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Let’s start with the most useful information for everybody. Sousou no Frieren’s first episode has a transcendent scene. It occurs near the middle and the associated OST is named “One Last Adventure.” Please enjoy it. Anime series are long. Not every anime can be made for you. At 3 minutes max, transcendent scenes are for everyone. Particularly ones that make sense out of context like this one. Music is essential in a transcendent scene. Words fall to a backdrop. Moments like this are why we watch anime.

Footnote to the first paragraph: There is a link to a clip of the first episode’s transcendent scene in ... my profile bio.

The highest praise I ever read of Miyazaki talked about the small details of human behavior in his films. For example, a character tapping her toe on the ground to set her foot securely in a newly-donned shoe. Watching Frieren, I can’t help but recall this idea over and over again. The turn of a character’s head at a precise angle when she looks behind her. That little jolt in her torso when she opens a door. The care required to portray a yawn in intense fidelity and close detail. Anime gives you many options. You can use any level of resolution you want. Low resolution means broad strokes. With broad strokes you show just enough for the audience to follow the action. It isn’t necessarily wrong or bad to choose low resolution. It depends on your goals. By contrast, you can use fine (high) resolution. In this case you show the audience many details. They clearly perceive a blink, a shift in eye direction, or a slight nod of the head. Why not do this all the time? It’s hard! It takes work. When you see it done well you are seeing an incredible labor of love, carried out and put forth with care. This can only be done by minds that cherish the little quirks of people that make us who we are. Observe closely; it will be wonderful to look at. Successfully executing on this mission makes an anime enchanting where before it was not.

An anime that is off-the-charts talented at showing small details of body language can communicate large amounts of information in a short period of time. A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say. This is one of the best skills for an anime to be good at. There are many reasons. It makes the show accessible to a wider audience. Pretty much everybody is good at reading body language. It is also the most natural form of communication for us. We interact with each other from birth and evolutionarily speaking ages ago. Our vision is a big part of that. By contrast, words that describe hard concepts come later in the life cycle of a human and later in the life cycle of humanity. It’s less natural to us and fewer of us process it well. So successfully communicating through body language in your anime is a skill that carries tremendous value.

Body language details are also important in this story because of the personality of the protagonist, Frieren. She is naturally reserved; she thinks many things silently that others would say out loud. To teach us her entire journey while faithfully portraying her character, the anime must show as much as possible in the small details of her movements. It does that wonderfully. The slight opening of her mouth. The sudden blink of an eye. The turn of her head: one angle at one time, a different angle at another. If you find Frieren the character uninteresting, you might not be taking in these details. If you are taking in those details and still aren’t pleased, different characters please different people. The sort of person who loves Frieren is the sort of person who loves Saber from the Fate series.

Frieren is a good anime to discuss purposeful pacing. The pacing of Frieren is slow. This is well done. Being well-paced does not merely mean being at a cookie-cutter speed. It means a speed that reflects the intent and the ethos of the entire story. Code Geass, a rapid story, is about ambitious and energetic young men. Sousou no Frieren is about a thousand-year-old elf who loves to take her time and learn everything she can about the world of magic. Frieren is a story about eternity, a story which encapsulates extended eras  within short sequences of screen-time. Its pace must be slow. Frieren’s excellent pacing reflects the work of creators who know exactly what they are doing and why they are doing it. This is another reason why the close details of human body language are important to making this anime good. If your pace of plot progression is slow, you need to have lots of sequences that “show you a thousand words” without saying them. This retains the interest of observers because there is always intriguing information on the screen to follow and think about. Effectively portraying the details of body language helps you with this.

Sousou no Frieren is a good show to touch on the elements of “superior humor” as opposed to low humor (for example toilet humor). Frieren does have some low humor, particularly after it introduces a teenaged male character into the fray. At the end of the day Frieren is a shounen. Depending on what you want out of a story, low humor is off-putting. The creators probably could have skipped some of it. This is not necessarily up to the producer’s discretion; it is the usual habit of Japanese anime to preserve the scenes of the original manga in a highly faithful way.

Let’s give an example of insightful dry humor from the first episode. One character says that Heiter looks much older after 10 years and Heiter replies that “that’s a rather mean thing to say.” Another character says that Heiter looks exactly the same and Heiter says that that too is “a rather mean thing to say.” This is a subtle joke about having our cake and eating it too. The benefits of youth include vitality and energy. The benefits of age include being treated with honor and respect. Heiter treats the first comment as a reflection of his loss of energy. With the second comment he suggests he doesn’t get offered the amount of respect that he deserves at his age. All of this subtext comes through very few words and in a short time. This gets back to what I said about communicating through body language visuals because it is a similar skill. All the best anime do this: they communicate a lot of information buried in the subtext of words. They also make sure that viewers can easily understand those words at face value. This is how you make an anime enjoyable for everyone: give everyone something to enjoy at his or her level of comprehension. Doing this is difficult. Frieren is probably an excellent anime to watch with other people. Or, for example, to suggest as someone’s first anime.

As I said earlier, Frieren is a shounen. Don’t be surprised by “the boy who needs confidence,” “you can’t lose if you keep getting back up again,” and “the overconfident enemy who lets the good guys off the hook.” Frieren is unusually clever with the last one: it uses setting creation and story-building to reflect a cohesive theme about ego. It’s still a dubious plot device. Frieren is at its weakest when it has that “typical shounen feel.” What’s another example of this? Frieren devotes many panels to heavy-handed “this is how good boys act” messaging. It associates heroism with copious visuals of helping out little girls, helping out grandma, and carrying out errands for the entire village. I don’t necessarily disapprove of encouraging viewers to serve others. The issue is that this messaging doesn’t align well with Sousou no Frieren’s primary themes. Its execution is rather hamfisted. Don’t worry, I will praise Sousou no Frieren’s better themes soon.

I’d like to compare Sousou no Frieren to Boku no Hero Academia (hereafter MHA) and Hunter x Hunter (hereafter HxH). MHA and HxH are around the top of the pack of shounen that are highly popular. Sousou no Frieren carries the same rosy and naive vibe as MHA. For the most part everybody means well. Personalities might clash but there isn’t a serious tug-of-war. At times Sousou no Frieren makes it seem as if all human differences can be solved purely with better communication skills. By contrast, most great anime show strongly conflicting world-views where both sides are compelling. In Frieren it’s obvious who is “right” and whom we are supposed to emulate (Himmel). There are fairly obvious good guys and bad guys. On a side note, Frieren has an idea of demons using language purely to manipulate others which is insightful. Some people have no conception of truth beyond attaining a goal; this is worth thinking about further.

HxH has more complex antagonistic elements than either MHA or Frieren. This is a major reason people love HxH. However, as an anime, I ultimately rate Frieren as better than either MHA or HxH (it might be different for the manga versions). There are a couple of reasons for this. One of them is the quality of the characters. HxH and MHA have simple and tropey characters. They mostly look and act like caricatures. This is not a disqualifying feature: we are talking about the shounen genre, where this is par for the course. It’s not like Frieren is leaps and bounds above HxH and MHA in the quality of its characters. Frieren’s characters also have something of a cookie-cutter feel to them. However, across the board, Frieren’s characters are better.

The other difference is in a key anime skill. Frieren is especially good at it for a shounen. I call this skill “person analysis.” In essence this is where characters act closer to what “a real person” would do in a situation. Now, as I said, Frieren is still a shounen. It’s not going to be peak “realistic behavior” like your favorite slice-of-life or seinen. We still have comic-gag scenes of Himmel posing 12 different ways for a statue. But by and large Frieren is much better at having characters react in realistic and subtle ways. A quiet smile. A furrowed brow. Ideas thought but not spoken. This gets back to what I said about body language. If you can portray subtle body language, you can do “realistic behavior” well in your anime. If you can’t, you’ll have Bakugo jump on desks and call everybody extras or Gon cross his arms and shout at everybody so it’s blindingly obvious how they feel.

One last aspect of Frieren as a shounen is the way it handles training and development of skills. Many shounen bury the audience in piles of details about the magic system and the characters’ struggles while learning these skills. For the most part such scenes are excess. They don’t add to the story and function as boring diversions. Doing this can be good if the protagonists’ training journeys are relevant to the themes of the story. Often they are not and shounen waste space on it anyways because “that’s just what shounen do.” Sousou no Frieren does not do this. Features of warrior training or the idiosyncratic magic system are revealed to us as they become relevant to the story and contribute to the narrative arc in an interesting way. There are no lengthy diversions where an author waxes lyrical to show off how clever he is. Rather the system is integrated into the story without wastefulness: this is far more clever. Sousou no Frieren shows short training sequences that are mystical, aesthetic, and wordless. Visuals that reflect the feel of the experience are enough. The minutiae are irrelevant.

Learning about an element of training as it becomes relevant means seeing a flashback to a previous time in the narrative history. Sousou no Frieren does a lot of flashbacks, not only to reveal features of training but also to teach us more about the relationships between characters. This is crucial to help the audience understand those relationships in a full and intuitive way, provided, of course, that the creators do it in a natural and flowing manner. There are two main ways an anime falls flat on its face when it comes to this. One way is to not have a flashback at all and simply have a character talk to us at length about the past event. (This is the “Monogatari” error.) Anime is a visual medium with the capacity to “show, not tell” the features of its world. Telling us when you could instead show us is always a bad move. Another way anime fail at this is by showing jarring or overly lengthy flashbacks that disrupt the story. When possible the flashback should involve at least one character who matters to us. It should also be concise to maintain the “present day” narrative and keep the story flowing. Frieren builds up our knowledge of important characters bit by bit with many flashbacks spread out over time. It doesn’t shove a whole life history for an unimportant character into our face out of nowhere and pretend we are obligated to care. (This is the “Kimetsu no Yaiba” error.) It’s surprising how many anime flounder when they face this test. Sousou no Frieren passes with flying colors.

Excellent anime embody concepts in their world as much as possible. If a character makes a claim in words the audience has to consider whether that claim is believable. Actions speak louder than words. This is because words often lie. By contrast, when you perform an action, you pay a higher cost in energy. Paying that cost is a proof of your sincerity. As I said before, the development and progression of relationships is central to Frieren’s theme and message. A bad anime will have the characters say out loud that they like each other more or something like this then leave it at that. Frieren shows you many actions on the screen that give further proof of the strength of these relationships. This may seem like a small thing, but it makes a big difference. Your gut knows the difference between actions and words even if your brain thinks it’s all the same. When the four heroes put circlets of flowers on each other’s heads, or when Frieren reaches out a hand to steady Fern as she goes down a ledge or across a river, or when Fern is standoffish about receiving such favors from Stark, that is all excellent storytelling. A similar phenomenon occurs with gifts in your story. In Sousou no Frieren, a ring, a hair ornament, and a staff matter a lot. When you give a relationship a physical representation and put its “body” into the world that is a powerful symbol of meaning. Here’s another example. Without going into detail, there is a character whose training exists as a physical “presence” in the world. This is great storytelling. The tremendous value of embodying an idea into your story is one of these things that every anime should understand and put into action. Sadly, many anime fail to get this right. Frieren seems to pass all the important tests.

Sousou no Frieren’s best theme is the tragedy of impermanence and the majesty of time: a deep and difficult theme. Frieren’s setting, style, and characters remind me of Tolkien, who did this theme well. As with elves of Middle Earth, Frieren has a practically eternal life span, which allows for careful consideration of this theme. Another excellent theme revolves around enjoying the journey and taking every bit you can from the gift of life. Multiple characters express a certain attitude regarding dungeons. For them the point is not to reach the end but to cherish the opportunity. As such, every room of a dungeon should be entered. Then it really is an exploration. These are good, good themes.

Sousou no Frieren feels like a slice-of-life at times. It dedicates many scenes to relationship building, mending fights, and clashes of personality. While Sousou no Frieren’s “shounen scenes” tend to be worse, the “slice-of-life scenes” tend to be good. The creation and maintenance of relationships has a solid connection to Sousou no Frieren’s two best themes. Passing through the years with people who are precious to you is essential to the spirit of Sousou no Frieren.

This is a superlative anime original soundtrack. My standard for the best that anime music has to offer is Iwasaki Taku of Gurren Lagann fame. I never go into an anime expecting a challenger to Iwasaki’s throne. Evan Call’s Frieren OST forced me to seriously consider the possibility. I already mentioned the transcendent scene in Episode 1. Call composes a fantastic stylistic match for “British Isles fantasy” in the fiddle-style shifts of pitch present in key melodies. He writes good music for contemplative moments, inspirational moments, humorous moments, and dramatic moments. It’s important to generate a wide spread of musical effects. Call is not (yet) as good as Iwasaki’s peak, but I am eager to watch more anime featuring his work.

Like the music, the voice acting is very good. The manner of speaking is generally in line with that slow pace I mentioned earlier. People speak in a way that carries eternity behind its back. Frieren’s care to detail can also be heard in “auditory body language.” These are sounds like a slow in-drawing of breath, a sigh, a chuckle, a gasp, or the distinctive non-verbal quirks of various characters such as Fern’s grumbles and Frieren’s self-satisfied “hm-hm!” These are all placed carefully for effect and with excellent timing. That Sousou no Frieren is a labor of love really comes out in these tiny details. The walking pace carries the same weight of time. I cannot emphasize enough the value of bringing all the smallest details of your anime in line with the main themes and fundamental purpose of your story. When you create a cohesive whole like this you get a full experience that immerses you in the idea. There’s simply no comparison to speaking words about the concept.

Frieren has bad OP and ED. The first OP in particular does not fit the prevailing style of the anime. The music in it is jarring and rhythmic. First impressions matter a lot. This is the place where Frieren most fails in the mission to create a comprehensive, coherent whole. Once we get out of the OP Sousou no Frieren finally becomes “Sousou no Frieren.” My personal habit is if a show flubs too many details like this, I don’t consider it a masterpiece. To be fair to Frieren, I have extremely high standards. With my usual methods Sousou no Frieren is a 9.

Let’s talk about the very first scene. This is always a good signpost for the quality of an anime. The beginning is an advertisement, an indication of the rest of the show. It should be a microcosm of what your anime is all about: the anime’s narrative arc and its themes. Frieren starts with a shot of a cart on the road. Why does this show remind me so strongly of Tolkien? What’s the song Bilbo sings to set the course of things in The Lord of the Rings? “The road goes ever on and on, Down from the door where it began.” What does Frieren do at the end of the first OP? She blinks while looking down a long road, then takes her next step. This is the same story. Of course, it is also different, like any new story. It is infused with new ingenuity, new forms of art, and new ideas. I would be happy if Frieren is loved in the 21st century the way The Lord of the Rings is loved in the 20th. And perhaps Frieren will be loved in that way.

The next shot is of Frieren with her head in a book. It is figuratively buried in the book. We cannot see her face at all. She is completely shielded from the rest of her companions on the cart. The audience cannot see her eyes or her facial expression, only her forehead. She is totally removed from our presence. She is there, but not at all there. Then Himmel intones her name, in a beautiful and loving cadence. Everything about the way he says Frieren’s name is beautiful. Frieren takes her head out of the book. She joins her friends in spirit and not just body. As I said, the beginnings of the best-made anime give you a microcosm of the rest of the show and an exposition of its main theme for the first time. This introduction is perfect. Perfect. To completely understand why, I invite you to watch Sousou no Frieren.

Most human beings can be bucketed as good “people analyzers” or good “thing/idea analyzers.” You can think of the former as a feminine trait and the latter as masculine. I don’t mean that the buckets are exclusive to gender: I am a male “person analyzer.”



When an intelligent “person analyzer” is in charge of producing an anime, that anime generally excels in realistic behavior in its characters. It tends to avoid over-exaggeration or caricature to get a point across. Viewers often have to intuit or figure out what somebody is thinking or feeling from context clues of body language. This is because realistic behavior doesn’t spell ... a person’s inner self straight out: that’s not how people act. We all wear personae and masks that change from situation to situation. Anime that lean towards “person analysis” and less towards “idea analysis” are generally slice of life or similar genres. Two examples of popular, good anime that fit this category are Clannad and Anohana.



When an intelligent “idea analyzer” is in charge of producing an anime, the anime will excel in the quality and strength of the ideas ‘behind’ the story. However, “idea analyzers” tend to be less adept at “person analysis” since these skills don’t have much overlap. Since such a creator (usually male) isn’t equipped to portray ideas through realistic behavioral details or dialogue he will often have a character say the idea straight out. A good example occurs early in Attack on Titan when a military official bawls in public that his mission was a failure and made him feel hopeless. AoT is a classic “ideas” story: Isayama wants us to know what the official is thinking so the official just blurts it out. While this communicates an important concept for the story there is no way in a million years a senior military official would act in this manner in public. This makes the scene an excellent illustration of “strong idea analysis” combined with “weak person analysis” in an early episode of a show most of you are familiar with. Well-known good “ideas” anime include Gurren Lagann and Code Geass.



Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei is the only show I have watched that does both the “ideas analysis” side and the “person analysis” (realistic behavior) side at an A+ level. This is highly unusual; the mastermind(s) in charge of a creation tends to be more specialized. As such MKnR gets my highest recommendation and my strongest review out of any show I have watched so far.



MKnR has a lot of intrigue, hidden information, and uncertainty embedded in its plot so I will completely avoid further depth in this review. MKnR is exceptionally spoilable and unlike most anime, the spoilable details matter a lot. For those of you who have watched this anime and want more explanation, feel free to pester me on MAL. I may write specific blog posts about MKnR as a result.

Update: I have written one blog post that goes into "person analysis" in greater detail. Most readers who have not yet watched the show should avoid reading the post. You can read the post here: https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=901378

I review both seasons as a unit. The second season is slightly better, but they are highly similar structurally and stylistically.

Viewers delight in tightly knit plot. They love a studiously assembled edifice, free from contradiction, a perfect deductive construct. I studied math; I sympathize.

Code Geass throws a decisive middle finger at that sensibility. Contrast Hunter x Hunter's reverence for reasoning (https://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=452920). Togashi creates an entire board game to avoid polluting his story’s logical integrity. His Gungi games are beyond critique, for no human knows Gungi strategy. Code Geass’s characters play chess games with boardstates that make no sense. They flaunt the rules with their ... moves. This irks me; it must irk others. But it’s fine. While HxH revels in the technical, Code Geass need not. Why chess? Because in chess the king is of utmost importance. Why the implausible (even illegal) king moves? Such moves are themselves commentary: Code Geass is anime’s premier contribution to the philosophy of kingship.

On a related note, Code Geass is one of the most genuinely Anglophilic stories you will find in modern mass media. The story features a Lancelot, an Arthur, a Gawain, and Knights of the Round Table. These references are not superficial. Characters will display and extol the virtues of chivalry, and will repeat feudalistic truisms about the responsibilities and duties of an aristocracy (“If the King does not lead in battle, then who shall follow him?” “Only he who risks death in battle shall take other lives.”) In this ethically degraded and morally bankrupt modern day, seeing these values honored brings gladness to the heart.

Humans are irrational. Many say (and I agree) that in irrationality man reaches its apogee. Self-sacrifice, all-consuming love, heroic idealism: these are not logical. Code Geass is full of such irrationalities. Also: self-interested deception, unreasonable selfishness. Negative impulses one might say (although I am not so sure). Either way, decidedly human behavior. One must understand—being illogical is the very essence of being human.

No need to put lipstick on a pig. Code Geass’s plot is spastic and often farcical. Worldbuilding is frequently warped to contrive a confrontation or specific dilemma. The result is a fantastic story.

Naze da? Isn’t this putting the cart before the horse? How can this be acceptable writing? I admit that eliminating every conceivable plot hole has value. But at the end of the day, this aspect is window dressing, a cherry on top. Stories are first and foremost about human identities placed in interesting situations and the way they respond. Especially important: how their relationships develop, how the contrast between human beliefs generates conflict and collaboration, and the consequence of these progressions. In this crucial domain, Code Geass does not disappoint.

Characters are the cornerstone of every story (https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=887132). I made a list from memory of Code Geass characters satisfying two criteria. One: they play an important role at some stage. Two: they successfully stick in my mind for their distinctive qualities. This can be innate mannerism, personality type, ideology, or relationship to other characters (devotion to character X, hatred of character Y, loyalty to nation Z, respect for ideal W). In other words, I don’t just remember them for their damn hair color. I remember them for features that matter: poignant aspects of human behavior and existence. (That said, Clamp’s character design is quite nice.)

Here is the list: Lelouch, Suzaku, CC, Lloyd, Euphemia, Nina, Milly, Kallen, Shirley, Mao (aside: the poor execution of this character’s arc is Code Geass’s low point), Jeremiah, Villetta, Ohgi, Tamaki, Tohdoh, Cornelia, Clovis, Euphemia, Nunnally, Schneizel, Gino, Charles, Anya, Xing-ke, Sayuri, Rollo, VV, Diethard.

Note my precision in saying “distinctive qualities.” It’s common for a story’s characters to group, clump, or blend into each other (‘another enemy,’ ‘another school peer’). That is not so for these characters. They all stand out in significant, essential (i.e. not superficial) ways, despite role or bloodline (over a half dozen of these individuals are siblings).

This was from memory, so I missed some (e.g. Guilford), but taking the list as comprehensive, that’s *28* full names that imprinted themselves in my memory for important, distinctive, essential qualities of identity. No other anime I have watched approaches this stratosphere. Code Geass is in its own league. For other anime with this many characters, most characters slot into a broad role based on relation to a main character. Their essential attributes tend to be shallowly defined, if at all. Not so with these. To illustrate, I’ll take one of the least important of the 28 and describe her identity.

Milly Ashford’s primary role is in relation to several main characters: either an ally or an enemy (no spoilers). However, she has a well thought-out background that coheres with her identity, her behavioral tendencies, and her trajectory. Namely, she is part of a ‘fallen family’— the Ashfords are erstwhile nobility. This imprints on her multiple ways. She has a natural affectation of superiority to those around her. You might say that she acts “above it all.” I would not call this is sinful arrogance. She does not truly disrespect others; she just falls into patterns of behavior commensurate with former status out of habit. She is highly pragmatic when it comes to regaining that status, reflecting its value. Perhaps this striving sets her outside of one sphere or the other. Her family still acts as benefactor to important characters, enhancing this ‘halfway’ status. While she is a curious prying gossipy girl, she respects the truly important secrets of those under her care.

In the grand scheme of Code Geass, Milly Ashford has low importance. Yet look at the detail. And I could speak further about her, but this feels a good stopping point. *All* these characters are like this. A remarkable feat. Should I do more breakdowns on my MAL blog? Comment on my profile to request a specific character from the list. My blogposts contain spoilers.

Many of the 28 are blood-related. Code Geass not only communicates characteristics that distinguish them from each other, but portrays commonalities resulting from their shared genetic line. Certain pairs of these characters mirror each other in cunning, valor, honor, idealism, ruthlessness, ambition, and artistry, to name a few traits. That push-pull between similarity and distinction is a difficult tightrope to walk.

Philosophical depth is similarly impressive. I hasten to emphasize that an idea being well-known does not make its use facile. When characters differ on means-ends justification, the fact that everybody is familiar with the theme does not a priori rob resonance or value from Code Geass's application of the concept. Inducing a viewer to type esoteric phrases into a search engine is not, of itself, profundity. As befits a story about “the power of the king,” Code Geass speaks to the highest qualities of man. It discusses weighty topics with ambition and self-confidence: not only kingship, honor, and nobility, but power, subjugation, and slavery; racial distinction, nation, and equality. I greatly respect Code Geass's messaging on these matters.

Central to Code Geass is the lie, the deception, the mask. One could spill oceans of ink and exhaust reams of paper discussing this. I will not do so here; perhaps a future project. I only call attention to it: an idea to be considered thoughtfully and with care.

Rating: 10 (Season 1: 9). Nippon Banzai. All Hail Britannia.


P.S. Obligatory ScionOfCyan music analysis. This original soundtrack has catchy dramatic music. The song that stands out is the All Hail Britannia theme with the best motif being the ominous and imposing string introduction/backdrop to same. The odd clip used primarily to enhance CC's mystique is also quite nice ("Strange Girl"). Generally speaking the most beloved songs are enhanced by powerful associated visual storytelling and not the other way around. The OST is multiple tiers below my 'best of' anime OSTs. I would still call it above average. 'Colors' by Flow is excellent but the other OP and ED are largely mediocre.

The standout feature of Hunter x Hunter is strong abstract reasoning. Togashi reveals a wide breadth of interest and good knowledge of fundamentals. Understanding an idea and applying it in a natural way is harder than it looks. HxH is full of entertaining games, contests, and puzzles.

One character has a unit limit of 216, equal to (2x3)^(3). Writers with weak maths default to numbers like 250. Hisoka’s card trick in the colosseum is an algebra problem. I doubt I’m the only one who paused for the satisfaction of solving it first. The difficulty level is accessible to the audience. ... Killua’s manipulation of reflexes is fun biology. It hits a “seems plausible” sweet spot and accurately describes how the neurological command system works. Carbon dioxide asphyxiation is relevant in one scene. HxH uses it properly, times the reveal delightfully, and finishes with appropriate detail, explaining that the relative concentration matters, not just the presence of the gas. Togashi is skilled at strategy games like shogi and go. You can tell by his comments on player psychology. He applies game theory directly, not just in toy situations: the Zoldyck family professional philosophy of risk aversion is a good example. The election arc includes valuable insight on the mentality of a masterful game player.

Adept analytical skills tend not to mix with potent people skills and Togashi is no exception. The vast majority of Hunter x Hunter’s characters have one or two personality traits. HxH borrows liberally: you have seen these personalities many times before. Design is a mishmash of tropes (e.g. Neferpitou) and clothing (e.g. Phinks) that often conflicts in tone with the character’s role in the story. Each arc removes most of the previous side characters and introduces many more. This rotation shields Togashi from the challenge of developing side characters further. He does a creditable job with one main character. The other has some of the worst character progression I’ve seen in a while. Togashi’s middling understanding of human nature keeps HxH from being a masterpiece.

Hunter x Hunter is still a great story. Togashi’s abstract wisdom is worth a lot. Scene after scene reflects philosophical truths about the world. Here’s one: there is no “right side” and “wrong side.” Everyone stands up for their brethren. Justice to one person is injustice to another. Against a backdrop of one-dimensional protagonists, the Spider and Meruem stand out. At times, their behavior is unequivocally evil. However, Togashi refuses to keep it that simple. He honours them. They have virtue. Their dreams matter. HxH invites us to care about them, and we do, sometimes deeply. This embeds a profound lesson about the tragedy of life into the story. These antagonists are magnificent.

Anime-specific:
The music is very good. Some songs don’t match thematically (e.g. “Kyrie eleison” is a poor fit in scenes where it is used).

Significant stretches have inefficient exposition. This mainly occurs during the Chimera Ant arc, which has a lot of atrocious material for a story whose core is good. Outside of this arc, HxH is not oppressively draggy.

The directors give special attention to key emotional moments of the star antagonists. Well played.

Hunter x Hunter is an excellent watch.

Clannad's first season reflects Zen wisdom of enormous value. I rarely see these ideas successfully conveyed. They are difficult to communicate. I am impressed by the level of understanding that went into Clannad.

Clannad is masterful at using the minimum necessary stimulus to present a message. No character says “I like you” to another, or any analogue. Despite this, the audience knows without friction which characters are attracted to each other. And there are a lot of crushes in this story. Zen considers descriptions a poor substitute for direct experience. Clannad avoids insufficient labels. The audience participates ... in the event and perceives the exact reality. Tomoya puts his hand on Nagisa’s head. She asks him, “What’s this hand for?” and he replies, “Betsuni.” (“I don’t know"/ “It’s not important”) This is how real people talk and act. We learn a direct reality about Tomoya. It isn't, “Tomoya likes Nagisa.” It's, “Tomoya is a person who seeks out Nagisa, and when he discovers her in a state of disappointment, puts his hand on her head.” That’s who Tomoya *is*.

Ichinose Kotomi ignores Tomoya unless he calls her Kotomi-chan. “What is the relationship between you two?” Ibuki Fuko demands of him. He says, “It is exactly as you see it.” This is the only true response. Every relationship has an N of 1 (statistics terminology). “We are boyfriend-girlfriend” and “we are just friends” are shallow labels shared by millions. They are an approximation. Everything is as it is. Then mental frameworks, conceptions, and approximations build an idea in your head that is not the same as the original reality. Tomoya is right. “It is exactly as you see it.”

Less wasteful dialogue means more silence. Clannad pauses for contemplation better than any show I have watched. It’s an ideal opportunity to leverage its simple but evocative melodies. Clannad characterizes Tomoya with an early montage. He watches a street performer strum a guitar. He sits at a bench watching the sun as it goes from low in the sky to completely set. A sparse piano melody accompanies, no more than 3 notes at a time. It's a runtime of about 15 seconds during which we share an entire evening with Tomoya. We learn a lot, and no words are needed. Tomoya briefly passes a window where we hear laughing children and their mother. This is brilliant. Clannad has a razor-sharp focus on family. It infuses everything in the show. This short burst of laughter contrasts with Tomoya’s current state of being and is a bridge to a new world inside the current world. Tomoya is about to enter Nagisa’s home and meet her family.

The plot of Clannad is slow. Characters do not progress. They are shallow and have extreme characteristics. This creates sharp contrasts for memorable relationships and odd behavior for comedic effect. Clannad is at times slapstick and other times understated. The less obvious jokes suit my taste; I find Clannad’s dry humor hilarious. The exaggerated characters paint a portrait of the variety of humankind. Many acts in this anime are not to be taken literally, and not just because there are magical aspects of the story. This anime is about relationships. Behavior represents a canvas for the emotional and mental state of characters. It rarely advances a progression of activities.

Clannad exists to tell us that no man is an island. Tomoya is a preternaturally isolated individual who becomes acquainted with some of the most meaningful family relationships you will ever see. Fujibayashis Kyou and Ryou. Furukawas Akio and Sanae. Ibukis Fuko and Kouko. Sunoharas Youhei and Mei. Clannad is full of flawed and weak individuals. Clannad’s first season is not here to give you some fairy tale. It’s a highly inspirational story, because these characters, despite manifest weaknesses, strive fiercely to do the best they can for their loved ones. You see them ganbatte over and over through difficult circumstances. Clannad gives a vision of perfection: an image of how its creators think people should act through trying times. Everyone should emulate these characters.

Clannad is a true masterpiece.

Madoka Magica uses masterful symbolism in a plot that aims for Mars and strikes the moon. Its superlative music fits seamlessly. I parenthesize relevant songs below. They occasionally reference characters or scenes in a way that avoids spoilers.

Themes include:
-Innocence, loss of innocence, and coming of age. Madoka Magica advances through stages using meticulously crafted atmosphere.
-Isolation, loneliness, and depression. (‘Credens Justitiam.’ ‘Inevitabilis.’)
-Ideology, self-righteousness, and compromise. The presence or absence of collaboration has striking consequences. (‘Amicae Carae Meae.’ ‘Clementia.’)
-Selfishness and selflessness. Wishes lead to a topic of acknowledging true desires and coming to terms with them. (‘Decretum.’)
-Femininity, battle, and strength. (‘Inevitabilis.’)
-The ... eternal cycle of idealism and corruption. (‘Credens Justitiam.’)
-Zero sum mindset and positive sum mindset. Zero sum mindset is contextually advantageous but a curse. Positive sum mindset means extending trust and is thereby an act of faith. Madoka Magica starts with combat, moves to apples in front of stained-glass windows, and culminates with a prayerful kneel. This is pitch-perfect imagery to bolster a beautiful message. (‘Confessio.’)
-Alienation and lone wolf/“Dark Knight” heroism. (‘Numquam vincar.’)
-Hope and despair. (‘Inevitabilis.’ ‘Sagitta Luminis.’)
-Motherhood. Kaname Junko grapples with her daughter’s growing independence admirably. (‘Ave Maria.’)
-Sacrifice and the value of life. (‘Decretum.’)
-Damnation, purification, salvation, and redemption. Water is a universal symbol of purification. Madoka Magica is full of droplets, ripples, rivulets, pools, and bays. (‘Sagitta Luminis.’)

The number of serious themes is astonishing, and Madoka Magica addresses them brilliantly. All five magic girls illuminate or exemplify a key theme. They have distinct personalities and undergo substantial progress. Each viewer will resonate with the ideals or trajectory of one in particular (for me, Sakura Kyouko).

Madoka Magica is a masterpiece for 8 episodes. The last 4 episodes shoot for the stars and often achieve that potential. Episodes 9-12 contain scenes that are among the best in anime (‘Surgam identidem,’ first section of ‘Sagitta Luminis'). Late scenes with Kaname Junko are also excellent. These scenes alternate with Madoka Magica‘s worst material, making a wide contrast.

Many aspects of this story work better as mysteries. Explanations rob them of potency. Some of these are phenomena so cosmic that descriptions only disappoint: each attempt will be threadbare and insufficient. This is why “2001: A Space Odyssey” has very long spans without dialogue. Madoka Magica need not go that far: having Kyuubey talk a lot less is enough.

Almost all of Kyuubey’s unprompted contributions to episodes 9-12 make the story worse. Only his ‘history of magic girls’ conversation stands out as a clear net positive. The sci-fi discussions are especially bad. Mystery makes magic more meaningful; one needs good reason to demystify it. Madoka Magica doesn’t have one, and adds insult to injury by butchering the science references.

At its best Madoka Magica portrays the strong emotions of multifaceted characters and uses adept metaphors to create a magnificent story. Inconsistent later episodes are the main blemish. I am grateful for the genius of Shinbo, Urobuchi, and Kajiura.

(In the manga Senpai’s development becomes more apparent. I can't rewire my brain to ignore the manga, so I acknowledge the possible bias here.)

I suspect this anime is undervalued. I’m sympathetic to a viewer who perceives the sadistic torture of one main character by the other, with no redeeming objective. If I thought this show represented that, I would join them in hating it. There are people who create suffering in others purely for its own sake. That’s not what’s going on here.

In male-female romantic relationships, the boy has a leading role, or is at least an important source of ... stability in times of turmoil. This doesn't necessarily apply to you, but it might apply to more people than you think. Those interested can look into female hypergamy, fatter tails in the distribution of male personal attributes, and male-female differences in the distributions of psychological traits ‘neuroticism’ and ‘assertiveness’.

Senpai is a recluse who retreats from confrontation. This can be wise, but if it’s the only response in one’s toolbox, it shuts off possibilities in life. He has lots of growing before 'taking the lead' with a girl. That trait is magnified (“I’ve never looked straight-on at a girl before”) because this is what you do in fiction. It makes it clear to everybody what’s going on. Nagatoro meets Senpai and likes his potential. A future Senpai who's on track is somebody Nagatoro would marry. For the reader who thinks this is not obvious, I’ll try to explain.
- her friends leave as quickly as possible, while she goes out of her way to spend time with him
- this choice speaks louder than words
- criticism usually comes from somebody who cares about us and wants us to succeed; the signifier of contempt is complete ostracism, not verbal jabs
- her criticism is specific and directed at Senpai’s personality-- she’s taking special interest in *him* (contrast her friend’s joke about “Two Piece”), including his ability to make eye contact and make a forward gesture like Siegfried

It’s all criticism of Senpai’s ability to project himself with confidence and take a social risk, which:
(a) obviously Senpai is completely incapable of at this point
(b) is exactly the sort of behavior he needs in order to ‘win’ Nagatoro

She asks him, “do you ever get mad?” A boyfriend who cannot respond to external hostility directed at a couple is very unattractive. Standing up and getting beat is not great, but never standing up at all is disqualifying.

Seems Nagatoro wants Senpai to become stronger. I want to make something clear: I don't believe Nagatoro is aware of this. She’s not thinking, “I want to marry this dweeb so I need to toughen him up because even though he’s attractive our relationship will fail if he’s weak.” She’s not thinking any of those things. She’s thinking what she says out loud: “this guy is weird and creepy and when I make him squirm like this it's fun.” I bet Nagatoro never thinks “I like this guy” for many episodes. This goes back to actions speaking louder than words (or even thoughts). At times we respond to biological imperatives without fully understanding our own behavior. The slice of the brain’s neurological activity responsible for conscious thoughts is small compared to the portion under the surface.

Most of Nagatoro’s behavior is what a strategist would tell her to do. Let’s call this strategist Cupid. I’m not saying Cupid’s master plan to create “boyfriend Senpai” is a guaranteed success. Senpai could cry, retreat even further, and never have an extended conversation with a girl again. Cupid doesn't mind, because if that’s Senpai’s future then Nagatoro needs to move on. This is the nature of a social test. Nagatoro can’t read back into Senpai’s memories. What she can do is use her actions to generate stressful situations and see how he responds in real time. Contextualizing Nagatoro's actions goes a long way to understanding them and maybe even enjoying them (as I did, seeing them as generative and not purely destructive acts). Senpai’s steps of progress also become easier to see.

Since this is about kids awkwardly stumbling in their inexperience I can't figure out if the teases are out of place or make perfect sense. However, the sheer volume of suggestive behavior feels over the top. Side characters are pretty one-dimensional, though I have a soft spot for the art club President, who exemplifies actions contradicting words. She waxes lyrical about the importance of love while having the mien of a battle-hardened drill sergeant. She describes her works with grandiose idealized phrases despite her cynical exploitation of sex appeal. Her words on artistic expression ring true even though she acts like a parody. I love that character.

This story can teach viewers, especially younger males, useful lessons. Parts are unpleasant, but human nature is often unpleasant, and Cupid doesn’t have many options to help Senpai grow. Antagonistic behavior often drives positive growth. Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san has interactions based in realistic human motivations and behavior, and personally I enjoy watching Nagatoro and Senpai’s journey.

Re:Zero starts strong before abandoning what makes it good.

Subaru's cynicism shows right away. "That's where they pull you in," he says, glancing over a manga. On isekai world Lugunica he calls out tropes incessantly. Subaru is eager to identify tools of manipulation and prone to meta-analysis. A young man whose intelligence shields him from wisdom is a familiar character. "Heartfelt" isn't a word in Subaru's dictionary. Emilia provides contrast: she's selfless and giving. They argue over whether to help a stranger. Rational Subaru weighs pros and cons while Emilia deploys a powerful trump card: "look, she's crying." ... Subaru thinks Emilia's 'wasting her life,' and the feeling is mutual. It's a tried-and-true archetypal pairing.

Lugunica is mortally treacherous. This is "not too bad" because Subaru respawns at checkpoints with his memories intact. Re:Zero uses this premise well at first by focusing on political intrigue and asymmetric information. The enemy could be anyone. Subaru seeks information at first then applies this knowledge when he respawns. Since Subaru is a total stranger, enlisting help is tricky. This sustains narrative tension. What does *not* sustain narrative tension is "shounen protagonist and friends fight enemies so evil that everybody knows it." This is a massive unforced error. The entire back half of the season uses the worse blueprint.
[SPOILER BELOW]


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The turn is the reveal of the curse. The perpetrator is someone in the mansion (or village) whose unknown motives can be explored. We learn it's a mindless beast who, oopsie, got through the magic walls. The follow-up is "kill as many demon beasts as possible in a direct contest of individual strength to survive." This is one of the worst directions to take the story.
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[SPOILER END]
Subaru quickly realizes his respawn can be used as a tool to gain information. A dramatic plot twist drives home the need for him to be politically savvy. Remember, Subaru is initially characterized as an intelligent skeptic who points out tools of manipulation. Frankly, his personality is perfect for this task. The writers wrongfoot us and Subaru acts like an idiot instead. Unfortunately, inconsistent characterization of Subaru is just getting started.

Having just:
- passed a checkpoint focused on making friends of strangers and not making unnecessary enemies and
- expressed regret over ignorance, resolving to fill in knowledge gaps in the future

Subaru forgets all of that. He follows immediate primal urges, alienating vast swaths of people with no perceptible benefit. New acquaintances are generous to him, but he ignores this opportunity to expand his knowledge of Lugunica. This is wasteful storytelling because the audience needs help filling out the setting. If the actions of other characters can't be put into some sort of context, they lose all meaning.

Subaru then forgets that his respawn ability is an information-gathering tool, meandering through timelines with no apparent interest in getting anything out of the experience. I haven't read the light novel. Perhaps the author describes Subaru's psychology and it gives purpose to these scenes. If so, the anime failed to communicate that. The audience thinks this suffering has no meaning beyond intel gathering. Re:Zero hams up each tragedy anyways, pretending it's thematically important. This insults the viewers and wastes everyone's time.

Flawed main characters aren't a problem. Directly contradicting established traits and previous lessons is a big problem. It makes the story incoherent. Subaru's behavioral trajectory is nonsensical.

The visuals and sound are pleasant. I love Rem along with everyone else. I also like the red oni, the drill loli, and the gay clown. I actually think Emilia-tan is a good female lead. Unfortunately, the respawn mechanic means Subaru has almost all the agency/free will. He is by far the most important character, and Re:Zero botched his progression. The end product is an opaque mess with oodles of wasted potential.