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If Haruhi was a guy, everyone would hate them...

Since years I wanted to watch the show cause it was so popular and I really liked to watch something that would start simple and funny and turn into romantic drama.
Well, the romantic drama wasn't really such a long part, so forget that.
The other part was just pretty boring. Or even annoying. Guess, maybe that is the message of that anime. It is so boring, so we can feel Haruhi's boredom. And when something exciting happens, it gets better. But even if you see the anime in that light, it is... only 4 stars for me. Most ... is just inner monologe and whenever Haruhi does something "funny". It is harassing Mikuru. It is soooo uncomfortable to watch. Even for ecchi Anime fans... There are such better ways to implement funny moments like these, without making them annoying and harassing.
And the character of Haruhi makes it worse. My boyfriend and I only watched the full anime, cause I know how much he hates characters like Haruhi. Haha. In that case the anime is kinda funny cause of the torturing sounds of my boyfriend over Kyons misfortune. Poor guy just gets dragged into the business of Haruhi and the others. We would always joke about what Kyon can do to get rid of Haruhi's demands and troubles :D

So guys, if you like the first few episodes, you like the whole show. But if you don't, please don't waste your time watching and hoping it gets more interesting.

Danshi Kokousei no Nichijou is an Anime for everyone, who asks themselves, if they can even laugh at Anime.
This one just really hit my kind of humor. The situations the characters find themselves in are drawn from real life and lead to very creative and hilarious outcomes. The fun mostly comes from the guys being absolut wholesome nerds. I love their dynamics and theiy voiceacting.
The voices and lines are so genius, especially Hidenori's.
This Anime is just one huge "Bromance". I love that these characters are actually acting like how we would act with our friends, when we went to high school. Just a little ... bit more dorky.

My review is pretty short, but I just wanted to give my appreciation to this Anime. It is highly underrated.

The Anime is pretty wholesome and enjoyable.
But maybe I am too old to enjoy that weird male fanservice.

Marin is cute, but that is all. She is a Mary Sue, written to still the thirst of weebs without consequences. At least in other Ecchi Anime, the girls act kinda believable. And I like Ecchi Anime. I like cute girls. But this one is is just acting like an alien, while trying to be serious. At least Lala from To Love Ru is not trying to be serious, when she is enjoying her nudity.
Ecchi Anime mostly don't take themselves seriously, which is why they are weird in ... a good way.

The rest of My Dress-Up Darling and the story is enjoyable otherwise. At first, it presents itself as a serious romance. Marin's weird behaviour in some scenes just throw me out of the enjoyment though, cause there is literally no reason why a girl would act like that, other than it being convenient for Marin to be a Mary Sue.

Also until episode 7 Wakana is not gaining anything in this relationship. He is only happy, cause he is starving for affection...

Maybe I am too old for those kind of characters...

Now that I have fully seen the Anime, it just validates my points.
The viewer never finds out why the main characters, especially Kaguya, act this awfully. There is literally no plot and so no reason for them not to confess their love. This is easily the most boring and sensless romcom I have ever watched. (Not the worst though)

This Anime had a great premise. At the first episode I got hyped over two dominant characters and creative brainbattles! No one can deny, that the animation is really the peak of this anime. But animations isn't everything...
In the same exact episode, the premise drops 10 ... stories down, when I realized, Kaguya isn't really dominant. In fact, many scenes show, that she wants to be dominated by Miyuki.
The two main characters are just bland and at most times hopeless. Their actions are laughable, cause they act soooooo cool, while being dumb as hell. The brainbattles were keeping this Anime on a 5 for me. But it is hard to say they are genius, when the characters are just laughably stupid. I changed my score to a 3, after watching these two screaming and whining like little toddlers because of a shortcake for 7 minutes. And Kaguya laughing about the word "wiener" for 5 minutes...

It is like seeing two people act like they have an IQ of 130, while they are as dumb as those antivax karens on facebook. It isn't funny. Yeah I said it. It isn't funny. Ai, Kaguya's maid, was literally how I felt watching the anime.

When people say, this is as genius as death note, they couldn't have possibly watched death note. Or they say, it is the best romcom. Did they watch Toradora? Golden Time or Bunny girl senpai? Or actual genius comedies that use stereotypes and break them: Sora no Otoshimono.

And everything I write here isn't really a spoiler, cause you can see this from miles away by just watching episode 1 or 2.

The main characters became kinda annoying. Cause there is literally NO reason why Kaguya acts this way other than plot convenience. Miyuki has actual dominant thoughts and makes his actions kinda believable. But it is just convenient for him, that Kaguya shapes herself to become "non dominant" to be his type of girl. Heck! EVERY STEREOTYPICAL JAPANESE MAN STEREOTYPICAL GIRLFRIEND. He doesn't even have to move his little pinky for her to become his girl. And by the end, again, this anime became like every stereotypical, bland romance, in which the girl blushes hard and is too stupid to confess to senpai. And again, you can see, that this is the ending by just watching episode 1 or 2.

It is a tale as old as time: The main characters are both so socially awkward, it hurts. And all their problems vanish, when they just become a couple. They are each others saviors. And by the end of the anime the girl becomes everyones desired stereotypical girlfriend, who blushes, wants to be dominated, stays at home, takes care of the children, cooks and by the end of any anime, loses her whole character. It is concerning that still so many people love that type of storytelling and still don't get how one sided the main girls are written in Anime. And how blind, boring and socially stupid Anime protagonists are written.
Why is it so hard to create anime guys and girls, that aren't so friggin stereotypical and hopeless?

I just hope, that people, who like this anime, don't think, that being like those characters is desirable or entertaining.

Contains Spoilers: This review also depicts parts of Sotsu
Gou 6/10
Sotsu 4/10
Many people might agree with me, when I say, I refuse that this is canon. You know, there are other Higurashi alternative universe seasons out there and that is fine with me. But this is not an alternative universe. This is the universe in which Rika and her friends succeeded.
Well, you might think: Okay this season seems more gory and predictable than the first season of Higurashi.
You might think: Okay, even though it is predictable and weird, the answer arc "sotsu" will have our minds blown.
But nope, it is just mindless murder and makes Higurashi ... what it swore to destroy.
Higurashi no naku koro ni is an Anime about trust and hope, and a sweet friend group. Real mystery and not mindless murder. This gou and sotsu just spit on that.

There are some hardcore Umineko fans out there, that just celebrate the witchs' game. But for me the witch game just destroys everything serious and believable about the first two seasons.
I don't mind that the witch game is canon though, I just hate that they changed Satoko's and Rika's character into not caring about their friends at all. The rest of the friend group was literally non existant and unimportant, making the killings super uninteresting. The only interesting scene, was when in sotsu, Satoko tried to kill Teppei but refused. But her evil side went through. That was so intense and what I was used to Higurashi. The Teppei arc was seriously the only interesting arc. I can't believe I'll give our loved characters a 5.

I really love Kentaro Yabuki's and Saki Hasemi's works. Also love the Manga Black Cat. It was my first.

Now lets go to the obvious: This Manga is a veeeeery good Harem. It is simple, yet the short stories and adventures are well developed for an Ecchi Manga.
What I love is, that the girls seem like your stereotypical types, yet they have more depth and quirks under that stereotypical surface. AND they think for themselves and feel like genuine human beings, unlike 90% of girls in that genre. Also towards the end it gets more and more serious. The Manga actually turns into a romance, ... in which the girls really try to come together with Rito. I was so surprised that they actually really had a sex drive lol. Unlike in other Ecchi Manga, in which they are just so oblivious and like little kids towards perverted things.
Also love Kentaro's choice of pretty accurate body types and you-know-what-sizes. Don't know why I care so much lol.

Anyway spoilers:
The only thing that bucks me, maybe I take this series too serious, is, that Rito is getting continuously r**ed. The ending somehow made me sad, cause he still doesn't want a Harem and is finally together with Haruna. Still the girls confess their loves to them AFTER they know he loves Haruna. So selfish. To love ru seems to be the only Manga that takes the idea of a Harem seriously, yet in the end just doesn't give a conclusion.

Still I love it. Especially the pretty Art and clothes. The fun stories you can read again and again when you are bored. And the believable and loving characters. Spoilers. I especially loved the scene in which Rito and Lala are on the roof of the school building and Rito tells Lala that he can't kiss her and she is so understanding. And I cried and it was so genuine. Most comedy, ecchi Mangas just stay crazy and perverted, but To love ru actually finds the perfect situations in which to be serious and romantic again. Especially when Rito is comforting one of the girls. These scenes show why they love Rito and he isn't just a brainless clumsy protagonist.

All I basically have to say, is, that it is my favorite Anime of all time!


I can understand if people are appalled by the art style. Also the slight Ecchi moments might destroy the otherwise serious and believable atmosphere. Or people will just not have the same experience that I did. Yet the most important mistake that you have to avoid is: Not watching the second season!!!!
The second season explains all the Mystery that come up in the first one and let me tell you, it is mindblowing. It is devastating how many people tell me, Higurashi doesn't make any sense and they haven't watched ... the answering arcs... Also either you are a person, who likes to break your brain around a Mystery or you aren't. If you don't want to know, what is happening in the village of Hinamizawa after watching the first arc, then maybe Higurashi is not the thing for you.

But for me, everything is right with this one. Higurashi is not an Anime, it is an experience. Try for yourself. Don't let the reviews spoiler you.
But if you just want a good Horror Anime, watch it. There are rarely any good ones. But Higurashi has it all, Horror, Mystery and a perfect amount of making you think for yourself. It flows just so natural and it doesn't force you into being fake deep. I love how the story unravels.
And it is one of the few Anime in which I notice the sound design and soundtrack. There couldn't have been any better sound design to underline the Horror. And I don't even find Horror Anime/Movies that scary.

I could write a whole essay on why everything in Higurashi works, especially the location. As an European city teen, you feel like Keiichi, being all overwhelmed with the sight of a village in which everyone knows everyone. And everyone believes in family traditions and demons. This is one of the greatest aspects of horrors. You/Keiichi don't know who to trust and the mind games begin. And it is just so believable, because there are japanese villages out there that are like this. Especially at the time around 1980, a time in which japanese teens had to find the balance between modern believes and traditional believes. And our friend group of protagonists get the full dosis. This Horror, which is based on real fears, is one of the greatest aspects of Higurashi. Especially the fear that there is always someone, something lurking.

Well, I can also go into how every little detail is just natural. The author is just a mastermind in writing characters that feel like they could exist in real life. (The Visual Novel conveys this a little better, cause the medium "Anime" is not the best to make something believable)
Every little detail of their lives just wraps nicely in a package that is connected to the packages of the other character's lives. Nothing is a coincidence or a convenience to the story. Many stories fail with the aspect, that the author wrote a side plot, just for it to be convenient later on. Higurashi feels all natural, and while nothing is a coincidence, it doesn't feel like shoving this into you. I probably don't make any sense here for people who haven't watched Higurashi...
All I wanted to say, is that the details are so well written, that if you watch the Anime a second time, you see all the things you have missed the first time. But don't force it, cause you have seen the reviews. Back then when I watched it, I didn't know there were arcs and it was just awesome getting my brain wrecked on why there are arcs and why things happen the same, but not really. So don't let the reviews spoiler you.

I could tell you, that at first sight it just looks like little ugly children killing each other, but that in fact this is THE Anime about friendship and trust. Keiichi, as the ambassador of hope, just fills you with warmth, which quickly makes you shiver, because you know, something might destroy this hope. Something, someone is lurking...
Anyway this is already taking too long and perfect essays on why people love Higurashi on Youtube.

Higurashi is just a must watch, plus the second season "kai".
You might not like Higurashi. But if you don't give it a try, you might never know if this might be your favorite Anime too.

For me personally the story was a drag. I crawled to the finish line. The politics are not really that clever and the fights not very outstanding. What should hold this story together, are the connections between the characters and the tragic story of Lelouch and his "friends". Sadly this is just awful to watch, cause the characters are such a mess and there is no red string anywhere. No one really thinks like a human being and Lelouch is just... an idiot. He doesn't use his powers right and everyone just seems like they have air in their heads.
I just crawled to the ... finish line, cause my friend told me how much of a genius Lelouch is... which he isn't... If you can look past these awful characters, it is actually half decent.