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Congratulations, this review is relatively spoiler-free.

Machikado Mazoku fills a unique niche a never thought was possible, by somehow being a romcom despite not being a romcom. I mean, it ultimately depends on how you look at it, but that's how I see it. More on that in a second.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story, here's a brief synopsis of last season: High-strung high schooler Yuko Yoshida one day wakes up to find out she's sprouted a demon tail and horns, learning that "oops, you're demonkin". Also there's apparently another student at her school who's a magical girl and thus her mortal enemy.

However, ... kuudere magical girl Momo Chiyoda isn't about the whole rivals thing and they instead become friends (sort of). In addition to the initial various hijinks associated with Yuko's newfound appearance and powers, the duo try to sort out their intertwined magical ancestries.

So first things first, Machikado has an actual plot with progression, which automatically elevates it above the vast majority of cutesy girl-centric animes similar to it.

Second, this series is what I'm personally referring to as "Yuri Bait". The two female leads are far too close to simply be just friends. They're somehow just close enough that you literally HAVE to ship them, but just far enough apart that you can convince yourself that they are just friends. Thus creating a weird limbo where it's a disgustingly adorable character dynamic despite not actually being romantic, dangling the Yuri in front of you like a tantalizing carrot on a stick. I don't know why but it's a perfect recipe for this kind of anime and keeping it 100% PG.

STORY - 7
As previously stated, Machikado has a half-decent plotline. It's by no stretch of the imagination going to win any awards, but it's more than enough to keep things interesting and entertaining. Definitely one of the highlights of the series.

ART - 6
Nothing special. Not particularly extravagant but does nail the magical girl shtick whenever it comes up.

SOUND - 5
The soundtrack this time around is pretty meh. The voice acting is good but towards the beginning of the series I found it a bit lacking.

CHARACTERS - 7
By themselves, the characters are fairly bland if not outright stock/stereotype. It's their dynamic that really sells it. Again, I've already ranted about this so I'm not going to repeat it. The main characters do develop, but the side characters not so much.

ENJOYMENT - 8
I'm enjoying it. Nothing but sugar, smiles and nosebleeds from me. Honestly, though, it doesn't take much to get me hyped about a series nowadays so take that with a grain of salt.

OVERALL - 7
As per usual, this series is not for everyone. It's fluffy and lighthearted, and certain viewers could be outright annoyed by the characters. I know at least one of my friends found Yuko to be whiny.

Nevertheless, Machikado remains a series you can both really get into or casually throw on in the background. And it might even cleanse your soul in the process. Or give you diabetes. Probably both.

Don't forget to join the Momo x Shamiko shippening while you're at it. IDK maybe you're not about that, but I'm fairly certain the vast majority of this series' fanbase would agree with me.

In a day and age where modern Isekai is garbage (with their questionably motivated plots filled with varying levels of common tropes) emerges this title, which at first glance starts off like an Isekai. However, this anime is at its core a light-hearted, refreshing fantasy.

Azusa is a corporate slave who dies of overwork and is given the gift of immortality in a new fantasy world. Sounds like some god-power character who's going to be forced to save the world again. But nope! Azusa is determined to live an absolutely carefree life. We immediately timeskip to the endgame.

As the name implies, 300 years later Azusa has ... (accidentally) maxed out her level killing nothing but slimes everyday, thanks to a passive XP boost on every mob she kills. Given quantity over quality, it was inevitable.

Slime Taoshite is best described as a set of easygoing stories where Azusa gets inevitably dragged into other people's problems, making new friends along the way. It's mostly just fun and games, since Azusa is literally an all-powerful, albeit slightly aloof, deity. At the end of the day, it's a rather boring story, but it's so light and fluffy it makes me smile.

As the series goes on, the cast will fill up with a roster of colorful characters. The dynamic is a little clichéd, but is ultimately a happy experience and a welcome break to anyone who's been put off by other darker stories or unsatisfying series conclusions. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this innocent anime.

If you are expecting a plot going into this... well, there isn't one. It's about as cohesive as a sketch comedy skit. This is not the sort of anime you binge; it is a casual watch. It's an anime you'll throw on when you're bored and really aren't in the mood for anything else. In all honesty, there isn't much value in finishing this series. If you forget about it despite being a few episodes in, it's okay to drop it. You won't be missing much.

And yeah. Some of you are going to hate it. That's totally fine. You'll know for certain after watching the first or second episode whether you'll want to continue. But as a general rule of thumb, ask yourself this question before attempting this series: Are you the kind of person that could enjoy watching a kid's show if it had a decent plot? If yes, watch this. If not, proceed with caution.



Just me ranting on the side (SPOILERS):
*All of Azusa's new friends are non-human (or superhuman), long-lived races so they can match Azusa's immortality. Draconic, Elvish, Demonic, Spiritual...
*It's a bubbly, all-girls club. There are literally zero male characters. I'm seeing that this is becoming a trend recently. Focuses on friendship instead of inserting romantic distraction.
* The whole concept of an RPG leveling system is referenced precisely once in the beginning to give the series its title. No one mentions leveling ever again. Quantitative measurement of one's power is dropped altogether, with Azusa subtly redefined from "max level" to just "extremely powerful".
*Laika is an adorable bean who deserves all the head pats. I'm also 90% certain she's crushing hard for Azusa.
*Beelzebub apparently talks in an English, or at least very formal, accent (despite speaking in Japanese). I don't know how this translates out in the anime so watch out for that.
*The Demon King likes Kabe-don lol.

"She is a monster in the form of a little girl" is both an understatement and an overstatement.

This series in a nutshell:
WWII Jetpack troopers use magic guns to take over knockoff-Europe because God feels like annoying the Isekai protagonist.

I'd like to take a minute to remind readers that I am an artist first and foremost. I love a well written story and a dazzling display of graphics. I'm also no stranger to the world of musical score and SFX. I also have a (respectful) infatuation of firearms technology and WWII-era science. So don't be overly concerned about my current state of unhealthily frothing ... at the mouth. That's actually an indication that I'm successfully repressing my nerd brain for this review. (Like I said, don't be concerned)

Youjo Senki is a brilliantly written story for something that is by textbook definition an Isekai. Because it starts our main character's new life truly from the beginning of infanthood and gives them what is to my knowledge the best origin story in reincarnated-protagonist history.

First, Tanya von Degurechaff is an anti-hero. A surprising rarity for the Western comic-influenced medium that is anime. If there's anything I've learned about anti-heroes from being a writer, it's that anti-heroes are incredibly difficult to do properly. The archetype demands a fine balance of a morally agreeable character and a fiendish character. My one attempt at a an anti-hero resulted in the creation of an unlovable brat too far set in their own ways. (That character ended up in the garbage bin)

Second, Tanya is a perpetually angry character. Which is an even HARDER character to write. Any extremely emotional individual requires an equally extreme motivation for said complex. If you only give it a lame effort you'll end up with an appropriately weak basis for that character's personality. But if you can pull it off, you have the potential to create a seriously kickass individual.

In her previous life, Tanya was a cold, rational, MALE office worker. He gets shoved in front of a subway by a man he fired earlier that day and dies. The moment before impact, he has a strange chat with God. The man openly challenges the validity of an almighty being directly to its face. Infuriated by his lack of faith, the deity sees fit to send the man's soul to a world plagued by war and dares him to stay alive.

Tanya is a girl born into the world of the Empire, the equivalent of Germany in a fictitious Europe as part of a WWII reenactment, only this time with a touch of magic and without the unethical horror of Nazism (but still authoritarian). We also got the Republic (France), Entente (Norway/Sweden), Grand Duchy (Romania, I think), the Federation (USSR) and the Unified States overseas (...yes).

Despite her gifts of incredible intellect and magical prowess, her entire existence is a joke fabricated by the self-proclaimed God she refuses to acknowledge, only referring to them as "Being X". From her reincarnation into the body of a diminutive girl, to the continued vexations from the Being pulling the strings. The Entity is pitting Tanya and her country against the entire world. The God gives her no option but to fight in this war and also curses her by necessitating a prayer every time she wishes to fight.

Holy crap that's one heck of a backstory. It completely justifies Tanya's personality. Waging a war of thought against her absolute personal antagonist. Pitting her rationality against belief. And being constantly reminded at every possible pause of the existence of her most hated, fundamentally indelible foe. In my experience, the more poetic the origins of a passionate character, the stronger their potential. It doesn't get much more poetic than that.

STORY: 6
The world-building of Youjo Senki is amazing, even if it is 90% borrowed from history. However, if you were to break down the actual plot into its base form it's not all that special.

I've had this gripe about several series in the past, but any story where the heroes always win is boring and lazy writing. You have to have the little defeats along the way. On paper, the 203rd never lose. But you have to remember that they get the crap kicked out of them every other encounter. Also, Tanya has already lost an unwinnable fight against the world (or so you'd think... we'll see...). All of the above demonstrate a story where the characters can take a loss and learn from it, and not just continuously pull W's out of a magic hat.

ART: 8
The series boasts incredible animation that blends the dark with the dazzling in a uniform set of color tones.

SOUND: 8
The music sets all of the proper moods in extraordinary fashion. Sound quality is very well handled. My one issue would likely be the repetitiveness of the gunfire sound effects, but they were at least consistent.

CHARACTER: 7
Tanya is the only character with any real girth to their character. Everyone else is forgettable fodder by comparison. That said, Tanya is a very unique character and the dynamic she has with her battalion is sufficiently different from anything else to warrant a passing grade.

ENJOYMENT: 9
That might be the heart particles of my nerd brain seeping through my keyboard, but I'll allow it since an enjoyment rating is already quite an objective topic. Because I thoroughly enjoyed watching this anime.

OVERALL: 8
It is abundantly self-evident that this action anime stands above the rest by being mired with politics and proper reasons for its continuous conflict. That's the main issue I'd have with major Shounen titles; they lack proper forward motivation. Youjo Senki glazes over that conundrum by making their world quite literally built different. It might make viewers say "Ew politics," but the series manages to dumb it down enough that it's negligible.

The main flaw with this series would have to be its lack of quantifiable plot progression, but it's easily inferred why. There will be no end in sight for quite some time. This is a World War they're fighting.

Until the Being wills it so, Deus lo vult!

I'm going to be level with everyone right here and now. I did not expect much going into this anime. I'd only ever heard mention of it in passing. However, I had seen reference to it enough times to pique my interest.

I went into it expecting a delusional comedy, which is a fairly low standard for me. After all, that's what the series title and cover art seem to advertise. And for the most part, it delivered. Surprisingly, it made me chuckle, which is better than the majority of the comedy category.

I also knew it was a romcom. I've been around the block a ... few times so I know anime romcoms are known for their disgustingly thick-headed protagonists idling on feelings for seasons on end (*cough* Nisekoi *cough*). What I was not expecting was the awkward-good feeling that, as much as it pains me to say it, was on par with Toradora. The characters aren't idiots that are so oblivious to obvious hints it makes you want to smash your skull through the nearest patch of drywall. Instead, the MC does that for you.

In fact, instead of nobody taking a clue, most every character in Chuunibyou is saying, "Yeah, we know you're in love, but we aren't going to solve your problems." Including our main man Yuuta, who becomes fairly certain of Rikka's feeling and also figures out he's falling in love with her in turn fairly early on.

The transition is seamless between a the classic romcom plot you expect at first, with the girl the protagonist is fixated on and the girl you know he's going to end up with, to a feel good love story towards the end. Such a phat 180 like that is difficult to pull off. It amazes me how flawless the execution was. In that way alone, it makes this series unique, original, and something I'd recommend to friends.

Unfortunately, the last portion of this series drops the ball when it decides it wants to be cold. But it serves as a reminder that sometimes we need to do things just because they're cool, have a little fun, show a little personality. Otherwise, life is just a depressing tale we walk through without anything to hold onto along the way.

STORY: 8
In any case, the comedic beginning was decent, the romantic middle was great, the final conclusion was bad. Gripes about the ending aside, the transitions were buttery smooth and deserving of my praise.

ART: 6
Good art. Clean animation. No complaints. One thing worth pointing out is how the animators get to sneak in flashy action sequences into a slice of life thanks to 8th-grade syndrome. Kind of ironic.

SOUND: 6
Chuuni has a great soundtrack I can see myself listening to in the future. The ending theme reminds me of a Splatoon song. There's probably some heavy similarities in their chord progression, but I'm not nearly enough of a music nerd to know for certain.

CHARACTER: 5
The characters were good, but predictably unpredictable. It felt like they developed well up to a certain point before all development abruptly stopped. They tried to make it interesting at the end, but it was all clearly superficial, and everyone ended up reverting like I suspected they would.

ENJOYMENT: 7
I did enjoy this series. It was ultimately a positive experience, but it left a sour taste in my mouth. We'll see where the sequels head, though.

OVERALL: 6
I can safely declare this anime is worth your time. Chuuni proudly stands on the alignment chart as a Chaotic Good. It was all over the place and disagreeable at times, but was nonetheless well executed. If you loved the series, I totally get it. If you hated it because you couldn't stop facepalming (I had a few of those moments), I totally respect it. However, Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! made one thing very clear: it is not to be overlooked.

Edit: I've started watching the sequels but am unlikely to invest in any full-blown reviews for them, so I'm going to leave a few notes on them here.

So as it turns out Chuuni *is* a classic anime romcom with glacial romantic plot progression. The point of stagnation in this case is after the love confession, an interesting but not at all uncommon change-up from your garden-variety romcoms. (Tonikawa comes to mind)

There's also a somewhat questionable insert of a love triangle, which is in my opinion is dumb since Rikka and Yuuta are already going out. I mean, I guess it's better the usual dropoff of slice of life series conclusions, but it feels like they're drawing out a series already past its climax.

It's not often a series comes around that doesn't rely solely on flashy fight scenes or comedic character drama to make it good. Re:Zero S2 marks a major improvement to a series that was already very entertaining by (finally) answering more questions than it presents.

[ ! MINOR SPOILERS ! ]

For starters, we get a lot of much-needed backstory for ALL of the essential characters and a comprehensive deep-dive into the lore of the land. All of the weird talk about witches that left a bunch of huge question marks scrawled across the entire audience's faces? You're given about 75% of the pieces to the ... puzzle by the end of this season. Of course, it's not the whole puzzle. The series still needs to keep its fair share of secrets to make it interesting.

The back half of this arc is huge. Do not be fooled by the episode count. Most anime episodes are only 24 minutes long with the customary minute and a half opening and credits songs. Re:Zero S2 P2 coasts right up to the 30 minute mark and omits those sequences on nearly every episode, meaning these 12 episodes easily contain the content of 16 or 18 normal episodes within them. Episode 10 in particular pans out like a short film.

If you haven't watched Frozen Bond yet, it contains required knowledge for this part of the anime. I can't blame you for abstaining, since the entire movie can be easily summarized in under five minutes, but at the very least, you should go and find someone's Cliffnotes version of it before you get too far into the second half. Trust me. It will explain a lot.

Natsuki Subaru, who at best is highly questionable throughout the first season, gains back some brownie points by getting slapped in the face for being an idiotic lovestruck madman who burdens everything himself. Sure, that ultimately boils down to the much-more-interesting side characters resuscitating our borderline insane protagonist and stealing the limelight (again), but at this point Re:ZERO has desensitized us for any feelings we feel towards Subaru. If you're still flinching when you see Subaru die by now, I applaud your empathy. You are a truly a good human being at heart.

Part of what makes Re:Zero so amazing is the surprises it contains! Don't watch the rarely-used opening too closely if you don't want to be spoiled (of course, that's common anime-viewing knowledge, and I've probably only enticed you to watch each frame of Long Shot even closer now) because it kind of spoiled it for me. Luckily, it was nothing too major. I'd probably have figured it out a few episodes in advance, anyway.

STORY: 7
If you take it at face value, the second half of season two alone is nothing super special when comparing it to the roller coaster of a ride the preceding story sent me on, but it was still very good. Re:Zero has its flaws, as does any anime, but this portion had slightly different flaws.

Instead of all of those amazing mic-drop stingers that riddled the first season, S2 P2 takes a more traditional approach (whatever "traditional" may be). There's no gigantic plot twists that will spin your head fast enough to leave you with vertigo this time around. In its place, we solidify the somewhat unstable relationships between our characters. It's a good changeup that will help cement this anime into its must-watch label.

ART: 6
The art is nothing super fancy. The action is dazzling and fantastical, but it's not a standout category like Demon Slayer. Still, good art, clean animation, great filmography. No complaints.

SOUND: 9
The SFX and soundtrack are incredible, as always. The songs stirred up a lot of emotion. It's a beautiful OST that I'm sure will get periodically trapped within my cranial cage every so often. Also, one of the insert songs sounds suspiciously similar to Beauty and the Beast's "Tale as Old as Time".

CHARACTER: 8
As per usual, Re:Zero has amazingly developed characters we get to examine from multiple angles thanks to Return by Death. In hindsight, the character dynamic of the previous installments was kind of a [poop]show, relying heavily on clichés or established truths, but the characters themselves were always remarkably multifaceted. We now emerge from S2 P2 with fully refined relationships between most of our key players. Who's friends, enemies, possible lovers, the usual stuff fandoms squeal over.

Also as per usual, the main issue is Subaru, who's always been a mysteriously motivated individual. Fortunately, we get some clear insight as to what is motivating our dearly wayward protagonist, and what his goals are. Unfortunately, it's pretty lame. But it's nice to see there's at least a clear end goal in mind.

ENJOYMENT: 9
Yeah, that's kind of a biased opinion, but 2020 was kind of a doldrum for anime in general, what with the weather outside being tainted by a forecast of pandemic. Re:Zero S2 is arguably the best anime series to emerge from that year, simply from a lack of anything else standout. It was very good. I enjoyed it very much. It was the only one to get me legitimately excited about the next episode release in 2020. Because it was still entertaining as hell.

OVERALL: 8
There's no such thing as a perfect anime. If you think there is such a thing, you probably have a very preferential taste in anime. However, Re:Zero casts a wide fishing net over the anime community, and never fails to catch a boatload of fish (fans) simply from the scope of its original story. Does it have its problems? Of course. But in my humble opinion they are negligible in the face of this series' triumphs.

At first, Tsukigakirei is a painfully awkward slice of life between two middle schoolers who very clearly have a crush on each other, but as the ice begins to thaw it quickly becomes an innocent love story so adorable it'll make you squeal like a fangirl every episode. If you're not into the sappy crap please go watch a different anime and keep your hands off this masterpiece. They're just kids dammit.

The ART style is a very charming watercolor style. Not worth writing home about, sure, but its the presentation that sets it apart.

The MUSIC is the most incredible soundtrack I've heard in ... a long time. More often than not it's just piano and strings, but it doesn't need to be anything more than that. It really was that amazing.

The CHARACTERS in Tsukigakirei are simple, to say the least, but it works in favor of the series. They feel like real people living in 21st century Japan. It transcends the slice of life genre and most all anime clichés to become just an all around feel-good romance story. A lot of people will say this anime's realism makes it extremely relatable. I can't claim to be one of them since I'm an asocial shut-in, but yeah. I can see where they're coming from.

True to life, just about everyone has fair-skin, brown eyes and straight dark hair, and will of course be wearing the same school uniforms on several occasions. But between each character's distinct mannerisms and generally exceptional filmography by the animation team, there was never an instance where I was confused as to who's who.

The pacing was a little slow, but that's par for most every anime meant to grab you by the heartstrings with the feels (instead of by the eyes with flashy action). However, as someone whose introduction to the anime world was Toradora! and slice of life romcoms, I found that the progression was actually a bit faster than I was expecting.

Unfortunately, the PLOT itself is nothing particularly amazing. One of the drawbacks of its simplicity. I heavily disagree with the forced drama inserted into the second half, for one. But it was the delivery of it all that had me blushing profusely throughout its entirety. Any shortcomings of the basic story are immediately remedied by the remarkable voice acting and quality of animation. Getting facial expressions right is a staple for any good anime, and Tsukigakirei, though rather tame in these details, somehow nails it.

What it ultimately boils down to: the plotline of this series is not memorable, but the emotions it stirs up are unforgettable. Actually, that might work in favor of this series. If you forget the story, it'll give you an excuse to re-watch it.

Any veteran of the romance genre of animes is very aware of the all-too-frequent controversially insubstantial epilogues. Fear not! Tsukigakirei has arguably the best epilogue of any romantic anime ever (certainly the best I've ever seen) in the form of the final credit sequence. And it is as charming as it is satisfying.

Overall, an amazing anime I'd highly recommend to anyone partial to a good love story.

Children dream of living in the castle era; becoming a knight, slaying a dragon, charging into battle on horseback with a sword of legend and armor shining, or unleashing of spells frightening arcane power. Unfortunately, the middle ages were far from the "castle era" fairy tales tell of. Perhaps a more fitting title is the moniker "The Dark Ages". For one, magic and monsters didn't exist. They were paranoid, superstitious, chaotic, murderous, prejudiced, unclean, you get the idea. More barbaric than orderly. Almost all tales told from that era are riddled with many deaths.

However, even in a world filled with magic and monsters, the ... same problems will persist from a lack of infrastructure. Perhaps magic would eliminate discrimination between race and gender. Perhaps the common enemy of monsters would help unite nations. Perhaps you could expect to live beyond your 20s with healing miracles to cure injury and ailment. But society is surrounded from all sides by monsters spawning from the ground, and over 90% of the general population are defenseless against them.

Some will rise up to protect the many. But the grim reality of it is that of the brave few, many will die horrible, gruesome deaths. These are the unsung heroes. Their names forgotten easily. Goblin Slayer is about those nameless ones, by explicitly refusing to name any of its characters. So don't worry when you inevitably realize you have no idea what the names of anyone are. You aren't going crazy. Even in the books, only a select few have a nickname they are referred to as. Almost everyone else is referenced by their occupation or appearance.

Every once in a while, a mythical beast or malicious faction might arise and threaten to destroy the world if left unchecked, and a hero of legend will have to stop them. Goblin Slayer is not about that. In the titular character's own words: "Long before the demons destroy the world, the goblins will destroy the villages. The world being in danger isn't an excuse to let the goblins live."

Goblins. Trash mobs of the world. Humanoid vermin. They hide, migrate and multiply. A grown man could probably squish one flat, but what they lack in individual strength they make up for with numbers and cunning. "They aren't bright creatures, but they aren't complete fools." They may be the weakest monsters, but they are not to be underestimated. A small group may one day attack an unsuspecting village. Pillaging, murdering, kidnapping, raping, torturing, terrorizing the population. And what's the military going to do? Mobilize for a band of goblins? The best a village can do is hire a party of rookie adventurers to eradicate the goblins and rescue the people they kidnapped. They can't afford anything else.

This is where the story kicks off. A young Priestess, having just completed her registration with the adventurer's guild, immediately teams up with a party of other newbies to venture into a goblin-infested cave. Goblins quickly ambush the party from behind, surrounding them. They stab the mage, murder the swordsman, and incapacitate the female warrior, who they begin to tear the clothes off of and rape. The Priestess attempts to heal the mage but to no avail. In desperation, she carries the wounded mage deeper into the cave while the goblins dogpile the warrior.

Even after the warrior's cries fade into the darkness, the goblins still follow. An arrow strikes the Priestess in the shoulder. She attempts to shield the mage with her body, to which the goblins heartlessly kick her aside. They immediately begin stripping the unconscious female mage to have their way with her. The Priestess wets herself in fear.

Enter the Goblin Slayer. A one-man greenskin genocide. An eyes-glow eternal flame of rage too angry to die. A vindictive, calculating, cold-hearted killer. A mysterious faceless warrior of incredible strength who has dedicated his entire life to nothing but goblin slaying. I mean, wouldn't you bear an eternal grudge against goblins if you had to hide beneath the floor fearing for your life during a goblin raid and was forced to watch through the cracks in the floorboards as they rape and murder your sister before your eyes? He arrives out of nowhere and slices the present goblins without a flinch, verbally tallying the body count as he extinguishes each greenskin.

The Goblin Slayer hands the Priestess a potion. Much to her dismay, he proceeds to end the wounded mage's life. The knife the mage was stabbed with was poisoned. Attempting to heal her would only prolong her suffering. The Priestess reluctantly accompanies the Goblin Slayer as he ventures into the goblin's nest to eradicate the remaining greenskins.

The Goblin Slayer uncovers a hidden portion of the nest where they discover goblin children cowering in fear. The Priestess attempts to reason with Goblin Slayer to spare them, but Goblin Slayer counters with a hardball of truth. This is their livelihood. The ones that survive escape. They adapt, multiply, and return stronger. And, like humans, they will harbor resentments. The Goblin Slayer steps forward and heartlessly murders the screaming children.

Fortunately, they were able to rescue the warrior and village girls the goblins had kidnapped. They were scarred for life after their traumatizing sexual assault at the hands of the goblins, but alive at the very least. Most of them become followers of the church.

And... that's pretty much Goblin Slayer. So join the Goblin Slayer on his vengeful quest to exterminate all of goblinkind! And become mentally scarred in the process! No seriously. This is not for the faint of heart.

This is an anime about the grim reality lying beneath the surface of any fantasy realm. It is as controversial as they say it is. But that's what makes this series amazing. It's not like any other anime you'll watch. It's so flagrantly violent it will haunt you. But it's so thought-provoking that you will, without a doubt, remember it for years to come.

This anime started out with promise as your classic Isekai storyline, but had its own original spark with the ability to traverse between fantasy and reality all while tying the two together with linked lives. Not the most original, maybe, but it was still very intriguing. The pace was a bit fast and felt like some corners were cut, but I was willing to overlook it since it was mostly punitive details anyway.

It goes downhill from there. Fast. It plunges the deuteragonist into an unreasonable mood swing just to split them and proceeds to throw every cliché imaginable at you in the shortest possible timeframe, ... and then continues to stack a few more unreasonable clichés onto it for good measure. Eventually, it becomes so foolish you can't help but giggle and say "because why the heck not?" and just shrug it off.

That brings me to the conclusion. NiNoKuni isn't completely without merits. It's so bad it inverts its qualities and becomes godly in the ironic sense. This is the sort of movie you could watch together with your friends or family just to riff on it MST3K-style. Go in knowing it's a cheesy production just point, laugh and joke about its shortcomings until the credits finally roll.