Back to Paraturtle's Profile Paraturtle's Profile

I'll admit, I went into this knowing I wouldn't like it. I'd watched the anime to boost some stats for achievements so here we are. Curiosity got the better of me.

Also, I won't be breaking this into a standard review. I think I'll limit this to one slate rather than breaking it into Story, Art, Character, etc. It's simply unnecessary.

With that said--

It's funny how a common discussion about the anime is that the convoluted and confusing nature of the story is likely due to the lack of actual content. Being a 5 or so minute show it's greatly limited by the amount of content it ... can actually cover. Yet, even with 34 chapter, Pupa never measures up to anything worthwhile. In fact, it's almost more confusing and more convoluted.

Characters seem to teleport, locations don't really have an identity, and the pacing is a mile a minute with the restraint of an elementary school student who just discovered Naruto (I'm not bad mouthing Nardo, just the theoretical person above which actually includes myself lol). Choices in the narrative are made simply because, "Well, that's cool! Let's do that!" and I get that, I really do. In fact, I agree that some concepts in this story are quite interesting, but that's because I'm thinking back to the conceptual stage and not engaging with the final presentation.

Which, by the way, is really bad. The art for this manga is janky and boring. The backgrounds are 90% white and the art that actually takes precedence is only fine. Sometimes I would see a panel or 2-page spread and be left wondering what's actually happening. This is alleviated later as the mangaka improves, but it doesn't save anything about this manga.

I haven't said much of anything about the actual story, just about the structure and presentation, so maybe I should get into that.

It's bad. Real bad. It's exploitative, extreme, vile, and I think the real sickening aspect of this narrative is that it brings to light a very dark and twisted heart that the author has. Now, this will sound so judgemental and inappropriate coming from me (as a huge fan of Berserk) but let me clarify before I head into my main thoughts.

Extreme content is like anything else in a story. With enough care and respect to the content itself, one can do anything with their story and I feel it will largely be acceptable. This does not open the floodgates to writing something pornographic, but it means that if someone were to write something sexual, there are certain stipulations that allow it to be functionally appropriate and respectable to the content, characters, and your intended audience. The same works for horrific acts of violence. In fact, this is more commonly used and often written better, but we've all experienced something that was either A) poorly written (like a bad death or unnecessary death that ruined a story) or B) read something that was far more gratuitous and bordered on snuff/exploitation.

I would argue that a story like Berserk respects this foundation (save for maybe 1 scene. And no, it's not the Eclipse). A story like Pupa, however, does not. With overly erotic scenes between perceived siblings, gore for the sake of gore, characters who do heinous acts with little reason, and certain plot points that make you go, "What the heck!?", you're ultimately stuck with a story whose author has a few screws loose.

To return to my first defining characteristic, the "Well, that's cool! Let's do that!" aspect of the mangaka, the issue comes in when you have certain acts within this story that, honestly, shouldn't be considered cool in the first place. And the reason I use a lame term like 'cool' is that I don't think she felt that it was anything other than cool. And I get that, some of these things have an edge to them that's shiny and reflective and I want to get so much closer but when you're writing like a child, someone has to tell you that you're running towards a knife. Don't do that.

I think this covers most, if not all, my thoughts on Pupa. There's some other stuff I could say specifically but I'm not here to rail on the story's specifics. I wanted to detail the failings of it's concepts because I feel like that hasn't been totally touched on in other reviews. So hopefully you found this educational. =3

But yeah, don't read it. It's boring and a waste of time.

I haven't written an anime review in a LONG time (the shorts I've reviewed lately don't really count) but this show really got me thinking. So, time to share:

Story:
First off, this narrative is complex. That is not to say it is hard to understand. Complex merely means there are many facets at work, and there really is a whole lot going on. A good writer tailors a multitude of facets together to tell a strong, tight-knit narrative. However, while there's great ambition to this project, it ultimately fails. The more someone puts into a story, the less wiggle room one has for mistakes. As the ... show starts, you're never quite sure what exactly is going on, and the benefit of the doubt is that choices for the show are merely stylistic. Because of that, it's easy to forgive. However, as the episodes continue, there comes a point when things simply aren't consistent anymore. That's when one recognizes it isn't stylistic, they're mistakes.

This isn't helped by the amount of absurd, unrealistic, unrelatable characters in Mayoiga. I think the more anime I watch, the more I have to realize that I am not the demographic being targeted. Ever. The target for so many shows seems to be those who enjoy characters who repeat the same word over and over, stereotypical glasses-wearing know-it-alls, and repetitive quirks that just don't exist in the real world. These are stupid tropes to have in an arguably serious work. There's no argument against this. A serious work needs serious characters.

Although the above is more limited to supporting roles, main characters have unengaging character arcs as well. They seem to start and end abruptly from time to time. It's like whiplash to the nth degree the way the pacing is with these arcs.

This isn't really spoiler territory but if you what I'm comparing to, then ultimately you're gonna find it easier to infer what's going on in the show after reading this part of the review. Basically, this show feels a lot like Angel Beats!. 1-dimensional characters in an absurd premise that has a potentially engaging story surrounding it ultimately soiled by poor pacing with overly dramatic scenes just aren't my thing, and Mayoiga seems to emulate what some people thought was great with the former. From where I stand as someone who didn't like Angel Beats!, I just can't understand why someone would want to emulate such a premise.

That said, something about Mayoiga remained way more engaging to me than Angel Beats!. Despite the cancer that plagues Mayoiga's entire story, the show seems to have this odd 'it-factor' to it for me that simply kept me waiting for the next episode. Perhaps it's the seemingly well-timed cliffhangers, or maybe it's simply because I hopelessly want to enjoy a horror anime despite knowing how bad horror anime is. All I know is this, I couldn't stop watching the show. I just had to watch the next one. There's this draw that I simply can't explain, especially when there's so much NOT GOOD about the show.

If I had to briefly try and engage this conundrum, it's that Mayoiga's complexity sells you to the end. Then, once it's over, everything comes rushing back and you go, "I knew that didn't make sense then and excused it to continue, but now I really have to admit how absurd those choices were." And I'll admit, I recognized the absurdity of some choices but only near the end of the series did it really click how bad some narrative choices are.


Art:
I'll be the first to admit that moe art is NOT my style. And while this show is not 100% moe, it's that cutesy artistic theme that's plaguing anime right now and boy-howdy do I hate it. To compare: each character has relatively the same body-type and their only differences are hair and clothing. I think it's hilarious that there's actually a character designer in the anime industry nowadays. Just have some sort of algorithm churn out these suckers and save you a buck. There's clearly no inspiration for these things anymore.

It's also important to note that the scenery of the entire show is largely the same. It's also pretty dang dark and because of this, you're lead even more to focus on the character in frame rather than anything surrounding them. Also, the show takes place in an abandoned village but it might as well take place in a cabin.

Some people might really disagree with me here but I liked the creature renderings for the first few bits of the show. I think it's important to recognize that in horror, to make something scary is to make it other-worldly. One of the most effective ways to do this in animation is to change the type of animation style you're using for your creature. This was used well for 1 creature and so-so for a few others. However, it doesn't last long as the final creature is laughably bad. Which leads us into:

Animation! While the show flows well, there were a few times where proportions threw me off. However, I think this was due to emulating certain camera effects. However, the most pitiful were 2 creatures, one in the middle and the one at the end. I'm talking horrid. There's other-worldly animation and then there's hiring an otherworldly creature to work on a worldly program without giving him a translation book for the Japanese language to read your program. *heavy breathing*

//Sidenote: I know, this is getting long-winded. Bear with me!


Sound:
I found some of the soundtrack compositions to be pretty good. I wasn't totally choked up with emotion by any of the tracks, nor did any of them necessarily get me pumped during any intense scenes, but I will say that they are unfortunately used in a forgettable anime. It's a shame that we'll never get to hear them used in something better.

That said, poor timing on a few tracks and I remember hearing one legitimately replay after a short delay. Like, it was so jarring and distracting. The song came to an end, (like a 1 minute long loop) and then pause, then restart and it was so strange.

Also, that final creature had such a dumb sound. It was only made worse when it repeated like 4 times.


Character:
I find myself wanting to copy/paste the story section for this one. I genuinly shook my head because I was about to.

If I had to add anything new about the characters, it's that this sort of thing happens to a lot of anime. I'm talking a LOT of anime. Seeing 1-dimensional characters is not uncommon and the problem is that people eat this stuff up like it's fresh lobster at a 5-star restaurant. I recognize that this anime has a <6 scoring and that's great because this show does not deserve anything higher than a 6, but the problem is I see things like this all the time in popular anime. Remember how I mentioned Angel Beats!? These 2 shows are so-totally similar it's maddening to see how Angel Beats! remains so popular. But I digress. I'm not talking about characters, I'm talking about the concept of Mayoiga as a whole.

You see, writers think this stuff is okay because of so many shows LIKE Angel Beats! sell figures, BD's, posters, extra memorabilia that nowadays runs the market due to rampant torrenting. However, this issue isn't all the consumers fault, as people wouldn't torrent shows if producers wouldn't churn out 12-episode advertisements for their mobile games every season (I'm doing it again, aren't I lol). It's so much easier for companies to simply BS their way with writing than it is to spend a week one one character arc, then melding it with anothers.

And the sad thing is with Mayoiga is that we have a work that's stuck in the middle, where part of it wants to be Angel Beats! with 1-dimensional absurd characters and the other wants to have a complex narrative. It's like 2 scripts were forcefully prostitued to produce some frankenstein monster of a narrative. It's a shame. But the biggest shame of all is that I spent the entire character section talking about the concept of bad anime and not about the characters.

But what is there to say? They're all bad. Lol.

JK I liked Lion. She was underused. =3


Enjoyment:
So do I regret the show? Not necessarily. I think there's a lot wrong here but I also think there's a lot right? Like I said, there's an 'it-factor' at play for me and I know this is purely opinion based. But, even after thinking it through, I can't think of any reason to HATE this anime other than what I suspect it may represent (see: Character section lol).

Idk, watch it I guess. you might dig it.


((I might start doing more reviews again so watch out! If you wanna read my other ones, check out my profile and see what I've got. There's plenty to explore!))

Story:
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a fan of narratives that are negative. By that, I mean stories where the hero loses in the end and the whole them is essentially, "Life sucks because X." Ai doesn't say something exactly quite like that, but it is a bastardized perspective on love. Perhaps I'm looking 'too deep' into this work but when you realize that Yoko Ono also contributed to this work, you haveta sit back sarcastically and go, "Oh man now we're getting to intense levels of intellect left untapped in the human mind for years!"

Goodness, I didn't even hate this work ... and more or less found it to be just another work to add to my Completed list but in retrospect, there's just so much to dislike about it. I mean, alright, I'm not gonna go nuts with details but the premise is a woman chasing after a man with a net and then treating him like a dog. Not so much bothered by it when its from Kuri Yoji but knowing that Yoko Ono was a part of it immediately makes me think, "There's something wrong here." And while you might say to me, "Paraturtle, she only did the Music, that's it!" I'd respond that there's no way she solely did just the music when 2 people are working on 1 work. There's no doubt she contributed to it.

But also, it's just annoying to see such a bad view on Love because obviously it's not love. I mean, maybe it isn't obvious? Or, perhaps the original intention is to show what love isn't? Even so, does that discussion even need to be had? And, if so, is there not a better way to express such concepts? Absolutely, considering this short is neither entertaining nor is it comedic.

But also, maybe I just seriously dislike Yoko Ono and see her as nothing more than a hack.


Art:
Art looks fine and some of the perspective shots look neato.


Sound:
I don't like Yoko Ono and hearing people say Ai over and over is annoying.


Character:
No character, really. Not one that matters, at least.


Enjoyment:
Boring but at least I added to my Completed list.


((If you liked this review, feel free to check out my others! I review most manga and anime I finish!))

Story:
If you don't know Gantz, the movie does a good job setting the stage in proper Gantz fashion. Like those in the Gantz game, you're thrust into it with little explanation and told to survive. The issue is keeping that level of anxiety consistent. Unlike early Gantz content, this film takes place in the middle of the manga and animates one of the most memorable arcs. The difficult part about going over this arc is that it introduces other "teams" playing the Gantz game who are far more advanced than the team you are introduced to in the film. Not only does the main team ... we follow feel relieved that other teams are cleaning up, you as a viewer lose any sense of dread you might have otherwise experienced.

One might argue that this sets up how nutso things get in the end. Sure, I guess I can understand that, and to those who KNOW Gantz they will find themselves guessing along since there are significant differences between the manga and this interpretation of the arc, but this doesn't eliminate the fact that the audience has grown used to watching people kick butt.

Part of what made the arc in the manga so impactful was the fact that your main characters were being wiped left and right. There was a big surprise in seeing other teams that succeeded in surviving. That's what made the ending of the arc so powerful, the fact that things were much more than expected. However, in an hour and a half, it's hard to cover that kind of content, and since the film even separates itself from the horrid anime adaption, it's even more disjointed than it possibly should be.

Now, in regards to changes, anyone and everyone should find it easy to excuse them. This is an alternate telling of an exciting arc that still remains quite as exciting. In fact, I'd argue that the film is much easier to enjoy solely because of this. The changes made make exposition feel natural, it makes the heroism of characters seem believable, and it adds a level of excitement that I am glad I got to experience despite having read Gantz. These changes, all in all, made a film adaption possible. Could it have been better? Sure, if you gave the movie another half hour to work with, or perhaps split it into 2 films, but I'm not so sure it needed that. Some of the things that were cut make the film all the more watchable (to those who have read the manga, you know what I'm talking about).

To backpedal a little, there probably needed to be a little more expository dialogue than there was in the film. It all felt rather genuine in the film, but a little more would have been helpful. The reason is this: The final fight feels like a JRPG final boss except without explanation. I can't get into detail without spoilers, but it'd make sense to maybe make reference to similar aliens in previous games. Maybe mention the Onion alien and how the target wasn't actually X it was Y. Something like that would make things flow better and not feel so "because movie" to non-Gantz fans.


Art:
AMAZING animation. I'm talking FANTASTIC. The choice to make a 3DCG film with this quality of animation was perfect. It made the aliens feel much more realistic. When a live-action film has CGI, no matter how good it looks, it is still CGI and disconnected from reality. However, when the reality of the narrative is entirely 3DCG, it makes the monsters feel grounded and real. This added a whole new level to the experience that I didn't expect, as well as brought new horror to enemies I had already come to fear.

Something really great is the lighting in this film. Not only does it have excellent effects for all of its lighting but there are also very "film"-esque lighting. For instance, there is eye lighting. In film, this is the act of putting a light on the eyes despite it not likely making sense in the real world. This is something I love. A scene can be crowded and busy but not only are we greeted with someone's face and their reaction, we're drawn to it with more focus solely because there's a light source reflecting against their eyes and skin. It's so classic noir but it feels great to see this employed in an animated feature, no less.

The film also does a good job of being gory without being explicit. For instance, heads explode, bodies break, limbs are missing, but it never gets exploitative, something the manga felt quite often. It wasn't ever ridiculously tasteless and there was still impact to the events that unfolded based on what took place. You felt the damage that characters felt, you didn't necessarily need to see it.


Sound:
The OST is forgettable and didn't have much of a theme at all. I'm not quite sure why this was the case. There could have been some kind of theme. I would have really liked that. However, the OST does its job and isn't invasive and doesn't detract from the film at all.

VA work is great, as to be expected from an anime.


Character:
Likely the weakest point. Characters aren't fleshed out all that well. That said, I got to see one of my favorite characters in animated film (I'm sure you can guess who!) despite his character being a hard-support rather than taking the mantel in any fashion.

In fact, a lot of characters take a hard support role and aren't really given a lot of screen time. That's the difficulty of having a story that tries to feel big but doesn't really succeed. You have so many characters and by the end of the film I turned to my friend and asked, "Who are these people, again?"


Enjoyment:
Pretty enjoyable and the animation alone makes for a great experience. I'd recommend it to anyone due to how solid everything looks paired with the fact that it's a fun action flick. I'll definitely be seeing this film again and might even purchase a Blu-ray in the future. It's a cool film and super accessible.


((If you liked this review, feel free to check out my others! I review most manga and anime I finish!))

Story:
The story is pretty light-weight since the whole purpose of this film - and its subsequent movies - are all about giving us more reason to watch Goku punch stuff, but it's still engaging none-the-less. While the premise was interesting enough for me to keep watching, the risk factor was absent from the beginning. Having the main villain wish and receive immortality despite the fact that the villain is never shown in any other DBZ media immediately makes me comfortable knowing he losses in the end. I understand that that's how every single film is, considering it's all non-canon alt. universe stuff, but it still ... matters when you're spending 45+ minutes watching something.

Even so, I was still into it, especially since this was the first DBZ movie I had watched in years. I was hyped to finally start them since I finally reached their respective points in the manga (at least, where they WOULD be) and so it didn't really bother me that the plot was essentially "Give me back my kid!" And nothing more.

The ending was quite anti-climactic for me solely because there isn't some awesome, choreographed fight, but a stand-off with a giant humanoid creature. This is somewhat repeated in a few other DBZ films and it's so boring to watch. I like seeing the DBZ heroes overcome their adversary with sheer force. If I want a cunning victory, have it be cunning with punches, I don't know. Maybe I'm just being a baby about it but perhaps you can sympathize with the excitement of watching two macho guys - one good and one bad - going at it for real. I mean, this happens in the manga all the time and it rocks. Why not do it in a movie?


Art:
The animation is decent and I never found it bothersome. I recall a scene that used a previous shot but otherwise, everything was gucci.


Sound:
I watched the Funimation dub and, as is expected, it was quite enjoyable. I also found the soundtrack to be decent as most of the funimation dubs do away with the original OST (something I detest. Just alter the voices, not the music!)


Character:
Nothing particularly special about any of the characters in this film but I did enjoy that bit where Piccolo immediately wanted to fight Goku after they thought their troubles had vanished. I enjoy the little bits of in-world content that seep into these films that seem to reside outside of the canon universe. It makes sense that Piccolo would wanna jump at any opportunity to duel Goku once more. It's fun.


Enjoyment:
A solid entry but not necessary. I didn't need this film but it's not like I regret watching it.


((If you liked this review, feel free to check out my others! I review most manga and anime I finish!))

Story:
There's something magical about Dragon Ball. From its starting point searching for the Dragon Ball to the final fight to save the Universe, there's a genuine feel of adventure and progress that is felt while reading this manga. I feel like I've come so far, met so many people, and survived so much despite only reading it on a page. And everything is memorable from the master assassin Taopaipai to the mysterious Android 16, every interaction you observe Goku partake in seems to have some kind of special moment that engrains itself into my memory. I mean, everything was so EXCITING! I had a blast ... reading chapters of the many Budokai tournaments, the horrifying villains that took solace in murder, and the ridiculous comedic perversions of Kame-sennin.

What's especially amazing is how the manga exponentially increases in quality with each passing arc. Each arc brings something new to the table and culminates with something unique and unpredictable. It's filled with moments that seem boisterous and extravagant but also have a subtle level of intimacy to their characterization. Most notably is the first moment that Goku becomes Super Saiyan. The rising action to this revelation is brilliant and the moment it happens, so much is implied about what Goku is thinking without him uttering a word. In fact, this happens many times within Dragon Ball and it really lends to the creative talent of Akira Toriyama.

However, with a manga as long as this one, it's evident that there would be problems, and that's most recognized with the final arc. Although there's a bit of a balance to how one can look at it, the ending isn't exactly what I would call satisfying as I would say acceptable. The Cell arc precedes the Majin Buu arc and with how the Cell arc ends, it feels as though the world of Dragon Ball is in for a treat with the following one. It even teases this transition with the Great Saiyaman arc, implying that what you might be expecting is actually going to become true. However, upon finishing the Majin Buu arc, you're subjected to a world-class ruse and left feeling a little hollow. Does it truly impact my experience with Dragon Ball? Not as a whole, but as a grade? Yes. It's so detrimental that it's bumped my opinion of Dragon Ball as a whole from a 10/10 to a 9/10 solely for the climax of the Majin Buu arc. It's why I'm eager to see where Dragon Ball is headed with the new movies and hopefully Dragon Ball Super (assuming it has an original arc beyond what we've seen in the new films.)

But, all in all, Dragon Ball's story isn't just an extravagant out-of-this-world martial arts manga, it's a great character narrative where everyone becomes a little more of themselves with each passing page. Although everyone stays largely static, there are subtle changes in everyone that makes for a realistic feel to it. I've come to love Krillin as the most powerful human on Earth. I've come to respect Piccolo as an amazing surrogate father and warrior. I've come to look up to Vegeta and how his determination and pride didn't take over his life in the end. There's so much to love about Dragon Ball, and recognizing its impact on the Manga community isn't enough to do it justice. Reading it and experiencing it for yourself is absolutely recommended.


Art:
Brilliant, amazing art. Although backgrounds become rubble regularly and the art near the end of the manga becomes a little rough, the character designs, worlds, and 'animation' of each page and panel is so excellent I cannot even begin to describe how monumental of an achievement it is. I mean, this is a seriously big deal. For each character to have their own traits, for each world to look have subtle yet recognizable locations, and most importantly, for the pages to look so fluid. Hoooo boy. I mean, You will be falling in love with how the manga reads. Every moment looks like it's truly alive. Every punch, kick, and jump looks like it's coming right out of the page and happening before your eyes. It's incredible.


Character:
Again, I mentioned how each character has such subtle yet realistic growth. Most importantly, it happens over a long, long time. I mean, this manga spans what can be assumed nearly a third of Goku's life. From childhood to a father of two, there's so much growth to not only Goku but those around him. And, anyone who's been alive for a long time knows that change can take a long time. At times, you're left wondering when characters are going to stop with their old habits, or when they're going to finally be strong enough to fight back. All in due time.

Their character designs are also quite impressive, and I have to admit that I've come to love Akira Toriyama's work. I used to find it a little too cartoony for me but now I miss how unique and recognizable it is. I wish more artists would seek to find their own style rather than imitate so many other types of artwork, especially now in this day where so much looks the same (darn you, moe anime!).


Enjoyment:
Man, I had a blast! I'm so sad it's over but I'm SO EXCITED to get into the current content. But also, I'm super excited to experience it all over again in the anime adaptions. Although I'll be a little timid about the DBZ adaption (since it's so long and arduous) I'm real excited to watch DBZ Kai and especially Dragon Ball. I watched DBZ as a child but not so much Dragon Ball. And, while GT is abhorred by many, I'd be interested in watching it solely for more Dragon Ball content (despite it's many, many flaws).

I'm just super hooked on Dragon Ball content, that's all. I want more. But, can you blame me?


((If you liked this review, feel free to check out my others! I review most manga and anime I finish!))

I watched the English dub whose only sin is changing the OST. The other sins are all due to the original version and I feel still apply to this review. Also, this is my 100th review =3

Story:
A story like this can be difficult. We already know the ending. The job of the writers is to make us sympathise with what we already know, but that is easier said than done. This is a prime example of a narrative that didn't need to be told and failed when it was.

So we know, from DBZ, how things are supposed to end, but we don't know what caused ... it. However, Frieza tells us partially what takes place during his arc but upon watching this film, we realize that that's not true. Or rather, this film must be from an alternate timeline (similar to adult Trunks) because the things that take place don't necessarily line themselves up well with what we already know. For instance, Frieza mentions that the Saiyans had an uprising against him just as he was to wipe them out. However, in the film, Bardock is fighting off Saiyan after Saiyan just to reach Frieza.

So which is it? Did the Saiyans ally with Bardock or did they defend Frieza?

Sure, I can understand Frieza's line of thought about the Saiyans, so I can see how, as a villain, he would try to destroy them in one strike, but it's our protagonist we follow in the film, not the villain, so if I find it extremely difficult to understand his motives and what he's fighting for, then how can I cheer him on?

I know there are scenes that show his change from Frieza's pawn to defected Saiyan, but I don't care about his team and I definitely don't care about his plight. To compare, this is essentially Reach from Halo. Even in Halo: Reach, I didn't care about the team I played with cause they didn't have much character beyond brute, female, and sniper. However, I cared a little more about them because I played with them, even if they were AI. In this special, I'm not Bardock. I'm watching Bardock. That adds another wall to how I enjoy the other characters. This is something the writers had to get past and they don't. They really don't. I don't care about his team, and I really don't care about Bardock even if he is Goku's birth father.

And in regards to that, I don't care because the Saiyan customs of parenthood are so estranged from what we do as humans so it's even HARDER to connect with. To compare to Superman: Man of Steel (Far from perfect film) I at least cared about Superman and his parents because of the execution of how their love for their child put them at their life's end.

Maaaan, and there's a point where Bardock is questioning his motives and I'm like "what motives?" and then he works it out mentally and I'm like, even further, "What?"

Bad movie. The ending was stupid, too. So dumb.


Art:
I didn't mind the animation and found it pretty neato. However, the fight scenes were super boring and most everything else was forgettable. That said, there wasn't anything that totally disgusted me in the animation department so I'm all gucci here.


Sound:
So, with the Funimation dub, the original OST was changed to their metal music rather than the original stuff. This ruined a lot of the experience but because I knew it was altered, I tried not to let it get to me. However, it really did. It got in the way so much. There were weird cuts. There were points where it didn't fit. There was one point where it was getting good and then it was swapped? I don't understand. It was stupid.

I had swapped audio version to see how the other one was and I'm sure this would have gotten a better rating for me in Japanese but please understand that this wouldn't have altered my general score. The english dub wasn't enough to ruin the experience, the story and characters were.


Character:
And, on to characters, Yikes. It isn't that any of the protagonists aren't unlikable, it's that they aren't developed. Therefore, I don't care what happens to them. Honestly, who cares about the Saiyans? I don't, that's for sure.


Enjoyment:
Boring, confusing, stupid. Not confusing because I'm stupid, but because the things Bardock did were stupid therefore it was boring.


((If you liked this review, feel free to check out my others! I review most manga and anime I finish!))

Snowed 2 feet compacted into 1, muscles are aching from shoveling and about 1.5 shots into a glass of Ketel One. Bear with me on this review.

Story:
LOL I've had this tab open for the longest time and I didn't even realize I haven't typed a THING! JEez, not good. Maybe if I drink a little more I'll stay focused. Give me a second........... Alright, I actually sorta kinda likes this anime. There was something about the premise that made it fun but there were cracks in the facade of 'quality' that showed themselves real early.

This came in with jokes of hebephilia where the adult male ... character finds himself making jokes about his attraction to a teenager. I don't care if this is the culture of jokes that Anime sometimes embraces. Just because it's a 'culture' doesn't mean I can't pop a few drinks back and say, "This culture sucks!" You know why? Because it does! These sort of jokes aren't funny because the sort of outcome that is implied would never happen, and there are no happy endings for such relationships. It's stupid, and I'm gonna stop myself before I start a drunken rant on how stupid it is and start focusing more on the story.

One long complaint up there and I still gave a 6/10. The reason being, jokes were well-placed, even if they were bad. I really think ecchi and stuff like that is boring, uninteresting, and inappropriate. But, because of some of the pacing and jokes, things at times were quite funny. However, the most comical content had nothing to do with breasts or nudity. But, the worst part is that don't remember a single joke made. In fact, the most memorable scenes were the ones I tested, like characters making jokes about their breast size or a bunch of old men in a hot tub. Makes me wonder what my buzzed mind is telling me...


Art:
I felt the animation was alright at times but I despise, not only ecchi, but the modern embrace of more artwork. It's really offputting to me and perhaps I'm getting to opinionated and not as objective as I like to be but it doesn't make this show any better, that's for sure. In fact, I think it really brings down a lot of it.

Actually, I think it brings it down a lot but that's just because the show itself was pretty mediocre and pairing that with the irritating and uninspired animation made things all the more worse. Damn, like seriously, I hate moe artwork. It's one reason why I avoid a lot of modern shows.

Granted, I don't think early 2000's animation would have improved this steaming heap.


Sound:
Forgettable music and forgettable VA work. Not bad, not good. 5/10


Character:
The male lead is a hebephiliac and the so is the adult female lead. Not to mention the youngest character is so stupid I wanted to stop watching almost immediately. I just finished it out for the extra 'Completed' tag on my watch-list.


Enjoyment:
And it wasn't worth it. I almost would have preferred having this NOT be on my list. I can't say it was boring because it was somewhat enjoyable, but I can't say it's good because Ecchi and Moe stuff are 2 of the dumbest things on the planet. So, here I am giving it a 4/10.

Oh well. At least my Vodka bottle is near empty. Gives me an excuse to finish it.


((If you liked this review, feel free to check out my others! I review most manga and anime I finish!))

Story:
Honestly, despite the time constraints, despite the grotesque and painful character design of the protagonist, I feel as though there could have been a genuinely interesting and engaging plotline in Komori-san wa Kotowarenai! However, instead of doing what some short animations do where they split one premise across the episodes making one 20-minute story, we get really quick and really short stories that don't change in premise, punchline, or engagement. In fact, it's all pretty crap. Any semblance of storytelling vanishes near instantly when characters meet and a punch-line is thrown in the way, or when the show ends. There's nothing to really go on ... in the 2 minutes that each episode has and it's highly forgettable.


Art:
Man, the character design for the protagonist is disgusting. I'm talking vomit-tier. Having large breasts doesn't disgust me, having poor, painfully bad depictions of breasts paired with the ridiculous 'anime physics' that breasts take on makes for one of the worst lead characters I've ever seen in my life. Hanoka is better than this.

Everything else is pretty bad, too. The animation itself isn't all that fluid, the backgrounds are boring and forgettable (like most school related anime), and despite the two friends being kinda cool looking, all other side-characters had forgettable designs and poor animation despite the show being 2 minutes long. I've seen a lot of short shows and most of them have, at the least, good animation. But, maaaan, not this one.


Sound:
Can't really remember a single song but that's alright. None of the songs were invasive or bad.

Can't really remember the quality of VA work because, for the most part, anime has pretty good VA work. It's safe to say that I simply did not notice anything bad about the Sound Quality of the show, and therefore it's a 5/10


Character:
I don't really haveta go over character designs again but in regards to their development, all empty. I did enjoy how the lead mentions the joy of helping others, while another character wanted nothing more than to be sought for help because he wanted to also find the joy in helping others, but this wasn't worked with very much, likely due to the 2-minute timeline. So, again, a failure here as well.


Enjoyment:
I added to my Completed list and nothing more. At the very least, I'll always remember this for having one of the most disgusting protagonist designs of all time.


((If you liked this review, feel free to check out my others! I review most manga and anime I finish!))

Story:
In all honesty, there isn't one. Well, there is, but it's not the focus. The comedy is the focus. So, is it funny? Heck yeah! I had a blast watching Dragon Half and the biggest joke of all is that nobody ever picked this show up for real. First off, why are there only 2 episodes? Ridiculousness, I say! RIDICULOUSNESS!!

Are there drawbacks with a weak story and an intense focus on comedy? Sure, cause I forget mostly everything, but I do know that I had a great time watching and can't wait to show a friend or two when I get the chance.


Art:
Impressive animation that ... goes very well with the comedic theme of the show. I just wish everyone's outfits were a little less... provocative. Beyond that, I felt everything looked pretty great, characters each had significant differences, and the show itself was as enjoyable to watch as it was to laugh at.


Sound:
I can't remember a dang song from the show but I recall the VA work being quite excellent. Everyone's voices were all over the place and really helped sell some of the jokes, puns, etc.


Character:
Since it's a comedy, you can't expect characters with a lot of depth. That said, everyone sells their part well when it comes to the comedic department.


Enjoyment:
This is one of those gems you come across when you're perusing short anime you wanna watch just to increase your 'completed' list. Highly recommend watching solely for the comedy, though. This was pretty dang fun and I'm eager for another watch sometime down the road.


((If you liked this review, feel free to check out my others! I review most manga and anime I finish!))