I hesitate to put a "spoiler warning" on this review because this isn't a show about plot, it's a show about anime tiddies. But at the same time, the reason I've rated this so low is because of the plot. But lemme just start with that part about tiddies.
I get it that there's obvious problems with nee-san/shota dynamics, but I am here to look at anime tiddies. And ya know what, this show has plenty of what I want. They're a bit generic, but I do still really like all of the visual designs of the girls in the show. The side characters were cute,
...
they mostly made sense, and of course I love Vermeil. How could I not? Dick Vermeil's whole career with the Eagles was impressive and The Greatest Show on Turf is still some of the most fun and free-flowing football anyone's ever seen in the NFL. Oh, and Vermeil the demon has amazing booba. And while it's not like that's all she's got going for her, the nee-san personality is always fun to see in action and sad back-story is sad, really her personality is boobs and that's all you need in the sort of show that this is supposed to be.
That's where all of this should end. A shota gets a special demon mommy in a virgin killer sweater to summon and use to kill virgins. Rinse, repeat, take two tablets, and seek medical help if it lasts for more than 5 hours. Except they didn't stop there. And I can't really blame them. I love "plot", but my passion really is for plot. I love to see when a show becomes more than what it was in the beginning. That's what makes it fun. The problem is when someone thinks that basic shounen action is "good writing" and then acts like they're a genius for doing literally nothing. This is where the "spoilers" come in.
Around the middle of show, there's this conspiracy to get Vermeil to show her "true form" as "the scourge" and other generic stuff that all bad guys want to do to any nice demon. We're still in normal ecchi show territory, so it's fine. I had this show at a solid 7 (read that as a C, I think of these as percentages and letter grades), but what knocked it down was when the shota lad learns about Vermeil's past. As I said, it's a sad story. The villagers are evil dickheads, insert something about "man is the real monster," and there is nothing really wrong with the story itself. The problem is how it's framed.
It all starts after they establish that Baby Vermeil was living a happy life in a convent. This is not on the characters, this is on the writers for feeling the need to say this. But shota lad asks what I can only assume to be one of the precursors from Assassin's Creed, "She seems so happy. Why would she ask to be exiled inside a book?" To many of you, this may be an innocuous question, but it speaks volumes about what the writers think about the audience. We get people out here all the time talking about "self-insert" characters and "audience-insert" characters, but the important thing to note about an audience-insert is that they are supposed to represent the audience. This sounds incredibly redundant, but what I'm saying is that whatever comes out of the mouth of an audience-insert character, that is what the writers think the audience has on their mind. So, read back that question again, consider the situation that our dear poor shota is in, and then realize what he's saying. This kid has been told over and over how Vermeil did something real fucked up back in the day. He has seen what she looks like when she is out of control. And he also should understand THAT THE GHOST OF BOOBA PAST ISN'T DONE TALKING YET! It's always frustrating to hear a character say something stupid like that, but it's even more frustrating when you look at it from a meta perspective. First of all, this is a cop-out for a writer who can't figure out a way to shift the scene from the happy family bit to the bullying bit, all while maintaining the whole big "secret" about what Vermeil did to be named "The Scourge" or whatever. But second, this shows you what the writers think the audience is going to be asking at this moment. It's an audience-insert character asking a question that the audience can answer themselves. It's insulting.
But we're not even done here because following this, the writers seem to have the audacity to think that Vermeil's sob story changes anything! That this story changes who she is fundamentally as a character. Which, I'm all for massive shifts in perspective on a character, that's fun, that's spicy. But who is Vermeil before this flashback? An overly protective/clingy demon with amazing powers that can get out of control, but is ultimately loyal to those she loves. That's what this whole show was leading up to. Then we come out of what is supposed to be this character-defining moment in the show and the only new information we have is that Vermeil probably can't cosplay as a nun due to PTSD (out of respect for her mother figure). But the only people that seem to notice this lack of character growth is the audience.
There is a way to set up and execute a moment like this. You establish what exactly Vermeil did in the past, you have it in history books for shota-boi to find or maybe even for one of the side-chicks to find. Make the audience believe that there is a possibility that she is just using him. But they didn't. She's just the powerful demon mommy who loves her little boy. And so when nega-shota (you can tell I do not care about anyone's name here) shows up after the flashback and says "Now do you see why she's so evil? Will you still stand with her?" it just looks so stupid. Because the writer blew their load already. We know who Vermeil is as a character already. The writers seem to expect us to be like "WOW, this changes everything!" BUT IT CHANGES NOTHING! And all that's left is that you feel ripped off and insulted because that's THE moment that the writers were building up to. That's the big reveal. That Vermeil was the same person that we knew this whole time and now the only difference is that she's a bit more shy around Balto because he seems to be the only human she's ever interacted with that didn't immediately start chucking rocks at her.
This show isn't supposed to be about plot, it's supposed to be about tiddies. And they really shoulda stuck with that premise if that was all they had up their sleeves. Stick to boob jokes and get out of my kitchen. Learn to season your chicken.
Dec 24, 2022
Kinsou no Vermeil: Gakeppuchi Majutsushi wa Saikyou no Yakusai to Mahou Sekai wo Tsukisusumu
(Anime)
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I hesitate to put a "spoiler warning" on this review because this isn't a show about plot, it's a show about anime tiddies. But at the same time, the reason I've rated this so low is because of the plot. But lemme just start with that part about tiddies.
I get it that there's obvious problems with nee-san/shota dynamics, but I am here to look at anime tiddies. And ya know what, this show has plenty of what I want. They're a bit generic, but I do still really like all of the visual designs of the girls in the show. The side characters were cute, ... 
Jun 19, 2021
There's no review here, so I figured I should say something.
This is a solid manga. It's nothing special, but it's cute. It seems to be coming from the same school of thought as stuff like Yankee JK Kuzuhana-chan or Hitomi-chan wa Hitomishiri where it's got a main girl, Shinoda, and some random guy whose name is probably not important. Shinoda looks like a punk, she's kind of scary; but on the inside she is an absolute cinnamon roll. In terms of "story", we have no story. The manga is only 7 chapters. There's no time to build an arc, it's just learning about Shinoda alongside the ... 
Jun 19, 2021
Adachi to Shimamura
(Anime)
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It should be important for me to mention at the start of this review that I love yuri. There's just a certain level of comfort and happiness that yuri brings me when I see it. And I especially love it when I see it done well. And one of the biggest problems I've had since becoming a weeb has been finding yuri that feels well-written.
There's not a lot of yuri that's been made, but of what is already out there, the best yuri stories is usually side-stories in more general romance. Bloom Into You is good, but something like Sweet Blue Flowers is boring and ... 
Mar 5, 2021
I once suggested this show to a baseball fan and after a couple days he sent me a message saying something along the lines of "I started watching this to see baseball, why do I care so much about the characters?!" My response was that it's because it's a good anime.
So, to clarify why this is so biased: This was my first real obscure anime. I'd grown up watching Dragon Ball once in a while and had watched Cowboy Bebop, but I never truly veered too far off the beaten path. Then, doing research for what was essentially the set-up for a joke, I needed ... 
Mar 5, 2021
Gurazeni is not an underdog story. It's not about high stakes or becoming the best that anyone ever was. Bonda is just a baseball player. A middle relief pitcher, one of the most forgotten positions in the game. This story is about the day to day life of an athlete, hoping that he can just survive after the game. It's a side that many of us don't normally think about. Hell, a lot of athletes don't think about it either. It's incredibly cool to get an inside look at how he handles the stress of being a professional baseball player while also trying to handle
...
Jan 31, 2021
Cyclops Shoujo Saipuu
(Anime)
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I really like Saipuu's character design and honestly, the show was kinda funny at times.
I just wish it was something else. Like, this show is 2 minutes an episode. You shouldn't expect too much out of it, but I've seen other short anime that actually do some fun things with the characters they establish. And there's obvious issues with the bro-con/sis-con issues and the over-sexualization of a child issue. Just... I really wanted to enjoy this and I couldn't. It was what it was and I'd just rather it be something else. --- MAL is telling me my review is too short, but there's literally nothing else I ... |
