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Feb 24, 2025
The 10s are always the most difficult to put into words, aren’t they?
On the one hand, the latter half of this entire thing is absolutely nonsensical, jarring, and tonally incoherent... But at the same time, I also found myself overcome by emotions I was beginning to doubt I still had in me. The final stretch of this story had me sobbing throughout, frightened to turn the page in anticipation of yet another punch to the gut, each time presenting me with more feels, but also sincere beauty and heartfelt sentiments to match. It’s a profoundly cathartic, devastating, and yet, also humble conclusion to a story
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that I don’t think anyone could predict would take the turns it eventually did. Not everyone will love this to the same extent I did… heck, some are sure to loathe it, but I omit spoilers and story details from this review in hopes that someone will read it and get inspired to pick this manga up, you owe it to yourself.
That’s a lot of me being hyperbolic, I apologize, but most of the technical aspects of why I find this title so exciting I already mentioned in my review of the anime (which basically covers what I enjoyed about the first half of the manga). What I couldn’t write back then was the fact that I find it exceedingly funny how a story in which so much is characterized by 'color' absolutely revels in the world of black and white. The artwork is outstanding from front to back, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing what Ichikawa-sensei decides to work on next (if she does at all) and how her unique style translates to that.
This is a weird amalgamation of shōjo, seinen, and everything in between, a true freak of a manga, but by golly is it an unforgettable one. Other people on this and other websites have certainly put more words and thought into reviewing said manga, but I still hope I could provide the reader of this review with at least some sort of insight, or at the very least, a newfound appreciation for Houseki no Kuni, Land of the Lustrous.
Also, the final chapter was released on my birthday, so that’s cool I guess :)
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jan 19, 2025
This is NOT something you should watch instead of the original trilogy, so if this is your first rodeo with Kizumonogatari, I strongly advise you to avoid this. I’m adamant about this being exclusively for us completionists out there. May you find fulfillment in your struggles, wherever you are.
But no, in all seriousness, this splice of the original films does nothing to serve as a good introduction to the franchise, certainly does not make for a better cinematic experience, and most importantly does not satisfy the needs of a superfan like me.
That being said, there wasn’t a single second I didn’t enjoy experiencing this absolute
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freak of an arc again, redundant as this re-release might be. I love the Kizumonogatari movies despite the fact that they already suffer heavily from having a substantial amount of content cut from the source material, this entry only accentuating that even more, unfortunately.
Also, I'm docking points from this one simply because of the absence of the “2001: A Space Odyssey”-scene.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Dec 1, 2024
I think everyone can relate to the whole “comparison is the thief of joy” thing. Realizing you’re painfully average at something you thought you truly enjoyed more than anything else stings like a motherfucker. At the same time, healthy rivalries born from these sorts of emotions can be the catalyst needed to finally make you take that leap toward becoming a better version of yourself.
What Look Back accomplishes in its short runtime sure is impressive, as it provides so much with so little, never coming off as preachy or melodramatic, as films about art, ambition, or companionship so often do. Excluding any sort of romance
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goes a long way here, as I really think the main relationship derives much of its poignancy from the fact that it isn’t unconditional, as love sometimes is. Friendship, however, is always earned.
Above anything else, what I find really makes this work is the absolutely incredible art direction. Adapting Fujimoto’s style of his original works isn’t an easy undertaking, as somewhat proven before by Chainsaw Man, in which I’ve always thought a lot is lost when compared to the source material. This, on the other hand, captures the (for lack of a better word) “vulnerability” of Fujimoto’s art in a mesmerizing way, grounding it, while also keeping the extraordinary expressiveness and humanity that his characters usually possess.
Remarkable music as well, Haruka Nakamura is a completely new name for me, so I’ll eagerly be looking forward to watching whatever he’s involved with in the future.
It's a 9.5 really.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 20, 2024
If there exists such a thing as the “rule of cool”, you must assume that the same exception is applicable to all genres. Namely, the quality of structure, reason, and cohesiveness can be somewhat foregone as long as the extremities of said title are sufficient enough to keep the work interesting. If a comedy is funny enough, people won’t expect any sort of actual plot progression, and if an action show has breathtaking fights and/or setpieces, little more is expected by the audience.
What I’m trying to say is, that I do not find this scary, which means that you’re left with everything else that the
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show has to offer. Everything that isn’t trying to scare you. And since Uzumaki banks this much on its horror elements, little is left to enjoy once its one selling point doesn’t work. I do not entirely fault the animation for this, after all, I think I would’ve thought the same about the source material, had I actually read it. Horror is a genre I’ve always struggled to get into, but Ito’s vision here is inspirational enough for me to see why his works have garnered as much praise as they have.
But yeah, the production quality leaves A LOT to be desired, especially considering there are only four episodes. Much like many of my peers, I was initially blown away by the first episode and its commitment to the aforementioned vision. The B&W visuals, coupled with some great rotoscoping and fantastically fitting music had me thoroughly intrigued, despite my inherent reluctance of the genre. And while the style and overall atmosphere were still present in the following episodes, the absolute jankyness of it all managed to sour what would’ve been intense, mysterious, or emotional scenes. Just like when cooking, the fewer ingredients you have, the more each of them matters, and when one of them falls flat, the entire dish is ruined. The sheer creativity and interesting concepts from the source material shine through at times, but those moments are very fleeting, and only go to show what this show could’ve been, had it received the love that it deserved.
I was so ready for this to be good, but alas it was once again proven that not everything is meant to be adapted. I think people are being a little harsh on it though, the difference between this and the previous adaptations of Ito’s works is staggering, so if another studio feels like having a go at it in the future, I’ll hope for an equal leap in quality.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Oct 19, 2024
The curtains finally close on the latest entry of the Monogatari Series. An installment in the franchise that, before airing, had many fans dreading the potential disappointment that it could’ve been due to recent troubles within the animation studio and the five-year hiatus the show had been on during this.
Thankfully, what we actually got in the end was a continuation of the series that, as far as I’ve understood, surpassed everyone's expectations (mine included). I'll be the first to admit that you could certainly feel the stiffness of the animation at times, but the oh-so-important style and direction of the franchise is unquestionably still
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there. If a couple of janky moments is what it costs to get a production like this, then I’d gladly pay the price any day of the week. It’s inspiring seeing Studio Shaft stay true to their form this far into the game, utilizing the myriad of possibilities that this medium provides you with to make some of the most visually engaging content in the industry.
I believe that it also helps that this season adapts some exceptional stories from the source material as well. I found myself thoroughly enjoying all three of them for completely different reasons, just as you’ve come to expect from this show.
-You get a single-episode story that’s just plain fun in the regular ol’ Nisioisin way.
-You also have a fantastically entertaining, yet deeply thought-provoking character introspective of someone whose story you thought had ended, yet had actually just begun.
-And lastly, the season finishes with a story that takes itself a bit more seriously, which in the process casually recontextualizes basically the whole series… yet again.
Outstanding stuff, it’s all there.
If there’s one last gripe with this season that I have to point out, it’d be the music. While all of the new tracks are genuinely great, they’re almost composed to a point where they kind of distract from the rest of the scene. Monogatari’s score has always been very “BGM:ish” due to its relatively low amount of physical action, and all of the dialogue doesn’t lend itself that well to the loud and attention-grabbing pieces that are heavily featured in these episodes. But that’s a very gratuitous nitpick, I just felt like I should have more to say about the continuation of my favorite anime.
All in all, I can't wait to see what's next in store for this franchise. Hopefully, they keep the ball rolling, and we have multiple seasons of amazing content ahead of us. In the meantime, let's hope they finally get to translating the rest of the visual novels.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 7, 2024
I can’t say I was ever the biggest fan of the first outing of the Tower of God adaptation, but it had a lot of stuff worth sticking around for, and I was really rooting for its potential sequel seasons to be great. However, much like a large portion of this show's audience, I’m severely disappointed by how this turned out in the end.
While I don’t believe that the change of studio is the only culprit of the drop in quality of this show, it certainly is the elephant in the room. What once was a visually unique show with a captivating atmosphere that
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managed to capture both the grandeur and the mystique of the setting, has turned into a generic and frustratingly cheap-looking adaptation that undoes all the work previously provided by its predecessor. The quality is, quite frankly, absolutely abysmal, and I can’t think of a single shot or action in these 13 episodes that satisfied me in any sort of way. Stiff, emotionless, and uninspired, are just some of the words I’d use to describe the presentation of this season.
But almost more importantly, I feel the actual content of this part of the story doesn’t really hit the mark as well. The majority of the characters that we knew are almost entirely absent in this season, replaced by a new, dull cast of characters that match the quality of the animation to a tee. I sure hope I’m not the only one finding these designs impossible to take seriously, because everyone looks so unfathomably stupid, no matter what they’re doing. Furthermore, you absolutely CAN NOT introduce this many characters at once and expect us to care about them. What you actually do is you drip-feed the audience with new characters, so that their personality and place in the story is well established before more start being introduced.
I also find it very difficult to recall just about anything that transpired during this season. I feel like nothing happened, all while everything (including the characters, status quo, etc…) changed between the two entries of the show. It’s such a weird way to tell a story and I do not jibe with it one bit. I cannot for the life of me see how the source material got as big as it did if this is how the rest of it is gonna go. I really do think this is a textbook example of “a more complicated story does not equal a better one”. I would’ve been perfectly content with following the previous seasons’ main group of characters for the majority of the story, but instead, it just had to go ahead and try to prove something that, in the end, it just couldn’t. A show like this should slowly build upon its relatively simple foundation, not throw it out the window as a sad excuse for a “hook” and have to start over from a much, much less compelling beginning. I get that maybe this'll come full circle in future installments of the Tower of God adaptation, and the previous characters become relevant again. But I haven't read the source material, and evaluating this as a single season leaves much to be desired.
Music’s still great though.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Oct 6, 2024
I don’t know if I was in a bad mood or something when I initially watched the first season of Oshi no Ko, because I was really mean to it for absolutely no reason… (okay maybe a little reason, but not to that extent). Either way, I’m delighted that I can say that I enjoyed this season quite a great bit actually, even though not that much has actually changed from the first one.
The production quality is of course still fantastic, it’s exactly what you should expect from a big-profile 2024 show. It manages to satisfy both criteria of having a recognizable, endearing, and high-fidelity
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art style, all while not having to sacrifice any of the actual animation. On top of having a consistent level of polish, it also features multiple sequences of absolutely stunning animation, some of which can be impressive from either a technical, choreographical, or even an artistic standpoint. Outstanding stuff.
Additionally, it still provides some insight into different aspects of the relevant industries that might’ve otherwise been totally overlooked by us not involved with them, and I think that’s great. It also continues to dabble in the psychosocial difficulties that come with being part of the showbiz world, which, I of course cannot testify to how realistic any of it is, but it makes for some great intrigue and drama. I still think it’s kind of like baby’s first venture into this kind of subject matter, but I digress. It is absolutely nothing new and has been portrayed in much more effective ways many times before, even in this particular medium, but not everything has to take itself that seriously, and it’s fine to not commit 100% to one aspect of your story.
Other than that, I give enormous props to the fact that we get to see Ruby’s and Aqua’s previous lives be relevant again. I really did not expect this to happen (I guess isekai has ruined my expectations), so I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that this is a thing, and that it hopefully can lead to some really interesting stuff in the eventual third season.
The developments in Aqua’s part of the story were also very welcome, even though I still absolutely loathe his guts. He is the half of this show that I have to deal with in order to actually enjoy the rest… I don’t know, maybe I’m just petty I don’t have a girlfriend myself or something. That certainly has affected my opinions on titles in the past and I fear for my journalistic integrity, amateurish as it might be.
I realize this review might’ve come across as needlessly negative (again), but just know that my thoughts on this season are overall positive. This is just one man’s ramblings about a show he doesn’t even care that much for, yet goes to great lengths to communicate his thoughts about it to the three people who’ll eventually maybe read this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 26, 2024
Unfortunately, this installment of Yuru Camp further proves what’s generally accepted nowadays, namely that it is entirely possible to have too much of a good thing.
After all, there’s only so much you can do with this premise. It’s a slice-of-life show, and a progressive narrative shouldn’t be expected, but this also entails that every episode should have something unique to portray. When the same characters, in the same setting, in the same part of their lives make up the bulk of a story, this much content is never warranted. There are simply not enough situations to illustrate these girls in, and room for growth
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is something we’ve already ruled out.
I find myself feeling that, if anything, it’s turned into a cooking show, more than a camping one. The themes of outdoor activities, connecting with nature, and finding kinship in shared interests are almost completely replaced by the same batch of characters (granted, in different constellations) simply exploring new recipes. In some cases, not even that. Some episodes are dedicated to them just eating, not going through the trouble of preparing the food themselves.
It doesn’t help that the studio change veered the visuals into an unfortunate direction, with almost photorealisticly detailed backgrounds, and what I believe to be inferiorly illustrated characters. Once again, more isn’t always better. The overly detailed environments adds nothing to the show and just comes off as… overly ambitious, if you will.
The saving grace here is that I still very much enjoy these characters. Simply watching them do stuff together is plenty as a selling point for this show, I just wish everything around them turned out better this time around.
5.5, thankfully doesn’t detract from the previous seasons, those are still pretty great.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jul 26, 2024
Upon going through my extensive backlog of shows I eventually want to watch, School Days finally arrived on my monitor, and oh boy did it live up to its reputation.
As much as I hate to say it, the first half of this show was actually kind of fun. Now, I’m not about to say that the characters are amazing, or that the writing is out of this world (I find that most of it is kinda shit actually), but goddamn this show somehow managed to really keep me intrigued. There’s just something about these stupid kids, repeatedly ruining their stupid relationships, while also doing
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other increasingly stupid things that’s more entertaining than I care to admit.
I really couldn’t tell you how the show so effectively invested me, in any other situation I would’ve absolutely hated its guts. Maybe it’s just my monkey brain feeling sad for the shy and cute love interest whenever her war criminal of a boyfriend does anything inappropriate.
Now, of course, this innocent fun doesn’t last for long, as somewhere along the line, the show completely jumps the gun and turns into a harem-fest devoid of anything that I might’ve enjoyed before. I have nothing against a fictional title portraying teenagers exploring their sexuality for the first time, but like, this is officially too much. By the time the notorious ending (which I miraculously hadn’t spoiled for myself until now) came around, nothing really mattered anymore, the show went insane long before the climax.
But it really has many of the individual pieces that you would find in an acceptable show, hadn’t it been too caught up in being the kind of story that it is. Staying on the path it laid for itself in the first half could’ve made for a potentially fine story, but it’s so adamant on having a shocking ending and delivering more than it initially promises that it entirely fumbles and turns into the meme that it is today… for better or for worse.
In short, there are much worse shows out there that don't bring anything to the table, and I’d much rather have something like this, that actually makes me feel something.
5.0, definitely delivers, just in all the wrong senses of the word.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Feb 27, 2024
Yuru Camp, one of those shows that makes me really mad about my seldom being able to get into anything from the slice-of-life genre.
Because this show is absolutely perfect, and it really nails everything that it's committed to showing and excels in the areas that it’s supposed to. I have literally nothing to complain about. You can tell this series comes from a place of passion, both from the original mangaka, Afro, and the team behind the adaptation, voice actors, animators, etc... The quality never drops, and almost every episode has something unique to portray that I can’t say you could find anywhere else.
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The medium is also well utilized whenever any outdoor scene is featured, wonderfully capturing the essence of the cold air, comforting soundscape, and the beauty of nature, even the relatively mundane iterations of it.
Needless to say, if you’re into this kind of stuff, you’ll have a great time with Yuru Camp, and I know many of you already have.
7.5/10 is my very biased score, but I totally get people giving this one a 10/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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