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Jun 4, 2023
No. 6 is an anime with some pretty significant flaws, but they don’t really hinder the experience unless you’re looking at it extremely critically or from an artistic point of view. I believe that most fans of sci fi or shounen ai will thoroughly enjoy this regardless of its flaws. Let’s dive in and talk about why!
Story: No. 6 takes place in a post apocalyptic world where all of the remaining citizens have been divided into six city states. The revered No. 6 city state is considered to be the center of the nation and most of the world’s resources go to it. As
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such, it is considered to be a utopia by outsiders for the world’s most elite students were educated there. Our main protagonist, Shion, is an innocent and naive student living in No. 6 with his mother. However, everything changes when he is caught sheltering an escaped prisoner from the nearby correctional facility, Nezumi (literally “rat”). He and his mother are subsequently relocated and Shion is expelled from his studies. Years later, Shion is caught up in a conspiracy and nearly killed before being saved by the very prisoner he cared for all those years ago. Forced into an impromptu friendship with Nezumi, Shion becomes determined to reunite with his mother and expose the secrets behind No. 6.
No. 6 has a lot of substantial plot holes that really hinder the believability of the story from a critical point of view. One of my main issues is the lack of foreshadowing. A large amount of information is crammed down our throats with little time to recover, such as the presence of an ancient God named Elyurias (whose origin is never explained) and exactly why the No. 6 government is as strict as it is. There were quite a few head scratching moments, especially near the beginning. The first few episodes were definitely the series weakest, as the main protagonist struggled to find a motive to keep himself (and the show) going. The premise is still intriguing enough to keep most viewers invested, although the significant lack of mystery may turn some off.
Perhaps my biggest problem with this show is the lack of a villain. We know that the entire city and corporation of No. 6 is apparently the main villain. But we never learn anything about the people behind it besides that they want to protect it and make sure it stays a utopia. We never even find out who is giving all of these henchmen their orders. It was pretty unsatisfying when absolutely nothing was revealed about them in the end and they just went down without a problem.
Characters: The characters is where No. 6 really shines. The two main heros of our story are Shion (mentioned above) and Nezumi, who is a rather serious yet sly and crafty individual who is technologically minded. The two mesh very well together and the best moments in the entire show were when it was just the two of them together. Nezumi making wisecracks and Shion getting frustrated really brightened up my pathetic life. And that’s saying something. I don’t want to spoil too much about their relationship, but there is definitely some romantic interest that is explored later in the series.
The side characters were nice too. I liked Inukashi in particular. They’re an orphan who was raised my dogs and as such leads a large pack of them and rents them out as blankets to paying tenants. Their gender is never specified. As a dog lover myself, I loved Inukashi solely because they always had a dog of some sort around them and led to lots of “awww” moments. They weren’t just a comedic character easily, which might be insinuated because of their testy personality. Their fear of dying was greatly enunciated and often a factor in their choices, and I found their breakdown in Episode 10 to be surprisingly emotional for a side character. I really felt for them in that moment. At the end of the day, they are just a child, and don’t deserve to be rented out for prostitution, even if it is a ruse.
All the other characters were fine and none really bothered me too much. None of them are really worth mentioning either, however.
Art/Animation: The art and animation in No. 6 is pretty average. There were some pretty still shots and the action scenes were nicely animated. Particularly in the earlier episodes, there were a lot of badly drawn scenes that just looked…awkward. I’m not an animation connoisseur, so I can’t really go into much more detail than that.
Sound: I don’t really pay attention to BG, so I can’t say much on the topic. It kept me immersed, and that’s about all I can say. The OP was a nice change from the typical j-rock I hear so often nowadays, and I ended up adding it to my Spotify playlist (this is a HUGE HONOR). The ED was fine. The voice acting was stellar, particularly Shion. I could really hear the emotion in his voice when he was screaming for Safu in the final episode. Nezumi was great too, although I felt like his voice was a bit too deep for his character, especially when he was twelve. His singing was awesome though!
In the end, I liked No. 6 quite a lot, but I can’t just ignore all the flaws. The animation is very mediocre, the characters move awkwardly, and the plot has more holes than a slice of Swiss cheese. However, if you’re anything like me, you can look past that and see some wonderfully written characters and relationships, as well as actually wholesome LGBTQ+ representation!
Final Rating: 7/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 21, 2023
Love Live Superstar is another lovely edition to the Love Live franchise that continues to cement Love Live as one of the best and most heartfelt idol franchises in the Japanese industry. Full of touching music, likable characters and beautiful animation, Love Live Superstar is perhaps the greatest the franchise has ever been. Rather than standing in another series’ shadow (Sunshine) or being made specifically to cater to All Stars fans (Nijigasaki), Love Live Superstar stands firmly on its own as a wonderfully pleasant slice of life show.
I have to say that Love Live Superstar will not cater to all Love Live fans, particularly
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for those who come for the music and drama. While previous seasons of Love Live were heavier on drama and melancholy, Love Live Superstar is more clearly a slice of life anime. In fact, not only do the main heroines not decide on an idol group name until the very end of the season, they don’t decide to enter the Love Live competition until the very end either. If you’re trying to determine if Love Live Superstar is for you, ask yourself which is more important to you: the idol premise or character development. If you answered character development, then this show is certainly for you.
I found that this installment of Love Live has some of the best character development we’ve seen in the franchise so far. I believe that the staff’s choice to focus on a much smaller cast with only five girls was certainly the right call. Every girl has their moment to shine and none of their arcs seem rushed. Each girl is given approximately two focus episodes, which is a huge plus, considering how previous seasons normally gave each girl only one, and the presence of the numerous others often overshadowed their development. A smaller cast certainly helped the characters become more likable and realistic.
Out of all the characters, Keke was definitely my favorite, even if she was more of a gag character who didn’t really have much serious development like the others. I am drawn to ridiculous idiots most of the time anyway, and she certainly fits that stereotype. All of the other characters were absolutely fantastic as well. Kanon was a unique protagonist compared to the others. While stage fright seemed to be subtly explored with Ayumu in Nijigasaki, it was very a huge part of the plot. Kanon’s struggles with stage fright and her subtle descent into depression that began after it hits incredibly close to home. In fact, I really do see a lot of myself in Kanon. The line in the final episode when she confirmed she didn’t need her headphones anymore because she had friends now nearly made me burst into tears.
Chisato was also a very well developed character. Out of all the characters revealed in the teaser, she was the one who stood out to me the most, although her personality was not at all what I expected. She acts as the foil of the group and is a very strong character with relatable morals. The idea that she wanted to be good at something like Kanon so she didn’t constantly stand in her shadow was surprisingly realistic. Ren was also wonderful. Out of all the token school counsel president characters present in previous installments, her motivations were the most realistic for me. The little hint at her liking yuri content was also a hilarious joke…I actually laughed so hard I nearly cried.
That leaves Sumire. While a very funny and entertaining character, I felt her plot development rather…well, sloppy. It just didn’t feel at all like how a teenage girl would realistically act. Considering how high and mighty she was acting prior to being offered the center position, it just didn’t make any sense for her to suddenly go through all this inner turmoil of how she was “never chosen”. I have to admit, she really was adorable though, even if her development was a bit annoying to me. Her “Galaxy” catchphrase and isopod shenanigans were super entertaining to watch.
Another aspect of the series I liked was that the “rival” characters were never actually rivals. Sure, Sunny Passion were rivals to Liella professionally, but they never treated them bad and were always very kind and helpful. It was very refreshing to see such a change, and their music was also very catchy without relying on the “edgelord” formula.
The music certainly isn’t bad. Nonfiction was the only song I ended up adding to my Spotify playlist, but the others aren’t bad in the slightest. If anything, most of the group songs are very generic, which was somewhat disappointing, since I liked a lot of the group songs from previous generations. Regardless, there isn’t a song that is boring, even if they are all familiar. The animation in the show is also absolutely stellar. Beautifully vibrant and gorgeously fluid. You can hardly tell when they switch to CGI.
I highly recommend Love Live Superstar for fans of slice of life. They will not only find lots of cute and fluffy moments in this series, they will find realistic character development and some lovely music to brighten up their day! Can’t wait to meet the new girls in the second season.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 10, 2022
Gakkougurashi, meaning “School Live”, is a relatively notorious series in the anime community for its plot twists and dark subject matter. Many compare it to the critically acclaimed Madoka Magica, as both start off as happy, go-lucky “cute girls doing cute things” shows, but quickly delve into something much darker. Those who are unfamiliar with Gakkougurashi, I’m going to have to restate the obvious that almost every other review on this site has already established…don’t read any further and watch the first episode now without any spoilers. I promise, you won’t regret it.
If you’re reading this, then I’m going to assume that you have
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either already finished the first episode/series or don’t care about being spoiled.
The entire “school living club” premise that the series is based on is nothing but a fabrication created by the fragile Yuki Takeya, who began experiencing delusions as a coping mechanism for the dystopian world around her. In reality, her and three other girls, one teacher and a loyal dog named Taroumaru are in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Stuck in the school with nowhere else to grow, our main heroines have to resort to growing crops, bashing zombies with gardening shovels and barricading exits with desks and chairs.
Story:
Now, the premise of Gakkougurashi is quite interesting. Nowadays, you’ll find that most of the unique or interesting ideas have already been used. A lot of the current anime all tell the same story except with one tiny twist that doesn’t really change anything. I’d have to say that nothing like this has ever been done before. Gakkougurashi is the first anime to lire you in with the promise of moe and marshmallows only to completely shatter your hopes and dreams with a zombie apocalypse. While the idea is genius and I still thoroughly enjoyed the show, there is way too much filler for it to be considered a true horror.
Yes, there is plenty of gore and zombies crawling around on the floor. Yes, there are tons of tears and psychological mind f*ck moments. But most of those don’t even happen until the very end of the story. They are sprinkled so gradually into the series that you can almost forget that they’re there. In between the flashbacks where we find out how Miki was rescued and when Kurumi gets bitten, there are at least three whole episodes of filler. To genuinely compliment the story, the moments where there actually is angst are incredibly well-written. And there’s hardly any fanservice. That is a HUGE plus for me.
Characters:
Most of the characters in Gakkougurashi rely on single character archetypes. You can’t really expect much from anime characters these days, as most of them can be boiled down to one or two traits. It was honestly Yuuri who made me angry. Her entire character was basically boiled down to “kind and caring big sister character who will kill you if you disobey her rules”. I have to admit that the arc with Kurumi was a nice touch and helped me feel for her character, but otherwise, she was the only character I disliked.
Yuki was incredibly unique for a few reasons. While she starts off as your typical genki girl, once her true mindset is revealed, she becomes a much more interesting character with tons of depth. I believe that it’s very possible that Yuki has some form of anxiety disorder or PTSD (leaning more towards the latter). It’s very rare that we get such well-written characters with mental disorders, and her sweetness towards her friends just made me love her more.
Kurumi and Miki are also incredible characters. I was drawn to Megu-nee from the beginning strictly because of her design, and even if her personality is a bit cliche, I ended up loving her the most and the revelation that she was actually one of Yuki’s delusions and had been infected a long time ago literally KILLED ME.
Taroumaru is a dog. That sells it for me. I sobbed hysterically when he died and if you don’t do the same then you’re probably already a zombie.
Art:
The art and animation is fine. Nothing too special, nothing groundbreaking. It does what it’s supposed to do and manages to not look too awkward. One of the things I found unique about the art was the changes in color palette. For example, when we were experiencing the world through Yuki’s perspective, everything was bright and colorful. However, through everyone else’s perspective, the world was dreary and dark, tainted with the blood of past students and the rust of scattered desks. It added a nice touch, even if it wasn’t too noticeable first watch.
Sound:
The background music and the ending were fine. The opening was a catchy song with an awesome theme animation to boot. I really loved how small details were added to the opening every new episode. In the very beginning, the school looks completely normal, but in the final episode, you can see zombies milling around the school, blood staining the walls and boarded up windows. The changes are so small that you probably won’t every notice until you see a side by side comparison. It will blow your mind.
Final rating: Even if Gakkougurashi did have quite a few flaws, it was still an enjoyable watch with plenty of twists that set it apart from your average horror or slice of life. The characters were all likable, the plot twists were foreshadowed and nothing every seemed like shock value, and the art and sound were solid. If you liked Madoka Magica or other similar shows, I highly recommend this to you. I doubt that anything will ever surpass Madoka Magica, but Gakkougurashi seems like a worthy contender.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Sep 29, 2022
Smile Precure was the very first anime I ever watched. I was pretty young when it first came out, and it was later dubbed and localized as Glitter Force on Netflix. A lot of people bash on dubs, so this one is no exception. After all, the localization also resulted in a ton of episodes being removed from the run. So, obviously, the dub isn’t well-received by Precure fans. However, I have to say that I really love the dub. I just love this anime in general. It is just the perfect magical girl show with tons of lighthearted slice of life moments and action-packed
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battle scenes.
Each of the characters were likable in their own way. I honestly can’t bash on this series too much, considering how much I loved it as a kid, but I can’t deny that while the characters are likable, they all are pretty one-note. I’ll use Yayoi as an example, since she was my favorite as a kid. Her entire personality boils down to the shy artist. There aren’t many other traits that can be said about her, as much as I love her. That being said, all the other characters are similar. It’s really the villains where the show shines
Precure is known for its gag villains. Being a kids’ show, you can’t really have serious villains without that one kid having nightmares. While the gag villains were great, I personally found the Joker to be the best character in this show. It’s nice to have a truly evil villain who manages to be likable without having a soft spot or being reformed. I remember him scaring the heck out of me as a kid, but now, he’s just so much fun and a fantastic villain.
And then there’s the pixies. While I did talk a lot about the villains above, the pixies are undoubtedly my favorite part of this show. They are absolutely adorable. That’s really all that can be said. I want to hug them so bad. You don’t even know.
That’s all I really have to say about this show. I honestly had a lot of trouble reviewing it seriously considering how dear it is to me, but I can say that whether you are a kid or a full grown adult, this show is tons of fun and worth checking out.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 11, 2022
If you’ve seen any slice of life anime, you’ve already seen A-Channel.
I had strangely high hopes for this anime despite the average rating. However, after marathoning the series, I can safely say that my high expectations were hit with a swift kick of reality. A-Channel is basically Lucky Star…except without the cute characters and the comedy.
To start, the art style is only mediocre. The art style is often the driving point of any slice of life anime. Even with horrible writing and a cliche plot, at least the characters are cute and moe, right? WRONG. Every character in A-Channel looks the same, which
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makes it impossible for you to appreciate the characters when they’re all the same with one differentiating trait. The only character who stood out for me was Tooru. At least her protectiveness of Run gave some flavor to the plot. Otherwise, all filler. There were so many cliche scenarios in this anime that it could be presented as an example of episode plots to avoid when creating a slice of life anime.
Additionally, it was impossible to avoid being bored while watching this anime. It made me cringe seeing how hard they were trying to come off as funny and relatable. There were a very select few scenes that I actually found funny. The opening scene where Tooru was warding off a bunch of boys with a bat was one of the few redeemable parts of this anime! It gave us all high expectations, hoping for something different. However, all we found was meaningless schlock with tons of unnecessary fanservice and cliches.
A-Channel wanted to be Lucky Star. But it just didn’t work.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Sep 10, 2022
For as long as I can remember, Love Live has been one of my favorite franchises of all time. It is what got me into idols. However, Love Live Nijigasaki is definitely my favorite anime adaptation from the franchise to date.
There were originally only nine girls, and they were created solely for the All Stars project. They were not supposed to be main characters, nor where they expected to attract a fan base. However, after their popularity spiraled, the girls were granted their own anime adaptation, and later on, three new girls joined the group in the game’s story, leading the club to have
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twelve school idols and one supporter. Nijigasaki had a lot of “firsts” in the franchise. First group to have a pure protagonist, first group to have over nine members, first group to have subunits without three members in each group, etc. While Love Live Sunshine was always walking in the footsteps of the original series, Nijigasaki feels more original and unique compared to former adaptations.
Story-
Love Live Nijigasaki is a heartwarming story about what it means to be a school idol. It encourages viewers to follow their dreams and do whatever makes them happy. However, the series is not without its drama. It also showcases the hardships that come with being a school idol—stress, the competitiveness, the hard work, etc. Therefore, this show isn’t all cupcakes and rainbows. For those thinking of this as a typical “cute girls doing cute things” slice of life anime, you would be sorely mistaken. This anime does tackle deeper and darker themes and works very hard in developing the connections between the characters.
I have to say that the second season was better for me than the first. While the first season focused on gaining members and developing the characters, the second season focused on gaining publicity as a group and hosting a first concert. We got to hear lots of good music and learn more lighthearted things about the characters. The addition of Lanzhu Zong also brought something new to the story. Nijigasaki hadn’t really had a rival before, and a solo rival had been unheard of in the franchise up to this point. Her competitiveness and seriousness about being a school idol was what made her unique. Some may argue that her true reasoning for acting standoffish towards others dumbed her down as a character, but I would argue that it just made her more likable. After all, who would like a character with no reason for doing what they do? Her hesitance and awkwardness when making friends just made her charming. Which leads me into…
Characters-
The characters in Nijigasaki are extremely likable and well-developed. They all have their quirks and flaws, and are all quite different, but in the end, they always manage to come together to make some beautiful music. I found myself caring for characters that I previously just ignored, particularly Ayumu and Emma. Ayumu’s attempts to keep her fans and friends happy make her so endearing, while Emma is adorable in her supportiveness of her friends and her love for all things edible. There is not a single character in this anime without something charming and adorable about them. I truly love every character and would not change them for the world.
Additionally, the anime did a fantastic job developing the characters. With there being such a large cast, it’s reasonable that one would be a little nervous about how they would be handled by staff. However, each of the original nine received their own episode and solo song in the first season, in which their flaws were explained and their relationships with the other characters were delved into. Additionally, in the second season, these characters were further developed in a series of typical “slice of life” episodes, such as the episode where Kasumi attempts to prove how amazing of a president she is to the rest of the club. While simultaneously developing new characters, Nijigasaki continued giving us reasons to care about the original characters, which is not done easy.
The series also received multiple cameos from N girls. For those who don’t know, about six groups of original characters were created specifically for SIF. They never got any of their own storylines or music, but their personalities were described and they got some cute cards. Considering how original some of these N girls were, it was a shame that we never got to see more of them…until the second season of Nijigasaki. We got to see numerous cameos from girls from each and every one of the clubs, as well as my personal favorites, Sakura and Sakuya Kurobane. As unlikely as it may seem, I really do hope that at least one group receives their own anime adaptation one day.
Music-
Normally, I don’t pay much attention to the soundtrack unless it’s a music anime. Previously, I had actually used some of the backing tracks in Nijigasaki for a personal project, so I was already well familiar with them. I can’t say anything special about the background music, but I will say that it does what it’s supposed to…which is accent a scene. However, the music written for the idol club is truly where the anime shines. Rather than focusing on full group songs like in previous adaptations, Nijigasaki makes each girl a solo idol and gives them each a solo song in their character development episode. The music is incredibly catchy and well-written. Honestly, if you want anything to convince you to watch this anime, listen to at least one of their songs. It will convince you.
Animation-
When the anime announcement was made, there was a lot of backlash about the new art style. Formerly, a more dreamy and original art style was used. However, to accentuate the differences between the previous groups and their successor, a new and different art style was used. Personally, I actually prefer the new art style. I couldn’t tell you what it is about it, but I just think it works for Nijigasaki. Some stills and drawings of background characters are kind of awkward, which may give the feeling that the animators didn’t really care when drawing them. However, there are plenty of redeemable sequences, particularly the CGI, which has vastly improved. In fact, the CGI looks so fluid that you can barely tell it apart from the traditional animation! Now that’s applaudable.
Final words-
Now, this review has been going on for a while. I think it’s time to wrap things up. Now, this anime is far from perfect and has its flaws and weak points. However, for character fans and veteran idol fans, I highly recommend this anime. It will keep your music cravings satisfied, and will also give you plenty of cute moments between girls and character development. Even if you just like slice of life, you’ll find plenty in this anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 8, 2022
*THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS. DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED*
Every otaku is well aware of the magical girl genre. It’s a somewhat repetitive genre marketed towards young girls in Japan. Full of plenty of glitter, cute animal sidekicks (yes, I’m looking at the Precure franchise) and prolonged transformations, if you’ve seen one magical girl show, you’ve already seen the rest. While they can be a wholesome watch with their messages about family and friendship, for the most part, they all tell the same story.
In fact, the first anime I ever watched was a magical girl show. I must’ve
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been around nine or ten. It was called Smile Precure, and it basically checked all of the boxes above for an incredibly standard magical girl show. I still loved it when I was little, and I remember sitting in awe at the pretty transformation scenes. I also loved little Candy to death. At the time, I thought she was a bunny. Now I have no idea what she is. (But I still love her)
With that out of the way, I was expecting similar things from Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (I’ll abbreviate it as Madoka Magica). But, judging from the average MAL rating (which was unusually high for a magical girl anime) and the reviews that praise the anime for its genius storytelling and plot progression, I decided to give it a watch.
And any doubts I previously had were blown out of the water.
Story: Madoka Magica has a well-developed storyline and timeline. The premise itself is very original and doesn’t sound at all stupid or bland. One of the most impressive aspects of the story is the heavy psychological atmosphere. I personally loved how every event was shown to have an impact on the minds of the characters, and the progression of Sayaka’s descent into madness was very realistic and well-written. Some of the issues the characters face in the story hit way too close to home, like Sayaka struggling with unrequited love and the sorrow of all of the characters after Mami’s sudden death. Every character’s reactions to the horrible emotional turmoil they are forced to go through are incredibly realistic, and that really made me feel for the characters. At times, the story can seem a bit too…depressing, but it just made the show all the more entertaining. It’s nice to see young girls who aren’t happy and “moe” all the time.
Art: Madoka Magica has a weird art style. Compared to the “dreamy” style of other magical girl shows, it’s rather unusual. At times, some of the expressions and angles looked unnatural, but for the most part, the art does what it’s supposed to do…which is tell the story. The animation is also perfectly smooth. I don’t usually go on rants about art style, and this anime is no exception. But I really should mention the animation style present in the witches’ barriers. You can just tell that the animators put a ton of effort into this anime, as it must be difficult to animate in two different art styles at once. The psychedelic effect it has on the viewer just adds to it all. It’s really something special out of the field of generic art styles used in most shoujo anime.
Sound: Unless the anime in question is a music anime, I don’t normally pay too much attention to sound. In this case, Madoka Magica has one OP and multiple EDs that are all used to fit the mood of the specific episode. The OP “Connect” is nothing outstanding, but it fits the anime and is accompanied by dreamy yet somewhat foreboding visuals, which is enough for what it’s meant to do. Most of the EDs were nothing special, but “Magia” is worth noting as a wonderful ED. It fits the overall mood of the series as a whole (not just one specific episode) and is…just a good song in general. I’m not one to quote on background music, but in my very humble opinion, it was perfectly fine. (I hardly ever pay attention to background music)
Characters: All of the characters were well-developed (which can be somewhat shocking, as magical girl shows aren’t particularly known for their character development). Each character is likable, and even the characters I disliked at the beginning (such as Homura and Kyouko) I ended up liking at the end. You really can’t help but feel for the characters in this scenario. Madoka Magica has some of the best character development I’ve seen in anime so far. Each character’s reactions to the events around them are different, and you can see how they affect the characters as the story progresses. Most anime have trouble with that aspect…even after a potentially “traumatizing” event, the characters all stay the same. You could really see how the events of the show affected the characters mentally, which contributes to the psychological atmosphere.
Overall: This is quite literally the best magical girl show I’ve ever seen. I enjoyed every episode of it and I would gladly rewatch the entire season if I didn’t have a much longer list to complete. It kept my mind busy, I never felt bored when watching this show, and I loved every character (except for Kyubey, little rascal). I regret not watching this show sooner. For those who are used to ordinary, run of the mill magical girl shows, I suggest you give this show a chance. I also recommend it to fans of psychological horror. Those two may seem quite different, but I promise you. You’ll find an impossibly great combination of the two in this anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 2, 2022
Bushiroad is a well-known company among most anime fans, as they are responsible for a decent bulk of music-based anime and rhythm games, some of which include Love Live, BanG Dream, and Project Sekai. Their most recent project is D4DJ, a music-based rhythm game revolving around six four piece DJ units, each with their own unique story and style. Since most of their past projects have gotten anime adaptations, D4DJ was no exception. And after getting hooked on the D4DJ mobile game (I have a rhythm game addiction, don't bully me), I decided to watch the anime (although I was just a little bit late
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to the party).
D4DJ: First Mix is one of the exact reasons why Bushiroad is the dominator of rhythm games and their related anime. Complete with a heartwarming story and extremely likeable characters, this anime is anything but your average idol story. In a mere 13 episodes, each character is fully fleshed out and developed, and the story never feels the slightest bit forced.
One of my doubts upon starting this anime was how well the characters would be developed. While I did enjoy the previous BanG Dream anime, I found that quite a few characters were significantly more developed than others. This is likely because of the attempt to introduce five different bands at once. With six different units, I was more than a little worried.
Thankfully, only three of the groups from the game are included in this anime: Happy Around, Peaky P-Key and Photon Maiden. The other three groups were only given small cameos or background appearances, and while fans of said groups may complain, I would argue that this made the anime even better. The writers didn't attempt to shove a cast of twenty characters down our throat at once and make us immediately love them all. They instead took their time with the introductions so that we could love and appreciate all of them.
I also found all of the characters extremely likeable. There wasn't a single one I disliked. Upon starting the mobile game, I admit, I found Happy Around somewhat boring compared to the other more unique units. However, in the anime, they somehow skyrocketed up to being my favorite unit out of all six. Rinku's bubbly and easygoing and has this innocent aura surrounding her that always makes me smile. Maho is cool-headed and confident with plenty of knowledge about music, and I got to learn quite a few of the basics of trackmaking from her. Muni's adorable and reminds me of Niko Yazawa, one of my all-time favorite characters from anime, except she's more realistic and human (it appears she may be challenging Niko for first-place in my anime character rankings). And Rei is shy, sweet and talented with a beautifully angelic voice. She really reminds me of myself, as we're both shy and anxious, but also love music.
One of my favorite things from the anime is undoubtedly the friendships between the girls. They all fit so well together and I found myself smiling every time they were on screen together. Some of them even branched out and made friends with the girls from other units, like Rinku and Towa and Maho and Shinobu. I particularly loved the friendship between Rinku and Muni. It reminded me of how much I miss my old friends from grade school, and episode twelve was such a real episode for me. When the two of them fight about things in the past, it just felt so...real. I really don't know how to describe it. It just really touched me.
Some people may complain about the animation over anything else, as the anime is animated fully in CGI. This may annoy a lot of people who prefer classic animation, but if anything, I think the CGI just enhanced the anime and the story even further. The expressions and movements of the characters looked much more fluid than they would have if the animators had used classic animation, and it also helped the characters look more expressive. The little details and changes in the animation depending on the respective character was also impressive. I loved how when Rinku was invited on-stage to perform with Peaky P-Key, her dancing was more energetic. I loved how at the very end, when all three of the units performed together, Towa was the only one who knew Happy Around's choreography. It's the little details that help the story flow more smoothly.
Since it is a music anime, I should also say a thing or two about the sound. And I personally thought the music was outstanding. There was not a single song I disliked. I am a huge fan of electronic music, and the ability of the producers to fuse electronic music and idol pop was incredibly impressive. Every song sounded unique and fit the feel of each unit perfectly.
In the end, D4DJ: First Mix was nearly perfect. The only criticism I really have is that while some characters were animated in CGI, others were animated with classic animation. It just felt really lazy to give some characters CGI animated models and to just use classic animation on the side characters. It also looked very out of place...almost jarring. Other than that, the anime was absolutely amazing. I hope to see a second season in the future so I can learn about the other three units and their stories.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 14, 2022
Lucky Star is one of those anime that you want to watch to see why everyone’s talking about it, but also are in the constant fear of it being boring, cringe or just straight up awful. But I couldn’t just ignore Lucky Star’s “calling of popularity” forever. With such a classic anime like this one, I couldn’t not try it. So I did. While it definitely wasn’t a life-changing experience, it was a cute and simple story (if you can even call it that) about four cute girls living their everyday life.
This is what a true slice of life anime looks like. That doesn’t
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me I dislike all slice of life anime, it just means that this is what it looks like if it stays true to its name. Just a bunch of cute girls living their life, without constant drama or weird quirks that make the series what it is. These girls are just here to have a good time.
A slice of life can’t be a slice of life without comedy, and the comedy in Lucky Star wasn’t the best. The comedy largely relies on the viewer’s understanding of Japanese culture and relatableness, as they may call it. Lucky Star acknowledged ordinary things that everyone does but no one talks about and makes it into a joke, which is almost unique to this anime. While the comedy definitely isn’t groundbreaking, it’s unique to say the least, and anime often struggles with the same thing being done over and over again.
The artstyle was eye catching and adorable. The animation never needed to be smooth for an anime as simple as this, but I found the art absolutely adorable regardless. The eyes was my favorite, as they said a lot about the character without the character even needing to open their mouth. Miyuki has bright and rounded eyes, Tsukasa has soft and somewhat sleepy eyes, Kagami has sharp and alert eyes, and Konata has catlike and incredibly sleepy eyes that are perhaps the most expressive. With most anime I’ve watched, the eyes and designs all look the same. And despite what I said above about the animation not needing to be smooth, it still made itself be smooth, particularly in the opening dance sequence. It’s smooth and pleasing to watch.
The characters themselves never needed to be particularly unique, but they did a good job of it. While the four main characters are the four main characters, the supporting cast and even the background characters still are drawn in the same vibrant art style that makes everyone seem important, which is something I truly loved about this anime. None of the characters had much special about them, but all they needed to be was average, as the anime is supposed to be relatable.
In the end, this anime is just average, at least for me. I found it hard to not get bored while watching, but avid fans of the slice of life genre might find something more to be desired in this anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Dec 23, 2021
*WARNING*: This review will contain spoilers. I normally try to avoid spoilers when writing reviews, but I find it impossible to write a good review without spoiling at least some of the plot, especially when it's a horror/mystery anime.
I've known about this anime for years, ever since I first started watching anime. I kept myself from watching it because I believed the plot would be too confusing, as I had only seen clips of the anime at that point and didn't understand anything that was happening. The only characters I knew (or knew the names of) were Rika and Satoko, and I expected them
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to be the two main characters. After reading up on the anime once more, I finally decided to give it a watch. And while it definitely wasn't perfect, I thought it was decent.
I guess I am quite picky when it comes to anime. I can't enjoy an anime if I don't like the art style or if things happen too slow. I'm also commonly victim to boredom, which keeps me from watching suspenseful anime as I get bored waiting for everything to happen or for the answers to fall into place. While that did happen a few times while watching Higurashi, in the end, I did enjoy it, especially the more tense scenes where truths about each arc are revealed.
I found that I understood the anime much better when I had already partially spoiled myself. For example, I understood why each arc ended with most of the characters dying and then mysteriously reviving in the next arc because I already knew about the time loop and Rika's Hinamizawa Syndrome. That made it much easier to understand, but I was still curious and was actually formulating theories for the entirety of the anime.
For me, the story was the best part of the anime. Each brutal scene and mystery was always unique and suspenseful. I never felt like I could guess what was going to happen next, but it definitely wasn't random. There were plenty of clues to help you try and discover the truth behind these horrifying events occurring in each arc. I will admit that out of all of the arcs, the first one, "Spirited Away by Demons" was definitely my favorite. With a large majority of the other arcs, I moved onto the next one still feeling as if I didn't have the answers for the previous arc. With this one, I understood everything by the end.
The art style and animation was one of the things that brought this anime down for me. I get that it was an old anime, but the quality wasn't very good, and the art itself was a bit too retro for my taste. The animation was mediocre, and the twisted facial expressions that some characters got when they started to lose their sanity seemed out of place for such normally cute characters.
For the sound, the anime OP was definitely one of the best anime OPs I've seen so far. It was so genuinely creepy and almost hypnotic in the strange displays and mystical vocals. The music itself was somewhat repetitive, but I did like the constant sound of cicadas playing in the background.
And finally, there's the characters. I have to say that out of all the characters, I really didn't care for Mion or Shion. I found nothing particularly special about them, and didn't understand their motives for the way they acted throughout the arcs. I was fine with Keiichi's existence, but didn't acknowledge him much. Same with Rena, although I found her much more interesting than Keiichi.
Out of all the characters, I liked Satoko and Rika the most without a doubt. I adored Satoko from the moment I laid eyes on her. She has such an adorable design, and I often can't help but smile at her antics. Same with Rika. I found her cute from the beginning, particularly her habit of saying "Nippaa~" quite frequently. I feel for both of them the most, Satoko because of her uncle's abuse and Rika because of having to go through this same time loop for centuries of suffering.
If there was one thing that truly bothered me in the storyline, it was the lack of consistency. If Satoko was truly being abused since the beginning in every arc, then why wasn't their any evidence of it in arcs one and two? Why does Oishi act like a kind and reliable officer in one arc, but then intrudes on other people's regular lives in the next? And why does Keiichi only wonder about the murders happening at the dam in the first arc, but then didn't comprehend it again later?
Overall, I give the anime a 7. It definitely could've been better, but it wasn't half bad for me. I'm definitely going to watch the reboot eventually, and maybe continue with Kai and watch some of the OVAs. But that probably won't be for a while. (Those of you who know me know that I have a long list of anime to complete ;)
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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