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This review should not contain any spoilers.

Watched the US release on September 18, 2024!

Will preface this review by saying I am a big Hololive fan, and the fact that my Kamioshi Hoshimachi Suisei sang the intro with Sakuma put me onto this film. Well, that, and I generally enjoy watching and supporting anime screenings in my local theatre.

That being said, I have to admit that my high point of the film was the intro song, as I got to witness my idol perform on a new stage being a movie theatre, and as a film major I felt my worlds colliding.

I genuinely think that this ... film had great potential to tell a really interesting story. I was invested enough to want to see where it would go once the tension hit its peak simultaneously showing the girls achieving their "dream" at the time but also exposing the "dark side of the idol industry" (a cliche done very many times). However, it loses all its momentum it had built in the last two acts to hand off the plot to one of the main girls to conveniently exposition her way into the film's resolution.

In the end, after one of the main girls who didn't have much presence conveniently gives up all hope of developing her character and magically convinces Azuma to continue chasing her dream, we are met with a dreaded time skip of doom. I won't speak on how it resolves, but it just felt like suddenly we see a "good end" (if you would like to call it that) without any of the context of the struggle how they got there so many years later. We're left to piece together the past without any show for it, and then it ends showing the word "Trapezium". I had no idea what that meant. It's not fair that we suddenly see an ending where things have at least worked out, but we spent the entire film watching them struggle as girls chasing their youth and their childish ambitions, only to suddenly be adults where everything is working out fine?

I feel like the film would have been better if we got an extra 10 minutes of a montage powerpoint sequence at the end, even, to showcase the trials they went through to become successful, but the sudden handing of a life that "worked out in the end" just felt cheap and left me wanting. However, an extra 10 minutes of this movie would definitely drag it on to be way too much.

I saw this film at the Animation Is Film (AIF) Festival in Los Angeles. There should be no spoilers in this review.

I genuinely don't know how I feel about this film. I don't know much about the source material, but I can say that I left the theater somewhat confused on the overall meaning that was meant to be conveyed. I have no clear indication of what the general message of the film was, other than a critique of the human condition and that greed is a vice that will consume all. I say this very loosely, only because that is the only non-weird conclusion ... that I can come to about this film.

The film also suffers from pacing issues, as well as several themes feeling like they were shoehorned in for "emotional impact" but their presence in the film feels tacked on rather than incorporated into the story. There were several potentially interesting themes and events introduced that could have easily been expanded on to create a deeper sense of connection with the characters, but these all fall flat in how a lot of them fail to resolve, and a glaringly important event abruptly begins and resolves completely without the interference of the main cast. A questionable decision to take this facet of the story and neglect to elaborate on it, to be honest.

I especially had mixed emotions when coming to terms with the general events that happened and the sequence they were happening in. A lot of the events in the story really felt like they were placed in there simply to solidify a fact as it happened, rather than feeling like the characters were experiencing their own lives. It felt like they were only placed in some of the scenarios they were in not because we're expecting them to learn about their situation, or about themselves, but rather they needed to be there or else the story wouldn't progress. It felt like a very linear and almost 3rd-person approach to storytelling that makes emotional impact fall flat because there are no emotional ties tying them to their quest to keep living and deal with their struggles.

At the very least, I can admit that I am very interested in reading the source material, as this is my introduction to the series. It does a great job at making you want to see what the emotional depth was meant to feel like. I genuinely want to know more about the world, and as a person that adores the sci-fi genre I can easily say that I will make a conscious effort to find a means to experience the source material!

I had the pleasure of being invited to the Crunchyroll premiere screening at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures as press, and my outlet even got to interview Shinkai himself. There should be no spoilers in this review.

TLDR: As with all Shinkai films, it's gorgeous, breathtaking, and you'll probably get a decent tearjerker moment no matter your walk of life, but in the end it doesn't really hold a candle to "Your Name", let alone any of his better & earlier works.

I'd like to preface this by admitting that I personally believe Shinkai's previous works "5 Centimeters per Second" and "The Garden of Words" ... are two of the greatest films I've ever seen, not just in the anime sphere. This is important for later. I was also a pretty big fan of "Weathering With You" despite the criticisms of its ending and general direction of its plot.

To put it plainly, I feel like Shinkai is currently chasing the high that he achieved with "Your Name", a phenomenal film by all rights in terms of artistic direction, music, and, though debatable, plot. I have written extensively about that film in a separate review.

My problem stems from the fact that his films still continuously feel like they're chasing "Your Name" in that they're beautiful films with okay stories that people are going to talk big about but in the end they're still just 6/10 movies to me. I can't seem to find that same creative depth and use of metaphor that permeated through his previous films. I don't know if it's because I'm getting cynical, or if it's because they're just not as great as his earlier works, a phrase I say lightly because it does feel like a shallow criticism.

All in all, I enjoyed the film, especially after getting a chance to think over the film over a cup of coffee. The message I took away from the film was that "No matter how much crisis you faced in your life, you can generally look at your life now and think 'I'm okay.'" We're always able to look back at how much disaster was happening in the film's past, in Japan itself, and even in the rest of the world and then also compare the state of the world as it is today and how we continue on living despite the pain and suffering we faced in the past. That message resonates really well with the film, and I hope you reading this can help you enjoy it to a greater extent as well.

This review should not contain any spoilers.

Look, I'm incredibly biased here, but I will begin this review by explaining that I am incredibly addicted to the Isekai genre/theme as a whole. Sure, many of the stories told are rehashes of the same thing, but I thoroughly enjoy them, and I enjoy the video-gamey ness of the worlds in how they interact with their magic/skill systems and with otaku becoming powerful as hell. I'm not saying that this genre is deep when it comes to a writing sense, but I am saying that regardless of the means and the small/menial differences between each series as a ... whole, I thoroughly still enjoy them, and there's no problem with that.

That being said, "Kumo desu ga, Nani ka?", or Kumoko, is absolutely a blast for someone who thoroughly enjoys the isekai genre. I can't pretend to recommend this more to anyone that is really big into these anime/videogame style worlds with overpowered main characters. In fact, overpowered main character is also one of my favorite genres, too.

Art: 7/10 CGI: 2/10
The biggest downfall of this series as an anime is the overuse of CGI, where I can tell the budget was heavily straining towards the end few episodes. Without going too much into detail, in the beginning half of episodes, the CGI is slightly bearable for me. Mostly used on animal-like creatures with potentially complex movement animations, let alone magical casting animations and effects. I can justify the use here, because this is a longer running anime series being 2-cour with high fantasy expectations. Where it gets really grossly overabundant is in the sword fights with playdough like models swinging with the same animations at 15fps toward the latter half of the episodes. Quite a cinema sin for me, but the story carries well through intent. I was still thoroughly invested in learning the fates of the characters despite the major infraction that the animation quality was for me at the end.

Story: 10/10
Not gonna sugarcoat it, the subversions of the isekai genre that this series attempts to take are fresh and nuanced for me, as someone who has watched/read way too many isekai. If you're an isekai fan, you're genuinely love this series. If you're not an isekai fan, and you're still watching this and expecting more out of isekai, dude, you have a problem. I've seen a couple other reviews have high criticisms of the comedy/action fusion that this series attempts, but I personally see it as something hilarious that falls completely in line with several isekai tropes. Also, Kumoko is hilarious! I was genuinely laughing at the gags thrown at me, which can easily fall flat in a series that attempts to take itself semi-seriously in the same vein. The writing of Kumoko's character seriously justifies her use of sarcasm/comedy to handle the situations she's presented with, so I can totally justify why she is the lovable sarcastic way she is.

Overall: 9/10
Lastly, as a creative-type person, I have to say I completely enjoyed this series, and I am about to pick up the light novel and read it from the beginning. I am a Dungeon Master in a campaign with friends, and this series has inspired me to no ends on themes to tackle for my campaign, and the fact that I'm sitting here oozing creative prowess is a testament to my enjoyment of Kumoko.

Where it genuinely falls off for me is the CGI, but that's by no means a real reason to stop loving this series as much as I do. I'm sure this is executed much better in the Novel/Manga.

I highly recommend it to anyone who considers themselves fans of the isekai genre. It's one of the best ones in the genre, and one I would absolutely recommend you don't miss out on!

This review should be free of spoilers.

As a film graduate, and a person who would consider himself a "creative" type of person, this film does a phenomenal job of attacking you at your core, and making you question the reasons you're not chasing down the creative tendencies you have welling within you. It's full of great cinema references, allusions to things I've studied in college, but most importantly it does a powerful job of making you understand that the creative tendencies welling within you, and the artist block you're probably facing is something that you can and should get over, because the things you have ... to contribute to the world can be so great if you just put the effort into it that you know you can do but you're not doing because of personal reasons.

I have to say, I haven't felt more inspired by a single film to chase down my life and take control of it. I feel a personal connection to this film because of its subject matter, but also because at its core, this film was meant to inspire the passion back into your life for your craft, whatever it may be.

I can only earnestly hope that you come out of this film experience with the same drive that I did.

There should be no spoilers in this review.

Honestly the long course of Overlord as a whole has been pretty rough, considering the last few seasons seemed pretty underwhelming regarding animation quality and the overuse of CG. That being said, I do believe that this season did much better for the development of the story as well as many of the incredibly intricate side characters that make up the majority of the cast and members of Nazarick.

I was pleasantly surprised to be pretty interested the whole way through, even in the episodes without fighting. The political nature of committing the actions in this season, as ... well as dealing with the repercussions left a huge impression on me, especially as a person who is incredibly interested in the work it takes to build a world as big as Overlord's is. I had a lot of fun trying to piece together the reactions that each country would have to Nazarick's actions as individuals, and it was doubly fun watching all the members of Nazarick trying to justify all of Ainz's actions as if he was a brilliant schemer 1000 steps ahead of everyone else.

Overlord s4 is a solid 8/10, especially if you're already well invested into the series. It does its worldbuilding very well in this season, which is what the series should really building off of.

This review should not contain any spoilers.

First of all, I don't believe this manga deserves the negative criticism it has on this page. I stumbled upon this manga because of the amazing yandere art style, and it definitely creeps you out yet is endearing in a similar vein to Mirai Nikki's Yuno Gasai. The obvious parallels of pink haired yandere with crazy eyes and blood etc. I found myself wanting to experience more of this feeling and happened upon this manga at a great time as Halloween was fast approaching. I can't say that it touched too heavily on the suspense ... or horror aspects of its story, but nevertheless I enjoyed it for the most part for the high quality art, ecchi aspects, as well as harem & Death Note-like or Lelouch-like human chess games.

Having read the entirety of it, I will say that it ended before it could really get into the deep aspects of what this manga could have been. Once the story latches onto it's primary arc, it drags on for a bit until it resolves, but the resolution is the actual end of the manga. It feels abrupt, but at the same time I am at peace with the ending, because I couldn't see the manga continuing on with the way it was paced. To put it into other words, I'm glad it ended, but I would have read more if there was more.

I hope you decide to give this a chance, if you're reading this because you're on the fence about it. 33 chapters is very short, the art is very good, and you can walk away with this and forget about it after a couple hours, but enjoy the very short time you spent here, especially if you're a fan of harem + Code Geass/Death Note like themes.

I'm going to do something unthinkable and give this anime a generally positive review. There are no spoilers in this review.

Misfit of Demon Academy is absolutely a generic power-fantasy anime that was the magnum opus of some high school chuunibyou that calls himself the jet-black wings and thinks a evil force called "Dark Reuninon" is seeking to destroy the world (props if you get the reference).

Jokes aside, it is a generic power-fantasy of an overpowered main character who gets all the girls by being stoically overpowered. Add a reincarnation plot, generic humans vs demons, a twintailed tsundere ... lead female, and you get as generic as generic fantasy anime get.

HOWEVER!!! That's not to say the anime was bad at all. It was actually quite enjoyable if this is the type of anime that you like. I am quite partial to overpowered main character and fantasy-themed anime, and I genuinely enjoyed almost every minute of the anime, save for the last 2 episodes.

The anime was following a really nice pace despite it being very fast at the same time, until the last two episodes where they it skips all the over-exposition it's been doing for every episode and you can witness it trying to funnel you directly to the last battle. There's literally a very specific moment where I mentally had a pause and thought, "Oh. I guess we're going to the last fight now. Okay." Not that it bothered me too much, though. If the anime was any longer to be honest, it would have gone on too long.

The art, however, is what really does this chuuni story so well. The magic effects aren't anything world renowned, but regardless they look really cool. If you're into high magic battles with big explosions, giant magic circles, magic light swords being launched at a translucent sphere of magical runes, this anime has it all. It was really fun to watch it all coming from Anos as well, because he's overpowered af and he's not afraid to show it. I mean why would he be? He's overpowered.

TL;DR
If you like generic power-fantasies and overpowered main characters, this anime is a really good one to pass time. Don't expect it to be in your top 10's, but it'll easily be a solid 6 or 7. If you don't enjoy those type of anime, why are you bothering watching this? If you know it's not Evangelion-level writing, and you're watching something you don't like, and you're complaining about it, then...I don't know man. I don't regret watching a minute of this, I seriously enjoyed this anime for the last 7 hours, and hope you do, too!

There are no spoilers in this review.

Season 3 redeems this series as one of the best Action-Adventure series in its genre, and I don't say that lightly. One of the things that really bothered me about the second season was the pacing, and the overall amount of tangents that Bell and company had to chase down. It was fun but overall bothered me because it detracts from who we want to follow, Bell.

This season instead decides to follow bell's perspective of the events surrounding him and keep him as the primary focus, a welcome change. Throw in ... a really compelling problem which has no "right" answer, some very interesting character development regarding Bell's own choices and his reputation among his peers, and somehow creating a villain of fate/circumstance and you get season 3.

This season immensely redeemed Danmachi to me as a series, recementing it as one of my favorite series.

I am a huge fan of this series and can usually put up with casual fanservice beach episodes without making a scene, however this goes beyond the concept of fanservice and straight into the realm of questioning why this even exists in the first place.

Absolutely nothing happened that contributed to the story. I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt and had a sliver of hope that something would remain relevant to the plot of the 3rd season, but even after finishing the 3rd season absolutely nothing carried forward. I laughed a little so I gave it a 3, ... I suppose.

You will have no regrets skipping this.