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Ambitious, but it's a hit-and-miss.

The story isn't bad, it actually has an interesting premise, good characters and the storytelling is original, almost avant-garde. But there's a reason why tropes and existing writing strategies work. If you are going to reject them you need to be damn sure yours are working too... which isn't always the case in this show.

Credit's due when it's due, this series does 3 things incredibly well.

The first is visuals. It's Madhouse after all. The animation is excellent, especially in the more abstract sequences, but it's always way above seasonal average. The character design is simple and realistic, which is a breath ... of fresh air in a media dominated by moe characters on one side and shonen stereotypes on the other. And finally, the background art: striking, sometimes awe-inspiring. Really, this whole show is an amazing eye-candy.

The second thing this show does well is characterisation. We have 1 protagonists and 2-4 co-protagonists plus a plethora of side characters, and they are realistic and well defined without a single internal monologue throughout the story, and without using any of the usual tropes you find in animes. All the characterisation is shown through expressions and actions, it's very cinematic. It's actually a masterpiece in that sense. Almost no series I watched can compare to it in this aspect. You can find something similar in anime movies sometimes, but it's the exception, not the rule.

The third thing this show does well is making you "feel" the story. This show raises questions, but doesn't give you answers. You have to find them by emotionally connecting with the characters and with what happens to them. And of course this means that every person will find different answers... or no answers at all.

And here is where all the issue of the series lie. It's not a story, it's more like a fever dream. It doesn't have a clear direction, and for that reason it might be extremely frustrating to watch if you're not in the right mood. Characters grow but the plot doesn't follow any progression. And, most important (for me at least), we don't get closure for most character arcs. I'm not saying that we get an "open-ended closure", as usual in many Japanese media. No. I mean, no closure at all. Threads are simply left dangling and forgotten. Premises and developments don't get any payoff. The only character that gets a proper closure is the MC, Nagara. Mizuho and Rajdhani get an underwhelming one. Nozomi gets an open-ended, bittersweet one. The rest of the cast is simply forgotten. And we are not talking about small fries: Asakaze is probably the most important one, being the foil for the protagonist and acting sometimes as antagonist, but we also have Yamabiko, Hoshi, Cap, Aki-sensei. The latter is the "villain" for half of the series, and yet she just disappears for no reason in the last 2 episodes.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
A very polarising series. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, unless I knew their tastes extremely well. If you like abstract art and avant-garde storytelling, then you'll probably love it. You'll also love it if you're more of a "feeler" instead of a "thinker".
It's definitely worth watching because it's one-of-a-kind, but it doesn't mean you'll enjoy it.

There are two groups of people watching this series: those who love Marie and those who are lying.

This show mixes isekai/reverse-isekai with slice-of-life and romance in an interesting way. Unfortunately only some of those genres are developed enough, which affected my overall enjoyment.

The reverse-isekai which includes all the SoL elements is well done. Mind you, nothing groundbreaking. But still, perfectly fine for a relaxing show: sweet everyday moments focusing on the struggles of an elf adapting to modern life in Japan, with a lot of attention dedicated to food. Those were also the scenes where the romance between the two MCs progressed the most. This ... part also included many references to "My neighbour Totoro", which I found amusing. As I said, not a writing masterpiece since it was a bit shallow. And yet simple, cozy, fun, which is usually enough to entertain most of the audiences.
Then we have the isekai world where our protagonists travel during their sleep: an absolute snoozefest of generic worldbuilding, abused tropes and uninteresting characters. A boring abomination that dragged my rating down as well as my eyelids. If I had to rate only the reverse-isekai episodes, this series would have been almost a 7. But the isekai doesn't deserve more than 4. Which brings it to my current rating of 5.5 (bumped up because I liked the very last episode).
Character-wise, Mariabelle is one of the cutest waifus of the last seasons; really adorable. Wridra is also fun. The MC is just a self-insert, but on the other hand no character really had deep personality traits, not even our silver-haired elf.
The plot is almost non-existent. We have just romance progression while the MCs are in Japan, and we have a run-of-the-mill JRPG adventure with no real stakes in the isekai world.

Visually speaking, the animation is average but pleasant, although it falls short in the action/battle scenes. The character design of Marie is cute, but it's just meh for the rest of the cast.
There are a few fanservices during the show and in the ED, and a couple of gratuitous ones (e.g. was it really necessary for Marie to wear the "desert outfit", which was then forgotten in the very next episode?). Nothing excessive anyway, and quite fewer than in your seasonal isekai or romcom.

I liked Hondo voicing Marie, but the character's mannerisms and cutesy got old fast. It's not going to be a problem if you don't know Japanese and/or you watch it dubbed.
The OST isn't spectacular but the ED is catchy.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
A cute series to watch when you want to lay back and relax. It has little to offer, and especially the isekai parts are grating, but the romance is simple and sweet, and Marie is a cinnamon roll.
I wouldn't recommend it though, unless you are in withdrawal from silver-haired elf waifus.

Sport and romance have been together in anime since the '70s and the '80s. Adachi's "Touch" is a masterpiece from that period. However, most of those shows used to have a balance skewed towards the sport and action side, or a 50/50 split at most. "Blue Box" on the other hand focuses heavily towards the romance.

In 25 episodes you can probably see a grand total of 20-30 minutes of badminton, around 5 minutes of basket, and nothing else. Most of the "sport" aspect of the series portrays training and practice. Which is realistic, since athletes spend most of their time training, not playing.

The problem is ... that realistic doesn't necessarily mean interesting. Blue Box is a quite realistic teen romance, but just like any realistic love story it takes its sweet time to develop. Does it mean it's worse than a fast paced story? Not really, slow-burners have their charm, especially if they don't wander around aimlessly. Here the progression is steady and consistent, just very slow. So slow that any character growth becomes apparent only after a few episodes. Anyone who enjoys faster shows will probably find this one boring. This is not a "Romeo & Juliet" type of story, with all the action condensed in a few days.

Visually speaking, the show is incredibly good, especially the first episodes: there the animation is worth of feature-length productions. The quality drops pretty early during the series, but it remains well above your run-of-the-mill seasonal anime. Special mention for the backgrounds and the photography (the lighting in some shots is nothing short of spectacular).

The OST is fitting, but what really stands out in the music department are the first OP, "Same Blue" by Official Higedandism, and the second ED, "Contrast" by TOMOO. In general all OPs and EDs are really good.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Blue Box is a modern and more realistic take on sport-romance anime, but only patient watchers will be able enjoy it.
If you're looking for early romantic payoffs like "Horimiya", this is not the show for you.
If you're looking for the adrenaline of sport matches, this is not the show for you (at least in this first season).
Recommended if you like slow burners, as this is probably one of the best of the last few years.

Sweet and bubbly like soda, but artificial like saccharine and citric acid. I would have loved something more natural, like real honey and lemon juice.

Story-wise, the series has good main characters showing significant growth. Especially Ishimori, the female lead, has a very strong development for a mere 12-episodes show. Miura, the male protagonist, doesn't undergo the same development, but he is at least a complex character. Unfortunately the rest of the cast is almost non-existent. They are just cardboards defined by their relationship with the MCs ("Ishimori's bully", "Miura's friend", etc.). They LITERALLY have nothing else going for them. Even Serina, the most fleshed-out side ... character, has no characterization beside being "in love with Miura" and "friend with Ishimori". She appears more complex just because she carries 2 labels instead of 1, like all the other characters.
From a writing perspective, pacing needs to be reviewed: we have super-slow episodes alternating with rushed ones.
Moreover, sometimes the plot forces the drama without any in-character or in-story justification.
But the true issue is dialogue. Most of the show is plagued with cringe lines that no one would ever hear in a real life conversation.

From a technical perspective, the good direction isn't supported by the animation. The best level the show can reach is seasonal average, but in some episodes the quality drops significantly. It's a pity because there are scenes with incredible good composition and dynamics.
From the sound perspective, the OST is decent although not stellar, with some exceptions, e.g. the main piano theme. OP and ED by &Team are catchy and singable, perfect for a shōjo. Voice acting is OK, with Ichinose (Ishimori) being the best by far.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Not a bad anime, but a lot of wasted potential. Considering the character growth of the female lead, with good writing and decent animation this could have been one of the best romance of the last few years.
Recommended ONLY if you enjoy shōjo, with all its tropes, and you don't mind poor production value to get it.

I came for the romance, got fooled, but stayed for the Okinawan culture and the good vibes.

OkiTsura has no real plot, and the romantic premise is just an excuse to justify character interactions, but it's never developed. The series is episodic in nature, mostly a collection of trivia and fun facts about Okinawa and the Ryūkyū Islands (which sometimes might be slightly oversimplified, so be aware). Don't expect character growth or any progression in general, because there's none. We get just a glimpse in the last episode, but that's it.
The show for the most part is very formulaic: the MC gets involved in an everyday ... scenario with Hina, or Kana, or both, there's a misunderstanding due to the cultural gap since he is a main-island Japanese, that's cleared by one of the female leads and a narrator. Many times during these scenarios the protagonists will experience some sort of romantic/awkward situation.
This formula makes the anime quite repetitive, although the atmosphere is always laid back and enjoyable.
The only saving grace is the friendship of Kana and Hina, the two real main characters of the show, which the audience gets to know through a bunch of sweet flashbacks. It's really too little to save the writing, though.

From a visual perspective, I'd say that direction, scene composition and photography are nice. The animation looks quite cheap, but the staff used all the tricks in the book to make it as dynamic as possible (close-ups, zoom-ins/outs, etc.), and the end result is pleasant. Background are usually just OK, with some exceptions that really stand out, but to be fair I had higher expectations (you're in Okinawa and you show me just the usual, generic anime beach?). There's some CGI here and there, mainly for cars and the sea. It blends in just fine, with some highlights, e.g. the seashore effect is great. What is really worth mentioning in the visuals is the character design: bubbly and cute, with great coloring and ESPECIALLY wonderful lineart. It's so rare to see weighted lines for characters in today's seasonal animes: they give so much depth but are also a pain to animate. Here they were used sparingly but effectively, and I really appreciated this touch.

From the sound production perspective, the OST was fitting, featuring many local instruments and typical Okinawan melodies. The OP is hella catchy and the various EDs, sung by Hina and Kana's voice actors, are really sweet. Talking about VAs, Fairouz (Kana) really killed it. She has become one of my favourites in the last few years.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Definitely not a show for the ages, but if you like laid back series with feel-good vibes, then this might be for you.
Just remember that there's a big fat zero under the label "story progression and character growth".

From a story perspective, Orb is one of a kind. I have never watched a series like this. It has its flaws and shortcomings, but if you are able to see past them you'll enjoy one of the best shows of the last few years.

At a first glance it might look like an historical/philosophical drama with heavy focus on the contrast between science and faith, but it's actually a character-driven story with deeper implications. You're lured into thinking that the conflict comes from the clash of ideas by the different characters, but all those ideas are just facets of the same reality. It becomes more ... apparent in the later episodes of the show.

The visuals are good. The animation alternates between average and gorgeous. The same for the backgrounds. Character design is actually better than the source material, as well as scene composition. The direction is always on point. I really liked the photography, but the choice of making the night scenes more realistic and thus darker might not please all the audiences.

Sound production is great, probably among the best of the 2020s. Kudos to the voice actors: I especially liked Maaya Sakamoto (Rafal), and Tsuda (Nowak). But what really stands out is the OST. Kensuke Ushio pulled off another miracle after BokuYaba and DanDaDan. Moreover, the 2 EDs by Yorushika, "Aporia" and "Hebi", are simply wonderful (I'm personally obsessed with the second one). The OP, "Kaijuu" by Sakanaction, is already iconic, and has broken a number of records in Japan.

Now, onto the writing. This is at the same time the best and the worst part of this show.
It's poignant, with a unique narrative architecture and a finale that is masterfully crafted and well anticipated throughout the series. Not to mention the characterisation: Rafal, Oczy, Jolenta and Draka are great protagonists, but who really steals the show is Nowak. He's among the best antagonists I've watched in anime.
However, not everything is perfect, and this writing also has glaring issues when it comes to pacing, dialogues and, to a lesser extent, plot.
Pacing is especially slow and stagnating between episode 6-7 and 12, with very little tension and few conflicts moving the plot forward.
Dialogues are probably the weakest aspect of the anime: always blatantly "in your face", with little to no subtext, hence a bit bland. Also, they are very long and unnatural, more akin to "exchanges of monologues" than normal dialogues.
There are also a few forced plot devices that feel contrived and don't hold water, e.g. the inquisitors being able to figure out where heretics hide as if they were psychic, etc.
However, if you manage not to get your suspension of disbelief disrupted by these issues, you will be in awe by the end of the series.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
One of the best shows I've watched in the last 5-10 years. Serious contender for best anime of 2024 (if you exclude Frieren and BokuYaba) and 2025. It deserves a place in my top 20 series of all time, as a bare minimum.
It's absolute cinema for the most part. Let's say 90%.
10% goes to Potocki.

This might not be the best anime series ever made. But it is my favourite, it has been for more than 15 years and will likely stay that way for a long time.

Sharp reviewers might see pacing and writing issues, might not like the character design, might think the finale is a disappointing cop-out. I see all those things too, some of them are glaringly obvious.
However, a work of fiction isn't made to follow a set of rules, but to trigger emotions in the audience. If you manage to move your audience, it doesn't matter if you don't abide to all the "good writing" ... standards.
Some might say that the popularity of this anime is due to undeserved hype. I will answer that hype alone won't make you cry.

This is Clannad After Story.

The first half of the season is the continuation of Clannad. Same tone, same humour mixed with touching moments. A good, solid SoL story with good animation and a pinch of supernatural. Nothing more.
But in the second half the tone changes, subtly at first, then clearly. Just like the MCs grow into adulthood, so do themes and story. EVERYTHING that comes after episode 8 feels real, it's not an anime anymore. There's a reason why in Japan they say "Clannad is Life".
If you haven't been spoiled already, I won't spoil anything here. If you're an emotional type of viewer, going blind into this show is the best thing you can do. Just like I did. And because of that, this show is deeply engraved into my heart.

If you want a more objective review, here it is. Great animation and photography, old school but definitely standing the test of time (it's still much better than the average seasonal romance you could watch nowadays). The soundtrack is haunting, again a bit old school, but well produced. From a writing perspective, characters are what drives the story forward, the MC in particular (Tomoya). His growth is among the best portrayed in any anime series you will see. Nagisa also grows a lot in this season, as well as all the side characters (some more, some less). The plot is not airtight, sometimes things simply happen without apparent reason, and the supernatural element of the show, which is important to understand the finale, could have been written a lot better.

That said, you will only care if you're the rational type of viewer who analyses the show the moment they are watching it.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
My favourite anime ever. Period. It's a 9.5 and not a 10 because the first half of the season is good but not a masterpiece.
Recommended ONLY if you are an emotional watcher. Despite it being my #1 I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who likes more rational-oriented shows.

Melancholy hit me hard once I finished this one, and it only happens with series that really moved me.
BokuYaba has definitely been one of them, and cemented its place in my top 10 of all times. I can understand why it is so beloved by many viewers.

THE GOOD:
Most of the aspects that made S1 great can be found in S2 as well. Impressive character writing, simple but compelling plot developments, golden comedy alternating with deeply emotional moments.
The production value improved, with visuals becoming better and especially more consistent throughout the season. The direction stepped up with bolder choices.
Here I want to spend a bit more ... time talking about aspects I glossed over in my S1 review.
First, voice acting. Credit due when it's due, this show is so good also because Horie (Ichikawa) and Youmiya (Yamada) nailed their characters perfectly. This is by far my favourite VA performance in a SoL, comedy or romance anime ever. The actors definitely got some help from good direction and well written scripts, but in the end it's their work which brought the protagonists to life. Kudos.
Second, soundtrack. Kensuke Ushio put together some of the best tracks I heard in a while. Most of the pieces with minimalistic arrangement used in the emotional scenes are able to set the mood perfectly. "Restless heart", the piano piece to highlight all of Ichikawa's deepest inner struggles, has become one of my favourite BGMs ever.
Finally, the relatabilty. I think I haven't been so invested in two fictional characters since I first watched A Silent Voice and, much earlier, Clannad. There might be shows that I rated higher than BokuYaba, because of production or writing aspects. There are also shows that made me more emotional than BokuYaba (e.g. Violet Evergarden). But it has been a long while since I last connected to any character like I did with Kyou and Anna. Thanks to a masterful writing, I felt I could really understand them, and that made them so much relatable: those two made all my teenager feelings resurface again.

THE MEH (not really):
New season, new fanservice choices.
To be fair, the fanservice scenes decreased drastically in number in S2, and weren't as in-your-face as in S1 (no bouncing boobs for 10 seconds straight, etc.), they stepped up a bit in brazenness. In some cases there is an "in-story" justification for them (i.e. it's what Ichikawa sees). There are just a few shots where Yamada's body is objectified for no apparent reason, e.g. the camera indulging on her legs when she's at the phone or on her body while she's having a bath: all things that Ichikawa, i.e. the audience POV, couldn't see. Not bad enough to ruin the experience for me, also because we're talking about just 3-4 short scenes throughout the season. But definitely unnecessary.

THE BAD (is there any?):
Look, the only thing I could criticise about S2 is ep. 11 (the sports festival). It felt a bit of a filler episode, but it furthers Ichikawa's friendship with Adachi, and it's thus a necessary buildup for ep. 13, plus it was nice and sweet to watch anyway.
It's a very little detail in an otherwise almost perfect journey.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
This series as a whole remains a masterful example of romance done right.
Currently 6th in my list of all times favourite series, with a score of 8.5 that MAL can't handle. I will definitely watch it again soon and will catch up with the manga (EDIT: I just watched it again, and that's why I rewrote part of this review).
Recommended to all the romantic souls around.

This the first and only yuri I have ever read. A friend recommended it to me, and I must say I've been impressed: while it's not perfect due to some minor issues here and there (more on those later), none of them really affected my enjoyment.

Let's start with the positives.
The art is great: clean, detailed, with neat backgrounds and very balanced panels. Character design is good, although it suffers from "same face"-itis from time to time.
The characters are also well written, with organic and consistent development which drives the plot forward. It's actually one of the selling point of the manga: there aren't many romance ... series out there with such a consistent progression, not only for the two MCs but also for at least one side character.

Now, onto the problems I found. Nothing serious, but worth mentioning anyway.
The first and most obvious is the premise for the relationship between the MCs. Yuu is described as unable to love, which is uncommon but not unheard of in other romance series. Touko's hides her real self behind a facade for reasons that are explained later in the story, which is also pretty standard. However, in the first few chapters the dynamic between the two is somewhat unrealistic: Touko falls in love with Yuu exactly because Yuu won't be able to reciprocate, and this way she feels like she can drop her facade when they are together. While it kinda works somehow, it's puzzling and not very relatable nonetheless. Sure, sometimes you fall in love with someone who doesn't love you back. But you usually don't fall in love BECAUSE that someone can't love you back. It was the most head-scratching aspect of the manga, for me. It's not a deal breaker because the development of the two MCs proceeds naturally and with good pacing anyway, so it only feels like a contrived plot device to set things in motion, and doesn't hamper the overall progression.
Another aspect I didn't particularly like was the "payoff" in one of the very last chapters. It was in good taste and definitely not gratuitous, but it still felt out of tone in relation to the rest of the story.
The last aspect I found a bit unlikely was the number of girl+girl couples in the story, although I assume it's a normal trope for yuri. Not a big deal anyway.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Definitely a manga worth reading. Not only you'll enjoy a sweet story, you'll also find one of the best definitions of love I've ever read in any medium:
"Love doesn't mean 'I never want you to change,' but I don't think it means 'I don't care if you change' either. So I suppose it might mean 'I believe that you'll always be the person I adore.' A declaration of faith, perhaps."
Recommended to anyone who likes well written romance. Don't get turned off by its "yuri" label.

Reviewing this one is going to be really difficult for me. It used to be my favourite when I was in high school and just started reading manga. I re-read it recently after more than 10 years, and in hindsight I understand it's not the masterpiece I thought it was, but there are still chapters and scenes that deeply moved me, so from an emotional perspective I think I wasn't completely wrong. It's the main reason why it's still on my favourites list despite having a relatively low rating compared to other titles I have read.

THE GOOD:
The art is amazing. The first few chapters might ... still have a slightly "cartoonish" feel, but already from volume 2-3 it becomes incredibly realistic and detailed, almost photography-like. All the panels are simply gorgeous.
From a writing point of view, although the plot isn't exactly tight and characterization could be improved (more on that later), the manga delivers big time because the author manages to make the characters relatable. There are scenes that hit like a truck because you feel so invested in them.

THE MEH:
The manga leans HEAVILY on the ecchi side, so be prepared. It's already clear on page 2, where you are "welcomed" by an explicit panel of the MC's love interest wearing pantsu and nothing else. All the female characters (with only one exception) get this treatment at least once, the main ones a lot more. And almost all of those scenes contain strong erotic tension, i.e. they are not simply comedic situations. Considering that essentially all characters are teenagers... you see the issue. If you're an adult reader and you are there for the romance, those realistic panels will make you cringe and EXTREMELY uncomfortable. I honestly didn't remember it was SO ecchi when I re-read it some months ago, and I was taken aback.
In terms of writing, while characters are relatable thanks to extensive introspection, they are also somewhat frustrating to root for because of poor development. They definitely change throughout the series, but most of the times they experience progression only to undo it the very next chapter or arc, which feels like they are not growing at all. This is especially egregious in the MC, who "resets" his progression multiple times during the story, particularly during the central arcs.

THE BAD:
The plot is all over the place. It's obvious that the author didn't have a clear idea in mind about the direction the story would take, beside the first chapters and the finale. Masakazu Katsura is notorious for his poorly structured writing, and this is no exception. You can see it in the setting, with inconsistent worldbuilding which affects important elements like the Gokuraku Club. You can see it in the decisions taken by some characters, which might be illogical, lack motivation, and included just to create drama or move the plot forward: this happens with the MC but also with many other characters like Takashi, Moemi, Koji.
By some miracle the story can still be digested because it is well paced and has a surprising inner symmetry: the first chapters mirror the last ones, the 3 major turning points are perfectly placed and split the plot in cohesive arcs. However, this "artificial aesthetic harmony" isn't enough to overcome all the issues: if it's not aesthetics but good writing you're looking for, you won't find it here.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
A work that defined my teen years as a manga reader. I still understand why I loved it so much, back then: you won't find many other works as emotional as this one, out there.
Still, many would probably find it too explicitly sexualised, and exigent readers would cringe at the poorly written plot.
I'm keeping it as a favourite of mine because of what it means to me, even if there are objectively better manga out there. For the same reason I'm giving it a rating of 7 although it's probably closer to 6.5.
If you're an adult, recommended only if you are a desperate romantic craving for strong emotions, and you're willing to put up with the ecchi and the writing issues to get it.
If you're a teen, simply recommended. It's a must-read if you like romance, and you'll love it.