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Mar 8, 2025
"I did not care for Plastic Memories."
"What?"
"Did not care for Plastic Memories."
"How can you even say that?"
"I didn't like it."
"Peter it's so good, it's like the perfect anime."
"Couldn't get into it."
"Explain yourself, what didn't you like about it?"
"It insists upon itself, Lois."
"What?"
...
"It insists upon itself."
Plastic Memories really does insist upon itself. I'll admit; watching this for the first time, the ending actually did get me. But then I started thinking: "Am I sad because it's actually a well-written and tragic story, or because the show wants me to be sad?" Plastic Memories checks off all the boxes of a tear-jerker, and that's really all it is. It's literally designed to be sad, and goes out of its way to remind you every minute how sad it is and how you should be sooooo sad right now. And this becomes a huge problem when they try to insert lewd jokes and fanservice. 90% of the time the show is hammering down on the formulaic sappy boohoo anime tropes, leaving the other 10% jarring and frustrating, leaving me to wonder: why? Why is this show a thing? Who is this for? It insists upon this sad plot, yet tries to insert unfunny fanservice. It may sound like I vehemently hate this anime, but in truth I don't even think it's that bad of a show. It just tries to be sooooooooo sad and yet it can't even commit to that, leaving me in the end with a feeling of "that was it?" Again, not a bad show by any means, its just ugh. It could've been something so cool.
Plot: 6/10
Characters: 5/10
Art/Animation: 8/10
Enjoyment: 6/10
Overall: 6/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 7, 2025
"The word shit (also shite in British and Hiberno-English) is considered profanity and is usually avoided in formal speech. An unspecified or collective occurrence of feces is generally shit or some shit; a single deposit of feces is sometimes a shit or a piece of shit; and to defecate is to shit or to take a shit. While it is common to speak of shit as existing in a pile, a load, a hunk, and other quantities and configurations, such expressions flourish most strongly in the figurative. Shit may also be used figuratively to describe a particularly loathsome individual, or an object that is of
...
poor quality ("this car is a piece of shit", often abbreviated to P.O.S.)" (Wikipedia).
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Mirai Nikki is truly shit. I thought it was "good bad" at first due to how over the top it was, but after 5 episodes it became borderline torture to sit through. I dropped it after 12 episodes because I couldn't take it anymore, but decided to finally just get it over with and finish it. If there's any typos in this review, forgive me; my brain is still sore from the amount of mental gymnastics this show requires. The battles make no sense. The character "development" makes no sense. Characters will kill dozens of people in one episode, and then everyone forgets about it in the next. Pointless nudity is added just to keep the gooners engaged. Even Yuno, the only actually interesting part in this entire anime, isn't even consistent from episode to episode. Shit, they can't even stick with a firm-set family dynamic for her. The main character (i forgot his name) goes from pussy to fuckboy then back to pussy within 2 episodes. The cop guy asks the eyepatch-rocket-underwear lady to have his babies, rocket-underwear lady tells him to back tf off, the dude fucking dies, and all of the sudden she feels the need to avenge his death like that guy was the world to him. Shit like that happens EVERY. SINGLE. EPISODE. Whatever man I'm done. If you want an actual good show about time-travel with a similar art style, do yourself a favor and go watch Steins;Gate, not this.
Story: 1/10
Characters: 1/10
Art/Animation: 5/10
Enjoyment: 0/10
Overall: 01011001011000010110111001100100011001010111001001100101/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Feb 23, 2025
So there's no confusion, I use quotation marks when talking about "Frieren" the show, not the Frieren character.
To start off this review, I feel the need to say something that this show made me realize: unimportant ≠ unnecessary. Just because a show could do without a scene, doesn't mean that scene can/should be removed.
For the first time ever I do not have words to adequately describe a show, and how it made me feel. This is gonna be so difficult to write, so bare with my rambling as I try to review the indescribable anime that is "Sousou no Frieren".
The best word I can use
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to describe "Frieren" is intentional. Every single shot feels like it holds weight, even if it doesn't directly serve to advance the plot or develop characters. This show isn't afraid to make you sit on a certain scene or moment for what can feel redundantly long. It's truly a treat to experience a show like this in a time where most anime feel like they need to cram as much dopamine-inducing action/drama possible, in fear of the losing the viewer's interest for even a second. "Frieren" intentionally slooooooooows down. And I think a lot of people are turned off due to this deliberately slow pacing, which is understandable. But this "boring" storytelling "Frieren" uses is exactly why the show's so fantastic. There's something so special about seemingly insignificant things not only being highlighted, but made the centerpiece of an entire scene.
Plot-
I actually don't have a lot to say about the actual plot and specific story-beats of Frieren, as I want to focus more on why the plot is designed that way, and how "Frieren" gets away with the things it does. And that's not to say the plot is subpar- it's anything but. "Frieren" has a rather unique premise: What happens after the heroes win? After the main evil is destroyed? This isn't necessarily a new idea by any means, but few stories can successfully pull it off. That's because, well... it's pretty difficult to create a compelling plot when there's seemingly no conflict. No matter how good the writing is, it's bound to feel boring at times.
"Frieren's" solution to this is not trying to avoid the boredom, but rather leaning into it. Now I know that sounds bad, but it's not boring in the sense that it's a painful watch: more that it's purposefully uninteresting in the beginning. And that's also not to say there isn't any conflict or a main end goal, but for the first couple of episodes there really isn't a clear direction story-wise. We simply follow Frieren's mundane lifestyle of collecting new spells and helping the occasional village with small cosmetic tasks like cleaning a statue or planting flowers. In fact, we don't even get the main plot/goal of the series until the very end of episode 4. And even then, the whole show seems directionless in such a beautiful, free forming way. This feeling of directionlessness works so well with the early episodes. Frieren doesn't know what she's supposed to do after the defeat of the demon king, and the lack of "plot" helps put you in her shoes. You feel directionless and bored alongside her. Suspect your brain is cooked from reels? Watch the first 4 episodes of "Frieren" and you'll quickly find out just how long 80 minutes really is.
Characters-
Subtlety is the key word here. There is a big difference between telling and showing in media. I've always hated when characters are introduced with a huge monologue explaining who they are, their personality, and how you the viewer should feel about them. Don't tell me what a character's like, SHOW me! Don't just say a guy is a bad guy, introduce him committing a horrible act, or show how other's demeanor's change when they are in his presence. In short, I shouldn't be told what to think about a character, I should be shown what the character is like, and then be able to decide how I feel about them.
Now that's applicable to all facets of storytelling, but "Frieren" does this especially well with characters. I'll use Stark and Fern as an example. The dynamic between Fern and Stark is navigated so incredibly well. Even without being said out loud, the romance between them is deafening. The subtleties and nuances in posture, hands, mouths, tone of voice, eye-contact, and even just where they are standing relative to everyone else in the group, are all context clues that show you their relationship, not simply tell it.
Art/Animation-
Goes without saying, this show is absolutely gorgeous. The art style is so simple, yet the milage achieved with each line prevents sacrificing detail. It's a very economic style that allows for breathtaking moments even with simpler linework. But that's not the reason I find the art and animation so fascinating. My interest isn't in the level of detail in general, but what Madhouse chooses to invest it in.
When I think of the animation in "Frieren", two things immediately come to mind. Hair and clothes. The hair in this show is PHENOMENAL. Whether it's a character pushing their hair back and it falling down their shoulder, or it being scrunched together by a necklace they just put over their head, "Frieren" loves to accentuate hair. There is absolutely no reason for Frieren to have like a 60 frame cycle for her ponytails flowing in the wind, and they do it almost every episode. The same goes for clothing. Holy shit, the animators did not need to put so much work into Fern taking off her coat. Like what the hell were they thinking during that scene!? But of course, that's what this show is all about, making the insignificant significant. They didn't need to put so much time and effort into hair and clothes of all things, and yet they intentionally chose to have half the show look like its set in a wind tunnel, and the other half behind a jet engine.
Music-
Are we sure this isn't a movie soundtrack!? When watching the first episode for the first time, one of the things that immediately grabbed my attention was the music. The "Frieren" OST has this "larger than life" quality that feels more like a full-blown film score than just another anime soundtrack. The only other anime I've seen with an OST at this scale is AoT. The soundtrack is simultaneously Lord of the Rings level of grandiose, while also being infinitesimally small. When the music is big, it's BIG. And when the scene is more subtle and tranquil, the music blends in so well, without you noticing how much it's actually adding to the atmosphere.
"Frieren" is a breath of fresh air I didn't know I needed. I've had my eye on this show for over half a year at this point, but kind of discarded it as overhyped. "A 9.31 on MAL? Come on, it can't be THAT good." And I've never been so happy to be proven wrong. This show really is THAT GOOD, if not better. Everything about it just seems to work so well. While watching, I never had that feeling you get when a scene or episode doesn't seem like it belongs in a story. Every second is truly and wholly "Frieren", and that consistency alone is nothing short of monumental. I can write all I want about this show, but no words can truly convey the atmosphere and feeling of it all. "Frieren" is truly an indescribable anime, one that everyone should experience at least once.
Ratings:
Plot- 10
Characters- 10
Art/Animation- 10
Music- 10
Overall Enjoyment- 10
Overall- 10/10
I'm very happy that this show gets to be the first true 10 I've rated.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Feb 17, 2025
I finally watched this. I am healing.
Critics can write all they want about how this show fundamentally doesn't work: I say they aren't thinking horny enough. You mean to tell me a story about a bunch of teenagers piloting evangelions doggy style to fight aliens while subverting the vatican oligarchy isn't your idea of peak cinema? Someone's been watching too many 3 hour long frieren video essays. It ain't that deep bro. Sometimes an "I can fix her" girl with devil horns and a licking fixation is all a man needs in his life. And I KNOW you're lying if you say Zero two turning
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into a ship ain't the funniest shit ever. This show is so good, it finishes its entire plot in only 15 episodes. But Trigger knows they can do so much more with the story, and are kind enough to bless you with 9 bonus rounds! At the end of the day, Anime is entertainment, and like Maximus said, "Are you not entertained?"
Truly a masterpiece of our time. I will now go back to purchasing invisible woman skins in marvel rivals.
Story- 10/10
Characters- 10/10
Animation/art style- 10/10
Enjoyment- 10/10
Overall- sex mechs/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 8, 2024
This is sort of a review for the entirety of attack on titan, but my final score only applies to season 4 part 3.
Look how they massacred my boy.
God where do I even begin with this show? There were points where I was tearing up, and points where I was laughing my ass off at how utterly bullshit this show is. And what sucks is that I REALLY enjoyed the first two seasons, and still liked most of season 3. Season 2 actually had me shaking with excitement at times, that’s how engaging it was. Season 3 was good as well, but about halfway through
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I started to see some underlying problems.
The lore explanations of what the titans were, felt… random? It just didn’t feel right. And the last couple episodes really lost me. It felt like Isayama was getting so invested in the fights and what was going on in the present, that he forgot how to get to the ending of the show. There wasn’t much set up (in hindsight of season 4) and it felt like he suddenly had to dump multiple episodes worth of information that, after almost 3 full seasons, felt extremely random and clunky. And I don't accept all of the super subtle cryptic foreshadowing as enough to excuse the absolute whiplash that is the end of season 3. This is where I get that “rushed” feeling when thinking back on the transition from season 3 to 4. Isayama realized where he wanted to get in the story for the last third, and looking at where he was in the first two thirds, panicked and threw up on the page. So even at the very beginning of season 4, they already lost me. There were too many plot twists, some that contributed literally nothing except one more hoop to jump through narratively, and so many new characters that, since they were rushed and not introduced in a natural way, I could not give a single shit for. Ok. Fine. The pacing is bad, but what about the actual content of season 4?
Well the core idea for season 4 is actually pretty solid. Sure a bunch of stuff was introduced horribly, but the actual foundation, the plot, was pretty damn interesting. A lot more complicated and thought out than the first 3 seasons. Except... it literally isn’t. Isayama then proceeds to undermine the first 3 seasons, including the very first episode and the whole reason Eren Jaeger is Eren fucking Jaeger. The deconstruction of Eren was one of the saddest, most pathetic, complete and utter dismantling of a character I've had the displeasure of watching. It’s honestly impressive how efficient Isayama is at character suicide. He manages to ruin one of the most compelling protagonists in all of anime in ONE FUCKING SENTENCE. You know, "no, I don't want that"? It was so unbelievably bad that instantly I lost the ability to give a shit about anything I was viewing anymore.
Isayama was trying so hard to make this deep philosophical ending about morality and how far are you willing to go blah blah blah. What we ended up with was three entirely separate and contradicting endings all mashed together because Isayama was too scared to fully commit to one idea. It tries so hard to be edgy and dark but at the same time be an uplifting happy conclusion to the characters and at the same time be a fucking romance story??? What the fuck? (That romance also gets retconned literally not even 30 minutes later!!!! It’s randomly pulled out of thin air and then destroyed just as fast!!!!) And I’m not even going to begin talking about the post credit scene, which takes everything still standing after Isayama's narrative purge and throws it all into the dumpster.
To sum up my thoughts: Attack on Titan feels like a story written by an edgy teenager who got too good of an idea for their own writing abilities, which becomes painfully evident in the final season.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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