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Jun 18, 2021
Humans always use monsters to visualize their fears and anxieties. And yet overcoming such oddities is part of human existence. Thus it's fitting that in SSSS.Dynazenon these fears materialize into "Kaiju".
Both structurally and thematically, Dynazenon presents itself as beeing seemingly mundane. While unoriginal there is a new monster every week and the heroes overcome their weaknesses to beat the enemies. But there is nothing wrong such a with structure. For this is one show that takes it's structure to it's advantage. It takes care to develop it's characters, to imbue them with a sense of humanity. Character drama becomes the backbone of what is
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essentially a very straightforward action show.
And when it comes to action, it delivers. Every battle manages to be unique and fresh in spite of the presence of supermoves and lengthy transformation sequences. The music is perfectly integrated to enhance action. Contrasted heavily with scenes of levity that keeps things from feeling dire or stale.
Above all else Dynazenon is earnest. It beacons to an era where entertainment was less dire and dreary while simultaneously managing the desire to offer morals to it's viewers. If you aren't cynical enough to completely ignore raw passion, I'd highly recommend that you give it a watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 3, 2019
Ultraman is a callback to a simple era of superhero shows. Where heroes would come to grips with their powers, fight bad guys and save the day. And yes there's a ton of fighting.
Gloriously choreographed action sequences set against the backdrop of not too far into the future society where aliens are slowly assimilating with humanity. The show looks beautiful with high quality models, perfectly suited backgrounds and fitting lighting. Almost every scene in the series will undoubtedly look good.
Unfortunately there lies the show's most divisive aspect. It's stylized low frame animation. It often feels choppy and takes time to get accustomed to. Thankfully
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this is a non issue during the action sequences. But it is a significant annoyance during the more standard dialogue moments. Which is honestly the second issue. The writing of the series never feels inspired. But it isn't bad either. It just feels typical for the genre. This unfortunately extends to the characters as well. You'll get a sense of deja vu at times, as if you've heard those lines somewhere else.
But those negatives really doesn't stop Ultraman from being a highly engrossing action show. It's a blast to watch. At least every episode will have a spectacular action sequence that make blood boil. And at the end it succeeds at entertaining it's viewers.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 22, 2018
SSSS Gridman is a pastiche of Tokusatsu media, transformers, and landmark mecha anime; framed in the skin of a reboot of a moderately successful live action Tokusatsu show. It's also an anime that excels in direction, shot composition and in the use of motifs. To the unassuming viewer, it's just another show that references other popular shows. But in the little details does it express it's own unique offerings, eventually surfacing in bombastic moments of action and character expression, often with brutal consequences. But it's biggest achievement is possibly questioning the very act of being in love with the media that is adores. Lets be
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clear, this is a show tailor made for the people who love the things the creators of this show adores and isn't for everyone.
The titular Gridman is a hero of all that is well and good. However this is not his story, rather it is the story of the villain. A rarity in the genre. But more on that later.
First off on the technical side, Gridman excels at the use of clever shot composition and motif. Even unassuming scenes convey the state of minds of the characters that are a part of it. And in certain cases it cleverly hints towards the resolutions of the mysteries that the show presents at the beginning. Everything from the lyrics of it's opening, to the walk cycle of the kaiju Gridman fights against to every reference to other pop cultural works have a dual purpose. Speaking of those Kaiju fights, many of them are animated to imitate the way live action tokusatsu Kaiju move. This takes a bit of time to get used to, apparently both for the people who worked on it and the viewers as this aspect becomes even better integrated later on. The character designs are simple, iconic and tailored for both free flowing animation as well as powerful still shots. The soundtrack is muted for the most part but at points explodes but never forgets to become spine chilling when necessary. The voice acting goes for a more naturalistic tone, which once again feels out of place in a mecha anime, where over the top voice work is the norm. But this helps ground the characters are more vulnerably instead of powerful and heroic.
As a whole SSSS Gridman attempts to tell a story of how belief in the idea of heroism is important for a healthy mind. Characters in the series are rarely spared from trauma. But they are forced to live with it and accept it for what it is. Not everyone will be able to attain what they desire, regardless of how badly they want it and even in cases where much is sacrificed.
Now for the main meat of SSSS Gridman, it's narrative or rather it's meta-narrative. It's rather difficult to explain without discussing spoilers so you have been warned.
The world of Gridman is not reality. It's a fictional world created as a coping mechanism by the “villain”. However in spite of having utter control over reality that said character does not find solace. SSSS Gridman preaches that there is no happiness to be found in enclosing oneself in escapist thoughts. When minds are enclosed, our own thoughts start to betray us. Rather happiness it is a result of acceptance of reality. Escapist media exists as a powerful relief drug. But as always an over-reliance of such is harmful. Self harm is what draws in evil. And Gridman, the symbol of heroism, exists to drive it out by mending one's soul. Just as works of fiction acts as a brief moment of respite in our everyday life.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 22, 2018
Yuru Camp is an anime about people finding comfort in camping, a niche hobby; that just happened to have cute characters in it. While the main setup is simple, the point of the show is to express the grandeur that is to be found in simple pleasures.
The main cast members are all in love with camping in the great outdoors. it isn't exactly a cheap nor popular hobby. To them the experience is worth the hassle.
And this is what the show exists to do. It frames their relationships as comforting, their desperate efforts to collect money to fund their hobby as something worth admiring
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and the final outcome of their efforts, the time they spend on their trip, as an experience worthy of envy. This is supported by the visuals. Most interpersonal moments are portrayed in a super deformed style to convey intimacy and a sense of comfort. Meanwhile the hard work, the effort required for such a hobby is shown in a relatively realistic style so that the viewers associate it with reality. This is backed by a soundtrack that is reminisce of folk tunes, to usher in memories of the great outdoors.
The show is technically impressive and showcases just what can be done in a standard TV budget if the creators pour in enough passion. But the main draw to Yuru Camp is the emotions it inspires in it's viewers and not the sum of it's parts.
Watch it, especially if you need something akin to a pick me up, so that you can feel just a bit better.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 20, 2018
This show is criminally underlooked and deserves a lot more attention. The Anime itself is a mystery series where the protagonist Katrielle takes on various cases and solves them by the end of the episode. Unlike Detective Conan, it's closest comparison, this anime rarely has to do with murders, settling on civil cases, with the main overarching mystery being the disappearance of Katrielle's father. It has a more wholesome and grounded approach, making it a great watch for younger children or if you just want to relieve some stress.
Even outside of that, the anime is lovingly animated and boasts it's own unique style. Katarielle
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is voiced by the legendary voice actress Kana Hanazawa and the writing does it's dammed best to show off her talents at every possible situation. Katarielle's charisma, deductive capabilities and go-getter attitude makes her incredibly likable and can even function as an inspiration for younger audiences.
This is a great show and deserves more people watching it. Please don't miss out.
P.S.: This is based on a video game on the 3DS making it a great video game adaptation, which is frankly rare.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 25, 2018
Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai/Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai is a light novel adaption. And like many light novel adaptations, it's a rather uninspired attempt to sell more copies of the source. And it's possibly as bad as Cloverworks last badly made project Persona 5 The Animation. The Opening is objectively the worst Opening I've seen this year, consisting people running, poorly edited out of context pictures of the heroines, horribly blended in CGI, lifeless backgrounds. Which is actually a good indicator for what the show actually is.
A self inset ball of snark has monotone banter
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with main heroine and becomes popular among teens. Is a quote that can also be used to describe, The Monogatari Series, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Oregairu, Hyouka as well as a few other popular shows. However where those shows had strong writing, visual direction, or well thought out characters to work with, it becomes obvious that Bunny girl is just a weak imitation. Even this could be forgiven if it weren't for the standard animation, lazy background art, terrible CGI and half-assed scene transitions that plague this show. I've heard people saying that they haven't noticed these issues but I'd ask them if they were being too focused on the subs to notice what's actually happening on screen.
This is the worst anime I've seen so far this season. Don't get me wrong this does have strong emotional moments. But you need to ask yourself if a few emotional highs are worth trudging the anime through.
As a finishing note I'll just leave an example of how this anime copies a far better show poorly.
Mai's backstory is a complete parallel of Hitagi from the Monogatari Series. Only difference is Hitagi's made sense.
Both have abusive mothers but while Mai's mother is just a lazy asshole, Hitagi's mother turned abusive because she got roped into a cult. Their breaking points happened when Mai was forced to do a swimsuit scene and Hitagi almost got raped. The interesting bit in monogatari is that Hitagi's mom got into the cult because it "helped cure" Hitagi in a prior incident. This complicates their relationship. Meanwhile Mai's mom is just an asshole.
Both girls instantly fall in love with their saviors. However in Bunny girl this is played lazily as possible Her savior is her romantic interest and the show pretty much forces them into a relationship instantly. Though they have good banter. Similarly Hitagi also has good banter with her Savior. Except Monogatari puts more thought into the actual concept. Instead of Hitagi being stuck into a relationship with the first person who showed her kindness and all problems being solved instantly, she doesn't end up with Kaiki. Instead she actually learns to deal with her problems and moves on.
Bunny girl senpai took Hitagi's entire character arc and just made it bland. And this is just what the show does with everything.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Sep 25, 2018
Isekai Maou to Shoukan Shoujo no Dorei Majutsu is another one of those trapped in another world anime with an overpowered male lead with a harm of skimpy anime girls the kids seem to love these days. But it's a better animated and directed than the most average harem fare like High School DxD so it's at least watchable.
Now that the obligatory numbers are out of the way lets get to the interesting part so that the people who actually had the patience to read this dumb review get something out of it.
The anime, while otherwise being very standard has two themes that
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it explores very often. First is the act of using a persona. No not the magical djinn like psychic beings from Shin Megami Tensei, persona as in the fake role people play in society. The main character is an utter wimp in real life. But in another world, he practically roleplays as the cocky "Demon Lord". Even though in his head he's completely incapable of functional communication. The elf girl is a busty, airhead who's cheerful all the time. While in reality she's a busty airhead who acts cheerful for the most part to forget her troubles. Meanwhile the cat girl hides a dark and mysterious past and blah blah blah. This is true for all the villains, the main support characters, and governor, a wannabe god priest etc etc. They all maintain a persona of some sorts. By the end of the show everyone's persona cracks. And through that they all become a better person, or in the case of villains they make everyone's life better by being gone.
The second theme, as anyone with 3000 IQ would guess, is slavery. In this series slavery is more akin to what it was during the Golden Age in our world. Slaves aren't treated badly by most but are still considered a second class citizen. However like it was in real life, multiple characters are shown to be better off as slaves. The series ends with two girls convincing a per-pubecent girl the fun things about being a slave. That really creeped me out. And that's the show. Everything else is like every other Isekai anime you've seen.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Apr 1, 2018
Maybe life is a thing of beauty. We just don't know where to find it. Perhaps it's in the heart of a young girl who is willing to stand up to adversity. Or maybe it's in the spirit of that old grandfather refusing to accept the inevitability for the sake of her grand daughters. Or does it lie in the will of that young boy, born with illness yet refusing to move away from his ambitions. Or is in the work of that veteran who's only solace lay in his craft.
Perhaps it's in the mind of the man who had lost one of his senses
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and yet lives to perfect his skills.
We could ask these questions for as long as we live. Alas they will remain unanswered.
Is there a beauty to life?
Maybe not.
But I do know, for an undeniable fact that I do find the journey of this young Lion of March Beautiful.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 13, 2017
At least, up to a certain point of our lives we all chase after lofty dreams. But the cruelty of life slowly saps away at our will to dream and strive to achieve them. We, for the most part, abandon them. That is what differentiates us from Kagari Atsuko aka Akko, the main heroine of Little Witch Academia.
In the world of LWA is a world of magic or to be more apt, a world where magic is declining. And yet Akko tries to attend a school for Witches. So she can fulfill her dreams of becoming like her idol, Shiney Chariot. And yet the moment
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she arrives at the school, she learns that her idol is actually considered to be a hack and she herself lacks any talent for magic. And yet she presses on, with her stubborn demeanor, refusing to accept her weakness and most importantly refusing to give up. And thus she meets friends and rivals who are each attracted to her rather intriguing personality.
After the introductions LWA follows an episodic structure till the half way of its run. Each episode Akko finds herself in some zany adventure regarding magic. These episodes are often themed around her friends. After the halfway point, reality starts to hit. The actual consequences of trying to achieve ones dreams are introduced. At the same time an arch villain shows up and disrupts the joyful adventurous nature of the show and adds in intrigue. Culminating in a fantastic climax that can only called awesome.
As usual studio Trigger brings a fantastic visual style to the show. LWA looks distinct from every show that came out this year. The characters all have wonderful expressive animations. Meanwhile the action sequences can become outright insane in complexity and creativity. They even have a tendency to sneak in a few cheeky references in pretty much every major scene. The soundtrack is more focused on suiting various scenes instead of just on a specific theme. Though the classical music portion of the soundtrack is more noticeable as they are used in the Academy, where most of the story takes place in.
And at last it’s hard not to give a shout out to Diana Cavendish, the most well developed, well rounded and likable rival character since Kiryuin Satsuki. Both her and Akko’s growth throughout the story is what grounds the compelling aspect of the story.
Perhaps it isn’t too late to chase our dreams. Well even if it is, Little Witch Academia will try to persuade you otherwise. And even if you are not convinced, you’ll have a good time experiencing the attempt. It is beyond a doubt one of the best shows of the year.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Nov 22, 2017
At first glance Gamers! feels as if it's one of those cliche, dime a dozen Rom Coms that extend the story by adding in pointless misunderstandings. And Gamers! definitely is one of those shows but it still manages to set itself apart. And that's because studio Pine Jam, understands what makes Rom Com's entertaining instead of just copy pasting stuff from other popular shows verbatim.
Unlike most shows that use misunderstandings to unnecessarily to extent the plot, Gamers! uses it as it's main driving force. Almost every single moment will be misconstrued without fail, leading to utterly hilarious hijinx.
Another reason why this show stands out
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is because of how it treats it's subject matter. Gamers!, surprise surprise is actually about people who enjoy video games and the different ways they experience it as a medium. The show constantly takes this to heart, resulting in nuances such as how every member of the principal cast treats games differently but all the actual video gamers treat it as a matter of life or death in their own way, the dumb reasons that are behind the name of the character's avatars and how the character's actually play actual real world video games as well as games that are blatantly referencing other popular games, or how the cliche scene where the female cast members are jealous of each other's figure actually consists of a heated debate about the joy of difficult video games.
While not revolutionary the main cast of Gamers! manage to have good chemistry between each other. Which helps make the fact that most of the plot being someone suspecting another for cheating a bit more believable.
Gamers! is not a revolutionary show. Nor is it something you go out to watch. But if you are a person who is a bit too invested into video games (like me, if the review didn't make it obvious) or are willing to follow a group of dumb teenagers doing dumb things you might find yourself having a good time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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