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8.5/10 ~ a wholesome fantasy adventure

You know that moment when Calcifer helps make the eggs and Bacon in Howls moving castle? This is kinda like a show of just that.

When I saw Trigger made this show and the preview for it back when it was launching I was so confused, but then I thought back to Little witch Academia and it all made sense. Dungeon Meshi has a very similar look and feel to Little witch, but mixed with high fantasy and the begining parts of Gurren Lagann when they are still trapped underground, and the mystery to go beyond, in Gurren's case it ... was to go to the sky's and heavens above, where here is to go deeper, oh so deeper into the dungeon bellow.

Highlights from the show:
-fantastic English dub
-animation/aesthetic is a bit weird but fits the feel and humor of the show
-likeable charecters, however no one stands out as a fantastic character... Yet
-world feels lived in
-funny and good humor
-wholesome as f***
-pacing could be a bit better where some episodes forsure feel like filler but do at to world building
-some of the food making gets a bit repetitive but I found after a while this was something I would look forward to
-story over all is nothing new, but builds on pre-existing material in a grand way
--the way the story progresses other then "down" is pretty unexpected which is a great pace
-amazing pass time to eat dinner to <3

This show forsure isnt for everyone, but it does have a little something for everyone. This feels like one of the first shows ive watched AND enjoyed that feels like a good exsperiance to share with friends and family. I kinda regret watching it alone, but I know I will return to this one and watch it with significant others down the line, similar to how I rewatch Ghibli movies time and time again. So Hearing all of this I would recommend this to anyone who like high fantasy, Ghibli movies, or Wholesome moments.

7/10 ~ how did I get here

So I dont one piece really, and this just auto played after I finished watching Dandadan, but I had no idea what I was watching but said fuck it, its only 24 minutes. And my god, this was a fantastic little piece here, im sure this would hit much harder if I truly understood what was going on during this little film. I did not know the events they were referring to but I could follow it all well enough. This felt like one of those pre-film Pixar shorts like the Oldman playing chess or w.e, and it was ... pretty refreshing to just sit back and watch the gorgeous animation with a pretty nice conclusion.

If I do ever make the journey and do actually watch Once Piece in its entirety im sure ill come back and re-appreciate this one.

7.5/10 ~ Peak Shonen... or what Shonen should be

For starters as I have aged I have found that Shonen just is not for me, or so I thought. Then something like Dandadan comes around and amazes me. Honestly if it wasn't for all the constant jokes and references to Japanese culture I do not understand I probably would have enjoyed it more. This show constantly had me both wanting to go to the next episode in anticipation and asking myself "what the hell" am I watching. As Bonsai Pop put it perfectly "This show is like the Rave scene during Devil man Cry baby", and ... wow I could not agree more.

-Most if not all the charecters are enjoyable
-vey good female lead
--weirdly good character growth and backgrounds
-funny even if you dont understand Japanese culture
-decent action scenes
-decent story and plot progression
-weirdly good blend of the occult and sci-fi

However the show does not do well:
-pacing is very choppy hoping that the action runs to the end
-bit too weird
-most jokes fall flat from not understanding japanese culture
-the humor I did understand was forsure made for a 12yo boy
-probably hard to recommend to people who dont watch anime, unless this falls into the so weird you gotta watch it category, to be seem

I am waiting for season 2 and may have to rewatch season 1 when that comes out and re-evaluate my score. But yes this show is far above average and I could see myself giving this an entire +0.5 to 1.5 points to the show when all is said and done and the show is complete. And for all the people who dont understand, I rate pretty harshly as 5/10 IS average and to get a 7.5 means I do really enjoy this, and to say I could see this scoring a 8.5 is just incredible.

This show feels like its going to be a special one looking back, a diamond in the rough and a true cult classic.

6/10 ~ Tower of God + Black clover but w/ Hunger Games at Hogwarts

This show is very okay, plagued with very slow moments tropes galore and extremely overused ideas such as Dungeons/ Dungeon Raids, Free-for-all team battles and a MC with No Magic but in a world of Magic.

The show is not all bad tho, it does have some high lights like some decent action scenes, Mage problems in a DnD setting and what faults would shine through if the world was tritely ruled by the magic havers vs the magicless. The MC perseverating through his fear and being liked not because he can ... do everything but because he is a decent human being. The last few episodes eluded to the world and mystery's of it being far more interesting then anything in the first 10 or so episodes. So if you can stick it out to the end of Season 1 you might just come back for future instalments like myself. So I will give it a bit more of a try moving forward.

Over all I would say this is very deserving of a 6/10 as it is ever so slightly better then what an average anime should be with room to grow as far as my entertainment levels went. However this is something you should feel free to skip at least until future seasons come out and we can see if this is worth our time over all.

6.5/10 ~ Not as good as the original but still a fun ride

I cant really say anything that user "JTurner" has not said, if you want a more detailed explanation on the shows go look at this review.

I watched very little of this and the OVA series as a child and remembered almost nothing from either except that elves are hot. The OVA series being a OVA took many more liberties in overall story as OVA's from the 80s/90's tended to do, and the original was no exception:
-Poorly story telling
--things just happen
-poorly written charecters
-overly sexual
-overly violent
... -usually decent dubs

Where this "Sequel" was forsure made for TV broadcast by being:
-full 27 episode series
-much better story telling
-slightly better written charecters
-far less sexual
-worse voice actors for the dub
-obvious budget constraints with the budget showing in many many spots

Watching the OVA series then immediately watching the TV series without the background knowledge that someone like "JTurner" provided would have been very useful. Instead I just was extremely confused by the change of most if not all the voice actors, conflicting story lines and story tellings. I also just wanted more Deedlit and party, but there is a pretty substantial time skip and most if not all the replacement 'next generation' charecters where just somehow worse then the previous party. Somehow most of the charecters that were in both the OVA and TV series received a downgrade too in both writing and voice acting. they also turned Deedlit into a complete tsundere, im assuming in response to the ever so popular evangelion that released right before the production of this series. I am not complaining... just a bit weird to see.

I would recommend this series if you enjoyed the 1st series, Golden Age of Animation, Swords and Sorcery, enjoy D&D, LotR or High fantasy. However the series is not amazing by any stretch of the imagination and is plagued with stereotypes and tropes even for the time ~ which where most certainly on purpose given the source martial as they were not such when it was the 80's.

4.5/10 ~ Enjoyable but really not that good

For anyone that doesnt know, these were held at the end of EACH ep of the Lodoss War TV series then was put into this compilation "movie". From what I can tell its the exact same material just more accessible. These completely broke the tension from there series and made you realize the series is all in good fun. At the end of the day Lodoss war truly is just a retelling of some old D&D Campaigns from the late 80's, and such enjoyment is for all ages. I do enjoy that these theoretically must have gotten many ... children around the world interested into the world of Lodoss and D&D / High fantasy in general. That being said these are hardly well made, and just for comedic purposes. Many of them were pretty jarring and or annoying and broke pace of watching the series on a binge. At first I just got annoyed by them and dreaded them coming, then around the 18th one they were just kinda expected and I went with the flow. 3 to 4/10 is where I draw the line of something being acceptable to watch and this was just barely above that line in my opinion. But not quite good enough to get a 5/10 the oh so sacred average.

I am sure if you adore Lodoss, have children or just are obsessed with late 80s/early 90's chibi animation you will love this, probably just was not for me.

7.0/10 ~ Man they really dont make em' like they use to

I watched this as a child and remember enjoying it but couldn't remember anything about the series other then, " Man, they had no business drawing those elves that way" . After rewatching it again this week I have to say I really really enjoyed this more then it had any reason to. When I think of the show objectively it has so, so many flaws its kinda funny.
- Annoying MC
- bad pacing
- bad writing
--> Someone explain to me why all the EXTRA dragons started appearing at the end but had no actual ... impact on events?
- very little character depth or growth
--> MC just is handed everything
- charecters just kinda do things, and you are expected to believe it based on their Class, Race or Alignment, fitting for a show based off a DnD Champaign from the 80's

But at the end of the day I cannot always articulate why I enjoy something but I will try my best:
- Fantastic art direction
- Great late 80's/ Early 90's animation that I so crave these days
- just actually a DnD Champaign
- my favorite setting, high Fantasy
- Classic story of Good vs Evil, dont think about it
- Deedlit
- correct length, didnt feel to long or short

Its hard to say that I am blinded by nostalgia, when the show brought out nostalgia for just my childhood in general, but in reality nothing to actually do with the show. If I had to objectively rate the show as a critic I would place it somewhere in the 4/10 to 5.5/10, but I rate things on here solely based on my enjoyment and I really enjoyed this one despite all its flaws.

On the the "sequel" TV series...

5.5/10 Decent action show without the convoluted nonsense.

This show was good to binge and I got through the 1st season in one sitting. Honestly this show doesn't bring too much new to the table and feels like a tried and true formula.
- Decent enough animation, definitely sub par in fights to JJK or Chainsawman, but still pretty good.
-- the action itself was decent enough, passed the better then DBZ test
- The pacing was actually phenomenal, never felt slow or rushed
- The plot was typical Shonen nonsense of being accepted and the best, but with friends
- World building was acceptable and there was ... very little exposition dumbs to bore you
- Themes of fighting monsters was fine, w/ tech that seems logical enough
- Charecters were all pretty standard with nothing to write home about, bit too many cardboard cutouts tho
- Little to no good character development from the main cast
- Comedy was funny in moments but not the selling point of the show
- English Dub was actually above average
-weirdly got FMA original vibes from this one. I think it was the humor and pacing, bit unsure from that take but its what came to mind.

However when it comes to the action and animation of said fights that is the only piece of substance from this show, every other category is extremely lacking. And I personally don't believe action can carry a show very far, so this is simply not for me. If Action is your thing I could see this getting closer to a 7+/10 from some people. I would say regardless you are fine skipping this one at least until its been finished unless you crave the action.

5.5/10 - Not as good as "The women named Fujiko series", but its more Lupin iii

So I watched this immediately after finishing L3:TWNFM series, expecting a bit more of the same quality, art and story telling. And tho its technically part of that continuity its a considerable step down in all fields. Very disappointing to say the least, but at the end of the day its on par with most Lupin iii movies of the past, so if you enjoy those you will most likely enjoy this. As much as I have general respect for Lupin the 3rd in a general sense, im not the ... biggest fan of the over arching series to be completely honest so this just wasnt for me. However L3:TWNFM series is just a complete work of art and I highly recommend that, I just think they are two completely diffrent products and kinda hard to compare.

One of the things that was also a bit weird to adjust to is the English dub voice cast is just diffrent from this movie from that series, jarring to say the least. The art was a step down, similar I guess... but not a spectacle. And the series not having the best writing or story boarding always kept you guessing what was going to happen mostly because it was so weird, and it was more of a origin story more then anything. Where this Movie was extremely predictable as you know the main cast CANT die if it wants to remain at all remotely connected to the main series, which took any type of suspense out of the finally.

This was just good enough where ill probably watch the other 2 movies in this mini series... but atleast I will know what I am getting into this time around.

7.0/10 ~ Highly recommend this one just on the art style

Man this one was quite the treat to watch for the visuals alone. They really just made it feal like an oldschool manga or art book from the 70's come alive in animated form. The amount of work that went into each scene, every set piece, every episode is crazy to think of much akin to watching something like Red line, I wouldnt be surprised if there is overlapping staff there to be honest.

I may have grown up watching some Lupin iii, but I really do not have much love for it, that being ... said this did not have to be nostalgic to be good. Which I am always here for, as I can truly view this without some rose tinted glasses unlike so many.

The charecters were written to the T of how they are through out Lupin's series but here you get a diffrent taste of how they theoretically could have met as the cannon of this seems to be a bit murky. That being said we dont watch lupin for extremely deep charecters or deep plots, so nothing new here. You also just have to be prepared for it being episodic with fairly independent stories, a bit of a thing from the past that most people are not use to in this day in age.

The sound track is spectacular, this has to be up there with Cowboybebop or Shamploo for how good it was consistently.

My biggest complaint is the show was a bit too sexual, I wouldnt be surprised by stats if Fujiko had her tits out for almost 50% of all screen time she was actually on. And this is coming from someone who quite enjoys such things... made the moments feel less special if you know what I mean. All that being this is show is so good that you can just kinda ignore the titties and its still quite good.

6.5 and above is where I start to actually personally recommend shows, and remember 5/10 is average so this is well above that. Cheers