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Dec 12, 2014
Disclaimer: My normal scoring preconditions go flying out the window. This is my first non-critical review. This show is mainly for humor so I review it as such. So my scores are based more on how much laughter I got out of it and less on critical appeal. See the rest of my body of work for something more critical. If you don't agree with my score, please don't downgrade it just because you think the show is stupid or what not.
Summary: Haganai is another average slice of life anime. It's humorous, kinda realistic, and in a club school setting. I didn't expect much
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and I pretty much got what was predicted. I'll just get right down to the specifics. I don't include the sequel although a lot of what I say in this review applies to the sequel.
Story (5/10): For a slice of life anime, I would say this anime had little story compared to some others i've seen. Basically just play out the strange club scenario with every awkward student in school in one club. They have fun, do weird things, and have a "school" life. Sort of. In any event, it lacked any real substance. The only noteworthy piece of storyline was the revelation between Kodoka and Yozura (I didn't name it to avoid a spoiler). Even that was relatively downplayed seeing as romance in this story takes a back seat to comedy. There isn't anything special about this story and there isn't anything to hate. I wrote a shorter story review because story isn't the main draw for Haganai.
Art (10/10): Girls are very curvy, cute, and Kodoka has weird hair. Alright being serious this art style isn't special but it sure is great to look at. No complaints. The color schemes are vibrant and bright. So everything is right in the world.
Sound (8/10): The opening theme is one of those multi-little girl songs that are really hit or miss. Think Toradora opening theme. I personally find those amusing, but after about 6 episodes the opening wears on my nerves. Other songs generally mirror this style. Dubbed version had little fault in voice quality.
Character (10/10): Before i get down to the nitty gritty, i just want to say one thing... MEAT! Yes if there is one thing I got from this anime, it is Yozora picking on Sena MEAT with lots of MEATy insults. But lets start off with Kodoka. He is the supposed boy delinquent who in reality is a good kid. He takes good care of his sister, he cooks well, and he is courteous. His only poor qualities are his a-hole looks and dirty blonde/brown hair. i really liked Kodoka for really simple reasons: he plays his part really well. He is the only guy in the Neighbors Club and he takes a lot of flak and dishes out a lot of humor without meaning to.He also has that little history with Yozora while his dad has history with the school prez. He had some development, but you have to love him more for his comical antics. Yozura is... an a-hole and a darn good one at that. I'm sorry but she is just on a whole nother level from Kodoka. She is so witty with Sena it's not even fair. I don't remember any of the humor from her being too forced. Sena literally walks in to so many of Yozora's pitfalls. She probably made me laugh the most and she was a great character. Oh and her romance/past with Kodoka is probably her only weak spot. Enjoy the mean Yozora because she is the bomb. Now on to Sena MEAT! Ok I'll stop with the meat but Sena really does have meat for brains. She is perhaps the antithesis of everything a talented girl is supposed to be. Sena is smart, athletic, hot, and... unpopular. Yes she is is the daughter of the most powerful figure in the school and she goes herself to the Neighbors Club to find friends. Now this might just be me, but I find this hilarious. More so is her fighting with Yozora. As I said with Yozora except in complete opposition, Sena is an absolute moron if it isn't school related. Oh, and what isn't hilarious about sex jokes with Sena. I literally died over Sena's embarassment when it came to those dating games. Sena is in my opinion the funniest character here because she is so stupid. Moving on to Kobato. Not much to say. She is an anime freak (haha like us all). She can be funny but mostly is just another character. She plays the little sister role perfectly. Next. Yukimura. Ok I found Yuki to be really frickin weird and before you ask, it has everything to do with his gender identity crisis. Thank god he is anime boy and so his looks don't look as awkward in a maid costume. Again sometimes funny, plays the confidence lacking cross-dresser to the letter. Next. Maria. Ok Maria is a nun... and a brat.I've loved many of these opposite social roles but Maria is second best behind Sena. LOL the 10 year old nun who is advisor of the club and gets smacked around by Yozora. I didn't get many laughs but looking back now this role Maria plays is hilarious. Finally Rika. OMG those comics were hilarious. I never would have thought porn and mecha could be so funny. And Rika makes it so much more funny. She is definitely the least realistic character of all (who heard of albert einstein living in a school lab unbeknownst to the public?). But her sex jokes make her one of the funniest characters here. Also the fact that Rika talks third person actually adds to the amusement (whereas the sisters in Railgun made me want to shoot myself after 2 episodes). There we go, all the main characters. The other side characters added to the amusement, especially the school prez.
Enjoyment (10/10): Meat, sex jokes, awkward characters. A diabolical mixture that made this show hilarious. Personally I found this show way better than Baka and Test (which in my opinion was stupid and not funny at all but thats just me). I think my first line kinda sums up how I felt about the enjoyment. It was a hilarious show. I'll leave it at that.
Overall (8/10): Yes you may be wondering why it stands at an 8. First off, the story was a little too mediocre in my view and while I did say I would grade off humor, story still factors in. Frankly I can't think of how to make the story any better because there was little solid premise besides the Neighbors Club. Second, I did factor sound more because I felt a review like this take into account more of art and sound. And the opening theme wore me down towards the end. But besides that, it was well worth watching these awkward characters get together and do hilarious things. As usual I am always up for debate but I have to leave one parting gift for this review. MEAT FOR ALL!!!
PS: If you enjoyed this version of critique please message me. I like to choose what anime I review and if my audience prefers this form a review, I will base my pieces as such.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 3, 2014
Scoring Preconditions: While I rate all parts, the overall score takes in most consideration from story, character, and enjoyment. Art and sound are not factors in the overall, although they can slightly enhance or detract from enjoyment portion. I score from as unbiased a view as possible and I view it in a critical sense, not in a simple enjoyment sense. Thus I give at most a one point overall bonus for enjoyment. Story and characters matter most. I will state exceptions to this rule depending on the anime.
Summary: Btoom! had a really great premise for its show and it had a lot of potential.
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I don't recall seeing another video game turned into reality anime but I'm sure I missed one along the way. Either way I thought the idea was quite original and seemed to be well worth the watch based on recommendations. But it wasn't really worth all the hype. Most of this goes down to the manga still being produced so the anime isn't complete either. At least I assume so.
Story (6/10): SPOILER ALERT: the anime is open ended. There is no closure. The story is basically a parallel to The Hunger Games in almost every way. You have survival of the fittest, your choice of weapons (bombs), food packages, etc. You even have the poison gas (Note this only makes sense if you've seen the hunger games). And everyone has to duke it out for some crazy mofo's personal amusement. It pretty much follows the survival track with some flashbacks of how everyone's life is screwed up. You get yourself quite a little bit of ecchi and rape as welll. I can't really give a high score because nothing is special about the story besides its original premise. Essentially the story is a bunch of people trying to kill each other with bombs and whatever they try to fill in between isn't clever or moving. Neither is the romance in this well played. To avoid a spoiler I won't go into specifics, but its just a little too coincidental how this romance plays out between Ryato and Himiko.
Art (10/10): No complaints in this department. The art style is great and more realistic rather than artsy looking. Plus the bombs have unique features so thats a plus. Actions scenes were well animated.
Sound (10/10): "No Pain, No Game" is on my playlist and the voice actors are good. Dubbed version wasn't a problem. Other noises were on par.
Character (7/10): I want to start with Ryato. The mighty elite player of the video game is still an OP main character in the real world. Look I get that he's good at video games, but just because you're an elite Call of Duty player doesn't mean you automatically know how to use a gun. Yes all you have to do is throw a bomb, but that scene between Ryato and Kosuke was ridiculously unrealistic for both of them. People may disagree with me on this point but I feel it's a point to be made. Besides that, Ryato doesn't show any really development. He grows affections for Himiko and has a sympathetic nature. Cool but unspectacular. Overall he's just your average OP main character who saves his girl. The caveat is that he's only OP in videogames and in real life he mooches off his parents and is a video game addict. Lovely. Now lets turn to Himiko. Blonde, big tits, bad past. I won't say what past to avoid a spoiler. I feel she's a more realistic character in that she pretty much hates everyone and survives on instinct. It matches her past and her character, but she also has development in her ability to trust others (Ryato). I like her more because she actually fights the demons inside her and trusts Ryato eventually. But she also has a hard edge and can actually fight, but not with that strategy bs that Ryato comes up with during fights. She throws those BIMs and that's that. A much more realistic character and she's hot. Other minor characters are other contestants with their own bad pasts, so I don't see the need to discuss them.
Enjoyment (9/10): For all its lack of realism, the action is great to watch. I called the Ryato Kosuke fight scene unrealistic and it is, but it was still cool to watch. Besides, who doesn't love a battle royal with bombs only. The only reason it's not a perfect 10 is because the ending is open ended. I know the manga is ongoing, but its still my only and biggest caveat for enjoyment. Closure is necessary for a good story. Of course this will all change should a second season be announced.
Overall (7/10): While the story was a generic survival test, I felt Himiko and the action warrant a 7 rather than a 6. I get the feeling the anime has a little too much rape and it will probably turn off at least a couple viewers, but the anime certaintly had its critical appeal. I also ranked art a little more in the overall score because I loved the animation. Hopefully a second season is announced in which case this will get a revision. But I'm always up for debate.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 31, 2014
Scoring Preconditions: While I rate all parts, the overall score takes in most consideration from story, character, and enjoyment. Art and sound are not factors in the overall, although they can slightly enhance or detract from enjoyment portion. I score from as unbiased a view as possible and I view it in a critical sense, not in a simple enjoyment sense. Thus I give at most a one point overall bonus for enjoyment. Story and characters matter most. I will state exceptions to this rule depending on the anime.
Summary: Without going into to much detail, this anime had a lot of potential but wasted a
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lot of time. It's definitely more than your average run of the mill anime and the idea is unique. But it hit a brick wall. I discuss this more in the story.
Story (6/10): Now before I say anything else, I'm going to say that on the basic idea alone the story would have been worth a 9 or higher. The only reason this show fell to a 6 here is because the ending left a gaping plot hole. Of course this ending may resonate with those who enjoy a cliffhanger ending - although it wasn't so much a cliffhanger as they just ran out of ideas. Besides the ending, the story arcs were well done. The introduction of Claire and Raki is nothing special but the decision for the next arc to be a flashback was pretty good. And of course flash forward to the present. It isn't clever but it is well executed, of course besides the ending. The original idea is both unique and interesting. The half demon idea of course isn't unique, but a lot of the elements of this plot are. The Yoma Claymore struggle is good to watch. The dark mood really resonates well with the story and creates a nice path to the final battle with Priscilla. It is a good story and well worth watching until they hit the wall.
Art (5/10): Frankly the art wasn't all that appealing to me. I think the blade and Yoma art appeal well, but the human characteristics were kinda hard to swallow. Of course this was my personal opinion and this changes by viewer. But I found a lot of people who share my viewpoint on this.
Sound (10/10): Raison d'Etre was probably the most perfect fit an opening could have for an anime like this. Nightmare's lead has that really strange and creepy voice that matches the mood so well. This is another in my playlist. Other background noises were acceptable. The opening really is the reason for the 10.
Characters (6/10): On their own, the characters aren't much to look at. We have the weakest (and later strongest) claymore and a weak little human boy who really doesn't do much except maintain Claire's humanity. But, what is really great is that we see growth in Claire. Power is one thing, but through the flashback arc we get to see the transition and explanation of how she became a claymore. It was interesting to see how Claire changed throughout the plot. Raki...I'm not sure how to classify other than wimp. While the parallel with young human Claire is clearly visible, Raki is pretty useless and he stays that way throughout the plot. "Oh but he keeps her humanity. That's so brave." Ummm yeah thats great but this is a battle between badass claymores and Yoma. What can Raki do when he can't even use a sword properly. I think he is a necessary character for the plot, but that doesn't make him an enjoyable one. Other characters are support. Necessary but non-unique.
Enjoyment (7/10): I'm not sure how I should classify my enjoyment. I thoroughly enjoyed everything but my happy meter just dropped like a rock after I hit the brick wall ending. I wouldn't have a problem if there were a second season, but seeing as there is none to explain what happens next, I have to downgrade my enjoyment here. But the battles were enjoyable to watch. It's not as if the battles were unique in any way but watching Claire continue using her yoma powers to the limit was pretty badass. Also the Yoma artwork gets mention here.
Overall (6/10): I think that for many people this rating might seem slightly harsh, but I'm averse to giving this anime more than a 6. The story blew up at the ending and while Claire was valuable, Raki was a pain. Seeing as even my enjoyment here fell from the ending, I have one major complaint about this anime that would have entirely changed my score had it been fixed: GET SOME FRICKIN CLOSURE ON THE PLOT!!!
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Oct 28, 2014
[Spoiler Warning]
Scoring Preconditions: While I rate all parts, the overall score takes in most consideration from story, character, and enjoyment. Art and sound are not factors in the overall, although they can slightly enhance or detract from enjoyment portion. I score from as unbiased a view as possible and I view it in a critical sense, not in a simple enjoyment sense. Thus I give at most a one point overall bonus for enjoyment. Story and characters matter most. I will state exceptions to this rule depending on the anime.
Summary: I felt the premise of the anime was weak from the get go. For those
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who don't know, the makers of Black Lagoon made Jormungand. Now the key difference between Jormungand and Jormungand: Perfect Order is 1) Darker feel 2) More plot. Otherwise, its very similar to Black Lagoon in its all out action feel. Details to follow.
Story (4/10): Koko wants to build a supercomputer and do what with it? Spoiler alert: Crash every flying thing down to earth. This is the plot. Nothing intricate to it. No offense, but Treyarch had more creative ideas with Call of Duty. The story isn't original at all and the maker didn't make the plot complicated. Essentially Koko succeeds every time and her goons get everything necessary for the computer.With the notable exception of Jonah and his running away part, everything was entirely predictable. And Jonah's past really was pointless throughout this whole anime. I'll talk more on Jonah in the characters section. In general, the plot was pretty generic and on its own, not worth the watch. And finally, the makers tried to add some morality talk similar to with Black Lagoon, but unlike with Black Lagoon, they failed epically here.
Art (10/10): Other than the fact that the Hekmatyars and Jonah are albino, I found the artwork enjoyable. Perhaps they were pointy chinned, but I fail to see the problem. Of course art is subjective so I won't deny that it may not appeal to certain people. But I thought it enhanced the anime. If nothing else, the gun artwork was pretty epic.
Sound (10/10): The opening theme UNDER/SHAFT is on my playlist and I enjoyed the song. Ending theme I felt was not really a match with the mood. Gun noise and background music enhanced the feel of the anime.
Character (7/10): I want to start off by saying that Koko gets crazier in the second season. She loses her more comical sense in favor of a tyrant like temperament. I personally have no problem with that. Compared to the second season, I felt it was more realistic of an arms dealer. We also got a better look at her true inner feelings so character development for Koko was great. Now on to Jonah. I'm still not sure whether to like Jonah or hate him. First of all, the idea of a child soldier being the center piece is ridiculous. The fact that he is surviving and actually killing professionally trained adults is beyond me. But the bigger problem I have with him is his whole do I hate or do I not hate Kasper Hekmatyar. No offense but if you really hated him, you wouldn't look to him as your next employer after running away from Koko. After all, he did starve him in a shipping container for a week. Jonah does play the quiet role well though. But I had a bigger problem with the fact that his character development really goes nowhere. He first says no to project Jormungand and runs away only to change his mind and return to Koko. I have a hard time with characters that can't make up their mind and seeing as this basically consisted of the last couple episodes, both the story and the character suffers for it. The only reason the character score isn't a 3 is because I love Koko.
Enjoyment (10/10): Now I watched this anime in anticipation of the action. The gunfights in this season as well as the first are still some of the best I've seen. While not always entirely realistic, it was great to watch. If I had to describe it, it was like watching a first person shooter in reality from a third person view. You get a lot more cool but unrealistic stuff and the guns are up close. That and Koko as a character was sufficient enjoyment for me.
Overall (6/10): First off, I weighed the enjoyment a little more here seeing as the action is its biggest asset. The story and Jonah merits a 5 or lower overall, but Koko and the action add more to this anime. The reason I don't give it a 7 though is because the premise of this anime was bs. i simply can't give it a higher score from a critical perspective as it really wasn't all that good. I'd say as a viewer, its at least a 9/10, but from a critical sense this is the score i give because it is neither creative nor intelligent. One word to describe this season and the first is: explosive.
Thanks for reading this. I'm open for discussion so if you have anything to add, message me and I will get back to you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Oct 27, 2014
Scoring Preconditions: While I rate all parts, the overall score takes in most consideration from story, character, and enjoyment. Art and sound are not factors in the overall, although they can slightly enhance or detract from enjoyment portion. I score from as unbiased a view as possible and I view it in a critical sense, not in a simple enjoyment sense. Thus I give at most a one point overall bonus for enjoyment. Story and characters matter most. I will state if exceptions to this rule depending on the anime.
Summary: From my knowledge, this isn't a well known anime. The only reason I found this
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was while looking through the top anime list and found it way back. But I consider this to be one of the most underrated anime I've ever seen. Details to follow.
Story (9/10): The story started kind of slow and really picked up steam about half way through. I think the best part of this story was the originality. It was way cool having a female protecting the male. Second, the intricacies of the plot were well worth the score. The way characters were forced into change was really great. I also liked how they weaved two worlds together. Perhaps the only problems I had were the slow start and questions on how Jiguro had anything to do with Chagum. But the story was well worth watching.
Art (10/10): The art is in a similar mold to Claymore. It's a different style that you could say makes it look more realistic. I didn't have a problem with it. Enhanced the enjoyment.
Sound (10/10): Opening theme and closing theme were both great to hear. Background music enhanced the enjoyment.
Character (8/10): First of all, I thought Balsa was a great main character. She fights well, makes intelligent decisions, and as time went on gained a very nice maternal instinct. I think the whole save eight lives part got muddled in the plot, but she was a good character with nice development all the same. Chagum also had some nice development as well. Start off as a bratty prince and learn to actually live life. While it may not be the first time I've seen it, the development from prince to outcast was well done. As for the herbologist, I kind of lost the point in his character. The half romance/unrequited love with Balsa was unnecessary and really only served to distract from the main plot. Other side characters played their part. No comments on them.
Enjoyment (10/10): Perfect marks here starts off with the second half of the anime. The plot really took off and I enjoyed the ride all the way. Providing closure to the story also gained good marks from me. Beyond that, the fight scenes weren't drawn out unnecessarily and were good. Also the use of spears gained bonus points here. It was a nice change from swords or guns. Finally, perfect marks come because I simply like Balsa as a character.
Overall (9/10): I saw a couple flaws that don't make it a perfect 10, but this was really well worth watching. The plot isn't Code Geass intricate, but it was enthralling all the same. If for nothing else, watching Balsa and Chagum grow as characters together really made it worth my while.
Thanks for reading this. I'm open for discussion so if you have anything to add, message me and I will get back to you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 27, 2014
Scoring Preconditions: While I rate all parts, the overall score takes in most consideration from story, character, and enjoyment. Art and sound are not factors in the overall, although they can slightly enhance or detract from enjoyment portion. I score from as unbiased a view as possible and I view it in a critical sense, not in a simple enjoyment sense. Thus I give at most a one point overall bonus for enjoyment. Story and characters matter most. I will state if exceptions to this rule depending on the anime.
Summary: SAO clearly divides opinion among a lot of people. It's considered both a masterpiece and
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a disaster at the same time. Personally I don't consider this as one or the other. It has both endearing and atrocious parts so I think they cancel in what I consider an average anime. Essentially, what it lacks in story and character, it makes up in enjoyment. Details to follow.
Story (5/10): Let's be frank, the story isn't original at all and it didn't enhance the story setting at all. If you think about it, getting trapped in a video game and fighting your way through many levels is pretty much your standard RPG for anime device. Heck I can do the same on my phone minus the whole I lost my head in the game. Virtual reality may be cool, but Accel World did the same to much better effect. The story basically is fight through one game, fight through another, beat the bad guy and Kirito is the big hero. Pretty cliche if you ask me. And the while there was closure at the end, the whole Kirito wielding the knife scene was major bs.
Art (10/10): The art style was invigorating. Enhanced the overall enjoyment.
Sound (10/10): Opening themes were good. Both Innocence and Crossing Field are in my playlist. Other sound effects enhanced enjoyment.
Character (5/10): Ordinary. That word just about sums up Kirito, Asuna, and every other character in this anime. You basically have Kirito, who would be an otherwise failure in life getting to play hero in the one thing he's good at: video games. Asuna conveniently is the rich hot shot chick that got stuck and some how falls in love with Kirito. I find it ridiculous that them loving in virtual reality translates to the real world too. As for character development, Kirito plays the whole loner badass character and I didn't really buy it. Asuna has no character development. Oh and the whole jacked up love triangle with Kirito's cousin rang some alarm bells. I'm sorry but incest docks points in my book. The other side characters were simply side characters. Not much to say about them. And finally, the whole taking care of the in game fairy like a child... teenage pregnancy anyone? I mean this is some jacked up stuff if Kirito and Asuna want to be mommy and daddy at age 16.
Enjoyment (8/10): For all the lack of plot and story, I still found great entertainment out if which is probably down to the fact its a virtual reality setting. It may be unoriginal, but that doesn't make it boring. The experience is enjoyable and I thought the fight scenes were up to snuff. While I did criticise the romance, it still warmed my heart. But mostly I give credit to the setting than to any intricacies of the anime. Which is why it doesn't receive perfect marks in this category.
Overall (6/10): Story and characters are mediocre. It was fun and endearing to watch, but from a critical point, it's a basic anime. It isn't an eyesore like some that I watched, but neither was it anywhere near cracking the higher ranks. It makes up for story and characters with enjoyment which is why the overall isn't a 5.
Thanks for reading this. I'm open for discussion so if you have anything to add, message me and I will get back to you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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