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Little Witch Academia pulled a fast one on me. I saw this on Netflix about a year and a half ago (if not longer) and thought "Oh man, that anime looks freaking sweet." When my friends demanded I present them with a new show for us to watch together, I pulled up My List and clicked on the engaging poster, bursting with enough style to surely last at least 13 episodes. PSYCHE! THAT'S THE WRONG NUMBER! It was one piece, a twenty-six minute short film that left me incredibly disappointed.

Because I wanted to watch it for HOURS.

I haven't done the math, but if a film ... can cram more life and character into less than half an hour of running time than an twenty-six episode series can with its entire length, it's probably pretty good. Little Witch Academia is an absolute delight, pure entertainment from start to finish. But don't mistake me for saying that it's turn-your-brain-off material. LWA is engaging, charming, wonderfully stylish and full of detail.

The story is very straightforward. Akko is a young girl who, after seeing a magical performance by the show witch Shining Chariot, makes it her mission in life to become a fantastic witch just like her idol. To that end, she attends the prestigious witch school Luna Nova. Her two best friends are Lotte, a soft-spoken girl who tries to act as a voice of reason to Akko's impulsiveness and Sucy, a mischievous witch with a deadpan delivery and mastery of toxins and potions. Another major side character is Diana, the top student at Luna Nova who finds major irritation with Akko's lackluster performance and stubborn attitude. Each and every one of these characters is brought to life beautifully, thanks to the great animation, voice acting and dialogue (I watched the English dub, but I'm sure the sub is terrific as well). And although they may seem like common, familiar tropes - and in many ways are - they are given perfect little twists and added flavor that transform them into completely believable and real people.

And it is this attention to detail - the effort put into making the world feel lived-in and complete, with characters that seem like they could walk right out of your screen - that truly allows Little Witch Academia to transcend its short run-time and the tropes used in its construction. In the interest of "avoiding spoilers" for a short movie where there really isn't much to spoil, I won't say much about the actual plot, but it is very simple and really carried by the execution. Have I talked enough about how Little Witch Academia does everything very well? Because it does literally everything very well. I could break up the elements and maybe prattle on about "Oh der this is a thing from another thing!" but none of that matters even a little bit when the film is just so gosh darn full of life and zest that everything feels fresh and new. Not only that, but so many things are hinted at or implied that the story feels very much like a smaller part of something much bigger, which really adds to how believable the world and characters feel.

From a technical standpoint, the animation is gorgeous and the music is excellent. All the aesthetic elements of Little Witch Academia serve to give it a style and flair all its own, even with the signature Trigger feel permeating throughout. Nothing about it feels cheap or accidental; every line, every motion and every budget-saving-minimalist frame feels deliberate. The score emulates European stylings very well without sounding generic or losing itself. Little Witch Academia feels very much more western than a lot of anime, while still holding onto its Japanese flair, which gives it a timeless feel usually associated with classic films.

Is that what I'm saying? That Little Witch Academia is a timeless classic? Well, maybe. It could be. Am I saying it's amazing and definitely worth watching? I mean, I dunno, did you read everything I said up until now? Seems pretty obvious what I think of the greatest anime franchise this decade. Plus, at the time of this review, there's a second film and a whole series available for viewing to hopefully give you your fill of quality witch anime. Don't miss out!

Sword Art Online (or SAO for short) is perhaps one of the most controversial anime of recent times. And not because of some offensive joke, questionable morality, or avant garde presentation. Anime fans are just so decisively split on whether or not SAO is actually a good show. Many swear it's one of the best anime of the past ten years. Others say it's one of the worst of all time. The answer, as it so often does, lies between these two juxtaposed positions.

SAO is the story of Kirito, a gamer who purchases the titular virtual reality game Sword Art Online on launch day. Upon ... trying to leave the game, however, he comes to a horrifying realization: They cannot leave the game and are in fact stuck inside the world of SAO. If a family member tries to remove the virtual reality device, the poor player will have their brain fried. And if you die in the game, you die for real. The only hope for salvation is for a player to complete the game and defeat the hardest boss on the highest floor of the world of SAO.

This idea isn't particularly original, but SAO executes it very well. The entrance of the Game Master is full of tension and horror, as well as memorable visuals. Kirito himself makes for a surprisingly solid protagonist. While it is true that he adheres to many of the light novel tropes that keep most adaptations down, he does actually have some flaws and develops as a person throughout the show. People die because of his mistakes, and he has to live with that. The show also implies that in real life, Kirito is a complete loser. Living in the game world is a chance for him to be someone important, someone cool. The "skills" he wasted his life honing are so suddenly very valuable indeed. But of course, he is a light novel protagonist, and he has more than a few moments where he pulls of feats so completely senseless and narrative-breaking that it almost renders the emotional weight of the story moot.

Thankfully, the supporting cast is there to carry him when he fails (Or, succeeds too well, I guess). The other characters are fairly archetypal, but fun archetypes nonetheless. You may have noticed that the running theme in SAO is "unoriginal ideas executed very well." SAO has great animation, scoring and creative scene staging to make tired ideas seem fresh and exciting. It's very easy to forgive it for relying on tropes when it just does it in a way that's so much fun. Back on the subject of characters, Asuna is far and away the show-stealing side character. She acts as Kirito's love interest, but she is a fully fleshed out character in her own right and acts with full independence. She's also implied to be the second baddest dude in the game (after Kirito himself of course), so she rarely needs to be rescued and in fact saves Kirito's bacon more than a few times. Anime is full of underdeveloped female leads, but Asuna is not one of them. She and Kirito also have a very believable chemistry and their relationship feels very real, in a way few anime romances do. When so many anime feature romantic subplots that go absolutely nowhere (Or even backwards!), seeing a relationship that actually blossoms, grows and ends with a fulfilling result felt more refreshing than a Sprite water fountain in the deep south. And the anime as a whole reaches a very satisfying conclusion. Episode 14 ends the series on a strong note, and the viewer is left with an enjoyable anime series to reflect on.

Wait, what? It's not over? What's this elf nonsense? Why does the opening suck? Who is this new chick? Why is Asuna in a cage? No... no!

Halfway through the show, the action shifts to a new game world and everything that was enjoyable about the show previously is thrown out the window. Kirito ceases developing as a character, an awkward and VERY uncomfortable romance suddenly appears between him and his sister (WHY MUST ANIME DO THIS?), and Asuna is all but completely removed from the show as she becomes a damsel in distress. Not just a damsel in distress, but one frequently subjected to degrading fan-service (which the previous arc was almost entirely free of). The sharp drop in quality of the show is INFURIATING. It feels so needlessly tacked on, especially considering the show's strong ending with Episode 14. As if to insult the viewers, the great opening song from the first arc ("Crossing Field" by Lisa) is replaced with an entirely forgettable new number. It lets you know right away "Hey kids, hope you're ready for this show to suck now!" The worst part of the new arc is how it blatantly emotionally manipulates the audience to continue watching. I was FULLY invested in the Asuna-Kirito relationship, and I NEEDED to see them end the series together. The villain of the second arc frequently tortures Asuna and is such a disgusting human being that I couldn't help but watch the entire second arc in a single night, just so I could see him get his comeuppance and finally put this show behind me. Of course, that feeling of being FORCED to complete the show only served to further soil the enjoyment I had taken from the first arc.

The sister romance is also incredibly uncomfortable. Though perhaps she isn't related to Kirito by blood (maybe she's actually his first cousin? It wasn't entirely clear), she has DEFINITELY acted in the sister role for their entire lives. And one does not simply become attracted to your sibling, blood related or not. The show cranks up the fanservice in this arc as well, as if it knows it desperately needs to keep your attention with such a tepid and uninteresting plot. I couldn't care in the slightest for any plot lines in the second arc, save for Kirito's end goal of rescuing Asuna. Consequently, the episodes become an absolute slog to get through. There is little to no real tension. Coming from the first arc where people could die at any moment, having an arc where Kirito is for all intents and purposes just playing a video game leaves the stakes feeling very low.

If there is one good thing to be said for the second arc, it's that the voice acting (in the dub at least) remains top-notch. There is a particular emotional confrontation between Kirito and his sister that resulted in me having a genuine emotional response. I legitimately felt bad for his sister, despite not giving a crap about her for ten or eleven episodes at that point. This is entirely thanks to the amazing work of her voice actress. Way to go, whoever you are.

The drop in quality from Arc 1 to 2 cannot be overstated. SAO begins as a fine show, full of familiar elements but executed with talent and a sense of fun and creativity that keeps it flowing to a fairly strong ending without skipping a beat. But immediately after the second arc starts, everything goes downhill and the viewer is tortured by the connections they made in the first arc into finishing the show. Would I recommend SAO? Yeah, it was good. But for the second arc, just watch the first episode and the last two. Spare yourself the pain.

Howl's Moving Castle was originally a novel by Diana Wynn Jones. A light-hearted fantasy tale, the book executes just about every aspect of its story perfectly - the action, the mystery, the romance, the comedy - without ever losing its tone or feeling inconsistent. Though there are many fantasy authors whose overall body of work I would prefer (Terry Brooks and Brian Jacques come to mind), Howl's Moving Castle is my favorite book of all-time. And, unfortunately, I was very disappointed with the movie rendition.

To give credit where credit is due, Miyazaki brings to life the world of Howl's Moving Castle better than I could ... have expected. Everything is gorgeously animated, and the soundtrack is terrific. These are things we've come to expect from Studio Ghibli, and they deliver time and time again. Beyond this, however, I take issue with almost everything else in the film.

The story is very simple on the surface: Sophie, a hat-maker's daughter, feels resigned to a boring and uninteresting life as the middle child, destined to inherit the store while her sisters live much more exciting lives. However, the fearsome wizard Howl's castle appears near her town, and after a chance encounter with the wizard (Who does not seem to be the maiden-heart-devouring monster she heard about) Sophie comes face-to-face with the Witch of the Waste, who places her under a curse that causes her to become an old woman. She sets out then to find Howl and see if he can undo her curse. Living in Howl's Castle, she strikes a deal with his fire demon Calcifer: If she can break Calcifer's contract with Howl, Calcifer will break her curse. Of course, there is a great deal more to this story as the film progresses, but you'll have to watch to find out!

The characters feel woefully underdeveloped compared to their literary counterparts. While this is often true of films, due to the time restraints forced upon the story, in this movie it felt particularly troublesome. Barring comparisons to the novel, everyone still feels shallow and their motivations were often unclear. Sophie is the only character who really seems to develop. Howl in particular is incredibly blase, which is shocking considering how full of life his literary version was. There were many side characters whose own stories felt completely nonsensical or pointless in the movie, as key things were cut or re-purposed for time constraints. Characters' entire motivations are changed, particularly the Witch of the Waste and Howl's old teacher (who becomes an entirely different person in the film). Changes aren't necessarily bad, but in making these adjustments the film seems to lose focus and feels significantly more scattered. Ironically, this is despite cutting many narrative threads.

The story also suffers greatly. The book excels at creating subplots throughout the world-building, all of which play into the story, come to a resolution and create incredibly satisfying moments in their own right. This is not the case in the film. Really, only the main story has any kind of dynamic, and though the books' subplots (such as the Scarecrow) are present in some fashion, they really have no explanation and the conclusions come completely out of left field. Consequently, the movie really lacks in narrative punch. Miyazaki also makes radical changes to the story. In this film, a significant focus is placed on Howl's reluctance to join the war effort, something that was not particularly present in the book. Again, changes aren't necessarily a bad thing, but the changes made here all seem to work to the film's detriment. The new elements of the story are not explained particularly well, and pacing of the film also suffers drastically. Whereas the book had a steady build all the up to a thrilling climax that tied so many disparate narrative threads together, the movie jumps all over the place in terms of tension. The climax also seems to almost come out of nowhere. Watching the film for the first time, I was never sure exactly where we were in the story until it just suddenly... ended. Things just jumped around too much, and the stakes are never properly established.

I understand there are many people who very much enjoyed this film. Though I have many harsh criticisms of it, Howl's Moving Castle is not a bad film by any means. It is crafted well, with gorgeous aesthetics, but I have a hard time overlooking the significant reduction in quality of story and characters when compared to the book. If you're thinking of watching the film, I highly recommend reading the book first. The film and novel are very different works of art, but I cannot escape the thought that Miyazaki weakened the product by changing focus so much and not creating enough support for his new ideas.

Have you ever thought "Oh man, Waterworld was an interesting movie. I wonder what'd it'd be like if Japan made a cartoon?" Well look no farther because Blue Submarine No. 6 is that. But, you know, not at all really.

First off, the character and creature designs are spot-on. The world Blue Submarine presents the viewer with is at once visually interesting and begging to be explored. Everyone looks and sounds very distinct and at no point (despite the relatively short amount of time I had to get to know everyone) did I ever confuse a character with another. I was initially ready for a tropey ... cast that really seemed like they were copy/pasted right out of an anime database. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that everyone develops over the course of the meager four episodes in a most pleasant way. No one is really how you initially expect them to be. As I watched the anime I couldn't help but want to know more about the history that led to the Earth we see here, but if you think the anime is going to give you answers OH NO, it's not. Hehehe. Get it? It's like the title. I did a bit there. Hope you caught it.

But no, really, you aren't told nearly enough about this fascinating alternate reality for it to really sink in. The humans are fighting hybrid creatures, but why? When were they made? How were they made? Why did the villain feel like creating human/animals hybrids was the best course of actions? Why did he (SPOILERS) transform that one human prisoner into a hybrid creature? Was it just for kicks? The villain's character is sorely underdeveloped, especially compared to the protagonists, and I didn't feel like he effectively justified himself to the viewer. And fine, okay, a villain certainly doesn't have to be justified. But the anime really seems like it WANTS you to understand him. They really go far to say "Hey, he's not THAT bad. Just delusional!" Sorry, but killing over 10 billion people and attempting to destroy humanity completely is pretty evil by most standards and I'm not biting. The writers could have really gone in an interesting directions by playing up how justified he feels against how atrocious his acts really are, but instead the earnest attempt to make him sympathetic when his actions are so destructive is just really bizarre and off-putting. The main side villain is also totally uninteresting, despite his design (Did I mention the creature designs are all amazing? Because they are.) Story-wise, everything is really straightforward and while the anime starts out as if you're going to be slowly revealing the past of each character, the ultimate reveals are all pretty disappointing in all honesty.

This anime is also LOADED with terrible CGI. And man, OH MAN, is it terrible. I saw the amazingly drawn characters and thought "Alright, this looks great!" But then the first of many terribly CGI'd fight scenes begins. This is definitely where the OH NO of Ao No. 6 Gou comes from. The fights would actually be very interesting if they were just animated in 2D. But with so much terrible CGI saturating the anime, from the water to the splash effects awkwardly places over 2D characters to the ships and other creatures, it almost becomes hard to enjoy what would be very interesting visuals. I say "almost" because the soundtrack is terrific. I mean, it's really good. Energetic jazz spliced with sparsely used enigmatic and otherworldly tracks. Not on the level of Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo or any of the other legendary anime soundtracks, but still fantastic and it makes sitting through even the worst-looking CGI a pleasure.

So do I recommend it? I mean... kind of? It was good. I liked it. It's no Akira but it's still an interesting post-apocalyptic story with some cool visuals and moments with a great soundtrack. Nothing fantastic, but worth looking into.

Casshern Sins is at times a masterpiece, and at times barely tolerable. Maybe that's a weird way to start a review for an anime I'm ultimately going to give a pretty good score to, but you need to know right now.

The story begins on what I could consider a very interesting (if painstakingly slow) note. Casshern wakes up in a world that has barely survived some kind of apocalypse. He's set upon by robots trying to kill him and even eat him, blaming him for the world's end and in some cases believing that consuming him will grant them immortality. He, in fairly common anime ... fashion, remembers nothing and finds all of this incredibly shocking. Nonetheless, he is an efficient and remarkable killing machine and is frequently able to easily defend himself from these attacks as he wanders the wasteland. But why is there a wasteland? Why are so many robots after him? What happened to humanity? What is The Ruin, and why is Casshern immortal and immune to it?

These (and more) are all questions that are slowly, SLOWLY answered over the course of the 24 episodes. And in case I wasn't clear enough, I mean SLOWLY. Casshern Sins moves at a snail's pace, if that snail had to constantly stop and ask for directions. But surprisingly, this works to the series' strength at times. The visuals are stunning and the anime does a terrific job of totally immersing you in the world you're given. Speaking of, that world is bleak an unrelenting. Happy endings are scarce in Casshern Sins, and the ones that do come are still often more bitter than sweet. But in my opinion, this works. And while Casshern's character does frequently devolve into "staring at hands and wracked with guilt," seeing the world through his eyes makes for an interesting reveal of the apocalypse and a decent narrative. The supporting cast is also surprisingly well-developed - Lyuze, Oji and the villains Dio and Leda all make for compelling stories of their own. In time, of course. The except to this is Ringo, a pretty annoying cutesy girl character who seemingly serves no purpose. Still, none of this really changes the fact that for a significant portion of the anime, nothing happens. The first season really moves at a crawl that cannot be avoided, no matter how invested you are.

But in the second season, things REALLY pick up. Not only do Casshern and the gang finally start to make progress towards a real goal on their quest, but a true looming threat begins to approach in the form of Dio and his army. The storytelling also improves significantly, culminating in many memorable episodes. In particular, "The Glass Cradle" and "The Time I've Lived and the Time I Have Left" are some of my favorite anime episodes of all time. Many things are implied without being outright stated, which I value tremendously. The show uses clever and patient pacing combined with powerful visuals to really bring things to a head, leaving you clamoring for more while also being quite satisfied at the end of episode 23.

But then the final episode happens. The final episode of Casshern Sins feels like a spit in the face for all the hard work you've done to make it through the anime. It's a bigger betrayal than Brutus stabbing Caesar. I seriously can't believe that somebody, let alone an entire anime production team, decided that episode 24 was a good follow-up to episode 23. It's not just a bad ending. It's a truly horrendous ending that also mars any moral or philosophical conclusions the show might have been able to come to.

Casshern Sins is not for everyone. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't even for most people. But it does so many things so well that I can't NOT tell people to at least try it. It asks many poignant questions, but ultimately fails to answer them in a satisfying or even interesting way. There are plot points that are also just seemingly forgotten or that truly go nowhere, and again the ending really renders so much invalid. The ending of the story also really drags this anime down. What makes a lot of the emotional moments in the later arc so good is that you really feel you're going to get a conclusion, a light at the end of the tunnel. When that didn't come, I was pissed. I've never finished an anime I enjoyed so much and actually just sat, flabbergasted, throughout an entire final episode while actually saying aloud "Is this really what's happening? Why?" And perhaps it seems like I'm harping on the disappointing finale a bit too much. But it truly undermines so much of what makes the show great than I would argue I actually can't stress it enough!

But whatever. At this point, I can hear you groaning. "Uggg, NeoSeth, just tell me, is Casshern Sins worth watching?" Yes. Is it enjoyable? Very, very much so, if you like a slow burning show and can subsist on great visuals and animation for a few episodes. But it's not for everyone, and ends disappointingly. I highly recommend you check it out, but don't be surprised if it breaks your heart (in more ways than one).

There isn't much to Asterisk War, so I don't have much to say. It's just overwhelmingly generic from top to bottom. Nothing sticks out. The animation is stiff and awkward, with bland character design, bland scenery, bland backgrounds, bland architecture, bland weapons, bland attacks and flat-out horrendous choreography... it's like a manila envelope taped to a white piece of paper. I have nothing to say about the protagonist, as I honestly cannot even remember his name (To be fair, I quit on the series very quickly, but I have seen scenes from later on and am familiar with the overall plot). He looks generic even ... by light novel and harem anime standards. He's a blank post-it note on the manila envelope, if even that. The fanservice is also pretty bad, so don't let that be a motivator. If you're looking for an anime with cute girls and swords, there are tons of alternatives that far exceed this show. Please, do not just mindlessly consume this show and settle for its placid and uninspired characters. I highly recommend avoiding this series and spending your time with something more worthwhile.

Music is alright though. A little on the bland side, but still. Good enough to get this uninspired milk toast piece of animated garbage a whole extra point on its ranking. Nice job.