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It's October which means 1 thing.

Spooky Season :D So I couldn't think of a better time to write a review for this particular anime than now.

Dark Gathering. A horror And supernatural anime that started airing in the Summer of 2023. I'm writing this review as a preliminary since it's still currently airing and perhaps I could almost find it in me to wait to write the review when the season is finished but….

I don't wanna. So we're going to go ahead and get into it.

I want to start off by saying that I love a good horror anime right off the bat. The ... genre itself is not something that I've seen a lot of so I was very interested when I saw the title first pop up on MAL. But as the anime stands, I'm not as impressed or enthralled as I thought I was gonna be.

The summary of the anime is kind of simple. A high school boy named Keitaro has a curse and has a knack for feeling the presence of spirits. He had secluded himself for a couple of years after he received the curse but ends up coming out of his shell due to his best friend Eiko's assistance. He ends up tutoring Eiko's cousin Yayoi who can physically see spirits, interact with them, and control them, in the end hoping to find the spirit that took her mother away from her. And thus the trio work together to do so while also searching for a way to break Keitaro's curse.

Sounds interesting enough right? Yeah? I thought so too. And for the first few episodes, I believed I was in for a good ride.

But then things changed.

The blood and gore and gross stuff and possessions and what not are done fairly well. Soundtrack is occasionally creepy and fits. Animation and art is totally a-okay. And far as the horror part and graphics go there are no problems…

It's the other aspects of "horror" that aren't up to par along with the storyline.

While the characters are mediocre and decently enjoyable, the same can't be said about their actual interactions with the spirits and ghosts they encounter. The beginning was entertaining enough, but once you reach episode 4, maybe 5, you can pretty much catch a sense where each episode is going to go. I'll lay it plain out for you.

1.Yayoi wants to find a spirit and capture it for her creepy little collection.
2.Either Keitaro or Eiko get possessed, controlled, or injured by said spirit.
3.Yayoi swoops in, smacks the spirit with salt, a paper doll, or traps it in something and calls it a day.

Boom. First 15 episodes in a nutshell. And we don't really learn anything about the whereabouts of Yayoi's mother nor any about Keitaro's curse.

As someone who does not read manga, maybe Dark Gathering is a story where time is the key I wouldn't really have any problem with waiting for the story to progress. I just wish there was MORE to the anime itself to make up for all of the repetitiveness it has going on. None of the events have been super enthralling, there's no actual element of surprise (when there, it's expected), and anytime a spirit pops up on screen, we get its entire origin story instead of something actually interesting (courtesy of Yayoi and her insane knowledge of the spirit world).

I don't want to dislike the show but it just isn't serving up to be what it sounded like it was gonna be. I've seen more, if not the same amount of horror like things in anime who's genres don't even revolve around the word horror itself, along with elements of surprise and events that shake things up. Dark Gathering also teeters back and forth between dark and scary to attempted light hearted comedy. I'm sorry but…horror needs to be drop dead creepy from beginning to end. If the two genres are mixed together it just doesn't create a good taste, because in one way or another, one of those aspects will be lacking.

Like I said this is a preliminary review but we are more than halfway through the season. Maybe it'll get better…but my hopes are low. If you're really craving something spooky and creepy with some blood and gross stuff tossed into it, then try the Itou Junji series and you may have a better time.

I really feel like my taste in romance animes differ from most. Because here I am with a super low score for an anime that should seriously be right up my alley.

So…Horimiya: The Missing Pieces. A sequel to the ever so popular Horimiya that consists of side stories that weren't animated in the original series and probably the most anticipated romcom for the Summer 2023 season.

I don't mean to be a buzzkill but…whyyyyy????

I'm sorry but if you're a die hard fan of Horimiya then plz don't read this review because all it's going to consist of is my reasons as to why the show ... really isn't that special.

Let the criticism begin.

For a romcom, Horimiya, both this season and the previous, really lacked in both the romance and comedy departments. More so this season than the last. In the Missing Pieces, any romantic aspects are so PAINFULLY short and small and totally drowned out by every other event that happens. They're usually brought on or ended by a jealous, pissed off Hori, or a somewhat needy/unsure Miyamura, making the moment all the more forgettable. They're there, then it's over all in the blink of an eye.

And the comedy? Mediocre at best on a good day, but in my eyes, it's not my kind of laughing gas. The comedy was bland from episode one, only earning a chuckle from me 2 or 3 times over the course of what's been 10 episodes for me. Dry, stale, pointless, and repetitive attempts at being funny. I'd bring up an example but I literally can't recall any due to my lack of attention to the show when I attempt to choke down an episode. Gut ache, good laughter is not something Horimiya produces.

Lastly I just wanna talk about the characters. Everyone is given attention at some point, whether for a couple minutes at a time or even given their own episode. And that's something I appreciate…if only the dialogue and script wasn't so freaking boring. There's nothing about any character or their relationships that create any reason to ship or squeal or fangirl/fanboy in awe at how adorable they are. I don't find enjoyment in their daily lives or encounters. At several points, it feels like a pure slice of life anime with nothing else to offer. I find average enjoyment when it's simply Miyamura and Hori on the screen. Not really anyone else. I know I sound like a drag but when anime characters are truly uninteresting, I'll say it. Including character relations.

You may ask me "Why watch it if you don't like it?" To which I'll gladly answer. I gave the first season a "5" which is "Mediocre" and I usually find it in me to watch a sequel if it ever comes out in the hope it'll be better. It also helps that I'm watching it as it comes out so I don't have to binge it, only giving me 1 ep to watch at a time. I plan on finishing it…and probably never watching anything else in regards to Horimiya once I do.

The only thing worth mentioning is that the art and animation style is just as pretty as the first season and I love the opening. Sound and visuals delivered. Everything else, not so much.

Final words. It's simply not my kind of romcom.

Score: 4/10

I don't like to sugar coat things. If something is good, I'll say it's good. And if something is bad, I'll say it's bad.

That being said, in my opinion, Oshi no Ko is….well…bad.

I personally cannot find much enjoyment or pleasure in the anime itself aside from 2 things, and probably the 2 of the most noticeable and popular aspects of this anime.

The stunning art and the good music.

There's no doubt in my eyes that that's exactly what Oshi no Ko does right, however, you need more than art and music to make a good anime. I was sold with the character design and ... unique graphics from episode 1 and I’ll be honest that the premise shown had me quite interested. But by the time episode 2 and 3 rolled around…my interest kinda sank.

To do a quick summary, Aqua and Ruby Hoshino (who started out as a doctor and cancer patient) both die and are reborn as the twin children of idol Ai Hoshino, whom they were also fans of in their past lives. Things seem to be going well until Ai is murdered, leaving the two young children devastated. It’s then that a goal is set in mind for the both of them. Ruby wants to become an idol and Aqua wants to find out who murdered Ai (while also showing great talent in acting)

I’ve said this in several of my reviews and I’ll say it again. I LOVE a good mystery. But I was severely underwhelmed that the action taken to solve Ai’s sudden murder was quite…uneventful. Instead, the main premise shows the life of idols, actors, social media stars, and the like. We meet several characters (Akane and Mem-cho being the main two), see drama unfold about the stress within these lines of work, toxicity, what’s embraced and what’s not…yada yada yada.

In my eyes, to have so much unfold within each episode, it's difficult for me to say that at the same time, it’s also felt like nothing has happened at all. To me, many of the characters and their interactions with one another are just so easy to forget. I can’t recall the things that had happened in previous episodes when the new ones air and when it's recalled all I say is “oh yea…that’s right.” And move on. I’m not captivated in the slightest with anything, minus the ending of episode 1 but the shock of it has long faded and I’m just waiting for something else to happen.

I’ve only watched one other idol based anime beside this one and I was guaranteed this would be better. It looked better, the popularity was better, EVERYTHING about it was “better”. But I guess my idea of better when it comes to idol animes are different from most. It always comes down to me thinking that “maybe I just don’t get it”. And tbh, there isn't much to get. The struggle of the characters is easy to see, the characters are likable to an extent, the eyes and ears get a treat every episode…and yet I still end each episode with no change in opinion of how I view the anime as a whole. Even though there was drama, it was still lacking. Even though there were tears and anger, it was still lacking. The story progresses too slowly for me with not enough good stuff to keep enthralled, and when it does get good, it's only for a moment before it disappears. The normal idol talk and slice of life aspect is mediocre at BEST and I will say that the most I honestly think I’d rate this anime even if I did enjoy it would be a 6…But that would be if ENJOYED it…It’s not my cup of tea so sadly, this one is sitting pretty low at a 3.

In the eyes of many, Oshi no Ko is the anime of the Spring season and may very well be a contestant as the possible top anime of 2023. That’s cool…more power to it. All anime’s deserve a chance to be great.

However, it won’t be getting my vote.

As soon as I heard that The Quintessential Quintuplets movie was coming to US theaters, I was completely over the moon.

There were no words to describe my excitement. I had watched and completed the first two seasons of the anime back in January of 2022 and it immediately became one of my favorite rom coms. I loved everything about it from the story to the beautiful animation, all the way down to the soundtrack and amazing characters. Futuro Uesugi and the ever so wonderful quintuplets were all gems from the start.

Naturally, when news of the movie came about, I knew I had to ... buy tickets, so I did and went to see it (on December 2nd to be exact ), excited to see a highly anticipated anime of mine come to an end in what I thought was going to be a showstopper…

However, what I got…wasn't entirely what I was expecting.

And instead of starting off with the old scoring on MAL, I am instead going to go in order of the 5 main aspects that an anime can have in my opinion from best to worst.

Art - 9/10

From the get go, the art was stunning and there was pretty much nothing wrong with it at all. Just as beautiful as the first two seasons. Backgrounds, animation flow, character designs, even the attention to hair detail and the EYES. Omg the eyesssss.

I could go on and on about how much I love the art style for this anime but we'd be here all day. After all, there are much more pressing matters to attend to.

Sound - 8/10

Similar to the art, the soundtrack was pretty close to perfect. I’ve loved the op’s, thought the ed’s were nice, and thoroughly enjoyed the instrumentals…

There isn’t really all that much to say. My main criticism stans to be that I’ve heard piano and pretty OST’s before and I just go by what I think sounds more unique to what doesn’t

Characters - 6/10

Okayyyy…so from here, we start to have a few issues.

If you’re reading this review, then I think I can safely assume you’ve seen the first two seasons of The Quintessential Quintuplets, which means you’ve had PLENTY a taste of everyone’s character and their personalities. Same for me so I’m just gonna flat out say it.

Something went wrong in this movie.

I can’t pinpoint how or why but…Ichika, Nino, Miku, Yotsuba, Itsuki, and even Futarou…Did not have the same feel in the movie as they did in season 1 and 2.

I will certainly bring up this topic in talking about story and enjoyment because it's a very important aspect of the movie that I felt was heavily present through the whole thing and why I believe it fell short for me.

The character’s (and their development) felt VERY rushed.

In two hours, we are expected to see the feelings, development, and concluding story (which grows to be the obvious point about 20 minutes into the movie) of all 5 sisters, plus squeeze in the deciding factor with Futarou. And that sounds like a very demanding thing to do. It IS a demanding thing to do.

Don’t get me wrong. I still enjoyed our lovely sisters, and Futarou as well, but they just didn’t feel as lively to me as they did in the first two seasons. I think part of that has something to do with a personal idea of mine that this movie (and the manga) tried to do.

Change the genre from romantic comedy to romantic drama at the very last minute.

Now, in the first two seasons, we most definitely had drama. But it was healthily combined with each sister’s personalities, Fuutarou’s actions, etc. We had a nice 50/50 of each when appropriate. Part of the joy I got from this series were the sister’s interactions, goofy and or serious in all.

But then, it’s like that ratio changes to 70/20. And it’s not a good change. I feel we lost some of that bouncy entertainment that gave The Quintessential Quintuplets its charm, and though everyone’s character wasn’t terrible, they could have certainly been better.

Enjoyment - 5/10

As we head downwards, it's only natural to assume that my enjoyment for The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie faltered quite a bit, but it wasn't the most disappointing aspect.

A 5 to me, at any point, will always be considered "mediocre". Not good, nor bad. Would I watch the movie again? No. Probably not. But there were still plenty of scenes that I found enjoyment in within my single, and probably only viewing.

As stated above, animation and sounds were delightful, characters were decent, the dramatic scenes were okay (though felt a little unnatural and rushed), and the romance was…a little underwhelming.

Something I didn't bring up was the fact that I actually went to go see the movie with my brother, and the WHOLE way home, we were just talking and talking about things that didn't happen in the movie that we wished had.

To start off, everyone in The Quintessential Quintuplets fandom more or less probably has the choose of who their favorite sister is. Ours was Miku. And it's not that we were disappointed that it didn't end up being her…but it was just the execution of the chosen sister that felt a little off.

In just trying to think about things rationally…it would almost make sense that Miku would be the chosen sister over Yotsuba BECAUSE she's the middle sister. She honestly felt like the more odd one out to me in comparison to the other four as far as personality went, but it was Yotsuba who was the "special" sister for claimed reasons.

Besides the point though, despite Yotsuba being the chosen sister, I really feel like they did too much with her but also not enough at the same time. And what I mean by that is how rushed her development was in the second half of the movie, and her romantic interaction with Futarou.

And that leads me into the final aspect of this anime 's finale. The story.

Story - 4/10

As someone who does not read manga, I found it bizarre when I actually searched for it when I got back from the theater and found it on some website and did a little bit of a read through. And just from the movie alone, it doesn’t take an idiot to say that “A LOT HAPPENED.”

If I knew just how much story existed after season 2, or even how the rest of the story went, I would have preferred for there to be the development of a 3rd season with 12 episodes instead of a 2 hr 16 min film. It’s the FINALE, and everyone wants a finale to be well thought out and have the best execution possible. And this movie…didn’t do that.

We’re at the point where Fuutarou must pick between each of the 5 girls, and we go through this movie with major character development that needed more time to actually be considered development instead of a rushed mess, time jumps that almost had no tell of where they started and where they ended, and alternating events and scenes that made the whole thing feel like an otome dating sim game if there wasn’t already a set goal in mind.

This took place in the first half of the movie, and I almost missed when the transition into the 2nd half actually occured when we really start to see a glimpse into Yotsuba's person.

It was definitely intricate and unique, but like I said before, very rushed. There was also plenty of room for more detail, but because they already had so much to fit in, there wasn't any room for more.

But by far, the 3 biggest aspects and problems I had with the movie were all near the end where a major conclusion to the story was set to occur. 3 events that I thought would be the perfect way to tie everything together that DIDN'T happen.

1. A reveal scene that Yotsuba was the sister that Futarou met all those years ago.

As far as I was concerned, this matter was a MAJOR, if not the whole premise of the anime. Who did Futarou meet all those years ago ? What's his reaction going to be when he finds out? It's as if the movie was just leaving us to imagine that Yotsuba revealed it to him eventually, but it wasn't important enough for us to see the scene play out in front of our eyes. All we see is that he picks Yotsuba. No epic reveal after that with any heartfelt hugging or more tears and reunion scene of "I FINALLY found you." There are no words to describe how bummed I was when that didn't happen. (There was also no reveal as to which sister posed as "Rena" on the boat ride in the 2nd season which was also a disappointment)

2. A kiss.

Throughout this whole anime, I was anticipating a kiss. But not one that's hidden by hair or a shadow or off screen or on the cheek. No. I mean an ACTUAL kiss at maybe a…oh I don't know…A WEDDING ???? We have a nice little wedding scene but no kiss ???? Nothing to show their love ? In a ROMANCE anime ??? It's been almost 2 weeks and I'm STILL fuming.

3. An ACTUAL, heartfelt ending.

I'm sorry but…what the actual hell was that ending? I feel like I've already spoiled enough in this review so I'm not going to say what the actual ending was but…man what a disappointment. My ending desire for this film was to not have it conclude the way that it did, especially considering how beautifully executed the first two seasons were.

I'm being serious when I say that the manga author for The Quintessential Quintuplets was climbing uphill for creating a damn near masterpiece. But then the ending just…ruined it for me. All of the anticipation and story that occurred throughout the movie just seemed to be flushed down the toilet. A questionable conclusion was far from what I was expecting for this anime. I wanted something satisfying, heartfelt, sweet. Like a picture or small scene of everyone in the future married with children, because those are the vibes that I ended up getting from this anime. Or even a picture of Futarou with Yotsuba on the altar at their wedding. Not the BEST sounding ending, but certainly better than what was given.

I know I sound sour, but everyone has a preference of the kind of ending that they want for an anime they adore. Sometimes it exceeds expectations, sometimes it's subpar, and sometimes it doesn't deliver at all.

Overall…I didn't hate the movie. But I didn't leave satisfied either. For such a wonderful romcom, I wanted better, EXPECTED better, but we can't always get what we want in life.

But I'll always look back on the moments from this anime I enjoyed and I will always treasure it for what it is. A heartfelt series with wonderful character and an amazing outlook on the rocky, emotional, but beautiful relationship between some very Quintessential Quintuplets.

Finally, I got to it. The ever so popular Kaguya-sama Love is War. The amount of spoilers and teasers and fan animations and edits and all the other things us otakus create to promote a series we like that has shown up on my social medias is insane. There was almost no avoiding it, and since rom-coms are one of my favorite anime genres, I was ready for a good time.

And what did I get? 3 seasons of near repetitiveness, humor that was 50 percent funny and 50 percent whack, decent characters with occasional, questionable development, and an overall enjoyment level that made me ... question how this anime’s 3rd season is ranked at #2 on MAL.

I have not written reviews for the other 2 seasons of this show since my enjoyment and scores of them were pretty much equal. The same for this season, so I’m just saving my time by doing a review to briefly discuss all 3 (I’ll have my scores off to the side for season 1 and 2 as well by each discussion category)

Let’s get started.

Story - 6 (S1:5, S2:5)

Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya. The two main characters of the show. They are the president and vice president of the student council...but they also have feelings for one another. However, instead of confessing, they drag out their feelings as a war and try to make one another admit their feelings. All the while, this occurs around basic highschool student life that offers bountiful amounts of potential couples and romance, comedy, drama, etc.

Now, in the beginning, I thoroughly thought the story was decent. Treating love like a battle wasn’t something I’d ever come across so for a while, I was enjoying it, even in certain episodes within season 2 and 3. But as each episode went on, the whole story was just…falling flat.

I don’t like repetitiveness. So when moving into season 2, I was awaiting some character development, more romance, some alternate events that would pack more of a punch, etc. The same goes with my transition into season 3.

Up until the last 4 episodes, there was absolutely nothing “Ultra Romantic” about season 3. There wasn’t even much romance in the first two seasons and in a romcom, that’s the main thing I desire. Kaguya and Shirogane’s relationship was cute and I desperately wanted more action between them. I understand the whole “love is war” aspect, but it just grew to be too much in certain scenes and it really took a toll on the whole romantic aspect with how repetitive it got.

There were also just occasions in Kaguya-sama to be kinda pointless when it involved characters other than Chika, Ishigami, Shirogane, and Kaguya. I fell bored within those scenes such as the whole student election arc, the romance advice scenes, and so on. I also didn't exactly like the scenes between Shirogane and Hayasaka. I get it was for her character development, but a lot of the time it felt like they were just trying to create some pointless love triangle that was never going to happen.

Now, there were some “war” scenes I found enjoyable like the shed scene and all of Chika’s game shenanigans, even though I thought the coin game was a load of bs (like how did Shirogane switch the coin without Kaguya noticing and miraculously have one to the match the date of the others? It doesn’t make sense).

Ishigami’s segment in season 2 was also good. I loved seeing the development and it was a nice entertainment booster (sounds cruel I know but I’m being honest).

Going back and summing up the story to season 3…it fell short for quite awhile. I was scared nothing was going to happen, but thankfully, the gods answered my prayers and we actually got 4 great episodes towards the end that gave us the biggest story boost and development thus far, serving as the main reason why I gave the story score for season 3 one point higher than the previous seasons.

Art - 7 (S1:6, S2:7)

Art and animation delivered. Certainly not the strongest, but definitely above par. Everyone’s design was crisp, backgrounds were fine, so there was hardly room to complain too much. Season 2 and 3 upped the game by a notch in sharpness, especially in the eyes, and I thought the animation in the ed’s for season 3 to be very well done.

Sound - 6 (S1:6, S2:6)

As far as consistency goes, the sound served to be perfectly average and fitting throughout all 3 seasons. I enjoyed every op, the ed of season 3, and found the ost within the show to be decently enjoyable. Now, for a romance anime, I have heard better on the instrumental aspect so that’s why my score isn’t higher. For me, a 7 is a little too high and a 5 is too low, so we’re sitting at a happy 6.

Character - 7 (S1:7, S2:7)

I came across this problem in the review I did for “Pretty Boy Detective Club”. The situation where I thought nearly every character was very well done (minus some hiccups here and there), but had the misfortune of suffering in the character department because of writing and the presence of a story.

Now, in Kaguya-sama, that problem wasn’t as bad, but there were definitely enough scenes within each episode where the story and its happenings made me lack appreciation for the characters and their personalities. For example, Kaguya and Shirogane’s characters were great. I enjoyed them 80% percent of the time. But we come across many scenes where their personalities don’t quite fit depending on the episode and season. Take the scenes where they each manage to misunderstand one another’s thinking and come up with some random scenario that in turn ruins what they TRULY set out to do. It was understandable in the first season, sort of understandable in season 2, but by season 3…I was kinda over it. There’s also Ishigami’s struggle with self confidence. We have his whole breakthrough in season 2, but then in season 3, there are multiple instances where he thinks himself “trash” or “lacking self worth”. Of course, he did develop immensely, but there were occasions where that development felt non-existent. And then we had the repetition on the storyline that I mentioned above up until the last 2-3 episodes of each season that end up being the best episodes but I don’t think I need to repeat myself on that.

I didn't have any major problems with any of our characters at all, little issues here and there like Chika disrupting Shirogane and Kaguya way too often, and Kaguya relying on Hayasaka for absolutely everything. My feelings are the same for the secondary characters. A little annoying at times but that is to be expected.

Enjoyment - 6 (S1:6, S2:6)

Kaguya-sama offered me mixed enjoyment between two feelings. Either I was immensely entertained or I was bored, no in between. The ratio of those feelings were about 60:40 (hence my enjoyment being a 6 out of 10) and it was ALWAYS those last 3-4 episodes from each season that made my said enjoyment a 6 instead of a 5. And I don’t think I can stretch how much I hate it when an anime does that.

For my enjoyment to be higher, that means I am constantly entertained. Boredom and repetition are at a minimum, the story is enthralling, comedy is constant and actually funny. Within all of these, Kaguya-sama was back and forth and back and forth. Story progression happens far too slowly, Kaguya and Shirogane’s actions towards one another are repeated most of the time, and I laughed far less than I should have, more chuckles and smiles.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy Kaguya-sama. I did, but certainly not at the levels of others or as much I wish I could have. It was slightly above mid, average, but far from drop-dead enthralling.

Overall - 6 (S1:6, S2:6)

I definitely feel out of place in my feelings towards Kaguya-sama, especially since season 3 was highly anticipated by so many people. It blew me away to see it skyrocket up to #2 on MAL after no time at all so I went in with VERY high expectations. Rom-coms, like I said, are one of my favorite anime genres.

We are all free to our own opinions, and I know I’m not the only person to feel this way so I’m gonna sum up my feelings of this show in a few statements.

Kaguya-sama was cute. It was DECENT. But it is nowhere near amazing. It is not God tier. For a rom-com, both the comedy and romance fell short for me, and there are other, better rom-coms out there that offer much more enjoyment and entertainment.

Do I recommend it? Yes (Depending on the person). Was it a decent watch? Yes. Do I want a season 4? Sure, why not.

But did I LOVE it? No.

"Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop,"

Such a simple statement (title and haiku as well) but...it works so amazingly well to define an action that we overlook every day.

I loved this movie. I loved everything about it. From its character's to bright art, and messages and lessons that the story moves to conquer.

The story itself is unlike something I've ever seen. A boy who struggles to speak and tries to convey his messages through the art of writing haikus meets a girl who is sensitive about her braces and buck teeth. Together, they assist each other in their downfalls all while trying to help and ... old man find a music record that carried the voice of his late wife that he longed to hear again. Now I've seen movies such as "Josee, the Tiger and the Fish" and "I Want to Eat Your Pancreas" that convey very similar boy/girl relationships. They each have an insecurity and with the help of each other, overcome it. Both of these movies handled that incredibly well, and thus received additional high scores from me.

But in this movie...it was handled a little differently. Maybe it's because there wasn't anything too tragic to occur or maybe because the problems/insecurities were so universal and innocent and, dare I say, typical...that it made it all the more beautiful and memorable.

Conquering your short comings, accepting them, making friends and connecting lives together from an old love to create a new one...

It made me utterly speechless.

Now I gave it an 8, because yes, shortcomings exist. Animation was a tiny bit sloppy at times, even a bit cartoony, but I still loved how bright it was. Pacing felt a little fast in some occasions and the music was lacking in some areas.

Aside from that..."Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop" was a beautiful film and I highly recommend it

Finally ! Komi Can’t Communicate Season 2 ! One of the most highly anticipated animes of the Spring 2022 season. I was a little late on it, but I had several other shows on my to watch list. However, I managed to finish up all 12 episodes pretty quickly.

And what did I think?

It was good. Not great. But good.

I didn’t write a review for the first season, so either you can believe me when I say that I gave the first season an 8 or you can take a quick peak yourself on my list.

I gave this season a 7. And ... I have my reasons why.

Story - 8/10

The story and the layout of season 2 are pretty much the same as season 1. Komi is trying to achieve her goal of obtaining 100 friends, and she has her friends from the first season assisting her and going through everyday highschool life right alongside her.

Each episode has about 3 different situations that Komi goes through alongside Tadano and the gang, shifting between chaos in the classroom, outings, meeting new people, etc. And within each one, Komi struggles and tries to adapt to the situation despite her communication disorder.

A genius and adorable idea if handled correctly, which it was. Barely any issues despite your slower scenes and occasional lack of individuality.

Art - 7/10

Just like season 1, I thought the art was nice. But there were a little more hiccups in season 2 with shifting animation quality and what not, especially in the last 3 episodes. Don’t get me wrong, it was still very pretty and pleasing to the eye, but season 1 was cleaner.

Sound - 7/10

Sound was, once again, decent, but there was still a slight downgrade to season 1. I didn’t enjoy the season 2 op as much as the op from season 1. But the actual ost from the show itself was just as in enjoyable in both so I’m not gonna downgrade it that much

Character - 6/10

Just like season 1, season 2 offered us interactions with several different characters both old and new. The different types of characters in Komi Can't Communicate is certainly something that I appreciate because of just how different everyone is. The fact that each character we come across has a different personality certainly makes way for entertainment…

There wasn't exactly a problem with this idea as a whole per se…but season 2 was definitely more extreme in the character department than season 1 was.

We of course have our old characters like Tadano and Komi. Zero problems here as I enjoyed them just as much as I did in season 1. Yamai (who was still a huge nutcase as always and was honestly a bit more creepy in this season than the last), Najimi who was, of course, hilarious and entertaining, etc.

Now…the NEW characters were.…very weird. There were a few that I found to appreciate like the new class delinquent who almost has a communication disorder just like Komi, the two girls that joined Komi's group on their school trip to Kyoto, and the super sweet girl from episode 11.

Aside from that…everyone else felt out of place. Their characters felt very forced to me and unnatural, even though personality is a necessity for a good character. I mean come on, we really got a look into the character of a female tour guide in episode 7. Totally unnecessary.

In all honesty, I feel like the amount of new characters that we received in season 2 really took away from new connections we could have gotten between Komi and Tadano, as well as the other older characters from season 1. It was just a little too much compressed into 12 episodes

Enjoyment - 7/10

I won't lie, I was expecting season 2 to be the same enjoyment level if not better than season 1, but it falls short for me a tiny bit.

My reasonings from above pretty much explain why I gave the enjoyment a score of 7 and there's not much else I can say.

I thoroughly enjoy the attempt that Komi Can't Communicate series tries to offer as a whole. The idea is great, the comedy aspect is good (if not a little excessive and weird at times *cough *cough thanks Yamai) and I love seeing Komi evolve each episode.

Just like I said before, things felt a tiny bit squeezed together and a bit TOO excessive as far as people's obsession with Komi goes. But other than that, season 2 offered a decently fun time.

Overall - 7/10

Despite everything, I thought this season of Komi Can't Communicate was a good one. I was highly anticipating it ever since I finished season 1 last December and I think it delivered to its fans fairly well, and I eagerly await to see what's in store for season 3.

“Be pretty. Be a boy. Be a detective!” The three rules of The Pretty Boy Detective Club. The slogan alone makes for what I thought was going to be a lighthearted, fun, mystery anime with, of course, pretty boys, and some stunning animation.

However, what I experienced was...very underwhelming. Why?

Well, I’ll tell you.

Story - 1/10

From the start, Pretty Boy Detective Club was…all over the place. In this so-called mystery anime, we get comedy, we get talks of romance, we get drama, some action, and even some slice of life in the aspect that there is no actual story to be told whatsoever.

Mayumi ... Dojima comes across The Pretty Boy Detective Club by chance and asks them to help her solve a mystery about a star she had claimed to see as a little girl that she never came across again. Ultimately, they assist her, solve the mystery, and she becomes a member herself and assists in the club’s case solving.

Now I don’t know about you, but I got a major Ouran Highschool Host Club vibe, especially in episode 3. It was kind of a cheaper carbon copy with prettier animation with reasoning that didn’t quite fit. Haruhi joined because she just “looked” like a boy and that was it. There were no rules. But in Pretty Boys, the first RULE of their club is “Be a boy”. Mayumi, clearly, is a girl, but yet she can join because Manabu claimed she had the”heart of a boy”. I’m sorry but…that’s realllllllly stretching it.

Aside from that, we also have the cases as well. Over the course of 12 episodes, there are 5 of them, and aside from the first case which provided the main introductions of our characters and non-existent story, the other 4 were pretty pointless.

They had no relation to each other, no connections, were very forgettable, and had a lot of unanswered questions and split ends. For example,The Twenties were after Mayumi, kidnapped her, and let her go cuz they got caught. But…why? Like aside that Mayumi saw something she shouldn’t have. And then they’re just…never brought up again. No origin story…nothing. The same with the casino, etc.

For me, it's a battle of thinking between the cases. They seemed far too stupidly intricate for middle schoolers (while intricacy is sometimes what makes a case good), while also so pointless and uninteresting that I found myself not paying attention to the actual detail at all. With exception to the first case and the last episode of the last case, which was, and I really have to mention this, far too extreme and deep of a sudden change for the tone this anime tried to carry.

Overall, there was practically no story at all. Just an overall message to live life beautifully and make beautiful memories which was the only aspect of the story I found respect in.

Art - 8/10

Art was…well…beautiful. Very unique and bright and fun. I thoroughly loved it. Especially the color schemes for the characters from even to the details in the eyes and shoes. It was the highest point of the anime and was very well done.

Sound - 5/10

Pretty mediocre. It was nice to listen too. Classy like in most mystery anime, especially in the refined setting. The opening by far was my favorite though. It made my playlist after the first episode.

Character - 6/10

Keeping it brief, I actually enjoyed our whole main cast. Everyone was unique, had their own quirks, and were fun to watch. Of course they had their slow moments but I’m actually not going to put the blame of the lack of character on the characters themselves. They were all very well done minus one thing…

They didn’t have a good enough story to accentuate them!

I feel I could have enjoyed the characters much more if they handled cases that would actually highlight them. I definitely got a good look at their personalities, but they could have shined so much more. If the cases connected to tell one whole story about their school or about their families, or maybe even completely random cases that were still fun but not boring and incomplete.

It’s the first time I’m saying this…but the characters were robbed of being better because of the story itself and it’s truly a shame

Enjoyment - 3/10

I really, really, realllllyyyy wanted to enjoy Pretty Boy Detective Club. I was so excited for it! But it was just trying to do too many things at once while almost doing nothing at all. Far too intricate and boring with forgettable mysteries that did nothing but drag the show down.

Just like a few sentences ago, I truly believe that if the cases had been different, then my score would be on a whole other level, and this would actually be a pretty solid mystery anime.

However, there is nothing to be changed now so my enjoyment, sadly, still stands low.

Overall - 4/10

I didn’t want my score for Pretty Boy Detective Club to be this low. Really I didn’t. I saw so much potential within the first 3 episodes and stunning animation, but it just goes to show that looks can be deceiving.

A mystery anime should have twists and turns and drama and excitement! Maybe a little blood and cheeky perpetrators/villians/antagonists that fit the story.

Pretty Boy Detective Club is certainly unlike any mystery I’ve ever seen and maybe that might be a good thing, because aside from great graphics, good characters, and a decent OST, the mysteries portrayed are almost better unsolved (not that I really think any of them were truly solved in the first place)

I wanna start this review by going over why I exactly started Lucky Star in the first place.

Ya know those try not to sing anime challenges? Yeah? Good. That’s my reason. After seeing the Lucky Star op in almost every single video I’ve watched for those challenges, I finally decided to give in and actually see what it was all about.

Short version: Cute and decent. Definitely had its flaws but can surely put a smile on your face at the end of the day. Not the worst anime by a long shot. If you like cutesy anime styles, slice of life, and simple, ... innocent comedy, then this show is for you.

Long version: Please proceed to read.

Story - 6/10

Like most (or perhaps all) pure slices of life, Lucky Star had no story. Just 4 highschool girls going about their daily lives and experiencing event, after event, after event. But for being so basic and repetitive, I actually found the execution not half bad.

Each episode offered some new scenarios and discussions between the girls (as well as the few other minor secondary characters throughout the show) that actually held shape and a decent amount of entertainment. Some of it may have been a tad bit slow topic wise, but I doubt no one is able to relate to every event or conversations that’s brought up, as there are quite a few times where there are jokes and talks of personal experiences that may or may not be understood.

There was no excessive drama, no suspenseful, crazy love triangles, no action packed fights, no reincarnation or fantasy worlds.

Just nice, simple, executions of daily life that try to offer up nothing but a good time.

Art - 6/10

2007 Kyoto Animation. Art could have been a lot better, but for the vibe the anime gives off, I get it. It’s cute, colorful, a little lazy at times, but it works.

Sound - 5/10

Very mediore, but it was far from horrible. Cutesy and fitting with the obvious insanely catchy op.

Characters - 5/10

Character time ! To start off, I loved our 4 main girls. I found myself relating to each one of them someway or another, a feat that I actually don’t come across too often in that much of a bulk. Konata’s otaku self (duh), Kagami’s responsibleness, mom like tendencies, and study habits, Miyuki’s kindness and sight troubles (glasses for life), and Tsukasa’s airheadedness and love for cooking. Female characters always end up becoming more memorable to me if I can relate to them somehow, which I definitely did. I am also aware that relatableness was a major point for this show, as that’s where most of our “story” and “enjoyment” resides, but I will get to that later.

Now as for the rest of the character’s that we see in Lucky Star…I could honestly go without them. To be honest, the presence and shove in of everyone else was why I gave the character score a 5 instead of a 6 or 7, as I honestly believe that they took away from the show. I’ll briefly go over the groups I’ve put them from most tolerable to just straight pointless.

Yui, Nanako, and the other family members of the main 4 girls - Our adult protagonists. Any slice of life has them. They add the more adult aspects of life that are a little more serious in addition to possible comedic placement. Not much of a problem here.

Ayano and Misao - Two girls who associate themselves with Kagami. They show up every so often during the 2nd half of the series for maybe 2-3 minutes at a time. That fact alone made them tolerable as well, but still not very important.

Now here’s where we really go down hill, starting with…

Yutaka, Minami, Hiyori, and Patrica - Konata’s cousin, the cousin’s friend from middle school, another otaku who draws manga, and a foreign girl who works at a cafe with Konata. I want to make it clear that I don’t despise Yutaka at all. However, she’s far from memorable, and it’s nothing compared to the other 3 girls. In my opinion, having these 4 girls have their own little group of 4 seriously and pointlessly took away from our main characters. I don’t mind secondary characters, but there’s something about side stories that involve the secondary characters to TREAT them like main characters that bug me. Not only that, but the whole aspect is just shoved right on in between the main “plot”, taking away the levels of enjoyment. If that is to ever be done, at least do it with some remotely interesting characters.

And lastly, our Lucky Channel Stars - Since the very first episode, I found the whole period of Lucky Channel to be absolutely pointless and annoying as can be. I didn’t enjoy Akira or Minoru’s interactions whatsoever and couldn’t help but fast forward through them. There was nothing funny about their segments, nothing enjoyable about their completely opposite attitudes. Akira was happy, then pissed off, then happy once more while Minoru just…continued to be Minoru. Every episode, Lucky Channel took away 2-5 minutes of what could have been more scenes with our main girls. A total waste of time that did nothing but disappoint me.

Now in the end, I know the purpose of the other girls that were introduced was to make it so we could have the ending of the whole cheerleading act and have it make sense. I just wish it was executed a little better and that the interactions between the other girls were a bit more tasteful.

Enjoyment - 5/10

Naturally, my enjoyment of Lucky Star came in as mediocre. Up until about episode 12 or 13, I was watching about 3 episodes at a time. But then, I ended up slowing down to 1 or 2. And it was that last push I gave to watch the final 3 episodes to finish it completely.

It wasn’t that the show was growing bad. It was just getting a little boring. The topics were growing sour and sometimes a bit repetitive, and when you add a few mediocre characters on top of that you aren’t gonna get the best combination.

I did smile quite often, and I even let out a few chuckles, thoroughly enjoying and relating to the characters and their discussions as much as I could. I just wish I could have done that all the way through at the tempo I did during the first half of the series.

Overall - 5/10

To sum it up, give Lucky Star a shot. It definitely serves as a more unique Slice of Life because it quite literally aced the department. Anime talk, manga, food preferences, relationship types, eyesight troubles, sleeping issues, studying habits, routines, family matters, daily struggles, personality types ,bodily issues, even innocent likes and fetishes. Lucky Star covers alllllll of it and then some.

You may not be entertained 100% of the time, but then again who knows. Lucky Star was “the anime of 2007” so honestly, I think this one all comes down to preference.

Banri Tada! Banri Tada! Banri Tada! BANRI TADA !!!!!

Boy oh boy is that a name I won’t forget for years to come…though not exactly in a good way.

Golden Time. A 2013 comedy, drama, and love story that is currently scored an average 7.75 and ranked at #996. It has remained in the top 1000 animes on MAL for the last 9 years…and I honestly have no idea how.

I feel like I write reviews on mainly romance based animes, probably since it’s up there to be one of my favorite genres. I still don’t write many…just on the ones I feel deserve to be ... a little more criticized than the rest. And after taking close to a month to finish this 24 episode anime, I felt that that was the case here

I mean it when I say that I promise I’ll try to keep this as short as I can…but I do have quite a bit to say.

So let’s get started.

Story 4/10

Okay so…I’ve come across this plot before. Person gets amnesia, meets people, struggles with said people and relationships, and then gets their memories back and even sometimes loses them again. It’s a very tricky plot that can either fly high or plummet to the ground.

For me, it was the latter.

Banri Tada, our male main character and protagonist, ends up losing his memories in an accident, then moves to Tokyo to attend college. He meets new people while also rekindling some past relationships and even falls in love. Thing is, this happens in the first 4 episodes.

This was the first problem I found within Golden Time.The pacing. In some crazy, bizarre, miraculous way, this show managed to be so rushed but so slow at the EXACT same time. It was just back and forth events and reactions and circumstances all clumped together to create a story that while, was occasionally realistic, was also immensely scattered and random as well.

There were a lot of different aspects throughout the whole series and that’s something I usually appreciate. New occurrences to spice things up. Only problem here was that they didn’t make any damn sense. We had our 2 main characters get abducted by some strange club, we have some creepy tea club girls who are insanely weird and grabby towards anyone they can get they’re hands on and are VERY annoying to boot, love that was so bland and odd and every so often kinda sweet but yet so chaotic at the same time that it made my head hurt, and the memory ghost of Banri that promised to make Banri’s life a living hell after he made his previous relationship with Linda nonexistent.

Like…wut? I mean I get college life is crazy and I get that this is merely an anime with some very poor attempts at romantic comedy/drama but…come on. There were actually several instances where I believe adult life was captured rather well, but within the instances I just explained, I was constantly cringing at every bizarre moment during the show because of just how unnatural it was.

The whole love triangle…square…pentagon? You know the whole romance aspect of the show. It was certainly dramatic with a lot of uncertainties in the beginning, but the execution and upbringing was so bland and slow that it didn’t leave me on the edge of my seat up until the last 5 episodes when things actually grew to become decently interesting between each potential couple. There wasn’t enough…pure romance. Do you know what I mean? Not enough heartfelt kisses or hand holding or one on one moments to make me downright say “OMG THEY ARE SO CUTE TOGETHER”. I watched the final 5 episodes today and trust me when I say that that was the most I had actually watched of this show at one time. Honestly, those last few episodes were what saved me from giving Golden Time a 3 instead of a 4.

Was there any good parts to the story? Yes, I will admit. I liked the collage setting, the more adult aspects of the characters (that is when Koko wasn’t acting like a spoiled child but I’ll get to that later), and I also enjoyed some of the more serious moments. Golden Time was very good at cliff hangers. It was just a bummer that the continuation of said cliffhangers weren’t as good as they could have been in the episodes that followed them.

Art 6/10

By far the strongest aspects of the whole show. Although, that doesn’t really say much especially being rated as a 6. For a show from 2013, and from the studio J.C. Staff nonetheless, the animation and art in Golden Time was nothing special. Your classic looking hair, eyes, background art. Nothing really stood out to me. If anything, the biggest thing I noticed was actually the detail put into Koko’s clothes. Weird I know, but I’m being honest here.

Not amazing, not terrible. Just near smack in the middle.

Sound 5/10

Sound came close to a 6, but there just wasn’t enough of a reason for me to actually give it another notch up. Mediocre and nothing to boast about except the first ed which I found rather nice.

Character 5/10

Alright. Time for the characters. Kaga, Tada, Linda, Yana, Nana, Oka…

I think you can see where I’m going with this.

I know this is strange to say, but right from the start, I was irked with everyone’s names. I don’t know if the similarities in the sound of the names was intentional or meant to be funny, but even if it was, I found the execution extremely poor. Puns within a character’s name is something I’ve never had a problem with and I sometimes even find them enjoyable (like in Phoenix Wright) but in Golden Time, I just found the resemblances extremely annoying. And if I couldn’t even stand the names, then oh boy was I fearful of how the rest of the show would go. Luckily, I sort of got used to the names and they just flowed through one ear and out the other. But with the actual characters themselves? I have a lot to say.

Starting with Banri (I’m gonna use first names mostly here to save my sanity) A very generic male protagonist. Our boy with amnesia who struggled immensely with his inner self at several points throughout the show. I didn’t dislike Banri at all, despite how Plain Jane was. Honestly, it was his mediocre self that gave me the breaths of fresh air from time to time when I needed it. I will say that some of his memory episodes were a little…odd and I didn’t exactly like his behavior towards Koko when she treated him and the others like s*** for no reason, but other than that, I had no issues.

Now, let’s move on to our lovely Golden Girl. Koko Kaga. Talk about a headache and a half. I swear this girl pissed me off from episode 1. Y’know that whole argument when girls say “No means no” and that should be final? Well it’s the same the other way around! But no, this girl was dead set on Mituo’s ass and would not stop. She was all up in his business, whacked him with flowers, stalked him, had unnecessary outbursts, suffered the woes is me, and then ultimately ended up with someone else who I STILL feel is too good for her. Koko was just…the worst kind of female protagonist, and while there were a few moments where I appreciated her and the relationship she had with Banri, there were too many other moments where she just made me mad to a point of no return.

While we're talking girls, let’s move to Linda. Flat out, I really wished the roles of her and Koko were reversed, personalities and all. Linda, though she still had flaws, was a much better overall character who actually took people into consideration, including Banri. They were childhood friends which makes sense in the personal treatment department. She understood him, worried about him, and didn't bombard him unless it was necessary. She was very decent, sweet, and though generic as well, was very relatable.

Next we have Mitsuo, Oka, 2D, and Nana. I’m just gonna cover the four of them in a few little sentences. (Welp...all first names didn't last long)

Mitsuo- Cool but kinda bland. A little all over the place with whom he liked romance wise. I honestly wish he had had more screen time.

Oka- Annoying on several occasions. Didn’t like Mitsuo romantically but of course that changed once he had feelings for someone else. Not on my favorites list by a long shot.

2D - Yesssss my boi. Funny as hell. Carried a lot of the comedy that I actually laughed at in the show. Could check people appropriately when needed. Very relatable with liking 2D characters instead of actual humans >.<

Nana - Some random punk chick that didn’t leave much of an impression on me. In my opinion, almost unnecessary in the show and was occasionally kinda a b****

Enjoyment 3/10

So if it wasn’t already obvious, I didn’t enjoy Golden Time too much. Everything was borderline tolerable until we get to how everything came together. Story, relationships, and all. It was a snooze fest for me almost every episode until there was that little glimmer of something that made me push forward, but then it would fade and I’d be left disappointed. Like I said before, the last 5 episodes were by far the most entertaining, but that meant watching 19 episodes of a slow, bland, anime that only had a select few moments I actually enjoyed.

Drama was honestly the better part of the 3 genres Golden Time focused on. There was quite a bit of it, but then the events that followed the drama made it forgettable and almost pointless.

Comedy was barely there with exception of 2D and his shenanigans.

And the romance…that was by far the biggest disappointment for me. I was always paying attention to the obvious love triangle between Banri, Linda, and Koko, and with the end result, I wasn’t fully moved. Honestly, I got pretty ticked at how often my ship preference changed throughout the show when it’s usually something that doesn’t bother me. It just went along the lines of “Mk well Koko just pissed me off so now I ship Banri with Linda” to “Well Linda just pissed me off so now I ship Banri with Koko”.

I just never got a strong, heartfelt grasp of the story and everything within it in comparison to other shows, thus making my enjoyment of Golden Time as a whole falter quite a bit.

Overall 4/10

Several times I thought, “Maybe I just don’t get it. Maybe this show hits home for a lot of people and I’m not one of them.”

And that could very well still be the case.

Golden Time held a lot of promise and excitement for me in the beginning. It was fresh and new, though a bit older and different. For the first few episodes I respected that. But then, it slowly became a show that I knew wasn’t going to be on my list of favorites. Perhaps I missed something or didn’t understand the message. But there was only one I really received by the last episode.

Golden Time…was just bronze in disguise.