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[This review is based on the first 5 episodes of the anime]

Okay, after watching the last episode, I think it is safe to assume that this is one of the animes that are being misunderstood heavily due to their titles. As repulsive as the title sounds, and as ludicrous the "Romantic subtext" sounds, this is one the better animes I will recommend to you.

Story: (8/10)

I thought it was going to be another anime where the title says it all: in the second to last episode, they are going to break the taboo and become a couple despite being siblings. But after watching the latest episode, ... however, I think it's taking a different, albeit interesting direction.

The story is about two previously detached individuals suddenly becoming siblings, and through mischievous interactions as siblings, they learn to accept and embrace each other as siblings. The romantic subtext is rather misleading here because the anime didn't really establish any kind of ship between the main duo except for random perky jokes here and there - all used for comedy purposes.

Speaking of Comedy, although sometimes it appears as a bland slice of life element, the comedy aspect of this anime is decent. Now comedy is purely subjective and I think it's unnecessary to elaborate this point further.

Unless project 9 does what it did with Higehiru, I definitely think this is going to be a enjoyable ride.

Characters: (6.5/10)

There are four characters introduced in the series so far. There isn't really much characterization put behind them yet. All the characters are half bland as majority of the romcoms flesh their characters out to be, but not to say that negatively - they are likable.

Animation: (8/10)
Soundtrack: (7/10)

I think these two elements are not worth exploring in details as they are just "Decent". If something about this anime bothers you, it will definitely not going be these two. Similarly, if you find something about this anime over the top, it will definitely not going to be these two.

Overall: (7.5/10)

I believe this anime's worth a watch, at least so far. With dumbstar firses like Kanojo Okarishimaru airing, this anime is one of the better animes of the season.

"If you meet god, tell him to just leave me alone."
At the first glance, it may sound like a quote of an archetype edgy teenager, but berserk is one of the few phenomenal masterpieces to take this into a literal level.

Short answer: It's a must read. Extremely highly recommended.

Long answer: I'll describe every aspects of the manga from an objective perspective, sometimes adorned with my own subjective view on why I LIKED or DISLIKED the particular aspect.

STORY: 9/10
Berserk's story has a single thematic meaning that is presented impeccably throughout the five pivotal arcs of the story. The main theme of the story is "Survival against ... the fate.". The way Miura presents the theme intricately into different manners, different tones and different plots is just astonishingly beautiful. Although the story does take its time to deal with some other frivolous themes, the main theme stays concrete and precise throughout the whole story.

It also delves deeply and intriguingly into some of the philosophical categories such as existentialism, totalitarianism and antiestablishmentarianism. As a philosophical enthusiast, they were quite enthralling to explore.

Story remains consistent throughout the first three arcs, while slightly fluctuates with the later arcs. Yet the fluctuations are insignificant so their value can be omitted. Five arcs are: The black swordsman, The Golden Age, The Conviction, The Millennium Falcon and The Fantaisia chronologically. I'll refer to them based on their chronology for the later part of the review.

Each arc represents its own insignia and corporeal themes, which are vastly different from one another. I believe this is where the criticisms come from, a wide range of people believe that the quality deteriorates after the second arc, Golden Age, but judging it objectively, it doesn't. The genres shift substantially each arc, and most of the time, not to the direction people would love.

The first arc is a little pale in comparison with the rest of the story, so I would say Berserk starts out, a little better than average. But as soon as they reach the second arc, it is almost impossible not to be enthralled by the manga. The second and third arc are appreciated widely by all sorts of consumers, starting from the tiniest fanboy to the highest of critics. The story undergoes a substantial change in 4th and 5th arcs, with some insignificant fluctuation in between.

Overall, as the quality drops erratically and most of the time, insignificantly, I'll say that berserk remains very consistent throughout the whole story, my advice is that don't be insular. Adapt yourself with different tones and themes to appreciate the manga entirely.

WORLD EXPANSION: 8/10
Berserk may not shine the best in this aspect, as there are one piece and Hunter x Hunter more intricately crafted than that, but it's surely not something to neglect entirely.

The whole stratification of Berserk's whole world is in three macrocosmic trinities, Physical world, Astral world and Idea world. The world is gigantic, but the scarcity of details and ambiguity often make it uninteresting. The usage and utilization of magic is nothing much of impressing, or overly genius.

Berserk sets out in a medieval age, and has a spectrum of nations to support that idea. There are nations equivalent to East European, East Indian and such of our world, with their own ruler and kingdom. Berserk featuers a totalitarian hierarchy with aristocratic society on top, which is another archetypical dark macabre fantasy world.

The world states are transient, almost in every arc the scenerio changes substantially, brining new and creative ideas into world.

PLOT: 9.5/10

Berserk is a character driven manga, one of the best in that one regard to add. It may look like a revenge manga at the first glance superficially, but the main theme of this manga is about survival.

The plot revolves around Guts, the black swordsman, struggling against fate ever since his birth. From his infancy, he has been treated horrendously, suffered excruciatingly. It's been around two decades when we last saw him smiling.

The plot is so simple, yet so perplexing and complex at times. There are times when we saw the moral compass getting ambiguous, times when Guts portrayed evil and destruction. Nonetheless, the plot is about finding a peace within a world that doesn't want him in.

CHARCTERS: 10/10
The strongest aspect of Berserk, alongside the art.

Without a doubt, the most captivating aspect of Berserk is a about the sublime and juxtaposition of the protagonist and the antagonist. Their polar opposite stories are almost always interesting to follow along.

Guts, the protagonist of the story, one of the best manga protagonist of all time, whose psychological aspects extend beyond imagination. He is a flawed human being, trying to struggle against the fate he has been conferred. As story progresses, he confronts multiple contradictory feelings, and overcoming them is what makes his journey so captivating. He has all the redeemable quality a protagonist should have, determination, will, motivation, something to look forward to, something to win, something to lose, an iconic trait, dimension and so on.

The antagonist is also one of the best antagonist of all time, but elaborating in this point may expose you to the spoilers.

Berserk has a wide range of side characters, most of them with their own backstory. Earliest characters, such as Caska and Rickert has their own emotion, dimension, their personality feels humane. The side character that stands out the most is Farnese, introduced in the third arc, having a phenomenal development, changing consistently throughout the story. There are also some insignificant characters such as Puck, Serpico, Ishidoro and Isma, introduced in the later arcs, who are to be explored I'm surmising. Since the manga hasn't ended yet, I think we can expect good things from them later. Some of the sneak peeks we got from characters like Zodd and Skull Knight are quite promising which is to be unveiled in the near future.

Berserk also has a wide range of background characters such as Luca and Nina. Although their appearance is quite insignificant, they are decently crafted characters. Some of the traits that the background characters feature will make you biased/unbiased or ambivalent towards them.

ART: 10/10
The first few volumes of berserk don't shine highly in this aspect, but as time passes, Miura proved himself to a genius in this regard, constantly overtime. For now, Berserk's artwork is stellar and intricate, taking every single detail into accounts.

It's almost inconceivable to think how berserk will look colorfully. Black and white looks perfect. Choreography is so perfectly done that it feels like you're watching an animation. Shadows and shading are extremely detailed. The artworks of the apostles are creative.

ENJOYMENT: 10/10

Berserk is a slow burn. The pace is overall decent, but feels dragged down at times. There are little fragments of solidarity and heartwarming wholesomeness, and sometimes inhumane savagery and corruption The fact that I cannot get over it, return to it multiple times over and over, perpetually even after being months of finishing it is enough to give you the general understanding of how much I enjoyed it.



OVERALL: 9.5/10

Berserk is not a godsend. Not the perfect bestowed from heaven manga half of the audience makes it out to be. Also quite in the contrary, not the grotesquely overrated manga the rest of the audience makes it out to be. It has flaws, it has mistakes. But the point is they are so frivolous that they are negligible. Overall, it takes my throne to be the best manga I've ever read. (and I've read a lot of them.)

*SPOILER_FREE*

Oregairu is a great anime. BUT it's not for everyone. If you can't stand the characters talking 24/7 and subtle monologues, no distinguishing romance, stay out of this!

Story: 7/10
Oregairu is a character driven story, and it's a great one in this regards. It's a story of a members of the service club, it's not a matter of who they help, where they help, why they help, but a matter of "HOW they help.".

Pros:
+Monologue: Perhaps, Oregairu's on of the best part. Firstly, you will see the mc monologuing the situations based on his POV, flawed, biased, but as the development goes, it starts making ... more sense and adds a lot more thrill into the story. The monologues add more tension and drama to the atmosphere.
+Drama: Some may find this as a con for being too overdramatic, but I think it just added the perfect flavor to the story. Sometimes full of tension, sometimes a bit depressing.
+Flow: In the first few eps, the story doesn't flow much, but it starts to take real shape around the 9th episode of season 1. From there, it's a rollercoaster of emotion.
+Atmosphere: Amazing! Oregairu perfectly encapsulates the superficial-social hierarchy of the high school life, that almost all of us had experienced during our adolescence.
+Emotion: Not much character involvements in season 1. But from the very beginning of the season 2, You will hop on the rollercoaster of emotion that it has to offer.
+Romance: Romantic part of the story takes a long time to build up, so don't expect something broad soon. But once it starts to payoff, it's, genuine.

Cons:
-Story padding: Sometimes a bit too many unnecessary details which could be done more delicately.
-Convolution: This one part, that makes people running hot against this anime. The monologues are often unnecessarily subtle, full of jargons, which makes them very convoluted. That might be a bad consideration to few, but I personally enjoyed it, it added an extra personality-trait to the character, as it was narrated by the protagonist.
-comedy: I'll be straight, it sucked. Sometimes monotonous, sometimes weird. BUT it had never been the best part of the anime. The comedy is almost non-existent from season 2.

Art: 8/10
(ONLY OF SEASON 2 AND SEASON 3)
It's good. The body-language and expressions were done neat, and looked realistic. There were adequate details in the background art, which makes it more lively. The lens flare was beautiful, not too bright, not too dim. Foliages had distinguishing details. The setup of the world was engaging, it will hook you up from the beginning.

Soundtrack: 9/10
Have to admit, one of the best aspect of the anime.

Opening: It's catchy enough to hook you up from the very first. It contributes a lot more vibes in the anime.
Endings: They are catchy too, more mellifluous than the openings. They portray the calming/depressing vibe of the anime.
OSTS: These damn Soundtracks almost hit your guts. The OSTS start hitting in the right time, adding a lot more tension in the atmosphere. You will definitely love the osts.

Disclaimer: Some times, it *might* feel a bit monotonous, depending on the situation.

Characters: 9/10

"Appearances can be deceiving", this proverb goes surprisingly well with this anime. The characters started out as good, developed into something great. If you get attached to the characters from the very beginning, congrats! You are about to experience something you will remember for a long time.

Pros:
+Main characters: The story revolves mostly around the trio of the service club. Main protagonist, Hikigaya Hachiman, is a pessimistic lead, and main female-protagonist Yukinoshita, is a logical lead. They start out with their edgy-pessimistic point of views with flawed monologues, which will get you attached or despised depending on your taste. But as the story develops, they start to shine bright, which is gonna end up as a spoiler, so I'm not including this.
+Side characters: The side characters are very intriguing, some of them may look like some plain looking generic characters, but they got a lot more depth as you explore. They got distinguished personality too, just like how you would expect the people around you be like.
+development: Characters get pretty amazing developments. As it has a potential to become a spoiler if elaborated, I will let you explore this side of the story yourself.
+Depth: All of the major and minor side characters may seem linear one dimensional at the first glance, But they got depth, they got past, they got personalities.

Cons:
-Background characters: Some of the characters literally stay for like two seconds in two episodes, then disappear to the ashes. Some characters are so vague that you won't even know they exist. some of the characters can just get erased from the story, and you won't even notice an inch. I think they could be crafted and boarded better.

Enjoyment: 9/10
Like I said, it might be a bit tough to get attached to, but once you do, like me, you are about to experience something phenomenal. And it gets just as better as you put more thoughts on it.

Overall: 9/10
Conclusion: Oregairu is a decent character-driven story, with some very memorable characters, making it one of the best drama-romance anime I've ever came across, and will definitely be an anime I'll remember.