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In an era stuffed to the brim with isekai, seeing a proper fantasy anime like Ancient Magus Bridge is a breath of fresh air.

The worldbuilding of AMB is, IMO, it's biggest drawing point. It's full of wonder, whimsy, and danger, while withholding just enough information to generate mystery. There is a great level of detail in every background that enriches the setting of the show.

In the beginning, the series doesn't seem to head in any particular direction. Instead, it focuses on the personal growth of Chise and her relationship with Elias and the other people/demi-humans around them. In the second half, an antagonist becomes ... the driving force of the plot and presents new challenges for Chise and Elias to overcome.

The magical wonders of AMB is almost reminiscent of a Ghibli film, and has satisfied as someone looking for a world to get lost in. However, the lack of high stakes and obstacles may not be compelling enough for fans looking for a plot with a sense of urgency.

This anime is mediocre at best, and that's a damn shame.

I've rewatched Granblue Fantasy and tried my damndest to like it, I really did. There's something in it that's drew me in. I like the art design. I liked the promise of adventure and seeing new sights, which it fulfilled to some degree. I liked the few moments of action in between the long - and I mean long - transition of exposition between scenes.

And that's where GBF:TA falls flat. In spite of its surface beauty and promise of adventure, it just kind of drags along from point A to point B with ... no true feeling of tension or gravitas. The characters feel dry and underdeveloped, lacking anything that would make you relate to any of them... although strangely enough, the one character that really truly feels developed is actually an alternate gender-bent version of the main character in the last episode - and that is JARRING.

It has potential, but just lacks tension, substance and character. It's like biting into a really nice looking piece of chocolate and expecting a delicious filling of some kind, only to find out the chocolate is hollow. It was somewhat tasty at first bite, but leaves you yearning for more.

As it stands, GBF:TA is a lesson of how to avoid writing a disengaging script for an anime. And it's such a shame too, because I really did like everything else the series potentially had to offer. Just give me more to bite on next time.

Story: 3
Art: 8
Sound: 7
Character: 3
Enjoyment: 4
Overall: 4

While it's not the progenitor of tsundere harem anime (I consider Ranma 1/2 to hold that honor), Love Hina is without a doubt one of the most popular and successful series ever in its respective genre, and no doubt had a lasting influence on many series that followed it afterwards.

It all starts with a childhood promise. Keitaro and his Promise Girl both vow at a very young age that they would find happiness together in Tokyo University. Fast forward 15 years later, and the poor guy is struggling with re-tests to get in. And his problems are all downhill from there: He's also the manager ... of an inn-turned-girl's dormitory full of women that hate him. As the story unfolds, he does grow onto them and they eventually accept him as part of the household, albeit the violence towards him hasn't really subsided.

Love Hina has a wonderful and diverse cast of characters, all of which are memorable and will become dear to the reader's heart. Unlike the anime, which fumbles with their stories and characterizations in opt for more slapstick, every character in Love Hina is fully fleshed out and has a moment in the spotlight. (even Haruka! Get ready for her character arc!) Each character, even secondary characters - have pushed the plot in some meaningful way, and that is something I really appreciate in Love Hina's writing, even if certain gags get overused.

Speaking of gags, the vast majority of them will be Keitaro receiving some pummeling from the girls, but the manga covers far more than that. Even the girls will get their moments of comically bad luck that has plagued Keitaro for most of the series.

Though it is a romantic comedy with a larger focus on laughs, there are some genuinely tender moments in the manga that tug my heartstrings a bit. Without saying too much, the last character arcs for Mutsumi, Motoko, and Shinobu, while they do come full circle, did hit me in the feels and made me love them even more as characters.

Above all else, the manga wraps up the much anticipated question of who the Promise Girl really is. Although there's some crazy intense filler before getting to the ending (which really confirms who it is), all loose ends to the plot have been tied and you have an emotionally satisfying conclusion to the series. If you want the definitive experience of Love Hina, look no further than this now classic manga.

I had a LOT of high expectations for Love Hina's anime adaptation once I was about four volumes into the manga. Unfortunately, as a BIG fan of the manga, the anime left much to be desired.

Story-wise, you get enthralled the moment you realize how much Keitaro has struggled to get into Tokyo University, especially to keep a 15 year old promise to the love of his life. However, there are many plot holes and re-written story arcs that drive this wonderful story through the wall. For instance, Motoko's dream sequence when she's sick and she gets a look into Keitaro's past - it's originally Keitaro ... dream in the manga, so having that plot centered on her doesn't make a lick of sense. Then there's the awful First Kiss episode centering around Shinobu. That moment was far too melodramatic to the point of being trite, while in the manga it was far more lighthearted and enjoyable as a result.

The characters are all unique, lovable, and quite memorable. However, their character interactions have been muted in the anime in favor of the constant Keitaro sight gags where he's being pummeled and blasted into the air. Yes, they are quite violent to Keitaro in the manga as well, but there are also far more moments of Keitaro being less of a gag and more of a serious, respectable character. And there are also hilarious moments where the other girls in Hinata House also have their own share of problems and even suffer some bad karma for their treatment of Keitaro.

I'd call this part a spoiler if it really was much of a spoiler, but the anime and all of the OVAs combined do not have the answer you're looking for in concern of Keitaro's promised girl. All of the animated series give you no conclusive answer to who the promise girl really is, which makes you wonder what this was all for. The manga, however, has a far more developed plot and, even with some filler towards the ending, is far more emotionally satisfying.

Love Hina is fun to watch if you just like some silly slapstick with some budding, awkward romance, but will leave you hungering for more. If you want a more satisfying bite from the franchise, as well as wondering who the true promise girl is, the manga is very highly recommended.

How often do you see an anime that revolves around a married couple? (And no, don't get me started on that SAO teenage marriage nonsense.) "ICUWMHIS" is one of the funniest, most refreshing anime I've seen in a long time, even if the episodes are only around three minutes in length.

The protagonists, Kaoru and Hajime, are worlds apart personality and lifestyle wise, but they find a way to make it work regardless. As the theme of the show is love and tolerance, each episode chronicles how they get through the hurdles of life together. There's a surprising amount of character development, despite of the shows ... short length. This is attributed to the show's great writing and characterization.

The often hilarious writing is often intertwined with visual and even sound gags. Many of the visual gags pay homage to other anime and manga, which will make for a great Easter egg game for veteran anime fans. The sounds from this show have been put to great use as well. Whether it's parodying a musical score from popular culture, to the sounds of a jackhammer (!?!) during sexy time. It's a funny show regardless, but there may be some jokes that fly over your head if you're not a hardcore anime fan.

"ICUWMHIS" is a fantastic show and a definite forerunner for all the 3-minute anime shorts. It's easily recommendable to adults, especially those in a relationship, but I believe everyone should give this show a chance. It's just too good to pass on!

Story: 9
Art: 6
Sound: 9
Character: 9
Enjoyment: 10
Overall: 9

The protagonist is a 28 year old, unemployed, alcoholic hottie named Narumi Kawase. For reasons unknown (no spoilers here, you'll have to find out yourself!), she's out of a job and is now scraping by as the assistant of an established manga artist. At first glance, this manga is seemingly another take on the harem genre, especially if you consider the amount of attention the deuteragonist Jun Yoshikawa gets. However, as the series progresses, you'll see a lot of the other characters being fleshed out and having their share in the spotlight, as well as see how their personal and romantic lives advance, which is ... a great thing since this series is very character driven.

The anime is a romantic comedy, slice of life type of deal. With the latter in mind, it's important to make sure your characters are fully developed and have a sense of groundedness about them. That is what "Kono Onee-san" does very well, and it's always a pleasure (and a riot) to see them interact with each other. Whether it be supporting each other through tough times, finding the solution to their problems, and seeing the sheer chaos that erupts from their misunderstandings, I did not have one boring moment while reading this series.

The artwork is a pleasure to look at (especially Narumi), and stays consistent throughout. There are some odd looking frames with some of the guys, but they're few and far in-between.

"Kono Onee-san" is a wonderful series that intrigued me from beginning to end, and it succeeded without being over-the-top like most romantic comedy manga. The only thing keeping me from rating this an overall 8 is, like a lot of niche manga I've read recently, its ending is hastily wrapped up and doesn't leave a satisfying conclusion. The author,Tsutomu Mutsuki, has stated that he wanted to have at least twenty more chapters, but unfortunately could not reach his quota. It's a shame that has to happen to such a good series like this one.

Personally, this manga is an 8 to me, but I'd recommend it as a 7 for everybody else. Enjoy!

Story: 7
Art: 7
Character: 8
Enjoyment: 8
Overall: 7

Overall Synopsis: "My Wife Is Wagatsuma-san" is a pretty cliched series with some flaws (lack of characterization being one of them), but the laughs and unpredictable moments in the time slips makes it enjoyable.

Assuming you've already read a summary of what the story's about, I'll just cut to the chase.

The various sight gags, accompanied with the series unique art style, make for some very enjoyable reading. The flash forward style time skips (think Family Guy combined with Butterfly Effect.... yeah that sounded awkward), which you would think are predictable, are surprisingly not in some cases. Because as the protagonist Aoshima learns, the future isn't ... set in stone and is prone to various changes based on his present action or inaction.

As for the characters themselves, there needed to be some more love spread around in their development. The most developed character actually turns out to be Ran Itou, who goes through quite a roller coaster ride of changes. However, the titular character herself, Ai Wagatsuma, is that typical Mary Sue trophy wife trope that we've come to see in many other series (think Belldandy from "Ah! My Goddess"). Other than a few moments that humbly characterize her - the swim meet, a weakness for certain TV shows, and even a string of jealousy - she ultimately has no true character growth. The same goes most, if not all, of the cast of characters. As much as I like some of them (Masao Komatsu is my personal favorite and an awesome scene stealer), they seemingly remain static throughout the series.

That's not to say our lovable loser Aoshima isn't without his merits. Although he fills in that cliched useless main character with no redeeming qualities, I find that to be ultimately false as the story progresses. As one of his benefactors later point out, he rises beyond himself to face certain occasions, and he carries his companions with him as he does. He is also quite a compassionate person and would go out of his way for people, even total strangers. And after seeing his various time slips just to secure his future with Wagatsuma, you start to notice that he overlooks his own desire for the sake of his own friends to save them from trouble, and even for a stranger to save his life. These are all observable qualities that, in my opinion, make him rise above the typical character trope of a useless guy everyone loves for really no reason than for the sake of the story - I'm calling you out, Tenchi.

The story wraps up a little fast at the end and leaves some unanswered questions. I think if it had at least one more chapter as an epilogue, it would have left a more satisfying ending. In spite of that, I'm glad to have read Wagatsuma and I've enjoyed my time with the series.

As of this review, I am 18 episodes in. And I must say, Stardust Crusaders exceeded many of my expectations. The art style has a subtle, yet noticeable change in color palette and tone, opting for a more horror inspired look. This art style is also the closest to the manga by far, so many long time JoJo fans will be very happy with that.

And as if that wasn't enough to be happy about, Stardust Crusaders boasts an excellent soundtrack. The opening theme, "Stand Proud," is not my personal favorite JoJo theme ("Bloody Stream" is the clear winner there), but it definitely fits the ... context of JoJo very well, and I've grown to like it very much. The ending theme is an older song by The Bangles, "Walk Like An Egyptian," which I haven't heard since I was a kid! That song was a bit jarring as an ending song, but hey, everything about JoJo is bizarre, so I'll take it for what it is.

Story wise, without saying too much, an old foe of the Joestar family is back and wants revenge. This series is the first in the JoJo timeline to slowly abandon its Hamon powers and opts for a new ability called Stands: spiritual manifestations of its users that have special powers. Little did I know, the Stands are actually a big influence on anime culture (see series like Persona), and to my surprise, their usage in the series makes for some unpredictable and unforgettable combat scenes.

Before, we had three main characters to go around, but this time, we have five! Our new protagonist, Jotaro Kujo, works alongside with last season's protagonist, his grandfather Joseph Joestar. They eventually butt heads, but form friendships and alliances with Mohammad Avdol, Jean Pierre Polnareff (the inspiration to King of Fighter's Benimaru, to my surprise), and Kakyoin. I'm sure there are pop culture and musical references to all of them, but I'm too lazy to look it up. All of them have great chemistry together, and their interactions are just as entertaining as the crazy shit they have to face.

All in all, you either love or hate JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. If you like yourself some campy manliness, outrageously over-the-top action, a great soundtrack, and a series that's a very faithful adaptation (and then some!) from the manga, you honestly can't do much better than Stardust Crusaders.

As a long time Street Fighter fan, I had high hopes for this anime revolving around the teenage life of Ryu and Ken. I also eagerly awaited certain episodes where they interacted with other Street Fighter characters in a new light (ie. Ryu being friendly with Sagat, Ken sparring with Fei Long).

Unfortunately, this series ultimately failed to live up to my hopes all because of one major flaw: PAINFULLY SLOW PACING. It's almost as if after every sentence is uttered, there's a dramatic pause in between to lengthen the show. It also takes an entire episode for a hadouken that Ryu is charging to ... finally fire; until then, it's just a horribly slow build up where they're staring down, and any viewers nearby have a mental monologue of what they think about the situation. That, right there, is bad editing and directing at its finest.

SF2V had a lot going for it. Its premise is good, it's art style is excellent, and when some fighting scenes do happen, they're riveting. But the pacing was so abysmal, I actually dropped the series halfway through, then convinced myself to finish it just so I could write this review.

I don't know, maybe you'll enjoy it more than I did. But if anyone had something to complain about Log Horizon and Attack on Titan's pacing, they might want to watch this show to get a better perspective of how bad a show's pacing can truly get.

Story: 7
Art: 8
Sound: 7
Character: 7
Enjoyment: 2
Overall: 3

Story: 7
Ranma 1/2 has a VERY interesting premise: The main character is cursed to transform into a girl whenever he's doused with cold water. He is not the only one: His father turns into a panda, and his rivals/suitors also turn into various different creatures in cold water; and cold water, being more plentiful than hot water (rain, lakes, pools, you name it), this makes for interesting and enjoyable plot points. Although the character's ultimate goals are to transform back to their normal selves, there less sense of it being an overarching storyline, allowing Ranma's creative writing team to come up with just about anything ... in every episode. Granted, some storylines are better than others, and the series is overall very silly and not to be taken too seriously. That of course is part of it's charm.

Art: 7
Ranma's animation in its first season is clearly the series at its best, outside of the OVAs. It's also the closest in style to Rumiko Takahashi's manga. As the series progresses past the first 20 or so episodes, there's an obvious drop in overall quality, and some episodes look decent at best and almost amateurish at worst. The art style also gets closer in looking like the OVAs (but not as colorful or detailed) instead of Takahashi's manga, which leaves me feeling a bit conflicted since I really like that art style.

Sound: 8
Ranma's music has a Chinese influence to it, which is appropriate considering Ranma's style of clothing and fighting. The sound effects are par for what they were back in the day. However, I must say that in an era of really bad dubbing, Ranma 1/2 was clearly a cut above the rest. I love all of the English voice overs in the series (and that's not something I say often), with the only one feeling out of place is Sarah Strange as male Ranma. I know she has some hardcore fans fighting for her, but I just can't hear her pulling it off during fighting sequences and when Ranma is yelling. The voice actor changes in Season 4 (Outta Control in the Viz dub) and Ranma is now voiced by Richard Cox of Inuyasha fame. I believe he truly brings out Ranma's character for the rest of the series.

Characters: 6
Ranma has a HUGE cast of characters, making for a very lively anime. And sure enough, some of the best episodes are the ones where characters aside from Ranma and Akane are fleshed out (ie. the episodes featuring Ryoga, Sasuke, Nabiki and Gosunkugi stand out). Unfortunately, this is also balanced out by some of the poorer characters that are only around as a villain of the week. Although Akane is a tsundere archetype character, she could be considered the mother of all modern tsundere characters in anime, given the time this series was released.

Enjoyment: 9
It's hard to be bored while watching Ranma. There seems to always be something going on in each episode, and even the bad ones (ie. the teaser episode where we thought we were going to see Ranma's mom, the race in dinosaur land, etc) never fail to catch your attention. Since most of Ranma's storylines aren't overarching, you can easily skip some of these episodes and enjoy the best of what the show has to offer.

Overall: 7
Ranma 1/2 was one of my first anime series that I got to watch in its entirety. Though it had its ups and downs, I can definitely say I was satisfied with my watch, and it sits on the shelf as one of my most favorite anime ever.