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May 27, 2021
If someone were to ask me to choose one word to describe fire force season 2, then I would pick the word, 'Mess'. Usually, I dissect shows and try and find the positives and negatives of the show, but that requires a show to have substance, something that I found lacking in the second season of fire force, but I'll try anyway.
(tldr at the bottom)
The only positives about this season were the character designs and animation of the fights and somewhat interesting story. While the pacing was slow, it wasn't as bad as the Chimera Ant arc from Hunter X Hunter, Dressrossa arc from
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one piece (Anime version), or even the large amount of Naruto fillers that I sat through.
But speaking of characters, I honestly don't know why shows tend to introduce more characters when it hasn't even finished fleshing out the original cast, especially in fire forces case where the characters are one dimensional, plus are based on gimmicks. Especially the female characters, mainly Maki and Tamaki who seem to only be used for comedy or fan service, which is a shame. The villains also give off Saturday morning cartoon villain vibes, which leaves a ton of room for improvement that we probably won't be getting/seeing.
Regarding the fights, despite the crisp animation, they honestly feel so hollow with nothing at stake, but to make matters worse, who thought it was a good idea to insert comedy during tense fights, like Tamaki's lucky pervert trope or a serious injury that wasn't a serious injury (My bad for the confusing wording, but that moment was not only confusing but also annoying). If the writers themselves aren't taking these fights seriously, then why should we as the audience care at all about what happens?
Shinra's obsession about becoming a hero is almost as annoying as Asta's screaming from Black Clover, as it only comes off as creepy specifically when he was trying to force himself on the supposed victim that he was trying to save, not only did this waste a bunch of episodes but did Shinra even learn anything from this ordeal besides a new move?
Shinra's whole hero obsession is honestly more of a hero complex, but why didn't the author at least try to set or create a character that defines what a hero is in this setting or have Shinra's definition of what a hero is change over the course of the story, something we've yet to see. Not only this, but a lesson that could've been taken away from the whole 'I' incident (Only used the character's initial to avoid spoilers), is that not everyone wants to be saved or that you can't save everyone no matter how hard you try. Since fire force went on a spree of introducing characters it would have been nice if a mentor was introduced for Shinra as was the case with Naruto and his goal towards becoming Hokage.
I hate to use comparisons, but action/fighting shounens nowadays are a shell of what they used to be, the only one that I really liked was MHA as despite being full of cliches, they worked for the setting that was chosen, plus the cast of characters was built from zero all the way to hero.
TLDR: I don't remember season one being this bad as I managed to finish it, but it's extremely disappointing since certain characters have sort of taken a back seat, plus the stakes don't feel real or that they even exist. If you want an action-packed show as a time killer, then I would recommend this show, but other than that your time would be better spent somewhere else.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Oct 8, 2020
As a self-proclaimed man of "culture", I felt obliged to check this anime out despite the overwhelmingly negative reviews (I also like to form my own opinion). But I wish I had listened to them.
My peers have already stated how pathetic the main character is, but in my opinion, he's even worse than expected. He portrays himself as the victim, but in reality, he's the second villain of the story. Allow me to explain, he is the strongest warrior of this world, so this creates a scenario of multiple races being interested in his "sauce". But, despite being engaged to his so-called childhood sweetheart, the
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main character can't keep it in his pants, and every instance he sees a woman naked, he utters the words "Boobies".After morning arrives and he experiences PNC (post-nut clarity) he laments his decision. This leads me to believe that he doesn't love his childhood sweetheart at all, if anything he's only in love with the idea of her, plus attracted to her.
For those who wish to defend him by stating "oh he's being blackmailed, or "he has a high libido and his fiancee is painfully innocent".While a valid argument can definitely be made, it still doesn't excuse the main character who is devoid of common sense or respect for that matter. But, it gets worse as when you introduce his partner in crime a.k.a the guild leader, the childhood sweethearts father. He brainwashed his daughter to be someone completely clueless about matters between men and women all for the sole reason of him being interested in pursuing a physical relationship with her. You would think that the main character would act like a rational person and clear up the misunderstanding for his fiancee and if she was against the notion of any intimacy, then Peter could decide whether or not the relationship was worth keeping. As her lack of interest/innocence is not an excuse for Peter to engage in affairs. Regarding the blackmail, Peter can't keep it in his pants, and despite being the strongest warrior he doesn't even attempt to fight back and gets swept in by his libido.
I also hate how every single ecchi anime has at least one tentacle scene, quite frankly I find it to be disgusting. Regarding the scenes full of "culture", they're almost nonexistent.
The only likable things about this anime are that it's only 12 minutes long and it has both an OP & ED, which reduces the length of the episode to around 9-10 min. of pain. On the plus side, the ED is catchy and the character designs are above-average. One final positive is that the main character is actually someone who has a libido and acts on it, unlike most ecchi male leads.
Lastly, what would have made this a much better experience was if the MC wasn't engaged, actually had a backbone and didn't have any relation to girls who didn't respect him, a backstory for each of the girls, or even revealed why peter was in "love" with his senpai. But then again that requires effort to be put into something which is quite obviously a cash grab, as I could excuse the lack of story if it was even somewhat similar to Ishuzoku Reviewers.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Sep 10, 2019
(tl:dr at the bottom and this is kind of a review for both seasons)
OPM was actually one of the first animes I had ever watched and it was also one of the animes that served as a catalyst which led to me diving even further into the world of anime, but maybe it helps that at the time I was still new to anime, but even then I never really expected OPM to be a masterpiece from the get go, however to my surprise I ended up finding both seasons enjoyable and bingeable as I managed to finish both seasons within 2 days and
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after both installments I was only left wanting more (it took me a day to finish each season and S2 wasn't out at the time when I had first watched S1, if not I probably could of finished it in one go as I used to be a hardcore binger when I first started watching anime) and not every series can keep me entertained to the point that I'm able to binge it.
The story isn't the main focus which is obvious from it's episodic nature at times with a loose story looming in the background but that doesn't ruin the experience because ultimately OPM's characters pull their weight specifically in the action and comedy departments. The world building is good enough and also the characters have diverse appearances which only add to the excitement of their introductions. Saitama's character specifically is well done because OP characters/ Gary or Mary sue's tend to be a hit or miss, but OPM makes it work as Saitama is deceivingly bland appearance is far from the truth as his reactions/facial reactions to certain situations only add to the comedy and despite knowing the outcome of every fight you want to see him fight more and also want him to finally find a worthy opponent or find something more meaningful along this quest/path of his that he's taken.
The intros were alright as they usually started rocky (hahahaha, get it? it's because they both had rock music present in the first half? No? Ok, i'll let myself out.....), then again I don't really like rock music, but the 2nd half of both intros for both seasons got better.... Anyways the endings seem to have this nostalgic feel to them which is nice. The OST was also appropriate for the scenes it was present in and it also made the fights even more exciting and intense.
Truth be told, I find the hate on the animation excessive which is a bad thing as it might scare away potential viewers who are on the fence of whether or not they want to watch S2 and I get it, some shows especially if you're passionate about said show can evoke a strong reaction, but still there exists a fine line between reviewing something negatively but critically and just blindly bashing/hating on something, which is why being impartial/unbiased is difficult yet absolutely necessary when reviewing something and that is the case specifically for S2 of OPM as the animation might not be as high calibre/stellar as S1 but even then that's an unfair comparison because few series even in the anime world can hold it's own with S1 of OPM and don't get me wrong I find good animation to be a treat just as much as anyone but it isn't my main focus and the hate is unwarranted because the animation is still good in S2. However if I had to nitpick then the use of cgi for a certain individual wasn't well done as it just looked out of place.
tl;dr if you want something with intense fights with decent build up and comedy then you'll most likely enjoy S2 as much as S1 and while it might not be one of my favorites personally it's still a good watch and something you can watch to just relax and not have to think about anything because the whole show is pretty straightforward. Would I recommend watching OPM? yes, and if you're on the fence then just go for it. (Just make sure not to obsess over the "supposed" dip in animation and just enjoy OPM.)
Overall Score: 7.5
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 22, 2019
“Your Lie in April” is a perfect example as to why romance is such a tricky genre because it’s honestly subjective and it depends on the viewer, but a recurring thought was “what exactly was the goal of this anime, Did it want to focus on the impact music has on others? Or, was the main focus supposed to be romance? While fully committing to the idea of love being “bittersweet” due to it’s unforgiving and confusing nature, but despite it’s harsh nature most of us desire it because the person we fall in love with makes it feel worthwhile.
However, as a romance anime
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“Your Lie in April” failed (if that was its intended purpose), but that’s not to say you won’t enjoy this anime or experience any “feels” throughout the story because it might have failed as a romance, but “Your Lie in April” definitely excelled in other areas specifically with the colorful and engaging art accompanied by characters that might not be everyone's favorite, but they were good enough for the story it was apart of, as the story isn’t groundbreaking to begin with.
Now, let’s make this clear the music presented from start to finish is simply outstanding, it was not only mesmerizing but it also served to further enhance the impact of certain scenes and even led to me discovering a new found appreciation for classical music that I didn’t have before the start of this anime. The music competitions also led to the introductions of new likeable characters (they reminded me of sports competitions from sports animes as well) and they also presented opportunities to listen to even more wonderful music, that being said I felt this aspect while enjoyable (as an avid/biased sports anime fan) kind of completely overshadowed or even overpowered the romance and it made the romantic development feel lackluster until the final episode. Lastly, If you don’t mind an ending that’s been foreshadowed from the very beginning, then you will most likely enjoy this particular anime, at the very least because of the reasons mentioned above.
Truth be told, I can only appreciate those specific elements after deciding to rewatch it a year later, but during my first go, I simply couldn’t give such praise nor notice these elements and that’s due to the melodrama that transpired over the course of the show which left me with a feeling of frustration at the lack of communication and honesty present which led to me having a very strong reaction that was fueled by said frustration, While “Your Lie in April” tackled mature themes which could only have been done because of the characters experiences/situations, but this also led to me treating them as “Mature” individuals when in reality they were just teenagers starting to figure everything out, but I mean come on they could have at least slowly learnt how to be more upfront/learn how to communicate as the story and character development progressed because love isn’t straightforward either, so why make it even more complicated.
This led to one thing being very clear and that “Your Lie in April” just didn’t do the job for me in terms of what I look for in romance animes because romance based on misunderstandings followed by Love squares/polygons aren’t really my thing, which is truly a shame because it had more than enough potential to meet my “unfair” standards when it comes to romance, but this sentiment wasn’t enough to convince me to give this a lower score because the music alone was a worthwhile experience and I managed to be able to fully watch/complete “Your lie in April” not just once, but twice.
Scores:
First experience/watch: 4/10
Second experience/watch: Story= 4, Art= 6, Sound = 10, Character= 7, Enjoyment= 5
Overall: 6.4/10 (Felt generous and decided to give it a 7).
(I Apologize for the awkward wording, as I was struggling to find the appropriate term when describing on how I had 2 separate scores from my first go around compared to my 2nd time/rewatch of “Your Lie in April”.)
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 21, 2019
tl;dr the rough start kind of shaped the whole anime, but as the story progressed it became more of a mixed bag as the show as a whole wasn’t amazing nor terrible either. The complexity of the characters (which were often at times realistic) was what definitely salvaged this show, especially since romance animes tend to be character driven. The story, art/animation, and sound were alright with some good comedy sprinkled from beginning to end. (Final Score at the bottom)
Now let’s get started with the detailed review (Beware, Minor/Major Spoilers ahead)
Story: The concept of having 2 characters helping each other’s pursuit of gaining the favor
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of their crushes was what led me to wanting to watching this anime originally, but it kind of just took a backseat early on. Other than that, I haven't really seen anything unique from your typical High school Romance story.
Art/Animation: Nothing worth noting as it’s passable considering the time/year it was released.
Sound: The intros/endings were alright and the soundtrack is forgettable. (TBH, I never really pay attention to soundtracks unless they manage to catch my attention to the point that I try and search for them so that I can re-listen to them or maybe just search for one particular song from the soundtrack but this is probably my weak point when it comes to reviews, So I apologize in advance.)
Characters: The main character (Ryuuji) isn't so bad himself because you have someone who is misunderstood but in reality is a real nice guy and who also happens to be a clean freak, but he also has a very frustrating side to him. Taiga’s character if i’m being honest can be credited towards my original decision to drop this anime and this was due to her overly abusive side which I found annoying (as it's not only physical but verbal abuse as well) and her over the top klutziness didn’t help change this sentiment. The fact that she also looks and acts like a child most of the time didn’t help either (If she acted a bit childish every now and then, I most likely wouldn’t mind) and I really wanted to like her but all I really did was pity her, however she did have a few redeeming moments here and there.
The supporting cast/characters didn’t really leave an impact on me because their purpose was basically to serve as catalysts to help move certain characters closer together and also to make character interactions more entertaining, but to be fair they were good friends that tended to look out for each other. Although, acting as catalysts isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it kind of undermines the premise of the story, but that didn’t take anything away from Ami’s character in particular because I found her character amusing/complicated and was also a big fan of her development most of all throughout the story (including the main characters).
Personal Thoughts: I remember reading once from an article that the japanese often wish they were more like their anime counterparts which were more honest, upbeat, and over the top, Instead of their usual overly formal/polite, shy, and quiet demeanor mixed in with the mentality of everyone for themselves being present at times, which can be accredited to stress from their busy lives and also wanting to mind their own business to avoid making a scene in public. The reason why I bring this up is because at times I felt that certain situations/scenes seemed forced and unrealistic which only led to remind me of that specific article I remember reading a while back (the one mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph). I found those scenes/situations to also be ironic because other reviews were praising this show for being realistic/relatable, but those reviews despite being the reason why I decided to give toradora a second chance only further served to highlight for me that everyone has diverse taste and what might be an enjoyable experience for others might not be the case for the rest of the audience who might find it to be a “dud”. In my case I find myself associating more with the latter sentence or somewhere in between despite really wanting to fully enjoy this anime from start to finish, but simply couldn’t and I even had to drop it once before I decided to pick it up again (as previously mentioned) with a renewed determination to complete it (as I'm not a big fan of dropping anime).
After ep. 4 I honestly felt like the “crushes” were superficial or shallow and were just being used as more of an obstacle for the eventual “opposites attract” couple (although personally it felt like more of a sibling type relationship), I also wasn’t a fan of characters leading others on, only for those characters to end up getting hurt (it was honestly very cruel even for a plot device). This led to me disliking Toradora as a romance anime even more because I tend to consider myself as a fan of the underdog almost always. So, that's why I always find the inclusion of rivals risky because the rival usually ends up being more interesting than the main love interest. Unfortunately, this was one landmine that Toradora didn’t manage to evade considering that toradora is a romance anime first and foremost meaning that most of the time, the goal of romance animes is to have you root for the main couple getting together and having the audience at the end of the journey say something along the lines of “Hey, they deserve each other” after seeing what they went through and becoming emotionally invested with the characters, but for Toradora the romance felt one-sided most of the time, as you could definitely see why a certain character eventually fell for the other side (they were being taken care of) but the same couldn’t be said for the other side and the couple/duo ended up feeling forced to say the least.
While I can appreciate Toradora’s attempt of trying to go outside the box, it doesn’t mean that the show didn’t stumble in doing so along the way and I feel like I would have enjoyed this story/show more if the approach/premise had been different and instead having it start out as a comedy about siblings and co. with their individual love lives being touched upon as the series progressed because honestly the romance or feelings of other characters in “Toradora” felt more natural than the main couple itself and this eventual couple served as a distraction at times because I kept dreading the final outcome that had been foreshadowed from the beginning of the series.
Toradora also managed to capture the feeling that when you are going through some rough patches that it can make you feel like you’re alone when that might not be the case (a nice added bonus), but it kind of lost it’s effect after it was a recurring sentiment for one character specifically.
Lastly, would I ever rewatch this show? The answer would have to be No.
Individual scores(Decided to give a score after every 4 eps to see if my thoughts on the anime would change as the story progressed): Ep. 4 = 2, Ep. 8 = 3, Ep. 12 = 4, Ep. 16 = 5, Ep. 20 = 5, Ep. 25 = 5.5
Final Score: 5.2/10
P.S. I’m still trying to figure out my go-to review format, therefore I apologize if it’s lengthy, confusing, or repetitive but I hope I managed to get my points across without it seeming like I was bashing this anime too much, It’s just that I tend to be very hard on shows that I place high expectations on.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Aug 14, 2019
What can I say that hasn't been said already but I just felt the need to put my take on 'Kimi no Na wa' because I felt the movie was too good for me not to leave a review and this sentiment was increased after rewatching Kimi no Na wa and I will be listing the Pros and cons of this movie.
Pros:
-Animation good enough to be classified as Eye candy
- A soundtrack that makes you lose yourself in your imagination and is always played during appropriate scenes
- Lastly it made me not only fall in love with the idea of love but also
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reminded me as to why I enjoy/love anime so much because it was truly a worthwhile experience in the form of a movie.
Cons:
- The only negative thing I can say about this masterpiece is that I wish it was a series instead of a movie and it's not because I don't enjoy movies, but simply because I would have liked to have had the chance to enjoy or see more of Kimi no Na wa mainly to have the characters and story be fleshed out more along the way and also being able to constantly be memorized with amazing animation accompanied with good music to back it up.
(I apologize in advance for any errors or not having the best form as this is my first review so please bear with me and thank you for taking the time to read my review.)
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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