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This is possibly the most overrated anime that I, personally, have ever had the misfortune of watching all the way through to the end; and absolutely the most disappointing third season I've ever watched.

Fruits Basket has always held a special place in my heart, and my wife's. She introduced me to the original 2001 anime as my first foray into the romance/slice of life genre (despite its supernatural twist), and I adored it for its simplicity and heart. That simplicity and heart are still present in the remake; but in the final season, they are taken to such extremes as to make the writing laughable. ... Of course, any complaints regarding the story may be the fault of the source material; but that is true for almost all anime, and still must be addressed.

The biggest criticism I have of this series is something that operates on multiple levels, extending well beyond a single plot point or character arc; it pervades the entire third season. The issue is that almost no character gets their just desserts -- either in the sense of a positive reward or a negative punishment for their actions. This holds true for the vast majority of the cast that has, or has desired, to take action to change their lives -- Akito, Kureno, Shigure, Haru and Rin in particular. Even at its best moments, this utter refusal to properly implement repercussions can lead to a complete lack of catharsis; at its worst, it feels like character assassination. There are three major ways in which I felt the anime simply *refused* to consider repercussions for each characters' actions, and they all affect different parts of the plot and characterization.

The first instance of this failure is in its punishments for crimes--or complete and total lack thereof. "Fruits Basket: The Final" taught me that, so long as you were feeling simultaneously anxious and entitled, you should be excused for lying, manipulation, physical and emotional abuse, sexual grooming, and no less than *five counts of attempted murder*. It posits that you can do *literally anything*, no matter how awful, to *absolutely anybody*; but so long as you did it because you felt kind of unhappy, you will be forgiven and should suffer no negative repercussions for your actions. There is absolutely no sense of responsibility, ever; no sense that "maybe you were hurting, but it was your job to make sure you didn't hurt others the same way." From start to finish, how this season treats its abusive characters is entitled, enabling, and disgusting.

The second major case of this failure revolves around character agency, or lack thereof. The prior seasons posit that multiple characters are searching for a way to break the curse -- Tohru is a given, of course; but Rin and Kyo want to as well, either for their own sakes or for those around them. Unfortunately, it seems this story--despite its expansive cast and extended runtime--doesn't want to make time for people to actually improve their own lives for the better. Right up until the end, the powerless stay powerless; and when they are finally given their freedom, it's not because any of them took action -- rather, the problem resolves itself. None of them become masters of their own fate through their own power; only by chance. In a different anime, you could argue this is poetic; "nobody can save themselves, only be saved by others". While I would find that argument problematic in its own right, it is one that could be made -- in a *different* anime. In *this* anime, completely ignoring the zodiac childrens' attempts to emancipate themselves is an utter disservice to their actions, and a lack of justice for the horrors that they suffered.

The third failure to anticipate repercussions is one I consider a more personal critique than the previous two; more influenced by my personal life experience and biases than writing standards. One key character changes so much midway through the season that I found them unrecognizable from their previous self. This is not poor writing or characterization, but a plot point -- they were repressing memories that changed who they were on fundamental level. I had been rooting for this character from the beginning, and they were one of my favorites; after this over-the-top reveal, and after their actions for the next several episodes, I found myself completely disinterested in them. They went from ranking among my top characters to ranking among my bottom ones in the space of two or three episodes. The character themselves acknowledges that their actions may have negative repercussions, and then goes about it anyway -- several times. After that, I found it impossible to respect them the same way; but the anime expects me to *not only* continue to respect them, but also to feel sorry for them and celebrate their "victories" (if they can even be called that). It's a tall order for a character that we never really get to see "step up" to their responsibilities during the duration of the anime. If they do end up growing beyond their weaknesses, it only ever happens off-screen.

In an anime that frames itself as being about abuse, and freeing yourself from it, almost nobody is given real agency except the un-abused outsider and a (former) abuser. Almost nobody frees themselves from their situation; of those who do, two of the three were entirely accidental. Multiple different abusers are given a free pass because "it's all in the past now". And the person I was rooting for all along became an absolute disappointment to me. The anime seems to believe that, so long as you're suffering -- so long as someone says to you, "poor thing" -- you are free from all responsibility, and any and all actions are excusable. Outside of a few very isolated moments, enjoyed by a very few privileged characters, Fruits Basket is never interested in the idea that you should turn your own suffering into positive action on the behalf of others; it wants you to pity those who have suffered, without expecting anything from them and without judging their utterly horrific, selfish actions. And it is utterly disappointing in its refusal to consider that, for people who have experienced severe trauma, "doing good" and making amends should mean more than simply forgiving and forgetting.

In their high school classrooms, Kyoko Hori is the center of a popular in-group, while Izumi Miyamura has barely said a word to anyone in the last three years. Outside of school, Kyoko is unable to live the life she wants with her friends due to personal responsibilities at home, and Izumi's meek appearance hides piercings and tattoos. When a chance encounter -- or perhaps fate -- exposes both of their secrets, the two are fascinated by the discovery of the other's hidden self. This is, of course, a premise that has been done time and time again; but this iteration is the one that ... spoke to me.

This peek into each others' private lives forges an immediate bond between them, as they feel seen and understood by the other. Over time, they begin to flourish under each others' influence. This isn't your average "will they, won't they"--it is immediately apparent to the audience that they care for each other; they only need to learn *how* to navigate their unexpected friendship and mutual attraction.

And, unlike many other anime, we are allowed to witness an *actually healthy* relationship emerge. Rather than focusing exclusively on "love for love's sake", Horimiya remembers that wholesome and nourishing connections have the potential to improve one's life in tangible and meaningful ways. As Izumi and Kyoko grow closer, both of their worlds are opened up in ways that otherwise couldn't have happened--whether it's as intense as that's making friends out of enemies, or as simple as watching new genres of movies. When one of them is struggling to navigate a situation, the other steps in to protect and defend them if necessary. They learn to support each other at school as well as in the home, which allows them to reduce the dissonance they feel between their public and private selves. Izumi and Kyoko, to borrow an old phrase, truly broaden each others' horizons.

And not solely each others'. Almost as much screentime is dedicated to those *around* Kyoko and Izumi as the pair themselves. The repercussions of their fateful encounter improve not only their lives, but the lives of those around them. Their blossoming intimacy affects their families, their friends, and even total strangers, for the better.

The constant upward trend of the relationships is what separates Horimiya from lesser anime of its type, in my opinion. Unlike Toradora!--which has the characters undergo no meaningful growth or change after the second episode--the lives of multiple characters in Horimiya improve in ways that go beyond dating. Unlike "Say I Love You", you could consider both (or neither) character to be self-insert or wish fulfillment; and in Horimiya, there is no forced roller-coaster drama.

It isn't flawless, by any means, but the show goes to lengths to improve the slice-of-life high school romance by actually letting its characters grow up and discover themselves, rather than forcing them to stay static and dramatic. All in all, Horimiya is a beautiful, sometimes bittersweet exploration of a relationship that truly allows those touched by it to spread their wings.

This review contains major spoilers, because there is no other way to discuss why I hate this anime.

Ryu is a high school junior whose purpose in life seems to be living to please others. He feels ostracized because he inherited his absent fathers' intimidating appearance, when in reality, he is a gentle soul who enjoys the pursuits of a stereotypical housewife--his mouth literally waters at opportunities to clean mold and shop with coupons. So when he falls in love with Taiga, a troubled girl with severe daddy issues and an abandonment complex, it's clearly a match made in heaven, right?

Both Ryu and Taiga initially pursue ... other romantic interests before eventually realizing that suddenly, they don't love those other people at all anymore; the two of them now love each other--for literally no other reason than the fact they're always together. They don't get along particularly well; they are not physically attracted to one another; and early on, they don't particularly appreciate each other--Ryu serves Taiga's every whim with no real explanation as to why, which Taiga rewards exclusively by heaping verbal abuse on him.

Ryu gives Taiga food and a stable place to sleep, nothing more; she gives him nothing at all in return. Nothing about their personalities makes them suited to be together, or makes you say "yes, they seem like a good couple"; not even in the sense of making up for each others' shortcomings. Of all the anime I've seen that try to frame the central romance as a form of co-dependency, this one seemed, to me, the most unhealthy. That would have been poignant if handled correctly, but the story and characters accept and even champion their toxic co-dependency.

Their initial inability to understand their own feelings (both towards each other, and towards their temporary romantic interests), followed by their sudden decision to elope before coming of age, lead to Ryu and Taiga being a massive burden on everyone around them. But of course, because this is an anime, everyone is--completely inexplicably--more than happy to enable the pair. This issue extends beyond the two of them; the entire cast has so many moments of such utter selfishness that I struggled to take the characters seriously.

I will admit that this anime had moments that I found sweet, or that managed to touch me. Despite that, the overarching themes of the story and characters arcs felt repulsive to me, and at times even directly at odds with the moments I found the most meaningful. Overall, I found the show incredibly distasteful. Toradora! seems to advocate that you should settle for whoever happens to be closest to you--*especially* if you are insecure about your own worth. For all the hype surrounding this anime, it rarely goes deeper than that.

This is one of the great anime films. The only thing holding it back from "masterpiece" status is that the movie--which follows a pretty standard three-act structure--suffers from an over-reliance on (bad) tropes in the "setback/crisis" stage. Without getting overly specific, some (but not all) of these tropes include "Untouchable Until Tagged"/"One-Hit Kill" and "Abduction Is Love"/"Damsel in Distress".

The sad reality is that the rest of this movie is so freaking good that, rather than making those flaws excusable, it actually makes them even more noticeable; the tropes are even more grating than they would have been in a lesser film.

The animation and ... especially the sound direction are flawless, though. In the end, this is one absolutely worth watching.

This energetic romp does a good job in the early episodes balancing light-hearted fun with heavier subject matter. However, it becomes incredibly weighed down in the final segments.

It suffers from a very shallow cast of one-and-two dimensional characters whose motivations can often be dubious at best, which becomes more noticeable as time goes on and the characters (and their relationships) never really change dynamic. It also is saddled with what I'd consider to be one of the most out-of-place, forced, manufactured "crises of faith" I've ever seen in an anime. In the end, the best word to describe the series is "decent".

FLCL has the potential to be a masterpiece, but it isn't able to fully deliver, partially because many of the anime's episodes feel completely disconnected from one another. This isn't a problem in many other anime where the episodic nature is used to tell standalone stories, like Cowboy Bebop; it is here, where the story *feels* like it should be connected more than it is.

The plot is supposed to be one continuous story arc from start to finish, but I felt the story lacked consistent threads winding through it. More specifically, the threads that *do* exist to connect each episode are primarily thematic instead ... of character-based; they are buried and require digging to discover, or are forgotten about for several episodes.

I think the anime's greatest strengths are the sound and art direction, both of which are top-notch; and the symbolism (once you figure it out or, in my case, look it up) is absolutely poignant.

The greatest weakness is the characterization: aside from the main character, everyone is defined--entirely, from start to finish--by a single core desire. The hallmark of a good side character is that they act as if they were the main character, but that practice works best if they are nuanced. There is no nuance whatsoever to be found in any of FLCL's side characters; only basic, often cruel manipulation in the singular pursuit of their goal.

Because of that, the anime holds itself back from true greatness: there are no real character arcs to be found.

With that said, the first two episodes of the series comprise a mini-series of their own, and are the closest the anime gets to a complete arc (for multiple characters at once, no less). In my personal opinion, if the anime had ended after the second episode--and left what happens after up to the viewer's imagination--I would've given it a 10 instead of an 8.

This anime fills me with tons of mixed feelings.

Make no mistake: it's a harem-type setup. A young man joins a club where he finds himself surrounded by three extremely attractive girls who, in one way or another, all vie for his attention. The saving grace of the anime is that it's not 'actually' harem, in the sense that the main character (Rusian) gives his heart and attention to one girl, and one girl only, from start to finish. He never gives the others a thought as anything more than friends--true, close friends, at that. It's refreshing and sweet.

So with that said, it's pretty frustrating to ... watch harem-like situations forced onto the anime when it doesn't need them. There is of course a day on the beach, which showcases each girls 'assets'. There are hints that the club's second girl girl is interested in Rusian; and he is also capable of making the third girl blush, despite her supposed lack of interest in him. There are gratuitous panty-and-boob shots that made every single scene they occurred in substantially worse.

There was a lot to like about the anime. Its plot was somewhat predictable, but not gratingly so. The story felt like it covered a lot of ground; the animation was very nice; and if you could strip away the harem-esque stupidity, the character interactions were pretty darn good. I didn't like the central romance very much initially, but it grew on me as the anime dragged on and we learned more about each character. I also loved the friendship between Rusian and the token "tsundere" character, as she really became his best friend and defender over the course of the series--sometimes moreso than Rusian's actual girlfriend.

This wasn't a groundbreaking or life-changing anime. But it was an enjoyable one, almost from start to finish. The only thing that really harmed it for me was the absolutely unnecessary, forced harem bits that didn't belong at all.

This is an incredibly sweet anime with solid characters.

The romance, as it is in many similar wish-fulfillment anime, is contrived and predictable. There are times where "fate" controls things much too closely for my taste--the chance meeting between the characters; the fact they actually met each other once before, but don't realize it; the ways in which they get to know each other again now--often, it can feel forced, and like a bit too much to swallow. On top of that, there were also moments where I felt the characters would take immediate action, without hesitation; but in reality they drag their feet seemingly ... because the plot demands it.

In this case, however, all of these contrivances are a forgivable fault - the predictability is in some ways reassuring, and the characters are worth rooting for. Despite all its obvious flaws, I enjoyed my time with this show. This is one where, even though it's nothing particularly special, the whole *is* more than the sum of its parts. There are much worse anime to waste your time on.

Gamers!: A botched rom-com anime that has nothing to do with gaming, featuring 5 high school students who repeatedly make wrong assumptions about each other! And despite their overall outgoing personalities and privileged social standing, not one of them ever manages to work up the guts to ask the others what's really going on.

That's pretty much all there is to it. Seriously.

Firstly, gaming has absolutely nothing to do with anything except a premise for how these people meet. That's not a huge deal, except the anime makes it out to be otherwise, so it's blatantly misleading.

The first two episodes were relatively enjoyable; it ... sets up some interesting or somewhat unique choices in animation, and some of the characters didn't turn out to be who I was expecting them to be. With that said, later episodes drag each and every character through the mud, to the point it's physically painful to watch.

The anime rests entirely on the premise of five people--three of whom are *explicitly* made out to be extremely skilled in navigating social situations--being completely and utterly unable to communicate with one another. On top of that massively flawed premise, each and every scene was incredibly predictable, and not in the "familiarly reassuring" sense. The premise was neither believable nor cute; it was, in a word, stupid.

A key part of engaging with Unlimited Blade Works is in the approach--understanding that this is an anime that treats itself as a novel. Its scope goes above and beyond many other anime of its type, and it carries the weight and history of multiple other stories that came before it. Fate: UBW is based on a visual novel that had three major branching paths and over 40 endings; and while only one path is shown here, the breadth of the original can be felt in this adaptation. This anime stands head and shoulders above the rest for me on the merit of its plot, ... its characters, its themes, and above all because of how it makes me feel.

So let's get the baggage out of the way first. Fate: UBW initially seems like it will fall victim to several stereotypical tropes, but it quickly outgrows them. One criticism I've often heard leveled against UBW is that it is a harem anime; it is not. Very early on, several girls seem like romantic interests (possibly due to the many branching storylines of the original game), but it moves on from that scenario *extremely* quickly. Another problem (that I didn't think was overly serious) is that certain things don't get fully explained, and you just have to taken them from granted. Given the way that magic works in this world, I was able to accept there were just things that I didn't know; so I didn't find these moments to actually impact my enjoyment.

There are other criticisms that I think have more merit, such as an over-reliance on the Damsel in Distress trope. In an *attempt* to be fair, men are also captured and held hostage in this anime; however, I don't think it's truly equal in that sense. Whenever a woman is captured, the shadow of sexual violence rears its head; this is not the case for when men are captured. On top of that, there was one case in particular where I found it hard to believe the girl couldn't actually free herself, which makes the fact she inexplicably *didn't* seem even more contrived and problematic. The capture and treatment of these female characters comes very, very close to lowering my score of this anime, and if it is a deal-breaker for any other viewer, I think that's completely justified--it normally would be for me as well.

However, there is really one reason and one reason alone that I, personally, can't rate this anime as anything less than an "outstanding": *it inspires me*. It makes me want to be a better person. It makes me want to go out and live life. And I cannot tell you how rare that is for me, and who I am, with the media I consume. Not only in anime--in movies, TV shows, books, and games; in all the stories I am told, I often feel so much: pain, sadness, joy, and love. I am easily moved by media, but of all those emotions I feel, I am *almost never, ever* inspired. These stories rarely let me feel hope. The fact that UBW was able to elicit that emotion from me, when almost nothing else can, makes it utterly unique among the things that I have experienced.

However, I do not expect everyone to feel the same as I do. So here are some other, less personal selling points for this anime!

UBW's plot is intense. It has some twists you'll see coming, and plenty you won't. The stakes always feel appropriately high--sometimes because of the body count, but other times simply on a personal level. The production values are always through the roof, even by today's standards. Its animation is phenomenal, particularly in its fights scenes--UBW has my *personal* favorite combat sequences of any anime, including Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen.

However, the greatest thing this anime has to offer is in its characters. Almost every single character is well-developed, which is a remarkably fresh breath of air. I am not simply referring to "backstory"--rather, each character has a strong and distinct personality without relying heavily on stereotypes or caricatures. It is said that the best and most realistic stories are the ones where *every* character believes that they are the main character and acts accordingly. In reality, everyone is the main character of their own life; so it follows that realistic fictional characters should be primarily concerned with their own life stories, too. That is how Unlimited Blade Works plays out from start to finish, and I loved every second of it. Every single character's actions are based on their own goals and motivations, and nobody... NOBODY... acts as if they are a secondary character. This anime has, without a doubt, the single most true-to-life characters I have seen to date, regardless of genre.

If you want a well-thought-out, intensely personal anime, filled with characters that are so realistic you'll feel like you could run into them on the street--punctuated by extremely epic fight setpieces and a few good twists--this is what you've been looking for.