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I started watching Love Live! Superstar!! with the expectation that the smaller cast of 5 would allow more time to explore each character's dreams and worries, strengths and flaws, past failures and present efforts. Exploring their character, in other words.

Well, yes, but actually no.

While each character certainly had more screen time and lines compared to some idol anime, the additional attention was squandered. The anime eventually became formulaic again. Most character development and progression was made in service to the overbearing and repetitive Love Live formula.

The best episodes were the first 4. Each one focused on the ... three starting cast of characters, Kanon, Keke, and Chisato. The in-universe Love Live competition was but the lofty dream of Keke; the fuel that drove her actions and compelled her to push Kanon — who, in turn, pushed Chisato.
This worked excellently in the anime’s favour because the characters, the most interesting part of the anime, were developed. The Love Live premise was used to drive character growth.

As an example (minor spoiler), I want to focus on the first character we’re introduced to, Kanon.
The anime began on a personal level. Kanon was a bright, passionate, and talented singer with a dream of getting into an art program of a prestigious school. Her dream was dashed, however, when crippling stage fright took hold.
Cut back to the present, she lay in bed with a vexed expression. She derided herself for choking when it counted. Her failure coloured her every interaction as she entered the new school year at the aforementioned prestigious school — but as part of the general curriculum.

As the episode went on, we learnt more about her. After a few encounters with the pushy Keke, perhaps answering her enthusiasm with sincerity, Kanon opened up, explaining that she had always been unable to sing at important moments. She had experienced a series of major setbacks.
So she gave up.

I distinctly remember that the first Love Live anime dealt with this exact topic before but I don’t care — I think this type of story is what Love Live is good at. A personal story of encountering repeated failures and still pressing on.
It then came to a heartwarming conclusion; with support from others — like-minded people who will stick with you no matter how long it takes — you can keep trying.

Too bad “The Love Live plot” had to come in eventually.

Student council doesn’t approve? Yes.
School shutting down? You bet.
Student council member joins the group? Of course.
Prolific rival helps them out? Hell yeah.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

This level of predictability would not be so bad if “The Love Live plot” stayed in the background and fuelled character development but no.
Past the halfway point, the tried and tired “Love Live plot” got its Love Live coloured appendages all over the script and every single character arc now had a predictable and rushed end.
Every character struggle must wrap up in 1 episode — 2 episodes tops. Every arc must end with a dramatic resolution, whether or not human behaviour or the laws of physics have to be flagrantly broken.

By the time I got to the grand finale, I realised that I could not care less about their triumph or defeat because my immersion had long since evaporated. The hand of the author(s) was too obvious and I could no longer suspend my disbelief.
Suspension of Disbelief: Gone
The most glaringly obvious influence of “The Love Live plot” are the 2 rival characters, a school idol unit called Sunny Passion. They are a pair of convenient counsellors with an uncanny awareness of the protagonists’ plight. Where there is a void that the main characters cannot fill, they warp into existence, twisting and stretching their personality and abilities into the shape of the void. These vapid husks, masquerading as humans, are lauded as the greatest school idols of the region and just that fact tears down my suspension of disbelief.

I exaggerate. Kanon’s clairvoyance and Keke’s creation magic also ruined my immersion.

I tried to turn off my brain and enjoy the emotional moments, but the eldritch hand of the author(s) is too much to bear. My eyes were opened and I could not look away.
“The Love Live plot” controls the world.

In conclusion, although the first third of Love Live Superstar showed promise, it quickly fell back into a predictable plot that tainted all character development with the same predictability.
If you are a fan of idol anime and can ignore the franchise’s tendency to bend reality, you will probably enjoy this too.

For the rest of us, skip.

*****THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS, albeit mild ones*****
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Aldnoah.Zero 2nd Season was okay. About as okay as the first one.

So in the first episode, the main characters are reintroduced and a little recap plays, explaining how and why the characters are in the current positions. Once that's out of the way, the story runs forward.
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The pacing in here is pretty 'meh'. Plots points are spaced out and built up enough to not seem contrived but only just. I can easily see how one would feel that it's too fast. As an example, one of the major side characters makes an extremely controversial declaration early on. Shortly after, another twist occurs. All the little stories such as this are paced in a similar fashion. They are introduced then tied up soon after, before the plot point can properly establish their significance to the characters involved.

On another note, there are more battles against the Aldnoah-powered Martian mechs compared to the first one. Each presents a unique physics problem for the Earth protagonist, Inaho, to solve. Seriously though, he's the only one that really matters in these fights, everyone else is fodder, albeit less dumb than in the first season. These fights, for me at least, are the main draw of the show, so more is good. In these, whether Martians or Earth(lings?), I find myself rooting for whichever side the protagonist is on. This makes for an interesting internal conflict in me when both protagonists, Slaine and Inaho, are in the same battle. Except the last battle, that one didn't feel exciting enough for a final showdown.

Character development is pretty much non-existent here. No one's personality changes and no one takes an out-of-character action that changes your opinion of them. The Martian protagonist, Slaine, may be considered to have character development if you watched the first season but even then, it isn't explained WHY and HOW anywhere. It just... happens. One other possible character development involves Inaho, in the last episode, and even then, Inaho himself isn't the one doing the developing. And it's not as if you didn't already know that part of his character...

It's evident that the anime is trying to be something great, with plot twists that could have been powerful and the fact that protagonists are on opposing sides but it falls flat and ends up with a lacklustre story with lacklustre characters.

Still, I was able to somewhat push these problems out of my mind so they didn't reduce my enjoyment much despite my gripes with it.

Animation-wise, it's kinda good; shiny robots with shiny bullets, robots zooming about, robots exploding. Nothing terrible, nothing really noteworthy. Just good overall.

The music is okay. Unfortunately, no especially booming, epic music to go with the finale or fights in general, unlike the first season with portions of "aLIEz", the ending song of said season. Instead, it's remixes of "aLIEz" and another song that didn't evoke excitement and was just kind of sat in the background.

Overall, the show tries to be something great but is unable to live up to its ambitions. I DID enjoy watching, if only to find out whether it gets better. The unique Martian mechs are where the fun is at, each being something of a scientific puzzle which, as one who likes physics, I quite enjoyed. If it weren't for that, the score I'm giving would be 1 point lower.

7/10

On a side note, I dislike how the ending song is high-powered and fast in the first 10 seconds then suddenly relaxes. Those 10 seconds were literally (not exaggerating) the only part of the song I like.

***THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS***

Himouto! Umaru-chan was different from what I expected and was strangely compelling.

I don't think it's all my fault that I thought it was a purely comedy anime though, the first few episodes presented itself as such. Even though it's not purely comedy, it's still largely comedy so I guess the initial impression isn't too far off...

However, occasionally, there were strangely realistic parts in between comedic segments. These mostly involve Umaru's brother, Taihei, and show what comes after graduating from school, juxtaposing that lifestyle against that of a student, albeit a lazy one. Maybe it hit closer to home for me but ... at one particular part, I started thinking about my parents and what they might be feeling, coming home from a hard day at work to see their children playing games or lazing around in general. It was probably moments like these that compelled me to continue watching, I think.

Other than that, I found that there weren't very many jokes and that a few of them take a long time to set up before getting to the punchline. For the first half of the season, anyway. Perhaps they weren't even meant to be funny and I missed the point. Maybe they were mostly character introduction and I hardly noticed. Good thing is, the anime got more interesting in the later half in terms of story (what little there is), character development and jokes.

Here's a token mention of music and animation. They're both pretty okay, nothing stellar. I happened to notice, at one point, that one of the character's fingers were wrongly drawn but it wasn't obvious so it's fine. Music blends into the background as people talk and things happen.

Overall, it wasn't much as a slice-of-life or comedy anime at first but a few glints of reality keeps it compelling. Some character development later also makes it interesting.

7/10

***THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS***

The second season of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is great.

*****SPOILERS ALERT*****
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Instead of a number of short story arcs as with the first season, the second season features long story arcs. While everything goes wrong in the first season, the second season shows how the various tragedies can be avoided and finally, the cause of everything that has happened. Through the many deaths in the first season, the characters finally have the means to fight against their grim fates. Throughout the anime, I find myself rooting for the characters and when they succeed, I celebrate with them.

This quite drastically changes the tone of the anime from one where the characters are led down into death and despair to one where the characters are actively resisting death and despair. From tragic to epic. This tonal shift perfectly justifies splitting 50 episodes into two seasons instead of just one long one. It's almost a different anime.

Almost.

The story is not all about "fighting against fate". One important part shows a helpless victim of circumstance and it's great. It shows exactly the events that lead up to forming the malevolent character, how the character changed after living through so much.

The animation and art was improved from the previous season but it's still basically the same art style, simple and cutesy. It gives the moments where people are serious more weight since the characters suddenly become more detailed.

As far as I can tell, the music is the same as the first, it blends into the background and sets the mood. The track titled "Main Theme" is still used and to great effect.

Personally, after seeing so much go wrong for the characters in the first season, it became surprisingly nice to see things go right. I would normally feel that so much going the way of the protagonists is contrived but it somehow just feels right in this case. It may be because I want to see them have some good as a kind of redemption for all the suffering before, maybe.

Additionally, the segment at the end of every episode, the preview for the next episode, was a nice addition. I looked forward to that part whenever I saw the credits. It's fun.

Overall, it's an excellent sequel that wraps up the series neatly.

9/10

********THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS********
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Higurashi no Naku Koro ni starts with a taste of what's to come in the first scene and the opening. Then it's funny but slowly builds up to what the series is famous for. Next episode, things reset but with changes here and there.

In each story arc, that's how it goes. Nothing is wrong, something is wrong, EVERYTHING is wrong. The show sometimes shows a teaser of what is about to go wrong in the story arc but otherwise, it follows this pattern.

A constantly resetting story sounds like it would get pretty boring but the anime has paced it masterfully such that each arc drops little hints as to what causes everything to go wrong, moving the overall story forward. Then, while you're still trying to piece the clues together, another arc would drop another clue that would make you question the legitimacy of the pieces you were given earlier. A new revelation would show you more of the truth behind a disaster, assumptions from before are turned on their heads. It could get confusing but that's what makes finally knowing the truth so much more enticing, compelling me to keep watching.

Visually, it's really 'eh'. By today's standards it'll obviously be considered bad. One particular part with the facial distortion looked more amusing than frightening even. However, I am with a small group of people that say the simplistic visuals actually adds to the show. I find that it lends weight to the moments when people go crazy, with the characters suddenly becoming more detailed.

Music is mostly okay and blends into the background except for two tracks, the opening song, titled the same as the anime, "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni" and the losing-sanity kind of music titled "Main Theme".

Overall, the first season of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is really great.

9/10

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

Charlotte was engaging, with some great, feel-y moments. Three in particular.

First is in episode 7, with a revelation in the very beginning that made me think, "Wow, no punches pulled"

The second is also in episode 7, but towards the end. It was really interesting that....

Err... Turns out I can't avoid spoilers.
***SPOILERS ALERT***
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It was really interesting that Nao was with him the whole time but chose not to interfere until he was about to do permanent damage instead of stopping him while he was terrorising people. Then she made the omurice and he ate it and there were feels.

Third is the flashback to rescuing his Shunsuke. That was pretty epic.
Too bad that episode 12 felt rushed and 13 felt rather anticlimactic. Episode 12 had Shunsuke in despair but it was rectified quickly. The way it was solved felt correct and not contrived but... well... it didn't have time to show how serious the problem was before its resolution. This same episode also had Misa visit her parents, which felt like a hurried attempt to tie the last loose end.

Episode 13 didn't seem to have had enough time to build up to climax. Yuu was losing his mind and memories but he desperately continues clinging on. He collapses a building, most likely killing people with it. He then almost deliberately kills another before stopping himself. Finally, when he steals the ability of the last one, an ability that doesn't really make sense, he is almost killed/captured then suddenly, help arrives for no explicable reason. Yuu wakes up at the hospital and seems unable to remember important things and it's supposed to be bittersweet but wait the episode needs to end here sorry see everyone is happy Fin.

Overall, engaging, enjoyable and has moments when it shines but felt rushed and anticlimactic.

Maybe I'm a sucker for sadness and, as such, ended up giving Angel Beats a higher score despite having a similar problem. It wasn't anticlimactic though so maybe that's why.........

Anyway,
7/10

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS, albeit minor ones
The Love Live movie was kinda good

It had a lot fan service but not in the definition that most people would use. Quite a number of scenes, jokes, lines and details are throwbacks to the previous two seasons, meant to give fans enjoyment when they recognise them. Also, that one snippet very near the beginning with Maki, wow.
The plot was... ...it didn't give a clear direction in where it was going until past the halfway mark. They were working hard but I was wondering why. Actually, we weren't even shown their hard work and jump into the group song ... when they say so. I think that might have contributed to my inability to root for them in the movie.

Most of the songs were seemingly randomly inserted with dances that make no sense in the moment. I even started thinking, after the second random insert, that the creators put those songs in to match the number of songs that there would be in a full season.

Admittedly, the throwbacks were really enjoyable, among other things.

The mysterious person was quite an interesting addition too.

The art was also a great improvement.

Overall, it's good for fans and a pretty bad place to start for the uninitiated.
...I'm kind of torn between rating it 6/10, 7/10. 6/10 for the reasons above, 7/10 because it was enjoyable nonetheless.

I guess I'll settle for 7/10

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

The second season of Love Live is... kinda meh, at least, compared to the first one.

It started out with the same story quality as the first one. It has moments of interesting character development, while also having moments where the plot feels slightly contrived. A few times, characters seem to speak up to give them screen time or to steer the story in the 'right' direction, even if it's somewhat out of character. This particular point seems very prominent, either because I expected more or that's the way it really is. Anyway, no real disappointments here except in episode 9.

Even though things ... seemed to be going fine, disaster befell the protagonists. Faced with overwhelming adversity, they still chose to press on helplessly. There was no hope.

Suddenly, everything was okay. People had helped them even when, logically, their efforts would have been fruitless. Seriously, they could could surely try but it should not have been possible.

It felt to me that they, the writers, wanted to up the stakes exceeding the previous season then realised they couldn't solve it realistically.
It was still enjoyable though, plus, the last few episodes was what sold me on the previous season so I figured there was still hope. Episode 11 was headed in a hopeful direction with heartfelt moments.

Episode 12 was okay up until the rather contrived ending with the overt intention to make people tear. Felt forced and didn't work. After what seemed to be a finale, episode 13 seemed to be to tie up all loose ends on a positive, if somewhat sad, note. Unfortunately, it was dragged out with several scenes and character actions meant to evoke sadness, but felt too forced to do so.

Overall, it started okay and sometimes good at first, but the ending, among other things, was a letdown.
7/10

THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW, albeit minor ones

Tasogare Otome X Amnesia

I first heard of it from a YouTube playlist that I chose for studying. One of the songs caught my ear so I looked it up. Its genres include Horror, among other things, so I did not dare watch it.

After a few months of occasionally thinking of it, I thought about searching "Is [copypasted title] scary?" All the replies said 'no' except one, making me think twice. Around two weeks later, I started watching.

It was good and here's why

Its story started out introducing the characters and set up expectations of the type of anime ... it'll be in a fairly interesting way, making it out to be pretty light hearted. It mostly is. Fun things happen and characters are developed somewhat up to around one-third in. Then the mystery deepens and the female lead gets fleshed out.

The story is well paced throughout, starting with a problem, working towards fixing it up to a climax and then a resolution. Every arc follows this properly and feels neither rushed nor dragged out. The mystery feels normal at first and takes a back seat while the characters are characterised, a part of human nature is explored and key supernatural mechanics are demonstrated. After that, the main plot takes over. Events occur that change the female lead's behaviour and the plot thickens. The plot doesn't have very many twists in it yet tension is maintained as layers are peeled off one at a time.

Two things really stood out to me. I like this episode that, while the plot is going on, it uses a sound, shows an object, followed by the appearance of something. It repeats this a few times such that whenever you hear the sound, you know what's going to appear, triggering a little alarm in your head. Another little touch I really like is in a different episode. Most of the episode is from the first person perspective, creating a very different... feel? [This won't spoil much] When the person stretched and yawned, the edges of the screen flashed white a bit, mimicking the feeling when doing so. I thought that was really cool. When the person gradually started to worry, the visual effect started out subtle, then escalated with each heartbeat, showing the emotions of the person without showing the face. I thought that was pretty neat too.

Unfortunately, after the main plot starts, one of the supporting characters appears a few times but only to encourage the male lead to do the obvious. For someone given so much significance to the plot, her lack of character and involvement is disappointing. The male leads also starts to feel like merely a device to drive the story and be indecisive to keep things interesting.

Something that stands out a lot when watching is the visuals. The show likes to use heavily saturated colours, stark contrasts, extremely dark shadows and spatial distortions in important scenes. When the scene depicts evil, it uses dark colours and distorts the screen.
The opening and ending songs were good stuff but I felt a bit betrayed by the song intro, which both sounded like something great before switching gears, so it ended up just 'good'. The song that introduced me to the anime was great though. "Requiem"

Overall, it was great. Engaging. It is also spooky but not scary: no jumpscares or any spooks that'll stick to you after watching.
8/10

Before proceeding, I'd like to say that I've always thought that all the idol group type of anime were where people came up with a diverse cast of characters with the sole purpose of appealing to as many people as possible. In the process of doing so, they would assign a popular archetype to each character and stick to it, creating one-dimensional characters. As long as each character played their archetype correctly, they hope to sell the songs; using the anime as something of an advertisement. With this belief that companies wouldn't mind haphazardly putting their intellectual property on as many mediums as possible for ... promotion (as with a number of Live Action, Anime, Manga adaptions), I consciously avoided idol group type anime.

With that said,

Love Live was actually very entertaining with a few emotional turns. The main-est of the main characters, Honoka, was refreshing to watch and rather than being just a fully happy character for no reason, there is background to it. Her enthusiasm serves a very important role in driving the story forward. The other characters, though all motivated for different reasons, were ultimately pushed to join the group because of Honoka's energy, determination and earnest.

Each main character is given sufficient screen time to properly show more than just their surface personalities. You don't get to see very far into their background outside of the initial trio but every character gets development.
The second last episode was especially great as it resonated with me personally. And the last episode was, well, fitting. Despite having mostly predicted it, it had a happy kind of emotional impact.

Pacing was good. Background music was background music (I kinda liked the sad one). The songs were good, especially with lyrics. Or rather, it doesn't have impact without the lyrics. The songs weren't initially to my tastes but the lyrics fit the moment so well, I ended up liking them regardless.

Overall, it's great. Would recommend.
9/10

(Also, I think the reason my thoughts on Love Live is this comprehensive is because it subverted a long held belief that idol group anime can't be good)