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Jan 11, 2025
Mugen Tengoku, as a one-shot, is fine. I understand there are some limitations considering it's a single chapter. But the overall experience was underwhelming for me. It has an intriguing premise, with a lukewarm twist/ending. Mugen Tengoku is about a woman named Yanagawa. She was cursed with the ability to multiply herself every six months. This came after she accidentally broke a cursed stone. These are perfect copies with her exact memories, by the way. There are no subtle differences between the original and any of the copies. Now, in the beginning, she isn't all that concerned about what's happening, but after a couple years,
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they start to take up more and more living space. Yanagawa then has the morbid idea to ask her friend if she could kill her clones for her. Her friend is the one narrating the story and going through all the details. And keep in mind, they don't always dispose of the body. Sometimes Yanagawa enjoys making art pieces out of her clones. It's mildly disturbing.
I have some mixed feelings when it comes to the artwork and character designs. The anatomy of these characters look slightly off to me. More specifically the limbs. I can't quite put my finger on why I feel this way. The characters have this almost "sloppy yet adorble" look to them. The eyes are also a little weird. Yanagawa has very long and thin eyes, while her friend has huge ones. It's definitely unique, and I'll give it props for that. Lots of gore and body horror imagery, as well.
Later on, Yanagawa's friend was curious to see what the cloning process looks like. And this moment leads to something pretty interesting. I won't spoil the twist for you. Although, I was expecting something a bit more mind-blowing. In the end, I was somewhat let down. I want to be nice and give this a "Recommended." But I don't know if I can do that in good faith. Mugen Tengoku seemed really cool. It's a 6 out of 10 for me. Give it a read. You might like it more than I did. Hopefully.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jan 1, 2025
If I had to pick the best way to describe Fruits Basket with a single word, it would be "Delightful." I know I'm derailing the review almost immediately, but for the latter half of 2023 and early 2024, I was having a bitter relationship with anime. Part of it was burnout, admittedly. I have a list of last protocol anime I thought I would enjoy. To rekindle my passion for the medium, and to bring me back into the anime sphere once again. Fruits Basket is one of the shows I had on that list. So was Fruits Basket able to relieve the burnout?
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Well, I'll save that answer for the end of the review. I've been meaning to watch this anime for many years now, and I finally got to it in May of 2024. Took me a while to get to it, but hey, better late than never.
Tooru Honda, age sixteen, dead mother, and homeless. Tooru has had a pretty turbulent life up until this point. After her mother passed away, she ends up staying with her grandfather. For about a nanosecond. Due to some home renovations, and not wanting to be a burden to anyone else, she now lives in the woods. Until she encounters the most popular boy at her school, Yuki Souma. He's quiet and aloof, but doesn't seem like a bad guy. Tooru has been living in a tent for a while now, but once the tent is destroyed due to a landslide, Yuki invites her to stay at his home. We're then introduced to Shigure Souma, a member of Yuki's family. He doesn't give the best first impression, mostly because he was laughing his ass off at Tooru for living in the woods. Not cool dude. Then out of nowhere, we meet Kyou Souma. Channeling his inner vertical Kool-Aid Man by busting through the ceiling. He's short-tempered and quick to violence, but under that rough exterior he has a kind heart. I will quickly mention that later on, he does judo flip an adorble school girl who just wanted to be his friend. That was mean :(. But I promise, deep down he cares! He just doesn't want other people to see his sensitive side. He does have a strong hatred for Yuki, however.
Kyou's disdain for Yuki revolves around the most important theme of Fruits Basket. That thing your girlfriend won't shut up about. ZODIACS! Specifically the Chinese zodiac. Every blood relative of the Souma family is cursed with the ability to transform into one of the Chinese zodiacs. They transform if overly stressed or touched by someone of the opposite sex. Which begs the question...how does their family continue to have sex? Uhhh, well, now that I think about it, I don't really want to know. I'm not entirely sure if it's explained. If it was, it went over my head. Due to some ancient animal drama, and a race to determine who would be a part of the Chinese calendar, the Rat kinda screwed over the Cat by not allowing him to participate. In order it goes Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. With the Cat being the unofficial thirteenth member. Also, this is all wrapped up in a faux reverse harem romance drama. Almost forgot to mention that. Sorry.
I'm skipping a few details, but that is mostly the overall plot without delving deep into spoiler territory. There are many more characters introduced throughout the show's run. Most of which are members of the zodiac. Some good, some great, and some Ritsu. Kagura is a personal favorite of mine. And Tooru's mother, a character who doesn't even show up, is also one of the best characters in the cast. Ignoring the very Ranma ½-esque premise, I thought Fruits Basket was pretty great. After all these years, I'm still ranting about Ranma ½. I think I have a problem. Cut to me in 2032 still ranting about that disasterpiece. Just in case you're curious, I've been watching the Ranma ½ reboot. I have no strong feelings one way or the other. At least, that's what I was originally going to say. I'm actually having a fun time with it. Mostly because so far it's only adapting the early episodes, i.e. the best ones. Anyway, I had a fun time with Fruits Basket. It shifts between silly, pleasant, and dramatic exceedingly well. It doesn't feel like a Kyouran Kazoku Nikki or a Futakoi Alternative. All of the tone shifts feel natural and organic. Just like all of the Fruits I have in my basket lol. I described Fruits Basket as "Delightful" in the beginning of this review, but now that I'm thinking about it, this anime has a lot more tragedy than you would expect. Not just with Tooru, but with other characters introduced later on. One of the strongest aspects of Fruits Basket is probably the characters themselves. I find almost all of them to be loveable in their own unique ways. Especially Tooru. A hard working little lady who has been put into many sad situations, but never faltering in the face of adversity. She reminds me a lot of Sana Kurata from Kodocha. And I mention Sana Kurata because they both have the same English voice actress, Laura Bailey. I watched the English dub for this, mostly for Laura Bailey. Personally, I think she's fantastic in almost every role she plays. Her voice makes Tooru even more adorable than she already is. As a matter of fact, every girl in this anime is really adorble. They all have such cute little faces.
I'm not exactly sure how people feel about the dub. As a whole, I think it's just okay. There are a few weak links, but Laura Bailey carries most of it for me. Although, for a long time, I've had this pet peeve about people ragging on dubs. People have this collective mentality that dubs are bad, m'kay. All dubs are bad and have always been bad. When in reality, most people think of the awful dubs of the 90's. Which were terrible. That can't be denied. Back when "actors" were never actually actors to begin with. It was just your Uncle Todd, who was going through a rough patch and needed a thirteen dollar check. He played Yuji Whatshisfuck in some obscure OVA so he could fuel his crack cocaine addiction. You can make the argument that it's an inferior way of consuming anime. That's fair. However, in terms of quality, they're not inherently bad. Especially in the past sixteen years or so. I think English dubs are infinitely better these days. When it comes to the "Sub versus Dub" debate, I'm essentially on both sides. It doesn't matter to me. It all depends on my mood and what I'm feeling at that moment. I know it also comes down to a personal preference for people. Both have pros and cons. Okay, rant over.
The directing and visual presentation of the anime is very neat. From the stylish eyecatches in between episodes, to the fight scenes, to just general comedic bits that look great. Like the Yuki Girls, for example. Seeing their little Yuki chant and quirky bit of animation is always a treat. Even when nothing interesting is happening, the animation is still solid. Also any moment involving Shigure is pretty great, as well. I mentioned earlier that he was a bit of a jerk, but after finishing the show, that was definitely an exception. He's most certainly the funniest part of the show for me. Bit of a mischievous character.
Both the OP and ED songs are wonderful. There is an English version of both songs if you choose to watch the dub. In all honesty, I think both versions are great. Especially both versions of the OP. The song "For Fruits Basket" is beautiful yet somber. You wouldn't expect it, but the OP aptly sets the tone for the roller-coaster ride of drama you're going to experience later. Between Ritsuko Okazaki and Meredith McCoy, I might actually prefer the Japanese version slightly more. Ritsuko Okazaki has such a superb voice, and sings the ED, as well. Laura Bailey also sings the ED in the English version, and that version is lovely.
I love Fruits Basket! 8 out of 10! It's great! I'm thankful for having such a positive experience during that time period. Was it able to rekindle my passionate love for anime? Not...really. I still care about this medium and I'll continue watching, but my drive is "mostly" gone for now. It's like that one lyric from "If You Could Read Mind" by Gordon Lightfoot. You know the one. Maybe it's for the best I don't binge watch a lot of anime. I should take my time, at least for now. Also, I've never watched the 2019 reboot. From a distance, it seems like it lacks many of the creative directing and production choices the original has. It looks like watered down Fruits Basket. I could be wrong, but that's how I perceive it. Now, let's see how 2025 treats us. Happy New Year!
Peace.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 16, 2024
Jesus H. Christ! That twitter profile was right! Or X, if you're an idiot. The sheer aura and charisma of "Daily Irene Sanders" convinced me to watch Desert Rose: The Snow Apocalypse. Simply because Irene Sanders is best girl! Without a doubt! Don't question it!
So, Mariko Rosebank is the commander of an all female team of counter terrorists called C.A.T. (Counter Attack Terrorism.) Fight fire with fire, as they say. Just a group of badass ladies who kick butt. Mariko despises terrorism after her husband and son were killed in an airport explosion. Her deep-rooted hatred would inspire her to create this group. Bit
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of a moral quagmire there, but hey, I didn't make the OVA.
Women empowerment is the name of the game for this one. Seems like almost every guy featured in this OVA is either a total scumbag, a misogynist, or a creep. A total weirdo. What the hell are they even doing here? They don't belong here. One of these creeps is completely decimated halfway through. Eats fucking lead so hard, and is swiftly turned into swiss cheese. That was a satisfying moment to watch. Keep in mind, not all of the men are like this. The main characters and action animation kinda remimds me a lot of a Riding Bean. If you like the 1989 OVA Riding Bean, you'll definitely like Desert Rose. Gunsmith Cats is also a great comparison. Considering all of the women are packing heat, and it's just an enjoyable pulp action OVA. Quick little fun fact, Riding Bean and Gunsmith Cats takes place in the same universe. Just thought that was a neat piece of information.
I'll be real for a minute, this OVA is nothing truly remarkable. Even the plot itself is quite basic. If anything, it's a 6 out of 10. The only reason why I brought my score up to a 7 was because of Irene. She is easily the best member of C.A.T. and definitely the most provocative. Seeing Irene in that maid unifom was something I didn't think I needed until I actually received it. The tit grab in the beginning, that short scene of her working out, and trying to hook up with guys while on the clock. She's so goofy in the best way possible. Hands down, the best character in the OVA. Sadly, you don't get many scenes with her. Well, the entire OVA is only 45 minutes long, so you don't get many scenes with anyone. But those few scenes are great, I assure you.
Desert Rose was fun. A quick and easy watch. 7 out of 10. I would give it a light recommendation. Check it out if you have the time. Or if you're madly in love with Irene. :)
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 28, 2024
Now this, this is the season three we all wanted! Waaaaay better than that Megumin spin-off. By the way, I believe near the end of my Bakuen review I said, "It's just another Konosuba entry." Ignore that part. I no longer agree with it, and it feels like a slight insult to anything Konosuba related that came before. There's plenty of things in my previous reviews that I no longer agree with, but we don't need to get into that. (;￣ー￣川
Listen, you know what Konosuba is, and I know what Konosuba is. I'm just happy that it finally made a proper return this time.
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But just in case you need a quick refresher. Kazuma. Former shut-in NEET, now adventurer, fumbling ass backwards into trouble, and consistently starting shit that hurts the party. Aqua. Former goddess, drunken slob, also fumbling ass backwards into trouble. Everything I said about Kazuma also applies to Aqua. Darkness. Masochistic crusader that really knows how to take a pounding. Just an absolute pounding from behind. And Megumin. The tiny crimson demon obsessed with explosion magic, and the chunnibyou of the group. A real ragtag team of incompetence. They're on a very, very slow and exhausted journey of defeating the Demon King. With the rate they're going, it probably won't happen within my lifetime. That's mostly the joke anyway. BUT HEY, it's not the destination that matters, but the journey and the friends we met along the way. I guess. I don't know. I mean, fuck it, right?
This season of Konosuba was really something. Grade A goofiness mixed with some slight demonic doings in the background. I have mostly positive things to say about it, and it just might be my favorite season of Konosuba yet. However, I do have one minor complaint that'll touch on in a second. The first half of the season revolves mostly around a princess named Iris. She's fascinated by Kazuma and the gang, and wants to learn more about their adventures. Very enjoyable part of the season with some notable highlights. Although, the second half then shifts it's focus onto Darkness. Ooooh man! Darkness! During this season, Darkness was the MVP for multiple reasons. Toning down her masochistic side was much appreciated. It's still present, but it's not her only defining character trait this time. In previous seasons, the show would be constantly shoving that joke into the viewer's face, and running it to the ground. By the end of season one, I was already sick of it. Darkness was one of my least favorite characters at that point. Luckily, Darkness has plenty of fantastic scenes throughout the season, and plays an important role near the end. There are times where she's almost made out to be the responsible mother figure of the group. I would even say she has STRONG dommy mommy energy. Which easily makes her the best part of this season. You can practically hear me unzipping my pants and unspooling as you finish reading this sentence. Episode three is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. The scene where Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness try to take Kazuma back home from the royal palace. The look of disgust on Darkness' face is a great moment. I won't explain the context of the scene, but it is one of the best moments of the season.
I've talked about how great Darkness is in this season, but what about the others? Megumin is strangely infatuated with Kazuma. Which, I don't blame her. Who can resist that devilishly handsome face. Those creamy calves and milky hamstrings. I believe this is continuity carried over from the movie. Which, if you haven't seen it, go watch it. The movie bridges the gap between season two and season three. There are times where Megumin is deeply concerned about Kazuma's well being. She can't even sleep without knowing he's safe. It's pretty sweet. Aqua, shockingly, doesn't do much. She's practically the same, and has taken the position as my least favorite character in the party. Good for you Aqua.
Now earlier I mentioned the one minor complaint I have with the show's humor. It's nothing big, just something that pops up from time to time. Occasionally, characters will do these long awkward pauses for comedic effect. I don't really find them funny. The awkward silence is the punchline and it doesn't work as a joke. This especially applies to the wine joke in episode seven. The pause was so long I thought something was wrong with my computer. Me freaking out was funnier than the actual joke. And not even a minute later, they do the same joke again. It only happens about three or four times throughout the season, but I still felt obligated to mention that.
The animation, voice acting, and music is still top notch. That being said, this season probably had my least favorite OP, so far. If you're curious my favorite is "Tomorrow" from season two. "Growing Up" is still good, just...the least good one of the three. Hehehe
So yes, this was a great season of Konosuba! Really softened the blow of that bad Megumin spin-off. And yes, I'm mentioning it again! The spoiler tag is on this review, so I'm sure not many people will read this. However, if you like Konosuba and haven't seen this, go watch it. Highly recommend! Hopefully we won't have to wait seven years for the next season.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 31, 2023
Detroit Metal City was a neat experience. Can't really use any other description that will live up to that 8.10 MAL score. I thought that Detroit Metal City was funny at times, but having a score that high is funnier than the show itself. By the way, I might be switching back and forth between "Detroit Metal City" and "DMC" throughout this review. If I'm referring to the anime itself, I'll say "Detroit Metal City." If I'm referring to the band, I'll say "DMC."
Souichi, our main character, is a sweet young man. I'm assuming he's in his early twenties based on context clues. He moves
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away to Tokyo to achieve his dreams of becoming a musical sensation. He will take the world by storm for his love of Swedish pop music. However, that doesn't happen at all. Instead, he goes to the wrong music producer, and his musical career takes a 180. He becomes Krauser II. Destroyer of worlds and murderer of parents. He's done all the drugs, fucked all of the holes, and chucked every CRT out of every hotel window. There's also Jagi, the bassist for DMC. And Camus, the drummer. I'm sure there is someone out there who legitimately cares for these characters. I'm not one of them. They do, however, have their fair share of funny moments. Jagi is a playboy, constantly hitting on women. And Camus is a weird, perverted freak who mumbles his words. They're only like this in their personal lives.
Detroit Metal City heavily relies on crass and vulgar humor. I've noticed in more recent years that some people label Detroit Metal City's sense of humor to be offensive. Some see that as a positive thing, and some don't. Some of these people can't handle certain words being said out loud. Despite the fact that words have no real power unless you give them power. Words and language are completely made up and mean nothing unless you give them meaning. The reason why the word "Fuck" is considered to be such a bad and taboo word is because we made it that way. In reality, it has no real meaning and was made up by some douche who is probably dead. Or it probably originates from some Germanic word that I'm not aware of. I mention all of this because some people have a problem with Krauser's "Ten Vocialized Rapes in One Second." Essentially his signature. And a bunch of other bizarre rape jokes spread throughout the series. They're not that funny, but they don't bother me either. Characters also say "Fuck" a lot, and that's the punchline. Usually a joke in Detroit Metal City boils down to a character overusing the word "Fuck." That's all. Who cares. This especially applies to the final episode, and the manager of the band. She doesn't have a name, by the way. They just call her "Manager" or "President" and nothing else. Or maybe she does have a name and I already forgot it. And sorry about my unusual take on language. That went on for a while. My personal issue with the comedy is that this style of humor just seems shocking for the sake of being shocking. Which I guess you could argue that that's the entire point of Detroit Metal City. However, the show's attempts at humor are so try-hard and forced that most of the time I don't even end up laughing. Humor is subjective blah blah blah yada yada yada, we all know. You could also make the argument that Detroit Metal City's humor is so exaggerated because DMC themselves are an exaggerated version of a black metal band. I don't know. I Just found the humor lame. I can think of a few other shows that also have a similar style of humor. Like Panty and Stocking. Does nothing for me. I'm sure people love it, but I'm too jaded to actually care.
Another part of the show I haven't mentioned yet is that Souichi has an old friend from his hometown. Her name is Aikawa. She is the textbook definition of pure and innocent. She isn't aware that Souichi is Krauser, so many jokes and scenarios are just Souichi protecting his alter ego. These jokes are fine, but I'm not in love with them either.
This next part of the review is very frustrating for me. I had already written an entire part ranting about DMC's manager and how she was voiced by Yuu Kobayashi. APPARENTLY, SHE ISN'T. I had just made the assumption without checking, but one day I decided to make sure I was correct. It's not Yuu Kobayashi at all. It's a completely different seiyuu who has the exact same last name. Ai Kobayashi, who sounds identical to Yuu Kobayashi. WHAT ARE THE CHANCES!? I understand that names can get very repetitive in Japan, but the fact that I was convinced she was Yuu Kobayashi for weeks, an entirely different seiyuu with no relation or connection, is hysterical. Man, I'm so embarrassed and upset. Most of what I had written doesn't apply anymore. I went on this long diatribe about how people love Yuu Kobayashi and how she's hysterical. I was of the same mind about seven or eight years ago, but now I find her sense of humor to be very scatological and obnoxious. She just screams like a maniac most of the time, and people eat that shit up. However, I guess this particular case applies to Ai Kobayashi. Her performance was pretty obnoxious. Her character in this anime is bizarre. I'm positive that 50% of her dialogue is her talking about how DMC's music makes her pussy wet. Usually, I would be on board with a character like this, considering how often I talk about and mention the word "pussy" in my reviews. Regardless, I found her dialogue rather tiresome and annoying. It's never funny after the first time. Sorry.
There was one joke I can remember off the top of my head that did make me laugh. DMC were in the middle of making they're debut album and Souichi was getting many letters from fans. Souichi reads a letter from a specific fan who is ill, and has to get surgery. This fan talks about how he's excited for the DMC debut album and wants to listen to it after his surgery, but there's a good chance that he might die if it fails. Souichi is moved by this letter and visits the fan as Krauser. It's a sweet scene and one of the few moments of the show where Krauser's soft side is displayed. He even brought him a basket of fruits. The emotions are building up, but it's revealed at the end of the episode that the fan was getting a circumcision and lied. That was hilarious. Can't believe I fell for that. Also, unrelated to this episode, but the song title "Fuckingham Palace" is fantastic. It's a song made by a completely different character and band, don't worry about it.
Visually, Detroit Metal City is essentially a moving manga. It doesn't bother me, but the characters in motion look absolutely goofy and ridiculous. The character designs are not my cup of tea either. Some of the background characters are a little ugly, but I don't mind. The show, in general, looks silly. The only outlier would probably be the OP, which is one other positive I will mention. Satsugai is a great song, and I would highly recommend listening to it if you haven't. The OP is the only well animated part of this entire anime. Go figure.
Overall, I thought Detroit Metal City was fine. Entertaining, but fine. It was never as funny as people made it out to be, and it was on my watch list since 2016. I mostly wanted to get it out of the way, but I was expecting so much more. This is another reason why you shouldn't trust MAL scores, kids. They're usually a little overblown and deceiving. And hey, if you hate this review, don't worry. Always remember that human language has no meaning. Language is just a human construct. So if you hate this review, it means nothing :^)
I hope I made this review long enough to turn people away. I hope no one reads it. It's not great, but I'm going to upload it anyway. Happy Halloween. :)
6.66 out of 10. Hail Satan.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Sep 16, 2023
Do you truly give a fuck about spoilers for Nanaka 6/17? I thought so.
I don't know why this anime in particular hit me as hard as it did. Anime, in general, is so monotonous, gimmicky, and tropey. I've been aware of this for years now. However, something about Nanaka 6/17 really got under my skin. I think it just caught me at a bad time. I'm a little burnout on anime, at the moment. The show isn't doing anything different from your ordinary, run-of-the-mill anime. No, it's just that it's so blatant and lacks any kind of subtlety in it's writing, that it made
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me legitimately angry. Okay, okay. Angry is a bit of an overstatement. I'm just tired and fed up. It's almost as if they had a checklist of every generic anime cliché they wanted to do. A dime a dozen, you're probably thinking. Many anime do that. The difference here is that they rub that checklist in your face. It's covered in drool and doodled with crayon. That's the aura I'm getting from this show. I only watched this out of curiosity and got through a third of it.
Nanaka 6/17 is about this girl named Nanaka Kirisato, a seventeen year old high school student. Her age will be important in a second. Nanaka had a bit of a whoopsy poopsy slip 'n fall after getting into a heated argument with her friend, Nenji Negihara. Who looks very similar to Itou from "Kyou Kara Ore Wa" look it up. The accident caused her brain to regress back into a six year old. Which is in the title! Get it!? Nanaka 6/17! Hahahahahhahahahahaha. So hysterical I'm laughing my pussy off. You can imagine many of the awkward scenarios coming out of a premise like this. Nenji trying his best to keep his now mentally regressed friend out of trouble. It gets very annoying at times.
This show loves putting it's stupid, unfunny gimmick in your face constantly that it starts to become very irritating to watch. To give the show some credit, it's the only gimmick it has. Which is pretty frustrating, considering it's not that strong of a shtick to begin with.
SHE'S SEVENTEEN BUT HAS THE MIND OF A SIX YEAR OLD! ISN'T THAT WACKY!? PLEASE LAUGH! WE'RE BEGGING YOU!
I bet that caught your attention after skimming the review. Lol
One noteworthy thing I will quickly mention is that episode four is point where Nanaka 6/17 becomes interesting. There's another character I didn't mention named, Yuriko Amemiya. Up until this point, Nenji has kept Nanaka's condition a secret, especially at school. Yuriko is the first to learn about Nanaka's secret. She's also in love with Nenji, but since Nenji and Nanaka are always together, she ends up getting jealous of Nanaka. So for the first three episodes, Yuriko is jealous of six year old. Thinking about that fact is slightly funny to me. Episode four was by far the best episode I watched. However, I just can't bring myself to care. It wasn't even that strong of an episode. It was just mildly intriguing for a few minutes, and that was it. I couldn't muster up the strength to continue. Who knows, maybe it improves dramatically after episode four. Probably not. I don't care. You shouldn't care. Wouldn't recommend.
Can't say it wasn't fun...because it wasn't.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Sep 16, 2023
Personally, I don't consider myself the biggest Street Fighter fan out there. I love Alpha 2 and 3rd Strike, but that's mostly it. However, I had a fun time with the Street Fighter II movie. I'll just come out and say it right now. This movie is "mostly" just fanservice for Street Fighter enthusiasts. Which is perfectly fine. I'm not docking points just because it was mostly made for fans. The movie expects you to be familiar with these characters before jumping in. Anyone can watch the film and have a good time, but it helps if you're already aware of who these characters are,
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going in. I'm not all that well versed in Street Fighter lore, so I apologize if I say anything wrong.
A powerful and evil organization called Shadaloo led by M. Bison, or "Vega" depending on what region of the world you live in, is scouring the globe for the strongest fighters who can handle his Psycho Power. Psycho Power is essentially a self-destructive ki that greatly increases the user's power. Due to the monstrous strength of Psycho Power, Bison's body is breaking down. He wants the strongest body on Earth all to himself. A body strong enough to withstand the heavy downsides of Psycho Power. Just so he can transfer his mind and soul into that body, and conquer the world.
It's really nice to see these characters with so much life and personality. You see many of the characters live their ordinary lives and act like actual people. They felt so much more than just button inputs. Some of the characters have their own reasons and motivations for hunting down Bison. At the very least a chunk of them do. It's bizarre, because Guile and Chun Li definitely have their own specific reasons. For the others, either they don't get involved or Bison intrudes in some way, and they're forced to fight. And there's a couple who don't really have good reason to be there in the first place. At least from a narrative perspective.
Although, not much happens in this film. It is most certainly entertaining to watch, but once you finish it, you realize that very little actually happens. The film opens with a jaw-dropping fight between Ryu and Sagat. Fighting during a thunderstorm and in the middle of a grassy field. A nice callback to the very first Street Fighter game. The first forty-five minutes of the film is just introducing the main Street Fighter II roster. There's some occasional fights sprinkled throughout the film, there's a sexy Chun Li shower scene midway through where you can see her fantastic bapples, and the last twenty minutes is one of the best anime fights I've seen in a while. Ryu and Ken versus M. Bison. What an amazing fight that was! Beautifully animated and stunning to watch. The last twenty minutes of this film brought my score up from a 6 out of 10, to a 7 out of 10. This final fight would be partially responsible for the creation of the Alpha games. So that's a neat little fact. As a whole, it's not an amazing film, but I would highly recommend watching it for the last twenty minutes. If you're a Street Fighter fan and you haven't seen it, this is a must-watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 16, 2023
Originally, I started writing this review under the assumption that this Konosuba spin-off was essentially a season three. It isn't, but I'm glad I checked. I would've made more of an ass of myself than I already have here. At this point and time, this is definitely my least favorite Konosuba related material to be released. That also includes all of the OVA's and the movie.
That isn't to say that it's bad, by any means, just not a very strong Konosuba entry. Here's why I feel this way. I'm going to assume you know what Konosuba is, and have watched all of the previous material
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up until this point. Cool? Cool.
Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo! primarily focuses on Megumin. Specifically what was going on in Megumin's life before the events of season one. Makes perfect sense why she would get her own season. She was by far the most popular character in the previous seasons. However, the biggest issue with this idea is that you're giving the spotlight to one character in the main cast. One of the many reasons that made Konosuba so magical in the eyes of so many sweaty, greasy otaku are the character interactions. The chemistry, the character dynamics of the main cast. Kazuma, Aqua, Darkness, and Megumin. You're cutting out three of the four main characters who are just reduced to mere cameos in this new season. Relying "mostly" on Megumin to make the funnies. Shame. Of course, she's not alone. You have other characters like Yun Yun, the other Crimson Demons, brief cameos of the previous main characters, and characters who are just references to previous events and places we're all familiar with. Or I guess in this case, future events. Like The Axis of Evil. I MEAN THE AXIS OF ORDER! Yeah yeah yeah. They're not very funny. Nobody is very funny or interesting this season.
With the exception of a few jokes, the comedic writing is not very strong here. The first-half centers on the village of Crimson Demons, and the second-half is the Axis Cult being weird con artists, fights with demons, and Megumin slowly making her way to Kazuma and the others. It's on the same level of quality as Princess Connect! Re:Dive. That one anime that looks JUST like Konosuba, but isn't. And is also not as funny. This is just like that.
Comedy aside, this is just another Konosuba entry. It looks and smells like Konosuba, but there's a different director? Just found that out as I'm writing this. Hmm, interesting. One positive thing I will mention, this spin-off gave me a greater appreciation for Yun Yun as a character. I admire her ability to put up with Megumin's reckless behavior. She's a sweetheart who deserves a little more respect...and friends. Depending on how you feel about Konosuba, your mileage may vary. For some reason, I just didn't enjoy this spin-off all that much. Kind of a letdown.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jun 16, 2023
Sumire 16 Sai!! is a strange and unorthodox comedy manga. It follows the life of Sumire Yotsuya. Sumire is a ventriloquist dummy, being puppeteered by a conspicuous old man who goes unnamed for the entirty of the manga. I don't have a terrible amount of things to say about this manga, but I have some conflicting feelings that I do want to get off my chest. This will be more of a rambling diatribe and less of a proper review. ***MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD***
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Sumire as an experience. It was almost refreshing except for the brief moments when it wasn't
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lol. Mildly simplistic, but overall solid artwork and cute character designs. Just wanted to get my opinion on the artwork out of the way. Sumire Yotsuya, or I guess I should say the old man, greatly impacts the lives of those surrounding him in a positive manner. Sumire is pure of heart and an inspiration to her classmates. The best way I can describe her is that she's an immediate "Room Brightener."
So, for the vast majority of the manga, it's a goofy comedy series where most of the jokes revolve around a creepy old man puppeteering a teenage girl. Misunderstandings and silly highjinks ensue, you know how this goes. It really is a unique and refreshing set-up in chapter one, right off the bat. You have Sumire's main group of friends, Renge, Akebi, and Mizuki. I don't have any real issues with them, but I never thought they were all that funny. Akebi was definitely the most entertaining out of the three, mainly because she's the daughter of a mob boss. There are new characters that are introduced throughout the manga to shake things up. They tend to vary in quality. There's a male puppet and a lady who appear later in the manga that felt unneeded and didn't go anywhere, to be honest. Felt shoehorned in. Earlier, I said, "vast majority of the manga" because near the end, the manga attempts to tug on your heartstrings. Which for most people, it worked. For me, once I finished the manga, I was left with more questions than answers. Nothing is really explained. It's all left ambiguous, which I'm not particularly a fan of. I guess you could argue that when it comes to absurdist humor, asking questions, using logic, and reason does not matter in the least. By the end, it's revealed that the old man repeats his highschool life with Sumire Yotsuya, the puppet. Once he graduates with a class, he starts over once again. Apparently, he's been doing this for years. At least, that's the implication. Who is the old man? Who is Sumire? Why does he repeat highschool over and over again? Does he have any ulterior motives? What is the purpose of all of this?
There's a "theory" that Sumire was once a real girl, and the old man's daughter who died years prior. All of his actions throughout the events of the manga is his form of coping with the loss of his daughter. That is FAAAAR more interesting than what actually happened in this manga. I use the word "theory" very loosely here, because there is no reference or implication of that being the case when you read the manga yourself. From what I've seen online, I believe it was thought up by fans. I have no clue!? It's strange and I don't know how to feel about that. Or maybe it's something I missed, and it went over my head. That's frustrating. There's definitely something I missed here. Ugh...
Sumire 16 Sai!! was a bit of a letdown. I enjoyed my time with it, however. As a comedy manga, I would probably give Sumire 16 Sai!! a light recommendation. Very light. I'm a little reluctant to say that. I just think I set my expectations a bit too high before going in. Started off as an 8/10 and slowly went down to a 7/10 bordering on a 6. Really, it was the ending that baffled me more than anything. It made me want to get my thoughts down on paper. It's good, but nothing outstanding.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 16, 2023
I have a soft spot for underdog stories. It might be a bit cliché, but I find many of them very inspiring and uplifting. That's why I was willing to give Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple, another shot. My priorities and tastes are changing a lot when it comes to the anime I consume. I had this show on-hold since 2014. A long while before I even made this account. So fuck it, right? Might as well get it out of the way. I'm not going to spoil anything about this show and be as vague as possible. Kinda...
Kenichi Shirahama, Age 17, nerdy, milk toast,
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bland, quasi-self-insert character. Y'know how it goes. Encounters a young, beautiful, blondé girl by the name of Miu Fuurinji. Kenichi, immediately gets his shit wrecked by the big bapples babe. Call it fate or destiny, eventually, the two of them become good friends by the end of episode one. Especially after a bad encounter with some thugs. Kenichi is already in the Karate club at his school and is trying to get those thick, meaty arm muscles, titanium alloy abs, and milky hamstrings, yummy yummy! However, the boy has no natural talent for martial arts. Something that is repeated multiple times throughout the show. Once Kenichi and Miu became friends, and because of some stupid bet he made in the Karate club, Kenichi now trains with Miu at her dojo/home, the Ryozanpaku.
She lives with six different masters, who each excel at a different martial art. Akisame Koetsuji, master of Jujitsu. Shio Sakaki, master of Karate. Apachai Hopachai, master of Muay Thai. Shigure Kousaka, master of all weapons. Kensei Ma, master of Chinese Kenpo. And finally, Hiyato Fuurinji, Miu's grandfather and headmaster of the Ryozanpaku. He doesn't have one particular skill he excels at. He's a master of all martial arts. Kenichi will follow in their footsteps and study these martial arts all at once to become a fearsome warrior. Hence the title of the anime.
Overall, Kenichi was not that great of an experience, but it has it's moments. It kind of reminds me of a slightly better Air Master, more than anything. It has a few positives I would like to talk about first, mostly related to the underdog storytelling. I said earlier, but I do have a soft spot for these kinds of stories. Watching the progression and growth of Kenichi was a deeply fascinating and engaging the entire way through. I'm sure many people would agree. From starting off as a weakling who couldn't even bicep curl a pencil, to this absolute badass fighting against these highly trained martial artists. It's quite the spectacle. Watching his character slowly blossoming into something truly strong and heroic was also nice to see. Near the end of the series, Kenichi is one big damn hero influencing the lives of everyone he encounters. This is connected to another thing this anime does well. While being a show about martial arts, it also proves that words and conversations have the power to change a person's outlook and mindset. It's not easy, but not every situation needs to be resolved with violence. Very neat-o. (^_^)
Now, I have a few complaints with Kenichi. This show is pretty damn ugly, at times. Earlier I mentioned Air Master, a battle, fanservice anime from 2003. Kenichi is exactly that, a battle, fanservice anime. At the time, I didn't do a whole lot of research before watching the show, but I had made the assumption that Air Master and Kenichi aired at or around the same time. I was quite off because Kenichi aired from 2006 to 2007 which took me aback. I know the time gap is not that big, but this show looks like the awkward transition period of early 2000's anime. It's on par with Air Master in terms of visual presentation. It has no reason to look this bad. Now, depending on who is directing an episode, on rare occasions, the anime can look fairly decent. This also applies to a couple of fights later in the show's run. I'm breaking my promise a bit about spoilers, but it's a minor one. Well, without context and explanation, spoilers mean nothing to the person who hears them. Kisara fighting in the rain is something I never thought I would need in my life. The fight looks great. And she's such a hottie <3. Every now and again you'll get a well-animated fight, however, most of the time, the animation is very stiff and difficult to look at.
The music is nothing to write home about. I thought the first OP was okay and all four ED's were nothing special, either. The one exception I do really enjoy is the second OP. It took me a few listens to finally warm up to "Yahoo." Even the chorus alone is great. Other than that, no songs really stand out in my mind. A forgettable and unremarkable soundtrack, sadly. I wasn't even going to bother mentioning the fanservice because I thought it unnecessary. I believe at this point in 2023, if you're even remotely an anime fan and not completely new to the medium, as a collective, we should be used to or aware of trashy fanservice in anime. I'm sure it bothers some people, and fanservice is prominent within Kenichi. It didn't bother me in the least, and it shouldn't bother you either. Just sayin'. It's unnecessary, it's redundant, we know. The camera will just sometimes zoom into Miu's big beautiful bazinga bosom breasts. Who cares. It's anime. You don't like it? Fuck off and don't watch anime. Keep in mind there's always a demographic for shows like these. Horny teenagers. Kenichi was definitely made with that in mind.
Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple was generally okay. If you're into fanservice heavy shounen, I would give this a light recommendation. Or just watch the show for Kisara alone. It's not a required watch by any means, but you'll get some enjoyment out of it. It's more enjoyable than Inuyasha, that's for true. I'm just glad I got this off my on-hold list. It was starting to collect dust. My scores:
Story: 5/10
Art: 4/10
Sound: 5/10
Characters: 7/10
Enjoyment: 7/10
Overall: 6/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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