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Ares no Tenbin is an incredibly strong comeback for the series.

A lot of the context for this review is back in my Inazuma Eleven Reloaded review, so don’t forget to check that one out too.

The series mainly revolves around Inanuki Raimon, a team of transfer students that have been brought in the replace the separated Raimon. As far as standout characters go, none of them really do, it’s always been one of the curses of the series where the characters from the first part of any iteration are destined to be replaced for more likable and established characters as it goes on. One thing ... this team has going for it is their head coach, Zhao Jin Yun, Inazuma Eleven has mainly relied on having hardass serious coaches who usually have a reason behind their harsh methods, this man breaks this tired tradition by having a weird and interesting backstory involving him mastering a bunch of sports, being comedically aloof and teaching using things like drawing parallels with soccer strategies to confessing your love to a girl for example, he always manages to match every match feel fresh in regards to how Inanuki Raimon plays and is key to making their fast improvement feel very believable.

The real draw to the series really is in the opponents they face and the ones they set up to eventually join Inazuma Japan in the next Orion anime. After the first few couple of matches, excluding the ones involving Haizaki, Ares hits its stride and has powerful character arcs in every single match, in a sense, the opposing team ends up feeling more like the main characters than Raimon do, some of the already existing characters have their arcs fast forwarded while others have been fundamentally altered but still stay interesting in their own way. While not absolutely necessary, Outer Code is definitely something that should be watched as a supplement to Ares, it does a good job of hinting at what sort of dilemmas some characters will face and how the dynamics have been altered because of the retcon.

Haizaki is arguably more of a main character than even Asuto, his development is something that lasts both cours, essentially revolving around coming to like soccer even though he has only been using it as a tool to get revenge on Nosaka and the Ares no Tenbin system. What starts off as a self absorbed madman turns into an inner struggle over the idea of motive, meeting his arch-rival plants the idea of soccer being something he does because he actually likes it and the viewer gets to witness it slowly grow as he faces people with stronger convictions and as he starts to wonder what being strong even means, it all comes to a head at the final match of the first season where decides to face all these thoughts head on, making it an powerful climax purely through all the new characters its featured.

Though not given as much weight and attention as some of the other antagonists, Kidou and Gouenji play their role as those who help the new set of characters find themselves really well, how the former easily earns the trust of his new team and the way he leads Haizaki and the way the latter helps an Inanuki player find his true calling as striker re-establishes them for a new generation of fans, one’s way of strategically drawing out the best of his teammates and the other’s seemingly unbreakable confidence in himself and his skills sell why they’re going to be key members in the new national team so well.

Afuro might have very little impact in terms of plot, but he does embody makes this show incredibly valuable to the franchise, after his crushing loss to Endou, he has a conversation with an old lady over the nature of his self-proclaimed godhood and where he went wrong in the way he viewed soccer, through it, gives him a reason for his metaphorical rebirth that the original show never gave him, which he carries into the match against Inanuki Raimon. The match ends up being one of the most unique ones thematically, where it’s the main characters who end up being taught something important rather than the ones they face. Zeus, by extension because of their captain, encapsulate how revolutionizes everything: in the same way it did it with Afuro, Ares is meant to shorten arcs and make characters relevant in ways they weren’t before, yet still keep the core of what made them so special, like Aphrodite becoming a compelling figure who learns that caring for others is what makes him who he is and why he has so much fun.

The Fubuki twins were another interesting aspect of the series, the rumored unbeatable duo was mainly used to convey how they can always improve through the help of others. Atsuya initially only relies on Shirou, having very little communication going on with his other teammates, works with Nae to bring out her hidden potential and, in turn, his too, symbolized with the already powerful Double White Impact being upgraded to Triple Blizzard by her lending a hand. In essence, it keeps the core theme of drawing the best out of someone that the character of Fubuki is known for, but adapts it to make use of multiple characters with just a couple of episodes instead of making something with a long tragic backstory that requires multiple tries and a heavy dose of angst.

Tatsuya and Hiroto are arguably the best set of characters in the whole season, they have the most thought put behind their backstories, the attention to detail regarding their plays and presentation, their difference in personality. Tatsuya, formerly known as Hiroto until the retcon, has been affected the most out of anyone because of the changes, he no longer has to carry the burden of trying to be someone else, symbolized by his Ryuusei Blade not looking like The Explosion does, rather his dilemma is now trying to pull that person along with him until they're ready to run on their own. He’s still the earnest kind-hearted character he’s always been, but seeing more of him as a captain than we ever had makes him so much more than that cool dude who came back as a friend in the original Inazuma Eleven, it makes everyone from the orphanage putting their trust in him and why they rely on his presence so much understandable and something to empathize with. Hiroto, formerly known as that one kid who died, has an arc that mostly boils down to being very similar to Haizaki’s, the differences in how they’re handled is what makes it engaging. Once all is said and done, their conflict resolving results in the best moment from the whole run of the show, Hiroto learning his dad’s always cared about him in his own way and him willing to work with Tatsuya to fire off Cosmic Blaster, the best looking cut of animation in all the 26 episodes. Out of any of the characters featured in Ares, they are the ones who have seemingly reached the clearest starting line when it comes to their dream, so what they can possibly offer in Orion is nothing short of exciting.

Endou is the 2nd best thing this show has to offer, but only by very little. We’ve seen him as the main protagonist, as a supporting teacher figure, and now as an antagonist, which he pulls off in such a great way. The match against Tonegawa Tousen was in essence very different from the other matches in the series: because many of the teams didn’t have defense as strong as their offence, most of the matches ended up with over half a dozen points being scored, though only 3 goals were scored in the match with Endou. Taking what has always been the main supporting pillar of morale for the entire series and turning him into someone who our protagonists have to overcome is something most franchises can’t really hope to get far enough to pull off, so him being used this way is surprisingly gratifying. While it may just seem like a simply cool move at first glance, Fuujin Raijin carries so much more weight thematically than it seems, prior to Ares, Endou had followed his grandfather’s teachings until he was pushed to come up with Ijigen the Hand in the FFI arc, but the changes here manage to circumvent that and justify it too, Endou faced one of the best players in the world and felt the weight of it firsthand, so him wanting to come up with a power capable of going up against that is what makes that move feel so heavy, it’s him acknowledging his place as one of Japan’s representatives and how much harder he’ll have to push himself to catch up, also acknowledging his status as legend, both in universe and arguably in a meta-narrative sense too. Although not the match I’d consider the best, it’s great to see him back this way.

With this season making so many interesting protagonists to follow, Orion no Kokuin already has so much going for it, hopefully it manages to make use of them. Even if it doesn’t this season alone has been a wonderful set of gripping personal matches that showcased a bunch of varying and nuanced views about what makes soccer fun and the mindsets one can have to improve. I’m really glad Inazuma Eleven is still something I can look forward to even after all these years.

IE Reloaded feels like a very flimsy foundation to build this new series on.

With the story wanting to get rid of the alien orphaned anime boys powered by a magical space rock, it retcons all of that and sets up to go down the route of seperating everyone to raise up Japan's skill level as a whole rather than assembling a ragtag team of really good players.

Initially, this could come off as an interesting idea, the possibilities that can be born out of implanting an already established character into a completely new circle and using them as springboards to build the new ones that ... can be just as memorable, but if we go off the one ones introduced in this special alone, that isn't really a reassuring thing.

The Barcelona Orbs were pretty underwhelming as antagonists, comparing them to other world class teams like the ones from Inazuma Eleven's 3rd arc, none of them came off as charismatic or likable, it's hard to imagine they'll amount to anything much other than buff bad guys who look down on the weak japs, if only they hinted at some kind of nuance like they did with Ogre Academy, it would make this episode feel like so much better of a set-up, a team to look forward to seeing even possibly 50 episodes down the line.

The animation for the series has never been one of its high points, but it has always nailed the way the special attacks look, the level of effects animation and weight behind the motion is undeniably one of the biggest appeals to the franchise, sadly, seeing how it has changed them is upsetting. Other than the Fire Tornado looking fine, old moves like The Wall and Majin the Hand feel like they've degraded, especially the latter: what was a move where Endou summons this vividly drawn muscular demon by putting his hand on his heart has been changed to a move where he can just conjure up this vaguely shaped blue and yellow figure that barely moves.

I still have hopes for the series and where it wants to go, but honestly, it has yet to convince me that it'll turn out good.

Mikako-san is incredibly bittersweet.

What the story boils down to is essentially a teen drama about relationships and finding one's place in the world, but it's the author's understated and poetic way of laying it all out and conveying what the characters are feeling that makes it so special. Through out the series are sprinkled symbols meant to relate to certain characters, colors like red for Mikako and green for Midorikawa, objects like the former's tube of candy or the latter's pencils. They're used incredibly effectively the first time, but even more so the fifth, it keeps referring back to these symbols in order to show ... how things have changed, even if only to point out little differences, they basically become plot threads of their own, from things like the rule about not stepping on the white lines to Mikako's red nail polish, it has dozens of elements that warp in meaning and are used well enough to engender themes as a whole.

The manga's look certainly adds a lot to the feel it's trying to go for: the soothingly soft water colors, its rough panel outlines with the corners rounded out, its way of allocating space for the panels and what's inside them to hint to the reader as to which ones they should linger on. Since every chapter is 4 pages long, it wouldn't be a stretch to say it operates very similarly in terms to build up and execution to the way 4koma manga do, hence every chapter has the ability to feel like it's incredibly sweet, a punch to the gut, and everything in between, even with how short they are.

Mikako-san's biggest and most evident appeal is its characters and what they go through. Even with its stylized approach and its use of more subtle storytelling techniques, the story itself is grounded and drenched in pathos: The protagonist just going with the flow with no aim, Midorikawa not being honest with himself, Katou's insistence on going out with a girl he already knows isn't that interested in him, and countless other little things that make something most young adults can relate to. its style and "less is more' method are used as supplements to its already human characters, and that's what makes it so wonderful.

Machiko described the feeling she wanted while reading the manga as "A pensive look when alone", I feel like she managed to capture it perfectly, every chapter left me in a state of contemplation for a minute before I stroll onto the next one, with my heart remaining in a tightened state, looking back on similar events I lived through and ones I'm still going through. Its downplayed depiction of people going through one of the most confusing time of their lives can be attributed to having that philosophy at its core, and I couldn't be more grateful it turned out this way.

Children Record is a pretty solid prologue.

Having the colossal task of setting up for the subsequent 20 music videos, it's amazing just how much it manages to do in the 3 minutes it has. Its opening group shot and subsequent pan across each of the key actors works well in giving the viewer unique visual traits to remember each of them by, it also helps how, including the following parts where they were shown off as an ensemble, they are grouped in ways that give an idea of which ones are closer to others and what kind of relationship they might have. The frames where ... it goes mono-color help sell how, even though they've been portrayed in a dramatic way thus far, they are teenagers who like to fool around and enjoy each others company, reinforcing the core cast even more.

It's crowning achievement is definitely how it manages to hint at every music videos that came out later in the series: from the obvious ones like Takane witnessing what seems to be a murder and Hibiya and Hiyori dying, to very subtle ones like Ayano standing in from of what was a window and Shintarou turning a doorknob. Each of these sneak-peeks add so much character and intrigue to large cast of 9 it's trying to sell the audience on, in so little time, and have the bonus effect of having more impact once they have gone through all of the series and are able to figure out how cleverly it managed to foreshadow not only each of the character arcs, but also the antagonists and the ultimatum.

When the chorus kicks in for the 2nd time, initiated by the song's iconic "shounen shoujo mae o muku", the anime displays them together for the final time, stripped of their color, giving them a sense of unity, with nothing but the guitar and the vocals to show how they are determined to face the unbearable heat mentioned during the song multiple times, this quieter moment works so well in convincing the viewer of how tight of a team they are, making it an incentive to learn how and why they became this close.

In the final part, the MV is so confident in it's characterization that it trusts the audience will be able to recognize who each of the silhouettes are by their features and color coding, it's a gutsy move, but seeing how much faith it has in it's ability is incredibly endearing.

For something as mold-breaking and unique for its time as the Kagerou Project, it needed a sure-fire way to get people interested in it, and considering how strongly Children Record built up its characters and how it set up breadcrumbs that lead to the larger narrative, it was a job well done.

Mazinger-Z vs General of Darkness is a pretty good passing of the torch.

Mazinger Z is an undeniably iconic figure when it comes to the history of anime, one of the first pilotable mecha, cementing and popularizing many of the tropes that are still used 40 years after its inception, the way it was introduced in-series goes to show just how powerful the unit was by it being this unstoppable demon. Now imagine if this titan of power and fame gets absolutely demolished.

The forces of the General of Darkness destroying the cities that Kouji worked so hard to protect sets up well just how helpless the ... Mazinger will be in this fight. It's honestly disheartening seeing its wide arsenal be useless against the villains: his rocket punches being deflected, his breast beam barely scratching, his missiles almost ineffective, his breath rendered null. seeing the damaged robot head into battle only to have his wings melted and limbs torn during the fight feels like watching a legacy come to an end. In this moment of total despair comes in the one who will take over the title of the demon that fights to protect the world: Tsurugi and the Great Mazinger.

Demonstrating how the new unit is an objectively better version of the old one in all regards is a great way to convince the viewer that the Great Mazinger is fit to replace the current protector of the world, and having him work alongside the beat-up Z is a touching method of show that it has good intentions. Great's upgraded weaponry decimating the foes is an incredibly reassuring scene, considering just how hopeless most of the movie was, not only did it convey how Kouji would be ok leaving Tsurugi with his role, but it works well convincing the viewer that the new protagonist is someone they want to watch.

If anything, this movie's a fun watch to see something that anime doesn't do as much anymore: an anime icon passing the baton to a new generation.

Last Game is a failure of a finale to the series.

Just to get it out of the way: it's fair to call it a finale because it calls itself last game, as opposed to its manga counterpart that just called itself extra game, which was much more harder to be harsh on it for that reason.

The best part of the movie was seeing how the Generation of Miracles were no longer bloodthirsty psychopaths who'd stab someone with scissors. Seeing them as normal, chill teens was pretty refreshing. Them having retconned Kagami wanting to be an NBA player is also an appreciated touch, it filled in ... the whole of none of them having any clear goal beyond just becoming really good high school basketball players that the series had for its entire run, and because of it, it also gave some of the other characters goals too. Sadly, the same can't be said about the other aspects of the movie.

The villains are definitely the worst part. Seeing as fans of the series are used to asshole antagonists who just talk about how no one can stop them and how they wish a proper challenger would show up, it's probably not that hard to be lenient towards them at first, but it slowly becomes apparent that there won't be much to them as it goes on. Gold and Silva don't get any moment where we see what shaped their beliefs and attitude and they don't get any kind of character arc by the end either, they don't have any nuance or depth to them, they only exist to get beaten down. It's quite ironic, really, for a series whose whole point was about showing disillusioned teens the fun of basketball and teaching them to not be stuck-up pricks, the final villains end up being exactly that and don't even get the same kind of treatment the show prided itself on being about.

For an anime tie-in movie, it somehow managed to look exactly like and sometimes worse than the tv show. Other than the parts featuring hyper-realistic animation early on during the 2nd match, which had very weird camera angles and felt less explosive compared to some of the more well-known cuts from the main series, the movie kept using its usual technique of still frames and close-ups .

It really just felt like a cashgrab rather than a fulfilling epilogue, all things considered.

also no meteor jam D:

Episode of Jupiter is a wonderful way for fans to go from idol girls to idol boys.

A lot of what makes this prologue so compelling is evidently Jupiter: The work they're willing to put into making their fans happy and alleviate the burden of the staff that help them. Them striving to prove that they have worth and can make it on their own is a solid method of utilizing the goodwill they have garnered because of the aftermath surrounding 961 in the original anime and builds a solid base for Side M, considering they'll probably play a prominent role in that show.

The interview scene ... is the strongest example of characterization featured in this 30 minute episode: their posture, their body language, their way of talking, it all feeds into what each of the trio's charm points are. The way the scene ended was a pretty great treat too, it conveyed how close they are in an incredibly adorable way.

The scene where they ran into Haruka felt very much like the passing of the torch. We see that not only was it an essential moment for her to get her motivation back, but it also pushed Jupiter to realize that they can't please all their fans the way they were, they had to aim higher. Both parties putting their past conflicts aside and genuinely hoping for each other's success while a piano rendition of the first iDOLM@STER opening played was not only an incredibly touching moment, but also the last step the viewer took, alongside Jupiter, to get past the threshold into the world of Side M.

The performance scene is the most worrying part. They managed to hide the parts where they had to use CGI models of the characters well enough, but the quality of the animation isn't nearly as good as in previous installments, which isn't reassuring considering the animation of the tv anime will probably be of lesser quality than what was shown. That said, it was still a pretty fun scene.

The prologue has everything it needs to get the fans of the series excited and hopefully the full show will be just as entertaining to watch as this was.

Knight’s & Magic is pure escapism for the kind of people that find giant robots cool.

The easiest way to know if the show is the kind the viewer will enjoy is to have them watch the first 3 episodes, they are designed in a way to go through all the appealing aspect the show has and will get as it goes on.

The first episode establishes the world it’s set in: although a fairly standard one, it heavily goes into pushing the robots and how magic is involved when it comes to piloting them but keeps the specifcs regarding the engine as such a surprise for ... later. The way it eventually builds on it’s pretty underwhelming though. The other kingdoms are very poorly defined, they’re either good or bad relative to Ernesti’s and the threat that were the behemoths just become something the main character kills to make engines. Ultimately this aspect of the show is probably the weakest in terms of the appeals.

The 2nd one has him pilot a Silhouette Knight for the first time, it’s a genuinely moving moment for those the show is aimed at because it pays off what is a dozen years of the main character working as hard as he could to get better with the glee Ernesti feels when riding it, jumping around like no other Knight Runner could and taking down the giant behemoth all on his own. That giddy feeling is basically what is supposed to carry the viewer through the show. Ernesti is represents the mecha fandom arguably pretty well: obsessed with how a mech looks and its firepower regardless of whether or not the mere concept of mechas is practical or not. The show has no qualms about being a pure escapism fantasy for mecha fans which makes it so much easier to ingest: when Ernesti is faced with robots that are based off his designs, he doesn’t mentally break down and realize war is bad, he just claims those machines as his own and salvages them when he defeats them. His disgust towards using units as turrets for a warship is probably one of the most relatable points of the show, his sense of aesthetic which is shared among many of the people having been expressed and challenged might seem like a pretty petty thing to get hyped over, but in the context of this show being for the people who obsess over this, it comes off as an incredibly powerful moment. Ernesti’s wanting to destroy the warships near the end so that they never become popular and eventually the norm is the best sign to tell who this is for: the boy’s effectively trying to hold humanity back for his selfish desire of making mechas look even cooler, if the viewer can not only accept it, but truly get behind it and support it, they’ll know this anime’s for them.

The 3rd episode goes into how it’s going to distinguish itself from other Isekai anime: the conception of new Silhouette. The episode is spent on trying to make the Silhouette Knights more efficient and also find more efficient ways to build them, an aspect that is criminally underexplored in the genre. Seeing the different ways he finds to innovate already existing models and what he builds from scratch put at the forefront instead of something you find out more of by looking up the wikis is one of the most entertaining aspects of the anime. The moment ernesti reveals Ikaruga is incredibly cathartic, his dream and ideal that he thought was unachievable in front of him after a dozen years of non-stop hard work and research. The machine before he conceived Ikaruga was conceptually very interesting too, the Toy-box. It was basically a prototype machine that he tried putting any kind of idea that came to his mind, him using everything he learned into making it felt like him getting really close to the finishing line, a very rewarding feeling.

This show really isn’t the nuanced and complex military war drama that it seems some people want it to be, it’s a wish fulfillment show for those who care about plastic models and how cool and powerful humanoid robots are. In that sense, I don’t think the fandom would be offended by its honest and faithful portrayal of them, if anything, they’d be happy for any and all the times Ernesti gets closer to his goals and finds a new one at the end.

The Mahoutsukai no Yome’s a neat little side story.

The main appeal of the ova is essentially seeing how everything is presented rather than the actual narrative elements themselves. The anime doesn’t try and get you interested in Chise by telling you she’s an orphan hated by everyone for being weird, it wants you to get invested in her through scenes like her not being able to go to bed because there is literally a monster inside her futon or her talking about how happy she feels when she finishes a book. The story never asks you to doubt that it’s all going to work out ... fine, it knows its viewer has either already read the source material or totally understands she’s in a better place because of the first part of episode 1, it uses that knowledge to frame a vignette used to contrast her younger self: who always used to sit in a corner, walk with her back slightly bent afraid to connect to people, to her current self: upright, smiling and scared into eating her food instead of avoiding it. The catharsis doesn’t come from what’s framed. But rather the feeling that is evoked when looking at it. Chise didn’t grow much as a person when she gave the book and moved away, she lost more hope than she started out with, but the moment it goes back to her reading the book on Ains’ lap, surrounded by people who care for her, there’s this very understated feeling of relief and ease. The fact that it goes from her not believing that it will all turn out alright to her having turned out fine in a few seconds doesn’t take away from the unease and anxiety that filled her childhood because it was a retrospective to begin with and only furthers the message it’s trying to convey. In the same way Chise treasures the book after having had her life changed, the viewer is supposed to treasure her change in lifestyle using the dark past as a basis and not as the main aspect to the OVA. What’s important isn’t what’s in the past, it’s what’s about to come.

Another big appeal is definitely the sound and visuals. The way it dulls down the colors whenever it’s a scene in the apartment compared to how lush the greenery looks during the library scenes or the comfy and warm colors used when she’s living at Ains’ house convey a lot about how she feels like she is happier when at those places. It sparingly uses music, like for parts where the colors are enough to convey whatever needs to be conveyed, but for parts like some scenes where the librarian talks to her, the piano keys perfectly match whatever’s going on onscreen. Seeing Chise’s bright red hair contrast with the foliage is very pleasing to the eyes and makes the scenes where her hair color’s muddled with the background to help convey her anxiety much more meaningful. The biggest highlight is definitely the scene where the librarian reads her the story: weaving together the book’s moral with the star imagery and what she was going through with what she will one day find, supported by one of the few times the music uses multiple instruments rather than just a piano to elevate the scene into something memorable, it’s just such a powerful scene, lives up to being the reason why she’s telling this story in the present day about why the book means so much to her.

Ultimately, it’s pretty much just a sneak peek for the upcoming tv anime, but it’s very reassuring to know that the adaptation will try its best to portray the wonders of magic of its world and the relationship between the two mains and the baggage they each carry.

Schoolgirl Strikers is kinda fun at times.

Its inherent appeal lies in just how typically "anime" it is: its all female cast of highschoolers who fight depth-less monsters from other worlds in their skin-tight and revealing uniforms and different weapons. Yui Ogura taking her usual high-pitched voice and elevating it even further is somewhat symbolic of what kind of feeling this show is going for.

The rest of the main cast also deliver performances with the same kind of idea behind them, especially the standout ones: Miyuki Sawashiro talks in her normal mature sounding voice that just happens to feel very iconic of what anime voice acting ... is, Kana Hanazawa's performance will probably be one of the most energetic ones this year, especially during the parts where she describes food or gushes about things that gets her excited and Saito Chiwa who feels like is improvising different silly voices as Odile so her true identity wouldn't be found out. The relaxed and energetic feeling the voice acting gives off seems like it's because of loose standards asked from the recording staff which resulted in more entertaining character.

Another big positive about Schoolgirl Strikers would be its decent fight scenes. Although its CGI backgrounds during these sequences, having the characters occupy the majority of the screen makes it very less noticeable, coupled with how dynamic the camera moment is makes the action focused and impactful. It doesn't feature any heavy sakuga or flashy effects but the smoothness provided by the decent in-between frames make these some of the best parts of the anime.

Its story is what you can expect from mobile game adaptations: standard "stop this one evil threat" that carries the show while sol shenanigans happens meanwhile. Although having mentioned how its appeal lies in how "anime" it is, its a kind that is pretty common amongst all-girls mobage like Ange Vierge and Ragnastrike Angels, even down to the how it has shower scenes every episode. So in that sense, the viewer probably won't be getting anything new out of it.

It has enjoyable parts spread out its run thanks to its lively voice acting and decent battle but seeing as how it has no other note-worthy aspects it's not something easy to recommend to people unless they're certain to like it