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I will admit, I am a sucker for movie finishers. The amount that is able to go into a big budget film can be the perfect top off to a great series. However, I didn't expect to get that at all from this movie. Boy was I wrong. Instead I found a finisher film that rivals my love for the Working!!! movie and how it concluded it's story. Whereas the Working movie accurately portrayed its character growth and the development of romantic feelings much better than this films overall rushed romance (my only real issue with the film) How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend accurately ... portrayed the feelings of heartbreak. In a series where only one girl out of three can eventually win the heart of the protagonist, the reactions of the losing two aren't brushed off as they often are in other series, but rather the raw emotion remains. The final seasons are both heartwarming as the best girl gets her man that she has worked so hard for these past two seasons, and the others are forced to cope with that in whatever way that they can. It's only natural to cry when the one you love is forever out of reach and boy are there tears. But there is also reconciliation and friendship in the midst of all of it.

I will admit that this is one of my more incomprehensible reviews, but in the long run, if you're looking for a long spanning romance with raw emotions and fantastical situations with realistic sequences then I highly recommend this series and this banger of a finisher.

There is an interesting utilization of dark humor where the purpose of the joke is not necessarily to make one laugh, but instead to call attention to something that we think we are supposed to laugh at. So when the anime in question presents to us a very socially inept girl who clearly suffers from high levels of stress in her everyday life (hence the L core eyebags) with a family that as of now can't tell what her real problem is, I ask myself: Is this supposed to be funny?
Realistically, the show is delivered as a comedy but with the sheer amount of ... second hand embarrassment and humiliation that we was an audience go through with each social failure that Tomoko has to suffer as well it becomes much clearer that there might be more than is given credit towards.

Social anxiety is a terrible thing, and unlike the popular Komi-san, a character with a similar communication disorder, Tomoko has no one to support her. She is limited to her own delusions; what she thinks is wrong with her, why she thinks no one talks to her, and as a safety blanket the easiest thing for her to do is blame others. This in no way shape or form is healthy for her and its obvious in the way that even muttering one word to a male figure is a huge win for her in her mind. Eventually you stop laughing and can't help but pity the poor girl.

I think this is a possibility to explore this character more, and discover how exactly she could grow out of this or like Hachi from SNAFU finally open up to someone and ask for help, but where the anime fell flat was in its lack of any other characters to care about and poor set-up for any following season. While I think that Tomoko has an interesting character to add depth to, the anime simply failed to do so, leaving her a shut in incel for all 12 ep, almost as if they knew there would be no second season.

In conclusion, while I enjoyed the show and the character, there was too little to really be more invested in, leaving me to read the manga instead to hopefully see the larger character development that the anime as lacking.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first K-On! season, appreciating the moe characterizations coupled with adorable music. While the story was majorly episodic, it worked for what it was, as there was no firm story that it was trying to tell; instead allowing us to follow the high school years of the HTT light music club.
Coming into this second season, I had actually put it off for quite some time, taking long breaks after only a few episodes at a time. The reason for this was simple, I was getting bored. However, I wasn't exactly bored of K-On, but bored with the slice of life genre that ... relied on dialogue more than content. Then after a long enough hiatus, I returned. And oh boy I'm glad I did.
Like the first season, the second doesn't rely too much on a story more than it does its characters. Where it outshines the first season is how its coming of age theme really stands out, allowing us to see the emotions behind growing up in high school and inevitably graduating, leaving some people behind and going on separate paths from others. There isn't often a lot of stock put into this anticipation that we all have felt or will feel at some point, and the raw moments where a character will break down at one of their highest points is something that is both extremely relatable, and tugs at your heartstrings like Yui on Gita.

So while it might be a hard show to binge as there is no real plot to speak of, as a character piece that embodies how we embrace our immaturity as we mature, and how we discover the people that create memories we will treasure forever, K-On!! was able to take me by surprise and reinvigorate my love for this club and all it's members.

Normally I start my reviews with some long metaphorical contextualization but for the purposes of this I will jump right into it.

As a series, I never expected to enjoy Working!!
However, right after the second episode of the first season I was hooked. Here we had very 2D characters that were actually interesting to watch. Having your lead male have an obsession for anything small like puppies and kids in a very wholesome but non creepy way is a great touch as many of us (myself included) have personalities like this that are hard to explain without sounding like a creep. Then you have your short ... girl, your ditsy girl, your girl that won't stop eating, your sociopath, your bad boy that's actually a nice boy, and of course...the girl who has an extreme fear of men to the point that she attacks them if they get close to her. And they all work together.

It doesn't sound like a story that can survive for three seasons and a final hour long episode. And yet it does. The two romance plot points are mapped out wonderfully, allowing us to see why these characters fall for each other and feel validated as they do. One of the main couples don't seem to work at all at first glance, but it's the experiences that they had together throughout the series that capitulates the realism and allows the slow burn to feel more natural.

This final episode was a perfect finale to a wonderful series that I plan on revisiting someday.
Working!!: 8/10
Working'!!: 8.8/10
Working!!!: 9.1/10
Working!!! Lord of the Takanashi: 9.9/10
Working series: 8.7/10

This review may contain minor spoilers:
While any form of art remains subjective, take a moment to think about the best romance anime that you have seen. What made them so good in your eyes? Was it the characters with unique stories and interests that led them to their path of love? Was is the story itself one that either broke the cliche or played each detail of the cliche to its maximum potential. Perhaps it was the feel good vibe of two characters that are both new to love, slow to admit it, but in the meantime portray a quite realistic and wholesome friendship.

Perhaps I ... described your favorite romance anime perfectly. I will never know. What I do know however is that I just listed off everything that made Soon Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru stand out to me as a strong contender for best romance anime.

This is a show that follows the cliche of romance with familiar settings such as a fireworks festival, a beach scene, and...oh wait. That's it. Other than that we have a breakaway.

Our main protagonist Gojo is not a reclusive video game NEET. Nor is he a sports jock. Nor is he the class clown/doucebag. He's just a guy that likes making dolls and was bullied because of it as a child. This was a nice change of pace from the previously mentioned troupes as he still does what he loves but just peacefully on his own. He isn't a clueless protagonist, but rather an unexperienced one, that misreads social cues but is quick to learn from it.
Our main female Marin Kitagawa however, is the actual otaku in this story. She's a true anime and video game nut, and upon a singular moment where she sees Gojo's doll, she reveals to him that she in fact loves to cosplay. I think this is one of the first times in recent anime I've seen where ONLY the female is the hardcore otaku and the best part of it is, she's not unpopular from it. She's actually well endowed with close friends due to her ever lasting positive attitude, natural beauty, and charm that lights up every scene she's in.

And in another reversal, it isn't our main protagonist that falls for our heroine. In fact it is Marin that falls for the love of craft that Gojo displays as the two from an unusual paring of costumer and cosplayer, with Marin providing the financing and Gojo providing the finished product. He puts his every effort into making each outfit as true to its source that he can, showing just how much he cares about quality and honesty in his pieces, something Marin gravitates towards and falls in love with.

It should be mentioned that yes, this show is ecchi, but one of the great things about it is that it isn't random and it doesn't rely on it. Every moment seems to capture some level of teenage awkwardness and remain true to their settings. As an actor myself, I've had to strip for costume designers myself who were the opposite gender of me, and it's awkward at first, but after a while you get used to the situations you're put in, similar to what is shown in this anime.

Overall, the animation was simple but beautiful to look at, and the op while sounding a bit too similar to the performing artists previous op in "The hidden dungeon only I can enter" it was still quite uplifting and cheerful, perfect for this feel good anime.

If you like romance, this is one to add to the list, and if you like romance that stems from a well crafted and relatable friendship first, then I would move this to the top of your list ASAP.

Ah...an anime with a second season that somehow manages to outdo its first.

What makes a slice of life interesting? Premise, overarcing relationships, and character development.
Many of the genre begin to blur into one another where you lose track of which character belongs to which, and the same moe character troupes become glaringly apparent.
Snafu takes an interesting approach to it's story by building upon a character that is generally repulsive. Though this isn't anything that hasn't been done before, the writers give us a bigger view unto why he Hachiman distances himself. He isn't a loner because he's just that cool or people expect ... too much out of him, nor is he a stereotypical loser type. He just doesn't want to talk to anyone and waste his time making fake relationships he will eventually forget about as he grows up.
In the first season we learned that he has a desire to help people as they need to be helped and not as they want to be, and he is more than willing to have more people hate him if it helps someone else.
Through season one, Hachi makes a few friends by accident, and where the anime excelled was by not immediately changing his character as if he had an amazing epiphany. Nope, instead he's still an unsociable dick, but shows hints of caring for his new aquantences beyond obligation.
The second season continues ti build on his relationships, and as he continues to negatively impact his relationship to help others, he is now able to see how this damage hurts those who care about him, even if it doesn't hurt him directly. His character is continuously brought into question, causing a riff in between him and his two friends until finally (minor spoiler): He breaks down and admits that it wasn't that he hated people, he hated the idea of building anything based on false or insecure emotions. He is afraid of losing something he cares about, he wants any and all relationships that he creates to be genuine, and he is afraid that such a thing doesn't exist.

This is a character that has put himself through so much suffering with a cheeky smile on his face; disregarding all of the objections of his fellow classmates.
And here his is now, crying for the first time after almost 20 episode through 2 seasons, clearly attempting to hold back his tears and not use them shamelessly as a weapon (as many of these protagonists do). If you didn't tear up at that somber moment of finally feeling a longing for a friend, then you have no soul. He is not overly dramatic...he instead tries to avoid that drama, and it's heartbreaking to watch him suffer without realizing it.

Sorry that was so long winded.
The overall point is that this 2nd season was so good I forgot that this is a romance story. It pushes that to the side in order to build on Hachimans character first, for he can't love as long as he believes that love is fake, so he must first accept that others are capable and do care about him.

Such a good story, entirely relatable and well worth the watch.

I have to be 100% honest. When I began this anime, I rated it an 8 about midway through. All I saw was a well put together action comedy about a bunch of dead teens, with just a touch of sadness when we witnessed one of the characters become "obliterated" (Meaning they pass on and become reincarnated) for the first time. After that the story began to develop some romantic elements between Yuzuru and Kanade which was pleasant to watch.
So I though "Okay, an action rom-com."
Then I got to episode 10.
Holy hell.
Never before have I experienced such an emotional roller coaster ... with anything before, and it hit me hard.
To describe the pain that I felt at the end of this episode would take too long, and I am not quite sure that the English language has any words that would do it justice.
The way that the characters disappear is heartbreaking. Where some anime show the death (or in this case, rebirth) of a character overly dramatic and ruins emotional effect by jamming it down the audiences throat. In Angel Beats the characters simply vanish the moment they acknowledge that they are at peace (usually with a heartfelt cut right before). Therein lies the emotion. They found their peace, and poof...cut to frame and they aren't there anymore. That absence hurts, especially after seeing their friends reactions even though they know this is the best thing for everyone.
This is emotion done right.
And from then on, it doesn't stop. All the way up to the end of the anime (which has one of the most bittersweet moments I have ever seen) I kept sobbing.

On the side, the anime has some great songs worked into the series, good characterization, and the story direction intentionally flips around in order to keep you on your toes.

So as a base score...yeah...I'd say an 8, there are better anime for sure.
But I'm still crying...and that emotional connection subjectively kills any criticism that I have and earns itself a 10.