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“Incredibly well-animated comedy slice of life that shows wholesome character development, censorship & sus fan-service”

Minimum Spoilers | Subjective Review & Rating Scale

Welcome to a Review where I try to quickly and concisely answer various questions regarding anime I watch in an attempt to deliver interesting talking points while also being informative and not waste too much time.

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[**Background**]

1. **What is the reputation of the anime among others? Anything you should address?** This show has some controversy from many anime fans who are uncomfortable with the fanservice. It is fine with not liking the show and being uncomfortable then signaling to others. However, dragging others down for ... liking the show for some of its qualities… trying to ruin the enjoyment of others and being absolutely too critical of others - I feel like you push people further away by doing this instead of civil dialogue regarding the issues you want to raise.

2. **What was your expectation?** I was expecting a lot of trashy smut because of the criticism levied against the show but got something a lot milder than I expected. Not only that, I found an enjoyable comedy slice of life in the process. Sure there are some fanservice moments here and there that made me raise my eyebrow but it didn’t destroy my enjoyment completely.

3. **Are there any interesting background facts that affected your enjoyment of the show or you want to highlight for people?** I think the OP and ED are perfectly great short previews of what you’ll be signing up for. However, I do recommend checking out an episode or two if you’re interested to see if the storyline/characters are part of your taste as well as see if you can handle the fanservice. The show has been consistent in delivering the same types of materials throughout the whole show, there’s no significant change in content distribution thus the first few episodes are a good preview for the rest of the show.

4. **How did you watch the anime - what type of format? Airing or Binging? Solo, group watch, etc.** I watched this solo while it was airing via streaming.

5. **Quality of Video? Web / DVD / Bluray?** 1080p. Web.

6. **Dub or subs?** JP Audio / Eng Subs

7. **What translation groups?** I watched the subs from the uncensored cut from Okay-subs. The censored scenes aren't hugely offensive but not particularly too mandatory either - they just cover up fanservice scenes. It’s up to you on which version you follow but the uncensored version is not completely horrendous to me.

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[** Plot / Story / Characters**]

1. **What kind of plot structure was it? Did you like it?** The plot was episodic but we do follow character development as episodes build upon each other.

2. **What kind of story was it? Favourite scenes? Did you like it?** We are following a college-aged male NEET who gets genderbent into a young girl by her genius younger sister. This is an attempt to bring the Main character - Mahiro - into developing herself as a more respectable member of society. And Mahiro-chan does develop into a better person throughout the series, it’s genuinely respectable to see such a huge difference of growth from episode 1 to episode 12. This person wanted a second chance at life and got it with a lot of push and guidance from surrounding support. Not only that, it wasn’t a magical flip of a switch like most anime with NEETs, you see a genuine sense of character development and surroundings change which should be applauded. My favourite scene will be seeing Mahiro dress up as a girl in the mirror and getting laughed at by her sister Mahari in the background, it’s definitely repetitive but enjoyable.

3. **What kind of characters were there? Any favourites?** Most of the characters featured are in middle school and high school with the usual character personality tropes. It’s that type of anime, yeah, lol. My favourite character has to be Mahari, she’s the most entertaining character for sure.

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[**Visuals / Animation**]

1. **What kind of visual style was it? Did you like it? Any favourite moments?** The visual style is very bright and colourful. If you look at the OP, it sort of follows that style for most of the show. It does have some manga-like circles here and there for stylistic effect which is nice. The show does a great job with visualizing the characters, reactions, and environments. Favourite visual is probably Mahiro’s distressed reaction face lmao.

2. **What kind of animation was it? Did you like it? Any favourite moments?** There are a lot of animated moments and it really adds to the scenes especially when they are comedic by nature. It is why I can see some people enjoy it. It’s just well-done animation, man. I remember watching the ED animation and being blown away by the animation, I highly recommend it.

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[**Audio / Soundtrack / Voice Acting**]

1. **How was the audio? Did you like it? Any stand-outs?** The audio was serviceable for the show. Nothing stood out but it was well-directed overall.

2. **How was the OP? Did you like it? Any favourites?** I think the OP was catchy and fun.

3. **How was the ED? Did you like it? Any favourites?** I think the ED was a huge highlight and worthy of praise. Lyrics can be sussy though, oh well haha.

4. **How was the OST / Insert songs? Did you like it? Any favourites?** Standard slice of life OST but it does its job well and serviceable. I liked it but nothing stands out, will probably listen if I want a vibe.

5. **How was the voice-acting? Did you like it? Any favourites?** The seiyuus (voice actors) did an amazing job overall in all scenes. I think Mahiro’s and Mahari’s seiyuu did an amazing job with the role, good for them! Favourite scene is Mahiro getting stressed which is overplayed but I found it to be entertaining lmao.

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[**Overall**]

1. **Would you recommend it to everyone and their mothers?** Not really because it is very clear that this is some anime fans' first rodeo with sussy anime scenes. I don’t blame them for feeling uncomfortable, I was there too and felt ashamed when it was very prevalent everywhere back in the day and pushed in everywhere unnecessarily. However, this anime is not part of that old same case, in my opinion. If you felt uncomfortable with this anime, you should be proud how lots of recent anime have reeled back this area of fanservice and it’s not some mandatory checkbox for production staff.

2. **Who would you recommend it for if targeting an audience?** I recommend this for people who like comedy slice of life, good animation, cute moments, and know how to ignore sussy moments or at least not have the sussy moments disturb them enough to drop it.

3. **What is your personal rating for it? What does it mean on your scale?** This was a rating out of 8. On my scale: “Great Entertainment! Enjoyed the entry but it wasn't one of the best experiences personally.”

4. **What are other similar anime that people who like this one could check out?** In terms of genderbend comedy, I recommend checking out Himegoto with meme subs, it’s a very old classic but it exposed me to genderbend comedy. In terms of general comedy slice of life with character development, I think Nichijou might be good. Personally, I don’t go out of my way to watch these types of genderbend shows so I can’t help much here lol.

5. **Final thoughts?** This anime was a lot more fun than I expected from start to finish, pretty happy with my time spent. I hope that you understand my POV and why I’ve enjoyed this anime.

"Serial Experiments Lain is an Arthouse Sci-Fi Anime with Philosophical themes that has rightfully earned itself as a Cult Classic in the fandom."

~ Minimum Spoilers | Subjective Review & Rating Scale ~

#VERDICT

Serial Experiments Lain is a 13-episode anime that aired in Spring 1998. It has been animated by Triangle Staff and directed by Ryuutarou Nakamura (Kino’s Journey / Kino no Tabi: the Beautiful World).

This original anime features Drama, Mystery, Psychological, Sci-Fi, & Supernatural. What makes this anime unique is its interesting take on the internet and its philosophical questions surrounding it.

... **[Review Summary]**

[Summary of: **Background**]
I have heard positive praise from very passionate anime fans over the years but I have kept neutral expectations with this classic anime before watching. Bluray copy, JP Audio, ENG Subtitles from Coalgirls.

[Summary of: **Plot / Story / Characters**]
A slow-paced episodic anime with a subtle overarching plot. The original story features a teenage girl named Lain and her adventures in Japan’s futuristic interpretation of the internet posing philosophical questions in its cyberpunk-esque setting. It has a linear timeline but it presents its story beats in an abstract arthouse manner that will require the audience’s time and attention to understand it. Lain is a memorable main character while the rest of the side characters are grounded and serve their roles.

[Summary of: **Visuals / Animation**]
The arthouse visuals for this show have aged well with stellar moments despite being a product of its time making it a very unique experience. For this show, the animation is serviceable and utilizes editing tricks as well as special effects which fits the show’s atmosphere and tone.

[Summary of: **Audio / Soundtrack / Voice Acting**]
The show’s audio has been done very well in establishing a futuristic atmosphere while also being grounded in reality. In terms of its soundtrack, the only standout is the opening song while the rest of the soundtrack was serviceable. As for the voice-acting, only Lain’s voice actor stood out while the rest of the cast was serviceable.

[Summary of: **Overall**]
I recommend this show for everyone, you can check out if you like this show based on being hooked or not after an episode or two. It helps to be a fan of arthouse, cyberpunk, psychological, and episodic shows but it is not necessary. This was a personal 10 for me but your experience may vary. Overall, a very satisfying experience and I really loved this show!

For sake of brevity, you can read the full review with details on my AniList profile.

It has been about 2.5 years since Season 2 aired and it's clear to me that I really missed these characters after finishing this movie. For context, I really enjoyed Season 1 and Season 2 hit it out of the park majorly. So, more GochiUsa was welcome.

While some people can say there wasn't much special in regards to this movie. I would disagree myself as we're seeing characters paired up in different situations. Anyways, what's special for one person may differ for you. For me, as long as the comedy is done well and it retains the CGDCT tone like ... before then I'm satisfied.

I won't say this movie did better than Season 2 because damn I was getting diabetes from that. But, this movie was still pretty damn good. The visuals are beautiful, the VA and sound was top-notch. And the story was engaging (even if it tried to consistently sprinkle in nostalgic nuggets). Plus the pacing was, in my opinion, perfect for one hour. I thought one hour would be short but that length was perfect.

Overall, if you enjoyed previous GochiUsa seasons, I'm sure you'll like this movie.

This show isn't bad but I don't think it's great either. If you can take one thing from this: choose to use other fansubs than Crunchyroll, I bet you'll get a much more better experience as a result. A lot of really dumb translations from CR that I was able to notice. "Thanks for the food." was translated to "Praying to the dark lord" or some shit like that. If you care about that, then go search for fansubs.

The story, it's basically a Japanese Highschool CGDCT show but with Angels and Demons flair. It's unique in that they have the ... Heaven and Hell aspects but I don't think they do much with the potential of the settings as they should have, in my opinion. So basically you're just watching a regular slice of life with sci-fiction elements to it. For some this is perfectly fine but for me, I've seen a lot of these already that I was not getting impressed with the story as is.

The comedy, it's all subjective, man. If you love the comedy in the first few episodes then you'll love this show. If you were on the fence like me and a lot of misses then you might reconsider watching something that appeals to your humor/taste. Don't get me wrong, I chuckled at parts and had a good laugh here or there but not enough in comparison to KonoSuba or Yuru Yuri for me.

The characters, the main 4 fill in the typical 4 character archetypes. The Baka-Chuuni Demon, the straight-women demon, the NEET angel, and the sadist angel. Kind of wish they did something more with these characters but that's just me.

Art for this show was consistent and top-notch, don't expect to see bad quality anywhere. A lot of gifable moments and art. The artists for this show did a good job here.

Since I'm talking about art, the only fan-service is in the ED. I can't recall any explicit fan-service anywhere else. There was a beach episode and if seeing them there go ahead but it wasn't as in your face as the fan-service in the ED.

Music was meh for me, nothing stood out to me except for the OP and ED songs that was it. It accomplished its job of accompanying the background and show, that could be all you ask for I guess.

Sound was pretty good as it made the world feel more real.

If you want to hear in-depth review with spoilers, I can link you a comment that accomplishes how I felt about the show perfectly.

Other than that, I recommend for you to just take the few episodes a try. If you love the show, you'll love the rest. If you don't then I suggest with caution to be wary of your tastes and how willing you are to spend time on this show.

I think it's worth noting how deceptive the English title is for this show. You won't be expecting a MonMuse-like show, so don't be fooled if you are for that show or not. Suggest you look at this show as something fresh and new that incorporates monster girls into modern society.

I usually reserve 9's for shows that did something very well and here's the reason why, it made me re-evaluate how I treat people through a different lens. It made me change my behavior and philosophy which is a big accomplishment for a show to do for me. If I go ... into details, you'll get spoiled. It's not something major that is mindblowing but it's still impactful for me as a person. Of course, not everyone will experience this which is why I say this is a great show for me in particular. Only you can know if this show can work for you. Suggest you watch the show so you can understand if it appeals to you.

If you don't want to watch the show yet then I suggest checking out this show if you like any of these factors or can tolerate them:

- Cute Girls Doing Cute Things (it has male characters, don't worry!)

- Monster Girls

- Slice of Life

- High School Setting (a lot of it is there, so if you can't tolerate now then I urge you to come back when you can. Show is still worth the chance despite the repetitive setting in anime.)

- Mentor-ship between students and teachers

- A take on how people fit into society

- Can tolerate the weirdness that anime brings (weird jokes here and there, the anime-usual but it's not excessive like other shows)

- Anime comedy

- There is definitely drama there but it doesn't destroy your mood and really helps push the story forward

- Surface level enjoyment that has a little bit of depth if you decide to look. (This can be debatable, I think it has a lot of depth for the amount of world-building it created as well as delivering the messages in a way that isn't preachy.)

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By the way, for your moral safety: the teacher DOES NOT reciprocate or pursue the students love interest. Let those worries sink away as there are no indications of that in this season. (Thank god)

This show has had a profound impact on certain individuals and it can be understandable as to why. A show that can do that on an emotional level for people gets an A+ from my book. That's why I want you to check out for yourself if this show can work for you because who knows maybe this becomes your favorite anime.

I hope this review was helpful in your decision, let me know if it has.

This is for those who have seen Aria the Animation --> Aria the Natural --> Aria the Natural OVA --> Aria the Origination. Basically spoilers ahead if you haven't watched the full series by now. (No need to have seen Aria the Avvenire here)

Okay, so you've finished Origination and wondering if it's worth your time watching these Picture Dramas. If you loved the series then definitely go ahead as it's more Aria!

For a fan, the must-watches of the picture drama series is Episode 1, 2, and 7 because we see more expanded about the characters from the main story. I recommend ... if you can't stand the presentation style of the picture drama to at least watch episode 7 because it gives more story about Origination. They put in their most best effort for this last one and it really shows.

As for the other episodes, they're mini-stories which are fun to listen to and experience. Definitely not worth skipping if you like the show plus it's still some good quality Aria despite the low amount of animation work.

I love Aria so naturally I'm going to love these picture dramas. While it isn't as effective as the main anime, it's more Aria and that makes me happy.