Back to Crow8's Profile Crow8's Profile

A bit rusty on the review aspect here, but back in business after a break from watching anime! I felt obligated to give Darling in the FranXX a review for a couple reasons, one which being the poor reviews shared on MAL and the fact that I did actually enjoy it for the MOST part. So, let's cover the goods and bads of this one. Please note, I watched the DUBBED version.

First off, since I just mentioned watching the dubbed version, the voice acting was phenomenal. It felt naturalized and matched up well with the scene and/or feelings of the character. Especially so when ... it was one of the main characters. The narrating was pleasant, setting the tone perfectly. Moving on to the animation, I can again say I was impressed by the style. The art seemed like time had been put into it, and careful design. My favorite part about Darling in the Franxx had to be the main characters though. Hands down, I can safely say the way the main characters grew was amazing. Most importantly, the bond between 002 and Hiro. If nothing else, the 13th episode is worth watching as a stand alone because of this.

Now, some series run into more trouble than others, and unfortunately that hurt this one quite a bit. While the story started off fairly well, it quickly became a liability. Slowly decaying away, with the addition of filler episodes and plot holes, yet still managing to feel rushed. The last few episodes were a giant let down, and were utterly sidetracked. It was sad to see something so amazing just fall apart.

With lots of untapped potential, I can't give Darling in the Franxx more than 7 out 10 parasites. I can definitely say I enjoyed it though.

As I'm writing this, I'm still collecting my thoughts on Myself;Yourself. The progression of the last few episodes has kind of left me in shock. A lot of the events were predictable based on the hints given away, by there were definitely moments that I never saw coming. I think it's a good time to pause, and evaluate the series as a whole.

Let us start with the better aspects of the show. When it comes down to it, Myself;Yourself is great at getting you involved with the story. The staff create emotional pivots that lock your emotions in with the developments occurring on screen. Although ... very predictable, it was all the more satisfying as events transpired.The characters were likable....well, I'll go over Aoi a little bit in the negative portion, but overall they had good backstories and were consistent. The animation was fairly standard, good, but nothing spectacular. Oh, and wow. Nanaka is amazing at violin!

Tisk, tisk, I must admit I was impressed by this series, but a few things chipped off some brownie points. Aoi was a decent character, but wow, she could really be annoying as hell. I found myself reciting words best left untyped at times when she was babbling on or making odd noises. The music was average to the series. The notable negative I can mention for it was the sound of a ... recorder? It was like 5th grade all over again. There was certainly room for more progression and development was well.

To put it into perspective, Myself;Yourself is a super deep and engaging work that will leave you deep and emotionally touched. It's a great coming of age drama/romance with deep backstories. Give it a whirl or at least an add to the plan to watch list!

A grand total 8/10 Wrist Watches.

Seems like I've been giving no shortage of "10" ratings lately, and Ghost Hound was without a doubt worthy of. I first started watching it years ago, but never committed to finishing it for reasons unknown. Starting from episode one, I once again found myself intrigued. Cringing at frightening scenes, and enjoying the overall story. I like to keep my reviews somewhat brief, but with this piece, it will be hard on the account of the many tides it takes you through.

Let's start with the best aspects of the series. The animation was captivating. The style and color patterns were exceptional, but the animation was ... at it's prime during the "scarier" scenes. These "scarier" scenes are worth watching alone. They were truly unique to Ghost Hound, and I haven't seen anything similar to them. While the art was great, the sound had to be the best aspect of this piece. It was consistently accurate to the situation at hand, and flowed flawlessly with the story. Speaking of, the story was great in many ways. It seemed to cover most major genres in one way or another. The concept was again, unique to the series itself, and typical cliches took a rain-check as well. I'll button up the positives by noting the satisfying ending, all though adding a bit more wouldn't have hurt.

Well, time to pick out some negatives. The biggest blemish I witnessed had to fall in the execution portion. Parts and pieces of the story seemed to fall out of relevance or get scrapped all together. More could have been done throughout the story to fill these gaps without trying too hard. Also, certain characters seemed to be convenient pawns, while offering little to the story itself. I'll draw the curtain on this segment by again touching on the ending. More could have been done. With the last scene especially.

Overall, Ghost Hound was a powerful, easy to watch series. I never really got bored, and enjoyed every episode. For whatever reason it I highly recommend watching it in Autumn, just feels like the proper time. While it did touch on every genre, I'd fit it most under mystery/thriller, so if you have a particular niche for those, definitely give it watch!

I give Ghost Hound a mighty 10/10 shrine steps

I tend to enjoy a wide variety of music, and always look for a good AMV after finishing a series. That being said, this short put everything together in a beautiful 6 minute piece. I'm going to take a minute, and stir up a good review for a more than deserving short.

It's not everyday that an artist centers their song around the music video. Shelter clearly had a lot of effort and love put into it. In a whopping 6 minutes, it managed to capture and inspire me more than many pieces do over episodes. The animation was choice, offering delightful, colorful journeys. Emotionally, I ... found myself captivated by the depth of the story. The music was fantastic, and stimulated the mind.

Time for a brief "Room for Improvement" section. The story left a few loose ends I suppose. The music genre will certainly only appeal to a certain crowd as well, but I guess you can't really improve that!

Anyway! Shelter is an amazing piece. It was planned greatly, and is truly a beautiful experience. Provided it's only 6 minutes long, you really have no reason not to check it out.

A Swell 10/10 Stars and a trip to my "Favorites" list.

Black Cat! What an awesome synopsis with a great story! These were my first thoughts on the series. In the beginning, I was very impressed. The first few episodes were great, entertaining. Unfortunately, it all just fell apart into a giant mush of boring side stories, awful character morals, and poorly designed villains.

I like to start my reviews off with the good aspects of a series, so let's go over a few. The opening song wasn't too bad. ... The animation was average. I did find myself enjoying a few of the characters. Sven had excellent voice acting. Saiya and Kyouko were enjoyable characters. There was so much potential!

Let's skip the point... I just, wow. I was enjoying Black Cat a lot, but it was just written so poorly. It was about cool assassins and bounty hunters, then they became morally illogical, neighborhood watch style of characters.
"We have the power to kill this terrible murderous rapist with super powers, but let's turn him over to the police so he can break of jail for the 6th time."
Of course, this is just an example, not a spoiler, but you understand how frustrating it became. Not only that, but the story just kept flipping to awful side stories and introducing useless characters with no relevance whatsoever. Most of the villains had ridiculous logic, or lack thereof. Not to mention, this series actually has 24 episodes. Mal probably didn't include the 24th episode because it was downright terrible. You could hardly tell what was going on at all.

All and all, I will not be watching this series again, and I'm not even that proud to have finished it. It's too violent for kids, too illogical for adults.. it's just a flop. If you enjoy far-fetched, wild adventures, with ministories that don't add to the main story, you might enjoy Black Cat, but it definitely wasn't for me.

3/10 Sweepers. Hopefully enough to sweep it under the rug :') !

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai! Yes, say it 5 times fast. I'm going to start my review by referencing the first season. First of all, to fully understand and enjoy the series, you will definitely have to indulge in the gore soaked mayhem of the first season. I personally wasn't huge on the first season because nothing ever seemed to develop. It was just a giant loop or violence for various reasons. The stories didn't tie together or achieve anything larger. That being said, I rank the first season a 6/10 BUT.. understand, it is a very important ... watch it to understand the amazing second season.

Let's get to the main subject, being of course the season at hand. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai somehow caught my interest, and I was planning on just humoring myself with another mediocre piece while waiting on/selecting a different series. I went in not expecting much, but I was utterly shocked almost immediately. The opening song was the first indication of the enjoyment to come. The glitchy sound played in the track built up suspense and mystery. This series kept me on my feet with a great story. The villain was well developed, and could not be predicted until the writers wanted you to know. The character development was on point, flawlessly using every piece to complete the puzzle. I was constantly on the edge of my seat, waiting for what might happen next.

Negatives/cons! Here we go! Every fan boys nightmare, critical comments on their beloved favorite. I must admit, the animation was a bit dodgy at times. A bit more detail could have been added, but I understand why they would want to match it with the first season. Furthermore, I couldn't help but desire more information at times. The villain had a great backstory, but after the episode, I asked myself, "What happened to that place?" There were times when certain stories needed a little fine tuning.

Overall, I was astounded with this series. I didn't expect much, even if it was a polar opposite of the first season, I couldn't see myself giving this more than a 7, but my predictions were blown out the water. I liked this series a lot. I recommend for those into mystery/thriller type anime. Make sure to watch the first season first!

As for Kai, I give it 9/10 syndrome injections
As a whole, a dashing 8.5/10 damn projects

I first stumbled upon Boku Dake ga Inai Machi (Erased for short) on a random Crunchy-roll advertisement on Facebook. The advertisement was stunning and I knew I had to check this series out. I was instantly star-struck, and watched every episode, waiting for the next one to come out. I even went as far as to rewatch episodes over and over. The story was captivating, each episode brought new clues towards a mystery, and new emotions. Along with that, the characters were developed brilliantly. It's one of my all-time favorite series. All the sound work was ... incredible as well. The opening song, catchy, and the voice acting immaculate.

It's hard for me to pick out any negatives for this series, so I'll just say that everyone has their own taste and I'm sure you'll find a few things you didn't enjoy!

Overall, I loved this series. I find myself wondering how many lives I could impact if I had an opportunity like Satoru. It's a must watch for anyone who likes mystery/thriller style anime. The story will pull you in, and really make you think about life, and how blessed you may be.

I dashing 10/10 ----

I've been watching a lot of anime lately, and stumbled upon Myoiga somehow. It was sitting in my "Plan to watch" list for a while. The ratings/reviews seemed daunting, but I took a gamble, and I'm glad I did. Right from the beginning, I was impressed with animation and sound work. The music was very complimenting to the scenes. As it progressed, I liked the physiological aspects quite a bit. The story was fresh, and kept me interested until the end. The feeling of never knowing what might happen next was quite inviting. You also get an emotional ... understanding of some of the characters. I was really able to empathize, and shed a few tears in the process !

Now, a good review has to include the negative aspects. To avoid spoilers for the first one, I'll just say "The Secret of Nanaki village." Some of these "Secrets" were animated in a cheesy manner, and didn't accomplish what their intended purpose was. The story also had some issues. More could have been done to explain setting, but more importantly, the ending seemed rushed. It didn't include much resolution, and definitely was not as satisfying as it could have been.

All and all, Myoiga isn't for everyone, but I definitely enjoyed it. If you want a mystery style anime with a little romance, action, and emotional character stories, it is a good short watch.

Overall, I give it a 7.5/10. Not quite an 8, but that .5 is well deserved.