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(OVERALL REVEIW – mainly about my concerns with the anime):

I was honestly very unsure as to whether I could write an "intellectual" review that Ergo Proxy deserves, so I have to apologise beforehand if my analysis is lacking in depth and understanding of this anime. Having debated between rating this an eight or a seven for about ten minutes after finishing the last episode, I finally settled on the latter purely based on my own biases. The skepticism about this show is understandable – it is an engaging, thought-provoking show which reminded me why I love this medium of entertainment (cyberpunk mysteries, not just ... tsundere cat girls, unnatural hair colours, or child soldiers in a post-apocalyptic setting).

Yet at the same time Ergo Proxy is disjointed, doubtable, and, most of the time, downright weird. Many reviews on MAL has already broken down the anime nicely, so I will just discuss primarily my main concern with this show, which was the execution of events. Some episodic events were done to engage the audience with a backstory told completely differently from the norm (i.e. almost "breaking their own 4th wall", in a sense). However, while diverging from clichés of anime has a healthy tick of approval from me, I acknowledge that I, as an individual, have an average intelligence, and found it difficult to grasp the fundamental basics of half the dialogue the characters engaged in. Most philosophical questions asked seemed repetitive and said solely for the purpose of sounding "deep" – for example, "Cogito, Ergo Sum" (I think, therefore I am) is the basis and said dominant philosophical debate for the entirety of the show – but I fear the primary fault lies with the English subtitles, which may have lacked the intellect to express the colourful language of Japanese spoken.

I find the plot itself questionable. The show is very experimental, indulging in many different kinds of genres which they pull off surprisingly effortlessly. However, I must point out a plot hole with the robots ("the AutoReivs"), more so with the ones that are infected with a virus that gives them a "soul", allowing them to experience emotions. This is neither explained nor fully explored in detail: the explanation is vague, and inconsistent with scientific reasoning.

It was rather incomprehensible to follow their thought and logic, constantly asking myself questions such as "How is it possible for a man-made machine to suddenly posses a 'soul'? Where does it come from?" When one watches Ergo Proxy, one must remember that this show also falls under the category "sic-fi", i.e. Science Fiction. Therefore, I must also point out that I am one person: my argument is not a theory or proven but an opinion, rather than truth.

The characters, simply put, are brilliant. Not perfect, of course, but brilliant nonetheless. That does not necessarily mean you will like them straight of the bat. Re-L (Lil is a fansub mistake), is one badass female lead, but spoilt by her social status and is seemingly detached from experiencing emotions. Vincent Law appears to be a disappointment for a male lead – a faceless, generic man with a submissive personality. However, both undergo major character development, which is actually shown to the audience rather than done off screen (i.e. they do not somehow miraculously become formidably impressive persons in the middle of the series for no particular reasons).

The plot itself is very unique, and as mentioned before, unrealistic for our generation but thought-inspiring. As for music: one does not simply skip the OP of Ergo Proxy (it's sung in English and I didn't skip over it once during all 23 episodes).

Personal note: I highly recommend solely shoujo/harem/shounen/ecchi genre watchers (and the like) to stray away from this. You may not necessarily like it nor understand it, and I myself admit this is not an anime for everyone, including myself. Despite being a fan of the likes of cyberpunk/psychological/dark fantasy genres, I found that for the majority of the time I was feeling "dafuq" or "hahahahhaahha ok ¿¿¿" and alas, did not come to fully embrace this hidden gem in the anime world, Ergo Proxy. But if you find the first episode engaging, then please stick with it to the bitter end – it is simply one hell of a ride.

TL;DR

I would count Another as my first proper "horror" anime, and it lived up to every expectation. Gripping suspense from the first episode — transfer student, a mysterious young girl, strange new school in rural Japan, and a "killer" myth — the anime had me on the edge of my seat to the very bitter end. It was a flabbergasting, gory, enthralling mystery. The artwork was decently executed; what I liked the most was that extra characters had individuality; however it was slow paced at times, with a generic male lead that did practically nothing (Mei, the female lead, was probably the most intriguing character ... the entire show). Overall, I enjoyed it immensely in every sense of the word: if you are looking for some horror where you can just sit back and enjoy the gore without having to think much, this is for you.

[OVERALL REVIEW ONLY]

I was really excited for Uta no☆Prince Sama♪, especially after the great commercial success of Maji LOVE's 1000% and 2000% seasons. I have a love/hate relationship with reverse harems, mostly watching it because BISHOUNEN, but Prince Sama became a favourite after the depth they went into character development and non-annoying (not a word; don't use it) female lead who doesn't know how to do anything other than be torn about which guy she likes better because they all got equal screen time.

However, Revolution was a considerable disappointment. It lacked the vigor that innovated me to change my skepticism about harems and come ... to love the series; personally I found myself skipping through the episodes rather despondently. It played the usual aesthetics of reverse harem storylines (plot twist: ROBOTS. I don't know whether this was supposed to creative or a desperate attempt at creativity), ups and downs in the boys' lives, making us remember why everyone loves the MC and blah blah blah — but wait!

THE MUSIC.

HELL YEAH. Alrightly, let's get down to the nitty gritty; the first and foremost important thing about Revolutions is the music, which is vibrant, cheesy, and catchy. You cannot not like the songs these boys have to sing, +idol dancing, this is the greatest thing you will ever see. Ah, all the while Haruka picks up a few more (or like ten more) bishounen along the way.

Let me also add, character development is mediocre. I put a five because it was literally "meh". Each boy finds himself and that's great and all, but it's also pretty much similar to every other slice of life reverse harem. However, at the end of the day I still love this show. And SEASON 4, I'M COMING FOR YA.

BECAUSE GUESS WHOSE BACK AT THE END OF SEASON 3: It'll be a spoiler so lol no I ain't spilling! Yesss, and "these boys" are better than ever. So, to be honest, I'll probably end up watching season 4 too despite telling everyone how this anime hasn't evolved whatsoever since season one.

TL;DR

The first season was surprisingly engaging, but I still had my doubts since seeing the infamous first adaption. However, by season 2 I was already engrossed in this animation — one of the best of Spring 2015, although the English subs were somewhat difficult to comprehend at times. Shiro executed his role of Baka/OP MC flawlessly (another great line by him this season to watch out for: "just because you're correct doesn't mean you're right"), alongside strong female lead Tosaka Rin. I quite liked their somewhat unconventional romance mingled in with all the gory action.

The sound and visuals were breath taking — they really ... put a lot of effort into the aesthetics of it. One of the main reasons why this anime was pure epic is credited to the amount of money spent. It just goes to show that Unlimited Budget Works.