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Mar 30, 2023
I usually don't bother writing reviews on mal. But I'm doing this because there are no reviews for Swimming Lessons for a Mermaid (SLfaM) and I don't want people to miss out on this amazing read only because there are no reviews and its not ranked high.
TLDR: If you like high school romcoms without a lot of misunderstandings and drama go for it. There is not a lot of romance initially but it is built up gradually very well. After halfway through, it becomes really fluffy and the running gags throughout the series will leave you grinning ear to ear. There are also melancholic parts
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where you see a lot of character development not only for the leads but the supporting characters as well. The character dynamics in this manhwa feel very natural and there are times when you really want to hug the characters. If you are tired of reading traditional shoujo manga with ugly love triangles and handsome guys introduced just to ship the male and female leads, this will be a great read. The only reason I gave this a 9 is because I expected a bit more towards the end and also didn't like how the author handled Woo (the 2nd male lead) at one point.
Summary: Choa (FL) is a mermaid who can't swim. After her family (mother and 4 sisters - all mermaids) gave up on trying to help her, they do her one last favor and give her a pair of legs to live on land. The FL begins her life with her human father and goes to school. However her love for the ocean and her family prevents her from having a good social life and thus leads a "boring life" as a background character. At a swim meet where she was reminiscing about the ocean, she comes across an upbeat classmate, Soo (ML1). Soo happens to be a professional swimmer who gets along well with everyone and is bad at keeping secrets. Soo suddenly takes an interest in Choa and an accident at the school swimming pool reveals her secret. After learning her predicament, Soo promises to keep this a secret and then coerces Choa into letting him teach her. Woo (ML 2), a transfer student recognizes Choa as a "mermaid princess" and reveals that he was a friend from childhood and the two of them used to play often. Now there are 2 students at school who know her secret and Choa is afraid that she will become a display at a museum some day. Despite her resolve to keep everyone on land at arms length, Choa soon learns to open up little by little and decides to achieve her dream of swimming in the ocean by herself.
I don't have enough time to complete the review at the moment. Will do it later when i get the chance.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 16, 2022
MINOR SPOLIERS!!!!!!
Yet another review claiming that Guilty Crown deserves better treatment from the viewers. I'll be bitching about the series for a while and I'll get to as why I think that it deserves better towards the end. This is my very first mecha anime, so I will only be talking about GC and completely ignore the fact that the plot is adapted from many popular series.
To sum it up, the anime follows an average run-of-the-mill self-loathing high schooler who obtains special powers accidentally and gets caught up in a series of events, which goes on to revolutionize the entire world, after he
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helps out his idol, the insanely beautiful and mesmerizing singer Inori, who also happens to be a part of an extremist group, viewed as terrorists by the government.
Like everyone has pointed out, the biggest defect of this series is the plot which is all over the place and filled with holes. The flashbacks are not timed properly, leading to confusion among the viewers. I had to read the wiki sometimes to grasp the events and understand the turning points [I recommend against this]. It is quite apparent that they wanted to add some suspense and plot twists to keep the viewers on their toes, but it came at the cost of the audience not being able to keep up with the story. The series started very strongly and then lost its pace in the middle, where it all fell apart. The second half was a little slow and then suddenly was nearing climax. It was ridiculous to have the MC in the middle of everything [you will understand once you complete it], and he seemed a little out of place. In addition to this, the writers tried to cover many types of genre[Mecha, Action, Romance, Sci-Fi, Superpower, School... just off the top of my head] to increase the appeal over a wide range of audience and it once again backfired. However I am willing to overlook this, as I watch anime for mere enjoyment.
There are simply too many characters and the writers wanted to make everyone, including some villians, look good. While I appreciate the gesture, it is simply not feasible in 22 episodes. In the second half, they desperately tried to develop the main characters by even troding down on some supporting characters, but it didn't look realistic[I know this is fiction, but still...]. Shu was supposed to be a "perfect" human, to quote Inori "heartbreakingly human", but his sudden ascension as the king and the drastic sway in his personality afterwards was not very convincing. For most of the time, it seemed ike Inori was just a pretty face meant to captivate the viewers [I must admit that it worked well along with her singing]. Among the supporting characters, there is the MC's childhood friend who fell in love with the MC(this is quite straightforward and NOT a spoiler), despite the fact that no one, including himself, likes him. I get that a childhood friend is an important character, but it doesn't necessarily mean they harbor romantic feelings every time. Despite what I have said earlier, some of the supporting characters, including Hare[the childhood friend], are actually good. It's a shame we didn't get a lot from them due to the limited time.
The execution of the plot was way off the mark. Characters simply pass by and had to pause the video a couple of times just to assimilate what was going on. Will I watch this series again? HELL YEAH!!! At the risk of contradicting myself, I still stand by the fact Guilty Crown deserves better. First of all, comes the art and music. For an anime released in 2011, the animation is exceptional. The sounds fit the scenes seamlessly and the series overall is visually coherent and the music is pleasing to the ears [by Supercell and EGOIST which includes the following songs: My Dearest, Euterpe, Departures-Anata Ni Okuru Ai No Uta, Release my soul]. A huge props to the production team [Production I.G] for their attention to detail in art, background etc., although the series would have been better appreciated if they used this effort to refine the story.
As to the overall enjoyment, I would give this a 8/10 only because of some episodes. I was drawn to the series due to the unique premise and it did not disappoint for a while. I kinda got lost in the middle, but the series was able to redeem itself magnificently towards the end. The ending of this series is what made me change my entire perception towards GC. Everyone likes a happy ending and this series was able to deliver that phenomenally, although many were disappointed and wanted a different one. But if you ask me, the ending it had was beautiful [which is explained through fanfiction and not mentioned explicitly in the anime; Personally I felt this interpretation was acceptable] and I wouldn't have it any other way. The ending is one of the best, if not THE BEST, and it transcends our interpretation of happy ending. Kudos to the ingenious writers for all the subtleties throughout the series which made it possible[its is quite indiscernible for first time viewers without any external input]. From episode 19, I thought I knew how it was going to end [and I was wrong]. So, naturally I just wanted to complete it and move on. That was when the climax stabbed me in the gut. It all happened too fast. Albeit being not much emotionally invested in the couple, it shook me real bad once I was able to process what I had witnessed.
Guilty Crown is far from perfect and despite all those flaws, has still managed to deliver an enjoyable series. To this day, it stands as a reflection of what it could have been. It had immense potential but squandered it all ultimately. But in no way does it deserve the amount of hate, which could be roughly translated to disappointment of some viewers. If only the execution was perfect, GC would have been a class of its own. The plot is heartbreakingly beyond repair, but I don't see why this can't be worthwhile. You cannot decide if you will like it or not just through some reviews, all of which are biased. Watch it and while you might not like what you see, Guilty Crown will definitely make you cry[Yeah it's quite odd considering this is a happy ending].
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 15, 2022
CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS!! Check the last para if you don't have patience
Like almost every other review, I'll start by comparing this with Saiki K. By looking at the premise and a few episodes in, you can't help but wonder if it is a rip off. But there is still a world of difference between the two. First of all, Saiki is a powerful psychic in an otherwise ordinary world, who frequently uses his powers to manipulate everything around him and still somehow fails to lead an ordinary life. On the other hand, Wang Ling is literally an omnipotent god, whose powers have been limited with
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an amulet (somewhat similar to Saiki's limiters) and manages to stay under the radar except for a handful of situations, which is still a monumental feat given his powers. The female leads are however very similar, they both fall in love with the MC because of their indifference towards the prettiest girl in the school. Maybe it is just me, but I felt that Sun Rong (the female lead of Xian Wang de Richang Shenghuo) had a better reason for falling in love with Wang Ling, when compared to Teruhashi, but still is not compulsive enough for the audience. In the case of Wang Ling, it was actually a little frustrating to watch as he doesn't use his power a lot, much to the disappointment of the fans of this genre.
Coming to the drawbacks of the series, almost everyone must have felt that all the characters, including the MC were pretty bland and had no real depth whatsoever. While this is true, it could be interpreted as if we, the audience, perceive all the scenarios through the eyes of Wang Ling who has little to no emotions because of the said amulet. You will understand what I am talking about once you complete season 1. The overall story is decent, but the execution is not up to the mark and does have some plot holes.
TL DR; However if you like OP MC genre, this could be worth it as long as you have enough patience to complete it. If not for my OCD, I would have never completed this series xD. But I am glad I completed even though I was a little bit confused after it ended. I can't stress this enough, but if you plan to watch it, do it till the end and you wont regret it as much. If not for the last couple of episodes, I would have hesitated to give this series a 6/10. I wont spoil it, but I am sucker for the type of ending this series has.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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