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This is a pretty good series with a pretty good premise, in my opinion. I love the power fantasy vibe in any kind of medium and this one has that and more. What I do not enjoy, also in any medium, is a steadfast reliance on flashbacks. If I'm supposed to know something, weave it into the narrative and don't cut away from things just to be like "oh by the way, here are ten minutes of explanation about this particular thing, which may or may not be vital to your enjoyment."

For a super light spoiler, there's a sequence about why the party was formed. ... It occupies six minutes and twenty-two seconds to begin the final episode, and by that point I could not care any less. With eleven episodes behind me, I understand the characters enough for me to enjoy watching two buff dudes beat the shit out of each other. I don't need to know, and if I did actually really super need to know, those six-point-five minutes should have been put in the first one or two episodes.

That happens in every single episode, by the way. I didn't time anything, but it feels to me as if thirty percent of the whole series was flashbacks, always at inopportune times, and about things that don't really matter. I don't require a lore dump because I'm semi-intelligent and sentient, and have the ability to infer information without being spoonfed. And like I said, if the writers/producers/directors felt this was imperative data for viewers to possess, put all of it at the beginning.

Also and finally, it seriously put me off that this is a tournament anime. Nothing in the description implied that we'd spend the first three episodes in a magical qualifying tournament, followed by one episode that is completely a flashback, one decent episode about adventuring, then all the rest about the other tournament. All, of course, littered with flashbacks.

For positives, as I said I really enjoy the premise, and going with that I suppose is the execution; this is clearly a high budget affair and there are no crappy 3D animations or still-image panning shots, and the voice acting plus music is top tier. Comedy is also a big factor, and it all was well done and the jokes hit. However, I cannot recommend this unless your tolerance for flashbacks and tournaments is extremely high. Otherwise it will be tedious and feel like a chore to watch.

PS. Naturally barely any of the main plot is addressed, the premise is basically ignored, and there nothing satisfactory happens in that regard. This is a demo for the book only.

I love isekai and I'm not ashamed about it. I also love OP MCs who trample all opposition with ease. Not ashamed about that either. Fantasy? Yep, love that shit. Harems? You bet. High school? Uh....no actually that one I'll pass on. With so many boxes checked I was ready to really enjoy this, but a very weak ending and supreme loss of focus doomed it to the pile of middling anime that never get second seasons.

Iseleve is simultaneously too short and too long; on one hand it's the typical "season one is actually just the prologue and nothing beyond the rise-to-power arc will happen" ... scenario, on the other the big USP is that it's both an isekai and irl high school drama crammed into one. Both are actually pretty good and if they were separate shows I definitely would have enjoyed that more than trying to fit 26 episodes of two anime into 13 of one.

Specifically because the last 2-3 episodes are EXTREMELY low quality. I don't know if they ran out of time or ran out of money, but these episodes are very bad, production-wise. Lots of recycled shots, tons of still frames (including an entire minute-long sequence of a plain background with no characters, just VOs), and out of nowhere loads of bad CG. In fact I don't recall any CG prior to these episodes, so either it was done properly or they only implemented it for time/money reasons. It doesn't help that the big fantasy anime trope of a redeemed antagonist along with a new UberMegaUltraMechaDoomLevelSSSSSClass bad guy come up and ruin the fun and free feeling of all episodes prior. The end credit stills on episode 13 are more interesting than the last 2-3 episodes so that says something.

I didn't hate it though. Besides really bad pacing where the irl and fantasy sequences just feel out of order (not narratively, just that the time isn't split evenly in a bad way--difficult to explain but obvious when watching) and naturally the final couple episodes, I have certainly experienced worse in this genre. It's a decent enough show that you won't remember but probably won't regret watching.

IV is basically a massive step up from II, but a step down from III and a huge disappointment compared to I.

I hated II because it focused way, way too much on side characters. My favorite genre is isekai (yeah yeah, bully away) and hand-in-hand with that is the OP protagonist part that's so common. IRL, my body is defective and has been letting me down since before I was born, so the power fantasy thing is extremely appealing on a personal level. Just like a ton of isekai characters, I too wish I could trade my hospital visits with another world. I got sidetracked: ... my point is that of all four seasons, II was the one that deviated the most from the main character. I literally did not give one shit about all these adventurers or Kingdom nobles or Climb or Brain or anyone. III solved this partially by having an epic ending, and IV has only two episodes devoted to side characters, which is a colossal boon in comparison.

That said, IV lacks any of the magic that made I so special. The tone overall is extremely negative and dark, and there are no filler episodes with a bath scene, or the guardians taking a vacation, or any sort of levity whatsoever. There's no discovery or adventures, and pretty much everyone is a giant asshole or just resigned to their fate. Ains also constantly questions himself, which, while that is technically character development, is disappointing. I want the OP cunt from I and the faltering Ains from this season is just kind of...okay.

All the same, he definitely demonstrates his OP-ness, and as long as that continues I will be a diehard fan who has rewatched I-III half a dozen times. There's no weakening of the MC, no hints that he'll be beaten, and nothing that shows me it will be the normal post-season-one isekai where the MC becomes a bitch with numerous weaknesses all of a sudden.

So yeah, I'm fourteen shots in and writing my first review here in a long time, but hopefully I've demonstrated why this is 8/10.

Premise: 10/10
Plot: 10/10
Execution: -14,408/10

It's 90% exposition. After the first two episodes it literally just becomes ten loooooooong videos of people blabbering on about how cool the premise is. There are some flashing lights, a couple battle scenes, but yeah, those ten episodes only serve to have people talking. Talking. Talking. Talking. JFC they're actually just talking. These twelve episodes are a one-episode flashback in a regular "isekai" (yeah...) stretched out to four hours.

I'm not even being facetious here. It's just talking. So much fuckn talking. Such an incredible buildup, such an incredible backstory that's revealed, so many cool characters (and by that i mean like ... five), but it's all given over to four hours of explaining WHY the story is cool. Yeah bitch, I know the story is cool, I just said that. I don't need to be told exactly why that is. I HAVE A BRANE, I CAN SUMIZE Y THAT SHIT IS WHAT IS, FR FR NO CAP YOU GET IT FAM?

This is a show for idiots. It's twelve episodes of explaining things and zero episodes of anything even mildly amusing occuring. By the way, the amount of times I said "episodes" in this review mirror exactly the skill level of the writers, because really it was probably a drunken garbageman who thought up this sweet story and then eighteen crack-addicted cheap prostitutes who wrote it.

On a technical level it's all 10/10. Art, animation, sound, music, voice acting, it's fukn great. No errors there. The actual problem is that all these talented people collaborated on a boring project and I can't help but feel bad for them.

Tytania is infuriatingly unsatisfying, to the point where I can't find any good reason to spend all the time watching the series.

As a disclaimer, I've only watched to the mid-60s of LOGH...twice...before becoming fatigued, but the incredible feat it possesses is impeccable pacing. Thinking of Tytania as a Galactic Heroes-lite is definitely obvious, particularly since the source material is by the same genius author. But as I said, LOGH's episodes are packed with substance with barely any downtime or filler. Tytania is frontloaded with promises of a big battle, or showdown, or inner collapse of the titular dynasty, but it never comes. Literally. It doesn't ... happen.

The big conclusion is something along the lines of "the winds of change are here at this crossroads and perhaps it spells the end of the universal order." That's it. All twenty-six episodes are given periodic narration that always hints at a catastrophic finale with super epic battles and the end of Tytania, but no, it's all just cockteasing. Entire multi-episode arcs (for example the prison escape sequence) only exist to pad out what is essentially a prologue that could have been boiled down to a pre-series OVA before the real anime of merit was released.

I'm even more sad and frustrated because I can't think of a single main or side character who lacks motivation or fleshing-out. What sparse battle scenes Tytania has are very interesting, animated flawlessly; the VOs are great; the primary theme is very compelling; in fact the entire anime is just begging to be continued.

But there's no point in spending all those hours here. It's all a waste in the end because nothing happens. Just go re-watch LOGH originals or remake and save yourself time.

Oh look, it's another one of those series that starts super strong then around episode six devolves rapidly into a mess of sideplots where the good guys are actually the bad guys, the protagonist fights a big bad evil while they both announce exactly how they're doing their moves, and an ending that concludes nothing. If that wasn't enough there's also an 11th hour love triangle, an 11th hour "betrayal," an 11th hour introduction of a major character, and did I mention an ending that concludes nothing?

For positives, Kimi to Boku Blah Blah looks fantastic. A lot of the special effects have beautifully contrasting colors ... and loads of particles to go along with really solid and crunchy sounds. The created world is super interesting too in that it takes the "techno empire vs witches' kingdom" into the future where there are cars, guns, cell phones, highrises, and so on for both sides. It's science fantasy which in my opinion is a dying subgenre (is it even that anymore? sigh I'm old).

Negatives are everything else including most of what I just wrote above. Yeah the created world is interesting but it's so much in the background that's it's like the background's grandchild's neighbor's dog trainer's milk delivery man. In the first episode there's all this importance placed on a reactor, which makes it seem the Kimi Sekai Who Cares will actually live up to that "military" tag, but no. It's never mentioned again. The world geography is shown also, but besides the fact there is the "le science empire" and the "witch kingdomerino" alongside various neutral cities it's never displayed or mentioned after the first episode. Any semblance of the aforementioned "military" tag is tossed right out the window as well outside of literally two scenes in a FOB that last about a minute.

Antagonists are poorly written megalomaniacs with subversive agents so comically "fore" "shadowed" that even the dog trainer's bookie's strongarm's accountant's blind elderly cat could figure them out. All the characters in all factions are like 0.01-dimensional too.

Well whatever, there's no point wasting more time explaining what a misfire Hajimaru Seisen Miss Me With That Shit is. I highly doubt there will be a season two, so maybe the only enjoyment here would be skipping through all the boring diatribes just to experience the setting, then stop around maybe episode nine.

Oresuki is just too smart for its own good...or, perhaps more accurately, it's not quite as smart as it thinks it is.

My understanding is that the premise revolves around a harem centerpiece who *finally* doesn't act like a beta bitch and instead chads up to make his goals come true. I even read several reviews to that effect, and for a bit that fantasy seemed accurate. But then I realized that Joro always loses. He's always outwitted by the women (and men!), and all his fourth-wall-breaking diatribes and quips do is smokescreen the fact that he's the same old "heart of gold" harem MC like ... always.

I'm a seasoned purveyor and oftentimes shill of the harem genre, so I can at least give credit to Oresuki for being creative; the pseudo twists and turns make each episode seem a bit like detective mysteries and psychological thrillers. Unfortunately the seeds-and-nuggets approach that works for the detective genre fails completely here because the hooks/bait are pretty much always exclusive to flashbacks. You know, the flashbacks that usually reward keen viewers with an "a ha!" moment...except Oresuki halfasses it consistently. It doesn't matter if you noticed the bait or not, because there's always another aspect that wasn't there for you to pick up on.

As for the actual harem, it sucks. Through all twelve episodes Joro does nothing but act selflessly, thereby forcing all the women to fall completely in love with him. And that goes totally counter to the whole selling point in the first place. Yeah, every so often the "le evil genius" part of him is shown, but it truly feels more like the episode directors forgot until two hours before airing time and just had to throw something in so the TV stations wouldn't have to rewrite the series' blurb.

I feel like the creator had a good idea about the main characters, their origins, motivations, etc and then by accident, while writing notes, the TV turned on. What was playing? Those Sherlock Holmes films with RDJ and Jude Law. "Oh wow these parts where he explains the crimes are so interesting! Perfect, that's exactly what my cool idea needs!" Unfortunately, the creator was hit in the head with a brick at some point so all the creativity expended on the characters was totally lost when it came to pacing. Now clinically braindead, the creator to decided to stretch the part he was writing into ... six or seven episodes because he couldn't think of anything interesting thanks to the event where he was hit in the head with a brick.

I guess an equally brain damaged executive recognized his intellectually-deficient counterpart through an invisible radar system and knew that this horribly fucking dull series must be adapted into anime at once. Hence, this series.

I've seen plenty of anime (and for that matter TV, films, video games, and even music) where a good idea is pulled so thin that it's a blessing from the filament god it even sticks together, but Kyokou Suiri is the most egregiously offensive I've personally experienced. I was so excited in the first couple episodes, then it just...kept going. And going. And going. Around episode ten I realized this particular scenario was it. As in, episodes 7-12 all take place in the same sequence of events, and it jussst keeeeeeps gooooing.

Skip at all costs unless you want something to help you recover from the fact you've recently been hit in the head with a brick.

Imagine taking Wheel of Time and cramming it into a five page essay, or Lord of the Rings and describing it in ten words or less. Or maybe edit Harry Potter into a haiku, every Star Wars novel into limerick, or even this entire joke into one word. That's exactly what's wrong with [Long Title Anime 432124].

This could possibly have worked as a 24-episode series, but even then I can't imagine the massive amount of characters would be shown enough for me to give a pinched fart about. Having seven protagonists was sidestepped clumsily by electing the Anime Eyes™ Guy as leader and focal point ... with zero discussion or explanation, but all that did was make the other six Prodigies background noise at best and shitty plot devices at worst--to the conclusion that the idea of being group isekai'd was just a gimmick. Then there's Elf Ears Girl (giant boobs!), Monkey Tail Girl (no boobs!), Neko Ears Village (all colossal boobs!), Pure-Hearted Knight Girl (regular boobs!), and Japanese Empire Girls (massive boobs!) to worry about, but that's not even taking into account the antagonists.

And the antagonists are what happens after a caricature, after a bad joke long worn out, and after everyone has died from forehead slapping. MONARCHY BAD. ROYALS BAD. BAD. EVIL. There is negative zero room for even a zygote to misunderstand that these are TURBO BAD people who just want power and to torture the common plebs for no reason other than they are BAD PEOPLE. We're talking divided by negative zero levels of nuance, because democracy is the only way of governing people and it works 100% of the time because it was written in the DNA of everyone at the moment the universe came into existence. Now don't forget folks: democracy is ALWAYS GOOD. Monarchy is ALWAYS BAD.

Anyway, I mentioned boobs earlier because about 5% of all frames in this show are close-ups of jello-like anime milkers. It's not even good ecchi, or boring ecchi, or painful ecchi, it's goes like "here's a conversation characters are having, but literally the camera is only showing their boobs." It's like episode directors got yelled at by the studio president in conversations that went something along the line of "I TOLD YOU TO PUT TITS HERE, NOW DO IT REGARDLESS OF THE SCENE. NO, I DON'T CARE JUST DO IT."

What a total mess. The show just feels like a soapbox monologue by a high school kid in government class whose arms are shaking hard enough to be detected on the Richter scale. It didn't have to be either. There's nothing new or original, but the budget was obviously high enough for good animation, voice acting, music, and sound effects. I don't know where it went wrong precisely in its development cycle, but everything after "hey let's make this into an anime" was a failure.

Dazzling artwork ✓
Incredible animation ✓
Great voice acting ✓
Enjoyable setting/focus ✓
Excellent characters ✓

What's not to love?

Well, there's a huge lump of coal in my anime stocking and it's that Hanayamata is just a series of melodramatic setbacks that constantly get in the way of all those positives. About halfway in I was shrugging off the negativity because I really enjoy CGDCT and I figured the series would follow a typical pattern in that around episode 8-9 the roadbumps would be done and everything would cap out with a good vibe. Well...that doesn't happen until the last four minutes of the last episode. In fact, it's around ... episode 8-9 where more and more melodramatic setbacks are introduced, all the way up until the aforementioned finale.

Just...why? What's the point? What kind of sadist writes up characters who finally get over a block and are then immediately shackled by a new one? Again and again and again...and again. That's not and enjoyable experience, that's depressing. Melodrama belongs in daytime soap operas produced on $1.75, half a stick of gum, a Big Gulp, and royalty checks from the lead actress' old sex tape. It doesn't belong in my CGDCT. I don't know about anyone else, but I love this pseudo-genre because it sets my mind at ease with a cheery, breezy atmosphere. I don't so much care about the setting, narrative, and so on as I primarily require the anime be happy so I can relax and let my mind float. Hanayamata is perfect in every part except it doesn't ease off the pointless sadness...ever.

It's a real waste. Ymmv but if you even have the slightest intolerance for melodrama like me, just give it a pass.