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The hardest thing about writing this review is trying to do it while being a first-timer to the franchise and without being swept away by the hundreds of people who are already familiar with it years ago and hype it all the time.

The question that comes to mind is: should we judge this anime based on today's standards or the time it came out?
Since I'm new to the world of Fruits Basket, I will not talk about the old version, but I will be mentioning the things that today's viewers may find clichés but should be taken with a grain of salt due to the ... nature of old shoujo mangas.
I will be breaking the review down to each area to make the process easier:

⚫Story: 6/10
You have the overused shojou formula of a naïve orphan girl that will end up living in the main guys' home, but what made it good and what's original is that the main guys are literally animals of the Chinese Zodiac and turn to their animal forms when hugged by the opposite sex. What's worth noting is that the girl is hardworking and doesn't just sit around being helpless and dense. She gets things done and care for others.
I might be wrong because the story is still getting shaped over the episodes, but this anime is more character driven than story driven.
We also have a mysterious talk about a certain "curse" that keeps us hooked, there's a lot of foreshadowing too.

⚫ Characters: 7/10
In the beginning of the anime, I wasn't familiar with the majority of the characters. But as the episodes went on, I realized that they grew on me and I started to cheer them on. This is when you know you have created a somewhat good character, because if not, the viewer doesn't sympathize or even care for them.
Tohru, while maybe not being a great lead, is good enough for this series' purpose. I still have yet to see her character dev-
Ah.. yes.
Character development. What took away from my enjoyment.
15 episodes already and the characters are still somewhat the same since episode 1.
At this point it feels like 24 episodes won't be enough to develop the characters furthermore, but if it was a 4 cour anime, then it might just do this area justice. I will leave this here and maybe edit it when the series finish airing because I have a feeling that the development will show later on (any manga readers can confirm this?)

⚫Animation: 8/10
I'm so glad they decided to make this remake with modern animation. I personally don't mind older anime (I actually love the feels of it), but I know that many people avoid certain good animes due to the old animation. This will help introduce Fruits Basket to a new demographic.
The animation is fluid, the colors are vibrant. The sparkles and glow that shows around the MCs out of nowhere is there too but it's done so well that it's not cringey at all. The backgrounds are detailed, no signs of lazy animation.

⚫Sound: 8/10
The first OP and ED were just IMPECCABLE. I loved them so much, they were just so good. The OSTs were also good, but when put next to the OP and ED they weren't something to speak of particularly.


In conclusion, with more character development and story progression (thus another, at least, cour) this anime may be a breath of fresh air to the shojou genre. I highly recommend it.

Lately, I've been thinking about how tiring it is to look for well-thought stories and characters in every single anime I wanted to watch. Sure, it is rewarding and feels satisfying by the end, but are the other animes that miss this complexity worth being missed or not given a chance? The answer that I reached is no.

Some animes are meant to be enjoyed in the same way you enjoy a little piece of candy. Do you get your nutritional needs met with that small piece of sugary, empty-caloried thing? Definitely not. But do you find joy in those seconds of melted sweetness? Yes.

Release the ... Spyce, despite being a spy anime, has nothing of the complex elements spy stories promise: blood, revenge, betrayal, and other dark themes. And you know what? It is completely fine. No one signed up for that anyway. There are literally hundreds of mysterious tellings of spy animes if that is your thing.

It is completely wrong to hate Release the Spyce for not being something it had never the intention of being from the beginning.

Release the Spyce is a very light intake on spies.

You have a fluffy relationship between the spies, the girls are cute (action and design-wise), not too dark villains, a few elements of comedic reliefs, and a hint of mystery to keep us hooked.

The plot is nothing to speak of because it seems that this is an episodic anime, meaning each arc is focused on one of the characters and their motives/developments, with one mystery going through all of the arcs.

The animation is fluid and the action scenes are very well done. The colors are vibrant when needed to be, and the sceneries are so fresh and soothing to the eye.

The characters are the main focus of the show. Yeah, sure, the organization and its goal of keeping the city safe is the premise, but what drives the story forward is how the girls interact, how they appreciate each other and group work.

In fine, if you go into this anime waiting for blood and plot twists and cute girls dying (shame on you!), then don't blame it on the show for being disappointing because it did not promise you that at all. Instead, sit back and let yourself enjoy cute girls living the illusion of a spy life.

There are certain shows that have the potential to be a hentai.
I am not joking. You know, the vast empty spaces, the lone male character, and finally the girls that throw themselves at him.
Imagine a perfect hentai setting: an isolated island, a male that lost his memory, and three girls that take turns in persuading him to, and I quote directly from the show, "mess them up". Add to this setting a little bit of mystery, the shadow of a plot, and there you have it: Island (minus the hentai).
The sad part is, upon watching the first episode, I thought "This has the potential to ... be a really interesting anime!". The visuals were very well done, the sound was heavenly, the sceneries were awesome, and the premise of a mysterious event that doomed an island sold me. As I continued watching, it all went downhill.
The main character is a cardboard. Scratch that. He is less than that. His role in the anime is to pop up at random moments during convenient times. He has no depth, no personality, nothing.
The three main girls are walking clichées.
We have the tsundere "baka!" orange haired girl, the loli that they managed to sexualize without the F.B.I breaking their door, and finally the hypersensitive deep white-haired girl.
Let's talk about the plot.
Done.
Oh, we haven't? That's because it's nonexistent.
The main character talks with the other three girls, and each time they mention something about a bad event, time travel, and the need to leave or change the future. That's it. Nothing goes forward
The problem is, it only seems to get worse throughout each episode.
This is easily a droppable anime, but I will finish watching it since it's only a total of twenty minutes per week and I need my weekly dose of cringe.

Who had enough of looking for a fulfilling romance in anime? Who got tired of the school-setting romance with dense characters that don't acknowledge their feelings until the last minute of the anime and they don't even hug or share a kiss? I don't know about you, but I have had enough!

I tried a lot of romance anime in search of one that has the characters confess in the beginning and then the remaining of the series is them developing their relationship. But I was always disappointed. That is until I came across Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii.

In the beginning, I tried watching the first ... episode just to reconcile my hopeless relationship with romance animes. I went in with low expectations but that first episode threw me off guard!

A confession in the first episode! I hope I wasn't dreaming! I replayed those two minutes until I believed my eyes, and my heart felt, for the first time in a very long while, full.

I grew accustomed to getting disappointed in things that start off too good, so I went to the second episode reluctantly. It just got better.

The anime revolves around two relationships. We get glances at how two 'otaku' couples live their everyday life at work, how they get through their days, how they support each other, and most importantly, we see glances of their love for each other and it's the cutest thing I have witnessed in a while. It has got a light-hearted comedy to complement everything and it works so well with the setting.

This is a very wholesome anime. It doesn't have the forced drama, the unnecessary love triangle, the frustrating misunderstandings that could have been solved with talking, the teen angst. It is a pure romance comedy to lighten your mood and make you feel good after a shitty day. It is a win to the romance genre.

Juuni Taisen is not a bad anime.

I wanted to start this show once it finished airing. I mean, a battle royale theme? Different and distinct characters? Survival? Sign me up!
However, I got caught up in life and forgot all about it until last weekend but when I checked its page, I found many negative reviews and 3/10 ratings here and there and all over the place.

Naturally, I started it with mixed feelings. I will be lying if I said I didn't think it was crap from the first two episodes.
However, once I finished the third and fourth episode, I started to re-evaluate my opinion. ... Was that opinion in the beginning really mine? I couldn't judge just yet.

As the series went on, I realized that my thoughts on the beginning were affected by the reviews I have read and a sudden realization hit me: "Hey! This anime isn't bad at all!"

My overall rating of it is 6, which is above the average.

I tried to understand why people have been quick to bash it, and I came to a few conclusions:

1- The very short fight scenes:
If you go on wishing for very long, epic, fight scenes, you will just be disappointed. This is not Dragon Ball or One Piece, where the fights stretch off for weeks. In Juuni Taisen, a fight will end within 3 seconds. But I grew to love this aspect because it took me off guard and the creators just found a different 'killing' way each time that I wasn't expecting.

2-The 'flashbacks':
Sixty (sometimes forty) percent of the episodes are background stories of the characters. I loved them because it made me feel sympathy for them and get to know them. If there wasn't any background story, how would we know of them? We would end up just watching twelve strangers fight.

Juuni Taisen was a very entertaining show. It mixed elements of thriller, paranormal, survival, drama and in my opinion succeeded in giving a fun anime to enjoy.
I loved the introductions of each character before each fight. I loved their individuality.
What lowered my rating would have to be the story. If there was more of a plot explored in depth, my rating would have been a solid eight. The concept of twelve countries fighting against each other, each one with a warrior that represented it, seemed to lack a lot. What is the cause of this conflict? Who are the people that bet on the winner? Why? What happens to the countries that lost their warriors?

All in all, this was a decent show that I enjoyed very much. I would definitely recommend it for a change of pace in the survival genre. Oh! I LOVED THE OP!

I opened my MAL list to update it, when I've seen it:

"ReLife 213/237"

"Huh? It used to be a "?" instead of a number meaning it was still ongoing...Does that mean that ReLife is...completed?"

Yes, it was. It really was.

I ran so fast, opened my reading tablet and checked its status from my manga app and I found the last few chapters and almost cried reading them.

This was such a ride from beginning to end. I got introduced to ReLife through the anime, and I don't know what made me pick up the manga since I don't usually do that and especially an ongoing manga since ... I tend to stay away from those. However, something in ReLife captured me and I couldn't put it down that night. I binge read it to its latest update, and each time a notification of an update popped up it made my day a little better.

You're a neet and have a hard time adapting to society, you meet someone who promises you a great job if you agree to an experiment: relive one year of high school. Would you accept this offer, if the stakes are high including memories of loved ones? This question is the base concept of the manga. We follow our character while he explores life a second time around, and he verifies the saying that goes "You can't read a book twice because it changes the second time."

Which brings us to the characters, and I think they're the strongest point of the manga. They were developed very well, whether they were main or side ones. They make you sympathize with them, get happy or heartbroken when they do. They felt like real people and not merely characters (but maybe that's because I've read this in the course of a few months what's with the updates and basically felt that I know them). Nonetheless, they were likable and endearing.

Overall, it's a read I didn't regret the least and would highly recommend it for a light ride but also packed with emotion right where you need it!

This is an anime solely for the heart and soul.

If you come here looking for a complex story with plot twists, a mature anime with solid characters' development, or an anime that will make you think about your existential crisis, then please leave and don't watch this.

This anime is made to cure the stressed, the pained, the broken, the harmed.

I come home from a very long and tiring studying day. All I think about is the exam I just had and the hunger in my stomach. All I see in front of me is (arctan) (log) (e) (t 1/2). Grosso modo, my soul is severely ... damaged as you can conclude. I jump on my bed and start watching 'Blend S'.

"What am I doing?" I ask myself. I usually watch horror and psychological, so truly, what am I doing?

Suddenly, something in my heart moved.

"What is this strange feeling?". My soul was being soothed and calmed. Before me was only sweetness and cuteness.

You truly don't know you're thirsty until you see water.

I started smiling to myself. I forgot about my exam. I felt a happiness I didn't know I lacked.

This is the sole purpose of this anime.

There is no story. You're just following our characters on their daily cute adventures inside their workplace -a café-.

Something important to mention is that this anime falls in the "comedy" genre, so don't be surprised if it gets a few laughs out of you. It's actually very welcome, thank you very much. It makes fun of the "tsundere", "sadistic", and the "onee-chan!!!", "obsessed with Japanese girls and an otaku" bland character types.

Everything is blissful: the opening and ending, the music, the animation... what more could my tired soul ask for? I watch this before a good night sleep so I can face the world the next morning with a little more ease.

I can't say this anime is my guilty pleasure of the season because I'm saying it with pride and fierce fierté.

Story : 4/10

Well, there really isn't any story in here. A guy who has never had a single hair on his body shaves for a very hairy girl. That's it.

Art: 8/10

I may be biased because this mangaka is one of my favorite ones out there, but I really love his art. It's very smooth and clean and so well done. The body proportions are realistic and the facial expressions are on point. Needless to say, I love it.

Character: 5/10

The manga is just 8 chapters long so there really isn't any development at all and we don't get to know the characters that well. Also, ... as known from the mangaka, the characters have ... weird tendencies or are just not normal. You will understand what I mean if you check out some of his other works (Aku no Hana, Marie..).

Enjoyment: 6/10

I read this during my lunch break to pass time, so I can't really say that I enjoyed it to the point where it made me skip a few spoons of my food to see what's going to happen.

Overall: 5.75 = 5

It's a very fast read (15 minutes or less) and it leaves you like (Um.. what did I actually read? no.. WHY did I read this?).
Enjoy reading about a guy shaving for a girl.

P.-s; I've made a promise to myself to read all of his works so this was the beginning of executing that.

Do you ever have a voice in your head that tells you when you decide to start doing something (Hey, this is bad. Don't do it). But you convince yourself that you're a rational and logical human that follows Descartes' doubt ideology and you shut the voice up. You start seeing signs that it really is bad, the voice screams (Stop already!) but you keep on going. When you're finished, the voice goes (Ha! I told you so). This is the experience that I had with Koi To Uso.

I have seen The Signs :

-an MC who has the brain and way of thinking of ... a three years old child.
-he can't even look a person in the eye for 0,03 seconds without blushing.
-he is portrayed as the good, nice guy but is actually a f***boy who kissed two girls in the same day without shame.
-we never know why he is loved so much since he is bland in every sense of the word.
-the two main girls are well aware of his indecisiveness and his playing with both of them, and guess what? They're bffs! They even cheer each other on!

The anime started with what seemed like a very interesting concept/idea: the government decides who your future husband/wife is, but it failed miserably to explore it.
We never knew how the calculations are made. How did the millions of citizens accept this new law happily like it was so natural? Why aren't there no rebel groups/organizations?
In the anime, we find out there is a character (who joins the MC harem) who is gay, and if we leave bad assumptions aside (for example that he's there just to serve as a drama factor or for a certain type of audience), we can say that it roses a very important question: What happens to citizens that don't identify themselves as straight?
Well, the anime doesn't really take itself seriously or cares about any topic aforementioned, as it's basically just a journey of the MC running and screaming (Girl 1 or Girl 2?).

As Schopenhauer stated: "The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom". Boredom is what made me watch Koi to Uso, and Mr.Arthur didn't lie. This anime really took away a percentage of my happiness (as well as my brain cells).

Story: 1/10

Plotholes? CHECK. Overused-characters-done-to-death? CHECK. Interesting events left unexplained and forgotten about completely? CHECK. Tragic clichéd back stories that try so hard to make the viewer cry? CHECK.
You have to be called BLOODIVORES in order to succeed in making all these appalling mistakes on the first 4 episodes.

First of all, the show is literally called BLOODIVORES, but we only see a glance of the characters' vampire tendencies for what...5 seconds? 15 seconds at most? And then it's forgotten for the rest of the episodes. Twilight anyone?
Secondly, the plot holes are so evident it was amusing. They said that a collar will explode if the ... person commits a murder, and it happened only once. Later on, lots of murders took place but guess what? NOT A SINGLE COLLAR EXPLODED. And that is just a small example.

Characters: 1/10:

Stereotypical horrible bland characters. You have the clichéd son of an important guy who *surprise* hates his father and looks rebel but is actually very kind. Wow, SO interesting! The girl with big tits who is nothing other than that. She talks and has big boobs and that's it. The shirtless guy who screams a lot, and the dummy friend in the group who acts courageously sometimes. WHAT A CAST!

Art: 2/10:

Pause the episode at any moment and discover the UH-MAZING art. Sometimes the characters are just lines, colored lines... The animation is distorted, badly executed. I'm getting tired just remembering it.

Enjoyment: 1/10

Solely because there isn't a 0 option. I really was looking forward to this anime and I hyped it a lot but... I'm not even sorry, to be honest.