SUNG HIM WOO. SUNG DRIP WOO. SUNG AURA WOO. MY GLORIOUS D1 AURA FARMING, SHADOW SPAMMING, DUNGEON BEATING, NONCHALANT MONARCH HAS RETURNED. And it is not ridiculous to say that. Not even really glaze fr.
Few stories manage to captivate me as strongly as stuff like Vagabond, Vinland Saga, Horimiya etc. And amongst my personal favourites, Solo Leveling sits right at the very top. It's not because Solo Leveling is a masterpiece—its far from that—it's because Solo Leveling is able to illicit nothing but insane amounts of hype outta me. It knows how to insert the chemicals to my brain to make it scream "GIMME
...
MORE" like some ape-like barbarian. Eh. I take back everything I just said its peak fiction. My brain is too fried right now.
Pros-
The obvious should be stated: this animation makes my eyes have continuous eyegasms. Back then, in the gutters of 2019, when John still had the Joker bag over his head and TBATE was only known for being a copy Peakshoku Tensei. When all we had was The Gamer and Lookism was still about looks. Solo Leveling fans were begging and praying for Solo Leveling to receive animation like this. For action like this. A1 delievered and then some. The chereography. The camera work. THE ANIMATION. It's enough to make a grown man cry. A1 put a lot of soul and love into the production of this szn. Adding to amazing animation is an amazing score. Like my eyes are already overwhelmed by such raw beauty and now you wanna take my ears away too. How greedy. Sawano is experienced. His music perfectly fits the tone that Solo Leveling sets in each scene. Plus the opening slaps like damn.
In all seriousness now, I do believe this season of Solo Leveling has a lot more to offer than the previous one. SL's world is one that I and numerous other people fell in love with. The great amount of different types of gates explored, the meticulous and intricate dissection of the Hunter business, the exploration of the different relationships and dynamics with multiple other countries and hunters outside of South Korea. SL's world is a large one. It's an immersive one. It wasn't the most unique world at all. But it is a world that felt real; one that I easily got lost in. It's not just a system, there's so much care and detail put into it. This season is essential to developing such a grandiose world.
And aside from the cool one liners and the amazing action, Solo Leveling does have a story to tell. It's right there. It's a simple one. Not subtle at all. No great meaning and no great depth. But it is an incredibly entertaining one. Most narratives starts off cliche and generic. But execution is much more important than concept. It's why something like Candy Flurry failed and Solo Leveling prevailed. Because SL knows what how to give you raw and pure hype and emotion that you can't help but get immersed into its story. This season especially since it will most likely feature Jeju Island. This season of Solo Leveling is one that I have throughly enjoyed so far; it is one that I know that I will continuously enjoy. And while Solo Leveling does get a predictable pattern into its later stages, that's a critique for another season. It's not a critique for this one.
Speaking of cool one liners, the voice acting is top-notch. I'm talking the best in business for both sub and dub. Little funny comedic moments sprinkled here and there throughout this season. And Solo Leveling has never once failed to entertain me. I could never a call story that has always entertained me a mediocre one. It did its job to perfection.
Cons-
Despite my love for the story and my want to defend it from people who call it flat and shallow, it, unfortunately, has those elements. Despite a very likeable cast, there isnt any real attempt at making any of these characters grow except with a handful(one of them being Sung Jin Woo). And my Shad- I mean Sung Jin Woo is the only one that has any sort of real depth to him. But it isnt explored to its best(even though I personally think Sung Jin Woo has solid character writing and depth and a lot of people don't credit him with that). And that goes with any other character Solo Leveling does attempt to have decent character writing with, it never goes all the way. Again, a very likeable and unique cast. The shadows have their own personalities and funny comedic moments. The hunters are call of course. And Sung Jin Woo is Sung Jin Woo. Its just SL doesnt really attempt to grow its characters and when it does, as aforementioned, it never truly goes all the way.
Another problem I have with this szn, albeit a slight one(for now), is the pacing and direction. It seems this season wants to adapt about 60 something chapters of Solo Leveling, including the highly anticipated Jeju Island Arc. I think the direction of Solo Leveling is very strong. Better storyboarding than the manhwa, great camerawork, great animation, great score and great use of said score etc. But the pacing of SL-in manhwa and light novel- is already incredibly fast. So making the pacing even faster in the anime is not ideal. They've cut some nice moments that Sung Jin Woo has with other people, which make him all the more human. Take for example, when the elf shoots an arrow at Sung Jin Woo and Sung Jin Woo catches it. In the manhwa, Sung Jin Woo is depicted as angry and irritated(which is somewhat realistic). In the anime, Sung Jin Woo is depicted as calm and collected. Emotionless. This is eventually what Sung Jin Woo's arc centers around: his humanity. But in addition to incredibly fast pacing as well as the choice of the director to portray Sung Jin Woo in this way may tamper with his character arc as they're just accelerating it(if that makese sense). And his character arc wasnt even executed to its best in the manhwa. It's still early to tell so yeah. But the pacing from what I can tell right now, is not looking that solid.
Conclusion-
Electrifying action, a breathtaking score and stellar voice acting. Just to name a few of what makes this season of Solo Leveling this thrilling. Each episode leaves you at the edge of your seat as you are catapulted into a world of danger and awe. There are flaws of course. Every story has its flaws. But the good greatly outweigh the bad in Solo Leveling. And with Jeju Island about to be animated? This is it. Right here. The hottest place in anime right now is Solo Leveling.
There's a reason the manhwa defined its genre.
There's a reason the anime is this popular.
There's a reason millions of us tune in every Saturday to watch this shi right here.
Its just that good. Thanks for reading
(Check out ORV if you liked SL. And if you didnt? Still go read it bro its actually peak fiction. I am putting you on right now. And the score I gave this is a biased score because I really really really fw this anime)
Jan 18, 2025 Recommended Funny  Preliminary
(3/13 eps)
SUNG HIM WOO. SUNG DRIP WOO. SUNG AURA WOO. MY GLORIOUS D1 AURA FARMING, SHADOW SPAMMING, DUNGEON BEATING, NONCHALANT MONARCH HAS RETURNED. And it is not ridiculous to say that. Not even really glaze fr.
Few stories manage to captivate me as strongly as stuff like Vagabond, Vinland Saga, Horimiya etc. And amongst my personal favourites, Solo Leveling sits right at the very top. It's not because Solo Leveling is a masterpiece—its far from that—it's because Solo Leveling is able to illicit nothing but insane amounts of hype outta me. It knows how to insert the chemicals to my brain to make it scream "GIMME ...
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 15, 2024
Ousama Ranking
(Anime)
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Recommended
Man, I'm late to the review party. I recently rewatched this; it's one of my favourites now.
I'll keep this short. This has some of the best character writing you will ever see in anime. Almost every character is so 3d and has so much depth and layers to them like how is that even possible? Only the best of the best can do that. Now, it does put a blunder on one of its really good characters at the end and Ouken(different character/antagonist) is kind of just a decent character but aside from those two, every character that the anime acc trys to develop is ... developed wonderfully. Man, I adore the character design. I mean, this anime will really make you not judge a book by its cover and its kiddish artstyle and misleading character design just adds to that so much. Queen Hilling is so so so so amazing and I SWEAR ON MY SOUL, she's so peak. She looks and acts like the typical evil stepmother in fairy tales but man, her arc. Best mother in all of anime. Boji. I love him. If I was to make a top 30 protag after I read and watch all the stuff I wanna read and watch, I guarantee he will still be in there. He's so great and Kage is such a great support character. Man, just watch for the character writing alone. Of course, the plot is amazing. I almost cried by episode 4 man omds. The message of inner strength and self love and love in general is done so well omds. I could really go into depth on why the score, artstyle(so unique and fits the tone of ranking of kings so well), direction, cinematography, overall production were done masterfully well, but there are other reviews for that. I just wanna gush about why this thing is so so peak man. Only flaw is the ending. I really was bout to give this a 10/10 but then that flipping ending. Almost ruined one of the antagonists and was just kinda gross in general. But man, the rest of the series was done so well that the ending, despite how bad it was, just puts a slight blunder on the entirety of the anime. This is one of my rougher reviews. I usually go into much more depth at everything but nah I didn't really feel like doing that with this one. All I really wanted to say was watch Ranking of Kings. Don't let this gem of an anime die out in the annals of history as a really good seasonal anime. Let it be known as a near masterpiece of an anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Nov 9, 2023 Recommended Spoiler
Im not gonna go incredibly into detail so yh. There's minor spoilers. I do go into a bit of detail when I talk about the characters.
Damn, this ended. It was absolutely amazing. A nearly flawless ending. OK negative stuff first CGI was always gonna be a problem and with something like the rumbling it was gonna stick out a lot. The CGI is decent, it just sticks out and doesn't blend with the surroundings that well because we see so much of it for a long period of time. Also the exposition was really mixed for me. I don't think its was done badly, but it wasn't ... the best. It's sort of all over the place which makes sense because how complex the plot and lore and its tryna explain that as well as Eren's motivation. Those are the only problems I have with this special. Humans are destructive and war and conflict is inevitable. The cycle of hatred will never end. However as long as there is hope, there is a chance for peace and freedom. Even though it will be short lived. That is the message that AOT preaches and it is executed to perfection. The post credit scene is actually amazing in itself, it adds so much. Does it mean what Eren did was pointless? No, Eren saved those he cared for and loved. It means that the cycle of hatred will always continue, humans just need to find a reason to hate each other. It's really well done. Kinda parallels stuff that's happened in the real world too. The plot is amazing I can't talk about it for long. This is the climax and while not as good as season 3 for part 2(in terms of a climax) its still incredibly entertaining and enjoyable. I had no idea how this was gonna end, and it left me at the edge of my seat. AOT OSTs are amazing as always. Got me hyped up in certain scenes. One of the best soundtracks in anime and this finale lives up to that. The characters are so good and well developed. From Zeke finding meaning in the things other people would consider meaningless and pointless, to Levi fulfilling the last command of Erwin, the characters were absolutely amazing. Mikasa actually progressed as a character wth. I never expected that to happen. Reiner's mom actually accepting her son as her son and no longer seeing him as a means to end or a weapon was really touching. It hit way deeper than I expected it too. Armin was peak, he's been peak since s3 pt 2. But the best character here was none other than Eren Yeager. Goddamn one of the best protags in fiction. Throughout season 4 we've been seeing this stoic Eren, barely shows his emotions, focused on one thing. But then when it's done, we see this pathetic guy just break down, the facade is no longer there. No longer the stoic, cool and calculating Eren Yeager, leader of the Yeagerists,nah, just an idiot who got too much power and wanted to protect those and he loved. Eren is still the same character he was back in s1. The titans tried to hurt those he loved, his answer was to kill them all. The Marleyeans tried to kill those he loved, his answer was to kill them all. He was just another part in the cycle of hatred. A slave to it and a slave to the idea of escaping it. His character and motivation are peak. He perfectly represents the idea of false freedom. I love the cabin scene so much, its why I'm team Eren. If Eren hadn't gone through with the rumbling, it didn't matter whether Zeke's euthanization plan worked or not, the people of paradis would have gotten killed as Marley would have invaded Paradis and the Eldians would be the victims. The innocent children there who did nothing wrong, would have died. Kill or be killed. And Eren chose to kill. That's how he joined the cycle. Goddamn man that's just amazing. Isayama is a genius. Eren is an amazing character(10/10) and the whole cast of characters for this finale were phenomenal. Also there is no power creep that doesn't make sense Ofc Hange is incredibly skilled with odm gear she made it(I think). Levi is still levi, bros been doing crazy stuff since forever. Ofc most of the scouts now can talk on a lot of titans, how many life and death situation have they been in in regards to fighting titans. Its almost like they've gained experience or something Cart titan has incredible endurance so she can transform more than once, there's a logical explanation for things that happen. Other stuff Dialogue-good, Pacing-good, Emotional stuff-exceptional. Man I'm gonna miss watching AOT, it's was beautiful to watch. A ground breaking experience is a rare phenomenon and we were lucky to have been given the opportunity to witness it. AOT will go down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, anime of all time and I, and millions of other people, loved watching every second of it. Rest in peace, to those who could not finish the masterpiece that was AOT.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 21, 2023
Violet Evergarden Movie
(Anime)
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Not Recommended Spoiler
TLDR- Has good aspects and bad aspects that even each other out.
Edit: This review is long. If you can't read it all, just look at my problem with the characters(especially Gilbert), it's my biggest problem with the movie. Or just read the negative stuff. REVIEW Positive stuff ... Score-10/10 It slaps, its Violet Evergarden. This anime easily has one of the most beautiful soundtracks you will ever listen to, up there with the likes of Cyberpunk edgerunners, AOT, Cowboy Bebop, Bleach, to name a few. Scratch that, personally this whole anime, series and movie and everything has the best score and OST of any anime ever. It's great. It's an ergasm and it perfectly fits the tone of Violet Evergarden. It's magical, like the score you would hear in a Disney renaissance movie. Goddamn feels like I'm in a fairytale. Shame it was wasted on this movie. The score was amazing in the anime series and is amazing in this movie. Cinematography-9/10 Ok, not a big expert on this, but for me, this is really good. I'm not gonna feign expertise in things I am not very knowledgeable in. I think this is really good. Not gonna go into much detail, but good use of camera angles and beautiful shots in this movie. Art and Animation-9/10 Again, beautiful. Most anime movies look incredible and this is no exception. Kyoto did excellent here. From the background to the way the characters move, it's done wonderfully. Violet Evergarden always looked beautiful, not much of a difference here. Worldbuilding-8/10 This isn't a fantasy world, but the worldbuilidng is impressive. I like the fact the world is changing and new technology is being added in each installment of this franchise, including this movie. Does the world changing have any impact on the dolls that we can actually see, I talk about that later. Worldbuilding is good but man it's not put to use. Pacing-6/10 Pretty boring at the beginning, partly due to the dialogue. The second act is paced pretty well and around the climax, the pacing is still pretty good. The story of the future girl doesn't get enough screen time for me to actually care, by the time we get to her learning whatever she learnt on her journey, it was so long I actually forgot she was a character. Meh I'm OK with the pacing. Bad stuff Plot-3/10 Why have you done this? This is the most fanservice plot you could have come up with. You had so much potential here. The world is constantly evolving and changing and the now because of technology, the dolls will soon be no longer needed. Why not show how this change is gonna impact the dolls? Its just told to us that eventually, dolls will become obsolete. SHOW HOW IT IMPACTS OUR CHARACTERS, ESPECIALLY HUDGINS AND IRIS AND VIOLET. Violet herself is contemplating what she actually wants to do, as shown in the first movie, why not build on that? The dolls finding purpose after their livelihood is gone. I'm actually convinced that was supposed to be the plot for this movie since the world was advancing in the first movie and they were hinting at the dolls soon being obsolete but instead for some reason, we got the fan service plot instead. Gilbert is alive ig and I guess Violet is still in love with him,( which I will get into later) let's go find him. Honestly aside from this bs idea, it's executed fairly well. I adore the Yuris B plot, it's great, it's a bit unoriginal as it's just episode 10 done kinda differently. Still made me cry. But somehow Violet Evergarden made me go from crying to just annoyed in like 15 minutes with the ending amd climax it had. The girl from the future, her plot is kinda ehh. I mean it's not needed. The lesson we learn with her is something we already learnt through Yuris-appreciate those you have rn, you never know when they can go. You remove her plotline, it's still the same story. I like that the war plotline isn't forgotten, shows continuity. Meh plot, bad execution. It's so cliché, I could predict everything that was about to happen by the time Violet meets Gilbert. Oh, let's make it rain for dramatic effect. Oh, let's make have both of them running towards each other as the sun sets. Oh, let's make Violet not be able to communicate like an actual human throughout an entire scene. BECAUSE WHY NOT. Not only did this movie reuse plot ideas, it's just so uninspired. The plot idea I said above is so much better. Uris B plot only good thing about this catastrophe. It was sort of good until Violet meets Gilbert so yh whatever. The climax is so bad, so so so bad. I hate it so much. Its so predictable and so annoying to watch. The most cliché writing techniques I've seen. That stupid running while the sun sets is so annoying. And the fact Violet and Gilbet get together I can't. So unoriginal plot that's boring with a horrible ending Themes-3/10 Yh did this movie destroy everything it built up. What's the purpose of this movie, what exactly is this movie trying to say? OK so, Uris B plot and girl from future plotline shows us to appreciate the ones we have and spend time with them, because we never know when they might leave us or when we might leave them. It's good, even though the original anime already talked about these messages. So what is the main plot tryna say? Absolutely nothing. This has absolutely nothing to say. It's just Gilbert is alive so Violet has to find him because she still loves him as she now understands what I love you means. That's it. The Movie has nothing to say. That would be fine, if it didn't destroy the previous themes the anime had. Identity is a huge part of Violet IMO. You can disagree but I don't see how Violet going from a monotone, expressionless girl who can't do anything without Gilbert giving her an order to a strong independent woman who understands human emotion and can express them and does things out of her volition doesn't show independence and doesn't scream "SHE FOUND HERSELF". So Violet going back to the relationship in which she was incredibly reliant and dependent on Gilbert as he literally used her as a tool and she wanted that as he was the only one who showed her love screams dependency. Why go back to such a relationship? What about the last movie, which was bout finding and being what you want(the small girl with the orange hair literally personifies this theme)? Violet says, "What do I want to do?" For the first time. Ever. Don't just throw that away by making her go back to Gilbert. Explore that. Don't make her go back into a relationship where she was heavily reliant on Gilbert before. What about the theme of grief and loss? Episode 7 and 10 were great episodes not just because of the stellar music and Animation, but because they impacted and developed Violet's character in a major way, as she could relate to both the dad and the girl as she knew what it was like losing a loved one. You bring back Gilbert and that theme means nothing now. It's still there sure, but your message is supposed to be shown with your main character and since Violet now has Gilbert again, those experiences essentially mean nothing to her as ohh Gilbert was still alive. So theme of loss and grieving over loved ones: ruined. Theme of love is still good, this movie managed not to ruin its biggest theme. But it sacrificed two themes for 1.(Not like the movie was exploring the theme of love anyway)That's not good execution or writing. Themes of letters don't really play a part to this movie. It is used to convey that the girl from the future loves her parents, but then so? Its just the same theme individual episodes of Violet Evergarden did and did better without being 2 hours long. Characters-2/10 The big one. OK let's start with side characters What happens to Bennett and Hudgins and Iris and Claudia. They are all dolls or have something to do with being a doll and now with the world changing, they will soon be no longer needed. CAN YOU EXPLORE THAT? Iris is such wasted potential. What happens to her and her dreams? Explore her, she's literally the perfect character for this. She won't be about to achieve her dream, what's her purpose then? How does she come to terms with that? You managed to give Bennett a whole arc in the last movie, why not do the same for Iris, you have 2 hours and 20 minutes, that's about 6-7 episodes. It's such a wasted opportunity for good character writing. She does nothing this movie as she's just there. Bennett does nothing, not needed in this movie at all. Shame cuz he was involved a lot last movie and I kinda liked him. What bout Hudgins, how does he come to terms with the fact that what he built is gonna be no longer needed? Hudgins was actually written well in this movie, being the father figure for Violet. He was actually explored but then he just gets the stupidest ending. Violet just abandons all of them for Gilbert. Gilbert's brother is... I don't know, I forgot about him. He reconciles with Violet and Gilbert. That's about it. His character doesn't have a point. Felt like they just wanted to make him likeable before the anime ended. Claudia is also useless and serves nothing to the plot. Is she funny or interesting. Nah. She just exists. Surprised I even remembered her name. Yuris is amazing, while his plot line is unoriginal, he's a different character so it's essentially a different experience. I like him. He's angsty and feels real. He acts how I would expect a person his age to react faced with the situation he is in. W character. His final scene was really sad. The Erica girl gets a good ending, oh wait I don't care about her character because she's extremely boring and uninteresting. Which is weird because she wants to be an writer and I can relate to that. Wanting to make something of your own and share it o the world. But she's just so boring, I cant even remember her episode in the anime series. Her whole arc that they were building up with in the anime series is just finished off screen. Great character writing. Yh give the one character I couldn't care about a good ending. Girl from future. I can't be asked to learn her name so whatever. If I mentioned her name, you would probably be thinking: who? That's how irrelevant she is. But whatever. She fights with her mom because she feels her mom doesn't appreciate her or her family, then that suddenly equates to going on this journey and learning about Violet. I get she read the letters Violet wrote for her great grandma but still, but I don't understand how that would lead to the journey she went on. It's not logical. She isn't even connected to her great grandma, she knows nothing about her. Anyway, then she learns about Violet and through her journey, we can see the future has changed. I like that part. Adds to the worldbuilidng. But we're talking about her character. Anyway she learns about the impact that letters had. And she uses letters to convey to her mom that she does care. It's good. But it's not different. The theme of letters(letters being used to convey strong emotions you can't express in person) is done nicely here, but as I said, individual episodes of Violet Evergarden have explored this theme already. And the theme of appreciating those you have now, we already seen that through Yuris. So then there's no point to her character. The point of the future girl is clearly to convey aforementioned themes, but there's no point to her doing so. She does get actual character development, given the screen time she had. Maybe if she was more interesting or entertaining, I would like her more. That's a bit too much to ask though. I'm OK with side characters not doing things in a movie, because it's a movie. It doesn't have time to develop every character. As long as the main character/characters are great, it can still get a 9 or 10 outta 10 on characterization Ok yh let's talk about Violet. She's heavily regressed, the theme of loss shown through her means nothing since Gilbert is alive. Taking out such a crucial part out of your character that made her not only a believable , but a relatable character is bad character writing. I'm not gonna spend more time on this, I already talked about this in the themes bit. A while ago, I made the claim that Violet is a dependent character. I stand by that, but dependence doesn't necessarily mean weakness. A relationship between lovers is a co dependent relationship. And such a relationship should make them stronger as characters. Kousei and Koari, Kaguya and Shirogane, Hori and Miyamura(to name a few relationships that do this perfectly). The problem is, it's like Violet is dependent on Gilbert, without her being in a relationship with him. Her whole character this movie revolves around this one guy i don't even like and its so infuriating, seeing her regress as all she can think about is Gilbert. She was moving on. Episode 13 and the first movie show this. Once she understands what I love you means and what the major meant to her, she starts moving on. Violet has never asked herself what she wants to do until the first movie and that was some growth right there. Don't tie her back to Gilbert. Don't make her act like the way she was in episode 1. That scene where she basically tells Hudgins to leave her alone and not care for her is annoying. Because Violet is a doll and she's supposed to understand human emotions at this point, so much that she can convey what a person actually means in a letter even if a person doesn't acc know how they feel. But in that scene she just says it so bluntly and she's so inconsiderate about how he feels. Of course he's worried about you, but the way Violet says what she says, it's like she doesn't even care. The way she talks, saying major every 10 seconds, it's like she's her former self. It's like they regressed her character. Don't make a character grow just to revert them to their previous state. That's common sense. Violet's whole character revolved around her learning what I love you means, her connecting with her human emotions, her connecting with people, her finding herself in a world without the major and her going through grief after losing someone close to her. You bring back to the sole reason for her growth in the first place and some of her journey will feel meaningless. And that's how it felt to me. I mean Violet clearly felt her journey was meaningless because she leaves and abandons everything and everyone behind for Gilbert. Gilbert. I have a lot to say about such a bland character like Gilbert. This guy is such a nothing character. Devoid of personality and more so, A PEDOPHILE. In the beginning of the anime, Gilbert tells Violet, "I love you." This was ambiguous(done purposely to show love can be told to anyone you hold dear and also so people wouldn't call Gilbert an pedo). Violet was 14 in this scene. So when we get to that stupid scene with both of them and it is confirmed he loves her, that means when he said "I love you" to Violet when she was 14, he meant it romantically. WHY ARE PEOPLE DEFENDING THIS GUY. Sure, he didn't get with Violet when she was young, but that's cuz this guy was just waiting. He says to Violet, "I've always wanted to this." So that means he's been wanting her since at least when she was 14. He was plotting. The only reason bro even told Violet he loved her when she was underage in the first place was because he knew he was finna die. Ok so that's just head canon, it isn't actually presented like that in the movie or show but you can see how I got to that conclusion. He's definitely a pedophile. Also no one finds it weird that he is essentially together with the person he raised. In the first movie, Violet says, "He raised me,"showing she at least viewed him as a father figure. Plus from what we see in the past, he clearly raised her, giving her a name and things like that. So is he a groomer? Up to interpretation, I thought he was but he isn't presented as one as he isn't shown to emotionally assault Violet with the goal of sexual intercourse when she was younger. But then i put it to you like this: A guy I know found a girl when she was around 10, raised her for a period of time and when she turned 18, married her and definitely did her. I mean, that sounds like a groomer to me. Aside from Gilbert being a guy worthy of going to prison, he's also a massive hypocrite. He always says, you're not a tool, to Violet and is against her fighting in the war but ends up doing the same thing as his brother, puts her in the war and endangers her. He himself admits this. Saying he hurt her and used her and I fully agree. He was a hypocrite then. I like the fact he admits that. It's ok when characters contradict themselves, that makes them human. It's makes them real. But they still have to be likeable unless they are the villain or morally ambiguous. I'm supposed to like Gilbert. WHY WOULD I LIKE THIS GUY? You know how I just said, its good he admits to himself he hurt her,well, he immediately goes back on his ideals. One letter, and he changed his mind immediately, wtf. Are you that fickle? You did hurt Violet, and you didn't have the balls to confront her for four years so leave her alone and let her move on. She doesn't need you anymore. Why are you going back to her? BECAUSE YOU LIKE KIDS? Bro just leave her alone. That would makes a sort of redeemable character, because the whole Violet and Gilbert in the sea scene would not have happened and I wouldn't think you are a pedo or groomer. But they didn't do that. It is what it is. I got the abomination of a character that is Gilbert. Damn, this movie. The more I think about it, the more I just couldn't care. Dialogue-3/10 It feels Violet cries for like 40 percent of the third act. Has she lost the ability to speak like an actual human being? And when she isn't crying, she's stuttering and crying trying to say major or sorry or something else. Anyway, dialogue has never been Violet Evergarden's strong suit. It's usually monotone and can sometimes be really boring. I mean, it's not always like this. There're always scenes that the dialogue hits so hard(especially in episode 7 and 10, if you can't tell I really like those episodes) and the line, "If it is your wish, I will travel anywhere to meet you. Auto memory doll at your service, Violet Evergarden," is so good. Too bad, this movie has none of that. The only scene where the dialogue is even good is Yuris final scene. And that scene where Violet says she isn't a person worthy of praise. Rest of it is bland and boring. These character don't talk like actual people, kinda puts you out of the experience. It's ehh. Kinda bad. Emotional payoff-3/10 Last critique. Aforementioned, this movie is sort of boring. Only when Yuris is on screen could I remotely care. His final scene made me cry so that's good, his death had meaning to it. But then we get to the climax of this movie, and it got me to feel the opposite reaction. Instead of being sad, I was baffled and angry. So simply put, bored for most of it and annoyed at the ending. Made me cry though Conclusion- This review won't change the mass opinion of this movie on MAL, which is OK. It certainly has its good qualities. But they are a lot of bad stuff about this. Bad character writing, dumb plot, no message, ruins previous themes, bad dialogue etcera. These all ruin the experience for me and ruins the overall story of Violet Evergarden. I'm mixed on whether I would actually recommend this movie. I actually despise it, but when I rate it, it comes up to a 5. So it's average. There's a lot to offer here, and if you had come up to me after that Yuris B plot, I would have easily said this movie was around an 7, maybe even an 8. But its clear there's a lot of people out there who adore this movie. Great. My opinion is not the definitive opinion. Watch the movie and decide on your own. But for me, it's a shame that this was the end to the beautiful story that was Violet Evergarden. Overall score-5.6/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Aug 21, 2023
Vinland Saga Season 2
(Anime)
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Recommended Well-written
This is my first review, I'll try to keep it short and not add spoilers.
It's a 10 outta 10, a straight up masterpiece. Sure it's a 180 from the first season but it shows the same theme as the first season in a different light. To be a true warrior. What it means to be a real man, to be strong. Its narrative is incredible, using techniques such as biblical allusion and the classic show not tell. The real star of this season though is Canute. He's become one of my favourite antagonist in all of anime, joining the likes of L and Johan.I adore ... his character so much. To his charisma and the way he present himself. His character development is amazing. The parallels and contrast between him and Thorfinn and the parallel with King sweyn as well(a bit more obvious), is so well written and so well done. Thorfinn is also an incredible character. From an innocent young boy to a revenge filled angsty teen to a matured, calm and peaceful man. Its sublime writing and could only be done by the likes of a genius. Canute and Thorfinn are 10 outta 10 characters. The cast is great as well. Wulf, Thorgil, Einar, Arnheid. Even Ketil and Olmar. All amazing characters and written very well, having good character motivations and changing as the plot moves forward. I guess the only complaint would be the Pacing. But I don't really have qualms with it. It's slow but it fits the vibe perfectly and after episode 16 there is never a dull moment(not that there was a ever a dull moment to begin with imo). There also isn't as much action as the first one. Instead it puts its characters and plot forward, letting that bring enjoyment to the audience. The two openings are amazing as well as the endings. The score is really good. The dialogue is spectacular. I mean "I have no enemies" is an amazing quote in itself. The plot and themes are great, executed to perfection. It looks really good animation and art wise. Mappa did a good job animating this. And the characters include two of my favourite characters in all of anime. No all of fiction. And the rest of the cast is great too. Honestly, I can see the reason some would be disappointed. Its nothing like the first season only having a few similarities here and there. And yet, its still the same show. It is the only route the show could have gone. I can't really describe this show well enough but give it a watch. Finish the anime before you make a judgement on it. Trust me, it is an experience the likes never see before and an improvement upon the second season. To be strong, helping those abandoned and those wanting to escape from the harsh realities of the world. To become a true warrior, to become a real man. Thorfinn has embarked on the journey Thors wanted for him. Watch Vinland Saga season 2 man. I'm pretty sure they are other people who gave better reasons than me or explained more. All I can tell is to watch vinland saga. It changed my life, helping me become a better person. And I'm sure, at the end of it, undoubtedly, you would feel the same way.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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