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Mar 26, 2024
IF YOU HAVE LIMITED TIME TO WATCH ALL THE AWESOME ANIME YOU DESIRE, SKIP THIS ONE.
Fair anime to spend time in. However, I found the ending too hurried. It's like having the first episodes too slow and realizing the need to catch up on the plot by the end.
Watching this on a weekly basis was fun and I was always looking forward to it every Tuesday. However, if I'd be critical, I guess this anime is standard OP trope but with an oblivious girl protagonist in a little romance/adventure story. Animation was not it's strong suit, and I think if it were to have
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better action scenes, this anime would've been famous.
The story is straightforward, and almost had no twists in the plot. Although this is the case, I guess I kind of enjoyed it only because it was fun having something to look forward to every week. The premise of having dark hair and dark magic and knowing what is to happen just only gets this show so far.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 15, 2024
MASTERFUL WRITING
Overall: 9.5/10
It has been several years since I have seen a masterpiece (last time I think was when I was in high school). I'd like to think I have grown mature over the years, but as I revisit my MAL account from a decade ago, the sentiments on what makes a good anime a masterpiece still holds true: great world building, plot with unpredictable twists that does not deviate from said world building, circumstances of the characters and motivations; the development of key characters (including the anti-hero/villain), and with a theme that resonates with reality or that reflect the current problems of society.
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This anime checks all the boxes. Since this anime is quite old, the cinematography or animation itself was not gripping. Due to this, it took me multiple attempts to finish Monster; but finally, I decided to give it a chance and look past the art and animation. This time, I allowed the story to reel me in and boy oh boy did it deliver!
WORLD BUILDING - 10/10
Since the story is set in the real world, I guess it has been easier for the author to create settings which were conducive to the story. I guess the main challenge of this is that you need to research the location of the story so you could build a compelling picture of realism. The author and the animators were so well informed of the history, architecture, culture, and geography of both Germany and Czechoslovakia that I really felt myself being transported to Europe during the entire experience. I even thought Kinderheim 511 and the Rose Mansion were real!
PLOT - 10/10
Until the end of the series, what "Monster inside" truly meant was not clearly elucidated. Maybe I was just looking for a psychiatric pathology to be established and revealed. To my surprise, this is an effective way to maintain the overall theme of the project: mysterious, dark, and thrilling. Usually, you could identify a flop when plot twists feel rushed, unimportant, beyond the scope of the world which was built and/or if the pivot does not align with the motives of the characters. This was not the case for Monster. The plot twists were masterfully executed and made with intent. Every episode was key to the progression of the story and the development of the characters.
CHARACTERS - 10/10
Every character was well written. You could really feel that they are different people without latching on to tropes or forcing quirks into the each one. The differences were shown through a variety of scenes. As I observed with current anime, main characters usually narrate to the viewers how they find a certain character- basically telling, instead of showing who they are with defining scenarios. Moreover, Monster is one of those animes with masterful creation of rounded characters. Heck, even villains changed along the course of the story! Although, I think Tenma was basically a flat character after a few turning points. This being said, this "flatness" was crucial into mobilizing other characters to prevent him from falling into depravity.
ANIMATION - 8.0/10
For the year it was made, the animation is subpar to Studio Ghibli. But hey, this is not a fair comparison! First of all, Monster is not a movie! Second, nothing compares to Ghibli when it comes to animation (especially that time)! In addition, the theme of realism did not require those beautiful or action-packed animation we see with other animes that aired that year as well. It is just not fair to assign a rating based on unhinged expectations, and should be adjusted to the year and the importance of the art in the story telling. Sufficiently enough, they were able to paint a picture of Europe excellently, and I feel more would not be necessary.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Sep 23, 2017
*HIKIKOMORI IS REAL*
OVERALL 10/10
Premise: "Hikikomori," Social Withdrawal, Social Anxiety, Depression, PTSD
Mood: Dark but Enlightening
STORY 10/10
Well paced and well written, the story had griping twists in the subplots.
The premise is very unique, dark, astonishing, and realistic. It sheds light into psychological disorders that are currently plaguing our society. There were two subplots that were pretty much the same, and this usually shows exhaustion of creativity among writers. However in Welcome to the NHK, this case was different; it yearned to emphasize that the chances of suicide is high in cases of depression and the like. The help and moral support from other people is
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indispensable.
Living with my brother, who has been a social recluse for 5 years now, I can definitely vouch that Hikikomori is indeed real, and a pressing problem not just in Japan. I like it how the author/s of the story made an emphasis that being a Hikikomori entails financial support, and that once that kind of support is cut, they are forced out of their isolation. This brings me hope that someday, my brother will change too.
ART 8/10
The art was very good, however there were certainly scenes that were poorly drawn and animated. It could have been better.
SOUND 7/10
The music was good and was capable of setting the mood in the different scenes, although subtle.
CHARACTERS 9/10
The characters' motives were well presented. There was a great sense of individuality and progression. However, I found the presentation of the main character, Satou, to be lacking. It would have been better to have a better and clear view of his history, which will allow us viewers to speculate on how a Hikikomori is born to the society.
ENJOYMENT 9/10
If you like "thinking," and enjoys anime that delves into psychology, slice of life, conspiracy, and even romance, Welcome to NHK is definitely worth a try.
Anime Suggestion: Watamote
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Sep 19, 2017
CONTAINS NO SPOILERS
OVERALL 9/10
Even if the art and characters could have been better, it was forgivable due to the story's premise, plot, and twists. I highly recommend this for thriller nuts and sci-fi lovers out there. I you are not used to gore and blood, you may back out on this one.
STORY AND PLOT 10/10
The story is mind boggling. Twist of events will blow you away. The premise was clear and intriguing, and world laws and settings were presented just right.
ART 7/10
The art was good, but not that outstanding.
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CHARACTER 6/10
Some characters turned out to be likable. However, in the anime, most characters were not round characters. They did not develop into better characters every episode, instead an abrupt change were imposed in the last episodes of the series. Characters were not presented in more depth, and I could have wished for a clearer presentation of motives, background, and psychology of the characters. Side characters seemed to me as wallflowers.
ENJOYMENT 10/10
If you like thrillers, Mirai Nikki has it all.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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