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Shinsekai Yori is a rare thing: an utterly unique anime.

It's hard to place it in a genre, but dark fantasy and horror are probably the best bets.

It sets up a unique and disturbing retro-future with totalitarian elements out of Brave New Worĺd or 1984. The classical Japanese viĺlage aesthetic is at odds with the constant feeling of creeping unease that pervades the show.

Mostly it is a show you experience, alternately fascinated and terrified. In the end you will feel disturbed and uncomfortable.

It isn't everyone's cup of tea. Action is intermittent. The characters can at times feel distant, yet they still feel very real ... when the moments of fear arise.

Wonder Egg Priority came out of nowhere. Since I first saw and fell in love with Madoka Magica, I've been waiting - hoping - for something as good. Other dark magical girl shows have come along, but none have realised what made Madoka legendary. Magical Girl Site, for example, desperately tried to be edgy without any of the heart or artistic beauty of Madoka.

Wonder Egg is undoubtedly a "dark magical girl" show. But it is so phenomenally original that... well, comparing it to Madoka seems unfair. Unlike the plethora of Madoka clones, Wonder Egg is a genuinely new take on the idea of dark magical ... girls.

Frankly, I went into this season obsessed with Attack on Titan - anything else that came out was inevitably going to be inferior. Somehow though, week by week, this weird show snuck up on me. Now I'm not even sure which is the best show of the season. Attack on Titan's final season is an epochal moment in anime - it's gonna be a defining moment in anime history.

But...

It may only be the second best anime of its season. Wonder Egg may actually be better. I can't believe I'm saying this... but... it's hard to deny. Like Madoka, Wonder Egg is a self-contained single-cour anime and like Madoka it seems on track to perfectly deliver a wild, emotionally devastating story in just one cour.

This is an immediate classic. It's so emotionally intense, so artistically beautiful, so fixating. I've just.. I've never seen anything like this. It is just so good. I'm blown away. Almost speechless.

SSSS.Gridman is so focused on delivering homages to the mecha genre and tokusatsu that director Akira Amemiya so clearly loves, that at times it risks tipping over the precipice and becoming purely derivative. Arguably it does do so at various points.

And yet while so much here is plainly unoriginal, there's enough that genuinely is to save the whole thing from disaster. The plot has its twists, though mostly they're delivered gradually and without any big reveal moment, so they lack a certain punch to them. Nevertheless, they're there and they had a certain complexity to a story that could have easily fallen into a ... purely episodic, monster-of-the-week nostalgia-fest.

There's a lot of corny, cringe-worthy material here, that seemingly belongs to a more innocent age, but this is somewhat mitigated by the winking, self-awareness of the writing - not a guaranteed save, but we can at least appreciate that thought went into this aspect. I suspect some of this might add to the whole thing for those with a deeper and longer running familiarity with the genre conventions being displayed here than I do, but it certainly didn't derail the whole thing for me.

What's done very well is the start, which manages to be moody and atmospheric, with compelling visuals. Sadly this stylistic standard isn't maintained. I'm aware of some who have criticised the first episode for being slow, but to my mind it was one of the better entries with its pacing meaning I cared more about these characters more by the time buildings started getting smashed up in robot vs kaiju fights.

There are other times too, later on that the show isn't afraid to slow down and build on its characters and the end result is a main villain who feels a lot more fleshed out and human than most. It does this just as I was on the verge of giving up on the show for its repetitive, seemingly low-stakes action sequences in the series' first half.

Indeed, whilst some elements of the climax will leave many less than satisfied, if not downright disappointed, in general the back end up these twelve episodes is stronger than the front.

I must say, many of the action sequences felt entirely generic and I often grew bored during them, which may be a problem for a show that is ostensibly about these big fights, but there's enough on the side that the overall product still manages to be entertaining.

Ultimately, though, I probably would have given this a 5 rating, but it gets an extra point for Rikka Takarada's thighs. They are indeed thicc. And let's face it, a good deal of the viewers are just in it for the thighs.

The original Madoka stands as one of my all time favourite anime for many, many reasons: its wonderfully unique, surreal and unnerving visuals, Yuki Kajiura's phenomenal, mystical soundtrack, the rich and varied character designs, the impactful, pathos-laden plot... I could go on.

Naturally, MagiReco was walking in the footsteps of a giant.

And to be honest? I didn't ever expect it to live up to the original. Side story is right there in the name - this isn't more of the original, it's an addendum, something extra for the fans. And there's a lot to like here - there are still plenty of amazing visuals, if anything ... more magical girl action than the original, and the soundtrack - though not quite up to the original's standard (Kajiura is a hard act to follow) - is pretty solid. There were genuine moments when the magic of the original was rekindled for me. There are moments that powerfully evoke that sense of the uncanny that is a hallmark of the original's aesthetic.

But these were mere moments.

The plotting is far looser than the original and gets fairly tangled at times. It never seems like the writing really knows what it wants to focus on and quite what the stakes are. Plenty happens, but it happens with rather thin motivation and a casual chain of causality.

The characters are fine and a genuine attempt is made to give them all depth, but still I never found myself deeply invested in the way I was in the original. This being a spin-off, there is also little opportunity to deliver the kind of novelty and shock that made the original such an overnight hit.

There is definitely also a number of attempts at nostalgia fan service - shoehorning characters from the original into episodes where they add little, but a fleeting pang of recognition. This really just adds to the overall uncertainty of the show's direction and its rambling feel. Furthermore, these original character cameos are only part of the problem. While the sprawling character roster does include many cool new designs (I particularly enjoyed the design for Alina Gray), there are many characters here to pop up with little explanation and seemingly are only included for the pleasure of players of the mobile game.

Having had three major iterations of this property in anime form now - the original series, Rebellion, and now this - I have noticed a pattern forming where there seems to be a determination to expand the lore each time, rather than consolidate what exists. Sure, Rebellion had fairly solid in-universe reasons for introducing Nightmares in place of Witches, but the reasons for the introduction of Uwasa ('rumours') seem on less solid ground.


All in all, if you like original, you could probably do worse than to watch this series, but try to go in with your expectations set at an appropriately forgiving level. I did, and whilst this won't go down as one of my favourite series as the original did, I did get enjoyment out of the experience overall.

With a show like this, comparisons to Attack on Titan are inevitable... and to be honest, it's hard to say they are unwarranted. There're certainly a lot of similarities here. There's the premise of the last bastions of humanity facing off against zombies with a twist (less of a twist here), there's the human-inhuman hybrids who are key to it all, there's the politics and squabbles amongst the humans, and there are steampunk aesthetics (though where AoT leans in a more European Renaissance direction, Kabaneri leans more late Tokugawa/early Meiji). They even come from the same studio, Wit, and Kabaneri similarly features a rousing soundtrack ... from Hiroyuki Sawano.

I say all this by way of confirming that the comparisons to Attack on Titan are well-earned and entirely reasonable. So how does it stack up?

Poorly.

Which isn't to say there isn't some good stuff in here. There certainly is. But sadly the narrative structure and pacing of the show is way off. There's easily enough material here for a 24-26 episode season, and whilst I have often defended shows from accusations of being too short at 12 or 13 episodes, that defence only applies when the show knows how much plot a 12 or 13 episode series needs. Kabaneri does not. The final two episodes cover an absurd amount of ground. I mean, from FMA:B's longest day, we know capital city finale arcs can be entertaining for quite a considerable episode count, but to see so many twists and turns play out in such a short time robs it all of its gravity. We've barely had just to process one state of affairs before an entirely new set have replaced them.

The characters are also a tad lacklustre and while Ikoma, our protagonist, certainly changes over the course of the show, his arc largely happens on autopilot and because the story demands it. It seldom feels authentic. A moment of self-doubt and self-pity in one episode is perfunctorily dismissed in the following seen with that character development box ticked.

The supporting cast aren't much better. Mumei, the secondary protagonist is there. She does things, nothing much changes for her character. She's good at killing things, but she's also incredibly naive. That said, she is a child so, I suppose naivety is par for the course. Lady Ayame is possibly the most subtly realised character with a reserved and understated but undeniable strength combined with an impressive well of decency. She doesn't get a whole lot to do, but at least she provides some contrast.

The main villain, whose name I won't mention as that is probably a spoiler given his late entry, is entirely unremarkable, but like with much of the show, I think given more time he could have been more deftly built up. His motivations and plans always seem a tad muddled and the transition he goes through happens entirely too suddenly. I think had he been made more sympathetic the whole affair would have been a great deal more engaging.

Overall I think this is a show that simply failed to live up to its potential. It wasn't bad as such, it just could have been a lot better. As it stands it doesn't really offer anything that Attack on Titan hasn't done much better.

With the big fuss erupting around this, I figured I'd check it out. I dislike when self-appointed moral guardians decide to impose their 'standards' on grown adults and I was half-inclined to give this a 10 just on principle.

But then I watched it.

And, oh boy. It is not good. Like... it's really bad.

I think this has enough conceptual meat for maybe a ten minute short and then the joke at the core of the premise is completely played out. As far as mockeries of isekai and fantasy anime tropes go, this is a pretty poor offering. It lacks even the tiniest of fractions ... of the humour and charm of something like Konosuba. I think my mouth might have twitched in the direction of a smile once or twice, but there were no laughs here.

So does it work on any other levels? Well the plot is thin, the characters only loosely sketched, and honestly, I don't care about any of them. So you can forget story and character.

But surely, with the all the talk of it being borderline hentai, it's at least decent ecchi? No... it really isn't. It's about as stimulating as watching rhinos fuck on a nature documentary. I mean, hey, if that does it for you, all power to you. But yeah, this did nothing for me.

I think in part the above is because I just don't enjoy the art style at play here. In fact about the only thing I find decent is the OP which is reasonably catchy.

So yeah, I think Funimation's censorship shenanigans are pretty shitty, but I'm not sure this was the hill to die on when it comes fighting moral panics and their instigators. It's, simply put, a struggle to watch.

WARNING: Minor spoilers up to episode 4.

Higurashi, at its best, is a tense and enthralling viewing experience. Unfortunately it's not often at its best.

There is, I think, all the material here for a much better series, but ultimately its conceptual basis is far too simple to justify the convoluted manner by which we end up getting to the revelations at series' end. Higurashi wants us to think it's telling us a cleverly structured, twisty mystery tale, but unfortunately its overall premise ends up being a much more violent Endless Eight.

Now some people will say that the Endless Eight comparison is unfair to ... Higurashi, given that each of its time loops plays out quite differently, and this is probably fair. This is not an endurance viewing exercise on the same level. Nonetheless, after we've seen the basic set up of each loop for the third time, it does start to drag and I found myself getting a sinking feeling when I reached each loop's conclusion. This was a result of knowing I'd have to sit through the same mundane slice of life shenanigans for another episode or two before the tension and plot returned. The overall result of this structural choice is that this is a show with wildly uneven pacing and tone. In the episodes that start off each arc that tone can be down right goofy - wildly at odds with the horrific, nihilistic violence that caps each one. The other problem - at least for the earlier arcs - is that they typically reach their conclusion all too quickly once things pick up pace. I certainly could have gone with a significantly altered balance between the slice of life and the horror/mystery elements.

Some might point out that plenty of shows play around with tonal shifts to great effect and I would absolutely agree. Two of my favourite shows - Madoka Magica and Made in Abyss - vary their tones wildly over their run time. The difference is that Higurashi vacillates back at forth, rather than moving in a consistent direction and the arc resets thus give you tonal whiplash.

Now, I will concede happily that the show does become a lot stronger in the final two arcs, finally letting us quickly get past the club activities and walks to and from school, and instead building tension and plot points with a far surer hand. If you came into this series for a tense horror show, then it finally starts to deliver in this home stretch. Prior to these two arcs any tension that does build is usually relieved rapidly and often in a rather unsatisfactory way. In fact I was on the verge of rating the series far lower up until I came to these arcs and its worst failings were redeemed.

A considerable part of what makes these final arcs more engaging is that we actually start getting more macro-plot elements falling into place, and the show feels less aimless for it. I feel like the writers held back their sparse twists too long, so that the earlier arcs lack any tangible sense of progress through the story. Perhaps the series would have benefited from a lower episode count, so we wouldn't have to wallow in repetition for so long before things finally start moving.

The show struggles to be atmospheric in part because of its moe designs, and in part because of its uneven tone. The violence when it occurs is explosive and graphic, but is mostly pretty thinly scattered and is somewhat robbed of some of its horror by the time loop aspect of the show. Also, despite this show's gruesome reputation, this is considerably milder than the likes of Corpse Party. There's plenty of blood spraying about, but not much more visceral.

Whilst not lacking back-stories, the characters here are not interesting or engaging enough to lend much help to the time loop concept. With stronger characterisation -- less reliant on recycled archetypes -- each loop could have been given more of a distinct voice, and been far more compelling for it. I honestly doubt whether I'll remember much at all about these characters in a few months time.

Ultimately Higurashi isn't a bad anime. Indeed it's better than most. It's just not nearly as good as it could have been. Its mystery is too transparent to be particularly engaging, its horror is too thinly spread to bring any true scares or sense of dread, and its characters are largely forgettable. It certainly isn't a waste of time, but I did come away from it more disappointed than anything else.

Upon finishing Lost Song I had a hard time sorting out my thoughts about the show. I honestly could have landed anywhere between a 4 and a 6 on this series, and by this time next week I may have completely changed my mind on that ranking. In the end though - or at least for now - I settled on a 6 because there's clearly a lot of passion behind this show and in its best moments it does shine. In its worst though it is fumbling and almost laughable.

It's always nicer to finish on a high note, so I'll start with where this ... show falls down. Part of its problem is it suffers from an overabundance of earnestness. The result of this is that its fumbles end up far more noticeable, because they are treated with such drama and seriousness.

Beyond this, the show struggles to really establish any particularly interesting characters, and most of them come across as recycled tropes and not particularly deeply evoked. As a protagonist Rin is fine, occasionally charming, but mostly nothing you wouldn't expect and haven't seen many times before. Finis starts off as almost painful to watch, but as the only character that actually gets significant development, becomes somewhat more interesting as the show goes on. Al barely warrants mentioning, Pony Goodlight's (what?) only remarkable trait is how she avoids wardrobe malfunctions.

Of the two villains, Prince Rudo is the more interesting for how thoroughly unlikable he is made. The characterisation is not nearly as well done, but there's more than a little of Joffrey Baratheon about him. Other than that the other key antagonist is, like many of the other characters, an archetype that's far from original.

The plot starts of wholly unremarkable, but gradually builds to something reasonably interesting around the halfway mark, before subsiding back into mediocrity for the series' end.

So what did I like? Well this is a show about music and the music is excellent - or at least the big insert songs are. The OP and ED are forgettable (I literally can't think they sound like as I write this), but the two main spirit songs in particular are great. Which is good, because in a show like this, they really needed to be. The first of these is the Song of Healing, which features in the first episode and is every bit as stirring and uplifting as one might hope. The second comes around the midway point and represents the high point of the series. Indeed it almost makes you forget about the painful amounts of cringe that undercut what should have been a dramatic moment immediately prior to it.

Ultimately this is a show that tries hard, and it managed to gain my attention at times, whilst utterly losing me at others. It did stick around in my mind though, so there's something to be said for that. It isn't particularly original or daring, but it has its charms. This isn't essential viewing, but it isn't a waste of time either.

I think there's a place for transgressive art. Two of my favourite books fall solidly within this description - 'American Psycho' by Bret Easton Ellis, saturated in extreme sexual violence though it is, is compelling and engaging; Vladimir Nabokov's 'Lolita' (to which the anime community owes a dubious debt for the terminology) is a beautifully written, if thoroughly disturbing work. One of my favourite anime, 'Made in Abyss' portrays a number of instances of absolutely horrific violence inflicted on children. So I firmly believe that the presence of transgressive themes and content - including extreme violence and gore - need not preclude a work from ... being deemed worthwhile or even of being deemed great.

And believe me: 'Genocyber's reputation for being one of the most extreme gore-anime ever made is well earned. It is not a viewing experience for the faint of heart. However, what separates it from other examples of transgressive art I mentioned above or might otherwise enjoy is that each of those were thematically dense, original, and demonstrated significant qualities above, beyond, and entirely removed from the presence or otherwise of very high impact violence.

This isn't to say that 'Genocyber' has nothing to say - it tries to say something. The issue is that it fails in doing so. There's the hint of an interesting idea here and there, but ultimately the entire premise and execution is too blandly unoriginal and uninspired to amount to much of anything. Beyond the cheap thrill of the schlock (which gets old pretty quickly) there isn't much here that makes it worth the investment of time.

The three interlocking arcs never manage to really take the time necessary to engage the viewer in their stories or characters and all of them are rather forgettable.

There's also the issue of the visuals. The artwork is perfectly passable and I'm not one to mark a work down just because of its age, but when one compares the visuals here to those of that other, older cyberpunk dystopia, 'Akira', the inadequacies of 'Genocyber' become all the more apparent. It's hard, too, to ignore the over reliance on stills in many action sequences that really hamper the vibrancy of those scenes.

The voice work is fine, if unremarkable, but perhaps the one area this OVA does manage to rise above the pits is in the music department. It's really a shame that the atmospheric soundtrack didn't get to accompany far more engaging cyberpunk fare, but oh well, at least there's something to enjoy here.

Ultimately, if you're curious about this given its reputation, check it out. As I said before, it's certainly gory - it makes more modern anime such as 'Berserk' or 'Elfen Lied' look positively tame by comparison. But once you've got your fill of creative dismemberment I suggest you don't bother enduring the whole thing. There's a lot to watch out there and this just simply isn't worth the time.

Along with the likes of Evangelion, this is one of the anime that defines the medium. Like it or hate it, you can't ignore it. This is not a show for everyone, and judging by a few of the negative reviews here, some people flat out don't get it. So let's set a few things straight.

One: It is not a masterpiece. It's a flawed, weird, clumsy, uneven mess of a show.

Two: It is wildly original. There are many legitimate criticisms of this show. A lack of originality is not a even close to being a fair one.

Three: It is very well made. But we expect ... that from KyoAni. Even when they make trash like K-On, it's exceptionally well made trash.

Sometimes works of fiction are named after a single character. In many cases this is the main character and in many cases that character is not really special enough to merit having the whole damn thing named after them. The Harry Potter series is the most successful series of novels of all time without competition, yet they are named after a fairly passable, but unexceptional main character. This show is not like that. Haruhi is a character that demands attention. Placing her name in the title is beyond well-earned.

So let's talk about her.

She is objectively a bad person. She also poses a cosmic threat to the universe itself with her near limitless powers. Despite this though, she is a wildly compelling character. Her horribleness never spills over into outright villainy and she occasionally even does noble things. Trying to decide what to think of this enigma of a human being/cosmic deity is one of the core elements driving engagement with this show. I still don't really know how to judge her. But I can't help but be swept up in her bizarre charm. She is a character I've truly never seen before. A wildly simplistic analysis might compare her to the Manic Pixie Dream Girl phenomenon, but anyone who considers Haruhi a dream girl has some real issues to explore. She is narcissistic, often cruel, a sexual predator, and utterly amoral. Some might consider her a Mary Sue - she's (at least in some ways) smart, attractive and athletically gifted, and yet her deficiencies as a human being are gargantuan.

What is she? She's Haruhi Suzumiya, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.

The other characters are more of a mixed bunch. Kyon, our narrator, is a brilliant foil to Haruhi and it's hard to imagine the show working without his droll, understated outlook backing it up. Kyon is a character that is absolutely perfect for his role in the show in a way few characters are.

The rest of the SOS Brigade isn't quite as distinguished but Nagato and Asahina fulfill their roles with aplomb, nonetheless. One feels generally sorry for the latter on the regular, thanks to Haruhi's unending abuse. These characters depend heavily on the more fantastical elements of the show to flesh them out.

Overall, this is a wonderfully animated show, full of a great characters, great music and a confusing, yet decent plot. But let's not kid ourselves: you watch this for Haruhi and that is in itself enough. Just enjoy our capricious goddess.