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Well, this show epitomizes all style and no substance.

What it did well: The Art & character designs were very good, and the OP was fantastic. Sound was overall pretty good.

What it did badly: Everything else. Some of the worst characters I have seen were in this anime. All troupes with no depth. Not convincing and no empathy to any of them really. The story was very poorly executed. Interesting premise, and that's about it. The story also ends on a very awkward note, in such a way that it doesn't really end at all - which for me is a major negative. The philosophical ... questioning was just so lame and unconvincing that it bugged me. The MC was whiny in a way that makes Shinji from Evangelion look like a trouper. And what is up with the amount of crying in this anime? Soo much melodrama, blood and hollow characters; but overall just clunky, awkward and unconvincing in its execution.

Basically, this Anime sucks. It's a 2 for me in terms of enjoyment, but to be fair to the artwork and sound it bumps up to a 4. It ends even worse than it begins, so if like me you were planning to stick it out because of it being only 12 episodes, you have been warned - it only gets worse.

[Story: 3] [Art: 8] [Sound: 8] [Character: 2] [Enjoyment: 2] [Overall: 4]

I'll keep this brief. This show in my opinion could be summarized as a terrible story with good production value.

The story is ridiculous. Many things happen, but seldom are they justified or explained in any believable way. I'm not hard to please story-wise either. I'm willing to suspend a lot of disbelief in order to try enjoy a show. But this story goes everywhere and nowhere fast. The ending is head scratching, but not in a good way.

Characters are 2D. For me, a good character is either a likable/relatable/intriguing nuanced individual or a good character could represent a theme by functioning in an archetypal way ... (or a mixture of both). The Characters in this show did neither. They were boring, unbelievable with no message behind it.

Art is quite good, as is the sound. The music is better than the character voicing, which stopped the sound score being higher. If it wasn't for the art and music, I would have scored this show much lower.

If you like a good story, don't watch this show. If you like great action scenes, good art and music, then it does have this - but be warned this show is all veneer and no substance.

[Story: 3] [Art: 8] [Sound: 7] [Character: 3] [Enjoyment: 3] [Overall: 4]

Dark. Bitter sweet. Tragic. Brilliant. These are the words that leap out in trying to describe this show.

Stein;Gate 0 is (kind of) an alternate ending to original the Steins;Gate. If you are one of the very few who haven't seen the original Steins;Gate, do it. Now. Then watch this series. This review is spoiler free and aimed at those contemplating whether to watch this series.

Seeing the Kyouma persona knocked out of Okabe, and therefore this series - removes much of the lighter feeling that the original had. This doesn't make this show any less engaging. Rather it trades comedy and light hearted moments for a ... tragic wistfulness that I personally adore. This also isn't to say their aren't lighter moments, because there are - but overall there is a much greater overarching sense of loss, the shadow of a missing person. This makes Zero feel not like a repeat of the first season, but a depature - albeit one I'm sure we will see tie in to the first season nicely by its conclusion.

There are particularly beautiful allusions in the first episode, for instance we see Mayuri reach for the sky. Only now this is movingly appropriated to become a tragic symbol. This sets the tone for the series as a whole. If you don't like the sound of that, you may be inclined to enjoy this series less than the first. I however, love it.

The art is very much on par with season one, very well done. I personally have found the music to be unfortunately not quite as heart grabbing as the themes of season one. They have used variation on the musical themes of the original soundtrack - which I think is brilliant, only the execution so far hasn't grabbed me. There is still plenty of time left though for it to grow on me and for new themes to be introduced. The Opening and Closing are very good.

If you enjoy an air of dark pathos in the context of a broader more epic story, then this show will speak your language. If you need lighter and comedic moments to get you through, then Steins;Gate 0 will not be your thing. I still however recommend this strongly to all anime fans.

"Meh". This is the best way for me to summarize my experience of watching Shiki. This review is spoiler free, and aimed at those wondering whether or not to watch this series.

I found this show a constant frustration to watch, and I almost dropped it but decided not to after looking on the forums. Many suggested the second half of the show (and specifically the ending) were worth seeing the show out. Having completed it, I'm not sure this is the case.

The shows has a very frustrating sense of pacing for most of the series. There is enough development to keep you watching, but only ... just. The ending is indeed quite good, but if you are expecting a great twist or something spectacular you may be disappointed. It ends well enough with some hearts wrenching moments, interesting moral questions and great action. But also leaves you with a feeling I can only describe as "meh".

This also applies to the tone of the show overall. Does it create a scary Horror vibe? Not really. it's kinda "Meh". Is it a great mystery? Not really. Kinda "Meh". Deep Philosophical questions? Kind of, but kind of "Meh". Action? "Meh". You can apply this to basically every element of the show.

It is not that it does anything badly, because it doesn't. It in fact does most things quite well. But it also fails to shine in any one area. I was hoping for it to be scary, but it wasn't. If it wasn't going to be scary, I was hoping the mystery would be intriguing with a great twist. But that never came either. It was quite predictable, a lot of violence, and then ends with a bang - but a foreseeable bang that left me wishing there was some great twist or reveal that would have made the agonizing pace worth it. Again, no delivery.

Should you watch it? Well, if you like gore, a dark tone, interesting premise and a big action ending then it has all these. If you however were looking for a genuine shock, plot twists and a great 'mystery reveal' ending, you'll be disappointed. It does enough right to get a score of 6 (for technical reasons) but I don't really recommend watching this one.

Story: 6, Art: 7, Sound: 7, Character: 7, Enjoyment: 5, Overall: 6

So I wrote most of this review at the high point of the series (a bit past the half-way point). I decided to keep my original review and just add edits with my thoughts and feelings after completion.

--In a nutshell: This show is really good most of the way up with a slightly weak finish, which was a bit of a shame. On the plus, at least it does end and wraps itself up - (which is more than I can say of many anime nowadays).--

Original Review with edits underneath:

What do you get if you mix a whole lot of Evangelion, a decent amount ... of Elfen Leid and just a pinch of Mirai Nikki? You get Darling in the FranXX.

This review is spoiler free, and aimed at those contemplating whether or not to watch the series.

[THEMES/STORY]:

"Jian, also known as 'the bird who shares wings', only possess one wing. Unless a male and female pair lean on each other and act as one, they're incapable of flight" - Ep 1.

This show is a little like Madoka Magica in that you will miss out on the gold if you judge too quickly, because the show is not what it seems on the surface. As such you can see that reflected in the top reviews, most done after only 6 or so episodes. Don't take notice of these.

The show starts off feeling very much like a Neon Genesis Evangelion clone. There were so many similarities that I found myself judging it and putting it in that box very early on. As the episodes progress, you find that whilst there are some similar themes, it is in a way its antithesis. Without giving much away, where Neon Genesis focuses it's themes on depression and increasing isolation from all others, FranXX does present the theme of isolation - but shows the journey of coming to increasingly rely on others and the growth of deep bonds.

This is a show about trust. Who should we trust? Who do we let in? Should we trust the world we were fed, or should we go out and explore our own truth? We follow a group of teenagers, clearly manipulated, lied to and shielded from basic truths of the world - as they grow to understand each other and the world around them.

This show is also romance heavy, in fact - this really becomes the centre piece of the show.

If this anime has a great ending, I would consider putting this score up to a 9, or possibly higher. I am giving it some room as it remains to be seen if this will turn out to be a classic, or will run out of steam.

EDIT AFTER COMPLETION: The main let down of this series is its ending. As said above, it could be forgiven for a misleading beginning (for reasons mentioned above). But ending in a slightly weak manner let this series down, and downgrades the series from being a classic to being just a decent showing

[ART]:

Very good. Good battle scenes, good character design. Not the best of the season but very appropriate and well done for this genre.

[SOUND]:

There are some really good tracks here. At key emotional moments (particularly sections of ep. 13-15) the music is brilliant. Good voice acting and sound effects. Very well done and fitting overall.

[CHARACTER]:

There is great variety of cast here, most of which have quite decent and deep development. There are many layers to their conflicting relationships, love triangles (but not in a harem way), many flashbacks and the like. The characters, along with the themes of the shows, are its strongest suit. It must be said though that 002 is a bit of a blend of well known characters from other Anime I have mentioned above. She is a fairly unique Character in some ways, but also feels copied in others. This is pretty easy to get over, though.

EDIT AFTER COMPLETION: The character depth and development reaches its peak around eps 14-18 or so, after which the ending is a bit meh in terms of development. Still great characters, but wish this series brought it home more strongly.

[ENJOYMENT 7]

As I mentioned earlier, if this anime had a solid ending, I'll up my overall score to a 9. It has the feels of Eva, Mirrai and Elfen all in one Anime. And trust me, the feels get very real between episodes 12-15 particularly. Thought it was a standard Mech anime? Guess again. Do yourself a
favour and watch this anime.

EDIT AFTER COMPLETION: Ending was pretty lame after a great buildup, so it lowered my enjoyment from a 7 to 8, rather than holding or upping the score. The biggest letdown is the series built-up in such a manner that it seemed to be confident in where it would go, but the ending shows that it really didn't.

This is a spoiler free review for those contemplating whether or not to watch this series.
Nanatsu no Taizai: Imashime no Fukkatsu is the sequel season to Nanatsu no Taizai, so be sure to watch season one first.

I quite enjoyed the first season, and the first half of this season started out strong.

The first half of the series had me feeling a score of 9 was coming on, mainly for two reasons - The character and plot development. It wasn't a rehash of season one, it was something unique. The first season was a good fantasy anime, but didn't quite have the depth to be outstanding. ... In this second season, we now see significant development and the inner struggles of our characters. There were a lot of flashback scenes, and we learn much more about the inner workings of our characters, which for me as a viewer causes me to enjoy and connect with them much more than S1.

In terms of plot, it started off a lot more epic than S1. The bad guys more powerful, our heroes on the back foot, the world in turmoil - it is just far more tense and interesting. The first season felt like they were always going to easily win - not so for this season.

The main issue with this series in the second half is the pulling in of convenient, unexplained abilities at just the right times out of plot convenience. Dues ex Machina galore. It got to a point where it was really quite frustrating, to the point where I have now scored it a 7. I don't trust that the writers won't throw in some absurd ability the hero just conveniently had hidden the whole time, ruining the sense of character development, consistency and world building.

The art again is the weakest part of the show and is on par with season one. It isn't bad, but it isn't great either. just average. The music is quite good, matches the show well without being outstanding - and it sports a great voice cast.

The most frequent criticism of this series is that it lacks some originality, and that this season goes further into cliche territory. I understand why some would say this, but I disagree. The main issue with the series is the plot conveniences I mentioned above. I agree that this show follows some typical conventions we have seen many times over (a magic world, a band of heroes, bad guys to battle, a small child-like hero etc). However, I think the unique character relationships make this anime feel fresh. Almost every characters is bizarre, interesting with a unique back-story, most of which we haven't seen any parallels (King, Dianne and Ban for example all are unique and well developed - not rip offs from any other anime series). The only character I think is weak and cliche is Elizabeth, but they seem to be setting up some reveals for S3, so I'm lenient on that.

So you have watched season one, should you bother watching season two?

Well, one thing to be aware of is this season goes further into Shounen territory, so your enjoyment of it may depend on how you like Shounen/battle/fantasy anime. It in some way takes on more of a Dragon Ball Z feel mixed with a show like Magi. Dragon Ball Z, because it introduces things like power levels, entire arcs revolving around training and powering up to defeat opponents; and Magi because of the band of thieves, magic and fantasy elements. Also as stated in the negative reviews, there is nothing groundbreaking or earth-shatteringly new about the path the show follows on a meta level, rather it is how the story progresses and the unique character relationships that set this anime apart. Again, if plot conveniences and inconsistent dues ex machina bother you, this series will really frustrate you.

Starts very strong, ending is a bit meh - some great moments and some frustrating ones. Still enough for a 7, but certainly far from perfect. Should you watch it? Only if you are happy with overlooking a few things.

This is a spoiler free review aimed at those contemplating whether or not to watch this anime.

Hitsugi no Chaika is a very enjoyable fantasy action anime with a great element of mystery in the plot. Whilst not revolutionary and having some weaker aspects, it is sure to please those who go into it with the right mindset. Although I must stress that under no circumstances should you watch the dub. Our main character has quite an annoying speech thing going on (you'll see what I mean when you watch the first episode) which is okay (but not great) in the sub, but is absolutely unbearable ... in the dub. You have been warned. Okay, here we go!

[Story]

I very much enjoyed the journey of this anime. It has an interesting premise, and develops regularly with certain plot twists and great pacing. The only down side to the story is that it is very straightforward, and most of the plot twists you can see coming from a mile away. It also is not a revolutionary by anime means, meaning it is likely to be scored more harshly for a certain lack of originality. Having said that, it did have quite a few unique and interesting elements that for me made it unique enough to be very enjoyable. It also gets my extra marks for coming to a definite and satisfying conclusion at the end of the second season.

[Art]

It was strong in some areas, and weaker in others. The action and magic scenes I thought were well done, but there did seem to be a wild variation in quality at times. Overall it was quite good, but not outstanding.

[Sound]

The sound was fitting but not memorable. The opening and closing songs were good but not great, the sound design and soundtrack didn't stand out to me and was not particularly moving. Having said that, there was nothing wrong with it.

[Character]

I really enjoyed almost all the characters, although it kind of goes without saying that the speech of Chaika is pretty annoying and pointless. Definitely watch the sub as it is much better than the dub (I watched a few minutes of the dub and couldn't stand it before switching to the sub). There was good variety and depth to the characters of this anime, all unfolding as we go. The development and depth wasn't as good as some of the more outstanding fantasy anime, but I would rate above average in its genre.

[Enjoyment/Overall]

I very much enjoyed this series. I feel it is slightly underrated, mostly because there isn't anything in this anime that hasn't been done before and better by other shows. Shows like this tend to get rated harshly for this fact. However there is enough unique elements and intrigue to this anime that will guarantee it doesn't feel like a rip off of anything else.

If you are looking for an adventurous and perilous journey, watch this anime. If you are looking for something revolutionary and deep, perhaps look elsewhere.

The following review is spoiler free and is for those contemplating whether or not to watch this series.

Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku could be described as a dystopian war fantasy anime. It is a tricky Anime to review. In some ways it was brilliant, and in some ways it fell far short. What remains is an anime that is likely to be hit and miss with viewers, depending on what you are looking for in an anime.

The world and characters of this anime are that of extremes. Our main protagonist represents hope itself, and doesn't waver from that mark. Other characters likewise represent ... themes and ideas, rather than complex characters with nuance. This is not in itself a bad thing for the message it portrays, however the result is to look at the characters as archetypes for what they represent - and don't expect them to be particularly relatable. If that is likely to bug you, then this anime is not for you.

If however you enjoy somewhat of an extreme caricature in order to present real themes out of the abstract, then you may very well enjoy this anime. There is nothing half hearted about the story, setting or characters of this anime. This anime is extremely violent at times, extremely harsh and grating - ranging from themes of death, rape, war, child slavery, evil dictatorships and the like. It also has no bones about presenting these themes in visceral ways. Having said this, there is ultimately a message of hope - albeit on the other side of some absolutely terrible events, leaving you wondering if it was all worth it to begin with.

This ultimately is what drives the love for this show. This in some ways is an extreme version of what our lives are really like, and so a great connection point for us as viewers. There is hope if we hold on, but is it really worth it for the suffering along the way? Why do we believe? Should we give up or hold out? How low should we stoop for our survival? There are great and deep themes presented in this anime.

Having said that, there were also some serious shortcomings. You need to suspend A LOT of disbelief as there as quite of few holes in the story, as well as very unrealistic actions and behaviors of various characters making it hard to hang in there along the journey. The ending, whilst it does wrap up the story, also seemed quite rushed and I personally was not left with a good sense of completion. Even if intentional, it didn't really end in a way I liked.

So to summarise, should you watch this anime? Well, it depends on what you enjoy. If you like extreme characters and themes, a fantasy/dystopian setting, can stomach heavy and saddening events and can overlook some glaring story problems, you are likely to really enjoy this anime. If however you like relatable, realistic and nuanced characters with a solid internally believable story - then don't even bother.