Before starting My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (which I will shorten to Oregairu for the remainder of this review), its name and the synopsis given here on MAL made this anime sound like a typical harem romantic comedy that combines a generic storyline with overused jokes - at least in my opinion - despite the lack of a harem tag. What a surprise it was to me after the first few episodes when I realized that Oregairu was different and much better than I had anticipated - despite not having much of the romance and comedy as suggested by the title.
NOTE: This will probably be
...
a review of both the first and second seasons since they essentially remain the same aside from the shift of the main focus from the first to second season.
The story begins with high school loser loner Hachiman Hikigaya who is forced into joining the Services Club which aids students when they need it - and whose only member is the extremely gifted and beautiful but antisocial Yukino Yukinoshita - by his teacher, and in my opinion, parent-like figure Shizuka Hiratsuka in order to help him remedy his broken social skills. Their first request for help comes from Yui Yuigahama, who eventually joins the club, and it is through this first request, that it was made apparent to me that Oregairu was better than your typical rom com.
Oregairu doesn't tend to focus on comedy, yet still remaining hilarious, nor does it focus on romance, yet always hinting to us the possibility of a relationship. Instead, it focuses heavily on more complex issues of friendship and human behavior - which often isn't explored in very many anime - often putting the characters in realistic situations in which they have to make decisions about such issues, and giving us a taste of the thought process and psychology behind Hikigaya's seemingly cold and detached exterior, which is pretty realistic (trust me, I experienced it for a while myself).
Oregairu explores these topics extremely well while telling us an engrossing story of how our three protagonists in Yui, Hikigaya, and Yukino help other students with whatever problems they might have, despite occasionally clashing in how they want to achieve it, an issue which is the main focus of the second season.
I'd like to praise the boisterous subtlety of this anime. Though what I just said may sound oxymoronic, this anime does a fantastic job of telling us a story that is deeper than what it actually appears to be, without having to state the complete obvious, an unfortunate problem I find happens with many anime. However, and this being the only problem I found with the anime, this subtlety does border on cryptic in that at times, and especially during the second season, I could not for the life of me comprehend what the characters were implying during some of their conversations until I had read the episode synopsis on Wikipedia.
And thus, on this more subtler note is how the relationship between the three characters develops, and by the end of the second season, during which the development of their relationship is explored on a much more prominent note, it brought a tear to my eye when I saw just how much closer they had gotten as friends, despite the rocky paths they went through to to get to that point.
Much of this brilliant development in their relationships can be attributed to the strong development in their individual characters, which is, again, pretty subtle for most characters.
Hikigaya's development is the most evident, provided he is the main character. For the entirety of the first season and for part of the second, Hikigaya pretty much sees his inclusion in the Services Club as some sort of punishment imposed on him by Shizuka - as seen by the unorthodox and self-harmful manner in which he solves peoples' problems - but eventually begins to open up to the other members - essentially going from happily being the loneliest and most detached guy in the world to actually desiring friends like Yui and Yukino, who both end up caring very much for him despite his constant skepticism regarding their relationships, even if it means having to suffer.
More subtle are Yui's and Yukino's developments, both of whom open up very slowly to each other. Yui tries to act cheerful and constantly put on a smile, something which is completely forced at the beginning and slowly becomes less and less forced as the anime continues. Meanwhile, Yukino's past and her present are pretty much shrouded in mystery, one huge driving factor in her development, and which is constantly emphasized by her seemingly bitch of an older sister, Haruno. And yet her subtle and eventually apparent inclination to try and open her heart to Yui and Hikigaya towards the end of the second season really highlights the struggle that each character suffers to make their friendships "real".
And it isn't just the trio of main characters who should be praised but also the large cast of supporting characters - though I have to say I'm not a fan of the few who are there essentially for comedic effect like Saika Totsuka, the guy with the appearance of a girl, Hina Ebina, the girl with the homosexual fantasies, or Yoshiteru Zaimozuka, the guy who suffers from chuunibyou. On the other hand, there are characters like Hayama Hayato, the ace of the soccer team and who everyone has high expectations of, Shizuka, the teacher and parent-like figure who really seems to hurt whenever she sees Hikigaya do damage to his own reputation and feelings, or Komachi, Hikigaya's lively and adorable little sister. Whether these supporting characters receive development or not, they highlight some of the problems facing our main trio and really drive the story and their friendships forward throughout the anime, and for the most part are really like-able.
I haven't got much to say about Oregairu's art or sound. For the most part the art was really detailed and looked pretty darn nice, the background music suited their respective scenes, and the openings and closings are pretty freaking amazing (it's a shame I can only find the second season opening on YouTube).
Oregairu is a personal favorite, possibly being a top 5 or 10 anime for me. It definitely surpassed any low expectations I had for it, dragging me into a story which really had my full attention from start to finish as I desperately wanted to see Yui, Yukino, and Hikigaya truly become friends. I would laugh when Yukino made insulting comments about Hikigaya or when Hikigaya would instinctively say something to himself based on his own past experiences. Oregairu requires you utmost attention, particularly in the second season, when you have to infer what the characters are implying during their conversations. I absolutely adore this anime and though everything I've said in this review may be due to bias on my part (I sincerely hope other people also share my views), I strongly recommend everyone gives Oregairu a try.
Any feedback on my reviews is much appreciated! Thanks for reading!
Sep 28, 2015 Recommended
Before starting My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (which I will shorten to Oregairu for the remainder of this review), its name and the synopsis given here on MAL made this anime sound like a typical harem romantic comedy that combines a generic storyline with overused jokes - at least in my opinion - despite the lack of a harem tag. What a surprise it was to me after the first few episodes when I realized that Oregairu was different and much better than I had anticipated - despite not having much of the romance and comedy as suggested by the title.
NOTE: This will probably be ...
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Mar 4, 2015 Recommended
I rarely ever find myself liking a series or movie about detectives and strange mysteries because I find that they become extremely repetitive, always following the same formula over and over again where your protagonist(s) uses the evidence at a crime scene to solve a crime. What sets Gosick apart from these aformentioned shows is that it isn't entirely focused on the mysteries and detective work but also places a lot of emphasis on the relationship between the main characters, adding a sort of slice-of-life-ish and romantic side to a story which would have otherwise been a more generic detective show.
Story: 8/10 The story takes place ... mainly in 1924 and begins with Kujo Kazuya, a Japanese transfer student, attending a European school in the fictional nation of Sauville, situated in between France and Italy. Being racially different and unfortunately associated with a scary character from a local folk tale by his classmates, he becomes somewhat of a social outcast who meets the small and adorable, but short-tempered and anti social Victorique who is actually a genius detective spending most of her time in the botanical gardens at the top of the school library. And thus begins their adventures together, unraveling the strange mysteries and crimes which occur throughout the small European nation of Sauville and forging a an ever-growing relationship. There is actually very little I can fault the story with. Most of the cases the due takes on span a few episodes at most, creating what may seem like small story arcs. However, in most of the cases, there are some small clues or facts that will carry on into other cases. From prior experience in other anime, this always creates some confusions and incoherencies, but Gosick executed this almost perfectly, creating an extremely interesting and intriguing story. It also goes without saying that this should not be an anime where you can completely shut your brain off while watching it. By the end, there is, at most, one or two questions which I still had regarding the story, but they were essentially very minor in the grand scheme of things. The only real flaw I saw in the story is, while it not may matter to other people, the pacing. I honestly felt like some of the cases Victorique took on we're finished way too quickly, especially when some facts and clues conveniently popped up at the time she needed them. This is particularly evident when she takes on the greatest mystery in the history of Sauville, which she unravels with extreme ease. Despite this, she always tackles the cases in a realistic and understandable manner, always providing concise and reasonable explanations as to how the cases played out, this being one of Gosick's strong points. Returning from my slight tangent, the pacing makes everything a little difficult to take in, especially in the latter half in the series. Information is constantly thrown at you and I had to replay quite a few scenes to really grasp everything that was happening. Due to the somewhat quick pacing, I felt as though there were some missing scenes which should've been there for the sake of progressing the story along more smoothly. The story excelled greatly in Victorique's everyday life of being bored, constantly bossing Kujo around, being cute, and solving mysteries/crimes and I could've watched this anime forever should it have stayed like that because it was just really that much fu to watch. At a certain point in the anime, Gosick begins to transition from an episodic/multi-episodic structure into a more singular story line whereby Victorique uncovers some dark truths which cause large scale events to unfold and place her at the centre of it. This part of the story had potential and could've made for an epic conclusion to the anime, especially considering the build up leading to it (like I have said before, Gosick really does a good job of taking elements from one arc and exploring them in another), but it ultimately fizzles out because of pacing issues which also led to a few unexplained plot points. Characters: 8/10 The main characters are Kujo and Victorique. Aside from his growing feelings for Victorique, Kujo is hardly developed at all. He grows slightly in confidence, detective intelligence, and in physical strength, and you learn small facts about his family and home, but that is about all. He remains mainly as a "companion" character to Victorique because almost all of his actions are for Victorique, something which I feel a main character shouldn't really be, especially when the anime primarily focuses on him and not the star of the show, Victorique. Victorique is the only character in Gosick who receives any sort of extremely meaningful character development and her alone makes this show worth watching. Through Kujo and Victorique's endeavours, you learn about her twisted past and her reasons for being as anti-social as she is. Not only that, she develops from a fragile and scared girl into a much more confident and strong woman, and this is one of Gosick's strengths, alongside being one of the better developed characters that I've seen in all the anime I have watched. The supporting cast is as a supporting cast should be. They don't receive any development and they aren't interesting enough for us to want them to receive any development. They are there for comic relief, to relay information between the two main characters Kujo and Victorique, or to create conflict between or around Kujo and Victorique. However, there is Avril, one pathetic excuse of a romantic rival to Victorique. She's actually a really likeable character, being lively and extremely out going, almost the complete opposite to Victorique. Aside from being a catalyst for Victorique's developing feelings for Kujo through occasionally making Victorique feel a little jealous of her, she has no role. This is simply because the story makes it so plainly obvious that Kujo and Victorique will always be together and removing her existence from the story would essentially change nothing. Sound: 10/10 The opening is great. Quality listen. The first closing is absolutely legendary, probably the only closing that I've watched as much as the opening. So you can probably tell that when it was replaced with the second closing that I was extremely sad and disappointed, especially since I'm not a fan of that type of music. Simply put, I disliked the second closing. The background music was great as well, constantly emphasising the atmosphere and helping me immerse myself in the mysterious world of Gosick. Art & Animation: 10/10 The art is absolutely brilliant. The detail which is put into the 1920's clothing, interior design, city layout, and architecture was astonishing and really helped immerse me into the historical setting. Other features of the world of Gosick like the countryside and forests were also extremely detailed and beautiful. I also want to say that the art style used in the opening is a really nice touch, being unique and different to the art in the anime. The animation didn't shine as much as the art did but there were times when it did such as in a fight scene or two or when a fire started to grow out of control. Enjoyment: 10/10 There are very few detective movies or series which I have loved as much as Gosick. I was completely engrossed in the intricate story, and fell in love with Victorique from the moment I first laid eyes on her and all throughout the story as she was superbly developed as a character. This is more than just a detective and mystery anime, as I have said before, adding small elements of other genres and therefore creating a more complete anime which I will probably treasure for a long time to come. Subjectively, the only flaw I saw in this anime was the pacing of the story and the somewhat anticlimactic ending. If you haven't gotten a hold of the fact that I strongly recommend this anime, then I'll quickly say it; I strongly recommend this anime to just about everyone since, while being a primarily detective/mystery anime, it contains enough elements from other genres for many people to enjoy. Thank you for reading! Any feedback is very much appreciated!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 21, 2015
Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom
(Anime)
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It's a fairly common trend in just about most action mediums, whether it be anime or not, to focus more on the action than the story. Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom is part of that minority which focuses more on the story, and I have to say that it does a really good job of doing so without taking away from what makes an action medium well... an action medium.
Story: 8/10 The story follows the twisted and tragic life of Zwei, a teenage boy who has no recollection of his past, and is forced to become an assassin under the guidance of Ein, also known as ... "Phantom", who, like Zwei, has no recollection of her past, and is a highly trained assassin, or more like a near-invincible human weapon. This is all done under the supervision of "Scythe Master", a maniacal scientist with a calm demeanour, whose only goal in life is seemingly to create near-invincible human weapons or "Phantoms" just like Ein. He is contracted by a growing mafia organisation called Inferno who wishes to use his "Phantoms" to help seize ultimate control of the mafia underworld. Now that's quite a load of information to take on before starting this anime and the entire premise of the story regarding Inferno takes time to develop and be fully explained. When things have been established and the story starts to take shape is when this anime really starts to get good. What this information fails to tell you though is that there are essentially three parts to the story, each being separated by a time skip of considerable length. Each part has its own merits and can be somewhat different to each other, and some people are sure to like one part more than the other two. Each part explores different themes and develops the characters in different ways. The first part explores the growing relationship between Ein and Zwei, and follows their interactions with Inferno. The second part introduces Cal Devens, a young girl, who is taken in by Zwei in his attempt to find something or someone worth protecting and giving his life for. And the third part takes elements from the previous two parts and concludes the story in a tragic and bittersweet way. There is very little I can actually fault the story with. There are a few plot holes, both major and minor. However, I feel as though the effect they had on how I viewed the story was extremely minimal. Unlike other plot holes in other anime that I viewed recently, I was able to overlook them with ease and continue immersing myself in this gripping tale. On the other hand, some of the decisions the characters made throughout this anime really pissed me off. Like REALLY. There were few times during which I couldn't comprehend exactly what was going on in the minds of the characters, especially given how smart and cunning most of them are. If they made stupid decisions that had minor consequences, then I would've overlooked them like I did with the plot holes. However, considering the potential impact that most of these decisions had and the fact that characters were later going to contradict an earlier decision they already made, it really pissed me off that they decided to make such a decision. It's almost as though the creators wanted to forward the story by making the characters complete retards when they needed a calm head the most. There were arguably much better ways for the story to progress and much better ways in which such ways could be achieved. (Sorry for the mild profanity but this was really something I needed to get off my chest) Characters: 9/10 The characters in this anime are where it shines most. There are three main characters, being Ein, Zwei, and Cal, alongside an interesting supporting cast, consisting mainly of members of Inferno and "uncooperative" mafia groups. Ein, Zwei, and Cal are developed almost perfectly. Each character has to live through events which change them, and their personality and attitude. For example, Zwei may be a cold hearted assassin yet he has a sense of morality which is continually explored throughout the anime, and through the exploration of this single trait, he changes and becomes a different person by the end of the anime. The supporting cast is not explored very much at all. While there were somewhat interesting, they weren't interesting enough for us to really want to get to want to know more about. I personally believe that this is how a supporting cast is meant to be. They aren't meant to outshine the main characters. However, the anime gives us backstory about Lizzie and Claudia, a female duo who works in the higher ranks of Inferno's hierarchy. And I'm going to be honest, I didn't care about their backstory. While they do play somewhat major roles in the anime, their backstory is not needed at all. I cared very little for them because I was already engrossed with the main characters and their development. Sound: 8/10 I've never ventured to say I hate an opening or closing from an anime. And I was extremely tempted to say it regarding the openings and closing of this anime. I'm sure there are people who like it but I dislike the style of music used and I never ever bothered to watch any of the openings or closings following listening to them my first time. On the other hand, the background music in this anime is superb. From the gangster music which was constantly played throughout the first and second parts to the music used during the more tear-jerking moments, particularly in the third part, I loved it all. It constantly helped emphasise the atmosphere and really immerse myself in this anime. I want to specifically point out some of the music in the third part. Without spoiling too much, I'd like to say that the distorted sound and the groaning of a woman really emphasised how messed up everything eventually got in the anime. I watched Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom with english dubs. Now, I always feel like there is a rule which states that if an anime is set in an English speaking country, then the dubs are decent, if not better than decent. I can safely say that the statement still holds true in this anime. Ein and Zwei are bland due to their cold-hearted demeanours but showed their colourful side when needed. Cal's voice throughout the second part was that of pure innocence and young excitement, something which this anime was certainly lacking. The voice acting of the supporting cast was also really well done. Cunning and sly characters like Claudia always spoke in a suggestive and calm tone, while brutish and large characters always spoke with authority and confidence. Art & Animation: 9/10 The art was great. The colours used mostly seemed darker in tone, and many scenes were in the dark which always added to the mafia underworld premise which the anime is set in. The animation was even greater. Everything from the fight scenes, to the firing of bullets, to the splatters of blood, to what I like to call the "Phantom eyes", to driving cars were all animated extremely well. Everything felt smooth and flowed nicely. Enjoyment: 10 I could've also give this category a 5/10 because things didn't go the way I wanted and the decisions some characters made just pissed me off big time. I'm going to be honest and say that it really hurt my heart to see things didn't end up the way I wanted but that's the beauty of a good anime. Things shouldn't be predictable nor should they go the way that the fans want it to. (But please let there be a remake where things end up the way I want them to) I love Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom. It contained great action scenes, an immersive story, and a strong cast of characters. After every episode, I had the feeling I normally get when I watch a good anime; one where I let out a huge breath because I was so immersed in it that it feels as though I forget to breathe or one where I kick my legs in frustration because I want to really know what happens next. I recommend this anime to just about anyone because it has great action for the action anime fans but also a great story for those who aren't exactly into action. Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed! Any feedback is much appreciated.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 13, 2015
Mirai Nikki (TV)
(Anime)
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Something that I've seen all too often and which disappoints me greatly in all forms of media, whether it be anime or not, is when an anime has an extremely intriguing and unpredictable story but fails to execute it in a manner befitting of how good the actual story is. And sadly enough, Mirai Nikki is one such series which pains me to watch due to how poorly executed its good story is. However, personally, Mirai Nikki was still an absolute blast to watch due to the unpredictable nature of its story and the rather strange but extremely interesting cast of characters.
Story: 6/10 Mirai Nikki focuses ... primarily on Yukiteru Amano or Yuki for short, a cowardly and lonely boy who for some strange reason, keeps a diary of everything that happens around him on his phone. He is involuntarily thrown into a Hunger Games-esque fight to the death by Deus Ex Machina, the God of space and time, in order to determine the successor to his throne. Each of its twelve contestants is given a future diary which aids them in seeing the future. It is then that he meets and teams up with Yuno Gasai, a beautiful grade A student who is actually a psychotic and obsessive bitch... to put it lightly. Sounds rather simple right? Yes. Yes it does. But what makes Mirai Nikki's story so intriguing and addictive is that it isn't just a simple kill-everyone-to-win sort of story. The story actually has depth. Not all the characters have the desire to become a god. Some characters see the benefit of creating alliances instead of killing at first sight. A few of the characters have a sense of morality and help those who they are meant to kill. All these small additions of character to the anime create depth and gives the story substance. Furthermore, the story also includes many, many, many plot twists, probably too many for a 26 episode anime. While most of make sense to a certain degree ane one of them completely blew my mind (I'm sure it will blow yours too), almost all of them contained some sort of plot hole, some unexplainable plot device, or an inconsistency. I can't even count the number of times I asked a question that I knew would be answered on my own two hands. Eventually, and metaphorically speaking, the anime gets to a point in the story where people start gaining the ability to fly, aliens start attacking the earth, and it turns out your neighbour is Satan. Well, that might as well happen, given that very few things are explained well, if explained at all, in this anime. Another extremely disappointing thing to note about Mirai Nikki is the after credit scenes. Initially, it is explained that the afte credit scenes would be used to give backstory, information about some scenes during the episodes, or some details on something you might not have picked up during an episode. I only recall one time where the after credit scenes were useful; in the first or second episode where it helped the viewer piece together a few events which might not have been linked together by the viewer. Otherwise, every single after credit scene is just a sorry excuse to add some humour to every episode. Characters: 7/10 Every single character in Mirai Nikki is unique and interesting in their own way. The contestants participating in this game to the death range from a blind vigilante to a well known terrorist to a blood thirsty kid. Sadly enough, very few of the characters are explored at all and none of them aside from Yuki, Yuno, and 9th receive any meaningful character development. The character development they do receive is terrible, hardly related to the overall story at all, and could've made way for explanations of the many unexplainable plot devices. Now I would have given the characters a higher score, probably an 8/10, but the creators of Mirai Nikki are perverted. I'm a guy but the amount of female nudity and fan service they chucked into Mirai Nikki, which is there just for the sake of it being there, is uncomfortable and just disgusting. Not only that but they also ran out of ideas when it came to many of the female characters' backstory. They essentially told themselves that if they wanted their supporting female cast to have troubled pasts, that they should say they got raped, put a scene suggesting as such, and leave it at that. For the most part, Yuki's development as a main character is extremely inconsistent. At times he becomes the world's most confident man and at other times, he is the world's biggest coward. On the other hand, 9th's development is a little better, which really doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things. By the end of the story, she is a completely different person to the one you first meet but the events which caused her to change so much are strange and somewhat unexplainable. The one extremely bright spot in the cast of characters is Yuno, though I do understand that many, many people will not like her. Her unpredictable and secretive nature was what really helped make the story so intriguing. When every character was more or less established in their roles, Yuno was that one character who continually had something new pull from under her sleeve. She receives a huge amount of character development, all of which adds fuel to her unpreictable fire and sets up for a plot twist which, as I have previously stated, blew my mind away. Art & animation: 9/10 The art in this anime is honestly nothing special and I honestly wasn't impressed with most of it. There are, however, a few small details, especially in a few of the future diaries, which did catch my eye quite a few times. The animation, on the other hand, is a lot more impressive. During the fight scenes, which need to be animated well in anime like these, was fluid and nice to watch. Other animation techniques like the splattering of blood and the eyes of "death" (a name I gave to the eyes that Yuki gets when he realises something bad or when Yuno goes into full-psycho mode) are also really well done. Sound: 8/10 First opening. Great. Quality listen in my spare time. Second opening. Not so great. There's just something about English lyrics being sung by a Japanese person that I don't like but that's just personal preference. The background music is brilliant, especially combined with the animaiton. It always helped create the atmosphere, whether it be during a fast paced battle or when a psychotic Yuno is stalking you. The voice acting (I watch Mirai Nikki dubbed) is actually somewhat good. Yuno was portrayed perfectly. She always sounded cute but you could also always hear that hint of psycho in her. Yuki was also portrayed well. During the emotional or horrifying moments, Yuki was full of emotion and his voice broke a lot, adding a bit more realism to his character. The supporting characters weren't as good. However, you didn't see most of them enough to really judge if their voice acting was good enough or not and I honestly didn't care if they weren't going to show up that much. Enjoyment: 9/10 Personally, the only things which bugged me about this anime were the questions which kept managing to ask but never received answers to and the ridiculous amount of fan service. Otherwise, I was constantly on the edge of my seat, always wanting to see what plot twist would come my way. For most of the anime, I overlooked the plot holes, inconsistencies, and unexplained plot devices, and was able to enjoy what this anime had to offer. If you, unlike me, cannot stand a poorly executed story, then I suggest you turn away from Mirai Nikki. Otherwise, I highly recommend that everyone else watch this anime. Hope you found this review helped! Any feedback is much appreciated.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 30, 2015
Guilty Crown
(Anime)
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Guilty Crown was definitely an absolute blast to watch due to its amazing visuals and amazing sound. However, it was extremely difficult to really immerse yourself in a story that is incoherent and full of loopholes. In essence, I award Guilty Crown with the title of Michael Bay's Transformers of anime.
Story: 5/10 Guilty Crown's story isn't bad per se. It's actually a really really good and interesting story, one which actually had me excited from when I started this anime. It follows the primary protagonist Shu as he meets Inori, a famous singer who also happens to be part of the terrorist organisation Funeral Parlour. His ... adoration for her then leads him into a life threatening situation where he tries to save her and she gives him the Power of the Kings, a power which, frankly, is way too overpowered when given to someone who actually knows how to use it. Due to this encounter, he joins Funeral Parlour in their attempt to fight against GHQ, an organisation which has seized authority and power in Japan after they were meant to prevent outbreaks of the Apocaypse Virus, a virus that had broken out ten years prior to the setting of the current story. Did you get all that? If not, then you may not want to watch this anime because it gets a lot more complicated than that. It only takes a few episodes for the entire story to go completely balls up and I spent a solid few minutes after most episodes reading a synopsis of what had just happened and to see if I had missed anything that was particularly important. However, having already made such negative comments about the story, I want to say that it's not bad. It's actually really good. I was stongly interested and intrigued by what it actually had to offer me. It's just the way in which the story is told leaves so many loose ends that will have you scratching your head and asking many, many questions... So many questions. The story continually introduces plot point after plot point without explaining previous plot points and it simply becomes a huge mess. In addition to such a problem, the pacing is horrendous. For example, the beginning of the anime is somewhat slow; Shu tries to balance life with Funeral Parlour and life with school after gaining his powers. Then a few episodes later, Shu is desperately trying to save the world from some sort of evil scheme which is never really properly introduced. It takes well over a full episode to establish the fact that Shu is a socially awkward boy but it takes a few minutes for someone to steal something of importance and almost kill everyone in the world with it. And I just want to reiterate once again that the pacing is absolutely horrendous. It's only after episode 12 when I feel like things improve quite a bit. However, episode 13 is a pretty huge leap forward in time, which might cause some people to become quite pissed off. I didn't mind it and I also believe that it was pretty well explained though you might ask some questions about the logic regarding certain decisions that were made during the time skip but hey, one does not simply question the logic of an anime. This second half of the series stop introducing new plot points and finally starts explaining a few of them and answering some of the questions that you may have. Key word: few. But after 12 episodes of an absolute mess, it might be a bit late for some people to start accepting answers and explanations. Characters: 6/10 This story is focused primarily on Shu and Inori, along with other main characters like Gai, and... Gai, the leader of funeral party in the first half of the series. These are only three characters who really ever receive any development. And this bugs me quite a bit because the supporting cast of around 20 other characters was just as interesting, if not more interesting, than the main cast. The supporting cast (this includes villains) isn't given enough screen time for us to want to know more about them but given nowehere near enough time for any meaningful development to occur. Even when surprising revelations were made about the supporting characters, it really had no impact on me because I couldn't really bring myself to actually feel that much for them. On the other hand, you have the main cast of Shu, Inori, and Gai. Each of these characters is developed rather nicely. However, due to the pacing of the story and the requirements of each character for their respective roles in this mess of a story, the process of their development is also somewhat a mess. In the second half of he series though, just as quality of the story improves, the development of each of the three main characters improves as well. Animation & Art: 11/10 Now forgive the 11/10 that I have given the animation and art. It's because I've given 10/10's to anime whose animation and art doesn't even come close to comparing to Guilty Crown's and I feel like it would be a huge injustice to Guilty Crown if I gave it a measly 10/10. Having said all that, you should already know that the animation and art is absolutely stunning; an absolute feast for your eyes. The normal scenes like when Shu is sitting in highschool or at home would be considered amazing in many other anime. I can't even begin to describe just how good the action scenes are. Or how good Guilty Crown can look in scenes where it tries to be beautiful. Sound: 10/10 Just like the animation and art, the sound is also sublime. The openings and closings provide really great listens whether in the anime or outside the anime. The background music really scales up the epic-ness of the fight scenes and CAN evoke some emotion. And Inori's singing is as beautiful as beautiful can get. There isn't much I really can say about the music in this anime, except that I strongly recommend you go listen to every single song that they have to offer. The voice acting (I watched Guilty Crown dubbed) on the other hand is the reason I didn't also give sound an 11/10. It wasn't bad. But it wasn't good either. Some characters had really good voice acting which contained a lot of emotion and really helped me immerse myself in the anime while some characters had somewhat bland voice acting. Enjoyment: 8/10 Guilty Crown is a good anime and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Episodes 1-12 were difficult to comprehend to say the least but when some things are explained in the second half of the anime, I began to really appreciate what had actually occurred in the first 12 episodes and it really took the burden of all the questions I had off my mind. If there's anything that everyone should enjoy when watching Guilty Crown, it's the animation, art, and sound. And it's mainly these three things coupled with the interesting but somewhat badly-told story that I reccommmend that you watch this anime. Thank you for reading! Any feedback is much appreciated.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 23, 2015 Recommended
I'm extremely skeptical when it comes to any sort of animated entertainment and horror. I went it into this anime having been told this was one of the best horror anime, and I have to say I was slightly disappointed. To be fair, I never asked why it was so good so for all I knew, this anime couldve been praised for things other than its horror setting. And that was exactly how I felt.
Story: 8/10 The story follows the bland and over curious Kouichi, a new transfer student to extremely strange and eerie high school, as he meets the mysterious and beautiful Mei, a girl ... who seems to be non existent to everyone else in the class. His curiosity about the school and Mei leads him down some dark paths and he learns about forces which no one can comprehend, all of which he ends up trying to battle with the aid of his classmates. It sounds like a really interesting story but I feel like it wasn't told as well as it could have. I found the the first episode to be boring. Like really boring. And for me, first impressions have a really large impact on my opinion of an anime, especially if said anime is 12 episodes long. So even though subsequent episodes made the story more interesting, I continued to have a somewhat negative opinion of the anime as I continued to watch it. However, having said that, this anime has some really freaking good cliffhangers, the only thing which really kept me interested in investing my time in this anime. As one episode ended, I wanted desperately to know what going to happen the next episode despite the fact that the episodes themselves were somewhat boring to me. It's only after things are finally explained that I really began to appreciate what the first few episodes were about, and thus my first impressions had been erased quite a bit. But one of the things which made me dislike the first few episodes is the fact that I felt like the anime tried way too hard to be a horror. It continually placed you in really cliché settings like a dark under-funded hospital or a shop full of creepy looking dolls. To me, it wasn't scary at all and I would've much preferred it just be a regular mystery anime rather than a mysterious horror. Sound: 9/10 While on the topic of Another trying too hard to be a horror, I want to talk about the background music, particularly in the first few episodes. The background music itself was actually pretty darn good; it was ominous, mysterious, fear-evoking. However, I felt like it was overused and definitely used in scenes which didn't need such background music. If I recall correctly, there is a scene where a few of Kouichi's new classmates visit him in the hospital to say hi in he first episode. Sure they act a little strangely, but I really did not see the need for the music to be that typical to any sort of horror medium. This only really seems to be a problem for me the first few episodes because as the series went on, I found that the music started to fit the scenes a lot more appropriately and the horror music was used a lot less, making it more scary when it was actually played. I watch english dubs and I have to say that I probably should have watched the subbed version instead, especially seeing that it was better than the dub in the OVA which I could not find dubbed. It's not to say they were particularly bad. The voice acting was decent. No one felt out of place but at the same time, no one stood out as being good. However, I did like Mei's voice acting. Despite being kind of bland due to her "I don't really give a shit" attitude, it really made her all the more mysterious. Characters: 6/10 This is one of the more major problems I had when I was watching Another. Aside from Mei and her mysteriousness, all the other characters were bland, uninteresting, and at times just plain annoying. None of the characters are really given much development, if any at all, and even if they were given development, most of it led nowehere. In particular, I want to point out Izumi's development. She's initially shown as cold and heartless but after things are explained you realise that she knows she comes off as cold and heartless but it is for a good cause. Its an interesting development, however it leads nowhere. There is also her connection to Kouichi prior to knowing him at their current highschool which was introduced but had absolutely no connection to the story, well at least one that I couldn't see and which still bugs me quite a bit. Art: 10/10 This is one of the things that this anime does extremely well. It's beautiful in just every scene and it's heavenly in the scenes where it wants to be beautiful. While I wasn't scared at all, the art did a really good job of compensating for it by always having me slightly on edge because the art was more realistic and vivid. This also translated to more gruesome moments when people die, especially since deaths are kind of creative in this anime. Seeing how well the art was done when somebody's neck was pierced by a sharp object or stabbed by more than enough knives really made it seem all the more gruesome. Enjoyment: 8/10 As I said before, the first few episodes were boring and this anime tried too much to be scary. However, as events are properly explained and the anime tried less and less to be scary, I satrted to appreciate it a lot more, especially the final two episodes which really explored some pretty dark themes and which were extremely intense. I hope I helped you in the decision as to whether you want to watch this anime or not. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 23, 2015 Recommended
Toradora is not just a romantic comedy or a comedic romance; it is both a comedy and a romance. If Toradora was simply either a romance or a comedy, I reckon it would still be pretty darn good. And that is how good i find Toradora to be.
P.S- sorry but this review is kinda long so... Story: 10/10 The story revolves primarioy around Taiga and Ryuji. Ryuji loves Taiga's best friend and Taiga love Ryuji's best friend. And so they decide to help each other in their quest to attain the love of those who they each love. Simple right? Nope. Taiga can be described using most, ... if not all of the following words; psychotic, dangerous, insane, selfish, demanding, and brutal, despite her extremely small stature (she's only 5 foot 5 inches tall!!). On the other hand Ryuji is a kind, gentle, and caring boy whose eyes resemble those of someone who wants to hurt you and who has a compulsive desire for everything to be orderly and hygienic. If the joining of two such personalities in the same quest of love isn't enough for you to be interested, then keep reading. Otherwise, go watch the first episode and I swear you will not be disappointed. The first episode of Toradora is one of my favourite, if not my favourite, first episodes of any anime I've watched. It does an extremely good job of introducing your two main characters and it does so in a pretty hilarious fashion. But what I like most about this anime is that the quality of episode never really declines at all after the first one. The quality stays at a consistently high level throughout the entire anime. Eventually you meet all the other characters such as Taiga's love Yuusaku, Ryuji's love Minori, the fake face bitch Ami, and the assortment of other interesting and funny supporting characters. What I love so much about this story is that nothing exciting really ever happens in the lives of these students compared to other anime I have watched. Toradora uses seemingly simple everyday tasks and happenings to develop each character and their respective relationships with the other characters extremely well. However, having said that, each of the main characters aside from Ryuji have their own mini story arcs, whereby each character gets a little bit more screen time than they usually do. Unlike other anime I have seen like Kanon or Clannad, each arc doesn't place a complete focus on a single character but instead includes all the other characters. On top of that each arc contributes heavily to the overall story and it makes for a much more memorable watching experience. Now there are only two real small problems that I have with this anime and honestly, they are are really small problems so they night not affect your watching experience. First of all, I may just sound like I'm cocky but after I had finished the first episode, I knew what the outcome of the anime would be. However having said that, I would like to quote one of the Earth Kingdom nomad performers from Avatar: The Last Airbender; "going to a destination is not about the destination but rather about the going". I've been waiting to apply this quote to an anime for a long time and I finally got my chance. I knew what the outcome was going to be but it in no way lowered the quality of my watching expereince. Despite knowing what was going to happen, I still loved every moment and every scene this anime had to offer me. And even when the anime had reached its brilliant conclusion, one of which I had already known, I could not prepare myself for the emotions I felt in the final episode. However, having said that, I have to say that the anime did an earn extremely good job of convincing me that the outcome I had predicted was not going to be the case and at times during the anime, my confidence in the outcome I had predicted waned quite a bit, almost to the point where I completely scrapped my idea of what was going to happen. Secondly, *this is about the ending and despite the fact there are no spoilers I understand some people may not want to know anything about the ending so please skip this paragraph if you are on of these people* the final five or so minutes of the anime completely ripped my heart out and went on to mend it extremely quickly. After finishing Toradora, I just felt like too much was packed into the final few minutes. Despite, brilliant and emotion-evoking dialogue, I feel as though the final five minutes would've been better should there have been extra episode. Five minutes to rip out my heart and mend it just didn't seem like enough to satisfy me. Characters - 9/10 I've already touched on the characters in the story category so I will be a bit more brief here. Every single character in this anime was unique and likeable, at least in my opinion. I've already described Taiga to you and honestly, she is the selling point for the show in the first few episodes. If you don't like girls with personalities like Taiga's, then you may not like this anime or the first few episodes may be a bit rough for you. However, as previously mentioned, I said that the character development and the development of their relationships is done extremely well in Toradora. This is particularly evident with Taiga. As the story begins to uncover the softer side of her personality and reveal more about her past, you start to see a Taiga that you may be more accustomed to. My single flaw with the characters in this anime is Ami. I may have previously said that each character is developed extremely well and Ami is no exception. However, her screen time decreases quite a bit as the anime progresses and this disappoints me quite a bit. As a result her character development becomes stunted and she is reduced to the role of "observer" and occasionally she gets a few lines here and there; however many of these lines often go unheard by other characters and the final scene in which she says anything meaningful and worth contributing to the story is cut short and ultimately had no impact on me. Art: 10/10 The art in Toradora is nothing too special... when it doesn't want to be. However, when the anime wants to display a beautiful sunset, a wintry night, or a Christmas tree that is the life of the party, this anime can be extremely beautiful. Sound: 10/10 Don't even get started on the OSTs in Toradora. They are brilliant. The openings and closings are catchy and I honestly really like them. Toradora'so closings are some of the few closing that I ever bothered to watch more than once because I just really liked them. There is also the Christmas song performed by Taiga and Ami which I loved despite only having listened to it once. As for background music, it does an absolutely splendid job of amplifying the moods and emotions associated with their respective scenes. I have to give special mention to the OST or OSTs which started before a comedic moment. As soon as they we started I would always have a big grin on my face, ready to start laughing when the moment came and I feel as though this had a huge impact on the fact that I actually found Toradora absolutely hilarious. Similarly, the OSTs during sad moments also amplified the feels that I felt, particularly one which I cannot really pinpoint, otherwise I would need to spoil one of the anime's greater moments. It nearly made me cry listening to it outside of the anime. The voice acting in the dub version (which is what I watch so deal with it) was brilliant. Taiga was nailed perfectly in my opinion, especially given the fact that her character must be an absolute handful to voice act. I also want to mention Ami's voice actor who was able to switch between bitch Ami and nice Ami extremely smoothly, and Minori's voice actor who gave so much life to a character who's ideals and beliefs are bigger than life itself. There isn't much I can really say about the other voice actors. They did fine jobs in their respective roles and none of the characters ever felt bland or out of place due to their voice acting. Enjoyment: 11/10 (rounded down to 10/10) I've never been much of a romance or comedy type of guy, opting instead for action and adventure. But Toradora captured my imagination and my heart only a few episodes into the series, landing it a place on my top 5 favourite anime of all time, possibly even my favourite. It was a viewing experience of the highest quality and I storngly, strongly, strongly recommend this anime to just about anyone, whether they are a fan of romance and comedy or not. I hope I helped you make a decision in whether you want to watch Toradora or not. Feedback is much appreciated! Edits: The name of the Christmas song is Holy Night and the sad song is Lost My Pieces should you want to check them out before starting the anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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