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I feel like many people who look at the trailer (just like me) just saw the pretty colors and thought "hey I'm gonna check this out, if it has such a nice budget, then it must be worth the while". I went in with no knowledge or expectations, and I feel like maybe that's the best way to jump into this.

The movie starts out with plopping you into the setting and slowly you get to know the environment and the characters. I think thanks to this type of pacing it really helps you get closer to the characters in a natural, slow way.

In the ... second half of the movie I was really starting to wonder, where are we going with this? What is the goal of the characters? What does this movie want to tell, or show us? I kept trying to find meaning in everything, I kept trying to predict where this is going.

In the end, I couldn't find that specific thing, and I think that's the beauty of this movie. A youtube comment put it into words the best: Japan is really great at making movies that even if they don't necessarily make you feel anything during the movie, a couple days after watching the movie and thinking back on it, you can't help but get a warm and gentle feeling in your heart as you reminisce.

I personally didn't think I'd ever be into this type of movie, but I ended up really liking it in retrospect. What I mean to say by this all, is that as long as you don't mind artsy, chill movies, then I think you're gonna have a good time because the _vibe_ and the overall quality of the movie is really nice.

That being said, I do want to say not to expect much of the voice acting, though that's easy to tell from the PV and the cast. The songs, on the other hand, are absolute typical bangers and I recommend listening to them even if you don't watch the movie.

Since I've read a bit into a manga with a similar premise (plus size girl gets liked because of her kind and funny personality), I became interested in this anime and was looking forward to how this particular title will handle the plus-size topic.

Putting aside the fact that his anime had barely any budget so the animation is very low quality, it really didn't deliver on what it was supposed to deliver. I want to preface this by saying that the concept of creating an anime where a plus-sized girl can have a regular romance like any other girl, is definitely something good to have ... and something that should be supported. However, that whole purpose was defeated when, even though this was supposed to be a story SPECIFICALLY about the main character's good personality, halfway through the 6 episodes she is already assuming pretty bad malice and plotting revenge based on that unconfirmed assumption (and it's not even in a funny haha way). Not only that, but even though in the beginning she has a really admirable and respectable personality that does not break or bend under anything that could be taken as rude, once the potential romance picks up, this anime completely loses any sense of what it's supposed to be and the main character starts to act like any bland shoujo romance main character. So to sum it up, this anime had a great concept that it completely gave up on following through halfway through its runtime.

To comment on the voice acting - which could pretty much be the only thing that saves this -, the voice actors are doing a good job, but that's about it, in my opinion. Personally I found the main character's voice acting too forced, which instead of making her funny personality likeable, made her rather slightly irritating. And as for the love interest's voice actor, while he had a silky smooth voice, whenever he was trying to act endearing, it felt fake - I could imagine that that was the intention of the voice directing (that the love interest always has this air of perfection to him), in which case though it completely took away from the original intent of the anime to show that this love interest genuinely falls in love with the main character.

All in all, I really wanted to like this anime, and I thought I had adjusted my expectations appropriately, but this failed to deliver on what it promised. I do feel the good intent and the effort of the team despite the budget constraints, which is why I am setting this as "mixed feelings", but recently more and more plus-size themed manga are coming out, and I can't help but think that anything else you pick up will be more interesting and well--thought out than this.

I feel like whenever it comes to anime that hope to appeal to some people, it's always going to have viewers that vibe with it and viewers that don't vibe with it - like comedy animes, you either find it funny or not. I am usually a huge fan of the feel-good, chill, let's-showcase-some-cute-moments type of anime, and I had high hopes for this one as well, but it seems like that this one in particular (so far) seems to be a miss for me. It feels like being force fed a delicious cake - yes I like cake, yes it's delicious, but being force-fed ... kinda ruins it.

In my previous experience, one of the cool things about anime is that even if they decide on a theme (e.g. cool boys doing cute things), Japan just somehow manages to make it feel authentic, genuine, and sensible. It doesn't feel like a student writing an essay on a topic, but instead it feels like a story that they want to tell from their heart and THEN they wrap it up in that theme. However, Cool Doji Danshi somehow doesn't seem to be able to do that. There is such an emphasized deliberacy as they showcase each moment that it feels like that moment when someone tells an okay joke but the way they wait for you to laugh at the end just makes it so much worse. I think it partially has to do with the pacing of the animation, but also some of the moments they decided to showcase just really don't make me go "ohh haha that's cute yeah", it just makes me go "... well yeah that happens i guess".

That being said, if you DO happen to vibe with it, then it can be a really nice anime. The animation, the art style, the voice acting all make for a really nice bundle of an enjoyable experience, and it surely warms you up from the inside. I would especially like to emphasize the voice acting, I think that's a crucial part for this genre and they did a really good job with that. I would also like to add as another advantage that the show is quite episodic, and each episode (so far) seems to focus on a different individual, so even if you didn't vibe with one of them, there's a possibility that you'll enjoy the next one!

This isn't the type of anime that's going to blow minds or win awards or exceed expectations - but that's okay. Sometimes you need a chill, feel-good anime about a bunch of old men struggling with new experiences.

I think some people might be put off by the mental image that the synopsis gives, imagining some cringey old men trying to act like youngins and doing all the things that you see in typical idol animes (often belonging to the otome genre), but that's not really the case. The pacing of the anime rather suits these old men, and if anything, it feels like a slice ... of life anime. Each episode they have some new concept to tackle, each character has their own shortcoming and something that they bring to the table, and while they overcome their new challenges, we get to see a little bit of their past, of their personalities, of their personal struggles.

I don't really think these are necessarily the type of characters you'd simp over or spend your life-savings on their gacha game, and the idol setting is also something that rather drives the plot forward, or gives some background setting to their story, rather than something that they go into detail about in the anime. The novelty of this anime in comparison to some other feel-good SoL anime is that the characters are men in their 30s (iirc) which offers some new perspective.

What really caught me and made me interested in this anime was the first episode - even though I am neither a man, nor in my 30s, I could empathize with the main character's struggles, and this feeling continued as we got to know the other characters of their group as well. While their stories are nothing unheard of, it's still enjoyable to watch, and I look forward to continuing this journey with them.

(review based on the 5 episodes I've seen) Right off the bat, this isn't even a sports anime really lol. It's a survival game type anime, using soccer as a sort of background concept to give blunt criticism on Japan's soccer strategy (and simultaneously judging the usual Japanese way of thinking as well). While sports anime are usually about comradery, trust, friendship, healthy rivalry, Blue Lock preaches the advantages of individualism.

This sort of novelty allows this anime to have multiple advantages/pros/good points:
- It's a fresh taste in the pool of sports anime
- It offers insight on collectivism vs. individualism (we find ... out more about these concepts with each ep, along with the main characters)
- It offers that perfect balance between using sports as an easy medium to convey concepts without making you have to become an expert in soccer or any sports for that matter (hence no lengthy explanations about the game rules)
- For those who (like me) don't really like the shock value and gore themes of survival games, this anime offers the thrill and excitement of those without grossing you out

And if that's not enough, the anime is pretty high quality to make it very enjoyable:
- excellent OST that fits each moment (usually fitting for action or suspenseful scenes)
- snappy and crips animation (I'd like to mention that it being a sports anime makes this even more challenging, i.e. it literally NEEDS to have good animation for fast-paced actions while allowing those actions to be well visible)
- easy to follow but enjoyable story writing/pacing
- superb voice acting with "old" well-known and newer talents as well

The only things I could offer as potential warnings or disadvantages are the sometimes unsettling facial expressions (it's really nothing bad, but not something you'd expect from your regular lil' sports anime) and maybe the lack of character depth so far (I am currently trying to compare this in my head to e.g. Kuroko's Basket where everyone has different hair colors and there's a lot of emphasis on their interpersonal relationships). If you can look past these things, I think it's definitely worth at least a try since it has a sense of novelty, and its quality is good as well.

I decided to write a review before the final episode because the episodes seem to be very consistent in quality and feeling. I gave it an overall 8/10, but personally my enjoyment is 11/10.

Dream Festival! is an anime about a few guys who are hoping to make their debut as idols, their dream is to win the Dream Festival contest. We meet Amamiya Kanade in the first episode, who never even thought of becoming an idol, but through Mikami Haruto's persuasion he accepts the offer. He later on forms an idol unit with Shin, Junya, Itsuki and Chizuru and they become the DearDream unit. Later ... on we get to know their main rival, the Kurofune unit.

This is a very typical idol-boys kind of anime. You've got your concerts and silly idol-things (like sending kisses to fans, "every fan is very important to us!", trying to aim higher and higher, occasional drama among the unit mmebers) in every episode, but somehow DreFes does it all in a very endearing way. Every aspect of this anime feels "good, but nothing special", but I think that's what makes it so great - it's a very nonchalant, easy-going anime.

However, that does not mean that it's superficial or boring. I think the personal dramas were good, the occasional suspense was exciting, and all in all, I was (and currently am) entertained.

SONGS
DreFes isn't the best with songs. For example, UtaPri has a lot better songs, but DreFes has some catchy tunes too. Just don't try to focus too much on their terrible English lyrics... They don't use much technique in their songs either - the variety of instruments and modern effects is quite minimal, and every song has the same kind of feeling to it. This kinda makes the concerts (or as they call them, Lives) repetitive and boring, but luckily the songs are quite short, only 1-1.5 minutes long.
For some reason, the animation team went with using CG characters for the dances? Which was a terrible decision in my opinion. The dances look very awkward and even the facial expressions seem kind of blank and emotionless. But then again, luckily it's over quickly, and in comparison to some other CG animations, DreFes actually does surprisingly well.

STORYLINE AND CHARACTERS
I think DreFes's charm lies in these things. Every episode has a pretty solid and enclosed storyline that is easy to follow. The occasional humor is very endearing and adorable. The characters' little quarrels and problems with each other are always solved, and at the end of every episode, everybody goes home with a smile on their face. The problems presented in these episodes are very real (being trampled by rival unit, having to choose between personal career and the idol unit, family problems, etc), but with love, everything can be solved~!

VOICE ACTING
DreFes uses total "newbies" as their voice actors for the main characters. The only "big name" is Mikami Haruto's voice actor, all the other guys have this as their first role. [note: There are still some characters, whose voice actors we don't know.] I won't lie, it's pretty obvious that these guys are kind of new to this field. Sometimes their acting comes out a little flat, and you can hear their effort, but really, it doesn't make it unenjoyable. I think they're doing a great job despite this being their first time. Their characters' personalities really come through, and with the whole package of animation, background music, and all that, the emotions do come through. All in all, I think they are doing an exceptionally good job. Personally, I prefer these new voice actors, because it's kind of different from the usual, it's nice to give them a chance, and it's a nice mix of 'unexperienced voice' and 'trying hard and actually doing it right'.

ART
Unlike some other titles this season, DreFes's animation quality stayed pretty consistent, which is a big thing. Now that doesn't mean that there aren't occasional derp faces, but I think they are cute in their own way. The dancing is surprisingly well animated (except for when it's the CG dancing part), the colors and character designs are really pleasing to the eye. But that's about it - they don't really go overboard and try to make it flashy and sparkly. It's a pretty simple artstyle but I guess that's exactly what makes it nice.

DREFES UNIVERSE
Now it's not like we haven't seen other idol anime titles do some silly and weird things in their idol universes, like flying through the sky and building things with strings of talent etc. etc., so it's really no surprise when I say that in the DreFes universe, the fans choose the idol units' clothes for the concerts, which they then put on magically in a magical-girl-transformation way. The outfits are printed on a card called Dream Card (or Dorika), and when the concert starts, the fans just shoot these out from their designated card holder thinga-majingas, and then the idols need to catch a card to be able to equip it. Surely this whole system was created to boost sales for the game, and it's actually not very well explained in the anime why they went with this kind of system or how this works (but I guess it's my problem for trying to look for logic in an idol anime)

OTHER DREFES THINGS
DreFes is actually pushing through really hard in Japan with arcade games and buyable Dorika cards, and overall they're doing a very strong campaign for this merchandise line. This would make anyone think that the DreFes anime is also just a sales technique and no deep meaning will be found in the storyline, or no huge budget will be spent on it. I was actually surprised in a very positive way. I think the anime is very down-to-earth and loveable, despite the fact that it was really only created to help sell the merch.

WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH DREFES
- loveable characters, interesting chemistry between them
- quite relaxing, it's an easy anime to watch, with a solid storyline
- some songs are actually pretty catchy and all that

WHY YOU SHOULDN'T WATCH DREFES
- if you really don't like the concerts and are not willing to skip them
- if you wish for more depth and/or negativity in an anime
- if you're looking for anything sexy or something like that (DreFes is actually very PG-13)

As much as this is my ultimate favorite anime, I will try my best not to make this biased.

First of all, I found Arata Kangatari very enjoyable. I could look at the characters as friends, I could understand their decisions, and I could enjoy the story that was presented. I won't say it wasn't kind of childishly optimistic at times (for example, how easy some Shos submitted to him), but I didn't mind it.

> Storyline & Setting 9/10
Okay, a lot of people seemed to have trouble with this anime because they found Kadowaki's reason for hating Arata dumb. However, I'd like to say that ... to me it seems that the reason wasn't only that Arata let him win in a race. He was venting out his anger on Arata. (Kadowaki's family background, his competitive nature, never being cared about, etc.)
It's indeed kind of funny that they brought their drama to an other dimension, but I guess it made it interesting that way.
The story advanced maybe a bit too fast, some things weren't focused on enough (like fantasy world Arata), but you can't blame them, they only had 12 episodes to work with (and a pretty tight budget).
I could accept everybody's reasoning. Some people might disagree with me on this, but if you don't like something, then you don't. Personally, I find it awesome.
I also really like the whole trust and believe concept. It was a really good idea, and I think they made it all work out really well.
The only reason I give it 9 and not 10, is because, apparently, it failed to convey its meaning to the general public. I don't know how, because I could totally get with the flow...

>Soundtracks & Seiyuus 10/10
The. Best. Ever.
The soundtrack was composed by Ko Otani, and I was literally shaking sometimes, it was THAT good.
The voice actors also did a terrific job. I could have imagined someone else for Kadowaki, but it was okay. Arata's voice actor also helped the anime a lot.
The opening and ending themes were all wonderful, I listen to them a lot. I think they match the genre of the anime pretty well. Maybe a bit too generic for some people, but I found them perfectly fitting and epic. ( Ah, and in the final episode, where the second ED just floated in ;u; )

>Graphics & Art 6~10+/10
Hmmm... on one hand, the graphics were out of this world beautiful. The colors, the whole world that it was set in, the outfits, the character designs, everything was mesmerizing. I really, really loved those. The Sousei no Hinowa scene... I can't even describe it was so breathtakingly gorgeous. 10+/10
On the other hand, ... uuugghhhhh... I was so, so, so sorry to see this anime go from absolutely acceptable and colorful to "holy hell how can their nose be that big" and "how many frames is that, 1 frame / 3 seconds or what?"
But that was really the budget's fault, I believe. 6/10

>Characters 9/10
This seems to be the biggest point to nitpick on when it comes to haters. They say Arata needs to grow a pair, Kadowaki needs to chill his tits, etc. etc. I think these guys are realistic, a lot more realistic than your average shounen heroes I liked how in the final episode Arata didn't just say he didn't hate Kadowaki, or anything. Indeed it could help a lot if the two talked it out - or so I thought, until the final episode. You simply >can't< negotiate with Kadowaki. He is way too obsessed with smashing Arata already.
The one and only thing that I could nitpick about, is that I couldn't find a favorite character. None of them stood out much to me, I liked the whole thing in general a lot more than I liked each character individually. (Though this also kinda means that there wasn't any character that I didn't like. This could perhaps be the reason why so many people say that the show didn't keep them interested...?)

Overall I give the show a 9. In my heart it will always be 10+/10 absolute favorite, but I will also take into account that it had its ... hmm, "interesting" parts and that the graphics went full retard after the first few episodes (unfortunately)

I knew what I was getting into but still I can't help being a bit disappointed.

The art was breathtaking, obviously. I found some of the lightings and humans to be way too simple compared to the so-realistic-you-can't-help-wonder-if-it-really-is-drawn backgrounds.

The soundtracks sometimes hit the right spot at the right time but they aren't really that memorable.

But really the low point of Kotonoha no Niwa is the story and the characters.
Characters: I know, some people enjoy the just-sitting-in-silence kind of thing but it made it too awkward for me. So I'm not saying they were bad characters. But they weren't good either.
Story: They brought in this whole ... shoe thing and the teacher's backstory all for... nothing? They never really went any too deep with it. The love didn't end up completed.

So it was "just" a feels show. Which isn't >bad< but I find that making feels show work is almost impossible. Creating one of this kind of movies is like basically saying "We are going to make you have emotions and it's going to hurt" but it's like telling me "Hey here's a challenge, try to watch this through without letting a single tear drop." and I take that challenge and yes my eyes stay dry.

So all in all, when I started watching it I was hoping that they will bring in some kind of nice twists or some nice conversations, but other than some supposedly fun retorts here and there it really didn't make me feel...anything.

[Ah I'm so heartless.]