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Oct 28, 2023
Undead Unluck is one of the many recent adaptations from the new era of weekly Shonen Jump titles. The premise sets it apart from the typical Shonen story; however, the severe tonal whiplash during episodes makes it challenging to take the story seriously, resulting in difficulty to care about what's happening.
So far, Undead Unluck's structure revolves around fights in which the main characters must identify their opponent's abilities and then utilize this information to discover their weaknesses while simultaneously defending themselves. The concept of understanding your enemy's powers and devising strategies to counter them has always been an intriguing aspect of Shonen series (masterfully
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executed in Hunter x Hunter). Nevertheless, it's tough to stay invested when the fights are constantly disrupted by unfunny sexual harassment jokes. Pushing aside the jarring tonal shifts, there still isn't much noteworthy happening in the story thus far to justify a high score. The first four episodes consist of ongoing battles with rather whimsical abilities, and whenever the narrative attempts to introduce something serious, the levity of the preceding silliness hampers its impact.
In any case, if you need a reason to watch this series, I can commend the colorful and smooth animation by David Production, along with the satisfying sound effects. However, apart from these technical merits, the series primarily consists of a bunch of silly jokes that surround a naked guy sexually harassing a teenage girl. Unless you're into that kind of thing, that alone makes it nearly impossible to take the show seriously and become emotionally invested in what it's trying to portray. Heck, even Jojo's Bizarre Adventure knew when to dial back at certain points (until it reached part 5, but that's a different story).
Final Scorings:
Animation: 8/10
Sound: 7/10
Story: 3/10
Character: 4/10
Value: 2/10
Enjoyment: 3/10
Overall: 4.5/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Sep 11, 2023
Tenmaku Cinema was a weekly manga I quite enjoyed during its first 10 chapters when the future of the manga was uncertain, allowing the mangaka to write the story at their own pace. However, as this series did not reach the amount of sales it needed to continue publishing in Shounen Jump, the second half of this manga fell off a cliff tremendously, undermining the first half, which was honestly not that bad.
The story of the manga was always basic and played it safe. The formula was somewhat similar to that of a sports anime, akin to how characters in sports anime handle their
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personal conflicts before uniting and working as a team for an upcoming tournament. The characters in Tenmaku Cinema seemed to try to follow that formula in the first half but rushed through any character development that the personal conflict was setting up. The manga's story was never groundbreaking, but it was still enjoyable and had a lot of heart, allowing you to envision where the characters could have gone. However, as a result of its cancellation, the story in the second half loses its feel-good vibe and rushes through the remaining parts of the story, making the eventual ending feel unearned. This also left characters with unfinished character arcs and minimal character development for anyone other than the main two.
Overall, Tenmaku Cinema was once a decent manga series that I gave a 6/10, which has now been turned into an obsolete 4/10 mess of a manga. As it failed to achieve what it set out to do in the end, there's no point in reading it.
Final Scorings:
Art: 7/10 (Good)
Story: 3/10 (Ruined by it's cancellation)
Character: 2/10 (Minimal character writing)
Value: 1/10 (Had no impact, forgotten by everyone)
Enjoyment: 5/10 (Enjoyed the first half, didn't like the second half)
Overall: 3.6/10 (Bad)
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Aug 12, 2023
No matter how you examine it, "Wild Strawberry" is just another run-of-the-mill battle shounen. After four chapters, there is absolutely nothing original in this manga. However, that should be okay if the author takes pre-existing concepts and ideas used before and builds upon them, right? Well, they don't.
The main character of this manga is the type of character we've seen many, many times. There's a monster inside him who helps battle other monsters. Although, this time, he's basically invincible since the monster inside him can bring him and other people back to life if they die, resulting in zero tension throughout a story that
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needs high stakes to be interesting. Additionally, there's nothing we haven't seen done better before in the plot so far. The antagonistic forces are man-eating monsters that are pure evil, and there's a group that fights those man-eating monsters, who are hunting down the main character with one of those monsters inside of him.
Overall, "Wild Strawberry" is a manga that has absolutely nothing going for it besides the artwork. It introduces no concepts that haven't been seen before and provides us with tensionless fights between typical shounen characters.
Current Scorings:
Story: 4/10 (Generic battle shounen storyline)
Characters: 4/10 (Generic battle shounen characters)
Art: 8/10 (The best thing about this manga is the art, it's actually pretty unique and well done)
Enjoyment: 3/10 (The artwork carries)
Overall: 4/10 (Bad)
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jul 13, 2023
The Horizon is a well-written and artistically drawn manhwa with heavy nihilistic themes focusing on war and the meaning of life. The story is paced very well and delves deep into its dark and thought-provoking themes without being overly complex to understand. The characters in the story are all broken and tragic, evoking empathy and care from the readers as they navigate a war-torn world. Since it follows one main character's life, we witness his growth throughout his journeys, as he encounters individuals from diverse backgrounds, each with their own reasons for fighting. In the final chapters, we witness his character development as he changes
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his views on the world that he had held onto for his entire life.
The series effectively conveys the characters' emotions and the helplessness they experience in this terrifying world through its remarkable artwork. While it may not reach the artistic levels of Kentaro Miura or Yusuke Murata, the author skillfully employs their art style and utilizes impressive paneling in all the chapters. Overall, The Horizon is a compelling story that effectively employs its themes and characters, complemented by captivating artwork that allows readers to genuinely feel the characters' emotions and fully immerse themselves in the setting.
Final Scorings:
Art: 9/10 (Fitting of the narrative and very immersive)
Story: 9/10 (Would score it 10 but it doesn't do much with world-building and uses the setting only as a backdrop for its themes)
Character: 10/10 (Interesting characters and great character development)
Enjoyment: 9/10 (Amazing artwork and story to keep you interested at all time. There is also not much dialogue so it's a quick read)
Overall: 9/10 (Great)
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 3, 2023
Oregairu season 2, my all-time favorite romance comedy anime, left a lasting impression on me. Its captivating storyline and well-developed characters had me completely hooked. However, when it came to season 3, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. It wasn't able to reach the same heights of it's predecessor, and unfortunately, the OVA that followed only worsened the situation. In fact, the OVA added nothing significant to the overall narrative and even undermined the progress made in the third season.
One aspect that particularly stood out in the OVA was Yui's character. Compared to her portrayal in the third season, she became even more annoying. Despite
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knowing that Hachiman was dating Yukino, Yui persistently tried to insert herself into his life. It was almost bewildering to witness her actions. What made matters worse was that Hachiman was somehow okay with what Yui was trying to do and to make matters more perplexing, Yukino surprisingly remained accepting of Yui's behavior as well. The plausibility of this OVA goes down the drain in this particular sequence which makes it feel like a fanfiction than an official OVA.
Isshiki, a character I didn't particularly care for in the main series, continued to be insufferable in the OVA. It's no wonder Hayama rejected her back in season 2. Her presence on screen became increasingly bothersome, and I couldn't help but cringe at her dialogue.
However, amidst these disappointing aspects, there was one redeeming moment in the OVA: a heartfelt dinner scene where Hachiman spent time with Yukino's family. This particular scene stood out as a genuinely wholesome moment, devoid of any forced harem dynamics or the irritating presence of Yui and Isshiki.
Ultimately, I couldn't help but wish that Oregairu had maintained the exceptional quality of its second season. The decline in storytelling and character development since then has been disappointing, and the OVA serves as a final blow served as a culmination of the worst aspects of Oregairu, including the worst parts of Yui, Isshiki, forced harem elements, and exaggerated drama. It's a regrettable way to conclude a once-great series and one of my favorite series of all time.
Final Scorings:
Animation: 8/10
Artstyle + 2 (Unique)
Consistency + 2 (Consistent)
Backgrounds + 1 (Passable)
Sakuga + 1 (Good character animations)
VFX/CGI + 2 (None)
Sound: 4/10
Voice acting + 0 (Annoying)
Soundtrack + 1 (Forgettable)
Sound effects + 1 (Standard)
OP/ED + 1 (Standard)
Purposefulness + 1 (Standard)
Story: 1/10
Premise/Setting + 0 (Stupid)
Pacing + 1 (Slow)
Plausibility + 0 (Unnatural)
Complexity + 0 (None)
Conclusion + 0 (Horrible)
Characters: 0/10
Personality + 0 (Annoying)
Motivations + 0 (Convoluted)
Interpersonal Dynamics + 0 (Poorly handled)
Development + 0 (None)
Appeal + 0 (None)
Enjoyment: 2/10
Animation + 2 (8/10)
Sound + 0 (4/10)
Story + 0 (1/10)
Characters + 0 (0/10)
Personal Significance + 0
Overall Score: 3/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Jun 4, 2023
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable is the worst part in the Jojo's franchise and one of the worst anime of all time. When I first watched this after coming off the flawed but enjoyable adventure that was Part 3 of JJBA, I expected great things as Jojo fans sing the praise of this part all across the internet. However, in Part 4, I only found utter boredom and disappointment. To explain why I feel this way towards one of the most praised anime seasons ever, let's dive into each detail, starting with the terrible and almost non-existent storyline, down to the plain
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and underdeveloped cast.
JJBA Part 4 spends the first 2/3rds of its runtime going basically nowhere, with the main cast chasing random nobodies with the most random stand abilities the author came up with on a long walk at the beach. Each episode is dedicated to fighting the random nobodies, and those fights are awfully paced and follow the same formula each time. The fights you see in Part 4 are the same as Part 3, but with nothing added, therefore making the fights worse. Each fight follows a 4-step formula similar to this:
1. Oh no, enemy stand user!
2. The hero is in trouble!
3. Aha, you thought! The villain is now in trouble!
4. Aha, you thought! The hero is in trouble!
Steps 3 and 4 keep repeating until the author decides to give the hero that extra IQ point above the villain. Yes, with a show about fighting, the fights are as boring as that.
The main villain is then introduced in the final third of the season, just to only show up every 3rd or 4th episode while the main villain's dad trolls the main cast. Seriously? Like, come on, this speaks for itself...
Alright, enough about the non-existent plot, and onto the characters. The characters aren't fleshed out, and aside from a few, most don't get any development. The characters can sometimes be funny, but that really can't save how poorly they're written. And that's all I have to say about the characters because there isn't anything to talk about here.
Ok, now for an obligatory review of the animation, so here it is. If you thought maybe the animation could save how poorly written this season was, then you're wrong because the animation is the most stiff I've seen in a Jojo's part. All fights are filled with still frames where only characters' mouths move. It's so bad that it actually pulls you out of whatever immersion there was to begin with.
Overall, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable is an extremely overrated anime that spends 2/3rds of its 39-episode runtime going nowhere, and the remaining 3rd trolling the viewer. So, if you want an anime that wastes your time with terrible animation, boring fights, and a poorly written narrative that won't take itself or you seriously, then this is for you.
Final Scorings:
Animation: 5/10 (Every fight is filled with still frames and dialogue scenes are stiff. However, the use of color in this season is very tasteful and artsy so I'll give an extra point for that)
Sound: 7/10 (Good soundtrack and fitting use of sound effects)
Story: 1/10 (Episodic fillers)
Characters: 3/10 (Extremely basic and poorly written but there a couple likeable and funny characters amidst the overly obnoxious cast)
Enjoyment: 1/10 (70% of this anime consists of nonsensical fillers)
Overall: 3/10 (Very Bad)
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Jun 4, 2023
Pros:
10/10 animation
Nice, catchy music
Cons:
Erratic pacing
Convoluted ending
Underdeveloped and bloated cast
Underdeveloped romance
Plot heavily relies on poorly explained magic shenanigans
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It's a fun movie to watch with a friend at the cinemas but not something I'd ever think about re-watching.
Final Scorings:
Animation: 10/10 (Some of the best in a Makoto Shinkai movie)
Sound: 9/10 (Great soundtrack but not as good as previous Shinkai movie soundtracks)
Story: 3/10 (A road trip with messy pacing and poorly explained fantasy elements)
Characters: 2/10 (Underdeveloped and plain)
Enjoyment: 6/10 (The animation creates a visual spectacle for most of it's runtime but for the times when there isn't there is no longer anything on screen to enjoy)
Overall: 5/10 (Average)
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Nov 26, 2022
The first chapter of Versus is everything a first chapter of a manga shouldn't be. It's boring, stupid, convoluted, full of generic characters and constant plot twists that don't work. If you are expecting this to be as good as One Punch Man or Mob Psycho 100, you'll be disappointed. So let's give a quick run-down on why Versus is most likely set up for failure.
The synopsis itself already presents the series as typical and generic which would be fine if it took it's time fleshing out the characters but it doesn't. The first chapter introduces us with way too many characters who only exist
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to die, as a result creating deaths that the characters care about but not deaths the readers care about. Not much thought is put in to the characters that do stick around who only come off as the character archetypes they were based on and nothing more. An example of this is the protagonist who is basically the hero archetype and nothing more which is as 1 dimensional and boring you can get. There's also that ugly pig mascot who exists to be an ugly pig mascot and to make dumb jokes that have been used in many other manga. That's about all the effort ONE puts into characters writing for the first 80 page chapter. None of these characters are memorable in the way Saitama and Mob are and will never be.
The generic premise is constantly convoluted by random subversions of expectations that just don't work. After a while the unpredictable-ness becomes predictable. The pacing is terrible as ONE tries fitting way too much stuff in the first chapter instead of developing the setting and building the world which are crucial steps in creating a good fantasy manga. The powers in Versus are really generic and typical for a fantasy manga with magic being magic and swords being swords. How boring.
The art is average for a monthly manga. It's not unique or memorable and is no where as good as Yusuke Murata's art in One Punch Man. The character designs are generic fantasy character designs without much thought into making characters stand out. Unfortunately, the art can't carry this series.
That's chapter 1. A rushed, convoluted mess of a plot with a generic "heart of a hero" protagonist, too many side characters who only exist to die and a generic premise made worse with subversions of expectations. The series could get better but by comparing how much better the first 80 pages of ONE's other works are, it's not looking so good.
Final scorings:
Story: 2/10 (It's a mess. "Potential" doesn't matter)
Characters: 1/10 (1 dimensional)
Art: 6/10 (It's fine but it doesn't stand out)
Enjoyment: 2/10 (Boring and bland)
Overall: 3/10 (Very Bad)
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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