- Last OnlineJan 7, 2:06 PM
- JoinedFeb 23, 2018
No friend yet.
RSS Feeds
|
Nov 19, 2023
Short and to the point, which is small-bits comedy. If you like weird comedy packed into short episodes, then I recommend this one. If you insist that anime should be at least 20 minutes per episode, then this is not for you.
At first, I did not like the art style, but it quickly grew on me. A few short episodes in, and I felt the art style suited the format quite well: simple, just like the pacing and "story".
The combined watch time would be approximately 25-30 minutes if we cut out the intro. During that short duration, it delivered some legitimate criticism of the Japanese
...
work environment (or any overachieving workplace/firm in general) which I thought was spot-on.
Or, maybe I´m reading too much into a short comedic cartoon. Even if all it manages to do is make you laugh, it will have been worth your time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all
![]()
Oct 1, 2022
I dropped it after 3 episodes because I could not take any more of this trainwreck. The show´s "magic system" is really disappointing, which I will get to later.
This show has some serious issues when it comes to pacing and transition. It jumps around with flashbacks, and then backwards some more with unnatural transitions as if the staff were drunk when they made the storyboard. The story that was being (poorly) told in episode 1, got put on hold at the beginning of episode 2 for the sake of another flashback.
I´m not saying that shows should always tell stories in one single continuous timeline,
...
but when you want to tell a story where you jump back and/or forth, you should be VERY aware of why and how you want to do it, which I did not feel the creates were with this mockery of storytelling.
When the story in episode 1 had been "put on hold" I had not reached the point where I cared what would happen to the characters in that specific plot. I was still wondering WHY I should care about it. Maybe if the pacing had been better, or if the creators would have stuck to the first story a little longer, my investment could have been changed for the better.
The animation is not awful, but it is just not interesting or good for that matter. Too many corners are being cut to the point that it lowers the quality considerably. There are too many scenes where the "camera" is being pointed away from the action because the studio either did not have the time or money to make the extra animation, which could have made some scenes good. Or maybe they simply did not care.
The magic system leaves a lot to be desired. From the synopsis, I got the impression that some thought had gone into how the magic works in this world. Like how the supernatural works in "Full Metal Alchemist" or "HunterxHunter" (not that a magic system needs to have the level of depth like these 2 shows to be great, those shows are just really great examples of magic systems that immersive you into their world). The magic in "Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou" works like programming a code on a computer. That could have proven to be an interesting "magic system" but this show did not pull that off at all. In episode 2 we have mage that splits a car in two. The car drives, then some codes/cord-like lights appear, and then the car is split in 2.
The moment the car is split in 2 the camera cuts away, so we don´t get to see how the cut car crashes or whether or not the driver suffers injuries while being in a moving car that suddenly gets cut in 2, which could have been a cool little action scene. I just wanted to mention this part as an example of what I mentioned earlier of how I thought the animation cuts too many corners which makes it seems cheap/underbudgeted/rushed etc. Or just lazy and uninspiring. Okay, back to the magic system and the mage.
We did not see the mage do anything special to the car which let it to magically be split in 2. That means that magic in this world is "magic can do whatever I(the writer of the story) wants/needs it to do in whatever situation and whenever". The mage could just as well have made some random movements with a staff/wand and chanted "car splitting spell!" and we would have had the same level of "depth" to the magic. Stories with vaguely confirmed rules about how magic works are by no means bad (just take Lord of the Rings) but it is very important that the creator of the story is aware and upfront about the depth the "magic system" ACTUALLY has. the problem (one of the problems) with this show is that it thinks it has a deep "magic system", as it tries to present a new way magic could be cast, but it is as old cliche and old as they come, just with a another shallow coating. The only "modern" part about it is that it has the word "code" in it. Stories with low or high "magic systems" can both be great, but a story with a low "magic system" can´t pretend/present itself as a world with a high "magic system". That is at least very important to me. That might not be the case for everybody, but a story loses a lot of points from me, when the magic of a world does not match the dept it THINKS it has to some extent. This is why this part pisses me off to such an extend.
It seems like the story has some sort of time magic/travel or time distortion in it since we meet a woman in episode 3 that seems to be the same girl we meet in episode 1 just more grown up and more trained in magic. But since this story has managed to mess so many things up in just 3 episodes, I do not expect to handle time distortion/travel (whatever the hell it is supposed to be) to any satisfactory level. So I am not going to stick around to learn what actually happens in this uninspiring mess. Whatever twist is being set up can´t be worth it. Which is why cutting episode 1 out, and starting at episode 2 would be a good first step at trying to turn this show from horrible to bad/average.
The intro is actually pretty nice. The short segment in the intro where the MC flies just above the water was a good look. If only the actual show had more of that visual appeal. That´s the only good thing I have to say about this show.
It was nice to get this off my chest. I could go into greater details like coming up with other examples of how the magic casters in this story are just like any other mages, just with a shallow and meaningless coating (like how the mage in episode 3 just holds her staff and then a monster disappears in light). I could also delve further into why the pacing and transition of this show are god-awful, the characters are boring, etc. but this review is already long enough to get my point across, and I would be happy enough if just a few would read what I have written so far.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Sep 23, 2022
It´s a funny happy-go-lucky miniseries about 4 women, who start working in a field they know little to nothing about, but get by each working day with gusto and learning on the go. It is even more impressive considering how naive, childish and inexperienced the editor-in-chief is, who is among the 4 women. She is also the scourge of a lot of the comedy.
They each have their own distinctive personality. If you think their personalities lack dept, remember that we are looking at a total of approximately 40 minutes screen time. With that in mind, I think the characters are well fleshed out considering the
...
timeframe. We also get a satisfying conclusion to the plot despite the short time.
This next segment is not about "Mangirl!" in particular, but more a little rant on a lot of people's attitudes regarding miniseries.
I also think that this show (and a lot of miniseries in general) deserves a higher score than what it currently has on MAL. This is not just about this particular show, but short animes (each episode being 2-5 minutes long) in general. From what I see, it looks like a lot of people give short animes a lower score just for being short animes instead of scoring the show for what it actually delivers in terms of genre and promises.
That would be like if I (who does not like pure FPS shooters) rated a FPS shooter alone on the fact that I just don´t like FPS shooters, instead of looking at the actual game´s execution and its´ delivery and being aware of what is being expected for that sort of game.
Short animes work well with the comedy genre, but not with horror and very serious stories. At least from what I´ve seen.
I hope people will be better at distinguishing their own personal taste when it comes to genres and length, or at least be more aware of them, when rating a show. The reason I hope this, is because I think it would be a shame if a low score would end up preventing someone from watching an otherwise good show.
Until then; I´ve started to mentally add 1-2 extra points to the score I see given to a short anime since I think that often reflect the anime quality more correctly
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
Sep 15, 2022
This anime is one of those "Slice of Life" series, which you may suspect to be episodic, but actually delivers a compelling plot that ties all major plot lines together and sucks you in, however short.
The art has a noticeable uniqueness to it. If you have seen "High Score Girl" you will recognize it. This short anime is not CG mind you.
All episodes put together are 1 hour of watching, so with such a modest length, even if you do not like it, you will not have lost much. On the other hand, you might enjoy it and will discover something you may consider a
...
little hidden gem. I think it is worth the "risk", and I am certainly glad I checked it out
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
