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Feb 3, 2025
Sorcerous Stabber Orphen. If there was a title that is more forced, I haven't yet seen it. This is an interesting case for sure.
The series starts with three episodes that make you ask "should I continue watching?," then transforms into a great story, then the great story turns into a 1970s 1980s Hong Kong kung-fu film, then ends in the most ambigious manner.
The animation is godawful. I understand it is based on a 1998-1999 anime series and, I didn't check but probably an even earlier manga. The drawings cannot be found anywhere else in the 21st Century apart from Detective Conan, they are that
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bad. The music is completely out of tune, out of character, and meaningless. The characters are not well defined at all. So, a lad named Krylancero grows up in an orphanage with two girls and all three of them are transferred to a school for sorcery, and even though the boy is about up to 10 years younger than the girls, he is in the same class with them. Dramatic things happen, he leaves the school to find Azalie, one of the two girls he grew up with. In the five years that follow, he chooses the name Orphen as he is an "orphan", somehow becomes a loan shark who can not pay the rent for his boarding house room. He meets with two kids and two dwarves and a myriad other people and all the characters are made off of cardboard as they don't develop at all, or far worse, they do develop the moment development is required on the script. The affair with the girl Azalie is very complicated, even incomprehensible because the writer made a mess of the story's continuity. There is a church, an upper echelon of sorcerers whomever they are, a cult, rangers, royal family, and none of these lift a finger when people massacre others in the middle of the big city. Also, there is no background story that illuminates who and what these people and institutions are.
Still, have I managed to watch it from one end to the other; yes I did and I have a tendency to drop anime shows 10 minutes into them. Did I enjoy it; I surely liked more than half of the episodes. Would I recommend it? Only if you are bored, don't have anything else to read, watch, or listen to.
So, not the best show ever, but it is watchable.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jan 20, 2025
Da Wang Rao Ming / Spare Me Great Lord is one hell of a great donghua. I had watched a few and didn't like most, liked Link Click and Dragon Raja a lot, and yet this one surpasses them.
Firstly, the characters are as realistic as animation industry permits. Secondly, they have growth during the season which is great. The story is easy to understand, very easy to follow, and it tells us how things develop very clearly which is a great plus as far as anime/donghua storyline progresses are concerned.
Animation is very good and there is none of that 3D nonsense of many Chinese
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animations have and everything is very nicely drawn and animated. Fight scenes are great and very well choreographed and normal interactions look great, too. I liked the opening theme quite a bit and generally the music score overlaps with what is on the screen.
The main character has a great speciality - he increases his "points" by annoying people and that gives Spare Me Great Lord tons of good humorous situations. Also, there is a great number of very well-depicted, very well-placed secondary characters including the sister and the wonderful, mysterious, and cool Jiang Shuyi. The storyline is consistent throughout the season and we can see how things and characters develop in time and in different situations.
I truly loved this show and I recommend it quite a lot.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jan 18, 2025
So, Hagure Yuusha no Estetica/Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero is such an interesting case study in anime. It has all the clichés, tropes, all the fan-service imaginable, it is made in a colour the dots kind of way, and yet you still want to continue watching it.
Overpowered hero who is somewhat lacking in magical abilities? Check.
Said hero being very cheeky and ecchi? Check.
Two worlds co-existing in a strange manner? Check.
Completely dumb and useless heir to the Dark Lord who falls for the hero in an instant? Check.
Academy for gifted? Check.
Delicate worldbuilding and world explanation made at times and then nothing to come off of it
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during the rest of the series? Check.
Main male and female leads jump-starting the academy at the second best ranking surpassing hundreds who spent years to get to that level, or even worse, who couldn't even come close to that level at all? Check.
Useless teaching staff who cannot do anything at times of danger but are employed at the academy to instruct the crème de la crème of talented mage kids? Check.
Worldwide organization that exists to fight anomalies due to multiverse interactions but doesn’t do anything at all in the direst of dire moments? Check.
Lots of fan service with unnecessary exposure of female -and somewhat male- body parts? Check, check, check.
Mysterious student/s with over the top abilities who is introduced but is absent whenever his powers/abilities are needed very badly? Check.
All the interesting threads that are abandoned during the series (mysterious organization, otherworld politics and international relations, the big scary omniscient evil organization, impossibly powerful motorbike, the Dark Clan, important secondary characters joining the two main characters) given a dose or revival at the very last minutes of the season finale so people might be interested in a season two? Check. Also, no-one interested in a Season Two despite these cliffhangers? Check.
So, it’s an anime series based on all the classic clichés and tropes and yet it has one or two very good, nearly philosophical discussions, a few very good scenes in it as well as an endearing main character.
At the end, it is an anime series that can be watched to kill time, have some fun, but there is surely nothing to be gained off of the experience. I wonder why it was and still is quite famous. To sum up, I have mixed feelings for it because I still sat down and finished its 12 episodes and didn't drop it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Dec 23, 2024
Now this is a feelgood anime if there ever was one. The main character is transferred from a very negative loner corporate worker's life in Japan to a new world by three gods who took pity on him. Consequently, he starts life as an 8 year old lad. He meets people when he is 11 in the forest he lives in and moves to the city and founds and finds a new life for himself at the ripe old age of eleven.
When you are down, when you are worried about life, it is a great anime to watch. Nothing awful happens, there is always a
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positive point in all developments, everyone is cooperative with the main character and the main character, from the woes of his former self's worklife, treats people nicely. There are nice lessons to be had and By The Grace Of The Gods is a very easy to watch anime as a result. As it apparently has a second season, it surely pleased a lot of people, too.
However, there is one question at the back of my mind: Who is this anime aimed at? I mean, it's obviously not a young kid's show as it references to toxic work environments and has concepts like "infantile regression" in it. It is not a show for adults because pretty much nothing challenging or "sexy" happens. So, who watches it? -- that is one real question I have about this show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 22, 2024
“The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?” reminded me of “I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability” at the beginning. However, they took different paths after a couple of episodes. The 8th Son turned into a slice of life, friendship and adventure focussed anime with its overpowered main character. Still, when I compare the two, the approach to the subject matter they ring similar and for sure, 8th Son was released 3 years prior to the 7th Prince.
There are issues with animation quality, the drawings are like from a decade ago as another commentator pointed
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out. Moreover, at points, we just see the same scenery over and over again to make us understand things are happening at the same place or there are scenes with very slow camera motion with next to no movement from the frame. The intro and outro musical number are pedestrian, to be honest. The thing is, if you forget about the first few minutes and the token reference here and there, we can even watch it without thinking it is an isekai anime.
There is a small harem that is built but it is not disturbingly made. There is the necessary token sage/mage, idiotic elder brother, bad guy who isn’t too bright, and the unexpected ally as one expect from an isekai adventure. However, it is a heartwarming story and consequently it is a heartwarming anime. It always gives a positive vibe, it shows how one shouldn’t limit oneself with existing conditions and work for the better life, and it shows how friendship is important. Besides, there is something like a cute main character that we find it in The 8th Son. I believe these points make “The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?” quite a nice anime to watch. It is easily recommended.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 3, 2024
Boy fails at the moment he is to shine, becomes an otaku, is being bullied at school, has one good-ish friend who offers no help but just advice. At home, he has a continuously nagging younger sister, so, life isn't better at home, either. The lad also has problems about thinking about his future. Then, all of a sudden, he gets introduced to a girl at a video game store and deep dives into a nearly forgotten extremely realistic fantasy game. The boy is falsely accused, attacked, bullied, sidelined as in real life and through experiences learns perseverance and the importance of pursuing good activities
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in real life. Then, he discovers he is good. End of story. So, there is Neverending Story, Neverending Story II, and Neverending Story III. Then, there is Full Dive. They are conceptually, trope-wise, and lesson-wise very same.
However, I hadn’t liked Neverending Story films except for the second that starred the late and wonderful Jonathan Brandis. I liked Full Dive. It was a well-written, well-paced, well-developed anime show.
I believe my vote on Full Dive is a recommendation. It is easy to watch and has a great albeit a wee bit generic main character, a good enough story, alright music and visuals, and a quasi-harem. What is there not to like?
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Nov 24, 2024
Here is the thing; I want to love Great Pretender and yet it sometimes infuriates me. Firstly, I like the character Makoto Edamura quite a lot. He is a nice lad who tries to remain moderately legit and gets engulfed in all the schemes of Thierry Laurent and his gang of swindlers. First three stories are made up of five episodes the last one is a whopping -and very unnecessary- nine episodes long, and while sometimes it is great to have a story that covers five episodes, in cases like the Singapore air races story that was plain boring, it becomes way too long,
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way too much. On the other hand, I could watch the Snow of London case for maybe twice that length.
The visualisation of humans is alright, the stage design and angles used for all scenes are wonderful. The use of colours is amazing and sometimes it feels like you watch an artwork, a tableau. As for the music, the opening theme is your average jazzy melody, there are good jazz pieces during episodes, but, Lord, how could they afford to pay to use “The Great Pretender” from the voice of the immortal and heavenly Freddie Mercury for the final credits? Even if the whole episode sucks, just listening to Freddie Mercury lifts you up.
The scripts are run of the mill swindling scenarios and some are better than the others, but there are quite a bit of plot holes in them and makes one ask questions like: how extensive a network does Laurent has? Why doesn’t poor Edamura never ends up with his cut and if he does get his cut then why is he in need of honest work at small stores all the time? If he doesn’t get any payment from Laurent, why is he returning to work with him all the time? How is Abigail Jones Iraqi and has done ballet shows when she was a wee girl? What sort of a terrorist organization was she recruited at? Why can’t Edamura speak English properly in Snow of London episodes while he was very fluent previously in the US episodes and later in episodes set in Japan? Even though I liked how they went through the story, how on earth would/should someone who already bought a painting for a small amount of money feel obliged to auction it for millions of pounds? The list can continue to the end of the time.
However, the series is charming. I personally dislike the characters Laurent and Abigail, find them forced, especially Abigail, and don’t like Edamura being a stupid, gullible idiot at times. The backstories feel like afterthoughts and sometimes are not believable. On the other hand, Edamura makes you feel to root for him as he is kind of pure despite all the scheming. At the end, Edamura is cool, the series is charming, and most of the time it draws you inside the story being told (despite using all the available tropes of the genre). I thought I had mixed feeling when I started writing this but now I believe I want to recommend it – it is such a strange show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Nov 16, 2024
Tunshi Xingkong / Swallowed Star is a Chinese production. It has a basic enough storyline: there is a post-apocalyptic world, our use of atomic bombs created monsters, there are superlative warriors fighting against these monsters, and there are good and bad people alike within the warrior cast as well. The main character is the son of a low-earning family and wants to improve his family's fortunes by becoming a warrior, and his main rival, the boy who wanted to bully him and yet didn't have the power for the said bullying, tries very hard to make him pay for a small humiliation that leads to
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lots of elaborate and extremely lawless schemes.
Now, I have very mixed feelings for this show. Firstly, many people like the great visuals, but for me, 4K or whatever, they look like the forced animation of video games' video stories. You can see every single hair in one's head, but they cannot walk properly, so that's not my cup of tea. Secondly, the storyline, poor lad attempted to be tormented by the rich jerk is too outdated and too unnecessary. Still, the in-military-squad relations, the camaraderie of the group members, the family's love for their son who can improve their fortunes, the love story that is there but for no great reason (its origin is related to her worrying about him due to bullying attempts) are all positive sides to this series, in addition to great monster fights and alright schemes. I am not a great fun of its musical score, either.
What bothers me the most, though, is the fact that the episodes are extremely short. I am saying that as a man used to the 22 minutes episodes with 1 1/2 minute songs at the beginning and end of an anime show. Swallowed Star starts the new episode only at 2 minutes 52 seconds mark, has a very lengthy scene divider at the middle (possibly longer than 45 seconds, didn't time it), and, it stops at the 19 minutes mark, making the episodes just about 15 minutes in length which is, to be honest, ridiculous.
As a result, we have a show which is alright to watch but I wouldn't miss if I hadn't watched it for a year. I don't understand the people voting in MAL, either as this show has a superlative rating but better-scripted, better organized Arifureta has far, far lower ratings. At the end, I cannae tell anyone to not watch it, but I can't recommend it wholeheartedly, either. It is the perfect "mixed feelings" animated series for me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Nov 8, 2024
I really, truly liked Arifureta. Alright, yes, it has a simple, link-the-dots scenario, it has a generic unwilling isekai hero, it has villains out of a light novel, it has friends that are no more friends, it has an always-developing harem, and so it is a generic isekai light novel adaptation. There is even CGI that even I can understand to be CGI. There are parts that are out of the traditional anime storytelling, too, though: you understand our main man Hajime Nagumo is a loner, a bullied lad who is transported to another world with the wish of a god; he has obtained some
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ability to manipulate the elements in the soil and yet, as in real world classroom, that doesn’t make him the best labyrinth explorer/adventurer only by flashbacks, from the reactions of other characters and so on. You see him with his torn-down adventurer gear with his left arm missing at the end of an episode, and lo and behold, at the beginning of the next episode Hajime-kun has a suit that would compete with Peter Capaldi’s Doctor Who attire as well as a metal and fully (mechanically) operational left arm without the anime telling us how he received it. There are time-laps and you still understand that from the way the story unfolds. That approach made me very happy. Besides, he becomes stronger by facing obstacles head-on and being creative and that pleased me, too. Yes, the harem people are very generic, yes there are times I wished Hajime-kun was a bit less terse and churlish, but still I like how he is portrayed and I like his cute and attractive isekai entourage. So, whatever many others may say, I emphatically recommend Arifureta.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Nov 1, 2024
Good Lord, that was boring. I mean, Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta? / And You'd Think There's Never A Girl Online starts alright, in fact it start quite well. However, things not only don't improve but they also regress from that promising start.
So, there's that lad who plays video games and gets acquiainted with a girl who cannot understand the difference between real life and gameplay conditions, and they discover they are at the same school and then with others they form a school club to play a game so she would understand that real life and play are different mediums.
And
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guess what, from then on, till the very end it is "Rusian this" "Rusian that" and nothing changes and nothing improves and strange things just become normalized.
Maybe I miss the main point of this anime series, but I found it to be tiresome, pointless, and frankly, useless. Maybe you might enjoy it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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