This review will spoil the Attack on Titan manga. I do not consider this a series worth not spoiling, but it's clear many people do, so you have been warned. I will also be drawing comparisons with Berserk and Code Geass, so I expect the reader to be familiar with those as well, or just not care about spoilers for those series.
Attack on Titan is perhaps the most iconic breakout series of the 2010s, and was in many circles synonymous with anime and manga to casual viewers/readers at the peak of its popularity. This success happened for various reasons; the premise is immediately intriguing to
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audiences, with the idea of fighting against the gigantic menace that are the titans captivating countless people, with easily relatable emotions involving feeling trapped and enslaved. This was complimented by various mysteries and subplots which hinted at a deeper conspiracy involving the titans themselves, with countless organizations vying for political influence ranging from a religion, royal factions and military elements. All of this is capitalized in a final arc where the brakes are off and things finally, finally move forward at rocket speed.
Despite all this, discourse on Attack on Titan has always been contentious, with some people arguing that it's the greatest thing since sliced bread while others claim it had jumped the shark. Where did the series jump the shark? Is it when Eren was revealed as a titan? Is it during the coup arc? Is it during the Wall Rose battle? The post-timeskip content? The actual answer is all of these things.
Attack on Titan was always a garbage series. It was never competent in its writing, its characters are an abysmal, bland collection of tropes, its themes are inconsistent and all over the place and more than anything, it's an absolutely tedious read for anyone not already invested in the wider narrative.
The artwork in Attack on Titan is awful. The character designs are all pretty poorly drawn - which is doubly astounding considering this is a monthly manga, not a weekly one. Many pages are drawn as if incompletely sketched, with constant mistakes in proportions, shading and locations; this becomes especially bad during fight scenes, where these flaws are further emphasized to high heavens leading to a series where there's no superficial fun to be had. What's noteworthy of mention is the way eyes are drawn in this manga; almost everyone has deadened eyes all the time, and this clearly isn't by design as even characters who may have brighters eyes in one scene would have them deadened in the next, with no real contextual reason as to why. While the background art improves a fair bit near the
end, making portions of its final arc somewhat easier on the eyes, this was an ugly manga to look at from start to finish and considering that spreads aren't nearly as common as long, dull, expository scenes where talking heads are explaining information for no other reason other than for the audience.
Speaking of exposition, time to discuss this series' incredibly questionable scriptwriting. It's difficult to describe how awful the script is, but what doesn't help is the way the story is paced; Attack on Titan has no desire in telling a story in a manner that is coherent, instead opting to constantly jump between time periods. Long, long, long stretches of the story are about the local geopolitics within the walls, yet there's no real mention of a coherent political ideology - the infamous coup arc in the middle of the manga is a particular offender of this, with unbelievably shallow villains that the story focuses on yet gives little to no meaningful characterization beyond emphasizing their being evil to the audience. This is a bigger problem considering one of the story's themes, but all in due time; anyway, the manga's portrayal of politics is dull and uninteresting, often portraying conflicts in a black and white manner with no real nuance for much of the series. The series stretches this part of the story absolutely thin; entire chapters often have nothing of note happening, two random side characters are suddenly made into central ones, the conflict is dull due to the central characters having no meaningful and likable foils and it's hard not to feel like the time spent on this segment of the manga could have been easily spent on later parts of the series, which instead suffer from being too fast-paced.
One major reason why the final arc in particular is so disliked among portions of this manga's readerbase is specifically because of its fast pacing. Subplots are introduced and then dropped with reckless abandon, characters who are given little characterization are suddenly introduced only to be shelved later on - despite their presence being integral to the story. Eren undergoes a major character change (we'll get more into this one later) offscreen, and while his actions make sense they are nonetheless jarring. Characters in Attack on Titan do not speak to each other like normal human beings; the very first chapter has a laughably stupid scene where one of the Survey Corps screams at the mother of someone who just died that her son died for nothing. This kind of dialogue is littered throughout Attack on Titan, and it speaks to a comical lack of understanding of how human beings actually speak to each other. Eren is a particular example of this, and while this has a narrative purpose that's explored later in the story, it makes for a lot of incredibly stupid dialogue where characters are quite literally screaming information or emotions at each other. The fact this series is already poor on a technical level with its art does not help things, and it makes for many scenes that attempt to be emotional and fall flat at their face due to the excessiveness of it all.
Themes are an interesting beast to tackle with Attack on Titan. The story basically portrays its conflict as being via a binary; the humans, desperate for survival, and the titans, these monsters devouring humanity. This perspective is flipped before the timeskip, with the infamous scene where after the cast liberate the island, Eren points at the world after reaching the sea asking if the enemy is there. This sets the stage for Attack on Titan's core theme; Eren's a psychopath (though I wouldn't call someone who killed two people as a kid with no hesitation or remorse anything else) who sees the world in a laughably black and white light. His hatred of the titans has shifted to the entire world that left his people group in the Eldians to die due to their collective sin of being the descendants of Ymir and having titan powers. While this change of character is sudden, it's still an interesting one and leaves the question of morality in this setting - one where the world has oppressed the Eldians, yet Eldians are being fought for by Eren, a man who literally believes in worldwide genocide as a means to end - up in what appears to be a gray conflict. A scene that I thought was an interesting parallel was when Reiner and Eren were meeting together, with Eren saying he doesn't blame Reiner for the horrors he caused as Reiner stares in the ground, horrified at the monster he helped create. There are interesting ideas throughout Attack on Titan, and the execution for them occasionally is pretty alright.
This, unfortunately, is hampered by poor character writing. Character writing in all of Attack on Titan is poorly done - the series expects its readers to care about characters who often had miniscule presence, and kills them off with reckless abandon for shock value. Several noteworthy examples come to mind, such as the second timeskip the series has where it jumps a few years to after Eren and the cast become refugees in the interior of the walls, now trained soldiers. Characters are introduced, have maybe a few lines, then the Colossal Titan shows up again, kills a bunch of characters almost nobody
remembers or cares about all over again. The more comical thing is that unlike the anime, the manga injects a flashback of these characters training together to be soldiers AFTER the wall is breached, not before that to transition, and this kind of baffling pacing is all over Attack on Titan. Characters often have characterization or moments to shine right before dying, and it is forced, predictable and hamfisted in a way that makes character deaths easy to predict before they happen. Hannes, Erwin, Hange and Petra are quick examples that come to mind, but one that had me laughing - which fans of the series constantly refer as one of the strongest chapters in the series - is the politician that died in chapter 100 who is introduced, gives reasons for why he's sacrificing himself, then promptly dies. This. Is. Not. Good. Writing. This is drivel that has no idea how to give meaningful characterization to its characters, so does the bare minimum then promptly kills them off.
Another problem is with the main cast's lackluster characterization outside of the confines of the story. One would expect, for example, that the exposition would be a chance for characters to constantly chirp at each other or just even speak to each other normally; instead, we have a lot of scenes where exposition is delivered in a dry manner devoid of any personality or flair, flashbacks telling us that oh, characters knew and cared for each other all along justifying their sudden relevance in the story and emotional involvement (Ymir and Historia's flashback during the coup arc is a particularly awful offender of this). Armin, Mikasa and Eren barely get any genuine character chemistry with one another, for example, yet their relationship is portrayed as though it is stronger than steel despite us never seeing any evidence of this - and, again, most of the backbone to this relationship being explained in flashbacks, often just before key story events. A particular example of this is early into the series, the very first time a titan eats Eren; clearly, the intended reaction is supposed to be horror as Eren sacrifices himself for Armin, but we've only been here a few chapters in and I have zero reason to care for either character.
Mikasa's flashback justifies her ties to Eren, yet despite this romantic subplot being incredibly important to both characters, they both have zero chemistry and virtually no interactions outside of the very limited confines of the story - this extends to the point where even the scene Mikasa confesses her feelings to Eren happens as titans are killing off all their comrades around them. Levi and Hange were the only exception to this rule, with a lot of scenes where both interact with each other outside of the confines of the story, yet even that is hampered by the existence of Erwin, an absolute jackass whose only narrative role is to be discount Griffith from Berserk in the Golden Age arc, with a similar arc surrounding the pragmatism necessary to accomplish a great goal and whose character is worshipped by the cast around him. What makes Griffith work, and Erwin fail as a character then? Well, Erwin has about as much charisma as a fruit fly, whose only genuine tactic is to constantly sacrifice people pointlessly in battle yet the ground he walks on is worshipped by people around him. He has no genuine interactions with people around him, which while makes him more militaristic than Griffith; while this makes sense, he is a laughably flat character whose only personality traits are his utilitarianism and stoicness. Griffith, on the other hand, is immediately charismatic, possessive to a fault, vengeful, is rather playful in private, legitimately intelligent in his approach to battle and politics yet aware that he must succeed no matter the cost, else in his eyes the sacrifices would not have been worth it. His approach to sacrifice don't only extend to self-sacrifice but also to how he approaches his own emotions internally, with him often feeling sick at how much he's sacrificing (including allowing himself to be raped by a rich lord) yet persisting onwards. By comparison, Erwin...I guess he occasionally screams mid-battle? Has no real personal involvement with his troops, and doesn't command a real presence, leaving that to Levi? Gets soldiers killed, yet somehow is never despised or resented for it by his troops (the only time he is is during a sham court case where we're supposed to sympathize with him because the government is corrupt during the coup arc)?
The character writing takes an absolute nosedive late into the series, with character relationships perceived as important falling by the wayside for no real reason. Marco is a character whose death is treated like a major tragedy, yet the context behind his death is revealed later into the series, killing any potential emotional investment due to the lack of time he was there. Sasha is killed, gets a flashback with her in a comedy scene after the fact, and is mentioned constantly yet the only pieces of characterization are her eating habits and saving a village earlier in the story (which does become narratively relevant when she is killed and the person who killed her has to confront the evil of their ideals). Levi shifts from being a major character for most of the story to being a side character. Historia gets impregnated willingly in order to support Eren's plans, yet had a love interest in Ymir before that as we jump to the ending where now she's happily taking care of a kid and married off screen, leaving her character arc unconcluded from the coup arc and a complete disaster in every conceivable way. Perhaps no character is as worthy of being addressed, as the one whose mere mention breaks the fanbase into a million pieces; Eren.
Eren's character arc is both the best and worst thing about Attack on Titan; his descent into madness happens off screen but is interesting, and him becoming the very monster he once fought against is an interesting character arc, as he schemes to make the world a better place for his comrades via genocide of those who oppressed the Eldians. Characters frequently criticize Eren, Armin and Levi being at the forefront of this, as he backstabs anything within sight to make the world a better place for people around him. The problem with Eren isn't that he's a schemer, rather it's the fact that everyone around him is a complete idiot who never figures out his plans, even when there are comically easy ways to avoid him, leading to a serious clash between setting, presentation and what's going on in the actual series. Eren's core plan involving his terrorist attack on Marley hinged on using a child to send mail to his comrades to support him, kickstarting the struggle for Eldia's freedom, and yet Marley is portrayed as this genocidal dictatorship that's so unhinged that Eldians are arrested for their children telling the police that their parents are dangers to the state. Yet...the police somehow never frequently check the mail, despite Eren sending dozens of letters. Sure. And this kind of writing plagues THE ENTIRETY of the final arc of Attack on Titan, only growing bigger and bigger in stupidity before finally we have the last few chapters, so laughable and atrocious that they're a joke.
Other stupidity surrounding the story involves a nonsensical time travel mechanic, the powers of the titans, historic revisionism, memories being wiped out and overwritten because of course that's an explanation for why everyone in this story is an idiot, Eren sacrificing himself for the good of his friends so the Eldians can live in peac- oh, right, I have to discuss the ending to this shitshow.
So. The Ending. The ending undermines any serious way to take the story seriously for various reasons; for one, Eren's death is glorified narratively despite the extent of his actions, as Eldians can now live peaceful lives free from persecution in their homeland...with the sacrifice being that suddenly all the characters that can turn to titans and as such die in a few years no longer do, giving all of them a force happy ending that - quite frankly - most of them do not deserve after their actions. I've seen comparisons being made between this and Code Geass's ending - with Lelouch even trending on Twitter in some countries according to some acquaintances - yet strangely, nobody discusses the differences in how both Lelouch and Eren are characterized. Lelouch never attempted global genocide, and often had a lot of characterization involving his relationships with his friends at school. We saw quite a bit of Lelouch's more introspective and considerate personality when interacting with friends, and his risktaking often stopped at putting people in danger in his personal life. He was acutely interested in politics and yet despite his mistrust of people around him - born from a background of being raised as a political tool and discarded when his mom passed away - he often went out of his way to trust his friends, specifically because he despised his upbringing and as an ideological stand against his father's Social Darwinism. We see a lot of what Lelouch is like as a normal person, and this matters because it makes it easier to empathize with him. Lelouch's sacrifice at the end of Code Geass very specifically had him punish the people dear to him, so that they wouldn't be misinterpreted as allies of his and free to live their lives after his passing; by comparison, Eren made sure that his friends...assisted him in a huge terrorist attack, leading to them being branded criminals and the war continuing after his death. Both endings are idealistic, certainly, yet Lelouch made sure to abolish state structures by the end of the series as to make sure the world was a united place; by comparison, Eldians would be more hated than ever before at the end of Attack on Titan, with the only reason the main cast didn't die were uh...because they're no longer titans. Amazing. There's no greater message in the ending of the series, Eren destroyed the environment and murdered most of the world over nothing, yet his death is romanticized because he did it for his friends. Sure.
Let's wrap up this review. Attack on Titan is an absolute catastrophe of a series, whose decent ideas are outshadowed by horrible execution, an unlikable cast of characters, terrible and nonsensical theming, awful pacing and a disaster of an ending, where the only comparable reception to was Bleach's. This was never a good series, and the fact it was held in such high regard despite being an incoherent trainwreck baffles me to no end. The series' positive reception undoubtedly has more to do with Studio Wit's excellent adaptation of its source material rather than any merit inherent to the series proper, which is beyond a shadow of doubt one of the largest trainwrecks in recent memory.
There's a lot I can say here, but I'll take this chance to speak to any Attack on Titan fans still reading this review for whatever reason, assuming they didn't just jump to the end and downvote my review.
Hello there. I've had series with which the ending disappointed me, and at times like this, I think it's only fair - after I made you read a review thousands of words long, even in your disappointment - to give some recommendations of series that may have elements you've enjoyed in Attack on Titan. There's a wide variety of things that brought people into this series, and I think there are stories out there that deserve to be checked out which may fill that void. Without further ado:
- Nier and Nier:Automata are fantastic games that both deconstruct the black and white fallacy and discuss the human condition; there's no way to mention more without diving into spoilers, but if you enjoyed the shift in tone between most of the series and Attack on Titan's final arc - something Yoko Taro, the developer for these games, similarly does when you replay them - then chances are you'd
enjoy them.
- Grandia 2 is a scathing criticism of organized religion, diving deep into nihilism and religion's negative influence on human behavior. If you enjoyed the cult subplot and like engaging with why people often partake in religious extremism and apocalyptic discourse, this game would be straight up your alleyway.
- Dead Dead Demon's Dededededestruction is a fantastic manga courtesy of Asano that deconstructs the black and white fallacy and is a scathing critique of the impact war propaganda has on people - in this instance, a few teenagers - insofar as how people are often dehumanized even by otherwise good people. It's a scathing critique of far-right politics, and chances are that if one of the reasons you enjoyed Attack on Titan for its apparent critique of fascism, this would be your thing.
- RahXephon is a story about how the feeling of entrapment one can have in living day to day life, yet feeling nostalgic towards it once it's lost forever. It's a romantic story about the distance between people and how it often makes it more difficult to communicate with others, literally symbolized by Tokyo being isolated from the world around it; I've noticed a trend among many Attack on Titan fans of enjoying Eren and Mikasa's distant dynamic for similar reasons, and I feel this can help fill the void where this series disappointed.
- If you enjoyed the worldbuilding in this series, as well as the homecoming and found family elements of Attack on Titan - often portrayed by the soldiers' cliques and Eren, Mikasa and Armin's dynamic - then there's many places I can point to, but the Trails games stand out as a particular example of this, with those themes being at the very center of the narrative. If you want a play order, here you go:
https://ricedigital.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DmDQ7gAVAAAEYcu.jpg
Seriously, just play Trails, it's one of my favorite things in the world and I love it.
- D.Gray Man is an excellent shonen about these shattered people desperately trying to connect to one another and make the world a better place in the face of complete annihilation by demons, with an excellent central cast of characters that have great chemistry with one another. While it falls into many a conventional battle shonen trope, if you enjoyed the series mostly at its beginning - during its more straightforward opening arc - then chances are this would be your thing.
- ACCA is an excellent series about government structure and characters attempting to prevent a coup, before eventually being about what exactly makes up a nation and a critique of federalism. It's incredibly wordy, but should you enjoy the coup arc in Attack on Titan, this should be up your sleeve.
- 86 is a great LN series about a group of dehumanized soldiers, desperately fighting for a cause that has been abandoned by the country they fight for. Racism, apartheid, institutional discrimination, the limitations of securitization and how exactly collective identities can often be dehumanizing are all central to its narrative; there's an anime adaptation airing Spring 2021, but regardless of the adaptation's quality I can at least vouch for the quality of the source material.
- Claymore is a series that almost definitely inspired Attack on Titan, and tackles similar themes. Read it, ideally blind.
If you've read my review to the very end, I salute you. It must have taken quite some effort.
If you're a fan and read my review to the end, I can't thank you enough for hearing me out. It takes quite the open mind to hear opposing opinions, and I hope that my recommendations - if nothing else - are something you can keep a mind for and hopefully enjoy.
Thanks to anyone and everyone who has read my review from start to finish, any and all feedback would be appreciated.
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Apr 7, 2021
Shingeki no Kyojin
(Manga)
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Not Recommended Preliminary
(141/141 chp)
This review will spoil the Attack on Titan manga. I do not consider this a series worth not spoiling, but it's clear many people do, so you have been warned. I will also be drawing comparisons with Berserk and Code Geass, so I expect the reader to be familiar with those as well, or just not care about spoilers for those series.
Attack on Titan is perhaps the most iconic breakout series of the 2010s, and was in many circles synonymous with anime and manga to casual viewers/readers at the peak of its popularity. This success happened for various reasons; the premise is immediately intriguing to ...
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Mar 22, 2021 Not Recommended
The isekai genre has been a source of neverending torment for animanga fans for almost a decade now, with blatant, boring and offensive escapist garbage coming out in droves every single season. Few would defend this trend beyond a handful of exceptions that are deemed to be interesting enough to stand out from the crowd, ranging from comedies like Konosuba, Maou-sama or Hamefura, stories that use the setting to tell a legitimate story like Log Horizon or commentaries about escapism and finding self worth (though not a fan of the show) like Re:Zero. The isekai genre's history is long and complex, having roots in having
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been originally aimed at women (with stuff like Twelve Kingdoms and Inuyasha) before Sword Art Online's explosion in popularity gave birth to the current trend we see today of blatant pandering and unapologetic lazy writing that is devoid of any legitimate literary merit. Why create a fantasy setting when you can just copy and paste a basic RPG so your audience of teenagers who don't know better would just read it? Why give your main character any sort of personality worth analyzing when you can make him the blandest Gary Stu imaginable that is so perfect that women in the setting are begging for him to insert his chaste penis into them? Why bother writing a story with compelling characters when you can just list off a pack of tropes, implementing them in the blandest and most stereotypical way possible without a shred of originality?
Mushoku Tensei is frequently attributed as the godfather of the isekai genre in its modern state. Now, I do not know if this is true, but regardless I can confirm that this series is nothing but a stain upon anime in general, and a painful reminder of just how far the anime community is willing to overlook flaws in series that otherwise have great production values. More than anything, it is rather telling that a genre infamous for low quality shows would traces its origins to something as instinctively repulsive as this pile of trash. There is precisely zero reason to care for any character in Mushoku Tensei, and the author of this work displays a hatred of things many would call common human decency to make the audience's reaction to the entire cast as hostile as humanly possible so long as you do not fall within the camp this show is clearly pandering to. Pedophilia. Grooming. Sexual harassment. Sexual assault. Voyeurism. Adultery. Kidnapping. Abuse. I had, have and always will be a supporter of tackling sensitive subjects in series irrespective of genre or demographic, but the extent to which this show decides to pander hard to the worst of the anime community and make its main character as repulsive as humanly possible is insane. Rudeus - a reincarnated, 34 year old man - is a pedophile and his values (which the show never genuinely questions as of right now in any meaningful way, who knows what happens in future seasons) make it impossible to like him or feel anything beyond disgust. Rudeus takes advantage of the fact he is in-setting a baby to constantly grope women, hide panties away and pray at them, listen in on his new parents having sex, watch his tutor masturbate to his parents having sex, monologue about grooming a child, allow a student of his to get kidnapped and roughened up to the point she has BROKEN TEETH AND IS COUGHING UP BLOOD ON THE FLOOR and the list goes on and on and on. Anyone who unironically sees likable traits in Rudeus should legitimately take a long, hard look at themselves and question where exactly they went wrong. Perhaps the worst scene in the series - and the scene that ironically communicates everything wrong with the series in a handful of minutes - is when an antagonist walks up to Rudeus and offers to tie up his student in order to impregnate her in exchange for joining him. Rudeus declines before walking off, then monologuing in regret how he wishes he accepted the offer so he would have had a harem of hot maids. OK, maybe it's a joke, whatever, some jokes are pretty out there...then he goes back to his room, finds his student in his room, sexually assaults said student and almost actually rapes her before he gets kicked out of the room. Are...are you seeing the problem with this shit? Why should I root for this guy? Why should ANYONE root for this guy? The side cast vary wildly in quality, but those who are clearly designed to be sympathetic similarly exhibit unlikable traits, varying from getting groped non-stop by Rudeus if they're a woman to almost definitely being some kind of cheating if they're a man. This goes on and on, and even characters who don't have unlikable traits worship Rudeus (even if it's not technically their fault considering none of them are away this is some 40 something dude in the body of a child), completely destroying any and all possibility to take any of them seriously. There are various things that I do think are worthy of merit in Mushoku Tensei. Rudeus has PTSD from a past where he was persecuted nonstop and bullied, and there's clear neatly written hints into that show leading to a neat climax where he finally leaves his home to visit the outside world. The production values - ranging from animation quality, character designs, backgrounds, soundtrack and sound design - are absolutely fantastic, and have me looking forward to Studio Bind's future works. Traces of a redemption story for not living life to the fullest do exist in this series, even if undermined by an awful main character for whom these attempts to evoke sympathy ring hollow for. Some side characters are occasionally likable and have alright ideas for character arcs - Roxy, Ruijerd and Sylphiette among them. I don't think what this show is trying to do is hard to make a great show out of, and great stuff has been made out of elements in this series, but what's instead here is a laughably broken pile of dirt, whose positive reception exhibits just how much anime fans are willing to forgive atrocious writing in favor of amazing production values. Stay far, far, far away from this, unless you hatewatch stuff like I do. Find some friends or something to start a drinking game over this or something, I don't know, maybe the show'd be tolerable to watch then. Now excuse me while I read The Faraway Paladin or something unironically good.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Mar 22, 2021 Recommended
If someone were to strictly define Horimiya by the conventions it follows, there's very little to mention that hasn't been tackled in other romance series; the series is a romantic comedy with increasing emphasis on comedy over the romance as the series goes on. There are various typical themes revolving around the characters and their ability (or lack thereof) to connect, resulting in miscommunications as they struggle to empathize with one another, usually resulting in various shades of drama that take up portions of the manga. What sets Horimiya apart from its competition - and is the main reason for its massive success and
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popularity - is the casualness through which the series manages to tackle these themes, consistently develop a gigantic cast of characters - including a noteworthy and memorable side cast - and somehow consistently improve from start to finish, without ever missing a beat or sliding into stagnation.
Horimiya's story beats generally follow Hori, an upbeat, somewhat crude jerk with a heart of gold whose core character flaws revolve around her possessiveness and desire to mean something substantial in someone's life beyond being materially beneficial to her family and selflessly being the caretaker of their house. This changes when Miyamura - someone she assumed to be nothing other than a generic geek - drops by her door, laden in piercings and tattoos, starting a pattern of both characters meeting at Hori's house, where their acquaintanceship turns to friendship before blossoming into a romance. The series follows this general structure for much of its first half, with the focus being largely focused on Hori and Miyamura, loosely but not entirely following its webcomic equivalent before deviating from it entirely in the second half. The heart of Horimiya as a story is showing the uniformity of everyone having some level of distance between one another, and that much of what people ascribe involving friendships and romance as destiny are often just, well, coincidences and nothing more than that. This helps emphasize the humanity of these characters instead of portraying their meetings in a rose colored manner, with love at first sight being something that's interestingly not ever the subject of essentially any of the various romantic pairings. There is one noteworthy exception to this rule in Miyamura, a former social outcast who has gone out of his way to change his image to break away from his former self as hard as possible - Hori's unconditional acceptance of his character flaws, ranging from everything from his lack of understanding of social norms, awkwardness and often misreading people's intentions as overly negative. The narrative's main focus on Hori is to emphasize that as possessive she is, she is a person who does all she could to bring the best out of people, her missteps and failings aside, and that despite it all there is an earnest, well-meaning and kindhearted person who goes out of her way to help others. There are countless times when Hori does things that are questionable, ranging from her questioning if Miyamura's male friends are a danger to her relationship with him to often letting her pride get in the way when fighting with others - Miyamura and Yuki being standout examples - yet there's no possible way to misinterpret her intent as either malicious or harmful due to her behavior being incredibly convincing in swaying the audience to liking her even when she's being comically stupid. Back to Miyamura, his role as a former social outcast has deeply scarred him, yet his character arc is about overcoming said scars, inch by inch, while accepting that the person he once was still had positive traits worth loving, as Hori emphasizes to him numerous times over the course of the story. Much of the narrative involving various characters is introspective, and this is especially true with Miyamura, who spends the entire story wondering if he even deserves such happiness at all. The answer to this is obvious; people should be loved for who they are, and past scars may or may not fade, but that is irrelevant to how much a given person even deserves happiness, as if something like that is even in the hands of the person in question. Miyamura's character arc is beyond a shadow of doubt the most important one in the series, and the emphasis placed on how much Hori broke him out of his shell is beyond heartwarming. Horimiya's standout accomplishment is that much of its side characters are every bit as well-developed as the two central leads; Yuki and Ishikawa are noteworthy examples of this, being my favorite pair in the whole series. Yuki's apathy to the world around her coincides with her being similar to Hori insofar as she sacrifices her day to day life to please others and allow them to take anything she wants; where she differs is that in her case, this leads to a cycle of inward hatred both towards herself and others. Her character arc is about becoming a more cheerful person and letting herself become more selfish about what she wants while turning her otherwise well-intentioned feelings towards others into empathy as opposed to an excuse for self-hatred. Ishikawa is key to this character arc himself, being someone who gets rejected by Hori early into the story before moving on and becoming the heart of his social group; his empathy acts as a positive influence on various characters, Yuki and Miyamura included, and despite the immaturity and straightforwardness of his feelings towards others - a character flaw he slowly grows out of as the series progresses - his acceptance of Yuki's flaws help morph her increasingly into a better person. And while their relationship is intentionally left inconclusive, it is not a question of if but when, due to Ishikawa's own understanding of Yuki's hesitation in how to approach him. Yuki's closeness to Ishikawa as opposed to Hori is emphasized in two scenes - one early into the manga, and one during the Christmas date later on in the series - when she asks who Hori was, with the second time coming off as less ignorance and more an intentional self-reflection on how far she has come in understanding her friends compared to the beginning of the series. There's other noteworthy character arcs and dynamics at play, and what I've said about Hori and Miyamura as well as Yuki and Ishikawa can be said for every pairing and character in the series. Remi and Sengoku are both tryhards who desperately struggle in fitting into a given social role - Remi's over her supposed flirtatiousness and Sengoku as being the rigid student council president. Yet both are masks betraying something more substantial to one another - Remi legitimately is unfairly labeled due to her often speaking casually to men in a society where conservative values reign dominant, and Sengoku has a fear of insects and based on his interactions with Hori and other characters is a legitimate goofball who struggles with his own self-confidence. Yet both characters play these personae up, while at the same time their attractions to one another are initially based on the weaknesses within those personae. This increasingly materializes into a genuinely sweet relationship between the two, where both relax considerably around both their classmates and each other. Sakura and Yanagi have characters arcs about both of them getting rejected, yet their arcs are a positive look into how such a negative matter can be seen as a tool for self-betterment and empathy. Sawada's arc is about her breaking out of her loneliness while ironically benefiting from her unrequited love's boyfriend Miyamura, whose kindness and compassion towards her as two people who struggle greatly in interacting with the world around them due to a history of isolation that has brought both of them trauma. Shuu, Shindou and Motoko all have well-developed arcs involving their connections to people who are dear to them, with Shuu and Shindou being clowns who otherwise take their interpersonal relationships seriously, and Motoko's arc being more about her being defined by her scores instead of her effort in an overly grade obsessed society. All of these characters are worthy of - and can be - analyzed for hours and hours on end, and it's a testament to how amazing Horimiya is as a story that this is done seamlessly and with no real pacing issues. By no means does this mean that Horimiya is devoid of flaws; certain jokes - like Shin, who definitely shouldn't be a teacher in normal society - can come off as culturally dissonant if not straight up tasteless. People into the series strictly for Hori and Miyamura's dynamic and who don't care for the side cast often dislike the manga's second half for feeling - although they are wrong - like it is padding up time, instead of approaching it as being characterization-rich in a more interwoven way, where characters and dynamics often spring up everywhere, many being unexpected. A legitimate web can be made of all these characters and their relationships with one another, emphasizing this connection; one point the series makes is by making sure that every chapter in some way surrounds high school students, and while this can be easy to dismiss due to the proliferation of high school animanga everywhere, here it's an intentional thematic point emphasizing that regardless of who you are, it's not too late to form connections with others. And, come the ending, this point wraps up in a manner I can only describe as poetic, with one phase of life ending and another beginning. There's even more to praise about Horimiya; the artwork courtesy of Daisuke Hagiwara is gorgeous, with evenly spaced pages that make reading dialogue heavy scenes easy, complimented by simplistic yet increasingly beautifully drawn distinct and memorable character designs. The fact that the artwork only continues improving over the course of Horimiya's run is insanely impressive, and worthy of serious praise; it goes without saying that I wish both HERO and Hagiwara the best of luck in their future endeavors. Horimiya is a proud, new classic of the romance genre in manga, and one whose marks will be felt for years to come. The story and characters crafted here is a memorable one, one that audiences can easily remember long after they're done with this journey. The series is a must read for any and all romance fans, with plenty of appeal regardless of taste. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Thank you for reading my review, any and all feedback is welcome.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Mar 5, 2021
Fukakai na Boku no Subete wo
(Manga)
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Not Recommended Preliminary
(28/28 chp)
Love Me for Who I am is a series that treats its characters as devices to the identities that they identify as rather than letting them breathe as characters with any level of independence from whatever point the story wants to make. All discussion surrounding gender and the various identities the character have are cloaked in a level of discourse more befitting the angst you'd find off people whining about non-issues on Twitter instead of given any level of nuance - any character that in any way likes another character for a reason the narrative sees as negative is portrayed in a shallow, stereotypical light
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with zero genuine depth. The series has the intelligence and maturity of your average old tumblr poster in how to approach these themes, and instead immediately assumes a sympathetic perspective from the reader instead of attempting to portray its characters as being just that; people who want to live by and just want their identities accepted by people around them, and working hard to change the perspective of the reader.
An absurd amount of the manga is split between characters bickering about clothing and melodramatically snapping at each other for not understanding each other. There's no attempt whatsoever from characters who identify as something that doesn't fall within the binary to settle down and explain who and what they are in a calm, rational manner; the series dives into angst-ridden garbage about characters not understanding each other instead of them sitting down and coming together to understand each other. Character conflict being at the heart of a work of fiction in and of itself is not only fine, but something I normally welcome - the problem is that there's no breathing space in-between arcs to let characters just breathe as people with lives of their own. Characters legitimately scream that people don't understand them, refuse to clarify then run off - one noteworthy and unintentionally funny example of this was a character breaking down crying in the middle of the street for inserting their expectations on someone being a woman when they weren't. The characters are unlikable, insufferable asswipes with no genuine personality beyond screaming at one another for the most part. Mugomo is an absolute idiot who repeats the EXACT same mistakes all manga long over refusing to explain or clarify their emotions to other people, somehow gets surprised when there's a backlash, runs into a corner and only is dragged out - kicking and screaming - by Tetsu, who is more patient with them than any normal person ever can or should be. While it takes time for a person to break out of a certain pattern of behavior, and especially if all they've encountered is rejection, there's very little that I can actually mention about Mugomo that doesn't fall into them being non-binary or isn't defined by that in some way. What little there is for a character arc is defined by Mugomo somewhat becoming more confident in expressing themselves and confronting people who are portrayed as idiots for inserting expectations onto them, but...why should I care? Why should any reader not already invested in the wider meta-narrative over gender issues care? I have no answer to this question and neither does the series, which continues with this rushed pacing unabated from beginning to end. Mugomo is never genuinely called out for running away from people, and constantly assumes the worst in other people from beginning to end, making an infuriating as shit read from a lead who is little more than a poorly explored self-insert that some people may be able to identify with. There's very little to their character and whatever is there is neither compelling nor interesting. Tetsu is a generic, stereotypical male lead whose acceptance of others and unique perspective on gender is the only worthwhile personality trait he has. There's no depth to him falling for Mugomo, and he exists as the angst control machine to Mugomo (and other characters in the cafe). His attraction towards Mugomo for being in his eyes an effeminate man is called out but while fades away as the center of attention that the narrative places under, never stops being the center of attraction he has; this means that in a weird way, the series turns in circles over this subject and basically arrives nowhere. This is only exacerbated by the absurd amount of attention that the series places on clothing as a marker for characterization; while this is true even for many LGBTQ+ people in real life - who use clothing to identify themselves in different ways - when that is the most memorable thing about the characters instead of some other defining traits, that becomes a problem due to the lack of effort put into, you know, humanizing them in ways that aren't tied to their identities. All the other characters are barely characters so much as they exist as angst-ridden devices to force outrage out of the audience. Mugomo's backstory made me despise them even more than I already did, the excessive and often senseless use of violence to emphasize a point and use more angst is tasteless at best and is just an attempt to garner sympathy from the audience - with absolutely no effort as to why I should care about any of the victims. All sorts of series have used abuse and violence in more interesting and genuinely terrifying ways - Chi no Wadachi, The Gods Lie or Boy's Abyss coming to mind. So then, at the end of the road, when a cast of characters have little to no characterization that humanizes them or informs the reader of anything genuinely thematically meaningful, what's left? There's some merit to Love Me for Who I am. Mugomo does undergo minimal character growth near the end of the manga. The artwork is fairly nice to look at, and the paneling is nicely done. Suzumi is a likable - if still shallow - character, and what little enjoyment I found in this travesty was when he was in a scene in question. It's kind of a shame that he and another character star in an abysmal hentai doujin...wait, maybe that really does explain it all. A lot of the writing being overly obsessed with clothing, the hypocrisy in the two leads falling for each other which is never genuinely addressed and the writing being centered on the characters physical traits instead of their personalities come off as fetishistic - which isn't unusual for works in Japan depicting LGBTQ+ people. Normally I'm fine with this to an extent, I can laugh at politically incorrect jokes - but this is something aiming at being higher than a mid-2000s romcom, and as such fails miserably at anything it does. Maybe that's the reason the writing is so poor, the theming is so hamfisted and the characters have zero chemistry...because they're written as though they're hentai characters when in reality they're in, well, a serialized manga. I recommend this to absolutely no one, stay as far away as humanly possible from this. Thank you for reading my review. Any and all feedback would be appreciated.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Jan 23, 2021
Hayate no Gotoku!
(Manga)
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It's difficult to talk about someone's own happiness and what that means relative to their financial wealth. People often say that money can't buy happiness, and yet this saying betrays just how utterly miserable being poverty-stricken can be - everything from personal relationships to material belongings to familial security can be taken away from you, with a reality that what little you have can be stolen at any second. Hayate Ayasaki lives one such life where he works day in day out, sacrifices any and all connections he may form with others in order to have a better future away from his parents, only for
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his parents to inevitably walk all over him and take whatever material belongings he has for their own egotistical reasons. This culminates in his parents quite literally selling him off to the yakuza for 150 million yen.
It takes a chance encounter with a girl who mistakes his kindness in saving her from kidnappers and giving her a jacket for a confession to finally turn his life around - with the seemingly minor and swept under the rug inconvenience that ironically he himself was planning to kidnap her out of desperation. This introduction sets the stage for a long, long, long semi-episodic romcom about Hayate paying back his savior in Nagi, who paid his entire debt in exchange for him being her butler. Hayate has clear issues in how it structures its narrative and comedy. The series is often very tongue-in-cheek about lampshading events before they happen, yet this can often feel somewhat like it's a parody of itself even in instances when the narrative takes itself seriously. The comedy - while incredibly funny even if certain gags overstay their welcome - takes up a sizable chunk of the middle of the manga and this can make it difficult for readers to go through this entire behemoth of a manga they may not even find comedic. Kenjiro Hata's values are occasionally reflected through Hayate himself, chastising this or that female character for being a woman and not behaving accordingly (this gets fades away as the manga goes on before disappearing entirely near the end). The antagonists are rather onenote and serve their purpose without doing anything more - there is one noteworthy exception in the manga's first half, but the finale in particular, while definitely thematically fitting, suffers from this. There's a fair amount of fanservice - this doesn't bother me, but I can see why it bothers others. And, obviously, 52 volumes is an absurd amount to read for what is essentially a romcom parody that only occasionally takes itself seriously. What there is for a narrative is a story about abandoning material comfort in order to connect with others, and how all the material gains in the world won't mean anything without a drive to succeed, a passion to embrace and people to love. Nagi herself epitomizes this, being deeply in love with manga and desiring to be a manga author for much of the manga, yet there's many instances where it's clear that her life is a lonely one minus Maria, who she literally sleeps next to in order for that emptiness to fade away. Several excellently written foils to Hayate exist in Hinagaku and Ruka, who both were abandoned by their parents and suffered considerably because of it - the former being saved by her sister and thus grew to have a functioning life later on, albeit one where she still occasionally shows scars of her old life, and the latter due to working for her parents' sake to be an idol, only to be abandoned later on. More examples can be given via the side cast - Wataru and Saki struggling to manage a store together yet finding comfort in each other's presence despite the former being left behind, Maria's abandonment issues that come to surface later on in the manga, Athena being isolated and alone for so long despite her desire to reconnect with Hayate or Ayumu taking Hayate for granted before slowly but surely realizing that her chance to be with him has come and passed. This struggle to find connection with other members of the cast is at the center of Hayate - both in its largely comedic content, and its more serious moments - and without the more funny moments over the course of the series that involve the cast literally goofing off together, the series would simply not work. The last quarter of the manga and especially the last few volumes is where somehow over a dozen character arcs discussing these themes are flawlessly wrapped up. The manga ramps up its story to 11, it goes absolutely bonkers with its villains and there's a damsel in distress arc and yet the manga was careful enough in building up to this moment that this somehow manages to work out insanely well. More than anything, the ending wraps up the series with the characters in many cases having less materially than where they started, yet somehow this is portrayed positively rather than negatively, since the characters find happiness in each other rather regardless of distance, lifestyle or occupation. This is a message that has aged insanely well considering our current economic situation, unfortunately, and I believe that it is one that would resonate with many a reader in these troubled times. Do I recommend Hayate? I would, but with the nuance of approaching the story (when the narrative focuses on it) for what it's trying to tell, and understanding that its flaws are as part of the experience as its highs. When the manga ends, much of the less than ideal moments across the series or the long stretches of comedy become fond memories of a more nostalgic time - yet it's those precise moments that make the ending all the more powerful and memorable. Otherwise then I'd completely understand why someone wouldn't be into this series - the comedy isn't for everyone and the middle of the manga takes quite a while to get through. Aside from that...I can't recommend this series highly enough, even with all its numerous flaws. Thank you for reading.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 22, 2020
Fire Punch
(Manga)
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Tatsuki Fujimoto is one of the most prominent and prolific writers out of Shonen Jump in recent memory, and it takes nothing to understand why considering how his writing stands out as being considerably more adult - both in theme handling and presentation - than the comparatively more basic presentation exemplified by many of the other series in the magazine. Before Chainsaw Man gave Fujimoto his infamy and notoriety, Fire Punch was an exceptionally overhyped series among various groups of readers for standing out and telling a more gloomy, dark story about a man who seemingly desires revenge over the woman who murdered his sister.
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And yet, to sum up Fire Punch as just another revenge story is to do a great disservice to what this series explores over its runtime.
An immediate impression one can get out of Fire Punch - as is the case with Fujimoto's works as a whole - is the way the narrative is presented. Exposition is kept to a minimum, events unfold with often no foreshadowing and there's an often surreal, dark atmosphere surrounding characters and their actions. Where Fire Punch falters a fair bit, however, is that while thematically interesting, characters are often irredeemable with no genuinely likable traits to drag in an audience, the story moves at breakneck speed too quickly for its own liking at times - with entire time periods crucial to the narrative being skipped over, leading to many characters feeling like they only exist to fulfill a particular role as a tool in the narrative rather than have any agency of their own. While this is thematically relevant, it does not change the fact that while stakes in Fire Punch are high, the constant tonal shifts and timeskipping often undermine what could have been moments that could've given more likability and layers to an otherwise straightforward story told in an unnecessarily complicated way. And that, in my eyes, sums up Fire Punch's biggest flaw; its presentation clashes badly (or perhaps this was done with the intent to contrast, but even that is hard to tell) with the kind of story it wants to tell, a story that's more about people frozen in time physically and even emotionally in some respects, who desperately seek out any kind of connection in a world that has none. Thematically, Fire Punch explores this through various means - characters often come to a realization over an event or another that should overturn any desire they have, only to decide in the heat of the moment that they've spent way too much time on their desire to change it. In a sense, these characters lack free will over their actions because they've spent so long living their lives for a single purpose that it becomes impossible to turn them away from it. In a similar sense, finding self worth is also thematically relevant to what Fire Punch wants to achieve, with characters often referring to their roles in the work and world by extension, except this meta element is used more about how even something as basic as escapism (in this case symbolized by Togata's love for movies) can give life meaning to people, and how in this barren world where everyone is waiting to die and has no purpose that is desperately needed. Relevant to Togata, a theme involving fatalism insofar as these characters roles in the narrative is frequently discussed and addressed, with characters often talking about how their roles in the greater story are fixed and especially considering their desire to break out of that role, tying into the imagery involving characters being in a cinema over the course of the story - in Togata's case, it's taken in a more bittersweet light, where his perception of who he is clashes greatly with how Agni perceives him. This repeats itself in a later dynamic involving Agni and Judah, where Judah fills out a particular role as a replacement for another character, and more fittingly tied in the last time we see the cinema motif be used. Fire Punch's story is told minimalistically but suffers from tonal whiplash at points where there should otherwise be a more concise tone - various times over the course of the manga the series takes itself in way too dark of a tone to the point where that becomes comedic, and the series often engages in rather unfunny comedic humor for no reason other than to offer a change of tone, which at times undermines the series. There's very little explanation over events going on and while that's more than fine, near the end the manga rushes towards a conclusion rather than proceed there naturally. Character-driven moments and dynamics - aside from the Agni and Togata dynamic at the heart of this entire manga - aren't given much room to breathe and as such relationships and dynamics between the cast are forced. The artwork, while solid and tonally consistent most of the time, is also at times at odds with the tone of the manga, to say nothing of its quality which often fluctuates over the course of the series, with it often looking great one page before flipping and looking poor the next. Ultimately, Fire Punch is a flawed yet enjoyable series that one could definitely enjoy for what it is but tolerate its numerous and very noticeable flaws. There's a lot to like here but the series both requires some degree of patience as well as a solid understanding of what it's thematically aiming for - while most of the cast isn't noteworthy or likable, and the series often jumps at an incredibly fast pace, there's a fair bit to give thought to, and if for nothing else anyone fond of how distinct Fujimoto's works can be among Shonen Jump's lineup would be well inclined to enjoy this. Thank you very much for reading, any and all feedback would be appreciated.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 18, 2020
Majo no Tabitabi
(Anime)
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Wandering Witch is a story about finding purpose through experiences and trying to move above and beyond them in order to approach them in the best way possible, only to struggle and keep failing, only to keep doing them over and over again. Its clear source of inspiration - as well as the most apt series to compare it to - is Kino's Journey, but whereas Kino is mostly stationary in her approach towards the various people and locations she encounters, Elaina attempts to react on a case by case basis. In many ways, this makes Elaina reactionary, and this sets the tone for the
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series' main focus; on whether the cycle of fate can be overturned through her own hands, or whether she can't, with the answer the series provides being mixed, but leaning towards the former - albeit with a particular nuance.
It's impossible to separate Wandering Witch from Elaina as a character, with her adventures being front and center for all but one episode of this series. Elaina is a haughty, arrogant, exceptionally talented witch and yet this betrays an otherwise lonely, pessimistic young woman who due to her many failures constantly fails in rescuing people she otherwise could have had a chance to save. As a result, her arrogance over her beauty or talents come off as less of her being genuinely narcissistic but rather as a coping mechanism towards herself. Her reactions to the various stories covered in the series as a result vary, as despite her best intentions she bares witness to many a tragedy that she feels she couldn't have done anything about - one tragedy in particular sticks out with the aforementioned nuance, as a man essentially tries to cheer up a slave who's being abused by her master by showing her images of people living happy, free lives. However, this ultimately proves to be her undoing instead, as by showing her the lives of people being happy, he's essentially doomed her to an unhappy end where she will ultimately languish in despair then kill herself. Episode 9 is another case where things fall to hell, as Elaina desperately tries to assist someone in overcoming her destiny but ultimately fails and watches a tragedy unfold before her eyes. The core message across many of the series' darker episodes being that Elaina can't stop these tragedies from happening, because the seeds to these tragedies happening have already been buried, waiting to grow by the time she's stumbled across them, so it is only natural she'd fail. The moral this series proposes - and this is especially evident once one contrasts the darker, more infamous episodes this series has gained a reputation for against the otherwise often lighthearted tone in the series - is that the intent behind solving problems does nothing if the underlying cause behind said problems still exist. Elaina's character arc, as a result, is her trying different approaches to different problems and slowly but surely progressing as a character and changing her approaches due to her experiences. This comes to head in an amazing finale, where she comes across what she could have been had she chosen to do things differently, and accepting that ultimately, she is painfully flawed, but will not stop romantically exploring the world - beyond that ugliness, there's too much beauty for her not to find something to explore. In a strange way, instead of being a more direct coming of age story, the series promotes continuing to romanticize and explore the world, but if and only if your approach changes alongside it, which various characters over the course of the series failed to do. The side cast in this respect exist to act as a form of connection that Elaina has to the world around her, and a constant reminder - over and over again - that she has a place to belong, irrespective of where she goes or what she experiences. Saya's love for Elaina (that's heavily implied to be mutual in a later episode) is comically over the top, and yet there's a scene where Saya gives Elaina a necklace, reminding her of her connection to her. Elaina tries to leave a city after stumbling across an acquaintance, only to then be reminded on the way out that said acquaintance knows she'd do this kind of thing, has waited for her in advance and proceeds to see her off on her journey. The side cast are a fun bunch whose dynamics with Elaina and each other are reasonably fleshed out, with a particular should needing to go to Saya as well as Nike's trio, whose book about their travels is an inspiration for Elaina to travel herself, is another subconscious connection between her and another character. It's these connections that give Elaina the power to continue on, and much of the criticism involving lighthearted episodes being in-between the darker, more cruel episodes in the series often tend to miss the point the series is aiming for about emphasizing the connection that Elaina has, that no matter how hard she tries to fight things alone it's her connection to others that acts as a source of salvation, culminating in a fantastic climax at the end of the show. Production values are excellent all around - everything from animation quality to voicework to sound design and direction is superbly done, with my only gripe being that comedic scenes sometimes feel stretched out longer than they should've been and, if watched from the perspective of someone who'd prefer a show with a more singular tone, can cause mood whiplash. However, these are minor gripes for what is otherwise easily one of the best anime to come out this year, and for anyone willing to accept this series for what it is, I cannot recommend this highly enough. Thank you very much for reading my review, any and all feedback would be appreciated.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 18, 2020
Tonikaku Kawaii
(Anime)
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Tonikaku Kawaii is essentially a story about the lack of familiarity involving love at first sight, and ends up discussing what does it exactly mean to fall in love, as well as all the emotions that come with it. It's a story about the irrationality falling for someone can do to people, leaving them waiting endlessly for a happy ending that may or may not ever come. The opening episode is a perfect example of this, showing Nasa falling for Tsukasa's strength at saving him while also setting up the abnormality between both characters - one who due to his obsession with success has no
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idea what moderation is, and is willing to go so far as to confess to someone who caught his eye, and the other for striving desperately to find a place to belong after being lost for her whole life without finding one. The Tale of Princess Kaguya being used as a metaphor for the entire story, as such, is convincingly tied to the dynamic between Nasa and Tsukasa - one of two lovers that were seemingly destined to meet meeting one another, and finding solace and a place to call home in each other, with even a timeskip taking place in the first episode perfectly symbolizing the distance between the two.
Symbolism is only part of the picture of what makes this series what it is, but it's rather both characters and their attempts in understanding each other that also set this series apart from the overwhelming majority of the romance genre. Opportunities for drama arise left, right and center, but end peacefully due to the characters' relative level-headedness compared to most of their equivalents in the romance genre. One example that sticks out is how a side character had feelings for Nasa, and is clearly upset that she lost and desires to continue the good fight; instead of this leading down a path of overly melodramatic and extremely pointless drama, another character outright tells her that she lost because she was late to confess, and as such simply didn't deserve to win, a gigantic change of pace from series where hundreds of chapters are spent on this exact point, as if the audience couldn't have just understood that. Both leads don't magically get used to each other after marriage - after all, they're just two strangers who survived getting run over by a truck - but take time to hug, kiss and spend time to understand each other and their respective backgrounds, quirks and personalities. This ties into one aspect that's underappreciated involving the show, and that is how we just see our main leads do something other than get into pointless drama or bicker with each other. Small pieces of characterization are laid out for both main leads, ranging from foods they like/dislike to tastes in fiction to their own social lives outside of each other and how they handle people around them as well as character flaws they both have - Nasa for example, has spent much of his life seeking to be the best at what he is, and as such is an overly perfectionist acting nerd who gets overly zealous of what he loves. By extension, this means he's just about the most awkward person involving interpersonal relationships imaginable and often overacts or steps out of bounds - something that is not uncommon in conservative cultures, Japan being one such example. Tsukasa by comparison, often expresses herself poorly and doesn't know how to communicate her feelings towards Nasa, making her dynamic with him one where he's the hotheaded man of action to her relative more insightful, quiet personality. Both characters bounce off of each other exceptionally well, with clear development and progression over the course of the series as Nasa slowly grows more accustomed to Tsukasa's presence in his life, and Tsukasa slowly but surely becoming more expressive and opening up to him in her life. The comedy is an interesting beast to tackle involving this show, as while the rather standard production values compared to the likes of Kaguya-sama or Maou-sama de Oyasumi may fall flat for some viewers, the voice acting and sound design are worthy of a lot of praise. Voice acting is done exceptionally well, with Akari Kitou deserving particular praise over her performance as Tsukasa. Similar praise must be granted to Junya Enoki as Nasa, and Yuu Serizawa as Kaname, who similarly do an exceptional job balancing the comedy with the more serious moments in the series. A scene that is a particular standout is Kaname thanking Tsukasa for saving Nasa's life, which felt exceptionally well voiced even by the show's high standards. The music is also worthy of serious praise; the opening didn't do much on my end due to a rather poor drop when the title, well, drops, but the ending song is just a pleasant romantic song and essentially the de facto leitmotif of the series, with various tracks over the course of the show essentially being soft remixes of the ED. Character designs are basic yet lightly colored, fitting the overall lighthearted tone of the show, while also being capable of being more over the top in more comedic moments, though this would come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Kenjirou Hata's previous work in Hayate no Gotoku. If there is a miss involving this first season, it's rather that for all intents and purposes the gags often get repetitive though strangely oddly specific insofar as humor goes. One example that sticks in my mind is of Tsukasa having no underwear and going commando under her clothes, with Nasa quietly losing it at what's going on - while no overly offensive sexual humor happens, thankfully, it felt strangely specific for a joke and I was left wondering why. Much of the series' jokes improve from this point onwards in the manga - though it's doubtful this'd do much for you if this wasn't already your brand of humor - and the dynamics progress considerably over the course of the series, leading to another issue wherein the last episode adapts a few chapters where the characters are much more close to one another later in the manga than they are in the rest of the anime. Of course, and ultimately one can argue that the occasional oddly specific gag could well be because of the author very directly stating in an interview that he's placing many of his own experiences after getting married in the manga, which isn't exactly uncommon for any fictional writer, but I digress. Tonikaku Kawaii is a breath of fresh air for anyone who desires a romance series that incorporates popular elements and yet executes them exceptionally well. Some of its humor feels oddly specific, the production values while decent are nothing to write home about and some of the innocence involving the two main leads and their relative conservatism in approaching each other would fly over people's heads considering the cultural dissonance, but overall there's an excellent romance anime for those willing to look past otherwise minor nitpicks. I cannot recommend this anime highly enough, and especially if you are a fan of romance series; this recommendation extends to the manga, which only improves in quality as it goes on. Thank you very much for reading this review, any and all feedback would be appreciated.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 3, 2020
Ahiru no Sora
(Anime)
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Ahiru no Sora is a coming of age story about how easy it is to live an uncomfortably aimless life, with a cast that struggles with how listless living such a life makes them due to their isolation from living a youthful life, social problems and their own apathy, with the series emphasizing the importance of breaking out of that apathy and struggling to find a passion in order to at least move forward, regardless of the excruciating difficulty that would follow. Basketball is the vehicle used to drive these characters forward and plays an important role in these characters finding a way to be
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reborn, but what the series emphasizes is a need for introspection in order to do something you truly love and can push you forward enough to give you a purpose in life, regardless of the mistakes one might do or the pain that lies further down the road. It handles all this with an exceptional amount of nuance and subtlety, never genuinely shoving these themes down the viewer's throat and instead expects the audience to pick up on hints given throughout much of the first act of the series - covering around the first 33 episodes. This in and of itself is a problem; in sharp contrast to series like Haikyuu and Kuroko, which act more as hypebeasts trying to drag viewers in with gorgeous visuals and adrenaline pumping matches, whereas viewers watching Ahiru no Sora will be treated to lengthy comedy sequences as well as slice of life segments involving the main cast, which due to being very slow paced and often with mixed comedic timing don't endear the show to a wider audience.
While in and of itself neither lengthy comedy sequences nor slice of life segments need to necessarily be a problem, the show ruins this with its dragged out, stretched pacing - a quick distinction from its manga counterpart, where dialogue often flowed naturally and games happened at a quick enough pace to not be dragged out. This made stretches of the show often a drag to watch, and while the slice of life segments don't suffer much from this, the comedy and games proper often do - this is probably why critical reception to the show was considerably worse than much of its recent long-running contemporaries like Haikyuu, Ace of Diamond or Kuroko, which all are comparatively high budget adaptations created by Production IG. By comparison, Ahiru no Sora was done by Diomedea studio, a studio with a prominent reputation for low budget production values and pacing issues with many adaptations they've done; while parts of the series are wonderfully directed, these parts come in-between stretches of very strangely paced episodes. On the flipside, the soundtracks is pretty great, with many standout tracks salvaging many games, and a particular mention needing to go to the various OPs/EDs in the series, with the fourth opening and third ending being my personal favorites. That said, none of the OPs or EDs are particularly bad and all of them are fantastic, which isn't something that can be said for every series with a multitude of OPs/EDs like this one. Sora's character arc about his complex for his height is greatly expanded on over the course of the series; much about his character seems typical for the standard sports lead, but the distinction is in Sora's nuance. Sora often recklessly challenges delinquents - something used for comic relief - but this disguises a character often insecure about his own height and masculinity in a sport where both are associated with being a better player, with this being contrasted with his mom's upbringing of him which turned that very short stature into a strength instead of a weakness. This largely is what drives Sora forward as a character despite his poor treatment both by his would-be classmates and general student body, with his perseverance standing out in the ocean of apathy that is his school and driving the group of delinquents that largely comprise the rest of the team. However, his character arc is more about how he often defines himself by his mom's upbringing - and how this in return leaves him helpless to find guidance for himself, whose role Madoka fills up as the series continues, acting as the closest thing in the cast to an emotional voice of reason. A combination of his dynamic with Madoka as well as his own desire for independence mean that by the end of the series and after a fair few twists and turns, Sora has begun the steps to attaining his own self-defined independence, with his willingness to turn a certain lie into the truth and take responsibility for his own actions being a driving force. Momoharu and Chiaki act as another contrast in this regard both to Sora as well as each other, with Chiaki's more extrospective personality concealing a cynical yet realist mind on the team and chances for success, while Momoharu acts introspectively yet concealing a certain hot-bloodedness that drives him to improve further. The two are brothers, growing up taking inspiration from iconic sports manga only to have that idealism crushed when facing odds that are against them, leading to Chiaki being disinterested due to associating his love for the sport with his odds for victory, and Momoharu slowly following by drowning in his own apathy, being discriminated against due to his appearance as well as attitude. Both brothers grow gradually over the course of the series, with Chiaki slowly understanding that he needs to broaden his horizons and reach for the stars rather than simply ground himself in seemingly objective expectations, while Momoharu's impulsiveness leads him to make several mistakes that lead to him slowly taking his passion for basketball seriously and discovering a love for the sport that has seemingly long been lost. Much of their characterization in this adaptation happens in the second half of the anime, but much of their negative traits (overplayed and emphasized as they are) fade the longer the series goes on. Tobi acts as the closest thing the series has to a veteran player, being cocky and highly individualistic - which betrays a deep resentment of not just his school but most people around him in general, driven by a cynicism of being judged both due to his appearance as well as his estrangement from his broken family life, with his sister acting as the closest thing he has to a bond. He's cocky, arrogant and full of himself, yet these same negative traits conceal a jaded person whose life experiences have driven him to apathy to the point where he'd shun people away. And yet through his experiences joining the team, he realizes that there are players who have undergone troubling experiences yet come out smiling on the other side and being better than he is, pushing him not only to remain loyal to the team but often acting more and more selflessly the longer the series goes on. Much of Tobi's characterization is gradual yet consistent, with his negative traits not detracting from his likability as a character; it's beyond refreshing in a cast filled of delinquents to have a character that only very slowly defrosts over time, and Tobi - partially due to his growing dynamic with Sora but also his immediately sympathetic reason for both playing the sport and remaining loyal to the team - is my favorite character in the series, and I can't wait for more of his progression over the course of the manga. Kaname is the final central character introduced over the course of the series, with his character arc acting as a foil to Sora's - being one where instead of being discriminated for his shortiness as is the case with Sora, instead being constantly pushed into a sport he grows to apparently dislike due to his height, with his teammates constantly ridiculing him for his low stamina and poor health. His character arc is partially about rediscovering his love for basketball independently of the very factors that pushed him to fall out of love with it, with the cast encouraging him to play to his strengths and be more assertive about his interests while also being conscious about his health. Also relevant is Kaname's subplot with a side character, and how he uses as a motivation his feelings for her in order to drive him forward to improve as a player and win games - making him increasingly become a more prominent player as the series goes on despite his physical weaknesses. Kaname's interactions with Sora are worthy of note due to the contrast between both characters, but there's a surprising amount of nuance and even a thematic point made in the series that what one of them possess the other lacks and vice versa, which grants credence to their friendship as well as their dynamic on the court. Various side characters are also worthy of note; Sora's mom is a moral support who I loved from the moment she showed up on screen, acting as a kind yet firm voice to guide Sora forward despite her own health. Nanao is an unbelievably likable character whose main flaw is her self-centeredness in taking responsibility for the team's failings when she's the de facto manager upon herself, and yet grows stronger as she realizes that regardless of her tactical prowess, there's only so much she can do alone. Madoka's dynamic with Sora is my favorite in the series, with her acting increasingly as moral support yet due to her own awkwardness in approaching sensitive subjects - a weakness that backfires on her later on in the series - is often easily dismissed in-setting as shallow, when her introspective nature reveals she's anything but that; she bonds with Sora's family, growing ever closer to Sora as she understands his weaknesses and strengths, and grows to become a personal crutch to him as the series goes on due to her own caring for him, even if her consideration for his feelings often stand in the way (even if understandable in-context) from further emotional intimacy. Much of my favorite slice of life segments came from Madoka's interactions with Sora, with their dynamic growing naturally over the course of the series. Many, many characters can be laid out here; Shinichi, Chiba, Fuwa, Satsuki and Yozan all being noteworthy characters that grow over the course of the series. Ahiru no Sora is a really damn good sports series that has gone under the radar due to various issues I mentioned earlier and understandably so; unfortunately, this means that the manga remains the optimal version to experience Ahiru no Sora's story. What is being adapted, however, is still really good, just marred by all these production problems for those that are willing to give this series a fair chance and are unwilling to read manga for the optimal experience. There's much to love about this series, and considering material that comes later on, I certainly hope for a season 2 to come somewhere down the line, albeit admittedly I certainly wouldn't mind a considerably better production. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this series and especially in manga format for those that are looking for a damn good sport series, and I don't speak that kind of praise lightly. Thank you very much for reading.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 24, 2020
Urami Koi, Koi, Urami Koi.
(Manga)
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(64/64 chp)
Urami Koi is a series that can easily be dismissed based on its premise, but that disguises a compelling - if slow building - narrative that's about how traditions often detract from someone's own value in their own personal lives, and how exactly to find value not only within those roles but also in actively shedding them aside if need be. It uses the twelve zodiacs (which are prominent in eastern thought and especially specific religions) to represent the stability of these roles, with the characters having taken up roles they were already destined to do - only for these characters purposes to clash against
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one another as the plot kicks into gear with attempts to overthrow this order due to the villain(s) of the series associating the involved characters as being collectively responsible for what those they've replaced have done, rather than associating with them as individuals. Various themes are explored in Urami Koi from this perspective - the inevitability of conflict and how to resist it, fatalism, what love changes about someone (be it familial or romantic) and how exactly can change to this order be given if the roles granted are fixed. Urami Koi in its limited timespan manages to wrap up all of these themes, never suffering from mood whiplash or tonal inconsistency, and has a damn good plot that ends on a high note, never feeling too long or too short but exactly as long as it needed to be.
At the heart of Urami Koi are the three main leads that also form the main romantic triangle that the series follows; Kyouichi, Natsuho and Ayaka. Natsuho for all intents and purposes is the lead who ties most strongly to the central themes of the series; she has no real place to belong, having been living off her hatred her whole life aimed at Kyouichi's Nekuni family for having an old rivalry with her own, being bound by a curse that has followed her as long as she lives. Upon encountering Kyouichi, despite negative emotions she feels from said curse, she grows attached to him and the town around him, to say nothing of falling in love with him in spite of the curse. Much of her character arc revolves around moving beyond her supposed destiny of eternal conflict with the Nekuni family and slowly embracing her growing romantic feelings for Kyouichi, wherein she actively rebels against the curse and decides to be defined by who she is as a person instead of continuing to hate him for his lineage forever. Along the way, much of Natsuho's character progression revolves around opening up and befriending others, with Ayaka and Sana in particular being important catalysts to her positive change over the course of the narrative. Natsuho overall was an excellent and admittedly adorable character, whose characterization despite my initial doubts I found myself immersed in and enjoyed from start to finish, which thankfully is a good thing because much of the manga is focused on her. Kyouichi is the main male lead of this manga, being a dry, apathetic yet kindhearted in spite of himself young man who is socially discriminated against due to his initial inability in using his inherited powers compared to the other members of his family, made more embarrassing by the fact that he was supposed to inherit the position as head of the entire clan. This makes him on one hand deep in resentment both at his role and how it has actively hurt his life - to say nothing of the expectations thrust upon him by others that he failed to live up to - yet also makes him insecure about his own role in his clan, leading to someone actively drowning in his own self-hatred. These are character flaws Kyouichi eventually overcomes over the course of the series, slowly becoming more optimistic and outgoing with various characters and more worthy of note are his romantic interactions with both Ayaka and Natsuho - the former being inwardly awkward yet outwardly expressive and the latter being outwardly awkward yet inwardly expressive. His dynamic with Natsuho is arguably the most important one in the entire story, acting as a foil to Gouichi's more utilitarian approach to resolving conflict - with Kyouichi being more willing to engage in dialogue and constantly emphasized as naive yet well-meaning, and while he does mature over the course of the story he never collapses completely to being cold or brutal, remaining heroic and even despite his initial lack of inherited abilities gaining a more active role in combat compared to his more passive role in earlier volumes. Ayaka is the third central main character of this manga, being a more spunky somewhat tomboyish young woman who self-assigns herself as Kyouichi's guard, acting as the heart of the story due to her quick empathy for other characters' circumstances - which also acts as a vulnerability, contrasting with how she indirectly forces Kyouichi of his role as the old heir to his clan. Much of her early interactions in the manga involve the irony of self-assigning herself as Kyouichi's guard when his role in the clan is something he distances himself from, and often taking the initiative in pursuing her affections for him. This gradually changes over the course of the series, with Kyouichi slowly coming onto his own as a yokai without defining himself as a clan member, leading to her slowly shifting focus and instead taking an encouraging role of this change - which contrasts greatly with her excessive focus on both of their pasts as his childhood friend, yet realizing that the person that initiated much of his more pro-active change is Kyouichi. Much of the manga's second third focuses on Ayaka's character progression and feelings for Kyoichi, while also having arcs where she saves friends that she didn't pay much mind to from falling and becoming demons, and despite much of the focus being on her romance with Kyoichi, her general active role in the plot never generally fades away - with extensive dynamics that are well-developed with much of the cast. Ayaka was my favorite character in the series for this reason, and I was genuinely impressed by the maturity involving her romance subplot with Kyouichi and how it concluded. Much of the side cast is similarly extremely well developed; Gouichi is a fantastic foil to Kyouichi that isn't immediately apparent on first sight, both Torako and Haruno's dynamics with Ayaka are insanely well-done, Sen and Sana have an extremely well-written bond - with both characters and their feelings for each other conflicting with their traditional roles as guardians of the family taking an extensive focus in the narrative. Character interactions feel natural and well-written, with comedy being well-executed and focused more on the facial expressions rather than on the dialogue and punchlines happening quickly, never dragging out for too long. A particular mention needs to go to Miyako, Kyouichi's sister, who I was skeptical about due to the absurdity of a literal child having a major role in the plot, and yet this is both justified narratively and also well-developed in and of itself, with her dynamic with Kyouichi in particular being exceptionally well-written. The artwork is gorgeous, with well-spaced panels on most pages that make it easy to read, helping dialogue flow smoothly from panel to panel. Character designs are basic yet expressive, with solid care placed on minor details involving clothing, backgrounds and facial expressions - the last of which is especially relevant considering the character-driven nature of this manga. There's a heavy emphasis on subtle character movements, but there's also a lot of gorgeous action scenes that are beautifully drawn. While not up to par with his work with Episode 5 of Umineko's manga adaptation, this is nonetheless a fairly pleasant manga to look at from start to finish. Urami Koi is a fantastic shonen action romance manga, and I recommend it strongly if that sounds like it'd be up your sleeve, as the series is well above average. Thank you for reading.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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