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War. War never changes.

Among the sea of anime, I have searched high and low looking for the best of the best, the most original and unique stories ever exchanged among weeb-kind. Among these myriad stars that shine across Japanese animation, one franchise stands out from all of them as one worthy of respect, one anime held in higher regards than the likes of Star Wars, Star Trek, Evangelion and even Ghost in the Shell. It's considered to be the greatest tale ever told, the masterpiece that nothing could hope to surpass, not Serial Experiments Lain, not Mushishi and not even Cowboy Bebop. Its name: Legend ... of the Galactic Heroes. This is its pilot movie.

If you think all that has been hyperbole... you would be half-right. Probably. But having re-experienced the film that started it all, I feel that such a legendary series requires a sufficient amount of dramatics. This introductory movie proudly displays the three important aspects needed for a thinking man's anime: politics, philosophy and strategy. Considering the year this film was released in, its style and animation still stand out as distinctive among other anime of its time. Its substance, on the other hand, is unquestionably amazing.

Let's start with the good points. This is not your average anime. In the 59 minutes it has to tell the story, "My Conquest is the Sea of Stars" manages to dig quite deep into both the politics and the philosophies of warfare more than any of the original SW trilogy (or even some of the most renowned war films) ever did. Rather than glorifying and romanticizing warfare, the film features a vast cast of characters who share realistic view-points on a war that's been going on for 150 years. Rather than focusing on superficial aspects like "a galaxy long time ago in somewhere far away," the movie's opening narrative talks about the history of mankind and their constant relationship with battles and warfare. Even among the allies of this short tale, the characters have small skirmishes among themselves, whether as a bar fight or bickering between the higher-ups and the soldiers forced to follow orders. Even the meaning of what a soldier is in times of war (and whether if one should just blindly follow orders) becomes an actual discussion in the movie. As another reviewer once said, "It's an antithesis of Star Wars." In short, expect very heavy analysis for the rest of the time you're spending with this franchise.

The good thing is, even though it's exactly as political and topical as the reputation had me believed, it's inaccurate to call it "dry" and "preachy". The panache and humor it has keep things from becoming unenjoyable. Most importantly, the wonderfully-written characters are the glue to hold those less interested in politics and more interested in a good story. There's rarely a black and white morality featured here and the realistic personalities easily help anyone to relate and connect with any one individual of the movie - almost anyone, but I'll get to that later.

The two protagonists are charming enough for the pilot of the OVA, but I find Yang Wen-Li more relatable than Reinhard at this point. That's not to say Reinhard is poorly written, however. He's an intelligent strategist the likes of Lelouch Lamperouge and Light Yagami, but without the ego that comes with either. Instead, Reinhard focuses on maintaining minimum casualties in his battles. And as if that isn't already an arduous task in times of war, he also has to navigate the political minefield his superior, Fleet Admiral "Gregor von Muckenberger," has set up for him. Gregor has the utmost disrespect for Reinhard due to his background as someone who (supposedly) only got promoted because of his connection with his sister. Needless to say, Reinhard is unlike any intellectual you've seen in the landscape of anime.

Wen-Li is a pacifist, but isn't afraid to take down the enemy to protect his people and allies - not out of a sense of patriotism, but more out of the obligation to cherish life. What's interesting is that he's pretty flawed for a pacifist, keeping him from becoming a one-dimensional saint. He knew that the actions of his obstinate commander would get his fleet-mates killed, but chose not to be too forceful with his superior so as to prevent any conflict.

The one hour feature is largely just two space-battles that set up the atmosphere and universe of LotGH quite well. The dialogues let you know that the writers aren't forcefully leaning against any one political view, and the discussion on men's tendency for war merely serves as a reminder of our human nature, not a lecture. However, there's one thing that hold this back from being a masterpiece, and it's ironically the best part of the movie as well - the characters.

Not all characters are morally-ambiguous; some of them are even outright cliched. You still have your drooling male perverts forced in to glorify some of the more 'morally-righteous' side characters to make them look like heroes; basically foils serving as plot-device. This first flaw is probably a product of its time, so I could at least turn a blind eye. However, there are also the antagonists of this film, the 'superiors.' Gregor has an understandable reason to disrespect Reinhard, so I have no problems with him, but Wen-Li's commander (Paeta, I think was his name) is an incompetent buffoon and thus easily stands out among the rest of the well-written characters. Scenes featuring him were obviously the least interesting parts of the movie.

Aside from that small gripe, the rest of the pilot movie works quite well for newcomers of the franchise. The soundtrack used belongs to the classical kind, featuring the likes of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 and Ravel's Boléro, very fitting pieces that set the tone for the kind of epic and poetic space opera you'll come to experience for 110 episodes. And it all ends with a promise of deeper explorations in the relationship between Reinhard and Wen-Li, one that will further intrigue audiences into checking out the highly acclaimed OVA.

Highly Recommended.

A girl who fights monsters. Basically Japanese Buffy, but with a katana instead of stakes.

But under the careful guidance of Production I.G, the simple premise and seemingly overused vampire setting of Blood+ is turned into something more thoughtful and satisfying. Originally a 2000 movie titled "Blood: The Last Vampire" by the same studio, Blood+ has a similar premise as Buffy in that it has a girl as the Chosen One destined to fight vampires, but that's where the similarities mostly end. Instead, the protagonist, "Saya Otonashi", goes on a more dramatic and epic journey that's not too different from your traditional Shakespearean protagonist, one that's ... larger than life and goes beyond the American formulas of "vampire hunter by night."

Also, it's sad. Like incredibly sad. Like "Buffy almost looks like a Disney sitcom compared to Blood+" sad. While the anime starts out like any typical shoujo or even shounen anime, where the main character has good times with her friends, just fooling around like there's no tomorrow, things become bleak pretty fast as people start dropping dead, and Saya becomes so numb that she curses her own existence and literally just wants to die. Try that for depression, Buffy fans.

When I first heard of this anime back then, I dismissed it as just another typical vampire fighting story. In many ways, Blood+'s plot is traditional like that, lacking that need to insert unexpected twists or self-parody elements you see in modern TV. What you see is what you get, which is a bit of surprise considering that Production I.G. was known for much more complex works like Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. When I saw the studio's name attached to such a seemingly generic work, I was naturally intrigued and gave it a shot, and you do see some elements of their style here, like the heavy use of political jargon (without being too excessive that the plot becomes confusing) and the unrelenting use of mature subjects. In fact, much of the morbidness found in their Tsubasa: Tokyo Revelation adaptation could be found here, with characters often questioning the worth of their own existence, and their morality and motivations are often blurred in grey, including the kind-hearted Saya herself.

But what stands out in Blood+ is its hope in all the doom and gloom. Most vampire anime tend to just emphasize on how brutal the world is, but here, the optimistic Okinawan idiom, "Nankurunaisa" ("everything is gonna be alright," as said by Bob Marley) is constantly repeated by the characters as a catchphrase to remind themselves that the sun would shine again tomorrow in the darkest of nights, no matter how many times the good guys lose (and boy, do they lose a lot).

Another distinctive element found in Production I.G.'s anime is its patient exploration of the side characters. Like literally, the anime can be very slow in "getting to the good part," but never was I bored by the story because it's always focused on something important, be it character development, character revelation, or just a reflection of a character's philosophy. Much like Buffy, there's usually a theme in each episode and a message to be learned by the characters.

Arguably, the best part of the show is its avoidance of romance as an easy way to attract the audience. Much like Buffy, there is a forbidden romance sub-plot in Blood+ too, but it's rarely focused on, which is good, because they are fighting a literal war where people die everyday. Kissy smoochy stuff like that just wouldn't make much sense, and it's befits Production I.G.'s nature to keep their worlds realistic and believable.

Overall, Blood+ has been a satisfying and solid experience worth giving a look. It's not Production I.G.'s best, and I do favor Hellsing Ultimate over this just because I like my action to be more fun and exaggerated, but this heart-rending story is well-crafted and emotional enough to be worth a look.

Horror stories exploring the darkness of the human heart are hardly uncommon, and yet, whenever I come across one, I find myself drawn towards them, fascinated. Perhaps it's a subconscious attempt to search for an answer, or perhaps I too find similar darkness residing in my own heart and seek company among such horrors. Regardless of the reason, I feel it's fair to say that many anime choose to either reside in the light with stories about finding some semblance of happiness no matter your situation, or they would choose to cheapen the horror with unrealistic tales of amoral and unsympathetic villains you could defeat ... like some Dragon Ball Z character. Rarely do writers take a more somber approach, and rarer do writers tell the audience to simply accept the horrors and suffering as part of life and its karmic cycle (as often preached in Buddhism teachings).

"Requiem from the Darkness" is one such uncommon gem.

Story: 8
Based on a series of short stories by Natsuhiko Kyogoku titled "The Wicked and the Damned: A Hundred Tales of Karma", Requiem from the Darkness tells a tale of a young writer named Momosuke who wishes to write a collected anthology of 100 ghost stories and his journey to collect said stories. Shortly after setting out, he meets an enigmatic trio calling themselves "The Ongyou," spirit detectives who investigate myths and legends to expose the truth and righting wrongs along the way.

Needless to say, it's an episodic anime featuring an 'urban legend of the week' per episode (save the last two). I usually find myself more interested in episodic series like this because of their freedom to explore multiple sub-themes and stories in one sitting, leading to a greater sense of variety. Each episode sees the quartet investigating the local rumors involving some horror, and each episode ends up with them discovering new depths of human depravity. While the shock factor of the series is its most obvious factor, I feel like most who recommend this series based on that are missing the trees for the forest. Behind these shocking acts is pain, sometimes stemmed from circumstances beyond the person's control, but usually committed out of selfishness and temptations. Lust, envy, greed, wrath; all those good stuff that we are familiar with are seen here in this series, all very relatable traits visible in reality.

Such a way to explore humanity might be too slow-paced for someone looking for a more concentrated story with some kind of visible end goal in mind, but for those who seek anime that, rather than simply offering simple stories of reaching a goal, instead offer a journey of somber reflection where you can ponder and perhaps lament about life and all its sadness together, such as the likes of "Mushishi", "Kino's Journey" and "Hell Girl", this might just be your cup of tea.

If there is but one fatal flaw I should point out, it's that the final two episodes of the series treads towards a more disappointing formula of having to defeat the Big Bad. It's an inevitable part of episodic anime like "Hell Girl", it seems. These animation studios often need some kind of climatic build-up at the end rather than just have a string of stories with no end goal, period. Only the few exceptional titles out there are bold enough to really break this convention ("Mushishi" and "Kino's Journey"), but in all fairness, 11 great episodes out of 13 is good enough for me.

Character: 7
Unfortunately, this is where the series falls short a little bit. The main characters aren't the main attractions of this horror show; the sideshow (the depraved and the diseased) featured each episode are the main appeal. The quartet band of detectives are functional enough as characters. There's nothing really inherently wrong with them, since they don't come off as obnoxious or even unrealistic individuals. The relationship between Momosuke and The Ongyou is even quite interesting because of the two different worlds they come from - one is an idealistic writer who still believes in the good of people, and the other three are jaded folks of the underworld who have exorcised one too many horrors in their lifetime. Their roles convey the depressing theme of how humanity is screwed up well enough, but as individuals, their personality just aren't all that original, being your typical naive kid and jaded exorcists.

That being said, as I've previously mentioned, the tragic people involved in the horrendous acts of violence and pillaging are the real reason you should be watching this show for. I know myself and many others have often cited just how "messed up" these people are, but it's not really a hyperbole especially when the atrocities they committed are realistic acts we've encountered in real life, committed by real serial killers. That's what makes it more disturbing than "Imma blow this whole universe up because genocide! LULZ"

Art: 8
I've seen people criticized the art as "low budget" and messy, but I personally like the artstyle as it resembles the rough penciling of E.C. comic horror stories, not to mention its heavy use of shadows. And to top it all off, the animators also mix the artstyle with dynamic 3-D movement to really grab your attention with distinct visuals, sometimes literally bringing its grotesque body horror to your face.

And oh yes - there's plenty of body horror. Not as exaggerated as Cronenberg, but enough to resemble something like "Tales from the Crypt".

Sound: 7
The sound is decent enough; nothing that really caught my attention. Its opening and ending songs though are simply lovely Jazz pieces by Keiko Lee, songs that befit the somber atmosphere of the show.

Enjoyment: 8
What a ride. This is the kind of anime that I will remember fondly in a lifetime; not for some amazingly written plot or even memorable characters it engaged me with, but for the bittersweet taste it has indulged me with. Indeed, I would compare such episodic anime to be like a cuisine, like a series of dishes you would travel around the world for the simple pleasure of experiencing these different facets of life. Or perhaps it's more like sharing the company of strangers as we share tragic stories, if only to share in each other's misery and come to some form of acceptance towards such a harsh reality. These anime may not be masterpieces that revolutionize the way artists animate stories forever, but they are always welcomed by me, because I will always need such company, especially with how bitter real human interaction can be.

We need horror stories in our world, to remind us of the truth that people can be ugly, and that's just the way it is. It's not "wrong," it's not "right." It just is.

Was initially intrigued by how it pokes fun at horror stories by showing that most of those specters and demons were created outta our irrational sense of fear, but then I got a little bored by all the romance stuff and the forgettable side characters with mediocre character development. And oh my god, so much fanservice, but that’s a typical romance anime for you.

It’s a decent anime with some charm, I guess, but there’s just not much interesting storytelling here that could make me recommend this. The kinda original romance between a boy and a ghost is a cool concept, but the execution is just ... so generic, done in a typical tits-and-fanservice manner.

Recommendation: skip. Stick to Elfen Lied or even the second season of Hell Girl if you want a romance horror.

I remember reading that this was one of those anime full of symbolisms and all I could think was, “Oh my god, this is gonna be one of those 3deep5me anime, isn’t it?” But I’m so glad (and grateful) to have taken that leap of faith. It wouldn’t really be an exaggeration to say this anime has touched my soul either with all its themes of existentialism, redemption, and just discovering if we are worth more than our sins and shortcomings.

In spite of it not being as trippy as something like Serial Experiments Lain, Haibane Renmei still offers an abundance of symbolic imagery discussing the ... aforementioned themes of existentialism, but never really offering a concrete answer. The characters look like angels, but no religious undertones are ever inserted, and yet ideas like faith and forgiveness are discussed nonetheless. There’s also a melancholic vibe throughout the plot and its characters, but like many things in the anime (including the character backstories), it is subtly implied and requires the audience to probe deeper on their own. And in doing so while journeying with these guiding angels, you might perhaps rediscover something about yourself and your purpose in life.

For myself, Rakka and (especially) Reki’s journeys in the anime resonated with my experiences battling my anxieties about existential nihilism, questioning my purpose and usefulness in this world. As mentioned, Haibane Renmei does not offer a real answer, but much like a prayer, it’s a very tranquil anime that offers comfort for whatever darkness residing in your heart.

I’m trying to keep this short review as vague as possible because this anime is a journey you best explore on your own. It helps that the protagonist, Rakka, starts out as one of those characters who are ignorant of the world in the anime, so you’ll be traveling alongside her on equal footing, learning new plot information as she does.

Love is hard. High school is already painful enough without ideas of love mucking it all up. But that's what living is about, clawing through all the confusions and pain and figuring it all out along the way.

Scum's Wish came at a time when I was searching for unconventional anime to get me interested in watching anime again. Alongside "Happy Sugar Life", I'm really glad I've made my return. This is the stuff that makes me proud to be a weeb. This is the kind of powerful experience people who dismiss anime as scummy lewd content doesn't understand. This is the kind of daring story ... that dares to tell something different and force you to rethink about life and all its complexities, all its hardships, and all its pain. So, so much pain. And happiness too.

Plot: 9
It would be really easy for someone to compare it to "Happy Sugar Life", maybe generalizing it as a "lighter HSL", but I do feel like it's comparing apples and oranges. Whereas HSL is more focused on a single girl's self-discovery about what love means to her, Scum's Wish is an ensemble cast story that paints a big picture filled with fascinating but broken people clawing their way to their scummiest of desires, no matter how taboo society has deemed such wants to be. Whereas HSL focuses more on how Satou's perspective of love changes and develops, Scum's Wish is more about how the perspectives of multiple characters mature further into a state that they can be relatively satisfied with.

The premise is about two high school students, Hanabi Yasuraoka and Mugi Awaya, both of whom knew their love could never be. Hanabi is in love with her childhood neighbor and teacher, Narumi Kanai, while Mugi is in love with Akane Minagawa, another teacher in the same school. Their love met a turning point when they learned that Narumi and Akane were in love with each other, and thus they buried their feelings deep. But upon a chance encounter, Hanabi and Mugi discover the other's circumstances and decide to assume each other's body as that of their respective love interest, satisfying their forbidden fantasy of being with their treasured love one.

If that premise alone isn't enough to catch your attention, there are a number of other lovers thrown in the mix as well. But because it's nothing as outrageous as the kind of loves present in Happy Sugar Life, many viewers might appreciate this more realistic approach and could even relate with these various innocent expressions of love, and perhaps cry along at the painful life the scums have chosen for themselves.

I'm of the school of belief that the ending can really determine whether if it was worth it for me to sit through 6 hours of staring at the screen (and worsening my myopia), because the ending is where all the themes and ideals of the characters come together in a final sum-up, a final statement to drive home the point the writers want to make. Before the final episode, I was a little bored of the series (more so than HSL) because there have been quite a number of episodes where Hanabi and Mugi were just whining and moping incessantly about how their lovers were outta their reach. Though such moments are compensated by the exploration of other character journeys, they do slow down the pacing a bit that I wasn't looking forward to each following episode. There was also too much time in building up Akane's drama in my opinion that almost forced it into the typical shoujo love-triangle territory.

However, when that ending came, it hit pretty hard just how far all of the characters here have come and all the lessons about life that they've learned. It was such a satisfying yet realistic conclusion. It was the only conclusion that made sense, but the thing is, I thought the writers would have taken the cheap conventional way out, giving the main characters a reward for struggling for so long. I didn't expect the writers to have the guts to take such a realistic approach to what could have been a sappy love story. It almost reminds me of another favorite romance anime of mine, "5 Centimeters Per Second", yet another tearjerker that had a not-so-ordinary ambitious but satisfying ending. Even Clannad: After Story, once one of the most praised slice-of-life anime ever, had a cheap happy ending.

Characters: 9
In spite of the anime title, the characters of Scum's Wish aren't really psychotic, morally disgusting or even that scummy. These are pretty likable people going about pretty ordinary lives; yes, even Akane. Whether if making everyone a relatively decent human being turns you off or not (I know I got bored a few times), you have to admit that it makes them easier to be connected with, their struggles more sympathetic. In spite of their loves being considered "taboo" at first glance, you eventually discover that these feelings they have are quite relatable and almost innocent; yes, even Akane's. Much like all of us, they spend the anime trudging through the confusing and murky veils of life, being happy just being close to their loved ones even if such loves are not reciprocated, and then reaching a relatively satisfying closure by the end.

And another character growth I've came to realize they have is the separation of lust and love. Unlike HSL, all the characters here eventually come to realize what real love means, what it really means to love another individual past our bodily desires. It's not a sentiment that's spoken to the audience, but you can see that maturity in their actions and decisions by the end of this show.

Art: 9
The animation for this anime is beautiful. Watercolor-based animation is pretty common now, but when it's used appropriately, they can effectively convey that sense of innocence and gentleness. Whereas an anime like Hourou Musuko used it to convey the innocence of those children's desire in crossdressing, Scum's Wish emphasizes on the purity of the characters' various loves. It's a style that can be overused, but in this case, where the various loves are taboo in many parts of the world, the visual emphasis on innocence seems fitting.

Of course, we have to talk about the anime's unique style of framing various scenes in these rectangular frames overlapping over the screen, creating a nice manga-like visual while also effectively showing multiple perspectives in the same shot alone. Very nice touch.

Music: 8
That ending theme ("Parallel Line (平行線 Heikousen)" by Sayuri). God, the melancholy that hits you every time an episode ends to remind you of the bitter reality these characters are in... and then used in such a bittersweet way in the final episode to show how the characters were able to move past the bitterness. So freaking beautiful.

Enjoyment: 8
I cried at the end. I don't think I've ever cried watching an anime for a long time. Not only was I touched for having seen such a bold ending to a story, but I think I just can't get enough of stories that tell you that you might never get that happy ending, but life is about always trying to reach it anyway past all the BS and heartbreaks. The sincerity of the anime's message is beautiful in its candidness. The characters' acceptance of their situation and trying to grow from it in spite of being unsure what the future holds is inspiring and heartfelt. And while the pacing and mundane dialogue might not be my cup of tea, the impact of the message is undeniable.

I've left the world of anime for a long time because I became bored with anime presenting me nothing new or revolutionary in terms of their storytelling. It was hard to find a story that offers a unique perspective about life or about anything at all, just a horde of formulaic entertainment that's "good enough" to keep you... entertained. And "good enough" was just not good enough for me. I wanted exceptional.

Welcome to exceptional.

Plot: 9
Happy Sugar Life is an anti-romance story that really digs its nails deep into the more taboo meanings of love and what it means to different individuals. The premise would turn ... off most people satisfied with a "normal" story: "A high school girl, Satou Matsuzaka, has fallen in love with a young girl named Shio Koube. She struggles to overcome numerous obstacles that threaten to take that love away." Psychotic yanderes with a twisted form of love is nothing new, but what Happy Sugar Life does differently is by really sticking with its main theme of unconventional love and explore how this (usually) superficial thing called "love" can truly mean a lot of different things to everybody.

To explain what I mean, the forms of love explored in this anime are as follows:
1. Love for a small child
2. Love for young boys
3. Parental love
4. Brotherly love
5. Masochism
6. Self-love

Satou isn't the only psycho in this anime as there are so many other individuals here with their own pursuit of love. And while some of these are forms of lust as opposed to the so-called "true love", people in real life often confuse the two anyway so why shouldn't anime characters? However, while the series spends a sufficient amount of time explore individual characters, the main focus here is still Satou and her journey to discover what it truly means to love another person. And therefore, it's a good time to talk about...

Characters: 9
Satou starts out before the story with her heart feeling empty. It wasn't 'till she discovers Shio through a chance encounter that she felt meaning in her life as she began devoting herself to ensuring Shio's safety and happiness in their little castle of glass (a cosy little apartment). As she works hard for the sake of her newfound love, Satou comes across different individuals trying to push their own ideals of love onto her in various ways, intruding in her happy sugar life with Shio. But surprisingly enough, there's really not much in the way of violence in how Satou deals with her problems (in most of the episodes anyway). Unlike a true yandere like Yuno from Mirai Nikki, Satou is a far more calm and collected girl who comes up with more civilized forms of strategies to remove people from her life. She also properly reflects on her own ideals and even questions whether if her "love" is the right kind. So altogether, not that unrealistic of a character to be fair.

But what ultimately keeps the show going is the other characters that also had their perspectives shown to us, along with why they felt like their form of love is justified. Usually, in an anime with a shocking premise like this, it can all too often go downhill in pacing after the first shock-factor episode (Promised Neverland), but Happy Sugar Life keeps the audience engaged using a "psycho of the week" formula, allowing you to journey with Satou together in exploring love and all its meaning.

And in case you feel that these "lovers" are way too weird for your taste, there's even a normal girl in the mix here. Satou's best friend at work, Shouko, is the straight man in all this craziness, trying to do her best to be the best kind of friend Satou could have. She's loyal, compassionate, and not insane, so it helps to balance out the story and also helps the audience to connect with an anchor of normality. She's one of my favourite characters in the story, and possibly also the most tragic one by the end.

In spite of being a clean squeaky clean girl, Shouko and a number of other characters are written realistically flawed instead of being an ideal stereotype. Morally right or wrong, there is always ambiguity in their personal ideals to be found, thus further fleshing them out into very interesting individuals. Even Satou, whom I was close to hating after she crossed a line in a later episode, I found myself understanding her and Shio's perspective, along with why they are so firmly rooted in their beliefs (abnormal or not) and fighting so hard for them, no matter what it takes.

Enjoyment: 8
I'd be lying if I didn't admit that even an anime like this has gotten me bored at a few points in the story when it came close to being reduced to yet another conventional thriller. Thankfully, the anime manages to throw new and unexpected surprises that not only serve to shock (which would be shallow on its own), but also add new layers to the characters and subverting your expectations about them. For the parts of the story that try to show what a sweet life Satou and Shio have made for each other, I encourage you to be patient and experience those moments as you would experience a joyous moment with your loved one; those do pay off by the end and resonate the kind of strong and deep bond Satou and Shio share with each other.

At the end of the day, go into this anime with an open mind and forget about your sense of normality for 12 episodes. Then come tell me what you think of Satou and Shio's perspectives and whether if you feel those two lost souls are justified! I would love to hear from you.

Edit:
I noticed a lot of errors in this review, and after seeing the support the community has given through the 60+ "Helpful" feedback, I've decided to rewrite this piece for better clarity. Thanks for the support!

Pokemon is becoming like that drunk brother you keep hoping would get sober someday, but never did, so you stuck with him for years like a fool. Then one day you realize that things will never change.

Even with its best season, Pokemon XY, I was still reminded constantly of just how little substance there was in the plot. It could be summed down to, "Bad things happen. Protagonist doesn't give up. The power of hope and love wins." Basically, every typical shounen plot, ever. The repetitive formula became even worse when mixed with the slow-paced slice-of-life genre in Sun & Moon, a genre which doesn't ... work for many people, myself included. Do note that I'm not saying shounen anime in itself is bad; it just so happens to not be the kind of anime I could enjoy or tolerate any longer.

Pokemon Sun & Moon sees our never-aging protagonist, Ash Ketchum, landing in yet another new region, Alola. He meets new friends and Pokemon, but this time, he's no longer pursuing his childhood dream of "being the best that no one ever was," and instead chooses to settle for a more peaceful school life full of hijinks and quirky comedic antics. Basically the perfect plot for 7 year olds. So don't be mistaken - Pokemon is essentially a show for kids, now more than ever. In spite of its TWO episodes with more mature themes (which are still family-friendly parables designed to teach children about the meaning of death anyway), it's not really the "darker and grittier" kind of show some have exaggerated. It's Pokemon, a shounen show where the power of friendship triumphs over logic. Whereas the previous seasons had the excuse of being entertaining with its more fast-paced battle scenes, those moments are now few and far between, replaced by cutesy moments of Ash and his friends fooling around with whatever Pokemon they wish to market for the day. Basically your average filler episode of Pokemon filled up to 90% of the season.

The characters are written decently enough, but I didn't watch Pokemon for some deeply complex characters; I watched it for the epic fight scenes that were once prevalent in XY. Decent and functional character writing just isn't good enough to cut it for my entertainment. Most of the characters are written in such a way as to teach about familial bonds and not giving up in the face of failure anyway; basically your average shounen moral lessons for 7 year olds. They are characters designed to educate children about the most generic and basic form of humanity, the kind that have been seen many times over in thousands of other shounen anime. Unless you're some Pokemon superfan, you'd find yourself spending your time much better watching far more quality and original writing elsewhere.

I had low expectations of the adaptation to begin with, considering how rushed and condensed "The Fruit of Grisaia" anime was. "Labyrinth" was no different, and I feel like this kind of pacing makes it difficult to really care that much about the people Yuuji got involved with and died, since they feel like just one-off redshirts who appeared on-screen for one minute and then disappeared.

We know from "Clannad" and "Steins;Gate" that it's not impossible to adapt a visual novel into a proper anime if enough money was thrown at it, so it's kinda vexing that Grisaia has such a piss-poor production quality.

Also, the anime ... was significantly more bloodless than the VN. Not that the VN went out of its way to depict blood and gore everywhere, but its textual descriptions were far more detailed and brutal than what is seen visually in the anime. Yuuji merely had some laughable scrapes on his skin after being beaten down, not even a purple bruise on his entire body. Talk about family-friendly. What is this, Disney?

Oh, but sex and rape scenes are fine, because violence is a far more taboo subject than sex. Gotta squeeze more money outta those hentai audiences, right? So you had to put more effort into those risque sex scenes, but not into the brutal fight scenes Yuuji goes through. Yep, perfectly understandable. That's Japan for you. Sex f-ing sells. Even America is starting to take a more self-conscious stance against gratuitous sex scenes nowadays, but Japan just can't help sticking to its promiscuous roots, I guess.

Sigh. Whatever. I can't say exactly that I feel like I wasted my time, since they animated what were merely walls of texts in the VN, so there's a certain amount of merit for you to check this out, I guess. Perhaps out of some morbid sense of curiosity. It's not nearly as bad as adaptations of actual sex games like Kara no Shoujo or its prequel, Cartagra (stay the f*** away from those two anime adaptations if you care for your sanity; don't say I didn't warn you), but it's still a pretty mediocre bargain-bin production.

Crossovers are fun. They span across multiple genres and multiple universes. It can lead to many possibilities and much variety as you travel to various worlds. It allows you to witness interactions between your favorite characters of different stories that lead to interesting results. Certain creators have done this in the past with the characters they own - Marvel Cinematic Universe, Penny Dreadful, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - and CLAMP has done the same in spades. One of the reasons I fell in love with anime in the first place was because I got to see the different worlds anime brought me to, whether ... it's some post-apocalypse city, the outer space, or even the middle of the desert, anime had managed to tap into many worlds and settings. Tsubasa's story of traveling across dimensions in search of a MacGuffin allows the perfect excuse to exploit this glorious part of anime by traversing across many worlds with its audience.

Story: 7
The premise at first glance seems like your average adventure tale; a band of heroes are gathered together in pursuit of their various desires as they travel across multiple dimensions. The tone of the story certainly fitted that premise in the first-half of the manga; light-hearted, comedic, occasionally tearjerking with heartfelt lessons about heroism and true strength. That was of course till the infamous "Tokyo Arc" arrived and changed everything, making the whole manga grimmer and darker. You could tell from the chapters after the Tokyo Arc ended that things became a lot more depressing. It's as if you are reading an entirely different book.

To be honest, as much as I enjoy dark and gritty stories, I would have been fine if the manga kept the same tone before Tokyo. In spite of the comedy, there were numerous emotional moments in the story even then. The moments that came to mind especially were those from the Koryo Arc (regarding Chu'nyan's mother) and the Recort Arc (regarding Kurogane's past). The manga maintains its characters' likability all the same and even managed to insert interesting character development. But when the Tokyo Arc did arrive, CLAMP did something rather impressive. It deconstructed its main characters and turned their weakness against them. Much like Captain America: Civil War, the unaddressed concerns we had about the story and characters in prior story arcs were acknowledged there. Such deconstruction of itself is not easy to pull off and requires careful planning before the first chapter is written, thus making it all the more impressive when it's done so brilliantly. And while deconstructing overused cliches is nothing revolutionary, it's still often satisfying when I see it, that act of bringing something new and clever to something that's trite and hackneyed.

Unfortunately, CLAMP overplayed its hand in the final arc of the story throughout its last 30-50 chapters. While there were complex threads tying the story together before, things were never really got as confusing as the final stretch of the story when the manipulation of time and space came into play, not to mention figuring out who is a clone and who is the real deal. It gets worse when Easter Eggs of CCS were thrown in for good measure, throwing readers off into thinking that the two franchises (CCS and Tsubasa) are directly connected when they are really not (aside from a few cameos). I've always hated this form of storytelling as I personally felt that it served no enjoyment on my part, merely confusion. Serial Experiments Lain and Ghost in the Shell (specifically Stand Alone Complex) are two prime examples of such convoluted stories that I didn't enjoy because I was too busy trying to figure out what was going on, but at least those two had the excuse of being convoluted from the beginning, not suddenly dropping a bomb on my head in the middle of the story.

And when it's not confusing me, some of the arcs can be quite boring, specifically the Piffle Arc. The Dragonfly Race was a snooze, and also the main reason I dropped the manga many years ago. A generic obstacle course with the race rigged by the bad guy. Not exactly original or refreshing. Due to its subversive nature, the manga can also be inconsistent sometimes, specifically its lack of continuation on its "Mokona Extra Chapters". Those bonus material are short comedy skits involving Mokona fooling around. Naturally, after the Tokyo Arc, such antics and extras began to disappear entirely.

Character: 8
Since CLAMP did a disservice by mucking up the story near the end, the strongest element of Tsubasa lies with its characters and brilliant character development. As mentioned, the best part about Tsubasa is seeing how it subverts the expectations one has towards these cliched archetypes, and that surprise element always delights me. The manga follows the standard technique of making the characters likable with comedy in the first-half and inserting horrible tragedies in the second to make us care deeper about them. Standard, but effective.

The most obvious draw for most people when it comes to Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE is probably the two familiar main characters, Syaoran and Sakura of their Cardcaptor Sakura counterpart. That's what first got me into reading this too. Characters already being familiar to us makes them easily accessible for the audience, and while some might call it lazy storytelling, I think of it as more of an effective form of storytelling as we easily lost most of the exposition. In Tsubasa's case, there are certain changes to the personality and background history of these familiar characters as they are not the same person, but for the most part, they've stayed the same.

Much like her CCS counterpart, Sakura is the kind-hearted angelic child you remember, minus much of the temper she had towards Syaoran and her brother. Unlike the CCS version, Sakura here is an even more blend Mary-Sue who could do no wrong and loves everyone around her. Thankfully, this cliche is intentional, much like the others, and she later becomes a more independent woman who could fend for herself.

Syaoran is your typical shounen hero: brave, honorable, and he refrains from killing - which also makes him the most boring character of the bunch. Out of the entire cast, Syaoran is the one with the least development, because his "development" came in the form of a plot-twist that's more about his identity than his personality, so I don't really count it as a character development more than it is a plot development. When his "identity" was affected in the Tokyo Arc, he becomes someone else who's also quite generic. Ironically, Syaoran is the only main character who's more interesting prior to the Tokyo Arc than after. The cruel price he had to pay to save Sakura was the most interesting part about his character... and then that plot point was left meaningless near the end, and the price never mattered anyway.

Mokona is a white pork bun- I mean a white and adorable creature who serves as the mascot of the story. He's cute, he cries when the main characters are injured or worse, and he spits out from its mouth whatever the plot (and Yuko) needs it to; pretty much a walking plot-device, really. But that's all fine, since his cuteness warms my heart to no end.

Kurogane is one of the two new characters not part of CLAMP's universe prior to Tsubasa. He's a ninja who was sent away by his master, Princess Tomoyo, because of his ruthless actions and ill regards for life. Initially, Kurogane didn't catch my attention much beyond being a powerful and hammy comic relief. This quickly changed after the Recort Arc, when his past was revealed, and you learn why he is so angry all the time (much like Wolverine). His heroics increased even further after the Tokyo Arc, especially with the sacrifices he made for one of his teammates...

Fai D. Flowright is the second new character to be introduced in Tsubasa. He's a Stepford Smiler who keeps his dark past concealed behind that friendly face. While it's hard to say whom among the main characters carry the most sorrowful feelings (they all have heavy burdens), Fai is undeniably the most self-loathing for good reasons revealed in the Celes Arc (an arc that should really have been adapted as an OVA over the convoluted Nihon Arc). The banter between him and Kurogane remained amusing before and after the Tokyo Arc, and either of these two characters just wouldn't be as charming to watch without the company of the other.

Then there's a whole string of cameos by characters from the CLAMP universe, ranging from X/1999, Magic Knight Rayearth, xxxHolic, RG Veda, CLAMP School Detectives, and of course, Cardcaptor Sakura. Most development involving these guest appearances are superficial, but like any good crossovers, there are some plotlines that give a deeper perspective into the relationships of these familiar characters. Therefore, this manga is a MUST-read for any die-hard fans of the CLAMP universe.

Art: 6
I've complained various times in the past about my disdain for manga art, especially those in battle scenes. Streaks of black and white meshed together make for very incomprehensible drawings that can be a pain to read. CLAMP's art is even worse, not just because of the existence of clones and whatnot, but also because the magical powers the characters are spewing out are more focused on than the illustration of the characters themselves. What I mean is that in a large scale battle, it can be hard to see whom is shooting that beam at the opponent you cannot make out either (because they are both tiny, miniscule). Honestly, with colors, this is less of a problem. Just look at American comics.

Enjoyment and Overall: 7
While Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE has its faults (like any great stories), its clever deconstruction and emotional writing makes it an entertaining read for any fan of a good story. As long as you can stomach the last 30 chapters of convolution by referring to footnotes written by fans (only after you finish the manga, mind you, since those notes contain spoilers), then you shouldn't have a problem enjoying the journey.

And with CLAMP bearing a sequel to RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE - Tsubasa: WoRLD CHRoNiCLE (what's with the fancy wording though, seriously...), there's even more of that journey to look forward to. So in a way, it's kinda like the TV anime's ending, the journey never ends - minus all the plot-threads left hanging and undeveloped.