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Love is a fascinating phenomenon - Despite being the most commonly known human emotion, many of the ways how love can manifest may not make sense to both "the sender" and "the recipient". In other words, love can cause the lovelorn to adopt erratic behavior towards the person in question subconsciously.

I am fairly certain that most of you have heard something similar to this at least once before, and this sentence is perfectly suitable for explaining what Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san is about. The anime goes through the daily life of Naoto (often referred as Senpai) and Nagatoro, and even though their relationship at first is ... definitely more awkward than anything, their bonds keep getting stronger the more time they spend with each other - through teasing, of course.

Let's start with the good stuff. I can boldly claim that this is definitely one of the better romcom releases that have been airing recently. The anime offers a good, consistent pacing where with basically every episode you get to see some kind of development happening between the two. Whether that is caused by them interacting with one another or through interference created by the other characters, there's always an obvious bond developing between them, showing that they care for each other. The show did a really great job in conveying that their relationship has "ranked up" every time such an event happens and giving the most satisfying conclusion.

Talking about characters, I think the additional cast introduced in the anime was great. The characters mostly had the purpose of getting in the way of Naoto and Nagatoro's relationship, which they delivered well with the added sense of rivalry as well as forcing the two to be honest with themselves. Despite that being the case, each character still felt unique and relevant and offered a strong sense of diversity. What better fun is there than to have not one but multiple girls playing with Naoto's mind?

Although some may disagree with adding sexual incentives to shows in general, I personally like these as they add an unique comedic flair to everything while taking the enjoyment to another level. With "Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san", the impact on these scenes is fantastic and is often used as a clever tool to push sudden plot advances while cracking up a good laugh. Due to this the show may be a hit or miss for you, depending on whether you feel awkward with it or not. As for me though, I haven't laughed so much in a while and it's really a shame there wasn't more of this.

And now, the cons. If I have to point out one problem that I had with the show, it is the fact that they still managed to stuff in some filler in a 12-episode anime, which is really a letdown when you're just looking for some story development. Luckily, these in the end are quite far and few, so most of the time you'll be having a good time. They didn't bother me all that much since I was enjoying the anime all the way, but you do inevitable notice these things. This was mostly the reason why I refrained to give this show a 10, and I don't give one lightly.

Overall, I think that "Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san" is definitely a must-watch for those who have a soft spot for romcoms and don't mind sitting through some more intimate moments. Combined with a well-structured pacing, diverse character roster and a load of laughter, it is arguably one of the masterpieces of the season. If there is going to be a second season to this, I'll definitely be watching it and looking forward to where Naoto and Nagatoro's relationship will lead us next.

Kimetsu no Yaiba is definitely one of the most popular titles to be released in the anime industry in the recent years, especially due to its beautiful animations and visuals. However, just like with every anime, such popularity also comes with high expectations from viewers who pick up the anime based on this fact - they expect to see an anime that is near perfection in all of its aspects and one could never raise a finger about any of the discrepancies.

What I'm referring to is the amount of unnecessary hate Kimetsu no Yaiba has received for having seemingly lackluster story and/or bad writing. ... While this might be the case when we're looking at some of the more popular titles that focus on mystery or storytelling, like Steins;Gate, people seem to forget that Kimetsu no Yaiba never had its focus set on one of these concepts. Instead, the anime markets itself as a shounen anime, and as someone who has watched a dozen of titles in the same genre, I can say that in comparison it is vastly superior.

What I can personally say about the story is that while it might not be the most revolutionizing story you might find in the market, simplicity is NOT the same as bad writing. Instead, I think this is one of the charms that Kimetsu no Yaiba has: A story of a boy whose family was murdered while he was away, and his sister gets turned into a demon. However, his sister still seems to have some humanity left in her and so the boy strives to become a demon slayer to cure his sister. That is basically the entire story summarized, and while it might not look like much, it sets a strong foundation with a clear goal that just about anyone is capable of following. Additionally, in comparison to the usual shounen anime, the anime doesn't rely on keeping its viewers entertained with fanservice or surrounding the main protagonist with chicks, but with the sole anticipation of seeing him grow as a warrior.

It might be debatable whether the anime could've included something more to make the anime stand out as something particularly unique, but keeping up a staple in the genre keeps the anime consistent and doesn't leave much risk in making the story too messy. After seeing a few titles go too far and basically ruin themselves in the process, I am relieved that Kimetsu no Yaiba has decided to stand on its own roots.

However, that doesn't mean that the anime doesn't have a couple misconceptions, which is the reason why I refrained to give this anime a full 10. While my standards for giving a 10 are quite high, it is also a fact that even Kimetsu no Yaiba falls into some of the usual mistakes that shounen anime tend to make. While this might be to linearize storytelling and keep the juicy action going, there was a couple things I would've liked to see being promoted a little more to give a better understanding of how Demon Slayers as an organization function.

Quite near the beginning of the anime, you are given the information that demon slayers consist of ten ranks. However, I won't even bother remembering what they are since the anime tells them to you only once. Ever since then, one of the things I eventually wanted to see was Tanjirou earning a promotion. Maybe have his little messenger raven tell him that his actions have been recognized and therefore he's given something extra for doing a good job. Unfortunately, this never happens and it remains a mystery how good he actually is. While it might be the case that he just hasn't become good enough, considering the achievements that he made over the course of the anime and how much better he is compared to other Mizunotos (lowest rank in the organization), I half expected him to be at least somewhat recognized. However, this remains to be unknown until someone of a higher rank (other than the highest) is clearly introduced in the anime.

The other problem I had with the anime was in the first half and it was the fact that Tanjirou was basically just doing missions after another for ten episodes and no bigger development was introduced until after. This leaves a lot to be desired in regard of world building, and I figure that this section could've been improved by, once again, adding a little more about the Demon Slayer organization. While seeing him improve as a warrior was amusing by itself and introducing a couple new characters imperative to his mission saving his sister was relieving, to me personally this isn't enough to satisfy my curiosity about what kind of an entity Tanjirou is working for. An excuse like "Go read the manga" isn't going to justify the fact that some things could've been worked on in the anime a little bit better, and considering the anime was running for 25 episodes instead of the usual 12, there was more than enough space for more information like this. There's a fine line between keeping a constant sense of mystery in the background and just being overly secretive, and from my personal view this discrepancy represents the latter.

Overall, Kimetsu no Yaiba is a very consistent title in the shounen genre that will most likely be remembered for years to come. I don't follow on any news myself, but if it hasn't been announced already, I am pretty sure that a second season will be introduced due to its explosive popularity. While the anime might not be a work of perfection on its own with a few flaws, these are quite minor in the bigger picture and in comparison to other shounen titles, it is more refined and much more interesting to watch. If you're an avid shounen anime viewer yourself, this is something you must watch.

This is my first time writing a review for an anime, but I felt like I had to address my own opinion about the anime as how it seems to me, the anime is incredibly underrated.

Now, I don't know where the unnecessary hate or skepticism comes from. Perhaps people assumed from the cover of two boys holding swords that Endride would be an action-packed series. While swordfighting is quite frequent in the anime, it is not the focus of the series and doesn't try to make it seem like it either. For anyone that picked up the anime, watched a few episodes, called it boring ... and dropped it probably didn't realize that the anime doesn't even promote Action genre. Unfortunately, betrayed expectations also tend to lead to cynicism and from there to ignoring anything else good that the series might have had to offer.

Aside from ranting about the mistakes that people have made when evaluating this anime, let's talk about why this anime is good.

Compared to dozens of different anime that I've seen in the past, Endride has one of the best approaches into world building that I've seen so far. Heck, even most of the mainstream titles cannot compare. Although often criticized for its slow pacing, Endride offers a good opportunity to look into the world of Endra where the story mainly takes place in. Going anywhere from seeing the entire continent through a map into learning about its very ecosystem, there's something you can always learn about Endra.

Character development in Endride was also something I would consider commendable, especially in the case of Emilio, the prince of Endra. Once a spoiled child who has never seen life outside of the castle embarks on a journey with a complete stranger, with only one simple goal in mind: Revenge. However, he learns much about the life outside the castle walls, including the values of a group of revolutionists, poverty and discrimination of other races. By the end of their journey, Emilio has changed a lot and seeks to exact the faults in his kingdom on his way back. Development of course doesn't limit only to Emilio, so there's a whole lot to look forward to!

The story of Endride is also nothing short of intriguing and always shrouded in mystery. Suddenly taken into a world inside a crystal, the immediate question arises: How do you get back home? And while seeking an answer for that question, many other questions are uncovered along the way, which without answer could mean the destruction of Eldra. As if the constant search for answers wasn't enough to keep you on your toes, the story also has the tendency to take the most unexpected turns...

In conclusion, I think Endride has a lot more to offer than people seem to realize, only in a completely different way than expected. While it might on a first glance look like an action anime and in that regard prove to be a disappointment, there's a lot more else going on in the anime and is up to the viewer whether it is sufficient to keep them interested. If you ask me though, if you have even the slightest interest in seeing through an unique plot, I would definitely recommend checking Endride out!