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Aug 27, 2021
"My sorrows are overwhelming, but my virtue is left to me."
Before starting "Now and Then, Here and There" I was sure that I've seen everything that isekai genre has to offer. However to my suprise it turned out that there are still anime that I was wrong and that fantasy anime that explore themes such as war, trauma, torture, exploitation and totalitarianism in a ways that neither fall into the exploitation of cheap shock value category nor are they pretentious and too in-your-face exist. "Now and Then, Here and There" is a mature anime that tackles it's themes with respect and understanding, despite being
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only 13 episodes long it tells a full story of characters fighting with despair in the most trying times.
Story
This story begins like most isekais do, at first you may even think that this series will be a lighthearted romance but soon it turns out that nothing about this anime is going to be lighthearted and the world that main hero has not only is completely unknown to him but also very hostile.
Main plot revolves around Shu's task to save Lala Ru from the evil dictator, called king Hamdo, who wants to use her powers in order to conquer the world. You could say that to some degree this story follows 12 steps described by J. Campbell in his book, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" in which he desrcibed the archetypical path that most mythical hero's follow and that has been so influencial that many characters ever since the anciet times have followed it (basically think about the LoTR, OG Star Wars or Odysseus), and tries to deconstruct it by showing how it this type of journey would really look like. During his "adventure" Shu will be tortured, forced to do things against his will, starved and he'll witness his friends suffer, it's made abudantly clear that Hamdo's regime will punish Shu for things that he did and didn't do, and that it's leader is a sociopath who cares only about his goals, nontheless Shu remains himself and isn't going to let the regime bend him to it's will. It's a story of surviving through the hardest times, during it's run we see characters who have embraced their life in Hellywood (Hamdo's steampunk "country"), others who have dubious feelings about themselves and those who became victims of the regime despite being innocent and not having the power to fight back. Presenting all of those perspectives let's us how different people can be influenced by this sort of totalitarianism and that system like that can make a person commit the worst crimes without feeling any remorse. It's a really well written story that takes into consideration many possible outcomes and potential behaviours of characters that are in a situation like this one, and doesn't avoid any hard topics. It may not always be the most one but the core aspects of this plot don't play around with tropes.
You could even say that this anime goes to greath lenghts in order to let you treat it's plot as a metaphore of our world where all of those atrocities are present, after all warcrimes, child soldiers and cruel dictators have been a pretty big deal in the 90s when the anime was written, and at one point Lala Ru herself gives a speech which in which she sais that mankind is ungrateful and takes the resources for granted. But that's only an interpretation.
As I said before, the story takes place in another world, but this time it's not an typical fantasy one but instead a grim and vast place, we get to know only a bit about this place's lore, but it is beeing constantly shown to us and thanks to that we get an idea of what sort of place it is. We get to see few locations but there are only two that matter, Hellywood and Zari Bars, both represent different sides of this conflict, the first one being this huge steampunk behemoth which is willing to destroy everything on it's way, including itself, in order to reach it's goals and the other one being it's exact opposit that's being slowly corrupted by the cycle of violence that came from the Hellywood. As I said, this world can be treated as a metaphore of our one because you won't get much out of it otherwise, worldbuilding isn't this series' main focus and many interesting questions about this world remain unanswered.
Characters
When it comes to characters in this story then there are few important ones and only a fraction of them are a fully developed ones.
Let's start with the main protagonist Shu, at the beginning of this anime he's just another airheaded teen who likes to act before thinking and could be described as a regular shonen MC, and just like most shonen MCs he is an idealist who believes that if you really want to then you can solve all of the problems. Shu's willing to go to great lenghts in order to fight for his friends, he's adamant in his plan to protect Lala Ru and knows that if someone can make a change then it's him. If you were to stick to my interpretation of this series then you could easily say that Shu represent's the good side of humankind, the one which is oftenly naive and idealistic but that's also willing to actively fight for the better future. Throughout the anime we see him face many obstacles, we can see him adapt to his situation but his "core" remains consistent, he's not one of those characters that will change overnight, instead he takes his time and slowly evolves and developes with each interaction spent in this strange new world.
The second main character is Lala Ru, thanks to her power to create water she's being wanted by basically every inhabitant of this world, most notably by the stories' main villain Hamdo whose attidute towards Lala Ru, to say the least, is really unhealthy. To say it bluntly, she's a rather passive character who accepts her faith and doesn't really fight back for most of the time. She's a character who has been through a lot, she's seen mankind at it's worst and doesn't seem to believe in the fact that there are good people anymore. The most interesting thing about her is seeing how her worldview is being chalanged by those around her and how she's learning to trust humans again, little may have been said about her but we as viewers can see and understand why she acts the way she does and start liking her. She's not a developed character in a way that we know from other series, but instead thanks to her behaviour and minor details we see her become a fully fledged hero.
When it comes to the rest of the characters then you could say that most of them are in this weird state where they have their goals, motivations and reasons to act in the way they do but it isn't set up in the way that you may expect. It feels as if you're in a middle of a bigger story where some things have just happened and there's no need to explain everything, Shu's not a Danganronpa character who'll question everything around him so yet again the show don't tell rule comes into play. The more we learn about the world the more we understand it and it's characters who are directly influenced by it. The important is that we as a viewers understand what's going on and how it affects the characters, the anime is realistic enough to let us expect certain behaviours from the secondary cast and understand what motivation of a villagers, who are under constant threat of being attacked, are without it being clearly said in a long monologue.
Production
Before expressing my opinion on this anime's technical aspect I should point out that unfortunately I had to watch this anime in 480p thus I won't be able to cover all of the aspects that I'd normally want to. Don't worry tho, there are still some aspects that I'd want to cover so let's just get into it.
To start I'd like to point out that ambience in this anime is really well made, thanks to the excelent soundtrack, which sets up the tone of malice and uncertainty even in the seemingly calm moments you can never be sure that hell won't let loose in the next couple of seconds/minutes. The visuals as well contribute to setting up this atmosphere. While in Hellywood you feel surrounded by this steampunk leviathan, there's nowhere you can hide, and danger may exist behind every single corner, it almost feels as if the characters are inside of a living being. While outside of it, you can see how vast the world is and how hollow it is, the emptiness of the outside world can be as terryfing as the overwhelming of the Hellywood. What's also worth pointing out is that the color palette is mainly focused around colours like yellow or brown (excluding the character designs, but I'll talk about that in a moment) which only furthers the feeling of uneasiness. Obviously we can't forget about the directing of this anime which is on a very high level, it allows us to follow multiple arcs and see the world of this anime without confusing us, the pacing can be a bit off sometimes with few scenes being simply too long and just showing us things that we already know instead the interesting stuff, but for the majority of the series it's rather slow and thorough and that works in a story as grim and thematically full as this one.
The characters are really well designed, there may not be a plethora of minor details on every inch of their clothing but those plain clothes suit them really well. The character designs can be divided into two categories the first one being "enviromental clothing" such as military uniforms or basic stuff worn by the citizens of the Zari Bars village, this attire not only looks well and realistic (at least by my standards) but also fits this world and it's themes, most kids in the military uniforms start to loose their individuality and they become mass without personality. The same goes for the citizens of the village, you can see that they wear plain clothes so right from the start you get the idea of what type of village is it and that people who live there must focus mainly on surviving another day and can't afford to waste time. The second type of closing is being worn by the vast minority of the characters in the series (although they are the most important ones). Those are cloths that you'd expect to see on a person living nowadays, they may not be the most extravagant ones but they clearly distinguish characters like Shu or Lala Ru from this world and show us that they don't belong here, this garb may be a really casual one but it serves as a reminder of who those characters are and that in this wartorn world there's no place for even the most basic clothing that we use today.
Recapitulation
To sum up, "Now and Then, Here and There" is a really good anime but only if you're ready to take it for what it is and not set your hopes up for a second Berserk. It's definitely not an easy watch but nontheless it's an important show that tells a story of war, despair and the darker side of humanity. I'd highly reccomend it if you're looking for an unique isekai because there are few anime like this one.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 2, 2021
"This anime is full of ordinary dialogue so that viewers can fully enjoy how cute the girls are"
Joshiraku is a comedy anime about four rakugo performers and conversations between them, but everything's over the top, obscene, meta and unpredictable. So don't let the opening quote fool you, because Joshiraku is a comedy slice of life but it's also so much more. Joshiraku is life.
Story
Basically it's non existent, each episode begins with an character starting a conversation which then can develope into literally anything, everything can happen during those, girls can end up discussing etymology of japanese words, have a guerilla fight in a christmas tree
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or perform death metal music whilst making laugh of Ho-kago Tea Time. This anime is constantly presenting new ideas and it never gets boring, be prepared tho because there are a lot of references to japanese history, politics and culture which may be really hard to understand, but just as in sayonara zetsubo sensei, the show can be enjoyed without understanding them. The fact that everything is plausible lets the anime explore many interesting ideas while remaining in the genre of comedy and absurd, the show doesn't rely to heavily on one type of comedy but instead tries to make jokes in all of the comedy genres that there are.
Characters
They're the driving force of this anime and thanks to them this anime is as good as it is, all of them have disctinct personalities which work with each other really well and lead to many funny moments, each character brings something new to the table, their behaviours are based on popular anime tropes but here the've been turned up to maximun which means that they excel at all levels of absurdity, the characters are using their personality to it's extent without going out of the role and that makes the show even funnier. Everyone from the main five has something going for them and could be an MC on their own thus their conversation have even more flair and contain even more interesting perspectives than in your average slice of life anime and because the show covers a plethora of topics you're prone to see some interesting things happening.
Execution
OST is definitely this show's weakest element, it's not bad per se but it's barely noticeable, there are no memorable tracks and this soundtrack is kinda there but if you're not specifically trying to hear it then you'll miss it. On the other hand the visuals are amazing, the characters are constantly moving (they even point that out in the first episode) and doing something, their expressions are always rich. It's also worth pointing out that the character designs set up an example that could be followed by all of the series , they deserve a whole review tbh, on every episode main characters are wearing something different, sometimes it can be a pajama and sometimes yankee's suit, one thing doesn't change tho, each and every outfit looks gorgeous, is detailed and fits it's personality of its wearer. All of the things that appear on the screen look good, and that means something when we talk about a series as over the top as this one. It should be also pointed out that the show is very well directed, despite the fact that most of an episode will rely on an dialogue everything is presented in a way that'll be pleasant to watch, many things will be presented on the screen, characters will be constantly doing something in order to draw our attention and the fact that everything can happen will be enough to make us yearn for more.
Overall Joshiraku is a really solid comedy idea, it's humour is really inventive and constantly funny, the characters are well fleshed out and really memorable and the entire thing is made with much care and is full of details.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 12, 2021
"Once upon a time there was a lady. She had no children, and no happiness either. And at first she cried for a long time, but then she became wicked"
"Paradise Kiss" is the first Ai Yazawa's work that I got to experience and I have to admit that I'm ashamed that I didn't watch it earlier. It's definitely one of the greastest examples of bildungsroman, in anime, done right. Add to it the fact that it's also one of the few punk anime ever made, and you've got a really interesting title that should not be overlooked.
Plot
As I stated in the foreword, "Parakiss" is first
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and foremost a story about growing up and maturing. Despite being only 12 episodes long the series manages to tell a compelling story with interesting themes and characters. We follow Yukari's journey towards becoming a master of her own faith, her story's main strenght is it's reality. At the beginning of the anime Yukari is just another teen who's overwhelmed by the lifestyle that has been imposed on her and who's trying to find her purpose in life. Once she enters the rabbit hole, which is the world of fashion, love and interpersonal drama, she becomes infatuated with the ideas of rebelling against the social order and exploring all of the sides of her new life. But the more she sees, the more she understands about it's darker and more down-to-earth side. What's great about her story is that we can't really predict what she's going to do next. Yukari's doesn't have a lot of life experience, she's prone to succumb to sugestions, which may not always benefit her, and doesn't really know how far should she go in her actions, and that's why this story works so well. You can understand what Yukari's need to go out of her way in order to manifest her hatred towards the life that she's been experiencing for past 18 years, and thus, why she is acting this way. The important thing is that the show doesn't suppor all of her actions and let's us know that she's oftenly overdoing it and going with the flow without a second thought, so you may feel for her but at the same time you know that she's not always right and you'll want to condemn some of her actions.
Alongise Yukari's story there are also two other going on. The first one is George's, who's the leader of Paradise Kiss and who's the direct cause of Yukari's transformation. The thing that's really interesting about George is that he has already went through what Yukari's going, during the series, and now he has to struggle with problems that come afterwards. The more we learn about him the more of his flaws we start to notice. His story is mainly about what choices you are to make after you make the first steps. George has to realize that his actions have been influenced by and are influencing others, and that being a part of the society means that you'll have to cooperate with others and accept that you may be wrong. While Yukari's story is exploring one's character, he's exploring one's place in society and that's why they complement each other and help each other solve their problems.
The third major arc in this series is Miwako's, but unlike Yukari or George, it's not about improve herself or realizing what should she do with her life but about making important decisions and realizing whom she loves and understand what relationships are really about. The story tackles the topic of love in a very mature, not as prevalent in anime, way. What arouses the conflict is the difference of how Miwako and Arashi understand love, you can genuinely feel for the characters who both have valid points and have to make hard decisions in order to overcome their struggle. As I stated before, this arcs main strength is the fact that it feels real, love is but a simple thing and this story encapsulates this fact very well.
That's about it when it comes to the main arcs, while you could say that there are also few other minor arcs that are going on (such as the story of motherhood and how important it is , in one way or another, for the main cast) I'd argue that those arcs mainly serve in order to compliment the three major arcs that I wrote about, and should be treated as their subplots. Although it should be mentioned that all of them help explore new ideas which make us appreciate main cast even more (e.g. Isabellas' backstory), but unfortunately not enough time is dedicated to them so I could call them a separate stories.
Overall the entire plot is not only very cleverly written, and let's us see the story from many different perspectives with many possible outcomes, but is also structured in a way that makes everything clear and let's you follow multiple arcs without them overwhelming you with unnecesary information. It knows which themes it wants to explore and it does it without overstaying it's welcome.
Characters
People behind series are aware of the fact that in order for it to work the viewer has to care about it's characters, so that's why there's something's going on with the vast majority of the named ones. But let's start with the important ones. Yukari is definitely the most interesting one, we get to see her highs and lows, understand her what motivates her and why is she acting the way she is. Throughout the story we see her evolve from a vulnerable teenager to a person who can be proud of oneself, not all of her choices are smart,and we as the audience are expected to condemn some of them, but that's what makes her seem real, because if you've ever been teen then you must know that not everything is being directed by logic. When it comes to other characters, George and Miwako should not be treated as side ones. As I wrote in the previous segment there's a lot going on with them. The first one starts as a really mysterious guy who's surrounded by this unique gravitas-creating vibe and the second one starting as a quirky comedic character. But that's just a tip of the iceberg. The more you learn about them the more you realize that they are proper characters with human problems. They are prone to commit mistakes and misunderstand eachother. And their arcs help us explore new ideas while also not forgetting that they are people with a lot of other things going on in their lives, the series does it's best to treat them with respect and doesn't bring them down to just few traits. The show wants you to know both the charming and assholey side of George and both serious and playful side of Miwako. Arashi is an interesting case because while he serve's mainly as a complementation of Miwako, he has his moments and some of them hit really hard. He's a great counterbalance to Miwako's idealism and he oftenly brings the more down-to-earth point of view to the table. Isabella may be this show biggest weakness, she's present in every single episode, we can see her being the most mature one of the bunch and understand what role is she fulfilling in Paradise Kiss but unfortunately she doesn't get a proper developement. There's a one backstory but that's way to little for a character with so much potential as her.
That's about it for the main cast. While writing about the other characters I should point out that only three of them get some sort of developement and that's Hiroyuki, Mikako and Kaori, I won't go into much detail about them but I'd just want to point out the fact that they first and foremost are in the story in order to help our main cast realize something about themselves. They don't appear in a lot of solo scenes but that doesn't change the fact that we get to learn about what motivates them, and why are they acting in such a way. They may not be the most fleshed out characters in fiction but they still add a lot to the series, and watching them is a joy. The rest of the secondary cast is really one dimentional (with few exceptions) but, that's what I'd expect, and I'm not going to complain about that, they can only fit so much in this series after all.
Production
When it comes to writing about this anime's production I should point out that it's not really consistent. Overall it's at least good but, especially in the first 3-4 episodes, there are a lot of chibi scenes which break the immersion but fortunately after a certain point they stop appearing. Another thing that should be pointed out is the directing which is excelent, there are a lot of really short scenes which serve mainly in order to convey one message and then the show just moves forward, this type of directing makes it so the show doesn't really waste time because as soon as it tells you the important stuff it just move forward hence you have to constantly keep paying atention in order to not miss out on the minor details (that's why I wouldn't recommend binging this series). As you may have guessed, the pacing in this series is excelent not only due to the lenght of the scenes but also due to the thighteness of the script and the fact that you're always receiving some sort of visual presentation which means that the series' uses it's time to the fullest.
Visual Presentantion may be Parakiss' biggest strenght, every single character from the main cast has an unique and phenomenal design which not only looks great but also tells you a lot about their character. There are a lot of minor details that make you appreciate the designs even more, what's also amazing is the fact that the characters are really well animated which makes the entire thing look even better and more realistic. But not only the characters have amazing designs, there are also three major locations which have been really well mapped out. The main one is obviously parakiss' workroom in which many scenes take place. It looks very styley and you can feel it's soul, the backgrounds are detailed and just by looking at it you see that it's an important place to the main cast. Everything there enchances the experience of watching this series because you can feel how deeply the creators care about creating this punk vibe. The minor locations may not be as detailed and well looking but they still fit the series, most of them are your average places such as school or some office but don't underestimate them because in order to make some of them stick out, the creators put few minor details that will make you feel this place's vibe, even better.
Music
The music in this series is definitely not it's biggest strenght. While there are some insert songs that are really good, majority of the OST is used in order to create a vibe or evoke a feeling inside you, and it delivers on that aspect really well, but that's about it. The music definitelly works, but mainly as a part of a bigger whole instead of standing on it's own.
Also I wanted to dedicate this entire segment just in order to praise the ending video because it's a goddamn masterpiece. The dance is not only cute and fun to watch but it also never gets boring. Furthermore it features one of the coolest songs from the 2000s. Definitely one of the greatest eds ever made
To sum up
Parakiss is definitely a one of a kind anime. it tells a compelling story about growing up and becoming a master of one's fate. It's characters have a lot going for them and the more you watch them the more nuances you start to pick up. The overall productions is on a very high level, especially the character designs which for obvious reasons are on an extremely high level. I'd definitely recommend giving this series a shot if you want to watch something unique, unlike most other anime and I'm looking forward experiencing Yazawa's Ai's other works.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 27, 2021
,,Each absurd has its own logic"
Plot
Despite being merely 6 episodes long this OVA manages to capture what we love about the original series while not getting boring for a single bit. First 4 episodes are a self contained stories that are mainly pandering to the fandom who wants to see cliches from the original series done again but in a higher quality. If you enjoyed the less serious episodes of the original then you'll love what this OVA has in store for you, all main characters appear for at least a few scenes, the plot is just a pretext for puting the main cast in
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absurd but fun situation and there are few heartwarming scenes for those who enjoyed those. The story never slows down so you'll always be entertained. The last 2 episodes tell an interesting story that'll be enjoyed by those who like the serious side of Ranma (obviously there still many jokes and other comedic elements), the two new characters are mildly interesting, their characters and story works just fine, but what matters most is Akane's miniarc which is simply amazing, this story explores the side of her that's not as prevalent in the main series, and seing her work in order overcome the obstacles makes you feel katharsis at the end of the OVA. Overall plot-wise the entire thing is on par with some of the best episodes from the main series and should be watched by everyone who loves the original series.
Production
Given that it's a short OVA the production is on a really high level, the characters look great and move constantly, most of the fights are really well animated, especially the one in episodes 4-6 where you can really feel the effort put into them. The OVA is also well directed and the entire thing just looks really pretty and is competently made, you can really see the care put into setting this world in motion and making it look as good as it can, both backgrounds and the characters are very detailed, colourful and looking at them is a joy to the eye. There are 3 major new characters and each of them has a great design (my favourite one being Natsume in both of her outfits). The sound design works just fine, there are few interesting tracks but nothing that would stick with me for years, it serves it's purpose well but doesn't impress me in any way, obviously the songs from the OG series are amazing but that's about it.
To sum up, if you love the original series then you should definitely give this one a go, not only will you get to experience fun and interesting stories but you'll also get to see them in a very high quality. You'll get everything that you'll looking for out of it and even more.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 25, 2021
,,The strong man is strongest when alone."
,,K" is a 1 volume manga of one's struggle against mountains and elements surrounding them. The story focuses on one of the greatest mountaineer the world has ever seen and his treks on some of the most dangerous mountains in the himalayas. In mere 5 chapters K has to climb five mountains in order to help different people, despite the simmilar setting each venture is somehow unique and the story never gets boring. The exciting moments feel exciting , you never know what's going to happen and what tricks K will pull off in order to fulfill his mission.
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Despite not knowing a lot about K's character and backstory you get to like him after a while and thanks to few subtle touches you really care about him and want him to suceed, his story is very interesting and if only had this manga been longer we could get an amazing character arc. The side characters are fine, apart from Lena they don't really stick out but given that they are really non important and don't take up too much space, they fulfill their role just fine, and seing them react to K's actions (such as his characteristic shaving beard) is really satysfying. The plot is not important and it's just a excuse for making K climb different mountains, what matters are the themes of determination and finding the power to surmount the insurmountable and K's arc really delivers on it.
The art in this manga is simply impeccable, despite depicting mainly mountains each location is different and the world feels like a beautiful yet extremely dangerous place, at one page the characters may be admire the breathtaking views and on the next one they'll have to try to survive a snowslide. It's also worth to point out that few cities and camps presented in the manga are well portrayed so you can feel the ambience. Thanks to the K's amazing character design you can feel the dread and determination in the toughest moment and pure joy whenever he manages to overcome those hardships. The sheer number of different detailed facial expressions is worth praising, the detailed artwork also lets you understand what K is up against and why it's so difficult to climb a given mountain, you can almost feel the cold of the himalayas while you're reading the manga. Not for Jiro's art this manga wouldn't simply be the same.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 9, 2020
Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas
The horizon is one of the most interesting war stories that I've read so far, it tells a story of a boy who's trying to
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survive and preserve his humanity but each and every step of his journey reminds him that there are many awful people on our planet. Despite being only 21 chapters long "The horizon" shows us many different ways in which war influences people, but all of them have one thing in common, it changes innocent civilians into withered versions of themselves. This story is universal, it can take place in every single country on the planet and the suffering, death of the innocent and emotional trauma will follow it whereve it goes
Every character has their own way of percieving the world around them and has been influenced by it in many different ways, some are willing to do anything in order to survive, others have been completely destroyed and their life has changed into one long streak of pain and suffering. In this world no one is safe, main character is oftenly walking along hundreds of nameless corpses which belong to regular people who just haven't been lucky. This manhwa tackles topics of existentialism, schopenhauerism, nihilism but most importantly pacifism, right from the get go we see innocent civilians being murdered and later on we get to see that even those who managed to survive will to have to do many morally questionable things in order to survive. This series won't give you an easy answer, each ideology and approach to the situation that characters are in is presented with both flaws and merits but none is presented as the definitive, correct one.
The visuals are simply stunning, every single pannel conveys a message, some are genuinely terryfing, others really sad but all of them tell a story and this manhwa simply wouldn't be as good without them. Pannels can be both expressionistic, naturalistic and symbolistic, and even a combination of all of those styles, it really depends on the context but one things certain, all of them hit hard. Ji-Hoon Jeong is especially good at portraying facial expressions, just all it takes is a glance to understand what a given character is feeling and the more you look at it the more you get it, it almost seems as if the author has seen Dante's hell.
In conclusion, "The horizon" is not the most pleasant manga to read, it tackles many serious topics and presents many deprresing scenes, but despite that it's a masterpiece. The author did his best to show a universal depiction of war, one that can happen everywhere and ruin many lives. Thanks to the impeccable visuals the series emotional climaxes are way more memorable. This story is at it's core a story about how one's psyche can be crushed and how even the most innocent children will suffer, not knowing why or who decided that their life will change forever.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Sep 24, 2020
Good pretender
If I were asked about wit studio's speciality I'd have no choice but to say "Cathartic payoffs", but whilst in their other works payoffs are an rewarding addicion at the end of each arc, Great Pretender is constructed solely around them. The series is divided into 3 minor and one major arcs which all tell a separate stories but are connected by the main cast, each arc also tells focuses on a different character from the main cast. On this level the story can be compared to Lupin III but with storyarcs and less style.
As you may suspect, the plot of this series
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is not the most complex one, at the beginning of each arc you know how it will end but as always the devil lies in the details, the writer wants to ensure that the viewer won't be bored and that there will be always at least 4 different ways in which the conman's may reach their goals,the story may be rather simple but it's definetly really fun to watch, especially if you're a fan of heist movies, every now and then the story gets a darker turn but given the nature of the series some of those moments can't be taken seriously.
The characters are the reason for why this anime is as good as it is, to paraphrase a certain video on youtube "In a well written group, if you present a problem to your characters each should come up with a different solution" and this sentence is deffinetly true when it comes to GP, every character from the main cast has their own merits and represents a different approach to being a conman, backstories of the main cast are not as deep as you'd expect them to ben and few of them can be guessed just from a glance, but regardless of that they at least justify the characters actions enough so they seem reasonable (in most of the cases). Overall the main cast is well written, each has his own interesting backstory and few little quirks that will make you at least appreciate them, my main problem laid in Edamura who's character oftenly contradicts itself and is your average MC,in the last arc he goes through some questionable changes but that doesn't change the fact that he's a rather shollow and most shonen-esque character in the show. The cast is rather well designed, that said there's only one memorable design- Laurent's, but given the nature of the series the design lack any details that would make them memorable, nontheless they definetly fit the situations and the characters wearing them . When it comes to dialogues, they are well-written and fun to listen to, oftenly dialouge is a verbal battle between two characters and those moments are both interesting and enjoyable to watch, sure every now and then there's a stupid truism or a cheesy quote that has been already said a thousand times (especially when it comes to conversations including Makoto) but that doesn't take away from the overall experience, each colloquy does it's best in trying to be chekhov's gun and to be honest, that's enough.
The series is full of fanservice moments which are obviously there simply in order to pander the viewer, but despite that these scenes are not too in your face and even oftenly make sense in the context.
I'm not an expert when it comes to technicall stuff so I won't go into details but to say just a few things. The anime looks nice, it's full of colours, the backgrounds look well enough and the animation is pleasant to look at, there's always something to look at so you won't get bored with staring at the same frame for 30 seconds. Music is definetly an important part of this anime, I don't know who decided that the rap should be in the OST but he did a great job, apart from the premise of the show the soundtrack may be the most unique thing about it, the music gives this anime a soul and fits very well in the series, there are many interesting tracks that you wouldn't normally hear in an anime but most of them pass the test and really fit the show (Also the ed is Freddie Mercury's cover of the "Great Pretender" so and that's actually amazing).
To sum up, Great Pretender is what "Sting" and "Ocean's 11" anime child would be. Sure it's predictable and it's script leaves something to be desired but despite that it's fun to watch, the characters, dialogues and the action moments are great, the OST and story arcs really suit the anime and the style of the entire show is really unique and makes giving the show a try definetly worth it, the fact that the story takes places in different countries in different setting and with different goal results in each arc being unlike the one before it, so if you're looking for a enjoyable series to spend an evening or two with, Great Pretender is a way to go.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 13, 2020
When it comes to short comedy manga then ,,How to Treat a Lady Knight Right" is one of my favourite ones. Despite the premise being rather simple the execution is very good and it's a joy to read. So if you're looking for some short cute romance manga then boy oh boy I've got a thing for you.
Plot
For most of the manga the plot is nearly non-existent, the main story is about a romance between Fooly and Leo but apart from that there's really not a lot going on. In the last parts of the manga there is an bigger thematic arc but it's really
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not that interesting. The thing is that this manga works without having a plot, it's mainly about seeing how characters react to a lot of fun scenarios and the manga really delivers on that aspect. If you're looking for a deep story with interesting themes and characters then this one is not for you but if you're down for short cute harem story then don't hesitate to give this one a shot.
Characters
The characters are this mangas main strenght, most of them are really one dimensional and their character could be explained in one sentence but they play off each other well and that's what matter. Each character offers a different experience so you'll definitely like at least few of them. Obviously the most interesting ones are Leo and Fooly who's relationship is adorable to watch and it never gets boring.
The art
Since each chapter is only 8 pages long there's really no place for the author to shine but one thing could be said, it's consistent what's supposed to look well looks well but not much stands out. The characters are well designed and all of the important one are easily recognizable but that's about it, there's nothing that would make you want too look for all of the hidden nuances that the author had putten there. Obviously much care has been put into abs' design so they look really well and given that we see quite a few of them you should be satisfied.
Overall it's a really fun story, desptie being short I'll have really fond memories of it. I'd definitely recommend giving it a try.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 30, 2019
Koisuru Yankee Girl tells a story of romance between 2 characters,title character Ayame Sudou and her beloved one Nagi Kazami. The main premise of the story is their relationship and character of Ayame, who on the outside seems like an dangerous deliquent capable of doing hedious deeds but on the inside is caring,chaste and bashful.Interactions between the main duo emphasize her duality and provide a lot of funny moments which later become more and more wholesome,the comedy is mostly really well handled,but some of the jokes may seem weird or have bad timing.The romance is also well written and watching how the characters get closer
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to each other really feels rewarding even though the manga is short.The side cast is also well penned,but given that the manga has only 21 chapters their characters are mostly defined by one or two personality traits.Art of the manga is not very detailed,but it's enough for this type of story,all of the important characters have unique and distinguishable designs that are pleasant for the eye and more or less detailed,the facial expressions also looks well and really add up to the jokes.Overall this manga is an enjoyable romance,the interactions between the main duo is imo the best part of this story,I definetly reccomend this story for the people looking for good romcom.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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