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This was a very simple and pleasant watch.

I thought the main cast was likeable, but also pretty basic and archetypal. I thought they were pretty likeable overall. You occasionally get little peeks of Maka, Soul and the gang through bite-sized cameos. These appearances are usually infrequent and minor. A considerable amount of the cast is fiercely, comically gay - the main trio are constantly flirting or giving fan service. Episode 5 in particular presents a sweet, lighthearted romance-drama between two girls.

As a whole, the show presents its slice-of-life elements first and foremost, with action scattered throughout. Many characters are pretty archetypal or one-note, but they ... help to make the viewing experience more amusing when those characters are placed in serious situations. I found it more difficult to watch some of the slice-of-life scenes, though. It sometimes felt like those sections were interchangeable with 4-koma style scenes in other anime.

If you don't want to watch the whole thing, then you should at least sample the first episode and see how it makes you feel. It's a pretty good example of what the whole series brings.

I rate this show one witch-fighting polycule

There's often an expectation that anime should be masterfully written and expertly crafted. I feel like this expectation leads people to avoid consuming anime from the perspective in which it was created.

Jingai-san no Yome is very much dependent on its premise for its content - monsters marrying boys in high school and the weird antics they have. Each episode is only 3 minutes, effectively capturing a brief scene in the lives of the characters.

Watching this anime was pleasant and entertaining for me, even though it's not a highly-funded production. It was short, inconsequential, and pretty cute, which is really all I could ask for.

I don't often review anime before finishing it, but this one seems to currently have a bad reputation. I'd like to help anyone who isn't sure about watching it come to a decision.

The story is pretty slow to start and the main character's personality is flat, but these things seem to be intentional. The first arc heavily tests the main character's moral stance, and the second arc seems to be expanding the conflict of the series broadly. Tsugumi Ohba has a reputation for enforcing rigid rules on his narrative world, then twisting the plot to create engaging mysteries based on those rules. If you enjoyed ... that in Death Note, then you'll enjoy it here. Some of the combat sequences are especially prolonged - not like DBZ, but I can think of one moment in particular where I was just kinda waiting for it to be over.

Watch this if you like Death Note or mysteries. Don't watch this if you dislike slow starts or slower fight scenes.

I recommend this if you're a fan of yandere characters and disempowerment. Don't read it if plot inconsistencies or excessive torture bothers you.

I came across this manga randomly, so I didn't really have any expectations. Gore and torture in manga don't bother me, but I expected this one to be much more violent than it turned out to be. The story is about a girl who's in unrequited love with a boy and the lengths she goes to in trying to be with him, told from the point of view of the boy. It was interesting to see an entire manga structured around the yandere ... archetype, but the characterization and plot consistency were lacking throughout the narrative.


Story: 6 / 10

POTENTIAL SPOILERS - The plot spans many years of the main characters' lives - not something that you'd typically see in horror manga, but it works here. The narrative flows pretty well until the build-up to the conclusion, which isn't all that impactful or satisfying. It's not bad, but you probably won't remember the story over other elements of the manga. A lot of the torture sequences / violence performed are pretty similar, but there are a few surprising and unique moments scattered throughout. Inconsistencies in characterization and consequences really subtract from the impact of both the plot's harsh moments and its victories.


Art: 9 / 10

The art style wasn't what I'd expect from this genre of manga, but it ends up feeling perfectly suited for the story being told. It's cute like a kid's manga, but the artist's attention to detail is clear, especially in things like the characters' facial expressions or clothing design. The gore almost exclusively takes the form of blood and cuts with minimal detail, so even moderately squeamish people should be able to tolerate it (as long as they aren't uncomfortable with torture scenes!)


Character: 4 / 10

Several characters lack consistency in their personalities and behavior, and despite the amount of time that passes it feels like all the characters have the exact same personalities that they did when they were kids, except with more anxiety. It kind of feels like the characters mostly embody archetypes, with a lack of any unique characterization or personality. That made it kind of difficult to care about them beyond the typical feeling of not wanting innocent characters to get hurt. The antagonist's capabilities are also very inconsistent, which really takes you out of the narrative at times.

I really enjoyed the author's exploration of lasting trauma and the process of recovering from it. It's a subject that even something as prominent as Chainsaw Man handled very poorly, so it was a relief that the subject's interpretation here is both brutal and hopeful.


Overall: 6 / 10


I don't think I would have stuck with this one if I knew it would be so iffy on the consistency. Decent violence, forgettable story.

WARNING: No explicit spoilers, but details hint at the vibe and cohesion of the plot.

Aku no Kyouten appears unique at first, but all-too-familiar, as well. The drama is built up steadily, and as the pieces start to come together and characters are developed and expanded upon, you really start to feel like the stakes could hardly be any higher. Unfortunately, the conclusion is anything but satisfactory, or earned. All wildcards built throughout the story are abandoned, all loose ends are dealt with in a flurry of rushed violence that gradually blends together and makes you wonder why you stuck around for 9 volumes.

The art for ... this manga is very pleasant. Eiji Karasuyama's art walks the line between pleasant and eerie at times, and it suits the story well - at first, anyway. The characterization is also built well enough, and the core characters the story seems to revolve around are given the building blocks for good development, though not enough work was actually put in beyond that.

Overall, this manga is suffering from an identity crisis. It doesn't know if it wants to be a nail-biting psychological drama or a gratuitous slasher, and unfortunately the compensation between the two is a plain division in the middle of the plot, right when things start to heat up. The escalation feels rushed and unearned, as if the mangaka wasn't sure how to end the story. Don't get into this book if you're looking for a thriller that delivers, OR a slasher that gets to the point in any reasonable amount of time.