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Overview:
"Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash" is a deconstruction of the highly controversial isekai genre, taking the general premise of an ordinary human being transported to another world while removing the "power fantasy" elements associated with the genre. However, where "Evangelion", "Madoka Magica" and many others succeeded, "Grimgar" largely fails, resulting in a series that, while quite impressive in terms of visuals and sound, is actually worse than the very shows it tries to be a more realistic portrayal of.

Story (5.5/10):
The series is set in the titular Grimgar, a world where it's kill or be killed and the only way to make a decent living is ... to slay monsters. The protagonist and narrator of the story is Haruhiro, a young man who wakes up in this strange world with no memory of how he got there, along with many others in the same boat as him. With no other options open to them, they are quickly pressed into service as Trainee Volunteer Soldiers by a mysterious individual named Chief Britney. Eventually, Haruhiro forms a party from a bunch of people whom nobody else wanted in theirs, and from there the series follows this group of misfits as they struggle to get by day after day in this strange new world.

The story has received no shortage of praise for the fact that the protagonist never becomes an all-powerful badass and he and his teammates remain as a group of average-level adventurers who can barely function as a party. Yeah, I don't buy it. What exactly has given people the bright idea that characters have to be on the level of a regular person in order to be compelling? Is it so unbelievable that the people we're seeing the story from are just better at the task in question than others? Believe it or not, the truth of reality is that there can and always will be people who are better than you at certain things without even trying, and personally I would rather follow characters like that fighting all sorts of monsters instead of watching a bunch of nobodies struggling with goblins for two-thirds of a series. It's the characters' personalities and experiences that make them feel real, not the threat of death or how likely they're going to succeed, and that sadly is something that so few people seem to get nowadays.

And that leads me to another problem; we learn that not only do Haruhiro and the others have no idea how they ended up in Grimgar, but they have no memory of their lives before they got there. Like, seriously, what was the point of that? It serves no purpose narrative-wise and just seems to have been thrown in for cheap drama, or to avoid the trouble of giving the characters any backstories. The series is supposed to demonstrate how people who haven't played MMORPG games would fare in an isekai world, but even if they had played them, it wouldn't matter because they don't even have any memories at all, and so wouldn't remember playing them. Furthermore, the series is very slow-paced, with the characters often just lazing around for a good chunk of an episode during which nothing noteworthy happens. The series is clearly trying to be a combination of isekai and slice-of-life, but in doing so it fails to be a good example of either genre, lacking both the high-octane action of the former and the lighthertedness of the latter. Granted, things do get a bit more interesting in the final third of the series, but a lot of you will probably have given up on the series by then. I know the thought crossed my mind a couple of times.

Art & Animation (8.5/10):
Regardless of how you feel about "Grimgar" as a whole, I doubt anyone will be able to deny that the show's visuals are great. The series is filled with impressive detail, though the standouts would have to be the character models, which are really well-drawn in a highly vibrant art style, and are really well-animated to boot. There are admittedly some parts of the visuals I wasn't a fan of (for example, the backgrounds often look like half-drawn canvas paintings, similar to those found in "Nabari no Ou"), but that's just me, and overall, the visuals are definitely one of the show's high points.

Sound & Dialogue (8.5/10):
"Grimgar"'s soundtrack is overall very good. Not the opening and ending themes, mind you, both of which were passable at best, but the insert songs that play during the episodes themselves. There are quite a few of them, with my favourites being "rainy tone" and "Growing", which play during the fourth and eighth episodes respectively and make for two pretty memorable scenes. The voice acting is great as well, even for the characters I wasn't a fan of, though I personally think Ricco Fajardo and Jeannie Tirado (who provide the voices of Haruhiro and Yume, respectively) were the show's best actors. In short, the sound design is just good all around, and is easily one of the better parts of the series.

Characters (6.5/10):
"Grimgar"'s character as a whole are pretty average. We'll start with Haruhiro, who is established right away as the main character due to being the narrator, in that he's the one who explains various things about the way things work in Grimgar as well as providing exposition regarding various techniques. He acts as the Thief of the group, wielding daggers as weapons and relying on speed over strength. Personality-wise, he is kind and polite but also reserved and sometimes timid. He's likeable enough, but I also found him to be kind of a doormat. Normally, that wouldn't be so bad, but he ends up assuming the role as leader of his party pretty early on. However, I never really felt that he fulfilled that role, as he tends to put up with the detrimental traits of his party members a lot more than he should, apparently not getting that an essential part of being a leader is knowing when to put your foot down. If I were to pick a favourite character, it would have to be Yume, the Hunter of the group who wields bows in combat. Yume acts as the heart of the party, being very kind and cheerful most of the time, as well as rather airheaded, but also not afraid to call out others when they're being jerks. Initially, she's an amateur shot, but her aim improves a great deal over the course of the series, and I would go so far as to say that she improves the most in terms of fighting ability out of everyone in the party. In general, Yume is just a likeable character all around, and pretty much the only member of the party I had no significant problems with.

Then there's Shihoru, another female member of the party who becomes close friends with Yume. In contrast to Yume's cheerful and outgoing nature, however, Shihoru is a shy, timid, soft-spoken and overly apologetic individual who lacks self-esteem and tries to avoid attention. She serves as the Black Mage of the group, meaning her skills lean towards offensive magic. Sadly, a lot of her focus is spent on the commentary of her large breasts, which causes her to believe she's overweight even though she's anything but. At times, it felt like the series was treating her like eye-candy rather than a character, and it doesn't help that she never really develops beyond the typical dandere archetype, though I can say I did still like her and enjoyed her friendship with Yume. The third and final female member of the party is Merry, a Priest who joins the party a few episodes in and someone with far more experience than the rest of the group. Initially, she's aloof and uncooperative, often refusing to follow orders or heal the party when asked, and while it does turn out she has her reasons, it doesn't change the fact that she makes things more difficult for everyone since she refuses to see things from the others' point-of-view. Overtime, however, she does warm up to the others, though mostly through them accepting she has her own way of doing things.

Next up is Moguzo, the main muscle of the group who, contrary to what his appearance might suggest, is very kind and second only to Shihoru as the most soft-spoken. However, while I do always appreciate characters whose personalities don't match their appearances, there isn't all that much to say about him beyond that, other than he's the main cook of the party. The last character I'm going to talk about is Ranta, who is not only my absolute least favourite character in the series, but one of my least favourite characters in any show, period. To put it in a way you'll understand, Ranta is essentially what happens when you take a typical school bully, throw him onto a remote island and force him to fight for his life, but instead of becoming a better person he chooses to make the lives of everyone else around him a living hell. He's brash, lecherous, unapologetic, often makes ridiculous boasts he can never back up and is a total asshole to all his teammates often when it doesn't make any sense for him to be. To give just one example of how utterly deplorable his behaviour is, in one episode he gets the bright idea to peep on the girls when they're taking a bath (which is objectively a crime), and not only does he refuse to apologise when inevitably caught in the act, he refuses to even admit he did anything wrong. Had Ranta simply been a little more humble, and maybe less confrontational, many of the party's problems would either lessen or disappear completely, but whatever moments of decency he has are few and far between and any good points he makes are completely overshadowed by how much of a total jerk he is about them. And since the characters don't have backstories, we're given no explanation as to why he's like that. He just is. Honestly, it's a wonder the others don't just ditch him with all the trouble and grief he causes, since while they keep him around with the excuse that he's their best fighter, he's really not that much stronger than the rest of them, so finding someone else of his level can't be that difficult.

Enjoyment (6/10):
As much as the series tries to put forward a positive message about how humans can adapt to anything, the atmosphere throughout is absolutely grim (no pun intended), with the party often losing more than they gain and even when they succeed, they're sometimes left wondering if it was even worth it. It got to the point where I found myself wishing a monster would just come along and put them all out of their misery- and I feel like an asshole just saying that!

Overall:
"Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash" is proof that deconstructing a genre does not always make it better. The problem with it is that much like several other similarly overrated shows, it's too focused on being different or realistic at the expense of what actually matters. Limiting what you can do solely on the basis that it's been done before is the perfect way to write a boring story, and "Grimgar" is proof of that, which combined with its sub-par characterization and overly-bleak tone, makes this a series only for those who really want a break from the mainstream.

Score:
5.5+8.5+8.5+6.5+6=35/50=7.0/10

Overview:
I think it's a pretty safe bet to say that nobody in their right mind LIKES terrorism. In fact, when I was in school, I wrote an essay detailing just how much I hated it, from all the lives it's ruined to how little one ultimately has to gain from it. However, a fundamental part of humanity is that everyone does things for a reason. "Terror in Resonance", an original anime directed by Shinichiro Watanabe of "Cowboy Bebop" fame, is a thriller that looks at terrorism from a perspective rarely even considered- that of the terrorists themselves.

Story (7.5/10):
Set in modern-day Japan, "Terror in Resonance" revolves ... around a series of mysterious bombings that start occurring all over Tokyo. These bombings are caused by a terrorist duo calling themselves "Sphinx", who regularly upload videos containing cryptic riddles, which as it turns out are the keys to preventing the bombings. After initially not taking the videos seriously, disgraced ace detective Kenjiro Shibazaki is called in to investigate the bombings and stop Sphinx. What nobody knows, however, is that Sphinx are really a pair of teenage boys known simply as Nine and Twelve, who look like anyone else their age and are hiding in plain sight among Tokyo's citizens. One day, Lisa Mishima, a troubled teenage girl, ends up getting caught up in a middle of one of Nine and Twelve's terrorist attacks, and ultimately agrees to become their accomplice in exchange for them saving her life. The series then follows Nine and Twelve as they continue their bombings, Shibazaki's attempts to stop them and Lisa struggling to deal with the decisions she's made.

The series starts off like a standard thriller, with the only difference being that the identities of the culprits are known from the start and we see things primarily from their perspective, with the detectives' side of things being important but not focused on nearly as often. A few episodes into the series, however, it starts to become apparent that there is far more to these mysterious boys than meets the eye, and that while their actions may be villainous, they aren't THE villains of the story, with all of the decisions they make being done in order to make a point to the world, though to say what that is would end up giving away the entire story. This also has an effect on the detectives' side of things, as overtime Shibazaki's goal shifts away from stopping Sphinx and more on uncovering the conspiracy that led them to their actions. All of this makes for a story that evolves considerably and has plenty of twists to go around, which will often leave you wondering what's going to happen next.

Unfortunately, while the story may be interesting, it is far from flawless. For starters, I never really felt like everything tied together properly, with the main characters often running into obstacles that only really serve to hinder their objective rather than add anything new or exciting to the plot. This is not helped by the series only being 11 episodes long, meaning that there just isn't enough time to flesh-out these ideas, making them ultimately come off more as distractions than anything. What's worse is that Nine and Twelve's past is only ever revealed in bits and pieces, with the conspiracy that created their existence supposedly dating back nearly 70 years but is only ever explored in the bare minimum of detail. Even so, the story does manage to wrap things up quite well, and the ending just about makes up for the bumps in the middle.

Art & Animation (8.5/10):
"Terror in Resonance"'s visuals are an early product of studio MAPPA, who since then have gone to make numerous highly popular anime, including the final season of "Attack on Titan". And while the show's visuals may not be quite as good as those found in their more recent anime, they're still well-above average, with very well-drawn character models (give or take a few rough edges), beautiful environments and fantastic special effects, particularly those of the bombings. Overall, the show's visuals are definitely one of the main highlights.

Sound & Dialogue (9/10):
"Terror in Resonance"'s soundtrack is superb, as it is composed by veteran Japanese composer Yoko Kanno. The opening theme "Trigger" is a song that is very haunting and perfect to start an episode of a series like this, and the ending theme "Dareka, Umi o" is truly chilling. My absolute favourite track, however, would have to be the beautifully somber "Von", which plays during one of the late episodes and singlehandedly makes the scene it plays in one of the most memorable in the entire series. The voice acting is great as well, with Aaron Dismuke being the highlight as the childish but ruthless Twelve, though Christopher Bevins and Robert McCollum (who provide the voices of Nine and Shibazaki, respectively) definitely come close seconds. In short, the sound designs is the best of the series without question.

Characters (7/10):
While Nine and Twelve are both working towards the same goal, personality-wise the two are opposites in many ways. Nine is stoic, mature and no-nonsense, Twelve is cheerful, childish and mischievous. Nine prioritizes their mission above all else, Twelve is more laid-back and takes time to do other stuff. Nine doesn't trust others and dislikes the idea of bringing in people from the outside, while Twelve doesn't really see what the big deal is. Naturally, their conflicting personalities means that the two often have a clash in opinions, though it's rarely to the point of arguing. Furthermore, while they may not always agree, there's never any doubt that they care for each other a great deal, and when they're on the job, their teamwork is pretty much flawless, with Nine serving as the mastermind who comes up with the plans for the duo and Twelve being the more active of the two, being skilled at operating vehicles and stealing things. In other words, Twelve's the muscle, Nine's the brains. Overtime, we learn more about the duo and their motivations, though this does come at the cost of making some of their early actions come off as weirdly out-of-character for them, giving the impression that the writers were just making things up as they went along. If I were to decide which of the two I preferred, it would have to be Twelve, as he has more of a character arc and I liked how he sometimes shows he wishes to be more than just a terrorist, unlike Nine who seems to be just resigned to being a mere messenger.

Next is Kenjiro Shibazaki, a former ace detective of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department who was demoted to its record division for insubordination but is brought back in to solve the Sphinx case. Even early on, it's made clear that Shibazaki is the show's most conventionally heroic character. Rather than being an Inspector Javert-esque character who ends up obsessed with catching Sphinx to the exclusion of all else, Shibazaki is just as focused on understanding the terrorists as he is on stopping them, and is one of the first people to realise that something doesn't add up when it comes to the bombings. While he's not the most interesting detective character, he's likeable if nothing else, and if anyone in the series can be called a "good guy", he can. There's also Lisa Mishima, whom I can't say I liked very much. The story portrays her as someone lonely and miserable as a way to make us understand why she would end up joining a pair of terrorists, but she instead comes off as a whiny brat who blames everyone but herself for her situation, even though Nine made it clear to her early on that she is responsible for the path she takes. It doesn't help that she's pretty much useless, with nearly all of her attempts to help out failing miserably at best and backfiring horribly at worst. In the end, the only thing she contributes to the series is being someone for Twelve to cherish and protect, which ultimately serves to enhance his character more than it does hers.

If I were to name a character I really didn't like, it would have to be Five, a mysterious FBI agent who joins the hunt for Sphinx a few episodes in and has some sort of connection to Nine and Twelve, both of whom greatly fear her. While it's pretty clear she wasn't meant to be liked, the real reason I didn't like her was because she ends up turning the series from a realistic terrorism thriller to something more akin to "Death Note". This proves to be very much to the show's detriment, unlike Lisa, who while not particularly relevant to the plot, didn't really take anything away from it either. Even worse is that her relationship with Nine and Twelve is barely even explored, to the point that it's never completely explained how they ended up on opposite sides to one another despite sharing identical circumstances. In general, one of the biggest problems I had with the series (if not THE biggest) is that it focuses too much on the story and not enough on the characters within the story, with the majority of them existing to serve their roles and little else. For example, most of the detective characters only really exist to assist Shibazaki in his investigations, with him being the only one with a known first name.

Enjoyment (7/10):
Considering this is a series about terrorism, it should go without saying that "Terror in Resonance" is a very dark and bleak series, which is evident from the very first episode. Our protagonists are a pair of terrorists who go around bombing buildings, yet they still manage to be among the most sympathetic characters, with almost all the other characters being either incompetent or just plain corrupt. There are some lighter moments to be found, but they are few and far between and the series ultimately ends on a bittersweet note that puts a particular emphasis on "bitter".

Overall:
"Terror in Resonance" is a unique series that is unlikely to appeal to everyone, but those who aren't turned off by the premise will probably end up liking it. While its short length does work against it from time to time and the characterisation leaves something to be desired (especially that of the female characters), this is still well worth a look if you're a thriller fan, with a good story, great visuals, exciting set-pieces and fantastic music.

Score:
7.5+8.5+9+7+7=39/50=7.8/10

Overview:
"Amagi Brilliant Park" is an anime that's particularly hard to categorise. It's not really an isekai, since the fantastical world it takes place in actually exists on Earth. It's not really an adventure series, since the majority of the story takes place in a single location. However, it's not really a slice-of-life series either, as the crazy antics the characters get up are a matter of life and death for the majority of them. The end result is a series that doesn't really know what it is, and while certainly enjoyable, it never really makes the most out of any of its parts.

Story (6/10):
The series ... opens with Seiya Kanye, a highly intelligent but very egotistical teenager, getting forcibly dragged to the titular Amagi Brilliant Park by a young woman named Isuzu Sento. And by "forcibly", I mean she literally points a huge, ridiculous-looking gun at his head and even fires it to get him to accept. Once there, however, Seiya quickly learns that this is no ordinary amusement park- rather, it's staffed by fantastical beings (including Isuzu herself) who hail from a magical realm called Maple Land. Soon enough, Seiya meets Princess Latifah, the ruler of Maple Land who informs him that the park has been underperforming for the past several years and if they don't mange to get 250,000 visitors in the next 3 months, the park will be forced to close its doors forever. And if that's not enough, all of the park's inhabitants thrive off a life force known as Animus, which on Earth can only be obtained by the visitors having fun, which means that if the park closes, all the beings who live there will disappear forever. After a fair amount of reluctance, Seiya ultimately accepts the position as manager of the park in order to attract the visitors they need to by the deadline.

The problem with the story is that it ultimately fails to be engaging. The fact that the premise is about a guy trying to prevent an amusement park from closing means that it could easily be an in-depth study about how difficult it is to run a business, but sadly that's not the case. The strategies Seiya comes up with aren't huge, revolutionary ideas that only a genius like him could conjure up. No, he comes up with really basic business strategies that anyone with even the slightest amount of knowledge in the field could come up with, like closing the park temporarily for renovations, extending the opening hours, reducing the prices on everything and forcing the staff to clean up their broken, ugly and frequently dangerous attractions. The fact that such fundamental ideas never once occurred to these fantastical beings just begs the question as to why the park didn't shut down years ago, the obvious answer being that we'd have no story then.

Even beyond that, however, the whole "save the park" plotline is only front and centre in the beginning of the series and near the end of it. In-between that, the majority of episodes are just self-contained stories where the main cast run into some kind of strange inhabitant of the park or get in to some other kind of crazy situation. While an episodic format isn't inherently a bad thing, the problem is that the episodes vary wildly in quality and I never felt like it was executed seamlessly, since some of them ultimately contribute nothing to the story as a whole. Don't get me wrong, though. There is some good storytelling to be found here, particularly near the end of the series where some major revelations are made. Even then, though, the main conflict of the series is ultimately resolved in the second-to-last episode, with the last episode and OVA just being pointless filler episodes, making me wonder why they even existed at all.

Art & Animation (8.5/10):
"Amagi Brilliant Park" was animated by- wait for it- Kyoto Animation, and it shows as it is a really good-looking series. The characters are all very well-drawn with a ton of variety in the designs and the environments look fantastic as well. Even so, the animations are somewhat stiff in places, and overall it falls a bit short of standing aside KyoAni's best efforts, including "Kanon", "Love, Chunibyou & Other Delusions" and especially "Clannad". Even so, there's no denying that the visuals are the show's greatest strength.

Sound & Dialogue (8/10):
"Amagi Brilliant Park"'s soundtrack definitely isn't anything special. The opening and ending themes are both fairly forgettable and while there are some decent tracks that play during the episodes themselves, there weren't any that I ended up desperate to know the names of or anything. The voice acting is kind of hit-and-miss as well; Adam Gibbs, Molly Searcy and Cindy Lou Parker (who sounds suspiciously similar to long-time veteran Monica Rial) all do great jobs as Seiya, Isuzu and Latifah, respectively, but there are some other voices I really wasn't a fan of. Prime examples include Moffle, Macaron and Tiramie, three characters who have high-pitched childlike voices even though they're explicitly confirmed to be adult men. Adult men who look like cute animal mascots, sure, but adult men nonetheless.

Characters (7/10):
One of the first things we learn about Seiya Kanye is that he has a superiority complex, meaning he constantly brags about how awesome he is. Naturally, this gets on the nerves of a lot of people, including Isuzu, and it's implied to be the reason he doesn't have any friends before working at the park. Even so, while he can certainly be annoying at times, I didn't find him insufferable, especially since many of his reactions to things are less him being egotistical and more how a human being would react e.g. not instantly agreeing to help save the park after the less-than-ethical ways Isuzu attempted to recruit him. Furthermore, he does warm up to Isuzu, Latifah and the rest of the park's staff quickly enough, with the exception of Moffle, and the feeling is mutual there. The real problem with him is that several aspects of his character, like him being a former child actor, are almost completely unexplored, which is bad since it's heavily implied that that's the very reason he's so messed up. Additionally, he obtains the ability to read minds pretty early on, but he uses it so rarely that I honestly forgot he even had it for a while. In short, while he's certainly not a bad protagonist, he ultimately comes off as a poor man's Lelouch vi Britannia.

If I were to choose a favourite character, it would have to be Isuzu Sento, a former member of Maple Land's Royal Guard and the acting manager of the park until Seiya took over. Much like Laura Bodewig from "Infinite Stratos", Isuzu can easily be described as a female version of Sousuke Sagara from "Full Metal Panic!" (which makes sense since the novels of both series were written by the same person). In the same vein as Sousuke, Isuzu is a skilled and stoic soldier who has been dropped in a casual environment and due to her upbringing, suffers from severe social ineptness and usually resorts to her weapons to deal with any problem she faces, which is used for both humour and drama alike. In fact, the very reason she threatened Seiya with her gun to get him to save the park is because she genuinely didn't know that was a less-than-appropriate way to ask for someone's help (that and she was desperate and had to get him to accept no matter what). Naturally, her lack of social skills makes her a terrible manager, hence why she gets Seiya to take over. While she can be very blunt and violent and often makes things worse with her actions, I overall found her easier to put up with than Seiya, since she often doesn't know when she's being rude or offensive, unlike Seiya who knows full well he's being rude but doesn't care. As a whole, though, she comes up as little better than a shadow of her male counterpart, lacking both the complexity and development that Sousuke had.

The third and final main character is Princess Latifah, the actual manager of Amagi Brilliant Park who is unable to perform her duties due to her poor health. In contrast to Seiya's narcissism and Isuzu's bluntness, Latifah is consistently a very kind and friendly girl, frequently showing more concern for the mascots working under her than she is about any of her own problems. Unfortunately, she doesn't get nearly as much focus in the story as either Isuzu or Seiya, with the true importance to her character not being revealed until towards the end of the series. As for the rest of the park's staff (and there's an awful lot of them), some get their time in the spotlight, while others are pretty much just there and contribute very little. On the other hand, there are some characters that I felt got way too much screen time, most notably the three main mascot Moffle, Macaron and Tiramie, all of whom I found to be very annoying. And while Moffle becomes a lot more likeable as the series progresses, the other two are little more than annoying, perverted comic relief, with Tiramie in particular frequently proving to be more trouble than he's worth (though he does end up on the butt end of many jokes in the series, which helps to balance this out). All in all, the cast of characters is not great, which is an unfortunate consequence of having so many of them in a 13-episode anime.

Enjoyment (7.5/10):
The stakes of the series may be extremely high, but "Amagi Brilliant Park" is a comedy at heart. While some of the humour wasn't really to my liking, a good portion of it was, particularly any of it that involves Isuzu in some capacity. What's more is that while the series isn't afraid to get dark at times, particularly towards the end, it nevertheless maintains a hopeful tone throughout, and you almost never have any doubt that things will turn out alright in the end.

Overall:
"Amagi Brilliant Park" isn't really like any anime you've seen before, but that comes at a cost of it failing to put forward any genuine identity. While the visuals are great and there are some pretty hilarious moments, the soundtrack is completely average, the characters range from likeable-but-underdeveloped to just plain unlikeable and the story is nowhere near as smart as it could have been. All of this results in a series that is fairly difficult to recommend, and as far as KyoAni works go, this one ranks among the bottom of the list.

Score:
6+8.5+8+7+7.5=37/50=7.4/10

Overview:
"Lunar Legend Tsukihime" is notable for being the first anime adaptation of one of Kinoko Nasu's stories, being first released way back in 2003. In sharp contrast to ufotable's highly regarded adaptations of "Kara no Kyoukai" and the "Fate" series, however, this particular adaptation has a very negative reputation among fans of the novel it's based off, to the point that a good number of fans would rather pretend it never even existed. While I personally think that's a bit of an overreaction, if only because I haven't read the novel myself, it is nevertheless easily the worst Nasuverse anime I have seen.

Story (6/10):
"Tsukihime" tells ... the story of Shiki Tohno, a 17-year-old member of the prestigious Tohno family, who has been living with his distant relatives for the past eight years after being involved in an accident that cost him some of his memories and enables him to see "Death Lines"- lines by which things, living or not, will eventually break when they die. Naturally, being able to see death everywhere he looks quickly got to Shiki, and he was exiled by his father due to his injury. Presently, Shiki has been able to avoid seeing the lines due to being given special glasses by a mysterious sorceress, which is pretty much the only reason he's been able to live a normal life. One day, without warning, he is summoned back to the main Tohno household by his younger sister Akiha, who has recently taken over as head of the family. He returns as asked, but on the way, he encounters a young woman with blonde hair and, in a dreamlike state, kills her. On his way to school the next day, however, he encounters the woman again, alive and well, and soon after learns her name is Arcueid Brunestud, and that she is a vampire who is hunting another one of her kind in the city. Realizing that his curse could be of some use after all, Shiki decides to team up with Arcueid in order to better her chances at defeating the vampire she's after.

While the premise of the story is certainly a unique one, the series sadly only manages to scratch the surface of its potential. The original visual novel had a total of five different routes, while the anime generally only focuses on one of these. This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that the series is only 12 episodes long, despite being released during a time where the vast majority of anime were 24-26 episodes at the bare minimum. The result is an anime that moves way too fast for my liking and almost never slows down, often jumping from one plot point to the next with often only the tiniest amount of warning or build-up, and several confrontations being pretty anti-climactic. In fact, Shiki ends up killing a major antagonist really early on, to the point that I had a hard time processing that said villain was gone for good.

More problems arise when the series attempts to incorporate elements from multiple routes, creating various scenes that are barely or never elaborated on. Gaps regarding the main mystery of the series (Arcueid's hunt for vampires and the backstory of the Tohno family) are eventually filled in, although it piles on so many twists and revelations that they become a cheap dramatic device for pushing the story forward (if that, given that numerous twists don't really lead to anything down the line), and often causing the series to lose focus. While there is some good storytelling to be found, mostly in regards to the growing relationship between Shiki and Arcueid as well as a number of good character interactions, the series ultimately ends without things ever feeling adequately resolved, and overall the story struck me as one that just does not work as an anime.

Art & Animation (7.5/10):
Visually, "Tsukihime" doesn't look great, but it doesn't look awful either. The character models and environments are well-drawn and detailed for the most part, and the dark palette does fit the tone of the series quite nicely. However, the animations and special effects can be pretty lacking and the series has a whole doesn't look very good in poor lighting, which is especially bad considering that most, if not all, of the main conflict takes place at night-time. Overall, I would definitely consider this to be one of J.C. Staff's worst efforts, though that's probably to be expected considering it was also one of their first.

Sound & Dialogue (8.5/10):
If there's one thing that makes "Tsukihime" worth sitting through, it's the music. The series has plenty of moody, atmospheric tracks that perfectly fit the gothic feel of the series and really serve to emphasize the scenes they play in. My absolute favourite, however, would have to be the opening theme, "The Sacred Moon", which I listened to each time I started a new episode. For the longest time, I thought that an anime opening wouldn't work without lyrics but this series proved me dead wrong, and the ending theme "Rinne no Hate ni", while not quite as memorable, is great as well. The voice acting isn't bad either, with Steve Staley and Michelle Ruff delivering the best performances as Shiki and Arcueid, respectively, though Wendee Lee's Ciel and Julie Ann Taylor's Akiha are certainly adequate as well. Overall, the sound is easily the best part of the series.

Characters (6.5/10):
From the moment Shiki returns to the Tohno mansion, it's clear that he has great difficulty adjusting to their old-fashioned way of life, which makes sense given that he had lived a normal life for the past eight years. He's very uncomfortable with being treated like nobility and even tries to get the maids of the household to not call him "Master", to limited success. However, while he's far from being prim and proper, he's nevertheless a very kind and polite person to most people he meets. Well, most of the time, as he has a mysterious other personality that takes over whenever he encounters a supernatural being, though he initially has no memory of when he's in this state, let alone any control over it. Unfortunately, while he's far from a flat character and has more than a few awesome moments, I found that quite a number of aspects of his character were either underdeveloped or never properly explained, up to and including the origins of his other personality, especially since it's explicitly confirmed to be not of Tohno origin. Even so, everything I mentioned before means that he still stood out as my favourite character

My second favourite character is, without a doubt, Arcueid, the titular "Moon Princess" who is both a vampire and a vampire hunter simultaneously. While the story is told from Shiki's perspective, it primarily follows Arcueid's quest to hunt down other vampires, a quest Shiki gets dragged into against his will after he temporarily killed her, weakening her in the process. As such, it's as much her story as it is Shiki's. While she is very ruthless in combat, outside of it she displays a surprisingly innocent and playful personality, which stems from the fact that she's never had what you would call a "normal" life, having spent her whole life either hunting vampires or hibernating. In fact, several parts of the series involve Shiki and Arcueid just hanging out and doing things that Arcueid deems as "useless", which makes for some pretty decent character moments. Even so, her character arc really isn't anything I haven't seen done many times in other stories (the "Fate" series included), nor is it executed in a way that makes it stand out from other examples.

Another notable character is Akiha Tohno, Shiki's aforementioned younger sister, who is generally very strict with him and expecting him to adapt to the Tohno way of life. She's also a rather judgmental person, having a tendency to hate people very quickly before she's ever really gotten a chance to know them, a trait I was definitely not a fan of. However, while she isn't the nicest person, there's no doubt that she cares for Shiki, and overtime she softens up a bit and even shows willingness to compromise if it'll make him more comfortable. There's also Ciel, Shiki's senior in school who appears to be at odds with Arcueid for some reason, though I can't really say anything else about her without giving away some kind of spoiler. Neither of these two character are anywhere near as fleshed-out as Shiki or Arcueid (which aren't particularly high bars to clear), but they're likeable enough and I can't say the series would be better off without them. Beyond these four, however, the other characters are pretty weak, with there only being Akiha's two maids Hisui and Kohaku and Shiki's classmates at school, none of whom were all that interesting. The villains are pretty bland as well, with the first one in particular proving to be completely irrelevant to the story and serving as nothing more than some really powerful foe for Shiki to defeat.

Enjoyment (6.5/10):
It should be obvious from the genre alone that "Tsukihime" is most definitely not for the faint of heart, and the series proves that from the very first episode, with even the sudden appearance of Arcueid after Shiki kills her being very unsettling, and the series only getting darker and grimmer from there. While there is some moments of levity, like the episode where the cast go to an amusement park, the dark tone permeates throughout, culminating in an ending that is bittersweet at best.

Overall:
While "Tsukihime" is a decent anime on its own terms, as a Nasuverse anime it's nothing short of a disappointment. The music is certainly great, but it unfortunately falls short in almost every other department, be it the story, characters or visuals. Gothic horror fans will enjoy it, but even they're probably just better off reading the novel (specifically, the remake that was released in recent years). Maybe I'll check it out myself one of these days.

Score:
6+7.5+8.5+6.5+6.5=35/50=7.0/10

Overview:
"The Sacred Blacksmith" is an unfortunate example of a series that, in the hands of a better writer, could have been great, if not brilliant. It has some interesting ideas with a lot of potential, but the execution of these ideas are shaky at best, resulting in a series that is rather clichéd and predictable. While I personally enjoyed it quite a bit, unless you're a huge fan of medieval fantasy stories, I would recommend thinking twice before checking it out.

Story & World (6.5/10):
"The Sacred Blacksmith" is set in a world that appears to be modelled after medieval Europe, which several decades ago was ravaged ... by a horrific war where many people used a powerful weapon known as the Demon Contract, where humans sacrifice their bodies to become powerful demons. Eventually, people realized the damage the contracts had caused the land, with the surviving nations making peace and banning the use of the Demon contracts. Presently, in the city of Houseman, former noblewoman Cecily Campbell has recently become a knight, like her father and grandfather before her. After being beaten by a mad veteran of the war, her family's sword breaking as a result, Cecily ends up getting saved by a mysterious young man. He is Luke Ainsworth, the titular 'Sacred Blacksmith', who is able to forge katanas using magic with the help of his equally mysterious assistant, a young girl known only as Lisa. Impressed by Luke's katana, a weapon she has never seen before, she decides to have Luke forge one for her, though he's less than willing to do so. Soon after, Cecily encounters a woman named Aria, who is actually a Demon Sword that can take human form. The series then follows these four very unlikely allies, as they gradually learn that despite having ended nearly half a century ago, the war still influences the land even to this day.

"The Sacred Blacksmith" has some pretty good worldbuilding, all things considered, with the history of the world being revealed early enough in the series. We also learn that despite the horrific nature of Demon Contracts, demons themselves are not inherently evil, which is shown no better than with Aria, who is nothing but kind, helpful and heroic. Furthermore, most Demon Swords are unable to take the form of a human, with Aria being seen as the exception rather than the norm. Unfortunately, while the worldbuilding is certainly adequate, the actual storytelling leaves a lot to be desired. For starters, it's pretty predictable. It's obvious from the very first episode that Lisa is not a normal girl, with her pointy ears and the fact that she can enable Luke to forge weapons out of nowhere being dead giveaways. However, exactly what is so unusual about her isn't revealed until the last arc of the series, and when it is revealed it's treated like some sort of shocking revelation, almost like we ourselves hadn't figured out by then that there was something up about her.

The series is divided into three arcs, each of which last 4 episodes. While this does ensure that the series never stays in the same place for too long, the arcs themselves feel pretty disjointed from each other, with the second arc in particular having almost nothing to do with the first and third even if the story told in the arc itself isn't necessarily bad. The series is also surprisingly unadventurous, taking place entirely in Homesrun and the area surrounding it, with various other parts of the world being mentioned but never shown. Most of these problems can be explained by the fact that "The Sacred Blacksmith" is originally a series of 16 light novels, with the anime only adapting the first three, ultimately ending with very few plot points resolved. But with the anime having first aired a decade and a half ago at this point, and the animation studio Manglobe having since disbanded, it's extremely unlikely that we will ever see the series continued.

Art & Animation (8/10):
Visually speaking, "The Sacred Blacksmith" looks nice enough. There's a number of good character designs that are all well-drawn and detailed and the environments look adequate as well, even if there are also a good few rough edges and some gratuitous fanservice, including a few uncensored shots of Cecily's breasts, which is probably the only reason the series has a Mature rating. The special effects are great as well, particularly the one when Luke is magically forging a katana. As a whole, the visuals are certainly good, especially for their time.

Sound & Dialogue (8/10):
There really isn't much to say about "The Sacred Blacksmith"'s soundtrack. It's not terrible by any means, but there really isn't any track in it that I care to remember. The opening and ending themes are also totally forgettable, and I skipped both of them pretty much every time. The voice acting, on the other hand, is great, with Cherami Leigh delivering the absolute best performance as Cecily, though Blake Shepard, Anastasia Munoz and Monica Rial (who voice Luke, Aria and Lisa, respectively) are no slouches either. That said, Colleen Clinkenbeard and Brina Palencia both felt pretty underused, with their characters only having a few lines of dialogue each, if that. As a whole, the sound design is good, but I've certainly heard better.

Characters (7/10):
While Luke is the show's namesake, it's clear from the first episode that the real main character is Cecily, though that admittedly takes a bit of getting used to. When the series begins, Cecily has only been a knight for a month and it shows, with her needing to be saved no less than three times over the course of two episodes. There's even one point where she beats up Luke for something that was more her fault than anything, though thankfully this only happens once and she's quick to apologise. After teaming up with Aria, Cecily becomes progressively more badass and competent, a great example being in the second arc, where she goes from struggling with three powerful enemies to singlehandedly defeating those same three enemies by the end of the arc. As a whole, Cecily serves as the show's "emotional centre", albeit more brutally honest than most; specifically, she calls out more than one character for obsessing over the past, as while she knows it can be overwhelming, they should focus on the present since that's what's most important. Considering Cecily herself lost her father to an illness before the series began, it's likely that she's had plenty of experience with that way of thinking, which if anything makes the message stronger since it means she knows what she's talking about. In short, while I didn't like her much at first, overtime she became my favourite character, not that there was much competition.

Next up is the man himself, Luke Ainsworth, who is, to put it bluntly, an asshole, being highly dismissive of Cecily from the moment he meets her for pretty much no good reason. It's one thing to refuse to make a weapon for her, but coldly telling her she's not cut out to be a knight is definitely crossing a line, especially when he does so after knowing her for only a day at most. Furthermore, despite the series being named after him, the amount of focus he gets in the series is surprisingly small; he barely appears in the second arc and it isn't until the last arc that we finally learn how he became the way he is. And yet when his past is revealed, it turns out to be not quite as awful as he himself remembers it to be, making it hard to know exactly how much he was meant to be sympathised with. All of that being said, he does have a fair number of awesome moments and loosens up a fair amount by the end, so I certainly can't say that I hated him.

Then there's Aria, who as I already mentioned is a Demon Sword that can take the form of a human, with all that implies. Despite being treated as a weapon by most people, Aria is very much a living being, having her own personality, wants and dreams just like everyone else. Naturally, this means that Cecily treats her more like a friend and partner than a weapon (not unlike Lucy's attitude towards Celestial Spirits in "Fairy Tail"), and can't stand to see others treat her like a mere object or tool. Sadly, while Aria does get a fair amount of focus early on, her importance gradually diminishes as the series progresses, and by the last few episodes she's pretty much relegated to the background. On the other hand, Lisa goes in the opposite direction, being little more than Luke's assistant until the final arc of the series, where we finally find out who and what she is, meaning anything genuine about her is a huge spoiler. Besides the main four, there are quite a few supporting characters, some of whom earned my respect, some of whom were just there and some I didn't really like at all. As a whole, though, there really isn't any character I'd call "fantastic".

Enjoyment (7/10):
The fact that the story deals with the aftermath of a war means it stands to reason that it would have some pretty upsetting subject matter, and it proves as much from the very beginning, with the first villain being a veteran of the war who's been driven insane because of it. That being said, it's certainly not all doom and gloom, as there's quite a bit of levity to balance out the darkness (even if the comedy may not be to everyone's tastes) and the action scenes are highly entertaining if nothing else.

Overall:
"The Sacred Blacksmith" had a lot of potential to be a truly great series, but ends up being a sad but all-too-common case of "what could have been". The story is interesting but all over the place, the visuals are good but not fantastic, the soundtrack is completely forgettable, the characters take a while to warm up to, the comic bits are passable at best and the action scenes are good but ultimately nothing special. It's not terrible by any stretch, but there just isn't any particular reason to recommend it, as there are plenty of similar, but better anime to watch.

Score:
6.5+8+8+7+7=36.5/50=7.3/10

Overview:
When "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" first graced our screens back in 2011, it pretty much singlehandedly redefined the magical girl genre as we had come to know it. Before then, very few people had even considered a darker take on the genre, and even fewer could claim to have seen one, but nowadays such takes on the genre are far from uncommon, to the point that I'd even go so far as to say they're the norm. "Yuki Yuna is a Hero", an original anime released in 2014, is one such series, and while it may not be quite as deep or emotional as the ... series that inspired it, I do not regret watching it.

Story (7/10):
Set in the fictional Japanese city Sanshu, "Yuki Yuna is a Hero" revolves around the Hero Club, a club of middle school students dedicated to helping others with any problems or needs they may have. The members are as follows; second-year students and best friends Yuna Yuki and Mimori Togo, third-year student Fu Inobozaki (who is also the leader) and first-year student Itsuki Inobozaki (Fu's younger sister). Together, these teenage girls go through day by day helping others in any way they can, be it putting on a show for children or finding homes for stray cats. However, this seemingly ordinary club has a dark secret known only to its leader- their true purpose is to enter a mysterious forest-like realm where they fight mysterious monsters known as the Vertex, which seek to destroy the Shinju-sama (the guardian tree which protects and blesses humanity), and with it the world. After a little hesitation, Yuna, Togo and Itsuki all agree to help Fu defeat these beings in order to protect the world.

The series generally does a very good job at explaining things. The alternate dimension in which the Heroes fight the Vertex is accessed via a special app on their phones (not unlike the Metaverse Nav in "Persona 5"), which was given to them by the Taisha, an organization dedicated to the Shinju-sama. Said app is also used to transform them into their Hero forms, with said feature being unlocked by one's will to fight, meaning some take longer to unlock it than others. As for the Vertex, any damage that they manage to cause to the barrier that protects the Shinju-sama is reflected by disasters happening in the real world, so if the Heroes wish to save as many people as they can, merely preventing the Vertex from destroying the Shinju-sama isn't enough. In general, each Hero has their own unique weapons and abilities, but all of them have a super mode known as Mankai, which temporarily increases their power dramatically at the cost of a part of themselves. But of course, all of this is only the stuff that's covered in the first few episodes, with their being twists and turns a plentiful in the second half of the series.

However, while the story isn't terrible by any means, it isn't really anything special either, even if does try its damn hardest to be such. For one, the series tries to pull a fake finale only five episodes in, with the Heroes having apparently dealt with the threat to the world only for there to be something else afterwards. However, the fact that this attempt is made less than halfway through the series makes it clear that there is some other threat for the girls to deal with, with the only real question being "what". Furthermore, considering the absolute hell the girls go through over the second half of the series, you'd expect the anime to end on a bittersweet note at best, but that isn't the case. In fact, the ending couldn't be happier. It doesn't help that the series initially seems like it's going to have a bittersweet ending only for anything "bitter" to suddenly disappear, with minimal explanation as to how it happened. I'm someone who generally prefers happy endings to tragedies, but I do believe that the happy ending needs to be earned, and the ending didn't really feel earned to me. As a whole, the story just felt rushed, and I was left thinking the series could really have used at least a few more episodes for the writers to get to the conclusion they wanted.

Art & Animation (8.5/10):
If I were to pick a high point of the series, it would have to be the visuals. The series boasts a very crisp and detailed art style, with very well-drawn character models and beautiful environments. A standout example is the dimension in which the Heroes do battle with the Vertex, which pops with colour and character and has a brilliantly surreal look to it. The special effects are great as well, with fluid transformation sequences and some truly awesome-looking attacks. Sure, there are a number of rough edges to be found and the designs of the Vertex are fairly bland and generic, but there are pretty small problems, and overall the series looks great.

Sound & Dialogue (8/10):
I'm probably in the minority when I say that "Yuki Yuna is a Hero"'s soundtrack is... not great, which is a real shame given that it was composed by the same people who did the absolutely amazing soundtrack for "Nier Automata". While it's not a bad soundtrack per se, it doesn't really feel like anything I haven't heard many times before, and I can't think of a single track that stood out for me. Sadly, this includes the opening and ending themes, both of which I skipped every time. Sound-wise, I would give the majority of praise to the voice acting; Xanthe Huynh and Erika Harlacher (who uses a much softer voice than normal) deliver the best performances as Yuna and Togo, respectively, and the rest of the main cast (Brianna Knickerbocker, Erica Mendez and Sarah Williams) do great jobs as well. As a whole, the sound design is good, but I've heard better.

Characters (7.5/10):
As you might have guessed from the title, Yuna is the main character, and also my favourite. Personality-wise, Yuna is very kind and always looks on the bright side of almost any situation. Even before learning about the Hero Club's true purpose, she is very dedicated to helping those in need and while she's initially shocked by the Vertex fights, she quickly embraces her purpose and sees it as a way to do what a hero does. She's also very energetic, a big eater and in general acts a lot like a shonen protagonist in magical girl form, and I mean that in a good way. Her passion and energy is even reflected in her fighting style, in that she fights using armoured gauntlets and greaves, so her solution to taking out Vertex is generally to hit them really, really hard. Above all else, however, Yuna is an amazing friend, especially to her childhood best friend Togo, whom she's known since their last years of elementary school. Put simply, Yuna helped Togo get through what was easily the most difficult period of her life, making it hard not to see why Togo is so devoted to her or why the two are pretty much inseparable. All in all, there isn't anything particularly revolutionary about her character, but there didn't really need to be, and the creators certainly made the right call in making her the protagonist.

Then there's Mimori Togo, who for a reason explained late in the series, prefers to be called by her last name by everyone, including Yuna. While Togo is a very kind girl like Yuna, she also tends to be very pessimistic and often focuses on the worst-case scenario, taking the news about the truth of the Hero Club by far the worst. Unfortunately, this causes problems in the beginning when it comes to her transforming, as the Hero transformation is driven by one's will to fight. Tellingly, it isn't until the second battle that Togo transforms for the first time (while Yuna, Fu and Itsuki all transform during the first) and when she does, it's out of a desire to protect Yuna. While she's mostly a cheerful person, it's all but outright stated that the only reason she can be such is because of Yuna, who helped her adjust to life again after she lost the use of her legs and some of her memories, and she believes that there's no point in being a hero if she can't even protect the people she cares about. While she can be very irrational at times, especially in the last few episodes, she's overall a very likeable, well-rounded and sympathetic character, and easily my favourite after Yuna. And hey, if a wheelchair-bound magical girl who wields a sniper rifle in combat isn't enough to convince you to give this show a try, nothing will.

If I were to pick a favourite character after Yuna and Togo, it would have to be Itsuki Inobozaki, the youngest of the group and also the most timid, having great trouble speaking up and getting nervous in crowds. Despite her shyness, however, Itsuki is very brave and instantly summons the will to become a Hero, as she can't bear to lose Fu, who is the only family she has left after the death of their parents. Overtime, Itsuki becomes bolder and more confident, even developing a surprisingly sarcastic streak. As for Fu herself, she is a very responsible person for her age due to having to take care of Itsuki on her own and being the only one who knew about the Hero Club's purpose from the beginning. As the oldest of the Heroes, Fu is officially the leader and president of the club, and generally she does a pretty good job at it, though she can also be very full-of-herself at times, which is a major source of embarrassment for Itsuki, especially considering she's her legal guardian. A few episodes in, the Heroes are joined by a fifth and final member, Karin Miyoshi, who is also my least favourite. Having been specifically trained by the Taisha ever since she was a child, Karin arrogantly introduces herself as a "true" Hero, and while she does live up to that claim at first (defeating a Vertex effortlessly on her own), after that her competence takes a nosedive, and it isn't until the last couple of episodes that she manages to contribute anything meaningful again. Nevertheless, said contribution is massive, and she does get a fair amount of character development as well, going from a prickly girl who looks down on the others to a loyal friend who will do anything to protect them. Besides the main five, the number of notable characters can literally be counted on one hand, and anything about them is a huge spoiler, so I'll just leave it at that.

Enjoyment (7.5/10):
The first half of the series does a pretty good job at balancing action and slice-of-life, with the first two episodes leaning towards the former and the third and fourth episodes having more of the latter. However, while things do start off lighthearted and optimistic, the series becomes very heavy on the feels, with one shocking revelation after another, to the point that you would have to have a heart of stone not to tear up at least a little. However, while things do become absolute hell for the girls for a while, as I said before, the series does ultimately manage to end on a happy note, so it's not too bad.

Overall:
"Yuki Yuna is a Hero" certainly tries to follow in the footsteps of "Madoka Magica", but due to an indecisive story and mostly forgettable soundtrack, it falls pretty short of delivering all that it promises. Even so, it's not a complete failure altogether and if you're a fan of mature magical girl series, this is a show that's definitely worth a look, as it has great visuals, exciting action scenes and very likeable characters.

Score:
7+8.5+8+7.5+7.5=38.5/50=7.7/10

Note: This will be a review of all three seasons.

Overview:
"Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.", roughly translated as "My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU" and generally abbreviated as "Oregairu", is, as the name suggests, about as unconventional as romantic comedies get, to the point that it can hardly be called a romcom at all. In truth, it's more of a study of youth, honesty, the difficulty of solving problems instead of avoiding them and the inner workings of relationships and social acceptance in general. The result is a very unique, interesting and complex series that I am truly proud to have spent my time ... watching.

Story (9/10):
"Oregairu" tells the story of Hachiman Hikigaya, an isolated, friendless boy in his second year of high school who, at the start of the series, has given up on society. Having suffered one social failure after another for most of his life, Hachiman has grown to believe that youth is nothing but a lie created by hypocrites, for hypocrites. After submitting an essay that essentially just amounts to being a rant about society, his teacher coerces him into joining the newly-founded Service Club, a club dedicated to helping others solve their problems, in the hopes that exposing him to the goodness of others will alter Hachiman's worldview, and by extension, make him a better person. Once there, he meets Yukino Yukinoshita, the smartest and most popular girl in school, who has founded the Service Club with the intention of "changing the world", as she puts it. Not long after, Hachiman and Yukino are joined by Yui Yuigahama, a friendly, sociable girl and Hachiman's classmate. From there, the series follows one year of these three teenagers' lives, as they gradually get to know each other and their schoolmates, while also helping them with any problems they may have (or at least trying to).

One thing you'll quickly notice is that the series rarely goes out of its way to explain anything, with character's personalities frequently being shown via expression rather than dialogue and the exposition pretty much never being obvious. While there is plenty of dialogue, the series also has a lot of lines that seem honest and deep, but are really just ways to highlight characters' major personality flaws. No better is this shown than with Hachiman himself, given that the story is told from his point-of-view, meaning it's up to us to figure out which of the things he says are true and which are just his own biases. However, while the series is never boring, it does have some minor pacing problems at times, with the first season following a generally episodic structure with little story progression and the third season having a single, long story arc that feels like it goes on for a few episodes longer than it needs to. The second season, however, has no such problems, having both multiple arcs and plenty of progression, as well as a ton of character development for each of our main characters and many of the supporting ones too.

As a whole, the story is just fantastic, particularly in how it shows that cynicism will only make you even worse off in the long run. I tell you what, if "Evangelion" wasn't enough proof of where the "never be hurt again" approach to life will get you, this series definitely is. Initially, Hachiman's methods to solving problems almost always have him play the role of a villain, often ending in others hating him while the people around him get closer, which he doesn't care about since he's used to being an outcast anyway, and it doesn't hurt him to know that others hate him- if anything, he welcomes it. Overtime, however, not only does he realise that other people care if he gets hurt even if he doesn't, but he's forced to face the fact that his solutions to problems really aren't solutions at all, since he's only concerned with making the immediate issue go away with zero concern for the bigger picture. It doesn't help that his methods generally involve him stepping in to solve a matter personally, which goes against the very philosophy the Service Club was founded upon i.e. lending a helping hand and getting people to solve their own problems. At its core, the story is about one boy's journey to finally gaining what he had long thought didn't exist, a seemingly simple concept that is nevertheless executed in a way that is extremely touching, complex and compelling, culminating in a very rewarding conclusion.

Art & Animation (8.5/10):
"Oregairu"'s visuals evolve a lot as the series goes on. The first season, animated by Brain's Base, looks pretty average, with the character models being rather lumpy and rough-looking, the environments being not much to look at and the animations being pretty weak as well. Starting with season 2, however, Feel takes over as the animation studio, and the visuals improve in just about every aspect, from the character models and environments being much smoother and more detailed, the animations being much more fluid and there being plenty of great lighting effects, which come in handy during one particularly memorable scene. I don't know exactly what led to the change in studio between seasons, but I can certainly say it was a change that was very much for the better.

Sound & Dialogue (8.5/10):
The music in general is decent, though there aren't really any tracks that I found myself looking up after hearing them. Throughout the three seasons, there are three openings (all of which are sung by Nagi Yanagi) and three ending themes (all of which are sung by Yukino and Yui's VAs, Saori Hayami and Nao Toyama), and all of them are worth listening to, though none of them are ones I would rank among my favourites. The voice acting is very good in both Japanese and English, though some performances are better than others; of the main cast, I would say that Takuya Eguchi and Adam Gibbs do equally good jobs as Hachiman, Saori Hayami does a better job at voicing Yukino than Melissa Molano and Cat Thomas makes for a better Yui than Nao Toyama. Beyond that, both versions of the show feature a fair amount of great talents including Ryoya Yuzuki, Mikako Komatsu, Takashi Kondo, Ayane Sakura, Scott Gibbs, Luci Christian and even Monica Rial. Overall, the sound design is very good, but not particularly outstanding.

Characters (8.5/10):
It's obvious from the very first episode that Hachiman is a very flawed character, but that's precisely what makes him so compelling, more so than any other character in the series. We've all heard the phrase "be yourself" and there's nothing wrong with that. However, Hachiman is an example of what happens when someone takes the phrase a little TOO literally. He's resigned himself to being a cynical loner because he's convinced that's the kind of person he is, and sees no use in trying to be somebody he's not. Even early on, however, it's made apparent that he can't keep living the way he is forever, with just about everyone being annoyed, disgusted or disturbed (in most cases, some combination of the three) by his cynicism and senseless rants about society. Even his sister Komachi, who on the surface seems to be the only person Hachiman has a perfectly stable relationship with, is in her own way just as put off by his attitude as anyone else in the series, even admitting to the man himself that if she weren't related to him, she'd avoid him like the plague. His cynicism also hinders his ability to solve problems effectively, as he tends to approach them based on his own past experiences (unknowingly projecting himself onto others in the process) and, due to his lack of faith in human growth, tends to focus on making a problem go away altogether rather than actually improving the people around him. Deep down, Hachiman is well aware that he has issues, but just thinks it's too much of a hassle to actually do anything about them, which so happens to be exactly what I was like when I was his age. Eventually, however, Hachiman grows to realise that he wants to have genuine bonds with others, becoming more open to change and learning a lot of valuable lessons, most significantly that there's often a big difference between what someone wants and what's actually best for them. Essentially, "Oregairu" is all about Hachiman's growth from a guy you would hate to meet in real life, to someone you can easily relate to, to a thoroughly likeable and decent human being.

While Hachiman is my favourite character overall, Yukino Yukinoshita is easily second best, being very similar to him in some ways and the opposite of him in others. Unlike Hachiman, Yukino is very popular in school and works very hard, though it's soon revealed that she doesn't have any real friends, at least until she befriends Yui early in the series. While Hachiman believes that people don't actually change, Yukino believes that they not only can change, but should change, even making it clear early on that the Service Club's purpose isn't to solve people's problems, but to get them to solve their own problems. This belief stems from a history of being bullied by envious girls who resented her superiority, and would rather drag her down to their level instead of making an effort to better themselves. That she sees the ugliness in the world yet makes an effort to do something about it is certainly a quality to be respected, and her problem-solving methods do prove to be more beneficial than Hachiman's in the long term. That's not to say she's always right, of course. Indeed, in some ways, her own worldview is just as warped and messed-up as Hachiman's. For example, in the first episode, she claims that taking solace in trying your hardest at something even if you fail is nothing more than "a shallow sense of self-satisfaction". This in turn provides early, valuable insight into Yukino's pride, which proves to be her greatest flaw, since for all the lengths she goes to to help others, she has great trouble accepting help in return, which causes serious friction between the Service Club members on a couple of occasions. While she claims early on that it's impossible for her and Hachiman to be friends, by season 2 there's no denying that she cares a lot for him and can't stand to see him degrade himself for no good reason, and she's a really sweet and warm-hearted girl beneath her cold exterior, though said exterior is pretty much completely gone by the end.

The third and final main character is Yui Yuigahama, Hachiman's classmate who becomes the first client of the Service Club and joins them as their third member soon after. In contrast to both Hachiman and Yukino, Yui is very lively, energetic and optimistic, as well as being way more socially adept, as shown by the fact that she has some friends at the start of the series, though Yukino quickly becomes her best and closest friend. While not a genius like Hachiman and Yukino, she's by no means dumb, and is a lot more emotionally perceptive than the other two, often picking up on things that they miss. While she's something of a doormat in the beginning, being friends with the brutally honest Yukino causes her to become much bolder and more confident, both for better and for worse. As a whole, Yui is just adorable, being really kind and almost always cheerful, which makes the rare moments where she isn't all the more heartbreaking. However, while I do like her a lot (hell, I love her), she ultimately doesn't have nearly as much depth or development as Hachiman or Yukino, and her role as the resident "nice girl" becomes kind of irrelevant in later episodes, since by then it's clear that all the main characters are nice. They just have different ways of showing it.

Beyond the Service Club members, there are plenty of supporting characters, all of whom are more than they seem, though some do tend to get favoured over others. A perfect example of this is Iroha Isshiki, a first-year who is introduced in the second season and from there practically becomes an honorary fourth member of the club with the amount of screentime she gets. While she appears lazy and manipulative at first, she turns out to be a hard worker and very nice person, with Hachiman eventually admitting that his first impression of her was completely wrong. As for the male characters, one example would be Saika Totsuka, a classmate of Hachiman and Yui's who is basically a male version of the latter, and is so cute-looking he could easily be mistaken for a girl (doesn't help that he's a woman in both languages). He's so cute, in fact, that he causes Hachiman to question his sexuality, which makes for some pretty hilarious moments. Another male example is Hayato Hayama, a very popular student and former friend of Yukino, who eventually turns out to have a lot in common with Hachiman of all people. For a non-student example, there's Shizuka Hiratsuka, Hachiman's homeroom teacher and the one who got him to join the Service Club in the first place, who's insecure about being unmarried at her age (which is played for laughs at first, but becomes a more serious topic overtime). There's also the aforementioned Komachi, Yukino's dysfunctional family and a number of other students, but anything about them is best left unsaid.

Enjoyment (8/10):
While the anime starts off lighthearted enough, it really doesn't take long to get to the heavy stuff. It's practically an unwritten rule that a wedge has to be driven between the Service Club members at least once per season, and just when it seems like they've sorted things out, something else happens that drives them apart even further than before. It gets to the point where the title "My Teen Romantic Drama SNAFU" would be more appropriate, as by the mid-point of season 2 there's almost no comedy to speak of, and the humour that is there tends to be very dry. Even so, the series rewards viewers who are able to handle such things, and does manage to end on a mostly happy note.

Overall:
In spite of all that it is, "Oregariu"'s ultimate message is that pessimism never did and never will help anyone, and you can't let yourself be defined by the worst parts of your life. While it may not be the best slice-of-life anime ever, a truly involving story, deep, complex characters, good music and great visuals makes this a series well worth watching for those willing to see it through, or for those who simply want a twist on the typical school life drama.

Score:
9+8.5+8.5+8.5+8=42.5/50=8.5/10

Note: This will be a review of the series in its entirety.

Overview:
"The Irregular at Magic High School" is an anime that is surprisingly difficult to recommend. While the magic school setting is certainly appealing enough, if not particularly original, the series also has a number of highly controversial elements that can and have put off some people altogether, resulting in a series that is highly divisive in the anime community. Even so, if you don't mind highly over-powered protagonists and sisters with very obvious feelings for their brother then this is a series you may very well end up enjoying, even if there isn't much ... remarkable about it.

Story & World (7/10):
The series is set in the year 2095, in an alternate version of Earth where magic exists and has been used as a science for more than a century. Unfortunately, this has resulted in a world where people's value are judged by their genetics, and several decades before the series begins, more than half of the human population was wiped out in World War 3. Following the end of this catastrophic war, the world has been divided into four superpowers; the United States of North America (USNA), the New Soviet Union, the Great Asian Alliance, and Japan. In Japan, the magic community is informally governed by the Ten Master Clans in lieu of the government. Due to the limited number of magicians, they are treated as a commodity and are forced to enter magic-related schools and professions, of which there are nine in total. That's where our protagonists come in in the form of Tatsuya and Miyuki Shiba, a pair of siblings who have recently been enrolled in First High School. However, Tatsuya and Miyuki have a dark secret; they're both secretly members of the dreaded Yotsuba family, one of the Ten Master Clans who are best described as magicians' equivalent of the Yakuza. What's more is that Tatsuya serves as the bodyguard to Miyuki, who is one of the candidates for being the next Yotsuba head, as well as a soldier in the army, which he joined at the young age of 13. The time he spends at school is Tatsuya's first chance at having some normalcy in his life, and he is prepared to deal with any threats to this, of which there are plenty, with extreme prejudice.

The series spends a lot of time building its world, with plenty of exposition provided from multiple sources. For example, in First High School, students are divided into two courses; Course 1 students are called honour students or "Blooms", and Course 2 students are called Irregulars or the derisive name "Weeds", with Miyuki being in the former course and Tatsuya being in the latter. Naturally, this results in a lot of discrimination amongst the students, with honour students believing themselves as inherently superior to Irregulars. However, being a Course 2 student does not automatically mean you're weak, as contrary to popular belief, magical prowess is NOT the be all, end all when it comes to potential, as there are plenty of other ways one can be a badass in this universe. No better is this shown than with Tatsuya himself, who often doesn't even need to use any magic to win a fight and while he may have only two types of magic (Decomposition and Reconstruction), said magic is incredibly powerful and versatile. The only reason he's in Course 2 at all is because he's a Born-Specialised magician (a kind of magician who can only use certain types of magic), and so is only good in a fight, but not good at much else. However, in a series like this, being good in a fight is what's easily most important, so it's hardly an issue. At its core, the series is divided into arcs, with season 1 having three arcs and season 2 having just 1, with another mini-arc towards the end. There's also the "Reminiscence" arc, which covers the past of the Shiba siblings and how they became so close, and the spin-off series "The Honour Student at Magic High School", which is essentially the first two arcs of season 1 told from Miyuki's perspective.

Unfortunately, it's not long before the series starts to get confusing, and trust me, it doesn't get any clearer as time goes on. For all the time the series spends talking about how magic works, there are nevertheless plenty of things about it that the series doesn't explain, so you'll frequently find yourself with just as many questions as you will answers. The motivations of characters are also unclear quite often, so I often found myself wondering why certain characters were doing certain things. Also, some people may find the fact that the series features China and America as antagonists to be very off-putting, though thankfully things are grey enough that the series avoids insulting anybody. Furthermore, the arc format tends to work against the series at times, as the overarching plotline moves at a snail's pace, to the point that even towards the end of the second season, it still feels like the series is just getting started, though the third season at least has a fair amount of progress. I still enjoyed the individual stories of each arc, even if they were far from perfect, but there's still no denying that the background plot leaves a lot to be desired, with me still having so many questions about just what was going on even in the end.

Art & Animation (8.5/10):
"The Irregular at Magic High School" has some really great visuals. The first season is animated by Madhouse, the second season and the "Reminiscence" OVA are animated by Eight Bit and the "Honour Student" spin-off is animated by Connect, with a notably brighter art palette to boot. Regardless of what part of the series you're watching, however, the characters and environments are very well-drawn and detailed and the effects of the magic range from great to awe-inspiring. It doesn't look spectacular, with many other anime having similar art styles, but the visuals are still definitely one of the show's high points.

Sound & Dialogue (9/10):
The soundtrack is composed by Taku Iwasaki, who has composed some fantastic soundtracks over the years, of which include the ones for "Gurren Lagann" and "Noragami". As such, good music is to be expected here, and thankfully he does not disappoint with some great battle music to be heard. Throughout the first two seasons and the spin-off, there are a total of five openings and seven ending themes, all of which I never skipped with the exception of the first ending theme of the first season and the second ending theme of the third season, though the second ending theme of the first season "Mirror" is absolutely my favourite. The voice acting is excellent as well; I had to wait 8 years for the first season to finally be dubbed and surprisingly it was worth the wait, with Alejandro Saab and Anairis Quinones delivering fantastic performances as Tatsuya and Miyuki respectively (the latter being especially impressive, since Miyuki was her first leading role). Besides these two, the cast consists mainly of new talents, but also some old favourites like Xanthe Huynh, Erica Mendez and even Michelle Ruff, albeit as a character who doesn't really do anything. Overall, I would consider the sound design to be the show's greatest strength.

Characters (7.5/10):
The chemistry between the two leads can be pretty heavy-handed at times. Even for siblings who were born less than a year apart, Tatsuya and Miyuki are extremely close, to the point that they often seem like lovers instead of brother and sister. It doesn't help that Miyuki has very blatant non-sibling feelings for Tatsuya, which are obvious to everyone except the guy in question. Most of the time, however, their relationship works, and Miyuki and Tatsuya are both great characters in their own right. Miyuki, in particular, I think should be given credit for how nicely she steers away from the "spoiled child" stereotype in spite of her siscon brother. Tatsuya will frequently spend a large amount of his finance just to make his sister happy, and you'd think this would make her a selfish brat but it doesn't. Instead, she's polite, well-mannered, charismatic, compassionate and quick to jump to Tatsuya's defence whenever someone says something bad about him (which given that he's an Irregular, tends to happen a lot). Being an honour student, Miyuki is more than used to all the praise she gets from others and is even irritated by it, which is exactly the kind of personality trait that would have turned Misa Amane from one of the most annoying characters ever to one that was at least tolerable. She doesn't even seem to be aware of how popular she is, which takes humility to a whole new level. And really, Miyuki has a lot to brag about, as she more than lives up to her reputation as a powerful magician, at one point freezing an entire room of soldiers in mere seconds with a single spell. Throw in both the Reminiscence arc and the "Honour Student" spin-off, both of which expand a lot on her backstory and motivations, and she proves herself to be, if a little annoying at times, an incredibly loveable character.

Then there's Tatsuya himself, who can be best described as the closest thing anime has to John Wick. Due to an experiment performed on him as a child (yes, his family is THAT messed-up), Tatsuya is incapable of feeling any strong emotions. "Strong" being the operative word here, as he is capable of feeling things. He can get annoyed but not angry, happy but not ecstatic, he can dislike something but not hate it and like something but not love it. The only strong emotion he has is his love for his sister, which naturally means he tends to spoil her a lot and is extremely protective of her, to the point that if her life is threatened, he will make the person pay with their lives, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop him. Helping flesh out his personality is that he's often bothered by the fact by his lack of real emotions, since it means he can't truly repay the kindness others show him and it's hard for him to show how much he cares for his friends. Unfortunately, his lack of strong emotions means that there's little room for character development, though the fact that he already went through a lot of hardship before the story began means that this isn't too much of an issue. That said, while he does need the help of others from time to time, very few characters in the series can genuinely pose a threat to him, and he ultimately ends the series with no real losses on his hands. And since he's the guy who gets the most screentime, if you find the idea of him always winning boring, then there's a big chance that you are not going to like this series.

Throughout the series, there are various students whom the Shiba siblings meet and befriend. My favourite of these would have to be Erika Chiba, an energetic classmate of Tatsuya's who comes from a family who are basically samurais, and so is more akin to using swordplay than magic. Personality-wise, she's bright and optimistic, but also brash and tomboyish, making her a nice contrast both to Tatsuya's cold, cynical nature and Miyuki's refined, feminine personality. There's also Leonhardt Saijou, or Leo for short, a classmate of Tatsuya and Erika's who frequently bickers with the former, though the amount of time they spend together makes it clear they do care about each other. Leo is best described as the "fists first, ask questions later" type, and generally serves as the main muscle of the group. Other students include Mayumi Saegusa, the student council president of First High School who often flirts with Tatsuya and is strongly against the discrimination Irregulars face, Mikihiko Yoshida, Erika's childhood friend who specialises in spiritual magic, Mizuki Shibata, a timid, calm girl who wears glasses to stop herself from seeing things that others can't, Shizuku Kitayama, a stoic honour student and classmate and close friend of Miyuki's, and Honoka Mitsui, another honour student and friend of Miyuki and Shizuku, who is generally very cheerful and kind. Season 2 also gives us Angelina Kudou Shields, a transfer student from America who develops a fierce rivalry with Tatsuya and Miyuki, though it's hard to say anything about her without spoiling something. None of these characters get nearly as much focus as Tatsuya or Miyuki, but they do help to liven things up and the series would definitely be a lot worse without them.

Besides the students in First High, the series' cast is very large, with us being often introduced to characters from other schools as well as family members of numerous characters, particularly members from Tatsuya and Miyuki's family. Then there are the numerous members of factions that antagonise the heroes, many of whom have understandable motivations but go way too far with their methods. Unfortunately, the large cast means it's inevitable that many of them will end up underdeveloped, and even among the more important characters there are a few that I wish could have gotten some more moments to really shine.

Enjoyment (7.5/10):
"The Irregular at Magic High School" is pretty slow to start, with most of the first few episodes consistently mainly of worldbuilding and exposition with a few fight scenes in-between, one of which is so brief that the explanation of what happened during the fight takes longer than the fight itself. Furthermore, things don't really speed up overtime, with the series often going multiple episodes without any real action. Even so, there is plenty of levity to be found, with a lot of funny and heartwarming moments to ease the tension and to keep the series from ever getting too heavy.

Overall:
"The Irregular at Magic High School" may not stand out or innovate in many ways, but it is nevertheless an anime that I do not regret spending my precious time on. To say it's not for everyone would be an understatement, and even those who manage to get into it will find it heavy and unclear at the best of times, but if you manage to get past all of those, then you will be rewarded with a very interesting, enjoyable and entertaining series, featuring an original take on an overused concept, likeable characters, good action scenes, great visuals and fantastic music.

Score:
7+8.5+9+7.5+7.5=39.5/50=7.9/10

Overview:
If you're an anime fan, or at the very least watch anime regularly, then it's more-or-less a guarantee that at some point you have at least heard of the Big Three, a term used to refer to three beloved shonen anime ("Bleach", "One Piece" and "Naruto"), called such for their extraordinarily long running times and worldwide popularity. Out of the three, the only one I have seen (and only one I intend to see) is "Bleach", which falls into the sub-genre of bangsian fantasy i.e. fantasies that revolve around the afterlife. While it may be far from perfect, ultimately it more than lives up to ... its reputation as an anime classic.

Story & World (8.5/10):
For as long as he can remember, 15-year-old Ichigo Kurosaki has been able to see the souls of those who have died, an ability he's not all that fond of but has learned to live with. One day, he encounters a demon that is after the soul of a young girl. Fortunately, said demon is swiftly taken care of by a mysterious girl in a black kimono. Later, he encounters the girl again in his home, and learns that her name is Rukia Kuchiki and that she's a Soul Reaper (or Shinigami, depending on what language you're watching), otherworldly beings tasked with helping souls pass on to the afterlife or Soul Society, as while most souls pass on peacefully after death, there are many that choose to stay in the World of the Living for various reasons, whether it be fear or because there's still something they have to do. Souls that take too long to pass on become one of the demons that Ichigo encountered earlier, known as Hollows, which feed off other souls and even attack humans, with it being a Soul Reaper's job to purify them and allow them to finally pass on. After a disastrous encounter with another Hollow, Rukia ends up giving her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo, which leaves her almost powerless but allows Ichigo to become a Soul Reaper himself. Now stuck in the World of the Living until further notice, Rukia is forced to pose as an ordinary human, wearing an artificial body called a Gigai so that normal people can see her. Rukia then becomes a mentor to Ichigo so he can fill in for her until her powers come back. But to be perfectly honest, I've only scratched the surface when it comes to the story, as things only get more and more elaborate from there.

The series starts off with a rather standard "monster of the week" format, though "of the week" is probably inaccurate given that even early stories tend to be two-parters at the shortest. What's more is that most of the early episodes prove to be important innocuously, with subtle developments that prove to have a pay-off in later episodes, such as certain people Ichigo and Rukia help ultimately developing powers of their own and becoming their allies. What's more is that it doesn't take long for Ichigo's endeavours to develop beyond mere Hollow-hunting, with a major event ultimately pushing him to enter the Soul Society itself, which is where the story really begins, with twists and turns a plentiful and tons of worldbuilding, with us learning more and more about Soul Reapers and their organization (known as the 13 Court Guard Squads), Hollows and another race of supernatural beings known as the Quincies, which are regarded as the opposite of Soul Reapers, on top of multiple other races that I can't say anything about without giving away major spoilers. As I said, the whole thing gets really elaborate, and will probably leave you wanting to keep watching episode after episode in order to see what happens next.

However, while the series certainly starts off strongly, there are a number of parts where I felt the momentum was lost. After all, any anime that runs for a total of 366 episodes (which is practically unheard of for modern anime, if not impossible) is basically asking for trouble, and "Bleach" runs into that problem because of the fact that nearly a third of its episodes are anime-only. These filler arcs aren't awful per se, but they just can't measure up to the main arcs and feel completely disconnected from the main story, to the point that I wouldn't be able to blame you if you decided to just skip them entirely. Overall, the quality of the series really depends on what arc you're currently watching- when it's bad, it's mediocre and when it's good, it's amazing. Overall, the story did manage to keep me invested despite the incredibly long length of the anime, topping it all off with a very satisfying ending, though I know that it's not the end given that the final arc of the manga is currently in the middle of airing.

Art & Animation (9/10):
While "Bleach"'s storytelling may vary a fair amount, the same cannot be said for its visuals. To give you an idea of how fantastic they are, the first season first aired exactly two decades ago this year, and yet it still manages to be as good-looking as some anime that only aired a few years ago, if not better-looking. The character models and environments are are very well-drawn and detailed, there are plenty of great character designs and the animations and special effects are almost consistently excellent and a sight to behold. It doesn't look flawless, with there being a number of shots where characters suddenly look very strange, but that was inevitable for such a long-running series, and these moments are ultimately infrequent enough not to make too much of an impact.

Sound & Dialogue (9.5/10):
"Bleach"'s soundtrack was composed by Shiro Sagisu of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" fame, and it shows as the music is just as good as it is in that series, if not more so. Out of the openings, my favourites would be "DtechnoLIfe", "Ichirin no Hana", "Velconica", "Ranbu no Melody" and "Harukaze", and there are plenty of great tracks that play during the episodes, such as "On the Precipice of Defeat", "Never Meant to Belong", "Will of the Heart", "Soundscape to Ardor" and the incredibly iconic "Number One". The voice acting is absolutely fantastic- Johnny Yong Bosch and Michelle Ruff deliver amazing performances as Ichigo and Rukia respectively (the very roles that made them the stars they are today) and the dub has an incredible cast in general that includes Stephanie Sheh, Jamieson Price, Derek Stephen Prince, Wendee Lee, Vic Mignogna, Patrick Seitz and many more. Unfortunately, the huge number of characters means that a lot of characters end up having the same voice actor, which is very noticeable in places. Overall, however, the sound design is easily one of the show's many strengths.

Characters (10/10):
Despite being the protagonist of one of the Big Three, Ichigo's reputation is somewhat divisive in the anime community, with many noting that he lacks any long-term ambitions compared to other shonen heroes and claiming that this makes him less interesting by comparison. Having watched the series myself, however, I feel that this criticism is largely undeserved. Because he HAS ambition; it's just that that doesn't take the form of "I want to create world peace." or "I want to become the strongest Soul Reaper." or anything grandiose like that. No, what Ichigo wants is the power and strength necessary to protect and help as many people as he possibly can. He mentions in an early episode that he doesn't see himself as someone capable of protecting everyone in the world, and instead he's going to focus on what he can do, making him very grounded and realistic as far as shonen protagonists go. Further separating him from other shonen protagonists is that he's very intelligent and a capable student, ranking in the top 25 in his school as far as academics go as a simple result of studying hard for exams, which he does to mitigate the misconceptions he gets due to his orange hair and tendency to get into fights. In general, Ichigo is an incredibly hard worker, to the point that once he has his mind set on a goal, you can bet your very life that he'll achieve it no matter how many times he has to try (which tends to be quite a few, as he's far from invincible in a fight). As for his actual personality, he's stubborn, short-tempered and sarcastic, but there's never any doubt that he cares a lot for his friends and family. He's protective of his younger sisters especially, even believing that the oldest sibling is born first to protect all the ones that follow. He also has little respect for authority, making it clear to Rukia very early on that he'll protect people and souls because he wants to rather than because it's his duty. Throw in a very compelling backstory and character arc and I most definitely did not mind that he was on-screen for the majority of the show's runtime.

But while Ichigo is certainly an amazing character in his own right, it's Rukia who really sold me on the series. She is generally just as sharp-tongued as Ichigo, but also a lot more cool-headed and far more friendly and approachable, though she does tend to play up a cutesy act to get into others' good graces. Generally, when Ichigo and Rukia share a scene together, it's almost a guarantee that they'll be bickering like a brother and sister, and it certainly helps (or doesn't help) that she's barely taller than his actual sisters. Although she loses most of her Soul Reaper powers early on, she's still fully capable of using magic (specifically, a type of magic known as kido) and can put up a defensive fight against Hollows. And when she does get her powers back, well, let's just say that it's well worth the wait, as from there she gets many more opportunities to show off how awesome she can be. Apart from being a badass, she has plenty of adorable moments as well, particularly when it comes to her serious weakness for anything cute, which made me smile and even laugh on multiple occasions. She's also very selfless and always puts the needs of her friends before her own, to the point that Ichigo feels she spends too much time worrying about other people and not enough time worrying about herself, which does prove to be a major problem in one arc, though if anything it makes for some really good character development. In short, Rukia is not only my favourite character in the series, but also one of my favourite animated characters ever.

Over the course of the first arc, Ichigo and Rukia gain multiple allies that aid them over the series. Chief among these is Orihime Inoue, Ichigo's childhood friend who lives alone due to the death of her older brother several years before the story began. Personality-wise, she's best described as a pure-hearted goofball with a very overactive imagination, though she's definitely not without her moments of angst and isn't quite as cheerful as her usual demeanour would have you believe. She's also a pacifist by nature, which naturally means she tends to stay out of the fighting, since in this universe powers are fuelled by one's personality and being at peace with one's self. There's also Yasutora "Chad" Sado, Ichigo's half-Mexican best friend who's very similar to him in some ways and the complete opposite in others. Like Ichigo, he often gets into fights and so has a reputation as a delinquent, while also being far more intelligent than this implies (academically, he's even better than Ichigo). Unlike Ichigo, however, he rarely talks and is nothing but polite and kind to everyone he meets. In fact, his first real episode has him risking his life to save a boy he only just met (keep in mind that he doesn't even have any powers at this point) and ultimately writing off as no big deal. He's also very much a badass who packs a mean punch, though he's sadly overshadowed by tons of other characters in the series. Finally, there's Uryu Ishida, Ichigo's first true rival and a Quincy, who as I mentioned above are the opposite of Soul Reapers- while Soul Reapers dress in dark uniforms and wield swords in combat, Quincies dress in light clothes and wield bows and arrows, which they create out of light energy. Initially having a strong hatred for Soul Reapers, Uryu naturally starts off at odds with Ichigo and attempts to prove that he's superior, though he soon mellows out and becomes one of his allies, though he'll still deny that he cares about him to his dying breath. In general, Uryu is definitely the least openly friendly member of the core cast and probably outdoes both Ichigo and Rukia when it comes to sarcasm, though he's also very chivalrous and has a soft spot for women, as well as being very good at sewing. Unfortunately, much like Chad, he proves to be no match for the strongest members of the cast, and so the chances he gets to shine (no pun intended) aren't as frequent as you would probably like.

Besides these five, "Bleach" features an absolutely massive and diverse cast of characters, to the point that it would take a lifetime for me to go through them all. I can at least say that, as the name suggests, the 13 Court Guard Squads is made up of 13 squads of Soul Reapers, consisting of a captain, a lieutenant and several other members that get a varying degree of focus. Among these are Kenpachi Zaraki, the incredibly badass fight-loving captain of Squad 11 who I found myself loving even more than I do Ichigo, Toshiro Hitsugaya, the young captain of Squad 10 and a child prodigy, who is in some ways a male Rukia, and Renji Abarai, the lieutenant of Squad 6 and an old friend of Rukia's, who is just as hot-headed as Ichigo if not more so. Outside the 13 Court Guard Squads, there's also Kisuke Urahara, an exiled Soul Reaper who serves as a mentor to Ichigo and is probably the most intelligent character in the series, more so even than the main villain, who themself is nothing short of a mastermind. And there are so many other characters that I wish I could talk about, but can't since doing so risks giving away huge spoilers. What I really like about the series is that it generally focuses on developing the characters who matter, and doesn't waste too much time on anyone irrelevant to the story, meaning there's a big chance that someone you like will get their chance to shine. Essentially, if "Bleach" is worth watching for any one thing, it's the characters.

Enjoyment (9.5/10):
Even with the frequent filler arcs breaking up the pacing, "Bleach" is a series that is almost never boring, with countless action scenes to keep you invested regardless of whether you're a fan of the story that's currently being told. And where there isn't great action, chances are that there is great comedy instead. Part of what makes the series so brilliant is that its quirky, over-the-top nature means that it can make things funny in otherwise serious moments without ever killing the mood of a scene, ensuring that when things do get dark and angsty, it's never to the point of being overwhelming.

Overall:
"Bleach" is a series that requires a ton of time to get invested in, but if you overcome that significant hurdle then the pay-off is more than worth it. The worldbuilding is vast and extensive, the art and animation is almost consistently excellent, the music and voice acting are top-notch, the characters are incredible and the fights are some of the best I've ever seen. While the pacing can be very sluggish and not all episodes will be worth watching, this is still a series that more than deserves its massive popularity, and I am absolutely looking forward to seeing where the series goes next.

Score:
8.5+9+9.5+10+9.5=46.5/50=9.3/10

Note: This will be a review of the series in its entirety.

Overview:
While teenage pop stars aren't exactly unheard of in the West, they're much more prominent in Japan, to the point that there's an entire industry based around them. Known as idols, they are primarily singers with general training in acting and dancing as well, with many groups becoming incredibly popular around the country. "Love Live! School Idol Project", usually known simply as "Love Live!" is the first in an ongoing franchise of anime centred around schoolgirls who become idols, and proves itself to be worth watching for far more than just its music.

Story (8.5/10):
"Love ... Live!" is set primarily in the all-girls Otonokizaka High School, which is in danger of closing due to the number of applicants having dropped more and more over the years, as our protagonist Honoka Kosaka and her childhood friends, Umi Sonoda and Kotori Minami, learn to their horror in the beginning of their second year. Determined to prevent their school's closure, Honoka, Umi and Kotori attempt to show off the positive aspects of their school, but their efforts initially prove fruitless since they can't find anything that makes Otonokizaka stand out. Just when all hope seems lost, however, Honoka ends up discovering the existence of "school idols", schoolgirls who become amateur idol singers in order to promote their schools, among other things. After a bit of hesitation, Honoka, Umi and Kotori decide to form an idol group of their own, which they call "Muse". Overtime, more and more girls join Muse, and they work together not only to prevent their school from being closed, but to become one of the greatest idol groups in the country.

One thing the story definitely has going for it is that it wastes absolutely no time getting to the point. The whole "discovering their school will be closing" thing happens within the first minute of the first episode, and by the time the episode ends, the decision to form an idol group has already been made, with us being subtly introduced to all the main characters along the way. From there, every episode builds on the previous one in meaningful, if often predictable, ways. I mean, yeah, the fact that many pictures (not to mention the opening and ending themes) clearly show the nine members of Muse together makes it a foregone conclusion just who's going to join, with the only real questions being "when" and "how". Even so, I never felt that this took away from the series too much, mainly because it just gets better with each new addition, which naturally means that the show reaches its peak once all nine members have joined.

Another thing I loved about the story is how much emphasis it puts on the work aspect of being an idol. Unlike "K-On!", which would have the girls laze around drinking tea most of the time but just happen to be really good when they perform, "Love Live!" pulls absolutely no punches in regards to how much effort is put into becoming a idol- as Umi states in the first episode, school idols work their butts off just like the professionals, which naturally means there are plenty of scenes where we see the girls practicing, and it's made clear that they need to take the whole thing seriously if they want to have a chance at achieving their goal. Furthermore, it's all but outright stated that the only reason Muse are able to keep up with their more experienced peers is because of how many members they have, with each and every one of them contributing something to the group as a whole, be it leadership, choreography, lyric writing, composition or just plain knowledge of idols. Sure, the drama can get a little repetitive in places, with the movie hitting a few of the same story beats as the second half of the second season, but as a whole, the plot kept me hooked, all the way up to a truly beautiful ending.

Art & Animation (8.5/10):
"Love Live!" is animated by Sunrise, which has been one of my favourite animation studios practically since I became a fan of anime. Unfortunately, "Love Live!"'s visuals fall a little short of the standards I've come to expect from them. Don't get me wrong; for the most part, the series looks great, with very well-drawn environments and great character designs. However, the animations can get a little awkward during dance sequences, with the characters often shifting from 2-D to 3-D and back again, and there are times when this is really obvious which kind of takes you out of the experience. Overall, though, the series does look very good.

Sound & Dialogue (9/10):
Of course, anybody who watches "Love Live!" will go in for the music, and Holy Mary, Mother of God, is it fantastic! The opening and ending themes of both seasons are all perfect songs to open and end an episode with (to the point that I made sure to never skip them), with the ending of the second season being the weakest, but still great. The songs that play during the episodes themselves are amazing as well and pretty much never disappointed me, with "Start:Dash!!", "Wonder Zone", "The Door to Our Dreams" and "Snow Halation" being just a few of my favourites. The voice acting is great as well; Marieve Herington captures Honoka's determined, energetic personality perfectly and the dub has a strong cast that includes Erica Lindbeck, Kira Buckland, Xanthe Huynh, Caitlin Glass and Cristina Vee in main roles, as well as Christine Marie Cabanos, Brianna Knickerbocker and Karen Strassman in supporting roles. In short, the sound design is just fantastic all around.

Characters (9/10):
As usual, I'll start with the main character, Honoka Kosaka, who is also my favourite. The best way to describe her in the beginning is that she's kind, cheerful and charismatic, but also carefree and impulsive, as evident when she comes up with the plan to form an idol group without even the slightest clue to how much effort is required. She can also be rather insensitive at times, being rather pushy due to her passion and persistent never-say-die attitude, and often stringing along her friends without much consideration for their feelings or desires, something that has disastrous consequences for everyone towards the end of the first season. As time goes on, however, Honoka begins taking being an idol more and more seriously, and grows to view it as something she genuinely loves rather than something she's only doing to save her school, with her negative traits gradually disappearing, or at least becoming much less prominent. By the second season, she's become a much more mindful and responsible person (albeit just as energetic as ever), making it hard to believe she ever used to go through life without a care in the world. In short, Honoka goes through a lot of growth over the series, but she remains a very loveable character pretty much from start to finish, which is exactly how I like it. My second favourite character, and arguably the second most important, is Eli Ayase, a third-year and the school's student council president. Initially, she is rather cold and hostile to Muse and pretty much goes out of her way to get them to quit, but eventually she comes around and joins the group as their choreographer, even becoming a kind-hearted big sister figure to the younger members. Even before this, however, she makes some pretty solid arguments against the formation of an idol group, namely that their school has never had one before and if they fail, they'll just end up making the school look even worse than it already does, a possibility even Honoka can't deny. It's also revealed that Eli is talking from experience when she says this, though to say anymore would be a spoiler. The writers could easily have had her just fade into the background after her own personal character arc is resolved, but they didn't, as she continues to have a definitive presence in just about every episode afterwards, with the last episode of the first season in particular showing just how far she's come since her initial introduction.

My third favourite character is Umi Sonoda, one of Honoka's childhood friends and one of the three founding members of Muse, who serves as the group's lyricist and initial choreographer until Eli joins. Her focus in the series is rather strange in that while there isn't any episode that focuses on her specifically (unlike pretty much every other main character), she never really fades into the background either, due to being the one who keeps the carefree Honoka grounded. While she can be pretty harsh and strict, it's purely because, unlike Honoka at first, she knows full well how much effort is put into becoming an idol, and she's actually a very kind girl more often than not. As serious as she is, however, she's also easily embarrassed and deeply resents getting taken out of her comfort zone (which makes for some pretty hilarious moments), though she can and does adapt overtime. Next is Hanayo Koizumi, an adorably shy first year who's wanted to become an idol ever since she was a kid, but starts off lacking the confidence to pursue her dream. With some prodding from her childhood best friend Rin, however, she joins Muse and starts pushing herself to become more confident, even starting to wear contact lenses instead of glasses as a way to symbolize her beginning to change. Personality-wise, Hanayo is very kind with a soft spot for animals, and a borderline otaku when it comes to idols, to the point that whenever something major happens in the idol industry, she's usually the first to know about it. Sadly, she overall doesn't get that much focus in the series, with her largely being in the background during episodes that don't involve her.

Then there's Maki Nishikino, another first-year who comes from a wealthy family, with the group staying at a house owned by her family in a couple of episodes. Maki is very intelligent and talented, but also aloof and standoffish, initially not liking pop music due to thinking it has no substance, though after being asked to compose music for Muse's first song her opinion begins to change, and she ultimately joins the group as their composer. Even then, however, she's easily one of the harshest of the girls, though she is a kind person deep down, which only becomes more obvious as she warms up to the others, even channelling her harshness as a way to talk some sense into the others from time to time. There's also Nozomi Tojo, a third-year and Eli's best friend, as well as her vice-president on the student council. Unlike Eli, however, Nozomi goes out of her way to help Muse even early on, to the point of being the one who came up with their name. She's very kind and supportive, acting as something of a mother figure in the group, though she also enjoys groping the other girls' breasts because... reasons. Exactly what her agenda is remains a mystery for most of the series, with it not being until over halfway through the second season that we finally find out her backstory, which suddenly paints a lot of her previous actions in a very different light. Rounding up the initial trio is Kotori Minami, Honoka's other childhood friend and the daughter of the school's director, who works as the group's costume designer. While I did like her a lot overall, with her being a sweet and lovable goofball, she's sadly proof that there's such a thing as being "too nice for your own good", with her tending to just go along with whatever her friends are doing (especially Honoka) while rarely expressing her own opinion. She also has a habit of keeping things to herself even when it's clear that she'd be better off just talking to someone, which ends up contributing to the drama in late season 1. While she does get a fair amount of focus in season 1, by season 2 she mostly just serves as Honoka's supportive friend, unlike Umi who continues to be important despite her lack of focus episodes.

Next up is Rin Hoshizora, Hanayo's aforementioned childhood friend and the last of the first-years, who's even more energetic than Honoka and has an odd habit of imitating a cat. While she seems more confident than Hanayo on the surface, deep down she's just as insecure as Hanayo is if not more so, being convinced that her tomboyish nature makes her unsuited to be an idol. As far as the members of Muse go, I felt that she got the least amount focus and development, with her only getting a single limelight episode midway through season 2 which has her overcoming her insecurities, despite said insecurties being apparent as early as season 1, with them being conveniently forgotten about pretty much the whole time in-between. The last member of Muse, and also my least favourite, is Nico Yazawa, a third-year and the president of the Idol Research Club, which soon becomes interchangeable with Muse. Much like Eli, Nico starts off antagonistic to Muse, though in her case it's because she believes they don't live up to the standards of what idols should be. However, while she certainly likes to think she's the undisputed expert on idols, in reality she's closer to an over-zealous fangirl who doesn't know that much more than anyone else in the group, with many of the things she claims idols should do being unnecessary at best and counterproductive at worst. That said, while she's certainly the meanest and most obnoxious of the group, she doesn't really make things worse for anyone (or at least, not intentionally) and later episodes in particular show that she really does care about her friends. Other than Muse, there are a few supporting characters worth noting, like Honoka and Eli's younger sisters and Kotori's mother, but this section is getting really long so I think I'll leave it at that.

Enjoyment (8.5/10):
I must admit that "Love Live!" can get pretty heavy in places, particularly towards the end of both seasons and the movie, with Muse going through a lot of drama and obstacles to achieve their goals and several of the main characters having surprisingly sad backstories. Even so, more often than not, "Love Live!" is a very heartwarming and idealistic series, with plenty of genuinely funny moments to lighten the mood, though if anything this just makes the sad moments hit all the harder when they happen, and the series overall has a fairly bittersweet feel, even if it's definitely more sweet than bitter.

Overall:
Going into "Love Live!", you might think that the only thing it really has going for it is some great music. However, you'd be dead wrong, as in reality it's a series that truly understands its subject matter, and proves to be a solid education for those not familiar with the industry of idols. While the animations can be rather jerky in places, this is nevertheless a fantastic slice-of-life series that proves to be a must-watch for any music fan, with a great story, beautiful art, truly loveable characters and a soundtrack that I will most likely be listening to for years to come.

Score:
8.5+8.5+9+9+8.5=43.5/50=8.7/10