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This anime adaptation was actually good. The only problem is that it didn't fully adapt the manga, which I don't understand. Basara was popular enough to warrant a complete adaptation, and this was during the time where Shoujo series usually got full adaptations. I don't get what happened here.

Despite it being a partial adaptation, I do recommend it. Sarasa is a likeable character who develops as the story moves along. If you want a strong female protagonist that isn't a shallow girl boss, this is your anime. It's a shame that it wasn't fully adapted.

The characters ... are complex and the romance is beautiful. One of the few flaws is that I found a side romance a bit more interesting than the main romance. I really wanted more interactions from Sarasa x Shuri. They had nice chemistry and funny moments when they were together. I just wish we saw more of them. That's one my of my few criticisms of this otherwise brilliant anime.

Normally, I would've just gotten through this anime, just to complete it. But then I remembered that I'm really trying to change my mindset. Why do I have to complete it? If I don't like it, then I simply shouldn't watch it. So I dropped it.

It's very sad since I was intrigued at the very beginning. It looked to be a conspiracy where the royals and nobles were preventing commoners and peasants from reading certain books due to them containing spells. Some people were sent to attack the main characters, which forced them on the run. Wow! That's ... actually pretty interesting! But then tonal shift. Okay, whatever. We're in school and there's some interesting student council dynamics, which is always a fun time. Except we switch and it's just boring stuff that I don't care about.

Others say that it started slow and picked up at the end. I'm the opposite. The beginning was intriguing, and the student council episodes were fun. It dropped the ball towards the end.

Art was okay overall. There were some visually gorgeous panels. Though it also suffered from what I call yaoi syndrome. Overly large shoulders, extremely long necks, and small heads.

The plot was decent enough. The problem were the characters. Most of the characters in the series were bad. The main character regressed and wasn't very likable in the middle or the end. In a way, she kind of mirrors that one friend in real life. You know? The friend that's actually cool and super fun, but then they change for the worst when they get ... a boyfriend. That's the main character, Aria. Sakura wasn't a very compelling character either. Sakura is only good when someone else is possessing his body, which is a writing failure.

I know people will like this because the female lead is a fighter. However, I always maintained that just because someone can't fight, doesn't mean they're a bad character. The opposite is also true. Just because someone can fight, doesn't mean they're a good character.

I personally don't recommend this series. It's not really good. The plot isn't all that, and the characters aren't good.

This manga is like a snapshot into the life of Kiyoha. She was a high ranking courtesan in the brothel. You get snippets of the people around her, but similar to real life, once she stops speaking to them, we rarely hear of them. The most we'll get is gossip about when something bad happens to them. That's the strength and weakness of Sakuran. It leaves things feeling incomplete. There's not a lot of closure about what happens to certain characters. Though it does wrap up the main character's story.

I do think it's a good story. ... A good snapshot into the lives of the women who worked in brothel's. A solid 7/10.

As the series went on, it got lower audience ratings. And I agree with the audience. For me, if was the opposite of Attack No 1. The audience rated Attack No 1 an average score, but it was actually a very good series. This series got a good score, but was ultimately a rather lackluster series.

The issue was the priorities. More time focused on a romantic subplot and a temper tantrum, as opposed to the actual sport. The main character didn't even feel like a main character at times. The rivalries weren't built up. Maybe ... it needed more episodes. Attack No 1 managed to have a romantic subplot, while also building up the rivalries organically. Though Attack No 1 also had more than 100 episodes. This series felt like they were limited and had to chose, and they decided that the romantic subplot was more important. Perhaps the stories needed to be broken up, and have focus on them.

I don't know... I hate to compare, but I have to. I went into Attack No 1 thinking it'd just be a 6/10, and it was ultimately a 9/10. I went into this series thinking it'd be an 8/10, but it was ultimately a 5/10 series at the end of the day. Bummer.

A short, but great read. It's a tragic war series with the main character and his love being caught in the middle.

Damippos is a Spartan that's more of a brains over brawns type of guy. He learns under Archimedes, who is a brilliant inventor. The problem is, they're in Syracuse. Syracuse was in a time of turmoil. They're at war with The Great Roman Empire. This means that brilliant minds must prioritize making weapons of mass destruction, as opposed to making inventions that better human life. Our main character disagrees with the act of war and ... finds it nonsensical. He finds the warmongering generals to be insane, and lacks empathy. What's great about this series is that if takes a snap shot of an event and criticizes the needless acts of war, along with discrimination of others. Calling out politicians as arrogant, and war generals as insane.

The ending is abruptly wrapped up, but it's done brilliantly. Similar to a series like River's Edge or Pink, it has the ending be cut and dry, but also allows you to ponder on the ending. Allows you to think and soak in the message of the work of art.

Suenobu does it again! A great story from start to finish.

The characters are great and so are the themes. As bad as it is, some people don't change and can't be fix. They don't want to be fixed. People want to rehabilitate people, but some people will always choose evil. Attractiveness also clouds our perception. When people are attractive, we want to see the good in them. That's why it's important that our main villain was attractive. He wouldn't have gotten away with as many crimes, and been allowed to rebrand himself, if he weren't conventionally ... attractive. So many people wanted to forgive him because he was cute, but there is no redemption.

This movie was a fun watch. Even though it was obvious self projection, this character of all the ones deserve it. He's a badass, but he also gets hit and struggles through some of the more crucial fights. He does sleep with several women, but he's also charismatic, masculine, powerful, and infamous in certain circles. Basically, it's easy to see how he's appealing, unlike the usual feminine twinks who get girls for just existing, or the rare fat slobs who get girls despite not even having an appealing personality.

The villains were an interesting part. One was an interesting twist ... villain, and then there's a set up for another interesting for for Golgo 13. Some villains were disgusting and utterly irredeemable, which is fine. I'd rather they not redeem every villain. Unpopular opinion, but every villain doesn't need a sob story. Some people are just evil. Which, several villains were.

The series is a fun time. It's the most serious, but unserious anime. Obviously, if has trigger warnings and dark things, but it also has comically badass things as well. Or just comical moments, even with the death of some of the characters.

I do think the movie is great as a standalone. If you don't want to watch the first season,.due to having too many episodes and being a touch too old, I do recommend this series. A nice summary with a bit more information than the actual series. Namely, the coach's backstory.

However, as someone who has watched the original series, it's inferior to it. They cut a lot of stuff out, and it feels rushed in certain areas. Still, it's an overall summary of the first season, so it's good if you're on a time crunch. It's good ... if you don't want to dedicate too much time watching the series.

This is the same person who directed Perfect Blue. Let that sink in. This film does have some brilliance. There's a story about a guy constantly chasing something in his dreams. That was a nice sequence with a plot twist. Unfortunately, it's not really connected to the overall plot, so meh. And before anyone says that I'm not intelligent enough to understand the plot, this plot isn't really hard to understand. It isn't like Utena where you have to watch multiple times and really think, in order to get it. Each rewatch, you catch something new and ... thinking of theories is always fun. That's why the fanbase is still thriving and theory crafting, decades later.

With Paprika, it just wasn't good. The characters were hit miss, with most of the cast being a miss. Paprika and Konakawa are interesting characters. Though other than them, most of the characters aren't good. The villain was exactly who I predicted. The only "twist" is that there were two villains. Atsuko is basically like the movie says. "You need a little more spice. Perhaps, Paprika?" She's a boring character, and not much is explored with her. Tokita is a morbidly obese character with no redeeming qualities. His personality isn't appealing, he's a buttmonkey, he's lazy, he's gross to even look at, etc. At least in Princess Jellyfish, the overweight character is easy on the eyes. In this, he's sloppy and gross. Not much to say about the villains. Rather one-dimensional characters, and they were predictable. When watch, from the beginning I said "it's either this guy or that guy". Plot twist, it's both. Whatever...

Sad thing is, the characters weren't even the worst thing. The worst is the romance and deus ex machina at the end.

Now, I don't exactly require romance. I've watched series without romance. However, I maintain my stance that a great romance carries the series to the next level, while bad romance drags the series down. In this case, the romance was so bad that it actively drug the score down. I kept going back and forth between a score of 3 or 4. Mostly because Konakawa was an interesting character, and his subplot was great. I really enjoyed it and his character. However, the romance and deus ex machina was so bad that it has to be a 3. No other way, a 3.

So here's my issue... I'll go with deus ex machina. Anything goes in this world, which makes villains boring. If you can just powerup out of your behind, then what's even the point? Maybe if it were metaphorical, but I fail to see the metaphor. Just a rant about polarity...

The romance is also gross. Ironically, I thought that they were setting up a romance between Character A and Character C. They were interacting with each other regularly. Character C basically opened up to Character A. There was even some playful flirting and a kiss. I actually thought they were endgame, and I would've accepted it. Except, Character B is the interest out of nowhere. Take in mind, Character A did nothing but insult Character B, while Character B was just a childish mess. Character A said some rather cruel things to Character B, and Character B was one of the most unappealing characters I've seen. There was no chemistry, no fluff, or anything. From what they portrayed, Character B was just a co-worker that Character A was annoyed with, but ultimately respected. They didn't even seem like friends... Though looking back on it, there were a few hints. Though the hints were a double meaning and could be taken as something else. I don't know. The romance just did nothing for me.