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Fruits Basket is an exceptional anime that features a compelling storyline and well-developed characters. I seriously liked the anime. But I could not give it a 9 as it did not live up to other shows.

The Story: It is about how Tooru Honda lives in a house with the Soma's. She lost her parents are was essentially living in a tent so the Soma's took her in. We are introduced to Yuki Kyouma and Shigure (The Guardian). Yuki and Kyouma are both Tooru's age, and she is looking after the cooking and cleaning in exchange for living there. I will talk about her later on ... but man she is such an amazing character. Anyway, the plot is that Yuki and Kyouma (And other friends we are introduced to) are Zodiac people who can turn into animals once hugged by people of the opposite gender. This element makes this genre a fantasy. The "God" of these warriors is a person named Akito. She is a ruthless person who makes life difficult for many people. The main plot of the final is Tooru trying to get rid of the curse on Kyouma and Yuki (As well as the rest of the zodiac people). No spoilers so will not dive deeper into this section, but I liked the story overall.
The last 4-5 episodes were amazing.

The animation & Music: I really liked it, with high-quality visuals and a consistent style throughout. While it didn't have a particularly unique style, the overall animation was well-done. The music also stood out, with the Season 2 ending songs being particularly amazing. Both of them left a lasting impression. Additionally, the Season 3 opening song was fantastic and added a lot to the show's overall appeal.

The characters: Tooru Honda must be protected! She was seriously such a wholesome, kind and compassionate girl! Kyouma had a incredible character growth and so did Akito. The only letdown was Yuki really. He was kind of left out in S3 and I did not see much change in him. Kyouma was great though. And we see everyone's intentions as well.

Overall the anime was good. I did not connect with it as much as other people but I still really liked it.
8/10
Thanks!
-CyanCheetah

Words cannot describe how good this anime is. It is seriously incredible how good AND underrated this anime is. This has 15% of the views that YLIA has on MAL and I am assuming maybe 5-10% of the views of YLIA in the real world.
But this anime is seriously amazing. From the emotions portrayed to the music played, everything was amazing.

The Story: The story is about a glasses guy and Sen and a girl that the glasses guy likes. This is a spoiler-free review, and a lot of what I want to talk about has spoilers, but let's just say the glasses guy likes ... the girl (Said in the first episode). We then go to the girls dads record label shop and to the basement we go! There we find a piano, drum set, and a bass somewhere in the closet. We also get a character that carries a trumpet -- a quartet!

Oh yeah this anime was set in 1960's Japan when Jazz was all the rage. In the 1960s, Japan was one of the countries where Jazz music had a significant impact. Witnessing the Jazz craze in full effect during that period allowed me to gain a much deeper understanding of the genre, its roots, and its influence on the music industry. I was fascinated by the way the Japanese people embraced Jazz, and how it became an integral part of the country's cultural landscape. This experience piqued my curiosity about Jazz music, and I began to explore the topic further, delving into the works of some of the most influential Jazz musicians and immersing myself in the rich history and evolution of the genre.

Anyway, Jazz tirade aside, I really liked the choices the story made. When I say the emotions were heartfelt, I do not mean that lightly. I cried in this anime... Not many anime can take that title. There were some holes in the story, but those were very small holes. The only complaint I had was the ending was left a little vague. Do not get me wrong, the ending is amazing! But I wish it had more clarity although leaving a viewer guessing is a typical trait that many anime show.
All in all, 9.5/10 story no doubt about it. And 10/10 music choice as well

The animation: This is something I did not expect would be this good. Ok well after seeing Watanabe directed it, I should have expected it. Mr. Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo directed it. The animation was incredible. As a *past* piano player, haha, I very much could tell they spent extra detail animating the instruments to line up the fingers. This is incredibly hard by the way. I think they might be rotoscoping, but it was hard to tell. Suffice to say the animation quality is incredible bar none. The only complaint I had was there was a lot of CGI and that showed its age somewhat but that's a minor detail.
9/10 Animation and also 10/10 Voice Acting (watched the sub).

All in all 9/10 for the anime
Made me cry, amazing heartfelt story, top 25 Openings of all time for me, what else can I say other than if you have not watched it already go watch it!!!

Thanks!
-CyanCheetah

Thoughts: I would love to share my thoughts on Lovely Complex, also known as LoveCom. In my opinion, this anime is not only sweet and wholesome, but it is also one of the best romance anime I have ever watched because of how realistic the relationship between the main characters is portrayed. I will delve into the details of why I feel this way, but I should warn you that there will be spoilers.

The Story: The story follows the lives of an unusually tall girl and an incredibly short boy. However, despite their drastic height difference, they are only five inches apart. The girl stands ... tall at a height of 5'7", while the boy stands much shorter than her. I believe this unique contrast in their physical appearance is one of the many reasons why their relationship feels so authentic and interesting. Second of all, the typical romance trope of Shonen romances is that of a popular girl and unpopular guy (Horimiya, Dangers in my Heart, Bunny Girl Senpai) or for Shoujo unpopular girl and the popular guy (Kimi no Todoke, Ouran Host Club, Maid-Sama!). Rarely does a romance break this trope. The ones I can think of are both unpopular (Clannad, Oreigaru, Tsuki ga Kirei) or popular (Kaguya-Sama). LoveCom does break the traditional Shoujo trope and makes them both unpopular yet popular at the same time... They are unpopular in that both of them usually do not have gals/guys chasing after them (Ok the short guy does have some girls (And a guy?) chase after him but that is just as a pretense for the actual romance and had no substance whatsoever), but yeah they both are the whole Hanshin-Kyojin comedy duo. I liked this aspect of it, made the show very realistic. What made it even more realistic was the character growth endured by both of these characters. Both of them did not want to go outside of their comfort zone and date people outside of their height range, but then they realized that "Oh yeah there's more to a relationship than height."

I would like to highlight a few negative aspects of this story. Firstly, the short guy in the anime seems to be quite dense and unable to take a hint. This is why we have the popular "guys can't take a hint" memes haha. Furthermore, at the beginning of the story, we are introduced to Seishiru, a character who is biologically male but identifies as a girl. However, it is unclear whether she identifies as transgender or not, so I can't assume that she is transgender or not, which confused me a whole ton. Although Seishiru promises to pursue the short guy, there is no evidence of this happening in the anime. This can be disappointing for fans who were looking forward to seeing her character development. Similarly, the childhood friend of the tall girl in the anime seems to be in love with the tall girl yet he does not pursue her at all whatsoever. These storylines were sorely missing in the anime.

What I liked about the story: Dude the part where the short guy rejected her at the start, no joke it made me cry. For a Rom-Com it making me cry??? Preposterous. It is unbelievable that this show made me cry. I was very invested in the story in the first 13 episodes. By the way, this is one of >5 shows to ever make me cry out of 400+ so this is quite a big deal. Second of all, a lot of romance animes show the struggles of relationships but not to this degree (Okay maybe except Clannad: After Story but I feel that is an exception). I wish both of them were a bit more supportive of each other, especially the short guy being more compassionate towards the girl and the girl not being a goofball, but then that is the charm in the relationship. They understood each other very well and came over these differences. So I had to rethink their relationship once again which is quite something for a comedic show.

I absolutely loved the comedy in this show! It was an incredible experience. Even though I watched the dubbed version (sue me), I still enjoyed it thoroughly. The show's unique aspect was its frequent breaking of the fourth wall, which added a touch of hilarity to the already amusing plot, similar to Gintama. Additionally, I was able to pick up on several references that were included in the show, making it even more enjoyable.

Animation and music: This is a nearly 2-decade-old anime. But the animation was good and OP1 was way better than it had any right being. Solid for the time but has aged, especially the CGI.

Overall: 9/10. Seriously amazing and the only romance to crack over an 8/10 (Other than Kaguya and Clannad). Nice job LoveCom

Thanks!
-CyanCheetah

*SPOILER-FREE*
Ahh the Spy X Family movie. I watched this movie on the big screen! I could not believe how wide of a release this movie got here in the States, especially since ALL the theatres in my area were showing it. In my local theater, on the Sunday of opening, there were a total of *Nine* people including me in that screening. Nine. Not sure why there was such a wide release for it, but am curious on how the Box Office of this movie would be. Even The First Slam Dunk did not get nearly as wide of a release in the States, and ... I missed out on that one sadly.

Anyway beyond that, I liked the movie for the most part. The movie made some very interesting choices, but since this is a spoiler-free movie I shall not spoil the plot.

The Story: It is a Non-Canon movie, meaning that none of the pot affects what happens in the main Spy x Family anime. What this essentially means is that even the average Joe who has never watched any Spy x Family could grasp what is going on since at the start they go over each character and what they do. Regardless, I'll take any Spy x Family canon or not. But to discerning viewers who just want to watch the plot progress of the main anime, you do get information on some school stuff as well as intel on potential military and other countries as well. It is information that could be handy throughout your mission of watching the show. Good luck soldiers.

The Animation: The BEST animation of Spy X Family, but that is to be expected given this is a higher-budget anime movie instead of an episode—still, really nice animation quality. The action scenes the SoL scenes and all in between are gorgeous.

The Music: The Background music perfectly situates all of what happens in the story throughout.

Gripes: Why did I give this an 8/10? Well, it has to do with the story. The problem is what they do, how could none of them even recognize that one is clearly not a City Hall employee and the other is not a Psychiatrist when all this happens, especially as Loid casually is a perfect taster and pilot? I guess it is an anime and a comedic one at that so cannot fault it too much but still it is a bit absurd at this point.

Final score: 8/10
It was HILARIOUS though this movie!!!
Thanks!
-CyanCheetah

**This review contains spoilers, this is the first time ever I am making an anime review with spoilers but to get into the nitty-gritty of the emotions and feelings of the characters I have to delve into spoilers**

Tomo-Chan is a girl. Man this was an anime that piqued my interest. All my friends know I am a sucker for a high-school comedy, and that sometimes includes a high-school rom-com. At first it seemed that a lot of people were unhappy with the entire anime for some reason. Maybe it was not their cup of tea? I am not sure. But me? I loved it. The ... 2nd-half at least. I will get into details.

The Story: The story is about Tomo-Chan and Jun. Tomo is a girl who acts like a "tomboy" (Wonder how they got the name of the character huh), and she is in love with Jun. This was made very apparent at the start of the show. But the problem is, she is acting like a boy and Jun didn't know, or at least that is what she thought. So then Tomo-chan asks her friend Gundou how to appear more feminine. Over the season's first half, we see Tomo make strides to appear more "feminine". From her way of dressing up to the way, she acts near Jun to even doing girly activities such as Karaoke? It was interesting but I must say the comedy of the first half of the season was quite good and funny. It is truly delightful to have the pleasure of being introduced to Carol, a character from Britain who is not only very funny but also immensely charming and wholesome. Her presence in the story adds a new dimension of depth and interest, as she forms a close bond with Tomo and Gundou. Carol's unique personality and perspective on life bring a refreshing change to the narrative, making it all the more engaging and enjoyable. She went on a little side-quest on her own when she loved a distant cousin. Sure I guess but anyway Episode 9 was holy cow so wholesome on how he asked her out. I do not agree with some of the decisions the characters made, but it was wholesome regardless. But anyway the second half of the show I really really liked. It was very well written. We then learn that it was Gundou's "fault" for planting the idea that Tomo had to change. Let me just say from the start I did not like the idea of Tomo-chan changing her ways, and I thought this anime would take the route of her appearing more "girly" and make Jun fall in love with her. I am so glad it took the route that it did. I will talk about Gundou in the characters section. But anyway, by episode 12, Jun realizes that he indeed does love her. And actually, we learn that he knew that she was in love with her the entire time. It was quite a shocking revelation I must say.

Anyway after that the 13th episode was super wholesome in that they go out to a movie as a date and all. It was super nice to see Jun stand up for himself and fight for the sake of Tomo. It usually ends up the other way around so I am very glad that Jun can punch his weight. What depresses me the most though is that we are not getting a 2nd season due to the fact that the entire Manga was used and the Manga ended... It would have been so cool, funny, and wholesome to see more of Tomo and Jun. Cannot believe they are just giving 1 season. All in all, the story was very well written. The first half had some holes and flaws, not to mention they spent too long, on the whole, trying to get Tomo to be a girl arc, but the 2nd half more than made up for it.

The Animation: The animation quality was very good. I liked the designs of the characters. The fluidity of it all was quite nice as well. No stuttering or critical failures in any of the frames. It was nice seeing the whole "best friends" animated so very well.

The Music: I somewhat liked the opening, not my favorite but it was good and fitting for the show. Background music was nothing to write home about but it was adequate as well.

The Characters: Oh boy. I have to talk about Gundou. She had an entire character arc. Let me just say for the first half of the season I was NOT on board with the whole "aggressive friend who has been somewhat unkind and unhelpful the entire time" kind of person. But holy cow, she came through at the end. She realized her mistake and made up for it. And even still, she cares for her friends. Like ladies and gentlemen that is how you do a character arc! It is very hard to describe in words, but since this is a spoilered review, you know what I am talking about. The other characters were written very well and all, but Gundou has got to be one of the best-written characters of all time. I thought I was crazy to see Gundou having more character likes than Tomo and the rest of the cast COMBINED, but it's not crazy

Consensus: This anime is really amazing. The 2nd half is honestly a 10/10. The first half was not the most enjoyable, so Ill average the entire score to an 8/10

I really wish there was more after this!

Thanks!
-CyanCheetah

Ahhh Cowboy Bebop, this was an anime I put off for 3 WHOLE YEARS...
I don't know why I did that. I kept finding other shows to watch. But Ultimately I decided to start it...

And oh boy! I liked the show overall, I will get into details.

The Plot: About a group of 4 people traveling and they are all bounty hunters (Would Edward count? I guess since she is part of the group). These bounty hunters collect bounties, but this anime was very episodic and showed us different bounties with their backstories and characters in each episode. This anime had somewhat of a cohesive story at ... the end where they all came through by dropping hints and small pieces of backstory information throughout the episodic episodes. The last 4-5 episodes were the "Climax" and resolution all at once. It did come together.

I will 100% admit I kind of underestimated this show. For some reason, I was somewhat fixed that this would be similar to Evangelion due to the neo-future of the world. but while Evangelion was a somewhat confusing psychological thriller, Cowboy Bebop was more down-to-earth and understandable.

The Characters: Spike, Jet, the Girl, Edward, and Ein the Dog. Ein was an amazing addition that uplifted the scenes a ton. The best part was when Ein followed Edward during the later part of the show. (No spoilers!)
Jet is a great character not sure why he isn't well-liked, but I liked Jet as a character. He might have seemed like a tough unlikeable character but down inside he knew that he needed each and every one of them and might I say a Tsundere??
Spike is probably my favorite character. The most understanding and well-written character.
Edward was a great addition too. Legit uplifted me whenever she was on screen smiling!!!

The Music: Baccano and Cowboy Bebop share very similar jazz intros so I will go a lil in depth comparing them. Both Baccano! and Cowboy Bebop have an opening theme that stands out due to its use of jazz music, which is a rarity in the world of anime. The opening for Baccano! features a lively jazz tune that sets the tone for the show's fast-paced and action-packed story. Meanwhile, Cowboy Bebop's opening theme, "Tank!", blends jazz with other musical genres like bebop and swing, resulting in a truly unique and memorable piece of music that is still beloved by fans today. Despite their differences, both openings share a common trait in their use of jazz music, which makes them stand out from the majority of anime openings.

The Animation: I was pleasantly surprised by the animation quality of this nearly 25-year-old anime, but my favorite episode by far was the Church episode. The attention to detail in the animation of the stained glass on the Church was truly impressive and added an extra layer of beauty to an already captivating episode.'

The show was indeed impressive and managed to capture my attention for the most part. However, towards the end, it felt like the storyline was not well connected, which left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.

Final Score: 8/10
Thanks!
-CyanCheetah

Frieren was an anime that I did not want to start. I felt that it was way too overhyped and that might cloud my unbiased judgement into this show.
I started it anyway but I tried to subdue my expectations and go in with no expectations whatsoever. And the first half blew me away. It was seriously an amazing anime.
It kind of fell apart in the 2nd half to the point where I could not justify giving it a 9/10. I will get into details.

The Story: It is about this powerful mage elf named Frieren. She defeated the Demon King with a party over a century ... ago, and can I just say that is an amazing way to start an anime? It is like the "After Story" to the main story. Unlike Clannad After Story, Frieren did not have the main "Clannad" story. But besides that, they travel and meet Stark. Can I just say in the entire series Stark is by far my favorite character and it isn't even close tbh. I wont go more in depth to avoid spoilers but all in all it is an amazing story.
The one gripe I have about it is that it is quite slow. This is coming from a Slice of Life kind of guy who watches 5 seasons for the Main Character to even talk to a girl. This would get quite stale while binging that is for sure.

The Music: Yoasabi 10/10. Not to mention Evan Call???? Violet Evergardens Evan Call? Simply told the music in Frieren, especially the background music, is some of the best in all of anime. I like Violet Evergardens background music a bit more, but Frieren is still amazing!

The Animation: This is a 10/10 no doubt. Same studio as Chihayafuru and Wolf Children I believe so no doubt it has amazing visuals. The character design and backgrounds are also amazingly animated. Simply told amazing animation.haracters: My main problem was with Fern. She was kind of a bitch, pardon my french. She was a nice character n powerful but I felt so bad for my main man Stark lol

All in all a 8/10
Thanks!
-CyanCheetah

Ahhh Setokai Yakuindomo. This anime really surprised me in so many ways. I thought I was getting into an innocent romance anime about the high school student council. But what I found in this anime is just so much funnier. There were 2 seasons before this (Yes the OVA is season 2 and idk why it is considered an OVA even though it has a plot in it ;). Anyway, the previous 2 seasons were alright but it didn't have much of a charm or story to it. This is the first season where the plot actually advanced.

The Story: It is about this guy named ... Tsuda who is one of the first guys in this previously all-girls school. he got roped into doing Student Council as the Vice-President and it has been uphill ever since. To be honest nobody should watch this anime expecting a story. This is literally the definition of slapstick and gag humour. The one character I was not the biggest fan of in this anime is Hata. Sure she can be nice but idk it is kind of hard to explain. The rest of the characters are amazing! There is not much story but it more than makes up for in comedy.

The Comedy: 9/10 the comedy is super good gets a little repetitive though but all in all good comedy.

The Characters: The characters all have some depth but the characters are used as fronts for the over-the-top jokes that are presented all throughout the anime. All of them have good personalities, and although i wasn't a fan of Hata, she is still tolerable in certain moments. Aria and Shino make an amazing amazing Duo and their interactions with each other are hilarious! Both Tsuda's are hilarious too and the jokes the sister makes on the brother is hilarious as well. They all have good chemistry with each other. All in all they make for a very entertaining and laughable group.

Overall: All in all, I enjoyed this anime quite a bit. The thing is this has almost no story whatsoever. It is pure gag humour and that is what I wanted. All in all 8/10 there were some boring/dull moments as well as repetitive jokes but other than that amazing anime.

Final Score: 8/10
Thanks!
-CyanCheetah

The First Slam Dunk is a movie based on the manga written by Takehiko Inoue. What I was shocked to learn was the fact that Inoue also directed this movie. It made total sense then why this movie was so damn good lol! Anyway, I have not read the manga unfortunately but from what I have heard is the fact that the main character, Miyagi, is a minor character in the Slam Dunk manga. But of course, here he is unfolded on the big stage as the main character and I am glad he chose Miyagi rather than a "perfect" basketball character because it gets ... old very quickly if he is perfect. Rather I would love characters with flaws as not only do we learn their backstories, but we also learn their purpose on why they are fighting to win. 2 Characters don't eh team wanted to quit bullying so they joined basketball. Miyagi was for his family. And the other 2 we do not get much on but they all have some purpose.

The movie is about Shohoku High School vs Sannoh High School, a very well-renowned basketball team that pretty much dominated in the decades past. Shohku was never on Sannoh's radar but nevertheless, with determination, Shohoku climbed into the national finals. We do get very tiny glimpses into those past games but that is not what this movie is about. This movie is about the Grand Final.

I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! This movie had so many close calls. Of course that is to be expected out of a movie haha it would be very boring if it was completely one-sided. Of course, some elements were dramatized but talking with my B-ball friends is usually very intensive. The one wish I had was some more backstory on Sannoh. I am sure Sannoh players are obviously great guys and I never portrayed them as the "villains" in any sort of way. Not even the players, just the school itself would have been good as there was certainly information missing that could have elevated it more. For example, stating that Sannoh has won the past 10 tournaments, etc etc would have elevated the tension even more. Both for the Sannoh players as well as the viewers. That way it adds a conflict of interest that adds pity and pressure on the Sannoh players. Instead, it is left up for speculation. 10/10 story.

The animation is also an area that is interesting. On one hand, I LOVE the style. Like the semi-realism of the animation is amazing. Like simply superb style and would not change it for the world. On the other hand, clearly the budget wasn't that high and while the animation is great, the quality could have been a bit better. That same year the best animated movie of all time released: Suzume. You can clearly tell where Suzume and Shinkai put their efforts. Kind of a mid story but amazing animation and amazing music. Slam Dunk is the opposite lol.

The music is also good. Not great, but good. The soundtrack did get tense when it needed to but at the same time I felt like there was somber parts of the story that could have been heightened had it been for better background music. That is something Shinkai and his team does amazingly. But overall the animation and music is a solid 7/10.

The characters in this movie are amazing. As mentioned previously, I wish we got an insight to Sannoh's characters. But the 5 basketball players on Shohoku: Miyagi, Mitsui, Akagi, Rukawa, and Sakuragi. They all are amazingly written characters with clear thoughts in their backstories and emotions. The depth they went into the characters is also amazing. An obvious focus on Miyagi but they certainly told us about the others. Especially Mitsui as well. 10/10 characters and how they are written.

This brings me to my final score of a 9/10. Had it been for better animation and music, I think this would have been a solid 10/10 movie. Nevertheless this is an amazing amazingly written movie with I think the 3rd best writing in an anime movie by far. Seriously amazing writing.

Thanks!
-CyanCheetah

I was very hesitant to start Mushishi. The gray poster and gray episode covers made it seem like a boring anime. In fact, even when starting the anime the gray aesthetics carried over. All in all it seemed terrible boring.

Thats when the first episode started. And that changed everything. The stories that this anime brings on the table are amazing! There are 26 episodes and each episode has its own story to tell. Ginko is the main character, and he is a Mushi-shi. Basically he is one of the very few people that can see Mushi, the life form between life and death, and ... he goes travelling and tries to help people that were affected by Mushi. One thing Ginko does that many mushi-shi don't is the fact that Ginko is very keen on preserving life and that applies to Mushi. If possible, he will try and find the method with the least death/violence possible. So when he says that something has to be done, usually it has to be done.

Ginko had a very hard life growing up, and he does not want people to face the same hardships he faced so that is one of the leading reasons he goes around helping these people. The problem is that he attracts Mushi so he cannot stay in one place for long. Hence that is why he is a traveling Mushi-shi. Helping people is what we see, although that may or may not be by choice. He sells artifacts he finds to a village doctor so he earns some income through that but most of the time he relies on village people feeding and sheltering him, which most of the time they do.

This is set in like pre-edo period Japan in a mystical world. Thats why a lot of what you see might seem weird, such as the one instance where a husband waited 20 years for a reborn child to marry. And many other instances. I did not care whatsoever so it is what it is.

The intro was great, did not expect english so that was a surprise. But Yeah the gray aesthetic definitely carries over. Not too much color going on. One anime this relates to the most is Violet Evergarden. Both go around and find stories to tell, and both offer services. One is an Auto-Memories doll while other is a Mushi-Shi. Violet was very emotional (Especially that movie!!!) And it was a lot more colorful. But goddamn was Violet animated beautifully. KyoAni! But the one trick Mushishi has up its sleeve were the stories told. Man were the stories told in Mushishi so good. Better than Violet (IMO). Overall I actually think the both of them are tied, maybe Violet having a slight edge cuz of the movie.

All in all amazing amazing anime!
9/10
Thanks!
-CyanCheetah