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JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 8: JoJolion Review


Story (6/10) Fair

The story for JoJo's Part 8 I think is fair overall. I don't think it's bad but I don't think it's good either. Fair. I think this is honestly the best word I can use to describe this because on paper. The mystery to figure everything out, the level of nuance, the overall abstract nature and the worldbuilding behind this Part is arguably the strongest it's been out of all of the parts. This can easily be seen as a good thing if you like any of those things and I respect Araki for ... giving new aspects that he hasn't tried before, implementing it to JoJo's and giving it a go because that's what he did with Part 4 and Part 7 in certain way and by many (including myself) is consider both of those some of his best work. The mystery behind a plot in Part 8 though, I thought it was hit or miss.
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I am completely engaged in a plot when I want to figure out what's going on within it or I'm lost and I'm just going through the motions only catching bits and pieces of the a story until the end where I probably have to watch a youtube analysis/breakdown video explaining to my dumb ass detail by detail what this was all about. There's barely any instances where there's an in between with me and it is a case by case basis depending on the story. This is one of those stories where I felt there indeed was an in between to which and where I did find myself understanding the overarching goal of the main plot and most of the goals the characters had, especially since they are repeated multiple times throughout the story to the reader. But there were so many instances where certain details within the execution of it all were either in my opinion poorly executed for understanding purposes, lazy executed plot devices, plot conveniences or character reasons when they decide to do certain things. Now I'm not going to go into heavy detail on every last thing I had an issue with. This review is by far my most lengthy one yet (and my 100th one on this site surprisingly! yay me?). But I'll go into detail on some of my most bothersome critiques which will be spread out in all of the categories since it's not just in the story department.
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So in regards to some of those critiques I mentioned earlier, (the poorly executed for understanding purposes) this one I felt was a mix bag of certain in story narrative related things and outstory narrative related details. When I say "outstory" let me elaborate and I sort of saw small instances of this in Part 7 and I felt the balance that Part 7 had in this regards was a good balance and what I mean by this is showing vs telling. JoJo's is definitely for the most part always been about showing over telling. The only time JoJo's really does telling (via the narrator I mean) is when a backstory of a character is being presented to the audience or at the start of a specific Part they'll introduce the location the Part is taking place in to the audience. These two instances I always thought were reasonable areas to place these at, it didn't take me out of the story because it didn't hurt the pacing or feel to intrusive from an immersion standpoint. These instance started to be seen heavily as early as Part 4 and more so in Part 5. This becomes a formula from those points moving forward and still seen in Part 8. But additionally what Part 8 also leans on (more so than any other Part prior) is when it comes to telling over showing the world that our characters are in, more so after the introduction of the Part unlike other Parts. Like I said this can be seen a tad in Part 7 but in Part 8 (in more situations than I would have liked) the story would randomly come to a halt as the narrator takes over and starts info dumping world building related details to us the audience. I understand giving us the knowledge we need in order to understand the current story more and like I said from a worldbuilding standpoint Part 8 has the strongest thus far because of this technique that Araki is now relying on when it came to this Part. But I do feel it was a double edged sword when it comes to my personal engagement of the overall story since I'm not really used to that in JoJo's handling it this way and so abruptly/intrusively for that matter. And on top of the fact that during my initial read through of Part 8 these sections felt like I'm being taken out of the world of Jojo's to be told about it instead of the world of JoJo's or it's characters showing those details to me. But I also understand that when it comes to certain details, there might not be a more optimal way to rope in what's important Araki feels we should know about at this point in the story via instory execution, like a flashback of a person, place or thing. So outstory execution is used at the cost of putting the pacing and plot of the ongoing story on pause to basically spoon feed us lore related information via the narrator and for me this was something I felt hurt Part 8's storytelling and pacing. One could even debate why this is now the longest part of Jojo's because of that as well.
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Araki since the start of Jojo's has experimented with formulas of storytelling. Part 1-2 shared a formula, Part 3-6 shared a formula and Part 7-8 (to some degree) shared a formula as well. Part 1-2's are very fast paced and very "to the point on things", while Part 3-6 are more on the slower paced having the villain of the week formula come in the play which some like and dislike depending on who you ask (I liked it in Part 3, 4 and 5 but not 6). Part 7 and 8's formula seem to be a mix of the both of them while throwing in far more dense look on almost every aspect of the what's going on. Maybe Part 7 was a "lighting in a bottle" situation where he'll never be able to strike that perfect balance of this formula ever again (we'll see in Part 9) but Part 8 in this formula definitely feels inferior to Part 7 to me and you can even probably debate its it's own formula in itself by how certain execution of things differ to Part 7's and I wouldn't disagree with you if you felt that way. But I'd still debate it's inferior to Part 7's formula nonetheless.
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Part 8 like I stated earlier suffers from certain flaws that I've seen past JoJo's parts particularly Part 4, 5 and 6 where certain details weren't explained and never will be explained or you could assume Araki scrapped that idea and went with something else midway through the Part. Examples that stick out to me are in Part 4 Josuke's past with the guy that looks like him that save him and his mother or the alien guy or Part 5's plot with Fugo Pannacota. This is why in the community you hear the phrase "Araki forgot" so much because of these story related shortcomings and I can see them a lot within things in Part 8. I've also seen many people trying to fill in the blanks themselves with their headcannons or philosophical explanations thinking they completely understand what Araki was going for and he meant to do it this way on purpose and it's so deep I just don't understand it bro! And maybe they are on to something, who am I to call them on their bullshit when some of it I've listened to sound like a reasonable explanations to certain things. But for me personally, I can't get behind it knowing how much Araki is known for scrapping things. Even although many of these stories are at this point almost over two decades old and he could have improved. And maybe he might actually have not have scrapped much or anything at all within Part 8 midway through, we wouldn't know now currently but I guess in future interviews possibly. But maybe this was all intended, but I have to repeat myself again, I can't give him the benefit of the doubt based off of that no matter how much of a veteran of a writer at this point he is in regards to being a mangaka or how nigh perfect Part 7, (nigh is the keyword since even then I still had my issues with Part 7's story around the end, which I've went into in my Part 7 review, so it has its very small shortcomings itself as well).
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To wrap this super long category up, for me, Part 8's formula in storytelling did not click with me as you can obviously tell by now. I respect it from an effort standpoint, it is the longest part of JoJo's and I respect Araki for sticking it through to the end but feel like many things could have been fleshed out more and the ending without a doubt above all other parts felt rushed even with this being the longest Part. It felt like it required more because it was set it up that way. So in a sense that's sort of Araki's fault I guess if you look at it that way, he bit off more than he could chew. And even though he may have not have, it did feel like he gave up in those final chapters to me, I did not feel that climatic in energy or hype in comparison to every previous parts, or maybe I'm just spoiled or desensitized to hype from shonen, videogames or even past JoJos parts. Maybe it's me because I've seen people in the fandom screaming over how hype they thought certain scenes were where I couldn't care less for it. The last time I felt disappointed in the end of a JoJo's Part this heavily was probably Part 5 (reading it, but the anime adaptation changed that for me) or Part 6 (reading it, the anime is not over yet at the time of me writing this). For right now this is probably right down there with them it in that regards.



Art (7/10) Good
More Specifically (7.75/10) Good+

The art for JoJolion I want to start off by say that is good. But when I read the first couple of chapters of Jojolion and I saw the art style and level of detail that Araki was going for with this Part, I'm not going to lie (especially coming off of Part 7) I was disappointed. I still to this day feel that Part 7 has Araki's best art style quality he's ever produced, I was in awe by most of the panels in it. But here in Part 8 from an art quality and consistency of that quality standpoint it feels not only like an inferior version to what he's done in Part 7 but also Part 6 to some degree as well. Does it have a few panels that look very good yes (which is probably where the .75 comes in) but I felt for the most part this Part didn't look all that impressive in comparison to what he's done before (I repeat from an art quality/consistency standpoint NOT ART STYLE). The character designs are also something I didn't really care for for most. Don't get me wrong there were a handful of standouts like Jobin, Kaato, Toru, Mitsuba, Josefumi and maybe Wu and Norisuke. Everyone else though, the extravagant and impressive designs I felt were at an all time low in this part, to me outside of the ones I named just now, they mostly all looked dull and uninspiring for JoJo's at least. The stand designs are still good for the most part no issues there at least which is why this section overall still is in the realms of a high 7.


Characters (6/10) Fair (Spoilers)
More Specifically (6.75/10) Fair+

JoJo's Part 8's characters is once again a mixed bag. It is riddled with the most bizarre, debatably complex and definitely convoluted nuance ever seen in characters of a Part in JoJo's thus far. It is once again another massive double-edged sword and a sharp one on both sides. You are not going to get the simplicity in the characterization category when it comes to Part 8 if you look into most main characters in it. This can be seen as a good thing (which is probably where the .75 in the score comes from) because there's a lot more to chew on and talk about than ever before when it comes to the characters of JoJo's (DEBATEBLY). But this is also a bad thing because the amount of convolution and inconsistency within there that comes with this for these specific characters aren't always necessarily beneficial depending on who you ask. And if you ask me, to be honest, I felt this hurt the most of them because of the amount of time we have with them in this overall part, a nice handful of them needed more time and attention. Even with this being the longest running part of JoJo's with the depth within their characterization I do feel it conflicts with that and it required more time to clean them up more in this department, if it did it could have easily not been debatable about which Part has the best written characters, it would have been this Part without a doubt but it wasn't. Their goals may have been understandable enough and what ever flaws I may possibly bring you one could easily counter state that this makes them more realistic because of the fact that real life humans are flawed and make contradicting, unwise decisions every day. I understand this. But. I still can not personally accept that excuse when it comes to the characterization in Jojo's Part 8 or any story that decides to take it's characters more seriously than satire. At the end of the day it's all subjective we all know this and JoJo's Part 8's characters I guess just did not click with me. Allow me to critique a few of the main characters.
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Josuke (or Gappy as some called him) from day 1 is one of the most ridiculously bizarre bag of a protagonist dropped into my lap that I've ever seen. Naked, no memory, buck tooth? Sure, I'll accept it. Split eye's? I mean that's bizarre but sure it's JoJo's I'll go with it. Four testicles?? aight man chill (especially since the four testicles aspect never really plays any character or story relevance later on, so other than shock factor of being the most bizarre thing you can possibly think up of to through the audience for a loop, it serves no relevance outside of that. And I don't want to hear any headcannon or interpretation of it either trust me, I'm good). I did not find Josuke to be a likable character either to be honest, I understand his goal of trying to find out his past, who he is, what he should be doing with his life and what he decides to do with his life and I respect him from a characterization and character development standpoint and the realizations through his own actions later in the series that he is neither Josefumi or Kira and that he should live his life being who he is now which is Josuke. I respect it all trust me. But with all that being said, I for the love of me, did not care for him as a protagonist to any degree. To be honest when saw the backstory of Josefumi and Kira, I was far more interested in them as characters and I lowkey wished either one of them (or both like in Part 7) were the protagonist. (Or I would have like to spend more time with them), they seem far more likable and interesting to me with the very little amount of time in the flashback that we got to know of them (their designs are cooler as well).
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Yasuho Hirose, this chick right here, man where do I begin. My very first impressions of her were fine she seemed alright. And her last name being Hirose obviously implies in letting the audience know that that this is Part 8's universal version of Koichi Hirose, but a female which is an interesting twist since this would be the first (and I think only time up to this point) that we'd see a universal counterpart be the opposite sex, so I found her on paper interesting initially. But as the part goes on I really started to question her way of thinking and constant disobedience when it came to following orders that would make certain situations for everyone around or associated with her less troublesome. This bothered me with her character. I understand Araki was trying to make her an strong independent female character and I'm all for that but the execution when it came to her doing this in her case seem to for the most part fall flat for me. She did save Josuke that one time when he was forced to drown himself by that one stand user with the zombie like mind control abilities so she's not useless and she help's out heavily during the end when it comes to taking out the main villain. But there were two main instances of her doing things her way solidified in me not really liking her as much. The first was when Josuke ordered her to not pursue Mistuba in the hospital. She did anyway and got herself in a life threatening situation, sure she got herself out of that situation and helped Mistuba in the process one can debate that Araki wanted to give a certain small arc and altercation that is Yasuho orientated (and technically Mistuba as well later in the fight) vs Wu so she needs to go against Josuke's wishes and put herself in this situation in order for this to play out. But I guess the execution behind it was something that didn't sit well for me and made me not like her as much as I should because of that. This critique on on her character is definitely more of a personally thing for me because I can understand her know what is probably right even more than the main character and acting against even his wishes to tackle that and that can be respected because this isn't the last time she would do this and in other cases it doesn't work out in her favor which brings me to the second main time she did this. The second main time she did this really on bothered me far more. Because at least with the first time she did this I can look back in hindsight and understand her more as a character and give her some respect on that. But here's that double-edged sword coming into play in regards to that characteristic (and maybe it's not entirely a bad thing because it shows she's not perfect one can debate as well but it doesn't change the fact that I didn't like it). It was when both Josuke and Mamezuku told her not to pursue the head doctor when he was departing on the bus but she insisted chasing the bus with her phone trying to get a picture of his face only to get hit by a car, that's when I was like "yeah I'm done with this chick". She's actually not that bad of a character looking at all of her actions in the story as a whole and she's probably one of the better written ones with imperfections but determination and I can respect that. But during my read I did not like her that much, in hindsight I don't mind her as much though.
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Speaking of Mamezuku, he's arguable my most liked character in this Part and that's probably because out of the squad we have (which by the way it's honestly just these three which is by far the weakest if you take that into consideration), he as a character and his backstory is the probably the most traditionally put together JoJo's character in Part 8. He definitely feels like a character that fits in past JoJo's parts. He also is very observant being the one who was able to examine and realize the potential Josuke's Soft and Wet bubbles have within the first few chapters of him being introduced and coming in contact with it. With that foreshadow in placed he also plays the Will A./Ceasar/Kakyouin/Shigekiyo/Abbacchio/Gyro role of being the character who serves as the sacrificial character troupe in JoJo's. These characters die but not in vain, they usually leave motivation or valuable information for the main character to obtain victory against the main villain. And with Mamezuku's very brief scene of understanding the soft and wet bubbles from a fundamental standpoint early on and providing Josuke useful information of spin right before his death is probably up there with Kakyouin's attacking the clock scene. Kakyouin's was cool because you had to further decipher it with the character as the action is going and that was dope for it's time and still to this day. But with Mamezuku's like I stated showcased he's a observant person and it foreshadows the power up of Soft and Wet Beyond way before it is showcase which helps it not feel much like of an asspull as much in comparison to previous protagonist power ups in the series around the end. All that credit goes to Mamezuku, on top of the fact that like I said he just felt more likable and traditional. He really only had two or so fights though and it did sort of lose both of them so that sucks a little for me.
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Jobin is a character I have mixed feelings about. I thought he on paper was interesting and has one of the coolest designs in Part 8. I understand his motivations via his backstory with his mother (especially since he repeat its it many times) and thought it was good. I he was written well at the start and through out most of the Part. And most people thought he was the main villain which is understandable to assume this around the halfway point of the Part. But you come to figure out that he's more so of a third party antagonist, similar (but inferior in my opinion) to Diego Brando in Part 7 and like Diego Brando (even more so) I did not like the way he went out. All this build up for him and his resolve being as hard as the rock humans themselves, even him taking out his father Norisuke (which btw that character fell off after the half way point as well), then he dies (with a spray can essentially poisoning him or whatever) in a way so abruptly. I felt this was one of the most anti-climatic ways a heavily focused character has died in JoJo's ever. This was worse than Narancia death in or even Fugo being written out of the story in Part 5. For so much build up on him, it was by far the most disappointing and rushed demised I've ever seen in all of JoJo's and I hated it so much, it was a slap in the face to his entire character and anyone that's a fan of him which I was at a heavy point.
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Last character I need to cover is the main villain (which some don't even want to call that) Toru. Sigh. I'm just going to say this right now Toru is my least favorite main villain in all of Jojo's. His origin story like a chunk of this story was told via the narrator, which in this case I felt it didn't needed to be. I felt he could have found a way to rope that into dialogue but whatever, it was piss poor in my opinion anyway, I did not understand or care about his connection with bees or what ever philosophical meaning that could have had, to me it was beyond bizarre it was just stupid and uninteresting. His motivations to wanting to rise to the top because of the fact that he's a rock human at the bottom of society I understand on paper. But his weird obsession with Yasuho for basically her entire life made no sense to me, maybe because he's not human to begin with. But it even says in rock human lore that the can't form a bond with anyone which is probably why he broke up her? But how did you even form a bond to begin with? And why did you want to get back with her? What was his goal in even deciding he wanted to get back with her? It all made no sense to me. Additionally how did he even know she was the one who had the exact stand power he needed to locate a good candidate for him to impersonate? Never explained. Then he waited for her to get into highschool to start dating her? Which when he first met her let's assume he's 17, she was 10 bro. If he dated her in highschool she would have had to be been at oldest ages for 17 at very least meaning that's 7 years later so he would have had to been at least 24 dating a 17 year old? That may not sound too too bad but here's the thing, at the end of this Part we get a flashback with Lucy Steel and we see Toru in that flashback and he still looks exactly the same so he had to have been way older than just the 17 I gave him the credit for when he first met her at 10! I know he's not human but nonetheless he still basically stalked her his entire life, waited for her to become legal, dated and eluded to the fact that they had sexual relations and what not, broke up with her, tried to get back with her and then tried to kill her. All of that is just a no for me when it comes to him from a characterization standpoint I guess. I guess his mindset and stand are more inline with calamity and chaos then one may come to see I guess. His stand is another weird one breaking one of the fundamental rules of a stand which allows people who aren't stands to see his stand but that's only when it's in it's disguise? But if you're a stand user you see his stand in disguise as well? But if you know it's a stand you see it's true stand form? But what if you're a non-stand user that someone tells you about stands and that the Head Doctor in front of them is a stand? Then does the stand just disappear because non-stand users shouldn't be able to see stands and he's now revealed in his true form? It's never explained and that bothered me as well I guess. What bothers me even more is that it's also it stated that his stand can teleport and go through walls (which most stand can do the 2nd one), but it never stated that the stand could be in two places at once because it was in multiple occasions. Like when they first were chasing the Head Doctor down the stairway and the stand as the head doctor in disguise was going down the stairs. But it's also in it's true form behind Josuke as well? Why? Or how about at the end of the series in it's final fight against Josuke in the hospital room where the stand is making it's way to the elevator to go to Yasuho's location because it deems fighting Josuke not beneficial to confront anymore. Couldn't it have just teleported out of there like they said it could? Why is it taking an elevator when it can teleport or even phase through walls? The reasoning behind his stand just made it all the more confusing to me. Like I understand it's because Josuke needs to have somewhat of a fight against him in that scene and him doing it those ways would have made Araki not be able to accomplish that. But this is where Araki just starts to contradict himself in regards to making the stand to overpowered for the protagonist. And we've seen it in the past, all main villains have overpowered stands but they didn't contradict their competence with their abilities later on in fights like Wonder of U did here. Both Toru and his stand I understand fundamentally but the execution, actions and reasons just fell flat for me mostly every time they had attention. And then at the end when Toru dies his stand remains causing a scene and Josuke has to finish it off? We've only ever seen one stand ever function autonomously when it's user dies back in Part 5 with Notorious BIG but that was the main function of that stand, so I guess this is the second? I don't know it just felt like Araki wanted Josuke the final blow on him with his new Soft and Wet Go Beyond ability one more time since it came into play so very late and he wanted to use it again and big the protagonist that spot like to do so (how did Josuke even get there so fast being so heavily injured all the way in the hospital anyway? But now he's here with no visually damage, SIGH)


Enjoyment (5/10) Mid
More Specifically (5.75/10) Mediocre+

My enjoyment for JoJo's Part 8 was mid at best, the start of the part is extremely Bizarre even for JoJo's. Since Part 3 I felt that JoJo's Parts kind of started off pretty entertaining, strong and memorable. Part 3 had Jotaro in the jail cell shooting himself with the gun for his stand to stop it and being confronted by Avdol. Part 4 with Josuke meeting Jotaro and raging about people making fun of his hair introducing use to Crazy Diamond against both those thugs and Jotaro just to get humbled. Part 5 with Giorno and leaky eye Luca and the shovel in his head, Jolyne in the jail cell, the list goes on. I felt when it came to Part 8 and being introduced to Yasuho and Josuke with four testicles didn't really entice me to quickly read to see what unfolds next as much as the previous Parts. I binge read up to around the 70s chapters and I still couldn't really get a grasp or liking for the character cast up to that point or it's story. And with me being caught up with it during that time, it was the first time I could read JoJo's as it came out and I was excited to do this. I did for about 4 months but the issue I had up to this point is the fact that I was used to binging through JoJo's for so long that it felt weird having to wait for another piece of content from it. And this was different than waiting for an anime episode of Jojo's as I was getting that weekly at least (I mean not anymore with Jojo's Part 6/Netflix but you understand my point). This though was on monthly basis and the story during this time was giving us a few canon fodder-like villains. This made the pacing of the overall story on a month basis feel like it was moving at a ridiculously slow pace and by the time I got a chapter I borderline forgot many details about what's going on in the mini plot and ever worse in the overall plot of Part 8 as a whole. So this definitely was ruined my enjoyment to the point where I placed it on hold honestly until it was over. I then came back around chapter 74 and read from 74 to the end. I did go back and reread the chapters I read years ago to get a good refresher because I definitely needed it but even binging 74-110, I still felt like my enjoyment reading this part was at an all time low for JoJo's with the amount of issues I talked about in the other sections.


Overall (6/10) Fair
More Specifically (6.50/10) Fair

This is me coming back to write this review after taking two breaks, mind you. I usually am able to finish a written review in one sitting. But JoJolion is a lot to take in if you really try to dig into most aspect of this some in a good way but in my opinion as you can tell, I spent most of the time tearing it a new asshole. But thinking about JoJo's Part 8 in hindsight has both made me like and dislike it more in aspects. I completely understand Araki trying to do something different with this Part like I said he's done this in the Past with Part 4 and 7 and those worked out in his favor, but in my opinion this time it did not really. I whole heartedly believe when ever this Part does get an anime adaptation though, that I'll probably be at a point in my life where I'm ready to accept JoJolion for all that it is. But today is not that day for me. In conclusion, if you are someone who wanted Jojo's to continue to go down the rabbit hole of being bizarre even if that means sacrificing story/plot coherence, then this is the part for you. This is by far the most controversial part of JoJo's, even more than the end of Part 6 since it's was only the end of Part 6 that was controversial not the entire damn thing like this one was and I can understand why. Anyway, hopefully Part 9 can be more up my alley, thank you for reading this long ass review.

Kingdom 3rd Season Review


Story (10/10) Masterpiece

The story for Kingdom Season 3 (minus the last 3 or so episodes) main purpose was to adapt (at the time it was released) the best arc in the Kingdom manga and one of the best arcs in manga period, that is if you ask manga readers who are or were in the know during that time. So this adaptation had to massive shoes to fill to say the least. I feel in regards to adapting the source material of the Coalition Arc of the Kingdom manga, it was done justice surprisingly. Every moment I felt from a story ... standpoint was more so or less 1-1 to it. Although if I am missing anything, because it's been quite a while since I've read it Kingdom in general on top of the fact that Kingdom Season 3 went on a year hiatus because of COVID and also on top of the fact that I didn't return to binge through it all until a couple of days ago, I do apologize. But as far as I can see, everything is intact and going off of that I have to give this my outmost praise for making such a comeback in comparison to Season 1 and Season 2 which did not do those arcs justice in my opinion. The cutting certain things, rearranging the time certain plots and even arcs took place in comparison to the manga and in Pierrot fashion they added unnecessary filler. I say unnecessary because of the hundreds of chapters that had to work with during the time. Point is Season 3 did none of that which is probably why it ended up shorter than the previous Seasons even though if I so recall this arc was the largest single arc in the manga up to this point.


Art and Animation (8/10) Very Good
More Specifically (8.25/10) Very Good

If there's a section that I felt was just as important as getting right as the story portion especially with the track record of the anime adaptation of this series it's definitely the art and animation department. And this is what you call a night and day difference when you compare it to Season 1, not Season 2. If you read my Season 2 review you may recall me mentioning that people stated that there is a night and day difference between Season 1 to Season 2 as a compliment to Season 2. I at the time and still to this day highly disagree with that sentiment, because Season 3 deserves that compliment not Season 2. Now in regards to the biggest issue the anime adaptation of this series has been plagued with since it's inception, the CG. Is the CG completely gone? Unfortunately the answer to that is No. But! The CG is at an all time low and is only use in very very small scenes that last no more than 2-3 seconds. These scenes most if not all of the time are subjected to scenes that consist of a bundle or massive amount of troops standing, fighting or rushing into something or somewhere. If you have to you use CG and there's no way around it from a budgeting standpoint, for a series like this, this is where it should be allocated. I understand that hand drawing many troops only to be seen on screen for 2-3 seconds is something that is definitely forgivable, I would assume even the top dog animation studios would have done the same thing and there are not intrusive in anyway. Besides that there are still scenes during fights that are still shots, but those I felt aren't are abused as they were in Season 2 as well. When important fights occur animation can be seen. Was it amazing animation? No it was not. Was it good enough to give it a pass at the very least? I would say so. If the anime moving for stays at this improved level, then they've reached my personal bare minimum of satisfaction. If someone asked me how is the art and animation in Kingdom Season 3, I can confidently use the phrase "It is very good and you don't have to worry about it" you can read the manga up to the end of Season 1 and watch Season 2, I wouldn't disagree to go about it that way. But if you ask me just read all of the Kingdom and if you were to watch anything start from Season 3 once you've done that prior.


Sound (Sub) (10/10) Outstanding

Unlike the previous season where I watched it in Dub to binge through it, I watched this one in sub, so with JP VA (plus dub wasn't available of the time of me writing this review anyway but you shouldn't mess with it anyway even if there was to be honest). The JP VA is way better than the dub in every way. Every voice actor knew their roll and killed it. The sound effects were on point and also the music for the openings and endings were once again great. Not only that but the background music was also outstandingly authentic to the vibe I would expect from this as well. Maybe it's because I played a lot of musou games back in the day but I do feel they nailed it in the background music department for every scene as well. As a manga reader though the names are said in by the voice actors using their japanese names but the subtitles will say their chinese names. This might throw some people off but this is in no way a knock on the sound department, but I did wish they just went ahead and used the names the voice actors where saying in the lines to not confuse us the watchers by what we are hearing them say vs what was on the subtitles moments ago.


Characters (9/10) Great

The characters in Kingdom Season 3 from start to finish were all great. So much great dialogue, characterization and character development across the board. I wouldn't say any of the best or mind blowing, but it is definitely great nonetheless and was adapted perfectly.


Enjoyment (9/10) Great

My Enjoyment for most if not all of Kingdom Season 3 was great. The animation on the fight scenes could have been better sure but this is a massive improved from the previous two seasons, it's enough to not ruin my enjoyment and for that I am grateful enough. When I first heard that the animation studio for Season 3 was not going to be Pierrot, I rejoiced. But then I heard that they were called Studio Signpost and that they are a subsidiary animation studio on Pierrot and with no animation work history known to us under their belt, this did get me nervous. Because that also gave it the potential to be even worse that what Pierrot had already done. But my worries dissipated when I watched the first few episodes and I'm so glad I am in one of the correct timelines for this to make a comeback the way it did. The year long hiatus did throw me out of the loop and it took me a minute to get back to it, but when I got back into it and remembered where we left off it was like I never left and I had more so or less a blast binging through it to the end.


Overall (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.25/10) Great

This is one of my favorite arcs in all of manga so I was very nervous about how the the anime was going to adapt this. And I can say they did the arc justice with what they had. This is a great adaptation of the Coalition Arc, could it have been better? Sure, but it could have be waaaay worse and I'm glad it was not. It just has to not be a bad adaptation and the arc itself and the content that has will definitely carry it and it definitely did. Throw in the great voice acting and background music that you can only get in an anime format over a manga format and you definitely have a Season of Kingdom I can use the words "great" for and recommend.

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Movie Review


Story (9/10) Great

The story in Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Movie definitely felt like these could have been separate episodes apart of the next season. I wouldn't be surprised if the next season tried to start off with this movie in a broken up format, just so people who haven't seen this movie wouldn't be confused when Yuuta shows up in the main story. Either way it doesn't take away too much from the fact that the story presented before us holds up to what you'd expect from Season 1 if not more since it's a movie it a bit more quicker paced ... which depending on who you asked that can be a good thing, a bad thing or just as good as Season 1, for me this was considered a good thing. It was a flashback story done well and I prefer anime movies to be handled this way instead of non-canon side stories. (Probably why I fell off of the constant One Piece movies). I at least felt more motivated to going to see the movies like these since I know the information in it will be useful moving forward with the series and great information it was.


Art and Animation (10/10) Masterpiece

MAPPA once again knocks it out of the park. The artstyle and animation was pristine as always. That rough lining artstyle but fluid animation seen in the JJK anime is all here in full force and doesn't miss a beat.


Sound (10/10) Outstanding (Dub)
I watched it in Dub and it was great, all the voice actors did their thing. The sound effects were on point and the background music during the action scenes were outstanding and I loved it.


Characters (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9/10) Great

The characters in Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Movie were great as well. It definitely felt more like the movie had a dual protagonist story going on as I felt it heavily followed both Yuuta or Gojou borderline equally. We more characterization on Gojou in here with the fact that on who he considers his best and only friend, and the challenges he has to face with that person. Yuuta who is the character that is sought after heavily because of his special curse and the main antagonist who's motivations we get a better understanding on via this movie vs his small appearance in Season 1. They were all great, additionally we get some more characterization of Maki and Toge characters who were present in season one but didn't get too much screen time especially Toge, I felt I got a better feel for who he is here than in Season 1, this movie made me like him more. Maki we got enough to go off of in season one and this was more of a reminder of that and her as a person. I felt Panda didn't get as much as the other two but it was still a satisfying amount for him and he had a cool fight scene around the end.


Enjoyment (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.50/10) Great

The start of the movie was definitely allocating the necessary time to set up Yuuta's character, introduction, and brining him into the crew, and training him with rather fast paced character development to go along with it all as the person he is at the start of the movie vs by the end was borderline night and day in a good way. And the alongside all the stuff I said above made for a great and enjoying time for me.


Overall (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.50/10) Great

Like stated before I want more anime movies to be handled this way. Canon flashbacks, canon sidestories, or canon arcs. Dragon Ball Super I felt started this trend then Naruto did it once (maybe twice not sure I don't follow it anymore), and Demon Slayer, they all took their respective movies and put them into the main anime. The only with JJK difference this time in comparison to all the other ones, this was a flashback and not something that takes place ahead of it's respective series. Nonetheless this movie is definitely up there with the rest of them is a great example on how anime movies associated with an ongoing anime series should be handled, I wouldn't have it any other way!

Kimetsu no Yaiba: Yuukaku-hen/Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Entertainment District Arc Review


Story (7/10) Good
More Specifically (7.75/10) Good+

The story within this arc was straight forward and good. They start off the first quarter or so of the episodes seg-waying from the Mugen Train Arc and the repercussions of it into this season and arc's main location within the Yoshiwara Entertainment District. They spend about two or three more episodes setting up what the issue is within this location and after that it's basically high octane fights to the end of the arc. From a story standpoint this isn't anything to brag about, it still ... followed the formula of a Demon Slayer story, go here fight demon, see demon's backstory and attempt to make the audience feel bad for the life the demon (or demons in this case) had to live when they were human and that's it. I would say in regards to that formula you could say this is my favorite iteration of it the series has done so far but that's probably because unlike the previous attempts this was more than 2-3 episodes, so it was just a longest version essentially. Nonetheless the pacing of it all even though it was the longest version of it was still very tight, solid and satisfying.


Art and Animation (10/10) Outstanding

Ufotable once again proves that they are not to be challenged. MAPPA does give it their best, especially lately but the in regards of constantly and 100% of the time producing top tier quality in both artstyle, animation and even the usage of cg within the mix, No one is touching Ufotable. They proved it in their Fate adaptations countless times before and Demon Slayer is right beside it at this point. If this anime will be remembered for anything you damn well can bet it'll be because of the efforts Ufotable injected into this adaptation. One can easily say that without them this series's adaptation would have never have reaches the heights of success it has reached to any degree. And the reason I say this is because before their adaptation outside of one shout out by Yoshihiro Togashi (which no one bat an eye when he did anyway) nobody was checking for the manga and it was sitting at like a 7.5 at best here on MAL. Now it's currently above an 8 or so after and that's because of it's stellar anime adaptation. I'm sure haters of Demon Slayer feels it has no right looking this good and that's definitely debatable if you felt your series probably got done dirty when Demon Slayer gets gods over at Ufotable animating it.


Sound (10/10) Outstanding

Another category I will give my high regards to. The sound effects were dope, the voice acting (JP VA at least) for all the character new and old all felt like they brought the energy and most importantly to me the music for the opening and ending both done my favorite anime opening/ending singer 'Aimer' who killed it in both areas.


Characters (7/10) Good
More Specifically (7.50/10) Good

The characters in this section were good. I could just leave it there and you'd probably be satisfied because you know there isn't too much to be said about the characterization and/or character development when it comes to this series. I wouldn't call it bad or amazing, it's just good. If I were to dive any deeper into this section I'd probably give credit to Inosuke, because when they first reached to the Yoshiwara Entertainment District and he was given his role in his respective house, he did showcase a side of himself I was unaware he had. This was a more calm and serious version of him that was showcased as he tried to figure out where the demon was hiding within the house. Although it didn't last too long and he tore the whole damn place apart shortly after as far as I remember, the fact that he showcased it to some degree to begin with at all is why I giving him credit. The two demon's at the end arguing at each other was good characterization between them as they started to turn on each other as well. So I'll say in comparison to content previous it was just a smidget better, just a smidget.


Enjoyment (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.75/10) Great+

Other than the start which for setup purposes is understandable (and I didn't even start this season right away, I waited for about half of it to release before I went in and binge it up to being caught up which was a good decision on my part) this entire season for the most part was a blast to watch and the pretty colors had be in awe till the very end, I'd assume at this point that why we all watch this series, it's for the pretty colors, let's keep it real. Nonetheless, it's definitely the most enjoyment I've gotten from this series thus far.


Overall (9/10) Great

I've heard that this Entertainment District Arc is considered the best arc in the entire series and I can see why. It was well paced, straight forward and when it got going it was none-stop action till the end (even though the last episode was mostly your typical flashback portion for the demons it was still one of the better and/or best iteration of it yet). Unfortunately and additionally I also heard that it's all downhill from here according to manga readers. And I wouldn't be surprised if that's true and a decent amount of people fall off of the series after this point but with Ufotable behind this you can expect a lot of people still to stick it through for the top tier art style, animation and pretty colors. With all that being said Entertainment District lived up to it's hype nonetheless, it was a great watch.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash Review


Story (8/10) Very Good
More Specifically (8.50/10) Very Good

The story for Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway in a nutshell quite easy to grasp. And it is presented in a way that if you don't have prior knowledge of main Universal Century Timeline for Gundam, you could still very quickly grasp what is currently going on. For a story that is to be a three part trilogy I went into this movie knowing that this will be mostly the setup movie and indeed it was. This is definitely the movie to lay all the groundwork and in that regards, firstly I wasn't ... disappointed and secondly for a setup movie the pacing I actually thought was very well done. Nothing to me felt like it inherently could have been taken out (maybe the "caught naked" troupe but even that showcases a side of Hathaway that the viewer is able to see which I will get into him later). Overall as a first part of a trilogy movie this one is a very good start.


Art and Animation (8/10) Very Good
More Specifically (8.75/10) Very Good+

The art style in this movie I was a very big fan of. The later Universal Century adapted series (basically everything that has been animated in UC after Unicorn) have this distinct and sophisticated look to it and I love it. (Makes it feel all the more superior to those damn crusty AUs! I'm just kidding... not really). The certain in-betweens did stand out as a tad sloppy though from a hand drawn standpoint. And at the very end when Hathaway was walking outside, the art style and animation had this very odd cg/cell shaded animated look to it that I wasn't a fan of, it looked borderline jarring and stood out to me like a sore thumb. And although they don't look bad, I will never prefer CG mobile suits to hand drawn. Overall though it was very good done.


Sound (8/10) Very Good

The sound in this movie was very good. Nothing to really to heavily brag about here, the music was also very good and I watched this in Enlglish Dub. Everyone sounded fitting to their role and the voice acting behind every character and scene was very well done.


Characters (7/10) Good
More Specifically (7.50/10) Good
*Minor Spoilers*

The characters in Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash were good enough.

-Most people that had any knowledge going into this movie I assume were curious to how our main character Hathaway Noa would act. Because this guy is the only returning character in this movie from past entries. In regards to Hathaway Noa and his depiction in this movie he came off are as a very hard to read young fellow. It is revealed very early on that the terrorist known as Mafty is Hathaway himself and for a terrorist that is well known and sounds like he knows what he's doing, Hathaway comes off as someone to me who is still extremely vague in regards to his decisions in every day life choices and more. It's complex at best "i guess" and convoluted for him at worst both sides depending on how you look at him in regards to a specific angle isn't wrong. He's just a tad too inconsistent to what we've heard about Mafty from the world around him. He showcases very early on that in a combat situation he can take out multiple armed terrorist with ease. So it showcases that he definitely hasn't been sitting on his hands this entire time since Char's Counterattack but this uncertainty he showcases when he hears about Mafty from others whether it's Gigi, Kenneth or even some goofy ass taxi driver makes it seem like he's not solidified with his stance or resolve in regards to what he wants to actually accomplish. This isn't necessarily a bad thing especially if you know how Hathaway (or Simpaway as some people would call him) acted in Char's Counterattack, it's just a character flaw at best that I see he still retains from the person we knew him to be. If there was something that I'd have to question about his character which I hope is explored upon more is his skills in a mobile suit. As far as I'm aware he only was in one once back in Char's Counterattack and for a very small amount of time, unless of course when he was with his group he was flying around in mobile suits getting better and better but this is all we can assume at this time. So unless I'm missing something (which I hope I am) it's hard for me to grasped how he was able to outdo another mobile suit pilot (and hell not just any damn mobile suit pilot, an upcoming ace pilot in at this time with a state of the art Gundam superior to his own that he just hopped into a few minutes ago) within such a short period of time. The fight was cool but it was hard for me to let that question go fully unanswered even for this first movie.

- Kenneth was one of the other characters they spent a decent amount of time on. And he seemed like he is setup to be the intellectual rival for Hathaway. He seemed interesting and his boldness towards Gigi was entertaining. I am not entirely sure how much potential he has moving forward though he could easily hit the back burner by the time the 3rd movie comes around but we'll see as of right now he seems alright.

-Gigi was the third character that got the most screen time. I found it very odd how quickly she was able to come to the conclusion that Hathaway was Mafty himself. Sure she explained herself how she came to this conclusion, but it still came off as offputting to me, not sure how I felt about the believability and the execution behind it all. She is probably the character who is the sore thumb in this movie to be honest. She is all over the place and her purpose in the movie felt more so like a "token female character needed" instead of having a more valid reason of existing outside of "this is the girl who's going to be eye candy and poke at Hathaway's feelings thus making him think of the time he was Simpaway". Nonetheless she was still some what of an entertaining character to watch do whatever she do. I just hope she has a more integral role in later movies other than the "good luck charm for Kenneth," because her goofing around will get old if she's still doing it by the third movie.

-The last character is Lane Aim, he didn't get too much screen time and we only briefly see him before the climax of the movie. Like I stated in Hathaway's character portion, I don't understand how he was so easily out maneuvered while having more experience in his Gundam and also being in a Gundam that from a specs standpoint is considered superior. It honestly just made him feel anti-climatic when it came to his purpose in this story which it looks like it was supposed to be someone who is suppose to be the piloting rival to Hathaway but currently right now he has disappointed me from both a characterization standpoint and a piloting skills standpoint. All that does though is leave a lot of room for growth in both of those sections in the future movies so hopefully that is the case.


Enjoyment (8/10) Very Good
More Specifically (8.50/10) Very Good

I enjoyed my time fairly with this movie, it made me feel like I was back home watching something in the good ole Universal Century (THE BEST UNIVERSE). I enjoyed all the setup and I'm glad that this movie did end off with some good ole Gundam vs Gundam action as well because they easily could have left that out. But from a director standpoint they probably thought it would not be smart to not show some Gundam action of some sort in a Gundam movie of any kind, which I'm glad it made it in even if it was at the very end.


Overall (8/10) Very Good
More Specifically (8.25/10) Very Good

Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash is a very good Gundam movie and a very good start to a trilogy movie. I am glad to say you can indeed hop into this movie without prior knowledge. Even if you have prior knowledge it outside of knowing who Hathaway used to be, who he's related to and a few flashbacks you aren't going to feel super rewarded having prior UC knowledge from this film and that's not necessarily bad if it meant not alienating newcomers. You can tell it was built to be able to understand and hop in which is a smart way to go about it since it did premier on Netflix. I recommend this to anyone interested remotely interested in it.

Jujutsu Kaisen Review


Story (9/10) Great

The story in Jujutsu Kaisen I think is great. I can after some time tell that a lot of foreshadowing and thought from the mangaka had been placed within the plot and story moving forward. Majority of it that will fly over most and even my own head because we aren't aware as to what exactly it's foreshadowing to or hinting at but the presence of it all definitely exist, is appreciated and is well done in regards to the quality of the setup portion of it all. The world of Jujutsu kaisen is also a very intricate one as ... a lot it's supernatural lore you can tell is well thought out of ahead of time and is placed in many situations that the story uses in a very compelling and unique way. I don't necessarily want to dive into examples but if you've watched the anime, I'd say it's hard to deny the quality of all especially in comparison to it's competitor shonen battle orientated anime. Although it is very unique and different nothing within it currently right now I think was anything inherently exceptionally mindblowing to me. But it doesn't change the fact that it was was all just very great setup for it is to come in on all fronts.


Art and Animation (10/10) Masterpiece

The art style in particular I felt it was something that was very unique and how the animation at times to flowed like water in certain scenes is something I can say in it's own right was outstanding from start to finish.


Sound (10/10) Outstanding

It didn't matter if it was the openings, endings, info dumps, laid back or fight scenes the music was always something in this show that complimented and even enhanced every scene. I started off watching in sub and moved over to the dub and on both fronts the voice actors for all of the characters sounded fitting and spot on. The sound effects on all of the blows, unique techniques and explosions were all outstanding.


Characters (9/10) Great

The characters in Jujust Kaisen I thought were for the most part great. At first, the first few episodes I honestly didn't and couldn't care less for any of the main characters especially Nobara who I for one at first just genuinely just didn't like. But all that showcased after watching the entire thing is the potential and area of growth they can have on all fronts in regards to character development. Itadori Yuuji for example I didn't care for his reasons for doing the things he did at the start but the anime via other characters quickly gave him a reality check and it hardened his resolved and reasoning behind his actions far more than just doing it for his passing relative. Megumi Fushiguro was one character at first who was in my opinion hard to get a read on, he was always some who was showcased as the "indifferent one", majority of everything he said during the first quart of this season or so just came off with as a nonchalant type of attitude, fake deep and something I didn't really care for. But when the battles started and you watch him struggle and push forward, this was when I truly started to see the character behind it all, showcasing resolve hard as rock regardless if he was winning or losing the particular fight. His backstory also at the end of the season was also great characterization that made me further appreciate him more and he probably became my favorite in the anime. Nobara Kugisaki like I stated earlier out of the main three was someone at the start and honestly for the majority of the season I just did not like the least bit. She always gave off a bitchy and cocky attitude and when it came time to back it up it never felt satisfying to me personally with how it was handled or even how she dealt with the situation, even when it came to the resolve and growth within the character it felt like she was one that I didn't really feel grew a satisfying amount enough for me to care or be impressed with anything she did. A lot of her training was quickly shown on the side as a joke or not fully dived into. I didn't care for anything she did until the last fight of the season to be honest which was great but that was at the very end. Hopefully she has more growth, better moments, deeper characterization and/or character development moving forward because out of the three main character she just felt like she was just not on the level in those categories as the other two, for me it was almost never an enjoyable time when she was one screen obnoxiously bitching and not being able to back it up, maybe I'm just not a fan of this character architype and there's nothing wrong with her and showing off the difference in the main three and how they all handle is different is the variety that should be complemented on. If that is the case then it is what it is and I'm willing to admit it and I'll leave it at that and fall back. Satoru Gojou is the epitome of heat and that's all there is needed to be said about him. Moving on to the side characters, standout ones for me Aoi Toudou, Panda and Sukuna Ryoumen. I wouldn't go into detail as this section is already quite long but the anime did a great job with majority of the characters in the anime and I'll leave it at there.


Enjoyment (8/10) Very Good
More Specifically (8.25/10) Very Good

My enjoyment fluctuated around the start and I think it had to do more so with the depth the series goes into quite earlier on. I stated watching in sub and I'll admit I'm a slow reader so when these info dump sections would start and the amount of dialogue that would take place and quickly be on the subtitle section and be removed wasn't something that was an enjoyable way to consume. It did force me more so often than I'd like to admit to have to pause it to not only read the subtitles that were up there very quickly but also the visual representation that the info dump section would be referring to as well all were required to be consumed at a pace I felt for me personally was far to quick not to have to pause it and digest everything that was being presented to me before moving on. In manga format I feel this is perfectly fine but I personally didn't think is translated perfectly well in anime format. This is initially made the anime for me more so a bit more taxing than enjoyable to consume. Intriguing and unique nonetheless but not an enjoyable method from a presentation standpoint at the current pace I felt it was at with the combination of the very face pace and lengthy subtitle dialogue to go hand and hand with it. This is when I decided to switch over to the dub which I felt a decent amount of this issue was alleviated for me. At that point I could use my ears to consume what was being vocally said while paying attention to the visual presentation of the lore, the super natural rules of it all and most importantly the beautiful artstyle and animation.
I felt Jujustu Kaisen for me had a somewhat of a rough start. And I did take far longer than normal to complete it. I only watched it when I felt completely and mentally up for it and didn't want to force myself to watch it if I wasn't 100% in that mental state because then I felt I wouldn't have been able to enjoy it as much as I wanted to because of any personal vibe I was mentally in. That meant anytime I was ready to sit down and consume a episode or 2 there was an abundance to it as well, no rush and I do felt for me and this series it only helped that I did take my time instead of consuming it day one for the sake of "being caught up with the cool cats".


Overall (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.25/10) Great

Jujustu Kaisen is a great anime. That one saying that state's "Easy to play hard to master" and I think Jujustu Kaisen is that in manga/anime format. The art style, animation and music all together make for an easy to get into type of anime for all. But the understanding all the plots, setup and supernatural power system that this series has going on in full detail (especially if you're an anime only like myself) is something I can't say is easy to grasp all entirely in one go and that's not a bad thing. All that means is the series does require more from it's audience which isn't really something that is seen that much in the shonen anime these days since in my opinion nen from Hunter X Hunter which was something that was praise for the exact same thing but most people who still can't fully explain it to you. Jujustu Kaisen is definitely one of the best shonen anime to have aired in a very long time and I recommend it on all front.

Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Train Movie Review (English Dub)


Story (8/10) Very Good (Spoilers) ​

This arc has the main characters set on a train called the Mugen Train to uncover the mysteries that have been occurring on alongside Kyoujurou Rengoku. He is a character in which was set up in the season before to be considered a respected and powerful demon slayer. Things go haywire and the characters get caught up in different prison dreams all set in place by the mastermind beforehand. Up to this point and to the defeat of this mastermind, the story for this movie honestly felt like just more ... Demon Slayer which is fine if that's what you came for. But like any other review or anyone's opinion you might hear about this movie, the reason it gets it's any sort of actual praise is because of the fact that once you think it's over, that's when the main event actually starts. A real threat of the Upper Moon 3, Akaza arrives. You find out very quickly that everything up to this point was merely built up to the clash between this powerful demon from a group we've only heard was apart of the top tier demons clash against his equivalent in this movie, Rengoku. They spend a decent amount of this movie showcasing that everything up to this point as been cake walk for Rengoku. So putting him up against Akaza helped build up the required tension in a fairly short amount of time and the fight between them didn't disappoint. It's the reason I was wiling to move the overall story from a 7 to an 8 just off that alone. The main purpose of this movie from a story standpoint to me was to showcase how powerful both of these characters from separately powerful groups truly are in comparison to where our main cast of characters are in the story. It showcases where the goalpost truly is and how far the gap between them is. Demon Slayer in my opinion isn't something I go to for a in depth and/or a methodically compelling story. It's definitely in the realms of the other types of fairly straight forward shonen battle anime such as for example Dragon Ball. Once you understand that this is the case (and depending on how much anime you've probably consumed prior to this) you'd probably rate it at a 6 or 7 or a very very generous 8 like I did as well.


Art and Animation (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.50/10) Great

This is Ufotable and when this movie started, it showcased every company apart of bringing this movie to the big screen. What I did noticed shortly after that is that Ufotable in particular had the audacity to let the viewer know (right after just letting them alongside Funamation and Shueisha's logo) that they are Ufotable again and this is about to be some heat. I laughed because to me that showcased that these guys must be proud about what they were about to show us since they had to show their logo twice with the second time being all on it's own. And for the most part the movie did not disappoint, damn near everything looked clean and smooth as mf. Especially everything that had to do with Rengoku in particular. Another highlighted scene for me is when Tanguro did the final stirke to the mugen trains weakpoint, absolutely stunning. BUT the reason I can't give this the 10/10 IGN, is because man o man that CG of the demon on the train when he was in his sludge form with the handd-rawn head attached to it, looked so out of placed. It heavily broke my immersion and did not mesh well with anything around it. I personally was disappointed that Ufotable a company who has showcased in the past that when it comes to meshing CG and handdrawn animation together they are top tier (go watch any of the top tier fate stuff and you'll know what I mean). But for some reason when it comes to Demon Slayer it feels like they do not give it the exact same treatment of quality control as they do Fate and this is seen in the anime's Season 1 prior as well. Certain CG scenes (not all) just look like they are not fine tuned enough to not look out of placed and I thought when it came to this movie (and especially from a series that has made this much god damn money off of it's season 1 alone) that this issue would disappear for it's movie adaptation but sadly I was mistaken.


Sound (8/10) (English Dub)
More Specifically (8.50/10)

Now I did not feel like reading anything going into this movie. "It's Ufotable! It's gonna be gorgeous," I said to myself. I don't wanna be reading words on a time limit on the bottom screen (and the big screen at that) with such amazing animation I'm about to witness! So not hearing what the english dub was prior (which I probably should have checked just in case but I didn't I just went in blind or deaf should I say) I decided to hear all of it for the first time this way on the big screen. And like I assumed it was bad at all, it took a little bit of time to get used to especially Inosuke and Zenistu's voice actors because I forgot how goofy these two characters in particular can get so hearing all of that in dub took a little while to not sound cringe to me but natural to their annoyingly goofy personalities. By the end everyone sounded just fine and arguably fitting. Inosuke's voice actor I thought actually did a good job portraying Inosuke's overly confident, self centered/goofy demeanor via voice acting. The "let's train our asses off," line at the end of the movie had the entire theater including myself in at least a chuckle. The music was good but nothing outstanding same thing with the sound effects.


Characters (7/10) Good
More Specifically (7.75/10) Good+

Like I stated in the sound department I completely forgot how goofy the main cast of characters can be. I wasn't that big of a fan of it in Season 1 and still during this movie I really had to force myself not to cringe on how overwhelmingly goofy these characters can get. Maybe because I'm getting older? Who knows I mean the One Piece strawhats are pretty goofy themselves Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, Franky, Brooke and Sanji (when he wants to simp) are all equally goofy if not more especailly when they are all together. But here? Idk it just never meshed 100% with me. I'll say by the time the movie was over I was less annoyed by their dynamic and interactions with each other but by that point the movie was over. And in a way even Rengoku himself was introduced in a way as a goofyball himself when he's eating but enough about goof balls in the series. The dream sequences did try to flesh out Rengoku's background a bit more for us. And it also tried to give further characterization to Tanjiro himself. Zenitsu and Inosuke's was obviously for comedic relief which either stuck with you or fell face flat (I didn't care for them). They also tried to showcase some struggle of the passengers on the train working towards their dream by betraying the main cast but their were disposed of fairly quickly and their motives behind it all wasn't something that added or subtracted from the overall story it was just there as canon fodder (kind of like the Mugen Train itself). Rengoku was a plot device and his purpose in this movie was the same purpose as Akaza when he arrived, that I will get into more in a later section. But in that short amount of time (at least to me) they did make Rengoku a likeable character worth caring about, killing him off was also something I feel they executed fairly well along with him arguing with Akaza about the what truly means to be a human/mortal. I also did like the scene when Akaza is retreating and Tanjuro capitalizes on that. To me from a characterization standpoint that was the best scene for Tanjuro in this entire series thus far. (Oh yeah and Nezuko was here.. forgot about her she helped in getting them out out of the dream and that's about it she served a purpose I guess? So I'll give her that..)


Enjoyment (8/10) Very Good
More Specifically (8.75/10) Very Good

My enjoyment was around a high 7 until the main event started. It rose to about a mid 8. It's definitely the main thing everyone is going to remember about this entire movie from years to come looking back on it. The movie (and series) is suppose to be very funny but I only really chuckled once at the end on Inosuke's line but comedy is subjective (hell this whole review is but whatever).


Overall (8/10) Very Good
More Specifically (8.50/10) Very Good

I wanted to look at what this movie and see what it was trying to accomplish and in that regard it was executed very well enough. Was it predictable? Sure you could definitely say that depending on who you ask. And the reason I say "depending on who you ask," is because, Demon Slayer (like Dragon Ball) is a was built to be an anime for newcomers "baby's first battle shonen series" one could say I feel that's the main reason it's so damn successful as a series is because a wave of new generation of anime fans are having their cherries popped with either this or other new anime series around this. My favorite battle shonen series is Saint Seiya, the story is more compelling to me in that but in regards to this specific troupe that this entire movie pulled, Saint Seiya has done this hundreds of times prior so I can't judge or be too critical on this, it's meant for a the demographic of young boys which I feel it did it job well done in that regards. I'd go as far as to say the existence of the Gold Saints in Saint Seiya in general from a plot device standpoint is very much just that. "Goalpost characters" to showcase the gap between them and the main characters, they are most likely meant to die so that the actual characters can rise up, take their spots even stronger than them, it's typical. You could say the same for every single powerhouse character that is allied with the main characters in all of Demon Slayer, it's a troupe. I don't have a problem with troupes they are troupes in the first place because the reception behind said troupe was (most of the time) received positively by it's demographic and repeated in future series therefore becoming the troupe that it is today. Whether you personally like the troupe or not is borderline irrelevant because you are just one person who doesn't dictate if that troupe became a troupe in the first place. What I care about is execution of said troupe and this movie did a very good job at said troupe. Very Good Movie

Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun Review


Story (7/10) Good
More Specifically (7.75/10)

Toilet-bound Hanako-kun's premise is an unique, goofy but interesting concept. The name of the series will probably turn a lot of regulars (including myself in this instance had it not been recommended to me) away. It was no where near as bad or dumb as the name portrays the series to be. It can get a little episodic around the middle of this 12 episode anime and the ending is definitely a "go read the manga" type of ending so those two things are stuff to take into consideration. I'm not entirely sure how good of an adaptation ... of it's manga which seems to be rated far higher than it's anime counterpart is. But as an anime only I'd say from a story standpoint it's good, although around the last couple of episodes it can get a bit (in my opinion) messy which I'll explain more later.


Art and Animation (7/10) Good
More Specifically (7.50/10) Good+
Art (9/10) Great
Animation (6/10) Fair

Lerche was probably one of the better choices to go with when it came to adapting this colorful series from an art style standpoint. Just looking at the cover pages for the manga of this series in my opinion it seems like it was done justice as everything is so colorful and vibrant. But when it came to actual animation, this is where I feel more effort probably could have been done. Not I'm not entirely sure in regards to the manga scenes but if we're only taking the anime into consideration there were a lot of scenes that probably should have been animated weren't. But were instead just very colorful still or slow moving still shots. There was little to no true animation and/or movement going on in the scenes that required it the most.


Sound (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.75/10) Great+

Firstly the opening is a phenomenal song, I never skipped it. I'd go as far as to say that it was my favorite part of every episode (which is good for the opening but I guess bad for the anime). When it came to the background music chosen for scenes everything sounded fitting. Creepy, cutesy or ominous music played when any type of folklore was being explained and it'll enhance the immersion accordingly. I started watching it and english dub and majority dubbed voice actors especially the protagonist's va did a spot on job. The only voice I thought was not fitting to their character was the lately introduced Mitsuba. When I first heard it, it just seem off for the type of character they were portraying before my eyes. The acting was fine but the voice was not. And this was only further confirmed to me when I was forced to swap to JP VA to finish off episodes 9-12 (because of the pandemic during the time of my watching this the dubbed got put on indefinite hold). The JP VA for the same character in question sounded far more fitting. Other than that everything else was great in both Dubbed and JP.


Characters (6/10) Fair
More Specifically (6.75/10) Fair+
*Slight Spoilers*

They were a mixed bag to me. The main character Nene Yasuhiro was very good as she is just a girl with very low self esteem clinging on to fantasies of a boy liking her and her struggles in life getting that ignored or being called a Daikon because of her legs and build. She showcases instances where she'd stick by your side if she considers you a true friend even if you are not that good of a friend in general which showed some redeeming qualities but she also shows flaws and moments of weakness because of her low self esteem that can borderline contradict this at the same time. I personally felt she was well written as although she has some characteristics that can conflict and contradict each other to be honest that's quite realistic in some ways as well. Hanako on the other hand's character was all over the place and all the way up to the end of this adaptation. He and his backstory for the most part remained a mystery so in regards to what they've showed not much can been dived into (at least by me personally) in comparison to the mc. Minamoto is your typical bro and showed a deeper side later on possibly showing feeling for the mc so he was fine as well but took a while to become likable by me. Unfortunately pass this I felt every other character for the most part isn't worth even mentioning. The anime tried to set up an antagonist crew but I felt by the time they were introduced the anime was basically over and they didn't really even do anything significant with the little time they had. And lastly Mistuba as an overall character had some interesting concepts but I felt the was execution was kind of a mess, he also in my opinion took up too much time up of the final few episodes. I borderline stopped caring for the overall anime by this point because of him sadly.


Enjoyment (5/10) Average
More Specifically (5.75/10) Average+
*Slight Spoilers*

The anime would start off with it's lit anime opening and then get into their goofy folklore 2-parter episodic story and rinse and repeat. Some folkore were hit or miss with me. And I felt the story was at it's best when it was dealing with things that were directly changing Nene as a character for better or for worse, which sadly for the most part it wasn't. And then like I said the last quarter of the anime with the introduction of Mitsuba. And I'll say it again he had me struggling to get to the end of every episode by that point which hurt my overall enjoyment a sadly least a bad ending impression of the entire anime on me.


Overall (7/10) Good
More Specifically (7.50/10) Good

Overall this anime like I said in the story section was no where near as bad as the title makes it seems. It has a very good main character that you don't (or at least I don't) see be the main character in anime and was characterized very well the ending can get a bit messy and also slap you with the "go read the manga" ending which sadly often when it comes to these 12 episode series so you'll have to take it or leave it as we always have. If you are looking for something that's a bit wacky but also has a dash of semi-good romance thrown in there then this is the anime is definitely for you.

Sarazanmai Review


Story (6/10) Fine

The story to Sarazanmai is a fine one and in a nutshell a giant undertone of accepting your inner desires and love, knowing the difference between them and how to cop with them. If you are a fan of stories like the video game Persona (Particularly Persona 4 and 5) the way they cop with their inner desires is very reminiscent to those games as the main characters have to extract the desires and expose their victims which very similar in fashion to making a person in P4 accept their inner shadow's negative personality trait or taking the heart of someone ... in P5. The story for the middle portion gets a tad episodic type of villian of the week so if you aren't a fan of that little repetition then you should take that into consideration as well.


Art and Animation (10/10) Outstanding

The art style and animation for this anime of like this is basically perfect. The artstyle is very colorful and stylish the animation is constantly vibrant and fluid. The animation studio did a nigh perfect job bringing this anime to life in all aspects. There were a few very small scenes of CG like a CG gun being held by a handdrawn character and or the boxes in the first few episodes that do look a tad bit offputting because they don't necessarily mesh well together but it's not something that ruins the experience or completely breaks your immersion of everything else that is perfectly well done.

Sound (9/10) Great

The sound in Sarazanmai was great. I listened to in it English Dub which all of the characters had life and every voice actor sounded fitting to the character roles they played. The opening, ending and music through the anime is very catchy and never got old, felt like I was watching a Disney movie.


Characters (6/10) Fine

The characters are fine as they all basically share some sort of secret desire that would make you look at them in a different light which they try to cop with. Which is realistic I get that and nothing is inherently wrong with the characters or the characterization done around this aspect of them. Nor did I find any that would inherently and genuinely bad, some like Enta were confused about their feelings but even him I can't say was a bad character. But I also didn't find any characters that were in my opinion outstanding from a characterization or character development standpoint. They were all fine, not bad but nothing outstanding at least to me which I understand is very subjective so take that as you will.

Enjoyment (5/10) Average
More Specifically (5.25/10) Average

My enjoyment through these 11 episodes were average. I wasn't necessarily bored as this anime is so upbeat and all over the place that it keeps your attention to some degree no matter how wacky it gets but I do feel in order to enjoy this anime any more than just average you'd have to be actually be looking for something like this for what ever reason that drew you to it, because this isn't your average anime the wackiness and approach it came from is far from average. But whether it was the pretty colors of this anime through a trailer, boredom or the other undertones that this anime also had, those are the aspects I feel will make someone enjoy this anime more than your average viewers such as myself but I did enjoy this more than I thought I would which I went in thinking there was no way I was going to love this. That was technically true but I also don't despise this anime because it didn't do anything wrong even though if you read me the synopsis of this anime to be watching it prior I would have assured you I would have hated this which I didn't.


Overall (7/10) Good
More Specifically (7.25/10) Good

Gonna be honest with you I only watched this anime as a part of a 2 part deal. Like I said in the story section if what I stated in that section sounds like your cup of tea then this might be the anime for you, which is a wild and wacky take on love and desire through characters transformation into kappas and how we all must find a connection with someone and cop with our desires hoping the people around us can accept us for our personal and unique desires had they found out about them.

Vinland Saga Review


Story (10/10) Masterpiece {Minor Spoilers}

As soon as I saw that Vinland Saga one of my favorite manga was getting adapted and heard that it was going to be 24 episodes. I knew exactly where this season would end. There's no better place in the series to leave an anime only watcher on than where they decided to leave it at. It stayed authentic to the manga and showcases how to perfectly execute the "go read the manga" type of conclusion that many anime adaptations decide to do but do no where near as well. Majority of people consider this the ... Golden Age Arc of Vinland Saga, this entire season as you can see by what the final episode decide to call itself was a mere prologue to the overarching story that is Vinland Saga. There were a minor additions added to this adaptation that were welcomed as well. One example being the showcase of how Thorfinn decided to go with duel wielding, this particular thing as far as I remember was not elaborated on in the manga and only made the experience that more robust. From a story standpoint I have no nitpicks or actual complaints this specific arc people consider the best arc thus far even when compared to what the manga does after this which is what you'd hear a lot of people say about Berserk as well and this adaptation from a story-standpoint was done justice to every degree in my opinion.


Art and Animation (9/10) Great {Spoilers}

The Art and Animation of Vinland Saga looking at it as a whole was great. Many memorable and well hand-drawn and animated scenes in this season from Askeladd sliding under the sail pole to slice Thors to Thorfinn jumping and hopping over Thorkell's incoming attack on the fortress. Every scene that needed to be handled with the utmost care I felt for the most part got their justice due. Unfortunately this is not the case for every single fight scene, only the extremely important ones. Hopefully in the blu-ray release the scenes that were not up to snuff get cleaned up. The inclusion of CG was not welcomed by me to any degree. When I heard that WIT Studio where the ones who would be adapting this manga I thought I was in the clear for basically a perfect adaptation I was hyped. I mean this the Studio who animated Attack of Titan, Seraph of the End and Kabenari of the Iron Fortress which all looked gorgeous on every single scene. The only time I remember them even using CG and it looking a tad off was in Season 2 of Attack on Titan but other than that they to me were strictly hand drawn with the some of the cleanest animation you'd ever seen from an animation Studio, they were top tier in my eyes and still are. But with Vinland Saga unfortunately I did not feel that same level of quality was given. When I compare it to the other three I mentioned, this one out of those three is below them. Not by much, but undebatably below them and I'm not going to sugar coat it even though I was impressed for the most part and I also disappointed as well. Which is why I can't give this section anything higher the a solid 9.00 not a 9.25, or 9.50 or 9.75 because you know I do all of that. A 9 and that's still great to me but I'd be lying if I said I was fully satisfied when I've seen what they've produced prior and to series I consider far inferior to this.


Sound (10/10) Outstanding

Both Intros and Outros where outstanding and were never skipped. I don't remember any music that stood out but there also was not anything that felt out of placed. The voice acting (JP VA) by on all of the characters especially the main cast were all spot on. At first I didn't know how I felt about Thorkell's voice actor since to me he'll always be known as the Blackbeard VA from One Piece, but he killed it also. The voice actor for Thorfinn really did a outstanding job capturing everything that is him and same for the younger version of him too. The rage of kid Thorfinn in episode 3 is something that'll be remembered by me forever.


Characters (10/10) Masterpiece {Spoilers}

This is a section that I feel Vinland Saga does the absolute best. The characterization of all of the characters are indeed something that needs to be applauded. I know one person that did not like the character of Thorfinn as he basically for the entire season was just on a revenge story but one thing has to be taken into consideration is the fact that we have seen a character change from his younger version to his current version quite drastically and in a well crafted and well paced way. In the manga those first three episodes was not where the manga began and I was confused at first that WIT Studio would decide to change it around. This main the pacing of the first three episodes by many I've talked to feel that it was slow-paced but in the long run you can tell they did it because they wanted the view to start chronologically at the start of this story and see the growth of Thorfinn and the story in order. They felt it was for the best for his character and I don't mind this approach and reasoning if that was the case. Also the fact that from a characterization standpoint you can tell that Thorfinn's character growth especially where they ended this season is no where near done so full judgement on him I feel can be considered unfair since his character arc is in my opinion only about a little under halfway completed by the end of this season. One can debate that this entire season's main protagonist is probably Askeladd, his entire character arc is over and we've seen and followed him just as much if not more than Thorfinn and you'd be fooling yourself if you even debate that Askeladd wasn't a well crafted character regardless on how you felt about him. Same can be said about Thors who even though he wasn't in the season that long left an impact so heavy that his name stayed relevant long after.


Enjoyment (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.00/10) Great

My enjoyment for the adaptation of Vinland Saga for the most part was great. And really the only thing that severely hurt my enjoyment was the intrusion of CG which I will talk about more in the Overall section. For the most part I was satisfied and was there every single week day one ready to watch the newest episode, this type of anime though I feel it probably far more enjoyable binged than watching weekly though.


Overall (9/10) Great
More Specifically (9.60/10) Great+

Overall this adaptation was a great adaptation and I'm grateful nonetheless that one of the best Seinen out there got a great adaptation. Yeah I had my gripes, even if it wasn't that much it was enough to ruin my overall immersion of one of my favorite manga being adapted by an Animation Studio who had to publicly apologize to everyone that this adaptation from an animation standpoint could have been handled a tad better, because we've seen better from them and they knew that. They promised us after that episode (which was around 19 or so) that they wouldn't disappoint us again, which I don't even know by that point if changes to this season could be made having about 6 or so episodes left so maybe they were referring to a Season 2. Which if this is getting a Season 2 and if you know what arc is after this, then you know that it wouldn't be hard to live up to that promise.