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Oct 6, 2024
Look Back is definitely a movie made for anyone who has practiced to create or achieve something, and I'm sure it will have a big impact on those people. Still, as someone who hasn't had ambitions so lofty, I thought it was a story that did a great job at mixing heartwarming and intentionally ugly elements.
Fujino, the main character, is interesting because she represents those two elements well. She's constantly a bad person, but when paired with Kyomoto you get to see that she does care. The combination of those two traits make her a pretty tragic character throughout the movie. Meanwhile, Kyomoto is so
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sweet that she really is the perfect foil to Fujino. Their dynamic is what makes Look Back so good even if you don't draw. Tatsuki Fujimoto's artstyle was perfect for these two flawed characters, and the voice actresses of Fujino and Kyomoto did a notably amazing job at expressing them.
The only complaint I have with the film is some shenanigans near the end. But even with that being too much for me, it still had some nice character-building, so I can't dislike it too much. Otherwise, the hour-long runtime didn't feel like a problem at all (and even felt longer than an hour). I was conscious of all of the montages, but they got the story they wanted to tell across just fine — which is actually pretty efficient.
While some people might disagree about the pacing, but I can still recommend this tightly-knit, unique-feeling film.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Nov 30, 2023
Personally I don’t think Gridman Universe was as crazy as I was led to believe. Expectations are dangerous things, so my advice is to keep them tempered! However, if you enjoyed SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon and appreciated their characters, it’s easy to recommend seeing how they wrap it all up here without reading on. But if you’re still unsure, I’ll share my thoughts.
This has the casts from SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon, and they’re very nice to see again! Unfortunately this many characters means only a handful get time to shine. The characters that are simply There still have fun little moments or animations at least. SSSS.Gridman’s cast
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mainly get the limelight though, but that worked out well since that story was solid.
I ended up as more of a Gridman: The Hyper Agent fan than I thought I would’ve, so I was super excited to see that get properly thrown in with the two anime series for the Ultimate Gridman Crossover. Let’s just say that if you feel the same you should really temper your expectations. Most people probably won’t mind but I will admit the disappointment hit me pretty hard…
As for the movie itself, its first half and ending are nice! I got somewhat lost when the main plot point came in between those, though. On top of me not entirely getting what was going on, it felt a little too asinine for me. It’s possible I just didn’t get it. After all, I really liked the main takeaway point of the story.
In true Gridman fashion, Gridman Universe is primarily about the characters and story more than the fights. However, while I am the kind of person to go “YOOOOO” when a new weapon or transformation happens, I can’t say I did much of that for this movie. By now it goes as you’d expect. The enemies are nothing too interesting either, but it’s always funny to see the suit-like kaiju designs in this series. On top of that, the camera placements and character movements make the fights hard to follow more often than I’d like.
Still, the movie as a whole was pleasant! It wasn’t as exciting or groundbreaking as I was expected. But at the end of the day I did enjoy seeing everyone again, interacting with each other and working things out.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Aug 17, 2023
In order to talk about Season 1 of Witch from Mercury, we have to get Season 2 involved. That’s because Season 1 actually didn’t grab me and had me wondering where Witch from Mercury’s great reputation came from. However, after watching Season 2, I realized that pretty much all of the things in Season 1 that I didn’t entirely care about or didn’t like actually had good payoff by the end. Not only that, but even if Season 1 remained “just okay,” Season 2 was so intense that I think it’d be worth going for anyways.
I want to emphasize that Season 1 doesn’t actually
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do anything wrong. I didn’t find anything outright boring or annoying. But for the most part, the overall events of it can be summed up by a nervous girl (Suletta) going to Mech School and using her overpowered mech to win high-stakes duels. Now, at the same time the anime’s companies have interesting power struggles and use plenty of dirty tricks to get ahead (which is the real plot of this anime)...but there weren’t enough “wow”ing ones in Season 1. The mech fights also aren’t much to look at (besides Suletta’s beautiful Gundam Bits), which is a shame considering there are a good chunk of battles — especially with how duel-heavy Season 1 is.
However, the end of Season 1 and the entirety of Season 2 utilizes all of the events from Season 1 that were actually just setup and had me glued to the screen. There are so many sparks that go off between so many different characters/groups and well-done emotional moments that I was addicted to seeing what happened next. Admittedly, it got so complex that I had a hard time following who was doing what sometimes, but the general escalation of everything was straightforward enough that I wasn’t damned for it. Granted, some things felt asinine enough to take away from the experience, but not enough to lower my score.
To go back a bit, I will say that I didn’t really get attached to too many characters in Season 1, including the leads. They were still good though, and I like how much attention the sheer amount of side characters get! Season 2 helps by fleshing out everyone’s depth for sure, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t end up getting attached to most of the cast by the end in one way or another. However, I feel like a lot of good character moments come more from their place in the plot than from the characters themselves. “A character was cool for doing x moreso than how they did it.” It’s not bad and goes to show just how well events in the anime are done, but I do wish it could’ve been more of both. (Miorine probably suffers the most from this which is actually pretty bad since she's the co-star.)
While Witch from Mercury being “two seasons” doesn’t make much sense for the one continuous story that it is, it does make it easier for me to pinpoint when it immediately shifts from “okay” to “insane” on the first watch. Patience pays off with this one, assuming you even need it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 12, 2023
I wouldn’t say An Explosion on This Wonderful World is “more Konosuba” like you’d expect. It’s actually mostly tame. While having (almost) no bad Konosuba jokes is great, it apparently comes at the cost of the sheer attitude that made Konosuba enjoyable in the first place. It retains some of that DNA, but otherwise it’s a surprisingly generic experience.
Don’t get me wrong, if you want to like Megumin then I think this anime does a good job. Personally Megumin never struck me as much of a character before this. It was very nice to see that she’s actually kind and thoughtful behind her smug pride.
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(And thank goodness for the movie for endearing me to the Crimson Demons’ smug pride before this anime’s focus on them!) But at the same time, Megumin’s character doesn’t entirely stand out to me. If anything, this anime felt more like a Yunyun spotlight — which was actually my favorite part of it. Yunyun gets a good amount of depth, making her more than the relatively one-dimensional "wimp joke" she was before. The characterization on these two was done pretty well, although there aren’t really any other notable characters on display....
As far as it being a Megumin backstory, there’s nothing too interesting going on there. It really is just a Megumin and Yunyun adventure more than something that sheds a light on why Megumin is the way she is or the like. Not that the events of the anime are bad per say, but some parts definitely felt like a slog.
I wouldn’t get excited for An Explosion on This World, but I also wouldn’t entirely write it off. If you want to get a better understanding of Megumin and Yunyun then this will probably be a good watch. But if you don’t really care, I don’t think you’re missing out on much else by skipping it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 22, 2023
I was wondering if Uma Musume's formula was starting to wear off on me while watching this. I mean, admittedly it probably is since it still follows the same beats, moods, writing, and racing "twists" as the first two seasons despite the new main characters. And while season 2 had this same problem after watching season 1, the difference there is the high highs that ultimately made parts of it very emotional and memorable. While Road to the Top certainly has emotional moments, they didn't reach me.
The MAIN main character, Narita Top Road, is the strongest of the main three thanks to her emotional struggle
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being written well-enough. However, while the foundations are there, it ended up feeling weak since her supporting cast isn't fleshed out. It still had its moments where you can tell what the writers were going for, at least.
Admire Vega's whole situation felt asinine to me and made her not enjoyable throughout. This wasn't wasn't helped by it being very obvious how it was going to end up for her. I will admit that I still like how it happened...but even then it should've happened in time for her to flex it. Plus that would've stopped her from repeating herself up to the end. Actually seeing it would've definitely helped me like her more.
Opera O is unsurprisingly a joy and the best foil to put next to these two, but she definitely felt more like a secondary character than an equal. But maybe that's for the best. I think the point of her (and a great aspect of her) is that, unlike most other horse girls, she doesn't have anything to flesh out. I think that gave the writers a hard time making her impactful enough to fit as a main character as advertised, though.
Another issue is that the supporting cast is basically non-existent — besides Top Road's trainer (who is good). The rest of small supporting cast that actually is there felt very one-dimensional and not impactful to the main trio. And they're all you have. I ended up missing when the first two seasons gave small one-line roles or mentions to the other unimportant racers, because they get literally nothing here. It made the world feel surprisingly empty. Of course this is probably because this was only a four-episode ONA and all they wanted to do was highlight the main three, but that doesn't stop the experience from being weaker as a result.
For what it's worth, I think this anime still works as far as highlighting what makes Top Road, Admire Vega, and Opera O notable and likeable characters (at least if you haven't met them in the mobile game already like me). It just does it in a way that isn't interesting, especially after watching the previous seasons. At best I'm left to imagine the best versions of these character (which, hey, I'll take).
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jul 22, 2023
Admittedly I wasn’t aware this was a prologue/introduction for an anime (which has only just been announced as of writing this), so I was a bit confused by the methodical pace when watching. After all, Fake was apparently an April Fools’ joke that was made real, so I was expecting a little cheeky hour-long animation of that and that’s it. But this felt like it was taking itself as an actual story seriously, which I think is (ironically) a funny way to present jokes like this.
However, I was admittedly confused at everything that was going on. Almost everyone speaks verbosely, terms are thrown
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around, characters are cut to, and relationships are revealed in a way that was pretty hard to follow for me (and in a way I don’t remember the other Fate introductions being). Maybe I've just been out of Fate for too long or missed a few too many spin-offs that are prerequisites. It probably all comes together in hindsight once you watch the actual TV series at least?
It’s nice to see who the characters are going to be this time around. But personally I didn’t get much out of watching it alone simply a taste of what’s to come.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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May 1, 2023
If you read the plot of a girl with a guy who is a chair and thought Makoto Shinkai went too far over the edge (like I did), I assure you that he actually makes it work! Well, if you’re willing to meet him partway, anyway. It’s still no Your Name, but I think it still sits comfortably with Weathering With You.
Surprisingly the chair actually has emotional meaning to it in the movie. Even if it didn’t, I ended up somehow not finding it too asinine to be distracting. There are actually other aspects of this movie that had that problem. How most of the
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fictional things are named/explained — and Suzume being able to get away with literally anything — require you to go into the film with some suspension of disbelief. You could say the same requirement could be needed for Suzume’s relationship with Souta. Granted, they do develop a great relationship, but what they’re willing to go through for one another when things get intense feels unearned.
As an aside, Souta being the chair actually doesn’t really add much to the movie. Everything could’ve happened with Souta as a human and very few chair quirks would be missed. It’s…kinda disappointing actually! I was at least hoping for a lot of creative ideas that utilized a sentient chair considering the movie’s premise.
Still, this movie is about a spontaneous grand journey across Japan that’s very fun! A little thing I liked a lot is how social media is used to figure out where to go next. The weird, supernatural aspects of the movie might be silly at times, but overall they’re interesting and whimsical. Suzume herself has a great personality and backstory, and Souta’s helpfulness and determination warmed me up to him pretty quickly. The supporting cast isn’t as good as the ones in other Makoto Shinkai films, but the friendliness from the people they meet still makes them pleasant people.
As a movie with some fantasy elements, Suzume isn’t too special. But it’s still a fun and interesting adventure that I can easily recommend if you don’t try to take it too seriously.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 1, 2023
Lycoris Recoil is easily one of my favorites. What an amazing, enjoyable time! I was literally smiling for so many long periods of time when it was silly and fun, and I was invested whenever it got real. Lycoris Recoil has such a good balance of lightheartedness and seriousness, even weaving the former into the latter at times in a natural way.
The winning formula is the two main girls (Chisato and Takina) and their chemistry. The foolproof combination of bubbly goofball plus serious-yet-ignorant person is done masterfully here. Chisato is such a fun and silly character in everything she does (even the way she
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talks is iconic), yet she’s simultaneously really cool when she gets to work (literally simultaneously). Her method of taking people out and the reasoning behind it combine both the fun and cool aspects of her perfectly and it all makes her a surprisingly unique, interesting, and deep character. Meanwhile Takina is just as funny and cute, but in a completely different way. She remains no-nonsense and literal throughout, but also subtly softens up throughout the anime. They truly are one of the most iconic duos.
And that’s not even talking about the supporting cast. Every one of them has such interesting chemistry with the main two and each other. It’s such a complex system of relationships that somehow hold each other up so well throughout all of the anime’s moments, silly and serious. The main antagonist was also great, and his reasoning almost tricked me quite a few times. Even another antagonist was so over-the-top in his obsession that he came back around to being enjoyable.
The overarching plot ended up being interesting when they focused on it. And I’m glad it was there because, while the more slice of life moment are my favorite parts, the actual plot moments add proper weight and depth to the premise and characters.
Lycoris Recoil is both very fun yet very smart. Can’t recommend it enough.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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May 1, 2023
This review covers all three parts. And it’s actually fitting that MAL splits Stone Ocean/Part 6 into three parts because I actually had different feelings for each third of the anime:
-The 1st third is good! It does a good job at being an interesting introduction to the premise of story. You could call the first six episodes the longest prologue in history — and that’s not even derogatory! The setting is certainly interesting, and Jolyne adapting to it was done well.
-The 2nd third had me considering dropping it, honestly. I think the setting and formula had run its course by this point. Plot progressions also
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started feeling fewer and farther between. It became stale. Stone Ocean is very dense — every minute is packed to the brim with something — which is great most of the time. But that made it even worse once I started becoming fatigued around this point. I think this stretch lives or dies by how invested you are in JoJo’s fights, because it felt like it was exclusively one fight after the other with no real setting/circumstance variance.
-The 3rd third was amazing! The formula drastically shifts and becomes a huge breath of fresh air! I think it’s the most I’ve enjoyed JoJo since the first three Parts. And of course, as the story starts reaching its climax, it puts a lot of attention on the main antagonist (a type of character that Araki has mastered right out of the gate). The ending was crazy good, too (even if I didn’t really care for how the final scene went down).
Stone Ocean is by far the weirdest, silliest and dare I say bizarre-est JoJo has ever been. The character designs, their clothes, the Stand abilities, the strategies during fights — most of them are just unhinged in a very fun and funny way. And — maybe JoJo has always been like this — but Stone Ocean felt very much like “Araki’s Fun Facts: The Anime”. It’s like the guy just had a list of very specific facts he liked and formed the abilities/plot progression around them; it’s very funny. I can’t even be mad that this Part’s “arrow” is discs this time because it just fits with the “???” vibe Stone Ocean has (and at least it has more interesting use cases than the arrow but I digress).
Unfortunately Part 6 suffers from the same “gory” problem that Part 5 did. There’s a ton of blood and body horror that makes it difficult to watch if you’re squeamish of course (and even if you’re not completely hardened against that kind of stuff like me). But my main problem with it is that characters always sustain a ton of damage. It’s hard to feel like any attack, no matter how intense, actually handicaps anyone when they’ve continued to stand and fight through everything. Or, almost everything, because the damage feels inconsistent. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jolyne got shot/struck in the same places across several different scenarios, but with different results based solely on how Araki wanted the fight/situation to go. Combine that with JoJo having a ton of surprise miracles and it’s hard to feel any tension or reason to try predicting anything during the fights.
Character-wise, the cast is good! Unfortunately I felt like only Jolyne, the main antagonist, and FF really stood out in the same way my favorites from past Parts have. But the other main characters are still great and the enemy Stand users are very eccentric. The main antagonist steals the show I think (despite being a bit repetitive with their goal).
I think I’d put Part 6 just below Part 5 thanks to Part 5 not really having a pacing problem and having an overall more interesting cast. It didn’t annoy me like Part 4 though, so I’d put it at a comfortable “5th place” in my JoJo rankings so far. At the end of the day Part 6 is More JoJo, so even at worst you know you’re in for an interesting time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 14, 2023
The First Kiss That Never Ends is a direct continuation of the ending of Season 3 and shouldn’t be viewed on its own or skipped over. It also continues the more slice-of-life presentation that the series evolved into. However, while this movie has the same type of writing and visuals as its anime, the actual plot becomes the most serious Kaguya-sama’s tone has ever been by far. Plus, it returns to focusing on Kaguya and Miyuki’s relationship again which is welcome (even for someone who loves the side characters and their stories like me).
The first half or so of the movie is the usual Kaguya-sama
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goofiness. Maybe it was because everyone in the theater was laughing, but I had a great time with the jokes in this one.
Then the plot starts shifting, focusing on Kaguya’s past and insecurities. While these are touched on throughout the series, this was a surprisingly deep dive into Kaguya as a character. Personally I’ve always been in the camp of wanting to see Kaguya be cute and silly instead of a Shinomiya, so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed all of the time spent on that other side of her. It’s very well-executed, using discomfort to great effect. Her backstory also hit me pretty hard personally. Miyuki has a similar light shown onto why he’s the way he is that’s also great to see, though not as much as Kaguya. While this is a bit of a shame, I don’t think he needed it as much. On one hand it’s a bit unfortunate that it took this long to really flesh these two out, but on the other hand I think using a “separate” movie like this to really highlight it was a great move.
The movie also has a very strong and lovely theme. Considering it’s basically the plot of the movie I don’t want to spoil it, but I think it carries a great message that also perfectly encapsulates the series as a whole. (While it seemed to contradict itself near the end, ultimately I think it actually helped reinforce the point by being more realistic about it.)
One criticism I could see people disliking more than me is that the writing can be pretty verbose and thick with what it’s having the characters convey. At times even I thought “I caught that before you spelled it out”, and a few sentiments from characters didn’t feel like something a 17 year-old would actually say. However, I personally don’t think it was egregious enough to detract from the experience that much. Plus, I’d rather have it be like that instead of obscure anyways. The movie makes up for it somewhat by actually having a good amount of little clever showcases of its theme in the first half before making it obvious.
Another criticism (that’s not new to Kaguya-sama) is that the movie will throw in jokes right after a dramatic segment without giving emotions enough time to really settle in. Fortunately this only happens a couple of times and isn’t bad enough to linger on, but it’s especially unfortunate here considering how much more meaningful these moments are. (Though admittedly I still laughed at them...)
Regardless, The First Kiss That Never Ends successfully focuses on and conveys its message about what it means to be in a relationship. It blows out even the series’s best “drama” moments while still having the charm it’s loved for. It might not be perfect, but it’s the most solid representation of Kaguya-sama as a whole.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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