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THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

Konosuba has had a very solid run so far: The first season introduced a loveable cast of characters witch great chemistry, the second one expanded on that and the movie was probably the funniest anime movie i have ever seen. After some time, we finally got a third season, but can the series still keep it´s momentum after all these years?

Story – 8/10

The story has actually improved a lot structure-wise. While seasons one and two mostly felt like an amalgamation of little mini-arcs, this season clearly splits between two arcs, probably the two light novels it is adapting. This felt like ... a natural follow-up to the pattern we have seen before: After establishing all of our main characters earlier, the author now uses the longer arcs to lay focus on single characters, giving them huge chunks of character development. I really liked the first arc, set in the royal capital, a lot. Konosuba is still considered to be one of the most consistently funny shows in the seasonal anime cycle, and for good reason. The timing of the jokes is perfect, the new characters are a ton of fun and you can absolutely feel that the voice actors really gave it their all. Kazumas magical attacks are so unbelievably stupid, everything about his fighting style is just a joy to watch. The second arc of this season surprised me because it went with a slower, more emotional storyline that actually worked really well, because you can definitely take it seriously, even though the series never lets go of it´s inherently comedic nature. This still feels really fresh, especially for a third season!

Art – 8/10

I actually think the art has probably improved a bit since the beginning. A lot of these Isekai shows kind of always looks the same, and Konosuba is, for the most part, no exception. What sets this show apart from other members of it´s genre are the wide ranges of expressions our characters show. The visuals do soooo much for comedic timing, and make the jokes even funnier than before. I also think that the fights look pretty cool. While not being very dynamic, i think the effects animation is done really well, so is the CGI.

Sound – 7/10

This mostly consists of your typical Isekai OST. The OP is fantastic and catchy. When I saw it the first time, I was instantly pulled back into this shows unique and comedic atmosphere. The ED sounded weirdly nostalgic and was extremely funny. The sound design deserves extra praise here. Whoever had the idea to edit Kazumas voice during his magic chants deserves a huuuuge raise. I never laughed out that loud to a show in a long time.

Characters – 8/10

Kazuma still stands as one of the funniest protagonists ever. The whole crew has an amazing amount of chemistry and their banter is just a blast to hear every single time. Kazuma is still the standout in this season, however, the one who surprised me the most was actually Darkness. She gets a whole arc to herself, giving her some much needed development. The villains, although pretty generic, were a lot of fun as well. There is still room for improvement though: After Megumi got a lot of focus in the movie, Aqua is now the least developed character and it really shows. For the next season, I hope we get an Aqua arc to kinda even things out a bit.

Enjoyment - 8/10

This is one of the most consistently enjoyable shows. I will definitely watch all of the following seasons, and i really hope that this show continues longer, maybe even adapting the rest of the light novels which are already finished by this point. If you just want a good laugh and funny characters, this is the series for you!

- Marco_Yooo

FINAL SCORE - 8/10

THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

Demon Slayer has been on a wild ride of insane mainstream popularity since season 1 aired back in 2019. Both in Japan as well as in the West, the show is just unavoidable. Will this be another year of Ufotable destroying the competition with their insane animation quality?

Story – 6/10

After the overall solid swordsmith village arc, the show now enters it´s final stretch. This season is different from the others, in that it is not a full fledged story arc with a new setting, but more like a “calm before the storm” segment in the story. It shows Tanjiro training with ... all the different Hashira to further strengthen his body and mind for his fight against Muzan. I like training arcs, and Demon Slayer is really good at showing Tanjiros improvement arc for arc. This season is also very character-driven. We spent a lot of time with the different Hashira that we have not seen a lot of in the previous seasons, as each arc only tended to focus on one or two Hashira at a time.
However comparing this season to the others is a bit unfair. Some episodes felt like little filler, and the whole season moves at a snails pace. This could have easily been cut into a one hour episode with some cool montages, but making this a full fledged season means we have to wait another year for the story to move on.
Saying all of that, i have to give praise to the final episode of this season. My god, they really hit it out of the park with that one. Probably one of the best episodes in the entire series. This alone makes you eager to see where the story is going next.

Art – 9/10

Ufotable is back, and of course they absolutely nailed everything to the core. Every Hashira uses a different type of breathing technique and every single one of them has a distinct and unique look to it. The colours are breathtakingly vibrant and the movement of every attack is fluid and powerful. The character designs are still extremely unique and memorable. The last episode perfectly depicts all of the strengths of Ufotable as a studio: Complex camera angles, insane 3D-CGI and fantastic effects animation. If the next season looks like that the whole time, we are probably in for another 10/10 here.

Sound – 9/10

The OST of Demon Slayer has slowly but surely become one of my favourite Soundtracks in anime. Great orchestral music that perfectly underlines the epic fight of good vs evil. The characters all have recognizable themes. The sound design is great, the use of classic japanese instruments like the Koto is implemented seamlessly into the show. The OP/ED combo is the only little let-down. Demon Slayer usually always has fantastic OPs but this one does not reach the hype of the last few ones.

Characters – 8/10

This season is much more slow-paced and character driven as the others, which was a much needed change. Before the big finale, the show takes some time and fleshes out all of our side characters properly. The big standouts here are definitely Giyu and Gyomei. Giyu has a very interesting character dynamic with the other Hashira and there is a lot of potential for growth in him going into the final season. The other standout, Gyomei, has a truly heartbreaking backstory, which was told in a very concise way, whereas other backstorys, like for example Tokitos, felt a little dragged out.
Tanjiro is great as always (he somehow gets increasingly more buff every single season, I love that). I still am not a big fan of Zenitsu i don´t get why he is so popular, but this season feels like he finally gets his shit together. Inosuke is the Goat.
In the final episode, we get one of the most interesting character interactions so far. I won´t go into who meets who, because that would be a huge spoiler but it was really well written segment, so look forward to it!

Enjoyment – 7/10

This was a mildly entertaining show with an insanely well executed finale. The best thing this season does is build hype for the big final showdown that we will probably get in 2025. I still love this show for what it is. A simple story of a fight of good vs evil executed with perfection. The next season has the potential to be the best so far.

- Marco_Yooo

FINAL SCORE - 7/10

THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

On my quest to watch every Kyoto Animation work, i stumbled over “Full Metal Panic” a show that has been on my radar for a very long time now. This first season however is animated by Studio Gonzo, a studio that peaked in the early 2000s. Going into this show, i wanted classic military mecha action, and that is exactly what I got.

Story – 7/10

The story is a wonderful mix off comedy and action. There are a number of very intense and serious military story arcs which are intermitted by light-hearted comedy episodes. The mix works really well in my opinion. ... i have seen some criticism online from people who say that the story does not know what it is, but i wholeheartedly disagree. The comedy episodes help to know the characters better over time, so during the serious war arcs, we actually care about them. Comedy is subjective, but I found this show to be extremely funny, just because of the way that the comedy is built around our main character. We get school-fests, beach episodes, onsen episodes, all the fun stuff.
The serious arcs however can get pretty damn intense. The show can get extremely dark at times, characters die left and right. These arcs revolve a lot about death, trauma and loss. The one arc that stands out the most is definitely the Helmajistan arc, which introduces a lot of new characters and abruptly seperates our protagonists from all of his friends.

Art – 7/10

The quality of the art is pretty much up to the standards of anime in the early 2000s. Like other shows in that era, it slowly began to incorporate 3D-CGI into some of the scenes, but everything is still very experimental. 2D-Mechs are always a treat to watch, and I also really like the character-designs. The characters have a huge range of expressions, especially our female lead, Kaname Chidori.
However, I think the animation does not hold up pretty well in the action itself. There are a lot of still shots, and the show lacks that one real wow-moment that other mecha shows of that time (Most notably “Diebuster”) definitely had. All in all, nothing looks horrible, but the show definitely shows it´s age.

Sound – 8/10

The soundtrack also seems a little bit more like a 90s Mecha-show OST, but I always thought that sound is not as prone to ageing as animation is. The early 2000s just had a very distinct style of soundtracks and I can´t really put my finger on it. If you are the type of person that vibes with it, this soundtrack will be a blast to listen to. The OP is fantastic, great j-pop song with a certain nostalgic feel to it. The ending is also solid.

Characters – 9/10

The character pool in this show runs quite deep. Of course, our main character is Sosuke Sagara. In my opinion, one of the most interesting protagonists i have seen in a long time. His military persona is super fun in a comedy setting. But where he shines the most is definitely in the serious story arcs. His backstory is really interesting, and although you get to know him better and better overtime, he still has this air of mystery surrounding him. We also get a love triangle with two female leads. First off, Kaname Chidori. She is everything you want from a classic, 2000s Tsundere: Great looks, fun personality and a soft core. The other girl is my personal favourite, Teresa Testarossa has more of calm and serene energy to her personality. She gets to shine a lot during the final arc of the show, and her relationship with her crew is a blast to watch. I honestly think this love triangle is really fun to watch, although it is pretty obvious from the start that one of the girls is a few steps closer to Sosuke than the other one.
Another thing worth noting is our main antagonist, Gauron. He has an insane amount of screen presence during every serious arc. He is ruthless, smart and extremely hard to kill. A lot of anime, even some of the best, lack a truly frightening antagonist, but Full Metal Panic does a great job with his characterization.

Enjoyment – 8/10

This was a very consistently enjoyable, classic military-mecha show with fun comedy thrown into it. I will definitely watch the whole series. If you like the early 2000s anime vibe and are a fan of Mecha, definitely check this show out.

- Marco_Yooo

FINAL SCORE - 8/10

THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

„Haikyuu“ was one of the first big Anime franchises that i properly got into after shows like “My Hero Academia introduced me to the medium back in 2016. To this day, i still believe that Haikyuu is not only one of the greatest sports anime of all time, but also one of the best overall anime shows that I have ever seen. Every season was consistently upping the stakes and emotions. 3 Years have passed since the release of “Haikyuu – To the Top” and the community was eagerly awaiting the first of the two movies that are supposed to bring ... this franchise to an end. But does “Haikyuu – The dumpster battle” live up to the hype?

Story – 8/10

Right from the start, the movie introduces you to it´s main theme, which is the famous rivalry between the crows (Karasuno) and the cats (Nekoma). Both teams have been introduced way back in season one. We have seen some character interactions and even some training matches, but the two never faced off in a tournament bracket up until now. Karasuno, coming of a spectacular upset win against the tournaments second seed, Inarizaki, is now poised to finally reignite the old rivalry and beat the cats in Japans national tournament. The build-up over four seasons easily makes this one of the most anticipated duels of the series so far. The game itself was an example of classic Haikyuu-storytelling. Great character moments, suspense and highly interesting tactics makes this game a blast to watch. Everything that is great about Haikyuu is in this movie, so even if you´ve been out of the franchise for a long time, you can easily jump back into it with this film.
Still, this movie is not without it´s flaws. I thought the pacing seemed a little bit off. I honestly think this movie should have been a little bit longer to fully flesh out the tactics, as well as some of Kenmas backstory.
However, the biggest let-down of the movie was the ending. I won´t exactly tell what happens because of spoilers, but the ending itself felt very abrupt, and unsatisfying. Which is surprising because as far as I can remember, Haikyuu always ended it´s matches on some kind of special play or decision-making. This however felt a little bit of, which hurts the movie in the long run.

Art – 9/10

This is easily the best that Haikyuu has ever looked. Seeing these characters on the big screen is a great experience in of itself, but even the quality of the animation has stepped up a lot. The big movie budget definitely helped, so a lot of the very rough artstyle changes during the course of season 4 are completely gone now. The movie also makes use of some fantastic and creative uses of animation. The biggest wow-moment in this movie came right before the end of the match and was one of the best and climatic long-shots in sports anime history, which left the whole cinema speechless for a while. Great stuff here.

Sound – 7/10

The voice-acting in Haikyuu remains some of the best in the whole medium, no questions. But other than that, there is not much to talk about in this category. There is no opening, because this is a movie. Also, to set the atmosphere and tone of a volleyball tournament, the director decided to leave a lot of the scenes completely without music, which is a very interesting stylistic approach in this day and age, because a lot of recent sports anime rely on music a LOT (Especially new-gen shows like “Blue-Lock”). But I think it worked really well for the type of grounded story they wanted to tell here.

Characters – 8/10

They did something really interesting in this movie. During the whole course of the show, Karasuno was always our main team, and Hinata was always our main character. This movie flipped the tables completely. Kenma is the definitive main character of this movie, and we literally see the match through the eyes of him and his team, trying to manipulate, outplay and adapt to Karasuno, and most importantly, to Hinata. It was really interesting to see Nekomas unique approach to the game. Everyone has time to shine but the absolute highlight was the relationship between Kuroo and Kenma, which gets the most screen-time of all the little subplots here. The pool of characters in this show is amazing, and we even get little cameos from earlier seasons like Tendo from Shiratorizawa and of course, fan-favourite Bokuto.

Enjoyment – 9/10

This was a highly enjoyable movie with great characters, an interesting new main character dynamic and fantastic animation. If you like Haikyuu, this is a must see in cinemas. The second movie has already been announced, and if it comes close to this one, it is a definitive must-watch as well.

- Marco_Yooo

FINAL SCORE - 8/10

THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

Mashle was a pleasant surprise in a rather weak year of anime for me personally. The comedy was on point, the parody aspect was something fresh and the music was unique and exciting. But comedy anime can definitely fall of over time when certain jokes get overused. Is it the same with Mashle?

Story – 7/10

This season changed a lot of the story structure from season 1. While the first season was very episodic and mostly served to introduce the world, the school and the most important characters, culminating in the Magia Lupus arc. This season switched things up and changed the ... structure to a more fast-paced, serialized storyline. The scope and scale of the story gets bigger and bigger during this season and we get our first look at the highest possible power ceilings in the world of Mashle. Saying all this, this is still a very basic, shounen storyline that follows all the known shounen trademarks. This season, it is the famous tournament arc that gets tackled, and it was a lot of fun. The comedy aspect is still the shows biggest plus. Everything just works together so well. The character dynamics are being explored more and more, which is exacerbated by the introduction of a lot of side-characters and villains that have great comedy potential. The timing of the jokes and the whole concept of Mash, trying to solve every problem head on without the use of magic is just fantastic.
The manga of this show has ended after only 162 chapters so I hope we get a full adaption of this story, which would probably only need two or maybe three seasons to wrap everything up.

Art – 8/10

A-1 Pictures is always a pleasure and this season of Mashle is another step-up for the studio. I think they ether raised the budget or the insane fights this season just lended themselves to bring the most out of the animators, but I liked the animation here more than in season one. The character designs are fantastic as well, every new character that is introduced looks fantastic and unique. What I really enjoyed is the visualization of the different magical powers. Of course, the author clearly took some inspiration from stuff like “Naruto” or “Black Clover” but it just looks too cool for me to ignore. The show as a whole has yet to have the one, big “wow” moment in terms of animation, but it also never disappointed in any fight.

Sound – 9/10

My god, this season just hit it out of the park with the sound. First of, we have another huge contender for opening of the season. There is a reason why every corner of the internet seems to have been flooded with Mash´s iconic moves, and the song itself works so well and fits the weird genre mix of the show perfectly. The BGM is also fantastic, the use of rap in combination with EDM is just a blast. The sound-design is also a huge plus, especially in combiantion with the amazing comedic timing. The ED song comes with amazing visuals and a very cool theme, the song also goes hard. One of the most unique shounen soundtracks off all time in my opinion.

Characters – 8/10

Like with a lot of people that I saw online, i´m liking Mash as a main character more and more. He never breaks out of character, his absolute deadpan seriousness and absolutely hilarious lake of common sense is a great mix that I never knew I needed in my life. The side characters are also a nice step-up from season two. Of course Margrete Macaron is the huge standout this season and gets a lot of screen time. But the one who surprised me the most was actually Wahlberg. His complex relationship with the main antagonist, Innocent Zero was explored really well this season and gave everything that happens between them a strong emotional foundation. The other side character are enjoyable too, some standouts are Finn, Rayne and Orter Madl.

Enjoyment – 8/10

Like season one, this is a perfect show to watch when you just want a fun, entertaining ride. You can put this on any time of the day and have a pleasant experience. Seasons 3 was already announced, so more of this magical story is coming to us in the future. I think this season edges out the first season and improved in multiple categories. If you like shounen, this is a must-watch.

- Marco_Yooo

FINAL SCORE - 8/10

THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

After two years, i finally got around to watch the second Sword Art Online Progressive movie, „Scherzo of deep night“. The progressive series is a fantastic retelling of the aincrad arc and the first movie was a pleasant return to SAOs most popular setting. But does this movie hold up in the same way the first one does?

Story – 7/10

The story in this movie is a lot weaker than in the first one. The plot skips a few floors, which in itself is not really an issue, but the main plot-line is not really all that interesting, it is just a ... standard boss-fight quest. It is fairly predictable what happens in the end, but the saving grace here is the pacing. The movie never has any downtime there is always a fight or an important piece of dialogue happening to keep the viewers attention. I really like the final fight in this one. This is not your usual loud and hectic anime fight but instead a very strategic one, where finding the opponents weakness is the goal of our main characters, more so than just being stronger or better equipped. The ending really surprised, because it contained a highly intense fight-scene that absolutely came out of nowhere, definitely a hint at later seasons. I am really eager to see what the progressive series will grow into.

Art – 8/10

The animation is a direct continuation of everything the series did with the first movie. Aincrad in itself is just a fantastic setting for a show like this. The floor on which this movie takes place is another wonderful example for that. Great lighting, cool architecture and the show really gives you time to just soak up the scale of the world. The fight scenes are a standout. Great, fluid animation, fantastic effects and actually amazing usage of the ever so dreaded 3D-CGI enemies. This movie is a great benchmark for future fantasy and isekai shows. However, just like in the first film, this movie lacked that one scene that really evoke that “wow” effect in the viewer, unlike the first movie of the franchise, “Ordinal scale”. I think the source material just does not really lend itself to something like that, because the progressive series is inherently meant to be a more smaller scale, slower paced version of the original.

Sound – 9/10

The soundtrack in this one really took me by surprise. Really great stuff here! The BGM is fantastic and unique, perfectly conveying the feel of the desert biome which this movie is set in. The sound design in SAO was always top notch and this movie is no exception. Every sword-skill in this movie is absolute candy for the ears. The vocal tracks are all outstanding. Yuki Kajiura always brings her A-Game to these shows and I really appreciate that.

Characters – 7/10

One of the biggest changes between progressive and the original is the change in main character. Instead of the dark, edgy, girl-magnet Kirito, Asuna takes up the role of the main heroine, just like she did in the original during the “Mothers Rosario” arc. This is a very welcoming change and gives us a whole other perspective on the events of the story. Asuna is a great lead, and her relationship with Kirito is slowly getting built up step for step in this movie. Kirito is just… Kirito, nothing much to say here. The villains are...interesting, but there hasn´t been a lot of development to them, as this movie consists mostly of build-up to their character arcs that will certainly be explored in later movies (If we get more!). The side characters are mostly forgettable, although we do get some cameos (Because of spoiler reasons, I won´t say who it is) from the original series.
Enjoyment – 8/10

This was a very entertaining 90 minute ride, although I have to say that I prefer the first movie over this one. I think the progressive series has a lot of potential and I really want more movies, other wise I might have to check out the original novel series myself. If you liked SAO, especially the aincrad arc, this is a must watch.

- Marco_Yooo

FINAL SCORE - 8/10

THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

After the massive boom in popularity of anime in the west, a new faction of anime fans became more and more vocal in the anime discourse:. A kind of “elite” group of anime fans reject everything popular and mainstream and focus on a very small number of shows that have a more niché and artistic vibe, with some great examples being “Serial Experiments Lain”, “Gunbuster” or “FLCL”. “The Tatami Galaxy” has always been held as one of the most beloved show in this category and I went into it with the perfect elite mindset. But is this show like what everyone ... says?

Story – 9/10

The story in this show is fractured and each episodes is essentially a retelling of the same events back to back, but every episodes stands out and leads our main protagonist on a different timeline of his life in university, a different club, different hobbies, different friends. As the show goes on, you will notice some patterns that stay the same in every single timeline, and you will get a feel for the way the story is structured. At the end of every episode, the time stops and rewinds back to the start of the first semester. The main appeal of the show besides the plot itself is the incredible writing. This is very similar to the “Monogatari Series” when it comes to the dialogue, but the difference is the pacing. This show goes by extremely fast and rarely gives you time to process, and I mean that as a good thing. But to be honest, I think this story has an extremely wide appeal to a lot of people. Everyone made mistakes in the past and wishes to go back to correct some of them. All these different timelines, decisions and visual metaphors all conclude in the final two episodes which take our protagonist on a very metaphorical and psychological journey through his life and presents his life choices to him in a highly interesting way. In my opinion, this is one of the most impressive, deep and experimental endings to an anime ever and the show very openly refers to it´s message. The message in itself is actually very straightforward and highly relatable and you notice that the answer to everything the protagonist is looking for was right before his eyes the whole time. I was thoroughly impressed by this ending. Very cool stuff.

Art – 9/10

The art style is probably one of the main reasons why this show is so memorable and it is very hard to explain to someone who has never seen it themselves. The character designs are very sketchy and simple on the first look, but the whole show is just jam packed with interesting scene transitions, creative background art, amazing colour-pallets and so much attention to detail. The show also seamlessly integrates rough sketches as well as real-life camera footage into different shots to maximize the effect of every scene. I have to admit though that I can understands that this is probably a bit too much for a lot of people and I can understand if something “artsy” like this is not your thing.

Sound – 8/10

Asian Kung-fu generation has blessed us with a lot of good anime openings (“Naruto”, “Erased”, etc.) and the opening to this show is following the trend. A fantastic and memorable J-Rock song that evokes a certain feeling of nostalgia in the viewer. The visuals are actually a massive spoiler for the end of the show (and so is the name “Tatami Galaxy”!) but you won´t notice it on the first watch because the messaging is so genius. The ending is often overlooked but it ends every episode perfectly. The OST itself was very calm, and many scenes had no music at all, very different to the “Monogatari series”.

Characters – 9/10

Amazing characters here. Our main character (who is just being referred to as “Watashi”) truly goes on a big self-exploration journey here. The way he acts in the finale is absolutely heartbreaking and really makes you think about your own life-choices. I absolutely loved his development, maybe one of the most interesting and relatable main characters I saw in a very long time. The side characters also carry the show so hard. Everyone has time to shine, everyone has crazy quirks and memorable storylines. Ozu is of course a highlight. He steals every scene he is in with his voice alone.

Enjoyment – 9/10

This was one of the most unique and interesting anime experiences ever. But I never thought that it was too complicated or too weird for a wider audience to enjoy. I actually think that everyone who is going to university or is about to needs to watch this show. Especially if you like stuff like “Monogatari Series” and are a fan of time-travel stories.

- Marco_Yooo

FINAL SCORE - 9/10

THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

If we are talking Mecha, there are a certain number of shows that still serve as the main inspiration for future shows of the genre. “Macross” is a show that has had a massive cultural impact both in the anime industry as well as japan itself. It´s refreshing mix of mecha and music cemented it as one of the most influential anime franchises ever, but how well does it hold up today in 2024?

Story – 8/10

The story is fairly straightforward. What sets this show apart from other shows of the genre is it´s pacifistic approach to conflict which was a new ... thing at the time, especially if you look at how war was treated in shows like “Mobile Suit Gundam”. The war itself functions merely as a vessel to contain the more personal, small-scale stories between our main characters. Most of the show is episodic in nature, but a lot of the episodes push the main plot forward from time to time.
The love triangle aspect was done pretty well but the main story was the thing that kept me coming back. The villains in this show, the Zentradi, have a very interesting twist to them, their way of thinking and their understanding of the purpose of life itself is completely different from us humans, making them a highly unique group of villains that are just a blast to watch.
The show itself is split into two main story arcs, one from episode 1-27 and one from episode 28-36 with the first one being the main story and the second one serving as a kind of aftermath or extended epilogue. I heard a lot of criticism online about this structure but I actually kind of dig it. A lot of the most engaging pieces of the lore was kept up until the final few episodes so the story never ran out of steam. I also think the story of the characters gets rounded out a bit more nicely at the end. A lot of shows just kind of end after the final battle and then speed-run trough the ending, but Macross does not commit the same mistake. Other than that, although it definitely shows it´s age with the slow pacing, it has everything you could want: exciting space battles, mechs and a great space opera story that lands it´s ending.

Art – 7/10

The art in this shows is a double-edged sword. I absolutely adore the art style itself. The backgrounds are amazing, the space battles, although reusing a lot of scenes multiple times, look fantastic, the outfits are stylish and the whole 80s anime aesthetic really shines trough.
However, I hate to say it, but this is probably one of the most inconsistent pieces of animation ever. There are some episodes later on in the series that genuinely look like someone just used paint.net to draw the characters. The eyes are off-center, the movement is incredibly wanky and the whole thing looks just...really bad. The worst part about that is that those underwhelming episodes are sprinkled in in an absolutely random order and really take you out of the experience from one episode to another. There had to have been some budgetary problems that explain this inconsistency and it´s a shame because this show really had the potential to outdo some of the mecha that come out today with it´s animation quality at it´s peak.

Sound – 10/10

This is review #78 and for the first time ever, a show reached the highest possible rating in this category. This is by far the best anime soundtrack that I have ever witnessed. The use of pop-music goes together so well with the space opera setting, it´s criminal: Every single vocal track sung by our female lead Lynn Minmay is an absolute banger. The tracks cover pretty much every emotion, they can be funny, loving and light-hearted but also slow and sombre. “My boyfriend is a pilot”, “Zero-G love” or my personal favourite “Silver Moon, Red Moon” have been on repeat on my headphones for a veeery long time now. But even outside of the performances, the BGM itself is also fantastic. The Zentradi theme is an absolute banger, and the different tunes that play during the fight-scenes get stuck in your head really fast. Of course, we also have to talk about the insanely catchy 80s style opening, which I never skipped. This show really outdid this category and has my personal favourite anime soundtrack of all time.

Characters – 8/10

The show mostly centres around our main love triangle. Hikaru, our male lead, is a very likeable and honest protagonist. He is a bit on the dumber side though, so if you can´t watch someone being an absolute idiot in front of women, then maybe Hikaru won´t win you over. Our two female leads are a bit more interesting. Lynn Minmay our ditzy, feminine idol is by far the most popular character of the show. Most of her development comes in the last few episodes, and those really push her character to be more than just a cute singer. Our second heroine, Misa Hayase, is the more compelling character in my opinion. She has a much more grounded character arc, which is a nice change of pace from the grand nature of the shows main story. The love triangle itself however gets resolved in a very...interesting way (no spoilers here).
Other than that, we have some great memorable side characters too. On the Zentradi side, Britai and Exsedol are the standouts. On the S.D.F Macross itself, both captain Global and Max were among my favourites.

Enjoyment – 8/10

This was a very consistently enjoyable show. The love triangle is great and the main story holds everything together and keeps you coming back again and again. The pacing is very slow though and the animation incredibly inconsistent. If you are not a fan of these kind of old-school shows, this won´t change your mind. But if you like stuff like “Gunbuster” or “Mobile Suit Gundam”, definitely give this show a watch!

- Marco_Yooo

FINAL SCORE - 8/10

THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

There has been a trend in the anime industry in the last few years, especially post-pandemic. There is just more and more anime coming out then ever before. Every single season is absolutely packed with a giant flood of (mostly mediocre) shows. Naturally, some shows will fall under the radar and “Tomodachi Game” was one of them for me.

Story – 7/10

This is a classic death game anime, a genre that has been absolutely milked to death in the 2010s, with a lot of infamous examples that range from incredible (“Danganronpa”) to...what did I just watch? (“Euphoria”). Tomodachi Game is somewhere ... in the middle. The show does not spend any time on trying to explain how the death game comes to be in the first place and rushes right into the plot. Every single game in the show has a certain set of rules to it. Especially the tag-game is really interesting and was probably my favourite arc. The mind games get pretty intense in this one, and the show is trying everything it can to stay realistic. I had a lot of fun with the death game itself and thought the resolutions were really well thought out. This is a very dialogue heavy show with little to no action and slow pacing, but it still manages to build up excitement arc for arc.
However, the big problem I have with the show is the whole story structure itself. I won´t go into spoilers, but the final episode and everything that happens before felt extremely random. The story seems to have no idea where it wants to go next and I seriously hope it won´t turn into a convoluted mess later on.

Art – 6/10

The animation itself is pretty solid. There isn´t much action here, so the screenplay itself is very laid back. There are instances where the art changes a little bit, especially during some of the more dramatic scenes, but other than that, there is not much to say here. The character designs are pretty boring and clearly inspired by other anime of the genre (Our main protagonist literally feels like a mix of Kirito from “Sword Art Online” and Light Yagami from “Death Note”).

Sound – 7/10

The opening is pretty good, but I thought the ending was better. The show reuses a lot of tracks during the dialogue scenes which can be a turn off to some people. I liked the way the show builds tension with the music, utilizing a very deep bass synthesizer. Other than that, there is not much to say in this category

Characters – 8/10

My god, it has been quite sometime since we got a black-haired, genius, edgelord protagonist and I am absolutely here for it. He fulfils every single cliché of the trope and is, like most of his clones, absolutely insane. But even I have to say that his deductions and mind games were really interesting and he managed to trick the audience a lot of the time. There is also an ongoing mystery about his past, that I am eager to find out more about.
The other characters are mostly fine. A lot of them where extremely cliché and even those that are a bit more interesting where written in a very inconsistent way (Looking at you, Tenji!).
Also, because the death game starts in episode one, there is not much time to explore the relationship of these characters beforehand. It is actually quite hard to believe they were actual friends considering what happens later on in the show,

Enjoyment – 9/10

I binged this show very quickly on a long train ride. This has some extremely high entertainment value, but the plot and characters themselves are pretty weak. I will watch the second season (if there will be one, let´s hope for it!). This is a great show for anyone who likes stuff like “Danganronpa”. If you can´t turn off your suspension of disbelief, maybe skip this one.

- Marco_Yooo

FINAL SCORE - 7/10

THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

On my way back into anime I decided it would be time to come back to my favourite genre, which has always been mecha. Infinite Stratos is the premier mecha anime of the year 2011 and it´s combination of mecha, comedy and fan service looked like something that would suit me, so I gave the first season a go.

Story – 5/10

My god, what an absolute car crash this plot is. Imagine every single high school cliche packed into a single school. This show has it all: Insane fan service, beach episodes, our main character literally has to share a dorm with ... like 1000 Girls at this school. The sci-fi mecha aspect was clearly not the main focus of this show. This is more like a ecchi, harem comedy set in a school WITH mechs in it. There has been absolutely zero plot progression so far. There are fights, but besides the final fight in episode 11/12, they all lack a certain emotional weight. The comedy is, to be fair, pretty funny and I just really like the world, but you can´t deny that all the sci-fi and mecha concepts are just a facade to carry the comedy and fan service aspect. I have absolutely zero issues with something like that but even a veeery simple story would have worked to carry this setting instead of the lacklustre mess we got.

Art – 8/10

Well, this is maybe the shows biggest strength. This came out in 2011 and still looks good. I mean, reeeeally good. The camerawork is great during the fight scenes and I personally like the mech designs a lot. The characters all look fantastic and different (except the male ones, of course) and the movement is really crisp and fluent.
For the mechs, they decided to go for a kind of 50/50 approach, and constantly switch between 2D and 3D which can look horrifyingly bad if done wrong. This show however managed to nail this aspect. I still prefer 2D mechs over everything else, but I think this approach also has it´s merits.

Sound – 8/10

The OP of this show is amazing with great visuals and a fantastic song that fits the atmosphere of the world perfectly. However, the main thing that I would like to talk about for this category is the ED. My god, they did not have to go that hard. This is an instant hood classic. All of the female voice actors came together and created one of the catchiest anime endings ever. This actually could have inspired later ecchi shows like “Highschool DxD” to do the same. The voice actors even toured Japan and sang the ED in front of live audiences. Fantastic stuff here.

Characters – 7/10

Well, this is a typical harem setup of characters. Our main character is just absolutely dreadful. No personality, dense and clearly of the overthinking type. The female characters were a little bit better. This show is set in an international boarding school, so every girl has a different national background. We have a Japanese, British, French, Chinese and a German girl here, all with different mechs, looks and personalities. The quality of depth in their characters is inconsistent, but they are all likeable and fun to watch. If the main character wasn´t such an irredeemable idiot, there would actually be a lot of potential here, but I cannot give this category a higher score at the moment

Enjoyment – 7/10

Well, I have to admit that I like these kinds of trashy comedies from time to time and this is just another big entry in the gerne. Although the story is a mess and I hate the main character, I will absolutely watch season two. This is just great entertainment, something to watch during lunch or in the subway on the way to university. If you like shows like “Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry”, “Highschool DxD” or “The Irregular of Magic Highschool”, this show is for you.

- Marco_Yooo

FINAL SCORE - 7/10