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Another example of a brilliant short anime. The "Love, Actually" for otaku.

The overall premise is very simple: high schoolers learning how to fall and stay in love in their own different ways. Within those different ways, though, there comes the fragmented short stories carried by different characters whose one thing in common is they all happen to be pursuing education under the same roof. Admittedly, the whole thing may seem sappy at first glance but with excellent execution, the saccharine could become something genuinely sweet-- and Tsurezure Children did just that.

It is difficult to pick the best pairing out of the bunch because each pairing ... is relatable in their own way. However, Gouda-Kamine pair does manage to be the most grounded and realistic because it deals more into what happens after the classic love confession. Chiaki-Kana pair is totally represents that hilarious phase in life on which no matter what one does, friendship can truly ruin the possibility of romance. Takao-Chiyo pair is probably the most adorable as the two of them navigate the life irony of which "what is unlikely is not necessarily impossible". Nonetheless, there are pairs that, unfortunately, do not deliver the equally satisfying sweetness. Takano-Sugawara pair takes more screen time than other pairs but somehow their stories ultimately feel more anticlimactic. Kaga-Nanase storyline feels exciting yet it ends very abruptly. Lastly, there is that Casanova named Katori who, as more episodes roll in, feels like he has overstayed his welcome.

Is Tsurezure Children a good fixture? Yes. However, the fragmented structures may not be for everyone. Like a double-edged sword, the more we as the audience invest ourselves into one of the pairings, the more we crave for longer screen time for our favorites. Funny enough, this anime truly captures the reality-- that sparks always fly all too fast and that more romance always requires more time.

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Lord... since its premiere I must have watched and re-watched this season's Haikyuu!! for 20 times now and I am always mesmerized-- not only by its magnificence, but also by its timelessness.

For the prior two seasons, what made Haikyuu!! series stood out was the dynamic animation, sheer volume of character development, and Fast-and-Furious-like sports sequence. At this rate, most studios would just settle with already high level of quality and avoid 'flying too close to the sun'. Production I.G. is not one of those studios, though, and that is one daredevil, all right. As if they had studied really well what could have been for ... their own creations Kuroko no Basket and Diamond no Ace, Production I.G. decided to elevate everything for this Haikyuu!!'s latest entry because, well, why settle for great if you could be legendary?

And Lord, did they make this entry legendary, indeed.

Our two protagonists, the sun-fire Hinata and earth-strung Kageyama, are still our two protagonists but our hero, this time around, is Tsukishima Kei-- which is both a surprise and a non-surprise at the same time. Looking back, the major frustration among the fans was how criminally underrated Tsukishima was. Sure, he got some major moments during the second season but after the whole world read what would happen afterwards in the manga, no doubt the expectation on how Tsukishima would come about in the anime adaptation was crazy high. In fact, while Hinata and Kageyama are always the top dog on being inspiring, it is always Tsukishima that is the most compelling, interesting, and mysterious (cue the fan girls screaming). Thankfully, Production I.G. does Tsukishima real justice. Every facial expression is on point, every sweat is heart-melting, every roar is contagious, and every close-up demands a spin-off (I'm sure the world won't mind Tsukishima-centric saga, Furudate-sensei).

Finally, have I mentioned already that fourth season is underway? Lord, it's time to rewatch it again. Ultimately, do you want to know what makes an anime both magnificent and timeless? When it is already good and then it gets better and better and better and you know the rest.

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While the first season was about how to be a team, this second season is ironically about how to be an individual.

Before the second season begins, the ragtag doujin circle named Blessing Software has had old-school fun as they take on one and only agenda: creating the finest doujin dating sim at Winter Comiket. However, as soon as the second season rolls, things start becoming more ambitious and therefore, more complicated.

Before, the male protagonist Aki Tomoya was simply a diehard otaku charging on a mission that --admittedly-- was more self-satisfactory than collective. All the girls surrounding him were "artists first, friends second" in his eyes ... and he settled for simply being a fan. Regardless, his crew decided to play along only for the sake of the challenge and the friendships and the shared love for doujinshi. Now for Tomoya, being an otaku doesn't fly anymore. If he wants to take everything to the next level, he realizes that he has to be a proper producer-slash-creator-slash-artist because his crew is no longer a bunch of quirky, otaku, overtly hormonal teenage girls-- they are all professional artists who are just too damn good to stay being a fan. What happens when the doujin circle becomes too small for their talents? What happens when such talents are in jeopardy of being unable to grow?

This is not to say that the Saekano series makes a drastic turn and becomes too serious. Trust me, all the classic dating sim satire and multiple shots of fan-service sequence are never running out of stock. Once again, the 'boring heroine' Katou Megumi is a blast and constantly present in reminding us that Planet Earth is still the setting of this romantic chaos. However, it is truly a breathtaking experience seeing a simple piece of entertainment serve a pretty deep lesson on life. After all, as Saekano teaches us, there is no big difference between artists, imaginary girlfriends, and human beings: that growth is undeniable and there's always that next arc.

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Compared to the first season, there is some improvement as found in Dream Festival! R. Sadly, though, the improvements only apply for the secondary issues. The primary issues --the issues desperately in need for improvements-- are still pretty much intact.

Let's start with the good points. For this second season, the art is definitely better. The characters are more animated, making their body language seem fluid and their facial expressions more engaging. Moreover, the Dorika element is better utilized this time around. While it seemed like in the first season the Dorika element occasionally felt forced and unnecessary, this time around it seems like Bandai Namco ... Pictures had become so much more confident, the Dorika manages to become both magical and sensible.

Now with the bad points. This is supposed to be the point of redemption for Bandai Namco Pictures to polish the main protagonist, Amamiya Kanade, from being too much of a blank canvas to being a proper center of the entire narrative. Unfortunately, lack of character developments makes Kanade even worse than a blank canvas: it is as if the studio commanded, "Look. This is the hero of the story so you HAVE TO like him!" Additionally, the introduction of brand new supporting characters ultimately does not deliver the spice this series had needed to make things more interesting. Another disappointing point is the development of KUROGANE. While in the first season this unit was the proper antithesis of DearDream, the overall "let's-be-friends-forever" vibe of the whole second season manages to neuter KUROFUNE's edge. Finally, we have that horrifying series finale-slash-recap episode.

At the end of the day, I decided to score the same grade for Dream Festival! R as its predecessor's, Dream Festival! At least with the unfortunate balance between the interesting and the disaster, both seasons manage to feel cohesive and it does make it better for the audience's experience to watch both seasons as one inseparable package. However, does this anime require the third season? Well, just like idols in real life, one shall better quit while still being ahead.

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What could have been the leader of female sports anime sadly became a meaningless collection of yandere females.

Sports anime is perhaps the easiest genre to carry on due to its one and only rule: put the sports element front and center. It does not necessarily mean that sports anime should feel like a docu-drama-- it means that sports should be the medium in which the characters grow and find themselves and resolve their conflicts and finally, aim for the better future. Sports would subtly become the metaphor of life itself. One should train hard to have a better life, that one should be able to ... compete to elevate such life, and that both victory and defeat are simply the beginning of a brand new chapter of life. As time goes, though, different types of sports are adapted and become a breath of fresh air, let it be archery (Tsurune) or sumo (Hinomaru Sumo) or even karuta (the lovely Chihayafuru). Nonetheless, the rule shall be universal. Come to think of it, it is not as easy of a genre, is it?

Hanebado! attempted to defy the one and only rule. Now look at what it had become.

On the surface, the narrative seems strong and the characters even stronger. Sure, fan-service elements are to be expected (the originated manga, after all, is skewed more towards the male readers than the female) but with proper management, Hanebado! --again, on the surface-- could have been something really promising. Unfortunately, as if the people of LIDENFILMS had no faith in either the badminton sport and/or the promising elements, the whole thirteen episodes become a paradise for yandere girls to the point of which, does it even matter that they play badminton? In fact, does it even matter that they play sports at all? With the yandere-ness getting overboard, all character developments feel elementary, the conflicts become some sort of a farce, and the resolution becomes ultimately pointless. Every defeat would only snap their psychology and every victory would be a mere 'meh' moment. These are just a bunch of high school females bathing in sweat and bipolarity. It is as if, "Who cares about depth?"

At the end of the day, it is puzzling who should be ashamed of this product: the studio that made the anime or the audience themselves? Like the old saying, "there is no supply without demand". Does anime such as this exist in the first place because we, the audience, want this to exist? Have we reached the new low in terms of shallowness? Or perhaps this is the worst-case scenario: that audience just does not want to see deep and resolute female athletes on their screen? If it is the latter, then well, we ALL really should be ashamed.

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[FIRST IMPRESSION: a review solely based on the first five episodes]

Be careful, Daily Lives of High School Boys, because it's summer 2019 and Joshikousei no Mudazukai (a.k.a Wasteful Days of High School Girl) is here to snatch your crown of "School Comedy of the 2010s". The same warning goes to you too, Asobi Asobase.

Already being the finest --and sneakiest-- anime of the season, Joshikousei no Mudazukai takes no prisoners starting from its bop-pop OP and the spot-on depiction of the first days of school-- when innocent daydreams get crushed easily by a bitter-and-a-bit-perverted homeroom teacher. It is refreshing to see three heroines who are not ... immediately close friends from the get-go-- therefore saving up a promising investment for character development on future episodes. Each episode serves as a centerpiece for different characters with our main heroine, fondly nicknamed 'Baka', as the glue that holds everything together. Every single character is adorably inexplicable and that's where the gold mine is. While Daily Lives of High School Boys and Asobi Asobase rely more on their comedic antics, Joshikousei no Mudazukai relies more on the weirdness of each character and the chemistry that unfolds.

The character highlights (so far) are definitely Yamai, who is probably the first-ever female depiction of Eight Grade Syndrome in anime, and Wota, who constantly fails to hide her hunger for all things BL. Nonetheless, it is still Baka who becomes the true gem of the story. Is 16'15" to 20'25'' of Episode 1 officially the funniest four minutes (and ten seconds) of 2019 in anime? Well, we need to wait until December to find out but nonetheless, that would be the candidate to beat for sure.

Tentative conclusion? It wouldn't hurt kicking off your every summer weekend with Joshikousei no Mudazukai. In fact, you wouldn't want to miss it for the world.

[ #felixlovesanime will compose the complete review of the season once the season ends. Stay tune and have a great summer, all. ]

Saekano is, ironically, pretty much just like dating sim (a.k.a otome game) itself: you can only enjoy it once you understand the rules.

In a way, Saekano is a masterpiece in its own right. The characters are straight-up otome-esque (the senpai, the childhood friend, the little sister, another childhood friend/cousin) and they somehow manage to be a united front with a loyal otaku/otome-esque player to create this universe's version of otome game. Imagine the film Inception, but way (I mean, waaaaaayyyyyyy) geekier. Is the setting of Saekano the 'real world'? Definitely. However, recurring changes in coloring keep on suggesting that the perspective on the so-called 'real ... world' may not always be reliable. Regardless, what differentiates Saekano from similar anime (i.e. D-Frag!) is one: Katou Megumi, a giant flatness of a heroine.

Katou Megumi is a blank canvas. Literally. Twelve episodes in and her presence is more fleeting than Kuroko Tatsuya and Aburame Shino combined. Ironically, such 'boring' exterior serves as a perfect muse for her to be mold-able into the perfect heroine-- and that's when the comedy begins. She is too casual to be a 'senpai', too intelligent to be a 'childhood friend', too witty to be a 'little sister', and too supportive to be 'another childhood friend/cousin'. Conclusively, she is simply undefinable. Again, since Saekano flirts with the concept of irony all too well, ironically it is Katou Megumi that continuously brings the story home to the Earth. As good as otome game is in selling the romantic fantasy, Katou Megumi constantly reminds us that no matter what, the best romance is always grounded in reality-- and the reality is, a young romantic maiden can simply be... well, undefinable.

My final remarks, Saekano is not the go-to anime for first-time onlookers. Furthermore, one would perhaps look for other anime instead should fan-service happen to be the sole intention to watch. However, for the seasoned audience out there, Saekano might just be your big white whale. Otaku still need something real, and Katou Megumi might be just that.

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If this review had been written back in 2006, I probably would have graded Reborn! with 8 or even 9. Unfortunately, this review was written in 2019. I decided to grade it a cold 5. Conclusion? Reborn! had failed to pass the test of time.

Back in mid-to-late Noughties, Reborn! became a staple for otaku and cosplayers everywhere. It was rare to see an anime series that blended a mafia element in its narrative and back then, zero-to-hero main characters were all the rage. Simplicity was celebrated, slapstick comedy was basically demanded, and the more straightforward the character development was, the better for the audience to ... follow. For instance, one could notice a subtle-yet-significant difference between the Noughties-era Tsuna and the 2010s-era Deku. While the latter seemed to have one giant crisis only as his sole challenge, Deku has so many barriers to climb, he just can't catch a break. Ultimately, though, that is what makes the latter more interesting than the former. Interesting and memorable. Boku no Hero Academia had learned the history and sadly, Reborn! is only a history.

It is not impossible for Noughties-era anime to stay relevant up to next decade and so. BLEACH, Naruto, and D.Gray-man had proven so without any necessity to re-master themselves for the current youngsters. What makes it impossible for Reborn! to join such league is simply the inability to stay relevant. The simplicity has become shallow in the eyes, the slapstick comedy has stopped drawing laughter and instead only drawing irritation and Tsuna has become the rare hero who just stops being either relatable or admirable. This has yet to mention the depiction of the female characters that is simply off-putting (it could draw the rage from the PTA of the present, I argue). Dare I say that the damage that Kyoko, Haru, and Bianchi had done to female empowerment movements has become far worse than what Misa of Death Note did? Well... yes.

Regardless of such, it is still understandable that Reborn! does --and will always-- have a loyal fan base. This is still one of those anime series with which one whole generation grew up and made their childhood the way it was. Just don't count this series to generate new fan base. Sometimes, re-watching is not always a good idea. Sometimes, having a nostalgic memory is better.

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A problem called The Main Heroine.

Ever since its debut back in winter 2018, it is as if A Place Further Than The Universe had been heralded as the K-On! of the new generation. Thanks to its adventurous narrative, a slew of engaging characters, emotional depth equivalent of Departures (so far the only Oscar-winning Japanese live-action film), and breathtaking art, I personally would not understate the impact this anime had generated for this generation of otaku. This phenomenon truly reminded me of when K-On! first took off: causing a huge shift in paradigm due to its fresh take on the genre and the music that could ... actually cross over the radio.

Unfortunately, after further analysis, I had come to realize that A Place Further Than The Universe and K-On! might be too far alike. Of course, we all know what happened with K-On! as it slowly hit its shelf life. In this industry, nothing is more terrifying than being labelled "overrated". More terrifying so, both anime became as such due to one very similar and very specific problem: the main heroine herself.

A Place Further Than The Universe was this close to be The Better K-On! The insane narrative creativity aside, the character ensemble is ALMOST to die for. Shirase is a girl on a mission, Hinata is a teen hippie looking for a purpose, and Yuzuki is an ordinary girl who just happens to live in an extraordinary (and suffocating) world. Together they would embark on an adventure to Antartica! That's gold no matter how one looks at it-- but wait the minute! There's the main heroine, Tamaki Mari, who JUST HAS TO BE the identical twin of Hirasawa Yui (currently placed as the waibu all otaku are planning to divorce). It was this close for A Place Further Than The Universe from being the new classic, but why did Madhouse have the feel to put the clumsy maiden as the emotional center for a larger-than-life adventure? Ironic enough, Tamaki Mari is just too small of a heroine to be the center of this narrative's universe.

The old saying is always right: an anime is only as good as the hero/heroine. Thanks to Kurosaki Ichigo, BLEACH is still adored worldwide regardless of decline in narrative quality. Thanks to Monkey D. Luffy, ONE PIECE is still attracting worldwide followers regardless of overstaying its welcome. You can paint the south pole as magical as you want, but the main issue is not the big block of ice-- it's the dummy that is stepping all over it.

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Before I start, I would like to begin with a note of which, there should never be a comparison between Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu and Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru. The former is skewed towards Shounen demographic and the latter is skewed towards the Shoujo. Comparing the two would be as meaningless as comparing Haikyu!! with Fruit Basket.

Now, about Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu.

It is not an overstatement to say that the art and the animation are exquisite to the max! We finally have the delight of enjoying cinema-level of quality in our television/computers therefore, kudos for ufotable for basically turning Makoto Shinkai (I assumed) green with jealousy. Regardless the fact of ... which Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu is originated from a multimedia project with heavier focus on the female demographics, the geniuses of ufotable managed to provide a different flavor with stylish execution and without betraying the origins that had become the vital foundation. The action sequence is slick, the visual effects blend beautifully with the hand-drawn animations, no 'lazy' 3D animation in place, and it doesn't hurt maintaining the bishounen-ness of our brave Touken Danshi. Unlike other multimedia spawns, though, Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu never feels like a companion piece per se.

Nonetheless, as we learn over and over again regardless of changes in season, a beautiful anime to look at does not necessarily constitute as an excellent anime. The biggest flaw of Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu is the narrative that it chose. This universe consists of around fifty Touken Danshi with interesting histories that are yet to be depicted in popular anime but sadly, Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu chose to tell the story as overused as a samurai's pair of sandals: Shinsengumi again and again and again. It feels safe and nowadays, 'safe' is just the polite term for 'boring'.

However, there is still a glimmer of hope. Perhaps for the next reiteration of the saga (the movie has been announced), they no longer have the need to blend in with the Shinsengumi crowd. Ironically, for an anime regarding history, this one really needs to learn from the past for the sake of better future.

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