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May 13, 2021

IS: Otoko demo Onna demo Nai Sei (Manga) add

Recommended

This is going to be a hard review to write, because I have very mixed feelings about this manga.

IS: Otoko demo Onna demo Nai Sei is a manga composed of 3 different stories, the first 2 being only 6 chapters each and the last one taking up the majority of the manga. This is by far the best one and the only one I will be discussing in the review. To me, volume 2 (chapter 13) is where the actual story begins, so if you start at the beginning and really aren't feeling it I'd recommend just skipping volume one as it has no effect ... on the rest of the story.

So, how is the story? Well it's fantastic, and very interesting to boot. Haru is a great protagonist and you really feel for him throughout the story. We follow him from birth all the way to early adulthood and his character development, as well as the development of many of the side characters is so well done it deserves praise. The art style is your standard shoujo, nothing to write home about but gets the job done. Character design is decent which I don't mind as long as they look distinct enough from each other, which they do. The drama is great and almost brought me to tears at points, and the story itself is really moving. So why do I have mixed feelings about it?

The pacing. For the first 30-40 chapters the story moves at a great pace, but then we get stuck in "almost-filler-land" for I don't know how long. Basically most chapters take place from a single characters viewpoint, and that character is often the main character, Haru. Now as I said, Haru is great, and there are several other characters that are great, but at some point the author decided that every single minor character needed their own chapter, their own problems, their own tragic backstory, and it just totally messes with the flow of the story. You're so into it and then all of a sudden it feels like half the chapters become unnecessary side-story filler about people you really aren't that invested in.

What makes it worse is how formulaic it eventually becomes. I wasn't exactly counting but it felt like there were at least 15 chapters in this manga that all followed the exact same formula. We get to know some minor character, they have it rough for some reason, (boyfriend only wants sex, rough family life, is bullied, can't stand up for themselves, dead mom etc) then they meet Haru, is sometimes mean to him at first but he just takes their abuse and then calmly relates their problem to his own, tells some personal story about his life and then gives a motivational speech which makes them respect him/feel better. Not only does this get extremely repetitive but it also makes Haru seem really one-dimensional when we know he isn't.

The problem is that these chapters are split up so you don't get them all in a row, and while some of them really could be skipped without missing anything of note, others cannot, so you need to read it all unless you want to risk becoming confused later. For the record, I'm not saying all of these chapters are bad, they just feel like they're interrupting the flow of the story and all I could think while reading some of them was that I wanted to get back to following Haru and his journey.

Eventually the story more or less gets back on track and from that point on it's pretty good again all the way to the end, which I liked well enough although I was kind of hoping for a bit more (that could very well just be my preference though)

Overall, IS: Otoko demo Onna demo Nai Sei is a fantastic manga plagued by some baffling pacing decisions here and there. If I could judge only the good parts this would be a 9, but as a whole it's probably closer to a 7.

That said, when it's good, it's really good and I'm glad I read it.

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Feb 20, 2021

World Teacher: Isekaishiki Kyouiku Agent (Manga) add

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (11/? chp)

I've read my fair share of isekai's and let me tell you, this sure is one of them.

Story 5/10
Imagine a bland, uninspired isekai that does nothing new. You're thinking of this one. The story holds no surprises, whatever you think is going to happen next is what happens next. It's not offensively bad or anything, it just doesn't even try to be anything more than passable.

Art 6/10
I wouldn't call it good, but I wouldn't really call it bad either. Sadly it's the strongest part of the manga.

Characters 5/10
You got your main guy, he's a good guy who cares about his friends and is ...

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Jul 20, 2020

Vinland Saga (Anime) add

Recommended

This review is spoiler free.

If you happen to be reading this without knowing much about Vinland Saga I'll just tell you this, it's good. Very good. I implore you to watch it without knowing anything about the story if possible as it will greatly enhance your viewing experience. Don't watch the opening until like episode 8, because unfortunately like with most anime openings it will spoil the first few episodes to any attentive viewer. If you still "have to know" what it's about then read some other review because I'm not gonna tell you.

Story/Characters 9/10
Like I said, I ain't telling you what it's about. ... All I'll say is that if you're looking for an action show this ain't it. Not because there isn't action (there's quite a lot actually) but because it's about so much more than that. The characters actually have depth, to such an extent you sometimes have to piece together their motivations on your own as not every single detail is spelled out for you. In movies this is more or less common but I find it a rarity in anime nowadays due to the unfortunate prevalence of every character having a voiceover detailing all their thoughts and emotions. It's refreshing just getting to know a character through their actions instead of having to sit through their inner monologue about why they're doing what they're doing. It gives many of them a sense of ambiguity that I really appreciate. The story in itself has a ton of twists and turns and constantly makes you second guess where you think it's going. Having read the manga I also know this won't be limited to the first season, should they ever make a second one (at the moment of writing there's material for at least 2 more seasons of similar length)

Art 9/10
The only reason it's not a 10 is because I've read the manga and it's even better.

Animation 8/10
Basically, when it counts it's a 9/10 and when it doesn't it's a 7/10. Of course we all dream of every show being like Mob Psycho 100 where the animation was constantly stellar no matter the episode or scene but that's just never gonna be the case. With that said, aside from some iffy looking CG water the show looks gorgeous at best and okay at worst. I don't usually say this but the backgrounds are really something in this show.

Sound 10/10
The voice acting is stellar and the music is god damn amazing, what more could you ask for?

Enjoyment 10/10
I cannot think of a single person I know who wouldn't like this.

Overall 9/10
The story is dark, mature and constantly takes you in new directions. The music is beautiful. The voice acting is perfect. The animation is stellar when it needs to be and above average when it doesn't. It's one of those rare shows where every character is so fantastically written you end up liking all of them. It's both better written and more historically accurate than Vikings, and to top it all of it's made by the studio that gave us Attack on Titan. If you aren't sold on this already then I don't know what to say. Just watch it. Trust me.

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Apr 13, 2015

Koko ni Iru yo! (Manga) add

Not Recommended

I'm writing this more as a warning than a review so I'm going to keep it brief. STAY AWAY FROM THIS UTTER PIECE OF LAZY UNORIGINAL GARBAGE. There is nothing redeeming this manga, the only thing that's passable is the art, and even that is just your typical shoujo flowery, giant-eyed whatever. The plot has been done a million times before, all of them better I might add, and is about as predictable as it gets. The characters are nothing but stereotypes and not a single one is likable because no one feels even remotely like a real person. It shocks me how a manga ...

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