Back to Akira-S's Profile Akira-S's Profile

When it aired, I was only 10 years old, but I had already read the manga series and owned all the volumes. I didn't have any doubts about the transition from manga to anime; I was excited to see it come to life. Decades later, rewatching it in its entirety, the ending theme brought back memories, and I felt a wave of nostalgia. I used to hold a tape recorder close to the TV speaker to record and listen to it repeatedly.

This anime, which predates Initial D by over 10 years, was the only manga at the time that portrayed the allure of cars. The ... idea of using "Nitro" as fuel was mind-blowing. The animation and script might not be as refined as in modern anime, but for us kids in 1984, it was more than enough, and we eagerly looked forward to watching it every week. It became a standard Japanese anime for me. In that sense, it deserves a solid 5 out of 10 as a baseline score.

However, the anime doesn't delve deeply into cars or provide detailed explanations of driving techniques like Initial D does. But if you're interested in experiencing the vibrant atmosphere of 1980s Japan, I recommend giving it a go.

Not bad. The first few episodes had a smooth start, with soft and calm artwork, a well-paced plot, and natural voice acting that easily drew me into the story. There were no annoying directing choices leading up to the final episode, making it enjoyable to watch. So, I would give it a baseline score of 5 out of 10.

My deductions are as follows:

・The latter half of the series became too rushed. This might be due to the production's fault.
・The abruptness of Mr. Matsumoto's death as the ending was too hasty. They didn't fully develop his character for the viewers to shed tears deeply over his ... demise.
・The opening theme song is too upbeat. The ending theme fits better, in my opinion.
・As for the closing line, "僕らは旅人なのだと。そして辞書は、僕ら旅人の行先を照らす灯だ。We are travelers. And the dictionary is the light that guides us on our journey," it should be "boat" instead, without a doubt! The title of this anime is 'Boat making,' after all.

For these reasons, I deducted one point and rated it 4 out of 10."

I don't dislike this work. However, it was somewhat unsatisfying.

＊My mother tongue is not English, so I use a translator.

While gags are fired off one after another, there's a prevalent impression of many Japan-specific jokes. It seems highly regarded overseas as well, and I'm amazed that anime fans are familiar with Japanese culture to such an extent. Right from the start, even the protagonist's name becomes a clever wordplay - Itoshiki Nozomu (糸色望). The characters '糸' means 'thread,' '色' means 'colour,' and '望' means 'hope.' When you place these characters side by side, it forms 糸色望, which reads as '絶望(Zetsubou),' meaning 'hopeless.' Thus, 'Itoshiki Nozomu' translates to 'Hopeless Teacher.' Moreover, the sound '(糸色)Itoshiki' can ... also be interpreted as 'beloved,' resulting in 'Beloved Teacher.' Such wordplay appears throughout. By the way, my favourite moment is the reference to Gaban/Gavan in the fourth episode. I couldn't stop laughing. "Jouchaku!"

I thought the humor sense of the original author, Kouji Kumeta, is similar to that of the comedy duo "Rahmens," but interestingly, there are panels in the original manga that mock Rahmens. I wonder if this is a form of self-deprecating humor.

Either way, the anime is even more crude, and it's all about constant silliness, which is great. However, the unnecessary and excessive insertion of panty shots, as seen in some scenes, would be open to criticism in today's Japan.

The Japanese-style and flat screen composition are techniques that were later inherited in the "Monogatari" series. It's a brilliant approach by Akiyuki Shinbo and Shaft, which both reduces animation effort and maintains a stylish presentation.

The anime is a delightful mix of logical gags, nonsense, wordplay, and parody. Truly an entertaining work!

If it had been on television, it would have been a delight to watch every week. Base score 5/10; add one point to give it a 6/10, as its energetic silliness and outstanding voice-over performances are still present in the second season.

＊My mother tongue is not English, so I use a translator.

This animation is a special one for me.
It was released in 2006, but I saw it the following year, in the summer of 2007, on TV.
I was 33 years old at the time and had been away from manga and anime for more than 15 years. When I was a kid I used to watch classic anime like Gundam, Captain Tsubasa and Saint Seiya, but like most people, as I grew older I moved away from them as something for children.

"The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" is based on a novel, and a live-action film ... directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi was released in 1983, and was one of my favourite films. As a side note, that film's main character, Kazuko Yoshiyama, is portrayed in this film as the main character's aunt.

I casually turned on the TV and saw that the cartoon was just about to start.
"Oh, so they made an animated version. But by now?"
But I soon realised that the novel and the film had a completely different protagonist and setting, and with Bach's Goldberg Variations playing, I was simultaneously confused and interested and knew I had to watch it as a completely different story.
I was immediately drawn in and by the end of the film, I had rediscovered the joy of watching anime. This film has the driving force that all good films have. It has the power to turn at least one adult back into an anime fan.
Having watched a lot of anime since then, I don't rate it as a masterpiece, but it's still a monumental work for me.

The voice actress, by the way, who plays the heroine, Riisa Naka, was not a professional voice actress at the time, she was a fashion model, I think, but her voice acting is very natural and realistic here.
She also starred in the 2010 live-action film "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time".

I like the romantic comedy aspect of this work more than the sci-fi subject. The coming of age of this boyish girl on the threshold of romance is portrayed with freshness, quietness and care.
Recommended for those who are interested in the common sights of Japanese school life and the smiling romance between boys and girls.

＊My mother tongue is not English, so I use a translator.

Unfortunately, the first reviews were negative. For me, it was a boring piece of work. Overall, I think the work lacks originality. But as this anime is leaving Amazon prime soon, I finished watching it anyway.

The similarity between this anime and the "Monogatari" series has been pointed out by many people in Japan. It seems that some people are bothered by this similarity and others are not, but I was quite bothered by it.

Looking back, when Yukino Yukinoshita, the heroine, started to speak, I had a bad feeling.
I'm a native Japanese speaker, so her archaic ... "~けれど(keredo)" ending immediately reminded me of Hitagi Senjougahara, the heroine of the "Monogatari" series.
This was broadcast a few months after the end of "Nekomonogatari (Black)", so any Japanese who had watched the "Monogatari" series would have noticed it. This is because people who speak in this way are quite rare in modern Japan, or rather, you don't hear them in everyday life. This is what makes Senjougahara such a unique person. She is interesting because she is old-fashioned, stupidly polite and uses a lot of "-keredo, -keredo".

If the creators had sincerely aimed to create an original character, they would not have left anything that could be perceived as an appropriation of the characteristics of heroines from other works. The way the characters talk is a basic setting, not something that can be enjoyed by saying it's a homage.
Even the way the main character Hachiman Hikigaya's stupid hair moves in episode 6 to reflect his inner thoughts is reminiscent of Koyomi Araragi, the protagonist of the "Monogatari" series.

From all this, I had a disturbing feeling that this work would be a collection of ideas that I had seen before and that there would be no fresh surprises or originality.
As it turned out, I was right, and to put it simply again, it was boring for me.
I hope to do a review of a good one next time.