- Last OnlineJun 2, 5:44 PM
- JoinedJul 19, 2016
RSS Feeds
|
![]()
Sep 18, 2018
This anime is mostly made for promoting the manga, but it has some good sides and doesn't look too much like seasonal slice of life show. 12 episodes containing material of 5 volume manga means that lots of things got cut or shortened, yet the show managed to remain decent.
The first 6 episodes (without episode 5) are fairly well made, they had nice pace and showed building of relations between the characters. I would say episodes 4 and 6 are very well made - including drama and comedy wrapped up in such nice episodes. Episode 4 may be my favourite slice of life episode, it
...
has a very good structure and development (comedy and drama parts are well mixed up, there are deep conversations and a story about Yuujirou's past), it's very enjoyable to watch it anytime.
The last 6 episodes fall from good to mediocre, contain more generic attributes and many parts were shortened or simply cut out, which made the story development look very forced, which made the ending look pretty awful.
It's understandable that it's impossible to show much of story and character development in 12 episodes, though the anime managed to recreate the manga atmosphere for some time. Large part of the anime were gags and even the manga author was puzzled that many people liked Princess Princess only because of the gags.
If you enjoyed the anime, go for manga. It contains much more content, character development and a proper ending.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all
![]()
Aug 28, 2018
Black Lagoon can be summed up in two words: cheesy fun. The manga is very entertaining, has cheesy action and the characters are interesting and memorable.
The story revolves around the Black Lagoon company which does various jobs and gets into trouble (lots of gunfire and action). Its members are doing their best to earn some money and survive, having rival criminal organizations in the lawless city. Outsiders coming into the city or the crew going to a distant place creates more tensions and disturbs the balance in the city, so the gangs change relations, fight or ally with others. The manga never gets boring,
...
there is always a good ratio of story telling and action. Though, it looks like there isn't much of main plot, it's contains lots of stories which are episodic, but they show new characters and factions. The more you read, the more you know about history of characters and gangs, their relations and what they plot. Good side is that the characters aren't used only as plot devices, many of them continue with the stories, show up from time to time or get involved into business related to Black Lagoon company. The characters have own traits, even though some appear to be cold, they are very lively and behave comical from time to time. The only person who behaves like an outsider is Rock, but that's because he's a novice and has never lived in such criminal society. Another good side is that Rock is evolving with time, he isn't a typical manga/anime wimpy protagonist who is an useless coward. Rocks slowly adapts to the rules of the city, yet he manages to save his sense for justice. Another good thing is that there are just a few good characters in the manga at all. You have lots of shady characters who change relations with others in blink of an eye, which leaves realistic impression because the city is full of crime and people who would easily betray others for money.
The story is the weakest side of the manga because there isn't much of the main plot, but that's the only bad side. The art, the characters, the action and the minor stories are very interesting and great source of entertainment.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Aug 21, 2018
Dark Metro is a horror manga placed in a metro, where spirits with grudges haunt people. The story isn't bad, a haunted metro and people falling victims to the ghosts, while Seiya does his best to save them. The problem with the story is (besides generic horror plot) that there isn't much of it at all, it's a clump of couple of people's fates and the timeline moves too fast, all you can see is action that characters are overreacting, screaming or running for their lives, nothing more.
The art is okay, there aren't many details but metro and gore part are done very well.
There are
...
too many characters, each one but Seiya didn't get much time at all and all we could see was very short backstory, while the rest was running away from the ghosts, Seiya comes, does his thing and the story moves to the next characters. Despite that, most of the characters were overreacting all the time, behaving violently and bringing others into danger, which made them much more annoying. Seiya is the only character who is in all the chapters, though he seems more like "deus ex machina" than a real person, there is barely any his character development because he mostly appears in time of danger and disappears afterwards.
Even though this is mediocre manga at it's best, it's not bad and has enjoyable parts. Many elements are generic - flow of people who get into trouble, an all-mighty protagonist who saves others from evil, haunted place and ghosts.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Aug 21, 2018
I recommend you not to read this manga, unless you want to read something so awful that it's more comical than scary.
There are 9 stories, each on its own and differing in story, tension and gore. All of them are very basic and most of them are just awful, like they were written by a child, stuff like dead person calling phones and you die if you answer the call. There are few which have only alright start, but that's it, the rest turns into worse.
The art isn't bad, such style is more suitable for horror, but it's still simple and doesn't have much
...
details at all.
Besides terrible story, you get barely existent characters. They aren't on focus because the whole manga relies on some "scary" moments to create some tension. The only chapter where I felt little bit of personality was "Christmas present", which has a good side of showing relations between father and daughter, but everything else is a joke.
Overall, there were moments with some tension, but they were mostly cheap and everything else fell flat. I guess this manga was made for midschooler audience which searches for their first horror stories. Some chapters may look like somewhat promising idea, but they feel so unfinished or the later part came on force and it was just gore instead of some event which would make the story more interesting. On the other hand... Some chapters are somewhat entertaining how bad they are. Just imagine, a paper god which cuts the people who try to steal his statue, or Santa who makes canned reindeer food from bad children. I chuckled a coule of times, if this manga had more comical (and quirky) direction, I think it would become much more interesting. The rest of horror stuff go like this: There's some legend or an event, people die, the end. Nothing more than that.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Aug 14, 2018
Berserk is a very atmospheric and dark manga, exceeding only in The Golden Age Arc, while the rest fails flat.
Story: The manga follows adventures and struggles of Guts, a former mercenary and a wanderer who is doing everything he can for survival. The story is well paced and full of details in The Golden Age Arc, where backstories and characters are gathered in an organic construct which feels that the world is real and characters belong there, with their hopes, dreams and reality. The Arc has more layers - climbing up to the throne, dreams and authority, bound, etc; while the rest is just an
...
atmospheric survival (Guts goes to some place, sees scary things, kills scary things, moves on - loop). There are some interesting backstories later, but the world doesn't feel organic at all, more like some Guts' playground. Chilling atmosphere and interesting backstories are what saved the manga, otherwise it would have been just hack'n'smash gore.
Art: There isn't much need to talk about this. It is amazing, details are astounding and extremely realistic. Action, gore and horror are very detailed, some scenes are memorable, though the only negative part is that Puck looks like he was drawn by a child sometimes (I know it's for comedy purposes, but that part doesn't fit in with the rest).
Characters: I will write more about them in the spoilers part. The only developed characters belong to the Hawk band: Griffith, Casca, Gaston, Corkus, Judeau, Pippin, even Guts develops his character a little in the band. They have a personality, they react to words and actions, they have ideals, wishes, fears, etc. They feel like they are in the world, they follow their leader and try to get the best outcome in any situation. I feel like the rest of the characters are black or white, they have just a purpose to do something and you can already sense what will such character do, or the author flips characters from time to time to make more drama. That feels very shallow and the characters feel like they just serve a purpose, like they exist to perform and action and that's it. For example, Puck exists only to heal Guts and give him keys.
Enjoyment: Overall, it was decent. Excluding The Golden Age Art, the manga was still somewhat entertaining with gore details, some action and the atmosphere. The action is somewhat alright, though it becomes generic with time, here's formula: Guts gets into trouble, he swings around and the enemy pins him down. He shoots the enemy with his arm-cannon and decapitates the enemy within a second, repeating the same thing with most of large enemies. It becomes dull and uninspiring. Fights become more fierce later, but they become most of the focus, there isn't much story, just bloodshed.
____SPOILER ALERT, if you haven't read the manga yet, don't read the part below:____
I will write more about characters and the way I see them as black and white. Many characters look like they live for only one purpose, like hunting down some people (heretics, some other sort of enemies or whatever). Even though The Golden Age Arc was amazing, I feel like Griffith was sacrificed for the sake of the plot, just to make him a villain. Griffith's character was the most complex and extremely well made. He was very intelligent, charismatic, caring, careful, full of virtues and etiquette. It's impossible that such character would be so careless and get to princess' chambers and have a way with her, even though the path to the throne was already secured. I felt like the author tossed Griffith into the trash bin, just to make him a villain for the plot twist, which felt so horrendous, not because of the consequences of the action, but because this isn't part of Griffith's nature. Maybe the author didn't come up with any other idea to turn him into a villain, but it's a pity to throw away such well developed character. (plot twist - the author flips Griffith to make him careless just that he gets into trouble, flipping the king as well to make him extremely evil so the Griffith somehow becomes villain.. That sounds pretty awful)
What about Guts? He left the band like all the years meant nothing to him, all his somewhat character development was tossed into the bin as well, he became nothing but an angry man who fought everything, doing contradicting actions like he didn't want to be in the band, but he didn't want to stay out of the band, also Casca part, dreaming about running away with her, but he left her at one place. I didn't get his character at all, I may be cynical and criticizing too much, but I got impression that his character was done pretty awfully.
Others feel black or white, you don't get a lot of info about them, you see if they want to get the good characters into danger or if they are so selfless and help everyone. That looks pretty shallow.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Aug 11, 2018
Even though I have read all the chapters (newest chapter currently is 42) so far, I will review the first 13 ones. Those chapters are the most enjoyable, later chapters leave impression that the creators are experimenting rather than sticking with the starting formula.
Story: The manga revolves around a concept - protagonists get involved into Dead Tube, a website (similar to YouTube) where you participate to win a lot of money if you get the most views, but you will suffer harsh punishment if your videos get the lowest views. Those rules make the participants push the boundaries and make more extreme videos to keep
...
up with others, which makes more tension and interesting situations. The story doesn't contain much unnecessary dialogue and you follow the events with ease and remain interested, it also contains depth, layers and plot twists; quite contrary to later chapters which are much more some kind of simple gore fest (I didn't get the "catch-the-culprit" episode, I'd say it was a failure, though school episode wasn't bad).
Art: Details are wonderfully done, also gore parts look very realistic and overall it's very well made.
Character: The manga fails somewhat at this part, the protagonists are generic (a shy boy and a yandere girl) with mostly expected behaviour, though the male is making a progress with character, but the rest of the characters are simple and don't have much depth (though, they can camouflage their real intentions, trying to manipulate others).
Enjoyment: Despite shallow characters, the manga is still quite enjoyable. Gore, alright story, tension and element of surprise create a good atmosphere and a decent read.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Aug 8, 2018
This manga is quite an uncanny experience. It consists of five short stories connected with similar atmosphere, intriguing story and lack of knowledge about characters and surroundings.
The stories are simple, yet they are told in a way to leave an unsettling feel - we don't know whether the character is dreaming or in reality. We get a glimpse what is going on, the way the characters feel and react, doubting their perceptions and thoughts.
The art is simply marvelous, the faces have amazing details and everything is top notch. The art style is very impressive and makes the manga look brilliant.
The characters are simple
...
like the stories, we don't know much about them. Each character has a flaw or an obsession,yet they leave quite an impression with their actions.
The enjoyment was unsettling and with goosebumps, the atmosphere was outstanding and it was more influenced by creative approach.
Overall, the atmosphere and story came straightforward, without any necessary details. You will set many questions and receive only few answers. I think that's one of elements which make true horror - lack of knowledge, disturbing events, troubled characters.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Apr 9, 2018
A show with a protagonist so powerful that nothing can stand in his path, sounds like an interesting concept? Think of it, a guy whose guild of 40+ members worked hard to create the best castle and obtain ultimate items, finds himself trapped in virtual world with all the skills and items he possessed. He's also magician class, thrown into some generic fantasy land full of mediocre and weak creatures. He has also got numerous extremely powerful servants, so does such starting point of an anime or any RPG sound interesting? What is the point of playing a game where you already have dominance?
I've mentioned
...
some parts of the story in former paragraph, the story is blunt - a guy is trapped in RPG world and tries to protect his place from any possible invaders. He's also scouting around, but that's what I've got from story so far, I've read some reviews and noticed there isn't much of a plot at all.
Art and sound are mediocre, though I'd say some character designs don't look appealing at all, especially the protagonist whose design looks pretty bad (why creating such giant cloak, also those two red balls on shoulders which look horrible?).
The show falls horribly at characters. The protagonist is typical guy in harem shows, making stupid reactions when a female makes a move to him, for example: *gulp* I...I touched her *loses breath*. He repeats this every time, and no matter that most of those scenes are supposed to look like jokes, they are just blunt and annoying. Let's move to the servants, they are typical AI, no personality, just responding to the player. They are just talking about the protagonist and how much they love him, though there was a feud between Albedo and Shalltear who will marry the protagonist and give a birth to the heir... which is just.... I almost puked when I watched that scene. Especially since they are undead, so why would he need a heir?? It was just pathetic scene, especially the art and sound were horrible when a character would become obsessed about the protagonist. What about others? I haven't watched much, but I'd say they have barely any role in the show, to let us see the capabilities of protagonist and his servants. They are typically good guys or bad guys, nothing more or less.
Now about enjoyment... There wasn't any. All these elements combines heave a pathetic image of a horrible show with no interesting scenes and characters or good points. The whole show is that some bad guys try to do bad stuff to good guys, the protagonist gets involved, the whole drama starts and it's built slowly, the bad guys spend a lot of time summoning their champion which gets destroyed in a blink of an eye. Is the purpose of the show to make us see how ridiculous power of the protagonist is? To see how the servants can be robots who do nothing but obey their master?
Overall: the show is annoying, contains only one generic character while others are just some beings who react to the protagonist and have nothing of their own, jokes are overused and blunt, action is boring and done in matter of seconds... Makes me wonder why do people adore this show.
I lasted only 4 episodes, I don't know will I ever get enough strength and nerves to watch more to provide more details because this show is just pathetic.
If you think of watching the show, I kindly suggest you to skip this rubbish.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Mar 5, 2018
It's a shame that such marvelous show doesn't have more reviews. It's short, quirky and unique comedy. The show is about daily life of a woman who lives in an apartment with her pet, who does the chores. The comedy is heavily based on characters and their interaction than other elements. Story is one of them and the show feels like it's slowly paced and barely any changes happen at all. But that's the only downside, characters and situation are on the focus and create amazing atmosphere.
The show is comedy of character. We don't know much about the characters: most of their names, occupations
...
and other personal details; while we know all their personal traits: the woman is gullible and has low self-esteem, her boyfriend is a drunk and a cheater, the hamster behaves impolite often and humiliates her owner in public, etc. When it gets close to the feeling that you can predict next actions, the show gets refreshed with new characters, locations or events which keep the flow interesting. The characters make great reactions, if I can say overreactions to everything. The voice actors surely had a lot of fun.
Besides characters and comical situations, the show is full of puns and dirty words references, so it only boosts the enjoyment (especially how much effort is put into the show). I had the feeling that time was passing because there was constantly some action going on, the show doesn't have a break to let the watcher relax, he is bombarded with the waves of events over and over, but in the end it's a very enjoyable experience.
The art is simple and there is no need to focus on details. It may have been a good choice for such art style that the watchers focus on the content and events, not visual looks which don't have major role in the show.
I would say this is a great way to spend three hours of your life. The episodes are short and full of action that the watchers don't feel bored at all. The show is based on putting characters in an unpleasant situation and sometimes new characters are put or other modifications made to keep the show interesting.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Jan 17, 2018
This is the worst show I have ever watched (also the worst manga I have ever read): it's shallow, annoying, repetitive and contains nothing good from either characters or plot. I will explain my statement in next paragraphs.
The show is about an excellent and popular schoolgirl who behaves completely different when she returns home. She turns into a spoiled brat who does nothing but playing games, reading manga or watching anime. Her brother lives with her, despite being older and more responsible, he lets her do whatever she wants and fulfills her demands.
I don't feel there is any story in the show, all
...
episodes follow this pattern: Umaru wants something (a game, magazine, etc) and annoys her brother to buy it for her, her brother refuses and she starts a mess, brother gives up after a while and says "it cannot be helped", so he buys her what she desires and that's the end. The show is centered on Umaru, all the characters and events develop around her and go in her favour, there is no feel of progress or story moving on, just Umaru using others to get what she wants and things go where they were at start of the episode.
Art and sound are the only elements which weren't horrible, but they aren't much good either. Art is basic and nothing special, also sounds and music aren't memorable but not bad.
The show lacks in character customization terribly. The protagonist is displayed as cute, while having nothing but bad traits: arrogance, manipulation, disrespect, childish behaviour, sloth, etc. Other characters are far more likable than her, some of them have quirky characteristics or seem nice people, but in the end no matter what they stand for, they just adapt to protagonist's desires like it doesn't contradict their morals. No matter how many times it seems there may be some progress when characters socialize, in the end Umaru jumps in and ruins the atmosphere, she is the main reason why this show is terrible. Question is why would anyone make a character like that and set it as a protagonist, also put in a show with no story at all...
The only enjoyment I had was when some characters faced each other and there were few funny moments, until Umaru came and turned everything about herself. What is the purpose of the show? The protagonist was nothing but a nuisance which removed every element of comedy. The show would have a point if Umaru changed in the end, to realize her behaviour, but no, her brother and other characters let her use them to get what she wants. It is annoying to see someone making a fuss over a toy, especially when the other person is trying to get some sleep or returned after stressful day at work. It wasn't funny at all, I felt bad for her brother having to deal with her... I hoped he would teach her lessons how to become a responsible person, but no, he is a weak character who talks about responsibilities but lets her get away with anything she does to him.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
