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(Originally uploaded March 31st, 2024)

To spare you the time, Frieren is far from what so many others are saying it is. While most see a masterclass in character writing and worldbuilding, I see a hollow and generic fantasy anime that is filled to the brim with tropes. Let’s break down how Frieren falls into almost every single cliche that every other fantasy anime falls into.

What was most apparent and annoying to me about Frieren was how its world did not feel organic whatsoever. Frieren’s world, like most fantasy anime’s of the modern age, feels like a video game world. There are dungeons that need to ... be explored, mana levels depending on how long you have trained, and monsters evaporate into smoke when defeated. Frieren and her party of heroes happen to always stumble upon the right people who know exactly what they’re looking for. There’s a level of luck that fictional characters can have due to the nature of storytelling and needing a story to progress, but Frieren does it too much too often. There’s also a trend where Frieren happens to run into a lot of people or locations she came across in her past. This only makes the world of Frieren seem smaller, not larger. The locations they come across aren’t interesting either, with a majority of locations being either forests or the small looking medieval styled towns you see in every fantasy anime.

As for the magic system in the show, while not terrible, it isn’t anything to write home about. It doesn’t help that the leads of the show use the most generic magic in their world simply because it is more effective. We never get to see more than a bunch of streaky white lines being shot around until much later into the show, when much more interesting magic is able to be used by other characters. I do find it interesting how the show establishes a history of magic and we learn how it has changed over time and understand how it works in the period the show takes place. Of course the leads of Frieren and Fern never once stop using the most generic attacks and so we are forced to watch the same boring magic fights over and over again.

On the topic of Frieren and Fern, why don’t we talk about our two main characters. While I can say Frieren and Fern are well defined characters, I cannot say they are interesting ones. You can definitely attribute a wide variety of character traits to both of them, but they don’t make for interesting leads. Frieren and Fern don’t show emotion much, and while this is likely intentional narratively as Frieren was uninterested in human emotion for most of her life and her mannerisms likely rubbed off on Fern, the dialogue between the two is very stiff and lifeless. Scenes where Frieren and Fern are talking always consist of the most blank expressions and the coldest most lifeless voices you can imagine. The characters are presented in such an uninteresting way as to become tiresome after a while. The facial features of the characters are much smaller compared to other anime, which makes it even harder to depict emotions on their facesI was glad by the time Stark joined them, considering he gave some life to the cold and mundane dialogue between Frieren and Fern.

This isn’t getting into the fact that Frieren and Fern are also pretty much the most powerful mages in their world. Frieren was part of the party who defeated the Demon King, something we know right from episode one. Once we know this, there is absolutely no sense of danger that we as an audience can feel for her as she has already defeated the most powerful creature in existence. This remains true for the entire show, where the only time Frieren gets damaged whatsoever is when she is cut in THE FINAL EPISODE, and she doesn’t even react to it. Frieren is an overpowered protagonist, just like a majority of fantasy anime protagonists. Any danger we would be able to feel for the side characters is completely undermined by healing magic as well. In fact, in the entire show, not a single named character is killed, other than the villains.

The side characters aren’t much better than our leads, with them either having a single trait that completely defines the character, or having no traits and being the most bland and forgettable person ever. Stark is probably the most interesting out of them considering he gets the most screen time, however he still doesn’t get nearly enough characterization. His childish scuffles with Fern also make it very apparent that this show is in fact a shounen geared towards younger teens. The plot, worldbuilding, character motivations are all explained to you by the characters of the show, leaving no room for nuance. There’s nothing to interpret when everything is so hamfisted and shoved down your throat. In Stark’s case, he is often the one asking questions to Frieren and Fern about what is happening in the plot, so his screen time is mostly utilized to start exposition dumps from other characters.

I won’t go into detail about the other characters in the show, mostly because there are too many to go over. Another trend you see with modern anime is having huge rosters of characters in the hope that the viewer will be able to latch onto even a single one in order to get them to continue watching. Having such a huge roster of characters means that each one has less time to be characterized. I am struggling to remember most of the side characters outside of the last arc of the show despite having started it less than a week ago because they simply left no impression on me.

As for the storytelling on display in Frieren, it’s pretty bad. Most episodes have a set cycle to them, with it starting with the party coming across a new town. They then meet a character from Frieren’s past or someone new who says something that reminds Frieren about her past. We get a boring flashback scene during every one of these situations and Frieren comes to a realization about her past with her old friends. Despite this, Frieren as a character remains stagnant throughout the entire show, not changing whatsoever from the first episode. This is mostly the same for Fern and Stark aside from before they join up with Frieren at the beginning of the show. Any development they get after that point however is always told through flashbacks. The same goes with side characters. Development of the characters can only happen through flashbacks apparently.

Once you know about the cycle the show goes through each episode, the anime gets extremely boring, with only the visuals helping to not make you fall asleep. Studio Madhouse animated the show and did a great job, with even boring dialogue scenes getting plenty of attention. The direction of the visuals are less than stellar, however. I already talked about how the main characters are always lifeless and how the settings always look the same. With good direction even these could have been remedied. We never get many interesting looking visuals outside of the action sequences, and even those are few and far between.

Perhaps the most unbearable part of Frieren (and most anime in that manner) is the humor. If you have seen 5 anime then you already know the punchlines to every joke in Frieren. I do not understand how people find anything here funny. Frieren getting stuck in a fake chest is not funny, and is especially not funny after the 10th time you see it. I have also seen people comment on how there’s no fanservice in the show, and while that is true, there are still jokes about characters' boobs in the show, how mature.

To end this all off, I would like to mention how Frieren has similarities to Violet Evergarden and Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song. In all three of these shows, we have a female lead who is deadpan and is unable to show any emotion. All three of these leads go on a journey to finally understand human emotion, or at least I’d like to say that because Frieren remains stagnant throughout the entire show. At least Violet Evergarden and Vivy have interesting worlds that were created for them. As to why Frieren is much more critically acclaimed than these already critically acclaimed anime that are similar, I have no idea.

Quite simply, Frieren is one of the most overrated anime in my eyes. While many see it as a masterclass of storytelling and animation, I see it as a hollow shell of an anime relying solely on its visual presentation to carry its middling story and characters. Despite some great animation, Frieren was a slog to get through.

Welcome to Jujutsu Kaisen, an anime filled with great animation, horrendous characters, and an average shounen plot.

Over the time the show aired, it gained massive attention and critical acclaim, rivaling even Demon Slayer in terms of commercial success. However, just like Demon Slayer, I see no reason to enjoy the show other than for its animation. In fact, many criticisms I have with the show are similar in line to criticisms that I had with Demon Slayer. Let’s start out with the thing that people have been talking about the most with the show.

(Spoiler warning of course)

“The animation in this series is incredible,” is what ... I would like to say. However, the animation isn’t always as amazing as most people make it out to be. It still is amazing at certain parts, especially when it needs to be, but a lot of the time the animation is just above average. For many scenes which involve a lot of talking, the animation becomes very run-of-the-mill. These scenes have very little animation, usually only the characters moving very slightly. Of course, it’s unrealistic to expect all of the scenes to look that good, however, these scenes take up a majority of the show. People focus too much on small chunks of the show and completely ignore the bad elements.

I must say though, when the animation hits, it REALLY hits. In almost every episode, there’s at least 1 scene of sakuga. The action scenes, regardless of the characters participating in them, the plot importance, or any other reason, look amazing. The number of different cursed techniques characters use in the show allows for the action to elevate to even greater levels. There’s tons of variety in the fight scenes. My personal favorite is the action scene in the final episode. The way the animation matches up with the music makes the scene that much more engaging. Seriously, that scene was like a flash of brilliance in an otherwise mediocre show.

To touch on the openings (even though it doesn’t affect my score at all), the animation is some of the best I’ve seen. Even better than the show's high points, the animation is on another level.

Now time for the thing keeping the series from being good, the characters. Almost all of the characters in the show, including the main trio, are insufferable.

Yuji Itadori is just like a standard shounen protagonist in many ways. TvTropes defines the average shounen protagonist as “big hearted, energetic kid heroes, with a natural gift that blows others out of the water.” This definition fits Itadori down to a tee. Now the problem with his character is not the fact that he fits within this trope, it’s the fact that he leans heavily into the negative aspects of the trope.

He seemed like a promising character at the beginning of the series. Although simple, his motivation with his grandfather and his whole “proper death” thing seemed like an interesting idea. The problem is, they did nothing to his character after the first 5 episodes. He becomes a completely stagnant character. He doesn’t have any meaningful interactions with other characters, we don’t get to explore his psych at all, and most importantly he doesn’t change. This is sort of a problem with most characters in the series, but we’ll get to that later. Basically after the first fourth of the anime he’s dedicated to 3 things: showing off how cool his powers are, making just plain awful or tone breaking jokes, or furthering the plot.

Megumi and Nobara I have less to say about, since they’re also basically trope characters. Megumi is ‘Serious Guy’ and Nobara is “Mean Girl.’ They have some flashbacks in the earlier episodes that give their characters some background information, but, just like with Itadori, they serve no narrative purpose after the first 6 episodes.

Gojo is also listed as a main character on this site, although I don’t see him as one. He’s easily the most interesting of the four, however that still does not make him a good character. His cheerful and laid back attitude despite the circumstances he’s in is interesting, but sometimes can be tone breaking.

As for the side characters, they’re a little better. None of the other Jujutsu Tech students are anything special. They consist of another “Mean Girl” trope, a talking Panda, and a person who can only speak through onigiri flavors. They also get some small characterization but nothing ever comes from this. None of them serve any importance to the plot.

One major problem I have with the characters is their quirkiness. Most characters seem to be very exaggerated with their personalities, making them seem unrealistic. Lots of characters are completely one dimensionally, and their entire character hinges on a single quirk that they have. The worst example of this has to be Toudou. His entire character is centered around the fact that he likes women who are tall and have a big ass. He is quite possibly one of my least favorite characters in anime ever. All he does is ask people what type of women they like and fights them if they don’t agree with him. In a comedy anime, his character could have been at least bearable. But in Jujutsu Kaisen, a show with lots of blood and death constantly happening, his character seems to be so out of place in the show. Every time he appears on screen I get whiplash from how at odds he is with the rest of the show.

As for characters such as Nanami, Mahito, and Junpei, I actually like them! They’re the best characters in the show, and make the Vs Mahito Arc the best arc in the series by far. All of their motivations are great, they get lots of characterization for how little time they are on screen, and each one of them has an impact on the plot for the arc they’re in.

The most asinine thing though is that they completely get shafted from the narrative after that arc. Junpei ends up dying, and there is not a single mention of him after the fact. When Itadori’s talking about what a proper death means right after Junpei dies he’s not even mentioned. Nanami completely disappears, never to be mentioned again, even after the slight connection he and Itadori made. Mahito is the only one to actually be mentioned or show up later in the series, but even then he says like two lines, and could have been swapped in for another character for when he appears.

Basically, the character writing in this series is awful. Like...REALLY awful.

One gripe I have with the show that is completely subjective is the comedy. Of course, humor is subjective, so I can’t really go into why I don’t like the comedy of the series. To me, the humor in the show is very standard shounen humor. Anime slapstick never works with me.

The soundtrack is a mixed bag. The action music is good at most points, however the OST during the slice of life sections is horrendous.

Jujutsu Kaisen falls into many holes that standard shounen shows fall into. Overall this show is massively overrated. Points of it are enjoyable enough, however those sections make up very little of the show. I hate giving out number scores but if I had to give this show a score it would be a 4/10. The animation is the only thing holding this show up.

Story - 4
Art - 8
Sound - 6
Character - 2
Enjoyment - 3
Overall - 4

Cells at Work: Code Black is the surprise of the season. Too be honest, I was not expecting this to be that good, if good at all. The trailers didn't make the show seem very interesting to be honest, but I'm glad my expectations have been subverted.

Code Black is a stark contrast to the original Cells at Work series; taking place is an unhealthy body, the cells struggle to keep the human alive. This allows for the series to explore more darker themes, and allows for situations that the original series wouldn't be able to do.

The characters in this show are quite interesting, as ... we get to see how each of them decides to act in the event of this crisis. Some cells slack off, some cells work their asses off, some cells live happily in the dying body, others give in and indulge in nihilism.

The art is pretty solid, at least in most cases. There's a few shots per episode that are just slightly off, and there's a lack of animation in certain parts, but for the most part the art is consistent and pleasing to the eye. I love the art style of the series; the black lines in each of the shadows gives the series a very grimy look, which is quite fitting for the situation the cells are in.

Music wise the series is average; no stand-out tracks, but nothing that was bad.

Overall, a pretty great series, definitely recommend if you like more grungy stories, or if you're a fan of the original Cells at Work series.

I encourage you, please don't waste your time to watch this.

You'd think that condensing 22 hours of anime into a 2 hour movie would be a bad idea, and it is. This movie is such a clusterfuck.

The movie starts with a quick 20 second narration that tells us that humanity is behind walls because massive titans lurk outside. Then immediately the wall is smashed and Eren's mother dies 2 minutes in. Eren then says he'll kill every titan, followed by a shot of him as a fully trained soldier 5 years later. The colossal titan immediately appears again and destroys the wall. We ... are at minute 4. Eren and a bunch of unnamed soldiers go to fight the titans but then get gruesomely killed. Why should we care about these people? We then get Armins character introduction, with him immediately swallowed by a titan. Eren then sacrifices himself to save this character we have seen for 20 seconds.

As you can see, the main problem of this movie is that it gives you absolutely no time to make sense of anything. Things fly past you at such an amazing speed that you can't keep up at all. Not to mention most character development was completely gutted to try and fit the entire story into 2 hours. Hannes is shown twice before his death. Reiner is shown twice before his betrayal and Bertholt once. I don't even think Annie did anything before she became the Female Titan. Importance is lost because of how little the movie makes us care for the characters.

And even as a recap this sucks pretty bad. You want to see some of the best fights from the show? All cut out except for Levi vs Beast Titan. The basement flashback scene takes about a minute and a half. The entire first half of season 2 is condensed into a single minute. Lot's of plot holes form as a result of condensing and may not be recognized by people who haven't watched the series in a while.

The audio and visuals are the same as in the anime, but the way they edited everything was extremely piss poor.

To sum everything up, do not watch this. There is no reason for anyone who has or hasn't watched the series to watch this. What really should have been made were 2 recap movies of the 3rd season. This movie just goes to show what condensing can do. This feels very similar to the Unlimited Bladeworks Movie, but even worse because of how much was actually cut and because of the terrible directing and editing.