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Jun 18, 2022
Our Colors has a great premise, but a somewhat “meh” execution. Compared to Gengoroh Tagame’s other “safe for work” manga, My Brother’s Husband, this story feels considerably less fleshed out.
I think the biggest problem is that the narrative bit off more than it could chew given the manga’s short length. The platonic relationship between Mr. Amamiya and Sora doesn’t have a ton of time to develop since the story is also focusing on Sora’s relationship to his childhood friend, his family, and his crush at the same time. By the end, none of these plots resolved in a gratifying way; it felt like all of
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them could have been explored further.
Though the art is generally good, there are several moments where things look a bit off. Every now and then, the characters’ feelings are expressed through magical realism, where the panels suddenly portray things in a more fantastical way. Each time this happens, the transition is extremely awkward. I don’t believe this was an intentional choice on the author’s part; these sequences felt clumsy and jarring.
Finally, without spoiling anything, I think one part of the ending totally undermined the rest of the story. This moment left a really bad taste in my mouth because it felt completely unearned and inappropriate. Some key themes and ideas are set-up and reinforced for 99% of the narrative, only to be disregarded at the very end for seemingly no reason. It’s really unfortunate, because there’s a lot of enjoyment to be had with this story, but it seems to sabotage itself so frequently.
Overall, I’m left with pretty mixed feelings. There are some good ideas here, and I mostly enjoyed my experience, but Our Colors just didn’t leave much of an impact. I hope that Tagame’s next venture into SFW manga is a bit more polished.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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May 12, 2022
To me, the prequel manga “Dekoboko Sugar Days” was the complete package. In that story, BL tropes were executed perfectly, making for one of the most enjoyable reads I’ve experienced in the genre!
Unfortunately, I don’t think that “Dekoboko Bittersweet Days” is as successful as its predecessor.
The first half of the manga consists of some really cute scenarios, while also presenting Yuujirou and Rui’s hopes and anxieties about how their relationship will progress in the future. This is a very promising setup that I was excited to see the narrative explore, but it ended up falling rather flat.
I feel like there are a lot of interesting
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ways that the protagonists’ relationship could have developed as they navigated adulthood, but instead, the second half of the story is centered around an annoying, contrived conflict. A lack of communication between the couple leads to a number of problems that feel completely avoidable. Yuujirou’s behaviour, in particular, comes across as unnatural and forced; the storytelling in these moments seems both lazy and uninspired.
With that being said, the art continues to be exceptionally cute, carrying the manga through its duller periods. It’s still an enjoyable read overall, but “Bittersweet Days” just doesn’t reach the same heights as the original.
Though this was ultimately disappointing for me, it was still nice to revisit these characters and see how they changed by the end of the story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 4, 2022
Do you enjoy:
- Shallow characters?
- Convoluted plots?
- Inconsistent animation?
- Deus ex machinas?
No? Then steer clear of Magia Record.
I’ll admit I had very, very low expectations for this final season. I moved forward, however, willing to be proven wrong. Unfortunately, I was not.
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Basically everything I wrote in my review for the disastrous 2nd season holds true for this finale; the direction is jarring, the pacing is way too fast, etc. All of these issues persist in the remaining 4 episodes.
I will say, though, that I wasn’t expecting to laugh so much. There are a few moments, especially in the last 2 episodes, that are genuinely hilarious for all the wrong reasons. Some really absurd scenes are played completely seriously; shoutout to the giant magical rocketship, and that part where Iroha tackles two children through the air at mach speeds.
As long as Magia Record isn’t made canon in the 4th Madoka movie, we can all just pretend this was a bad dream. Love that.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Feb 6, 2022
With “Thigh High: Reiwa Hanamaru Academy,” what you see is what you get. The manga delivers on its premise of “high school boys who dress and act like high school girls.” It’s short, silly, and entertaining, but never pushes itself further than that.
Thigh High has no significant, overarching narrative to speak of. Each chapter is typically a stand-alone story that revolves around a specific character or gag. The jokes are at their best when they parody or critique some aspect of femininity; the male characters are often used to draw attention to the absurdity of gender roles in a playful, comedic way. Most of the
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time, however, the wacky scenarios are just thinly veiled excuses to have the characters strip down to their underwear. This fanservice may be part of the appeal for some people, but it can be gratuitous and voyeuristic in a way that may be off-putting to older readers.
The cast is one of the best parts of the manga. Each character is unique, memorable, and brings something different to the story. They’re designed in a way that makes them feel distinct and interesting, with varied body types, facial features, and hairstyles. The characters are all very loveable and the dynamics between them are well-defined and consistent.
The artwork perfectly matches the story’s lighthearted tone. The characters are typically drawn in a way that emphasizes their cuteness, giving Thigh High a certain aesthetic charm that other gag manga tend to lack. What’s more impressive, though, is how versatile the art can be, switching to a more detailed or exaggerated style if the punchline calls for it.
Still, I was left with a lot of questions by the end. Do women even exist in the world of Thigh High? If so, do they dress and act like men? If not, where do babies come from? The story isn’t interested in answering any of these questions. Even though it’s just a gag manga, it still would have been interesting for these topics to be explored.
Thigh High is a fun, comedic story with great art and memorable characters. It accomplishes what it sets out to do, but doesn’t go beyond that, leaving the overall experience feeling a bit one-note. The sexualization of the characters may be too much for some readers, but for those who aren’t phased, the manga is perfect for a quick burst of entertainment.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 7, 2022
Boys’ Love is a fantasy. Most people should be aware of that by now. Works in the BL genre tend to present sanitized, flowery versions of gay relationships. These stories can be entertaining and dramatic, fluffy or tragic, but rarely do the characters feel truly representative of queer men. Oftentimes, that isn’t really the point. Many authors just want their work to be an accessible, simple escape from reality. Knowing this, I don’t approach BL manga with the expectation that my experiences will be accurately reflected by the narratives or characters.
That’s why I was surprised and delighted by “Bad Boys, Happy Home.” Akamatsu and Seven
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feel like real people to me. Unlike other BL couples, their romance isn’t conventionally soft, cute, or beautiful. The two of them are rugged, obnoxious, gross, and hilariously moronic. They don’t solve their problems with melodramatic declarations of love, but with ungraceful attempts at communication. Their deepest emotions aren’t conveyed through expository inner monologues, but through quiet scenes of pensive solitude. And when they share intimate moments together, their maneuvers are clumsy and uncertain.
This is not to say that Akamatsu and Seven are superior to other BL characters because they’re more traditionally masculine! Rather, their unique flaws and understated approaches to conflict resolution humanize them in a way that is rarely seen in stories like this. The same thing could be achieved with more feminine characters too, but most manga portray gender in a binary, idealized fashion that leaves little room for the nuance required to make a character feel “real.”
“Bad Boys, Happy Home” doesn’t completely transcend the bounds of the genre, though. Familiar tropes and archetypes are still sprinkled throughout the narrative here and there. In particular, the subplots involving Seven’s criminal past aren’t as interesting as they could have been, in my opinion. There are a few too many side-characters in these instances, making it all a bit hard to follow. Also, though the art is generally very well done, there are times when facial proportions can look unintentionally awkward. It’s infrequent, but it was enough to break my immersion at a few different points.
Despite those few complaints, I really enjoyed this manga and it’s definitely one of the best works of BL that I’ve ever read. This is the first time that I’ve seen myself, my relationships, so accurately represented in the pages of a story like this. It’s astonishing that it isn’t more popular given its quality and the novelty of its main characters. As it stands, “Bad Boys, Happy Home” is a hidden gem and I feel extremely lucky to have experienced it. Hopefully even more people will discover this manga as time goes on!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 21, 2021
This anime is the least gay BL I’ve ever seen, but it’s also one of the most interesting.
The main draws of this show, to me, are the mystery elements and supernatural themes. The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window maintains a surprising amount of suspense in each episode, with well-edited sequences and a sinister atmosphere. While watching, I often found myself impressed by how tense certain scenes could be; Tricornered Window stands out among other BL anime for being quite competently directed.
The characters also develop pretty differently from other BL stories. Much of the focus is placed on how the characters’ psychic powers affect their interpersonal
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relationships, especially with family members. This results in a cast that feels rather fresh and intriguing, which I really appreciated.
Unfortunately, my praise ends there. The overall story is pretty lackluster, mainly due to some pacing issues that leave a lot of things unexplained. By the end of the final episode, I still didn’t quite understand how psychic powers function in the world of Tricornered Window. The motivations of certain characters were also difficult to follow at times, which made some storylines confusing.
My biggest issue with the anime, however, is how unfulfilled it left me by the end. So much time is spent building up the relationship between Mikado and Rihito, but there isn’t much payoff. The narrative feels reluctant to commit to a romance between the two characters, with Mikado even insisting at one point that he and Rihito aren’t romantically involved. Besides the ever-present tension between the two leads, there isn’t a whole lot of love between boys in this supposed Boys’ Love anime.
Though Tricornered Window does a lot of things differently, making it stand out among BL anime, it ultimately left me feeling a bit hollow. I really enjoyed the spookier scenes, but other than that, the show failed to make much of an impression. It’s better than most BL anime, but still not that great, unfortunately.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Nov 8, 2021
This manga was extremely disappointing.
The synopsis on the back cover reads, “[this tale explores] the nature of personal expression and the fluidity of the power of love.” And what a surface-level exploration it is.
The first half of Boy Meets Maria is rather trite. The narrative in this section revolves mainly around Taiga, which is its biggest problem. He just isn’t compelling in the slightest because he doesn’t feel like a real person. He’s overconfident to an irritating degree and shows very little depth beyond that. The story attempts to explain his shallowness as a trauma response, but it just isn’t believable. The explanation is
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that since he caught his parents fighting, he decided to start taking everything in life at face-value…but this ideology wouldn’t provide any escapism from the very apparent cracks in his parent’s relationship, so it feels like an exceptionally flimsy explanation.
Then the narrative takes a complete and jarring turn in the second half when the focus shifts to Arima’s perspective. Arima’s rapist is cartoonishly evil, and the horror is gratuitous in a way that feels disingenuous. The contrived circumstances of Arima’s upbringing exist solely to have this shocking moment occur as a tasteless way of giving his character intrigue. Arima’s gender struggles are handled even worse; the narrative refuses to commit to a specifically transgender character while also failing to criticize the gender binary in a meaningful way. The core theme never really moves beyond the cliche idea that “boys can be feminine, too!”
Not to mention, the severity of Arima’s story is contrasted by Taiga’s “comedic” obliviousness. At one point, his classmates even have to explain to him that homophobia exists. It’s absurd that a high school boy with feelings for his male-presenting classmate wouldn’t already be aware of the stigma surrounding non-normative sexualities and gender-expressions.
Overall, Boy Meets Maria is entirely ungraceful in its dealings with sexual assault and queer themes. It feels like a story made for the enjoyment of a heterosexual audience; I don’t understand how a queer person could see themselves in characters so devoid of authenticity.
This may seem like a harsh sentence considering that BL isn’t really known for being “authentic,” but if a manga is going to tackle such serious themes and scenarios, my standards are going to be elevated.
Not every story needs to have perfect representation, for sure, but it should at least do better than this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Sep 25, 2021
If you thought the pacing in Season 1 was bad, wait until you get a load of this garbage.
Magia Record Season 2 is...incomprehensibly awful. I’m glad that some viewers were able to enjoy this season, but I absolutely did not.
Nearly the entire second half of the mobile game’s story is condensed into these 8 episodes. It’s a complete frankenstein of a narrative, especially when taking into account the anime-original plotlines. Season 2 presents such a freakish amalgamation of plot threads and character arcs that it best serves as an example of how not to adapt a story.
Since so much is being squeezed into these
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episodes at such a rapid pace, most of this season is spent on lengthy exposition that masquerades as emotional payoff. The characters will frequently burst into tears as they explain the plot to you, but it’s all so incredibly hollow.
The art and animation, which were at times impressive in Season 1, have taken a nosedive in quality. I’ve seen people point to the “sakuga” action sequences as examples of good animation, but I beg to differ. These scenes include “smooth” animation, yes, but the movements are messy and hard to follow. They’re clusterfucks trying to pass as spectacles, more head-scratching than they are impressive.
At every other point, the animation is even more stilted and awkward. Characters frequently look like scribbles as they move about the screen with the grace of a power-point. It’s sad, because I’m sure there are talented artists on the production team, but for whatever reason, they’ve clearly been forced to deliver a rushed job. They aren’t done any favours by the direction, either, which is often jarring and haphazard. This season really proved that Gekidan Inu Curry are way out of their depth.
I can only hope that the 4th Madoka movie will make me forget all about this nightmarish viewing experience. Yikes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Jun 25, 2021
Oh boy. This was disappointing.
“The World Ends With You” is my favourite Nintendo DS game, so I was stoked when I heard that there would be an anime adaptation. The game oozes style, brims with uniqueness, and tells a touching story about human vulnerability. But considering that adaptations of video game stories have the tendency to be underwhelming, I did my best to lower my expectations...but damn, I should have lowered them further.
The pacing of the show is all over the place. The narrative burns through instances of potential character development and stubbornly lingers on moments of meandering. Shiki and Rhyme are really only in
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about 3 episodes, leaving very little time to grow attached to them. However, far too much time is dedicated to showing Neku, Joshua, and Beat wander around aimlessly for episodes on end. The storytelling priorities are so out of whack; the anime completely fails to capture the spirit of the original game, and worse, fails to be a compelling, stand-alone narrative.
Worst of all, though, is the animation and sound. Take any still frame of this show and it looks decent enough, but the illusion of quality crumbles the second it’s put into motion. TWEWY The Animation frequently resembles a lagging video game, looking choppy and stilted regardless of whether 2D or 3D animation is being used. The action scenes are ridiculously hard to follow due to jarring camera movements and poor framing; the screen is often just a cluttered mess of colours and shapes.
The music and sound effects are mediocre too, save for the recycled tracks from the game. There’s even a moment about 6 minutes into episode 10 where Beat whacks his skateboard against an enemy and there’s NO accompanying sound effect AT ALL. The enemy just gets launched away in complete silence. It’s all so...sloppy.
So yeah, this is an extremely low-quality adaptation that completely lacks the heart and soul of the original game’s story. Whether you’re a fan of the original game or not, I don’t recommend this anime. In fact, I would advise against wasting your time with it.
Please...if you want to spend your time meaningfully, just play the game or watch playthroughs online. This anime is not worth your time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Jun 24, 2021
Fairy Ranmaru is a camptastic anime filled with nonsense and absurdity. It was trash and I loved it!
Let’s get the technical stuff out of the way: the story and characters leave a lot to be desired. This is not a “conventionally good” show that can be enjoyed in conventional ways. If you’re looking for tight writing and intricate characters, Fairy Ranmaru will not meet your expectations.
It follows the typical, trope-heavy “monster of the week” format that most fans of the “magical girl” genre will recognize. The episodic formula is extremely repetitive, especially in the latter half of the show where there’s very little variety.
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I think a lot more could have been done with episodes 6-10, specifically. More time should have been spent fleshing out the character dynamics, but unfortunately there are very few developments during this stretch, and it feels like a wasted opportunity.
What this anime does have, though, is some pretty fun music and art. Each of the character songs that play after the transformation sequences are quite catchy; I never grew tired of them! The opening and ending songs are also surprisingly good! When it comes to the animation, it can be quite choppy at times, but the show always displays a consistent style. Visually, this anime shines during its fight sequences, which have a “Madoka Magica”-esque, surreal aesthetic.
Now, the real draw of Fairy Ranmaru is the campiness and the fanservice. If you don’t enjoy either of those things, then this anime will bore you to tears. However, if you’re looking to have a good laugh while ogling bulges and indulging in some homoerotic tension, then I can’t reccommend this show enough. It’s just such a fun watch for people like me who get a kick out of over-the-top silliness!
I had a lot of fun watching Fairy Ranmaru, despite its many flaws. As it stands, I think that this show is criminally underrated; it’s really not as bad as some people make it out to be! It’s one of the least watched shows of the 2021 Spring season, and I think that’s a damn shame.
Oh well! I’ll still fondly remember this goofy little anime for years to come! :’)
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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