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Feb 15, 2021
I'm a boomer now and barely even watch anime, let alone write reviews. But I am just so broken and depressed after finishing this show that I just needed to write something to work through my emotions. This is going to be super vague and uninteresting, since to be honest, I'm writing it more for myself than others, and I don't want to outright spoil anything.
I REALLY liked the first arc of this show, which is the first three/four-ish episodes. It was the whole generic "reincarnated guy is super strong and can defeat everyone and girls like him" shtick, but the main character was
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genuinely likeable, kind, and it was enjoyable watching him mess people up. And the girls were cute. Yay.
There are three more arcs after this in the show and... they just get progressively worse and worse. I think the most offensive part about this is that even in those awful arcs, there are points where the show will trick you into thinking it got good again. It'll give you hope. And just as Hawkeye says in Avengers: Endgame... Don't you give me hope. If you're going to become a bad show, just become a bad show. Don't go back and forth and drop a cool story tidbit, then IMMEDIATELY invalidate it and go back into stupid writing.
Sasha and Misha are at least super cute heroines, but after the first arc, they're barely even in the show. Like, why even bother having such cute heroines if they aren't even going to do anything. The main character even gets side-lined significantly in portions of the final three arcs.
Honestly though, in a way, this anime might have achieved it's purpose to sell the novels. Because it became so horrendously stupid that I'm almost tempted to read them, as I cannot believe that the way the story plays out in the anime was intentional.
The second to last arc had a super cool premise, but it ended up being the most generic fare you've ever seen. In the final arc, there was a plot point where I genuinely thought the show was coming back together. But starting the final episode, the show punched me in the gut, spat on my face, then shot me. That is true pain.
Anyway, I still won't give it lower than a 4 because I liked parts of it a lot and girls are cute.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Mar 28, 2017
You might have heard that Kemono Friends, a CGI full length anime, is the most popular show of the Winter 2017 season in Japan. It took a LONG time for any western anime fans to even notice this show, yet alone take it seriously. But after giving it a fair chance, I truly believe that Kemono Friends is one of the most special and unique anime we have.
First, I'll get a few things out of the way. The animation and art style are lacking in massive ways. I don't think anyone will try to argue with that. The voice acting is also pretty shoddy in
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a few places. However, there is so much more to Kemono Friends than just that.
The biggest draw of the show is that it has some of the best world-building I have ever seen in anime. Kemono Friends truly understands "show, don't tell." As the series goes on, viewers start to learn more and more about the weird and mysterious world this seemingly simple story takes place in. If you're reading this review, it's probably too late for you now, but the theory-crafting and discussions had around Kemono Friends in Japan and the western world were so much fun. By drip-feeding us information about the world, fans were able to come together week to week to discuss their new ideas and knowledge. The mystery of the park might make this one of the best mystery anime too!
The story seems simple at first; a lost girl and an animal girl wander around a park filled with animal girls trying to find out what the lost girl is. Every week, they meet other animal friends and help them with their problems as they progress towards their own goals. But the aforementioned world-building is what draws this all together. In the background of each episode, new things are added to the viewer's knowledge-bank about this unique and interesting world. As your interest in the world grows, so does your love for these relatively simplistic, but fun characters. You grow to love watching them simply have fun, as the dark past of the world unfolds.
It may sound pretentious, but Kemono Friends is not a show that you'll get the full enjoyment of just by watching and forgetting it. Kemono Friends was a show that I spent HOURS thinking about and talking about, because it was simply so amazing that I couldn't get it out of my head. I watch a lot of anime, so usually I'll watch an episode and immediately forget about it, even if it's something I love. I simply couldn't do that with Kemono Friends. It's one of the first shows of the over 300 that I watched that I wanted to discuss in-depth and engage with on all levels. And I know for a fact that it wasn't just me that felt this way, because it has truly become one of the most popular anime in Japan.
I honestly cannot predict how enjoyable this show will be outside of the special environment that existed while it was airing. Thousands of fans, albeit mostly Japanese (luckily, I understand Japanese!), came together week after week to theorize and enjoy the wonderful world of Japari Park. You might not be able to get over the art or voice acting and that's fair. But watching Kemono Friends is the most special experiences I have ever had in my life-long anime career. I don't know if anything will ever be able to replicate this feeling, but I hope that future creators take notes from Kemono Friends.
Give this show a shot, at least until episode 4. If you watch to that point and still can't get into it, it might not be for you. I 110% advise you to make your own theories about the show and THINK about it as you watch, taking breaks when possible. Go back and read the episode discussion threads on Reddit to get a sense of what people thought at different points in the show. Enjoy the wonderful fanart and other creative pieces that the huge, dedicated fanbase of Kemono Friends have made. I hope that this show gains more traction in the west, because it is so disappointing that so many western fans missed out on the magic. If anything, push through it to get ready for the inevitable (considering those sales) season 2 and prepare for a new round of magic!
Welcome to Japari Park!
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Aug 25, 2015
For the sake of full-disclosure, I watched this anime as part of /r/anime's "Nerves of Steel" contest, where users were assigned various "bad" anime and forced to sit through them.
Ushinawareta Mirai wo Motomete (from hereon referred to as Waremete), honestly surprised me. My expectations were rock-bottom, since the only reason I had even heard of this anime, let alone watched it, was because it was deemed trash. Looking at the rating, it seemed that was true.
Waremete is a school romantic sci-fi mystery, centered around time travel. What a mouthful. An interesting mystery is set up in episode one. Sadly, the vast majority of the mystery
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in the show is made ridiculously blatant by the second episode. Then, for awhile, the show turns into a mediocre school romance anime. For the first two-thirds of the anime, I was at least happy to learn that the show wasn't bad at all. It was just overwhelmingly mediocre. What kept me going (other than the contest requiring me to finish it) was the potential of the time travel plot that was ignored for the majority of the show.
I can honestly say that Waremete, in all of it's long-winded generic existence, has a thoroughly satisfying payoff. And that's exactly why I bumped the show up to an 8 from a 5 or 6. I really cannot stress the long-windedness of the generic slice-of-life segments enough, but they didn't exactly surprise me. Waremete was adapted from a visual novel and anyone who has played a few knows that many of them are extremely long with little to no actual depth. That perfectly describes the first two-thirds of Waremete. Furthermore, some of the main characters were never fully developed, with their plot-lines being abandoned halfway through. One character, Kenny, was even more of a running gag/plot device than an actual character. My guess would be that the character issues were due to the fact that they only had around 4 hours (12 episodes) to tell a 10-30 hour story (according to VNDB.)
The animation quality wasn't particularly amazing or unique, but if you've seen Oregairu Zoku, then you know that feel's (the studio who made both Waremete and the aforementioned) greatest strength is facial expression. That definitely shows in Waremete. I was impressed by the variety of expressions. They were often extremely subtle, yet packed with character. Anime has been having a lot of trouble with expression as of late, so that was nice to see. I also enjoyed the music a lot. The op in particular set the mood of the (late) show really well.
Now, getting back to the most important point: why should you watch this? Before I trailed off, I mentioned that Waremete has a great payoff. After all of the mediocre slice-of-life ends, we finally get a gripping time travel story full of interesting ideas and concepts. Look, I may be just be a sucker of time travel. Steins;Gate and A Certain Magical Girl Anime are two of my favorites. Regardless, the ideas and emotions portrayed in the final act of Waremete are not ones I will soon forget. If you have any interest in the time travel genre at all, take a look at Waremete if you can stomach the first two-thirds. My love for time travel might be making me overpraise Waremete, but I can at least promise you that this school romantic sci-fi mystery comes to a close in a tight, satisfying way.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 30, 2015
Hibike! Euphonium is like a symphony. It starts off slow and mellow, then comes at you full force, not letting you go until the very end.
Story: Being that it's a KyoAni work, many people deemed the show "K-On in Concert Band" without further thought. From the first two episodes, the show seemed to just be a simplistic slice-of-life, albeit a cute and fun one. However, the plot picks up surprisingly quickly from the show's brilliant third episode. From that point on, Hibike! Euphonium becomes a terrific coming-of-age story, that roused feelings of nostalgia from my very core. The storyline is paced wonderfully, never going
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too slow or too fast. Plot threads reveal and close themselves in beautiful ways. Sadly, Hibike! Euphonium is based off a series too large to adapt in one cour, so there isn't a defining conclusion. But, because of that same fact, we can hope for a second season.
Art: KyoAni has great animation. It's a well known fact. However, what amazes me is that KyoAni upped their game even more. Every single side character has a unique character design, full of personality, even if they never speak a single line. The particle effects that fill the show make it burst with personality and life. The lighting and colors on the instruments are almost like photographs. The backgrounds are gorgeous. Everything about the art is just perfect. I could rave about it forever.
Sound: This is an anime about music. Unsurprisingly, the music in it is great. The actual soundtrack is orchestrated wonderfully, driving in the emotion of powerful scenes. However, the sound truly shines when the characters play their instruments. The amount of work that must've gone into the subtle differences between each player and each time they play a song astounds me. I mean, the show literally has Sound (Hibike) in the name. The sound better damn well be astounding.
Character: This is where the show truly shines. Well, I give everything about this show a 10/10, so I guess I have to give character an 11/10. The character development is just so realistically written, it hurts. It reminds me of my own high school experiences and the sometimes dumb, confusing ways I felt. I don't know if I can think of another show that has character development so fluid and natural. At the same time, every character is multi-layered in amazing ways. Even some of the side characters who only make a few appearances get their time to show off development or multiple dimensions. You'll love some characters and you'll hate some characters, but ultimately, you'll appreciate how all of them grow.
Everything in Hibike! Euphonium comes together to create a piece that I think is truly special. Give it a shot. You won't regret it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jun 25, 2015
I had to write a review for Punch Line because the current score (7.11 as of 6/25/15) is far underrating this surprise favorite.
Punch Line is a show that many people dropped within the first few episodes and honestly, I don't blame them. It harbors an absolutely ridiculous premise and while the first episode is action-packed, the next four episodes focused more on (admittedly) lackluster comedy. However, those that stuck around to episode five got on a train ride with no stops.
The art and sound production were one of the main draws to the show for me and for many others that initially picked
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up the show. It has unique character designs, bursting with personality. The soundtrack isn't extremely memorable, but it always did a good job at setting the mood and drawing me into the story. The voice actors all portrayed their characters amazingly well.
But more importantly, let's get to the story. Punch Line's premise, again, is ridiculous. What's amazing about Punch Line is that it manages to make its premise MAKE SENSE. From episode 5 onwards, almost every weird and ridiculous thing in the show is explained in a way that makes logical sense within the confines of this universe. There are a few plot threads left open at the end of the series, some of which I really wanted a conclusion to, but for the most part, everything that we see in episode one comes together by the final episode.
That is the single biggest reason to watch Punch Line, in my opinion. Watch the first episode and observe the wacky premise and wonder to yourself, "How the hell does this make any sense?" Then watch the rest of the show and be impressed at how it comes together. Punch Line, although its first half is rather weak, comes together in the second half to become an absolute must-watch for any anime fan.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Mar 17, 2015
Sakurasou is an anime that is more than the sum of its parts. If I were to break down Sakurasou into its most basic ingredients, I wouldn't be able to claim that any of those ingredients are particularly brilliant. However, the wonderful hot pot created when all of those ingredients are boiled together is one that is unique and unforgettable.
Story - 9/10
The premise of Sakurasou is generic enough, but the story grows beautifully from its humble beginnings. Containing multiple story arcs, each with enough plot and character to facilitate being an anime alone, Sakurasou almost resembles a battle shonen in structure. Various arcs centered around
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focused goals allow the plot to progress and the characters to grow. The pacing, for a melodramatic slice-of-life, is fast, but not in a bad way. The speed of the series serves to keep the viewer engaged, very rarely moving so fast that you feel like you've missed something. In regards to a few plot points, the story sometimes either seems to move too quickly or too slowly, but the overall story is beautifully told at an interesting and unique pace.
Art - 7/10
Sakurasou has lovely character designs that burst with personality. I can't think of any points in the anime where the drawings were weak enough to distract from my immersion in the story. The animation itself was fine, although during more kinetic scenes, it lacked. Kinetic scenes were rarely required in the story, so that isn't a major complaint. The reason the art only scores a 7 is mainly due to the color used. The colors in Sakurasou were dull and pasty, which isn't my cup of tea. It did allow the more colorful scenes to stand out, but this opportunity was squandered.
Sound - 6/10
The sound effects, as per usual in anime, were fine. Never did they distract from the show. The reason sound scores only 6 out of 10 is because of the soundtrack. Although Sakurasou is chocked full of emotional scenes, the background music was almost never powerful enough to support the amazing performances by the voice actors and actresses. Furthermore, the soundtrack in general was rather forgettable, although I enjoyed the OPs and EDs. That isn't to say the soundtrack is bad, it just was weaker than the rest of the show.
Character - 10/10
This is where Sakurasou truly shines. All of the main characters in Sakurasou are unique and flawed. Some of them may seem to be tropes at first glance, but as you watch more episodes, you'll quickly realize that they're anything but. Over the course of the story arcs and their interactions with one another, all of the characters grow as human beings. In addition, the character flaws are some of the best I've seen written in anime. The flaws of the characters can often be annoying, but usually because you've been in their situation before and understand how they feel. You know that they're feeling something silly, but it's such a realistic portrayal of how a person would react. I would love to see the characters grow even more.
Overall - 9/10
As I said, Sakurasou is more than the sum of its parts. Although the art and sound sometimes drag down the engaging story and beautiful characters, it manages to come together in what I believe is an unforgettable anime. Sakurasou is an important watch for any anime fan.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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