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The author of the source material had the luxury and freedom to pace Kyokou Suiri however he liked so that the story and critical information was told to us seamlessly. Seasonal animes have restrictions on episode length, number of episodes, and how much material it can adapt. This was an anime with a lot of potential but ultimately suffered from major pacing issues.

The concept of Kyokou Suiri to me was very intriguing. Mythology, ghosts, and urban legends are all interesting topics to see come to life in an anime. The main characters are witty and their personalities plays well off of each other to create ... connections that feels genuine. Kotoko especially is a very likeable protagonist who's smart, witty, energetic, a bit of a brat, but also vulnerable and kind.

There's little to mention about the technical side of this anime. The animation is on point, and the art style is standard (which works quite well for this kind of anime in which the point isn't to get all artsy). The intro is fun and exciting to listen to, the outro is just fine.

Now, the biggest problem I find with this anime is the sheer amount of time spent on the Nanase arc. Like i mentioned before, while the source material had the luxury to tell the story in as many chapters as necessary, this is not the case in a seasonal anime. Kyokou Suiri has got a lot of subsequent stories after the Nanase arc that are shorter and would better fit the anime format but the chances of those ever being adapted now feels extremely low.

I get that the Nanase arc also serves to tell the backstory of the main character and sets up the main antagonist moving forward... But the point is moot since there is nothing left after the set up because we've reached the 12ep limit. I get that the Nanase arc is extremely long in the source material, but this is why changes are necessary when doing an anime adaptation! Staying true to the source is appreciated in some cases, but necessary changes in pacing cannot be disregarded! A solid first season that captures a wide audience is essential if you want to be successful and have a chance at a second season. Spending 10/12 episodes on a SINGLE story arc just doesn't give the audience enough. There is a lot of down time and a lot of explaining and theorizing which is intriguing but also causes a good portion of audience to lose focus, and ultimately losing interest. Furthermore, it all takes place in the same setting and that gets rather dull. It's like going to an art museum and they only display you one painting for 5 hours when you know they've got more hidden away.

In my opinion, the Nanase arc needed to be shortened to give other stories from the source a chance to shine. Moving on to different arcs would give an actual pay off of sorts to the character set ups, take us to different settings, show us more adventures, and breath life into this property with more world building.

Now that this series is more than half-way over, i'm confident enough to write an accurate review. Gonna abbreviate "Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou" to "SSR" because i'm lazy. There are no real spoilers in this review. Here goes:

This anime is fantastic, but not for everyone. There's honestly very few a̶n̶i̶m̶e̶s̶ sources of entertainment that'll give you the same atmosphere/feeling as SSR, the best way i can describe it is a calming feel of despair.

Layers
SSR isn't a surface level show. It's pretty obvious from the beginning that it's written in a ... way to encourage the audience to think along with it. The characters and settings are used as a medium to raise up difficult/controversial topics such as life, religion, death and war. SSR is
not subtle with being philosophical and artsy. It happens rarely, but at times the show sacrifices proper dialog flow to bring up these topics. Many details/clues of the world/setting are shown and not explicitly told and i've missed quite a few of them without help from the comment sections. Still, I strongly suggest watching every episode blind before reading comments. If you're wanting a straight forward plot with a typical anime arc then this is the wrong place to look.

Characters
I went into this show with the question "How can you possibly fill 20+ minutes of content for 12 episodes with just two characters?" and i'm quite satisfied with the answer. The two main characters compliment each other so well that they can rival any iconic duo. Chi and Yui felt like a mixture of Calvin and Hobbs + George and Lennie; something very cartoon-like and innocent mixed with pity and reality. The heavy topics explored in the show are all presented through the insightful, different and childlike worldviews of Chi and Yui.

Art and Sound
This anime is beautiful. It's got an unique cartoon-ish art-style for its characters that sets it apart from your typical anime. The backgrounds and surroundings are especially well-done. I felt that the lighting and color scheme was brilliant and tailored especially to this show. The sound effects are top notch and the BGM is memorable and fits the show well. I normally skip Ops and tune out before the Ed even begins but I simply couldn't do the same for SSR. Both Op and Ed are unskippable once it starts, i tried once but felt so guilty afterwards that i went back and listened to it twice. VAs fit their roles and gave a great performance for their respective characters.

I'm not saying you have to be Einstein to enjoy this show but know that it's not meant to be sat through mindlessly. The slice of life tag is both prominent and misleading as SSR is vastly different than most shows sharing this tag. Keep in mind that "slice of life" is very much dependent on who's life it is and what world they're in. SSR does ultimately bring about that "slice of life" feel but through very different means. This anime does NOT have any significant amount of comedic moments and it does NOT have any shots that's meant for fan-service. In fact, this principle applies in varying degrees to the other three tags (adventure, sci-fi, mystery) as well. Ultimately if you want to experience what i considered to be one of the more unique animes out there, then give Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou a shot and it's not likely to disappoint.

I didn't bother to do a review on Strike Witches since it was a typical show without much to be addressed. Brave Witches however, is wrongfully underrated and unloved, hence this review. No major spoilers ahead.

Is it a masterpiece? Far from it. Personally I'd give it a "7". But an "8" on MAL is "very good" and if Strike Witches is considered a "7" here then I have no shame in giving Brave Witches an "8". Keep in mind that the rating system is flawed and numbers are meaningless without context. This review is tailored around the ... comparison between Strike and Brave Witches. (Don't worry i'm not spoiling anything in Strike Witches either)

Main Character
Hikari is a much better main character than Miyafuji from Strike. To start things off, Hikari does not have plot-given powers. In fact, she's considered weaker than your average witch by power level and had to fight tooth and nail just to get her spot in the 502 Brave Witches. Comparatively, Miyafuji possessed an abundant amount of inherent power, had a direct connection to the 501 Strike Witches and a mentor that literately sought her out. Just based off of this alone i found Hikari to be a much more realistic and relatable character. Hikari also got a much better development arc. From ep1, we see her deal with being weak and constantly overshadowed by her sister which fuels her desire. Miyafuji's character progression doesn't excel till much much later in the Strike franchise. I found it especially neat that Hikari doesn't flinch at insults thrown at her in the 502 since she's dealt with it her whole life. I found it a lot easier to root for and be inspired by Hikari than i initially did with Miyafuji.

Side Characters
This is where i argue that Strike Witches did a much better job... In two seasons + movie. I cannot deny that most side characters from Strike are more mainstream and recognizable than that of Brave Witches. That being said, Brave Witches played to its strength and didn't bother with giving equal screen time to each character, rather it focused more on the select few that really mattered. Instead of extensive use of flashbacks, flat exposition of a character's tragic past or lines like "That's ____ who did this amazing thing back in ____"; Brave Witches focused more on the present and chemistry between the characters. I'm not saying that Brave Witches is without bad character moments or that Strike Witches is filled with them. Comparatively, Brave Witches just had a lesser %composition of those cliche and poorly written parts, but Strike Witches as a whole has had more character developments overall.

Art
I absolutely despise the CG used in Brave Witches. It's painfully obvious when the CG came on and it took a heavy toll on the battle-scenes. A few instances it was used well but the majority of the time it was flat out terrible. The normal animated parts are well done, and scenes that really mattered were at least not CG.

Story
Brave Witches contains fewer of your typical anime-cliches which is nice, it also contain my most memorable(and favorite) episode in all of the World Witches anime universe. I especially enjoyed seeing the specialized/new enemy types introduced to the series. There are also less obvious Ex-Machina moments throughout Brave Witches. Aside from all that the story/writing quality is on par with Strike.

Fan-service
I suppose if you were someone that honestly watched 2 seasons and a movie just for fan service in "Strike Witches" you'd be truly disappointed with the dramatic decrease in fan service when it comes to Brave Witches. Sucks for you, but personally i'm kinda glad that Brave Witches focused less on fan service and more on the real plot. (There's not even a beach episode, the horror!) The characters are still always in their underwear/tights and there are some fan service shots so stay calm and keep in mind that something is better than nothing. The OVA does make up for some of it too.

I may be just speculating, but the nostalgia and attachment to characters in Strike Witches has resulted in a significant portion of the fan-base developing bias against Brave Witches. Actually, it's more than just speculation when a large portion of the comments everywhere are "Mio is still the strongest", "Where's my waifu Sanya?" and "I hope the 501 witches is in the next episode". In reality, Brave Witches is just as, if not much better than Strike Witches especially when it comes to story and character. In the context of the whole Strike Witches franchise, Brave Witches is an easy "8" and honestly "very good" compared to most animes out there.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
“Haifuri” aka “High School Fleet” aka “That One Show That’s Like ‘Girls und Panzer’ But Is Different From ‘Girls und Panzer’ Because They Operate Battleships Instead Of Tanks” has conquered every part of my brain. I find myself in the middle of the night thinking about Haifuri. Did I like it? Did I hate it? Remember when that thing happened? etc. This show has managed to occupy my every thought process and I need an outlet. Normally I like to keep reviews spoiler free but that simply cannot be the case this time. Get ready for my longest review yet.

I’m gonna start ... with what I enjoyed from the show. The animation is solid, each character is unique and recognizable, movements are fluid for the most part, the battleship design is cool, and the interior shots/settings are really neat. The battle scenes are surprisingly well done; we see each compartment of the ship performing their individual tasks and coming together to overcome hardships (pun intended). What I enjoyed even more was when battles aren’t happening. Much like Girls and Panzer, the show excels in its amusing slice of life moments. Dealing with problems like running out of water and putting on festivals give depth to the show and personality to the crew. “That girl who fires the torpedo” “Those three that does the cooking” and “Trumpet player” start to have names that you remember, friends they hang with, emotions they express, hobbies they enjoy…etc. Whoever wrote this show understands that supporting characters with personality is the difference between a fictional world that’s alive and one that’s not.

Now on to the parts I didn’t particularly enjoy or is straight up confusing. Last night I compiled a list of things in Haifuri that bothered me, spoiler ahead.

1. Mike (me·keh) and Moka

Mike(Misaki) is our main protagonist and captain of the ship, and Moka(Moeka) is her childhood friend and captain of another(much bigger) ship. The story mainly revolves around the fact that Moka’s ship is in distress and Mike wanting to save her friend. The premise is fine… Except I literately don’t give two shits about Moka. Moka is a prime example of why the “childhood friend” trope is one of the dumbest things in anime. In the first episode we have Mike and Moka as children and it shows the two of them sharing the dream of becoming “Blue Mermaids” who protect the sea. In subsequent episodes we get some flashbacks of Moka expressing her view that “everyone on the ocean is family”, an ideology in which Mike adopts. We get excessive shots of Mike looking worried about Moka. And that’s it. Moka literately have no personality other than “childhood friend of Mike”. Imagine being at a party and the people you talk to only talk about their other friend who isn’t at the party. That’s what it feels like when it comes to Mike and Moka. Mike on the other hand, does get some character development. That being said, out of every character on the ship (there’s 32 total including the cat), Mike managed to be the most bland and brain dead of them all. She’s in the protagonist role simply because it’s easy for audiences to project onto her blank personality and insert themselves into the show instead. Her most notable trait is that she’s afraid of lightning due to a tragic event in the past. Luckily the show tend to give more screen time to more eccentric characters in the grand scheme of things.

2. One-liners

“The wind is blowing, the wind of hope” said Moka in a room with the windows closed and door barricaded. This line of dialog completely ruined what’s otherwise a decent action sequence. “Tama, fire with your soul” (it’s a pun when spoken in japaneses) and “With this shot, we’ll grab our chance” are just some other glorious eye-rolling one-liners in this show. Anyways, these really don’t detriment the show all that much but are still worth mentioning.

3. Flashbacks

Flashbacks, when used correctly is one of the best story telling mechanisms out there. Sadly, it’s been used much more frequently as a way to avoid actual good story telling. If something truly important had happened in the past then it’s almost always better to show it in the beginning rather than in the middle. If you did it correctly the audience wouldn’t even need a reminder in the form of a flashback. I’m referring to Mike afraid of lightning and her relationship with Moka. Instead of sprinkling bits of flashback throughout the series and frequent reminders of who Moka is; I truly believe the story would flow a lot better if we got the whole first episode dedicated to Mike’s past and Moka, where Haifuri begins in the present time should be mid-episode 2. This way I might connect better with Mike as a main character and give a damn about Moka.

4. Why things went wrong

This is a major spoiler point. This whole mess is due to some virus carried by rats that infected the instructor’s ship and surrounding ships. This magical virus controls the host to be hostile against the uninfected and disrupt electronic devices. The doctor character, due to her trait as a genius finds the antibody/cure in a matter of days. Oh, and in early stages of infection spraying the infected with sea water will also cure them. Like… wtf. It’s not how viruses, geniuses, antibodies or seawater work. But, whatever, it’s a show that’s meant to be entertaining so this is just me nitpicking. Still… Wouldn’t the instructor purposefully sabotaging the students in hopes of framing the principal to gain power made for a slightly more logical and dramatic plot?

5. Logic

Whoever wrote this show doesn't understand logic at all. Assuming you have any common sense then there will be points in the show where you’ll go “Why?”, “How?”, “What??” and “k, that just happened.” or a mixture of those reactions. The most notable one is in episode 4 when a crew member got infected and is going crazy so the German deputy captain straight up throws her into the ocean. Ok… the impact should’ve killed her. However not only did it not kill her, she just magically gets shot back up onto the ship by the ocean “Moana” style and is no longer infected due to being in contact with saltwater. (O.O) HOW??? That sequence of events has kept me up at night, I’m so baffled by it that I’m losing sleep. Another lesser wtf anime moment is one of the Blue Mermaid captain got these robotic looking cat ears on her head. Like, why does she have those? Nobody else in the entire show is wearing robotic cat ears. Is it a fashion statement? Do those serve a purpose? The show doesn’t even acknowledge them once but they’re there!! Again, I’m left wondering.

6. Marketing/Other

This anime is so poorly and confusingly marketed. It’s initially called “Haifuri” but on MAL it’s “High School Fleet” so people looking for "High School Fleet" probably won't find this show anywhere. It was released just last year and I somehow completely missed it till now. It’s a ghost of an anime. Several sources have conflicting information as to if it’s an anime original or based off of a manga. The VA for the main German character that threw the indestructible girl off the boat has voiced several characters in hentai. <–This isn’t a negative point, just something interesting I wanted to mention.

7. Right things at the wrong time

There were several instances of this in the show but I’ll only mention the most aggravating one here. So the Blue Mermaids has this oath that they chant which goes “Live on the sea. Protect the sea. Sail the sea”. It’s honestly kinda cool. Anyways, Mike and Moka always say this to each other as kids and it’s real sweet and cute and stuff. At one point mid-battle Mike and the other main characters each say a part of the oath and it actually sent a chill down my spine. This was such a cool/symbolic moment for these characters. Mike only ever said the oath with Moka but in that moment you realize she’s no longer saying to herself but with h̶e̶r̶ ̶c̶r̶e̶w̶ her new family. This fantastic moment only happened once, and it wasn’t even that big of a battle. Instead of something like this during the finally we instead get Moka’s “The wind is blowing, the wind of hope”: a shitty one-liner from a character with no development.

8. German

I don’t speak German, and I don’t need to in order to wince at the German spoken in this anime. I can’t really fault anybody here since it’s probably asking too much for native Japanese speakers to nail German lines.

9. No introduction

Out of the 32 characters on the main ship in Haifuri, only like 8 of them got somewhat proper introductions. This is not an objectively negative point toward Haifuri but I can easily see how it might agitate viewers. I personally found it neat that I got to know side characters over time through familiarity, but for others this may be a hassle. At some points I had to pull up the wiki after seeing a character and wondering “what do you do here again?”. For me this is actually a positive trait, the show wasn’t going to introduce 32 characters one by one so it instead did something neat and gave you the “first day in a classroom” feeling.

10. Exposition

The world setting of Haifuri is lazily given through exposition in I think it was episode 3. However it was a neat moment I had upon realizing that the city beneath the ocean at the coast is the sunken remains of modern day Japan and not Atlantis.

You might think that with all these negative points I must have had a terrible time with Haifuri, but it’s quite the opposite. I for the most part very much enjoyed watching Haifuri. It’s madly entertaining compared to the majority of animes out there. These negative points are more so pet peeves of mine than real negatives that truly ruins a show. And to be honest, I derived quite a bit of enjoyment from these nitpicks. In the end the ship crew of Haifuri really made an impact to me and it’s an anime that I’m unlikely to forget. 7.5/10 It really don't deserve an 8/10 but I never expected to think this much about Haifuri so I'm not going to round down.

I went into Konohana Kitan expecting another typical all girl cast sol show in the likes of "Hinako Note", "Gabriel Dropout", "Urara Meirochou","Kiniro Moasic"...etc. But do you see me writing a review for those? No. So why am I writing this?
Story (9): The series is a collection of short stories that happens at Konohana; a high class traditional hotel in a world of Japanese/Eastern mythology. Each episode consists of two stories pertaining to either the main cast or one of the eccentric guest(s). The story takes full advantage of the setting and excels in the "show not tell" principle.
Art (9): I went in expecting ... this anime to cut corners in animation/art, I was willing to give it some slack thinking they probably had a smaller budget compared to other animes. But wow... I was blown away immediately by just the still shots in the op (beautiful water effects in one particular shot). The background sets are great looking throughout, rain effects are well done, the show is filled with interesting characters, and designs of the main characters are also solid. The creative use of colour is at the next level compared to your average anime.
Sound (8): Great intro that sets the mood. The bgm is noticeably good and sound effects are done just as well as any other anime. The VAs all do a decent enough job, no complaints. They switch up the ed quite frequently and it's refreshing. Overall the music isn't exactly too memorable but imo it's above average.
Character (8): Character driven shows like this one need to have good characters. Does it have good characters? Yes. Does it have great characters? No. Everyone was likeable and unique but none of them was really outstanding. Most of them have typical character tropes seen plenty of times before. What's making me give an 8 is when they come together, the pairings plays well off of each other and everyone gets a chance in the spotlight. Not to mention the world they live in is filled with amusing mythological beings.
Enjoyment (8): I personally found this much more enjoyable than the other recent sols previously mentioned. The vast majority of jokes lands or are at least chuckle worthy. The show seamlessly transports you into this world they've established, allowing you to forget about the shitter real one for its duration. I should also mention how this anime excels in both establishing and changing the mood. Don't be surprised by the occasional ride on an emotional rollercoaster.
Overall (8): So why does this deserve a review? Because compared to other sols this one truly stands out. Konohana Kitan isn't primarily driven by the need to make a joke at the end like every other sol. The true driving force here is the desire to tell a story. This fundamental difference makes Konohana Kitan unique, refreshing and worthy of taking the time to write a review on.

Found out that an anime adaptation is happening and the premise intrigued me so much that I just had to take a look at the source material. (Also because i was bored) Couldn't put it down once i started and caught up to the series (Volume 8 as of writing this) within a day. Let's review.

Story (8)
New school, new sister, new friends, new experiences. It's a setting used a multitude of times in various works and it's nothing too special. Citrus is at its core a drama with many typical drama moments that caused my eyes to roll. But it was also filled with moments ... that made me notice my own heart beat. The story is rather cliche at times but i never found myself bored for even a second.
Art (10)
When a character smiles it's not just that she's happy, when she cries it's not just that she's sad. This manga excels in showing the various complex emotions displayed by each character. They all laugh different, they all cry different. She's not just happy, she's the happiest she's ever been. She's not just crying, she's heartbroken. Citrus is brimming with a plethora of emotions thanks to the artwork. These characters are not real... Yet they're more alive than most people in the real world.
Character (10)
The two main characters are worlds apart and throughout the story they are brought closer together. Given that premise they MUST be able carry this manga, and they do just that. Development of characters are generally well paced and logical. The supporting cast are dynamic and unique. The manga does a great job of showing you everyone's point of view and motive. The vast majority of the characters were easy to sympathize with for me and i quickly took a liking to them.
Enjoyment (9)
It's not a 10 because the manga isn't flawless... nothing is. The characters make dumb decisions, the plot has ex-machina moments, and there are instances of absurd miscommunication. That being said, i absolutely loved the rest of it. It's a beautiful showcase of people finding themselves, finding what's important, and struggling against societal views.
Overall (9)
Citrus is one of the best pieces I've ever read, in my heart i give it a 10. I'm no expert on love stories but I believe this one's up there. It's both entertaining and relevant to current society. Citrus takes a step beyond a manga that's read just for entertainment, it's got a voice and something to say.

"There is no right answer, we only do what we want to do".