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Koi to Uso in Toradora fashion? Heck, I’m in!

I couldn’t believe how I fell in love with this show.
Since the last movie of Karakai Jouzo no Takagi-san, I was yearning for another cute romance to watch. I accidentally stumbled in this show and it is the best accident I’ve ever had. I was not expecting grand will happen since I thought that it would be just another romance like Sono Bisque and Shikimori-san. This show is very sweet and cute to watch. It made me felt on why I fell in love with romance animes from the start.

The story is what I’m not expecting it ... to be. I didn’t watch the trailer or read the synopsis. But I got a glimpse of an idea of a setting that would be focused on marriage. Heck, it’s about marriage but in a practical course. It’s a nice setting because it can be necessary for the students in high school years on how will they behave in case they would be married in the future. Koi to Uso was like a fixed marriage so it’s a different story. What I like about the story is the alliance moment between the two characters. Jiro wants to be partnered with Shiori, while Akari wanted to be partnered with Minami. So they made a goal to reach for the top 10 to switch their partners but through the course of the series, one of them might get fall in love. It made me remember Toradora, which is one of my favorite romances animes.

The good thing is, there’s no such thing as NTR here. Each episode and moments are funny and entertaining. The comedy in this show made me giggle every time. Sadaharu can be somewhat similar to Sunohara in Clannad. The romance in this show can make you thrilled and feel the fluffiness of what romance had in the first place. Every episode is so good that it can leave you wanting more. The ecchi is somewhat great but it is not the main selling point of the show. It didn’t bother me that much because Akari is a gyaru but a good character. It’s inevitable to have ecchi moments in romance animes and it can be entertaining. I thought if Sono Bisque was just like this and more focused on the romance and its message, it could be one of my favorite romcoms. The funny part of that moment is they are both shows from the Seinen demographic. You can see obviously that Sono Bisque is somewhat a wasted potential due to the excessive ecchi moments and a misleading interpretation of romance.

I love all the characters in this show. It’s not going to have you screaming at the characters, but it will have you rooting for them. This is the first time that I like a gyaru female lead like Akari and she made me understand her emotions throughout the story. She is so beautiful, alongside Marin and Shikimori. The Character Development of Akari warms my heart, I used to dislike this girl at first but after watching the episodes of this show, I concluded that I love her Personality and Character Development the most. Shiori's Character Development is not that well developed from what I can see, but we all know how much development she has it will never lead to a happy ending for her. Childhood friends mostly never win and that's a fact. Unless the author will do something that makes us in awe. The character development of Jiro is great too but he can be dense at all times. It’s not bad because most people aren’t psychics, to begin with. The other characters are so lively and full of energy. They are well-presented and fun to hang out with. Jiro and Akari have chemistry as a couple. I want him to root for both of them but Shiori is sometimes annoying. But that something happens when you low-key reject the person that likes you. You’re too late to realize your feelings for him/her.

I fell in love with the art style and animation. It seems Blue and Pink are the main colors of this show. The color palettes are so beautiful and eye candy to watch. The animation is good as expected from other romance animes. Akari keeps on becoming hotter throughout the series and it’s a good thing. Every detail in the background scenes is very capturing to the eyes.

Gosh, the sounds. I didn’t like the OP and ED that much, but the soundtrack is beautiful and warms my heart. It made me remember the soundtrack of 5-toubun no Hanayome. The music is suitable for every moment in this show. It can make you feel the romantic vibe that this show has to offer. Forgettable? I think not. The best? One of the music that’s pleasing to the ears.

I highly recommend this show to audiences and fans who want to enjoy solid romance animes. You might fall in love at first sight, even though the story is somewhat predictable. I’m captured by its title and I surely will pick the manga to see what will happen to the story. It has the potential to be one of those romance animes that’s so sweet and you might enjoy. The show has typical romcom cliché moments but it can keep you on the edge of your seat. Although it’s not perfect, it’s worth watching!

As for the last note, let’s not deny the following statement. The word “Pretending” is always going to be “Official”.

Story: 8/10
Animation: 9/10
Characters: 8/10
Sound: 9/10
Entertainment factor: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10

What could be a genuinely depressing wallow into some of the funniest anime of the year?

I have to admit. Bocchi the Rock may not be a masterpiece, but it is excellent in portraying its themes regarding social anxiety and lack of self-confidence.

Back in 2021, there was an anime titled, “Komi-san Can’t Communicate”. It tells about the social anxiety of the female heroine and how she deals with it. Portraying such things can be so hard because it has to be relatable and realistic. Did Komi successfully portray its theme? Heck, no. It’s more of a joke and offensive to me. I think it’s the same ... for everybody.

Then we had titles like 3-gatsu no Lion, Honey, and Clover, Uramichi Oni-san, Kara no Kyoukai, Colorful, Welcome to NHK, and the like. They successfully portrayed its themes from their own story. Finding a way out of that darkness is hard and it’s a challenge to get other people to understand what it’s like, much less help you through your tough times. Fortunately, there is much anime about social anxiety and others. No matter if you’re struggling through yourself or if you want to be able to better relate to something, sometimes these kinds of animes are great places to start.

Bocchi the Rock! is the new musical anime that came out after so many years. It talks about a girl who has social anxiety, yearning to have friends, and reaching a dream of creating a band. This might be the spiritual successor to K-On, which was released a decade ago. I’ve read some reviews that it’s somewhat similar to K-On and “better than K-On” or something. However, I shouldn’t compare this to other band music animes, especially to K-On. Yeah, they are the same genre/band/whatever, but they are different. K-On is a fun school slice of a live music band and their daily lives while Bocchi is the same, but the show is portraying different themes such as social anxiety and doubtfulness. Bocchi the Rock has obvious flaws but that doesn’t mean you can compare it to K-On. I’m saying all of this as a massive K-On fan. It is still a fun and enjoyable anime, filled with colorful animation and likable characters.

I will discuss the things I’ve liked and the things that aren’t or are insufficient for this show.
The show has the same formula as a live music band. The only difference is the approach. It’s like they used the “what if” situation. The main characters from music animes are mostly optimistic. The main character in Starmyu, Love Live!, K-On, and many more. They all had the same dream to show their talents and reach their dreams. But Bocchi the Rock is different. Instead of using an optimistic main character, the main character there is the opposite. Bocchi, the main character of the show, is having social anxiety and panic attacks. She yearns to have a friend, and a band to play with and to reach the hearts of many people with her voice and songs. But the problem is, she’s lacking self-confidence and succumbed to the depths of despair. That’s what I like about this show. The titular character is not optimistic, brave, perfect, or confident, but she’s a fun and relatable girl for everyone.

The story is solid and fun to understand. It’s like “the daily life of being an introvert” but in a musical way. This show has one of the best interpretations of social anxiety and being a person who lacks confidence as I said before. As studying in BS Psychology and am an introvert/social anxiety expert, I’m so related to the titular character and her daily antics. The portrayal of its theme is solid and so realistic. It would make you convince that Bocchi’s situation and mental health can be relatable for other people. When it comes to having delusions, panic attacks, overthinking, and the like, Bocchi the Rock nailed it. However, the exaggeration of its portrayal can be somewhat annoying. It’s like when Bocchi is having such little problems and she suddenly panics and started to overthink, it’s somewhat started turning to become pretentious. Yeah, it’s normal for that kind of person but little problems can be solved in no time so there’s no need to panic that much. The comedy in this show is a hit or miss for me. Some jokes are entertaining to watch, especially Bocchi’s reactions. It’s like I’m seeing myself in the situations she’s in. But some of them aren’t executed well or just fell flat. The punchlines are way too simple and stretched for too long. The interactions, especially in making or talking to her friends are nicely done. It would make you feel that you’re in the show. It’s nothing too complex or needs to be masterpiece-written. It's a solid, fun, enjoyable, and relatable kind of story that will make you entertain. Bocchi the Rock is a pitch-perfect story.

However, Bocchi the Rock isn’t perfect. There are obvious that I’ve seen from the show. As much as I hate to mention this one, it needs to be mentioned.

The problem with that is from episode 1. We noticed how Bocchi became an introvert and had social anxiety. I’m not convinced enough about how she became like that. Her backstory is that she locked herself in her room for her love of playing guitars and that because of that she simply never learned to socialize. Again, SHE NEVER LEARNED TO SOCIALIZE. There’s no specific reason why she became like that in the first place. Didn’t her parents teach her how to make friends or something? Engage in some kind of social activities or some sort of? Typically, people who completely isolate themselves from the world due to a hobby usually have an unhealthy relationship, sometimes even an addiction, to it. A normal person would do it, but really? It’s like Gojo Wakana all over again, where they suddenly both slapped the “social anxiety” label on their asses. And one more problem, I didn’t get the feeling that she wanted to play the guitar will all of her heart. She just saw a popular band member who said that being in a band is where introverts belong or some shit. It’s not she wanted to play the guitar because she wanted to play like she was inspired to do that.

The characters are more or less interesting. We got a confident introvert with blue hair, a confident extrovert with blonde hair, and an unconfident extrovert with red hair. The characters have mixed-up personalities which is interesting. Her friends developed realistic viewings and lessons that the audience might relate to. The comedy between them is still a hit or miss for me, but Ryou Yamada is the funniest one from the group aside from Bocchi. I like those kinds of characters, which can be blunt yet sarcastic. Her hilarious dialogues about introversion teach the contrast between being an introvert to social anxiety. Nijika enlightens others about extroverts or outgoing people, their struggles, and their resolves. Kita views the other point of view of social anxiety which is inexperience for Bocchi. Their dynamics are somewhat entertaining because their personalities contrast with each other. It’s a solid nostalgia for many people because this is what exactly of having a conversation with a circle of friends. The character development is solid too but sometimes I’m annoyed at Bocchi’s development. Some parts from a certain episode develop but after an episode, she suddenly reverted from who she was. It’s tripping all over again at some point.

The animation and art style are so beautiful. I hate CloverWokes when it comes to their animes because the story and animation aren’t balanced. But this is the first time this studio gave me a really good impression of how these two elements can balanced with each other. The art style is really beautiful and cute at the same time. The animation sequences are pretty amazing especially when they play together as a band. You can see the amazing lighting, background images, and camera panning. What I like about the show is when they use different kinds of art. They aren’t just using traditional hand-drawn animation, but they also used toys, clays, real-life arts, and absurdity art styles when Bocchi loses her mind and goes into Cyberpsychosis mode. It’s so unique and majestic at the same time. It reminds me of the OP of Honey and Clover, and some scenes from 3-gatsu no Lion. They took the advantage of the other forms of art, except the traditional chibi or comic relief of hand-drawn animations. Even the meme faces of Anya couldn’t possibly be superior to this.

The music is fantastically well written too as a musician and a sound producer. It gives me a chillax vibe of every character and their daily antics. The songs that were played when they are performing on stage are catchy and can make you feel rock-n-roll at the same time. However, there’s this one problem. It isn’t sound live enough. I mean, they are performing live on stage, but it doesn’t sound like they are making a live concert at some point. It’s like they recorded themselves and they lip-synced the songs. Take a comparison from Bocchi’s live performance to K-On’s. You will see the comparison because, in K-On, the voice, the music, and the whole performance sound like you’re in a live concert. Even the concert part in the third season of Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai is sound like a live performance. This is the only problem that needs to be addressed for this show. The seiyuus are amazing, especially Bocchi’s. Her voice makes me entertain every scene and laugh at the same time, especially when she’s having hypertension. The OP and the EDs are great enough, even though I listened to it once. I admit, the songs from this show aren’t solid and iconic like from K-On, but it’s still pretty good.

I have a solid blast while watching this show to the point that I consider this as one of the great animes that released these years. It’s a show overflowing with love and care, and CloverWorks did a solid one into this. To top it off with great sound quality, and reactions, to make everything not only mesh super well but also make it believable too. Some shows try so hard to get these two right, and this show has done it plenty, and it can only grow from here on, to be a real stand-out. It is quite possibly the best adaptation of a 4-Koma manga, aside from K-On. It is a fun-to-watch show, with lively characters and colorful animation, and most importantly a great portrayal of social anxiety. I’m glad I followed this train, a train fused with anxiety, absurdity, and excitement.

Story: 9/10
Animation: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
Sound: 9/10
Entertainment factor: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10

*Spoilers in a marked section*

Sorry but not sorry. This is the most disappointing thing I’ve ever seen.

This anime is suffering from an identity crisis. You never know what the heck is the point or trying to show. Based on the poster, it’s obvious what’s about to happen. If you will compare the posters between the two parts, you will see the obvious difference. From an “amazing looking spy” show to a gag filler sitcom from OVAs.

“Spy x Family is perfectly blended with action and come—”

Cut that crap already!

I’ll keep this review short and to the point because no one thing in this show is worth ... mentioning.

The first part was okay despite being a disappointment. It showed a feel-good vibe with a spice of action, even the action should be the important factor in this show. The second part so far is absolutely the worst sequel I’ve ever seen. I’ve been waiting for this moment since I teased in my review from the first part that the sequel would be ridonkeylous. If I will get a percentage for the good parts in this part, it would be 3% and it’s from the Bond part. Right, that Bond part. Sorry for those people who said that this segment is well-written, but I will explain why this part is so bad.

A group of criminal guys who want to fuel a war between the two sides by bombing using dogs. Anya met this white fluffy dog (later called him Bond), but suddenly they were being hostage by those guys. The leader of the group said that his plan would be known and would be successful and no one could stop them. But suddenly, Anya got away. Okay, first of all, why wouldn’t they tie Anya first into a chair and put her in the middle when many of their men could see her? This guy is like: “YADA, YADA, YADA”, while he didn’t have the common sense to take care of his hostage. The whole situation perfectly worked for Anya and the author gave the most convenient situation, but in reality, he could have just killed Anya right away.

The second dumb thing is the bomb part. Gladly Loid figured out Anya’s warning about not opening the door because the whole thing would get explode. The question is, how the heck they would disarm the bomb, while it detonates at the back of the door? They will push themselves at that small door where Loid saw the bomb through a mirror or glass shard. The only way in is the door and nothing else. How the fuck they will disarm it?

The third is when Yor kicked out the car with her massive power and just HER LEG. Is Yor that muscular or some shit? Even though she’s an assassin, there’s no way she could kick a ton-weighted metallic car because assassins don’t get super strength. They only got the speed and reflexes in killing a victim. The car crashed into the lamp post and the people over there didn’t witness what happened. They didn’t call the police department and report it to them. The boss was arrested by the spy organization, but they didn’t think about who was the one who beat the gang leader, and the next day it nothing happened. As if they are not curious about what happened to that guy in the first place. The spy organization has to be the dumbest people I’ve ever known. I’m sure those members of the spy organization would create research about the person who beat it.

The rest of the episodes were just filler-gag shows that can make your brain cells deplete. It’s like you’re watching special episodes from OVAs that are derived from the main story. Side stories, perhaps. It’s more of a slice-of-life than action, which is Spy x Family’s disappointment factors. The comedy makes you either cringe or didn’t slap hard, and even Adam Sandler’s comedies are better than this. The whole show is full of Anya and Anya only since she’s the one in the center of the poster. The main characters, Loid and Yor suddenly became the fucking side characters that no one is expecting. The comedy is fully repetitive like Anya’s meme faces, Yor’s cooking segment, Yor’s brother’s vomiting while eating segment, Anya x Desmond interactions, and many more. It’s repeating the same all over and over again like a broken record. And what a way to end the season, TABLE TENNIS. Jeez, what the fuck. It’s like the author has run out of creative ideas for making people entertain so he rehashed the same thing. And you expected us to enjoy that? I don’t fucking think so. The author should just focus on how to make a perfect spy story that focuses on the action with a pinch of comedy, but not a ridonkeylous one for fuck’s sake.

The characters? Anya is the only character in this show. She’s still… meh. What about Fiona? Well… MEH!

The animation is still good. Not perfect but watchable.

Holy moly, the sound is still the same. I will give extra points to the OP since the sequences are superb. It is familiar with the style in 3-gatsu no Lion S2’s 2nd OP and it is sung by BUMP OF CHICKEN, so I’m slightly biased. Still, it didn’t capture the vibe of the whole show because it’s more of a SoL than an action. The ED is nice too and it’s better than the first. Good, but forgettable.

I couldn’t say this enough, but this part made me think that even KanoKari S2 had made some progression. It made me remember when I watched Komi-san that the story is still stuck on a broken record. The point and the message that is trying to convey made some or most of the audience feel that this show is like trolling. If you’re living under a rock, this show can be enjoyable. But for those people who want solid action-oriented spy shows, do me a favor and don’t watch this. A truly wasted potential and the sole reason why this is popular... ANYA. Average comedy at its finest.

Do you want a solid spy show? Watch Talentless Nana. Want a solid action gun show? Watch Black Lagoon or Ghost in the Shell. Want a solid wholesome slice of life? Watch 3-gatsu no Lion (Momo >>>> Anya). Want a solid blend of action, comedy, and slice-of-life? Watch Mob Psycho 100.

Story: 3/10
Animation: 7/10
Characters: 4/10
Sound: 5/10
Entertainment factor: 3/10
Enjoyment: 3/10

“Okaerinasaimase, Goshujinsama!”

Simple words, yet it’s charming to see that greeting when you go inside a café with full of cute maids. They were dressed in black uniforms, a white aprons on the outside, and most importantly, their smile. They will escort you to your seats and will serve your meals. They serve Parfaits, Karage, Salads, and Omurice with a special message from them, written in ketchup. Customers will feel very special while you’re inside the café. When you exit the café, they will greet you again to see them next time. That’s the daily life of maid cafes and their masters. That’s what I ... pictured this show. A slice of life comedy anime full of cute maids and their daily lives. That’s the part where I’ve been mistaken.

WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUCK?

After witnessing the unexpected airing of Pairipi Koumei from Spring 2022 and its Chinese dance, PA Works is back with another one of their anime originals. It’s been a long time since they made an anime original like the recently Aquatope of the White Sand. This time, they released something different. Something less likely we’ve never seen before. I found myself getting trolled by this show because it isn’t what I’m expecting. I didn’t read the synopsis nor see the trailer in the first place.

At the very beginning of the show, it seemed different. You may think that the story is not supposed to be like that. The show introduced the main character, that is yearning to experience the life of being a maid and decided to work in a maid café in Akiba. Nagomi decided to work in a café called, “Oinky Doinky Café”, where they wear a pinkish uniform, and some of them wear a headband of pig’s ears. She later experienced her first day of the job until that night. Ranko began to shoot other maids with a dual-wielding pistol in front of her and witnessed the corpses covered in their blood. I didn’t expect that to happen and made me curious about what the heck is going on. I had assumed this will be another CGDCT anime by PA Works but apparently, it’s a show where maids are considered yakuzas, and killing amongst them is a normal occurrence. I thought it was supposed to be a slice-of-life maid show but I made a mistake. The next thing that happened is I found myself enjoying this show.

The story is kind of a troll by making an idea about maids and maid cafes and turning them into some sort of bloodbath war. I’m not sure where to start, but I think all maid cafes are like running a ruthless business. Tons of slapping energy, action, and thriller slapped together into a show not just for comedy, but one-of-a-kind entertainment. I didn’t find myself bored every time I watch the ongoing episodes. What I like about the story are its uniqueness and creativity. The concept is interesting but shown in a subaverage way. Each episode has its own story when they found themselves fighting with other maid cafes for the sake of their café and lives. But when they all come in together, you’ll know that something will supposed to happen. Imagine a world where yakuza don't hang out in small offices, entertaining only people that owe them money, but instead, they run maid cafes... as cute maids. Sound ridiculous? That's because it is. That's also the plot of this show. In this world, maid cafes are part of syndicates, maids use knives, swords, and guns to kill their competition, and they do long stretch in prison. Yet somehow, they still attract and entertain otaku in their cafes. The comedy itself is very entertaining. I found myself laughing so much because of the execution of the punchline, where every maid got killed all of a sudden. The segments in this show are very witty like the boxing match, baseball match, poker match, rooftop scene, and many more. Although the story didn’t have complexity, it was engaging and most of all, full of violence.

What I like about the characters are they full of energy. Some of them were annoying but you couldn’t help but laugh. Their interactions are entertaining even sometimes also absurd. The characters are also fleshed out, and most of them are interesting. Panda can be somewhat the funniest character in the series, alongside Manager. I thought that she was just a mascot while she was a maid too. The manager is way too crazy for the situation. She is sometimes annoying because she always sells her staff to war to earn profits. Even though, she’s also an entertaining one. I like the character development of Nagomi because even though she was forced to join the war, she didn’t quit. She wanted to prove to other cafes that Oinky Doinky members are not pigs. Ranko is probably the best character in the series because she is full of violence. I thought that she was just the cold-hearted one, but she’s the one who loves Oinky Doinky the most. She values her co-workers, especially Nagomi’s determination to solve the conflicts without acts of violence.

The sounds are also good. It is well-suitable for most of the parts. Some parts sometimes look like a punchline because of the music, but they know how to put the music into some serious parts. The OP slaps hard and it sounded 90s electronic vibe. The lyrics are just the dialogue of a common maid to the customers, but the way they distorted and make it suspenseful is amazing. The dance at the end was good too and I didn’t expect that because of its nature. I didn’t listen to the ED that much but it sounded like the songs from Yakuza.

The animation and art style are also good as expected from PA Works. Although the quality isn’t that perfect, it’s pretty suited for the show. The style can be very weird but also mesh super well. The art direction is also presented and they took their sweet time to animate every scene even the violent ones. It seems that they ran out of budget when they produced Paripi Koumei. It’s not a high-caliber, but a good one.

Akiba Meido Sensou is certainly a strange show but certainly has left an impression on its viewers. I recommend it to those who want to be entertained and experience some strange violence. It’s not a masterpiece but it’s very creative. Chaotic, strange situations, insane, and stupidity in a good way, blended all in one show. Akiba Meido Sensou is definitely worth to see!

Story: 8/10
Animation: 7/10
Characters: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Entertainment factor: 9/10
Enjoyment: 9/10

“One and only one.”

Simple words but a powerful meaning. Between a master and a disciple, not only one of them is capable of growing up. Choosing a person and putting their trust in them can be hard. They both do but there’s no one can break the bond that strengthens them.
This! This is how you make an action show with a perfect blending of humor and life! Not just a show having an identity crisis. Yeah, I’m talking about that show of massive disappointment.

I remember when I watched the first season months back and I dropped it because it didn’t hook me. The best decision ... that I made is to give it another chance, and I’m very glad I did it. I witnessed a unique and spectacular action anime filled with bright colors and fight choreography. A story filled with humor, friendship, heart, and self-discovery of a middle school child, his massive psychic powers, and how they affect the people around him.

Mob Psycho 100 is written by ONE, which is also the author of the famous action-comedy One Punch Man. The only difference between the two is that Mob Psycho is a solid action story while OPM is a gag action. There are differences but it is impossible to compare since they are both masterpieces. But why am I comparing those two? Let’s start the review of the story from beginning to end.

Mob Psycho 100 is an antithesis to self-insert fantasies. This isn't about a bland, blank character wreaking havoc when showing off their cool power. This is about a genuine person as protagonist with his own personal philosophy and take on the superpowers. This isn't about the protagonist being admired by regular people because of his great power. This is about the protagonist admiring regular people and looking up to those who managed to improve themselves through their own efforts.

What I like about Mob Psycho 100 is the uniqueness of the story. There are thousands of animes where the main character is overpowered and they showcase their power to the viewers. But Mob Psycho is different. The main character who has massive psychic power hates it and only wants to become normal. The main character, which is Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama, relates to the audience who had everything to themselves but wanted normal things. He works with his master in exorcising spirits, and his master had a delusion that he’s a powerful psychic while Mob does all the work. What I like about Reigen and Mob’s tandem is their chemistry. They aren’t perfect human beings. Even Reigen is Mob’s so-called “master”, he also has the capable of growing just like Mob. He isn’t that kind of person who is superior to anyone else. He seems powerless if Mob isn’t around but he is independent and capable of doing the right thing in his power. Even Reigen isn’t perfect, what I love from him is that he advices Mob to become the person he wanted to be. This shows that he believes and putting his faith in Mob’s hands to become the person that he can be.

Throughout the series, he meets different psychics and some enemies like Dimple, who allied with him. He meets also his schoolmates and classmates from his club and school, and also his only crush. I like the fact that he doesn’t rely upon his powers to impress someone, or even defeat someone. He has good intentions and he has ways of making something better than using his powers.

Mob defeated a group of evil psychics in season 1, while his group defeated its leader. In this final season, he encountered two battles; a battle with his first friend Dimple, and the greatest enemy of all, himself.

I really how he matures from the previous two seasons. His character development is superb because he learned how to value himself and become independent. The fight with Dimple is one of the peak moments in this show. Dimple, who’s greedy for power and to become a leader of the whole world, while Mob wants to convince him that having great power or becoming a god wouldn’t get what he wants. He made him realize that there’s something better than power, his true friendship with him. Mob realizes what Dimple meant from the first season, but nothing ever beats the power of friendship with him. Sadly, he did die for the sake of saving him. Dimple is truly the best sidekick in this story.

The last one is the dreadful battle between Mob and Shigeo himself. He plans to confess to his crush but he ended up being in an accident, awakening his 100% power and rampaging the whole city. I like what happened in this part because fighting with himself is one of his challenges. It’s unique and refreshing to watch. I was curious about how Shigeo would wield his true power or if he can defeat his power with only the bare hands of a mortal. The final battle is the culmination of all battles that he had since the first season. The pacing, direction, dialogues, and writing are well-crafted. They did the trilogy consistently a perfect job, just like the trilogy of the Fruits Basket series.

The animation and art style are so unique. It made me think that this is the reason why the quality of the latest Boku no Hero Academia degraded at some point. The art isn’t the same for most of the animes but it’s a damn great one. The fight choreography is so flawless like in Demon Slayer. You can see the animators’ passion, time, and effort in animating the series. As expected from Bones, this could be one of the landmarks in their history of animation.

The sound and music deserve a standing ovation. The openings from the first to the final season are epic. I like when the title of the opening of the final season is “1” rather than 100 because it signifies the complete trilogy of the series. All I can say is EPIC! The animation sequences from the first season up to the final never cease to amaze me. The part at the end when Mob growing up and Reigen standing up gave me chills. It symbolizes how Reigen cares for Mob when he was a child. The Mob growing up symbolizes his growth throughout the series. The OP celebrates Mob Psycho 100’s most epic story that has ever been told. The ED is good but nothing ever beats the epic OPs.

Bones have outdone themselves for this season and the whole trilogy. You can see the love and effort in producing this series. I enjoy this story filled with wonderful characters and colorful animation. It’s been a journey and such an amazing adaptation from beginning to end. I honestly don’t think there’s anything they could have done better.

Thank you for being part of this wonderful journey. Thank you, ONE. And mostly, thank you, Bones for producing such an epic series.

Don’t be sad because it’s over, smile because it happened.

Story: 9/10
Animation: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
Sound: 10/10
Entertainment factor: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10

*spoilers in marked section*

Have you ever thought if Kaguya-sama is pure romance rather than so much comedy?

Behold! The most beautiful and romantic movie of the year. This is the greatest story of Kaguya-sama has been told. The epic conclusion to the geniuses' war of hearts and minds since the first season aired in 2019. Ending the war once and for all in this merry Christmas gift offering from A-1 Pictures, Kaguya-sama ~ First Kiss wa Owaranai ~!

After receiving a massive disappointment from the outrageous uLtrA RoMantiCC, I felt angry with this show because it left me with a bitter taste since I’m a fan of ... the series. I ended up picking the manga where it left off to find some answers but I'm really glad I picked it. It turns out, Kaguya-sama isn’t perfect. It has ups and downs but that is what makes it a manga, manga. An anime, anime. I witnessed the truly ultra-romantic in this story arc rather than in the previous season. I didn’t have expectations for the movie since the runtime is only 1 and a half hours, but this adaptation is the one that I wanted to see.

So the story picked up after the events from the previous season. If you saw the ending scene from the last episode, you should ignore that. There are two things that you can think about that scene, either a fanservice or an easter egg from the ending of the movie. But let’s not talk about that and move forward. The members of the gang from the elite student council are back! But there’s one problem, Kaguya suffered from an identity crisis! I like the part when they thought about the kiss because it’s merely an unanswered question of mine. What is the meaning of that kiss? What were Kaguya’s intentions at that time? What will be their relationship from now on? The first act was cute when they adapted the chibi Kaguya while she still had THAT attitude to Ishigami.

The pacing was so fine like they reduced the comedic moments and focused on the romance between the two main characters. It made me feel the pure romantic vibe of the story, rather than being a satire from the previous season. They removed some unnecessary scenes from the manga but it doesn’t feel rushed when I watched it. Yes, there are still comedic moments from the other characters and Shirogane himself. His expressions are so funny when he overthinks things around him, especially to Kaguya. The other characters had some moments but I’ll focus on the main storyline about the two, and how did I like their other sides of the story so far.

- Spoilers –
This is the part that I love the most. How did they deal their themselves at this moment? After the meeting of Kaguya’s personas, it is revealed that the original, or the ice-cold one is the one who truly loves Shirogane the most. While Shirogane, the perfect one, conceals his true self to stand by her side. This is one of the most realistic approaches in many relationships. People know that to be liked by someone is to prove our worth. You must be a perfect person. You must conceal yourself and replace a self where that person can accept you. That’s the cruel part. We might end up having an identity crisis and find it difficult to find our true selves from the many selves that we made. I like the part when Kaguya’s original self enters the whole scene and shows her true self to her, while she’s scared because she might hurt Shirogane. She distanced herself from all the people around her because of her family name and nature. She isn’t really angry but the people around were angry at her. But the reason why she did that was that she didn’t want to end up hurting people. She also thought that when she was finally in love with Shirogane so she built an idiotic self and the current self from the previous seasons, in order not to hate her. So this time, she suppressed her other self because she just don’t want to be an idiot and be carried away, but she want to think about what will happen in the future. She wanted a normal life as a normal young girl. Same for Shirogane, to like and impress by Kaguya, he worked his ass off to become perfect. He poured almost his time to become perfect not just for her, but for other people. He only wanted to notice by Kaguya and the whole student body. But he realizes that it’s not his true self, but “a perfect self” that he made. Being nasty, spineless, a piece of trash, talentless, and a coward are his true self. He fears that everything is over the moment he shows any signs of weakness. He thought that there was no way that Kaguya is destined to be with him because she was just too perfect to reach.

In this part, they are scared of revealing who they are. They both had reasons for why they concealed themselves, and not showing all of it to each other. Their weaknesses and negative sides of themselves. But being who they are and showing who they are is one of the important key factors in having a romantic relationship. Accepting not only the good sides but also the flaws and imperfections that each other. And even, though everyone isn’t perfect you should embrace also your flaws and other selves to understand yourself.

The Christmas party in the last part is one of my favorite moments in the whole story. There are funny moments like the gift revealing that made me laugh. The Handmade Bombs gift is the weirdest and it’s funny because they executed it well. The bench part is the most romantic scene I’ve ever discovered. They confronted each other and revealed their true selves. Kaguya wants to know if Shirogane hates her true self, while Shirogane still hides it from the girl he loves. Kaguya being determined to show her true self marks her finest character development because she had nothing to fear, even though she carries her prideful family name. She gets his gift, and it was revealed that his gift was just a cheap toy. I didn’t expect that reaction from Shirogane when he was asked about his gift. In the end, she gratefully accepts it and his true self. They shared a romantic kiss under a half-moon. Not an ultra-romantic full moon, but still romantic.

There are many messages from this movie that I appreciated. It’s fine not to be perfect. Love doesn’t have to be perfect like making grand surprises, saying great lines, improving themselves just to be perfect, and even having a kiss in a romantic scene. There’s nothing more wonderful than sharing everything and completely understanding one another. Showing the plain normal self and people who are closest to us will embrace who we are. Having closure for these two characters made me feel romantic and somehow wanted to cheer them on their romantic journey.

The animation and music are amazing so far and the adaptation is well done. As expected from A-1 Pictures, they gave me reasons why this studio will remain my favorite. The theme Love is Show made it to my second favorite song from the whole Kaguya-sama. It is not catchy but it’s lively and lovely. The seiyuus did a very good job of voicing the characters. The background music from this movie skyrocketed my impressions and they were made a great job with it. Probably my favorite soundtrack so far.

Overall, this movie is a sweet treat for all Kaguya-sama fans. The movie gave justice to the manga, and it made one of my favorite romance movies. It made me believe again that romance stories are still a thing, after the disastrous adaptation/ending of 5-toubun no Hanayome. It is marked on my list as the pinnacle of romance from the whole Kaguya-sama story, and I hope that this marks the conclusion of the main storyline. The next stories from the manga felt flat actually but who knows? A-1 Pictures might start milking the cash cow.

Once again, it’s time to say farewell to the war that lasted a few years and moves forward to a new stage for the two main characters. As the happy couple emerges, a first kiss will never ends and will last for a lifetime <3

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you.

Story: 9.6/10
Animation: 8.7/10
Characters: 9.3/10
Sound: 9.1/10
Entertainment factor: 9.6/10
Enjoyment: 9.8/10

This review contains a few spoilers and this is the 30th review that I wrote so far



My heart is broken.

As I really like the concept of the story, I noticed that they didn’t turn out to be exactly what I thought before. I never really had expectations for this, but there’s only one reason why I watched this show… ROMANCE.

Since I first watched anime, romance is the only genre that introduced me to watching more. I never really cared how many shows I’ve watched, as long as I see the “romance” tag from it, I’m surely sold. If it’s “romance”, I know that it would ... be good. Even I said to myself that romance is better than action or any other genres out there. There’s no way that romance can take away from me.


Or… so I thought.


One of the best things about romance is when it can combine other genres to it, and the first one is the supernatural. Twilight was the one that introduced to me that world, so I watched any romcom animes that involve vampires, entities, ghosts, etc. I thought I can enjoy all those kinds of animes until I stumbled upon this anime that has pretty good characters and chemistry from the start, top-notched animation, and amazing music, but a gross plot and impossible for me to enjoy. In other words, I stumbled to another STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE show this season… AGAIN.

The story is simple, yet nothing special. Yagami Ko, a “14” year old student has a distaste for school and everyday life. He has so-called insomnia so chooses to skip school and stay up at night, walking around in the city. Okay, let me decipher this first. Well… some people are like that. But wait a minute! First of all, he’s 14 YEARS OLD. Again. FOUR FUCKING TEEN. So it means, he’s a kid, right? He must have his parents living with him, while they should make him go to school. Because it said that he was sneaking outside of his apartment. Let me get back to the previous part. What are his parents doing every day? How could they let their 14-year-old son slack off, not going to school, and wandering the streets at night? Who in their right mind allows their 14-year-old to stay at home instead of going to school? What kind of parents they are? Now that I’ve thought of it, did they think about bringing their son to a therapist? There are dozens of millions of hospitals in Japan, so why not give him medications or therapy to cure his insomnia? I’m sure sleeping pills are still invented at that time, right? And one more thing, not sleeping all night but sleeping all day is a serious problem. But Ko is like an immortal! He didn’t get sick or diagnosed with some shit from not sleeping properly at night, heck even from draining so much blood from feeding his blood to a vampire. Based on his reactions, he seems healthy at all times, not having anemia. Based on my medical research, lack of sleep can affect your immune system. Studies show that people who don't get quality sleep or enough sleep are more likely to get sick after being exposed to a virus, such as a common cold virus. Lack of sleep can also affect how fast you recover if you do get sick. In addition, infection-fighting antibodies and cells are reduced during periods when you don't get enough sleep since your body is producing cytokines. It needs to increase when you have an infection or inflammation when under stress, but it only happens AT NIGHT. This is so outrageous and annoys me on so many levels. Like Michael Jordan said in his commercial, “Stop it. Get some help.”

One night, he stumbled upon a vampire girl named, Nazuna, the perfect new-gen simp material. Young-looking, perverted vampire gal with barely any clothes on. Wow! It’s another waifu bait, isn’t it? She befriends him and brings him to her apartment. They sleep, and she bites his neck, but he doesn’t turn into a vampire. She said that for a human to turn into a vampire, they must fall in love.
Now the premise of the show is over, let’s get into the bad.

For starters, it’s disturbing when Nazuna manipulates Ko in some ways, and the soft-porn jokes aren’t funny. Ko has the free will to decide whether he wants to go to school or not, while she’s trying to lead Kou down a dark path just for her enjoyment. She wants to suck her blood; Ko wants to be a vampire. But it only works if he falls in love with her, which apparently, he isn’t. She keeps biting him again and again but nothing happens. That’s the whole story.

This show is targeted at males. The women in this show are being sexualized a lot, with applauding shots of Akira’s thighs, and a bunch of sexual imagery of Nazuna. It’s like the new norm, yet the same problem in the anime industry, just to please men. Not to mention the blatant pedophilia, which grosses me out. Why? Short and straight answer, some of the characters in this show are minors.

Before I get to that part, I just wanna say that I don’t mind watching age-gap romance shows. I’m open-minded to watch any kind of that, except for those shows where the minors are being molested. It’s okay if it’s hentai since it’s my guilty pleasure but in this case… EWW… As in! A big emphasis! That’s the obvious reason why this show is that gross. The word, “pedophilia” from Yofukashi isn’t the appropriate word to describe this. But the fact that a 40-year-old woman is molesting a 14-year-old boy, makes me puke and wants me to describe it.

Let me restate that Ko is a 14-year-old. It's very explicit and obvious that he is only 14 and it's made a point that he is emotionally childish as well, not even knowing what a kiss is. They even go as far as to have sex. That’s the part when pedophilia enters the stage. Nazuna manipulates Ko in some sexual manner, sexualizes him openly, as well as encourages him (the child, remember?) to fall in love with her. And the funny part is, she’s an adult! It’s like I’m watching a hentai reverse rape, with the manipulation of an adult. Do you know Esther from the horror movie? “Orphan”? This show is exactly like that. The adult woman manipulates the man who is younger than her, to have sex. “How is Nazuna an adult, while she’s an immortal vampire?” Bruh… She drinks a bunch of beers with him at a bar. And even vampires are immortal, there are others the same age as Ko. Check out Jitsu wa Watashi wa and Rosario to Vampire, which are better shows than this.

This is the part where I’m disappointed. IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE A ROMANCE??

After many years of watching different kinds of romance, this is one of those shows that I don’t know if this is a romance or not. I can tell if a show or a movie is romance, based on the interactions and the atmosphere of the show. But in this show, I don’t know if the romance is forced due to the pedophilic ways, or just nothing at all. Even a little bit of subtext, there isn’t one. Heck, this show isn’t even a romantic subtext and the way the material was promoted it’s a supernatural romantic comedy. The show didn’t have any romance at all. I just watched a show about a lazy-ass MC, with a pedophilic adult woman, and watched him as he builds his own “harem”. It’s sad to know that my first and favorite genre is being treated like this.

So let’s go with the characters. They are lazy, bland, and average as it is best. The characters aren’t anything special, they are just to make the flow less stale. They didn’t develop and they just stayed as they are. Things happen but do not affect the world. And so episodes go by one by one until we are almost at the end and still nothing has happened. Well, to be honest, there are some parts of the characters like Nazuna and Ko that were entertaining. But the rest of the characters make me yawn. Not bad, not great, but plain. Nothing more and nothing less.

What can I say about the animation and the music? It’s obvious that they are great, so let’s skip this part.

In the end, it’s not as great as the manga readers or others said. Even the opinion of Gigguk about this is pretty shitty, but I don’t watch his videos anyways. It’s just the anime is being overhyped to the next level, while the product doesn’t have the actual substance. It’s the same fate for most of the popular animes, that ended up being average ones. If the substance can match the impressive style, it would be great. But so far, I’m disappointed in this show. I even think that I wasted my time in consuming this. It’s a bit enjoyable, but something like this just gets pretty hard to ignore after a certain point.

For the summary of my review, this show is horny teenager bait. I never felt this way bad when watching a romance anime about vampires. This could be a great story if the author removed the age gap and the fact that a 40-year-old woman taking advantage of a kid. A show that successfully imitates the Monogatari style, look, and sound, but lacks clever writing and thematic substance. I guess… People are just easy to please.



Story: 5/10
Animation: 8/10
Characters: 5/10
Sound: 7/10
Entertainment factor: 4/10
Enjoyment: 5/10
Score: 5/10

This review may contain many spicy peppers. Unless you know the reason why.

Bland characters, lazy writing, cheap tricks, nonsense narrative, covered with over-the-top notch animation and production quality of A1 Pictures. This is the new norm for most of the released animes. But can these two save those four things I’ve mentioned? If you can turn your brain off, yes.

In these past few months or even before, we had this called, “Style over Substance” thing. Examples were Komi-san, Sono Bisque Doll, Spy x Boring, and I think you know those animes. But some animes are obviously incredibly stupid to watch. If I were to find ... another anime that has a similarity to Demon Slayer, I think it would be this.

Seriously, this has to be one of the dumbest anime in anime history, that I couldn’t take seriously. Under the beautiful and top notched animation, lies an infinite number of ridonkeylous points, that literally damaged my mind. I don’t know what makes this show “unique” and “appealing” for some viewers, but I rewatched it again as many times as I could. In the end, guess what I’ve found… NOTHING.

Of course, everyone will like this show. Great production quality, animation, VAs, sound, and most of all, girls. CGDCT is the main norm for most anime viewers, especially men. Oh, wait… This is an active one. Instead of Cute Girls Doing Cute Things, they are holding guns and shooting bad guys, just like John Wick. Crazy, right? You may think that this is a yuri bait show for real, and enjoyable to see. “THIS IS VERY ENJOYABLE AND THE BEST ANIME OF THE SEASON!” Let’s get real and snap back to reality.

Okay! Let’s do this shit!

The story is really just meh. It’s a mixture of cliché tropes and full of adorable girls holding guns. It’s refreshing as some others said, but in fact, it’s not that interesting. Mostly who are watching this are for yuri bait reactions. Seriously? Little girls with guns? Again? When did it become a norm exactly? And on top of that, there are unexpectedly shitty plot holes and ridonkeylous moments that I’ve lost count of. It’s a simple story that is full of predictable plotlines. A lot of dumb stuff, some being in the category of anime bullshit makes me sigh but I’m somewhat used to it. Some are a testament to bad writing and some that just plot holes, plain and simple. I failed to understand how it is so unconditionally loved, and why people defend it so vehemently.

==== Here comes the spoilers ====

In a very loud busting new Tokyo, where people live very close together. The people in that city couldn’t hear a loud fucking sound of unsuppressed gunfire 10 feet outside their house, by orphan teenagers carrying guns that fire plastic bullets for them to not kill people when they were trained to murder and end the lives of those who are a threat. That just sounds so stupid and contradicting. Those girls are trained to kill but they are using replica bullets, while the bad guys have the intention to kill them. The concept is to have a secret organization of school girls act as a counter-terror organization and prevent terrorist attacks BEFORE they even happen. Well… from the first episode, the agency had many reports that some of the members of the agency got caught by the bad guys. This seems that the SECRET AGENCY isn’t SECRET enough to be stealthy. Not just that, shootings all over the place, evidence, blown up buildings, and trains. These girls are suck at their jobs! And the leader of the organization, suspended one of the main characters because she disobeyed an order, while one of their member’s life was on the line. Wait… Are seriously gonna say that the reputation of the organization is more important than a human’s life? What the fuck, seriously? I didn’t know why their entire organization pitched as a low-key CIA. The whole goal was to allow people to live in peace if they think that there is no such thing as terrorists, simply say that a terror attack was an "accident". Okay, Okay… Can you explain how these 10 middle school teenage girls just fired an absolute amount of ammo and explosives like an army in the middle of millions and millions of people in the city? It’s an ACCIDENT, RIGHT???

I failed to understand how bullet dodging works in this show, but it’s stupid. Chisato is being shot by an AK47, and it can fire 600 rounds per minute in a fully automatic setting. If you apply logic, she could’ve dodged that in seconds. But damn! She can dodge all the bullets that are being fired at her like fucking Neo in The Fucking Matrix. How could she do that?! Not to mention, she can dodge it at close range! Can someone please explain to me how it fucking works?!

As for the people living in that city, it seemed that they didn’t hear a loud fucking sound of unsuppressed gunshots. Are you even sure that those people in Tokyo have ears or are just deaf? Episode 12 was the ridonkeylous fucked up of the show. People are being killed by themselves, or by the lycoris, there were other counter-terrorist agencies everywhere, and people were capable of seeing blood right in front of their eyes. But in just a second, the government (not sure) covered up the whole thing by promoting the Lycoris agency as an attraction. And by that, the terror from the people’s minds vanished just like that! WHAT THE FUCK? These people have to be a bunch of mindless ignorant I saw in my whole life.

While the military and police expert officials are being replaced by these idiots. How is the government are being accepted of this? Do you think those orphaned teenagers are experts enough to be replaced with the ones who can really do their jobs? Those people who were really trained by the pros in hand-to-hand combat, firing weapons, applying the military codes, and who can protect the country are being side-lined. Seriously? One of the girls from that organization was capable of shooting and hitting mid-air from 10 yards with a bone stock iron sight Glock. Are you seriously fucking kidding me?

Remember the part at the end of episode 11, when Majima is shooting at Chisato? Taking uses her bulletproof bag to block the bullets. She did that a lot and blocked a lot of bullets, but 1 bullet just knocks the bag out of her hand and it falls out of reach. The bullet didn't even hit her hand. The funny part is, she had not lost that bag there. She could've just blocked Yoshi's bullets in episode 12 when he was shooting Takina. I guess the writers realized this and decided that the best solution is, "She just loosened her grip on the bag and lost it, genius!". This is just lazy writing at its finest.

I failed to see the writers didn’t take these details seriously. I mean, guns and gun ranges are heavily real, and even the guns from shooting games are realistic. Oh, wait… Is that allowed in Japan? If it isn’t, I recommend utilizing the technology we have today. There are many videos on YouTube about guns from experts. It’s not that hard to do that shit, and yet those people couldn’t make a cohesive and believable gun show.

As for the characters, they are bland, very one-dimensional, and even predictable. Most of the characters are very annoying that are very painful to watch. Chisato is a terrible character. Remember in episode 6 when Takina told her that 4 members of the lycoris lost their lives? And then she said, "Takina is gonna live with me, yay!", and smiles as if nothing happened. But she always said that she values other people’s lives. She didn’t feel anything when her co-members died in a tragedy in her childhood. It’s like she didn’t give a fuck.

In episode 9, she just straight-up shoots at innocent civilians at a highway, making them lose control of their cars. What the fuck? Mizuki didn’t give a fuck about other people’s lives. I couldn’t believe that the reason she shot people was that she was sad. You couldn’t just endanger someone’s life, while the organization she’s being with is PROTECTING THE PEACE, COUNTRY, AND ITS PEOPLE. There are many valid points that she’s a bad character, but I’ll just end it here. At least her development was genuine… a bit.

Takina… Takina. She’s one of those characters that have no personality at all. She’s just an edgelord from the beginning, and because of one hug from Chisato, her ice-cold queen attitude was POOF! She’s been cold-blooded for a long time to her co-members, but her attitude couldn’t waver that easily. Her development lacked details and progress. Her character doesn’t feel human after all.
I think the least good characters here are the robot boy and Majima. They have chemistry together as partners in being bad guys. Majima is a straight-up twisted and evil protagonist, which made me curious about him. Robot Boy is the opposite of Majima, with a quirky and funny personality. The two of them made the villain side more intriguing.

In the end, the production quality doesn’t fix the massive flaws of this show. Underneath this colorful show, lies a satirical action full of obnoxious characters, bullshit situations, and plot holes. However, it could be fixed. Just fix the damn narrative with more sense, girls should be adults with adult mindsets, real gun fights, with real purpose and real-life limitations, and situations. I know the whole review sounds like I’m nitpicking, and many people who are enjoying this show make excuses that “this is anime, not real life”. But if it portrays realism, interactions, and purpose, I will not hesitate to judge.

Story: 3/10
Animation: 8/10
Characters: 3/10
Sound: 6/10
Entertainment factor: 3/10
Enjoyment: 3/10
Score: 4/10


PS: I'm being generous with my score LOL

This review contains some light spoilers.

For those who hated this show, don’t waste your time reading this. But for those who are fond of this garbage, I’ll gladly for you to stay until the end!

Kaguya-samWHAT? Sono Bisque YUCK? Shikimori/Komi-WHO? Now, after these ultra-overhyped romance shows for children have passed, it’s time for this show, to take the center stage. Ladies and gentlemen, from the studio that brought you the hit shounen Doctor Stone, the quirky Nagatoro-san, and one of the best shoujo romantic-drama series Fruits Basket comes the biggest romance for the GIGACHADS. The widely-anticipated Kanojo Okarishimasu or Rent-a-Girlfriend 2nd Season!

Many people say that this ... show is “garbage”, “mid”, “dumpster fire”, or whatever fucking describes this show from some random users on the internet. But damn, they didn’t know what they are missing. Even I, was one of them until I appreciate the story and the message behind it. People just love to the bandwagon and jump the hate train. But those people are still watching each episode of the show, and being a hypocrite. This show divided the community into two groups; the fans and its haters. But due to its popularity, the manga is still trolling and it already has a live-action J-Drama. I’ll try to be straightforward, and precise while writing this review and explaining, how great this show is. Yes! GREAT! I’m not creating a satire review! That’s why I’m reminding you from the beginning of my review. Yes, the manga is garbage, while I’m writing this positive review about the 2ND SEASON ONLY!

Analyze this. We all know that not all romance stories are intended and created to be perfect. Each coin has its two sides; Rent-a-Girlfriend depicts the not-so-perfect side of a romance story. Many popular romance animes out there had a perfect love story, as well as the characters. But not all stories had to be perfect or on the bright side. We also need to know the “not-good” side of a story. This is what I like about Rent-a-Girlfriend, after giving it a second chance to rewatch and continue the story. Believe it or not, we must know the fact that we can’t always be rooting for the “good” one. Sometimes, we need to give a chance to hear the side of the “losers”.

I’ll be general about the events of the second season. It continues where the first season left off, after a year of encountering the two main protagonists of the story; Kazuya and Mizuhara. If I were to judge, the story became better than the first season. I saw some developments from the story, even though I know that they were snail-paced. I’m glad to see those parts being animated, as one of the manga readers out there. The romance was really good, and the comedy never fails to amaze me. One of the main highlights of this show is Kazuya’s expressions. It reminds me of the funniest expressions from Gintama, Grand Blue, and Baka to Test. I admit that almost the dialogue and the scenes from this show were cringing, but honestly, it’s not as bad as you think. Even in real life, cringe moments can happen when you interact with people, especially with that person you like. It happened to me before and currently to my friends. That was one of the reasons why I like this show because it’s realistic. The story isn’t that perfect, but real life isn’t perfect either. Say what you want but what happened in this show, can happen in real life. You all people are just missing the point because it’s an “anime”, and using it as a delusion to escape real life like a coward.

The characters are back, as well as Captain Cringe Kazuya for the second curtain. The beautiful ladies that we had missed were back also! I admit that the characters sold me off. I know that many people hate Kazuya for being cringe and weirdo, but this isn’t a valid argument why he’s a bad character. Like I said at the beginning, believe it or not, you can find those kinds of people in real life. I’m so related to Kazuya as a dude, because like I said that not all of us and the main protagonist from a story had to be perfect, especially when chasing or interacting with the person we like. I found him very realistic through my friends, and even myself. “Pathetic and hopeless”, are those words I can describe to him. But not all of those guys are bad as you think. Some of them are kind and will do anything to impress the person they like, even if they are not being noticed.

Aside from Kazuya being a well-written character, I found also the girls great, and still impressed me. Mami-chan is one of my favorite girls because she’s realistic too. I also know a girl from our school who is a backstabber and a cold-hearted witch on the inside. She doesn’t give a shit about what’s happening to any of them, but still, she couldn’t let go of her feelings. Chizuru is still a good character too, and I saw her development and the reason why Kazuya likes her a lot! She wanted to pursue her dreams and her passion for being an actress. I like how Kazuya supports her because he wanted to make her dreams true, without expecting anything in return. That’s the kind of love that I want to express to the person I like, unconditional love. Doing the best to make him/her happy is a truly special love, that will be never bought with money, even the money from Kazuya’s wallet. A person who wanted to stay by your side and help you in any time of need is a sign of true love.

Ruka-chan is still an attention-seeker, but I know her situation. I’ve been through a puppy love back then when I hoped for a girl to notice me and my worth. Did all those good shits just to make myself enough for her. But this is the worst kind of love that you could ever receive, in retrospect though. Fascination and lust with nothing to stand on. Some girls are wanting a guy just to satisfy themselves and enjoyment. They didn’t see men as capable enough to be loved as a person.
I’ve got to see this cute Sumi-chan this season! I like it when she comforts and supports Kazuya from Episode 11. She became dependable and her character developed from being a shy girl. I think she and Chizuru are those girls who can lend an ear when Kazuya needs to take off his mask. The problem here is that she didn’t get screen time again this season, even in the manga. I think she’s not being part of the heroines’ roster in this show. But yet, she developed.

The animation is flawlessly smooth. It’s a peak at its finest and I didn’t expect it from TMS Animation Studio, and it caught the romantic vibe of the whole show. They did justice to the comedic moments of Kazuya’s interactions, as well as his reactions. I love how the studio made the characters more gorgeous than from the manga. They made the heroines sexier than ever, and it’s one of the best animations that I’ve seen from many romance animes. The music is one of the amazing things that I’ve heard from many romance animes. Instead of using musical instruments more like a piano or something, they used electronic music as well. It’s rare to hear that kind of soundtrack and as a musician/writer, it fits very well to the scenes. The OP and ED are the top tiers in this season. Who would’ve thought that one of the famous J-POP singers like Chico with HoneyWorks performed the OP in this season? And the ED is absolute fire and much better than from the first season. It’s a great thing that they didn’t use such upbeat tunes this time and it sounds like a mature one.

I understand why many people hate this show, but I don’t understand why people don’t get the point of the whole thing. So far, this is one of the unique romcom harems shows in this generation. Aside from linear stories like childhood promises and the girl will win appearing from the beginning as a hinted clue, this shit is a complicated one. I don’t mean shit as bad, but a good one. This show executed well in my eyes and how it should be seen as. This season is a great building block to the upcoming great arc if the production staff announces the third season. A controversial yet groundbreaking show that pushes the boundaries of being an average romcom harem. Once you pass the negative reputation get from this show, you will see it for what it is. A mindless entertainment that you can actually enjoy, and have a great time.

Story: 8/10
Animation: 9/10
Characters: 8/10
Sound: 9/10
Entertainment factor (Comedy: 4/5, Romance: 4/5): 8/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Score: 8/10

THIS REVIEW WAS OUR MIXED RECEPTIONS AND CO-WRITTEN BY MY BROTHER, MY FRIENDS WHO LOVE ACTION SPY COMEDY SHOWS/MOVIES AND ANTICIPATED THIS, AND BY YOURS TRULY

*contains some meaty spoilers from the anime and hints from the manga/for the second part*

“Don’t let the hype ruin you.”

Well, it did.

But it doesn’t mean it’s bad. At least, I have proven myself right that this show isn’t a masterpiece or a masterclass of media after all. I still don’t get the hype that revolves around this show, and I’m kind of sad that the word, “masterpiece” is being beaten up to death. People are just easily pleased these days ... and I don’t know what the heck are the reasons why. What does it take to be a show a “masterpiece”? Great story, great characters, great production design, a great message from the author to the audience, and the overall wow factor from the audience, who are enjoying it. It can’t be flawless, but it’s something “perfect”. But all of that is subjective. Does this show meet the corresponding criteria? Let’s see…

I have an example scenario:
My friend told me about this famous restaurant that’s trending for most people. I went there to check it out.
Me: Waiter, what’s your best-selling dish?
Waiter: Tomato Pasta.
Me: Is this Tomato Pasta popular in this restaurant?
Waiter: Yes.

I ordered that pasta and went for a taste. The taste was just the same and I noticed it was nothing special. My friend asked me how’s the taste of that pasta from that restaurant. I wanted to be honest but I ended up saying, “It’s great…”. I don’t want to admit it was bad. In the end, it’s the same Tomato Pasta all over again, and to be honest, my cooking is better than the restaurant.

What’s the lesson from this scenario? There are three things but the last one is at the end of the review:

- Just because it’s new and popular, doesn’t mean it’s good. (It applies to other new and popular animes)

- Mainstream fans don’t want to admit the obvious faults or flaws of a certain show because it’s “enjoyable”.

When this show got an anime adaptation, I remember how I used to made a research about this. I went to many forums on the internet, and I was surprised that many manga fans were hyped about this. They said this is a great action, great characters, a great story, and a refreshing action show because it’s a spy story. They even called it the anime version of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”. I love Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and action spy stories because they made up my childhood even now. Especially it’s an action-spy comedy show, and I’m a massive fan of it. Even bounty hunter stories, police buddy-cop action-comedy like White Chicks and Central Intelligence, thrilling spy-agent stories like Die Hard and Mission Impossible, and criminal heists action stories like Fast and Furious.

I went up and read the manga, and I remember the first impression of my older brother while reading. Same as for me and my friends who read the manga. All of us were watching the anime adaptation every weekend. Yes, we were somewhat enjoying it. But at the same time, we found ourselves scratching our heads and asking, “when does it get good?” I saw several manga readers set the bar high for the anime-onlies that this is a “masterpiece” of an action. But in the end, I think the fans deserve a “HYPE BACKLASH”.

[Spy x Fam Narrator Voice:]
[Hype Backlash. According to the internet, your friends have been bugging you to watch the latest TV show that everyone's talking about. Every newspaper raves about its originality, well-deserved popularity, and effective mix of comedy and drama, on the front page of the Entertainment section. Critics are rushing to hail it as the re-definition of its genre. After the thirtieth or so "Just watch it already, geez!" and maybe a Hype Aversion stage, you finally give in; you rent the show's first season on DVD, pop it in your player, and lay back to enjoy the latest masterpiece...

...Except you come away with a very different opinion than your friends; to you, it's at best a mediocre show with average plots and few laughs or an utterly confusing one with more than enough twists to boggle the mind, a show that isn't the seminal classic everyone's touting it as.]

Thank you for that! Now, where were we..?

Spy x Family is an action… Wait, I made a mistake there so let me fix it.

*scribble* *scribble*

Spy x Family is a situational comedy or sitcom, slice of life, drama show that both manga and anime onlies widely anticipated. They said it’s a great and refreshing “action” because it’s rare for action animes to get a spy theme. Fans were cried out of happiness because they wanted an anime adaptation of the “perfect manga” for a long time, and their wish granted. They said it lives up to the hype and called it a “masterclass and masterpiece” of modern shounen. Wait, the question is, is it true? I guess? However, I found some problems or flaws that I found the show, not incredibly great.

So the story is about the main character, Anya— Wait, I made a mistake again so let me just fix it…

*scribble* *scribble*

So the story is about the main character, Twilight. It’s just his codename. He’s a spy from the west and his mission was to create a family to infiltrate an elegant academy. Because there’s this Desmond guy who wanted to start a war between the east and the west camp. But the twisted part was his daughter was a telepath, and his wife a contract killer or assassin. The three of them were from different backgrounds and throughout the story, they somewhat forge a bond to become a family, even though it’s a façade.

The premise is quite interesting and intriguing, not gonna lie about that. But throughout, the story and narrative fell flat from a potential masterpiece to a decent/average show. That’s problem #1. I remember the manga was promoted as an “action-packed” story. But, the author didn’t intend this show as an action spy story. Instead of getting a Mr. and Mrs. Smith kind of a story, I got a family sitcom show The Simpsons. Most of the parts were like episodic fillers or slice-of-life sitcom moments from the fake Forger family than focusing on the Operation Strix mission. It’s more like, OPERATION STRIPPED. I mean, the story should focus on Operation Strix, since it’s the premise of the show. The exploration of characters is also a great thing, but again, Operation Strix is the main concept of the show. I noticed that most of the scenes were focused on Anya inside the school. The author should’ve named it, “The Daily Life of Anya” or whatever. Now don’t give me that shit when you say “This show focus only on the wholesomeness of the Forger family”, because if that’s so, the show should be intended as a gag show in the first place. Now back on the reason why she seemed the primary main character of the show and the supposedly main characters are getting sidetracked. Even in the manga, it’s not focused. It’s full of fillers or side quests that aren’t related to the main mission and to the point that it went nowhere. It kinda remembers me of what happened in Black Lagoon. I don’t mind the comedy aspects, since comedy makes the action more entertaining. Even the moments of them being a fake family. But the author somewhat forgot that his work is supposed to be an action spy. The action spy story lacked the depth that would make the show more thrilling and exciting. I failed to see this show as an action, it was somewhat a gag sitcom show. If I will compare this show to a similar anime, it would be Angel Beats! or Gintama. Yes, Gintama is an action and I’ll consider it to be great for what it had because the gorilla intended his work to be a gag show from the start. In Angel Beats!, they had the same formula but the difference was the show lacked some exploration of the characters, and the “action” element in Spy x Fam’s case.

Problem #2 are plot inconsistencies, and lacking a common concept of realism and basic knowledge. You see, one of the objectives in Operation Strix was either to get Anya into some superclass section or to be friends with the son of Desmond guy. But rather than focusing on that objective, why don’t just Twilight infiltrate the school or the enemy instead? He can disguise himself as one of Desmond’s henchmen or whatever and he’s a “spy”, right? I bet he’s professionally trained for that, and a spy is like a ninja. He should know that his time for the mission is running out and Desmond’s plan can be carried out anytime he likes. He’s so-called the master of disguise and he completed any missions, even if it’s light or difficult.

The second one is the setting. The story was set in a European setting. I’m not being racist or sexist, but to be honest, how the heck there are no black European people there? I don’t understand the reason why but it’s like in a setting, only guys are there but no women. I don’t know if I’m going to believe this kind of concept, but this was kind of ridonkeylous (eh, it’s just a minor issue so let’s move on).

The third one is about Anya. How the heck a 6-year-old child, can act, do, and think like an adult, with a professional status? Yes, she’s an esper, she can read minds but does she know what the heck is the meaning of those thoughts she reads? She’s a child in the first place, but how she can help her parents in their missions perfectly? It’s freaking ridiculous somewhat, no offense.

The fourth one is about Yor. In episode 2, before Twilight’s engagement, they were somewhat attacked by some gangsters because of the treasure. I seriously couldn’t believe that Yor didn’t know that they were attacked by some gangster who fired some guns at them. She received a hand grenade pin as a ring on their engagement, and she somewhat didn’t notice that it was a hand grenade pin. Yes, she’s dumb. But come on, she’s a contract killer, right? I’m sure she encountered and fought many co-assassins and gangsters who carried guns and explosives. I’m sure she had seen a gun or an explosive and how it works, right? And where does she see a psychiatrist that is being chased and shooting guns? Dumb, right?

The fifth one is this, in episode 5 when Yor confronts Loid in a battle. How the fuck didn’t he notice when Yor was great in fistfights? She wounded his face with she kicked him and he didn’t feel her dark aura at all? Are you sure he’s a spy? I’m sure a spy is intelligent.

The sixth one is when Yor’s brother, Yuri visited their home. Remember the part when he asked why Yor didn’t say to his baby brother that she’s already married? And Yor said while smiling, “I forgot!”. And then he asked again, and then she said, “I forgot!”. And then he accepted it. What the fuck? It’s a lame excuse that Yor just forgot to tell Yuri that she’s married. And the funny part is, they were married for already a year! Did Yuri forget that he’s police from a secret organization? I doubt he knows what’s the difference between an excuse and a truth. I almost forgot, do you remember the part when Yuri told about his childhood with his sister? When he was a child, he saw Yor when she came home, drenched in blood. I repeat, drenched in blood. Yes, he was a child, but didn’t he think about it when he became the police? I don’t get it. Police that acting so tough in front of other people or criminals, but an idiot. Even I will freak out if I see my older sister that her clothes drenched in blood. Much of course, I would be so worried. Well, I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from a tree.

There were many ridonkeylous moments I’ve seen from the manga that I want to mention, but it’s the first part of the show so I’m not giving any spoilers.

Even with those ridonkeylous moments I’ve mentioned so far, there were many decent scenes from the show. There were moments and cheesy dialogues that were easily predictable, and somewhat felt a bit cringing. I mean, if you want to shut your brains off while watching this, it could be this so-called, “wholesome” for you. But for us, was pretty… okay, I guess. Heck, I don’t know what’s the meaning of wholesome anymore. It’s beaten up to death. As for the comedy… I hate to say it but it’s very plain average, and it’s quite repetitive so far. It was 95% more predictable than I expected. Not gonna lie, the jokes from the anime were trying hard from the manga. In other words, the jokes from the manga were pretty much better. I’ve seen many comedies shows that were pure masterclass of comedy telling. The comedy factor of Gintama, Grand Blue, Baka to Test, School Rumble, etc., and even the second season of Komi-san’s comedy made me impressed so far. I know comedy shows can be a “masterpiece”, but this show ain’t going to surpass that, even by comedy standards. If you lived inside a rock and you’re new to comedy, you might find it a “masterpiece”. It can be hit or missed for some people, but generally, it’s still average. But not that garbage or trying hard either. I think Anya was somewhat “carried” the whole show in terms of comedy. The author made her a comic relief but it could be better if all the characters share the same screentime of comedy.

“But Anya is so cute and it’s loved by many so why you didn’t just enjoy it?”

So what if Anya is cute? Haven’t you seen any cute characters or kids from other animes in your entire life? Haven’t you seen any more entertaining shows than this? Again, only those who lived under a rock or first-timers will only enjoy this. And almost forgot, she kinda annoyed me to the highest level. She acts like a spoiled brat from the rest of the show (even in future stories).

And there’s this Desmond kid. His character became one of those male tsundere when he’s in denial mode to his relationship with Anya. Not gonna lie, that part became one of those cliched and cringe moments in my whole years of watching. I don’t know why the fuck they did that, but still, no friendship had been developed between them in the story.

The close relationship part of Yor and Loid was pretty fine, as they were gradually close to each other from strangers from different backgrounds. I predicted what would happen if the moment comes when they found each other’s hidden status and agendas. But I’m sure it will happen in the manga. The characters were pretty good though but it needs more depth and development, as well as the story.
The production quality was decent. I didn’t notice the signature artwork of both Wit and Cloverworks. They were doing great in adapting the manga. But I think it could be better if only Wit adapted it. Because most of the animation sequences looked like from Cloverworks. The detail and style of every panel were quite lacking, but the character designs were good. It’s not very detailed, but it’s decent enough for the show.

The sound is very decent enough. It reminds me of Cowboy Bebop and Black Lagoon. The OP and ED were pretty decent enough, but it’s somewhat forgettable. The seiyuu performances were really good, especially of Saori Hayami and Takuya Eguchi. They made me every weekend great because they reminded me how they used to work in Oregairu, as Hachiman and Yukinoshita. Although, I found the performance of Anya very annoying. She’s not that kind of annoying from the manga but it could be better.

Overall, we enjoyed it, despite those problems we’ve said. But it seems we will not be considered it as one of the best action anime, because of the misconception that this is an action spy comedy show. This is one of the poorly representations of the action genre. The hype from the manga fans made us feel some massive disappointments from this show, but it’s not bad either. It had some ups and many downs. In other words, the story is still lacking and it’s one of those not-so-solid shows. If you come to this show and expect this a great action spy, then please don’t watch this if you don’t want to get disappointed. This show is another type of those show that might you want to rely on for your enjoyment. Don’t let yourself be swept by these hype-tards and watch it from your judgment. This show overall is pretty decent. Not a garbage, special, or masterpiece. But sadly, to say, it could be better.

I have five words to say before ending this review, as my 3rd thing that I learned and advice for the potential viewers there;

DON’T. RIDE. THE. FUCKING. HYPE.

Thank you for reading and see you see at my next review.

Story: 5/10
Animation: 8/10
Characters: 5/10
Sound: 7/10
Entertainment factor (Action: 2/5, Comedy: 2/5): 4/10
Enjoyment: 6/10
Score: 6/10