put it down and walk away without any sadness (although I will be playing the song "Domination" again a few more times). Do I recommend Big Order? No.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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