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- JoinedSep 13, 2015
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Sep 24, 2015
*SPOILER FREE REVIEW*
Some say it's a masterpiece, others describe it as gloriously bland. All I can say is that I had a lot of fun with this one.
Lucky Star. Where do we start? Story?
Haha, that was just a joke. Lucky Star hardly has a plot. It's just a showcase of a couple of girls' high-school lives.
While I suppose it can be linked to western sitcom as it focuses more on a general subject than any particular story arc, there's hardly even a clear goal that the characters try to achieve in most episodes.
Yet that factor ends up making this anime truly special.
This is a very
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honest and relatable show. It will make you laugh, on the very rare occasion it may even make you a little emotional.
But there is no action, no drama and no romance.
Even the comedy isn't that in-your-face most of the time.
Lucky Star's appeal comes from its appreciation of the mundane.
The joy often comes from feeling what the characters feel, it's sort of like an anime caricature of real life. …With added parody elements thrown in to spice it up.
When all is said and done though, it just works.
The art is fairly fluid and has a distinctive, borderline chibi art-style. It's nothing to be amazed by, but it does its job very well - Especially if cuteness is your thing.
Same applies to the OST and sound. Music isn't used very commonly, but when it is used it works within the context it's applied to. The theme song also gets bonus points for being stupidly catchy, even if its lyrics make no sense.
The characters are the driving force within the story. They will be the ones you will relate to, sympathise with and laugh at. And they do a pretty good job.
While some are more interesting than others, you will end up liking a fair amount.
They also pulled an awesome twist on the main character by making her an anime nerd.
So instead of making the main character a blank slate for the audience to fit themselves into, the main character IS the audience (or at least the most likely audience).
Even typical character archetypes like the tsundere or wolf in sheep's clothing are played exceptionally well. They fit in perfectly to the show's context, despite their simplicity.
It's safe to say I very much enjoyed Lucky Star, but I do have a few things to mention before you jump right into watching this.
Not everybody will like it. The pacing is slow. Very slow. If you're expecting loads of stuff to happen then you're watching the wrong show. The pacing instead adds to the effect.
I suggest watching this as a means to relax rather than pure entertainment, it's great to watch after having anything too intense in your day. It's like a stress-killer.
This also may not be the best show for complete newcomers due to sheer number of references and parody jokes made in it. Once you've watched just enough anime to get a general idea of the typical genres and clichés, then it'll probably make enough sense though.
Also I've only watched the sub so if the dub is bad, don't sue me. >w
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 13, 2015
*SPOILER FREE REVIEW*
Explosions, Mechas, Guns, More Explosions, Sunglasses…
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann!
Widely regarded as one of the greatest mecha and action anime of all time.
But is it really that great?
Time to find out…
The story of this anime is simple at its core.
It's yet another rebellion/humanity fights back kind of plot, but with a slightly more engaging premise this time.
...
This is quite a predictable story. Some surprises will await, but this is not that complicated as far as stories go.
But people watch this show for the sheer energy it gives off, rather than the actual events that take place.
And I don't blame them: look at all these people with their sunglasses piloting their mechas and spouting one-liners like their lives depend on it.
Unfortunately, the best part about this show is also a double edged sword.
I occasionally find it difficult to take story information in because I just feel so drained after watching all these battles.
The show is more balanced than I'm hyping it up to be - it isn't constant brainless fighting.
But it just sucks out my energy after a while, and I just can't take it.
This shouldn't put you off though. This show is all about empowerment, and it can do an excellent job with that when it wants to.
As far as art and sound go I'm pretty impressed.
The art is very stylised and distinctive. Like a perfect marriage between a western action comic and a traditional anime - it fits the show perfectly.
Again, the double edged sword strikes back. Sometimes it looks a little too stylised for my tastes and almost appears dated as a result. But that's more of a personal gripe if anything.
The music and sound are also up to scratch. The VAs are fine, the soundtrack works and the OP is catchy as ever. I knocked off some marks for constant reuse of a certain rap-opera song in the last few episodes though. It sounded great at first but the constant repetition of it eventually ruined my experience of it.
The characters are one of the best bits of the story. All the development and plottwists happen here - and they happen well.
Everybody is a badass in this story, or rather - everybody becomes a badass.
There are plenty of backstories and motivations to keep you interested without disrupting the flow of the plot.
No character is incredibly deep but they don't need to be. They're just constantly evolving people. Even the ones that don't fight do a good job of balancing out the story.
Some of them do annoy me but it's not enough to bring this down. I like these characters, they're just too cool.
So to wrap it all up, I very much enjoyed Gurren Lagann.
It's a little exhausting at times, but I'm pretty sure most others will endure that.
Perhaps it was the pacing that made me feel that way? Maybe it's just because I was out of my comfort zone.
If I had watched this show when I was much younger, I have the feeling I would've enjoyed it more.
At that time I loved this kind of stuff. Now I'm simply not energetic enough to enjoy such a show as much.
I respect Gurren Lagann a lot, and I reccomend everybody new to the mecha or action genre to watch this.
It doesn't suit me entirely, but it was a proper thrill ride.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 13, 2015
*SPOILER FREE REVIEW*
Why did I give this a ten!?
The story is a typical rebellion plot. It comes off as something very predictable until something happens to the characters.
Yup, even the main cast.
Especially the main cast.
I don't want to tell you what this thing is, to let you embrace the shock - but it starts at episode six (technically episode one) and only gets bigger from there.
At the start, I couldn't care too much about the plot.
It got interesting at the end of the first episode but then it flat-lined briefly and became a 'monster-of-the-week' show. I still didn't mind it too much though as
...
it was building up the characters at this point.
But we eventually got the plot point introduced in episode six and some very interesting villains.
Then the story took off.
At some points I noticed a little bit of wasted potential but I was able to overlook that.
And to give credit where credit is due, I normally hate shows where the fight sequences take too long. This show crossed the line a couple of times but never got as bad as your typical action anime (thank god).
The last few episodes strayed from the manga they were adapting, which angered quite a few fans (I can understand why as well) but I found the actual ending to still be pretty good. A couple of silly decisions were made but it flowed reasonably well.
This is a very new anime so the art is up to the strict standards of today.
There is a LOT of blood too, so love it or hate it for that.
I thought the bloodshed was so over-the-top when I first saw it that I actually laughed a bit.
The OST is great too. The OPs and EDs are fairly catchy and fit with the tone of the series. The background soundtrack is also nice but nothing of note.
Characters are an interesting one here.
The main protagonists are typical character archetypes. But they eventually develop beyond that and have interesting backstories.
You will get some favourites (which is both a good and bad thing considering the way the plot runs).
Even your bland audience surrogate develops a bit. But that's mainly due to his relationships with the other characters.
I've got the give credit to the villains though. Not the one dimensional ones, but the ones appearing in a rival group which gets established later on.
This group is composed of characters who are no more evil than the heroes, it's just that their goal happens to be less moral.
There are still a couple of truly evil people in that group but even they are just as interesting (apart from one guy, but he gets much less screentime than the rest of them).
This is one of the 'fundamentally-flawed' shows but I couldn't help but enjoy watching it.
Yes, it doesn't quite know when to be serious and when to not.
Yes, some of the characters are much better than others.
Yes, the last few episodes will annoy devoted fans of the manga,
But when all is said and done, I really enjoyed this show.
It was unique and intense. It made me care about what was going to happen next and get attached to some of the cast.
So it gets a ten.
Not because this is an excellent show, but because I enjoyed it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Sep 13, 2015
*SPOILER FREE REVIEW*
Toradora! is currently the best anime I've ever watched.
And this is coming from somebody who originally didn't even care for the genre.
The outcome of the story becomes obvious straight away (or at least fairly soon in the plot), but this is more about the 'how' than the 'what'.
And the 'how' is done almost perfectly.
The opening six episodes do everything to drag you in to the story and soon after, the 'feels' take over.
You will grow attached to the characters and constantly want to know what happens next.
But despite that, there are no over-dramatic cringe scenes present.
This show just manages to make the
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mundane brilliant. All the dramatic scenes have a build up and a pay-off. It is just a well flowing, excellently paced show.
Art and sound won't break any records, but they don't need to.
They do their job and do it well.
The character designs are consistent and make sense, the scenery is just beautiful - even when depicting everyday environments.
And the soundtrack just works.
The music is perfectly timed in every scene to give you the full effect.
And both OPs and EDs are catchy, even though I preferred the first set of them to the last.
Characters are very developed and likeable. All of the main cast are twists on a common character archetype.
This turns clichéd shells of characters into well developed, sympathetic and truly alive characters that drive the story forwards.
If you happen to dislike some of the main cast then your enjoyment might suffer, but the chances of that happening a minuscule due to the brilliant writing.
So I enjoyed this anime a lot, and I would recommend it to almost anime watcher - even one unfamiliar with the genre. It also serves as a great way for people who are new to anime to start watching.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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