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Apr 30, 2018
"一緒に帰ろうぜ"
tldr: Mary and the Witch's Flower told a beautiful and fun tale that managed to captivate the audience's heart. It may not have been perfect in terms of technicalities, but it is a very enjoyable experience nonetheless.
Minor spoiler alert.
Story: 8/10
The story is beautiful in the sense that it explores the innocence of the mind of a child—the troubles such innocence may cause. Despite the fact that it may be troublesome at times, the story also displayed how such innocence drives a child to be very optimistic, kind and loving. The story isn't too complicated to understand, but wasn't too simple either. There were times
...
that the story did some foreshadowing (ie. when the headmistress addressed how Mary's red hair is rare and is the mark of a powerful witch, it also implied how the witch seen in the first 5 minutes of the movie must've been related to Mary in any way). In essence, the story is very enjoyable, and easy to follow, therefore anyone who watches based on the story will not be disappointed.
While there are many positives to the story, I ended up giving it an 8 because I felt that the ending was a little too rushed; there was too lotle tome given for the climax to resolve itself, hence the movie ended in a way that felt a little abrupt.
Art: 10/10
While art is subjective and is up to preference, I must say that even if I looked at the movie objectively, there was nothing bad I could point out. I've always been a huge fan of Ghibli films, and this movie by Studio Ponoc managed to replicate the Ghibli aesthetic brilliantly. It felt like I was watching a Ghibli film again, and took me back to my childhood where I would watch films like Mononoke Hime with my mum. Heartwarming, beautiful and creative, the art in this movie was truly splendid.
If I had to point out my favorite scene in terms of art, it would be Charlotte's house. Her bedroom was so beautiful that I had taken screenshots as an inspiration to design my bedroom in the future. The view from her bedroom was phenomenal. Also, an honorable mention would be the scene where Charlotte crashes and the flowers fall to the ground. The blue glow that exploded from the flowers were beautiful, and the transformation of the nature around it supplemented it even more.
Sound: 10/10
While I've emphasized many times in my articles about how music plays a fundamental role in the success of an anime, this movie does not shy away from proving that point. The soundtrack was very good in a sense that it always matched the mood and settings present while it was being played. It may not have been the greatest soundtrack of all time, like the works by Joe Hisaishi, but it was far from being just average. It was good, memorable, and relaxing.
One thing I must point out is how amazing the ending song was. SEKAI NO OWARI have always been well-known around the world for their amazing talent, but the song, "Rain" played in the end was indescribable, even by their standards. It ended the journey we experienced while watching the film with a song that felt very comforting. Perfect way to end such a fantastic film.
Characters: 8/10
The characters in the story were crucial, especially the main character. While the story wasn't necessarily character-driven, the innocence of a child that got her into the problem in the first place, as well as her passion and bravery to save a friend are both only possible with a well characterized protagonist. The character development wasnt perfect, as characters like Peter felt a little abandoned by the narrative at times, but overall the quality of the characters are good enough to warrant an 8.
Enjoyment: 9/10
While individual aspects to a movie may be of value when we analyze said movie, most people are more concerned with the question, "Will I enjoy watching this?". Albeit many films have a strange discrepancy between enjoyment and technical quality, "Mary and the Witch's Flower" had nailed both very well. As previously highlighted the technical qualities of the movie was very good, but more than that, the sheer enjoyment of watching this film was simply intangible. I often lost track of time while watching, and my friends who had watched it with me, showed surprising amounts of enthusiasm with the development of the plot. It was beyond enjoyable. It was so enjoyable that you may start to wish to enter the world Mary was living in.
Overall: 9/10
While mathematically taking the score for all the factors discussed previously and calculating the mean will give a score of 9, even if we used an arbitrary yardstick to giving an overall score, I'd give this film a 9/10. It was near-perfect, and will remain in my memory as one of the best films of 2017 for a long long time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 28, 2017
Story: 7/10
Despite having "MMO" in the title, It's not really an Isekai/MMO-centered story like SAO or Log Horizon. Rather, it's about the players, and how their online life and real life are connected. In my opinion, the concept was a breath of fresh air. However, the execution of the story wasn't the best, as there were times that the plot became uninteresting, as well as lacking in any emotional nuance. This isn't to say that the story was bad, it could have been better, if the writer had put in more thought into developing the current story rather than rush into new events.
Art : 9/10
The
...
artistic value of an anime is always subjective, and depends on personal tastes. However the art in my humble opinion, is very nice, the color palette was nice, and the animation panels were fluid and consistent. It really gave that warm fuzzy feeling when watching.
Sound : 7/10
Although I absolutely loved tge opening, "Saturday Night Question", the overall use of sounds in the anime wasn't special nor memorable. The OST was meh, at best, but it wasn't bad enough to be noticable. I would say the execution of sound in this is anime is good, but not great.
Character : 9/10
This is where I really liked about the anime. The character development was very nice. It showed us how Morioka-san mathred as a person, along with those around her, and the whole process of maturing was enjoyable and felt natural. We saw her ups and downs in life, how she resolved them. The show brought perspective on the issue of overworking and Karoshi in an indirect manner. We also saw a very human side of the MC, her awkwardness in interacting with others, something we could all relate to. (Most of us). Other characters didn't get too much development due to the small number of episodes, but the interaction between multiple characters with the MC made the whole story feel very natural and enjoyable.
Enjoyment : 7/10
In my opinion, the show was easy to enjoy, for any individual. For casuals or hard-core anime fans, this anime had many to offer. Its humour, romance and relaxed slice-of-life feel made watching the show very enjoyable indeed.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 9, 2017
I'll keep this review short and simple for both you and me. (Spoiler free)
Story : 7
Story was OK. No different than the original Vorpal Swords ark in manga; no major changes that is noticible from the original story. Personally I thought the story was a little bit shallow, for both the manga and movie, and the whole ark was less interesting than the original story. Even so, the plot flow was good, no noticeable plot holes, redundancy, or overpacing.
Conclusion: Nothing special, but good execution. Good enough at least.
Art : 7
No different than the art style of the main KnB series. Animation panels were fluid,
...
aided in delivering adrenaline-packed basketball match scenes. Not breath-taking like Makoto Shinkai's artwork, but was very well suited for the nature of the story.
Sound : 9
I really really liked the soundtrack, including the opening and closing. It was very nice to hear. The voice acting was also spot-on, as it was really consistent, and every character had a diatinct voice that matched their personalities perfectly. If you closed your eyes, you would know who's the character speaking. One of my favorite Voice Acting performances in an anime. If you're a KnB fan, you already know this.
Character : 8
All the major characters had good development, and was memorable. Akashi, Kise, everyone in the cinema had their own favorite character; a testament to good character development.
Enjoyment: 10
Put aside plot, visuals whatever. If you just come to get entertained, you will, I promise. The match was very very exciting, the skills, the conflicts, the teamwork, all of it. It will make you sit there saying, "Holy smokes that was cool!"
Overall : 41/5 = 8.2
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 5, 2017
Just finished watching the movie at the cinema, TWICE, so I think my review will be well analysed.
The "Too Long, I didn't read" (TL;DR) version:
Sword Art Online : Ordinal Scale is an installment that sets out to please it's fans, and I must say, it certainly has succeeded in doing so. The action, romance, and nostalgic moments will certainly have SAO fans screaming in joy. However, for a non-SAO fan, beware. You will struggle to understand the plot, recognize characters, and enjoy the movie as a whole. I don't see any possible way for a non-SAO fan to enjoy this movie since it's plot is
...
very dependent on your knowledge on the original SAO plot. Not to mention, it's action is honestly not exciting at all for an average watcher and the romance will not be moving if you didn't know Kirito and Asuna's past.
Before we go on with the analysis of the movie, some FAQs.
"Before I watch the movie, should...
... I watch season 1?"
YES. Definitely. You should only watch this movie if you finished season 1, and liked it.
... I watch season 2?"
NO. No difference at all, apart from the fact that you may not recognize one or two faces.
... expect it to be like SAO season 1?"
No. I would say season 1 was better. It had more emotions, suspense, and action.
... expect it to be like SAO season 2"
No. This movie is INFINITELY better than season 2. Watch season 2 and you'll understand.
Now, onto the analysis. I assume you are a SAO fan from this point on. if not, don't bother reading anymore.
STORY - 7/10
If SAO season 1 had an intensely exciting and thrilling plot that keeps you on the edge of the seat, this movie, unfortunately, doesn't. However, this doesn't mean that the movie had a bad plot. In fact, I thought the plot was good given the fact that it developed nicely, doesn't feel too rushed, and didn't have any obvious plot holes.
The plot was simple, which is good and all, but maybe in a way, it was too simple. I personally could see what the ending is going to be about and what the motives of the villains are only 45 mins into the movie.
Given that, since the plot is developed well, wasn't stagnant and had no obvious holes, the story is definitely above average. However, the predictable and less exciting story made it difficult for the story to be given a score more than 7.
ART - 9/10
Not much to talk about here. The art has same quality as SAO. I know that art is subjective and it depends on your preference, however, I will generally describe the artistic value of this piece as neutral as I may.
The characters are drawn well enough to draw out emotions and feelings from the viewers. For example, the girls in the Anime are drawn good enough for anyone to believe that this is what a 'beautiful' girl and 'cool hero looks like.
The animation panels were consistence and the style didn't seem to deviate as the movie progressed. The fluidity of each passing scene felt natural and worked well in telling the story.
The colours in the movie are also not a problem. There were no blinding colours as observed in some bad Animation out there, (ahem, Pokemon) but were vibrant enough to keep the story alive, exciting, and action-packed.
The backgrounds were good and brought back lots of nostalgia from the original series.
One point I must say that made the ART SCORE drop to 9 instead of 10 is the final battle. I understand the producer's intention of making it exciting, but I thought that it was too fast that half the time, you can't really see what's going on. You can't really pick out whose sword is landing where.
SOUND - 10/10
The sound is great too. The OST were very good, (YUNA's songs are really good) and brought out all the emotions in every scene without necessarily overpowering the scene. The background music resonated with the emotions of the viewers, drawing them closer to loving the movie.
The Voice acting was impeccable too. There was no hint of inconsistency in the execution of the voice acting. Each voice fitted the role they were acting perfectly, making anyone, even non-Naruto fans, be able to tell apart who's voice belongs to who.
CHARACTER - 9/10
The characters were great, well developed, and not forced into the plot. It felt natural having everyone be where they were. The exchange between the main protagonists and villains were also great to the extent that it felt natural enough for anyone to develop empathy for the hero and develop anger against the villains.
The reason I'd say I give 9 instead of 10 was personally because of how the main character's powers are exaggerated too much to the point that he looked like god swinging around swords. I know that most people enjoy Kirito being OP, and I did too, but I thought it just became too OP for it to be enjoyable.
ENJOYMENT - 8/10
Overall, the action, adventure, suspense and emotions blended together perfectly into a movie that was very enjoyable. However, this movie is made to only tailor to it's fans, therefore it will definitely be difficult for a non-SAO fan to enjoy. I can bet any non-SAO fan that watch this movie will end up rating this movie with a score of 4 or lower.
Well, to sum up everything, this movie has every ingredient to make a SAO fan enjoy him or herself, and anyone watching it wouldn't realise 2 hours of their time passing by.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 4, 2017
Any fan of the Naruto series would say they are pleased with this installment.
My review will be tailored to fit all audiences, even those who never have watched Naruto, ever.
STORY - 7/10
The story was well developed and coherent to the canon plot of the Naruto : Shippuuden Series. This is no surprise as Masashi Kishimoto himself. The plot was strong and quite clear from the start, and worked well to develop at a steady pace and finish strong with a nice resolution. What you'd expect from a good plot, right?
Not entirely. I couldn't give the story a higher score than 7 because I realised
...
that a lot of the premises in the movie was based on the original series. This creates a problem for those who didn't follow the Naruto series, albeit the problem being not entirely major. I guess a Non-Naruto fan could still enjoy the movie, but it'd be impossible for them to enjoy it 100% and they would have to consistently bombard others with questions like: "What's that circular pattern eye? What's so special about it that everyone is shocked? Why is there a huge tree stump?"
However, assuming you have sufficient knowledge of the shinobi world (by sufficient, i mean more than just being able to identify which one is Naruto) you will surely enjoy the story, as there is just so much nostalgia.
Boruto behaves like Konohamaru when he was younger. Naruto becomes the "Itachi always busy" kind of guy. This kind of nostalgia.
ART - 9/10
Anyone who follows the Naruto series knows that animation quality and consistency is not one of it's strong points. (Just watch Naruto VS Pain and you'll understand) However, the producers really did it this time. A movie is definitely easier to animate than a 500+ episode series. Given this fact, the backgrounds, characters, powers, battles, special effects, were really good to the point that it would impress anyone.
The animation panels were fluid and consistent, and the animation style remained the same through out the story. The colours were vibrant enough to bring out the emotions of each scene, making anyone feel the nostalgia.
SOUND - 9/10
The sound is great too. The OST were very good, (as expected given that the Naruto series had some of the best OST ever) and brought out all the emotions in every scene without necessarily overpowering the scene. The background music resonated with the emotions of the viewers, drawing them closer to loving the movie.
The Voice acting was impeccable too. There was no hint of inconsistency in the execution of the voice acting. Each voice fitted the role they were acting perfectly, making anyone, even non-Naruto fans, be able to tell apart who's voice belongs to who.
CHARACTER - 7/10
The characters were great, well developed, and not forced into the plot. It felt natural having everyone be where they were. The exchange between the main protagonists and villains were also great to the extent that it felt natural enough for anyone to develop empathy for the hero and develop anger against the villains.
I must say, the one thing I didn't particularly like and had a problem is Naruto and Sasuke. They were too overpowered. (Well, it can't be helped really) I don't have a problem with their strengths, but the fact that they were so strong, it seemed illogical and unrealistic that Naruto could be in a pinch in any point in the movie.
That's why I could only give up to 7.
ENJOYMENT - 8/10
Overall, the action, adventure, suspense and emotions blended together perfectly into a movie that was very enjoyable. Anyone could watch the movie and say, "that was awesome!". In fact, some Naruto-otakus out there might end up watching this movie too many times in the future.
Well, to sum up everything, this movie has every ingredient of a good movie, and anyone watching it wouldn't realise 2 hours of their time passing by.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 4, 2017
TL; DR:
Letdown. What.. A.. Letdown.
If you haven't watched season 1 of Nisekoi, and wish to see my review on the first season, here it is : https://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=241765
I assume you have watched season 1. I gave Nisekoi Season 1 a score of 7 because the concept was unique, and that drove my interest to continue watching the series, in hopes that some form of resolution would be achieved in the end. That didn't happen. No closure was achieved and the plot was left hanging.
That's why we have season 2 right? NOT AT ALL. I promise you, even if you watch season 2, the story only progresses
...
by around 3%. It's obvious that Shaft is trying to milk this series by forcing a third season, but screw that. I can bet no fan has stayed on. Everyone has dropped Nisekoi, and for good reason. NOTHING HAPPENS.
STORY - 2/10
Ughh. I'm not gonna bother elaborating this too much. The story is dreadful for FOUR reasons.
First, NOTHING HAPPENS. Yes, That's right. There is no plot. The continuation of the concept from Season 1 didn't work because nothing happened. The love dispute continues. We have no clue who Raku made the promise to. In fact, the promise is only mention once in season 2. I'm not sure whether the producers forgot what the story was, or they stop caring entirely.
Second, POINTLESS FILLERS. Say what?? Fillers? But season 2 only has 12 episodes? Yes, exactly. With the limited episodes they have, and the dumb decision to fit in fillers, the plot completely stops moving. Not to mention, the filler was corny, and seemed like it was pulled out from a weirdo's fetish dream. MINOR SPOILER ALERT! (Skip to next paragraph to avoid reading the spoiler) It was about Magic girls or something. Go on. Check. This Anime never was meant to be a magic genre, but somehow, that filler was there.
Third, ANOTHER CHARACTER. *sigh*. There is a major problem when your original characters are already suffering from insufficient screentime. But introducing a new and extremely annoying character just killed it for me. The new character had ZERO relevance to the main plot, interacts with the hero for around only 4 episodes, only to drown in the background with the rest of the badly developed characters.
Fourth, and finally, FAN SERVICE TO OBVIOUSLY COVER FOR THE LACK OF SUBSTANCE. There you have it. They used the old tactic of fan service to distract you from realising that the story stopped moving. What's more, the fan service sucks too. It's not even something worth getting excited for.
ART - 8/10
BEAR IN MIND, EVALUATION OF QUALITY OF ART AND SOUND IS MADE INDEPENDENT FROM THE STORY (This means, the terrible story didn't affect the art and sound)
Okay. I'll be fair to this series and say, two aspects (Art and Sound) are the only thing worth praise in this Anime. I know that art is subjective and it depends on your preference, however, I will generally describe the artistic value of this piece as neutral as I may.
The characters are drawn well enough to draw out emotions and feelings from the viewers. For example, the girls in the Anime are drawn good enough for anyone to believe that this is what a 'beautiful' girl looks like.
The animation panels were consistence and the style didn't seem to deviate as the series progressed. The fluidity of each passing scene felt natural and worked well in telling the story.
The colours in the Anime are also not a problem. There were no blinding colours as observed in some bad Animation out there, (ahem, Pokemon) but were vibrant enough to keep the story alive, cheerful happy. This tone suits the story and didn't feel unnecessarily forced.
The backgrounds were to a certain extent good, but definitely not special. Not something worth remembering, and certainly doesn't make you pause the video and say, "wow". It's not bad though, I must say, as the backgrounds didn't interfere with the telling of the story.
SOUND - 8/10
First, let's talk about the opening themes. In my opinion, it was perfectly suited to the tone of the story. The cheerful, fast paced melody is in a way a metaphor to show the cheerful, ever-so-happy attitude of high school kids and the innocence of love. The opening themes might not land in everyone's Itunes playlists, but if you hear it, even once, you would already be able to guess what the story is about.
More importantly, the voice acting. BEAR IN MIND, I WATCHED THE ANIME IN JAPANESE AUDIO. The Japanese voice actors fit into their roles very well. In fact, the tones they had were appropriate to how their characters were portrayed in the series, so much so that you can easily tell apart who's voice belong to who even if the screen went black. Never in the series did the voice acting sound unusual, unnatural and forced. Not once. Kudos to the voice actors.
CHARACTER - 3/10
I always emphasize this : in any Animation series, we want ALL the major characters to grow as a person and reveal who they are as a person naturally, without forcing it. This means, we would like to observe how a character behaves, not be told how they behave. The development of some characters were severely lacking, and it was obvious too. I know that in any Harem, it's hard to balance the screentime of every girl, however, if the series were to introduce a major and important character so late into the series, and not bother to develop that character, they might as well not introduce the character at all. What's the point of having such an important character be unnaturally forced to fit into a plot if it just clutters everything and ruins the character as a person?
Plus, The new character was bloody annoying, when she wasn't meant to be. (Once you watch this series, you'll get it.)
ENJOYMENT - 4/10
The rule of thumb for any harem is this; You must have good plot OR you must have good fan service.
This series had none of those. It was difficult to watch this series. The only thing that kept me going was the desire to seek closure from season 1. (But in the end, I didn't get any closure)
I must say, Shaft really lives up to their bad reputation. This is the proof.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Mar 2, 2017
TL;DR:
A high school boy, the heir of a yakuza gang, is forced into a relationship with a girl from another gang, when his heart is actually set on finding his dream girl; a girl he made a promise to 10 years ago but whose identity he no longer remembers. The story had so much potential, but the circular plot that resolved nothing in the end, became a disappointment. The question, "who was the girl 10 years ago" was never answered, and it dragged on too long it kinda makes anyone lose interest in actually finding out the answer in the second season.
I would say, this
...
Anime is good enough to make you enjoy it till the end, but not so much that you would consider continuing with season 2.
Music, Art and Voice acting isn't really a problem. It was well executed, but not overwhelmingly good that it merits an Oscar Award.
STORY - 7/10
I must say, anyone, including me, would have really high hopes considering the unique concept of the story. The premise of a fake and forced relationship due to gang wars definitely might sound original and cool, but I must say, the story fell a little bit short and didn't deliver to it's full potential.
Anyone would want to know who the mystery girl 10 years ago is, and its fun to see that her identity isn't too straightforward. However, as the producers wanted to make the mystery complex, it ended up involving too many people and the confusion just ends up losing the interest of any watcher. It's fine to have 2 potential girls who could be the mystery girl, but to suddenly and abruptly introduce another girl in the middle of the series (and reveals that this new girl is also potentially the one), it became very messy and cluttered. Not to mention, it became unrealistic. A coincidence could happen twice, but three times? That's too much of a stretch for anyone.
The aren't any fillers or plot holes that were obvious to the average viewer, however, the plot was very circular because what you knew as you started the series, remains the same even when you end the series.
ART - 8/10
Not much to talk about here. I know that art is subjective and it depends on your preference, however, I will generally describe the artistic value of this piece as neutral as I may.
The characters are drawn well enough to draw out emotions and feelings from the viewers. For example, the girls in the Anime are drawn good enough for anyone to believe that this is what a 'beautiful' girl looks like.
The animation panels were consistence and the style didn't seem to deviate as the series progressed. The fluidity of each passing scene felt natural and worked well in telling the story.
The colours in the Anime are also not a problem. There were no blinding colours as observed in some bad Animation out there, (ahem, Pokemon) but were vibrant enough to keep the story alive, cheerful happy. This tone suits the story and didn't feel unnecessarily forced.
The backgrounds were to a certain extent good, but definitely not special. Not something worth remembering, and certainly doesn't make you pause the video and say, "wow". It's not bad though, I must say, as the backgrounds didn't interfere with the telling of the story.
One unique point of discussion in this Anime is the flashbacks. The flashbacks are made to look like a playback on a 1960's black and white film. I had no problem with this, in fact, I kinda liked it as it made it obvious that this unclear film was a depiction of the main protagonist's poor memory over the events that unfolded 10 years ago.
SOUND - 8/10
First, let's talk about the opening themes. All three were in my opinion, perfectly suited to the tone of the story. The cheerful, fast paced melody is in a way a metaphor to show the cheerful, ever-so-happy attitude of high school kids and the innocence of love. The opening themes might not land in everyone's Itunes playlists, but if you hear it, even once, you would already be able to guess what the story is about.
Second, the closing. This is a bit more interesting as the tone is not just cheerful, but it is to a certain extent, kawaii. This kawaii melody compliments the cheerful and playful attitude of the story and doesn't make you forget what you are currently watching.
Finally, the voice acting. BEAR IN MIND, I WATCHED THE ANIME IN JAPANESE AUDIO. The Japanese voice actors fit into their roles very well. In fact, the tones they had were appropriate to how their characters were portrayed in the series, so much so that you can easily tell apart who's voice belong to who even if the screen went black. Never in the series did the voice acting sound unusual, unnatural and forced. Not once. Kudos to the voice actors.
CHARACTERS - 6/10
Here's where I had a problem. The character development. In any Animation series, we want ALL the major characters to grow as a person and reveal who they are as a person naturally, without forcing it. This means, we would like to observe how a character behaves, not be told how they behave. The development of some characters were severely lacking, and it was obvious too. I know that in any Harem, it's hard to balance the screentime of every girl, however, if the series were to introduce a major and important character so late into the series, and not bother to develop that character, they might as well not introduce the character at all. What's the point of having such an important character be unnaturally forced to fit into a plot if it just clutters everything and ruins the character as a person?
This asymmetry of influence that each protagonist have resulted in unbalanced development. Often we had seen too much of one character and at the same time, we saw too little of another character. The relationships between the characters felt alien and illogical as a result. This made the love dispute unbelievable and sound corny.
ENJOYMENT - 8/10
Despite having some major setbacks in terms of character development, the concept of the story was already fundamentally strong, strong enough to support the interest of any watcher to continue watching till the end. It didn't necessarily become boring or repetitious at any point although it might have become quite confusing near the end. The presence of some fan service as well as drama is enough to draw the attention of any average anime fan, and the mystery was compulsive enough to make us stay curious throughout 75% of the whole series.
All in all, the Anime was good but could have been better. Worth a watch but not worth a rewatch.
Fake Love? Doesn't look Fake to me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 2, 2017
I must say, this Anime must be hard to review, given it's dichotomous nature. Half say it's terrible, worthy of a 1, and the other half say it's perfect and deserves a 10. I'll be among the few to analyze this anime holistically in a fair manner, and put aside non-quantifiable factors. (Ie. Kobayashi is Kawaii! As many would argue)
[BEAR IN MIND, AT THE TIME OF WRITING THIS REVIEW, I HAVE WATCHED 20 EPISODES WITH JAPANESE VA, AND I AM PRETTY SURE THE OTHER 4 EPISODES ARE LESS LIKELY GOING TO AFFECT THE ACCURACY OF THIS REVIEW TOTALLY, THEREFORE THIS REVIEW WILL NOT BE RENDERED
...
USELESS AS THE SERIES ENDS.]
STORY - 7/10
The crux of any anime would be the quality of the story in terms of how it is written, how it was executed and how it generally made everyone feel. It would be unfair to say this Anime is totally terrible based on the first 7 episodes or so, because I must admit, the plot was developing very slowly at the time and often came to a standstill, making it quite boring at the start, however, as the series progressed, it definitely got better.
The story mainly revolves around the mysterious Kobayashi, and his journey to solve his existential crisis via suicide. Then comes the Boys Detective Club, and many more. Overall, the initial questions like "Who is Kobayashi? How did he get his powers? Why does he want to die?" often motivates anyone to keep watching and as the story develops and the truth starts being uncovered, it gets very interesting and you'll definitely say, "Man, didn't expect that coming." The subplots were far from being boring and often fed to the narratives pretty well, keeping the adventure intriguing and exciting. Sudden plot twists and the use of suspense in the ending of certain episodes will compel you to watch the next episode. I remember staring at the calendar, waiting for the next episode to air.
The story develops nicely, in a well-mannered pace. There was no signs of a forced conflict or forced resolution, and the pace of the story overall felt natural. It was not far from being simple, and you could never expect what's gonna happen next. It wasn't too complicated to the point that it puts you in a state of confusion either. Each episode kept feeding to the narratives consistently and the progression of the story felt fluid. It wasn't necessarily episodic, nor was it too shallow. Each episode satisfies the watcher with the mystery being solved, at the same time slowly develops the main plot in an unrushed manner.
The development of the story also didn't felt monopolized by the main character entirely. Subplots regarding other characters (ie. Hanasaki) were also VERY VERY entertaining and sometimes, you would feel more interested in watching the other character's story develop.
The setting being 2030 also felt realistically coherent with the premise of each mystery and the dependence of the detectives on certain tools were acceptably "cool".
All in all, the story was good in a sense that you are dying to know the secret of Kobayashi, and still enjoy the amazing abilities of the detectives and the villain.
ART - 8/10
Art was very good in a sense that it delivered what the Anime needed. A fresh vibrant design that feels youthful, depicting the nature of the Boys Detective Club, and at times, dark and creepy enough to display the vile and conspicuous nature of the villain, fiend with 20 faces.
There were no fluctuations in quality of the animation panels that were noticeable enough, and each episode delivered the same style consistently as expected, in very good quality.
The background was memorable enough to make you remember that the setting is in 2030, without you being directly reminded of that fact. The background felt realistic enough for us to buy that this might possibly be what the world looks like in 13 years.
SOUND - 8/10
First, lets talk about the themes. "Kimi dake no Boku de Iru kara (キミだけのボクでいるから)" by GACKT which was the opening theme in the first 12 episodes was in my opinion, really good and a little bit better than the second opening theme. It made the series feel exciting and adventurous, which is what you'd expect from the setting and the synopsis. The closing, "1HOPE SNIPER" by Azusa Tadokoro was also fairly good, and as I progressed through the series, I have never skipped it. It is not, however, so good to the point that it automatically earns a spot in my Itunes playlist. The second opening and closing themes, "Unmei Dilemma (運命ジレンマ)" by Azusa Tadokoro and Tsumi no Keishou: Original Sin (罪の継承～ORIGINAL SIN～)" by Gackt were okay I guess, as it didnt necessarily force me to skip or mute the video, which is quite a good sign given that most other anime don't earn this priviledge.
Second, let's talk about the background music. The sound team really did their job in making sure no scene felt dull, and all the background music help develop the emotions of the scenes without necessarily overpowering it. Besides, no one wants a fight scene with no action music, but no one wants a sad scene where the music is louder than the voices either. The execution of the background music was top-notch and the emotions of each scene was successfully delivered due to this.
Third, and arguably most important, the voice acting. Again, let me remind you I watched the Anime in Japanese Audio. So how was the Japanese Voice Acting? Solid. Each Voice Actor played into their role perfectly and naturally, emulating the intended traits of each character. Easiest example would be the villain, Fiend with 20 faces. His voice actor sounded so creepy and vile, which was good as this made the villain realistic and made me sympathize with the heroes in efforts to stop the villain. Kudos to Gackt!
CHARACTER - 8/10
As I mentioned before, character development was very good. Each character was given to show their traits and behaviors, without unnaturally forcing it. It felt real, and at what point, I felt so much pity for the protagonist that I wanted to personally help him die.
Also as mentioned, character development wasn't monopolized by one party, (needless to say, many Anime series only allow the main protagonist to develop) but everyone developed, whether in individual subplots, or in the major plot.
In a nutshell, the characters are very, very memorable and relatable. You can feel the agony felt by Kobayashi, and understand why he wants to die. You can also feel the pain felt by Hanasaki, so much so that you justify his wrong actions. The characters, as emphasized again and again, great.
ENJOYMENT - 7/10
We have arrived at the place where most would skip to. The discussion of whether "this anime is worth my time". Let me say this. YES.
The series felt enjoyable as at times I felt excited, at other times I felt sad and angry, which is expected from a good Anime. Needless to say, it doesn't matter whether you're into mysteries or not, this anime will definitely not disappoint if you stay till the end. The endeavors of the Boys Detective Club against the notorious Fiend with 20 faces will certainly occupy your time, and keep you at the edges of your seat as you wait for the next upcoming episode, and will make you wish they made more, when the series ends.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 2, 2017
(TO MAKE MY ALL MY REVIEWS WELL ANALYSED AND FAIR, I WATCHED THE WHOLE SERIES TWICE AND LIST DOWN THE PROS AND CONS IN THE SECOND TIME)
Is it wrong to pickup girls in a dungeon? Never found the answer, not eager to keep searching.
STORY - 4/10
(Evaluation for the quality of the story of this series is made void of other factors, like the artistic value, sound and characters)
We can all agree that a story is what makes an Anime worth considering or not. When it comes to this series, honestly, the story is so mediocre, that you'd confuse it as an adaptation of a
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children's storybook. It was a combination of simpleton thinking and unnecessary over-complication. What I mean by this is that this anime on one hand is so simple that you'll say it's cliche every 5 minutes or so, but on the other hand, is so complicated that you can hardly understand what is going in a particular scene.
That's why I'd say this Anime is an adaptation of a 5 year old's imagination. It's a cliche story of a boy who is a loser working hard to become a hero to impress girls and in the end succeeds in doing so. Somewhere along the way, I asked myself, "am I watching an Anime written by a Sword Art Online fan?"
The pacing was obviously rushed to the point that the climax didn't develop more than 2 episodes and the ending got everyone saying; "That's it??" The lack of exposition and proper development of the settings in the Anime made it hard to follow the plot. I swear I asked myself "What is Hestia doing? Why are there weird symbols and stuff?" almost every episode.
The story is overall quite disappointing but I guess it doesn't completely ruin the enjoyment of the Anime. (I'll explain more below) If you are the type to watch Anime based on the quality of the story, don't bother with this series. If you're going to watch this series, expect many plot holes (like the explanation of how the universe in this anime actually worked), a rushed climax resolution, and a disappointing ending.
ART - 8/10
(Evaluation for the artistic value of this series is made void of other factors, like the quality of the story, sound and characters)
The art was very good in a sense that the setting felt realistic enough for you to experience and indulge the events as they are happening. I actually almost forgot that the story was bad because the Animation was good.
The Victorian-esque setting worked and anybody would be convinced that the story would've taken place in Victorian times. It suited the premise of the story and it helped compliment the adventure. The art was enough to make you react to it (like the realistic depiction of blood made me uncomfortable since I suffer from Hemophobia) and is quite memorable. The character's designs were perfectly suited to the target audience (younger audiences) where the colours and curves of the characters are exaggerated to give a youthful and sexually attractive feeling. This also made the characters look suitable in accord to their traits and personalities, and they were unique enough to make you able to distinguish their behaviors just by their looks. The animation panels were fluid and consistent enough for anyone to overlook any minor changes or fluctuations. The backgrounds however, were nice, but not special. It wasn't breath-taking enough to make me pause the video and say, "wow" thus I couldn't really rate the art higher than 8 for this reason alone.
In a sentence, I would say the art is good enough to make you keep watching even if you hated other aspects of the anime (story, characters, etc.)
SOUND - 6/10
Firstly, let's talk about the opening theme. Any fan of ecchi would expect the theme to be joyful youthful and sound a little bit enticing (if that's the best word to describe it), and well, that's more or less what you get from this series. The theme isn't bad enough to deserve being skipped every episode, but it's not special enough to earn a spot in your Itunes playlist. In fact, give yourself a week and you'll probably forget what the theme was like.
Secondly, the OST. It is not special, not enjoyable, but not trash. There were some tracks that aided in the development of the story, and didn't overpower the plot, but some scenes lack the track to make it feel emotional and strong. In other words, the background music won't make your heart beat faster when the scene is supposed to make you feel excited, but isn't trash enough for you to consider muting the video.
Thirdly, the voice acting. (BEAR IN MIND, I WATCHED THE SUBBED VERSION, THEREFORE MY THOUGHTS WILL BE BASED ON THE JAPANESE VOICE ACTORS). I had no problem with the voice acting. In fact, I guess it was to a certain extent good enough for you to believe that the voice actor was actually the Anime character. The voice actor for the main character even made it believable that he is somewhat innocent and just wanted to be a hero. All in all, I must say, the voice acting was fair enough to merit the sounds of this Anime a score of 6.
CHARACTER - 4/10
This is another aspect where I had quite a problem with the series.
The main character was probably the only one I must say deserves to be glossed over. After all, he's a young boy entering adolescence, obviously he'll be quite impulsive, unstable and to a certain degree quite the pervert.
The other characters however, where your typical set of girls. Ms Perfect, Ms Pervert, Ms Powerful, etc. The characters are so cliche that you wouldn't even bother remembering their names. Their development wasn't good either. It was rushed and quite illogical. For a perfect heroine who has everything she wants suddenly feel pity for a boy who's being picked on for starting from the bottom, it felt like a stretch to me. I didn't see the coincidence in the bar (this is where their relationship started to develop) to be believable and realistic. It sounded like the producer wanted to force the main protagonists to get along for no apparent reason. The backstory and exposition behind the characters were too rushed to the point that the character's motives isn't something you figure out from the events, but rather it is something directly told to you. They are definitely not special and memorable, so you wouldn't even remember their names. Not even the main hero, in fact.
ENJOYMENT - 5/10
Okay, let's be fair. Good story and perfect character development isn't everybody's cup of tea. Some may prefer blatant fan service and simple humour. I took that into consideration. Throughout the series, you will not run out of fan service, and if that rocks your boat, hey, great! The girls in this anime will keep you entertained!
But in a holistic evaluation, not even the fan service was enough to compensate for all the shortcomings of the series. The story will definitely annoy you at some point and the characters will fade away from your memory faster than you know it, and this will make it quite difficult to enjoy the series to the max.
That being said, this doesn't mean this Anime is completely unwatchable. To a certain extent, the adventure was exciting enough for you to keep rooting for the cute little hero. Even if you may get bored along the way, isn't that what the fan service is for though? You will somehow get through this Anime without gouging your eyeballs and cursing the kami, that's for sure.
VERDICT = MEDIOCRE
OVERALL RATING = 5.4/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Mar 2, 2017
This review is meant to be short, and spoiler-free for those who are asking themselves, "Should I bother myself watching this Anime?"
STORY - 8/10
Well you see, most Slice Of Life Anime would have you snoring and saying to yourself, "What? There's more episodes for me to watch? Mendoukusaii!!" but Kimi To Boku is definitely NOT one of those.
Simply said, the story is not too complex that it becomes a turn off, but not too simple that would make you wonder, "what the hell were the producers thinking?"
The climax might not be about Alien Invasions or such, but it's quite interesting. We follow the development of
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5 best friends as they journey through High School, which has it's ups and downs. What's particularly interesting is Chizuru, who only joined the group whereas the other 4 have been the best of friends since kindergarten. In this adventure through adolescence, they experience everything. Funny moments, love, dating, conflict, confusion, etc. What's more, these 5 friends are very cheerful and have personalities of their own, making the exchange between the 5 very refreshing and entertaining. I AM NOT LYING WHEN I SAY, THIS ANIME IS ENTERTAINING. Whether you watch it at night or during daytime, you'll probably end up smiling and say, "I need to watch the next episode!"
With many things that keeps you on the edge of the seat, like the question, who will Masaki AKA Mary-chan, end up with? Chizuru or Shun? Will Yuuki ever get interested in anything? Will Yuuta seal his relationship? Will Kaname's interest in older women turn into a possibility? Question that can only be answered by watching the series.
ART - 10/10
Not much to say, other than the fact that the way the characters and overall the anime is drawn to perfectly suit with the theme.
A quote from the series, said by Azuma-sensei, "I thought growing older would turn me into an adult. I believed I'd find work, get married, and become an adult. But none of those things have happened. Even though I've grown older, I feel like nothing's changed."
The art in this anime completely depicts youth and shows the innocence and happiness of the 5 friends as they journey through high school. The colours are refreshing and cool, making the anime feel calm, but not at all dull. Even from the first scene where Shun was seen under a Sakura tree, the beauty of the scene just highlights his innocence and gives the anime the first impression that it is probably gonna revolve around the same premise. The character designs are not too forcefully drawn, making the teen-aura resonate throughout the whole series.
SOUND - 10/10
The background music, the sound effects like the rustling of the leaves being slowly blown by the breeze, the indistinct chatter in the background resembling a high school in reality, it's all just too perfect to describe.
Again, I'm talking based on context. Obviously the sound and music isn't as high-end as anime like Your lie in April, but it suits the Anime's desire to keep the setting calm and soothing.
The opening and closing themes are definitely one of the favourite things in this anime, as it is so rejuvenating and brings back your personal memories in your high school, and also hints the strong bond between the 5 friends.
Overall, it suits the anime very well, kudos to the people in charge.
CHARACTER - 10/10
PERFECT, MEMORABLE, INTERESTING, AND REALISTIC.
There are 4 words to sum up the character development. Overall, it was nice to see that the character development wasn't too forced or rushed, and whenever it was necessary, some backstory and exposition through flashbacks showed how the 4 friends (excluding chizuru, since he's new) have been close all these years, and also showed natural development that made us say, "wow, they're really close."
It didnt feel too forced through unnecessary emphasis and obvious statements, but the development was good enough for anyone watching to buy the fact that these friends were close to the point that they would do anything together. To describe how the main characters are;
CHIZURU - PLAYFUL, THE "BAKA" OF THE GROUP, FRIENDLY and LOYAL, his main trait is his carefree attitude that only wants to have fun, making him earn the nickname, "monkey"
SHUN - KAWAII, INNOCENT, LOVES THE GROUP A LOT, and CARING, his main trait is that he is very polite and to certain degree quite feminine, making him confused as being a girl by many.
YUUKI - OTAKU, TALENTED, PLAYFUL, LAZY, his main trait that he doesn't bother himself with anything that doesnt make him happy. That's why he can be very irresponsible and only cares about hanging out with the group or reading manga, eventhough he is VERY talented in sports like basketball. This is what makes him known as the "lazy younger twin".
YUUTA - RESPONSIBLE, KIND, WELL MANNERED, TALENTED, his main trait is that he will always carry out what is required of him to his fullest extent, and his main priority in life is to make his younger twin, yuuki, be able to live happily, all while being happy himself. This is what makes him known as the "responsible older twin"
KANAME - SMART, WELL DRESSED, WELL MANNERED, SHY, his main trait is that he always tries to maintain the "matured" look eventhough deep inside, the kid in him is still alive. This is why he is always picked on by Yuuki and Chizuru, because his anger is amusing and funny to watch.
ENJOYMENT - 9/10
I am positive that even if you are not a fan of the slice of life genre, you will still enjoy this anime, even if it's not definitely your favourite anime.
This Anime has so much to offer. Laughs, smiles, and occasionally some cringes (due to Chizuru's funny antics) and you will not realize as time flies by, you're already done with the whole series and you kinda wish you were among the 5 friends because their adventure was just so amusing.
OVERALL - 9/10
In a nutshell, you will find that this anime has quite a lot to offer and you will not get bored. Maybe some scenes are quite cliche, but overall, this is compensated by the thrilling adventure that these 5 teens go through, and you'll definitely laugh, smile and cry along with them!
Go on! Give this Anime a try and add it to your watchlist now!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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