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The TLDR concerning this anime is that you should give it a watch if you like anything concerning Kaijus like Ultraman and Godzilla but don't get your hopes up too much as this series does have some glaring issues.

The most glaring issues concerning this anime are probably the story and characters. The story's pacing is too fast and is reminiscent of a movie instead of a 12-ep animation, which wouldn't be such a bad thing if it weren't for the fact that we're not given any substance concerning the world and characters in Kaiju 8, and thus cannot get invested into it.

The world of ... Kaiju 8 is just weird. Nobody questions where the Kaiju came from, nobody questions the Kaiju that went into Kafka, nobody questions why humanoids are suddenly appearing, nobody questions why the Defense Force doesn't have Kaiju specialists that can advise Kafka, and Kafka himself doesn't question why Mina is so different now compared to how he remembers her during childhood. It's honestly so jarring when the characters simply gloss over it or don't even question it and we're supposed to just accept it as it is. This is especially bad because we're introduced to a plethora of characters that the audience cannot give a shit about because these characters simply just exist.

To give an example of this, Reno is one side character that's given the most screen time other than Kafka himself. We're never given his motivations, backstory, thoughts concerning Kafka turning into a monster, his worries, his aspirations (other than wanting to become a hero like Kafka), and anything other than the surface level of what we're shown concerning him. He's a cardboard cutout fanboy/friend of Kafka and nothing else. He is not a character, he simply exists as Kafka's sidekick. We're never given any reason to get attached to him and thus any scenes that should have tension because he's in danger just feel like nothing.

The music is good, ok, and bad in parts. I love the OP and ED, and I enjoy some of the battle music, but the choice of music for some scenes is really weird sometimes. Like for example, the battle scene where Kikoru is fighting the flying Kaiju. What's with the music in this scene? It's supposed to be a scene that's filled with tension but also a scene to showcase how badass Kikoru has become, but we're given music that sounds like the beginning of those old Isekai RPGs where the hero begins his journey. It doesn't sound appropriate to the scene at all and I honestly kind of flinched when I heard it because the music before that suited the scene fine; I have no idea why they changed it into this.

The art is also the same case with the music. The fight scenes are good, and I do like the designs for the Kaiju, but the issue I have concerning the art is the drop in quality concerning everything other than fighting. To give an example of this, there's a scene where Kafka runs to transform to punch the Yoju bomb, he is shown to run a good distance to reach the bomb but, in the next scene he's like...only a couple feet away from where he started and it's confusing as fuck because you question if he just ran in a complete circle. Then when he comes down from punching the bomb and is about to have an emotional moment where he has to confront Mina, his expression becomes utterly strange. He looks pissed in the beginning and then becomes deadpan. There's no emotion behind it.

Honestly, if it wasn't for the fight scenes and the theme of Kaiju 8 then the score would've been even lower. I'm a sucker for Kaijus and this did feel like a blast to the past and I did enjoy it but even then I genuinely couldn't ignore the glaring issues this anime had.

Considering that I've only read 11 chapters of this manga, this is just an initial impression of this manga and honestly, it's not good.

The story is all over the place, the art is ok, the characters are pathetic, and I didn't really enjoy reading this manga.

Like, I'll give you an example of how nonsensical this manga is. In the very beginning of the chapter we're introduced to a siege. A siege where all of the soldiers are OUTSIDE OF THE FORT. For a manga that focuses itself on medieval tactics, in what universe do soldiers fight outside of their fort unless they have no choice ... due to logistics? This manga doesn't focus on logistics, it focuses on very surface level tactics in regards to foot troops, archery, mages, calvary, and espionage. Hell, I see no mention of logistics. And that's only ONE example. There are an absurd amount of inconsistencies in this manga despite there only being 11 fucking chapters translated.

The concept of the manga is not that original either. There are a lot of other mangas and manhwas that deal with the isekai tactics trope in a far better manner than this one does. One of the things that are different in regards to this one is that the MC practically doesn't have a prep period for growth, and how much of a piece of shit character the MC ended up in.

Speaking of the characters, they're absolutely boring as fuck in this manga. None of them have any depth to them including the MC, and the thought processes of our MC ,who is supposed to be a "tactical genius", is incredibly surface level, bland, and nonsensical in regards to how he deals with internal politics.

Overall, it's not a good start. As with all reviews that don't review a piece of medium in it's entirety, take mine with a grain of salt. This manga could improve in the future, it could stay the same, or it could get EVEN WORSE than it is now but we'll have to see. However with the amount of shit I see in the beginning 11 chapters, I'm pretty confident in saying that this manga isn't worth your time.

The novel of Skeleton Knight is an ok and serviceable read. Does the anime do a good job of adapting the novel? No, it's pure fucking shit.

I honestly fucking do not know how incompetent you have to be to make a script that is so fucking bad in comparison to the source to where it would've just been better if you had just followed the original by the letter. How do you manage to fuck this up? The original novel literally has a tighter more cohesive story in comparison to this anime that's full of filler details that brings nothing to the story, characters, ... or the viewing audience. I'll give you some examples.

The introduction of Ponta for example. In the novel we meet Ponta when Ark ends up finding Ponta in a bandit den after Ponta was captured by said bandits. Obviously because of these bandits, Ponta is wary of Ark when they first meet him because he's human just like the bandits despite his good intentions. Then we get the following scenes; Ark notices a wound on Ponta's leg, let's them bite his finger in order to heal the wound, and Ponta in turn becomes attached to Ark. This makes sense. You know what doesn't make sense? The way the anime fucking changes how we meet Ponta.

In the anime, we meet fucking Ponta after Ponta apparently gets injured by a basilisk the size of a god damn Oak Tree. Like, what? You're telling me this huge ass fucking lizard gives Ponta a cut on it's tiny ass leg. The fuck? No. Ponta's wound makes sense when Ark finds him in the novel because it could've been a result of the injury sustained when captured by the bandits. But a fucking lizard the size of a GOD DAMN OAK TREE CANNOT MAKE A WOUND OF THAT SIZE. It's like the writers threw logic out the god damn window. There was zero fucking reason to change this part of the story and it serves as needless filler and cute bait. Not to mention, Ponta does the same exact shit to Ark when they first meet in the novel too. Why the fuck is Ponta even wary of Ark? Ark is not the one who wounded Ponta, it's the giant Oak Tree lizard. Spirit animals in this world can sense the "good hearts" of the people within this world. So what reason does Ponta have to be wary?

Let's also talk about that Oak Tree lizard and the subsequent battles that come after this. The fights aren't even supposed to be that long. These monsters are like fucking dust in comparison to our protagonist. Even the novel and manga knows this hence why they don't usually give that much focus and tension on these fights since the writers know there's not really that much at stake here when Ark can resolve these issues with ease.

Anyways, going back to Ponta. You could argue that introducing Ponta this early into this story is meant to drive the story forward in this anime and I would completely agree with you there. If it weren't for the fact that they had zero reason to introduce Ponta THIS early in the story as even in the novel and manga, Ponta has always been introduced before meeting Ariene and Chiyome. Ponta's whole purpose in the narrative is to serve as a bridge of trust between Ark and these characters who don't know him yet but trust the fact that a spirit animal that's notorious for not attaching itself to people with bad intentions is attached to our main protagonist. So there is valid reason for Ponta to exist in the story. But Ponta has no reason to exist THIS early in the story. Ponta is literally only introduced this early in the story in order to create more fan service and fucking filler. In fact, we don't meet Ariene after the bandit den in the source material, we meet her when the elf children are being captured.

Speaking of the captured elves. What the fuck? Did anyone notice that Ark and Ariene literally left the two elves in the Diento castle? In the source material, those two elves are with the two of them when they escape with gate transfer because HOW ELSE WOULD YOU ESCAPE WITH THEM IN TOW. The anime literally just fucking straight up introduced them about to be violated then straight up forgot about them. Which makes no fucking sense and it's honestly disgusting because the producers only included this as fan service. In the source material EVEN THESE TWO SERVED A PURPOSE IN THE NARRATIVE. When Ark takes off his helmet when Ariene wants to bring him back to her village, these two literally almost attack him and Ariene is the one to stop them. It's meant to serve as a contrast between Ariene and the normal denizens of this new world. Ark was indeed valid in regards to not wanting to show his face to the people of this world because they would react the same exact way that these two elves did even though he was the one who saved them. Ariene is the one to stop them because she has come to know Ark and has come to trust him. It's a nice scene, and it illustrates the beginning of their long relationship together. In the anime?

"Promise no hurt me"
"K"
"What's with face?"
"Curse"
"We cure it"
"Me go with you"

Like, what? Why even add filler scenes when you could've just added the scene from the novel here which would've made for a more better viewing experience? It just makes no fucking sense man.

Going back to the scenes of implied sexual assault, trafficking, and other shit. The anime does this in incredibly poor taste. Like, yeah. I can agree that this kind of fucked up shit would happen in a world like this where basic rights aren't upheld for a certain population, and it's basically how things were and are in our world in some parts of the world. However, the way it implements these scenes where they're meant to either invoke a sense of sympathy or shown as fan service is just pathetic. None of these scenes have any tension or focus on how fucked up it is. It just pays lip service to it without actually expressing the gravity of the situation. The source material also has this issue but it's not as bad as this. In fact, we even get an explanation as to why Ark never seems to be specifically bothered by any of these events later in the story giving more gravity to those past events, acknowledging how fucked up they were.

Speaking of those scenes. The tonal shift in story when being introduced to these scenes is so fucking jarring and takes you aback. Like you're on this happy go lucky adventure with Ark doing random shit and enjoying the world around him, then you're suddenly put into this fucked up situation where you're supposed to feel sympathy, disgust, and a myriad of other emotions and you're sitting there going like. How the fuck did we get here? The tone taken throughout the anime is just way too happy in comparison to these scenes to the point where it's never consistent nor pleasant to watch because it's not treated with the appropriate amount of levity.

Now, let's talk about the art for a second. The fight scenes are shit. The only scene that I remotely even thought was ok was the first half of the sparring session of Ark with Ariene's mother before it got relegated to this shitty side gag of Ark getting his shit beat with the visuals of child drawings. Throughout this anime, every single fight choreography is replaced with still shots of people getting their torso's bisected, head's chopped off, etc. There's not a single well choreographed fight scene in this anime which is full of fight scenes and it's so fucking stupid because the amount of time spent on filler could've been used to animate these scenes. Not to mention a good chunk of the art in this series ends up becoming those shitty 3D animations you see in Berserk and Overlord.

The soundtrack for this anime is ok. The opening is a banger, the ending is serviceable. The music used in this anime when setting the tone is alright with most scenes except when it comes to scenes of tension. Honestly, in regards to a majority of those scenes it would've been better to not have any music accompanied. I sincerely don't know why producers don't realize that silence creates tension and try to force music that only serves to distract the audience instead of creating tension. It kinda pisses me off. And speaking of something that pisses me off, let's talk about the villains.

The villains in this story are so one dimensional that they're absolutely fucking boring. They're just cardboard cutout villains with no motivation or reasonings other than being evil for the sake of being evil. This also applies to some of the characters in this story as well, namely the princess. The princess wants to help the elves. Why? Why does she want to help the elves to the point of using their kingdom as a literal shield to defend the elves against their neighboring empires? There's no reasoning for this. What benefit is there for her or the kingdom that she represents? She's just there for the sake of being there to show that not all the humans in this story are shit. It's honestly such lazy writing. The main protagonist is also the typical bland good guy otaku that just helps people, the standard of most isekai series. The novel does give more depth to Ark but him as a character is still just that. It's nothing unique nor is it entertaining other than as a self insert which is what most isekai series are basically about nowadays. Ariene is ok though. Her character growth when she gradually comes to trust humans and comes to understand that not every human being is a piece of shit, accompanied by her developing feelings for Ark during the course of their journey is charming. Do I wish that the anime explored these traits instead of just paying lip service? Yeah, of course. But at this point I really couldn't give a fuck. Which is why I'm not even going to mention how boring the overarching conspiracies, mysteries, and worldbuilding are in this anime because not even the anime even bothers to go into detail with this.

So yeah, overall I hated watching this anime. It was boring, infuriating, and such a big waste of time. The novel is ok if you wanna check it out, but stay clear of this anime. It's pure donkey shit, not worth your time.

This anime simply put, was confusing and irritating as fuck.

Let's talk about the story for a second. You're telling me, that these two end up romantically involved when there is no fucking build up whatsoever to their relationship? The scene where Aharen kisses Raidou and ends up crying in the sleeping bag. How better would this scene be if it was actually a fucking rejection instead of a confession on the part of Raido? After the rejection, they could start building up their relationship from scratch or start developing feelings for one another after they start becoming more conscious of one another. But no, ... this anime goes for the most ridiculous copout I've seen ever since fucking Charlotte. Like, what the fuck do you mean that Raido likes Aharen? There was absolutely nothing to elude to that fact during the entire fucking runtime of the anime. Neither does he change when they start dating either. So there was absolutely zero fucking point or reasoning for there to be romance involved. You could just have them do comedy hijinks together as friends and gradually start to develop their relationship from there.

Speaking of the comedy, let's also talk about that. I have never laughed at any of the fucking jokes presented in this anime. Raido's delusions are absolutely fucking pointless and made me want to bash my head into my table every, single, time. And these delusions take up a significant amount of the anime when there is zero fucking reason to have them in there. They aren't funny, neither are they in character for Raido since we're introduced to Raido as this sullen but persistent dude. Not this delusional fucking idiot that we're forced into as this anime trudges on.

And the side characters, god the fucking side characters. They're so absolutely pointless to the story and honestly are more of a hinderance than anything. Oshiro makes absolutely no fucking sense. We're introduced to her as Aharen's childhood friend that can't approach her anymore due to the fact that Raido is present. Yet she acts the same exact way towards Aharen even when they're alone. Like, what? What the fuck do you mean she can't approach Aharen when she's alone? THEY'RE FUCKING CHILDHOOD FRIENDS THAT HAVEN'T HAD ANY ISSUES INTERACTING WITH ONE ANOTHER AND WE CAN SEE THIS FROM THE FLASHBACK THAT OSHIRO HAS BACK DURING THE LAST EPISODE. God, it's so fucking stupid and pisses me off so much. Oshiro takes up so much time for no reason, just like Raido's delusions.

Imagine for one second, that the side characters and Raido's delusions didn't exist and they instead focused on the comedy centered around Aharen's antics of not being able to gauge the distance of their relationship. And while they get used to each other, Aharen gradually starts to realize that what she does is fine as Raido wouldn't abandon her or judge her for her actions and thus from there maybe we can have Aharen start to develop a crush towards Raido. With Aharen becoming more conscious of Raido and thus not being able to do the same things she did in the past such as clinging onto Raido, with Raido noticing this and thus also becoming conscious of the fact that maybe he liked the fact that Aharen was so close to him and thus we can maybe establish a mutual attraction towards the two characters that wouldn't be unusual if one or the other confessed to the other with it developing into a relationship. But no, we're forced into the shit that the anime gave us and it pisses me off because I can see how this anime could've been fine.

Another issue that I have with this anime is the art and the music. The art is so fucking inconsistent concerning the background characters that it's not even funny. Like in some scenes the background characters look like those shitty 3D animations you see in the Berserk series or in Overlord and it's honestly so jarring to notice because of how well animated Aharen herself is. Not to mention the scenery. Who the fuck did the background for this anime? The art for the characters in the first half or so of the anime seem off in comparison to the background and I can't help but notice it. The background is just way too different in comparison to them and it's just so weird. For some reason, they start improving the art for the side characters and the main characters in the second half of it where the background seems to blend in better with them and it feels like they're trying to fucking trick me into thinking that this was always the case.

Now the sound. The opening and ending music for this anime is good, I have no complaints. Hell, it's even tailored towards this specific anime which is a shame considering that this anime is shit. The soundtrack for this anime on the other hand is so fucking weird. In the first half of it, the soundtrack seems out of place and doesn't match the tone of the situation. Like, I genuinely believe that if they removed the soundtrack entirely from this anime it would've improved the viewing experience. Which is fucking weird to even consider. In the later half of the anime, they gradually start to notice their fuck up and implement music that matches the tone of the situation better but there are still scenes where you wish the music was just removed entirely still.

Overall, I hated watching this. It was honestly a slog to get through. I literally started to make noises reminiscent of a tortured seagull in order to try and entertain myself in the midst of watching. I don't recommend watching this anime. Aharen is cute yeah, but that's it. This anime has nothing to offer you. If you want something cute or has a premise that reminds you of Aharen, go watch Kobayashi Dragon Maid or Komi San.

Spirited Away is a really magical experience. The art is phenomenal, the sound is amazing, the characters are endearing, and the entire viewing experience is great. However, I sincerely wish that this film was longer as the story feels somewhat lackluster in my opinion.

Now, before you get your pitchforks and burn me at the stake for this blasphemous opinion, let me explain. A good chunk of the story tends to just be presented to you without any explanation and you're just supposed to accept it as it is. Which is fine as we're seeing the story through the lens of Chihiro, and like her, we ... don't know anything about the world or the characters within it. However, I still have numerous questions that I wish were explained such as where the Yokai even get their food. I understand that Baba ends up turning Yokai and people who don't work into animals but from the sheer volume of food we see being created, I don't really think they get it from just turning Yokai and people into animals. Sure the pigs can propagate and we do see a farm near the bathhouse but from what we see when Chihiro enters one of the barns, there's just not enough pigs to explain the sheer volume that they serve on a daily basis. Not to mention the giant fish. Do the Yokai fish after it rains? Where do they even get the fish? It would've been nice to see some additional artwork details such as when Chihiro rides the train to explain where exactly stuff like the food is coming from. For example, maybe we could see some Yokai fishing after the rain passes when the ocean forms or during Chihiro's train ride we see other Yokai cities that aren't completely submerged. And speaking of the submerged cities and buildings, what even happens to the occupants? It's just never explained. And to be honest, it's not the film's fault as it would most likely take way too much time to fit this into one movie and I sincerely wish Spirited Away could have an animated series that explores the world more but I digress. Overall this doesn't really interfere with the viewing experience. It's just a personal curiosity of mine, and probably yours. And in a way it's a testament to how the movie ends up capturing your attention and becoming invested to the world that we're thrust into.

The questions that really interfere with the viewing experience however would be stuff like how Haku even knew that Chihiro even had Bo with her in the first place. Baba didn't even notice that Bo was gone. Even when Bo was in her face in the form of a rat. Chihiro never explains to Haku that the rat is Bo, neither does she tells this to Kamaji who explains the situation to him after he wakes up from being unconscious. Yet he goes up to Baba and tells her that she's been duped in order to stop her from turning Chihiro's parents into pork roast, even though he shouldn't even know this in the first place. It's never explained and honestly it's one of the biggest plot holes in this film. Another one would be with the Nigadango. How does Chihiro even know that the Nigadango would even cure Haku or No Face? The river guardian never explains the purpose of the dango, neither does she even know. Hell, she just eats a bit of it and decides that it could be this ultimate, secret medicine that'll cure all ails even though she shouldn't even know that since nobody explained it to her and neither was she sick when she ate it so she couldn't have gotten to this conclusion. In fact when she ate it, she just thought it was disgusting and tried to get the taste out of her mouth with more dumplings. There was nothing that implied that the dango was medicine. I guess with this specific plot hole, it could be explained that she was desperate and wanted grasp at anything to save Haku and after she saved him with the dango she realized it was medicine that could help her parents but ended up giving it to No Face in order to revert it back to its original self. But the way Chihiro arrives at these conclusions is just way too convenient and just weird. Overall though, despite the plot holes and details that I wish were explored more, the story is still good. Though that may be because the story is carried by this film's phenomenal art, music, and characters.

Let's talk about this film's art. Holy shit this film's art. I guess it's to be expected of Ghibli but how do they manage to create these absolutely mesmerizing fantasy worlds that just amaze you every time you see them. The scenery in Spirited Away is simply breath taking. I cannot explain in words just how amazing the scenery is in this film. Just like how Chihiro is wondered by just how beautiful the world she is in after getting used to it, so do we. The diverse look of the various Yokai in this film is also so inspired and amazingly done. They do not feel out of place in this modern / traditional aesthetic Japanese world that they are presented in at all. They feel, natural. Natural but fantastical. That's the only way I can explain it. The art definitely creates this amazing world that we want to learn more about, and it's probably one of the reasons why I have issues with the story to begin with because I want to learn more about the beautiful world that's presented to us.

The music in this film is also well done. They set the tone correctly every time and even hint to something bad happening when you hear dissonance. Like for example, listen to the music when Chihiro's parents start eating the food. You hear the music turn more unsettling like something bad is gonna happen even though nothing in the art implies it other than Chihiro's mannerisms and her desire to just get out of there. The music in of itself tells a story, and accompanied by this film's art? It's just a beautiful duet.

Now the characters. In the beginning we see Chihiro as this timid, shy girl who has to accept the help of those around her in order to survive and try to find a way to save her parents. But as she progresses through the story and overcomes numerous trials, she no longer is that timid, shy girl we see in the beginning but grows to become this strong independent person who seeks to help the people that she cares about and have aided her when she ended up in this unfamiliar world. And this progression feels like a genuine triumph for those watching. We see hints of Chihiro having that bravery and steadfastness inside her in the beginning even during her lowest points such as when she kept pushing herself to try and get hired so she wouldn't be turned into an animal. And these qualities only further grow inside her as she overcomes trial after trial and inevitably becomes this person who saves the people around her instead of the one being saved and honestly, it's so satisfying to see her become this and it's what makes it feel like a genuine triumph to see her growth. All of the other characters are also quite endearing and it's honestly such a shame that we never had time to explore their backstories, motivations, futures, etc, that might've defined them more as a character other than the perspectives that they have towards Chihiro and a few hints of their motivations. An example of this would be Lin. Lin at first is rather annoyed with Chihiro due to the way she acts and only helps her in order to get the juicy, succulent, fried newt that Kabagi offered in exchange. However, after Chihiro overcomes her first trial of getting hired, we see Lin warm up to her and even care about her when she feels sick. And gradually as they start working together, she starts treating her like a friend and even tells her what her future motivations are after offering her a dumpling that she swiped from somewhere. She even becomes willing to help her escape the Bath House knowing that Baba would be looking for her after the No Face and Haku fiasco for no reason other than to just help her. In fact, a lot of the characters in this film warm up to Chihiro similarly to Lin. They see Chihiro struggle, overcome her trials, helping others along the way and end up warming up to her, wishing to encourage and aid her when the need arises. Honestly this progression feels so natural and feels like a reward for the hard work Chihiro has done over the course of the story.

Overall I loved this film. Yes, there are some issues here and there but they don't really kill any enjoyment out of the viewing experience. Watching this film was a magical experience and it's something that'll stick with me for years to come. If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend watching Spirited Away. I guarantee you that you will also fall in love with the world and characters that this film has to offer.