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It would be an understatement to say that the promised neverland S1 was well received, the anticipation of season 2 was naturally quite high. Even without the expectations, it only takes 2 episodes to realise that s2 won't be that great.

The first season was solid from start to finish. Great Pacing, excellent sound design, good characters, an interesting story that knew when and how to reveal information and last but should be first, excellent tension and emotional moments that had real weight. More importantly, it had everyone guessing and on the edge of their seat.

S2 picks up right where S2 left off but does ... not share the same elements. The show gradually becomes less and less believable. There are moments in the show where things would just not be plausible and the show completely ignores it. For starters, The speed of an 11sh foot humanoid alien being surpassed by 3 ft children. It's the slow piling up of things like this that pull me out of the show. The horror elements are a little diluted and the scenes of relief and laughter feel almost comically disingenuous.

On the plus side, we have good sound design and art again. The opener doesn't hold up the banger of S1 but that's alright. I personally only care about Ray and Emma but they aren't enough to carry what seems to be some sort of Alien apocalypse survival, which isn't as interesting to me as an escape scenario using wits and creativity.

I didn't love the show for its characters, I loved it for it's writing and it's wit, for now at least it seems like that won't be coming back. Sad to say but those walls of Gracefeild and the story to break out of them had a charm to it which seems lost now.
Unless something absolutely insane happens soon, My review won't be changing.
The show is now a bang average 7/10.

If you are reading reviews to make a decision on whether or not you want to continue watching or start watching here are some things you need to know:

Deca-dence is one of those shows where many people will stop watching early on because of it's jarring tone shift.Sticking around till may
I personally would have been happy with the simple premise of "people fighting against alien forces to save humanity" but this show has much more than that and for this show that may be what drives people away.

I would recommend watching till atleast episode 2 because that's where most of the divide is born.Here the ... show takes an unexpected turn that will leave you with a lot of questions. if you want the questions answered continue watching,If you think the questions aren't worth getting answers for, drop it.Those that stick around will find that the show has a decent idea and that the timing on the 'reveal' in the second episode could have been handled better or played up more to be a twist rather than a head scratching experience early into the anime.

Personally, i feel like this will be a decent anime with an ambitious idea,good artwork and sound design.I doubt if it will be remembered for a long time but some may find that it has good entertainment value with it's battle scenes mixed with it's slice of life moments.It's strongest feature however, is it's very like-able protagonist Natsume who is a bright,cheery,hopeful girl in a world that is anything but those things.

(as of writing this review we still don't completely know which direction the story will go and the overall quality of the show may drastically rise or drop.)

This show was a major disappointment for me.

After all the high praise and it's excellent 8.8 rating (at the time of writing this), I decided to check out why this show is so beloved by all those who watch it. I went in blind without knowledge of plot or characters and here is what I found.

The good:

-The show's presentation is brilliant and incites mystery in all of it's aspects
-Visually it is well conceived, The main characters are all unique looking, drawn with a cute chibi style.
The environment is incredibly detailed and varied at each layer.The is also a vast diversity of creatures that ... dwell within the abyss and the ones our protagonists
encounter are unique and interesting.
-Music was pretty decent but it is heavily subjective and I can see many people loving.The audio design however flip flopped between repetitive,obnoxious or
brilliant and imaginative.I still think it was good overall.
-Story keeps you entertained and curious throughout. After the premise is set the audience gets a taste of the world in the first layer and it sets a precedent for the
rest of the show.

The bad:
-Characters, most characters here are mediocre at best.
-Exploration of the world outside the abyss is poor
-Plot conveniences and inconsistencies

The ugly
-The existence of Riko
-Constant exposition of obvious things

(DISCLAIMER: mild spoilers from here on)

To explain further,
(bad)
The cast of protagonists are bland and uninteresting.Reg doesn't do anything to make me hate him but at the same time I really don't think his character exists beyond "Who am I" and "I want to save Riko". Nanchi,Ouzen and Bondrewd are the only decent characters.

The world of this show extends beyond the abyss (we see that characters are taken outside the area of the abyss and people trade with others outside the city of Orth) but it isn't explored or even explained, the show only cares about the abyss, which is understandable if it want for the fact that the world outside Orth is unaffected and hence may provide clues about the curse.

The show spends an awful amount of time convincing us that the abyss is a dangerous place and that Black and Blue whistles are borderline superhuman.How then does a bumbling 12 year old girl who is incapable of doing anything but cook descend 4 layers without much trouble at all? (trouble starts at layer 5)
The answer is a plot device robo boy who is immune to the 80% of the affects of the abyss and whose sole purpose in S1 was to rescue said bumbling 12 year old.
It undermines all the black and white whistles out there, Riko and Reg luck out too many times.

Now the worst parts,
The existence of Riko hindered most of my enjoyment of the show, she is a useless, irrational brat who wants to push well beyond her ability. Surprisingly however, she gets punished for it but it still seems like they went in with no real plan or preparation, they just decided that they are going fully aware that they will probably die.To be fair, that how children are.They behave irrationally and it's totally understandable that a child would behave like that and make those decisions but unfortunately that leads to a very frustrating watch.It's like watching a toddler try to drive. For the entirety of the show Riko was a burden to Reg(even though he didn't feel that way) and made me want to punch a 2D drawing through my screen.

When it's not Riko's turn to be annoying, Reg takes over (Reg only borrows this role from time to time) in his brilliant observations of obvious things and then repeating those observations verbally. "Show don't tell" doesn't exist in the abyss I guess.

Lastly,
The random pedophilia. A lot of people said that it was gratuitous but for the most part it wasn't. It acts as a way to explore the weird nature of Reg's human/robot tendencies sometimes but it never felt sexualized except for the scene in the finale(even that can be argued as a way to explore Regs human and robot nature).It may make some people uncomfortable and so I mention it but for me it wan't too much of an issue.Nudity doesn't immediately mean sexualization but in the case of minors that can be a very sensitive topic.

As a huge fan of the horror genre and horror manga, I can confidently say that this is a worthwhile read as long as you're not expecting to be blown away.Here some things you need to consider:

Simply put, the story is mediocre at best. You will see the the plot developing in a very predictable and cliched manner.It spans only a few chapters covering one volume.The length of this manga can be a good or a bad thing based on the reader, so I will leave this up to you.

That being said, the atmosphere is quite well done, the whole manga feels dark and twisted ... owing to it's great art work. The character design is also well done but they may seem one dimensional. Even though I love the art work and it's style ,some panels including some major panels look like hot garbage and it is quite difficult to make out what exactly happened.This is only a small percentage of the manga though(maybe 3-4 panels).
The manga did a good job keeping me interested throughout the reading process and some of the panels will be forever etched into my memory.Unfortunately, I am quite confident that i'll be forgetting everything else about it in little to no time.

The shorts found here can be pretty hit or miss, when they hit, they hit hard but unfortunately they can also miss hard.

As the title suggests "Fragments of horror" are short horror stories that
don't share anything thematically or even have any shared characters.

Personally, I found Blanket(futon) and Haunted wood mansion to be the weakest of the bunch and they cover the 'miss' section.

However, Tomio: Red turtleneck, Black Bird and Whispering woman have quickly become some of my favorite Junji stories.

The art is generally pretty solid and does justice to the expectations on Junji manga but Dissection girl has a different art style to ... what we're used to and that disappointed me( That could be different for you). Dissection girl does redeem itself in it's unsettling nature and premise though.

Overall, definitely a well compiled bunch of stories i'd recommend to anyone that's itching for some creepy,unsettling manga.

Memories is a collection containing 3 shorts that vary in tone,setting and genre

(Since all three are different and episodic in nature, I will also be assigning each short it's own score.)

They appear in the following order:

1)Magnetic Rose: (9/10):
This short was the primary reason to even watch memories and it was because of this short that this collection came under my radar.It is a Psychological thriller written by Satoshiro Kon and it is the strongest of the three. With a 40 minute run time it manages to establish the environment and atmosphere while also providing the viewer with an immediate sense of suspense. The story delivered ... felt complete and concise and had enough time to explore tiny details that make the characters believable.The sound design and animation quality are especially impressive and hold up today even after all this time.

2)Stunk Bomb(6/10):
This is where the collection will probably lose people.Stunk bomb is a 40 minute light-hearted comedy that doesn't do really well with the comedy.The premise is amusing but it never really does enough to warrant any actual laughter, or even a smile for that matter.It's the type of thing where you think to yourself "oh, that's funny" but your face looks uninterested throughout. I found it to be a passable attempt at entertainment that really has nothing special or memorable about it. Definitely the weakest link in the collection.

3)Cannon Fodder(8/10) :
Cannon fodder is interesting because it can be polarizing.I'm pretty confident that most people would enjoy magnetic rose and be indifferent to Stunk bomb(or even hate it) but this is what decides your overall enjoyment of the collection.The art style is immediately different from the two and not something we see often.There is no real 'story' or plot and it feels more like an exercise in world building. The environment and atmosphere is where this is the strongest.The world on display here is a very detailed steampunk-esque land that reminded me of George Orwell's 1984, the war-time atmosphere, generally unhealthy looking people,naive children, the repeat use of slogans etc. The camera work here is very noticeable and can be jarring at times, but it keeps the short moving in a one shot sort of style(especially with it's transitions). The show does a lot with the 20 minutes it's given and I personally enjoyed everything shown in this strange, gloomy world and felt like this was a day-in-the life of men, women and children of this land.

Enen no Shouboutai is a show that was being compared to the other top tier shonen of this decade. When this happens it is usually very difficult to gauge the actual quality of the show while ignoring the hype before actually watching it. This is the reason why I decided to watch this show after a fair amount of time from it's airing.

What we see here is a show with an interesting premise, superb action,fair world-building, decent characters, attempts at comedy and fan service. A promising action/comedy shonen that should have been way more than it is.

I'll elaborate more on each topic respectively,

Starting with the ... action and world-building, to me it felt like this was the strongest part of the show.
The combat and fight scenes ( especially the arc with Capt. Benimaru ) are very well done. I really took note of the way they imagined the sounds effects.The sound an adolla link makes, the sound when a plasma blade scrapes a demon's horn,the absolute thicc bass when a demon is obliterated, all sound exactly like they should. That being said it's not always like that. Some fight scenes inject comedy into them in a very tone deaf way, shows can handle comedy and action and even comedy during action without completely disrupting the tone that they set( Mob Psycho is a brilliant example).Other fight scenes sometimes don't take their time to really make the viewer understand the dynamic of the fight, and sometimes they are straight up disappointing. Every fight scene involving Dr. Giovanni turns into a lame version of him being inspector gadget.

The captivating mysteries surrounding the flames and the truth behind the incidents is what kept me watching. However, the show was so hesitant to let me have answers in a consistent fashion. Many other details like the life style of the civilians, the shift in work force , how society adapted to this change are all left for the viewer to speculate upon. There are certain aspects of the special fire force and their lives that the show touches upon but that's about as far as it goes.Most of the reveal happens during the last few episodes in a rushed manner to give the next season some steam.

The character design in this show is very cool, Captain Burns is like a pyro version of solid snake from the metal gear series, Dr. Giovanni looks like a plague doctor etc,although I wish they did more with these characters. They give some characters quirks and quips but no real personality.As of the ending of the first season we still don't know the identity of the antagonist or even the purpose of characters like Joker.The show has a sizeable cast but doesn't give them the time to breathe and make the audience take notice of any of them.The last thing is the women.It's disappointing that this show has no impressive female characters.Look, i'm not the kind of person who catalogs anime based on whether or not a show has a female cast, it can have 0 female members or an all female cast as long as they serve a purpose.The purpose here seems to be to fetishize a fit girl, a shy girl, a dominatix, a neko girl etc and that's why it's disappointing.

Lastly, Comedy and fanservice. I have intentionally clubbed these two together because most the comedy in the show is fanservice in disguise or running gags like "gorilla cyclops" and Arthur isn't smart.They quickly lose their charm.
The comedy is pretty hit or miss ( I guess they sometimes miss huh), its a lot of "How dare you touch me there,b-baka" moments.The fanservice in this show is in so much excess that I just simply skipped over them ,which is saying a lot coming from a perv like me.

At the beginning of the show, I fully expected that I would rate this very high,but as it went on and I saw more and more shonen tropes,stale jokes,more questions than answers,"oops,I somehow became naked again" scenes and sometimes straight up bullshit that it started cutting into my enjoyment of the show.Things that were used to make a show lively when nothing much was happening were starting to butt into sceen during important scenes/fights/explanations in a way that feels odd.My rating gradually got lower and lower finally landing at a high 5 or a low 6.

I would like to preface this review by saying that this type of show, essentially a Rom-com is usually not on my list of favorite genres. This show is an exception for me.

Kaguya sama has enjoyed major success and has quickly garnered a fan base for it's quirky, over the top humor. What other people see in this show that makes it rated close to a 9,I can't tell you. But, i will say that this is a very enjoyable show.

It takes everything from season one and dials it up a little bit. The show finally has a sense of progression and stakes. The ... comedy is just as good, only this time the characters have grown and changed in their own little ways. This show handles the Rom-com idea in way that it's plenty funny , plenty romantic but never too sappy. The rare moments of actual emotional connection always feel well deserved like the characters somehow earned it. The side characters and side plots are also progressing pretty consistently comparing it to the first season.

Other things you might want to know:

-Fujiwara is still best girl.
-The opener is a banger and is already in my Spotify.
-The animation quality is still excellent

In short, This season is more of the first season, but with a story that actually seems to be moving. If you liked season 1, chances are that you will enjoy this just as much or even more.

Cheers.

After watching the first season Anime only the conclusion iv'e come to is that it has been a very mediocre ride through and through.
Prepare to be underwhelmed if you set the bar high with Hype.

Here is a Spoiler Free review of Kami no Tou:

First, let's talk about the art style. It's not incredibly unique but does a good job of being pleasant to look at and is consistently recognizable at a glance. After about an episode or two I found the color choices and animation very charming.

The shows good characters occupy the supporting roster while we are supposed to root for a walking cliche shounen ... protagonist who throughout the first season stays the same.His motivation to climb the tower is as hollow as his own skull and Rachel is similarly annoying or bland every time she is on screen. Khun and the test administrators seem to be the only characters that show actual promise seeing that everytime something interesting happens it is because of them.

The audio is well done. The Japanese dub version has good voice acting and nothing seems out of place ,except that the pronunciations of words in subs are sometimes different than expected.For instance, the protagonists name reads "Bam" but is spoken as "Yoru"(they translate to night in Korean and Japanese). The Opening soundtrack and the ending track are straight up bangers and the general music fits perfectly with the ambiance of the show.

My biggest problems with the show are the protagonists and character motivations. Even though the show wants to portray Bam as a 'Pure of heart prodigy', its very difficult to relate to his motives and thus root for him. There's something about watching wimpy protagonists for the hundredth time that it's become an aspect I just have to ignore to not let it ruin the show. However, his personality can be justified and understood with what little we have seen of how he grew up. The fact that we know very little about rachel but are following Bam on a journey to find her feels like it has few stakes or little emotional weight.The supporting cast, as I have mentioned before is a lot less one dimensional and make for much better characters(even though their motivations are also vague at times).

Anime only watchers are left confused with so many dialogues being skipped, scenes being cut and explanations rushed.The world building and the environment is one of, if not the only thing running the show but they constantly shove it aside to quickly get back to the protagonist and his quest to simp for Rachel which is completely uninteresting. Rules for tests are rushed within half a minute and the new creatures and terms are usually just shown and never explored beyond that.

Even though there was a lot to hate here, I didn't particularly hate the show.
I feel indifferent to the protagonist but the rest of the cast and the world kept me entertained enough to watch it through. Manhwa readers will tell you that this is just a starter and the best is yet to come but this is a review of just the starter and it's not that great.

Dorohedoro might just be the show you're waiting on this season if you're bored of most of the mainstream anime plot lines and art styles.
what we have here is an anime that's got an interesting art style and it's use of CGI mixed in with the animation seems to be for the purpose or dramatic character angles during fights,so to an extent it can be forgiven.

The story is simple and straight forward that it instantly draws you in and has you invest in the the characters of the show.
We follow Caiman (which im guessing is a play on cayman, a type of crocodile that he ... seems to be modeled after) and Nikaidou as our protagonists and their search for answers.All characters have very nice character design,it features details like holes for the mask that kaiman wears to accommodate the spikes on his head and down right cool masks that are unique to each sorcerer.

Their world seems dystopian and rotting and this is the strongest aspect of the show.The entire show has a slight uncanny and bizarre vibe but that's it's charm even though the random shifts in tone from serious to funny feel a bit strange. The animation itself mixes regular 2D animation and CGI but they blend decently enough to not be an eyesore ,especially because the fights are well done.The art style isn't glossy and colorful ,it's grungy,gloomy and has gore which complements the world they live in.As a result of this,the show looks nothing like most of the popular shows currently.It's not something we've never seen before but i'm glad we got another one like this.

The music also fits in well with the aesthetic of the show,with electric guitar riffs and punk rock themes.The OST brings some psychedelic pop rock into the mix and is also very enjoyable.

The story asks for your attention and isn't some excuse to make fights happen.I do however feel the need to bring up the at times pretty questionable voice acting.The pacing especially may confuse some of the viewers but the characters and atmosphere make this a more than worthwhile watch.