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Warning: These side-stories (SS), shouldn't be read without having read the main series.
SS1 should be seen only after you read vol13, whereas SS2's after vol16.

Overall these SS's where a nice surprise, the main series suffers a bit at some parts with dragged out sequences of the plot (mostly on the magic side), something not present here due to the SS narrative structure of tackling more individual short stories that end up connecting which each other and can even complement some aspects of the main series's plot.

I found SS1 more focused and interesting than SS2, 1st has way less chapters and bigger and more stories ... focused, with the highlight being the foundation of GROUP, which plays a huge part on vol15 and so forward.

SS2 had too many individual chapters, some chapters interconnecting over a larger plot of the existence of gemstones and different factions fighting for it, alot of debuts for cast that then makes major appearences later on New Testament.
There were some highs, but also more than enough random and boring mini-plots (like the ninja's) that I couldnt care less about.

In the end, if you are a fan of the series, you should read both, just keep in mind SS2 will be slower to digest, and that might bring down the enjoyment with these SS's in the end.

Everything said, still had lots of fun reading, I would still give this a 9, more in detail, a 8.6 would suit for both of these (SS1 was at least a 9.0 for me, but had SS2 bring down the sccore).

DAL (Date a Live) has a very silly premise, we all have to agree that the concept is fairly unrealistic and dumb if you force yourself to compare it to reality, BUT I m expecting that anyone already knowledgeable of the harem genre can bypass such trivial matters.
I have read my fair share of harem light novels, what I expect the most out of them is pure enjoyment, silly comedy and the wish fulfillement from being surround by so many cuties!
If one wants to write a sucessfull harem series, the criteria above has to be meet, the plot can suffer a bit here and there, ... but as long you have a interesting cast of girls (aka harem) and alot scenes that just put a smile on your face, helping you forget that rough day we all have from time to time, checkmate, you have a good harem and you are set for some fun.

I dont reccomend reading harems or seeing harem series, to anyone looking for something serious, it is common sense, you need to turn of your brain while enjoying harem, otherwise you may end criticizing alot of the weird situations the creators came with.

DAL is the definition of a great harem! Now I will go over and explain why such praise in a minute, but first I want so shed some context.
I have seen both seasons in 2014 and at the time I deeply enjoyed them but never regarded the series as anything more than great art design and some really cute moments (Tohka <3), I had almost no hype coming towards the series and my only hyped was based on some spoilers I had for volumes 10-11 & 16-18, season 2 ended at volume 7 btw.
And before I forget, this has to be the LN with some of the best designs for each character, it fits right in terms of charm, cuteness, moe but also really cool/sexy designs like D. Tokha and Nia. Art and illustrations are to be praised on DAL, seeing the newer covers and illustrations as you progress is absolute eye candy.

Currently there are 18 volumes out, 17 (fan) translated in english, with vol18 only having some short summary on facebook.
The basis of which I m writting this review is having read all the 17 volumes and spoiling myself with the summary of volume 18.

I only came to the series expecting to have some fun time, I expected to have also to go through some more tedious moments, and while they exist, as the plot further progressed, the harem got bigger, I would find myself having more and more fun reading it! The cast was only enjoyable at first, but soon enough, it started to grown on me, I found myself surprised with how good the harem cast came to be and this carried me over for the most part, it made me care for each Spirit enough, and it made me want to keep reading more, discovering new spirits, and finding the source of everything... I can now surely confide that the plot on DAL is far from what I expected, what begins in a "generic range" later on growns to scales you couldnt previously foresee, some hints where there from the beginning (mainly Kurumi's goals), the plot gets very tense later on. The creator done his work, from the beggining he had this idea, the more you read the more you catch up to what is really going on, yet anyone going onto this series with mindset of reading some fun harem will get shocked by later developments!
This is a clear example of a writter that evolves with his writting and while still in the range of what is an harem, manages improve the story overtime.

Many of the volumes end in cliffhangers that make you excited to pick the next volume and start reading, across all the LNs I have read I think it is safe to assume DAL is the one with the most cliffhangers, and they are used rather alot.
You heard it, DAL is a great harem, but it also has a great plot if you stick with it long enough! (there is even time travel arcs done right)
Be prepared for some really genuine moving moments, a good number of plot-twists and a bunch of mindfucks that will leave you nuts, not believing the plot got that good... it gets rather dark way more than you would at first believe, and this last vol18 out, only fuels the despair further. O.O


Reading Vol 1 was alot of fun, it is the first volume so are in way experiencing it for the first time, at this point I wanted to read the LN as fast as possible so I could get over to vol7 and beyond (enjoyed that arc alot in S2), what I considered the "juicy" stuff, the new content yet to adapt!
While reading this series is far from boring, it has to be said that it starts slowly, as most plots, in the beggining since the harem isnt that big yet and the plot has yet to shed its true colors, you wont see the synergy between all the girls until later on.
I myself started to really enjoy DAL alot with vol.6, vol.3 was a nice tease though, but if I have to pick favorites, definitly vol.7, 11, 15 & 16-17 are my choices.
Wont go further on each of those in the review, that would be spoilers and I actually given alot of my toughts for each of them on the forums.

For this last segment I m going to focus on the cast, mainly the harem.
First the bad, the protagonist is easily average at best and while you can at many points be in sync with him, by how good this harem gets in time, my only complain for characters would be that Shidou did deserved to be a bit more likeable. He does grow a bit in development, and there are more than enough secrets to be unveiled about him, but and being honest and subjective here, I will have to compare across the medium and in other mediums, Issei from DxD and Arata from Trinity Seven are harem MCs that broke the mold and at many times you can just enjoy these series alot already solely from the enjoyment from seeing both of these dudes going in their pervert ways.

I m not giving Shidou the shits, he has alot of cool moments, but he isnt far from the most generic harem MCs.
What makes this series so great (aside the surprising plotline first ocurring on the backstage) is the harem cast itself, mostly composed of Spirits.
Suffice to say a good harem has something to suit all kinds of tastes, and DAL delivers over and over again.
My favorites (no order) are, Tohka, Origami, Miku, Natsumi and Kurumi.

I adore Tokha's innocent side, she is a big eater, far aware of her own charms, which leads to some very cute moments, and some very Tohka's like moments too. (I wouldnt mind being stepped over by Dark Tohka!)
Yoshino she that cute shy little girl that wants to try her best an be happy everyone (probably my less favorable but still held in high regards).

Kotori the main tsundere imouto delivers some rather high quality moments here and there (always got some good laughs whenever she has to somehow punish Kannazuki, which is by no means a solution since he is major masochist and could stand all day long being Kotori's living chair, basked only in the purest of the pleasures, in short he is the biggest pervert on the series).
Mana is the other imouto, avoiding spoilers, while not exactly in the harem herself she was at the time a great addiction to the cast and seeing her, Kotori and Shidou bickering about makes for some of the most tender family moments by far!
I just wish she stopped decapitating best girl, worst spirit ojou-sama everytime they both meet eachother..

Kurumi... she was always that character that marked for being different vs the others, but I never fancied her as much as alot of the fanbase seems to do. Reading the LN (and specially later volumes) reveals alot of stuff about her that easily make her the most complex character in the series, disguised as a cold murder/avenger that also likes to tease alot, the truth is that this actually refined ojou-sama has a alot of cute points about her, being the worst spirit, and still surprisingly, the most gente one... her goals are at the core of the series plot.
According to the writter, the first character he envisioned for the series was Kurumi, and it makes sense.
If you can read volume 16 and not truly fall in love for such best girl material, then you are being heartless.

Miku is the realization of some really pervy yet pure desires of mine, I love yuri... this girl goes straight for Shidou without reserve and in the process tries to lewd out the whole female cast!! (also she is a Diva, and Shidou is her "Darling")
While tsun-tsun Miku was my favorite part, she still doesnt disappoint (found her more honest and eager/childish side also very adorable), if I was Shidou, I would tremble (but in joy) by the ultimate triple tag team that is Miku/Origami/Nia ready to hatch some plot to get Shidou's chastity for good! A much in each harem, but a female MC going for both sides?! Shameless and very enjoyable, does it exist a more powerfull team combo?! These girls will strip you of your panties in a heartbeat, much to the dismay of the rest of the harem,

Natsumi, I disliked her a bit at first, but she does grown on you (ALOT), I personally think she and Yoshino have a great vibe together. She has quite some inferioty complex, and a really vivid imagination, when she goes full negative, it is fun to read and you just want to hug her! I can understand Miku's favorite aside Darling being Natsumi, sadly for Natsumi, Miku batteries needs lots of recharging~~
Kaguya and Yuzuru at first seemed those 2 characters that I would end up liking the less out of the harem, but they do complement eachother rather very very well, their shenanigans never get old, I love their way of talking and their fierce nature.
Complement. You couldn't ask for better twins in an harem setting (also one of the most arousing scenes involves both licking an ice cream together >//<).

Origami was the dull character for me at first, that I hated at parts (in particular volume 4) but that totally "inversed" itself for me, talking about her in detail would be full spoilers, you just need to know she is the protagonist of one of the better arcs (10-11).
Her past will come clear for you, she undergoes ALOT of plot development and I just ended up cheering for her alot later on, always a leecher, she is very smart but also holder of some rather dubious skills, you will she her coming, same face expression, like a doll, and in a heartbeat she will push you down and be ready for baby making!
Disgard all kind of common sense and you will come to accept her quite well, the most divine and devilish girl, and when drunk her cuteness growns to really really dangerous levels. Thread carefull with this girl on the block, you are food, the prey, the stalking predator will soon come, kiss your innocent goodbye~~

Mukuro is Mukuro, at the point she is introduced you cant just have that much feedback about her versus others, but she didnt fail at making me care for her, "Mukuro Family" so sweet, if there are times DAL can give you some rather pure and fuzzy feels... I also came to like alot her rather oldish way of speaking, even if it made it harder to understand, she has alot of charms, like all. Having her proclaim she wanted to enter into a flesh slave covenant with Nushi-sama, was the point I dropped my guard (LMAOed lots) and fully accepted Muku's papers to officially enrol into the harem!

Last but also rather unique is Nia, she dresses like a Sister in her Astral Dress form, yet this beautifull onee-sama (despite being washboard like) behaves mostly like an old man would, and so the boy suffers quite alot at the end to this (in)mature lady. Her arc had also one of the most shocking bone-shattering torture descriptions...

I think I covered everyone I should, I didnt the main villain, I leave that yourself to find out, let me just tell, everything is solely a game, when he gets serious, say goodbye to those peaceful times, you either go to war or you die, over and over again. You will never be able to understand the villain, he exists outside common sense and that just makes him more unpreditable.
(sometimes I genuinly enjoy Ellen, others I just want her to go burn in hell, also this is me trying to avoid extreme language on the review)

That should speak volumes for the quality and diversity of the main cast here.
If you want to chill out, have some good time, watch a series grown on you, surprise you over and over, with some rather drastic tone shifts that leave you speechless, Date a Live is more than recomended, it was a surprise for me but I can easily call it one of all time's best harem series. (I read all 17 volumes in 42 days)
Just hope the anime adapts enough for people to see more of its rather epic scope.
While I gave 9 in enjoyment, at times it can be considered a 10, same for plot and cast. Only way art could be 11 was if this LN packed 5x more pics, but it is the standard flair in LNs, with the added quality in drawing you rarely see.

Warning for all Kurumi lovers, if you are an anime watcher, you havent seen the full charms on display, real Kurumi later on, is best girl material.
Unlike the anime versions so far, the number of girls I could call best girls is far too high, and for me, on an harem that is a major plus, and signals that you are indeed in the presence of a great harem (currently at the climax also, will be missed).

9.2/10 = 9

After putting the manga on hold for an year I decided to came back and finish it, and I must say I m very pleased in making this choice, but also sadened to have finish the last chapter, seeing where it could have gone too... it would have been amazing, but due to situations the mangaka cancelled the manga after hiatus.

Why do I care, to even write this? Because this is a gem among yuri reads.
There is alot of yuri, yet the story doesnt rely on it solely to grab the viewers attention.
Neither is Suou and Creo the only pair that should be mentionated, as ... characters like Kiki and Urara really became very amusing to see, on later chapters the story presents even more unique fellas.
But Suou x Creo and Kiki x Urara were the biggest joy I had reading Gurenki.
Their relationship and behavior, ranged from the extremely cute Suou, the funny Kiki, and the cool and powerfull Creo, which even leads into some fights, in a scale never seen before on a yuri manga, kinda epic, yes a yuri that screams EPIC, such is Gurenki.

The art was very good, minor Creo's huge racket that was unbelieveble too big.
Cute and expressive faces, nice background, magic effects and cool fighting scenes, the art is a treat once you get used to it.
And the yuri scenes can make you even blush. <//<

Storywise, you can count on some very enjoyable and unexpected twists, with really saddening and brutal moments, the direction the plot takes can positively surprise you at times.
I felt the pacing was great too, a story that never got boring to read, and characters that developed accordingly with it.

Gurenki is a very charming and engaging read, but the biggest flaw is that it ended prematurely, with so many promises of even more greatness, never to be drawn.
The cliffhanger about Kiki and Urara only made me feel like wanting to read more too, since in a way at least Creo and Suou plotline gets developed to a more decent (still halted) outcome, than Kiki's and Urara's.

Such premature death to a manga, clearly affects the score, since otherwise it would be a must read to everyone that likes action/yuri.

Despite that, I still consider Gurenki worthy of your time, if you like yuri, you can read this, but understand that you wont reach any kind of conclusion taht will give you pure joy, but at least reading the omake extra chapter after ch10 should help in such regards, making the end of chapter 10 less negative. It is not that it ends badly, it is jus that it ends with obvious intentions of continuing on a possible chapter 11! Takes this to mind, and decide for yourself.

Yuri has potential to be so much more than just yuri, and Gurenki is the living proof of such concept, dont miss it, if you are up to a unique and refreshing yuri read.

So what can you expect from this, a picture drama?
The usual, just like every other PD, it mainly consists of still frame pictures with VA (voice acting), on which the art will be usually better.
Long story short, episode 1 was boring, it was mainly the little guys commenting some scenes from the beggining of the series, average at best most of the times.
Thank god, episode 2 changed its focus, with Zakuro and the rest of the girls providing some good art :3, while we get some more generic but entertaining tropes going on.
I would score 5 to the first episode, and a 7 to the ... second, joining it, 6.

So who should watch this.
People that completed the series (or finished more than half of it, you can even see these PD and still not having completed the anime), and enjoyed it enough, that seeing still images and VA from the cast, with some bickering, would provide enjoyment for you.
For the rest I wouldnt recomend it, there is really nothing revelant going on, if you want to get just a bit more from the series, whatever it maybe, or are just a completionist, you should see it then, the rest of you guys, stay way from it.

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, "Your Lie in April".

I will be brief here.
It has been awhile since I have seen an anime that connected with me this much. I teared alot, some people use the word overrated too much when talking about the anime, I woudnt necessarily disagree, but calling it cheap, something that appeals to mass-media but lacks in content and message... while an opinion, is one that I will have to disagree with.

There were moments it felt a bit forced, since the foreshadowing for the main plot can get annoying, but look past those flawns, and you will find a work of ... art, that is one of the best examples in making good use of big budget for sound and animation.
Granted those will be the only 10's the anime will get from me, but their sure deserve all the praise, and it feels like many people dont give it much credit. Animation can be viewed as decoration, but the music is fundamental in making a connecting with the viewer and the series, and both musical performance and background sound were at its finest here, it is chilling and emotive. And be honest having a good animation and proper colours add in levels of immersion.

Getting back to being predictable, outside a certain plot-line, the story does a great job, it felt realistic but interesting for the most part, despite some people disliking how certain parts of the drama were portrayed (as not being a truthful projection of the real problem), I didnt felt it was something negative, there was enough realism for me already, and well executed. I would resume the story to the journey of Kousei in reuniting with music, his future as a musician.
Is music something that only brings him pain over and over again, or something more? A way for him to break out of his shell...
Most of the characters where development enough for them to be likeable and make an impact (even the minor ones like Emi or Nagi), this is specially true for Kousei, IMO the best character of the series, some would go with Kaori but while I did like her alot, at times she felt more like a tool to move the plot, instead of just being there, getting dragged around with all the drama, making part of the plot.
And there is ALOT of drama here, I dont even consider Shigatsu a romantic story, the drama completely overshadowed any possible romance in it. Is that a bad thing?
Depends, what were really your expectations for the series, if you are thinking about a romcom with lots of romance development, I will warn you, soon enough, you will be disappointed, and there were some more moments I was hyping for that never came to happen. See the anime, and look to the cover on MAL, and tell me that you weren't disappointed with the lack of that, violin and the piano brought together...

Music as to appeal to you, the melody has to ring, to make a click in there, an harmony in it, that connects to you, and without words tells you something words alone could never conceive, something fierce and more profound.
And like everything there are highs and low in the music, and thus the same is for Shigatsu, I would have to go with clearer spoilers to express to better express the lows Shigatsu suffered from.
The anime is an example of the things I admire the most with music, like a love letter for people that love music... it is like before a big orchestra performance, at the moment the audience is silent and eagerly waiting for you to break that silence and merge themselves in a different "moment in time", Kousei manages it, no words will be enough, perhaps magic, you have to experience it to understand, and Shigatsu delivers it alot.
Some performances made me feel such a chill that gave me goosebumps, Kousei is a shy boy, and words arent his strongest suit, but with music, he created a language of his own to communicate, with more sincerity and truthfulness than his words alone could ever attain.
In the end music represents for me, freedom, your emotions running free, beautiful, wild and emotive, and that is Kaori for you. She is a being that truly can only exist at the Spring, the spring of ones life, and it is while there, that she shines, but like everything Spring isnt eternal, it is part of a cycle, and until the next one cames, you just have to hang on, survive, learn how to live till its comes again for you.

So the best way to enjoy the anime, the best mindset would be, dont try too hard to analize every little detail here, see it with a free mind, without wanting to see specific scenes playing in your head, coming to fruition. If you do it, there is a memorable work here for you.

"You exist in Spring" and nothing else can compare to it.

Pretty much your usual fanservice specials but I was taken by surprise it how they built the "unseen foreshadowing" to its last episode! First time I actually seen specials with a plotline. It is short so it is really easy to see, and it actually manages to invokes bits of emotions with special 6, so if you enjoyed the series, you may as well see this.
Gotta be said, I have seen the anime awhile ago, and this just made me relieve some feelings, like the MC's sister being dead... it really made me want to see more of the story progressing, but it would be ... an miracle if that were to happen.

(updated 17/04)

It has been years since my last contact with the series, I had first seen both anime, had alot of fun doing so, since the cast had alot of charm, but then, the usual LN anime adaptation situation happens, and after almost 3 years, the LNs are finally available to read in english!

Have you seen the anime before, enjoyed it? Then you just read these, you will probably still remenber bits of the story so most twists wont came as such... well dont worry about that, because now that I have readed enough, there is alot of material that wasnt adapted to the anime, ... or that they just decided to instead of following that outcome, to go in a different direction, so you will be reading and thinking I dont remenber this part!
So rejoice because if you have only seen the anime, you have missed alot of great material, like the full coverage of the arcade in vol 2-3, and trust me some more pretty signifcant stuff.
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Ayamu is how you remenber him, a former human-now-zombie with loli-ponytail-twintail affections that constantly comments about his current predicaments sometimes mocking himself, others having his usual delusional lews stuff going on, a pervert, "not as much pervert as Orito", but still, your lewd likeable main lead. He finds himself constantly re-imagining Yuu (Eucliwood) words to suit his imouto fantasies.
Yuu, the necromancer that saved his life, burdened with some weighty powers, the root of her great hardships (the origin of most of the misfortunes that befall to our leads), these are soo burdersome to the point she has to keep things in check, by avoiding her emotions and trying to remain cold and unaffected, which may lead some to think she has a bitter personality, but in true she is the most kindest person around, caring alot for Ayamu and the rest of the party.
Haruna, easily teased multiple times by our zombie, never waiting when knocking on the door of her room, trying to see her embarassing moments (it kinda becames a joke, that never gets old). The cute lively Haruna is a pompous masou shoujo (yes masou,not mahou) with an unrivalled genious in whatever she does, when she puts effort into it, likewise unbeatabled with pouring out the most eccentric and quirky refereences you will find, she is definitly a wild one, much due to her cheerfullness, the oddball of the series, there is never a dull moment with her around (neither soundless).
Her ahoge is very cute, and the best at signalling her current mood, when she is not being truthfull, no worries, there is always that lil ahoge bouncing around to speak volumes for her embarassament, or happiness, which all mighty lofty Haruna of course cant always expose, a too self-respecting Haruna, an adorable Haruna!!


Seraphim... get used to the frequent insult assault from the pridefull Sera mostly befalling on Ayamu, and his newly "fond" crossdressing tendencies, there is so much love, and distastefullness from here, that quotting "You little piece of shit, I knew you were disgusting, but seeing you this closely, you truly are outrageously gross and revolting, please get away from me and die! But first try out this food." The funny thing is her most powerfull weapon is her amazing cooking skills which she is proud to show time and time again, much for the grief of our hero that has to try and eat it all, before it melts the whole table!!
Sera-chan is your "conventional" vampire ninja with all the style and coolness you could expect from a samurai, plus alot of tsun tsun (and some good dere dere too), she is every thing you would expect from the combination of vampire + ninja, with a very luxurious and voluptuous body, to boot it up nicely.
We all know Ayamu is more in favor of "smaller hills", but faced with the richfulness truly of Sera's, Ayamu isnt indifferent, since there is just too much bountifulness on those nice curves and cleavage for him to avoid beinga looker, and thank god he is a zombie, so Sera can target practice in all she wants, until her heart is contented with. She also supposedly shares a relation ship of servant-master with Ayamu, so that is way she tends focus all of her desires and emotions on Ayamu, but he is a zombie, so he can live with it.

From the air-headed tomboyish Yuki or "Tomonori", Haruna's new aprentice, to the refined and fierce Sarasvati, one of Sera's boss, and the owner and true lover and workshipper of Ayamu's "shiny nicely made butt", they are also great addictions on ther own to the harem. Not to mention Kyouko, the one responsible for the status of the main lead, a tricky devlish one, that cames to make amends with her previous self later on.
There is also alot more of Chris, since the anime skipped many of the original content.
As such there is alot of different characters and types for you to enjoy your time while reading, and alot of teasing stuff too.

"That ring was made for that cute girl there to contain her powers", spits out blood like a man in a terminal disease phase, "dammit, my doctor told me I should'nt call little girls cute"...
Like I mentioned, there is a plentiul of unique cast, and not all are females so dont worry.
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It all works very well in providing enjoyment, the cast may seem generic but each as its own stuff going, that adds laywers of deepness to them, it is your generic harem story with a spin of death, action, romcom, zombies, vampire ninjas and crazy mahou shoujo weirdness going about, on paper it may seem weird and trivial, but it just works right. There is not much reflection to take from this reading, dont rationalize, just let yourself indulge in the amusing and for the most part laid-back narrative, and you will get your time valued by the end.
The interaction between the characters is what will keep you compelled, since there is no oustanding story or plot going (despite some great twists and turns that really pick the story up when it mostly is needed).
Thus Ayumu is the key in bringing everything together, the obvious source of the harem, he had to be different from your usual shallow romcom harem lead, and while he shares some troupes, it is not usual to see one like him.


The pacing at first surprised me, since volume 1 cover half of season 1, but then volume 2 and 3 cover the rest of season 1, so while most stuff from the first volume was adapted with detail, with volume 2, there will be alot of new stuff looking forward to, from this point on, the pacing wasnt bad either.
There is alot of different stuff going on in each volume and I have fully readed four of them so far, so like any story, as its ups and downs.
I m not trashing the anime, yes it diverges from time to time, but most of the end goals are the same, and the anime has a plus, Ayumu is a bit more funnier there, his comments are more whimsical, the voice acting helps bringing more life to his dialogue, and that helps later on when reading the Light Novel, since you can have more feedback of own Ayamu badmouths and makes fun and a satire of his current predicaments.
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So Kore wa Zombie desu ka? is a must read, all the more if you have seen and enjoyed the anime, and if yo never seen the anime, you could give the source material a try, but if you find it hard to get a better picture of the mood, or the cast, give the anime a try first, and it will do wonders henceforth.
I will keep updating the review since there is no other review yet, as I dive further into the LN.

Absolute Duo is another of those anime that aims to capture people with cute art, to make a good first impression but it then fails to deliver in the development of the cast, the story and in keeping quality in check.
Despite being generic I could see some potential in the cast and in the story, it is a pity they failed to bring it together here. Starting the anime hinting to the ending, and then having a weak generic conclusion doesnt cames in favor.

I mentionated I liked the designs for the female cast, I like them cute, and they were for the most part cute, ... Julie, Tomoe and Lilith definitly had some really enjoyable cute designs, so I really wanted to like the anime way more. The OP and ED were even decent, better than what I expected for your usual generic harem. Though it was weird to have that Torou going berserk scene on the OP, getting a bit of hype to it, and then nothing of that sorts does occur.
I cited quality check because despite its dullest moments, maratooning it provide to be fun to watch at diverse occasions, and there is where I see the potential it had, just to see it crushed with an extremely predictable moment soon after, yes I m expecting most anime to use a certain handfull of cliches and tropes, but this one does use more than your average! Some where enjoyable, most were okay, and some were "really, are you seriously going that road?!"

The characters felt very empty inside, Torou and Julie where the only ones with backstory to it, but its use was so bland and not impactfull, that not having it wouldnt had made any difference. One dimensional characters can be enjoyable but, these lack the deep needed to make me care for them just a little bit, so I never felt anything was really at stake or was emotionaly invested, "the MC is full of wounds, so what?!", that kinda of thing. The revenge theme is overused in anime, but well pulled out it can be something to look forward, but again its use here was just to conect Julie and Torou a bit more, and the overall execution failed, so it was more wasted potential, and again the anime hints to stuff that happened in the past but never ever explains it, I understand it was adapted from the LN, and it maybe like that in the LN, but you never get a resolution of these, you just know something happened, and get stucked it with, it felt like something you just paste to add to it, without any care.
If this was a 2 cour anime, and the second half was to came later, and adapt more material that would be a nice way to built up the plot to something more meaningfull, but this is not the occasion.

I still enjoyed it, but that is me, I manage to even like generic harem, if it doesnt suck too much, and has cute girls!! The action could be better thought, but it wasnt like I was forcing myself to watch it just to finish the anime, if I had seen this while airing, I would possible had found it less enjoyable, but seeing it whenever you want makes some of its faults more easy to tolerate.

So it was a fine anime, it is nothing I would really reccomend to people with something to watch, or newcomers to the medium, but if you have some dead time and are bored, you will be way less bored watching the anime.
There are alot generic harems outhere, but almost all of them I have enjoyed more than Absolute Duo, and this had hidden potential to reach to the quality of those others (which for themselves isnt such a great one, for starters).
It was almost your good-to-watch average show, but it couldnt be more than a pleasant to-watch-and-conclude anime. Unremarkeable. But it is not like you get cancer watching it, just turn your brain a bit more than you do for the usual harem stuff.
So overall 6.4.

I came to read this after the anime movie, left me with mixed feelings, the setting was very different and interesting for your usual romantic story, but the pacing of the movie didnt let the story get the needed development for it to become something more.

Enters the manga, 2 years after the movie was released.
The plotline didnt change much from the movie, but was extend enough, there is alot more development for the beggining, before Mikako goes into space, there are some new faces and situations, but all in all it follows the anime story, uses its potential to the fullest and manages to give ... an ending, that was way more meaningfull for the romance. It expands from where the original ended, going further, to give a much better sense of conclusion than the original ever managed to.
If you are new to the story, with the manga, I believe it wont be as meaningfull, as if you had seen the movie, but it will definitly be very much worthy if those hours you put on reading it.

Also I enjoyed the cast way more with the manga, they felt more developed and well based, as humans, they were more believeable, so you kinda connect to their personal stories and the romance, much better. Thus there were some really emotional scenes, to which the art of the manga really helps to delvier
The art was also a good improvement!! The designs look way better.
It is simple, yet powerfully conveys the message the story pretend to transmit.

So I came to read it biased from what I thought of the movie, and I did enjoyed it greatly. (I still think you will enjoy the manga, you dont need to see the movie first for that)

It is kinda rare to find an adaptation that surpasses the original material, but here, it happened, and I am really glad for that! The mangaka picked the series and gave it its final touch, soo much needed to fulfill the potential the anime had left to be explored. Truly a good example of how great, adaptations can be.
An unpolished gem, that now shines much brighter!

Ragnarock City is something unique, that I have to give to the mangaka, is that bad thing? I will let you judge it for yourself after this review.

For starters the story sucks, we may even argue it doesnt have one.
MC (Reichieru) arrives to a city (Ragnarok) where science and magic go hand in hand, so they say, but the manga never dwelved into this, the city itself, is actually an interesting setting never well explored...
Aliens, robots and humans living together, bland, but what I found kinda neat is how they explain almost every girl being naked, by showing of their "goodies" they prove that they ... are not aliens, or robots (or half robots), and that allows them to differienciate from the rest of its population... stop and think about it, it does seems a kinda of interesting topic, "with legs to grow".
Imagine a world where there is soo much mischieve, races trying to sell and get upmost of others, a society of lies and secretism were the most common thing is having a guy you though you knew but then come again, and he never was what you though he would be... Simply put being naked is the proof you are being honest about what you are, for a manga of this nature, I think the mangaka created some potential with the topic, but if only the story was better.
I suppose being naked may come with benefits, again never dwelved into, but at least there are some reason for all the naked bodies circling around.
Just dont expect anything of the story, in short, it is like random episodic chapters of how the MC is living and adapting to the city, trying to hide the secret behind her true race, but these really arent interesting, due to the fact they are too short, plot development is almost zero, many situations happen, each only with a few pages to develop.

And while a tiny bit better, the cast is really forgetable, the lenght of the manga combinated with the story doesnt allow for anything else.
You wont hate the characters but neither you will love them... it would be interesting if this had became a series, instead of a one-shot, that could had given the time for creating a better, more developed cast.
Totally indifferent, couldnt care less...

Now what you wont be indifferent to is the bodies, the faces, the gorgeous art and the full colour!!
This is the selling point of the manga, despite being old, the art is still just great, with that nice classic feel to it, that doesnt detract from the experience.
This is the reason you will be giving this manga a try, the beautifull art, and while at it, you will probably be fooled, you may think, "how nice, good art, now I really want to see all those H-scenes..." The maximum expoent you have of these, if you can call it so, while in the chapters, is a girl doing body massage to the MC, and that only goes by like 2-3 pages, and doesnt lead to anything pervert, at least on-screen.
So yeah that is a downer, but still there is always the gallery after the chapters with some nice shots (fappable for sure).
The art makes up for it, I guarantee it, you will have many stuff to keep your eyes busy on, while reading the manga~~

That is the major part of the enjoyment you will get, dont expect anything more, just beautifull nude art, with some nice teases, here and there (and by the end), and a city with a setting that had alot of potential left to explore. It was a pleasent experience all summed up.

Thus while I give it a 5, I would reccomend the manga to anyone with the right mindset to enjoy it. That is, to see some really beautiful nude art and maybe by the end get some gorgeous fap material.
Nothing else.
Either you are a full time pervert, or just a part-time one at that like me, if you want some a full color manga with some nice nudism, just to appreciate it by what it is, look no further.