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In a sea of anime where Isekai is the most prevalent genre, stories need a hook to get their audience interested. What better way to garner interest than having an absurd story premise? However, Reincarnated as a Vending Machine isn't the first to have a protagonist turned into a non-human entity. There's been a gimmick for many different animals and objects over the years including a spider, sword, pig, slime, and even a magical girl's wand. This brings with it a dilemma on how our protagonist interacts and adapts to a world, with the challenges of not being humanoid.

Isekai has the potential to create ... excellent world building and drama, a story to relax to with a fun day-to-day environment, or just a power fantasy for the reader to project or follow along with. Reincarnated as a vending machine falls under the "relaxing" category. Despite that, a decent part of the shows runtime has Boxxo adventuring. Our protagonist's strengths are non-combat oriented, being a producer of food and materials. He cannot move or talk outside of a few scripted phrases. While having a vending machine deal with a fantasy fight certainly seems interesting, every fight and encounter falls flat. There is no real tension or danger to any characters, and conflicts are easily solved. The way how Boxxo contributes in battle is underwhelming since most of what he does is provide an item or material to assist. Some of the items produced COULD lead to interesting strategy, but they way they are used end up being mundane. The restrictions of not being able to move or speak ends up backfiring in this kind of situation. The item gets produced, someone immediately figures out the intended use, and the item is used. Any case where this type of situation doesn't happen is just as dull, as any fantastical elements have nothing interesting going for it.

So how does Reincarnated as a Vending Machine handle its non-combat elements? A story needs interesting characters with good chemistry for this. The characters Reincarnated as a Vending Machine are boring and have no personality. Boxxo has as much personality as a vending machine on a wall, and the only interesting thing about Lammis is that she can somehow tell what Boxxo is feeling. Some characters have a single quirk that set them apart, and some don't even have that going for them. I am almost offended that most of these characters were named and showed up on the screen more than once. The slice of life elements are not funny, interesting or cute. Nothing really gets added to the story, and any attempt is shallow. The implications of having modern food and luxury items dropped into a fantasy world isn't really expanded on. People think its tasty and people want Boxxo for themselves, that's it. How our protagonist became a vending machine and came from another world would be an interesting narrative, but instead there are supposed "wish granting" items that can be collected. Since the characters have such little personality and motivating force, its hard to care if they reach that goal. By the end of this show I was only hoping to have Boxxo communicate and get a human form, which completely undermines the entire story since its built on the vending machine gimmick.

As for visuals and audio, I cannot think of a single well animated moment in this show. The CGI effects they used were integrated well, but outside of that there are many still frames and action scenes hardly move. The backgrounds are incredibly empty and bland, and the character designs are basic.
I think the OP song "Fanfare" is a nice tune, but it doesn't fit with this series. The lyrics do not match with the story and characters. The visuals are a complete mess and are only there to showcase the cast. The ED "Itsumo no Soup" has a much better tone to match the visuals, and actually has some lyrical connection. The watercolor aesthetic was a good choice to clearly transition the show into the ED. The OST used for the other parts of the show were extremely generic and forgettable.

In summary, Reincarnated as a Vending Machine has an interesting premise but fails to deliver anything. It lacks meaningful conflict, has bland characters, and is not even funny or cute. Its audio and visuals are a big mess, despite a couple of positives. The show is watchable, but hardly enjoyable.

3/10

Vanitas no Karte was an entertaining show. It's visually appealing, has an interesting setting, and has underlying mysteries to keep the audience invested. However, the characters leave much to be desired.

Story: 7

Vanitas no Karte takes a spin on the European Vampire setting and turns it into a fantasy. An alternate universe where vampires exist, but without many of the traits that are considered common within other media. Without going into any spoilers the setting and worldbuilding is quite interesting. Information is given gradually to the viewer throughout the series, and an underlying mystery and conflict come to surface. I wish there was a deeper dive ... into the history and lore of the worlds. Where the story falls short is how it interacts with the main characters. Vanitas goes around curing crazed vampires and Noe follows him around. Throughout their efforts the overarching plot is slowly revealed and ties into the issue with the vampires. I feel their personalities and dynamic gets in the way of the story, and that's where ill talk about characters.

Characters: 3

I dislike the characters. A flawed character can be done well, but this is not the case of Vanitas. Vanitas is selfish, edgy, and has a tragic backstory. His interactions with others feel shallow, and he really just annoys everyone around him. He has the mindset of anything he does has to be on his terms. He is shown to have good intentions for perhaps the wrong reasons, but its hard to sympathize as he doesn't feel real. The viewer will have a hard time relating to him and his flaws just make him insufferable.

Noe is naïve, selfish and immature. He acts very childish, especially with the sights around him. The audience gets some information due to his lack of understanding of both worlds. He's like a free spirit, neutral to factions and does as he pleases. He will stand his ground and act mature when he needs to, but the contradiction in those moments makes his naïve childish scenes feel awkward.

The way the duo interacts is honestly annoying. They need each other to advance their own goals, but I find little pleasure listening to their bickering.

As for the other characters Jeanne is cute, but I wish the showed more of her strong side. She was introduced as terrifying, but shortly turned into vanitas's plaything. Its creepy at first how he treats her but the teasing is quite enjoyable later. Her strength is pushed aside completely for no reason, and it feels like wasted potential.

Dominique is the childhood friend of Noe who is closely related to his past. Somewhat of a rich girl who was innocent when young but had to step up to her family name. She is shown to be caring to Noe, but I wish there was more frequent interaction between the two.

Dante and crew are just there lead Vanitas to the next case.

There are several factions with multiple characters. In the human world you have the Vampire Liaisons and The Chasseurs who hunt crazed vampires. The vampires appear to have noble families, dukes, and a queen. Both the Chasseurs and the vampire nobility almost feel as if they came straight from Demon Slayer.

Overall I feel that the characters don't interact naturally, and its a chore to watch.

Visuals: 8

I tend to not pay too much attention to visuals and sound, but Vanitas no Karte looks very appealing. Taking place in Paris with backgrounds to match the Japanese tourist dream, and the characters are all very good looking too. The lighting is something that stuck out to me, changing the mood or impact of a scene.

Conclusion:

If you took Bungou Stray Dogs and added the Demon Slayer factions you would get Vanitas no Karte. Not my first choice but it's still a very enjoyable show with great visuals, hampered by its mediocre character interactions. I would probably watch the next season to see what will happen next, and perhaps after reading this review you may be as well.

Winter 2021 was a stacked with many good titles this year, and out of all of the anime that was airing Mushoku Tensei was one I looked forward to the most.
I haven't read the novels so this is based solely on the anime.

First id like to talk about the things this show does quite well. While most isekai have "blank-slate" protagonists, Mushoku Tensei has a flawed character: a scummy otaku in his 30s. He isn't meant to be completely relatable and is certainly not the most respectable at first. From what the series shows, this anime is a character study for Rudeus as he grows ... up in this new life of his. Keeping his mind and memories of his past self includes both the benefits and the downsides. We follow Rudeus as he stumbles along his new life while he slowly changes. Rudeus isn't just an average joe when he gets reincarnated. He's gifted but he doesn't get everything handed to him on a silver platter. He has to train and practice to obtain something he wants, which is a far cry from his past life. I would actually compare him to Subaru from Re: Zero in the way they start in a fantasy world being completely insufferable and eventually grow. You may not completely like Rudeus, and he certainly doesn't like himself that much, but both want to see him change in this second chance of life.

Aesthetically the anime does a good job with the openings, blending it into the visuals for each individual episode. Each opening starts off differently depending on where they are in the story, and it feels like you would miss something if you skipped it. The art is pretty unique with the backgrounds being hand drawn. The whole water color aesthetic they have going adds to that story book fantasy feel.

Now for things that the show is average in. To give it some credit, Mushoku Tensei was created before the big isekai boom so a lot of tropes and clichés feel old. The setting itself is fairly generic with a world with magic and superhuman swordsmen. There's your fantasy races and humans with medieval technology and nobility. The story so far really just follows Rudeus where he goes, with the later half of the season adding a bit of a world-building mystery. As I feel the main selling point in this anime is the character development of Rudeus and those he interacts with, this method of story telling is fine. Roxy, Paul, Eris, and Ruijerd are all good characters and they get the most attention. I wish that there was a bit more depth in the other side characters, but since this show is technically ongoing that might change. The story supposedly follows Rudeus through years of his life, and the anime only shows the first part. Another thing this show could do better with is digging a bit deeper into consequences of actions. There were a couple scenes where I felt ended a bit too unnaturally given the context. Something like that would normally involve drama or a meaningful internal monologue. Perhaps because most of the story is through Rudeus's perspective or an oversight in writing/direction that it feels that way. Speaking of this, moments of weakness and flaws are necessary for character development. The way the show plays it out does sometimes feel uncomfortable, but I would suggest looking at it in that perspective rather than considering it as fan-service.

Now for the negatives. The OST was pretty forgetful and I would say sound was the weakest link in the show, other than the OP being blended into each episode. Now to discuss the elephant in the room: the treatment of women and the Rudeus's perversion. It appears that adventurers like Ghislaine are shown to be fairly independent, but otherwise the patriarchal medieval nobility does show itself during a couple settings in the story. It could be just emphasizing the innate flaw in men being driven by lust, but some viewers may not care for the content. In regards to Rudeus's perversion its an unsavory character flaw. It does tone down in the later half of the season as he starts to learn from his mistakes. Personally these things didn't bother me that much, but these could be a deal breaker for some people.

In conclusion, Mushoku Tensei is the story and growth of of a failed otaku as he gets a second chance of life in a fantasy world. He has his flaws but still makes you want to root for him to change and succeed. While the mysteries of this world are fresh as of now, the story has the potential to really expand on it. I am looking forward to seeing how the rest of his new life plays out, and I hope after reading this review you will be as well.

7/10

Note: at the time of this review the second season including its OVA has aired.

"Bears are creatures that feel no insecurity in living alone. They're an animal that lives in isolation. Plus, they can hibernate. What a fabulous thing that is. If I were to be reborn, I definitely want to be a bear." -Hachiman Hikigaya

Story: (8/10) Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru (Oregairu) follows the main character Hachiman, a loner who's pessimistic with anything related to society and human relationships. He is forced to join a "service club" by his teacher and he meets new people along the way. Hachiman solves various ... issues for the club with skills and knowledge hes picked up though being a loner. Little by little he starts to change. The story is labeled as a rom-com, at its heart this show is a comedy/drama and hints of romance thrown in.

Art: (8/10) The art style gives a slight comedic feel to the anime. This is important and more noticeable after watching the second season with the studio change. The show is supposed to be lighthearted with some serious moments, and the art delivers that feeling.

Sound: (7/10) The voice actors feel perfect for the roles. The opening theme is great, although it could use less azaleas for the visuals. The ending theme for this series is nice, since the VA's for Yui and Yukino sing it. The soundtracks they use throughout the anime are good, but nothing too special.

Character: (9/10) This is the selling point of the anime. Hachiman is a very unique character. He is cynical and shows absolutely no desire to be friendly with others. Through his monologues we get an understanding on how he views things. The way he handles his duties and his interactions with other people is entertaining. He is very keen on how other people act, and can see through facades and underlying motives. He helps others through the club with his sketchy methods. The others of the main trio, Yui and Yukino, are great as well. Yui starts as a high school groupie in contrast to Hachiman. Yukino is similar to Hachiman as a fellow loner, but alone for different reasons. They are similar, yet different. If there's one bad point to this anime, most of the characters feel sub par to Hachiman. The side characters are great, but i feel like a few of them could have some more screen time. There are time limitations with a 13 episode anime, so things like that are to be expected.

Enjoyment: (10/10) Unlike most slice of life anime Oregairu doesn't completely rely on cliches and ecchi moments. It is entertaining despite the lack of fan service and action. The uniqueness of the main character makes it appealing. I enjoyed it enough to re-watch it six times.

Akame Ga Kill! emits a feeling like the first part of a roller coaster. You start with excitement and anticipation, but during the initial climb you get nervous and start having second thoughts. It goes downhill from that point forward and I would not want to ride it again.

Story: (4/10) The concept looked unique and great to me. Assassins fighting against a corrupt government for the good of the people. The first episode did a good job grabbing my attention. The twist in the first episode made me sympathize with Tatsumi and Night Raid's cause. It made me want to see them succeed in their ... bloody path to "Justice". I mostly enjoyed the story.... until the last two episodes. The episodes were rushed and events that unfolded during them felt "unnecessary" to me. At this point I realized there was a (fatal) flaw in how the characters were developed throughout the story.

Characters: (4/10) I would like to put an emphasis on the characters, as this is the main reason for my overall rating. A majority of the characters had some kind of backstory to get you attached to them. While the characters were somewhat likable, the rate at which they were introduced and removed did not give the viewers time to get attached. I only liked Tatsumi since he was given a good amount of screen time to develop and felt normal/relatable.

Art: (6/10) I like the look of White fox's animation. Nothing really stood out enough to remember and mention.

Sound: (6/10) The characters sounded average. Both openings didn't stand out much, although I did like part of the second opening. The Ending songs had a sad feel to them, possibly to compensate for the lack of attachment to the characters.

Enjoyment: (5/10) Akame ga Kill! hooked me in from the start and made me watch it to the end. It started off well in the beginning, became shaky in the middle, and then ended in a crash. If you want a good story with good characters, stay away. If your looking for something with action and blood you might find this entertaining.

Overall: (4/10)