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It's alright. There's a good amount here that I'm able to appreciate but ultimately the bulk of it ends up being generic and uninspired.

The story is honestly fairly simple. A semi amnesiac childish girl is out on a mission to find her dead dad's remains and two saboteur siblings join her on her journey while they're being chased down by a military group. There's a couple extra elements added in the second half but they merely end up being introduced, probably for the second season, rather than take up the major focus of the plot. While there is the occasional exposition dump, what I ... really appreciate about this story is how natural the flow of information generally is. Not a lot of information is given up simply for the audiences sake and unless the characters don't know about certain things, they don't ask questions or for further elaboration. The motivations of Chaika aren't ever called into question until the second to last episode. Tooru and Akari, true to their nature as saboteurs, simply set out to accomplish their goal. This, naturally, requires the viewer to be comfortable with ambiguity, I personally found it really compelling but some might end up being confused and frustrated.

The characters leave a lot to be desired. I kind of got the impression that they stacked all their chips into making Chaika a waifu character, easily evidenced by the sheer amount of detail on her character compared to everyone else, and everyone else ends up being subdued because of this. Tooru has a bit of backstory attributed to him in episode 9 but it amounts to nothing substantial. Akari is a brocon comedic relief character, some of her jokes land, some don't. Fredrica is technically an addition to the main cast from episode 4 onward but she shows up so rarely and purely as a means to advance the plot that it's easy to forget she's there. Then there's Chaika. She's... not the smartest cookie, speaks in a kind of broken manner, and mostly serves to be cute or to cause conflict. While there are moments where she's actually useful and demonstrates that she's able to hold her own, these become fewer and farther between as the show goes on which is unfortunate. Due to the way the story is presented the main cast doesn't end up being extremely fleshed out which wouldn't be too much of an issue if they didn't shoehorn in a potential romance between Chaika and Tooru. Early on he calls her a precious person but this doesn't feel earned because they hadn't had a lot of interaction up to that point, it just feels like something that they felt had to be included. The pursuers and general antagonists are generic and uninspired. The pursuing group could have been a decent opposite to Chaika's group but the screen time they have doesn't demonstrate any higher level of comradery or chemistry. They're a constant in the show but never have enough focus to cause me to care. The blatant antagonists are your run of the mill comically evil characters, uninteresting, boring, underwhelming.

In terms of presentation, Bones is a safe bet when it comes to action animation and they definitely deliver, for the most part, here. Unlike shows like Soul Eater there's a lot more emphasis on tactics than flashy techniques and it ends up for some relatively interesting fight scenes. Movements have sufficient follow-through and feel fluid. The sound design on the other hand is extremely obnoxious. The artstyle is alright, Chaika obviously has the most attention to detail attributed to her while Tooru and the rest of them end up with fairly subdued designs. I think this works in the shows favor a bit since Chaika is clearly someone of greater mystic importance while the rest are almost entirely part of some mercenary unit, it's just a little funny to see the absolute difference between them all. The OST ranges from generic to extremely distracting and it will often overwhelm the scene, absolutely terrible audio mixing. The soundtrack also tends not to actually fit what's being shown. There are scenes were Tooru is sneaking around or having a conversation with Chaika and they'll play very loud chaotic music, then there are action sequences where they play quiet suspenseful music. It really kills your immersion and took me out of the experience.

Chaika had a decent amount of potential and a lot of the time the ideas that it has end up working decently. However it's also plagued with mismatched or underwhelming execution which ultimately leaves the viewer merely whelmed by what it is they're watching. Certainly not a bad show, I felt entertained throughout the entire ride, but in the end only ever managed to do enough.

What a frustrating show. It's one of those experiences where its potential is constantly floating right in front of my eyes but remains just barely out of grasp. I can tell it has the capacity to be great but it's constantly being held back.

The first two and a half episodes leave a bad first impression. I'm not someone who sees CG and immediately discredits the entire show as being bad, but in this case it ends up being fairly unexpressive and awkward to look at. Maybe this was a choice made to fit more in line with the video game aesthetic, since CG in ... anime is generally compared to older video game models, but it ends up working more to its detriment than anything else. This especially works against them because they decided to make Ono completely mute which when paired with the inexpressiveness of the models leads to a much less compelling character. Anime in general is subject to the issue of same facing, which is where the artist will fall into a routine when designing characters so they all end up having nearly identical facial construction, but these models are some of the worst examples of it I've seen. Every character is built on the same blobbish form and the facial features look like they were attached on rather than a natural form of expression. They shift nearly instantly and it feels like each model is a predesigned sticker which is swapped when needed. Aside from the eyes, every character is made up of the same construction which doesn't make any one character stand out.

The main characters Haruo and Ono are not likeable or endearing in their relationship. Neither of them have a substantive personality and feel incredibly incomplete. Haruo is a gamer through and through, the only things he ever talks about are either the current gaming market or monologues while playing games. Unlike the kind of technical prowess or opinions that you might expect from someone who is obsessive to the degree that Haruo is, he merely serves as a kind of timeline device which exposits the current releases. The commentary he offers in game isn't substantive either, especially for someone who is supposedly of his skill level. Every now and then he'll comment on certain techniques or playstyles, episode one goes the most in depth about this with explanations about Guile Turtling and arcade play Faux Pas, but these are the exception not the norm. Haruo is described by his friend Koutarou as being someone who possesses a kind of charisma despite his below averageness, but this is yet to be translated properly through his behavior.

His opposite, Ono, isn't much better. As mentioned before she's a complete mute, she doesn't speak one line during the entire runtime and lacks expressive capabilities. While this could be chalked up to her extremely sheltered lifestyle, it severely contrasts her extremely violent nature towards Haruo. Ono is a tsundere, but lacks all the charm that comes with a tsundere character. Pretty much every interaction they have boils down to Haruo and her playing games, Haruo being impressed by her skills and then her beating him up in real life. There's exactly two scenes in which we learn more about Ono's home life and even then they end up being roughly the same thing. Every other piece of information we learn about her comes from second hand observations by other characters which amalgamate into a blob of "she's quiet but perfect." She's simply not an interesting character and her relationship with Haruo fails to compel me because of the overwhelming quantity of both of their faults.

One of the strongest aspects of the show is its substantial progression of time. After episode 3 we're shot forward to the end of Haruo's second year at middle school and after episode 9 we're shot forward again to the beginning of his High School years. A lot of slice of life anime become stuck in an infinite loop of single school year snapshots and rarely ever show the characters age or progress through life. And while High Score Girl does push the characters forward through life, it fails to adequately develop the characters with age as well. Haruo remains Haruo, maintaining his gaming obsession and only becoming slightly quieter with every year. Ono remains Ono, she apparently cares about Haruo but doesn't reach any new levels of expression or unlock the ability to speak. However the major upside to this progression of time is the introduction of the third main character: Hidaka.

Haruo's exposition falls mostly on deaf ears because he's preaching to a choir. Ono is a gamer, she knows all of these things, and the audience is likely to be either gamers or at least more familiar with them than the average person every would be. However Hidaka is a normal girl. She spends her days going to school, helping around the house, and studying. She doesn't have many hobbies and certainly nothing to do with the world of video games. However it's through her interactions with Haruo, her polar opposite, that her eyes become opened to a world she didn't know existed. She becomes attracted to Haruo because of his level of obsession with games, something which she has never once experienced in her life. Suddenly all the monologues about the current releases and the superficial knowledge about gaming takes a new light. At first she prefers to watch him play from behind but as the series progresses she takes a much more active approach in getting Haruo to notice her. She's the only character in the show to receive this amount of development and is my personal favorite aspect of it.

Despite all of my complaints and my best efforts to dislike this show I have to admit something. There are quiet moments when Haruo and Ono are alone and simply enjoying each others company, not playing any games or yelling or even talking, and these moments work perfectly. The final two episodes in particular are incredibly strong and this is where my frustration lies. Because every so often the show will hit me with these scenes that still manage to work perfectly and then I look back at all the underdeveloped, and frankly kind of annoying, moments which precede it and all I can think about is the wasted potential. If Ono or Haruo compelled me more or had real development than I'm certain that the payoff would have left me thinking this is a masterpiece. Unfortunately this isn't the case, and I'm left with bittersweet and confusing feelings about the show itself. Certainly not bad, but pales in comparison to what it could have been.

If I could use only a single anime to convince someone that this is truly a respectable artistic medium, Mononoke would be my choice. Every scene is crafted with a remarkable level of detail and intention. There is no action, sound, or character without purpose. This all blends together into a completely unified experience. The world of Mononoke is truly alive and will pull you into its brutal tales of sin, whether you like it or not.

Nothing looks like Mononoke, likely because attempting to achieve its level of intricate detail would be an overwhelming task. At first glance, the show resembles a Japanese painting more ... than an animated series. Most of the movement, or animation, happens in the background rather than with the characters themselves. When characters do move, it is either a deliberate choice or a reaction to a state of panic. This is not due to a lack of ability but rather another intentional decision. For the most part, the characters remain still. In the secular world, nothing significant happens to them aside from the scrutiny of the Kusuriuri. However, when we are allowed a glimpse into their minds, we witness their self-imposed hell, tearing them apart with acts of cosmic horror, breaking them down until they are left as hollow shells.

The show’s perspective is deeply unsettling. Even before their interior worlds become distorted, the angles at which scenes are drawn make the characters feel trapped in their environment. In the first arc, a pregnant woman is taken to a room on the top floor, and the stairs are depicted as an endlessly repeating spiral. In the second arc, the ship is often shown from below, looking up. Despite the ship being designed to be highly vertical (as revealed in exterior shots), the stairs and walls enclose and obstruct your view, creating a sense of confinement. It all looks breathtakingly beautiful, yet it evokes a feeling that something is fundamentally wrong. As the characters deteriorate, the background becomes increasingly abstract and distorted, its movement intensifying. The more something moves, the less stable it appears.

Mononoke’s aesthetic does not stop at its visuals—it also boasts incredible sound design. Everything has a sound—everything. This adds more to the experience than one might expect. Everyday noises like footsteps or rain, which may seem like mere ambiance, build a subconscious relationship with the environment. Just as the sounds of normalcy are emphasized, so too are the sounds of distortion. The viewer is subjected to the noises of the characters’ internal torment just as much as the sounds of normalcy, enhancing the immersive potential. The voice acting is equally impressive. As the show progresses through time, ending many eras ahead of where it began, the characters’ speech adapts. Early on, they speak slower and with more formality, while later, their dialogue becomes faster and less intentional—a subtle but effective touch. The Kusuriuri, as an ancient and spiritually significant figure, never abandons his authoritative manner of speech. This makes him seem perpetually out of place, a quality even younger characters comment on as pretentious.

Events in this show often unfold through the manipulation of the environment rather than the actions of the characters. Scenes frequently employ quick cuts, and characters are moved in and out of the world in seconds at the whim of the editor. The viewer is taken in and out of reality on a dime, which could be frustrating if not executed with such precision. Mononoke thrives on subversion. It may delve into the vast internal experiences of three characters before suddenly shifting to the mundane external experience of a fourth. Sound is added and removed abruptly, disorienting the viewer and unsettling their perception. This serves as a reminder that what the characters experience is entirely self-imposed—a form of internal repentance for sins only they are aware of.

The Kusuriuri serves as our guide through this world—a man of deep mystery who speaks slowly and with authority. He is almost unsettling, especially as we are taken further into modern times with each arc. We know as little about him as the other characters do, yet his composure provides a sense of stability as the world crumbles around him. He seems divine, though even men of religious sects pale in comparison to his purity. In the rare moments we glimpse his internal world, we see that there is nothing within him except himself. Does this make him an empty being or one without sin? It is up to the viewer to decide. While he might be viewed as an omnipotent spiritual entity, it is important to note that he does not know all; he merely seeks to learn and rectify what is unjust. To me, he is more of a spiritual medium than a strictly divine figure—perhaps sent by the divine to dispel sin, but not possessing the nature of a god. At times, he behaves almost human, particularly in the third arc, where he appears confused and unsettled by the nature of its Mononoke. He is the one mystery left unsolved, perhaps because he has nothing to hide.

Mononoke is a slow, deliberate experience—a true arthouse production that demands respect. It undeniably transcends and redefines the expectations of the anime industry, showcasing the untapped potential for artistic expression. Expecting other shows to achieve this level of quality is unreasonable; it requires an extraordinary attention to detail and an experimental precision that is simply unfeasible in the weekly anime market. This is art.

Rush, rush, rush. All this show does is rush. What is it rushing toward? Ikebukuro, apparently. At its core, this is a post-apocalyptic road trip show. There’s nothing wrong with that—in fact, I think the current anime climate is well-suited for this kind of scenario. Most CGDCT shows are episodic and rely heavily on the characters for entertainment, so having a wacky new environment every episode for them to interact with and explore feels natural. Unfortunately, this show doesn’t stick the landing.

From episode one, you’re subjected to a blistering pace of nonstop exposition. Dialogue is never allowed time to breathe; the moment one character stops ... talking, the scene cuts immediately to the next line. It feels like the show is running at 1.5x speed. Everything moves so fast that you can’t digest any of it. Plot points that could have easily filled an entire episode—or at least half of one—are resolved in less than a quarter of its runtime. At first, I thought this was just an effort to get the girls out the door and onto the train so the journey could finally start. But no, this pace never slows down.

When done right, road trips complement character and world-building exceptionally well. Since you’re essentially stuck with a core group of characters, it’s only natural that by the end of the show—or even by the end of each episode—you should know a little more about them. But Shuumatsu doesn’t do any of that. The characters aren’t fleshed out at all. They have a few core traits (idiot, momma bear, smart, idiot again) but never move beyond these stereotypes. They don’t even interact meaningfully with each other, aside from Reimi and Akira occasionally getting into fights. Across 12 episodes, there’s zero development or engaging interactions. What a waste.

There are a few flashback scenes sprinkled in to give the illusion of depth to their past, but they’re so short and sparse that they leave a lot to be desired. Nadeko (momma bear) in particular seems to have a traumatic past, but it’s completely thrown aside, relegated to a brief two-frame flash at the start of a single episode. A slower, more laid-back, character-focused approach would have really helped the show—especially since the entire premise revolves around finding one of their friends. But we know almost nothing about this friend, aside from the fact that Shizuru was mean to her once. Why do they care so much about Yoko? The show never gives us a clear answer.

The animation is fine. While the action often looks awkward, it’s not terrible to watch. However, like the rest of the show, the pacing—or rather, the editing—is its biggest issue. This show feels extremely over-cut. The moment dialogue ends, the scene shifts to the next line. Actions lack follow-through, as frames are often cut too quickly. This creates a very unsatisfying experience for both audio and visuals. Even a few extra frames would have gone a long way. They certainly weren’t pushing the limits in terms of character development or plot, so they could have at least made it pleasant to look at.

Episode 9 was my favorite because it’s the one episode where we not only get to see Yoko but also experience adequate pacing. While much of the over-editing remains, Yoko’s slower speaking style and the reduced number of characters make the episode flow better. We learn more about Yoko in these few minutes than we do about the main girls over three hours of runtime. There was potential here, but it’s too little, too late.

This show tries to be weird but ends up being weird in the way Rick and Morty is weird. The world feels… generic. People controlled by parasitic mushrooms, mini people, a dig at manga artists, zombies—that’s all you get. They had so much potential with the world essentially being shifted into a new dimension, but they only work within the bounds of what has already been done. It’s safe but pretends to offer something more. Ikebukuro could have been a completely wild-card area where there are no rules, as every character in the show describes it. Instead, it’s just another city.

This show was extremely disappointing, to say the least. With every episode, I saw more missed potential, and it became increasingly frustrating. What we got was unsatisfying and milquetoast when it could have been a truly great experience. They really dropped the ball.

Yet another anime featuring a herbivore male and a quirky female’s adolescent relationship, one of the more annoying trends in recent anime in my opinion. It’s no secret that the average anime romcom has always been 90% com and 10% rom but reducing half of the face of the show to a complete blank slate has never sat right with me. That aside this managed to be a fairly enjoyable experience all things considered. GoHands are pretty ambitious when it comes to their production style in recent times, opting for super detailed character features, most notably the hair, and unique angles/perspectives. Episode 1 is a ... little jarring, I think they tried a bit too hard with the “one shot” type effect as the ‘camera” moves through the school but the rest of the show works great. It’s a really unique aesthetic, especially for the genre it’s in where most studios go for a more streamlined style. It definitely feels like a work in progress at times but I thought it worked very well. The couple ends up being… fine. Komura can get on my nerves a little with how incredibly dense and self loathing he is, although I can sympathize a little after reflecting on my own intrapersonal relationships in middle school. I would’ve liked if he gained a little self confidence through his relationship with Mie, e.g Otonari Tenshi, but he mainly ends up being one note. On the other end Mie was great. She’s definitely an above average ditzy character and I loved her absolute lack of personal space. They pulled out all the stops to make her as cute as possible and it really shows, Shion Wakayama did a very good job conveying all her little noises. I also liked that she even started going on the aggressive in the last quarter of the show which helped it not feel like a drag which was very much appreciated since the first three quarters were pretty by the book. I would’ve liked if Komura received some of the same development but watching her lay it on thick was still more than enough sugar for the soul. While the story rests on it’s tropes pretty heavily, it provides a unique aesthetic and is more than enjoyable enough for anyone looking for some sweetness.

(This includes some thoughts on the 3rd volume which is not listed here but my rating stays the same)
Very enjoyable series of novels. Nasu’s earliest work but his writing style didn’t come off as too amateurish, definitely much more intricate and nuanced than the average Light Novel author. I actually thought his tendency to overwrite was more subdued than in his later works although it still slips in at times.

I think the amount of which a person is going to enjoy these novels comes down to how much ambiguity they’re willing to endure. Maybe this was just my Japanese being skill checked but I found ... the first volume to be very confusing, due to the achronological order, and come out the other end with more questions than answers. Thankfully things become much clearer with each subsequent novel even though the achronological order is maintained, although parts of volume 2 suddenly shift in perspective without much warning which made it a little jarring. However because of this volume 3 felt like one clean shot and was highly satisfying to read.

Another debatable point is Nasu’s tendency to overwrite things. For the most part this isn’t necessarily an issue but every now and then there are massive walls of text which explain every last detail of the subject at hand. Most of the time this is appreciated because the world which he’s created is extremely intricate and an understanding of the powers at play as well as the techniques at their arsenal goes a long way, not only for these novels but for every subsequent one of his works. This also makes the action sequences much more lively as you read about each and every body part being cut apart or the length incantations and their aftermaths, it really pulls you in. However he is not indiscriminate in this treatment and at times can go off on length tangents about the most miniscule things, such as in volume 3 where he explains the usage of THC and LSD. I personally found this endearing and respect that he’s willing to give everything the same level of respect and treatment. Although I can’t deny that this does unsurprisingly lead to pacing issues, volumes 2 and 3 are 1.5x the length of volume 1, and while this is not a surprise as these are volumes in which you learn about the magic systems and Shiki herself, it does feel like there is a good amount of fat to cut out.

For me the weakest element of the series was the characters. Which is a bit of a surprise given that I’ve seen them at the forefront of every review. However, understandably, they primarily serve as exposition machines and not much else and none of them necessarily stood out to me as notable. This is a bit of a surprise because I’m aware that Mahoyo is another one of Nasu’s earlier works and that has my favorite cast of characters of them all, although I imagine that was given much more time in the oven to be worked on given that it was the last of his major works to be released. I did find Shiki’s journey of self to be very compelling and she was definitely the strongest member of the cast although that has more to do with her internal conflict rather than her external character, which makes sense since that’s the entire basis of the story I suppose. Generally I think the characters are more enjoyable in the movie adaptations, they aren’t necessarily bad just unrefined and generally sidelined in favor of the atmosphere.

These are definitely worth a read if you’re into his work I know they were recently translated in full (although I can’t speak on the quality of the translation). A very good introduction to the world and systems which are carried over to every other one of his works and it makes me wish that he put out more standard novels just to see how he fairs because there’s a lot of potential here. I will be revisiting these once I’m better at Japanese.

What a perfect winter novel, chock full of self destruction and melancholy. I’m a huge fan of the liberty that Light Novel authors have when it comes to expositing their knowledge on things. As the name suggests there’s a running parasite analogy which represents the internal struggles of the main protagonists. They theorize that deep down they’re being controlled by parasites which causes their flaws to manifest be it through social ineptitude or obsessive compulsive disorder. There’s an entire chapter dedicated towards explaining the intricacies of parasite behavior, a level of detail which is maintained when describing medical terminology and technology.

This feels like a ... more mature take on Welcome to the NHK which is fairly lighthearted in it’s presentation and a less outwardly facing ill heroine. I felt it worked much better than NHK, the novel anyway, because neither character is overwhelmingly flawed (in the sense that they don’t feel a compulsive need to be saved) and their relationship feels much more natural than the one presented through Misaki. The two protagonists are mostly licking each others wounds, easing each others suffering through their self destruction. It’s a much quieter and somber story and eases the reader into their environment rather than bombastically making them unable to take their eyes away like you would treat a brutal car accident. Different but similar stories intended for different audiences.

I only wish it were somewhat longer, chapter 6 in particular sticks out as the longest in the novel as a whole and a major halt in the pacing of the story. A bit more time with the characters and their process of rehabilitation would have been appreciated rather than subjecting it almost entirely to a singular chapter. Even a 10% increase would have been appreciated, just to build that little bit more connection and a less sudden push into the climax (although I do think it fits given the suddenness of it all).

I really appreciated that despite the themes this never felt like a pity party. Their issues aren’t thrown in your face and it’s left primarily to the atmosphere and writing, allowing the reader soak it in. As I said before they don’t hang up on the prospect of being saved (in fact Sanagi has sunk so far into self destruction that she rejects the notion) but rather it’s a natural process which slowly envelops them through their interactions. It’s a very mature take on their issues which is surprisingly rare nowadays, especially in the west where this same sort of thing would have made everything abundantly clear and removed any sort of nuance or care. Great novel, looking forward to reading the rest of his work.

Entertaining enough but pretty generic. I’ve already seen quite a few anime with essentially this exact same plotline. Probably it’s biggest sin is that absolutely horrendous CG which was used for every single monster type just a complete crime to the eyes. If I wanted to be charitable I could say this was an intentional choice because the story takes place in the world of a cheap otome game, but given how stiff the rest of the presentation is this probably isn’t the case. It wouldn’t be too bad but Yumiella eventually acquires a pet dragon halfway through the show which becomes a mainstay so ... you’ll be subjected to it much more than desirable. Yumiella’s a fun protagonist and easily the best part of the show. Her VA does a good job and her running commentary and while the jokes aren’t breaking any new ground I found it endearing. Apparently the LN has more of a focus on humor, I would have liked to see that here especially since it skips a large portion of the year in order to get to the (cheaply animated) fight with the demon lord. I thought it was odd how Eleanora has next to no screen time despite being the pivotal focus of the ED, I assume she shows up more in the LN. While I still found it enjoyable I think it would have greatly improved from more interactions with Alicia and/or a better fleshing out of Patricks character. Patrick leaves little impression aside from being nice to her, so either ditching the romance and leaving him friendzoned or further development would have been nice. Episode 10 which only featured Alicia and Yumiella grinding a dungeon was great, definitely my favorite. The polar opposite nature of their characters led to some decent comedic moments and the somewhat interesting plot point of Alicia’s lack of agency could have been developed more throughout the runtime. Either of those two things being focused on would have made this a much more fulfilling experience. It’s decent if you only want to kill a couple hours.