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It may seem pointless to write a review of this show four years after it came out, but what the hell.

I started watching this show for two reasons: 1. I found the dub on Hulu and I like having something playing in the background while playing video games; 2. I was given the impression that this would be a show that was a straight 12 episodes of a tournament arc with cool fights. I was severely mislead and disappointed

Story 4/10: Where to begin? I already mentioned how I was set up for disappointment with this series, but I can't stress enough how this just ... turned out to be such a dumpster fire. We start by getting introduced to the male lead, Ikki, the "worst" student at the academy, and the female lead, Stella, who is a princess and top-ranked fighter. After a chance encounter in a dorm room, they settle a nudity-centered misunderstanding in a practice match. Worst guy vs. top girl? How unfair of a match up that they put her against an anime protagonist. This is where the series starts going downhill because out of the countless tournament matches that these two are put in after this, only maybe only three last more than a minute: first being Ikki's first match, second not even being a match in the tournament, and the third being fought by Ikki's sister (which turned out to be the greatest fight of the series and barely had plot relevance).

All of the time that should have been spent on the fights was instead given to the most awkward, horny, juvenile, poorly written romance between the two main characters. My biggest example of this would be what would normally be flagged as a spoiler for any other show, but not this one: in the middle of the series Ikki and Stella get assigned their next opponents at the same time and they are each given a member of the student council, followed by a vague introduction scene of the two members saying how Ikki and Stella won't stand a chance against them. Any other show would have this introduce the increasingly powerful student council member arc...instead the next episodes starts with the announcer saying how Ikki and Stella both just won their matches and the student council becomes irrelevant because they're all friends now since they're so strong.

Art 8/10: Here is the other major disappointment for this series, the art. The animation around the weapons and magic in this series is surprisingly wonderful, which only adds to how unfortunate it is that this show is mislabeled as an action series.

Sound 7/10: Never any real opinions on this category for shows that aren't music focused series. No outstanding soundtrack, but my ears didn't bleed, so seven.

Character 2/10: These characters might just be a little worse than generic anime characters. Ikki is flagged as a F-rank student because his hidden abilities are things that the school doesn't measure, so that's enough for every character to suddenly defer to him as the go-to for all problem solving and only hope for beating strong opponents. As for his actual character, it's almost as if the writers made him and said "look, our male lead drinks his respect women juice!" except behind the scenes they didn't actually want to buy the name brand juice and got the generic brand that's more sugar than anything else. Stella was being built-up to be this hard working, strong, A-rank student, so naturally she just starts thirsting after the person with the worst reputation in the school in the most virgin way because he beat her in their first fight. Throw in an almost as thirsty sister and you have a middle school level rivalry with equally as mature insults. Alice, an openly trans character, is probably the best of them and balances intelligence with just being around the main characters for a fun time.

Enjoyment: What I enjoyed most about this series was the extremely awkward dub. The lines for this show are so awkward in English that I'm motivated to make a compilation video of the best ones. Example: Stella being told that one reason she's high maintenance is because it probably takes a whole team of people to get her bra on in the morning.

Overall 4/10: Referring back to how I went in thinking this would be a show that was 90% tournament arc, my overall score for this isn't that surprising (unless you're surprised that I didn't give it a 1). But there's something more important, fan service is almost unavoidable in these kinds of series, but I'm able to look past that if the story and fight sequences can make up for it. This show did the opposite and gutted their fight scenes in favor of the aforementioned romance and fan service while teasing us throughout the series that they had the full capability to actually choreograph really good fight scenes.

Before you start this reading this review, let me say that if you are a fan of Trigger's other main shows, then you can rest easy knowing that you will enjoy this one as well. It definitely isn't as fan service-y as their other shows (A-1 probably kept them under control), but know that you can get your laughs at the butt-controlled mechas (which are just a huge sex metaphor/joke)

Story - 9: Trigger is coming at us again with another home run 24 episode series that works in arcs the same way they've managed to create their other shows. We start with a "I want ... to get in the robot" arc, transition to a balance of slice of life w/ mechas, and (at the time of writing this review) find ourselves in one of the most angst fueled arcs I could ever imagine. With 12 episode shows dominating the industry right now, Trigger's latest concoction/joint adventure with A-1 is a great addition to this year's lineup. I've seen that more radical minded people don't like it because the mechas need a boy and a girl to pilot them and same sex combinations don't work. You can partially try to excuse the lack of gays by thinking how their society essentially just grows these kids for the sole purpose of piloting the mechas with an operating system run on archaic social structures that they find outdated. Later on you even find out the adults aren't in real romantic/sexual relationships.

Art - 10: Trigger has always been great at delivering art and animation that simultaneously has both a rough and soft style; this latest venture with A-1 has smoothed out the art a bit more to make this fall more on the soft side of the spectrum, but it has that classic Trigger grit. The result of this can really be seen outside of the mechas in the character designs and scenery, but the fight scenes while in the mechas in this series have been kicked up since the days of Kill la Kill (which already had great action scenes).

Characters - 9: The characters seem pretty one-dimensional at first, but then you realize they're complicated in how simple they are because their simplicity comes from only knowing a portion of what -our- socialization is like. As I mentioned before, they're created to be adolescent pilots and nothing more, so romantic emotions confuse them because the adults even treat them going through puberty as nothing more than a temporary inconvenience to work through. This also comes about because the setting is also partially post-apocalyptic in that people live in these traveling dome plantations fighting off creators that are attracted by the magma drilling the do as a source of energy. The only real exception to this is the mysterious character Zero Two, whose past is still only being slightly revealed to us in a way that unfolds naturally with the elements of the show.

Enjoyment - 10: I'm loving the way this series is working in arcs like more classic shows and that I get to experience it for longer than the other shows I'm watching. On top of that, this is the series that has shown me how angst can be both one of the best and worst feelings to experience.

Overall - 9: The imagery, similes, and metaphors are all beautiful. At the tine of writing this review, 14 episodes have been released, so this number could always go up. The show has both fast and slow pacing, so if you were to start it now and binge the first half of it at once and then watch it week by week from this point of immeasurable angst would probably actually be perfect.

To begin this review I want to point out that this show show be watched purely for the sake of enjoyment. No real over-analyzing or absurd theories, just watch it and enjoy.

Story - 8: I wanted to give the story a 10 because of how much I thoroughly enjoyed the show, but here's the thing, this show has no real story in terms of beginning, middle, end, so I gave it an 8. The story is that Sora was sent a living mummy child (Mii) by his father who is a self-proclaimed adventurer and the series follows around their life together as Sora raises Mii ... and learns more about him while the people who become closest to him also get their own fantasy creature companions (an Oni child, a dragon, and a baku) and shenanigans ensue. The true enjoyment of this show comes from just how adorable every creature (and even the people) are and how you just want to hug hold, play with and adopt every one of them. So despite the lack of a true story, this is a show that I could watch endless seasons of because I just want to see this gang of misfits.

Art - 10: Very straightforward, the art is clean and crisp, the colors are vivid, and the animation is solid (so solid that I chose this show to be my test subject for learning to make gifs in Photoshop).

Character - 10: If I haven't said this in any of my other reviews, I NEED character development. While I won't count conquering a fear of lizards or finally getting a good night's rest as character development, the real development lies within the two main human characters (Sora and Tazuki) and their creatures (Mii and Conny). While even their character development may not be considered the most complex of all time, it does happen in a very appropriate way: all of the characters begin as very well-rounded people, but who they are as people is slowly unraveled to you and as you learn more about what makes them rough around the edges, they learn how to move beyond those traits.

Enjoyment - 10: This is the real meat of this review. This show is disgustingly cute and I loved every minute of it. Mii literally doesn't talk, he just barks and cries and I want one (why only one? because I wouldn't want any others thinking they weren't getting attention). Whenever Mii cries, I cry (which is every episode) and it just makes me want to hug him, thankfully Sora is an angel and will take care of him to his dying breath. Conny is a brat and goes perfectly with the too-cool-for-school Tazuki. Isao is a good boy and a perfect big brother to all of the creatures and is even more responsible than his precious human counterpart, Motegi. and just overall the cast is lovable.

Overall - 10: TL;DR SOMEONE GIVETHAT MUMMY A HUG. For a show with no overall story other than the life of these humans and their mythical pets, I don't think I've been this attached to a show in a while (That's a lie because BNHA exists) and am so ready and willing to throw my money out the window just to get a life-sized Mii plushie.

I almost don't want to do a broken down review of this show like I normally do because I would love to just fan over it, but that's not always as convincing. Plus (ultra), this show deserve a review with more effort than that.

Story 10/10: If you're tired of every show each season trying to be the next edgy or over-the-top shounen, then this show is for you. This is a very back to its roots shounen that has all of the requirements for a shounen that you may not admit that you want, but is presented through fresh, energetic, and optimistic young eyes. you ... get what bits of school life you need in addition to all the action you could ask for. Midoriya is an objectively lovable character that is meant for every viewer to relate to on even a small level with his journey from being "quirkless" (powerless)to inheriting a power that he is far from handling. Similar to the cornerstone shounen, DBZ, Midoriya wins, loses, trains, and sometimes doesn't always come out the victor, but with BNHA it's the journey that matters.

***Spoiler-not-spoiler*** Season two STARTS WITH and has possibly the greatest tournament arc I've ever seen: it introduces new characters and develops them in no time at all, it showcases the main characters using their powers in new ways, and then tops it off with the straightforward fighting that you crave from tournament arcs.

Art 10/10: The colors are beautiful, the character designs are amazing, and I think quite possibly my favorite thing about BNHA is that in a world full of people with different quirks (powers) there are some quirks that cause physical differences (examples being one character that has tape dispenser elbows and another that looks like a purple alien). The fact that not only are some quirks out-of-the-ordinary like that, but that the physical aspects of them are considered, the art in this show truly lives to please.

Sound 10/10: rarely do I have opinions on the soundtrack of shows, but BNHA has a great everyday soundtrack as well as OP that are on point.

Character 10/10: Even though Midoriya is the main character, there will be AT LEAST five other characters that you will be willing to die for. Midoriya's mentor, All Might, is a genuinely lovable guy to an almost surprising point given his hero image. As for the rest of class 1-A, every character is so well developed right from the start that you think they can't get any better, but possibly the most amazing thing about BNHA is that the characters are always developing (to the point where I'm crying during most episodes, mainly in season two). One important bonus to this all is that even the villains end up getting development time (primarily in season 2) The exception to all of this is the entire fandom having a dislike of Mineta. The real kicker, there is no wrong answer to the question of who is best girl!

Enjoyment 10/10: I love character development, I love action, I love school shenanigans, and I love any show that can make me cry. Put all of those together and you get BNHA.

Overall 10/10: Very rarely do I find a show that I enjoy so much that the usual one a week updating isn't enough for me, but BNHA got me to the point that I binged the manga after enough time of not being able to wait. I can't stress enough that this show has everything someone could ask for; not just from a shounen, but from any anime in general. What I don't think I have mentioned this entire time is that because of the hero school theme you almost want to think of this series as X-Men without the racism allegory because of how quirks are a part of everyday society, but many of the powers are so unique that you are able to quickly draw yourself away from all of that (examples being bird face with a dark shadow living in him, a naval laser, calf engines, and blood paralysis)

Story 10/10: This isn't the kind of show you watch for a beginning-middle-end format with a finale to wrap everything up. Sounds crazy, right? Because then what else is left? Despite those elements, this is a show you watch for the development and struggle of a single father who goes from raising his daughter on frozen dinners to learning to cook for her sake. That is really the oversimplified version of it, but it's fairly hard to explain the heartwarming story that comes from that premise.

Art 10/10: I still stick by not being an art critic, so my main point here is that THIS SHOW ... WILL MAKE YOU VERY HUNGRY.

Character 9/10: The dad, Kouhei, is a great character who goes through wonderful development as a single father who needs to learn to take care of his young daughter. His daughter, Tsumugi, is perfect, my friend and I are still fighting over custody for her. The only reason I gave this category a 9 is because in his journey to learn how to cook, he is also learning with one of his students, Kotori, who is the daughter of a famous chef and just has a semi-flat character. Other than the big three of this show, the side characters are pretty nice and amusing as well.

Enjoyment & Overall 10/10: in this uncommon case, these two categories can be combined because their points are pretty much the same: Tsumugi is the most precious child ever and impossible not to love; the show is heavily based on character development since there is no end goal of it all and it does a wonderful job at that; and finally, people can learn a couple of cooking tips from the show and that is always a nice bonus when you can take something away from it all. Final note, I found myself randomly crying at points, so be prepared for that as well.

Story 10/10:First, I'll give the very basics of this story: wealthy kid has a father who is involved with a crime family, crime family kills his family, kid disappears, kid reappears grown up to take revenge on the crime family by getting close to them. What really stuck out about the story of this show is it's setting. It is strictly prohibition era America; no AU prohibition era with fantasy-like elements, no futuristic space setting that has some kind of prohibition in place on a made up substance, straight prohibition with bootlegging crime families. As for why that is so important, personally, I always enjoyed ... stories of that era and the different kind of life that is impossible to live now. In terms of actual merit, and not personal opinion, the story of revenge that plays out in this show is fairly complex with its near seamless plot twists and bomb-drops, yet it's not actually hard to follow. If you enjoyed reading "The Great Gatsby" because of the setting, but wished it had some more action to it, then this anime is for you.

Art 9/10: Unless the art in a show is really bad or insanely beautiful, I'm not much of an art critic. All I'll say here is that the prohibition era scenery, characters, and elements in general are accurately and well portrayed

Character 9/10: Since this show deals with a few crime families, naturally there is going to be an ensemble cast to keep track of. 91 Days does a great job at giving you exactly enough development for each character relative to how much they are really worth caring about considering you will not be sure at any point who will live and who is next to die as the main character enacts his plan for revenge.

Enjoyment 9/10: Because of the "who will live and die" aspect of this show, possibly my greatest factor for enjoyment (that I recommend for any prospective viewers) was watching the episodes with a group of friends that all had their own theories of what plot twist/bomb drop would come next, and who would be the next to die, as well as who we want to live.

Overall 9/10: Between the setting, story, plot twists, characters, and fond memories with my friends, I absolutely loved this show! My only grievance is with the ending: all I will say about it is that it can be left up to individual interpretation and while I have no problem with shows like that, I just personally wanted more for an ending out of a show I enjoyed this much.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

Let me start this review off by saying that you should give this series until at least episode 3 before deciding whether or not you want to finish it. I'm not saying that because this is a hit-or-miss kind of series where you love it or hate it, I'm saying this because you can't expect this to be just another magical girl series.

Story 10/10: by giving the series a general plot of "we must destroy the witches!" they give themselves a lot of wiggle room do do whatever they want. Guess what? They use ALL of that wiggle room to make one hard-hitting, ... mind-blowing, overall great show. The biggest question you may have throughout the entire show is "aright, so when does Madoka become a magical girl?" Prepare yourself for the answer.

Art 10/10: Every encounter they have with a witch is an acid trip all its own, I can only imagine what kind of time the artists had while making this show. All of the character designs and abilities are also wonderful and perfectly animated.

Sound 10/10: Tbh, I can't really remember any music that particularly stood out (its been a while since I watched the series), but what I do remember is that the background music was a perfect fit for the current mood of the show.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

Character 10/10: No main character in this series ended where they began in terms of development and how you feel about them. That, I believe, is an amazing feat for any show.

Enjoyment 10/10: I'm not a magical girl series kind of guy, but this show just roped me in and got me; that's how much I enjoyed it.

Overall 10/10: By the end of this series, I had my heart broken and mind twisted. When a show can do that to me, I will always recommend it in an attempt to subject other people to the same feelings.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
Wanna make a contract?

Story 10/10: Digimon Tri is exactly what the Digimon fandom needed. Back in Digimon Adventure 02, when they brought in a new generation of Digidestined, whenever one of the original characters showed up in an episode for a crucial plot point, we saw exactly how much they took their crest to heart and how that helped shape them as they grew up; here in Tri, we see the original Digidestined start to struggle with who they once were and who they will become. From the way part 1 and 2 came out, it seems that each part is going to feature 2 characters per part ... struggling to remember and recapture what their crest once represented about themselves. Something to know going in, they use the first part of episode one to "subtly" let you know that the new digidestined from Adventure 02 WILL NOT be featured in (and possibly not even a part of) Tri.

Art 9/10: The art will probably be the toughest thing to adjust to if you still have the animation from the original series in mind, that being said, you will probably come to love almost all of it after that brief adjustment period (even I still have problems with some of the CG art during the digivolving sequences, but that's also mostly just Ikkakumon). Once the show finds its footing after two episodes, the fights also all become amazing (look forward to the final episode of each part for epic battles). Despite how Tri shapes up in terms of art, what keeps the art score away from perfection in part one is that they keep reusing stock footage in flashbacks (trust me, you'll see what I mean).

Sound 10/10: Miyazaki Ayumi - "Brave Heart" enough said.

Character 10/10: If you thought you knew the original characters after 2 seasons of 50+episodes, you are wrong. Tri takes their character development to the next step now that they are older and have their futures to worry about, as well as how they now realize that the Digimon cause real damage to their surrounding when they fight. Like I said above in plot, Tri has a major focus on the original digidestined recapturing what their crests once meant, and so far, each is done beautifully (part two better than part one in my opinion). The relationship aspect that we couldn't explore back in the original series because of their age is also starting to be addressed in Tri, which may trigger some people who have longtime ships from when they were kids, but it had to happen eventually (and I swear, T.K. better shape up and realize he is meant to be with Kari).

Enjoyment 10/10: This was exactly the nostalgia trip I needed in my life, and seeing as I don't do drugs, that is the kind of trip I am always down for.

Overall 10/10: I'm so glad that they found a way to add on to the series that I grew up with as a child so that it can continue to have meaning in my life later on now that both the characters and I are older. If you want a repeat of the series you also once new as a child, let that feeling go for a bit so you can take in what Tri is trying to do.

My only complaint is that there is only one part (4 episodes) released every 6 months.

Story 8/10: Dealing much with the trauma of loss and abuse, this show takes an interesting dive into the mind of a victim of both. The story and approach to this topic through a piano prodigy who struggles with a sort of PTSD and depression concerning his deceased mother/teacher when trying to take back up playing is wonderful. What hurts the score here is that sometimes you'll forget that you're watching a show where the characters are supposed to be in middle school because of the colorful and extensive vocabulary they have (speaking for the dub); also, the main character, Kousei, is very, very, VERY ... dramatic.

Art 8/10: There is nothing wrong with the art, but this is a music-focused anime, so art wasn't my main concern here. How art still got an 8 is that the show briefly explores the concept of the beauty of the colors we see the world in, which is conveyed perfectly through the art.

Sound 10/10: I would have been disappointed if a show that uses music as a medium for its plot had terrible music, but thankfully this one delivered. Playing with classical music did wonders for every concert scene in this show, and there's not much to say about sound this good in a musical anime other than to go experience it for yourself.

Character 9/10: Each character is explored and developed to the point where all you want for them is to move on up out of middle school and be happy with their life. The only problem being what I mentioned above about their advanced vocabulary that makes you forget that they actually are supposed to be in middle school (and again, how dramatic Kousei is).

Enjoyment 9/10: From the music, to the story, to the characters, I loved the adventure that this show brought me on.

Overall 9/10: This was another show recommended to me on the premise that it was sad; I held myself together through pretty much the entire series, but in the last episode during Kaori's flashback, I just lost it. If it makes me cry, then you bet I enjoyed it.

TL:DR - While the story isn't exactly like "The Fault in Our Stars," the feelings it will leave you with afterwards are exactly the same

If you're reading this review, then you should already know what you're in for with Code Geass, so I'm going to skip over a few parts (like art and sound).

Story 10/10: Possibly the biggest complaint you'll heard about the story of R2 is that it's the exact same thing as the first season, which probably means the people with that complaint didn't get through the whole series. It will seem like they are repeating everything at first, but that is because with Zero reemerging he needs to establish himself as the real deal. After those first couple episodes, Lelouch hits the ground running and gets ... right back to working towards obliterating Britannia. If you think you may get disinterested from this continuing story, don't worry, that won't be an issue by the halfway point.

Character 10/10: All unfinished character development is taken care of in R2, and even the new characters introduced have time to become well developed. Motives become clearer, friends become enemies, enemies become friends, your heart gets broken, just another day at the office.

Enjoyment 10/10: Same thing I said in my review of the first season, I've watched Code Geass and R2 at least 10 times each, so of course I enjoyed it.

Overall 10/10: After the final episode aired, I didn't know what to do with myself; I would watch the episode again every morning before going to school for the longest time, just to start the day with a sense of wholeness.

The reason this show holds so much importance to me is because it really helped me out during a down time in my life by getting the lesson through to me that you can't dwell in the past, or only live in the present, but to always keep the future in mind. I hope it can do the same for everyone else who watches it.