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Science Fiction always been one of my favorite themes, the incredible creativity that space exploration can use is in essence infinite. Unfortunately good science fiction shows are rare, and, Yamato 2199 is, in my opinion, not one of the good ones.

The initial episodes were good, they had a slow pace with proper introduction of characters and solid world building. The plot went forward in an digestable and reasonable way. But it also became clear that this show wouldn't take itself seriously. Gradually it downgraded in quality, and, by episode 11 it became apparent that the story would just be your averagely bad dumb space soap ... opera in space where everything follows the law of convenience to fulfill drama requirements. Actions made by characters are illogical or downright pathetic if it creates a bit of drama, the characters which at first looked like adults, gradually become emotionally unstable children with temper tantrums in space. Aren't this supposed to be the best humanity has to offer?

It quickly became a boring show, with the typical space tropes kicking in, which it would be ok if they were well done. The lazy storytelling was overwhelming, no regard whatsoever for logic, and at least two absolutely unbelievable moments of outstanding ridiculousness that sentenced this show to mediocrity. And I mean it, this were among the worst scenes I ever watched in my life.

But not everything was bad, animation, drawing style, effects, backgrounds, they had above the average quality for anime. It had good action moments, and, if one ignores the nonsense, it was a well paced show. The characters aesthetic design is quite good for my taste, and most of the characters were actually interesting, likeable and some relatable. The voice actors also did a good job, and a special thumbs up for the main villain voice actor, what a magnificient voice for that character and such a good voice acting. The last episodes were also ok, not over the top nonsense. This positives kept me going until the end, where usually I would have dropped it.

In the end, its a real shame, this show could have been easily an 8/10 but it failed on key areas. A chain is as strong as its weakest link.

Bakemonogatari is one of the most difficult animes I ever tried to rate/review. Like many pieces of art, loving or hating them is sometimes a question of choosing a day to watch them. There were episodes which made me put this show on hold, there were episodes that made me want to watch the next one.

This anime is heavily focused on character development, the supernatural element of it is there just to create the drama. This isn't an Action anime at all.

First I think its important to understand that sometimes reviewers focus too much on character archetypes. Most of the times rightfully so, however, in ... this anime, I think its unfair to do so. Almost all characters ever fictionalized belong to a certain archetype for the simple reason that there's a limited amount of screen-time to build them up, therefore the archetype characteristics tend to stand up. So sure, the characters in this show fall into their own archetypes, but, there's just so much more depth than normal to them, they have an uniqueness that makes them interesting in a way that most shows can't accomplish. This is the strength of this anime, I would say, the only strength.

Another good characteristic of this anime is that it uses a very particular and stylized way of telling the story, it had very good details to it. Some will like it, some won't, but one can appreciate when someone tries something different.

As for bad things, I really didn't like the harem, it felt out of place, it turned a somewhat mature anime into a cheap love triangle story. At least the main character was, in his own way, interesting, which makes it less bad, as opposed to those animes where the guy is a pathetic waste of space and somehow everyone loves him.

The art was ok but very barren. However I do understand that this was a consistent artistic choice. Despite the emptiness the anime doesn't feel cheap.


In conclusion, this show wasn't for me but it can easily be for you.

This review contains spoilers of the first season.


The second season doubles down on the same faults of the first season. Story makes little sense. Random action with random mechas with random powers. Plot tries to get smart at times but it feels forced and contrived. All relevant characters continue to be annoying or boring or both. The characters that had some traces of personality barely get any screen-time. The plot is nonsensical. The Plot Holes are a constant.

The first season is awful but ends with a bang. Two main characters get killed. And I mean really killed, the princess takes two close range shots, one ... to the chest and another to the head. Inaho gets a frontal shot to the head through the left eye at point blank range. So they are dead right? Of course not... they both survive and they are just fine. The princess takes some time to recover and the boring boy gets a cybernetic eye that makes him even more overpowered than he already was. I was hoping that one of them would actually die, preferably the boy because he is insufferably boring. You can't push Plot Armor more than this, its just baffling.

Then we have more than one scene where mechas are fighting in space and complaining about the unpredictable wind... yeah, the unpredictable wind in space... but you may ask, why? why would the writers pull such nonsense. Well its simple, they had to show how amazing Inaho was with his cybernetic eye compared to the secondary characters, so Inaho can use his eye to somehow predict the unpredictable wind and hit the enemy, while the others in their billion dollar mechas don't have this feature, because basic logic doesn't matter.

But why do I bring up this two scenes. Its simple, it shows right away that this anime is about an initial concept, an idea, and then random things are just thrown around, for shock value, for time filling, for convenience and to make the characters look cool (but in fact only makes them look obnoxious and cringy). I'm not saying that building something around an idea is bad, I'm just saying that Aldnoah.Zero does it in the worst possible way.

Since it's clear what the show is about and what archetypes each character represents, everything happens exactly as I had imagined. I really struggled to watch this anime and I could only do it while doing other things at the same time.

Simply put, its just your averagely bad anime. It has nothing going for it, absolutely nothing. The lore is a mess and makes little sense, it feels extremely underdeveloped, as if it was a simple concept to throw at it your average flashy but extremely low quality over the top mecha fights and cheap drama.

Its one of those animes where adults are mentally retarded but, thank the almighty there's a bunch of fourteen year old's to pick the slack and save the day... over and over again... I don't mean to bash this type of shows, but there's good and bad ways of doing it, ... Aldnoah.Zero is the bad lazy way.


Concept/Lore:
Its never clearly explained why things are as they are, we get bits here and there that just make things more confusing. The whole Martians/Vers Empire/Monarchy fits well with the Aldnoah powers, however how their system of rule works and came to be is silly and nonsensical... As for the humans of Earth, they are pathetically hopeless. One has to think, why aren't they already subjugated by the Martians? The concept feels very basic and without any after-thought.

Story/Plot:
In its essence Aldnoah.Zero main arch is a basic sequence of events that make little sense. The story progresses in a very linear and predictable way and suffers from the common plot holes and nonsense that is common in Mecha Anime. The initial episodes are fully focused on action. In the last episodes there's an appalling attempt at generating drama, which feels more nonsensical than the main arch, with at least one scene that begs incredulity for how ridiculous it is. At least there's some characterization in this drama, but if feels pointless because it was needed in the initial episodes, and while I believe it wouldn't change much, at least it would give us, the viewers, a shot at creating a bond with the characters, and maybe even care about them. I have to say that the final mission was okish, and the show ends with a big surprise that I really really liked.

Action:
Half of this anime is mecha fights. They range from very bad to average. In isolation, there's good tactical moments (that only the main character can think off of course...), but a lot of nonsense happens so that the main character can have his moment. Enemies are just as retarded as needed and the characters that aren't there to die have the very best Plot Armor. In the end it has that sour after-taste of convenience. Also, each enemy mecha has like a superpower, and each one seems more stupid than the next. Oh and of course that this super advanced Martian Civilization just sends one Mecha at a time, a Mecha that is actually easily destroyed if, and only if the main character is present, otherwise they can just destroy the Earth all by themselves...

Sound:
The soundtrack, when its noticeable, its for bad reasons, I just don't like it, but I guess its a question of taste, to each its own.

Characters:
The main character, Inaho Kaizuka, is boring. He is an emotionless boring teen with no motivations of his own. I don't get the appeal, does this characters look cool to anyone at all? Somehow he is forming a harem... oh that's right, every single girl of his age is into him, a kid that can't make a joke to save his life, can't smile, can't show any emotion, doesn't show any care for others... and somehow everyone likes him... sure... but let's move forward. The protagonist, Asseylum Allusia, boring. Her personality is stereotypical to her role but at least she is capable of basic emotions, still, everything she does feels meaningless and predictable. Finally, Slaine Troyard, you guessed it, boring. He is an almost carbon copy of Inaho Kaizuka, but instead of a serious face he has a slightly annoyed face, all the time... With no personality to speak off, at least he has a motivation, being devoted to Asseylum Allusia.
In the end, the more interesting characters are the supporting ones. In their quite short screen time at least they resemble humans. They have emotions, from being under duress in combat, having PTSD to being happy, angry or relieved.

Artwork:
Everything is below average. Character styles feel weird, like if they were made by 2 or 3 artists with different styles, still they are okish. Mechas look ridiculous and over the top, I really dislike them. The Space Castles or however they call them... they look stupid and nonsensical. All in all its clearly a cheap production.

Usually I watch a minimum of 3 episodes before I decide if I should drop a show or not. However, Mirai Nikki has something magical to it, something indescribable, I just couldn't stop watching as if I was in a masochist trance. Maybe I wanted to know how much artistic pain I could endure.

I've watched bad animes, still, I would dare to say that there's really no adjectives known to Men that could truly describe how appalling Mirai Nikki is. This is by far the worst written show I ever watched in my entire life, and I include everything I ever watched, and just so ... I'm perfectly clear, I mean literally EVERYTHING.

The artwork is good, the action scenes are enjoyable, sometimes even clever, the sound is good. But, even if all this was absolute 10 out of 10 it wouldn't matter. To me a show isn't an average of its components. A show can be at best slightly better than its weakest links. Mirai Nikki is amazing in the way that it makes sure that its impossible to be lenient, it has two components that are just 0/10. Plot and Characters.

Plot/Story:
Like I said before, there's just no adjectives in any language known to Men that can describe how nonsensically bad it is. Not sure what else I can say about it, its pure platinum standard nonsense. No really, I can't explain it, its just beyond explanation.

Characters:
Secondary characters are okish... but the main characters... let's start with Yuno. She is fine at first, a completely psycho nutjob, she is a cutie in her own way, one learns to like her, but episodes go on and on and she is always the same character, doesn't learn anything, doesn't change anything, becomes a predictable murderous dull doll. And that's it, that's all one can say about her, nothing else. But Yuki, oh... Yuki is on another level! I mean, I never seen such an unbearably obnoxiously pathetic useless wuss character in my life. Yuki is just mind boggling insufferable. I never had such hate for a fictional character, I can't describe the feelings I have just by thinking about him. I found impossible to have any empathy for him.

In my opinion this show is a classic, I truly recommend watching it. I'm not being ironic or sarcastic here, this is a case study, its the reverse of a magnus opus. If you are a creator you should watch it, first because it will boost your self-estime and your confidence, second because you have a good guide on what not to do. If you are a casual viewer, every show after this will become better. If you like unique experiences, this show is also for you, in fact, I think I will never forget the worst moments of this show, they are literally, and I mean LITERALLY jaw dropping, I often found myself with my mouth open in incredulity at what I was watching.


SPOILERS:
Ok so I will give you an example of the level of nonsense this show reaches. Yuki (main character) is in a building, his own father is trying to clear his debt by destroying his son's cellphone on behalf of a bad guy, sure he doesn't know his son will die, but guess what, it wouldn't matter anyway, because? Well Yuki is with his girlfriend Yuno on top of a high-rise which is about to collapse, the bad guys have one parachute, Yuki has another, so his father steals his son's parachute, says he is sorry but he isn't ready to die, so he truly understands he is about to have his own son killed, then jumps out. Yuki with his superpower of plot armor manages to get the last parachute from the bad guys, jumps with Yuno, and in that moment of pure adrenaline Yuki is worried about one thing, that Yuno helps him bring his father and mother together again. Oh yeah, this is for real, without a shred of irony or sarcasm. He tells Yuno to help his father, who just left them both to die, to reconnect with his mother.

Oh did you think this is over?? No no no, I meant it when I said "platinum standard nonsense". Ok so when Yuki's father lands in a plaza in the middle of the city, not even one bystander is there, not one single person is watching the crazy dude parachuting out of a high-rise being destroyed by bombs... but somehow, Yuki's mother sees him and runs to the plaza, yet, not a single cop that is with her rushes there as well, its not like the cops would want to ask questions to a person jumping out of a high-rise being destroyed by terrorists... Anyway, she faces him, and for some reason that truly escapes any reasoning, Yuki's father draws a knife and kills Yuki's mother! Yeah that's right, this just happened.

But we are not done yet! Next day or so, everyone knows already it was Yuki's father that murdered Yuki's mother. So Yuki manages to find his father, and he reconnects with him!! Yeah that's right! They become pals! But then the bad guys kill his father, and this is the turning point for Yuki, this is when he finally stops being a complete wuss and decides he must become a man to avenge his father! Yeah that's right, after seeing hundreds of school colleagues murdered, his beloved mother murdered, etc... its when his father dies, the same guy that the day before left him and his girlfriend to die, then proceeded to kill Yuki's beloved mother, that Yuki grows a pair.

This is just 10/10 in the incredulity scale.

P.S.
There were times that I honestly thought this show could only be an anime parody, my mind couldn't believe it not to, and I went to google and tried to find out. Its not.

An excellent show that ticks almost all the boxes for me.

The story is its weakest link, it feels nonsensical and random, seems to lack consistency. Some character interactions also feel uninteresting, unfortunately they also tend to drag for minutes.

The art is quite stunning, one of the best anime series artworks I ever seen, if not the best, great detail, great animations, the characters feel quite unique without resorting to over the top hair styles and clothing.

Soundtrack presence is always noticeable in a good way and sound effects are quite good.

Most characters are interesting in their own way, with a few exceptions. I find Saber and ... Irisviel to be boring, and unfortunately to me they take a lot of screentime, but I guess its a question of preference.

The action is quite exceptional at times.

Unlike the first season which was ok, the second is just bad.

Nonsense everywhere. Plot holes. Excessive pointless characters. The plot jumps randomly from ridiculous scenes to pointless drama about pointless characters. Action scenes are just flashy and basic. Lost count of how many people were killed in the same exact way, they run to save their loved one to just be stabbed by them.

But it gets worse, there's no consistency to it, characters protected by Plot Armor don't die despite being killed over and over again, such a cheap way of creating drama. Some characters die because its just cool to have them killed. And ... the typical anime cliches of the good guys after all wanting to destroy the world... come on... the nice guy becoming the villain... can it get more cliche than this? The answer is yes, it did, I present to you, the love triangle.

The story is dreadful and the characters became almost pure archetypes cliches. At least the artwork was quite good.

A show usually isn't much better than its weakest link, and that's what happens with Kanata no Astra. It starts with a promising plot, an interesting scenario, and that's it...

This show clearly focused on teen drama and comedy, but honestly failed at both.


Story:
The first episode brings some well drawn characters into a misterious situation, one really wants to understand what just happened, but no, it just forgets about it until the last three episodes... so it's about eight episodes of childish teen drama that isn't even particularly well made. Then on the last 3 episodes everything starts to happen, but the worst part of it ... is that happens very quickly and with almost no effort, the whole conspiracy just falls on the watcher lap, there isn't a good setup, the characters don't have to work particularly hard for it, they just realize it. But its even worse, we the watchers realize the complexities of what may happen when they arrive home, so many possible scenarios, I wondered, what smart tricks will they pull to make sure they will be safe? The answer is basically none, just send a message and hope for the best... Honestly, what a waste, such a promising setup, such a great scenario this characters find themselves, but the goal was always cheap teen drama.

Art:
Its a well drawn anime, with good looking characters and scenarios, but nothing particularly exceptional.

Characters:
While they all had some depth, I didn't like any of them, none felt like a real human, but rather a caricature.

Comedy:
It just failed to deliver, and I'm an easy laugh. Everything was too childish or forced upon.

The reason why I give it an overall 7, is because of the very poor Scenery quality and the weird experimental episodes, which in my opinion were annoying, nonsensical and boring. With that said, Ergo Proxy is one of the most mysteriously compelling shows I ever seen, it has a gravitas that I can't truly explain, and I just know I will watch this show a third time someday.

Story is not my cup of tea, I felt like its mostly nonsensical and weird.

Art is all over the place, character design is great, but the drawing is plagued with moments where they just look horrible, as ... if the artists had to rush the drawing. Most scenery is very simplistic, rarely a jaw dropper scene.

Sound is near perfection, the constant environmental white noise creates a perfect vibe for the setting while the outstanding music tracks unravel the right emotions. I would risk saying that the sound effects and music is half of what makes this show good.

Characters are interesting, cativating, even secondary characters. Rarely I feel like a show had too little drama and/or characterization, Ergo Proxy is that exception, I wanted to see more about this characters and more interactions between them before the conclusion.

Action is very sporadic and short but was ok.