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[SPOILERS AHEAD: I've tried my best to at least not spoil the major events of the series. However, it would be too much of a challenge to not spoil at all]

As a matter of fact, the premises don't sound really attractive. It just feels like another school romance. MAL synopsys is quite attractive though and might arouse your curiosity. But I cannot stick to MAL synopsys if I want to analyze this outstanding anime.

STORY : 10

Makoto is a highschooler who has no experience with girls. He loves Kotonoha (another highschooler from the same school) but feels satisfied when he can simply watch her from afar.
Here ... comes Sekai - also a highschooler in the same school - who notices Makoto's secret love towards Kotonoha and who decides to give him advises to get closer to the object of its love.

While this could be the core of most anime of the same genre, this is just the introduction of School Days, which can be quite surprising. If you compare the first 3 episodes of the series to the rest, it feels like you are watching two completely different anime so different is the tone.
As far as I'm concerned, I was about to drop the show after 2 episodes as I found it quite boring and generic. I watched episode 3 with little hope of continuing the series after it. And then comes the first "anomaly". Literally the last sentence of the third episode. I was like : "Wait, what? Did he really say that?". This anime which felt bland was finally becoming interesting.

From then on, the anime escalates until the final blow.

The construction of School Days is quite unique: it leads you into familiar territory to better disappoint your expectations of the genre.

"This is a harem anime". When you say that, you would expect the usual situation where all the girls are happy with it. Not here... School Days depicts harem in a more realistic way: yes it usually hurts when the person you love is dating with other girls. Some people would say the escalation is quite unrealistic. Really? I have to disagree: this could perfectly be in the news section of a local newspaper. I'm not saying this happens in every harem situation (hopefully). I'm saying the conclusion is not that unrealistic. I don't think it is an exercice of style for the only sake of outbidding on the break with the usual harem scenario.

CHARACTERS : 10

Going along with the evolution of the scenario, the characters first appear to be stereotypes. And then, they reveal themselves in their complexity of mere human beings.

Makoto is one of the most interesting anime characters I was given to see. Well, not exactly... Let me reformulate. First, the character of Makoto shines by its simplicity. He's an ugly bastard you hate with all your heart. While anime usually never got me react, I couldn't watch School Days without getting angry outloud at Makoto's actions and words. He just takes the worst possible decisions throughout the anime.
But... does he really take any decision at all? That's what is extremely bold from School Days creators: while you'll hate him for his actions, you'll realize he has self-consciousness of the harm he does to people. From this point, I realized he was just a random guy prisoner of his desires, incapable of freeing himself from the vain quest of immediate pleasure. And I pitied him.

Kotonoha is your typical shy but gorgeous anime girl. I feel like this kind of character is always protected in anime, either by other characters, either by the anime scenarists. Not here...

Sekai is the cheerful girl who helps Makoto and Kotonoha to get together. In a standard romance anime, that would be it. Of course, Sekai is in love with Makoto (classic). However, she doesn't come to terms with it and will act selfishly for this love she just can't let go.

As for the secondary characters, nothing special about them: they perfectly fit in the scenario. They start off as any secondary characters in a romance anime, being only here to fill the gaps and make the story progress once in a while. Then, they mostly evolve alongside Makoto, becoming obsessed with sex (or is it the opposite way?).

ART : 9

The art is totally one of these averages mid-2000s shows. So, why a 9? For sure, the art does'nt deserve a 9 in itself. But, it perfectly fits with the scenario. The characters are not as attractive as in other anime. They are really basic, the only moe thing being their big eyes.
But... I believe it wouldn't work if the characters were more attractive. The averageness of their designs allows to better enter into the trap School Days creators prepared for us. Making it as if it was just another romance anime, the disillusionment is even greater.

It is quite greyish, which goes with the general atmosphere of this anime.

SOUND : 10

I find the opening really good and quite catchy. The endings enhance the final of each episode. The background music is quite discrete and simple.

ENJOYMENT : 10

As I said, this anime made me react by commenting all the wrong "choices" of Makoto (and also sometimes of the other characters...). You could say: "Is it really an enjoyment then?" And you would be right to ask. I also wondered about that, but this is the sign that I was totally involved in this anime.
What's more, School Days rises to a crescendo, making me totally hooked.

OVERALL : 10

School Days is an atypical romance/harem anime. It starts off as every average anime of the same genre to better drive you to unknown land.

I was quite skeptical before watching this anime.
Not being a fan of historical anime, I wasn't really attracted by Arte (the anime).
Still, I couldn't help being a bit curious about it. An anime about a female painter in Italy during the Renaissance, really ?
After seeing a few extracts of the first episode, Arte (the anime) seemed to be quite shallow. I decided to give it a try anyway since it could be quite amusing.

STORY : 8

And the first episodes were indeed amusing. But I didn't smile when I was supposed to : what made me smile was the gap between the anime codes (and stereotypes) ... and the italian Renaissance depicted. And it could have been crippling if the result wasn't (surprisingly) funny.

A second big surprise was awaiting me after the first episodes. Compared to the immense majority of anime where the tone of the anime doesn't change much, Arte is one of those anime that go in multiple directions.
And this is one of the main assets of this anime.

The story is evolving along with Arte (the main character), which makes it really enjoyable to watch when you start to care for her.
As a result, the stereotypes, that are pregnant in the first episodes, are progressively being questioned in the second part of the anime. What's more, if it's true that some new stereotypes appear in the second part of the anime, they are rapidly being questioned, which I find to be a really interesting approach.

Finally, as long as you start to care for the characters, the story gets more and more interesting, which leads me to my second point (and the strongest asset of this anime in my opinion) : characters.

CHARACTERS : 10

To begin with, I must admit I have a crush for strong female characters, so I might be a bit biased about Arte (well, also about Veronica and Catalina obviously).

This being said, Arte is the engine of this anime. Well, it's quite obvious if you consider it's an eponym character.
It starts with Arte having a lot of stereotypes in her head and being a naive young noble. She doesn't want to follow the path of all noble girls : find a husband and only live for him.
On the contrary, she aims for emancipation and wants to live of her passion for painting.
Here starts an everyday fight to make herself being accepted by men and especially by painters and their apprentices in a patriarchal world where women don't have other choice but to become good wives if they don't want to be despised.
Hopefully, Arte doesn't stay a naive young noble girl and she starts questioning her preconceived ideas. Otherwise, it could have been a bit tiresome. And here is also one of the main assets of this anime : in spite of evolving, Arte fundumentally remains herself. She's learning from her experiences at her own pace and doesn't change to a totally different person (unlike many anime).

The secondary characters are those who make Arte change, which makes them just as important for the story as Arte.
I'm not going to develop the secondary characters since I don't want to spoil you the story (and I don't want to make this review too long...).
I'm just going to mention Veronica and Catalina, which are two characters I especially like. Just like Arte, a lot of stereotypes are surrounding them, but these stereotypes are fought by Veronica and Catalina's wills. They both are strong female characters that learn from Arte just as much as she learns from them.

ART : 8

I don't have much to say about the art, except that it could appear quite average but ultimately reveals to be quite good.
I especially liked the balance in the colors. It's colorful but not too shiny, which perfectly fits to the italian Renaissance where colors were present (among nobles and especially during festivals). On the other hand, the poors clothing are austere, which perfectly depicts this era and enhances the gap between the nobles and the people.

Another interesting point regarding the art is the paintings shown. They're religious commissions or portraits, which is the reflect of the era. For paintings presented in an anime, they're really interesting to watch and some are beautiful.

SOUND : 7

I usually like Maaya Sakamoto's songs but this one is quite average. The ending is ok. Overall, the sound is quite pleasant. I didn't notice a lot of soundtracks while watching the anime, but this is not especially a bad thing. I don't think there was a need for a lot of music in this anime. The few tracks I noticed where perfectly fitting the situations and there's a moving piano track I particularly enjoyed.

ENJOYMENT : 8

It took me a few episodes to really get into the show, but once I was into it I really appreciated to go at the same pace as Arte (the character). Nevertheless, some situations are quite anticipable, which is a pity as it doesn't allow the spectator to be alongside Arte (the character) at every moment of the anime.

Overall, there was a really good atmosphere that made me stick to this anime until the end for my greatest pleasure.

I'm not sure I can wait for an hypothetical second season, so I'm planning on reading the manga.

OVERALL : 9

Arte is an unusual historical anime that concentrates on its characters and on their development rather than on the historical elements. This doesn't mean, the historical part is completely overshadowed. It's in the background, which better allows to get into the anime and to care for the characters in my opinion. If you're planning to watch this anime for the historical aspects, you might be a bit disappointed, but there are a lot of realistic aspects, even if it's romanced here.

Ok, so, I've just come back from the theater where I went reluctantly. Though Makoto Shinkai is one of my favourite film director, I had a bad feeling about this one. I thought I was going to be disappointed, but this is even beyond disappointment.

Some forums on MAL raise the question of the enjoyment of an anime who has lacks in its story and in its characters when the art and sound is great. I've always thought an anime couldn't be "saved" if the lacks in the story and in the characters were too important. Well, this movie is the perfect example of an anime ... that can't be "saved" merely with the art and sound.


Story : 2

Take a look at the synopsis, it's eloquent enough : "it is common knowledge that power always comes with a hefty price...".
The premises of the story are not that bad, but the structure of the movie is too common and everything is so predictable... There's not even a tiny suspense...
What's more, the vision of the world showed in this movie is so naive, it often confines to the ridicule.
The romance is more or less credible, I guess... Well, if you strip away that it's very predictable from the start, of course...
Finally, I've never seen a film with that much coincidences. It's usual in fiction and we don't always notice it ; but here ? It's a sequence of coincidences (secondary characters always being at the right place at the right time to help the main character, and that only for the sake of the story which couldn't advance otherwise...). It's quite pitiful and it shows that the story is particularly weak.

Art : 9

The art is excellent. It's the level of Kimi no Na wa. and sometimes even up to Kotonoha no Niwa. The heavy rain feels really realistic. The cityscapes are a neat work as usual in Makoto Shinkai's works, and are maybe even more appealing than usual. If Hayao Miyazaki is the master of natural landscapes, Makoto Shinkai is undoubtedly the master of the cityscapes.
Nevertheless, there is no originality, which is why I don't give the art a 10.

Sound : 8

The combo Makoto Shinkai / Radwimps strikes again for a very good result.
Nonetheless, if the main theme, Grand Escape is a lovable piece of music, the other tracks seem to be quite forgettable.

Character : 2

The characters are plain. So plain it's boring. And this goes with the story, but their actions are so predictable, it's really annoying.

Enjoyment : 2

To put it in a nutshell, as I said before, the lacks in the story and in the characters are too important here to make it an enjoyable show.

Overall : 4

Even if this film cannot be "saved" solely with the art and sound, it prevents it from being a total failure.

I'm not a yuri adept.
Indeed, it's the first time I've read a yuri.
I had watched one yuri named Sakura Trick, which I found cute but limited. After that first experience with yuri, I was hoping to find one which would be something more than just cute. And I've found it with Yagate Kimi ni Naru.


STORY : 8


The basis of the story is quite basic and might not be the main asset of Yagate Kimi ni Naru.
The main character, Yuu Koito, seems unable to fall in love. She meets a senpai, Nanami Touko, who is very popular but rejects systematically everyone who confesses to her. ... In spite of this, Nanami gets a crush on Yuu...

Unrealistic as it may appear at first, the relationship between Nanami and Yuu slowly evolves into a complex but also a more and more realistic relationship.

The story really outstands when it comes to existential questionings like what does it mean to love ; or to identity questions like what difference (or even gap) there can be between how we appear to others and what we are deep in us.
The answers to these questions are often doubtful here, but some of them are interesting. What's more, it shows the points of view of the characters, which really makes it realistic.


ART : 8


At first sight, the art can seem quite average. There's nothing really original about it.
Nevertheless, the kiss scenes are really outstanding with sometimes improbable angles.

Moreover, the cutting is excellent. By small gestures, the author manages to vehicle strong emotions. It made me read it in a state where I was in a mood for love.


CHARACTER : 8


As I said before, the premises of the story are quite basic, which makes the characters appear to be artificial at first.
However, as the story evolves, the characters are doubting their previous convictions and progressively change their way of thinking and of seeing things.

Nanami Touko is not the main character but is the center of the story. She's beginning to doubt her actions and even ends up not knowing who she is at some point of the story.


ENJOYMENT : 9


This manga is really entertaining for its cuteness and its sweetness. But that's not all. You'll also want to know what will become of Nanami Touko who is losing herself and what will become of her relationship with her kouhai Yuu Koito.


OVERALL : 9


What stands out in Yagate Kimi ni Naru is the way love appears really sweet, which contrasts with the existential questions that are pregnant here.


As a conclusion, that you are familiar with yuri or not really doesn't matter here. This manga can be read by anyone and can be enjoyable for various reasons regarding your sensibilities.

WARNING : THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS


Uchiage Hanabi, Shita kara Miru ka? Yoko kara Miru ka? is a weird animation movie.
So weird I couldn't tell 1 hour after watching the movie if I liked it or if I disliked it.

There are 2 ways of watching Uchiage Hanabi.

The first one is to see that there's almost no story and almost no character development. The only good things are the art and the sound. So basically, it's an empty shell and it doesn't deserve a good mark.

The other way of watching it is to wonder why there is almost no story and no character development. I could be ... wrong but I believe that these lacks are made on purpose because they are too important here.


STORY : 2

There's almost no story.
The same day is repeating itself several times.


ART : 8

The character design is good and it's very colourful.
Unfortunately, there are some 3D which ruins everything.


SOUND : 7

The soundtrack is ok (mainly peaceful piano tracks) and I really liked the ending song by Daoko.


CHARACTER : 5

On a first glance, the characters seem really stereotyped.

What's more, there are only two main characters : Norimichi Shimada and Nazuna Oikawa.

The secondary characters exist only to make the situations evolve but we know almost nothing about them. They're like ghosts.

The only secondary character which is not a ghost is Norimichi Shimada best friend : Azumi Yuusuke. He's an ambiguous character since we don't know what he really thinks. [SPOILER : Even if it seems so, it's not clear if he loves Nazuna Oikawa or not. Maybe he's just shy ? END OF THE SPOILER].

Norimichi Shimada, despite being the main character has no clear personnality. He seems to be useless and only has power thanks to the orb found by Nazuna Oikawa.

Nazuna Oikawa could be described like this : a girl who can't stand her mother remarriage and who wants to run away. Perfect stereotype. It seems she could have chosen anyone to go with her.

However, on a second glance, these characters are more ambiguous that they seem to. We know almost nothing about them, which means we have to imagine who they are. It's like meeting someone. You don't know how he's like or what he really thinks. It's the same here, which makes it quite realistic.

Indeed, I feel like the conceptors of Uchiage Hanabi are using stereotyped characters to make us think of who they really are. Are they just like they look like ? They have deeper feelings, deeper thoughts but we can't see them from our perspective.

[SPOILER : For example, here it's unclear if Nazuna Oikawa has feelings for Norimichi Shimada or not. From Norimichi Shimada perspective, it seems she has feelings for him. But if we look from her perspective, we can't be sure because it seems she doesn't know it herself. END OF THE SPOILER].


ENJOYMENT : 3

I couldn't stop wondering what this was all about and expecting some explanations that never really came, even in the end since it stays quite ambiguous.
I've never been in this movie, except for the last 20 minutes which caught me due to the atmosphere.


OVERALL : 6

I wouldn't really advise Uchiage Hanabi except if you like to ask yourself questions about the movie, about its purpose and have reflexions over various subjects like running away.

I believe the atmosphere is the most important thing in an anime, but here the lacks are really important.

First of all, I must say I first read the manga and this adaptation rather disappoints me. Let me tell you why.


STORY : 6

Sakamichi no Apollon takes place in Japan of the late 60's.

Basically, it's about a transfered student called Kaoru Nishimi who is alone and who is going to make friends and discover himself a passion for jazz at the same time.

The plot, beyond being very basic is interesting for two main reasons :
- I know few anime which take place in Japan of the 60's, which is interesting to see how it was like back then, politically, musically... Don't expect too much though ... (it stays in the background).
- it deals with relationships : friendship, love and it's quite realistic.

So, why only 6 ?

The big problem in this adaptation is that it's evolving too quickly (3 years in 12 episodes !!!!).
Watching this, I didn't feel the emotions I'd felt in the manga.


ART : 3

MAPPA.
.
.
.
.
Do I really need to develop ?
I don't know : maybe some people actually like their 3D graphisms. Not me.
People are walking like robots and they have ugly facial expressions.
In an anime of zombie I would say why not.


SOUND : 6

Nothing special about it.
The opening is ok but doesn't really fit with this anime. The ending is ok.
The ost is mainly composed of Moanin' and only a few other jazz tracks, which is kinda disappointing considering the manga introduces us with more jazz tracks.


CHARACTER : 6

Characters are not really strereotyped but they're not really unique.


ENJOYMENT : 5

As I said, this adaptation fails to transmit the emotions of the manga, which is a major disappointment.


OVERALL : 6

If you were planning to watch this anime, I'd rather recommand you to read the manga.

WHY SO SERIOUS ?

Ousama Game is an anime that MUST NOT BE WATCHED IN A LITTERAL WAY !
If you're not able to laugh at stupid deaths, just don't watch this anime.

For me, this adaptation was quite enjoyable.

I first read the manga and was wondering if an adaptation could really be interesting. And the answer is yes.

Well, if I should compare the manga and the anime, I would say the adaptation perfectly follows the story. However, this anime is an adaptation of the first two arcs, which might be a bit confusing for those who have not read the manga. Personnaly, I liked how they ... included the first arc in the second by Nobuaki's memories and tellings. It makes the show more lively. The main drawback though, is that it loses in intensity.

Finally, I found this show quite funny. The characters reactions when they realize they are helpless is often funny. The deaths also made me smile.

And the opening and the ending are both great.

Ousama Game may not be the show of the year but it deserves a better grid.

CAUTION : THIS REVIEW MIGHT CONTAIN MINOR SPOILERS


If you're hesitating to watch Re:Creators, I would advise you to give it a try. But, after a few episodes, if you're not enjoying it, you should drop it. If I say that, it's because I was trapped by this anime. I wasn't enjoying it at all, but I was telling myself : "Wait ! It's going to get better in a few episodes !". But it's not (except from 2 episodes near the end) !


STORY : 3


The main asset of this show is in its reversed concept. Usually, in anime, people from the real world end up ... in a fictional world. Here, it's exactly the opposite : manga characters are invocated in the real world. It could have been really interesting then.
However, these manga characters are stereotyped and make this show really weak.

If this was the only problem, you would say : "Well, it's not a big deal." And you would be right as many anime characters are stereotyped in other shows (and sometimes in good ones).
The problem of stereotypes doesn't concern only the characters. The situations are also stereotyped, which makes this anime too predictable.

Finally, a big issue about the story is also that it's evolving too slowly. At least,10 episodes would be sufficient to this story. It would be more lively.


ART : 4


The art is really so-so. It's a 2017 anime, but it looks like an average 2010 show.

FIGHTS : The fights are not epic at all.
Worse than that, the weapons are doing dreadful noises.


SOUND : 5


I usually like Sawano Hiroyuki work. The first opening is cool but the second one is just ok.
The endings are poor.


CHARACTER : 2


As I said before, the characters are stereotyped. ALL OF THEM !!!!

Even though, for me there are 3 interesting characters.

My favorite one dies too quickly. I'm not spoiling its name. This character may appeared as one of the most cliché, but reveals to be the first one to understand Altair (the villain).

Also, I liked Blitz and Magane which are the only ambiguous characters.


Souta and Meteora are the worst characters.

Souta is a weak main character."Why not. It's a fresh change comparing to most of shonen main characters which are powerful characters", I could say. But NO. Souta is only watching the others fight during all the anime, wondering what he could do when the answer is obvious. He's eventually trying something in the last episodes.

Meteora deserves the palm of the worst character ever in an anime.
SHE'S TALKING TOO MUCH !!!!
WARNING : SPOILER : [Basically, she's trying to explain to the others that the invocation of fictional characters in the real world has repercussions and endangers its stability.
See ? I said it in a few words. Meteora spends nearly half of each episode to say this (and I'm not exaggerating that much) ! Indeed, she's saying with complicated words what could be said easily. I can't remember who said that, but the real intelligence is to make oneself understandable to others. Meteora thinks she's intelligent as she uses complicated words...]
END OF THE SPOILER


ENJOYMENT : 3


As I already said, the story is evolving too slowly.
Only 2 episodes are good, and they're near the end...


OVERALL : 3


Even if the concept is interesting (making creations live in our world), Re:Creators has too many drawbacks like its slowness or its stereotypes which makes it a bad show.