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In the sense of animation and sound, Vivy is a very good show. The animation is beautiful (most of the time), the choreography for the fights is magnificent, and the OST is great. However, if you think this show accomplishes anything else than looking and sounding pretty, you're wrong.

I'll begin by talking about what I enjoyed. For starters: the animation. It's no surprise that Wit has some phenomenal animators and designers. From the very first frames of the first episode, you could tell that they put more effort into each scene than most studios put into their entire series. Both the world design and character ... design were amazing, and they really drew me into the world of the show. Additionally, the choreography and camera movement for the action scenes was unmatched by anything else I was watching this season. Lastly, the soundtrack was just amazing. I'm a huge fan of Aketagawa Jin, and he really brought his A-game for this series. The opening theme, "Sing My Pleasure" is an absolute bop, and the other original songs also hold their weight. The scoring was also very good.

Now I'll get into what I didn't enjoy: everything else... The story is your run-of-the-mill, time-travel, change-the-past-to-save-the-future crap you see all the time... but now with AIs (woooow). It's very formulaic: Vivy learns about an event that apparently leads to the annihilation of mankind, she meets an AI that has to do with said event, she tries to stop the said event, the AI dies and the event happens anyway. One issue with this formula is that the show spends too much time trying to develop characters that they'll just end up killing off the next episode, leaving just the last episode or two for the show's main character--who they should be spending the most time on. Another issue with this formula is that the show gets very repetitive and predictable, and thus very boring. It felt like a chore to get through an episode each week.

A few more things that I disliked:
- The fact that they failed to explain the mechanics of the time travel in the time travel show.
- The weird, high-detail stills that they'd throw into certain scenes at random times that looked out of place and ugly.
- Matsumoto.

Overall, the show is okay. If the show wasn't this well animated, I doubt people would have been hyping it up as much as they were. I've seen way too many people claiming this show is a masterpiece or even anime of the year, when if they'd simply think about the show for a minute they'd see that it really isn't anything special.

Tl;dr: Watch if you want a pretty show. Don't watch if you want a good show.

Re:Zero season two (first half) is an intriguing follow-up to the 2016 hit, but ultimately does not live up to the legacy of its first season.

Story - 7:
After the intense last few episodes of the previous season, these thirteen episodes were quite boring. While over the previous season, Subaru's story took him all over Lugnica, meeting plenty of characters along the way over an adventure that lasted him (in real-time) at least a few weeks, there was almost no real story progression during the first half of this season. Much of the time was spent on Subaru's own development and uncovering the mysteries of the ... Sanctuary and the Witches. By the end of the season, due to Subaru failing to achieve a desirable outcome with his Return-by-Death ability, we are only about a day after he first arrives at the Sanctuary.

Art - 8:
Just like the last season, the art is very beautiful. However, one thing that unfortunately carried over were the abhorrent CGI-animated models of some of the background characters, which really did not help with the immersion into the world of Re:Zero.

Sound - 7:
I think the opening was good? Not too sure, only heard it about once or twice throughout the entire show. Other than that, the soundtrack was pretty good.

Character - 7:
This season focused very much on the development of Subaru's character as he learns to deal with his return-by-death and how to effectively use it, seeking the answer as to whether or not his countless self-sacrifice was worth it to achieve the most desirable outcome. Other than Subaru, not many characters hold that much development. Rem is in a coma the whole time. Ram is still stuck up. Emilia is barely present. Roswaal, Otto, and Beatrice, despite being fairly minor characters, have the most development other than Subaru. Additionally, the season's new characters are fairly forgettable.

Enjoyment - 7:
The season is nowhere near as action-packed as the first. In addition, Subaru's constant resets make the show even more tedious than the previous season, making me practically beg to myself for the writers to just get on with it. The season does have its fair share of touching moments however--mainly with one episode where Subaru confronts his past and his relationship with his parents. That was very cool.

Overall: (7+8+7+7+7)/5 = 7.2/10

Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai. What a beautiful show that beautifully handles the topics of growing up, puberty, and being a kinder person.

Story - 8:
The story is fairly simple, yet beautiful enough to keep the watcher intrigued throughout each arc and see what comes next. Throughout the story, Sakuta has interactions with different girls, forcing them to come to terms with themselves and develop as individuals. One qualm that I hold is that after each girls' arc--mainly Koga and Nodoka--they kind of recede back into the shadows of the show, making cameo appearances through the rest of the series. I would have ... loved to have seen more of them throughout the entirety of the story!

Art - 6:
Nothing that special here. The anime is fairly average when it comes to its art style and execution: there are shows worse than this one, and there are shows better. Each character's design is standard for the school genre, and the two main male characters--Sakuta and Kunimi--look almost exactly alike.

Sound - 8:
This anime has one of the best OPs and EDs I've heard. The rest of the soundtrack is fairly good as well, but the reason that this doesn't score higher is that the quality of some of the characters' voiceovers was kind of odd and offputting at first, but I grew to find it normal.

Character - 10:
Every single girl in this show is completely lovable and goes through so much character development through their interactions with Sakuta. Sakuta himself doesn't grow that much as a character until near the end of the series, but it works in a way that is fulfilling and beneficial to the story.

Enjoyment - 10:
While some may find the show boring, I find it anything but. There is no action. There is no fan service. There is just the characters, their story, and you. There is enjoyment in seeing Sakuta fawn over Mai. There is enjoyment in seeing him consult Futaba for information regarding the mysterious "Puberty Syndrome," and work through how to help each girl with their problems. There is enjoyment in seeing each girl overcome those said problems and become a better person. There is enjoyment in all of the cute moments between characters.

Bonus Points:
Each end credits sequence is different for every episode depending on which girl the episode focused on. Very cool.

Subtotal: (8+6+8+10+10)/5 = 8.4
Bonus Points: 1
OVERALL SCORE: 9.4/10