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Mar 29, 2017
What makes a good character? In my opinion, the most essential thing of all is a relatable personality. Otherwise, the audience won’t be able to sympathise with the character at all. This is why people are criticising Kirito from Sword Art Online for being too overpowered; while at the same time praising Saitama from One Punch Man even though he’s litteraly one of the most overpowered characters in all of fiction including the bible. What makes us care about him is his altruism and normal life style. He’s depicted as a normal dude who just happens to be a godlike figure, whereas Kirito is depicted
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as a godlike figure who just happens to be a normal dude.
This is also why the characters in Fuuka never succeeds in making me give two shits about them. From the get go we are presented with a main character whose actions are as logical as a flat Earth painted by Dali. Not only does he decide to hang out with the psycho who just smashed his phone into a million pieces, but he also decides not to mention the fact that the very famous singer said psycho loves is an old childhood friend of his; something he doesn’t tell her until episode four, after they’ve gone to her concert together.
This is where we as an audience gets pulled out of the immersion of the show. Because just like a magic trick isn’t as effective if we’re able to see the card hidden in the sleeve, a show loses its credibility if the audience are able to see the hand of the director. In this case it’s painfully obvious that the only reason why the main character acts as he does, is to create drama later on. In other words, the show sacrifices its inner logic in favor of a spicy story.
In fact, the whole show is a little bit too convenient. The main character just happens to be a childhood friend of Fuuka’s favorite singer. Their teacher just happens to be a member of Fuuka’s favorite band. The person Yuu tweets with just happens to be sitting in front of him. The list goes on. And when you have so many examples of coincidences stacked on top of each other, it becomes impossible to relate to anything that happens just because it’s so unbelievable.
The shallow characters combined with the bad story structure results in a big ol’ mess. The show never seems to figure out what it wants to be, and by the time you reach the end you get a feeling of what was the point? The only real charachter development in the whole show is that Yuu learns how to play the bass on a professional level in the span of what feels like a few weeks, that’s it. In the end, Fuuka expects you to relate to unrelatable characters and believe an unbelievable story. And not to mention, it’s pretty &#@% boring.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Oct 18, 2016
Despite my own preconceived thoughts, I must say I really enjoyed Love Live! But I actually don't really understand why. The story isn't very deep or layered, and the characters are almost hilariously one dimensional. So what is it with Love Live! that makes me accept flaws I normally wouldn't?
The answer is escapism. Love Live! succeeds in giving the viewer escapism in it's purest form. This is also the reason why I enjoyed the show, even though (on paper) I shouldn't have. In his 1990 paper "The Rationality of Escapism and Self-Deception" John L. Longeway describes escapism as thus: "... escapism borders on the neurotic,
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and is generally regarded as irrational". In other words, I like the show not because it is good, but because I want to like it. The reason why the show's flaws doesn't bother me, is because I allow myself to become completely emerged into the world of the show; thereby leaving my normal life, and normal requirement of quality, behind.
Longeway also writes: "Escapist entertainment's essential purpose is to draw us away from our everyday troubles ..." And this is the reason Love Live! works so well. There are no real stakes (no evil villain, no realistic portrayal of pessimism), instead we're introduced to a world where all the problems in the universe can be solved by song and happiness. It's basically a drug. Just like a stoner smokes pot to calm down and escape his mondaine reality, I watch Love Live! And who can judge anything honestly while being high?
So during the time I watch an episode of Love Live! Hitler didn't kill any jews, and the world economy isn't fucking shit; simply because of the absurd level of escapism this show injects me with.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 28, 2016
(Some Spoilers)
Going into Madoka Magica, all I'd heard about it was "you don't know what you're getting yourself into". To me, this is one of the biggest problems with the show; It relies on being compared with other shows in it's genre, rather than it's own qualities as an independent anime. It's not great, it's just better. But if you were to remove the prejudice and expectations that comes with being a "magical girls anime", and simply judge it on it's own merits, it's nothing special.
In other words, Madoka Magica falls victim of the "cheerleader effect", a cognitive bias where individuals appear more attractive
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in a group than on their own. For instance, the show gets pretty dark after a couple of episodes. But because of how not-dark these types of shows usually are, it feels even darker, simply because the audience didn't expect it. But is it really that dark? Sure, some characters die, but that's not very uncommon in anime.
And why should I even care if some of the characters die anyway? it's not like the show ever gave me a reason to. The characters are all pretty much one dimensional, and the little development that actually occurs is almost exclusevly handled in exposition scenes.
The story itself is pretty avarage and boring. It feels like 6 episodes would have been enough. Because except for the beggining and the ending, all that ever really happens in the show is the girls fighting between themselves, moping about how bad life is, and being busy trying not to move the plot forward.
Now, I'm not saying that Madoka Magica is bad by any means. It's just not as good as it would like to think it is. It wants us to see it as the masterpiece it could've been, instead of the one it failed to be. It's the equivalent of a bad artist presenting his work by saying: "trust me, the painting was beautiful in my head".
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Sep 22, 2016
Gakkougurashi, or "School-Live!", might have the best pilot episode of any anime I have ever seen. Not in terms of plot or humour, but in the way it is written. The way the episode uses the audience's expectations (or lack there of) to it's advantage is nothing but pure brilliance. Just like a skilled magician it misdirects your attention in a way so that when you're rewatching it for a second time, it all suddenly seems obvious. Therefore, going into this anime blind is extremly rewarding.
The story as a whole is very entertaining, but most importantly: satisfying (something a lot of other anime fails to
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be). It is said that the most dangerous part of tightrope walking are the last few steps, and the same is true when telling a story. I could go on forever about shows that start out as great, only to f*ck it all up with an ending that leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth. But thankfully; when Gakkougurashi ended, it felt right.
No anime is perfect though, and with Gakkougurashi the flaws are with the main characters themselves. We never really get to know them, what you see is what you get. And considering the kind of situation these girls are in, I think it would've been nice to learn at least a little about their backgrounds. For instance, why do they never talk about their families? Like, at all?!
But besides that, the characters aren't bad, and the relationship between them is both portrayed and developed in a great, believable way. Both the art and sound is of the quality you should expect from a modern anime. And I also like the way the OP changes as the show goes on.
To me, Gakkougurashi is a bit of a paradox. Because I can tell you one thing: it does not deserve the 10 rating. But despite that, I still kinda want to give it a 10 rating. And an anime that makes me wanna give it a 10, even though it doesn't really deserve a 10, definitely deserves a 10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 11, 2016
[Contains mild spoilers]
At first glance, K-On could easily come across as just another cute anime about cute girls doing cute things. But what makes K-On rise where lesser anime fall, is in the way it tells its story.
A commonly used trope in modern comedy is to create a static world and fill it with dynamic characters. This means that the humor then has to come from individual situations, since the world as a whole never changes or develops. A perfect example of this is The Simpsons, where the crazy adventures always are forgotten by the next episode. The world resets.
This is where K-On differs in
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the best way possible. It doesn't let story suffer because of situational comedy; instead it lets the comedy serve the story. Every skit always seem to have a purpose in driving the plot forward. A good example of this is when the girls band together (pun intended) to earn enough money to buy a guitar. Sure, a lot of situational sillyness occurs during that scene; but because the story calls for the girls to get money, it doesn't feel like a sketch or a throwaway gag.
However, with that being said, K-On's story really is a silly and light hearted one; which means that if it focused too much on the plot it would come across as taking itself too seriously. So it's all about finding that sweetspot between comedy and plot; and boy did K-On find it!
I would also say that the character development in K-On is extremely realistic. A common criticism aimed at shows such as this one is that "nothing happens". And granted, every episode just seems to be about the girls sitting around drinking tea all day. "Where's the story?! Where's the plot progression?!", I hear you say with your voice filled with critique and elitism.
But here's the thing, the fact that nothing seems to progress IS what makes it so realistic. Real life progression sneaks up on you. If you were to compare yourself with you from two months ago, I bet you wouldn't find a whole lot of differences. Same goes for you from two months ago and you from four months ago, and so on. And yet, I'm convinced that if you were to compare yourself with you from a year ago, he or she would seem like a completely different person.
The same goes for K-On. Just because you didn't notice the changes, doesn't mean they didn't happen. If you compare the first and final episode of the series, you'll notice that a lot of things has changed. Four charachters that started out as complete strangers would now die for each other, and a charachter that had never played guitar in her entire life now rocks it out on stage in front of a huge audience. Where's the story? where's the plot progression? Well, it's right in front of you, just open your eyes.
K-On isn't The Simpsons. The world never resets and the humor is never pointless. The world is dynamic and the characters have memory. And most important of all, it ends on a completely different note than it started on; without ever failing to entertain. This is why K-On is a great experience.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 11, 2016
Before watching Kono Subarashii my life was shit. Then a light appeared in the sky, showing me the true meaning of life and happiness. That light was Kono Subarashii.
I think some people won't be able to understand the true greatness of this masterpiece; especially if they're originated from the Jugge area, or if they're currently residing near a convenience store around Verkstadstorgetu. These people are of course known as Retard-san.
After watching this beautiful embodiment of a visual orgasm, all my problems in life are gone; because it has shown me that even mondaine charachters with equally mondaine lives can find happiness.
9/10 (Not Perfect, because of
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the fact that I'll die of age before I'll be able to watch it enough)
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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