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A Ripple in Time is a 6-minute short made for the Pokémon X Daniel Arsham art collaboration. This short actually marks a few firsts for the series with the biggest thing being that this is the first time a piece of the Pokémon anime has been officially released subtitled in English for worldwide streaming. The subs are accurate but one thing that could be hit or miss is the localization choices since all Pokémon and attack names use their official English names from the game series for consistency. While this does make it feel more natural for English speakers, my personal preference would be to ... use the Japanese names for the Pokémon since I am learning the language and would prefer to learn the names of these Pokémon while I watch instead of getting tempted to look at the subtitles which are baked into the video itself and reading "Cubone" instead of listening and hearing "Karakara" for example. It's a minor thing that might bother some people so keep this in mind.

The main draw to this short is the artwork and animation which makes a lot of sense considering this was made for an art collaboration. A big thing is that this short reverts back to an art style a bit more reminiscent of that of the original series (Indigo League-Master Quest for dub watchers) as compared to more simplified art style of SM and Journeys. It isn't an exact match though as a lot of the sharp edges on characters are a bit more rounded like SM and Journeys, but the overall body shapes and facial features on characters definitely take more from the original series. These aspects match a bit closer towards specifically around when the anime switched to digital animation and coloring. It takes the best of both styles which allows for fluid movements like the more recent seasons while still having that classic Gen 2 look and feel. A lot of the coloring takes advantage of modern techniques with lighting, as while the areas that are shaded are exactly where they would be shaded in the earlier seasons. It makes a good balance between updating the classic style while still being in line with it. The art style for SM and Journeys has been a bit controversial for some fans and this short is definitely more in line with what fans want to see, and it looks good. Backgrounds also have a more classic feeling to them, perfectly adding imperfections and little bits of color going outside of the lines of objects to replicate the hand painted background assets that were used in Gen 1 and 2. All the statues of Pokémon are also really cool and interesting looking and are based off of actual pieces by artist Daniel Arsham that were produced for this collaboration.

The soundtrack is classic Pokémon reusing tracks from the original series. For a good portion of the short the anime's version of Green/Blue's champion theme plays and it is a very solid track. If you liked the soundtrack of the original series, you definitely would enjoy the soundtrack since it is exactly the same. There isn't a whole lot of talking outside of the beginning battle between Satoshi/Ash and the trainer in the tournament. Since it is in Japanese all Pokémon use their Japanese cries for the very few that are audibly heard. Rica Matsumoto and Ikue Ohtani are pretty iconic in their roles as Satoshi/Ash and Pikachu and pretty much have their same level of quality that they put into their performances in the main series.

The story and characters are pretty basic in this short. Satoshi/Ash is literally the same character as always but there isn't too much setup as to why he is in this battle at the beginning and as to why he is chasing Celebi, besides it just being an excuse to show off the cool artwork that was produced for this collaboration. If this short were to be considered a part of the anime canon it would have to be after Pokémon 4Ever - Celebi: The Voice of the Forest but the canonicity is rather questionable. Satoshi/Ash meeting Dialga would not really work if this were to take place in the actual anime canon as he didn't meet Dialga until the Darkrai movie and this short clearly takes place during Gen 2 due to the appearance of characters like Nanako/Casey and Hiroshi/Ritchie. This short is definitely a one off and is not canon. That being said for longtime fans of Pokémon there are lots of cameos of classic characters including your classic Gen 1 and 2 staples as well as Shirona/Cynthia from DP. None of these characters really do anything, they just are there for fans to say, "Oh cool I recognize them". This is definitely the weaker aspect of the short.

Overall, I'd say it's very enjoyable if you go into it from the artistic side which is what this short was made for. I'd give it an 8 since even though the story is pretty nonexistent, it succeeds in what it wants to be as an art piece. This anime is directed by an artist, and it shows with the amount of love and care put into the art and animation. The fact that it also is the first officially subbed Pokémon anime that makes it even more historically important for the franchise and is definitely worth the watch if you are a fan of Pokémon or grew up with those older anime episodes

(This review is based off of the currently legally available version, which means the English dub might slightly affect some of the scoring as currently Discotek has only rereleased the 2003 dub produced by 4kids)

Shaman King is a franchise that seems pretty underrated compared to a lot of other anime that came out to the West around the same time. When Shaman King was at it's peak of popularity back in November of 2004 according to Google Trends, other series like One Piece and Bleach were starting to overtake it in popularity before overshadowing it altogether. The franchise almost blew up again with the new ... anime adaptation and when the Netflix release came out, it hit a second overall peak, but only at about half as strong performance as that initial 2004 peak. With the rushed pacing of the newer anime, and Discotek's release of the SD-BD of the 2003 English Dub releasing in October, I decided to check out the original adaptation and it was no wonder that the series peaked in popularity all the way back in 2004 considering how great this adaptation was, even if it did diverge after about 25 episodes. Here is why I think this is

The story of the show is very solid and keeps the viewer engaged, even after the diverging point. The America arc is a bit more interesting in this adaptation as with it being stretched out a bit more, a few filler episodes are added that add more fun character interactions, and a bit more work needs to be done finding Patch/Dobie Village. Even after the anime starts to diverge some character from the manga are introduced like Joco, Boris Tepes Dracula, the X-Laws, and Nichrom. They play similar roles to their manga and 2021 counterparts, but because of the divergence of the anime itself the specifics in how and when they are introduced along with what they actually do to further the plot is modified for the new storyline. The Babylon Gate arc which was anime exclusive was also really fun and a bit tense. One of the bigger issues I do have with the modified story though is how some elements do go a bit too much against the original intent like with how Hao/Zeke is portrayed as a bit unsympathetic compared to his original depiction in the manga with him needing to be killed in the anime vs saved in the manga. The ending also really left me wanting more and while it was good, it does leave open the question of who will become the Shaman King with the viewer never getting to see the final rounds of the tournament in the show. This would have been perfect for some sort of video game or movie to fill in the gaps and have some sort of full sendoff with the characters getting closer to their dreams. The story isn't affected too much by the dub as 4kids left pretty much everything intact in the plot department, and most of the things that were removed from the manga like part of Joco's origin and Chrom's death in the Shaman Fight Initiation not being directly shown (albeit Chrom's death is later mentioned by Nichrom in the later episodes of the serous) were all changes made in the original Japanese version as well. The only case I could think of a story point getting a bit messed up by the dub was when a specific character dies, they are said to be held prisoner in the Netherworld and instead of his guardian ghost coming to be with him, he wants to save him. I'd say the story earns a solid 7/10 even with some of the issues specific from the diverge.

The characters are amazing in this version of the show and most of them keep the aspects that made them so great in the manga. Yoh is still the optimistic kid who sees the good in people with a laid-back attitude, although the dub does slightly mess up his motivations by changing his reasoning of wanting to be Shaman King from wanting an easy life to wanting to be a rockstar which runs against the notion of an easy life. Manta/Morty is still the somewhat easily scared but still loyal friend to the group who has his moments of bravery. This anime slightly changes him from the manga towards the end of the series with a little twist that changes him but still keeps him the same character overall. Ryu/Rio is the comic relief character in the group with his loud and silly nature, but he has a heartfelt story of needing a place to belong and finding his calling in life before joining the group and becoming a Shaman. His gang are also very fun supporting characters in the early story, and they all play well off of each other. Tao Len starts off as a cold and ruthless assassin who later joins the group and while still a bit rude and not wanting to show it, deeply cares about his friends. Anna is the fiancee of Yoh and is very cold and a bit controlling but she is extremely powerful as an itako and even though she doesn't do much during the America arc, shows up again in the end with an extreme power boost with the 1080 beads. HoroHoro/Trey is a Ainu from Hokkaido and joins up with the group early on, with his dream to help preserve nature and give a place for the Korropokur/Mineutians to live in peace. Hao/Zeke is the main villain of the story with a threatening aura with his goal to create a kingdom where only strong Shaman will live and humans and weaker shaman will be eliminated These are just a few of the characters that you meet early on, but some more characters enter the main cast later on like Joco and Lyserg, a surprise character from early on joins Yoh's group, and the anime also introduces fun new characters like the Lily 5 and Team Doom that are only in this adaptation. The characters all bounce off each other really well and have believable relationships with each other, and Yoh's group really feels not only like a team, but good friends. By the end you will grow to love the main cast of characters, and some of the best scenes with Yoh's group is when everyone is just hanging out talking or arguing, as we get to see everyone's personalities clash. I would give the characters a 9/10

The art style of Shaman King is very distinct. The character designs have both a bit of edge and a cartoony quality that are balanced really well so they work both in action, lighthearted, and tense scenes. The animation and composition of scenes is a lot more dynamic and feels weightier and has more effort put into it compared to the newer 2021 version, which while having some great lighting and compositing effects, lacks a bit more of the weight and feel the art and animation have in this adaptation. All the Oversouls/Spirit Controls are visually interesting and animated in a way that makes them feel powerful. The art is overall great but the one thing I do wish is that more effects were done around the characters sometimes but overall it's really good and there weren't too many moments I could think of where characters went super off model unless for a gag like Ryu/Rio's hair or just for a few in between frames. I'd probably give it an 8/10. I should also mention there weren't too many visual edits outside of the occasional distracting text removal on the talisman on the Jiang Si and a bit of kanji in early episodes, and sometimes text will be translated instead of just removed. Stuff like guns were also surprisingly not removed so this time 4kids really didn't mess with the look fo the show too much.

The Sound portion is where this review might not be the most helpful for those who are trying to watch the original Japanese version. I might make a new review when Discotek releases the subtitled version on SD-BD, but for now I have to work off of the dub. 4Kids was notorious for a lot of their changes to anime, and the sound is one of the spots they messed around with a lot. 4Kids would replace not only the openings and endings of their dubs with new songs, but the OST of the anime was also completely redone. This includes the songs sung by the band BoZ/The Flying Zen Brothers being recomposed and given new lyrics which while not too distracting for the song they use to control their Chimi Moryo spirits, but in the case of the song sending spirits to heaven, it ruins the joke by changing the lyrics from a Buddhist Prayer to a generic boy band song about "Sending you over to the other side". The song Chimi Chimi Moryo is the only insert song in the dub as Brave Heart, Ryuro, and Silent Weapon are all removed without any replacement track being created in their place. All the actual normal tracks that play in every episode are replaced with rather generic sounding music with not too many memorable tracks outside of the Unity theme which is kind of cheating since it has the leitmotif of the OP. The OP composed by 4kids is really damn good with catchy lyrics, and a backing track that is very solid and memorable. The music may be rather disappointing, but the voice cast in the dub is mostly very solid. Sebastian Arcelus does a really good voice for both Yoh and Hao that really fits both of their personalities perfectly, with Yoh sounding like the laid-back fun-loving kid he is, and Hao having a charismatic but somewhat sinister voice that fits this interpretation of the character. It's no wonder Arcelus has gone on to become succesful on Broadway. Andrew Rannells' performance as Tao Len has a few issues with it, with his voice being a bit too high pitched compared to Romi Park's interpretation in Japanese Shaman King media, and the choice for 4Kids to push the Tao family to all have British accents was very questionable. Sean Schemmel plays quite a few characters with Amidamaru having a really good masculine tone which fits the intimidating side of the character, but he can also get the more lighthearted moments to work with the character. Schemmel's version of Ryu/Rio is a bit more debatable on the quality with the Hispanic accent being a bit too much in the goofy direction, but it isn't per se bad, and is a bit better compared to DC Douglas' Elvis impersonation in the 2021 series dub. Michael Sinterniklaas, Oliver Wyman, Jay Snyder (Dan Green), Vinny Penna (Wayne Grayson), Duane Cooper, and Tara Sands are all standout performances for their portrayals of Horohoro/Trey, Manta/Morty, Silva, Tokageroh, Joco, and Anna respectively and it's no wonder that all of them with the exception of Duane Cooper reprised their role in the 2021 series dub. Erica Schroder's portrayal of Lyserg is a bit questionable to me though. The voice itself is solid, but the fact that Lyserg, a British character was given an American accent, while Len, a Chinese character was given a British accent was very questionable on the voice director's end. This issue also is present in the dub of the 2021 series. Schroder is a talented actress and has done great in roles like Mai in Yu-Gi-Oh, Nurse Joy and Wobbuffet in Pokémon, and Emma Frost in Astonishing X-Men, but the issue of the British character having an American voice kind of hinders the performance a bit. The dub cast is pretty solid overall, but the fact that the music got replaced with generic stock music that feels more like something out of 4kids' other productions like TMNT or the Yu-Gi-Oh dub, mixed with some minor direction issues bumps it down a few points. The sound for the 4kids dub specifically gets a 7/10

Overall, I really enjoyed this anime and even though it went in a different direction from the manga, which I also have been enjoying, it still was really well made and the quality of the anime itself was able to overcome a few of the minor fumbles 4kids made in voice direction and minor edits. The one thing that did get annoying with the dub was the replacement of the word death with "destroy/destruction" which sometimes came off as awkward and unnatural. I would recommend giving it a watch even in the edited format and supporting the official release by buying the SD-BD by Discotek and also reading the manga published by Kodansha to help support the series and let these companies know we want to see more content released in the West for the franchise. Discotek is reportedly also going to be releasing the subtitled version and the produced uncut dubbed episodes on SD-BD as well, but there has not been any official release date for it yet. I feel the strengths of the series still shine through in the dub but even though my enjoyment of the series is around an 8/10, due to 4Kids' edits I would probably give the official release from a critical standpoint a 7/10. Hopefully the original version is available soon as I feel that would probably be around an 8 without the issues holding 4kids back. Definitely give this version a try, especially if you found those first 13 episodes of the 2021 series a bit weak.

As of writing this review I only have a few episodes of this season left. However being this far in I do still think I can make a fair judgement. I will update this if I feel any major changes happen in these last 6 episodes that change my opinion

Beyblade is just one of those franchises I love. The toys are great and the franchise is still ongoing with new content today with the Burst series and the Beyblade Rising manga. I got into this franchise in the days of Metal Fight watching everything up to Zero G. However as a kid I had no ... access to the original series as it was never rerun on Cartoon Network circa 2010 so I didn’t even know it existed until my mother got me this pack of cards based on Beyblade V-Force which got me interested in the original generation. Now as an adult after getting back into the toy line, after finding an official release of the first 2 seasons on YouTube with G-Rev currently in the process of being uploaded I decided to give this original generation a try.

Story 7/10

Beyblade Season 1’s storyline is rather simple with Tyson, Kai, Ray, Max and Kenny traveling around the world to compete in Beyblade tournaments to get better at the game and reach the top. It’s a rather simple storyline but it’s really effective. This anime unlike Yu-Gi-Oh was made after the toy line came out in Japan with the release of Ultimate Dragon and Ultimate Frostic Dranzer and the Beyblade Game Boy Color game being released in 1999 and the anime being released in 2001. Even though this is a promotional anime it doesn’t affect the story too much. Characters upgrading their Beyblades to the newer models is done naturally in the story and even though yes this is a cheap marketing tactic, it’s really cool to see how these changes affect how the characters play the game and how it enhances the power of the bit beasts that represent the fighting spirit of the Blader. It’s a very generic storyline I’ll give you that but it’s still a damn good one especially if you are a fan of the toys and love the cast of characters.

Art 7/10

Animated by MADHouse the art is at a consistently good quality and the animation on the Beyblades themselves is done in the same style as the characters. In later series the Beyblades are CGI so it was rather refreshing to see the Beyblades drawn in the style of everything else in the show. Outside of the Beyblades themselves the characters are drawn in a smooth and rounded style. Very few characters have super sharp edges outside of the eyes and hair on certain characters. Characters have rather large irises in their eyes with defined pupils and highlights. There are lots of very thin line details as well, however on the official streams being in 480p some of these line details can be crushed and or become very pixelated. Overall the art is pretty good but due to the resolution of the official stream, I feel that the artwork itself suffers as it isn’t as well defined as it’s supposed to be on the line edges. Besides how generic the story is there is one other problem with the show that pops up in the writing. In the English dub besides some out of date lingo being used to be cool with kids in 2001, the dub also decided to change a lot of character names while keeping the original nationality so you end up with Chinese characters who were isolated from the rest of society being named such western names as Gary and Mariah. Also the dub decided to replace Kenny checking on his computer and relaying information to the Bladebreakers with a bit beast named Dizzi stuck in his computer which does everything for him probably to replace the text on the computer. That was dumb

Sound 4/10

This is a bit of an awkward one. There is no legal way to watch this show in Japanese so I ended up watching the show in English. The dub has to be one of the worst dubs I’ve heard from a native English speaking region of the world. Nelvana made some really bad decisions with the casting and directing. While most anime and cartoons will use adult female actors or men with higher pitched voices to play child characters, Nelvana made the decision to cast all the characters with age appropriate actors. However this led to some problems. The character voices around very still especially for these younger characters and when your main characters are 5 11 year old boys it becomes extremely noticable when they can’t hit emotional moments and screams very well. Some of the adult voices also sound rather stiff but it is much worse with the kids. I looked at the Japanese cast a little bit and it seems much better but I cannot judge as I am unable to view this version. One of the biggest strengths of the dub though is the music. The opening theme song “Lets Beyblade” is an absolute banger with those sick guitar riffs and those cheesy lyrics. The battle music is also really intense for the generic themes, but when the dub hits an insert song it also has that same cheese as the intro that is just amazing to jam out to. I’d reccomend looking for the Let it Rip CD if you like these songs as it has some of the songs from all the seasons as well as some extra songs from popular American bands from around the time the show came out. However the dub quality itself being so bad outweighs the great music leading to this poor score.

Characters 7/10

The characters in Beyblade is one of the strongest parts of the show. Tyson is really excitable and aggressive in his battling which can be to his detriment at times but his spirit shows through in how much he is willing to do for his friends. Kenny is the smart one who analyzes all of the opponents of the BladeBreakers and is the brains of the team. He doesn’t play very much but he is always willing to help the team from the sidelines by analyzing opponents and upgrading everyone’s beyblades with new parts. Max is a half Japanese-half American Beyblader who is always enthusiastic and optimistic and plays with a defensive approach. Ray is a calm and levelheaded member of the team but can get really fierce in battle. He’s probably the most mature out of the team. Kai is a bit of a jerk. He’s arrogant and self centered and doesn’t really care about his team. This leads to tension throughout the show as he especially doesn’t get along with Tyson. Later episodes will test the strength of the bond of the team as you see the team grow closer together as they take on challenges big and small and in the Russian Championship arc you will get to see the main characters have something thrown in their dynamic that messes things up for a few episodes. Throughout the show the Bladebreakers will meet all sorts of opponents from all over the world with all sorts of crazy bit beats and a few of the teams have direct links to the Bladebreakers and their members that shed light on their pasts. Even if these characters aren’t the most fleshed out they are fun characters that are lovable for their simple traits and their unique play styles. Ray and Kai ended up being my favorite characters for their personalities but I’m also slightly biased and Dranzer is my favorite Gen 1 Beyblade Evolution line and Kai is just a badass with how rarely he plays but how devastating a punch he deals with Dranzer.

Overall I honestly really enjoyed Beyblade Season 1. I had a lot of fun watching it even through all the issues it had especially in the dub I watched. If I were to rate my enjoyment in a scale of 10 I would give it a solid 8. My critical score for the show is a 7 as it is a very very flawed show and those dub related issues really hold the series back, but I feel it isn’t as bad as the score on the site would make the average MAL user think. You gotta keep in mind this anime is a promotional anime made to sell toys first and foremost and is aimed at kids around ages 7-11 so it isn’t like the deepest anime. I generally feel it is necessary to give a little leeway for kids shows regarding this as first and foremost these anime are meant to be fun and enjoyable for audiences of all ages. Definitely give Beyblade season 1 a watch if you love the toys, you just might want to search out some Japanese subs as those will probably be the better product overall. I’m not sure about the Español Latino and the Brazilian Portuguese Dubs and their quality but they are based on the Nelvana English dub so I would expect a few of these same issues to carry over but don’t let that hold you back from enjoying the show. Enjoy it in whatever form you see best just maybe prioritize the original language track

So as you have seen, I am not a fan of A-1 Pictures's adaptation of PERSONA 5 as it trims out a lot of substance from the game. However this is probably the only good A-1 Pictures Persona 5 media.

This here is the Day Breakers. This is an adaptation of one of the Mementos quests from around the Casino portion of the game. This however expands on it to give a good idea on what the game is all about. This has no real bearing on the plot, however it does set up a good spot to get comfortable with before you start the game. ...

The Story: Pretty barebones as it is just to sell the concept of the game, and is based on an optional sidequest. Basically this dickbag named Naoya is a total asshole to his brother Kazuya who gets so angry, he posts on the PHAN-SITE to change the heart of Naoya. Basically Akira, Ryuji, Ann, and Yusuke along with the not a cat Morgana go into the metaverse to steal the malice in Naoya's heart. This does expand on the quest actually showing more of what is happening in the game so that's pretty sweet. It gets a 7/10 as it does what it needs to do, and does it well enough.

The Art: HOO BOY! Yusuke isn't a fan of the art in this and neither am I. Comparing the work of A-1 who did this OVA and the anime to Production IG's beautiful charmingly animated cutscenes from the videogame, the A-1 version doesn't really look very good. Characters are a bit off model at times, and the movement is a bit too janky. Compare that to the smooth, and crisp visuals in the game it's based on, and you have a problem. I'll give A-1 a 6/10 for at least trying, as some scenes look kinda nice.

Sound: The sound is top notch! All the music is ripped straight from the game, composed by Meguro Shoji. All the vocals heard are done by Lyn. The songs both instrumental and lyrical have amazing composition, and that's a given, being from one of 2016/17's best games. All the voice acting is top notch too, as all characters retain their game voices. The new voices also fit in well, and flesh out the universe as now we know what Naoya and Kazuya sound like. PERFECT 10

The characters are from the game except you don't get to know them on a deep personal basis, you just get an idea which is the point, and they are great characters once you know them so here's an 8/10. Also Naoya and Kazuya's names are a reference to the Toudou brothers from Persona 1. Except Kazuya was the bad one in P1.

This promo anime gets an 8/10 for being a well made teaser that I watched after seeing the game in action, but having seen the action some of the substance is gone, but it's fine here being a teaser.

"I am thou... Thou art I ... From the sea of thy soul I come ... Call upon my name, and release thy rage! Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself! I am the pillager of twilight, Arséne!"

So I recently got into the Megami Tensei multiverse. I knew it existed for a couple years, heck I even played Persona 2 (Innocent Sin) for the original Playstation. Back then I really had no idea wtf half the demons and spells were, how to pronounce character names, or why Hitler was in the fucking game, ... but I remember it being one of my favorite games. However I wasn't able to play 3 due to stupid laws not letting me buy the game due to my age. Gee thanks a lot America. I got into the whole multiverse more recently with some YouTubers I watch streaming Persona 5. I loved watching them play, and recently I was able to convince my Mom to buy the game for me. But until then, I kinda had nothing to do. I wanted to play the game myself and it just so happened that an anime would be produced. My naïve mind was ecstatic. I thought it was good, until I got my own copy and relived watching videos, but in my own hands. Looking back now, this anime adaptation is a complete trainwreck.

Story: The story here is a watered down version of the game. A lot of the nuance is taken out and some of the plotlines are straightout censored for TV. Apparently we can't say pedophile gym teacher is a pedophile, so we cut out half of his fucking character. Well anyways here is the plot of the game. Your character is a student on probation due to an assault case from some asshole rapist, and he moves to coffe-dad's café , and he's a regular student by day, and a heart stealing phantom thief by night. No this is not a shitty porno despite how cheesy that last part sounds. Basically the protag makes accomplices and recruits other thieves, and a talking cat who screams at him to go to bed. The thieves steal the evil will from the hearts of the corrupt and reform society. That's what the anime basically portrays the plot as. A lot of the nuance from the game is gone. A lot of the dicking around that you and your friends go through in town during the day is gone. The school life is also gone. Its pretty much just an action story now. For cutting out important elements and nuance it gets a 7/10, at least it tries to tell the game's story.

Art: "I would like your honest opinion if you would..."-Kitagawa Yusuke
Lets talk about the production a bit first. The game's animated cutscenes were produced by Production I.G. a high end studio, while the anime is A-1 Pictures. The A-1 version looks cheap and neutered compared to the beauty of the game's cutscenes. Yusuke does not approve. The CGI also looks like dog shit. Look up A-1 pictures animation and you'll get some pretty bad results. 5/10 Madarame did it.

Sound: The sound in the anime is actually pretty good. Most of the actors and actresses from the Japanese game have returned. Sadly some of the cast has recently passed away, so they will not be heard in the anime. A lot of the music is lifted straight from the game. You will start singing along to some catchy tunes such as "Beneath the Mask", "Last Surprise", and "Life Will Change". Its pretty good! 9/10 some songs are missing.

The characters are from the game, but slightly watered down. As an elitist I give this a 7/10 due to me loving the nuance in the game.

This anime gets a 6/10 as it tried to adapt the game well, but failed miserably due to time constraintants. Don't watch it.

I feel this anime really appeals to me as an artist. As an artist in high school myself, I feel I have some girls to relate to. I've wanted to try making my own manga, and now this anime seems to be teaching me some techniques that I will use.

Story 6/10:
The story overall isn't fantastic, but that kind of is the point! Kaoroku Moeta (or Kaos-chan) is a high school student who is a struggling artist. She moves into a dormitory for other female mangaka to get inspiration and learn new techniques and get a serialized manga. The anime follows Kaos and her new ... friends Konome (a shoujo artist who can't draw male characters), Tsubasa (a shonen mangaka who got her first series published and has a bit of a tendency to imitate her characters), and Rukki (a hentai artist who wants to draw kids manga) on their daily lives juggling school, serialized manga, fans, self-esteem issues, and improving drawing skills. It's meant to focus on the little things, as this is also a comedy anime.

Art: 9/10
The art is important in a show on this topic, and Comic Girls delivers in that. Characters look distinct, have various facial expressions, and personality shown in their movements. Some side characters like animals even have this established (Nyaos is a prime example). All drawings shown that are created by the girls are well done (even the intentionally bad ones, as they are used for comedy making them good for their job), and some of the techniques used can easily be replicated. (DM me with some tips as I am trying to make my own manga too lol)

Sound: 10/10
All characters have fitting voices. The actors all do a really good job. Shoutouts to Takahashi Rie, the actor of Tsubasa, as this tone she uses is different to how I last heard her voice in a anime (Takagi San). The OPs and EDs also have good musical composition. Every time a character appears on screen in the OP or ED, their voice is heard singing (I'm imagining this with JOJO as Ono Daisuke tried to sing the OP and failed hilariously.) All these actresses are amazing at their job in singing and acting. It is so weird tho hearing Takahashi sing in character as she usually doesn't sing in the more monotone voice. Also the action music that plays with Tsubasa's impersonations is hilarious.


Characters: 10/10
These characters are so relatable to me.

Kaos: Young struggling mangaka who can't draw well. She is also shy and easily scared. Also she openly is a bit homosexual lmao. (Reminds me of a younger me)

Konome: Kaos' best friend. She is energetic and this bounces off well with Kaos. A sort of Ryuji-Akira sort of vibe, in where they are so different but they like each other and support each other type of thing. Konome draws shoujo manga, but can't draw male characters. (Tbh i have a similar problem due to my art style). Her bubbly personality reminds me of myself.

Tsubasa: MY WAIFU. SHE IS MINE! (second to Sheska) Tsubasa is a shonen mangaka (hmmmm that's what I'm doing) who impersonates characters (kinda like I DO), and is a bit cold but loving (like when i had crippling depression). Tsubasa is more experienced than Kaos and Konome, and is willing to help them out and teach them new techniques, and even help out with finances (^o^). 10/10 waifu for me! Just need her to Jojo pose once and then she'd be number 1.

Rukki "Big Boobies♥Himeko Chan": The master of hentai herself. Rukki is really perverted (she draws hardcore porno), imagines her friends doing it, and ends up looking like she is having sex on multiple occasions. She claims to have big titties as a mangaka, but she is depressed that she is actually flat. She also writes teen romances, but mostly P O R N. Rukki wants to draw a kids manga, but is too perverse to do so. (TBH she reminds me of my addiction with this pervy stuff) She is a nice girl and is understanding and a bit of a mentor to Kaos. KaoRukki I ship it! Her pen name is Big Boobies♥Himeko Chan.


Overall I am enjoying this series a lot! After the anime finishes, I will read the manga, and pray for season 2, and a dub so I can get a Blu Ray release in my local tech store. I'm going to also take the tips I've learned and build up the courage to release my own manga. I'm hoping I can be successful like these girls are (and trying to surpass themselves), and as an artist, this anime is a must watch. Also its fucking hilarious.


(This review will be updated once any announcements are made, and once I complete the current season. The score won't change much, but some minor details in the review may be tweaked)

"It's only natural for living creatures to fight to protect their own lives. But what makes us human is that we fight for others.But who do you fight for? How hard must you fight...? That's the true measure of what human life is worth."- Phoenix Wright 2004

I am a big fan of Capcom's Ace Attorney series. With 6 mainline games, multiple spinoffs ,one crossover, an appearance in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 and Project X Zone, it is safe to say this series is popular. The Ace Attorney franchise also has various manga, 2 Capcom licensed doujin collections, and now an anime. But ... then the anime got trashed on and condemned as a bad adaptation. Now I Corey Censoredlastname will defend this animated adaptation of one of my favorite games.

STORY:
The story of the Ace Attorney franchise is really simple at face value, but the cases go into great detail and have lots of amazing plot twists. Due to spoiler reasons, I will refrain from describing cases. The main premise is that Phoenix Wright is a new attorney at law, just having passed his bar exam. He is taken under the wing of defense attorney Mia Fey and she taught Phoenix to think outside the box, not take things at face value, and always believe in your client. The series goes into cross examination of witnesses to point out contradictory statements in their testimonies, Crime scene investigation, hilarious characters, spirit channelling, and defending the innocent. The Ace Attorney series is overall lighthearted, but at times it can get really dark. This anime adapted games 1 and 2.(Oh boy just wait for Farewell My Turnabout the final case in Justice for All and where the anime leaves off, it is my favorite case) 9/10 where the hell are the psyche locks in the anime.

Art:
The art is what really made this anime adaptation not as good as it should be. Characters go off model frequently, some characters dont look right (Larry is a prime suspect), and the CGI is absolute TRESH. The backgrounds do look nice, and the text from the games are translated well, and some of the dramatic effects are amazing. I just wish the art was as good as the sprites, or the cutscenes in Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice which are animated by the same studio how did they screw up this badly wtf.
6/10 its passable, and some things are great.

Sound:
The anime has some amazing sound design. The voice actors are amazing. Kaji Yuki as Phoenix was amazing. Better than those bit crushed GBA samples by a longshot. I am a big fan of his work so hearing him as Phoenix made me overjoyed. Edgeworth has a really good actor also, and Franziska has such a smug actress. The music is amazing too. As you know, the Ace Attorney franchise is well known for it's amazing music. The anime takes the approach to music similar to Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice, as all the music is orchestrated instead of using the GBA or DS ost and calling it a day. Holy shit the 2001 Objection theme never sounded more epic. And the Pursuit Cornered 2001 theme is amazing. Still can't beat the DS version of that song. However it seems that Justice For All's OST is mostly missing. That kinda sucks as I liked that game's OST a bit, and I've heard the orchestral cd arrangements and it sounds amazing, and would sound amazing on TV. So the 2001 themes carry over to the Justice for All adaptation. So no Moderato 2002, or Pursuit Caught. I'll give it an 8 due to the missing music.

Characters:
The Characters are amazing listed below are main characters that do not spoil anything.

Phoenix Wright: Newbie defense attorney who believes in his clients, and is highly intelligent, if a bit silly at times. He gets nervous, and is a friendly man. OBJECTION!!!!!

Mia Fey: Phoenix's mentor. That's really all I can say without spoilers

Larry Butz: Phoenix's best friend from gradeschool. Larry is a goofy and friendly character known to overreact, and has a bad track record of getting dumped. He is unlucky and always ends up in bad situations. If something smells, it's usually the Butz.

Maya Fey: Phoenix's assistant who is a spirit medium in training. She is a comic relief character and is a very lovable person. She also has a bad track record being involved in many murder cases over the years. She loves hamburgers, ramen, and the Steel Samurai. She also seems to have a bit of a crush on "Nick".

Miles Edgeworth: Prosecutor who does almost anything to get a guilty verdict as he hates criminals. However he doesn't resort to any illegal tactics. He is also a really nice guy he just acts like an emo kid on their period. That autopsy report is outdated your honor.

Franziska Von Karma: Tsundere prosecutor who is a really cool character.

Dick Gumshoe, lovable detective who is a bit of a dope. He doesn't make much due to always getting paycuts. He looks up to Edgeworth a lot.


I overall enjoy the anime adaptation. It was a well adapted version of the first two Ace Attorney games for the given episode count. I also like the fanservice of there even being a Phoenix Wright anime. Also here is a note, The bonus 5th case for the DS version of the first game, Case 5:Rise from the Ashes is missing. However I didn't like that case very much as it was really long and boring, but I did like Damon Gant so I am indifferent to it's exclusion. However the first case from Justice for All, "The Lost Turnabout" is missing, and this might pose a problem for the upcoming second season. I might not have liked that case much, but it introduced Maggey Byrd, a character who later reappears in the 3rd game as a waitress in Jean Armstrong's café. Also Richard Wellington had a hilarious breakdown. My enjoyment is an 8/10 but the critical score is a 7/10. It is not as bad as everyone says.

The games are amazing though and way better so you should definitely play those. They are 10/10 material no joke.

This is a childhood classic that have watched twice and I am watching it again this time in Japanese.

Ahh Pokémon. I am a big fan of the video game franchise that kicked off the TCG, anime, manga, figures, plushes and all the other stuff this cashcow produces. Most of these things are of amazing quality especially the anime and manga. In this review I will be covering the most popular story arc the First Generation arc.

Story: Satoshi (Ash) Ketchum is a ten year old boy living in the small-town of Masara (Pallet). He ... has always wanted to be the number one Pokémon trainer in the world. When it is the day for him to get his first Pokémon he runs late and is unable to choose from the normal Fushigidane (Bulbasaur), Hitokage (Charmander), or Zenigame (Squirtle) as they have all been taken. Okido Hakasae (Professor Oak) gives Satoshi a feisty Pikachu who will grow to become his best friend and ally. Satoshi has a rival and he is a total douchebag. Okido Shigeru (Gary Motherfucking Oak) is always ahead of Satoshi and is a total prick. He lightens up in newer seasons. His starter Pokémon is Zenigame a water type turtle Pokémon. Along the journey Satoshi meets Kasumi (Misty) a tsundere tomboyish "mermaid" who is a water type trainer, and Takeshi (Brock) a rock hard romanticist who aims to become a Pokémon Breeder. Takeshi looks over the two as an older brother type figure. He is cool as hell. Satoshi must battle the eight gym leaders to earn their badges to compete in the Pokémon League Tournament, a semi-regional tournament for the best Pokémon Trainers which contrasts to the Boss Rush in the games. There is a filler arc called the Orange Archipelago arc but it was mostly shit. Satoshi loses the league and gets depression for 10 minutes and then moves on to gen 2.

Art: The art is really well done. The characters have iconic sharp designs and all the Pokémon look better than the ingame sprites in Blue version the most recent game when the anime was made. The backgrounds are really dynamic, and the effects used for moves look great. It does however show its age and does have some off model moments in pivotal scenes.

Sound: The OST is amazing. The orchestrated tracks from the games sound amazing and the anime is well known for it's amazing remixes of popular themes. I really like the remix of the Wild Pokémon theme and the Gym battle theme. The voice acting in the sub is good, but i haven't gotten far enough to know how it compares to more recent seasons. Fun fact: Musashi (Jessie) shares the same voice actor as Ayanami Rei. The dub is somewhat tolerable. It isn't good but the voices are Okay. It gets bad in season 2. Eric Stuart tho fuck yes. The Pokémon voices are very cute in both languages and fit really well. The Openings in both languages are amazing. The sub uses Mesaze Pokémon Master while the Dub uses Gotta Catch Ém All. Both are really catchy tunes and are reused throughout the series. In fact the Japanese Opening can be heard in Pokémon Pinball for the GameBoy Color.

Characters:The characters are a mixed bag. Here is a list of important characters.

Satoshi (Ash)- Energetic 10 year old boy who is a bad Pokémon trainer but wants to be the top trainer

Pikachu- Satoshi's best friend and companion

Takeshi (Brock)- 1st gym leader and second member of the group. Is a romanticist and older brother figure to Satoshi and Kasumi. Wants to be a Pokémon breeder. Glue of the group. Rock type trainer.

Kasumi (Misty)- First member of the group. 2nd Gym leader. Tsundere frenemy of Satoshi who secretly has a crush on him. A tomboy yet girly at the same time. Water type trainer

Togepi- Baby Pokémon Kasumi takes care of

Musashi (Jessie) and Kojiro (James)- Comedic villains who along with their talking Nyarth try to steal Pikachu from Satoshi but are so incompetent and sometimes borderline making the viewer question Kojiro's sexuality, that they become some of anime's most memorable villains up there with Freeza, Madara, The Angels, and the entire fucking Pico OVA series.

Nyarth (Meowth)- Smartest cat around. Able to talk and is very smartmouthed and is a street-smart character due to his tragically hilarious backstory.

Lieutenant Machisu (Surge)- 3rd gym leader. Arnold Schwarzengger wannabe. Edgelord. Electric type trainer.

Erika- 4th Gym Leader. Timid girl. Tends to flowers. Runs an exclusively female gym. Grass type trainer.

Natsume (Sabrina)- 5th Gym Leader. Cold and emotionless woman who controls a doll of a younger version of herself. Mindfucks with her opponents and traps them in her world. Psychic type trainer.

Kyo (Koga)- 6th Gym Leader. Ninja boi. Poision Trainer.

Katsura (Blaine)- Old hippy guy. 7th Gym Leader. Fire type trainer.

Sakaki (Giovanni)- Evil crime boss of team rocket. 8th gym leader.

Mewtwo- Clone of Mew owned by Sakaki that goes rogue.

Hirosie- Satoshi but good. Has Sparky the Pikachu

Gary Motherfucking Oak- 10 badges

I will always enjoy this classic from my childhood and reccomend it highly

This small bonus unlockable 24 minute OVA from the PSP game Maverick Hunter X was pretty good for what it was. This OVA takes place before the first MegaMan X game and shows how X and Zero's commander Sigma turned from being the lovable Commander of the Maverick Hunters to the cruel Maverick Emperor seen throughout the X series of games.
The art is very accurate to the character design from the X games. X himself looks very adorable yet badass which is kinda the point as X is a really kind robot boy at heart. Sigma doesn't have his Iconic ... cape until the last minutes of the OVA, but that is to show when he went from respected Commander to Evil Dictator. Chill Penguin looks really cool (pun intended) and very sharp and Storm Eagle looks kinda weird. The generic soldiers look generic. Zero's design is a bit of a mix between his classic appearance from the X series and his more round redesign from the Megaman Zero series. The CG is noticeable, but it looks better on PSP. And it actually provides a good contrast for some moral scenes for X.
The voice acting in the Sub and Dub are both very good. The actors seem to really understand their characters and Sigma's voice slightly changes during the reveal when he becomes evil. Penguin has a very cute and high pitched voice in the sub which is exactly what i imagined him sounding like. The music surprisingly was mediocre. I wish they used tracks from the game like maybe the Zero theme, Sigma's theme, and when Dr Light appeared maybe even the MEGAMAN 2 opening theme could have played. Hey at least the acting isn't bad like in Megaman 8 or X4. BASS WHY MUST I FIGHT YOU. DOCTA WAHWEE. WHADDYOUTHINKYADOING. PREPAREURSELF. NO THIS ISNT HAPPENING WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOOOOOOOR. Sorry I had to
The characters are just the characters really. X is shown exactly like in the games. He prefers to not hurt others, but will fightto protect others. Zero is the smart and friendly badass he was in the games, and a big friendly companion to X. Chill Penguin and Storm Eagle don't really do much but they are apparently high up captains in the Maverick Hunters before they become Maverick themselves. Sigma is shown as the respected commander that was mentioned in the previous games, but this OVA let us see it. We also see how he planned his domination and his cunning attitude unleash. Vile is shown as becoming Maverick which as we know does happen as he is the first boss in thd X series with the iconic scene of Zero coming in and saving X before Vile could kill him. I am however disappointed that we only saw 2 of the 8 Robot Master Mavericks from the game. It would have been cool to see Spark Mandrill,Sting Chameleon, Launch Octopus, Armored Armadillo, Flame Mammoth, and Boomerang Kuwanger in action before they became evil.

The story shows how Sigma became evil. Thats about it. There is a conspiracy and everything. There are continuity errors though. X was sealed for a different reason, Cain found X earlier than the original game, and Cain dies.

I would check it outif you are curious

Long ago was the ages of Pharaohs. In the African country of Egypt the pyramids were built by one of the most advanced civilizations in the history of the planet. Egypt also happened to be the birthplace of the first games ever made. This manga takes this fact about the ancient Egyptians and expans upon it to make a fantastic story.

Story: Long ago when the pyramids were still young, there was a war between humans and monsters. A Pharaoh who's name has been lost to time used the power of the Sennen items to seal away this evil while sacrificing himself. 3000 years later, in ... the late 1990's, High School freshman Mutou Yugi discovers the Sennen Puzzle in his grandpa's game shop. He solves the puzzle and is taken over by the spirit of the nameless Pharaoh when times get rough and he punishes the bad guys with his sadistic PUNISHMENT GAMES if they lose to him in the YAMI NO GAMEU. This structure is a villain of the week up until about the Duelist Kingdom Saga which starts at around Volume 8. Then the Plot centers around the card game of Duel Monsters which was first introduced with the recurring villain of Kaiba Seto who becomes a supporting character in this arc. Duel Monsters is a simple game and it is simply explained early on, but the rules aren't well established until the Battle City Arc. The rules are very similar to the real life YUGIOH card game so its really nothing too alien. This is very early in the series so the rules were not as set in stone however. It is a great story, but some things don't make sense due to the rules not being well established.

Art: The art is meh at first, but it slowly developed into the iconic art style synonymous with the series. So the art looks fantastic and doesn't go off model as much as the anime tended to. The change is a bit weird at first, but it makes the art way better. Also the monster designs are amazing, and the PUNISHMENT GAMES are horrifying.

Character:The characters are really nice. You have Yugi a nice kid with a bit of a pervy side, but he pushes that aside a couple chapters after he solves the Sennen Puzzle. He is a very sweet guy and becomes more independent over the course of the series. Yami Yugi is the spirit of the nameless Pharaoh and he starts out as sadistic, but slowly starts to be like his host over the course of the series. He is Yugi's determination and who Yugi will aim to become. Jonouchi Katsuya (Joey in the anime dub) is a pervy and rude dude, but he has a nice heart. He used to bully Yugi, but developed a strong friendship with him after Yugi saves him from Ushio's beatings. Honda Hiroto (Tristan in the anime dub) is a nice wisecracking and smart fella, who along with Jonouchi bullied Yugi and becomes his friend slowly over the course of the first couple of voumes. He cheers on Yugi when times get rough. Anzu is Yugi's love interest and is a nice and supportive girl. She always supports Yugi and has a bit of a crush on him. Yugi shares the feelings, but is really modest about it. They go on a couple of dates in the series. Mai is boobs. Dats it. Shes a slut. Kaiba Seto is a bit of a dick, but he loves his little brother Mokuba. Kaiba is rich, and has abig rivalry with Yugi. This starts out as a hatred, Kaiba even attempts to murder Yugi, but eventually they become allies in battle.

I am enjoying reading this classic manga. I have watched the anime in the sub up until the Pandora fight and in the dub up until one of the flashback games. I am still reading the manga, but I love the anime and the manga is even better so far.