“In my next life, I hope I get to be a bird!”
The Universal Century, the main timeline of Gundam. For years it’s always been a huge point of love for Gundam fans. Since it’s creation, the Universal Century has been revived with the likes of Gundam Unicorn and it’s somewhat confusing Laplace Box shenanigans. However even with Unicorn’s problems, it showed that the heart of original UC remains in the creators of Sunrise, and this film represents that well once again.
I’ll begin this review with a few questions. First off, do you love the original 4 Universal Century entries? Ignore the side stories, OVAs,
...
everything. Focus on the original shows and film. Do you love the original Mobile Suit Gundam? Do you love Zeta Gundam? Do you love ZZ Gundam and Char’s Counterattack? If you do, if you really do, then you should probably watch this movie.
Did you think Unicorn was “neat but not amazing” but still enjoyed all the callbacks to UC? If you do, watch this movie.
Are you curious on what the potential of newtypes are, and what things they offer? If you do, watch this movie.
Narrative is similar to an Avengers: Endgame of UC, and I’ll explain why in the review.
Story: 7
Before the colony drop in Australia, 3 children go to a beach and see a vision of a colony drop. They warn their town and convince them to evacuate, this leads to a town surviving the colony drop. Their premonition was recognised as a stronger version of Newtype power, and became known as the “miracle children”. Years later, they’re taken in by the Federations in order to study newtypes, and they would eventually be experimented on for further newtype research.
In truth however, there was only one miracle child, the Rita Bernal. Her abilities are found and she’s modified in order to become the pilot for the third Unicorn Gundam unit, Phenex. However during joint evaluation tests with the Banshee, the Phenex loses control, turning into destroy mode, destroying the bridge of the “Shallot”, and escaping the federation in an event known as the “Shallot Incident”. Since then, the Phenex was lost and never seen again. However, due to the events of Unicorn and it’s usage of psycoframe, the Phenex reappears, once again showing mystical powers like dismantling machinery and communication of souls, something that we saw during the ending of Unicorn. Since then, both the Zeon and Federation want to recapture the Phenex, and harness the power that it has obtained since then.
The story follows Jona Basta, one of the false “Miracle Children”, and a very, very close friend of Rita. During The Shallot Incident, Rita went missing along with the Phenex, and her disappearance has haunted him since. He joins the operation with the intention of one goal, to see Rita again. There’s a lot more to the story of course, but I’ll leave that to the actual movie to showcase. This film is very focused on newtypes and their potential, far more so than any other UC entry. If you’re a fan of realistic war stories of UC like 08th MS Team or War in the Pocket and only those, you aren’t going to find a lot of that here. Of course, the theme of “war sucks and people in power are awful” still holds true, that’s a Gundam staple, but in comparison, Narrative delves far more into the mysterious side of UC.
Gonna be honest, the actual story can be considered a problem, simply because not everything is explored enough. Not everything gets an explanation, it also expects you to piece together parts of the story through your prior UC knowledge. The newtype potential is never actually given any solid answer of explanation, and you can take this one of three ways. The first one is lazy writing and leaving plot holes. The second one is seeing it as messages left to interpretation or theorise about. The third, and what I believe, is that the writers want to keep newtypes a mystery, as the theme of newtypes being impossible for humans to truly understand is an underlying theme.
The story could’ve also been longer in order to focus more on the actual lore of certain characters but if you ask me, it’s not a requirement. This is why you watch this as a fan of UC. It generalises a lot of origins of characters and events because it’s assuming you’re familiar with UC, however that’s also the merit. There are an insane amount of links and callbacks to the entirety of UC. Characters remember events that happened in earlier UC series, that or they were literally directly affected by them. This is why I compare this to Avengers: Endgame, there are so many things in Narrative that mean nothing if you’re not familiar with UC, but if you are, they become some of the best scenes and callbacks to it, and you like the characters because of it.
The story is not perfect, but it’s serviceable and if you ask me, heavily enjoyable, and if you’re a UC fan, you’re going to get a lot out of every little reference.
Art: 8
The art style is very similar to Unicorn before it, with a style that relies heavily on color usage and scene palette that while looks nice, isn’t too cleanly “refined”. It’s got little streaks in the lines and movements, like it was less “digitally made” and more “physically made” even if it’s obvious this is mostly digital animation. It’s a style that makes Narrative feel like a modern UC work like Unicorn, but also has the “imperfect” tone of the much older Gundam series, obviously to give the best of both worlds.
What I love about the art style is that, it captures the tone of classic UC series perfectly while also taking the advancements in anime animation. There are a lot of cues and imagery used from classic UC, like the Newtype flash and the purple scene pallet for newtype mind immersion, but reimagined and refined in a more modern light. It’s main charm is how well it captures UC rather than the quality itself, not saying that the animation is bad by any stretch though. Things like the Phenex’s psycoframe is beautiful, and the mech animations are on point. But the usage of homages and such is what really stands out.
Sound: 10
Easily the best part of the film from a quality standpoint. The sound design is top notch in every category. Starting with the foley and SFX, everything is amazing, from the power of the beams, the force of the thrusters, and the mystic powers of psycoframe, the sound is top notch. Everything sounds so good, I cannot exemplify it enough. The sound design is godlike and everything sounds super well down. Not painfully realistic, but if you’re into high tech sounding stuff and huge force, you’re gonna love it.
Score-wise, it’s perfect. Hiroyuki Sawano is always known for his fantastic use of techno beats and drops to make some truly epic scenes feel that much more impactful. Some of the tracks are remixed tracks of Unicorn, but that doesn’t change the fact that those tracks to begin with was top Sawano. The hype doesn’t just come from the drops, throughout the movie there’s a constant thrill created by Sawano’s fast techno tracks that just convey the rush of the power of these machines and the speed of the chase. It’s an absolute ride and Sawano’s score completes every combat scene. Even when it’s not combat, the tracks can be peaceful and have a beating heart that fits the scene it needs to. The ending has this accepting open sounding song and I can’t say enough, the sound design is perfect.
Character: 7
This is probably the weakest part of the film overall due to one thing: movie runtime. The characters simply are not fully delved into or properly developed due to it. A lot of the characters’ motives and origins are left for the watcher to assume and piece together as they watch the film, and it never explicitly states enough of the backstory for the film to truly make these characters realised.
Despite this, I can say this, the characters are very likeable. A lot of the characters are simple but all do their job, although the only ones I can really talk about are the main cast. Jona Basta is a very simple protagonist with the sole goal of being with those he loves. His family was killed at a young age, and he’s only left with his best friends Rita and Michele, they are figuratively his everything, especially Rita, who acted as a guiding light to his early life. When Rita disappears and Michele seemingly betrays his trust, he’s left distraught and full of regret, with his only goal in life being to find the Phenex and reunite with Rita. I like Jona, his goal is simple but believable. It’s only natural for him to want to cling onto the remaining people he loves.
Michele is by far the most interesting of the three. She is the only one that isn’t “pure good”, as while every goal she has is well-intentioned, she is also willing to do questionable things in order to reach them. As she was adopted by the Luios through lying that she was the real Miracle Child, she was let out from the newtype training facility. As a result, Rita and Jona were left to be studied as newtypes, which is why Jona felt betrayed by her. However, her intentions were not selfish, and that she merely wanted power to retrieve her friends when she could. By then though, Rita had already disappeared along with the Phenex, and she has to hold that burden. She has the most depth and interesting concepts, however the movie doesn’t focus on her enough to have everything she represents resolved perfectly.
The final character, Rita, has the least to say about her actual character. Rita is the definition of a purehearted and kind girl, being the one who kept Jona’s spirits high since childhood and is a guiding light. We aren’t shown much about her, but we are shown that she was very close to the two, and cherished them a lot. Sadly, despite being the miracle child, she was experimented on and made to pilot the Phenex, and she lost herself when the Phenex ran wild and escaped. I won’t say more, as most of the things related to her are spoilers to the actual plot. But I will say, Rita is the most important character in the entire film and continues to be the most kindhearted, and it all relates to the Phenex.
The Phenex itself can also be considered a character of it’s own, which you’ll see become very evident once you see the film. The Phenex has a will of it’s own and acts on it’s own. It is a guardian of humanity, but will not allow itself to be restrained by them. It appears for the sole purpose of protecting humanity, and that’s even made evident by the theme “VigilaNTe”.
Other than that, there isn’t much to say. Zoltan is very energetic as a villain but is also very barebones and underdeveloped, he could’ve used more depth to him. The Schezarr team are probably the most grounded characters, Iago especially is likeable for his relatability as a pilot and due to something that’s revealed in the film that I’m sure audiences that know their UC can relate to. It’s characters have fantastic concepts, and the biggest problem is that they aren’t looked into enough.
Enjoyment: 10
Even with these flaws, I’d be lying if I said I was bothered by them. I’ve seen this movie three times in 24 hours, enjoying it to hell each time and connecting the pieces together, with the story making more and more sense upon each rewatch. It’s thrilling, it has unique concepts that delve into the possibilities of newtypes and humanity’s control on it. The space chances were thrilling, the Phenex was amazing, and seeing it all with beautiful animation and Sawano’s intense score made it such an experience.
A lot of people criticise the film for being too short and underdeveloped, and I understand it. However, I think the film doesn’t REQUIRE it either. We know what we need to for the characters, we know their goals, the story, and the intended message. Sure, Zoltan is very basic as an antagonist, and the characters in general feel underdeveloped. Still, I’ve never felt unsatisfied on any of my watches, if anything, I get more impressed by the narrative (heh) of the movie and the story it tried to tell. I love Jona, and I merely want him to be happy with his friends. I love the Phenex, a beautiful machine that humanity cannot understand. The symbolism, the meaning, combined with awesome fights and sounds made it all so enjoyable.
Overall: 8
This film is not for every gundam fan, it will never be by nature of focusing on an aspect of gundam that’s always been very wishy washy, that being newtype shenanigans. However those that are able to see the characters and the story as what they are instead of what they could be can potentially really enjoy the movie. Narrative is just a thrilling ride of pure mecha action that’s still combined with the classic Gundam message of humanity’s conflicts, the underlying themes of oldtypes misunderstanding the idea of Newtypes and trying to use it as strengthening power rather than letting people change for the better and be free.
There’s so many scenes that mean so much to those that are fans of the UC, and if anything, this movie was clearly made by people who loved the original UC series. It’s for fans of UC, it’s for those who know their lore and want to see a continuation of the early stages of the timeline. People may not love it, and that’s fine, but if you’re a gundam fan, consider giving it a watch, you’ll find something to enjoy.
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May 28, 2019
Kidou Senshi Gundam NT
(Anime)
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“In my next life, I hope I get to be a bird!”
The Universal Century, the main timeline of Gundam. For years it’s always been a huge point of love for Gundam fans. Since it’s creation, the Universal Century has been revived with the likes of Gundam Unicorn and it’s somewhat confusing Laplace Box shenanigans. However even with Unicorn’s problems, it showed that the heart of original UC remains in the creators of Sunrise, and this film represents that well once again. I’ll begin this review with a few questions. First off, do you love the original 4 Universal Century entries? Ignore the side stories, OVAs, ...
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 17, 2018
Tsuki ga Kirei
(Anime)
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I actually didn’t intend on watching this initially, nor was I even aware of it when it aired. But after watching Just Because! and really enjoying the type of story it told, I went to the recommendations tab for shows that were similar, and Tsuki Ga Kirei was not only what users thought was the most similar, but was also a show that aired in Spring 2017, so I decided to pick it up and watched on a flight back to the UK.
Lets just say, it was the best flight I’ve ever had in my life at that point. The show follows two protagonists, a ... boy named Kotarou and a girl named Akane. The show is mainly about the relationship of these two protagonists who and their time during their final year in middle school. In it, we see their meetings, interactions, and growth with their fellow classmates. It’s a show about that time in middle school where you begin to find yourself, your purpose, and others to care about. They go through different stages of growth and learn different lessons as they change, dealing with relationships with themselves as well as others in one of the most wonderful romantic coming of age stories I’ve ever seen. Story: 9 In the new Japanese semester that begins in Spring, the cherry blossoms bloom a beautiful pink hue. In the location of Daisan Middle School, where the feeling of a new start and a new stressful school year can be felt all around. In this time, a boy named Kotarou and a girl named Akane are introduced, and are both pitted into the class of Class 3-1. We quickly learn that they are introverted by nature, but also have a number of friends and family members that support them. After school, they run into each other at a restaurant and meet face to face due to a number of coincidences. After their initial awkward introduction, they are initially a bit trepid from talking to one another. However, due to curiosity and certain feelings they may have, they eventually get to properly get acquainted with each other, and become new friends that often message each other on LINE. The show then follows these two characters as our protagonists, and their final year of high school together. After their fated meeting, they then develop their relationship, bit by bit, learning more about themselves and each other while gradually building their bond step by step. They are easily the main driving point of the story, as this show mainly focuses on the relationship of these two protagonists, and their time during their final year in middle school. In it, we see their meetings, interactions, and growth with their fellow classmates. The show is a slice of life romance and coming of age show about maturing and change, as this is because it’s time where most teens have to break out of their shells and begin to find themselves as well as start planning their life. Something I want to bring up about the show’s tone, is that it’s heavily grounded in realism. What do I mean by that? It’s simply that the show is extremely realistic, where no characters feel overly fictional or the plot doesn’t have extra drama or exaggeration. It’s grounded in a realistic scenario with views that reflect such. The interactions between characters and the multiple events that are really similar to that of real life, and due to this, the things that happen are really tangible. The plot in general, as well as another factor, makes this show very easy to both understand and emphasise with. The reactions and plot points in it feel like an ideal, yet real story about the relationship between a boy and a girl. It may feel a bit romanticised in a way, maybe with the main pair acting too innocent for the culture of modern age. But I see this show as being able to be a bit idealistic with this take, yet at the same time, able to capture the feeling of natural teenage love and romance, through taking that ideal golden pathway to happiness. Regardless, I argue that the show overall still remains grounded to earth despite this, and feels genuinely real throughout. Art: 8 The art is unique for an anime, upon first seeing it, you might think that it’s a more simpler style without too much to talk about, and in some areas, that holds true. The characters are mostly simple, with mostly average, simple designs without a lot of facial detail that don’t make them stand out from one another. The characters themselves take a minimalistic design approach, with simple colors and designs that do not stand out from the crowd. In fact, with the exception of Roman, don’t expect a lot of wacky anime hair colors that most other anime may have, because this show does not do that very often. Even our own two protagonists look just as bland as the rest of the cast, and would blend in perfectly in a group picture without standing out. However, this simpler and normalised take on the character designs, helps them feel even more realistic overall as they feel like normal humans. This makes the immersion more convincingly real in the end, which is something I appreciate Feel doing. However, upon closer inspection, you’ll find that the art does have considerable detail when it wants to, specifically in the backgrounds. The art overall is reminiscent of a watercolor drawing, not always the most consistent, but it’s pastel colorscheme and it’s shading allows things to feel pretty despite this. It’s a style that takes a bit to get used to, but you can really learn to appreciate it over time. Animation itself for the most part is simple or minimalistic, as this is not a show that really requires any insane movements or such. It’s just a simple story above love and finding yourself, and thus it stays normal enough to accomodate that tone. However, some may find this a bit off-putting, as the characters and background have different art style philosophies, some may find that the styles clash a bit with one another. I certainly did upon watching the first episode, and I’m sure others could find gripe with it as well. There are two aspects of the art style that I could consider a negative, one which I think is mostly objective and brings down the art a mark. First of all, is the shading. You’ll quickly notice that the shading style of the characters also take a minimalistic approach, and instead of having lots of hues and colorations to make something look more realistic, the show sticks with it’s minimalistic art style, and only has two or three shades for a certain area. You’ll find large blotches of one color in an area, especially for the characters, which is what gives the show it’s minimalistic art style impression. Feel also decided to put areas of white on the characters in the show, which is done to replicate the reflection of the sun or light while remaining with the minimalistic art. Needless to say, that white sometimes breaks the illusion of the character models, and could look really off to some people, I personally got used to it pretty quick, but it is something to take note of. The actual problem with the art though is the sparing use of CGI animation they used in certain scenes for people walking, mostly background characters or extras. I get it, budget is a thing and they needed to save it, and animating tens to hundreds of characters is difficult with 2D animation. But frankly, the 3D animation in this is no Land of the Lustrous. It looks absolutely awful and sticks out like a sore thumb on the 2D backgrounds. There’s no defending it, it looks bad and feels extremely off-putting. Even the animation itself is robotic and stiff, it’s like they didn’t even try to animate those parts and just made them all follow a pre-done walk cycle. It sucks, and I doubt most people can ignore it. Sound: 8 The sound of the show is quite normal itself. The sound effects aren’t super stylised or need to be brought attention to, they’re simple and do the job, nothing big here. What does need to be brought up are the OSTs and tracks. The OST captures a feeling of elegance and beauty, especially with it’s piano or woodwind tracks. Some tracks convey an air of mystery, while others cary an air of peacefulness and satisfaction. None of the songs here are blood boiling or exciting, like the show, it’s just a peaceful everyday tune, as grounded as the characters and life is. The OST does an effective job of setting their scenes, and the use of piano is especially effective in touching scenes (as it’s always). In my opinion though, it's the vocal songs that carry the sound of this show, with Nao Toyama giving great performances in each one. The opening reflects the feeling of discourse and energy of being happy and enjoying your life with someone you love during the free teenage years, and against that the ending contrasts that with a slow, sweet melody. It felt heartfelt yet feels like it’s full of passion and true emotion, like love, and I’m sure that if you like this, you’ll be crying to this song by the end of the series. This isn't even to bring up the insert songs, of which there are actually quite a handful for a 12 episode show, and yet each compliment the scenes they accompany so perfectly well. I still remember Toyama's cover of "Natsu Matsuri" used in episode 8...I teared up and it wasn't even the finale, that song perfectly complimented Kotaro's feelings and the intimacy of the moment, making it hit so hard and feel so warm. Character: 10 This segment played a huge part in the show due to the nature of it, and I’m happy to say that Feel managed to deliver on this part. First off, as I’ve said before, the show is very realistic, and that especially shows in this part. First off, lets get the most important ones out of the way, our main characters Kotarou and Akane are absolutely fantastic, near perfect I’d argue. First off, they’re immediately extremely relatable to us from their introverted nature. They are characters that deal with their own lives and relationships in it, and worry about issues like embarrassment, peer pressure, and awkwardness around others. Their personalities, choices, and actions in the show aren’t exaggerated, and thus makes them feel like real human beings that are easy to understand and emphasise with. Obviously at first, our protagonists are not immediately friends. They ran into each other by coincidence, and while they clearly showed mild interest or attraction to one another, they didn’t act on it instantly and avoided each other for a bit in fear of awkwardness or leaving bad impressions. However, they eventually meet again and slowly become acquainted with one another before becoming proper friends, and it wasn’t dragged out at all. Their growth from strangers to friends in the first two episodes alone felt perfectly done, without moments that were exaggerated, shortened, or prolonged. It felt like a realistic situation of two people meeting each other and becoming friends, and that’s the beauty of it. Their growth is extremely realistic without anything changed, making it easy to understand and feel their relationship develop genuinely. Throughout the show, they keep growing together, eventually becoming an awkward couple, and strengthening that bond every episode. They grow together, and seeing their relationship with one another is adorable. Their relationship felt realistic, like if true love truly exists in this world, then their story would be a perfect telling of it. This makes it extremely easy to get attached to them, as their relationship was simply a lovely one. We as the viewers got to see it bud, bloom, and grow ever larger as the show goes on, and it all felt genuine. I seriously got attached to them as a couple, and related to it. The show managed to make me smile and root for them when I’d see their adorable interactions day by day, and it lead for some really cute and heartwarming moments. That’s not all the show has to offer though, as the side characters are quite prevalent for a show that focuses mostly on it’s main characters. There are a lot of major, supporting, and extra, side characters and they all play their uses well. One great thing about them is that each of them have distinct, unique, and believable personalities. Both the friends of each of the protagonists, their families, and especially major supporting characters all are convincing with how they react and handle situations just like the main duo. They do sometimes exaggerate certain interactions in the minor supporting cast for comedic value, especially in the many shorts that the show has, but overall everyone just feels human, and that holds especially for the major supporting characters. Characters like Chinatsu, Tachibana, and even the parents to Kotarou are fleshed out, real, and have a solid semblance of likeable characteristics despite the focus not being on them most of the time. This is a really good thing, and it makes these extra characters feel even more likeable. Enjoyment: 10 I have always been a fan of romance shows, but what I enjoy about it isn’t any drama, craziness or coincidences like a lot of romcoms like to do. No, the reason I love romance is to emphasise and care for the characters and their story of falling in love. A romance show that I enjoy simply needs to tell a tale of convincing love, one that feels natural, maybe fated to the point that it feels ideal. Regardless, watching certain characters fall in love with one another simply by being with each other over time is cute and heartwarming, especially seeing what they do once they become a couple. Tsuki Ga Kirei delivered on that so goddamn well. The fact that the characters and story was written in a way that felt not only realistic but also unexaggerated was two big positives that kept me interested and feeling comfortable throughout the show. Watching the characters grow and develop through their final high school year through each other and other people was very pleasant to watch, and seeing the characters grow stronger and become more open with one another felt sweet. The real seller for me was that the romance in the show felt very genuine, it started off as mere attraction, but as the pair grew more accustomed and used to one another, they begin to open up more, show care for each other more, and grow into a strong, loving couple that feels like it could last forever. It’s these types of romances that I gravitate to as they feel realistic yet are so perfect in a way that it almost feels hard to obtain in the real world. But unlike many romances in anime, it doesn’t feel impossible or too farfetched. It’s idealised, but it still feels like many people can obtain that ideal happiness, which is really pleasant to think about. The couple led for a plethora or heartwarming and touching scenes that made me feel happy and relaxed inside, and that’s why I love this show so much. It delivers exactly what I look for in a romance, without adding anything that it doesn’t need to, and that is why I feel like it resonates with me so well. Overall: 9 Tsuki Ga Kirei is a beautiful show from beginning to end, at the very least I found it to be so. From the beginning, the show gently lets you get yourselves used to the characters enough to understand them and their life at the current point. Soon after you get used to them, you see the characters get used to their new lives and the new people that enter them. You’ll see Kotarou and Akane meet for the first time, and begin their relationship that develops immensely as the show goes on. They’ll meet and interact with friends from each other’s parties, and soon you’ll become acquainted with them as well. The show’s main bread and butter is of course it’s main protagonists Kotarou and Akane. As this is a romance show, the show focuses on their relationship together as they grow together throughout the series. The characters develop in the show, yet it doesn’t feel like it’s outwardly development that happened due to supernatural circumstances, but instead just the growth of two teens finding their place in life and getting used to the people around them, while dealing with change. The couple in this show are both convincing and easy to emphasise with, and that truly lead to some really heartwarming and even tearjerking moments. It’s not just heartwarming due to the romance alone however, the relationships our protagonists have with other characters like their family and friends also have their strong moments. Yet it all still feels realistic, tangible and relatable, and everything just allows for a very heartwarming, realistic come of age story. It’s so realistic that they constantly put in product placement for LINE! There’s even short, comedic little sidestories that happen by the end of every 2 episodes that adds some bonus entertainment should you be curious about some of the quirky interactions between the side characters. Overall as a fan of romances that feel tangible and are easy to emphasise with, this is one of my favorites in the genre. I came into this show expecting thinking I’d like it about as much as Just Because!, as the recommendations on MAL were what got me interested enough to watch it in the first place. But I ended up loving this show so much more than what I expected. It captured the feeling of true love, the confusing nature of finding yourself at that age, and maintaining positive relationships with your friends. It captured the beauty of an ideal teen life for me, and that's a reason I emphasised with it so much. It got me to cry, and that’s a sign alone that I had an unforgettable experience with this. I highly urge any person to watch this, especially those who wants a relaxing warm romance. This is top of the trophy case, it was fantastic and gave me the best flight I’ve ever had.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 7, 2018
Violet Evergarden
(Anime)
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Emotion.
One of the most pivotal and important parts of our nature that makes us who we are. We feel things, good and bad, but these emotions are what makes us human, and can be very strong. Words. What we mostly use to convey emotions. Words give us ways to communicate and express ourselves to others, and is an a major gift that we humans created for each other. Everyday there are many messages that we tell others with the use of these two things, sometimes verbally, sometimes using text, like an email or chat. Most people often converse with people on a daily basis, and it’s an important ... part of our lives, and nowadays we have the wonders of modern technology to give us long distance conversations without breaking a sweat. However, in the past, long distance conversations were not so easy, as we didn’t have technology to achieve that. So what did we do back then? We wrote messages physically on a piece of paper, and those messages were called letters. Back then, when long distance conversing was more difficult. Letters were something sent only occasionally rather than constantly, and thus they were needed to contain and convey as many emotions and thoughts as possible through it’s words. Thus, letters were an essential thing back then, as they were the object that could bridge the distance between two people and let them convey those emotions through words, and thus held a lot of power and importance. Violet Evergarden tells story is about a girl learning the truth and meaning of all these things, emotion, words, letters, and more. This is a coming of age tale, where a young girl named Violet sets out on a journey to about what emotions truly are, and why getting them across is so important. Story: 9 After a great war took place in the country of Telesis, the land is finally at peace, and returning to the state it held before the war. In this peaceful time, a girl wakes up, with arms of metal, devoid of emotion and waiting for orders. Our protagonist, Violet Evergarden, was originally a “weapon” that was given to Major Gilbert Bougainvillea to help win the war. He gave orders to the girl to do things, and she would execute them, mostly to kill or decimate certain troops. In the final battle of the war, both Gilbert and Violet were gravely injured, in where Gilbert told Violet the words “I love you”, and ordered her to live. Violet however did not understand these words, and collapsed in the battle. Awake now, a former commander in the army close to Gilbert named Hodgins Claudia tells her that Gilbert entrusted her care to him for now, and that she should do her best to find a job and live a normal life. She learns about the job of an Auto Memory Doll, an occupation where they will write things for people with a typewriter, often letters, scripts, and more. After learning about the occupation and how much it’s tied to conveying emotions and words, she chooses to become one, and the show then follows Violet’s journey as a doll, to learn more about emotions, and to learn the meaning of the words that Gilbert left her with. This show starts off slow, and I mean sloooow. Half of the first few episodes are mostly worldbuilding and setting up the characters and their occupations, without giving much actual development into any of the characters. This does not help because Violet initially starts off being completely emotionless and blunt, to the point it could be frustrating how she can’t do tasks or talk to people properly due to it. It is an obvious that it’s an intentional detail, and it makes sense why, but that doesn’t help make the show feel so slow at the first few episodes. However, once the show hooks you in, it does a good job at keeping you in. After the first few episodes, the show switches more to an episodic nature, where Violet goes to different places to do her job at being a doll, introducing new characters and new stories that are concluded by the end of their episode. For the majority of the first 3 episodes does not develop very much, but by the end of the third episode, she shows her first sign of growth, as simple as it is. After that moment, the show begins it’s episodic nature, and by each one, she slowly grows as a character and learns more about emotions. As that happens, she becomes easier to enjoy as it becomes a lot easier to emphasise with her through following her experiences. By episode 5, I was personally hooked, because Violet had finally shown enough growth where she was easy enough to care for her. Due to how episodic the show is, it has a lot of substories that take place, where each character has a problem and it’s up to Violet to help them out of it, be it by writing messages, talking to the characters, and interacting with them. These mini stories tend to be extremely heartwarming, as most of them use close relationships people have with one another as a theme. They are relatable, and extremely engrossing at times, letting you care for the characters and their problems a lot in the short amount of time they take up. By the end of the episode, the characters end it satisfyingly, and it can get really emotional seeing the characters’ state by the end of each one, but more on that later. It had a slow start, but since then, it only got better and better with a few episodes slowing down the quality. I can only say, trudge through the first third or half, it might be hard, but it’s intentional, and you’ll find it absolutely pays off later. If you aren’t hooked by halfway, feel free to drop it, but until then, let the show dig down it’s roots. Because afterwards, the show will begin to really shine, and it’s quality does not disappoint as Violet goes through great amounts of growth, and the stories she takes parts of can get extremely heartwarming or emotional. Art: 10 (Can’t do an 11 damnit.) Hoooo man this is pretty much as close as you can get to an objective doozie, no question about it. Alright, take A Silent Voice’s animation, decrease the precision linework quality for the TV budget, and instead replace it with a more stylised, wavy, paint-like aesthetic. Add lighting and colors of that of an artist’s painting, and give it impressive sakuga-like animation throughout the whole show that emphasizes all the small details and movements in almost every scene. What do you get from that? You get this show’s art style, and it stays at that quality the ENTIRE TIME. I do not kid you when I say this is easily one of the best looking anime, if not THE BEST looking anime that I have ever watched. The art style is nothing less than amazing, it’s like cocaine for your eyes. The animation is just downright gorgeous, from the color usage, designs, detail, and movement, it’s almost like like an animated painting. I have honest to god trouble imagining how the heck Kyoto Animation did this, especially for the budget. They seem to have changed the art style to be more inconsistently-based yet remaining beautiful and stable, make it easier to animate rather than cut back on the art itself. This show looks amazing, the actual art is full of details and touches that make it look so graceful. The lighting, I cannot emphasise how well they did the lighting, it is perfect, scenes look convincing and real. It’s easily one of the best looking shows I’ve ever seen in my life, and I cannot merely describe how amazing Kyoto Animation did on this. They have absolutely outdone themselves even more so than usual, and they deserve a serious bravo for their efforts. Sound: 9 The sound effects done by Kyoto Animation is completely solid, but first I’ll talk about the score. The music tracks are mostly serene with really well played out tracks that use a variety of music. There isn’t a lot of quick paced music, and only occasionally there are some dramatic tracks with orchestra for the scenes that require some intensity in it, but most of it works to either set the tone of the scene, or to pull at your heartstrings. Nothing really stands out especially, but I mean that in a good way, since the OST overall is extremely good and nothing is unfitting. I will say, the opening Sincerely is really well done. True’s vocals are godlike here, reaching a smooth, classy tune that works well with the instrumental. The lyrics conveyed Violet’s emotions so well, that as I watched the show, I found the song getting more emotional as I got to understand and get attached to Violet herself. The ending song also deserves mention, and while personally, I like the OP more, I can’t deny that it’s done just as well, with vocals that give it a feeling of nostalgia and maturity. The insert song Violet Snow is also an insert song that really helped some scenes shine, it had a feeling of youthful hope similar that of a fairy tale. The actual sound effects and foley are really what pushed this thing to such a high score. Little details are realistic and well thought out, and sound convincing. I want to bring special mention to everytime Violet uses her metallic hands and the sounds that are made during their movements, Stuff like that elevate the sound to a high degree, even if most of the tracks themselves don’t stand out with the exception of the few. Character: 10 The characters are simply amazing and absolutely made the show for me, although it’s not apparent at first. In the first two episodes, Violet is absolute cardboard due to the way the story is structured, with no personality whatsoever, and blunt to the point it’s inhuman (which is the point). The supporting cast in the first two episodes are the main recurring cast, and don’t have a huge amount to them, you get to understand their character types, familiarise with them, but that’s it. They don’t have a lot of depth to them, and are admittedly for the most part, just supporting cast that occasionally plays a role in certain episodes depending on the circumstance. They don’t develop often with the few (surprisingly notable) exceptions, and asides from their personalities, don’t add too much in the initial episodes. However, what the recurring supporting cast lacks, is made up in the episodic supporting cast. Remember how I said a majority of episodes follow that episodic format? Where a shorter story takes place with characters that are only really relevant in that episode? Well, it’s these episodes where we’re introduced to the characters that really help make the show so great in terms of it’s story, but to do that, I also have to explain the other factor. That other factor, is Violet herself. As the show premise suggests, her goal is to learn more about emotions, and learn to understand the meaning of the words Gilbert left with her. As I’ve stated multiple times before, she begins with no personality whatsoever other than pure, inhumane bluntness, and no self worth. She acts like a robot, a tool, which was exactly how she was meant to be, and Kyoto Animation portrayed her in that state perfectly, at the cost making her unrelatable, hard to emphasise with, and hard to like from the get go. However, as the show goes on, she slowly begins to develop. She slowly learns emotion, bit by bit, and how does she do that? By helping out the supporting characters with their problems through the letters and writings that she creates. She is the trigger, a catalyst that allows for the supporting characters to either develop immensely, or allow the viewer to emphasise with in each of their respective episodes. She helps them to conclude whatever problem they have by the end of their episodes, and through this, Violet herself develops by witnessing and helping these supporting characters. Eventually, she becomes more human and relatable as each episode goes by, learning more about emotions, what it means to be human, and what love truly is. She develops so much and learns so much, and by the end of it, both the supporting cast and Violet herself come out stronger than they’ve been before the episode began, all because they were each there to help each other. This dynamic made the show immensely heartwarming and enjoyable for me, to see so many touching scenes with the characters from the support of Violet, and for her to learn about what it means to be human through these events. This process was amazing and made for some extreme growth for both parties. I was able to emphasise with both the episodic supporting cast and Violet herself to an extreme level. Watching Violet grow so much in so many different ways, and see her learn both good and bad things, become stronger through that, and emphasise with her, has made her evolve into one of my favorite characters in all of anime, and that is something to say. Enjoyment: 9 The first two or three episodes were really slow, and at first I wasn’t having fun with the series very much. It was mildly entertaining enough, but due to the focus worldbuilding, in trade of lack of initial depth and relatability to any of the characters. Without any hook for my interest other than the art, I wasn’t a fan of it at first. However this is an show that builds itself over time, and as that time goes on Violet herself and the supporting characters make this show what it is. After the initial slowness, once Violet starts her development, the show keeps improving by developing her every episode, letting her help others, let them grow, and in turn she grows more herself. It’s when this happens, the level of enjoyment skyrockets far past the slowness of the initial two episodes, and it keeps that quality for the majority of the remaining run. The ending was also satisfying as hell, and while I could have some more stories of Violet doing her job, the show itself does not need anything more, as by the end, the story does everything it sets out to do, and ends on an extremely conclusive and satisfying note. It wasn’t fun at first, but once I managed to enjoy myself, I could not stop having a blast. Overall: 10 Violet Evergarden is a show that really, really got to me in the end. Art-wise, no question about it, it is godlike and little will compare with it other than high budget movie animation, or Kyoani’s future works made after the writing of this review. Story-wise It does have an extremely slow start, with no character to emphasise with at first, and only worldbuilding to go off of. It sets the tone and setting well, but does nothing to make you really care for it other than maybe the supporting cast’s quirky personalities, or maybe the potential for the show to kick off later on. However as I’ve said, the show absolutely kicks off later on. Once Violet begins that first step of growth, and sets out to do her job, the sub stories and the characters in it all make the show as good as it is. It’s a mixture of the extreme overall development for the majority of the the characters that take part in the stories, the heartwarming tales that result from the problems that get resolved in each episode get more and more emotional as you see Violet grow and understand the true impact and meaning that emotions can hold. I randomly brought up two terms and explained them at the beginning of this review, words and emotion. That is because, this show has made me appreciate these two things so much more than I did before watching it. Emotions are what make us human, and as Violet has shown, allow us to emphasise, feel, and care for one another. Words, a tool for communicating to one another, allowing us to convey these emotions to one another. The way Violet uses her letters to change those around her, and change herself, is what makes this show an absolute masterpiece. The importance and meaning that these things possess in our lives is immense, and they can create some very impactful moments. Violet Evergarden is a story about the importance of emotions and conveying them through words. It’s a story where people grow from the actions and support of others, and the importance of the relationships we have with one another. We affect each other’s lives, and change each other, and that is why I hold Violet Evergarden in such high regard. By the end of the show, Violet has evolved so much, and it made me so proud to see the growth she had gone through when all was said and done. I highly, highly recommend it to anyone, even though you’ll have to trudge through the first few episodes, because once you do, you are in for an extremely emotional, and touching ride. PS. I teared up quite a bit while writing this review, and became a sobbing mess while recalling all that made this show hit so close to home by the end. This was not an easy write up to go through, I'll tell you that much.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Feb 22, 2018
Shinseiki Evangelion
(Anime)
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I honestly don’t know where to begin with this, as Evangelion is quite frankly, a very unorthodox series to say the least. Mechs have always been a staple in anime, especially in the past. Back in the pre 2000’s, the genre soared with the numerous Super Robot and Real Robot series with names like Gundam, Mazinger Z, Macross, and other cool robot goodness. These series made large names for themselves when the mech genre was in its prime, especially the Super Robots.
This show does contain its fair share of action, impressive 90’s animation, fun moments, and relaxing bits, mainly at the beginning. However Evangelion ... is not trying to be entirely like that, and it is made obvious as you watch it. It focuses on the themes of the ideas between human relationships, as well as theories of the mind and psyche of a person. Evangelion questions and analyses these things, especially in later parts of the show. So while mecha is the genre, it’s not necessarily the main focus here. Evangelion is more known for being a mature show about the inner problems in people and what makes them work, and it’s not scared to be a bit questionable about it. Characters in the latter half are really broken down to expose their traumas, reasonings for their personalities, and how fucked up they actually are, yet it’s not something that’ll be understood on a surface level. Some of these characters will only speak to those that can understand them, and that’s a big hit/miss part of the show. Not everyone will truly understand the many problems, flaws, and reasonings behind how these characters are, and that’s fine. But for those that can, these might be some of the most painfully relatable characters you’ll ever meet. Story: 9 The story begins in the year of 2015, where large creatures known as Angels start appearing a city named Tokyo-3. Despite their efforts, the military is completely powerless to fight against these monsters, and can’t do enough damage to the angels in their attacks. Due to this, command is relinquished to NERV, an organisation dedicated to defend Tokyo-3 against these Angel attacks. During this time, a 14 year old boy named Shinji Ikari is called to Tokyo-3 by his father Gendo, and is picked up by a woman named Misato to get there. Once at the NERV headquarters called the Geofront, he is told by is father to pilot a giant Robot called Evangelion Unit 01. Sounds simple so far right? Well, the story at first is simple at first in premise, but we soon learn that our protagonist is not the most willing of pilots. Shinji makes it obvious he doesn’t want to pilot the Eva, and it’s made obvious that he has a very rough relationship with his father. After his reluctant battle that he barely had any real hand in, Misato sees his strange nature and in an attempt to get him to become more human soon becomes his guardian, and brings Shinji to live with her. In the first half of the show, we see Shinji have initial struggle settling into his new home at Tokyo-3. We see his discontent in being an Eva pilot, with him not having an easy time making friends into his school due to his status as the Eva pilot and introverted personality, as well as his difficulty interacting with other people, including his own guardian Misato. However, he eventually makes close friends at school, as well as both meeting and getting to to know his fellow Evangelion pilots Rei and Asuka. Eventually the show goes into more of the standard monster of the week format, with Shinji teaming up with the other two pilots to battle against the angels. However, during the second half, the show becomes a lot darker, going back into the past of these characters, and exploring what has happened to these characters in the past. I’ll get more to this in the characters section, but its the second half of the show where Evangelion gets its fame for psychological analysis, and where it starts to constantly tackle complex philosophical things like human psyche, the past, and what makes the characters tick. In a nutshell, without any context, one may think Evangelion is just another typical mecha anime when looking on the surface. However, if one is aware about the types of things that Evangelion is known in the anime community, they’ll know Evangelion is far from being so. Evangelion is a type of show breaks down the typical tropes, cliches, and to a point, the rules of a certain genre, adding in unique elements into the mix, before putting it back together as something different. While Evangelion does include action packed battles between the Evangelions and the angels, that isn’t the main focus. Instead, Evangelion tackles more unorthodox themes, and bring to light things like philosophical theories, studies, as well as aspects of the human mind and psyche. Obviously due to this, this show will not be for everyone, as the deeper themes take away from the enjoyment of being fictional for possibly being hard to grasp or "too real". However despite this, I found that if you're able to accept this massive shift in tone, you'll really come to appreciate the way the story was done. I do have to mention though that the final two episodes do not at all give this show a proper conclusive ending, and that it’s a very mental/thought provoking ending as opposed to a real tangible one. However, that’s why End of Evangelion exists, and I believe it’s a must watch to truly complete this series. Art: 8 The art of this show…well it’s very mixed to say the least. The art itself is fine for the most part, its 90’s style animation looks clean and surprisingly detailed in areas for its time. It had very nice shading, and honestly for the time, it has some very nice looking backgrounds and animation. They even use certain colors in certain scenes to convey a message or emotion, like yellow during dream sequences for a sunset/ominous feel, or blue in hospital scenes for a clean and sterile environment. The problem however is that animation itself is very hit or miss. Evangelion aired all the way back during 95, and its age in animation shows blatantly in areas, and there are scenes where the artists obviously cut back on animation for the budget, like covering the mouths and turning the characters into talking silhouettes, but the latter could also be taken as an artistic liberty. However this does not excuse it of its issues. They’re still there. However, when animation does go high though, specifically in a few of the fight scenes and scenes that need an impact, it does get really good. Movement is not necessarily fluid but full of action and dramatic movements. Sound: 9 The strange thing about the sound is that it’s something that I wouldn’t really bring special mention to, but at the same time I think it’s excellently well done. Most of the tracks basically create the atmosphere of certain scenes, and they wouldn’t be the same without it. The show uses this to direct and invoke certain emotions in a viewer when a certain scene is playing. A drum filled buildup song with tension before a battle, a loud orchestra when an Eva goes berserk, a relaxing, chirpy song for fun daily life interactions, a slow sombre piano track for scenes for scenes that contemplate the sadness of the negatives of human interaction, and a strange, primal tune for scenes where we delve into the character’s own minds. Eva’s OST does an amazing job with its score IMO, with tracks that truly add to certain scenes, and making them memorable. When I hear a certain track of Eva, my mind instantly recalls memories of the scenes that they were used in Eva, the type of stuff I saw, and these tracks are just so memorable and iconic. The sound effects and voice acting were also really good, I especially liked the acting in the scenes of anguish for some of the characters, their VA’s really did an excellent job conveying their emotions. Characters: 10 Humans are one of the most complex species out there, and our extremely multilayered and complicated mind is what makes ourselves unique. The human mind is powerful, but at the same time, can be very fragile. People need to have certain interactions with others to keep the mind at ease: love, care, family, friends, these bonds that people create are what drive people to stay sane, without it, minds will break and people will get mentally weaker. The characters reflect this very obviously, more specifically in the latter half of the show. Most of the characters at first glance might seem to simply have a set personality, Misato’s laid back nature yet ability to switch into a serious commander mode, Rei’s lack of emotion, Gendo’s steely and blunt personality, Asuka’s tsundere, and of course, Shinji’s incompetent nature and submissiveness. However, a majority of Eva’s characters have more to them than just that. We’re given the first half to get aquatinted and used to these characters and establish their “lifestyle”, however, the second half of the show starts breaking this “peaceful” status quo, and starts really breaking down the characters, showing why their personalities are the way they are. As mentioned before, the second half begins to really show the actual reasons for why our characters are the way they are, and what’s wrong with them. This is where the characters show their true colors and their backstories are revealed, which I will not go into much detail for. However, these backstories are the traumatic upbringings that have created the characters that we had grown accustomed to, and here we really learn why they have become the way they have. Most of them are the way they are to gain acceptance from others, to cope with their life, they have inner demons and ugly thoughts, some that are obvious from their personality, others that are hidden deep within their mind. We really get to learn the problems some of these characters have, and their hidden demons are some of the most understandable “flaws” that I could relate to. A lot of people give the main character, Shinji Ikari a lot of flack, and there’s reason to. Yes he is weak willed and simple minded, he doesn’t want to face his fears and reality, preferring to escape and run away, which while annoying from an outsider’s perspective, can also be something understandable from a first person or metaphorical perspective. Shinji as a character has flaws that he is aware of, he always tries to escape from the brutal reality and he is sometimes aware of it. He slowly breaks down into a depressed state when the positive relationships with those he holds close break down, and that’s what made him very relatable to me. I as a person had gone through similar situations, unable to face harsh reality at times, preferring to escape, fearing rejection, wanting attention, and feeling worthless. In the past when I first watched this series, I was in a rough time of my life where I didn’t understand myself or my reason for living. However, as I watched this show, I found that Shinji was almost identical to how I was, and that I emphasised with him more than any other. Through understanding Shinji and further looking upon his actions, I was able to relate to him, and learn more about myself as well in a negative light, which in turn allowed me to grow. In a way, Shinji is a character that has affected who I am today because of his sheer relatability, and I could say the same for other aspects of certain characters like Asuka or Misato, but Shinji had the most reliability for me. By learning about his problems and how he worked, I understood myself more due to him, and now as someone who has grown from that time, I’m grateful. It’s because I could understand Shinji, and even the other characters too lesser, but still considerable extents, that I was able to learn more about my problems and truly understand them, making ways to change them. For this, I hold the characters of this show in high regard, as they do an excellent job at showing some of the things that people’s inner demons might be like. Enjoyment: 10 I loved this show, so so much. Watching it for the first time I was initially entertained by the mecha and the world that it set me in. I felt enamoured by the sheer scale and environment the show used, the battles were interesting, the designs of the mecha and angels were cool, and it was just all a fun time. Watching the characters interact together in both positive and negative ways gave me a feeling that never felt similar to any other show. It was here where I grew interested and attached to the characters, and had a lot of enjoyment. But in the second half of the show, it had changed into something far, far more than just mere entertainment, mecha, cool fights and fun characters. The way it showed the inner working’s of its characters so directly and how much they spoke to me had made them not only appreciate them far more as characters, but as tangible “people”. It became a show that legitimately made me both question and learn things, about people, about interactions, and most of all, about myself. I was able to understand these characters to a level that I didn’t think that I had in me, and in turn watching this show had made me understand myself in a time where I didn’t. I watched these characters that I was familiar with and enjoyed following both rise and fall, their pasts and their faults, and I think, all of it made this one of the most unforgettable rides of my life. Overall: 10 Overall, Eva is a very unique show. It’s not only just an anime, but also strives to be something very different to other types of television. It uses the concepts and tropes of mecha to give us characters that are painfully realistic, relatable, and so very flawed. Its story starts off decently standard before it delves into a more abstract feeling environment, dealing with human problems rather than the actual threat that is the angels. Some audiences might find it as a complete mess of a show with no answer or logic to what’s going on, while others might view it as an entertaining experience albeit a bit confusing. Heck, even some anime watchers might have never even heard of it, and other people, including me, will see this show as one of the most wonderful works of anime to date. Evangelion is not a show about entertainment alone, it’s a show that needs you to think a bit. This show questions a lot of things, this show will be confusing to completely casual viewers, and is not an anime for the viewer who wants to see the typical storytelling as it’s unique in the way it breaks down its own characters and reveals how they work. If you’re an anime viewer here for fun and relaxation, you might not like this show, and that’s fine. I would still recommend giving it a try, but instead, I think Evangelion is a show for the ones who have the potential to understand some of the angels and demons inside people, how they might interact and how they build what is a human. Evangelion is a show that will question and tackle extremely strange, philosophical, or abstract concepts and ideas, that’s simply how it is. We as humans cannot comprehend everything, not even our own mind and psyche. It’s not an easy thing to be able to understand or view all these concepts, and understand them entirely. But as a person who is able to see Evangelion for the concepts and ideas it brings, I can say that to get a better experience, you should consider having an open mind to theories and abstract messages. Theory and philosophical judgement, yet, you must also be able to understand the negatives in some people, and also the things they offer. Evangelion is a show that has brought me on an adventure, one that I will never forget and always hold close to my heart. Ranging from the times it was lighthearted and relaxing from some of the cuter character interactions, the times it was sad and melancholic from times of self reflection and sad scenes, the times that I was enamoured with the action and awesome fights, the times that truly learned about the characters that inhabited that world, and the times that made me reflect on myself as an individual person, and learn more about myself because of it. The factors of what made Eva not only an entertaining show, but a show that has changed my perspective on myself and the world in the past when I needed it to was why I hold it so dear to my heart. It’s not perfect, not by a long shot, but if it isn’t obvious by now, I absolutely love this show. In fact, it’s my favorite anime as of this review, and I honestly don’t see that position changing anytime soon. To Hideaki Anno, whether the way this show was made the way it was intended or not, I must thank you regardless for making this wonderful story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Nov 10, 2017 Recommended
Oh, WaSuYu has a TV Version now, I guess it’s as good of a time to rewatch it…again.
Now before I begin this review, I need to make a disclaimer. This show is meant to be a prequel series to Yuuki Yuuna is a Hero, or Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de aru. If you have not seen YuYuYu, do not watch this show. This show was made to be watched as a prequel, and needs context from the original YuYuYu to be understood entirely, as well as to know aspects of the story for more of an effect. Due to this, I will assume you’ve ... seen YuYuYu already if you’re looking at this review outside the synopsis, and will bring up terms from the show, as well as casually spoil elements of YuYuYu because of the show’s nature. So go watch YuYuYu before you both read this review, or watch WaSuYu. Now with that out of the way, lets begin the actual review. Friendship is a very beautiful thing, it can last ages and creates powerful bonds between people. With the help of others, one can take on larger problems, work together, grow together, and accustom oneself with one another. With friends, you can create memories, some happy, some sad, but definitely some that will be unforgettable. Washio Sumi’s Chapter is a story about that kind of beautiful friendship, in the form of a story about a trio of powerful heroes that fought not long before the heroes we are already accustomed to. Story: 8 This story takes place a mere two years before the events of YuYuYu, if it isn’t obvious already, this is the story of Tougou as a yuusha before she lost her memories, back when she was taken in by the Washio family, where she was given the name Washio Sumi. In this prequel, Washio is part of a smaller team of yuushas than the ones we are familiar with in both age and numbers, and it’s up to her, Gin, and Sonoko to fight against the Vertexes that invade from the Great Seto Bridge. Fighting Vertexes works differently in WaSuYu, for one, the yuushas don’t have help from the fairies, so the yuushas will get injured and aren’t as powerful. Second is that Jukai in general works a bit different, instead of being an open field, the battles all take place on the bridge, and it’s like a tower defense where the 3 girls have to prevent the vertex from reaching the end of the bridge and to the Shinju. As for the actual story, it begins first with introduction and training as well as a few fights. Unlike YuYuYu however, the fights are not too plentiful, and in fact, about half of the show is pure slice of life, which actually serves a purpose in this show. Now, this story resolves a few of the questions that were left unanswered in YuYuYu, like why there were fairies in the first place, and why the Taisha chose to use them in the first place. Now if you remember the events in YuYuYu should realise that this story does not end happily, Sonoko goes Mankai twenty times and loses most of her body functions, Wasshi loses her legs a large part of her memory, including the time she spent with Sonoko and Gin, eventually turning into the more self-doubting Tougou, as for Gin, you’ll see what happens to her in time. Now remember what I said about the slice of life elements? Well the show uses those parts along side the likeable characters to get you attached to the trio, so that even though you know it ends sadly, when the tragedies hit, they still hurt to watch even though you’ve anticipated them. Art: 8 The art is pretty damn good, but also in some areas could be better. The art itself is very graceful looking, with thin lines and a pretty feel. The art itself looks very good for the most part, I especially love the eyes of the characters, as they look really pretty and are also expressive. It’s definitely above average level in my opinion but at the same time doesn’t really reach for the top. Just like YuYuYu however, I think the jukai looks excellent as usual with it’s bright and colorful surface, a place where the coloured vertexes actually kind of match. Animation is usually satisfactory, however in some areas, the animation cuts budget and resorts to 3D animation. Now I’m not one to say 3D animation equals bad animation, but in some of those scenes that do use 3D animation, it looks unnatural and kind of jarring. This is not for all the 3D animation in the show however, as the vertexes and bridge animation look fine, mostly it’s the character’s movements that look strange in 3D. Still, you can look past it, and overall, the art is really good. Sound: 9 This is one aspect of the show that I found really well done. Most of the tracks are reused from the WaSuYu movies, to be expected, so it’s nothing new in that regard. Just like YuYuYu, is one of Keiichi Okabe’s few works in anime soundtracks, and I think he did very well with the sound design. Most of tracks aren’t as recognisable as those in YuYuYu in my opinion, but those that are shine very, very well. Emi Evans returns again for the vocals in the soundtracks, and my fucking god she does an amazing job. As expected from the vocalist for the OST of the NieR: series, her clean angelic voice does an excellent job at setting the atmosphere for some of these scenes. My favorite track by far has got to be A Girl’s Wish, a track used at the finale of the show, and one that almost makes me shed a tear as I remember the heartwretching events so clearly. The ED’s are reused from the original movies, and depending on the episode, the ED’s and visuals change for both emotional purposes and to fit the state of the show. As for new tracks, we have the OP Egao no Kimi e, roughly translated into ‘To the Smiling You’. The OP is actually sung by our main character Wasshi herself, just like the movie OP and the first and third ED. I personally love it when characters sing their theme songs, and Wasshi is a damn good singer. The song itself is also one I really love, and prefer it over Sakiwafuhana, the OP for the movies. While some people might prefer the slower and more grander song of Sakiwafuhana, I find Egao no Kimi e to be much more suited to my taste, with upbeat positive vocals, a rising beat, and an overall happy atmosphere. I also love the OP because the lyrics actually makes puns of the main character’s names. Characters: 9 The characters of WaSuYu are awesomely done, at least in my opinion. The show only really focus on the main 3 girls, the only supporting character that gets any real screen time or really any real purpose is the teacher. Asides from that, we only focus on the 3 main characters, but this is what they lack in variety they make up for in development. The characters of WaSuYu are extremely likeable with very recognisable and charming personalities, yet none of them are perfect. Washio is very bad at socialising, but takes her work very seriously. Upon first meeting them, you realise Sonoko is very carefree and commonly sleeping, and Gin seems to be too relaxed and commonly late for class. But the characters are properly developed in the show, and we’re seen more about how they work as the show progresses. Unlike with YuYuYu, our three main yuushas are not close friends with each other at the beginning in the show, and instead were just 3 classmates that they loosely knew. In this prequel, we’re shown the yuushas having to familiarise with each other, grow together, improve their teamwork, and become stronger as a TEAM. All while learning more about each other and strengthening their bonds with one another, which is one of my favorite aspects of the show. Their development and growth together is easily witnessable, and due to the viewer being able to really see these characters get to know each other, train together, and deepen their friendship with one another feels very, very genuine. You really get the feeling that these three girls have a strong and dependable friendship, as opposed to YuYuYu where you’re mostly told they’re good friends instead of really being shown it. This all increases the impact when the tragedies strike, and it's painful to watch these three loveable friends and their strong friendship go through the stuff that hits them in the show. Enjoyment: 10 You could probably expect this, but I absolutely love this show. From beginning to end it was a joy for me to watch, and I loved all the emotions it brought me. It definitely hit me harder than YuYuYu ever did, all because of the characters WaSuYu gave us. They were more likeable due to the extra bit of focus on their characteristics we got in the SOL segments, and thus it was easy to get attached. They were loveable characters that had a friendship that stemmed from barely anything, that blossomed into a genuine feeling, strong, and supportable bond that would last ages. This show brought me on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster on the final few eps, and while it’s not as intense as a show like Clannad or AnoHana, it also did more than the average show as well. Plus watching the characters interact and familiarise themselves with one another was just a lot of fun, especially with Sonoko’s quirky personality, Gin's strength and kindness, and Wasshi's sense of responsibility. Even despite the initial differing traits between them, these 3 close friends go together like yin and yang. Overall: 9 Overall, this show is a great one, and an absolute blast to watch. Animation isn’t the most revolutionary for certain scenes, and the story can feel fast or rushed for some, but overall, I think that this show easily makes up for it’s flaws with what it offers. It not only acts as a solid prequel to YuYuYu explaining a few things about the yuusha system and the world, but also shows the audience a story about a beautiful friendship of three loveable characters. The way these characters begin and grow their friendship feels extremely genuine, and the feelings that they have in the show are captured very well as you care more for these characters. You laugh when they laugh, you cry when they cry, you have a fun ride and also get emotional at the inevitable fate the cruel world had given them, but still in a way, it’s a happy ending overall. If you should take one thing away from this review, it’s that WaSuYu is where I believe this franchise really shines. People always, always argue that YuYuYu is a Madoka Magica clone, and honestly I can absolutely see where they’re coming from. But when it comes to WaSuYu, this is where my stance changes. This part is where the franchise deviates from Madoka Magica, and asides from being a magical girl show, shares little similarities. WaSuYu shines as it’s own piece, and in my opinion, is a lot more enjoyable to watch. This show alone made me go from liking YuYuYu to loving it, it changed my view of the franchise, and if you’re going to ask if it’s worth watching YuYuYu for WaSuYu alone, personally I’d say yes. This show is definitely worth watching the entirety of YuYuYu alone for this story of three friends, and will always be one of my favorite anime to date. Overall it gains a high recommendation from me, and a good watch for any magical girl fan. PS. The official Amazon Strike subs are absolutely god awful, do not support them. Instead I direct you support MajiYuusha and their fansubs.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 28, 2017
Clione no Akari
(Anime)
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This is one of the shows i’ve barely heard anything about during the season it aired, nobody I knew was talking about it, nor was anyone caring about doing so anyway, which alone says a lot about it’s obscurity. I personally was instantly drawn into the show simply from the synopsis, and as someone who had gone through a bit of bullying in primary school, these types of shows instantly catch my attention, and it takes my interest most of the time.
Bullying has always been an issue with schools, and it isn’t a matter of childish spats either. It can decrease reputation, which in ... turn gives people bad names and more peer pressure. This can essentially turn your life sour and effect you in the long run, and not just for the bullied, but or the bullies themselves too. Bullying someone can end up in potentially massive regret if something goes south to the person you bullied. Another fantastic example of this is shown in A Silent Voice, which tackles similar themes of bullying. Now that I think of it, probably my love for the film is what enamoured me in the concept, and possibly what helped draw me into this show in the first place. Story: 6 The story is centered around a girl named Minori, a girl who was orphaned at a young age and also stricken with illness. Due to her weak fortitude and health, she was an easy target for teasing and blame. Eventually, her whole class got onto the habit of bullying her, blaming her for things she hadn’t done, and made her life miserable. Despite this Minori has always been silent, not often trying to defend herself, which in turn just made her a larger target. Although in that same class, two children, Takashi and Kyoko, had always felt guilty about Minori. They never bullied her directly, and wanted to stop the bullying, but they never had the courage to go against their own friends, let alone the rest of the class. Due to this, they always stood by and watched as Minori got constantly oppressed by the people around her. Eventually the two ran into Minori in the streets, and seizing the opportunity, they befriended her. They eventually give Minori their phone numbers even though Minori didn’t have one, in hopes they could send emails and text for when she did get one herself. The plot otherwise is very expected, Takashi and Kyoko do their best to deepen their friendship with Minori by going to multiple places and enjoying their time together. However, this show only has a less than 10 minute episode runtime, so not a lot of progression of the plot or development can take place. But with the time it has, it relays the basic concepts and story messages fine. However due to this, it also has a few plotholes and some story aspects have to be left up to interpretation and imagination. I’m personally a fan of this, as it adds a layer of fantasy to the story, however some might not be used to this. Art: 8 The art of this show is a part of the show that I really like, it’s simple in areas, but at the same time, it looks really nice. The style of the art is very round and soft, but the art can also be quite pretty looking for certain scenes. Specifically in the opening, the use of lighting and animation is something I absolutely praise the art for. The scenes like the traffic light scene and the scene where Kyoko is sitting with her book are full of really good lighting and minute details. Overall the art really shines in areas of the show, and clearly the budget was focusing on those scenes more. While the art does shine quite a lot in these areas, there are also other bits where the art kinda looks off, especially with the facial expressions. Animation is also minimal and basic, lots of quick reused animations and weird movements. Overall while the show does look good, it also shows that it’s been cut short in some areas. Sound: 7 This is a little on the side that’s going to be a bit interesting to judge. On one hand, I think the theme song and the tracks that do exist sound really nice, the ED compliments the moments that the episodes ends on very well, as it’s slow yet peaceful tone allows you to truly feel the moment and emotion in these scenes. The OP is also very upbeat and cheerful, yet it also sounds smooth and nice to listen to, the vocals fit the song and the overall setting of the show. However there isn’t a lot of tracks or even sound otherwise, folley is simple yet it seems that sound effects were not really considered very much, nor are there a lot of songs to set the atmosphere other than a few piano tracks to set the mood for certain scenes. The voice action is very mediocre, the characters all sound very soft and lacking of any intense emotions, but this does fit well when these characters have an internal monologue, however when trying to display another emotion like sadness, I don’t feel like the voice actors are quite there yet. Characters: 7 I have to admit, the characters feel a bit on the basic side, which is to be expected for a whole show that is less than an hour and a half in total. They are made to play through the general story and their roles as well as add a few character quirks in the mix, and that’s really it. Lets start with the. girl this story is centered around, Minori. Minori is very quiet, she’s a child at heart and acts very innocently. You don’t really see a lot of her anguish when she gets bullied because we aren’t often shown her get bullied in the first place, but she is a character that gives off the impression that she isn’t deserving of the harassment she gets, and is a girl that could use some protecting. Takashi and Kyoko have similar personality aspects yet they are also distinguishable from one another. Takashi is the most mature out of the main trio, making the most responsible decisions and acting as the guardian of the three. He is also very knowledgable in marine animals, a respectable trait from a fan of the same creatures. Kyoko is more straightforward and speaks her mind very often, sometimes causing a few small quarrels with Takashi. However both characters have similar goals and thought processes, and they both care or Minori as a close friend. Despite all this however, it all feels very empty, and maybe a little bit forced. The side characters don’t bring a lot to the table either, for obvious reasons, they are depicted as entitled pricks who pick on Minori for no good reason, however later in the show they are also shown to have a few traits to themselves and are depicted more as “typical kids”. They’re believable in that aspect yet they don’t get a lot of depth to them asides from the ending, which is where everyone in the cast asides from the main cast shows some growth, which kinda redeems them all as well. Enjoyment: 9 Yes this show has flaws, but overall I had a very enjoyable ride with the show. I anticipated every episode more than most shows of the season. Due to it’s short nature, it wasn’t a hassle to watch, yet the plot itself feels engaging and I wanted to complete it so I could grasp at the full story. Although as i’ve said, it doesn’t explain everything and leaves a lot to interpretation, so it’s up to the viewer’s imagination to understand it completely. I loved every episode and for how simple the show was, I found that it was a story that I liked to watch and enjoyed following. The main cast was very likeable to me despite their simple build, and they all had nice charms to get me attached to them enough to care for them. I found that the art looked really nice in areas, so I even liked looking at the show too, so i’d say I really liked this show, flaws and all. Overall: 8 All in all, I honestly think that this show is quite underrated, and deserves more recognition than it gets. I might be a little biased, but I think this show is very nice for what it is. For a show made out of episodes under 10 minutes, I found the plot to be very entertaining and engaging, and the show itself doesn’t drag long either. Clione No Akari’s short story can be completed in no time, and due to the mystery elements, you still get a feeling that you want to at least complete the show before judging it in it’s entirety. The art as i’ve said really shines in areas, it does cut back in certain scenes but it also can look fantastic in others. The opening itself is very cheerful and positive, and even has some foreshadowing for the events later in the show. The ED itself fits into the show’s environment and manages to blend in well, overall, i’d say this is a solid show for what it is. It’s not the most amazing thing out there, but for shorts, it’s a decent watch, and I do recommend it for those interested.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 20, 2017
Frame Arms Girl
(Anime)
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Frame Arms Girl began as a standard snap fit model kit line made by Kotobukiya, featuring Armored Girl versions of their Frame Arms line. Now, despite being a little small for a figure line, Frame Arms Girl is one of the most popular model kit lines Kotobukiya has ever made, gaining a huge fanbase and a lot of buyers. So naturally due to it's success, they take pride and confidence in their creation.
Now, of course, it's lowkey obvious that this line really appeals to otakus, with them being model kit girls and all, not to mention all the showing skin and fanservicey bits. Yet anything ... can become more popular with the right exposure, and what's a good way to increase the huge popularity to otakus? By making a TV show out of it of course. Story: 6 The story of FA Girl is both simple and non existent. We're introduced to our female protagonist Ao Gennai, who is pretty much your standard high school girl living alone in her apartment alone. One day, a strange little box arrives on her doorstep, and opening it, she finds a little figure of a girl sitting in there with runners. Accidentally activating the figure, we are introduced to Gourai, a brand new model of Frame Arms Girl. Soon, more different types of FA Girls start arriving and Ao's house, the reason being that Ao's Gourai is the only one running, and the company who makes FA Girls want to collect data on Gourai from her. To do this, they send other FA Girls to Ao's house so that they can battle Gourai to collect combat data, in turn, Ao gets paid for her "efforts" for that. Simple concept right? Well the anime actually doesn't always focus on this aspect. Each episode is divided into two sessions, with a story taking place in each. Only about a third of these sessions contain battles, and they aren't really exciting or time consuming either. Outcome is painfully predictable for almost every battle (hint: Gourai is the main character), and the rest of it is slice of life/random mayhem with FA Girls. It's not a very cohesive plot by any stretch, as it's mostly just that slice of life show where the characters have dumb fun with each other, and that's pretty much it. However one might be able to find some charm in these dumb misadventures that these characters take part in. There is also some bits of interesting areas for those that are fans of either model kits or FA Girls. Other than the blatant advertising of Kotobukiya and their products, the show has bits where they teach you the basics of building model kits, as well as how they are made, which can definitely add a unique sort of appeal to the model kit builders like me out there. Art: 7 The art is a little bit on the interesting side. One of the first things people will notice is the use of CGI animation for all the FA Girls. Now while I don't mind CGI animation if it isn't horrible (which it really isn't here in my opinion), I am aware that some people might not be fans of the CGI animation is used in the show. Now personally, I think it blends in quite decently into the 2D animation, and one positive I think the CGI has is that it gives the FA Girls make them look more like the plastic mechanical beings they are, instead of something that looks "human". Another unique trait with some of the CGI is that the 3D rendered battle environments actually look like a real 3D rendering, for better or for worse. Some areas of really good use of the CGI animation would be the "armor up" sequences of the FA Girls, which are both fun to watch, and have a lot of movement too. Now, while the CGI is used quite a bit, and actual animation is quite average in most areas, when the show tries to animate well, the animation can actually be quite impressive. Take for instance the second version of the OP, where they replaced the CGI animation with more standard 2D animation, and in all honesty, the result is almost astounding. Lots of minute details like shading is done surprisingly well, movement is also both really fluid and plentiful in a few areas. For a good example of what I mean, pay attention to the hair of FA girls in that OP, the animation is both clean and plentiful, everything moves and it's almost sakuga. So while overall animation is just passable or standard with CGI, when the studio does try to animate well, they can really make some magic. A bit of a shame that it wasn't the mainstay throughout the show, but despite this missed potential, i'm happy with what we got. Sound: 6 The sound does the job, but nothing really stands out to an extreme. Most sound effects and folley are well done, with bits reused here and there, but nothing really sounds bad. While some things like Gourai's tank treads sounds more like a toy car than a plastic tank rolling around, other sound effects like Stylet and Baselard's flying, and the effects in the armor up sequences do their job well. The OP and ED are both nice, both sounding happy and upbeat, matching the tone of the show. There isn't really a lot of "dramatic moments" in this series, it's mostly quite relaxed, and the OST matches these fun little moments with little tunes and jingles. However for the moments that do have some form of impact, they do have OST that fit the bill, and overall the sound is good for the show. Characters: 7 Now, the thing about most of the characters in this show is that asides from Ao and Gourai, each character follow a single one dimensional trope or personality type, and they embody it completely. We have some of the very common ones like Stylet the tsundere and Architect the robotic kuudere, but at the same time there are some of the more bizarre tropes in the mix, an example being Jinrai as the girl completely absorbed by feudal japan culture and style. Ao and the FA Girls pretty much make the entire cast alone, with only the minor exception of Bukiko as the recurring sidekick best friend. Otherwise there are barely any other characters or even people's faces seen. We don't even get to see the face of the Building Manager, who is not only best character, but is also a god with an infinite supply of love and happiness. Bless you building manager, bless you. Something interesting we do see in terms of characters is that we can see growth in Gourai as she learns more about human emotions. As her own love for her friends and Ao grow, she also grows as a character to shape her own personality and become a person of her own, and that was really nice to see from this show. It was honestly one of my favorite aspects in terms of the characters, and a breath of fresh air with the rest of the one dimensioned quirky cast of a slice of life anime, aside from our lord and saviour the Building Manager of course. Enjoyment: 7 While I didn't necessarily enjoy the show as much as I would've liked myself, I cannot bring myself to say that it wasn't an entertaining ride. It certainly was a bit of a nice little way to pass the time, and for fans of frame arms girls, you'll probably enjoy it. It's a dumb fun little slice of life show with geeky model kit humour and facts thrown into the mix. It'll certainly appeal to both those who enjoy slice of life shows and maybe to those who are fans of Frame Arms Girls. I'm personally not usually a fan of slice of life, and that played a role in my overall enjoyment. But despite this, seeing the characters interact with each other was amusing to watch despite my usual disinterest in the genre, so this might appeal to fans of the genre even more. Alas, this is my review and I have to review it how I see fit, and personally i'm not a huge fan of the whole slice of life thing. In the end, what kept me most interested were the Frame Arms Girls themselves who I personally really find charming. Overall: 7 Frame Arms Girl is overall is just a really average show in almost all aspects. It does not aim to exceed any expectations, and in the end it's just one huge advertisement for the Frame Arms Girls line, and in the end that's all it is. But does it stand up as a show on it's own overall? Honestly I think it does. Some will not like it, it's got no real sense of true plot, and it's really just slice of life misadventures and mayhem with the Frame Arms Girls, however personally I found this show to be uniquely entertaining in a way compared to other slice of life that i've seen. The characters, while mostly one dimensional and simple, are charming once you get used to them and hang around them more. They have unique charms and quirks to them, and it's entertaining to see them mess around with their misadventures and days together. The actual battles aren't very great, they are both too short and too uneventful to really extract true enjoyment out of it, but it's more about the dumb fun that these characters have, mixed with model kit know-how is what gives the show it's unique charm. This show will appeal to fans of FA Girls and to those of the slice of life genre. While it has it's issues like the CGI animation, mostly one dimensional cast, and lack of any truly exciting or even good battles, the show is still a nice watch and an entertaining way to pass the time, especially if you're a fan of model kits or FA Girls.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 30, 2016
Hametsu no Mars
(Anime)
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Not Recommended
Where do I even start, I honestly can’t think of a hook or abstract for my review because the plot of this OVA gives me so little to work with.
Okay, sometimes you’ll find an anime that’s very well known amongst certain fans, not because it’s good, but because it’s special or unique in it’s own right. While some unique shows just don’t do well when they are aired or released, and due to that, they are not very known by fans of the community. But in some cases, if happened given to the right audiences or if a show can be quirky enough in ... it’s own way, it could gain it’s own popularity and status. Mars of Destruction is an OVA that followed the latter path, and the way it’s quirky compared to other anime, is how unbelievably bad it is. Story: 1 PEOPLE DIE IN A SPACESHIP! ALIENS COME AND KILL STUFF. MARS SUIT LOOKS LIKE A BOOTLEG KAMEN RIDER. FIGHTING. MORE FIGHTING- And that almost the entirety of the plot in the OVA without the “plot twist” at the end. Seriously, this OVA has little to no real plot out there. Throughout the show they give us some hints of ideas on what could possibly be going on, but they never explain any of it. At the beginning of the show, some ship “exploded” during re-entry, and because of that, aliens called ancients start showing up on earth. Why the ancients start appearing after the explosion however is never explained, so it’s just left as a complete mystery as to why they started showing up now. Of course, if aliens invade, then we must have a special task force to combat them, and that is the purpose of the AAST. They have weapons that can apparently hurt these ancients, but we rarely see these weapons be used effectively in any real way. They’re honestly completely useless most of the time and everyone ends up relying on our protagonist Takeru Hinata to kill these ancients with his MARS suit. We are never explained what the MARS suit is or how it’s made, only that his father had something to do with making it and that he makes his son use it to combat the angels…no wait I mean ancients. It’s also shown his father only sees his son as a tool to use the Eva-I mean MARS suit and that only he could use it, which stresses the undeveloped and unexplored relationship of father and son. Sound familiar? It’s because the OVA tried and failed to replicate Evangelion, and giving us no background story about this whatsoever. Art: 2 The animation of the OVA is likely one of the worst, if not the worst i’ve ever seen in anime. The art style is very standard, if anything the bad animation of some of the deaths should give you entertainment on how hilariously bad they are. Certain scenes looked extremely lazy, with very bad animation, horrible lip syncing, and in some parts, the creators used purely still frames, and use “camera” shaking or movement to replicate running or explosions instead of actually animating the damn thing. Hell, it even seemed like the “exploding” ship at the beginning just fell apart, after the half-assed “explosion” the ship even stays together before splitting into metal clumps that just turns into dust a second later, it was extremely anti-climatic and if anything, it made me laugh at how bad it was. A lot of the time, only certain areas of a thing was animated. For example, when someone was running, the camera zooms on the upper half of their body, and their entire body is static save for the thighs. It was just sad to watch. There were no real positive feats to talk about besides the fact that you can see what’s going on, and even that wasn’t done very well. The art was very boring and bland, designs of the characters are exceedingly similar, with their hairstyle, and colours being the only instant noticeable differences, everything else is just minor proportion tweaks. Sound: 2 The voice acting can simply be described in two words: quite lackluster. Similar to their art style, the only thing that’s keeping this from a 1 is the fact that I can hear what they’re saying. The voice acting is inconsistent at times, a little quiet too. When Takeru uses the MARS suit, it just sounds like someone just muffled his voice and made it quieter. The OVA feels a bit too quiet at most times, and throughout the whole show, everything sounds fuzzier or lower quality than it could’ve been. The soundtracks are all classical tracks borrowed from various artists which do not match the tone of the events whatsoever. A slow piano sonata that would typically be used in a static or montage scene is used both during talk scenes and in action scenes, if they were going to use music from other famous artists, couldn’t they have at least had the logic to choose tracks that matched the tone of what was happening? The music feels makes the tone of scenes feel like a mess but it’s definitely not because the tracks are bad. Characters: 1 Zero. Development. Here. There is almost nothing to talk about when it comes to characters. The personalities of the entire cast are flatter than Maka’s chest, and are all extremely one dimensional. They try to make Takeru seem like he’s someone to be pitied as he is forced by his father to wear the MARS suit and fight the ancients, it’s like they tried to copy Evangelion in this scene in a sad attempt to make this seem more complex or well written, maybe the illusion could’ve worked if they actually expanded on the character’s backstories more than this. If there is one thing I pity from this show, it’s the seiyuus that had to voice these sorry characters. Enjoyment: 7 If anything, the only way this thing is truly enjoyable or entertaining in any fashion is because it’s so bad. It’s bad to the point that you’re laughing your head off due to how horribly executed everything was. Although one might feel that it’s bad to the point that you can’t even laugh, to the point where you’re cringing and burrow your face in a nearby pillow and quietly scream, that is how I felt during certain moments of this OVA. If anything, it gave me some laughs over how absolutely bad everything was done, or bad memories of how horrible this OVA was. Overall: 2 Despite how bad it was, I would not give this show the lowest rating of 1 and I highly doubt I ever would for any anime, although the OVA does get pretty damn close. The story of this OVA is bizarre, and it doesn’t help that the writers do a terrible job trying to convey it. Everything is confusing as the events all feel lazily thrown in together as a sad attempt to make an actual plot, with certain things poorly thrown in to make the plot seem more interesting overall backfiring due to how unexplained and out of place everything seems to be. The characters are boring, and while they all have names I can’t even remember all of them because they are all so forgettable with zero personality to make them stand out from generic humans. Voice acting was not well done at all, everything sounded slightly distorted and unclear, as if they were using primitive recording material, 2005 is not that long ago, even shows made before it had better voice acting and clearer voices. The sound effects used during certain moments the OVA were mediocre at best, with them sounding even a bit strange at times. In the end, the entire anime is just a huge mess! If anything, this OVA should be watched as a joke, or to experience how bad some anime can really get. If anything, you’ll get a laugh out of how terrible it is, worst case you won’t even find how bad it is funny and you’ll be wanting to claw out your eyeballs while watching, I personally experienced both of these feelings at certain moments in this OVA. Sometimes, people will say that shows like Tokyo Ghoul √A, Gundam AGE, and Sword Art Online are the worst an anime could ever get. If that’s the case, they obviously haven’t watched Mars Of Destruction and don’t know how bad anime truly can be.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Dec 26, 2016 Recommended
Death is something that we all have to deal with eventually. It’s inevitable, as the universe willed every living being to eventually die. The impact of a death can greatly vary, depending on your relationship with the living being that had passed. You probably won’t care if an insect died when you squashed them, but you probably would care a lot more if someone you loved dearly had passed away in an accident.
So what would happen if someone you cared for very much had suddenly passed away? What if it were due to a flurry of circumstances and events that you and your friends ... had inadvertently created together? Would you blame those friends? Would you blame yourself? How would you cope? How would they cope? How would the people that were close to that person react and how would they deal with the loss of that person? What type of regrets would you and others have? Finally, what would happen if you saw that person again? Story: 8 At the beginning of the show, we are introduced to the main protagonist of the show Jintan (Jinta Yadomi) playing games and eating food in a hot summer, with a girl in pure white trying to talk to him and gain his attention as he games. After he actually notices her, he tries hard to completely ignore this girl’s existence as she continues to try to get Jintan’s attention. We are eventually shown that this girl is called Menma (Meiko Honma), and that Jintan seems to be the only one who is aware of her presence. We then have a flashback of a summer 10 years ago, Jintan and Menma was a group of 6 close friends who called themselves the Super Peace Busters, with Jintan as their leader. At the young age of 5 years old, Jintan, Menma, Anaru (Naruko Anjou), Yukiatsu (Atsumu Matsuyuki), Poppo (Tetsudo Hisakawa), and Tsuruko (Chiriko Tsurumi), enjoyed the bliss that was childhood together. They created their own secret base in the woods, gave each other their memorable nicknames, played games with each other and did fun activities together. Until one day, Menma had an accident in the woods and unfortunately dies. This event hits the group of friends very hard, and eventually the close group of friends that was the Super Peace Busters drifted away from each other. Back in the current time, it’s clear that Menma has somehow returned, but Jintan is the only one who is able to see and interact with her. Other people, including the other members of the Super Peace Busters cannot see Menma, leading others to think Jintan has a screw loose. The story begins with Menma saying that she still has an unfulfilled wish of some sort, with the show revolves their adventure on finding out and fulfilling that unknown wish of Menma’s. At the same time, the show explores and expands on the characters, and shows their relationships with each other and how they are related to Menma, with their relationships with her also affecting how they took her sudden death and their reactions after it. Art: 9 A-1 Pictures did quite a good job when animating and drawing AnoHana. The show’s art style is very atmospheric with it’s visuals, with the backgrounds looking quite pretty with shading and lighting. The show tends to have dark shading or lighting to set the atmosphere quite a bit of the time. I think this is done to make certain things stand out, like Menma in her pure white attire, the secret base with it’s bright orange light at night, and the flashback scenes of their childhoods which look a lot brighter compared to the rest of the show. I believe that this was done to symbolise these certain things, as after Menma’s death and when the characters grew up, the world began to look darker and more bleak, with these areas or objects linked to the theme of their childhood being a lot brighter in tone and standing out, to symbolise the beauty and figurative brightness of their childhood. Animation was good overall, while most of it is nothing overly spectacular or special, the animation for the main cast was quite well done, especially with Menma. When it came to Menma, her movements and facial expressions really helped make her seem more special, with notable areas being her face and hair. Sound: 8 The soundtrack of this series is very beautiful and peaceful to listen to. For one, a lot of it’s OST is done with piano in it and that’s a very common instrument for a show that is made to give you feels. While AnoHana’s music can be sad when the show calls for it AnoHana does this thing where the piano combined with how the music is done makes it where the OST not have too much sorrow in the music, but still makes itself emotional by mixing in happiness and bittersweet sadness in it’s tunes to make wonderful melodies that are peaceful to listen to. Although, my favourite song has to be the ending theme called “Secret Base ~What You Gave Me~ 10 Years After Ver.”, and it’s one of my favourite endings to date. It’s was preformed by Kayano Ai, Tomatsu Haruka and Hayami Saori, who are the seiyuu of Menma, Anaru and Chiriko respectively. The song is just...beautiful, the three girl's voices sound in character yet different at the same time, and it helps with the innocence and true emotion of the music. The song's lyrics are very touching and the ending just hits at the perfect moment when an episode ends with an emotional or touching note. It makes these moments feel just as cheerful, emotional, or hopeful depending on when it's used, and it does it so well that I just love the song. Another great song in my opinion is the opening, called "Blue Bookmark" preformed by Galileo Galilei. His voice is relaxed and calming and it goes well with the relaxing atmospheres of the show. The lyrics do relate to the show's characters' thoughts, and I think it's just a nice way to start a new episode. Character: 9 The characters play a very important role throughout the entire show, as most of the plot is entered around them and their interactions with each other. Jintan is our main protagonist of the series, and while that’s the case, he’s not always the centre spotlight throughout the show. Menma has the most attention in the show as the series essentially revolves around her, but is not always the most prominent character. Her personality is essentially that of her 5 year old self, as she didn’t really grow up due to dying, she’s very childish, cheerful, and loves being with her friends, but at the same time, she has an emotional side which can make you feel things. While we don’t see her seeing as much action as I would like, she’s still a very important and overall prominent character throughout the show. The characters seem to follow the typical character tropes at first, with Jintan being the antisocial hikikomori, Anaru being the popular trendy girl, Yukiatsu being the cold asshole, Poppo being the loveable big guy and Tsuruko being the smart girl. However, as the series progresses, we learn that most the characters are not as one-sided or as clichéd as they seemed. Note that I say most of the characters, unfortunately certain characters don’t get as much development or impact on the story as the others, but they still do have pivotal roles in said plot. Most characters are connected to Menma in a big way, although the show relies heavily on love triangles to connect the characters instead of showing us a lot of real development between them in the past. That's one of the only real problems of the show, but I personally don't mind it that much. In the end, the relationship of each of the characters were connected to each other by Menma in some way, and due to her death, the relationships between these characters really fell apart, and it made their pain a lot more convincing. Enjoyment: 9 I really loved watching this anime. In the short time of 11 episodes, the anime delivered on some very interesting characters, and their interactions with each other was definitely a worthwhile watch to say the least. I never got bored while watching as each episode ends on some sort of mini-cliffhanger for tension, and since the show was only 11 episodes, it wasn’t hard to go through it all. I liked seeing the characters try to deal with their emotions and feelings to one another, and the tensions brought up due to certain circumstances. Each character was interesting, and really enjoyable to watch, especially the protagonists Jintan and Menma. With Jintan being the type character that I want to comfort and talk to, and Menma being the type of character who is extremely loveable and the type I would like to have tones fun and smile with. Overall: 9 This anime isn't entirely an emotional ride like Clannad: After Story or 5 Centimeters Per Second, but as an anime that will give you feels, it definitely stands up there as with them. Although it's not done by the typical feels of sadness, but instead with joy, bliss, and touching moments. It doesn't just follow the sorrow throughout the middle of the show and large relief afterwards, but also by mixing joy and relaxation into the mix. While AnoHana didn’t leave me with the feeling of “emptiness” that I would feel from an anime that i've spent hours enjoying and watching, I had to put it as one of my favourite anime as of now, because I absolutely enjoyed this show and loved watching how the events folded out and ended perfectly. The show is not perfect, certain characters could’ve gotten more development and backstory than they did, and there could’ve been a less reliance of love triangles to create relationships between the characters. However despite any flaws it may have, I cannot help but say I loved this show, and that I enjoyed watching every second of it, from the beginning to it’s beautiful ending, I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys any form of emotional anime. AnoHana was a a beautiful show, and i’d definitely recommend it if you’re interested. PS. This is my first review, so please feel free to give me constructive criticism. Did I give too many minor spoilers? Did I do anything not to your taste? Tell me on my profile or PM me. :)
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 4, 2016
Suntory Minami Alps no Tennensui
(Anime)
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Best anime i've ever seen with my own two eyes. Recommended to absolutely anyone, great soundtrack, breathtaking visuals, amazing animation, what's not to like about this anime?...
...Is what I would say if I was drunk and had low standards to begin with. Suntory Minami Alps no Tennen Mizu is just a 60 second special that is literally just 3 episodes, each which is an advert for water and at the same time, used to promote the famous movie Your Name. Why is this on MyAnimeList? I have no idea. Do I think it belongs here? No. XD Despite that however, what I said just now was ... no lie. Just like the actual movie, the visuals and animation are absolutely superb. Your Name is a piece of eye candy, and I found it very enjoyable just to see, even if it was just to waste a minute of my life. The music used are two songs, both which are used in Your Name, and both which are by Radwimps, those being "Zen Zen Zense" and "Sparkle". I love these songs, so naturally I enjoyed hearing them again. I cannot do a "regular review" for this anime because...it's not a "regular anime" in itself. Although I will try to be as honest as I can with the ratings and go through the typical things that I would go through if this were a real anime. Story: 1 Uhm...buy Suntory Minami Alps Water? Not much of any story here. Admittedly, it does give minor hints and references to what happens in the show through minor dialogue, but no major spoilers or story here. Art: 10 Makoto Shinkai strikes again with his beautiful animation and visuals. Even for an advert, it's amazingly well done, especially love the animation for the water. Sound: 7 I love "Sparkle" and "Zen Zen Zense", two of the most memorable tracks were taken from the movie, and they sound so good. Shame though that they only last a few seconds, just like the ads themselves. Character: 2 We don't even know their names by the end of this, but i'm pretty sure you know them already. Enjoyment: 6 It was fine for an advert, I really liked Your Name so I don't mind seeing a bit more. Overall: 6 It does it's job for an advert very well and that's literally it, although credit where credit is due, nice music and amazing animation by Makoto Shinkai once again. If you've got a minute to waste, sure I guess. But it's far from anything you actually need to watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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