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This is your typical shonen with all the tropes you'd expect from it. Not that bad just to kill the time (and certainly better than the manga counterpart), but don't expect much more from it.

It's from the same author as Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic and suffers the same problems, but overall I prefer Magi.

This keeps telling me to write a longer review but honestly I don't know what else to say. I'll try anyway.

Yeah the story is nonsensical. Yeah the characters are your standard shonen kit. Yeah some story arcs are super long, the latest covering like 7 volumes of manga. But I still ... enjoy it, don't ask me why.

Arte reminds me strongly of Aria, even if not as magical as that one. Basically, it's a story about making a living with your passion no matter how hard it may seem. With the handicap for the main character that, being a girl and a noble, she is not taken seriously as an artist in the 16th century Italy.

This series seems to be as divisive as historical shows use to be, anime or not. If you're the kind of person that rages at each and every new historical series or film because it doesn't portray everything 100% accurately, this will be no exception. If you ... just happen to like historical or slice of life series for the sole reason of having a good time, there's a high chance you'll like this as well. Keep in mind: this is intended to be a product of entertaintment, not a documentary.

I make my living with writing both about history and Italy (and like Arte, I had my fair share of struggling to achieve that), so I think I know a little about the matter: in my opinion the series does quite a fine job (in terms of a historical fiction) at portraying both the society and the places of the time (with some details like the old façade of the Florence cathedral or the woodwork Rialto bridge of Venice, which show there's a work of research behind). Yeah, some antics are very Japanese: well, after all it's a Japanese series made by a Japanese artist for a Japanese audience, I doubt many of us would be able to portray better a society and time we have not been born into and that is so different to ours. The bowing is the only thing that really bothers me a little, but anyway that happens in almost ALL anime set in any time and place, so I take it for granted.

As for the other complaints, they're quite legit. Sure the art should have been better, but well, this is not Madhouse, and Aria had quite poor quality at the beginning as well and was great nonetheless. The situations may be quite repetitive (the whole "you're a girl!" scenario), but they slowly progress. Many characters may be cliché, but the same can be said about most of the shows out there.

Overall, Arte achieves perfectly all I ask of an anime: giving me a good time, and on addition with a setting and message I love and I think many people can relate to (basically pursuing what you love and not giving a f*uck about what society thinks of it - except if you want to be a criminal, then please give a f*ck about it). Anime is for fun. If I want to see something more accurate, I'll watch a documentary.

Adapting the anime of the same name, this manga somehow fails to reach the same level as its animated counterpart, which quickly became one of my all-time favourites. It's the same story, but lacks the vibrant energy of the anime, the soundtrack, the colours and, most of all, the characterization of the girls is poorer. It's still moving, but the anime is far superior.

Mari Tamaki (Kimari, as she calls herself) is a high school girl who lives with the desire to do something memorable to enjoy her youth, but at the last moment she feels too insecure to take the step... that is until she ... meets Shirase, a schoolmate who has her own memorable goal: Going to Antarctica! In her case, the reason is quite different: Shirase's mother disappeared three years ago on the frozen continent while taking part in an expedition. Inspired by Shirase, Kimari decides to join her along with two other girls of their age: the lively Hinata and Yuzuki, an adolescent idol. Together they embark on a journey to one of the most isolated and implacable places on the planet. Overcoming the circumstances of an adventure of such magnitude and the incomprehension and mockery of those who think they can not achieve it, they will discover the truth of the saying "it is the journey that matters, not the destination".

This is very humane story that connects with common feelings such as the desire for adventure, friendship, loss and overcoming. Because it is, mainly, a story about feelings, not about a place. The subtitle "A story that leads to Antarctica" refers to the journey itself, to the fact that the core lies in everything that happens to get there and how does it change the protagonists. It is, in essence, a coming of age story that connects with a desire that many of us have experienced, that of living an adventure full of discoveries in a distant and different place to those we know. Within its short duration, "A place further than the Universe" manages to makes us connect with its protagonists and share the emotion of an incredible journey of discovery and overcoming, full of laughter and tears, difficulties and rewards.

This film comprises three shorter, independent stories, with the common premise of the inevitable loss of the things, people and places that used to make us happy. I think it is targeted at a certain demographic starting at late 20s to early 30s, when one begins to realize the extent of this loss. It is an emotional experience for those of us who can relate to it, but to those who not it may be boring, since all three stories are built on a feeling more than a plot: In that aspect, it reminds me of Jiro Taniguchi's works. Let's say as well that I ... don't agree with other reviewers in the point that it is a product for an Asian audience specifically: I am Spanish and I can fully relate to the themes presented.

When giving a score to it, the problem is that I'd give a different score to the three shorts: 7 to the first one, 6 to the second and 8 to the third; therefore, by average I give it a 7 (plus an extra point because overall I enjoyed it quite a lot and felt touched). I feel though that the themes could have been better executed, specially in the first and second stories.

Keep in mind that this is not something you watch for the story, but for the shared feeling of nostalgia between the film and your own experience. If you haven't felt that experience of seeing the things that mean your younger days disappear, you'll probably find this boring.

Piano no Mori anime, like the homonimous film, tells the story of Kai Ichinose, an incredibly talented pianist child, whose free style however fails to convince the strict judges of the competitions. Sôsuke Ajino, a former master pianist, takes him as his pupil and vows to make the world appreciate his talent.

If you saw the film, you already saw the best part of it. The problem of this anime is that after the first arc (which was already covered in the film version) the story suddently stops moving forward and keeps moving in circles around the two same ideas: Amamiya (Kai's friend-rival) is frustrated ... about not reaching Kai's level, and the competition judges are a close-minded bunch who can't appreciate Kai's talent. Competitions become the end of the story and not just plot drives, to the point that the last 4 episodes have been a single competition. On top of that, there're no other plot lines to bring some fresh breeze into the story (as, for example, there were in Your Lie in April).

Unless you want to see some anime version of a piano competition, I can't recommend to watch it further than the childhood arc.

If I had to review Sailor Moon Crystal S3 in one sentence, it would be: "It does the best it can from the premise it has" (that is, faithfully adapting the manga).

As a lifelong fan of both the manga and the classic anime, I know the pros and cons of both of them; and the manga's main problem is that it is too fast-paced and develops little on the characters, something the classic anime does much better due to having 3 times more content (as someone else said, SM is a rare example of an anime that benefits from filler).

As a 95% faithful adaptation of ... the manga, Crystal inevitably carries on this problem; however, it handles it much better than the first two arcs. The plot is pretty consistent and correctly explained (if still fast-paced), although to me this arc has always been the weakest regarding the background (aliens invading the Earth because their home planet is dying, anything more generic please?). The senshi have actual personalities that can make you distinguish them from one another, contrary to the first seasons, you can actually care about them. And thank goodness, the art is beautiful (the previous art is an example that art for manga and for anime work in different ways).

Essentially, this season is what I originally expected from Sailor Moon Crystal and didn't get in the first two arcs. It still has flaws, but those are due to the original material and the scarce length; as I said, it does the better it can with what it has. I just hope they keep it on with the following arc and that eventually we get the Stars arc, which is for me the true peak of the manga.

"A land protected by great waves and terrible storms... The greatest treasure chest of this world. Crossing the equator, overcoming storms, breaking the ice... 14000 kilometers away from Japan. An inaccessible place that rejects those who approach it... A place further than the Universe. "

Further than the Universe and further than the feels. BECAUSE THIS SERIES, PEOPLE, IS WONDERFULLY EMOTIONAL. My favorite of the 2018 winter season, one of my favorites of the year and possibly always, one of those series I would never get tired of watching.

At first I thought it would be a rather light slice of life show, but soon it became ... much more than I expected at the beginning: A very humane story that connects with common feelings such as the desire for adventure, friendship, loss and overcoming.

Mari Tamaki (Kimari, as she calls herself) is a high school girl who lives with the desire to do something memorable to enjoy her youth, but at the last moment she feels too insecure to take the step... that is until she meets Shirase, a schoolmate who has her own memorable goal: Going to Antarctica! In her case, the reason is quite different: Shirase's mother disappeared three years ago on the frozen continent while taking part in an expedition. Inspired by Shirase, Kimari decides to join her along with two other girls of their age: the lively Hinata and Yuzuki, an adolescent idol. Together they embark on a journey to one of the most isolated and implacable places on the planet. Overcoming the circumstances of an adventure of such magnitude and the incomprehension and mockery of those who think they can not achieve it, they will discover the truth of the saying "it is the journey that matters, not the destination".

Because this is, mainly, a story about feelings, not about a place. The subtitle "A story that leads to Antarctica" refers to the journey itself, to the fact that the core lies in everything that happens to get there and how does it change the protagonists. It is, in essence, a coming of age story that connects with a desire that many of us have experienced, that of living an adventure full of discoveries in a distant and different place to those we know. Within its short duration, "A place further than the Universe" manages to makes us connect with its protagonists and share the emotion of an incredible journey of discovery and overcoming, full of laughter and tears, difficulties and rewards.

At first glance you'd think this is the special fanservice episode. The tragedy is that not even as fanservice does it work. Seriously, if they wanted to make a fanservice episode they just had to have the cute girls do cute things. Instead, that's what we get:

Basically, this is a whole bunch of nothing. Kirito and the girls go to the swimming pool and for 80 minutes they recall the highlights of the first season. Then on the last 20 minutes they go on a random side quest and we get a few shots of the girls in swimsuits - Like a minute or so. ... End.

I can't explain anything more because that's all there is. If you are a super-fan of the series and have 20 minutes of your life to throw away, jump directly to minute 80 and enjoy the filler side quest.

This is one of my most beloved series and I've rated this special with a 3, that should say everything (and 2 points alone come from it being SAO so I didn't want to give it a 1).