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***There will be one mayor spoiler in this review so don't read this if you haven't watched the series yet.***



I have never been this conficted by an anime before, I think 5 Centimeters per Second came pretty close, but I have a part of me which absolutely loves these 2 series and I want to think that they are among the best of anime. But then there is that part of me that just happens to see every small mistake or flaw and judges way to hard for that. I can't help it. It just happens.

With 5 Centimeters per Second it was probably because I ... expected too much out of it. While watching I thought there was going to be this major event that would crush my feels, but it never came. It was after a couple of days after finishing the series that I understood why it was so great, It left you with an unfinished feeling and you couldn't do anything but feel bad for the MCs.

With Tokyo Magnitude, however, it was something different. This anime isn't 11 episodes long, it's only 5. Episodes 1 through 6 were so boring and unrealistic at times. I had a horrible time sitting through these. Then it got kinda interesting... but not really. They played the 'character-is-dead-but-she-doesn't-realize-yet' card. I can't recall where but I have definitely seen it before and not just once. Then there was all the other stuff like the general slow pacing, low budget, terrible CGI used in the backgrounds. How everyone reacted/acted during the earthquakes and aftershocks was nothing like how real people would react. People in Japan should know what to do with earthquakes since they have lots of them. But these people seemed to have no clue at all. You can't afford to move around like everyone did and you certainly don't go by boat. Mari was really irresponsible at times just leaving them alone or not paying attention. Other than that it was just your standard earthquake story. I feel like they did nothing special with it. The only moments that really got to me was in episode 1 when she send a text that said: "The world should just fall apart", and maybe when the bro died. I have shed tears before for other series like Clannad, Sakurasou, Angel Beats, Ping Pong the Animation, Tengen Toppa, Gintama, but this one didn't get me that far.

I do want to credit TM:8.0 for the mellow atmosphere it builds at times. Mirai as a character is pretty interesting too. She is at that age where the whole world seems like it is against you. I don't dislike that. We all have that age or those moments where we feel like she does. By the end she steps away from that point of view and changes for the better. The series also shows you that people will mostly only think for themselves in times of despair and chaos.

Nonetheless it's a beautiful story for the whole family, much like a Ghibli/Disney movie but not as great as those. Back when it aired it was one of the best of the season because a lot of the things airing were just generic fantasy light novel adaptations, moeblobs and ecchi-harem oriented stuff. This most likely helped the series to score so high in the rankings on various sites/lists. I will say that this one is still much better than most stuff airing the last couple seasons but I'd only give it a strong 6 to weak 7 outta 10.

Story: 5/10

Standard earthquake story.

Art: 5/10

The character designs were pretty standard, backgrounds (CGI) and animation were mediocre at times, low budget is probably the cause. It was quite distinct from other art. Felt kind of refreshing but not really.

Sound: 7/10

No complaints but no special OST to remember.

Characters: 7/10

Mirai was interesting even though a lot of people argue about that. She is just a vulnerable teenage girl which is at that age where you think everything is against you. It is kind of nice to see yourself back when you where that age. Other characters were nothing special. Mari was a good person but acted irresponsible at times.

Enjoyment: 5/10

Episode 1 was probably the best setup/best entry for the series but what came after didn't surprise me at all.
Episodes 2-6 passed me out. Episode 7-11 were ok I guess. I almost dropped the series.

Overall: 6/10

Fine. Nice to watch on a rainy sunday afternoon but wouldn't want to watch it again.