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Jul 8, 2020
I had a lot of hope for this anime, but after watching it I felt very disappointed. The premise of the story was very interesting and unusual, so it was a little amazing how they still managed to fit so many cliches and predictable moments into the plotline.
What I disliked the most about this anime was the main character, Kasahara. As the first female member of the pseudo-military library task force, she had the potential to be a really strong, interesting character. Instead she is incompetent, impulsive, naive, uneducated, disrespected, and frequently ends up in
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situations where she has to be rescued by her male counterparts. Around episode 11 or 12 her character starts to become more mature and capable, but that is when the anime ends. If they were going to write her character the way they did, I would have liked to at least had more episodes occur after her character begins to develop.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jun 25, 2020
This anime started out strongly, but I felt that the last few episodes could have been a lot better. I wish that it was spread out over more than just 11 episodes - I felt that there were a lot of things that were not explained very well as the show progressed, and the plot would have felt more solid if that was addressed.
The art was consistently great. I also really liked the characters. There were some times towards the end of the show where the anime tried to depict internal conflict and character growth, but I felt that it came across in a
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wooden and unnatural way (especially with Shion).
Overall, I would consider it well worth watching, and I really enjoyed the premise of the anime. I do feel like it had the potential to be much better. I definitely want to go back and read the manga. I am interested to see how different that ending is.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 21, 2019
Recommended for: BL readers who like a slow burn romance that is steamy without any real action occurring between the characters, and who appreciate detailed figural drawing and a strong secondary plot focus (in this case, professional dancing). Also recommended to readers who prefer BL characters that break out of the seme/uke stereotypes and other BL tropes.
-Story: (7/10) I enjoyed the premise of the story (two professional ballroom dancers teaching each other the dance styles that they specialize in for their personal/professional gain). The story felt fresh, and it was different that other BL manga that I have read. I would have rated
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the story higher, but the pacing felt off at times (there were many times that the story dragged or focuses on plot points that weren't all that interesting), and there were times that it jumped around.
-Art: (9/10) The character drawings were some of the best that I have come across. The detailed and realistic art style lent itself well to all of the dance scenes. The faces were the best - very expressive, and the mangaka did a superb job accurately portraying the face from a wide variety of different angles. The background scenery was often minimal or non-existent. To be fair, though, a large part of the story takes place in a dance studio, so there is not a lot of background to be portrayed there, and I imagine that a highly detailed background would distract from the level of detail in the character drawings.
-Character: (8/10) This story doesn't show a lot of individual character growth, but the relationship between the two characters is very dynamic and well-developed. There are so many stale cliches in BL characters, and this manga did a great job avoiding them. Both characters are confident adults, and professionals in their field. Rather than one character being more "dominant" or aggressive in pursuing the other, this relationship has a lot of give and take between two men who are equally dominant. At times, they come across as very masculine and assertive, and at other times, they come across as more sensual, and borderline effeminate. BL manga involving at least one (formerly) straight guy generally involves a lot of indecision and feelings of reluctance or uncertainty, but usually from only one of the characters, while the other is trying to persuade him. However, these two characters (both of whom were straight before) alternate between which one is more assertive (by instigating kisses, suggestiveness, or semi-playful teasing) and which one is feeling uncertain. It maintained a good balance between the characters,and felt more realistic to me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 13, 2019
-Recommended for: People looking for a deeply emotional, soul-searching story about two people supporting one another in the midst of crisis
-Not recommended for: Readers who want comedic moments, steamy romance, or a happy ending.
-Story (8/10): I picked up this manhwa as a filler story with rather mediocre expectations - "oh look, another story about a young, burnt out piano prodigy pushed to the limit by her parent's strict and unrealistic expectations". I have read a lot of different manga that follow that general recipe, but this story added several new and unexpected elements that allowed it to move far beyond that basic plotline.
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From a more technical standpoint, the story had good pacing and a clear plotline to follow.
-Art (7/10): The style was fairly standard for what I come across from digital manhwa/webcomics, and the quality was consistent and good. I especially liked how the facial expressions were rendered.
-Characters (9/10): The characters were, by far, the strongest part of this story. The author does a superb job of getting the readers to feel emotionally invested and attached to the main characters. I can count on one hand the number of manga that have moved me to tears, and this is one of them. Watching the characters as they grow as individuals, confront their own psychological battles, learn to support one another, and come to terms with unavoidable tragedy was beautiful to see.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 13, 2019
Recommended for: People in search of a manga that departs from the norm - a story set outside of Asia in the 50s/60s with a unique art style that explores some very dark subjects.
Not recommended for: The faint of heart, or people looking for a story that is light-hearted, romantic, fluffy, etc. There are a lot of aspects of this story that many people will find distasteful or unsettling - graphic sex/violence, rape, child abuse (sexual and emotional), etc, so be warned. This sort of content is put in the spotlight in this manga.
-Enjoyment (5/10): This was an extremely difficult manga for
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me to rate. I can certainly appreciate its premise and the quality/direction of its execution, but I can't say that I ....enjoyed it. To be honest, this is not a manga that is meant to be "enjoyed" in the conventional sense; it is meant to be thought-provoking, to pick up a rock and look underneath at the seedy underbelly of this world. Be prepared that, if you do choose to read this manga, you will have to approach it in a different fashion, and with a different mindset, than most manga call for.
-Story (7/10): The overall framework of this manga is that of the MC recounting the gory details of his past to reporters and other people. The tone of the story fits well with that premise - I often felt like I was being asked to hold witness to a rather blunt account of all the f*cked up sh*t that happened in his life, and how it led to him becoming the person that he is. Tbh, I was not prepared for how graphic and gritty this manga is. Right from the get-go, the reader is bombarded with very graphic and generally unpleasant images of sex in various forms that are outside of societal norms. Whereas graphic sex scenes in manga are generally included to excite the reader, bring romance into the story, or create a steamy atmosphere, the scenes in this manga are very brutal, and definitely not intended for the reader to enjoy, or to convey a feeling of romance. Instead, these scenes are used to plunge the reader head-first into exploring the darker topics that most manga only skirt around.
As for the plotline and its execution, there are many parts that are not fully fleshed in, and the story often jumps around more than needed.
-Art (8/10): A very distinct style. I liked it, and felt that it fit well with the setting and story, but I can easily see how some people might dislike it. I can't quite put my finger on the reason why, but it constantly reminded me of Art Nouveau, even though the way figures are drawn in that style is quite different. Possibly because of how sinuous and sensual the drawing often look, and because J often brought Oscar Wilde to mind for me.
-Character (6/10): This manga generally focuses more on the characters' interactions with J, rather than developing them individually. J's character is very interesting and multi-dimensional, but most of the other characters (even the other main character, Paul) are somewhat flat.
-Overall (7/10)
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 8, 2019
(Contains minor spoilers)
I would recommend this anime to anyone who is looking for a good blend of story-telling and character development who is looking for something that is visually and audibly beautiful to watch, and who is not put off by very strong hints of shounen ai.
I would NOT recommend this anime to anyone who dislikes BL and moderate levels of fan service aimed towards female viewers, or who would be overly frustrated by the fact that there is never any overt romantic relationship established between the two male MCs.
-Story: (7/10) As a whole, this story is very different from anything that I
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have personally watched, and it delivers a sports theme for a female audience in a way that I have only found in a few other anime, such as "Free". For the most part, I liked the pacing of the story, and I thought that there was a good balance between the time spent developing the plot and the time spent developing the main characters. Yuri's personal development and growth was tied in very well to the plot.
The writers did an excellent job of re-creating a figure skating event (please note that I do say this as someone who has only casually observed figure skating, though). Everything about it felt extremely realistic, and there were many times when I felt like I was watching an actual event. The one downside to replicating a figure skating competition is that there were parts of the show that were repetitive -skaters that were featured in multiple rounds of the competition were still skating the same choreography.
(**SPOILERS**) My thoughts on the resolution of the story are divided. As far as the main plotline goes (Yuri's return to the world of professional figure skating and his battle with his inner demons), I really like how it ended up. Yuri *is* able to master his fears, and although he stumbles along the way, he is able to become a world-renowned figure skater. I especially appreciated that he was still not completely perfect at the end, and although he exceeded his personal expectations, he ultimately did not win the gold. Some people may see that as a let-down, but I found it to be more realistic and less predictable.
(***SPOILERS***) On the other hand, I did not like how the relationship between Yuri and Victor turned out. I won't say "resolved", because it definitely didn't do that. Their relationship teased the audience with innuendos and strong undertones of BL throughout the entire show, and for the most part, I was fine with that status. However, I felt that it was unfair to both the characters and the viewers that there was nothing to clearly affirm a romantic relationship between the two of them by the end of the show. At the time of the review (2019) there is a movie in the works and rumors of a second season (although I am not getting my hopes up for the latter), and I sincerely hope that the writers follow up on that part of the plot.
(***SPOILERS***) My *personal* interpretation of the relationship between Victor and Yuri by the end of the show is that Victor is aware and accepting of the fact that he is in love with Yuri and that Yuri is in love with him, but is waiting for Yuri to come to terms with the fact that the feelings he has for Victor are not just feelings of adoration and respect for a coach and senpai, but are of a romantic nature. In the later episodes, it seems like there were several times that he was prodding Yuri to give him an opening to admit these feelings if he was ready for it. Victor's character is one who is very blunt at some times, but then also elusive and closed-mouthed at other times, so it is hard to know what his exact thoughts and motives are. Since Yuri's character is one who feels emotions so strongly and has a hard time processing and responding to them, I could easily believe that confronting his self-esteem issues was all he could handle in one season...he had to learn to love himself before he could sort out the complex feelings of romantic love for another. With that first obstacle out of the way, will he be able to face his feelings for Victor head-on in the future? I guess we'll find out when the movie is released.
-Characters (8/10): Overall great character development and growth. Some of the characters I LOVED, and others I could have done without, so this rating is an average of that. There was a strong theme of "love" throughout the anime, and the different characters served to portray the many faces of love.
Yuri (10/10) - He faces some very realistic internal struggles and was a very relatable character. Characters with a lot of inner battles can often come across as "whiny", but I did not feel like that was the case with Yuri. The pacing of his character growth was good, and I am glad that he was not "perfect" at the end, but had instead learned to cope with his own feelings. His character portrays the pitfalls of lacking love for oneself, as well as the supportive love that he receives from friends and family.
Yurio (9/10) aka Russian Yuri: His character developed a lot more than I initially expected; his first confrontation with Yuri made it seem like he would be a two-dimensional antagonist. However, his character grew a lot during the anime as well, as did his relationship with Yuri. He has a very strong, determined personality that serves as a foil to Yuri, but I felt that the anime did a good job addressing his struggles throughout the show as well. I appreciated that his relationship with Yuri did not stay as a flat antagonist but also did not get glossed over into them becoming BFFs. By the end of the show, he had a begrudging respect for Yuri as a rival, which I felt was a realistic compromise. To me, his character portrays familial love, as shown in his relationship with his grandfather.
Victor (8/10) I liked his character, and there were a lot of hints that there was more going on beneath the surface, but even by the end of the show his motives and past remained a bit of a mystery, so I can't rate him as highly as the other two MCs. There is a lot of potential in his character, and I expect to see it explored in more depth in the upcoming movie.
Secondary characters (6-8/10): There was a surprising amount of development for the secondary characters, especially considering that there were only 12 episodes. That being said, there were times that I felt that the backstory of some of the characters was rushed and unnecessary, especially for characters who only appeared for 2 or 3 episodes. The backstory of these characters highlighted several other forms of love, often in a negative manner: excess love of oneself, obsessive familial love of one's sister, lust, and unrequited love/heartbreak.
-Art: (10/10) Beautifully rendered, I couldn't think of any way to improve upon it. The quality felt consistent to me, with realistically proportioned characters, good attention to detail, and an attractive style. The choreography scenes were especially stunning. It was abundantly clear that the animators put a lot of time and research into making the skating look realistic. My favorite part about the choreography scenes was that the animators were able to give each skater a distinct style to their skating as a reflection of their personality. Watching the scenes with Yuri or Yurio skating was especially breath-taking.
-Sound (10/10) The quality of the sound in this anime was what ultimately made me decide to bump the overall score from an 8 to a 9. There are 3 aspects of the sound that I based my rating on:
Voice actors (dubbed version) - I liked all of the voice actors. Foreign accents in anime often come across as cheesy or over done to me, but I did not feel like that was the case for Yuri on Ice.
Background noises and sound effects - By this I mean sounds such as the ambient noise in a skating competition, the sound of skates on ice, etc. A lot of "attention to detail" background sounds that made the experience of watching this anime feel very immersive and realistic
Music - I was floored by the quality and diversity of the music in this anime. I usually find music in anime to be irritating, distracting, repetitive, or annoying, but that was not the case here. Although we often heard the songs more than once (as the characters did their performance at different levels of the competition), there was still a wide variety of different songs that were all well done. The music associated with the main characters was especially beautiful, and did a good job reflecting the character and conveying the mood of the anime. The song in the opening credits, in particular (as well as the accompanying animation), was excellent. I generally find the opening music of anime shows to be distasteful and am quick to skip over that part, but in the case of Yuri on Ice, I actually looked forward to listening to and watching the opening. I would rate the music in this anime in the top 5 of everything that I have watched.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 4, 2019
Wow, what a resounding disappointment.....
I had started reading the manga earlier in the year, but put it on hold when I found out that it was being adapted to an anime. I was really excited because what I had read of the story seemed like it would translate well to animation.
Unfortunately, basically every aspect of this anime fell short of that expectation.
The overall idea of the story was interesting. The execution of it was TERRIBLE, though. I did not make it far enough in the manga to be able to say if that issue was due to the source material or the way
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that it was adapted, but the impression that I got was that the animators condensed the story so much that many things were left unexplained or underdeveloped. The first several episodes in particular really jumped all over the place. Also, I can normally suspend disbelief and ignore a couple of plot holes here and there, but the storyline here was so threadbare that there was hardly anything left that was plausible enough to hold the plot together. Never have I asked "why is this even happening?" so many times. And as far as this being a government project to ensure the survival of humanity after the apocalypse, I could not imagine a more half-assed and idiotic way to try to accomplish that goal (well, I guess that if we are talking about governmental projects, maybe that is realistic? Haha j/k).
Now if you thought that the story was unrealistic, just wait until we look at the characters.Several of them had potential, but as a whole they were remarkably two-dimensional. The way that they interact with each other and react to things always came across as so obviously scripted and melodramatic that they were not believable in the slightest. Also, why is everyone an asshole? The only character that I liked at all was the guy with the dogs. And, that may have just been because I like dogs.
And to round out this bevy of mediocrity, we have the artwork. Bland, poorly detailed, with odd, jerky movements. And wtf is even going with those odd, discolored strands of hair that all of the characters have wafting around them?
In short, I can't think of anyone that I would recommend this anime to. I could overlook the artwork OR the characters OR the story being weak, but not all three. I wouldn't recommend this to shoujo fans since the characters and their interactions are so bland and contrived. I wouldn't recommend this to action fans since the action is poorly executed and just jumps around all over the place. And finally, I wouldn't recommend this to post-apocalyptic/survival story fans since the whole premise of this survival scenario comes across as utterly ridiculous.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Jul 4, 2019
This re-make of Fruits Basket is entertaining for what it is - a very fluffy, cheesy, romcom shoujo aimed at younger teens. If that is the show that you are looking for, then this is a great example of that genre. If you are looking for something more serious, believable, or original, then you are going to be disappointed.
The individual components of this anime are each fairly mediocre, The art, while certainly an update when compared to the original (which I have not actually watched myself - the original art work always turned me off from watching it), is nothing spectacular. The plot is
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obviously contrived to put the characters together into embarrasing/cheesy romcom situations. The characters are fun but kind of flat. However, there was something about how all of those elements that I still found to be enjoyable when they were all combined together.
My main gripe about the anime is with the main character, Tooru. Naive, overly optimistic Mary Sue's are just not my cup of tea. That being said, since her character doesn't have a strong presence, she is easy enough to ignore. In my eyes, her character just serves as the vehicle to get all of the other more interesting characters to interact with one another.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 30, 2019
I tried really hard to like this manga, and on the surface, it has a lot of elements that I usually like. Strong, kick-ass female MC? Check. Gender-Bender slow burn romance? Yeah, I'm a sucker for that. Written by Nakamura sensei? Well I love Skip Beat, so I would love this one too, right?
I read through several of story arcs, hoping that it would get better, before I eventually gave up and moved on. There are a few different reasons why it didn't appeal to me:
-Age of the characters (14). As a female in her 30s, that is already an age that I can't really
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relate to. More importantly, I found it creepy and innapropriate that Tsukasa was often referred to in a sexualized manner. There have been other manga that I have read with character's of a similar age, and sometimes I am able to see past that (for example, another manga that I have read recently and recommend - Meteor Methusulah), but in this case I felt like I was constantly reminded of the characters' age. Additionally, Ryuuji''s place as the head of a yakuza clan felt completely unrealistic to me
-Ratio of text to illustration. I prefer it when the mangaka allows the pictures to speak for themselves, rather than have to spell out every little detail in the text. TCP is crammed full of text, much of which doesn't really contribute anything to the story.
- Art...it was definitely dated, and not my style. Not a deal breaker for me - there have been other manga that I ended up loving in spite of their art style (for example, Skip Beat and Basara). If the story and characters are good enough, I can potentially overlook the art style. That was not the case here, and the panels all felt really cluttered and disorganized.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jun 30, 2019
Here is a manga that deserves to be far more well-known that it currently is.
Initially, the description of this manga turned me off from reading it - I generally don't like stories that revolve around the female MC being "rescued" or dependent on the male MC....I prefer female characters that are strong, independent, and not afraid to kick some ass or call others out on their BS when needed. Despite that, I found myself really loving this story. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why - but, the story is very well-written, with excellent artwork and solid characters to back it up.
The story is
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both touching and poignant, with a good balance of both sad and happy elements, but not in an overly dramatic "emotional roller coaster" manner. It definitely pulls at your heartstrings and creates a connection between the reader and the characters. The pacing of the story and the speed at which the romance between the characters develop were (in my opinion) very well-timed. Additionally, the way in which the relationship between the two MCs changed over time felt very natural to me. The overall length of the manga felt appropriate, and the ending was satisfying. It was not an "open" ending - there was definitely closure on all of the major plot points (either implicitly or explicitly), but the mangaka did not beat the story into the ground trying to tie off every little loose end.
I liked the characters a lot, and felt that they were developed without relying on cliches. Tetsu was definitely my favorite. I don't come across well-rounded male characters like him very often. He is a high school guy with a nurturing personality who is passionate about soccer, but also likes cleaning and cooking. He can have a strong, resolved personality at times, but is also fearful of things like ghosts. Despite all of this, he is not portrayed as effeminate or weak , nor maligned by his classmates or used as a source of comedic relief (all or which are how such characters seem to be portrayed in the other manga that I have read). I did like the female MC, Shizu, as well, even though she is different than what I normally look for in a female charater. Even though she does end up relying on Tetsu quite a bit, she is not a completely passive character, and clearly has a mind of her own - she has just become accustomed to suppressing it due to previous traumas. Watching her leave her shell and become comfortable in her own skin was an enjoyable metamorphosis.
There were a lot of aspects about the artwork in this manga that I really appreciated as well. Excellent background detail. In romance-oriented manga, facial expressions are one of the main criteria that I judge the artwork on, and Ohayo, Ibarahime definitely excels in that category. The facial expressions are well-detailed and moving, clearly able to convey what the characters are thinking and feeling without having to rely on assistance from the text or sfx. I was also impressed by the way that the mangaka was able to make it so clear to the reader which spirit was possessing Shizu based on her facial expressions and appearance.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this manga to a wide variety of readers. Despite being a shoujo romance based on school-aged characters, I think that it would appeal to many older readers as well (like myself), and many male readers might find the supernatural elements of the story (as well as a very well-developed male MC) interesting.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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