Remember back in the day, when people still used to fap to magazines? Lucky you.
Story:
There is not much of a story, more like an excuse for the show to exist. Panzer Claw want that device (whatever it does) from Honey, she wants revenge for her killed father. Later on we get a second motivation for the heroine, though it neither changes her goals nor her attitude, so I don’t really know what the purpose of that scene was. Besides the first and the last, Cutey Honey is a monster of the week anime, with pretty much nothing important happening in the other 24 episodes. Not
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Jan 24, 2018
Detroit Metal City
(Anime)
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Seeing how money hungry the KISS guys are, I’m surprised they didn’t file any lawsuit.
Story: The idea is ingenious. A happy-go-lucky sissy who just wants to make boring ass radio pop somehow ends up fronting the most notorious Death Metal band of Japan. The jokes pretty much write themselves. But I still have to give credit to the writers, who managed to make every scene as hilarious as possible. The fans of DMC turn everything into an insane memetic story in an instant and Negishi’s untrve behavior manages to make him seem even more legit. Sure, there is some plot convenience at work, like the fact ... that there are so many people actually listening to that music, but for a comedy show that isn’t really an issue. It should also be noted that this is a black comedy. At least half of the punchlines is rape or murder, so if you are triggered by this stuff, by any means, stay away from this anime. 10/10 Art: It’s certainly not the prettiest anime to look at. It’s a bit similar to what One Punch Man (the webcomic) and Mob Psycho look like, but a little more polished. The character design is simple and works towards the gags more than it tries to create memorable looks. The animation is good and much like the designs, it’s used to assist the jokes instead of being flashy. It can be flashy at times though, some of the concert scenes are pretty cool. 7/10 Sound: The music of DMC is pretty damn cool. However, I think their sound is more reminiscent of Thrash Metal, while their look is inspired by Black Metal, but most people will probably not know the difference. It also doesn’t really matter, since they are a joke band anyways. But if you like metal in general, their songs are good and their hit single (which also happens to be the opening) is catchy as fuck. There are a couple more artists in this show, covering the genres of Punk (or more specifically Riot Grrrl), Hip Hop and sugar-coated pop, the last of which is solely used as joke fodder. Same goes for the music Negishi plays in private with one of his tunes used as ending theme. They are a hilarious contrast to the DMC songs filled with rape, murder, rape, satanism, rape and rape. 9/10 Characters: Negishi as a character has to walk a thin line. He is supposed to be likeable, yet is also the victim of most of the comedy of the show. I think they managed to balance this very well, the duality of his character is simply hilarious, as are the situations he keeps finding himself in. I believe that the only thing funnier than corrupting the innocent is doing the exact opposite and that is the basis of his character. The rest of the cast are merely means for the purpose of getting this to work. I found the manager to be way over the top more often than not, but most other side characters have perfect comedic timing. Some of the funniest scenes involved Aikawa and how Negishi keeps fucking things up. And of course the DMC fans were fantastic, making shit up on the spot to further increase the legend of their favourite band, not unlike what real life fans of some bands do, only played straight, making it even funnier. 8/10 Enjoyment: This has to be one of the funniest comedy anime I’ve seen in a long time and the fact that it is also about Metal makes it even better. The humour is completely over the top and very tasteless most of the time, which I have no problems enjoying, though some (or many) people inevitably will. However, if you are okay with the subject matter, you will be in for a treat. I was pleased by the fact that DMC never overstayed its welcome, keeping the episodes short and to the point. I don’t know how much longer this gag gimmick could have lasted, but for a dozen short episodes it is done as good as it possibly can be. Sure, there are things that could have been more to my liking, but the things that matter are there. 9/10 Overall: 8.6/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 19, 2018
Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki
(Anime)
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Why have children or pets when you can have both in one?
Story: Most anime would be more likely to focus on the fact that there is a romantic relationship between a girl and a wolf (how exactly am I supposed to call him? He is not a werewolf technically speaking) and how this would make it difficult to get together or maintain the relationship or how people are against it or whatever, depending on which direction you want to take the story to. But this time we get something completely different, the bestial...er, I mean relationship is just the setup for something completely different. Instead we ... focus on a single mother struggling to make ends meet and raising two children, who also happen to be wolf hybrids (I think I’ll use that term, sounds about right). Okay, all that is already rather obvious from reading the synopsis, so let me switch to what happens afterwards. Hana has a really hard time not only raising the two, but also keep their secret…secret. This opens a whole new bag of problems, which was explored surprisingly realistic, like the youth welfare checking up on her and her being terrified of her kids going to school. I enjoyed this part of the movie most, as it invokes a kind of adult fear (at least at a certain age, I can’t speak for younger viewers of course). You want the kids to grow up healthy and the mother to make it through somehow. It’s a pretty inspirational tale, but as I said, it may not click with younger viewers that much. They might be more interested in the later part, when Ame and Yuki are teenagers and the focus shifts over to them. The usual unsureness (is that a word that exists?) is fueled additionally with them coming to terms with what they are and what they would rather want to be, human or wolf, while their mother is completely overwhelmed by their inner turmoil. I found this part to be less interesting personally, but I can somewhat see the appeal in it. The ending was more about the mother again and the emptiness after the children leaving the nest. As the viewer more or less watches the two grow up, the feeling is also transferred to them, making Wolf Children a touching story. It does have it lengths however, depending on what you want from the story and who you relate to more. It was necessary to construct it this way, but it sadly prevents a good story from being a great one. 7/10 Art: I don’t think I’ll ever become a fan of Mamoru Hosoda’s artstyle, even though there is no real reason for me to criticize it. It’s not ugly or weird or anything, in fact it’s refreshingly unique. I…just don’t really like it for some reason. But hey, onions man. Putting this aside, the animation is great and very fluid. I could talk about color composition and shading as well, but you know damn well that I have no clue what these things even are so I’ll refrain. From what I can judge as a layman, everything looks really good and smooth and not liking an artstyle does not stop me from saying it’s well done. 9/10 Sound: All voices were fitting choices for their respective characters and executed well. The emotions were believable and the general tone fit the story as a whole. The soundtrack was a nice fit for the movie without being very outstanding. The ending song was a cute little song from the mother’s point of view, but I found it to be a little too much in terms of trying to be emotional. Overall, the sound quality was good and low-key to not distract from the tranquil atmosphere that was present for most of its run. 7/10 Characters: As should be obvious at this point, I liked Hana, the mother character. She is a sweetheart who gets fucked over by life multiple times, so it’s not that hard to pity her. But she’s not a helpless character, in fact, she manages surprisingly well in most situations. She was the best possible mother the kids could have gotten, although I sometimes had the impression that she should have been stricter, but what do I know, I don’t have children. Her husband didn’t have much screen time, so I am not entirely certain on what I think of him, but he seemed like a pretty swell dude. The time they spent together was put in a really heartwarming sequence, so it hit harder to see him die all of a sudden. The kids are insanely cute when they are toddlers, so it’s easy to relate to Hana in worrying about them. What I liked was how the children’s personalities changed over time, which is a very normal process in real life and a realistic portrayal was what they were aiming for (despite the whole wolf thing of course). Yuki was a very wild child, but after realizing she was the odd one in school, she changed her lifestyle into a more generic girly one, though her aggressiveness does shine through every now and then. She struggled with her heritage more than her brother, as she just wanted to fit in, something we all experienced in one way or another during puberty. Ame went the other way, from a timid little boy into an edgelord. Just kidding, but he ended up being a brooding, nonsocial teenager, being more driven to his wolf side. I couldn’t relate to him very much, despite being an edgelord myself when I was his age. Makes me remember how much I myself changed over the years, now that I think of it. So in the end, we have three vastly different characters, so viewers should be able to find somebody relatable to them. In terms of minor characters, most of them were really very minor. Mentionable was Nirasaki, the grumpy old man who reluctantly helped Hana learning how to farm. An oddly charming fella I might say. I also liked Yuki’s classmate, who first appeared to be a hot-headed shonen wannabe, but ended up a rather understanding boy. Most of the characters turned out to be more multilayered than what they first appeared to be. I enjoy such realistic approaches, even in a fantasy story like this. It makes the whole thing feel more grounded. 8/10 Enjoyment: Wolf Children was an easy watch and never had me bored or anything. On the other hand, I also didn’t feel the feels as heavy as others did, though it certainly had its moments. I found the second half to be a bit weaker than the first, which ideally should be the other way around (or not at all). The story is very slow-paced, so this might not be your cup of tea, but if you enjoy slice of life or iyashikei works, this movie is a drama that you can enjoy. Also, it looks really good and there are no big plot holes or writing problems. Not as outstanding as its MAL ranking would suggest, but definitely a good movie. 7/10 Overall: 7.6/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 12, 2017
Kuragehime
(Anime)
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Mixed Feelings
Olé, olé olé olé!
Story: What exactly IS the story of Kuragehime? Is it about the imminent closure of the apartment complex the main character lives in? Or is it about the love triangle between her and the two brothers? Or is it about Tsukimi coming out of her shell? Hard to say, maybe it’s about all these things, maybe about none of them. The direction isn’t clear at all, but that is not a fatal issue thankfully. The comedic scenes work regardless of the context and the romantic aspects are at least interesting. On the downside, that’s pretty much it. If we’re talking about a story ... having flesh on its bones (and I have no idea if that is even a real allegory or whatever), this anime is slenderly built. Certain things, like the older brother romance, suddenly get aborted while others, like the potential sale of the building, lead absolutely nowhere. I get the feeling, that Kuragehime would have been better off being an episodic show than trying to tell a continuous story. 5/10 Art: Kuragehime doesn’t have much to show off in terms of special effects, obviously, so the focus is automatically on the character designs and the overall color scheme. For a story grounded in reality, the anime is quite colorful and features a bunch of creative and distinct characters. I liked what they did with Tsukimi a lot, she is not exactly ugly in her “usual” form, more very plain and unkempt. Once she does dress up, she actually looks pretty good. But not too good, that would have been unbelievable. Featuring a pretty boy transvestite also gave the creators the possibility to play around with outfits, which I will not comment on further as I have no sense of fashion whatsoever, but I will say that they were creative with that. This show feels a bit older than it really is, which may or may not be intentional, but it seems a little odd to me. To break all this down into a single sentence, Kuragehime looks fine, nothing special but for what it is it’s absolutely okay. 7/10 Sound: The opening song is kinda cacophonic, but it’s so charming that this doesn’t matter and I ended up enjoying and rarely skipping it. Now that I think about it, that was probably intentional. The ending song was also quite likeable, though less morable. All the voices were pretty good and fitting, especially Mitsuki Saiga as the androgynous Kuranosuke. The side characters ended up annoying me after a while, including their voices, but that doesn’t have anything to do with how well they were done. As far as score goes, I didn’t notce anything exceptional. 8/10 Characters: I already mentioned the side characters, so let’s start with them first. Most of them are one joke ponies, which isn’t bad in itself, but if you expose them too much they really get on your nerves and some of them have this problem going on. Jiji for example is rather harmless, she does have no other character trait besides being into old men, but she only speaks up very rarely. Mayaya however talks a lot, all the time. And it is never funny or doing anything to advance the plot or whatever. In general, I had the feeling the girls were more concerned with keeping up their nerdiness than facing the problems at hand. The only one having anything reminiscent of depth was Chieko. Tsukimi and Kuranosuke on the other hand were much more interesting and likeable. At least they actually did something. They were also quite believable in action and words, having some awkward moments (like we all do), but being somewhat fun to be around, though in very different ways. The brother was a nice guy, but his character development just kinda stopped when the relationship focus went from Tsukimi to that other slut. In total, the main cast is fine, but it lacks the strength to carry the show with a mediocre at best sidecast constantly interfering. 6/10 Entertainment: I didn’t have a bad time watching Kuragehime, not at all. But in the end I have to ask myself weather I was really entertained or if I simply wasted a couple of hours with nothing getting stuck. I’m still not entirely sure about the answer to that question. It doesn’t hurt to watch this show, it does have a different approach to female characters, being completely devoid of sexualization or fanservice and having “ugly” heroines as well as a transvestite that is not played for laughs or hardcore molesting gay, so if nothing else, it’s a breath of fresh air if you want to escape the titty monsters of most anime. There isn’t much else I can say to recommend it though, except maybe that if you have nothing better to do, you might as well just watch this. A nice show with little to no lasting impact. 6/10 Overall: 6.4/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Nov 13, 2017
Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica
(Anime)
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This is the slightly shorter version, if you are interested, you can read the unabridged one as blog entry on my profile.
Story: Usually the story of a magical girl anime is about the main character becoming…well, a magical girl, learning and growing and turning a whiny, timid girl into a confident, strong woman. Of course exceptions may exist (I am not an expert on this genre, even though I’ve watched some of the more prominent shows). Madoka takes a different road to get to the same destination. Madoka Magica is the story about a girl growing stronger and becoming a more confident person by NOT becoming ... a magical girl. Instead we witness her witnessing the paths of other magical girls and learning from their mistakes. People have accused her of being a nuisance to the story, but these folks seem to be missing the whole point of the show. Being a magical girl is not glamorous or fulfilling and least of all rewarding. The anime tries for a somewhat realistic approach of the subject. What would real girls do if they were given the opportunity, if they were fighting these abominationsI personally think that Madoka just seems grim to many people because it does not leave out the negative aspects of being a magical girl. Sure, other shows had that too, but having both, the realistic side of it and the negatives, might make it an uncomfortable watch. But one should not overlook the fact that the overall message it is trying to get across is a very positive one (even if it may not sound like it). Think before you act. But without a thrilling story this would all go to waste, so let’s take a look at that. The characters have different opinions and philosophies, which often do not work out well with those of others. What begins as a fight between magical girls and witches evolves into a much, much bigger picture until we are left with nobody being truly right or wrong and the outcome being completely uncertain. Even the ending does not make itself clear. The road throughout these 12 episodes is filled with twists and turns and if you manage to watch Madoka completely unspoilered, you will be in for a couple of big surprises (unless you are really good at guessing). But Madoka becomes even BETTER when you rewatch it with full knowledge. Which brings me to another thing that this show does incredibly well. There are tons of little details that are easy to miss the first time around, heavy, heavy foreshadowing of later events in the earlier episodes. There is so much going on that one can only fully digest it in a rewatch. One final thing before we move on. Often, I have whined about 12 episode anime being too short for their own good. That is not the case here. Sure, Madoka has the advantage of being an original creation, so it doesn’t need to convey itself from one medium to the other, but it is still remarkable that this anime has no filler whatsoever. Every scene, every small remark has a purpose. This allows for the rather complex story to be perfectly played out in just about four hours. In total, the writing and direction is absolutely stunning. The people at work here knew exactly what they were doing. I would never go so far as to call something perfect, but this is probably as close as it gets. 10/10 Art: Character movement is very smooth and looks natural, something I highly appreciate after watching one too many anime where this was not the case. It’s always a matter of how much it fits the work, so for comedies for example, unnaturally animated characters can be perfectly fine. In a serious show like this however, it’s crucial to make the people look like, well, people. The special effects work just the way they should, there is no badly used CGI that has sadly become the standard (and the recap movies are guilty of this as well). The responsible person for character design is Ume Aoki, best known for the cutesy girls in Hidamari Sketch. While the girls in Madoka are not as cuddly as them, they are still designed to be cute. This was one of the major factors that were used to mislead the audience into thinking this would be a light-hearted show and to this day makes it very hard to convince people that Madoka is not a simple moe anime. One might argue that this design choice is irritating and distracts from the overall experience of the drama, but I disagree. The backgrounds are often overlooked when talking about Madokas artwork, but I think they play an integral part. The world of Madoka Magica looks highly technically advanced, which also makes it feel very cold. A very good example is the school, which is full of high tech and glass walls. It gives me a vibe of claustrophobia. On the other hand, the landscapes, which are often very effectively shown in wide angle shots, do the exact opposite. It should also be noted, that there are multiple real world buildings to be seen, which is a cool little bonus for those who recognize them. This is probably a good opportunity to address a certain aspect of Shaft anime, the hardly finished TV version vs. the revised DVD/Blu-ray version. While this would usually be a huge problem and embarrassment, Shaft somehow manages to work with it, most prominently in the Monogatari series. In Madoka, the two versions can create two very different scenarios and even character aspects. For example, on TV, Mamis room was completely empty, sticking out like a sore thumb. The revision completely changes this to a room filled with tons of girlish accessories, which can ALSO be seen as a sign of her loneliness, only this time she tries hard to cover it underneath all the kitsch. 10/10 Sound: Yuki Kajiura does an incredible job here. Pieces like “Surgam Identidem”, “Nux Walpurgis” or “Symposium Magarum” make their scenes and leave an immense emotional impact. “Anima Mala” and “Venari Strigas” emphasize the darkness and tension respectively in the scenes they are in and the ever haunting “Sis Puella Magica” constantly emits a mysterious aura, like something is not quite right. I could talk for hours about almost any piece of the soundtrack. The opening song is one of the weakest of the soundtrack, but that is very subjective, since I don’t like J-Pop very much. It’s still a lot nicer to listen to than many other random anime openings, and it has a secondary function as well. As part of the false advertisement as a kid-friendly happy-go-lucky magical girl show, the opening song is exactly what the viewer would be expecting of such a thing. Same goes for the first ending song, that you may not even know, but it is used after the first two episodes on the blu-ray. After the mask went off, the ending was changed to the fantastic “Magia” by Kalafina. There’s one more ending for the blu-ray version of episode nine. It’s a cute duet done by Eri Kitamura and Ai Nonaka, the voice actors of Sayaka and Kyouko. Speaking of which… The voice acting is very, very good. Actually not that surprising if you take a look at the cast of the show. Let’s start with the two I already mentioned. Kitamura is great at doing extreme emotions, that’s why she usually voices hot-blooded characters. With Sayaka, she can run riot in that department and she did. Kitamura is a perfect fit. Nonaka does more or less the opposite. Most of her more prominent roles fall into the category of moe, something Kyouko does not stand for (even though she is, but you know what I mean). She doesn’t even sound much different than usual, but she makes it work nonetheless. The fact that she is portrayed as a heartless monster (at first) but still sounds like a little girl makes her cruelness all the more jarring. Aoi Yuuki is an expert in voicing cute, innocent girls, so Madoka befits her nicely. But despite being very convincing as a whiney, weak girl, she is more than able to step up her game later on, when we see Madoka a lot more confident. Chiwa Saito reprises her role as Senjougahara by playing another seemingly emotionless mystery girl. Later on, when we get to see more sides of Homura, she recalls her whole repertoire in an overwhelming fashion. It’s hard to believe that these two are the same person and that is exactly what we are supposed to feel. Emiri Katou does a convincing little alluring bunnycat, but not too cute, after all, Kyuubey is an authority figure (kind of). Kaori Mizuhashi does a wonderful job as big sister role model Mami Tomoe and at this point I have to stop myself, because I start to sound like an advertisement for these people’s agency. To make it short (too late boy), the voices are all done very well and with attention to detail, showcasing a lovely amount of passion for the project. 10/10 Characters: The cast of Madoka is relatively small, with only about a dozen named characters and only have of them recurring. However, these characters are interesting and fleshed out enough, that they are all you need to tell a compelling story, especially if you take the constant character development into account. All five girls have a solid backstory that explains their actions and thoughts and make them believable, while we are left mostly in the dark about Kyuubeys motivations and goals until the end. How multi-dimensional the characters are is especially blatant in the many, many dialogues Madoka has. Very often the girls can be seen in pairs of two, showing how much they differ from each other but also what they have in common. Due to their very different personalities, each of these pairs has vastly different dynamics. Madoka, the girl this show is named after seems to be the main character. Makes sense, right? But as the story progresses, this fact comes into question, as several plot points hint at somebody else being the real main character. She is however the center everything revolves around, but I can somewhat understand how one can overlook this as she is often damned to a passive role. She is anything but however, as long as she is given the chance. You see, even though she is a timid girl with low self-esteem, she is not a coward that just swells in her helplessness. That’s the point of her character, she does not like how things are going and she tries to find a way to change this. Homura is the other character one can say is the focus of this anime, though we don’t get to know much about her until late in the series. Her objectives and abilities remain mysterious for a long time, all we know is that she has knowledge that the others don’t. The fact that it is never fully clear which side she is on makes for a lot of tension for everyone and much like Madoka, she is trying to change things, but she is able to work towards this more actively. Once we get to take a look at who she really is, she becomes a much more sympathetic character, even though her goal is a very selfish one. Even though Madoka and Homura are the protagonists of Madoka Magica, the driving force of the story is somebody else: Sayaka. The constant descend into drama has a lot to do with her and how she is slowly but surely mentally broken. She starts out as the more confident and pro-active companion to Madoka and unlike her, she is very decisive and has a clear morality and opinion on things. She is very into the idea of becoming a magical girl and the fact that this utterly destroys her leaves a lasting impact on Madoka and changes her perspective accordingly. What I especially liked about Sayaka was how well handled her love story is. Usually, these feel like they are shoehorned in, but here, the whole thing is believable and makes sense in context. It also works in terms of showing us a different side of the otherwise brash and tomboyish Sayaka. And then there are Kyouko and Mami. Due to the rather short runtime of the anime, these two get the short end of the stick, which is a pity, but not necessarily a bad thing. They both serve a purpose to the story and in my opinion, the fact that there is much left to explore with them makes them the most interesting of the magical girls. There is a lot that is told between the lines, especially when it comes to Mami. We get to see her as this proper and a bit cocky big sister type that acts as the mentor of Madoka and Sayaka and only at the very end we get a glimpse of what lies underneath: loneliness. She is not only lonely, she becomes possessive the very moment the possibility of a friendship presents itself. Everything Kyouko says and does early on leaves the impression that she is a villain, but this is not a world of black and white. She is more or less right, there is no turning back and now it’s all about survival. That’s awful, but that’s how it is and there is nothing you can do about it. Only when she has a change of heart does her world crumble as well. Kyuubey is an interesting villain, as he is not evil in a tradtional sense. He lacks emotions (that’s what he claims at least) and most of all empathy. The magical girls are merely means for the purpose of his bigger goal and he couldn’t care less how much they suffer or if they survive or die horribly. In fact, their suffering plays into his cards so he is pushing them towards the edge in a passive-aggressive manner quite often. How much of what he says is the truth has been the subject of heated debates for years and I think that is what makes him so intriguing. All we know is that he is the root of the problem for everybody else. I’m going to refrain from talking that much about the rest of the cast, they are of less importance (though they aren’t exactly unimportant, mind you) than the six main characters and are therefore fleshed out a lot less, but they still fulfill their roles exactly like they are supposed to to keep the story moving. 10/10 Enjoyment: Madoka Magica is a well-written, well-animated anime with an interesting cast, a fantastic soundtrack and most of all, a plot that makes sense from start to finish. I’m sure many of you will be able to find something to pick on, but for me, this show is as good as it gets and I have yet to see something better. Everything works, there are no weak spots. I highly recommend Madoka for anyone, no matter what kind of anime you usually prefer. Sure, my opinion might be clouded by Madoka being my favourite anime, but aren’t all reviews subjective anyway? I think this anime justifies all the hype, even if internet hipsters like to bash it. I couldn’t find a flaw that would have made me not give a perfect score (my very first in 100 reviews). 10/10 Overall: 10.0/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Nov 12, 2017
Fate/Zero 2nd Season
(Anime)
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They should’ve called this „Saber, Rider & the Star-Sheriffs“. What a wasted opportunity.
Story: We pick up right where we left and as I hoped for, the second season gives us some more action (though I’d still not call it an action festival by all means). The fronts are clarified and now we get to see the actual “tournament” happening. Of course this makes for some emotional scenes as, inevitably, some of the likeable characters bite the dust. All the leftover questions get answers and we finally receive a conclusion. I have to say though, I found it a bit confusing and unsatisfying. Sure, there isn’t much ... space for Fate/Zero to end, as it is a prequel, but I would have liked something else better. That’s not saying it was bad, just not what I would have preferred. 8/10 Art: There isn’t anything left to say that I didn’t already in my season one review, it’s breathtaking. 10/10 Sound: Pretty much the same here as well, though I came to really enjoy some of the voice actors, mainly those of Saber, Irisviel and Gilgamesh. They managed to really sell their respective characters to me. Otherwise, we still have the awesome soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura and new openining and ending, both solid performances (I did like the first opening a teeny tiny bit more). 10/10 Characters: The main focus of this season is Kiritsugu, whose motives were established before, but not elaborated on. I found his backstory somewhat…confusing. Suddenly we have a vampire zombie outbreak? That was truly bizarre and felt like it belonged in another show altogether. Putting that aside, it was still interesting and entertaining, but man was that bizarre. Sadly, Saber was still a little too moody for my taste, but at least she got some really cool highlight scenes. The Kirei-Gilgamesh-Tokiomi triangle got more intense and Kariya also got some more time. They have cut back a bit on Rider/Waver scenes, but that’s okay, they had plenty exposition in the first season. In total, everybody received a reasonable continuation and those that got more spotlight were fleshed out more. 9/10 Enjoyment: Season two followed up the first one really well, even if it turned out a bit different from what I had imagined it would be. It still managed to keep most of the promises it made and had me glued in front of my monitor just as much as season one had. If I had to pick just one, I’d probably go with the first, but I was not disappointed. 9/10 Overall: 9.2/10 (Yes, it’s a little shorter this time around, I didn’t feel like repeating myself too much)
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Nov 10, 2017 Mixed Feelings
Corpse Party? That’s not who I voted for.
Story: Coprse Party progresses quite fast, which makes sense considering there’s only four episodes. But it manages to not skip over important content or create immense plotholes on its way…at least not more than it would have done anyway. The story itself is a bit confusing, it did not fully understand the rules of this ghost dimension or what was going on in general. Some of the explanations came out of nowhere. The appeal of this show is a different one though, so it doesn’t affect the enjoyment a whole lot, but it is noticeable enough to make it ... potentially hard to follow. Of course, what people most likely came to see is the splatter. This is easily one of the goriest shows out there. It’s mostly kept in “realistic” boundaries, but the one scene where somebody gets smashed high speed against a wall looked totally over the top. Anyway, as mediocre as the whole story is, the ending was surprisingly good and satisfying. 6/10 Art: The character design is not the most inventive one. I dare say, they all look rather bland. But that’s okay, because they are supposed to be normal students and what better way to portray them as such than by making them look accordingly? The animation was good from what I can see, the directing was as well. At times however, the setting was a bit too dark for my taste. I know, you wanna make it spooky and stuff, but I would have appreciated to see more details from time to time. Speaking of details, being an OVA, Corpse Party can get away with much more gruesome stuff than a tv show ever could. And boy, do they use this possibility. If you have a weak stomach or are not all that comfortable with gore, then this is not for you. I would have preferred to see severed body parts look a bit more messy than this, the cuts were way too clean. Somebody in the production crew also seems to have a serious bowel fetish. Do people even have so much (many?) bowels inside? But hey, it was a bloody mess, that’s what you wanted, right? 7/10 Sound: Music plays an important part in the genre, you wouldn’t be horrified by a happy pop song, would you? Although American Psycho proves me wrong here. Anyway, the usual thing to do is have scary music, especially during suspense scenes. It’s as easy as it is effective and Corpse Party does it well. The opening song is also a pretty good one, dispersing the atmosphere of horror without doing it with a hammer. Pretty much the same goes for the ending song. The sound effects were disgusting, as they should be. Cutting somebody’s head in half accompanied by a squishy sound of slicing makes it as disturbing as it is supposed to, great job there. The voice acting was okay, they managed to sound convincingly frightened, that’s enough for me. The only voices that bugged me a little were Mayu and Yuka, who tried too hard to sound cutesy (I shall scourge myself for criticizing Eri Kitamura). 8/10 Characters: Corpse Party is partially a slasher show, so it has the same problem that pretty much every slasher movie has. You don’t have time to establish the characters before you gotta start the killing. To be honest, I didn’t care for any of the characters, though obviously it’s uncomfortable to see a little girl being tortured to death, but in general, I didn’t feel particularly bad for any of them, because I didn’t know who the hell these people are. I acknowledge that they tried to portray some of them as sympathetic, but there are only so many fucks I can give about somebody who had about three lines of dialogue before their death. Much more interesting are Sachiko and her motives. Creepy children don’t usually creep me out the slightest, but she was portrayed more as sinister than just oooh spooky. I found her reasons to make sense (as much as this bizarre setting can make any) and her ultimate fate was conclusional and fitting. I have no idea however what was up with that ghost chick with the glasses who delivered exposition and then she somehow was evil all along. Maybe it was for the better they didn’t dig deeper into characterizations, we might have ended up with an incoherent mess of a cast, it’s confusing enough as it is. 5/10 Enjoyment: The mix between traditional spooky horror and slasher gore was interesting. The story was confusing, but I could focus on the violence, so that wasn’t all that problematic and again, I really liked the ending. I was a bit baffled how everybody so quickly accepted that there were ghosts walking around, but then I just blamed it on cultural differences. Seeing everybody getting killed off was fun, as I wasn’t emotionally invested. I was also glad that the show was relatively short, otherwise I would’ve probably gotten bored around episode 6 or 7. I can recommend this to anyone who just wants to see people getting violently slaughtered, not so much if you’re looking for something more meaningful. For what it was, it was okay, nothing more, nothing less. 6/10 Overall: 6.4/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Nov 8, 2017
Hidamari Sketch
(Anime)
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Thankfully my nutbladder survived…for now.
Story: Like with most (all?) slice of life anime, “story” has to be seen as relative, as there is no plot moving forward here. We witness a bunch of art school students doing what they do with their lives, which only rarely includes art. Most of the time they eat or talk about eating. I somehow get the expression from shows like this and many others, that food is very important in Japan. Anyway, Hidamari Sketch is certainly not one of the most exciting shows out there, but it manages to be somewhat entertaining with all its little interactions. Yeah, this anime ... is a slow one, even for its genre, but it makes up for it in other departments. As somebody who has neither any knowledge nor interest in art (in terms of creating it, of course I enjoy consuming art in form of, for example, Asian cartoons) I was relieved that it wasn’t the focus, but means for the purpose. It’s not that easy to make something interesting for laymen, as many sports anime can attest, but the times art played a part in here was well done. 7/10 Art: The directing, cutting, camera angles etc. are the usual unnerving style we know from other Akiyuki Shinbou shows like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei or the Monogatari series, but not as massively used here. It’s very interesting to see the style of Akiyuki Shinbou in a show that is not the least bit bizarre (otherwise). This contrasts heavily with the character design by Ume Aoki, something that fans of Madoka might be all too familiar with (is this what Madoka would look like without the influence of Urobuchi?). Hidamari popularized the wideface, which can be seen on occasion even today and which I personally like a lot. The girls all look pretty cute and the world of Hidamari is colorful, yet not in bright, flashy colors but more in mellow and calming tones. Again, I don’t know the first thing about art, so please don’t call me out on my lack of terminology. All that said, I still don’t think Hidamari Sketch looks very special compared to other anime. It’s all solid and good, but not spectacular. 7/10 Sound: The opening song is cute and catchy, as one would expect from such a show. I don’t remember much about the ending, rather forgettable song, but not terrible or anything. Pretty much the same can be said about the rest of the score, it was unobtrusive, which is better than something annoying or unfitting, but nothing to write home about. The voice acting was solid throughout, many of the cast members are well known names who know what they are doing. Yuuko Gotou amazes me everytime by playing well-mannered, soft-spoken girls (the total opposite of her real self). It’s also kinda sad how enthusiastic the late Miyu Matsuki (as Yoshinoya-sensei) sounds, poor girl. I had some issues with the sound quality, loud voices sounded overdriven, but I don’t know if that was a quality problem of the show or of the source I used. I tried a different one, but it still seemed to be that way. But since I can’t pinpoint for sure that Hidamari itself is to blame, I will not hold this against it. 7/10 Characters: Hidamari Sketch has the classic four girl ensemble, with all the stock characters present. That doesn’t sound very fascinating, but it’s really all you need as long as the writing is good. We have the soft-spoken cutie, the total nutcase, the well-mannered lady and the tsundere tomboy, as well as the airheaded teacher and very eccentric principal as side characters. Everything that happens in this show is based on the interactions between these people and for what it’s worth, it does its job. Yuno is the main focus of the anime and therefore acts as the viewer surrogate. How well this works is dependent on the viewer of course. For me, I could relate to her love of anything cute and the friendliness (I try, I swear), but her interest in arts and food didn’t click with me. I had more fun with Miyako, who was by far the funniest character in the show. I also enjoyed their interactions, as Miyako is not a complete troll like others of her archetype, just a playful friend who is a little…special. She’s not only about having fun, but having fun with her friends. There was one episode where she helped out Yuno while she had a fever, that was really sweet. Sae and Hiro weren’t fleshed out enough for my taste, so I couldn’t get into them much. They felt less like main and more like supporting characters. Sae did get somewhat of an arc dedicated to her, but that wasn’t all that relatable for me. Hiro didn’t have much to say besides having weight issues (for whatever reason, she looks perfectly fine) and having romantic subtext with Sae. In fact, I’m not even sure this is still subtext, they seemed to be pretty much a couple. Yoshinoya was a fun side character, but I’m glad she only appeared on occasion. I think I would have gotten tired of her by too much exposure. So, while I think the characters worked well enough for this show, they didn’t give me anything on top of that, which is not a problem in itself, but the possibilities weren’t exploited to their fullest. 6/10 Enjoyment: I apologize if my review thus far seems a little lackluster, but it’s very hard to put Hidamari Sketch into words. This show is more of an experience, for lack of a better word. However, I found this anime to be a little too slow for my taste. Pacing in slice of life is a delicate art and in this case, I feel it didn’t work out all that well. It’s still enjoyable, but I think there is a reason Hidamari Sketch is not as popular as, for example, Lucky Star or Azumanga Daioh. It’s a solid show by all means, but it misses that special something, that one thing that sets it apart from other anime of its kind. For a fan of the genre, it is worth a watch. But if you want to take a peek inside the world of cute girls doing cute things, you may be better off starting somewhere else first. 7/10 Overall: 6.8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 25, 2017
Shokugeki no Souma
(Anime)
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If cooking is porn, are pizzas prostitutes?
Story: If you’ve ever seen a battle shounen you pretty much know what you can expect from Food Wars. The only difference is that the characters cook instead of fighting. Even though that sounds like the lamest concept ever, it works surprisingly well. Instead of specific fighting styles they have different styles of cooking, which is something that allows for a far bigger variety than punching faces ever could. After watching the first season I kind of wonder why nobody else thought of this before. Well, there is Toriko, but that’s not exactly the same. The idea of cooking battles ... is as genius as it is simple. The show is able to play all the usual tropes straight but have them feel fresh because of how they are presented. You have the hyper-talented underdog protagonist, the top level jerkass rival our hero wants to beat, the greatest generation ever, a tournament arc, and so on and so on. The gimmick to lure in viewers are the infamous foodgasms, which I could have done without, but hey, it attracts viewers so why not. They kept them at an acceptable level though. However, as good as Food Wars is at playing the shounen genre straight with its different approach, it has one flaw that can make the show tiresome at some points. The cooking duels can’t have much of a variety in terms of how they are structured. People cook, judges eat, they rate. This is especially noticeable near the end when dozens of characters have their food rated in the Autumn Elections. There is only so much you can do with judges saying how truly great that stuff it before you wish they would just go on already. For now, that is a neglectable minor problem, but it could prove crucial in future seasons. While we’re at the subject of seasons, I hate cliffhanger endings and sadly, Food Wars has one. It ends after the preliminaries, before the knock out stage of the tournament. 9/10 Art: The term food porn that has been attached to Food Wars is not only because all the hot chicks get naked and cum every time they eat something yummy, but also because of how good the food looks (you know, the original use of the term). It’s hard to watch this anime and not get hungry, so you might want to postpone watching until after your diet. Since I am as skilled at cooking as an amputated monkey, I have no idea how true to original the dishes are, but for me, they look convincing. The characters all have a unique look, which is a necessity for a huge cast, and they look pretty good. The animation is somewhat mediocre at times, but definitely above the line of minimum requirement. 8/10 Sound: The first opening song isn’t really anything special, but it is somewhat catchy, I give it that. Same goes for the first ending song as well. I did not care about the second opening or ending, they were pretty forgettable to me. The voice actors are all very solid, but nobody stands out in my opinion. That’s not a bad thing, most of the characters fall into stereotypes anyway, so it’s well enough they sound accordingly. The cooking sound effects were pretty good and added to that damn hunger building up while watching. In terms of sound, Food Wars is a solid production without any remarkable highs or lows. 7/10 Characters: The cast of Food Wars is big and colorful, not only in visuals but also in personality. Sure, none of them are incredibly creative or groundbreaking in any way, but much like all the shounen story stereotypes, they work in this environment. I would even go so far as to say the fact that they are mostly stock characters makes them more likeable in general. In some cases, the standards were tweaked a little to make them feel less unoriginal, like with the protagonist Souma. He is as competitive and wholesome as you would expect, but he is a lot less cocky and brash, something I am incredibly thankful for. In addition to that, he loves to snark around from time to time, again making him feel way less obnoxious as other shounen leads. However, I was not very happy with Erina as the obvious girl-the-hero-will-end-up-with. I have seen far too many tsunderes in anime and they are always the major love interests, repeating the same boring, unfunny jokes over and over and over again. I especially dislike when the writers kinda forget about the whole dere part, which is kind of the whole point of the archetype. As the show isn’t over yet, I can obviously not tell what the creators have in mind with Erina, but by the impression I got during season one, I can safely say that she is a shitty written character. Again, I may be proven utterly wrong later on, but that is what I see here. Nikumi is a much better tsundere (and a more classic approach too). I enjoyed the femme fatale/tomboy mix up they tried with her, adding timidity towards Souma on top of that. She’s like a cool, unique Frankenstein monster of stereotypes. Wait, doesn’t this already qualify as…gasp…realistic? Let’s move on to my favourite stock character, the shrinking violet. Megumi is great at that, being the hard-working, backbone-less sunshine. Unlike others of her kind, she gets to showcase her talents on multiple occasions, which creates a nice feel good moment for the viewer. I constantly had the urge to cuddle her, so I’d say she worked exactly like she was supposed to (though I’m easy to bait with these characters). Let me cut myself short here and let me summarize the cast as a whole, otherwise we’ll be here next Tuesday. Almost all characters are either unique or well done variations of known archetypes and most of them are likeable. They also all have at least a short time with the spotlights on themselves, which prevents them from feeling like a waste of time when they don’t add anything to the scene or current plotline. For a shounen, the cast is very good. 9/10 Enjoyment: Food Wars was a surprisingly entertaining anime, that kept its flow going and I never grew tired of it until the very end, when the whole episode was just judges praising the food. I usually don’t like shounen very much as almost all of them follow the same basics over and over again. This show does it too, but with the little twist of turning the whole thing into cooking, it made itself feel fresh. Most of its flaws are small and neglectable and the fanservice tolerable (though this may be a different story if you have a general aversion towards this). As with many other shows, the question is how long it can keep up the good work, but for the first season, I can say that it was quite enjoyable. 8/10 Overall: 8.2/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 5, 2017
Made in Abyss
(Anime)
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A girl, a robot and a bunny go into a bar, but instead of a bar there is just a big hole.
Story: While Fantasy settings are anything but special these days, most of them tend to be the same thing with a different name patched over it. In terms of originality, Fantasy has suffered greatly in the 10s. Made in Abyss is a breath of fresh air in these Isekai times and therefore was welcomed with open arms by many, including me. But that wouldn’t make much of a difference if the anime wasn’t a good one. It takes a while for the creativity to shine ... through, but once it does, it becomes a lot of fun. The early parts outside the abyss are not that interesting to watch, but they give us some needed exposition before the journey can begin. The show really only starts once Riko and Reg get into the abyss. The world of the abyss is interesting and partially very creative. Once they reach the fourth layer and meet Nanachi, the story gains a lot more drive and saves itself from becoming boring. I’d say Made in Abyss was a nice diversion, not necessarily the hot new thing, but still well done with potential to be really something later on, should there be another season. 8/10 Art: The characters are extremely moefied. This has the positive effect of inducing fear for their well-being in the audience, but there is also a downside that might even drive viewers away. You see, Made in Abyss does not fuck around when it comes to bodily harm, it also does not cover up sexuality (not that there’s anything explicit). So, how effective that character design is depends heavily on how much and what you are able and willing to swallow. The world is colorful, yet not too much. It works well in creating a fantasy setting based in reality…if that makes any sense. The creatures of the abyss look like real animals without resembling them for the most part. Made in Abyss is an anime that is fun to look at, with a character design that is highly depending on personal taste. 9/10 Sound: The soundtrack is of extremely high quality, something you’d maybe hear in a movie for example. Powerful in scenes that need it and restrained when it should be. The opening song is not that extraordinary, but it’s well done and fitting. The ending caters to the cuter side of the show, which it does have, even if it didn’t sound like it up to now. Nice song, has a positive vibe to it, I like it. All voices fit well into their respective stereotypes, the genki girl, the shy boy, the smugdere and so on. None is groundbreaking, but they are all well done. 9/10 Characters: The two person dynamic, that is established early on, has limited possibilities. Riko and Reg can be cute and funny at times, but dramatically they don’t play off each other well enough to hold up the story. This is dealt with by giving them somebody to interact with most of the time, most notably the eerie Ozen. Only when Nanachi hits the scene do we get a much better balanced ensemble of main characters that can last for a long time before running stale. Riko is a love her or hate her kind of character. She is very cheerful and optimistic, which in general isn’t so bad, but when descending into the abyss, this becomes a fatal flaw. Thankfully they didn’t let her do as she pleases and she does have to suffer the consequences for her headless behavior, which in turn should cause the audience to empathize (worked for me). Her robot buddy is way less extreme a personality than she is. Reg behaves like any normal boy would (I think) and acts as voice of reason, though he has serious problems to prevail against Riko’s antics. I can’t really put my finger on it, but something about this character seems lacking to me. It’s not that he has no personality, cause he does, but he just seems a little colorless compared to most other characters. I already mentioned Nanachi multiple times, but that’s not without reason. Before her introduction, made in Abyss was an okay show, original yes, but not amazing. After she(?) was introduced, not only were the character dynamics rearranged for the better, she also brought a nice bag of both comedy and drama with her that made for very entertaining final episodes. Her and Mitty’s backstory was a real tearjerker and made me feel terribly sorry for the both of them. But aside from that, she is just a really fun character. The rest isn’t explored too deeply, the only one I found memorable was Ozen, because she was so scary. An interesting character in her own right, she provided a glaring example of just how much the abyss can and will influence your mental health. Although she is probably a lesser case if the other White Whistle that is introduced in the final episode is anything to go by. 8/10 Enjoyment: Made in Abyss is an interesting little adventure story that doesn’t really get really good until the final episodes, but it’s already worth watching before that, if only to get a breath of fresh air and see something original. This is not for the faint of heart, as this anime loves to show its characters suffering and in gruesome detail. But it also has some light-hearted moments and features a very colorful world that wouldn’t be out of place in a Ghibli movie. While I wasn’t overwhelmed, I was still entertained by this show and that is more than I can say for a number of others. Maybe you can get a little more invested than I was, I’d say give it a chance and see for yourself. 8/10 Overall: 8.4/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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