- Last OnlineJun 10, 2018 6:47 PM
- GenderFemale
- Birthday1997
- LocationThe Pit
- JoinedDec 25, 2016
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Dec 26, 2016
I watched this at 1am and actually cried laughing. The art is terrible, the story is terrible, the characters make no sense, and I love it. This is the best parody of those generic school yaoi/BL dramas that could ever be conceived. Everyone looks like they were drawn by a not-artistically-gifted 6th grader that just got into anime. The main character has no eyes and his 7 year old sister remembers playing with one of the MCs friends from 7 years ago. They blow up like 3 buildings. A guy dies and comes back to life. In
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the ending song the characters distort into oblivion in time to the music. I felt like I was suffering some kind of trauma-induced shock while watching it.
TLDR: Gakuen Handsome needs to be put in the art museum where it belongs.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 26, 2016
I'm gonna start this review by saying that Pandora Hearts is my absolute favorite manga series and one of my top favorite series of any kind (tv, manga, novel, everything). I love it so much its not even funny. So here is my attempt at explaining why in a coherent format (if you asked in person you'd just get a bunch of emphatic yet a bit incoherent ranting about how much I love it mixed with some screaming and a lot of hand gesturing).
I'm gonna start by saying that when hearing about it the first time, it wasn't something I was super interested
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in picking up. It seemed a bit like a generic Alice in Wonderland retelling and didn't really catch my eye. However, my cousin recommended it so I was basically obligated to at least try it and hoooly frig I'm so glad I did. Although it does borrow a bunch of names and some symbolism from Alice in Wonderland, Pandora Hearts is an entirely unique entity in terms of characters and storytelling and surpassed by expectations in every way imaginable.
To start off with, the art style is amazing and only improves as the series goes on. I'm a huge sucker for the Victorian Era/1800s aesthetic and this series really delivers on that in the settings and outfits. The character designs are beautiful and unique (it would be very hard to confuse one character for another) without being exaggerated or unrealistic (as in no one has impossible hair physics or a weirdly stylized body shape). The series is so detailed, the art is consistent, and kinda gives of an almost otherworldly vibe, courtesy of the Alice-in-Wonderland-inspired atmosphere. Its actually my favorite manga art style so far. Now that that's said, onto the more important stuff.
First off, I should say that characterization is the biggest deciding factor on whether I like a series or not. If I cant get into the characters and their relationships and development, I wont be able to get into the series no matter how epic the plot is or how hyped the series is (hence I'm not a huge fan of DeathNote or DanganRonpa but those are different reviews). Pandora Hearts has some of the best characterization Ive read. The main trio of Oz, Alice, and Gilbert are all incredibly vivid and I love their character development. Actually, the same can be said for everyone in the large cast of characters. All are unique and multifaceted (even the background characters) and their plotlines and relationships weave together and play off each other in beautifully dynamic ways.
The plot and story progression is equally as amazing as the characters that drive it. What starts out as a seemingly straightforward "recover lost memories" plot line quickly grows in complexity, involving family rivalries, "contracts" with spiritual entities and their dimension, mysterious events and figures from 100 years ago, and the collapse of reality itself. Its pretty expansive and super complex and has some of the biggest plot twists ever (like theyre so amazing and unexpected but then you go back and they were foreshadowed the whole dang time). What's most amazing however, is that Mochizuki Jun manages to intertwine everything and resolve everything down to the smallest plotline. I actually can not think of a single thing that was left hanging at the end.
The characterization and plot development combine to make a huge emotional impact, one of the most emotional series Ive ever experienced. This series ruined me in the best possible way. There are so many beautiful moments, both happy and tragic (a lot of tragic actually-Pandora Hearts is not light on the permanent character death), and the ending is one of the 2 most powerful and satisfying bittersweet endings ive ever seen (the other is Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series in case you were wondering), like I cried so much and loved every second of it.
TLDR: Pandora Hearts is an amazing series that combines stellar characterization, a complex plotline with twists for days and a satisfying conclusion that fits all the puzzle pieces together, and has a huge emotional impact all throughout and its just so beautiful and I cant recommend it enough.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 26, 2016
I'm honestly amazed how much I love this series. I am not generally into sports anime (out of the 5+ sports animes my friends have tried to get me to watch previously, I only actually liked one) and actually hate the vast majority of yaoi/shounen-ai with a burning passion. However, this is actually one of my favorite series and I love practically everything about it.
Before continuing with my review I should probably clarify that the reason I hate the majority of yaoi/shounen-ai is because its almost tailor-made for the "female gaze" (and I'm saying this as a heterosexual female). The
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characters personalities and their development exist solely within their relationship. Said relationship is also hypersexualized to the point of absurdity to appease the female viewers and the homosexuality is fetishized to hell and back. Not to mention that said relationships meet practically none of criteria of a healthy romantic connection. This fetishization even leaks into other shows in the form of queerbaiting, showing just enough to imply a sexual relationship for those that want to see it, while outright denying any actual queer representation.
Yuri on Ice exceeds my expectations by subverting and countering both of these things. Not only are Yuri and Victor confirmed on screen as a couple, their relationship is beautifully done. They have a genuinely healthy romance that is a major focus of the story without being the only aspect of it. Both characters are well developed and have their own agency both within and outside of their relationship, which is something that media has problems showing even in heterosexual romances.
This brings us to the characterization, which in my opinion is phenomenal. Yuri and Victor are, as I mentioned, fully realized and multi-faceted characters. Unlike many other shows, this also extends to the other characters. Yurio is just as well developed and shows just as much evolution as a person as the main couple. Even the side characters, although not as developed as the main trio, are multifaceted: they all have their own goals and personalities, without relying on 1 dimensional tropes (yes, even Chris). I would also like to add that I love how none of the characters fit the stereotypical "rival who sabotages others to get ahead" role because the character reactions feel so much more genuine and realistic.
In terms of the "sports" bit of the sports anime, I am not an authority on figure skating. Besides watching bits of the Olympics, this show is basically my only source. However, the show has gotten a lot of positive views from actual professional skaters, so I'm gonna take their word in terms of the accuracy of the portrayal.
If the amazing characterizations and relationships weren't enough, the aesthetics are also great. The designs are good, and animation looks really fluid (not perfect but we sadly cant have an infinite budget. Itll be touched up more for the DVD release anyway), the competition outfits eyecatching (Yurio's are my personal favorite), the scenery is well done (and a lot of them are real places), and the art style and movement in the opening is gorgeous (I like watercolor and ink type art way too much).
Speaking of the opening, it was stuck in my head for like a week. The opening and ending songs are so good and the music used in the skating routines is just as good and fits amazingly with the animation.
TLDR: Yuri on Ice has a wide array of amazingly well developed characters and interactions, does a great job showing a healthy non-fetishized queer romance, the animation and designs are aesthetic goals, the music is beautiful, and the show surpassed all of my expectations and I love it so much for it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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