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If you want a lesson in how to avoid communicating with people in general, watch this movie. I swear, you won't be disappointed in this regard. If you came here for literally anything else, you just might be.

To preface this review: I read the entire manga from start to finish. The first half was fantastic. The latter half was a drag and I wanted to tear my hair off my head in pretty much every chapter after chapter 35 or so, around the time when the Hiiragi arc begins. As implied by the title, it focuses mostly on Hiiragi and his budding romance with Shizusumi, ... his band member and childhood friend. The two of them started a band with another childhood friend, Yuki Yoshida, who passed away a couple of years prior to the events in this film, and before the series started. That premise in and of itself promises a lot of lingering feelings of grief, regret, love, jealousy... all those things, amplified by the fact that these are teenage kids who have a lot of maturing left to do. That aspect is glaringly obvious in this film, the lack of maturity and - as previously mentioned - severe lack of communication.

Several times throughout this film and while reading the manga, I found myself practically yelling at my screen "maybe ask Mafuyu WHY he didn't want to elaborate on why he's unsure of whether or not he wants to debut with his band, maybe ask him WHY he turned down the offer to come along for dinner". These people suck at communicating with the right people. They just whine about their issues regarding someone to literally anyone else but the person their annoyance pertains to. The lack of communication is highly ironic in a series like this considering how, early on, Haruki Nakayama of the band Given said "Music is all about communication". All of them dropped that mindset right after he voiced it out loud, and it's been out of the picture ever since. I get that most of them are teenagers, but they aren't 13. They're 17-18 and they should know better. It's a poor plot device that does nothing but frustrate and make people more likely to skip forward in the film to get past those frustrating parts.

Disregarding the plot entirely which is just a train-wreck, the music is - as it's always been - fantastic. Centimillimental's musical talent and writing still blows my socks off. The art is the same as it's always been; nice to look at but nothing that really makes you go 'wow'. There's a lot of slide-shows in the film in lieu of actually animating and voice acting those scenes out which I always feel is really cheap, especially when the slides are supposed to tell an important part of the story. Overall, I'm on the fence about whether or not I'd recommend this film. If you've only watched the anime, the previous film, and the OVA - I'd say go for it. For manga readers who finished it... well, you know what you're in for, you know what's coming up. It's a lot of repeated frustration except this time, it's animated and voice acted. To summarise: Proceed at your own risk...?

I'm very glad that this wasn't a summary movie like so many anime movies tend to be. It was nice to see what happened after the original series, and my favourite thing about it was getting to see a side character get more time in the spotlight- Koutarou Watari. I adored getting to see all of these sides to his character, the little hints that there's indeed a lot more behind that smile and loud personality he displays more often than anything else. I also loved seeing the bond they've all formed in action - the fact that Ryouya [Misato] called Watari out and told ... him to be a proper captain or he could just give the role to someone else. I always liked Misato's levelheadedness in the series, and unsurprisingly it made its way into the film as well, where it was very much needed in times when people around him were insecure, worried, unfocused, etc.

The rhythmic gymnastics scenes were, like in the series, such a delight to watch. The animation struck me from the very first scene in the first episoe and it doesn't fail to deliver and wow me even this time around. I would've liked to see the actual 'failure' of their performance at inter-high instead of them cutting it short right after Watari's moment of panic. As much as I loved that final performance, the whole anime series built up to the inter-high and so did the beginning of the film, so it felt strange that the climax of the series would be cut short like that. But nevertheless, their final surprise performance for Shuusaku was beautiful and I loved that Shiro High teamed up with Ao High for it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film and teared up at least twice. The animation was gorgeous, wacci and Centimillimental delivered fantastic songs that really encompassed the general feeling of the series in various ways, I already really liked the characters and continued doing so in this film. It's going to be sad to see the series go, because part of me wants to see Shoutarou and Ryouya in their second year, Watari continuing to be their captain in his third year, and how their new team would be together both as friends but also during practice and performances. But at the same time, I'm satisfied with this ending and that the series doesn't drag on like so many other series have done in the past. Quit while you're already at the top, as they say.

Perhaps I should've composed myself a bit more before deciding to write a review. I only just finished watching this film merely minutes ago, but while everything is still fresh in my mind, I want to give my thoughts and opinions on the final instalment of the Neon Genesis Evangelion series. Having followed the series for as long as I have (not at all as long as it's been around because I was only two years old when it first came out), I've grown older as the series has, and I've gotten a better understanding of- with the risk of sounding corny as hell- life, ... I suppose? Back in the day, I found it hard to understand Shinji, his cowardice, his depression, and anxiety. But now that it's been nearly a decade since I watched the last film, and I finally watched 3.0+1.0, a lot of it hit close to home, felt very realistic and human. The way he was after the events of 3.0, and the slow process of Shinji starting to connect with people again was so, so well done.

Rei's experiences with the people of that village, how she was slowly starting to shape into her own person were great to see... even though it ended in the most heartbreaking way. At the same time, it wasn't unexpected. Despite Asuka's fate, I also liked what they did with her storyline, how she and Shinji finally had that little heart-to-heart without lashing out at each other but instead showing how they had both grown over the years. I loved Kensuke's supporting role, how he allowed for Shinji to have that space he needed but also didn't hesitate to remind Shinji that he was worthy of living as well.

Kensuke's and Touji returning was a welcome surprise, and would introduce threads of a certain theme that would then run throughout the film- the theme being kind of like a summary. Showing us bits and pieces of everything that happened in the series over the last, in total, 23 years with flashbacks to earlier films, to what happened in the original series. One might expect such considering it's been a while since the last instalment of the series, but they could've easily gone a completely different route, entirely picking up from where they left off with no ties back to what happened before.

I was sort of worried of how I would feel about the ending once it came, but now that I've seen it (even gone back to watch the final sequence of the film once more), I'm very much satisfied with how Hideaki Anno tied it all up. I enjoyed seeing that little snippet of adult Shinji and Mari (who would've known?!), hearing a far more expressive and confident Shinji, and seeing his genuine smile. That was another great way of tying it all up, to say "goodbye, to all of Evangelion".

When I'm not as emotionally fragile about this film as I still am, I will definitely watch it again. Because I truly do think that it was worth the wait all these nine years; the animation, the music, the story, the characters... all of it. It was so very much worth it, and now I will miss the series as it has, after 23 years, said it's final goodbye.

SK8 The Infinity had such a promising premise, and it built up really heart-warming relationships, explored the characters' backgrounds, motives, and feelings in a really good way... and then came episode 12, which made me so disappointed I changed my original score for the series from an 8 to a 7. For the one episode, yes, but I will explain why (and try to make it short).

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

I'm going to back up, though, and say that the story was very good up UNTIL the last episode. Most of the characters (besides, like, two of them, so...) became very likeable because of how they ... were portrayed and the stories/backgrounds they were given. Characters that, in the beginning, I wasn't too fond of - I grew to love by the end. Same thing with the relationships either formed during the series or those that had been going on since childhood (as was the case for Kojirou & Kaoru, a.k.a. Joe & Cherry). The "found family" trope is really strong in this one, and it was beautiful to see it all come together.

In a later episode, Langa has a certain conversation with his mother that gives the series a possibility to enter into a more modern era than, say, that of Free! (which Utsumi also directed) which was just a big slap in the face in terms of its relentless queerbaiting. Things seemed promising during this one episode, but it was after that that things just started going downhill for me. A solid story, characters, and relationships were built up only for the writers to get scared of being progressive and dropping these storylines like they were hot potatoes. All of the unfinished sentences, all of the feelings that were left hanging, and all of the moments between characters that were definitely more than friendly but never crossed that line... it was just too much. I'm too tired and too jaded of a member of the LGBTQIA+ community for this.

Should you watch SK8 The Infinity, despite my almost-scathing review of it? It may sound contradictory, but I think it's still worth it. One can have their own interpretations and come to appreciate it in a different way than I do, and for all of the other points I've hit on in this review, I do think that makes SK8 worth the watch.

"Hyperventilation" has a lot of story and content considering its length of six very short episodes lasting only a few minutes each. You're given enough time to get to know the characters on the surface, and Myeong (the main character) slightly deeper than that. Until I read the manhwa that came out after the animated episodes, I was disappointed that we didn't get to see more of what and how Seungho is thinking. But, like I mentioned, the story is fleshed out a bit more in the manhwa, so I absolutely recommend reading that, too, as a complement to watching these six episodes.

The art in ... "Hyperventilation" is incredibly pretty. I liked the fact that there was like a light-blue filter over the high school flashbacks, it made it all look so much prettier for some reason. There isn't much to say for the music considering there's literally only one piece of music that's repeated in certain scenes (Debussy's "Claire de Lune"), but the music came in during certain parts where it just made sense. The use of that one piece in these episodes was very good, in my opinion, tying things together and making you connect the dots.

Overall, this is a much recommended watch. In fact, I'd recommend watching it all AGAIN after watching it the first time. I did this, and when I watched it through again so many more pieces fell into place in the puzzle that is this story. Brilliantly told, even though it was unfortunately short and I would've wanted it to be a little bit more fleshed out.

It's been a few months now since I first watched Given and let it consume a large part of my life, just like that. Now that I've also watched and reviewed the movie, I'm going back to do a review for Given, too. Given is, as has been mentioned in other reviews, a revolution of the BL genre. It tells stories of same-sex relationships without blatantly fetishising them like others do, and I love it for that. I had heard of the series a long time back but avoided it because I know how most of the stuff in this genre goes. Spoilers: it ain't ... good. Given, though? Blew my expectations to smithereens. Given is good in so many ways I can't put it into words without turning it into an essay (which, now that I finished writing and went back over the review... it IS an essay). Let me properly get to this review. As a heads-up, if you are reading this review as someone who hasn't watched all 11 episodes of Given, this review will contain spoilers. Okay, that's the one disclaimer I have.

The Given anime is about loss, grief, love, coping, and learning to move on. And yes, it's also about music. Music is what ties most things together in this series, and it's done in a really beautiful way. Music is what brings Ritsuka and Mafuyu together in the first place, as fellow high school students who have an interest in music, but in different ways and for very, very different reasons. Mafuyu's voice is what reignites Ritsuka's passion for music, and it's also what ultimately leads to Mafuyu joining Ritsuka's band, leading up to them performing live alongside bassist Haruki Nakayama and drummer Akihiko Kaji.

The depiction of relationships and love in this series is seriously unique, and it's one of the things that made me regret not having experienced Given sooner. Given portrays more sides to love than just the "black and white" ones, the good and the bad ones. There are other sides to it that mangaka Natsuki Kizu wrote so incredibly well. A lot of the series really resonates with me, and I found myself able to relate in many ways even to the high schoolers who are a lot younger than me. Adding in the older members of Given, Akihiko and Haruki, also provides a more 'adult' view on things, and more grown-up issues, which I very much appreciate. The characters are with flaws and multi-dimensional, and to me, they're all relatable in their own ways.

The most poignant moment of the series for me, besides Mafuyu's singing in episode 9, is Akihiko's confrontation with Ritsuka two episodes prior. Ritsuka has been acting strange as of late due to his growing jealousy of Mafuyu's past lover, and the very perceptive Akihiko has noticed and decides to do something about it. Ritsuka's line "is there something wrong with me?!" after Akihiko correctly assesses that Ritsuka has romantic feelings for Mafuyu, hit really, really hard. I may have cried, maybe. Probably. It's something I'm sure many LGBTQIA+ people like myself have wondered at some point, and the situation is handled so well here. Akihiko is someone Ritsuka very much looks up to, and for Akihiko to say "no, there's nothing wrong with you just because you like a guy - I've had experiences with dudes, too" is so, so important. It's important not only to the story but also to Ritsuka's character development and recognition of his feelings. He's not strange, and he certainly isn't alone in having feelings for someone of the same sex. It's a source of comfort many people need, and it meant a lot to see that depicted in a series like Given.

I'm wrapping up this long-winded review by saying that this series may have possibly changed my life with how impactful, powerful, relatable, and moving it is.

Asumiko Nakamura's stories have always had my interest and attention in a vice grip, relentless and refusing to let go - and I've never minded that fact. She is incredibly talented with crafting stories, delivering messages, and making at least me fall for everything in the work I'm currently engrossed in - this time, it was "blanc".

A sequel to Doukyuusei, Sotsugyousei, and O.B. (Occupation to Beloved), it's set not too long after O.B. ended, but things have definitely changed. The general mood of the story is very different from the sequels; though they aren't that much older, the characters and their issues feel more adult ... and complex. There are a lot of heavy elements conveyed wonderfully through the art, with facial expressions that really lent power to said moments. I know of people who don't particularly vibe with Nakamura's art style, but I certainly do. It's unique and fits her stories.

It was great to see and read more of how Rihito and Hikaru get through their struggles, first together, then apart, and then together again. There's a saying that too much sun makes a desert, and that was portrayed in "blanc" really well. They had to spend some time apart in order to properly be together in the end - and what a cathartic way to end off "blanc". We've been able to follow Rihito & Hikaru's journey since 2006 - and finally, the story comes to an end (not entirely, but that's for a different manga & review at a later date!) in the best way possible.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, despite the more emotional and heavy parts. It all made it feel worth it in the end, because those hardships allowed the characters to grow and re-evaluate things in their lives. It was a fantastic story, all the way from "Doukyuusei" to "blanc", and it's sad that it's all over now. But it was certainly great while it lasted.

"Given the Movie" finally came to Crunchyroll, and I stayed up until 4 AM to watch it as it streamed live. I'll preface this by saying that I'm all caught up with the manga and I've listened to all of the drama CDs, which both means nothing was a surprise, and I also had some media to compare the film to.

The film starts off practically right after the anime series ended, but instead of focusing on Mafuyu and Ritsuka, it focuses on Akihiko, Ugetsu, and Haruki, much like how the manga is structured. What stuck out to me first thing was how great it was ... to see how Mafuyu has changed after experiencing that catharsis post-Fuyu no Hanashi/episode 9. He's way, way more expressive not just verbally but overall, which Ritsuka helpfully points out in the film (side-note: best boyfriend? Best boyfriend. Mafuyu is LUCKY.) as he tries to cheer Mafuyu up. Seeing the progression of Mafuyu's and Ritsuka's relationship, albeit in a minor way, was nice, too.

I feel like I can relate a lot more to the main characters of the film- not to put down Ritsuka or Mafuyu by any means, but they're high schoolers with high schooler issues, feelings and levels of maturity- and I'm a lot older than that. So, having characters like Akihiko, Ugetsu, and Haruki in the spotlight is kind of refreshing considering the problems they're facing are more relatable to myself. They're all well-written characters, even those that ended up in the background this time around, but it was just really nice to see the complexity of especially Ugetsu and Akihiko, not to mention their relationship. The build-up to the mature scene of the film is incredibly solid and though it happens fairly early on in the film, it certainly didn't feel that way (mostly because there are eleven anime episodes preceding the film, of course). The conflicts feel realistic and Akihiko's 'redemption arc' is a tough read and watch, but it's all so, so, worth it in the end.

Overall, the only real issue I had was that it was too short of a film and that it felt rushed sometimes. That's only to be expected, though, considering everything they crammed into less than 60 minutes, and when seeing it that way, it's also impressive that it for the most part DIDN'T feel rushed with everything that was covered. They stayed very true to the source material of the manga, and since I absolutely adore the manga, both the anime and the film are great as a result.

[Warning: As I've watched all 12 episodes, I will review the story spanning across all episodes, too. Therefore, there will be spoilers in this review.]

I'll admit: I went into Akudama Drive with... well, not exactly low expectations, but they weren't high. That being said, I'm very glad I watched it all the way through now that it's over. Wow, what a series. It was full of action from start to finish and none of it was unnecessary. I'm one of those people who isn't exactly drawn to action series first thing since I'd rather look for a good story, animation and characters. Thankfully, in my ... opinion, Akudama Drive has all of these.

I have to highlight the character development of the last two standing Akudama, Courier and Swindler. Though she started out as an ordinary person, Swindler had such an amazing character development throughout the anime. She was never really a meek character by any means, but she certainly got more courageous, cunning, and "akudama-ish" by the end, really embracing the fact that she was turned into an Akudama by stumbling right into the lion's den of Akudama that one day. Though I did like the way it ended, I'm strangely enough also upset that she had to go.

Then there's Courier. I didn't think much of him in the beginning since he just seemed like this stereotypical brooding, angry dude with a potty mouth. As time went on, though, there was a subtle change in his character, and I really like that it WAS subtle, because it fit him. At the end, it wasn't surprising to me that he'd be one of the last standing, because, as his motto is, "he always finishes a job". Technically, he didn't, but he also sort of did by telling the kids where to go. That's besides the point. My point is, I really love how they handled his character, as well as Swindler, and I'm satisfied with Akudama Drive's ending.

The animation was incredibly good, too; having watched previous works written by Kodaka (obviously, the Danganronpa series), it's easy to notice the big uptick in animation quality in Akudama Drive. It's beautiful. The music wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but it fit the series nevertheless, so that was fine. All in all, a series I highly recommend watching and even re-watching, which I know I will do at some point.

As many others have pointed out, condensing 22 hours total of anime episodes into a two hour long film is impossible, full stop. I, however, don't think that's what they're really aiming to do with this, since it IS a recap, after all. It highlights the most important moments that, if you have forgotten some, you can catch up on in merely two hours. Which is fine. Definitely. Absolutely not. It highlighted things, yes, but it all went by so fast that if you blinked you could've easily missed a key point. Good thing you can rewind, huh? Yeah, well, that still won't fill in ... the gaps. There are so many holes in this thing they should slap a "Swiss cheese" label on it.

It all depends on what mindset one goes into this film with, really. At first I admit I was expecting something else, but after finishing it and readjusting my perspective, it's not all that bad. Except, again, they DID try to cram the story of 22 hours into a measly two, which means things in this film happen so fast you barely get a grasp of what's actually happened whether you forgot or not. If you did, I'd argue that's even worse, because that just means you still have to go back and re-watch parts of the series because this film doesn't delve into detail, at all. Because there's no time for that, or it would've been a lot longer.

... In conclusion, these recap films become more and more difficult to watch because a lot more has happened since the last one. And they always have to start from the very beginning, then compiling everything that's happened since. Which is a weird and honestly terrible idea. If you wanted a summary at this point without having watched a single episode until now... I'd still tell you to watch it all from episode one. Don't waste your time with these films. Don't.