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Jul 3, 2017
Somewhat of a mediocre OVA... which is strange because the first season's OVA was fantastic.
This OVA does not continue the story of the second season but is rather a one-shot side story. It does not really advance the relationship of the characters and does not reveal any important information, it's a bit more like the first season in that regard , given that it's mostly light hearted and flows pretty smoothly.
However, the big flaw is that almost the entire run-time is dedicated to Hachiman and Iroha rather than Hachiman / Yuigahama / Yukinoshita. This is a massive downside to the OVA since Isshiki Iroha,
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love her or hate her, is not a main character, she became a strong supporting character in the second season but not strong enough to usurp most of the runtime of an OVA from the main cast.
So I found myself struggling to complete this OVA. Not good, not recommended, can be easily skipped.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jun 13, 2017
I read a couple of chapters of the manga before I fortuitously discovered that a movie had been released very recently on the manga "Blame!".
I watched it and came to realize they're not really the same story , regardless, although the movie does not really capture the essence of the manga which is INCREDIBLY fast paced compared to the movie adaptation, it's still very good.
The *Characters* are not very well developed but from what little glimpses we get, they are very interesting and could easily have filled several movies worth of content (Especially Killy and Cibo, which I later discovered , there is a good
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reason for that).
A lot of the *Plot/Story* is left intentionally vague, we never find out where they are or what the dimensional proportions of the setting ever is, but this is intentional, the author created the backdrop of the story in this specific fashion in order to make the world always confusing to the audience [We're not supposed to know, that's a core element of the story], and it really shows in the movie that this is the case because a lot of times, it's just not at all clear where they are relative to another place they've been (aka distance), but I can't stress enough that this is fully intentional.
Now , based on what I just said, the story and characters sound pretty bad but they really aren't, it just needs a little patience from the audience. Bare with it and it will pay off in dividends.
That being said, what does not pay off is the animation. I very much disliked the disjointed CGI, sometimes it worked but most of the time it did not. Still I loved the art style and wished I could see more of this, just maybe a little bit more refined.
Overall I very much enjoyed watching this and truly wish I could watch it again a-new. I felt the only downside is that it was very confusing but that's part of the point of the story and, now having read a lot more of the manga I know that this is the case, you're not supposed to know where the story is taking place, when (time) or why a lot of the things are happening, that is simply the nature of "Blame!" .... watching the film I kept expecting some type of explanation but it never came, I still enjoyed it but I enjoy it more now in retrospect.
Hard to explain but, say, compared to Ghost in the Shell (the original movie) this had better action, was more cohesive in terms of plot and had (in my opinion) better characterization.... the only problem was it was paced somewhat slowly and a lot of questions remained unanswered but still, I still recommend it, solid movie overall. Very enjoyable.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 1, 2017
I understand that the point is for hardcore players of Elsword to enjoy the show, I am not a hardcore player but I played a lot of Grand Chase and then a bit of Elsword when it came out ... I was vaguely familiar with the characters and world, not enough that I'd say I'm knowledgeable but I could follow the basics pretty well.
That being said;
This is completely unwatchable.
The voice acting is terrible, the pacing is UNBELIEVABLY BAD and there is no characterization or depth. I could not watch past a single episode.
The only thing this could have offered was good fight choreography which
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it most certainly does not have. It's terrible all around, I have never seen such a flimsy attempt to adapt source material. It's bad.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Dec 31, 2016
This is the shortest review I will ever write;
It's Madoka Magica coupled with Akame Ga Kill.
I love Madoka Magica and modestly enjoyed Akame Ga Kill so the show was entertaining for me. It loses a lot of steam towards the end but luckily the show is only 12 episodes long so it does not become a major issue.
It is a show with a great deal of brutality and pathos... again, if you've seen Akame Ga Kill and Madoka Magica, it's that but cranked up to 11.
Highly recommended for fans of deconstruction anime, especially mahou shoujo deconstruction.
Highly recommended for fans of Madoka Magica.
Modestly recommended for fans
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of Akame Ga Kill.
Not recommended for fans of traditional Mahou Shoujo (Ex: Sailor Moon)
Not recommended for squeamish or young viewers.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 5, 2016
I could write a long review but I will make this brief;
I loved the series and was competlely satisfied with the show on its own, because of this I avoided Rebellion for over a year and a half despite having it on my computer.
Having watched the film, I can say this;
I am glad it was a continuation of the story.
But it is clear to me that the creators had absolutely no idea what to do aside from a couple of (admittedly) very good plot points. A large part of the film's run-time is complete filler that could be excised without affecting the core plot of
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the film. We're talking over half the scenes could be removed and nothing would be lost.
For how terribly thin the plot is; The artistry of the film is fantastic and better than ever. It is truly a feast of creativity and skilled visuals. The problem is it doesn't represent anything, while the show had massive amounts of symbolism and visual storytelling, there's a bunch of nonsensical crap being thrown at the viewer through the film's presentation and no, these are not symbolic, it's basically things that probably sounded cool in a storyboard meeting kind of way but once actually presented to the viewer, it's just trash. The scene that most standards out to me is a playful rhyme where they go around the table talking about cake while hunting an enemy.... and I'm just thinking "This is so unnecessary".
Which describes the whole film to be honest.
The ending was good and (SLIGHT SPOILER) there are two twists in this film. That is the only substance here, everything else is completely wasted.
But great artistry, good soundtrack, continued storyline (A lot of films just repeat what we've already seen so this is very appreciated) and satisfying ending.... this earns it a total score of 5 but it is very weak compared to the show.
It could have been worse, is my final thought on it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Mar 28, 2016
This is a very difficult anime to review; I went in knowing nothing other than there was potential incest vibes a-la No Game No Life, what I didn't know was that it was an ecchi drama with borderline hentai scenes.
That being said; It effectively has no story.
It is a sequence of alternative scenarios where the protagonist Haruka socializes and eventually ..... I hesitate to say 'seduces', more like, enamorates a different girl in each sequence. It is all done very tastefully and respectfully, though there is a LOT of fanservice, it never feels gratuitous or sleazy.
For those that insist on calling it porn;
This is
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the classiest, most emotionally deep (softcore) porn you will ever see.
In terms of characterization;
Each character is given very clear characterization, from the ultra energetic Amatsume, the elegant Ojousama Migiwa to the titular Tsundere Sora... the motivations and actions are well established and clear. The dialogue and actions are very believable, unlike harem anime where the girls are just absurdly attracted to the male lead and eager to get penetrated, they are gradually more and more attracted as their emotional bond grows.
Sora herself is an amazingly written character, she is one of two tsundere characters that I can actually believe would exist in real life with the other one being Asuka Langley Soryu from Evangelion, except Evangelion exists in a post-apocalyptic setting whereas Yosuga no Sora exists in a modern setting giving it even greater legitimacy. Sora's reasons for being tsundere and her behavior as a tsundere are 100% believable and justified, this is not only rare but completely unique in the genre.
Basically, it's extremely well written.
NOTE: The show has almost zero levity, it is a very heavy show without comic relief. It has some omakes at the end to lessen the absurd intensity of the show but that does very little to diminish the hardcore emotional/sexual weight of the proceedings themselves.
In terms of art and animation;
It is very well animated, I saw no evidence of animation shortcuts or slip-ups for the purposes of 'bottle episodes', it was all very well done and clearly great effort was placed to make each girl look and move uniquely.
This is one of the best looking shows of its type, but on top of this, the direction is flawless, some of the 'camera angles' are magnificent (You'll know what I mean when you see it).
If I had to name one objective flaw;
The pacing is very slightly off, there are a few scenes that drag on a bit too long and other scenes that are a bit too short. It's a strange combination of "Too rushed" and (Especially) "Too slow" at times, but this is very rare and only an issue for the pickiest of the picky types.
ALL OF THAT BEING SAID;
Here is the real problem with the show. This show has no audience; IT HAS NO AUDIENCE. I cannot recommend it to almost anyone. I cannot stress it enough how it has no audience.
- It's structured like a hentai game / ero game, so the story is tremendously disjointed.
- It's too fanservice-y for women.
- It's not fanservice-y enough for men.
- If you want material to jerk off to, it is not for you, there is way better spank material out there.
- If you want emotional depth , you can get that without the fanservice.
- If you want beautiful art style and animation, you can get it without pacing issues, disjointed story and fanservice.
- If you want a good story, this has none.
I have no idea who would want to watch this show... and yet it is one of my favorites, but I would never recommend it to anyone. It just doesn't fit the bill for any kind of show someone would want to see.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Mar 22, 2016
I will keep this as brief as I can;
This show is a comedy show , intended to parody a lot of the tropes in "Video game/Fantasy "Another world" anime" ... unfortunately it is declawed, the jokes are very bland and the characterization is very obvious. Parody as a genre is quite lowbrow compared to its higher brow cousin 'satire'... because of this, the story and characterization suffer.
Megumin, Aqua, Darkness/Lalatina and Kazuma are all one-note characters with no depth or interesting aspects to them, they are vehicles for the atrocious comedy... now it does have some great scenes but they are incredibly rare.
All of that said;
The
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art design is beautiful and far better than the show deserves... towards the end the show goes overbudget and the animation shortcuts begin to abound, alongside a huge drop in art quality so not even those things can save this trash heap of a show.
I wanted to like it, so badly... but it let me down again and again. It is one of the worst shows of this type I've ever seen.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Feb 26, 2016
There are only two things to talk about;
1- The games; Without wishing to spoil anything (As if the title doesn't give it away) the show is entirely about playing competitive games, in which the protagonist (Shiro and Sora , two siblings) are pitted against nearly impossible odds, gambling away very valuable objects but somehow come out ahead.
The tactics that they use to overcome seemingly insurmountable problems are extremely interesting to watch in execution but even more interesting after it becomes explained. It is one of those things that keeps the viewer on their toes (if he should so want) or can be enjoyed as
...
popcorn anime without putting much thought into it.
By the way; Sora (The Protagonist) is a con artist and it is glorious.
And 2.... everything else.
Basically, the "Game" aspect and the explanations by themselves would be a 10 out of 10 ... however, everything else is very flimsy; The world is underdeveloped, the characters are very flat and one-dimensional... the "Comedy" is repetitive and relies heavily on references to other shows. The "drama" (If you could laughably called it that) is overplayed and quite weak. It has a lot of fanservice but it's PG-13 ish fanservice and I hate that.
But let's talk about the characters, specifically the three protagonists;
Sora: Male protagonist insert.
He is a NEET and apparently horrible at social situations. He has no friends aside from his sister and is , for all intents and purposes a completely inept loser with no future. He relishes being thrust into the new gameworld (Disboard) and wants to proceed into it with reckless abandon. Super intelligent, super devious, super cunning, super quick on his feet (witty); He is pretty much maximum wish fulfillment for men.
I enjoyed it, but he is very poorly written as a character however it works within context of the show.
Shiro; Loli chara. Computational genius that wants Onii-chan to take his Imouto and everything that that implies.... anyway she is very flat; The core of her character is that she is incredibly intelligent, and yet she falters an awful lot. She is there to take some of the edge off of Sora and show he is fallible. It should not work in paper, but because of the medium by which they develop (Games) it works very well.
Again, she is poorly written but it works.
Stephanie Dora; Useless character.
She is initially introduced as somewhat of an audience surrogate but is then relegated to being utterly pointless. She is mainly used in filler scenes where she is the local fanservice girl (Mmm not that I am complaining) and the butt of many jokes. She has low intelligence and in general, is not very interesting or at all even.
These are the best developed characters; Basically the characterization is awful.
However... there is a fourth character called "Tet" who we are given only glimpses of, this character has several mysteries about him and while that does not count as characterization, what we are not told shapes him sort of like water takes the shape of the container it is in.
"Tet" was the most interesting character if only because there are so many questions as to what he is doing and why.... alright let's proceed.
The "Story" is atrocious. There is no real major arc, it's just stuff that happens... theoretically there is a starting point and an end goal but the majority of what happens is just a bunch of messing around. I know that was a short summary but the show basically has no story. I am not joking.
Basically it is recommended on two fronts;
- If you are a nerd like me and love game theory (GAME THEORY IS LIFE), then this is a magnificent adaptation of the concepts of game theory with large breasted anime girls thrown in (Yum yum). The writing is very rich and velvety.
- Watch if you want a colorful popcorn anime with fanservice , anime references and games being played (Disregard tactics and tautology of game theory in no game no life).
Do not watch if;
- You want an intricate story
- You want complex, well developed characters
- You dislike fanservice
- You dislike long explanations before, during and after scene
- You want a well developed, rich game world
Above average anime.
Could have been great, is not great.
Still it is good, gg.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Feb 19, 2016
There are people that review sleazy anime with standards that would be more fitting for top shelf anime. These people do not understand the concept of reviews because an anime , as well as any product, should be reviewed with standards appropriate to its medium and genre. With that opening out of the way, let's talk about saikin, imouto (etc etc.) "Recently my sister has been acting unusual";
ART (And animation):
It has some of the most boring, pedestrian, mediocre art and animation I've ever seen, on the plus side I didn't see any blatant animation shortcuts but it makes sense that they didn't take any
...
because they use the most typical, low effort backgrounds and settings possible, bar a couple of exceptional scenes (Aquarium, "heaven", etc.).
Because of those rare instances, I would say it goes from a 5 to an 8... and yes, those few rare instances are beautifully rendered and gorgeous to look at.
CHARACTER (With little to no spoilers);
Here is where we enter a strange area, these characters, particularly one , are very fetishized, I WILL EXPLAIN LATER, WAIT FOR IT... but don't get me wrong the story is actually very good but it is very reliant on the characters, there is a lot of pathos and drama to be had here... the core premise of the anime is that there is a ghost (Yure) that is trying to achieve ascension to what is heavily implied to be 'Heaven'. In order to achieve this, she must (Engage in sexual acts with the male lead...? we don't know (?????????)) and there we have the problem. We don't really know much about this character or her plight.
She is the force that moves the plot forward from the beginning until the end, and because we know so little, we are forced to just go along for the ride without having even the basic knowledge necessary to identify with the character.
This character is called Hiyori and she is the best part of the anime.
She is bubbly, cute, playful, jealous, dynamic, annoying, interesting and more... she is a legitimate character with a seemingly tragic backstory. Without her the anime would have nothing to do, but as I said she is shrouded in complete mystery right down to her true identity which we never find out. Basically it is an unopened box which becomes a bit of a hassle as time goes by.
The other two leads are;
Mitsuki; A young girl who's mother has just remarried. She is a massive buzzkill the entire show and a very hateable character. She is not Kirino-level bitchy but she comes close... she is very rude, very unappreciative and just an overall drag to have in any scene. Worst of all, she is incredibly inconsistent with her motivations. Sometimes she hates everyone and treats everyone like garbage... other times she is friendly and wishes she had more people around her.
It is not interesting, it is not cute. She is the worst part of the show... unfortunately the show mainly takes place from her point of view.
Yuuya; A fairly bland, self-insert Japanese character. I could not tell you a single one of his characteristics beyond "He is a young Japanese man" ... well, he has one trait; He is INCREDIBLY patient with his horrible new sister. He is a Zen-rock given how much abuse he tolerates from the Mitsuki character.
PLEASE TAKE NOTE:
There are two supporting female characters that spend the entire show "Foreshadowing" their involvement in supernatural affairs. This never gets paid off, not even a little bit. It is a complete waste of time so I did not even mention their names.
I was like "Oh okay, I think I see where this is going" in the first episode when these characters are hinted to "Know more than what they are sharing" ... but even in the FINAL EPISODES they're still doing the foreshadowing thing with no end in sight for their shenanigans. Terrible characters that don't add up to anything.
STORY;
And now let's talk about the elephant in the room. This is an ecchi anime that goes so hardcore so as to almost be hentai.... and that's not wrong. I am a man and I enjoy both ecchi and hentai... however, this specific anime is leaning heavily towards the disturbing fetishistic.
There is a strong leaning towards urination fetish and that's just.... not for me. There is also a strong undercurrent of BDSM going on ... but the worst part is;
This reaches its highest points in the first 3 episodes and then it tones way down.
Yes that's right. It goes full on fetish-mode as it's introduction to the audience.
I was like "WTF?" when I watched this, it takes some very weird turns.
That being said, if you can soldier through the first few episodes, you will be rewarded with a fairly quirky and unique screw-ball ecchi comedy that almost completely redeems itself. It has some great situations and even some solid comedy here and there. Honestly if more of the show was like the middle parts, it would be a fantastic show but alas, it is not.
The beginning is very poor, rather than easing the viewer into the fetish it wants to explore, it hits you like a brick to the face with no build-up or tone... and that is the word of the day; TONE. In the first few episodes there is severe tonal discordance which makes it very difficult to watch or recommend. "It gets better" is not enough.
Anyway, the ending of the show is a massive cop-out. Yes, I understand that they want to make more money, yes I understand it is probably based on a manga that is on-going. Yes, I get that we never knew much about the situation to begin with but none of that excuses the complete non-ending that is given to the audience. It is absolute garbage.
To summarize the story;
HORRIBLE beginning (First few episodes)
HORRIBLE ending (Last two episodes)
Pretty good middle parts.
So, to conclude, do I recommend?
- No, do not watch if you are sensitive to fetish scenes, I would totally understand if someone didn't even bother getting through the first few episodes. There is a serious "Wall" before it "Gets better".
- I do not recommend if you are looking for a light-hearted comedy show. This gets dark pretty often and the comedy is off-set by macabre set-pieces.
- I do not recommend if you are looking for a serious, drama orientated show. The tonal dissonance will get on your nerves fast.
- I do not recommend if you are looking for fap material. There is much better material out there and it is not as padded as this.
- I do recommend if you meet the following criteria;
* You are very curious to see the middle portion of this anime, which as I said, is very good.
* You have high tolerance or maybe even a desire for BDSM and urine fetish anime (I don't).
* You want to see how spectacularly bad the beginning and ending of the anime are.
Basically, almost no one should watch this anime.... I enjoyed the middle portion which was really quite good, but the fact that it begins and ends so horrendously means I can't recommend in almost any circumstances.
gg.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Feb 4, 2016
Basilisk takes a page from Berserk and makes the first episode an intolerable piece of garbage. To say that this anime has one of the worst introductions I've ever seen would be a colossal understatement.
The first episode is exposition from beginning to end, showing us scenes and characters with absolutely no context to back-up the action in front of us. It is the kind of episode that only makes sense after you've watched the entire series.... and while I am not opposed to heavy exposition in the first episode(s) of a series, Basilisk takes it up to 11 with absolutely incomprehensible jibberish.... so disregard the
...
first episode for all that I will say after this point.
STORY:
The story is very flimsy and just an excuse to set-up the action of the series. To say that Basilisk's story is token once again, would be an understatement. The basic set up is this; Two rival clans are tasked to fight a proxy war of succession in the name of the Tokugawa Shogunate (Government) and the winner of the war will be rewarded whereas the loser will be destroyed (somehow). The set-up is meaningless and never properly explained beyond "Fight in our name yata yata yata".
The story is not Basilisk's strong point.
ART:
The art of the anime is very strong, it has a very, VERY "Japanese" tone and feel to it, possibly the most 'traditional Japanese' style I've seen in an anime. The architecture is lovely and the scenery is often gorgeous. From the simple , almost hut-like inn rooms, to the salt-storage room... to the large Sunpu castle... to the small city structures of Manjidani and Tsubagakure... it is all wonderfully designed and displayed through gorgeous artwork.
The animation can range from very good to 'just okay' but not once did I ever see a major animation shortcut or significant drop in quality. The creators went to great length to show what they wanted to show as vividly as possible.
If you care about artistry, this anime will not let you down.
CHARACTER:
This is where this anime truly shines above everything else. Every single character , and there are a LOT, is developed. Though we don't get into the backstory of each one, even the ones that are not given backstory we can have a pretty good idea of what they're about. Characters like Udono Jousuke, we know are rambunctious, but hilarious, jackasses... characters like Nenki are stuck-up, arrogant and prideful... characters like Gyobu are given brief glimpses of development which tell us exactly where he is coming from, what his motivations are and what his potential weakness is.
The characterization is so strong that unfortunately, the two main leads 'feel' very weak in comparison. Protagonist Gennosuke and Oboro , the leaders of their respective clans... feel very underdeveloped and underwhelming... their supporting cast is so much stronger and vibrant that we can only resent the show when we are stuck with Gennosuke and Oboro scenes, scenes that drag down the entire show.
It's a bit hard to explain without revealing spoilers, but from a brilliant cast of grey-morality characters, we have a boring Mary Sue duo that produce almost nothing interesting.... that being said, the supporting cast is so strong that they carry the bland-as-hell leads which almost crush the anime with their dull, plodding George Lucas-esque love story.
OVERALL:
From a terrible beginning develops a fantastic anime which ends somewhat anti-climactically. That is to say, the beginning is awful and it drags a bit towards the end, but everything in between is absolute gold.
I know this sounds like strange compliments but;
The pacing in this show (Aside from the beginning and end) is absolutely perfect.
The directing in the show is absolutely perfect.
This show is very well done. The story is garbage, the two main leads are garbage, but everything else was done so well, so effectively that I can honestly give a positive recommendation despite that.
Rundown;
If you like action, especially ninja action, this is for you.
If you care about art, architecture and traditional Japanese culture, this is for you.
If you want a complex story with twists and turns; This is NOT for you, do NOT waste your time.
If you want a strong lead and a deep, well-made love story; This is NOT for you.
Overall, could have been wonderful but as it stands, it is only "Good".
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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