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Sep 21, 2021
I really wanted to like this anime. I really did. I had heard good things about it (people compared it to Konosuba, which I love), and a lot of the people I know seem to love this anime. Additionally, the art itself looks nice, and the character designs are great. It started out well enough: I liked the first two episodes (though I found Yuuki VERY annoying, and the jokes were a bit overdone), and had a favorite character by then, Karyl.
8 episodes later, I felt done with this series. I dreaded watching it, and actually added another anime as a distraction so I only
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had to watch one episode of this mess a day (incidentally, I ended up loving the other anime). I only finished watching it because I was really close to finishing it at that point, so I figure I should. Why did I hate it so much that I dreaded watching it? Keep reading on to find out.
First, I absolutely HATE the MC, Yuuki. He's annoying, useless, and those one liners get really old, really fast (I'm so sick of him just going 'mm!' and giving a thumbs up for everything). He never gets any character development, he never even tries to regain his memories, and that joke about him getting eaten because he's so useless is NOT FUNNY. Luckily, he doesn't carry the show (the show favors Pecorine, Karyl, and Kokkoro), so I would be able to overlook him if it wasn't for the fact the rest of the show.. sadly, isn't much better. The plot doesn't seem to go anywhere, even after 10 episodes. It's just kind of more of the same: Fight random monsters or hang around town, cook weird food, and introduce guilds from the game without any proper introduction other than a name drop. Remember that ad from Johnsonville where the lady states "___ shows up, and says "Johnsonville brats are made in the USA"? That's how the series introduces the other guild members. These random girls just show up, the series name drops them, they do something minor in the episode, and then they're GONE. We're somehow supposed to somehow remember their names or care about them, even though they only say la few lines. There's only one exception (they show one, Rima, twice), but for the most part, each episode just randomly introduces like 3 new characters, and THEY DON'T COME BACK. If they came back, I'd get their point. If they had characterization in the episode that made them memorable despite only appearing in one episode, that'd be fine. But they don't. They just appear, they tell their names, they're there for a bit, then are GONE. And this goes on for at least 6 episodes. It's very frustrating. And the main female cast? They're not much better. Kokkoro doesn't change since episode 1. We do learn some things about Pecorine after her initial appearance (such as she can also make furniture), so she's not completely skipped over in terms of characterization, and Karyl goes from a bad character to 'good' later on, and seems to start to value the group she travels with. So she has some development as well. But as the show has like 20 characters, having 2 of them actually change is just a drop in the bucket.
Additionally, the bad characterization isn't the only flaw: It's VERY formulaic. It goes like this for almost every episode: The characters want to get food or something stupid, these random girls appear, and there's a battle of some sort, usually involving food. And nearly every episode, Yuuki gets eaten by some animal and Kokkoro does the X face. It's REALLY repetitive, and almost unwatchable.
That isn't to say everything is bad, though. The series does have good art, and the designs are really good for the main characters. The other girls designs are also OK, but not as good as the main cast. The acting is also good, and the OP and ED are OK. And as much as I dislike the formulaic plot, bad MC, and poorly introduced characters, I still like Karyl. I find her an interesting character, and I do want to know who she's working for, and why she can't/won't dump working for this person. I hope the last three episodes address this, but I somehow doubt it.
It's really sad when there isn't a lot of good things I can name about this anime. I definitely would recommend skipping this. It is NOT Konosuba. That actually introduces its new characters properly and isn't formulaic.
Edited upon finishing episode 13: Now that I finished it, I can say that I still feel most of my previous points are valid. Episode 11 was more of the same. Episodes 12 and 13 were FINALLY good. These episodes finally discussed some lore again, and there's an interesting revelation involving Pecorine. If the rest of this series was like episode 1-2 and 12-13, I'd give this series a 7 or 8. But it isn't. I'm torn whether or not to watch the next season (and whether or not to recommend you do as well), as I found the last two episodes interesting, and figure maybe the next season will be like those. But as a whole, I still have to give this series a 3. I liked 1-2 and 12 and 13, but 4 episodes that are good of 13 isn't very good. And those bad episodes ruined this series SO much for me. I don't recommend it due to like 85% of the series being trash.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Jun 2, 2015
First of all, in advance, I do love Sword Art Online. I read this as a fan, not as someone new to it, or as someone looking to bash it. I was super excited to read this, as I loved SAO so much. I was glad to see it was an omnibus, since it means I'd be spending less, but that's where the warning should have come.
This adaptation of SAO was horrible. So horrible to the point where I fear anime to manga adaptations now.
The art was lousy. The faces were drawn strangely, Klein was aged like 5-10 years, and the art lacked detail.
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The only thing that was OK were the backgrounds, and even then I recall them only being basic.
The story was.. well, unfortunately, totally butchered. The plot was rushed, and character development was thrown out the window in favor of getting the story done in two volumes. We don't get to see Kirito go from Mr. Loner into someone who readily joins in with parties and realizes it's more fun to be with others than by yourself. He's just instantly Mr. Nice Guy who likes being in a group. I think the Beater thing was only brushed on in here, and I don't recall the battle with Kuradeel being there (though it may have been, but I forgot). It may have been, but if it was, it was rushed. Actually, I think Laughing Coffin as a whole was almost ditched. Additionally, Lisbeth and Silica do not appear at all here. Kirito just pulls his second sword from thin air here. Finally, Asuna and Kirito's relationship is almost nonexistent here. I think they just instantly know each other, like each other after the cooking thing, meet Yui, and fight at the end. They skip all of the early Kirito/Asuna scenes, which leaves their relationship feeling even more rushed than usual.
Overall, this was a horrible adaptation of a good anime. If you've seen the anime and want to revisit the world of Aincrad, read the light novel, or the Progressive series. If you are interested in SAO, but want to start with a manga (I do recommend just streaming the anime through Crunchyroll or Netflix, but if you really want to start with a manga..), read the adaptation of Sword Art Online: Progressive. It doesn't follow the anime exactly (it goes more into Kirito and Asuna as characters and the dungeons, though), but it's at least not rushed feeling.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Mar 26, 2009
I really wish I could rate this higher- it had a decent plot, and the artwork was absolutely stunning. However, I can't give it higher than a 7, because the manga didn't actually have an ending. It's a shame it ended at such a bad point, too- I really was looking forward to learning more about the characters, and seeing how the plot would progress. Don't read this unless you're prepared to be disappointed in the end. :(.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 28, 2008
I was introduced to Please Save My Earth by the anime- which isn't even close to being as good as the manga is. And I loved it. The manga is probably the best Shoujo manga I've ever read- the plot keeps readers guessing, the characters are all interesting, and all have very intricated and deep pasts(In the past lives, anyway- the present day characters are interesting too, though.)
The only flaw with this series is that the artwork's a bit dated- but honestly, it doesn't really matter. The series is just THAT good to get past it's artwork. I highly recommend this series, and if you
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love shoujo, buy this series now.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 20, 2008
I really wish I could say I liked this series- the art was good, and the main SIDE characters are likable, but I didn't. The plot itself was VERY superficial, and sent a VERY negative message towards its target audience. The message the plot was trying to give out is to get friends, and to get a boyfriend, that a girl must change not only her appearance(become 'beautiful'), but also her entire personality as well. It also was giving the message that overweight people can never get a boyfriend because "no one will ever like them for their personality alone; it's just a fantasy", and
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that a quiet, geeky person will always be picked on, and never loved.
This message only contributes to the belief that beauty doesn't come from anywhere but the person's exterior appearance. A story like this should NOT have been translated in the US, as it could possibly lower teen's self esteem, and reinforces negative views on a person.
The second thing I don't like is that the protagonist was far too forgiving, and her actions are too unrealistic. She was OK with the fact that her boyfriend was dating two other women at once- which NO REAL GIRL WOULD BE. She never dumped him, like she should have- she fought the other two girls for him. She also put far too much effort into keeping him- and never got the same effort back from him. He really didn't care for her, yet she still never dumped him.
The only saving grace this series had were the protagonist's friend, and her 'boyfriend's friend. And even they weren't enough to save it.
Avoid this series at all costs, unless you like series with jerky boyfriends, and superficial messages.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Apr 15, 2008
I don't remember much about this series at all, but I remember that it was the first anime that I ever saw, and liked. It's also what got me into anime in the first place, so it's always special to me. :). I remember rushing home to see this every day after school, and was disappointed if I didn't make it in time. And I was even more disappointed when it was canceled.
Anyway, I remember it being a fun series that had decent art(for the time), and was always enjoyable. If you can find it, I definitely recommend watching an episode yourself, or showing
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it to any young kids that you may know. It's a good introductory series to anime, especially if the kid loves Disney movies that have talking animals, or just TV shows that have them. :).
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 15, 2008
The series starts off really well- but slowly goes downhill from there. It starts off as a school story with action mixed in, and then slowly turns to pure action. But that's not the bad part. The action was alright. However, around episode 15, the series went from having a plot, to complete and utter nonsense. The plot becomes incoherant at this point, and the only thing that would save this series would be the sweet tale of friendship between Marin and Melan- if the series itself wouldn't have become borderline pedophilic at this point.(Just trust me on this- it does. >_<;.)
Avoid this at all
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costs- the anime, anyway. If you're interested in the plot, read the manga. It's the same thing, only without the pedophilic parts, and with a coherant plot.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Apr 15, 2008
This is an OK movie, but strangely focuses more on the action than the characters. There is SOME character development, but it's saved for the end. The majority of this movie is spent either running away from, or fighting, the antagonist.
The art, as usual for a CLAMP adaption, is gorgeous. But the dub is AWFUL, and changes the dialogue around completely. Avoid it at all costs.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 15, 2008
Unfortunately, I've only seen the edited dub, but the plot alone was enough to make me like the series. The characters were all very well written, and the art was what a person would expect from an animated adaption of a CLAMP manga- gorgeous. However, the edited version eliminated a LOT of the episodes, and left huge gaps in the series. It's a shame that Geneon(while it still existed) never re-dubbed this series using a GOOD cast, and released an uncut dub. :(
Even despite the lack of a good dub, I highly recommend this series. Just stay away from 'Cardcaptors', and you should be fine.
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:).
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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