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Mar 30, 2017
[Warning: minor spoilers. If you don’t care, please proceed]
Kemono Friends has been dubbed by some as this past season’s “sleeper hit” and articles and photos have been circulating around the net raving about the show’s quality, though not as apparent when compared to the likes of Miss Kobayashi and Gabriel Dropout. “How can this series fly under your radar,” you ask? Well no need to check if you’ve been magically transported under a rock because its popularity can only be really felt if you’re in the Land of the Rising Sun. Which begs the question: is the show legitimately good or have the Japs been
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played for a sucker by an obscure novelty?
Well, yes and no. Part of its appeal may be because of the genetically “moe-fied” animals, but the show’s pièce de résistance is, believe it or not, the story. Behind Kaban and Serval’s whimsical adventure throughout Japari Park lies the history of the park itself. And the genius of it is how they reveal it.
Each episode drops hint about the underlying story, starting at the very first. From there the amount is only miniscule but enough to give nudges and winks to your brain that something’s up. As the story progresses, the pace of how they reveal it is never really rushed. It’s not like in the middle there are episodes dedicated to explaining all of it; that only happens near the end. Every episode gives an equal amount of attention to the progression─ and by “equal,” I mean a steady ascent. It won’t surprise you, but it will slowly draw you in.
And when met with this bizarre development, the mood never really bends into something more serious. They keep the benign atmosphere but how the story unfolds is affected.
Serval: Wow Boss, all this time you can actually talk!
*proceeds to be fine with it minutes later*
On the flipside, the content that’s presented between those reveals, the conversations and jokes between the “Friends” they encounter on their journey, is basic but has a purpose. If you’re gonna watch this without the premonition that it’s going for a childlike and innocent vibe then you’re really not gonna enjoy this. And once the idea that “this is a show for kids” starts settling in, you’re more forgiving about the show’s many inconsistencies and even the subpar animation. Japari Park’s story as backdrop makes up for the show’s shortcomings while giving it a multi-layered edge─ which is more than I can say for some of its characters.
Save for Kaban, the characters are based from actual behaviors of the real-life animals. They even put a small description about them whenever it cuts for a commercial (which I love, by the way.) I like to think of them as heroines in a visual novel, and the center of that harem would be Kaban (yeah, eat your heart out Kobayashi!)
Joking aside, there’s not much outside of that─ which again you forgive and actually fits into the whole “kid stuff” mindset. But then on episode 8, you get the “PPP”; which is an idol group comprised of “moe-fied” species of penguins, which I instantly detested. Nothing’s worse than a throw-away episode on a semi-episodic series. I put the designs for most of the “Friends” into the category of “ridiculous”, PPP’s falls more on the “seductive category”; there’s too much skin. And this might be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t think idols this racy fits anywhere on a children’s show─ magical girls, probably, but not idols. I don’t know. This might be a nitpick since from the start there have been upskirt shots (e.g. Prairie Dog’s), but it never really bothered me because they always cover it up.
All in all, Kemono Friends is a show for the young and the young at heart. Don’t expect a very deep and intricate story to be the show's forefront when you hear somewhere about it being a mystery. I would like to talk about more of its soundtracks and this one that I liked but I can’t find it anywhere. If you’re fine with a 3D slice of life anime that has a slow but interesting story, then stick some feathers on your safari hat and catch the Japari Bus!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 9, 2016
You know something’s wrong when you read the latest chapter of the manga and you ask “Why did I read this in the first place?” Upon closer inspection, you can see the many “types” of stories as the series went on:
- Besides the introduction in the beginning, Raku would be put into a situation where he would meet Onodera or Chitoge (both if it’s the 42nd time and that gets annoying) in a situation where fanservice can be achieved, trying to segue in the theme of “fate” for good measure. This template of a situation was of course also used in every new girl that was
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introduced, with only the segueing of the theme “fate” being taken down a notch─ Because even Naoshi Komi knows it’s imprudent to have the very thing that got you interested in the story be rubbed on your face.
- When his boss yells to him “OI GET ON WITH THE STORY,” Naoshi Komi will write a whole arc dedicated to a girls’ character development (sometimes 2 or 3 girls if he feels like it). He would of course assemble a team comprised of him, his editor and possibly his assistants with how much development is needed for the said arc so that the fans would be satisfied but still want more.
- And my favorite: With all of the fillers and character development, all of which took up 50 or 100 chapters (there is no in-between), Naoshi Komi will finally write an arc for the “Zawsze in Love” story. And at first, it seems promising. You could even say that this would be a cornerstone of the series. But by the ending he’ll give you the bare minimum of what you wanted because the rest of the problem he raised on that arc was sloppily ended (possibly the effect of how the fans reacted to the development.)
Imagine this: Let’s say I wanted a big stuff toy for Christmas; life-sized. But when Christmas came I only got a smaller stuff toy. It’s still a stuff toy but it’s not exactly what I wanted. And when I ask the sellers why they didn’t give me a life-sized stuff toy, they said they don’t have a box big enough to put it and they need the money that would be payed for the box to keep their company going. I could go on about the many teases that had little-to-no pay off, Chitoge being put out of the Promised Girl race (see chapter 90) and Marika’s illness to name a few, but the review would be too long that moderators might take it down.
Look, I stand by the notion that fillers are somewhat necessary in a story but judging how many they are in the manga, it would seem like Naoshi Komi binge watched Naruto and saw inspiration. Long-time manga fans have said to me that this is commonplace for any series that’s a hit and it’s more of the publisher’s doing and not the author’s fault (for the most part). But I reckon the story’s development could’ve been better.
We also have the problem of how the story was set up. In the beginning, long before the chapter count reached double digits, we already have 45% or more worth of development for the over-arching story. Dropping the information that Chitoge and Onodera have the keys would spark the idea that the promised girl is among them (naturally), but keeping that as status quo for SO LONG would lead people into thinking that the competition is only between the both of them. Sure, other girls came out and played but if being a part of the race mean they have to have a key then automatically the other girls are hopeless. It's kinda funny because there's an obvious segregation of the heroines, kinda like an idol group where the producer is picking favorites to put in front of concert performances and have their own solo songs.
The effort of making the girls diverse is nowhere to be seen. Imagine if Onodera did not have a key but Raku still likes her. That would give an impression that the option of disregarding the promise that was made years ago is possible and in turn, give the other girls a fighting chance.
Now, it might be wrong to criticize Nisekoi’s bold, first chapters because one of the major reasons they did that was to pique people’s interests. And evidently, it worked. There are still people who kept reading it despite the bullshit they’ve been fed on for years. But all I’m asking was to make those 5 years worth something. Instead, the best we got out of that was Maiko Shuu’s story─ It’s not even from Raku; the MAIN CHARACTER.
I’m not gonna enumerate all of the characters because outside their archetypes, there’s not much. But I will give a special shout out to Marika Tachibana because out of all of them, I like her the most and, with all of my power, I will try to defend that statement. Out of all of them, I saw Marika as the most eligible girl to be the promised girl. The person that even if the story ended in the most cliché way (and it did), I’d be alright. And while being the gutsy heroine who just puts herself out there is a bit by-the-book, it’s still a cut above the rest when you’re against a token tsundere, a dandere, and a big sister character who are too shy to either say her feelings or do anything at all. Plus, there’s the aforementioned illness tease. (For anyone wondering, I’m a Chitoge fan but she’s my second choice. Chitoge’s only on first because the signs keep slapping me in the face.)
And now, the other reason that made the majority of the readers stick with the material: the art. A harem series like Nisekoi is bound to be waifus galore but let’s acknowledge the other pleasures that its art offers. I remember this one panel where Chitoge’s (?) loafer that was drawn so well and also the BG art from that time when Raku and Onodera went to the mall near Christmas time (there were more but I can’t remember any of them). That attention to detail is worth noting. And let’s not forget the action scenes that are well-paneled and beautifully illustrated (but it does worsen the identity crisis of this series).
So here’s where we are: the ending of Nisekoi gave me joy, not sadness. Joy because it’s finally over and sure enough I’m not the only one feeling that way. In that respect, it’s not even an ending that made all that waiting worth it. It ended with the 2 possibilities that you predicted years ago.
TL;DR – Do not read Nisekoi. Or at least, don’t read all of it. Skip some chapters but stay for the art… And Shuu’s story. Gotta love his story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 26, 2016
Ahh the Disappearance of Yuki Nagato-chan; the latest literary warfare of the S.S. Yuki X Kyon. And let me tell you, it throws quite a punch. Much has been said about this series. Just go to its MAL page and the score says a lot. But why is that? Well, let’s try to break down where does this series stand, shall we?
This is a SPIN-OFF (I’ll be using caps ‘cause I can’t use underlines) of an existing story that was last updated by its author 4 years ago since the release of this anime adaptation. Spin-offs are usually an author playing with a what-if scenario
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from a story (in this case, Yuki X Kyon shipment) and trying to write a cohesive narrative out of it. And while true, the Haruhism community is still alive and kicking, basing from the people I’ve talked to, they are a minority (at least, outside Japan). So basically this is a story that is pandering to only a specific people from an already miniscule community. And oh yeah, it has 16 episodes. This went on in my mind prior to the release, thinking “it must be a pretty good story to be given this kind of luxury.” But like Haruhi, the guys in the production have no idea about the term “moderation”.
Riding on the impression that this adaptation will carry the same spirit of the original series, I was greeted with a snore fest at the start more intense than a math teacher giving lectures in a monotone voice. The setting, as it is, is boring. But the thing about it is it’s supposed to be boring. The setting was taken from the alternate universe in the Disappearance arc of the original series and the reason that it works so well on the original story was because of an X Factor: Kyon. Kyon was the reason living in such a peaceful world feels ironically uneasy. He was the reason that being in that place was a distress. This in turn gave a unique predicament and, of course, an interesting story. But this spin-off seemed to capitalize on the dependent variable of that setup (i.e. boring world) and tried to make it work. Our man (or in this case, maiden) of the hour is one Yuki Nagato: the super shy, game-playing version. The story revolves around her confessing her love for Kyon and 164 other shoujo romance clichés.
Thankfully though, the story does pick up… by a mere TEN EPISODES LATER (good grief, that’s worse than endless eight). And when it does pick up, the series can actually tell a good story. But now the question is: “Why did it take 10 episodes for the story to get interesting?” because trust me, if those 10 episodes were at least entertaining, I wouldn’t be asking that, and I'm a pretty lenient person. There was an introduction of characters who we’ve already known and retelling of the adventures of the S.O.S. Brigade told, of course, differently ─But the changes they’ve made weren’t anything substantial or intriguing.
With how the story played out, we could’ve immediately jumped from episode 4 to episode 10. Ignoring the obvious reason of cha-ching, the only defense I can say about the 10-episode thing is nostalgia. But it’s hard to appreciate the gesture when it’s not the same studio who did it (it’s Studio Satelight who did this one). And as we all know, for legal reasons, they cannot use the original looks on KyoAni’s adaptation. And don’t give me the “It’s to bring in a new crowd” bullcrap because again, it’s a SPIN-OFF and not one that represents the original series too well.
(Edited:) AND SPEAKING ABOUT ORIGINAL LOOKS, art. Right, I forgot about this one. This is one factor that should also be an interesting subject. As said before, due to the series being handed to a different studio, the art of the characters have to be changed. And this metamorphosis was the brainchild of Ito Ikuko. So whether or not you liked her work, the responsibility of receiving your sentiment belongs to her. In my experience, the art did take some time to get used to, but it seems that Kyon's face was on hard mode as it was the one that took me the longest to, for lack of a better word, accept (actually if you look at it, there was a gradual elongation of Kyon's face throughout the series as the studio's response to the problem). But to Ms. Ito's credit, her rendition of the characters resembled closer to the one on the spin-off manga (this is based from the manga's cover that I've seen). Moving on, the overall art style had the saturation taken up a notch (as opposed to the original adaptation) as most of the scenes in the series are done with pop and bright colors fitting of a standard slice-of-life anime with the exception for some of the scenes in the disappearance arc in order to match the tone.
(Not edited anymore, sorry about that:) Despite the many elements that makes this a bad successor on one of the most popular series in the late 2000’s, let’s give credit where credit’s due. At least there was a tiny effort to make those 10 episodes worth enduring. I say tiny because unless you’ve read the many iterations of the series and are super analytic about it, you’ll never notice it, or be glad that you noticed it. There’s also the effort of making the voice actors and actresses (even of the English dub) reprise their roles that was super cool. Add to that, some of the soundtracks from KyoAni’s adaptation got to be played here (so KyoAni DOES care). Actually, when you have little-to-no care about the narrative of the story, you start to notice its technicalities and that brought about my appreciation of this series’ OST which was a huge help on me finishing this. And lastly, the sequencing and direction on the “Disappearance of Yuki-chan” arc. There was a scene (which I’m not gonna put effort to find which specific episode) where there’s just sequences of imagery. You hear no dialogue, just the soundtrack but you can understand everything that’s happening. Like I said, they’ve made the effort of making it interesting and it’s rare you see that in any visual medium, not excluding anime.
So it all comes down to my final verdict. Is it worth your time? That is a definite NO ─ with exceptions. If it wasn’t clear already, this is for the fans of the YukiXKyon ship so if you’re all aboard on that then you’ll probably like this one. If not, then it would take a lot of your fandom energy to find this interesting. Probably the best way to enjoy this is watching up to episode 4 then skip to 10 onward like I said.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 15, 2016
A lot of us watched Another for different reasons. One could be watching for the gore, some for the mystery, others for both. I was one of those people that watched it for the mystery and, as if I had any other reason for writing, I was disappointed.
A little bit about myself: I watched Hyouka before this and have been desperately looking for any series (be it written or animated) that would rebound my yearning for a mystery show like it. So I saw this and was interested to the "supernatural mystery" factor this show is trying to appeal (Okay, story time over). With that
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said, my understanding of the genre of mystery is making sense of anything in the story that is confusing. And throughout the whole show, I was more curious about the whole supernatural stuff that was going on. I was led to believe that in the end, they would solve what appears to be a bigger mystery than the initial one because finding out who is the mystery classmate is nowhere as interesting as finding out why such a thing is happening in the first place. Why only the city of Yomiyama? Why do they still let their children study on a haunted school? Why don't they just leave? Don't they give a rat's ass about safety, much like the people of Gotham? These plot holes are as many as the craters in the moon. Needless to say, they never answered it. Hence this review. *sad face*
Be that as it may, P.A. Works really did a fantastic job of setting the mood with their art that was heavy on the shadows and dark colors. Pair that with a well done soundtrack and voice acting, it should've been a great show. It's just that... well I don't wanna repeat myself.
Overall, I don't recommend this one. I'd say go for it if you want some gore fest anime but we already have plenty thanks to Tokyo Ghoul's fame. There's nothing redeeming about this show other than its animation and sound... and also the ludicrous ways some people die.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Sep 19, 2015
(Warning: This review contains major spoilers. This is a joke of course because that would require the show to have a story in the first place, which it doesn't... -ish. Read the review.)
In the many years that I've watched anime, read manga (I consider 3 as many), and even shows outside anime, I've always had an idea for a show that I've been dying to see: the main protagonist of the story is a secondary character from an existing story. And I mean secondary, like those students in a slice of life anime that were never introduced and just serves as a crowd. My interest
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on this is how are the people behind that story going to distract us from the glaring fact that this kind of show will go nowhere. Hollywood's answer to this is a movie called "The Other Guys", but in that movie something out of the ordinary happened in the protagonist/s life (which every story needs to show progression). I have yet to see a show where you just follow a person living his/her daily life and NOTHING interesting happens because, well, he or she is an extra ─that is, until today.
I said I kinda got a story on this one because of Hinako, our character in question's back story. She’s actually not from the anime world, Hinako’s a person from the real world that got mysteriously stuck in an anime that she proclaimed she want to be in whilst watching said anime (wouldn’t we like to be her right now amirite?). Now, is she finding a way to go back to the real world like any main protagonist would? Nope. While sometimes she misses home, she's happily living in this world, as a secondary character on the anime she's stuck on. Oddly enough, she even talks about the scheduled appearances in the show she's in; treating it like it's a job or something. Not to sound cynical but this is actually riveting for me. Not a lot of anime does this and for good reasons. So, when everything’s established, something must be shown in the remaining 20 minutes ─hence the “Training” in the “Training with Hinako” title (which is basically masturbation material). The rest of the OVA is just you watching Hinako doing 3 exercises: push-ups, sit-ups, and squats (after, of course, teaching you how to do them), from various angles (and for all the sick bastards, various outfits) for 3 “days” (days is what they use to indicate a training session). That’s it. Nothing much really. Also, this OVA has sequels. I’m not joking.
Everything else checks out. The art department gets +1 because jiggle physics, the sounds are just 4 things: background sound (which is not a lot because you’re in a room), Hinako’s VA (who did a fantastic job), that music they use when she starts training, and the ending credits song ─all of which are not bad.
So for everything that this anime is, what’s my say to it? Well I say it’s not for everybody. If you’re looking for something that would “spark your imagination”, then watch other ecchi shows (or you know, actually watch porn). What I won’t deny is Training with Hinako did something that made me interested to it (and no, it’s not her well-endowed body) and by the end of it, I had fun. There’s not a lot in this anime so it’s hard to recommend it. As for their sequels, well, I haven’t watched them ─make of that what you will. Word of advice: watch it with your friends. I think that's how it was meant to be watched.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 28, 2015
Yeah...
About time I talk about this one isn't it?
Okay, so first off, I know what you're thinking: *sarcastic voice*"Oh, Cludensyo, you're joining the bandwagon; reviewing Sword Art Online and giving it a low score. What a way to redirect your rage to an otherwise easy target." and... you're probably right. But you've gotta understand my situation. It's been 3 years already (1 or 2 since I've watched it) and inside my mind, my memories of this anime are not showing any signs of fading away into obscurity. So today, I'll try to make peace with this series─ shed every thought I have to this show
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in the hopes that I will achieve serenity. BUT, let's be diplomatic about this for a change; acknowledging the opinion of both sides (the fans and the haters) and try to come to an objective conclusion (something I thought this show was gonna do). Let's start!
So, as I've said before, it's been 3 years ever since the first season raided the airwaves of Japan (and the World Wide Web) and between that time and today, I've been graced with the luxury to have some "civilized" chat to the fans who like this show (and by civilized I mean we were at war like it was the feudal era. I almost resorted to insulting their mothers. Almost.) So with that in mind, were my thoughts about this show, at the very least, shaken? Have I come to understand the perspective of the fans that actually like this show? To that, I answer a resounding... no. Well, not really. I don't hate this show because of its story or its characters, and certainly not because of its animation quality or sound. No, I still hate this show because it's a FUCKING LIAR. Pay attention because this is important: In retrospect, I think I would've enjoyed the show as much the fans did. Yeah, I said it.
Basing from the talks I had with the SAO fans and what their feedback was on the series' second season (which I also made a review. And a very subjective one at that. Thought I should point that out), SAO's intentions and quite frankly, its best asset is the show just having fun with the idea of living in a virtual world. And honestly, I'm down with that. I can enjoy shows that are meant to be enjoyed for what it's worth from time to time. Whether it's an in-your-face comedy or a mind-shattering sci-fi drama, I'll take a gander. Which leads me to SAO's biggest mistake (and the reason I called this show a "fucking liar"); it's first 3 episodes.
In my aforementioned review about the 2nd season of this franchise, I've regarded these fabled first 3 episodes as "the best part of the 1st season" and its "saving grace" because it left a good impression on me on what kind of world am I going to traverse, what tone it’s gonna have, and what will be the characteristics of our heroes (and I think it's safe to say I'm not alone on this). But some 3 years (or some time lapse if that’s not exact) pass and we don’t even get to see what happened during that time (unless you’re the mega fan that you are and have read the light novels). Our scared and vulnerable main protagonist becomes an emotionless, brooding, black-cladded swordsman that’s way above everyone’s levels, the female lead that was introduced as a badass and an independent woman who don’t need no man to hold her hand becomes pussified and you have no idea how or why. And the story, the underlying themes of ontology and the commentary on human nature, what happened to them? Never mentioned again. Only when it’s convenient or when it helps raise the tension or the weight of importance of a scene, as if the creators are reminding you that they’re still trying to tell a profound story. Guys, even Heaven’s Lost Property had a better anime adaptation than this. Yes, they’ve toned down the original story’s grit and seriousness to ludicrous levels, but they’re consistent by it (Eternal My Master, we’ll see). And sure, they have some (and I use this term very loosely) serious moments but they’re shown at the latter part of the story, NOT THE FIRST EPISODES.
This makes me wonder if the second season showed little-to-no regard about the story as its first season and just had fun with this world, would I have allowed myself to be won over by the show and actually like it that way? Maybe. But as it stands, Sword Art Online has an array of adaptations that are, in terms of consistency, unpolished─ much like a lot of video games today ironically.
So, here comes the final question: Would I recommend you to watch this show? You know what, yeah. Why not? Just know what you’re getting into because Lord knows I didn’t.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Aug 10, 2015
When a guy like Makoto Shinkai (a person who has a distinctive style in his works) comes into your life, you'd promptly watch his other movies, even commercials, to see more of him (of course, assuming you like his movies).
So you watch the second one...
And then the third one...
And by the time you watch the fourth one, you would have known all of his troupes already. And in knowing these troupes mean that when you see his next work, you're bringing something that was not there before when you've watched that first movie: Expectations (or for some, higher expectations). Would it meet or surpass the
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other movies is a question that is on your head throughout watching the movie. And so far, Makoto Shinkai gave nothing short of the unique experience you can have in his films, always meeting those expectations. Always.
But Shinkai's works give a feeling of too much familiarity, like if you're going to a summer getaway that only has a superb view going for it and renting the same room for the 5th consecutive time, the once breathtaking view downgrades to being "just nice" (at least, that's how I see it). What I'm trying to say here is that Makoto Shinkai offers little-to-no variety ─at the very least, to his stories. Which, if you're someone like me, is definitely a bad thing. And no movie of him is that "bad thing" more prominent than The Place Promised in Our Early Days (or Kumo Mukou Yakusoku no Basho).
(For what it's worth, I don't hate Mr. Shinkai. I'm just saying that binge watching his lineup is probably not the best idea out there).
Let me do the honors of dropping the first bomb: this movie is boring. Pretty and atmospheric (vintage Shinkai), but boring. So much that I slept in-between watching it, and in perfect timing too (if I do say so myself) because I paused at the exact time the second act was about to start. I paused it, slept and watched the rest first thing in the morning. And nothing, I repeat, NOTHING was in here that I didn't see when I watched 5 cm/sec, Garden of Words, or even Voices of a Distant Star. The military stuff didn't make sense because in no way does it affect the main story in a major way; being the girl, Sawatari, "disappearing" from this world. I guess it kinda is because 1 of the male leads went to be an aircraft engineer for the army (if memory serves me right) because he and his friend were already building a fully-functional, ridable airplane in middle school; an act which made me re-evaluate how much I can stretch my suspension of disbelief.
The art, like I said, is freaking amazing. Vintage Shinkai. The characters are bland but bearable and the OSTs were nice and enhanced the atmosphere when it needs to. But like I said, I expected this. I need something different than what I've seen already or at the very least have some lighthearted moments too. The reason I appreciate the super sad moments in shows like Your Lie in April, Clannad, Sakurasou, etc. is that they have moments that are equally funny. They're like breaks from the cruel, cruel reality you're trying to set to me. But no, if it's a Shinkai film it has to be serious, deep, and should define forever as merely a concept and not a real thing throughout the feature. Makoto Shinkai needs to lighten up, I can only take so much sappy drama before I start staring at the ceiling of my room for hours again.
So, final verdict: Should you or should you not watch this? Look, if you know the guy already then no, obviously. You're better off watching Garden of Words, Children Who Chase Lost Voices, or 5 cm/sec. Unless by some slim chance you actually like this film, despite knowing Makoto Shinkai. If you don't know him yet then why not. Any movie of Mr. Shinkai is a good way to know him but I prefer watching the 3 films I said earlier instead.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 2, 2015
Before I start anything, I just want to address that I like the idea behind Chuunibyou. A story where it talks about the 8th Grade Syndrome? I'm in (call me a sucker). As to why I'm only talking about it a year after the release of the 2nd season is none of your business. Yeah, it's a product of the times. I mean, it's KyoAni, they ride the waves of the mainstream (Get it? 'Cause it's a stream and there's a wa- forget it.) But after milking it dry with a ONA released from their YouTube channel and numerous specials that were made after the
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1st season, is there really a need for a second season to happen? Well, the charts and the money talked and now here we are: Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren.
Being a sequel, you have to give the audience new things and improvements needed from the previous season (if needed) that would forward the story. And what we got are 2 major things:
1: Yuuta and Rikka adjusting to each other now that they're in a relationship (Spoiler) and
2: A new threat, in the guise of an old friend from Yuuta and Nibutani's childhood that may or may not have feelings for Yuuta, takes center stage
Both problems seem very interesting but here's why the show didn't pass with flying colors (at least, for me). The first problem is the natural course of any relationship and it's fine in that respect but don't pretend you've never seen this before (maybe having a very normal dilemma is to show how Rikka is changing? idk). And the resolution both of them had by the end was just okay (again, for me). So anything interesting that I could anticipate from this show would come from Satone or the childhood friend. And it's...underplayed. I mean, they've introduced her in Episode 2 but her arc wasn't tackled until Episode 7 or something. And even after that, her story wasn't developed that well, like it's missing something. It's like I KNOW she's Yuuta's childhood friend and they have a lot of precious memories together, but I don't UNDERSTAND that (does that makes sense?). And the worst part is, they have the time to actually establish that. There were many fillers in this season that could've been for Satone's story but no, we have to raise Nibutani and Dekomori's yuri flag higher and we have to give that sleeping senpai an arc. It's just disappointing. I guess one good thing that happened in the story would be when the choice of keeping her "powers" or falling completely in love was introduced to Rikka. I can't fully discuss my problems with the story without going to Spoiler Territory but that was one of the few interesting parts of the show.
Oh yeah, there was also that "Dark Flame Dragon" thing. That happened...
Story aside, the art was also good here. It's about as awesome as the 1st one. I'm not sure if there were more "fictional scenarios" that were here compared to the first season but there are several. All of the members in their club (even including Nibutani and Yuuta) joins in the 8 Grade train so that creates a lot of opportunities for those "fictional scenarios" and they, more or less, took advantage of that. The songs and OSTs are nice but there's nothing that I would listen to outside of the anime.
So all in all, this is a second season we didn't need (if not for the moe fan service). Satone was a very interesting character to mix into the story but ultimately became boring and a waste of potential in the end (Guys, it's not too late. You can still make an OVA to redeem her. I'll be waiting.) If there's anything I've gained from this, that would be a better understanding of Nibutani's life (?), there exists a napping competition (which I would be happily obliged to participate), and a good time (despite its shortcomings). You would have to be a pretty big fan of the series to fully enjoy this one.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 16, 2015
I would understand why a lot of fans didn't like the 1st part of the 2nd season. A huge part of that was because they got rid of (or at least, simmered down) one of the few things that made Sword Art Online stand out and that is the survival theme of the series. Now the survival theme in an anime isn't very new (if you were watching anime for even at least a year before you heard about SAO, you would know what I'm talking about). But see, being trapped in this world where you can do anything (practically) because of video game logic,
...
this creates a very interesting template for a story of unexpectancy. Sword Art Online was a chaos lingering in a Dream World (Yume Sekai *see what I did there*), Gun Gale Online was a tamed beast.
I said "simmered down", "tamed" and "unexpectancy" because in SAO, everyone could be a PK-er. Just the thought that anyone (by anyone) could actually be killed in this game is enough to put you in the edge. In Gun Gale, only Death Gun could kill anyone so it downgraded from everybody to one.
But that was where Gun Gale Online "changed the name of the game" (My last one, I swear.)
I think it's safe to say now (after giving my unprejudiced thoughts about the show) that I hate the 1st season. It's only saving grace was it's first 3 episodes but everything prior was just *eh*. Yes, GGO was slow-paced and had very few action scenes (I mean what fist-pumping action do you expect from a story that has a sniper as one of the main protagonists?......... except for the for the 1st action scene?), but all that just so I can see a story (A FUCKING STORY, LADIES AND GENTS), not to mention A CHARACTER I CAN ROOT FOR, then that's a small price to pay (minuscule even). They provided time so that you can actually get to know these characters and they've actually included something that happened in SAO which is plus points for continuity.
For me, the greatest decision they've ever done for the story was to not make it a love story. All the girls (except Asuna) that have been swooned by Kirito were cast aside as friends. Even in the Excalibur (?) arc they didn't drop any hints of their love for Kirito. There wasn't even a lot of time where Kirito and Asuna would be seen together. So to the guy/s who thought this was a good idea, God bless you, you magnificent bastard/s.
You might say that I'm forgetting something here and yeah, Mother's Rosario was great too. But for me, GGO was better, even in terms of story. As to why I appreciate Gun Gale more, we have to go back to the 1st season. See, what made a bigger impression of me on what SAO is all about is not the fact that it takes place in a video game or it's colorful, bodacious animation and art but rather how they tackle the human psyche (what little quality it may have). If you can do anything SAO-related for me to erase my memory of that rape scene from Alfheim Online arc then by all means. While the Mother's Rosario arc's tone was reminiscent of the aforementioned first 3 eps of SAO, GGO felt more like SAO (a better version might I add) to me because not only did they went to the survival theme again, but they added more by ACTUALLY GIVING THE ACTIONS OF THE BAD GUYS SOME JUSTICE. Also, a lesson that we didn't really need Mother's Rosario to repeat to understand (that whole "We make our own world" speech Kirito did).
Art is also one to blame on why didn't fans like GGO. It's not because it's ugly in any way, but how it presents itself. GGO's theme was these dystopian cities where there were a lot of grays, blacks, and not many other colors─completely contrasting to what Sword Art's and Alfheim's theme were (Maybe that's why they're doing Aldnoah.Zero now). A-1, just stick to magic fantasies. We like you better that way. And as I've said before, there are fewer action scenes in GGO so they weren't given a chance to flaunt out their animation (Mother's Rosario should help you out with that problem) but other than that, they have pretty much the same quality the 1st season has. Nothing to complain about.
Soundtracks in second seasons tend to be just the soundtrack of the first season but with some new tracks thrown in. Yuki Kajiura reprised the role of being in charge of the OSTs but alas, I still don't have a song from the OST that I would listen to (or maybe I just don't remember. My memory's vague when it comes to this shows' OST). But what shines though are, as always, the OPs and EDs. I don't think I need to say anything more about them.
Characters. This one's another lengthy one. Let me just say this: Shino Asada carried the WHOLE GGO arc. I say that with no remorse what so ever because SHE IS THE MOST RELATABLE CHARACTER IN THE WHOLE SERIES (even extending to the first season) and for that reason, SIMPLY THE BEST. In those 14 episodes, we got to know why she plays GGO and why she wants to win the Bullet of Bullets─because her life is shit. She wants to escape reality─like most of us do. She wants to have a second life online─like most us do. That's why she wants to win, and YOU want her to win because you see yourself in her (or at least, understand where she's coming from). This kind of character was a long time coming so it was really rewarding that I FINALLY got to see it. And as for the argument of Yuuki being a better character, well her character wasn't developed that well. Mother's Rosario's arc had more action so there wasn't enough time for her character to be known. It would've been nice if we got to see more of Yuuki's past so we can get more of her background.
Now I got the idea that they wanted Kirito to develop character because Kirito's character is a bigger mystery than the creation of SAO. And their "attempt" on giving him a character was to say "he's caring, he's brave, he will always have your back" and 13 other lines from the book "How to Write a 2-Dimensional Character." Kirto's character, sadly, did not show any progression despite it being the 2nd season (I have a feeling they're saving this for the 3rd season). They tried to link his background to Shinon's, like they have a common past, but that's just like making your friend remember a joke you've never even told him/her. His life in the real world is as perfect as his life online so it's REALLY hard to feel invested to this character. However, they decided to give Asuna some background (thank God) AND, she's kicking ass in the field again.
So, after all that rambling, how do I sum all this up? Is it worth the watch? If you're a fan, of course. You might be bored of the slow-pace GGO has but it's fine if you get past that. If you're not a fan, then probably not. While there are some things that they did change and add, it's not that big to keep you interested and that's probably for the best. Changing too much would make them lose some of the loyal fans that were there from the start. But if you're like me who was deeply disappointed from the 1st season but still wants to see the show get better, then it's good for a look. The reason this review is so long is because the second season presents you 2 seemingly different kinds of story. It's almost as if they were experimenting on what kind of story they should do. I'm not saying you should finish watching this series but it's worth to think about.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 19, 2014
(Disclaimer: I am going to write this review solely basing from the anime. So that means I have no knowledge if it's different in the manga. Also, there's a minimal amount of spoilers.)
First off, it should be stated that I DO NOT HATE THIS SERIES. I think the series is great. There's good action, some funny moments, some heart-warming moments (e.g. Erza's back story) BUT, I have problems with it (most, if not, all nitpicks). So yeah, this is more of me just venting out what I saw that KINDA bugged me about Fairy Tail and less of a review (inb4 admin reports).
There are 2
...
things that I would like to address. The first being how this series depict magic.
In shounen, it's very typical to have a source of power; something where the key characters (protagonists and antagonists) will subject themselves in ranking and impress us with explosions and pretty colors. But, reasoning is important and Fairy Tail doesn't have it. Lemme explain: Magic is like the no. 1 excuse writers say if someone in their story did something miraculous (Hell, you could even say that chakra in Naruto is magic). Well, maybe I can't blame them because magic IS very broad. But that's where my problem starts. Magic in Fairy Tail has no origin. The only background we (or at least, I) ever got was magic has existed in Fiore ever since the beginning of time. That's it. That's bad news for me because if there isn't a explanation of magic here other than merely existing, then how is it different from any other shounen; a genre where most of the material are similar because of it's formula? I mean, think about it: if Death Note only told you that it's a notebook that can kill people if you write their names without the rules and consequences, would it still be as awesome as it is? Give me like a legend or something.
My other problem concerning magic is that there's a whole kingdom with it. I say that's a problem because it would seem that wizards here don't train. And I mean real training; the kind a person will be taken to his/her limit. And yes, I've watched the "Grand Magic Games arc" but (Spoiler) they goofed off halfway in their training to the Celestial Spirit Realm (?) and because of the lack of time, Ultear did something in their magic and Bada-bing, Bada-boom, their magic was upgraded. And also yes, Gray had a teacher that supervised his TRAINING but aside that, was there another instance you saw these guys train? With the lack of hard work, it's as if anyone in the kingdom could be as powerful as these guys and the only difference they have from other ordinary people was because they're lucky. Natsu has Fire Dragon magic because he was LUCKY Igneel was his foster father. If Laxus' magic only comes from a thunder lacrima and his amount of magic, then someone like me, who lacks any physical feat, could be as powerful as him. Show me some training sequences, then I might take that back.
And the other thing is Lucy Heartfilia. I'll put this the nicest way that I can─Lucy has all the components a SIDE character should have. So why isn't she? Lemme explain again: In the first episode, who was the one who introduced us to wizards, to guilds, to Fairy Tail (other than the narrator)? Who was the one who got the most screen time? No one other than this girl. So, if that's how the show's presenting her, one would think that she IS the main, main character(yes, I said 'main' twice because apparently, all of them are main characters) but in the episodes that came after, Natsu is appealing to be the one more fitted for such a title. And I wouldn't have any problem of bestowing Natsu a title as such, but they're still trying to keep Lucy in the spotlight. I mean, they don't have something in common (like an ambition or a past), so why is this still happening? It kinda reminds me of another series where the main, main character is the one that's always abducted and saved, the resident badass of the story who always saves the main, main character, and the other badass who acts as their leader. It's just that in the other one their lands are surrounded by walls and they live in fear of titans.
Also, Lucy's a freaking damsel in distress, should point that out. I think some time while writing Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima had an epiphany of Lucy being, well, horribly useless. But he still wants her to have a big "contribution" in most arcs so what happens is she BECOMES the problem in most arcs. While you could argue that what's happening in the manga right now is contrasting to the argument that I'm presenting here (at least I know that much), what happens after it? Will Lucy change?
If Lucy's gonna be this dependent character, then I actually would've liked it if Lucy played the Himedere card. I mean, why wouldn't she? It fits her character perfectly. Look at this: her magic is Celestial Spirit Magic; the magic that seemingly relies on the power of other people (in this case, spirits), she has a whip; a slave driver's best friend and (Spoiler) she came from a rich family. There's got to be a spoil nature in there somewhere.
But maybe I am watching this for the wrong reasons. Fairy Tail is a fun journey. And that journey might be crazy and nonsensical, the point is that you enjoyed it. I'm actually considering on reading the manga but because of the amount of pending anime and manga that is in my list, it's kinda hard to allot time on this. So, if you were to invite me to read the manga, what would you say (and please don't say "fan service")?
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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