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Before diving into Oshi no Ko, one might expect a cute and colorful story, following the journey of a young woman in the world of show business. That’s exactly what I anticipated when I started this work. However, very quickly, you’re hit with a shocking twist that completely shatters all those expectations. Where you thought you were stepping into a sweet slice-of-life, chill story, you’re instead introduced to a dark tale filled with resentment and vengeance.

The first 10 chapters are, in my opinion, simply INCREDIBLE—a perfect introduction to the work. They turn our expectations upside down, delivering powerful, emotional, and impactful scenes while clearly outlining ... the story's goals. This introduction completely fascinated me.

However, as the story progressed, Oshi no Ko began to disappoint me little by little. I feel like the authors tried to do two things with their manga:

Tell a revenge story.
Explore the world of idols, actors, performers, and the entertainment industry.
The idea itself isn’t bad, but I found that the second goal overshadowed the progress of the first. What I was hoping for from Oshi no Ko was that the show business aspect would serve to enhance the revenge story. Yet, at times, it felt like the opposite. (I’m specifically thinking about the arc centered on Tokyo Blade.) The work focused almost exclusively on introducing new characters, their roles, and the behind-the-scenes preparation of a play, etc. While this wasn’t inherently bad, it came at the cost of zero progress in the main story or the development of the central characters—and this went on for over 25 chapters.

To me, this is the biggest flaw of Oshi no Ko: trying to do too much by delving deeply into two aspects that ended up undermining each other. I would have liked to see Aqua portrayed more as a manipulative figure, similar to Ayanokoji. Instead of meticulously detailing the world of show business, the work could have focused more on exploring the psychological dimensions of the characters, especially Aqua—his manipulative and calculating nature, his thought processes, how he executes his plans, etc.

I’m not entirely against presenting the world of show business; I just wish it had taken up much less space.

As for the last 10–20 chapters, I was worried they might feel rushed, as there were still many loose ends to tie up. However, the direction the story took in those final chapters pleased me a lot. It managed to resolve many of the plot’s threads at once, and it’s in these final chapters that I rediscovered the essence of Oshi no Ko—the same feeling I had after reading the first 10 chapters. It portrayed a world that isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, where every choice has its consequences.

I still recommend Oshi no Ko to everyone. It’s a gripping and touching work, with incredible characters and moments, all wrapped in a fresh and innovative concept.

Dandadan, without a doubt the most anticipated new anime of this Fall 2024 season, I had very high expectations for this anime given the multitude of positive feedback I had read from the community, but I don't understand where we're heading.

So far, 4 episodes have been released, and I have no idea why I'm watching this anime. There's no clear goal, no semblance of a plot. With each episode, I keep thinking that maybe this time, we'll finally get into a storyline and some narrative building, but no, the episodes are always super random. If I had to describe Dandadan in one word, it would ... undoubtedly be "Random." Everything that happens is unpredictable, almost incomprehensible at times. This isn't necessarily a flaw—I like this surprising side that the work offers at times—but it lacks a clear goal and an underlying plot, something for the story to latch onto while keeping that random aspect. For those who, like me, have watched the first 4 episodes, could you explain what direction the characters want to go in and what their long-term goal is? It’s impossible. Each episode leaves me asking the same question: "Why is the anime showing me this? Is it really important for me to see this?"

I still hope that the upcoming episodes will integrate us into a long-term plot, as this is currently a major flaw. This single flaw could turn this work from mid-tier to something amazing.

Artistically, however, the anime is a complete success. The color palette is beautiful, and I recommend paying attention to it: the variations in colors, the transitions for scene changes, even the overall animation. In episode 4, we had remixes of classical music alongside incredible animation, all tinged in red. The Opening is amazing, the Ending too, and from my perspective, this eccentricity in the colors and animation fits extremely well with the atmosphere and world of Dandadan. The artistic side is just as random as the story, and I think the anime couldn’t have dreamed of a better adaptation. Artistically, it's a 10/10.

Another thing that bothers me about Dandadan is its humor. I don't really connect with this type of humor; it’s very childish, and it's a problem for me because the series focuses a lot on humor, but I don't find it particularly funny.

In my opinion, I’m probably just not the target audience for this anime. I think Dandadan is aimed mainly at the 12 to 16 age group (which makes sense for a Shonen, although many Shonen do manage to appeal to an adult audience). But I think for 12-16-year-olds, Dandadan must be perceived very differently than I do. I imagine that at that age, one might relate more to the humor, and that the very random nature is a big plus for fans of that age.

In conclusion, I would still recommend everyone to at least try the first few episodes of Dandadan. After all, the anime is way too beautiful, and it would be a shame to miss out on it. And as I mentioned earlier, if you are in the 12-16 age range, I am convinced that you will really enjoy this work!

Pokemon Advanced Generation is the second series of the Pokemon anime, including episodes 277 to 468 and featuring the Third Generation Pokemon. Objectively, this sequel is better than the first series. Many of the issues I criticized in the first series have been improved or even resolved. For example, I previously mentioned that the episodes had no connection to each other, giving us an unpleasant generic feeling, which has slightly improved. There are more links between the episodes, giving us more of a sense of continuity rather than watching random episodes.

This second series is marked by the departure of Misty (Kasumi), who is replaced by ... May (Haruka) and her younger brother Max (Masato). Like many, I was quite nervous about Misty disappearing from the story’s center. After so many episodes with her, you feel attached to the character. Additionally, there was a hint of romance between Ash and Misty that disappeared with Misty's departure, which I found quite odd. However, introducing May turned out to be an incredible idea and, for me, the best decision of Pokemon Advanced Gen. They also introduced Pokemon Coordinators; now, instead of only following Ash in his Pokemon battles, we also follow May in her Pokemon Coordinator contests, which combine battles and artistic performances!

It’s great because it gives us more variety in the content, and we have less of a feeling that all the episodes are alike (though it is still present). As for Max, I feel like he never really found his place in the series. He adds a few jokes, but even if he wasn’t there, it would have been the same.

One major disappointment was that there was almost NO visual improvement between the first and the second series. For reference, the first series began in 1997, while this second series ended in 2006. Nearly 10 years separate the first episode of Pokemon and the last of Pokemon Advanced, so how can there be so little improvement? They clearly have the means, as the movies remind us (I’ll also note the correct chronological order to watch the movies during this second series):

Movie 6: Between episodes 36 and 37 of Pokemon Advanced Gen
Movie 7: Between episodes 86 and 87 of Pokemon Advanced Gen
Movie 8: Between episodes 134 and 135 of Pokemon Advanced Gen
Movie 9: Between episodes 182 and 183 of Pokemon Advanced Gen
Certainly, we can’t really compare the animation of a movie with that of an episode from such a long series, but still, when you watch one of the movies and then return to the series, it makes you cry blood.

In conclusion, this second series is like the first, but better. The problems remain the same: too many generic episodes give us a constant sense of déjà vu and unclear objectives. The strategic aspect of the trainers intensifies slightly, but I still struggle to find significance in the trainers during battles. In the end, if they weren't there, the Pokemon would probably fight the same way, maybe even better, acting more instinctively, right? Perhaps I have too much of an adult perspective on this point. It’s always good to remember that the Pokemon anime primarily aims to reach a broad audience, so they must appeal to younger viewers. This is, in fact, my main criticism of Pokemon. If they hadn’t targeted this audience, Pokemon might not have the same success it has today. Still, I can't help but think that by targeting this young audience, Pokemon has squandered its universe's potential. The anime limits itself too much—no complex stories or plots, no scenes that are too gory, sad, or moving. It sticks to childlike morals and life lessons, like the importance of friendship, determination, and self-reflection. Everything that allows people to experience strong emotions through a series doesn't exist and never will in Pokemon, leaving us with only one feeling: nostalgia, reminding us how much we enjoyed watching Pokemon through a child's eyes.

Just as Pokémon has done, Inazuma Eleven undoubtedly marked the childhood of many kids from the 2000s. Many of us probably watched the episodes on TV when we were younger and had a great time. But with a more mature perspective, is Inazuma Eleven really that good?

The first saga of "Inazuma Eleven" is composed of three arcs/seasons:
-1: Royal Academy/Football Frontier | EP 1 - 26
-2: Alius Academy | EP 27 - 67
-3: Football Frontier International | EP 68 - 127

Let's start with the first 26 episodes. If you only know Inazuma Eleven from a distance and have never really been interested in it, this is ... probably the part you have in mind. This large introductory arc revolves around the Royal Academy, allowing us to discover the characters, their personalities, and the universe. It’s a solid introduction.

The second arc is based on the Alius Academy. This is probably the most important arc in terms of character development, both in mentality and skills. There are many new characters and techniques, but paradoxically, this is the arc I liked the least. Discovering new characters and their techniques was quite enjoyable, but the "battle" against the Alius Academy felt endless. It seemed like they wanted to stretch this arc as long as possible to allow significant character development, but the story with the Alius Academy didn’t progress. Whenever they managed to defeat "the best team of the Alius Academy," an even stronger team would appear, and then another one, and even after defeating them, it would turn out they hadn't given their all in the first match. This endless cycle diminished the enjoyment of an arc that otherwise brought many delightful new elements.

Finally, the third and last arc, the Football Frontier International! This was by far my favorite arc. You can feel all the character development from the previous arc, and also the improvement in the level of their opponents. Overall, the work gives more importance to team strategies. Each team has its own way of playing and approaching matches, making each match different. For example, the Qatar team in episodes 73-74 plays to exhaust the protagonists as much as possible in the first half, even if it means conceding two goals, before catching up in the second half by relying on their superior endurance. This original play style is representative of the diversity seen in almost every team in this arc, ensuring the experience never feels repetitive.

Let’s talk more specifically about what bothered me during my viewing. First of all, it’s important to note that Inazuma Eleven targets a young audience. When we were kids, it suited us just fine, but with the perspective I have now, the humor and morals conveyed by the work won’t resonate with adults. I’m not sure if we can call this a flaw since it was part of what made Inazuma Eleven so impactful for many of us during our childhoods. However, I feel that aiming at a young audience sometimes gives the creators a pass to include narrative conveniences and perfectly illogical elements.

Let’s start with the techniques. The biggest flaw I see with the techniques is that instead of learning new techniques to adapt to more situations, they learn new techniques to replace the previous ones. For example, Mark Evans (Mamoru Endou) goes through: God Hand, Majin the Hand, Fist of Justice, Megaton Head, Hammer of Fury, God Catch... I’m probably forgetting some, but each of these techniques replaced the previous one instead of giving Mark multiple techniques to handle different situations.

Additionally, the simplicity in the progression of techniques, like G2, V2, etc., is problematic. When a technique becomes too weak, it suddenly evolves in the middle of a match. For instance, when an opponent manages to get past Mark’s "Hammer of Fury," later in the match, Mark will evolve his "Hammer of Fury" to "Hammer Of Fury V2" to stop the shot. Then the opponent evolves their technique to XXX V2, and Mark evolves his to XXX V3, and so on. This endless progression is ridiculous; one of Darren Lachance’s (Tachimukai Yuki) techniques even reached G5.

Despite these issues, I still had a great time watching Inazuma Eleven. However, as an adult, the main flaw is the target audience. I didn’t feel particularly engaged with what I was watching; I didn’t really experience any emotions other than the joy of seeing characters I loved watching as a kid, but that’s just nostalgia. Objectively, for someone discovering the series now, it wouldn’t have the same impact. The connections between episodes are minimized to cater to the young audience, so missing an episode isn’t a big deal, which makes it hard to build a stable storyline.

If you watched the series when you were younger, I recommend it for the nostalgia. It’s enjoyable, colorful, and cheerful, and you’ll have a good time. If you’re new to the series, give it a try. It’s not something that will make you want to binge 15 episodes a day; you can easily watch an episode here and there without losing track of the story.

A wasted potential...
As many have pointed out, this film is basically just a disguised recap. It wasn't a bad idea to release a spin-off centered on a character as beloved as Nagi, but what’s the point of presenting this spin-off in this way?

To make it short, you'll relive all the elements of Blue Lock's season 1, except instead of having Isagi Yoichi's point of view, you'll have Nagi's perspective. However, Nagi's and Yoichi's journeys are closely linked in the Blue Lock project, so 90% of the time, you'll see something you've already seen in season 1...

The "revelations" about Nagi are also already explained in season ... 1. For this spin-off, I expected to delve a bit into Nagi's story, to know about his childhood, his past, what led him to where he is today... to learn things that were not explained in the main series. None of that happens. The first 10-15 minutes show us a few unimportant things we hadn’t seen yet, but it stops there.

There was so much potential, though. Nagi, having almost unanimous support from fans, would have made everyone happy with a well-written spin-off about his past!

This film is pointless, I do not recommend it.

An anime that enhances its original work is quite rare to see, and what a surprise to see it happen with a "minor" work! It proves that even a story and plot-poor work can still be interesting due to its quality, because yes, unfortunately, this anime is a collection of clichés: a man reincarnates into a wealthy family with a medieval style, in a world of magic where he turns out to be overpowered, even the strongest man in that universe. We follow him from childhood, seeing his passion for magic and how he does everything to hide it from others to avoid attracting attention ... and lead a peaceful life. But alongside this, we see him easily defeat all kinds of monsters and demons. This is a simple summary of the anime, one that could fit dozens, or rather, hundreds of anime given how overused this pattern is.

But what makes this anime different from the others?

First of all, the settings. As I mentioned earlier, like most works of this genre, we find ourselves in a medieval universe, but this time, we slightly step out of the simple and overused settings seen in all these other works. The settings here are much more original, very colorful (and I emphasize the colorful aspect because I will come back to it several times), settings that are out of the ordinary and make our eyes sparkle!
The characters. Continuing from the story, the characters don’t really have depth, no writing, not much backstory to tell us, at best we can talk about the assassins in the last episodes and even then, but each has an eccentricity both in their behavior but especially visually. Again, very colorful, very lively characters!
Animation/Direction/Art. The biggest strength of this anime and also the most surprising! What a visual pleasure to see these choices in colors. For example, I think of the fight in the 5th episode which tinted the sky with all colors, it’s beautiful, it makes you want to see more, it sets this anime apart from the others. I loved that aspect!
The animation is not left out either. Even though it stays quite calm in the "slice of life" moments, during the fights it has nothing to envy from anyone. I have the final fight in mind, especially in episode 9, I did not expect such quality in a fight from such a minor work!
The settings, the art, the animation, and more broadly its eccentricity, are what make this anime enjoyable to watch, and they mask its flaws quite well. Unfortunately, it only lasts for a while; you still feel a big void of purpose. It was cool to see these 12 episodes, but when season 2 comes out, I probably won’t even take the time to watch it because I have no need to.
This is the kind of work that cannot last over time. As I said, what makes it special is its eccentricity and bold artistic choices, but what happens once our brains normalize this eccentricity? 12 episodes are cool, we can enjoy it, but after that, as the episodes go by, we are less and less absorbed by its artistic originality, which is ultimately like a band-aid covering its flaws. Without a real storyline and intriguing story, a work cannot last over time.

This anime proves two things: a work with a flat or even nonexistent plot and story can still be interesting to watch for a short time if its artistic quality compensates for it, but no matter its artistic quality, without an interesting storyline, no work can last over time regardless of its artistic quality.

The unoriginal and emotionless Isekai, by definition, is starting to seriously wear me out with these works that bring nothing to the industry. This entire piece is overdone and repetitive. The only thing that sets it apart is the past of Seika, its main character, but this aspect is underdeveloped in the plot, even though it was, for me, the only idea with potential in this work. They didn't even bother to play on this and make it an important element in the plot and story... Speaking of the plot of this anime, let's talk about it:

There, I'm done. Nothing more to say about the ... plot of this anime. Like any good trash Isekai, there's no long-term plot, no specific goal or real objective. We simply follow the main character going from place to place without really knowing why in the end.

Like any good trash Isekai, they'll do everything to make you love the main character with fanservice by giving him some "badass" moments where he'll show that he's the strongest and can beat everyone. But OH, we're in a trash Isekai, so nothing serious should happen to the protagonists in the end. And if the villains are humans, they'll come back to life; if they're monsters, it's okay, we can let them die!

Like any good trash Isekai, you'll have recyclable and reusable backgrounds, lifeless settings seen in 4,623,745,623 other animes, characters without significant distinguishing elements. Seika stands out slightly due to his past, as I explained at the beginning, but it is poorly utilized.
The animation isn't disastrous but rather flat. It's worth noting the attempt at "fake 3D" on certain elements like the horses/carriage (if you pay attention, you won't see anything else because it's so ugly, but hey, they deserve credit for trying).
Musically, whether it's the Opening, the Ending, or any of the OST, I saw absolutely nothing noteworthy.

I wouldn't recommend this soulless work, copied from dozens of other animes.

I started this anime without much conviction, thinking that, like many sports anime, it would be a flat series simply using a new sport (in this case, Golf) as the main theme to try to innovate. However, I was quickly surprised to find myself enjoying the viewing experience and eagerly awaiting the next episodes!

Rising Impact is an anime adapted from the manga of the same name, published from 1998 to 2002 and written by Suzuki Nakaba, who is also the author behind Nanatsu no Taizai! It follows Gawain, a young boy who enjoys practicing a sport where the goal is to hit a ball as ... far as possible. He initially played Baseball, thinking it was the most suitable sport, before accidentally meeting Kiria Nishino, a professional golfer who introduces him to Golf and sees immense potential in the young boy. Subsequently, we follow Gawain's adventures as he discovers step by step that this sport is not as simple as he thought, since it’s not just about hitting the ball as far as possible!

The beginning of the anime scared me a bit, seeing a young boy who, on his first shot, hits a ball almost like a pro and then improves extremely quickly. I feared it would fall into exaggeration, with him outclassing all other characters without any logic behind it. However, the anime manages to make the golf matches interesting, incorporating the weather, the terrain, the type of golf club to use in various situations, and highlighting each character's skills in their playing style. We discover that each match we watch, each character has their own style of play, techniques, and ways of playing unique to them, even for secondary characters!

It's great that the matches are interesting, but what about the story and its characters? One thing I find unfortunate is that the characters are not well-developed. We don't really know their past, their history, why they become good, "bad," adopt their style of play, and this creates a gap because we can't get attached to the characters. We don't know anything about them; it’s like watching empty shells since we don't know why they play or what they are trying to accomplish, even if their interactions and playing styles can somewhat make up for this lack.

As for the story, I feel it lacks a clear objective. Gawain's initial goal is to hit the ball as far as possible, although things have changed a bit since he started enjoying the sport. But what exactly is he aiming for? To be the best golfer? Okay, but that's very vague. What competition should he aim for to achieve that? What must he do to reach that competition? Who are the best players he must defeat to reach that rank?
The story lacks a long-term thread, something that would make us say, "Okay, that's the goal, that's what the story is trying to achieve" when we see Gawain winning, improving, discovering new techniques. We would see it as a step closer to that goal. But right now, we have almost nothing; it feels like Gawain is being carried by the wind and goes in the direction that comes to him at the moment.

I don't think everyone will get hooked on this anime; there is too much vagueness in the story and its goals, not enough attachment to the characters (due to the lack of depth in their backstories), and more generally, the Golf theme will not appeal to everyone.

Very pleasantly surprised by this film!
For me, it's objectively the best since the 5th movie based on Latias and Latios, about which I had also written a review.
One thing I have often criticized about Pokémon movies up until now is that they fail to fully realize their ideas. They limit many aspects to maintain Pokémon's family-friendly spirit, avoiding complex plots to not overwhelm the younger audience with too much information. And it's a shame! Each film had great potential and good ideas, but none have exploited them as well as the 5th film and this 9th film.

The story is beautiful, moving, even touching. Like every ... film, the story centers on a Pokémon, in this case, Manaphy takes the spotlight. Manaphy is not as flashy as Jirachi or Deoxys, the Pokémon featured in the 6th and 7th films, but perhaps that’s precisely why this film succeeds. In my opinion, Pokémon movies tend to focus too much on the Pokémon they want to highlight. They try to find a story that showcases the Pokémon in question, which is not the case with this 9th film. Yes, the story centers on Manaphy, but everything doesn’t revolve around him. Manaphy contributes something to the story, and the story contributes something to Manaphy. The two combine to enrich the film's universe and plot, and that, to me, is the biggest difference from previous films. They are not trying to sell us a Pokémon and force us to like it; they are telling us its story and what surrounds it.

I also found that this film had a good balance of screen time between the trainers/humans and the Pokémon. One does not overshadow the other; both have their impact on the story, a perfect balance!

The animation is also a great success. I was surprised by the risks taken for a 2006 film, but without overdoing it. For example, the 4th film about Celebi overused 3D, making it quite ugly. This film managed to be innovative, did beautiful things, without trying to surpass the technological possibilities of its time.

I highly recommend watching this film. It may not be the most appealing when judging by the title or cover image, but you won't regret taking the time to watch it!
For the best chronological fit, you can watch it between episodes 182 and 183 of Pokémon Advanced Generation!

My first impression of the work was rather negative. Firstly, Sakurai's voice, the main male character, bothered me quite a bit. They chose to go with a voice that matched his "terrifying at first glance" appearance, which is heavily emphasized throughout the episodes. The fact that his gaze is scary and surprising, but in "normal" dialogues, his voice is a bit too deep to fit the situations. His voice doesn't quite match well with the moments when Sakurai will be calmer. However, with Uzaki, although he frequently raises his voice, he is also quite calm and transparent by nature. However, to contrast with what I ... just said, Uzaki's voice is simply perfect for the character. Oozora Naomi, her Seiyū, has beautifully interpreted her character; it's a 10/10!

Another thing that bothered me considerably is obviously the hypersexualization of Uzaki. Like many other works, the humor revolves around the sexualization of its characters, mainly the girls. Yes, you might say that in the case of Uzaki-chan, the story unfolds when they are 19-20 years old, unlike other stories that are often set in the 13-17 age range. But I feel like they gave the characters this age just to justify Uzaki's sexualization, even though she is 19-20 years old, she still has the physique of a teenager.. However, regarding the sexualization, I admit to having laughed a lot during this first season, and that's a HUGE positive point because we don't watch this anime to cry or to delve into a very deep plot, but to follow a slice of life, bringing us smiles, joy, and laughter. I make a lot of comparisons, but I found that although sexualized, the humor in this work was finer, less stupid than many others. For example, I laughed a lot at the moments when the two characters use their words very poorly in public and everyone around misunderstands things. It's something we've seen before, but the way the situations are created is different, although I couldn't explain it.

The animation is nice with some super original shots that resemble 3D at times (it looks a bit like fake 3D, but it's executed quite well). Season 1 was released in 2020, right in the middle of COVID, so I imagine they had complications like everyone else, but the quality was not affected at all! However, I didn't notice any outstanding music, it's quite subjective, but there's nothing particularly original in the OP or the ED, nor in the OST.

I liked the little references to other works, such as Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Uzaki directly references Jotaro and Kakyoin, and there are also references to Conan and many others!

If you're looking for an anime simply to laugh and enjoy the joy and good humor of a character, I recommend Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai! If you're looking for something more structured, with a storyline following a plot, or something that can bring you different emotions (because this first season is practically all positive), I wouldn't recommend it.