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"given" doesn't do anything particularly ground-breaking. Yet, days after finishing the series for a second time, I can't stop thinking about it.

Ritsuka Uenoyama is a guitar prodigy that has come to rest on his laurels. One day, Uenoyama finds Mafuyu Sato, his quiet classmen, clutching a Gibson ES-330, a physical link to his traumatic past. He reluctantly offers to fix a broken string for Mafuyu, and in doing so, causes him to become hell-bent on having Uenoyama teach him how to play his guitar. As they spend more time together and with bandmates Haruki Nakayama and Akihiko Kaji, past traumas are unearthed. But so ... too are feeling of love, and it's through these feelings that our characters can learn to move forward.

Quite frankly, the story is unremarkable. However, believe it or not, I think this is one of the series best qualities. While cliche in some aspects, "given" cuts out all the melodrama you may have come to expect. Whether they be coming to terms with feelings they've never felt before, one-sided crushes, or love-hate relationships may or may not even have taken place, each scenario is treated respectfully and realistically. I think the fact that the characters are portrayed in such a relaxed, realistic way is what makes it so compelling. In "given", They aren't "gay relationships". They are just "Relationships". If I did have to relay one criticism, it would be that the series ends a little too abruptly. I would have loved to have just a little bit more.

As a series that is focused on a band, my expectations were even bigger for "givens" music. I have to say, I am in LOVE with the series' music. If you didn't know, an 8 track "given" album was released in 2020, featuring the songs from the series, as well as a few new songs. The passion that Mafuyu's VA, Shougo Yano, sings with is palpable. I can only hope for more songs in the future. It's also worth noting that Brandon McInnis, Mafuyu's English VA, did English covers of the intro, outro, insert song, and an original song well before he was cast. They are arranged slightly different from the official Japanese version, but still worth checking out.

I've seen the series in both sub and dub. Both are very good and worth watching, but I'd like to bring special attention to the dub. According to ADR Director David Wald, 90% of the staff that worked on the "given" dub are LGBTQ+.

I think it's great to see series like this. More and more we are seeing LGBTQ+ stories get treated with realism and turn into series that are respected and seen as equal, both in quality and importance. "given" is absolutely worth your time.

There is something quite compelling about watching somebody follow their passion, their ultimate goal. They work harder than all their friends, their rivals, more than they even thought possible. It's exhilarating. But sometimes, they lose sight of what they wanted. Sometimes they don't even know what it is they are looking for.

"Run with the Wind" is another in a line of anime about a sport that you wouldn't think would translate to an interesting, entertaining series. "This Fall 2018 entry comes from 'Production I.G.', a studio that has already found great success in this genre with "Haikyuu!!" and "Welcome to the Ballroom". This time, ... they are bringing cross country running to the forefront.

"Run with the Wind" is heavily influenced by it's studios predecessors. The characters, the music, the general themes are all similar in concept. The main character is so strikingly similar to one of the main characters of "Haikyuu!!", you would think they were the same if you didn't know any better. Despite the similarities, this is very much it own series with it's own style, and surely stands up next to all of 'Production I.G.'s wonderful works.

The series main focus isn't so much on it's plot, but on it's colorful cast of characters. Their convictions, their comradery, and their individual reasons for wanting to be the best cross country runner they can be are at the forefront of what makes this a worthwhile watch. Each of the 10 main cast have their own unique qualities, as well as their own hurdles to climb. They have their reasons to run, but ultimately they share the same one. Each other. Everybody is trying their best to improve for the sake of the others around them. These characters go above and beyond, and sometimes too far, for each other. It's this bond they share that is the driving force of "Run with the Wind".

The music for the show is also spectacular. Yuki Hayashi does the music for this series, and if you're familiar with his other work (Haikyuu!!, My Hero Academia, Death Parade) you already know what to expect. His music is atmospheric and mostly melancholic for "Run with the Wind", and it's just what the doctor ordered.

It's a good thing the characters and music is so good, because this series falters ever so slightly otherwise. The animation is good, and the art is pretty to look at, but consistency starts to fall the further into the series you get. Moments that should be more impactful fall short near the end due to the over reliance on still shots. The use of CG becomes more prevalent as well, but luckily it isn't too distracting.

The story is where the brunt of the issues lie. It's by no means incompetent, but its far too cookie cutter. It doesn't do anything to shake up the sports genres typical tropes. It's predictable, and doesn't do anything to break that predictability. It tries to, but any attempt to do so gets glossed over within an episode, never to be addressed again. It does enough to get by, but only just.

Despite its paint-by-numbers plot, "Run with the Wind" has good art, great music, and excels at portraying real people with real problems and passions. seeing them grow as characters makes this series worthwhile

School-Live! is a series that has much more under the hood than one would expect. I want to preface this review by saying that the impact of what this series has to offer is better realized if the viewer goes in blind. With that said, concept only takes a series so far, and while this one has quite the interesting concept, it doesn't nearly reach its full potential.

IF YOU'VE READ THE SYNOPSIS YOU ALREADY KNOW, BUT JUST IN CASE, FROM HERE ON OUT THERE MAY BE MINOR SPOILERS

School-Live! follows the lives of the School Living Club, a club consisting of four students and one teacher ... (as well as a dog), as they go about various club activities. This club isn't like any other club however. It's the only club, and its members are seemingly the only survivors of a zombie outbreak. Our main character, Yuki, doesn't seem to realize what kind of situation they are in, as she attends classes in empty, beaten down classrooms. She plans School Living Club events, all the while, the other survivors, Kurumi, Miki, Yuuri, and Megu-nee try to come to grips with their situation and how to potentially survive.


The best way to describe this series would be "Psychological-infused Moe". The main focus is split between the girls being concerned about Yuki and her current state, and the zombies and how they plan to survive. The problem is that these two tones don't mesh very well together. Had this series focused on one or the other it could have excelled. Unfortunately, splitting its time between both causes both aspects, and ultimately the plot as a whole, to suffer. The zombies never feel like a legitimate threat, and a plot device used later on in the series feels all but shoehorned in in an effort to give the plot more depth. Meanwhile, the moe aspect of the series lacks as well, as characters come off more as annoying than cute.


Aside from Miki, the viewers learn next to nothing about any of the characters, making it very hard to emotionally invest in any of them. Their reliance on one another becoming the driving force behind what makes them want to make it out alive. The girls actively try to keep Yuki from losing it, and she returns the favor, although she doesn't realize it. This is about as far as the characters come. They just aren't interesting enough to the viewer to care about them.


The last few episodes of this series are very good, and show what this series could have been had it focused on just the Psychological side of things. Instead it ends up being a series that had potential and a good concept, but is relatively forgettable.

I'm a big sports fan. I live and breath hockey, I watch an ample amount of American football, and my TV is always tuned to some sort of sports show. Even with this, Volleyball is a foreign sport to me. I get into it when the Olympics come around, but that's only every four years. I understand the basics well enough to enjoy it without feeling totally lost, but my knowledge is limited. "Haykyuu!!" does a wonderful job of bridging the gap for viewers who either love volleyball, want to love volleyball, or just want an entertaining sport-based series.


The meat of ... this series comes from it's characters and the sport itself, which is where it both thrives and fails. The characters are diverse and quirky, but there are far too many of them for all of them to get adequate screen time. Those that do get ample time are varied and easy to relate to, with even the "enemy" teams having likable characters, but every team, including the series main focus team "Karasuno" has characters that are mentioned and seen so seldom or not even at all. The characters that are focused on are well rounded and easy to become attached to, but don't expect to find out a great deal about most of the minor characters.


Season one goes to great lengths to teach viewers new to volleyball how the sport works. I found myself actively interested in understanding how volleyball as a sport works, which goes to show how well done the matches are, more so than the story. The matches have a way of ramping up the tension and hype that surrounds each point. Characters are always thinking about their next move, their opponents next move. You get thrown for a loop when someone does something you don't expect. All these moments are elevated by the ever talented Yuki Hayhashi, whose OST for this series is phenomenal, helping drive home the elation of victory, as well as the agony of defeat. The teams are evenly matched too, eliminating any sense of predictability a series like this can easily fall victim to. The characters also develop as players, and as people throughout these matches.


Even with the matches being as engrossing as they are, they lose steam when attention is shifted mid match to something else. Too often the action of the game takes a backseat to commentary from either coaches or onlookers. Some explanation is fine, but cutting away multiple times per episode to two guys in the stands for the purpose of either critiquing or praising players can become rather tiresome considering how often it actually happens.


At the end of the day, it's the matches and the characters that make this series what it is, and both of those aspects are worth giving this series a shot. Chances are if you don't already have a fleeting interest in this series, you may not enjoy it, but those who have even a passing interest in volleyball should give this one a go.

"K" is a bit of a mixed bag. While it does have some impressive visuals, the story and characters leave a lot to be desired in a series that could only do so much in 13 episodes (and a movie I've yet to see).

The story of "K" is easy to follow, but it is also a a bit hard to understand because of how it is presented. Certain things are revealed and certain characters make decisions throughout the series that exist more or less because they need to push the plot along.

The characters are rather bland to me. It never really feels like their ... motivations are genuine, but rather that they exist to move the plot. Misaki and Fushimi are the most developed in my opinion because they are really the only ones that have any of their history explained. Kuroh and Yashiro are entirely too uninteresting to be the main characters of this series. They serve their purpose, as does everyone else, but they don't have anything about that that make them interesting away from the main plot.

The art is great. The animation is greatly detailed, even in moments when there isn't a lot of action. My only issue is that the colors are a bit too washed out, but this is something that might not bother most people.

The voice acting is fine. I liked Ben Diskin as Misaki. I also thought that Matt Mercer did well. Everyone else did well, but nothing to stand out.

Reviewing a show like "The Disastirous Life of Saiki K." on its technical aspects would be unfair, because it makes it apparent from the get go that it isn't a series that takes itself seriously. It's goal is to make you laugh with zany characters, wacky scenarios, and 4th wall breaking comedy. Luckily, it does it well.

Kusuo Saiki, our main character, has psychic powers that allow him to do pretty much anything he wants. He can turn back time, he can summon any item he needs, he can real peoples minds. You would think having these powers would be a wonderful thing, but Saiki doesn't ... see it that way. He see them as a burden because he ends up having to be the one to fix all the problems the people in his life create.

The format of the show is different than anything I've seen before. There are 120 episodes, but each one is only 5 minutes long. You can also watch the series in the tradition way, where 5 episodes make a typical 24 minute episode. Each 5 minute episode is its own mini-story, none of which play into a central plot because there isn't one, save for introducing new characters. Some episodes have a part two, but that's about it.

The characters in this series are stupid, but that's not a bad thing. They are enjoyable, not only because they themselves are crazy, but we constantly are able to hear their thoughts and what Saiki thinks of them, which creates some humorous moments. Saiki is the main character, but he is also the audience character, because he thinks what most people would be thinking if presented with the same situation. There are times when his thoughts are overly mean, but most the time his opinion is a relatable one.

The voice cast does a good job. Jerry Jewel is a good Saiki, keeping the "annoyed, disinterested" voice consistent throughout the series. Micah Solusod as Kaidou, David Wald as Nendou, and Tia Ballard as Teruhashi bring good comedic performances to the table as well as the rest of the supporting cast.

Critiquing the art and sound wouldn't be fair, because they aren't attempting to be anything extraordinary. The best thing I can say is that neither did anything too distracting to turn me off of the series.

"The Disastrous Life of Saiki K." is a great comedy that compliments it's silly situations with the relatable inner monologue of a down to earth man with unearthly abilities. It's a good series to watch when you want a good show to unwind with.

We live in an ever changing world. Things that were considered unacceptable even 10 years ago are becoming more and more commonplace. Covering these types of things can be tricky, but more and more people are stepping up to the plate in an attempt to make them more welcome and accessible. There are some people out there who will avoid this series and everything about it solely based on it's subject matter. This is a big mistake, because "Yuri!!! on Ice" is a series brimming with positivity, wit and charm that makes watching it worth your time.

Plot:
"Yuri!!! on Ice" has a very simplistic plot. ... Japanese figure skater Yuri Katsuki has been performing poorly at events, and as a result he contemplates retirement. Viktor Nikiforov, a Russian figure skater idolized by many, Yuri included, sees a video of Yuri privately performing his recent championship-winning routine. Viktor is moved by his rendition, and goes to Japan to find Yuri and become his coach in order to help him win the next Grand Prix Finals. The series follows this plot to the end, introducing new characters and building relationships along the way, which is where this series shines. There is a missed opportunity for a chance to teach the viewer some of the basics of figure skating, however. During routines there are announcers critiquing the performance, much as they would if you were to watch a real figure skating event. They say the types of spins the characters are about to do, such as "Quadruple Toe Loop" or "Triple Salchow", but they never explain the difference between the two so a viewer that doesn't know anything about figure skating, myself included, isn't going to understand why these moves are impressive. They do go to the effort of explaining that having a raised arm going into a jump gets them more difficulty points, so there was easily a chance for them to go into further detail about how competitive figure skating works.
"Yuri!!! on Ice" is not so much about the plot, but about the characters as they realize their passions for figure skating as well as their budding relationships with each other. There are a few moments that come off as kind of cringe worthy and I do think that near the end, the skating needed to be broken up a little more with some of the off ice scenes that focused on the characters. Overall, it is a strong plot driven by its enjoyable characters that push this series along. 8/10


Characters:
The series main focus is on Yuri, Viktor, and the fifteen year old Russian skater Yuri Plisetsky, also known as Yurio. They get the brunt of development, as their characters and relationships are fleshed out entirely from start to finish.
Vitkor is a fun loving, energetic man who's passionate style is quite often on display. He has a very straightforward, "tell it like it is" demeanor thats disguised by a charming exuberance. His beaming personality lights up the screen whenever he is front and center, weather he is being playful and friendly , or stern and serious. His passion for figure skating is unwavering, but it's the intamate moments he has with both Yuri and Yurio that make his feelings for the sport oh so apparant.
On the flip side, we have Yuri, who is a complete contrast to Viktor. At first, Yuri had a lack of self-esteem. He would often second guess himself, apologize for anything and everything he though he did wrong, never really being sure of himself. It's through his relationships with everyone he meets that he is able to overcome his self doubt and improve as a skater and person. It's easy for a character like this to become annoying quickly, buy luckily Yuri never really does. Yuri puts significant effort into improving himself as a skater and as a person, and because of that you want to see him succeed. You want to see all that hard work pay off. Alot of his shortcomings are played for comedy, which was an excellent decision, because it causes him to come off as likable rather than melodramatic.
Yurio is brat and a loudmouth, but that doesn't mean he is a poor character. He skates because he wants to be the best, and has negative feelings towards those he sees as a threat to that goal. He is confident to say the least, but throughout you get glimpses of vulnerability that help humanize him. The personality he puts forth makes him seem cold and unfriendly, but despite that, he doesn't come off in a way that makes you dislike him. He comes off as another skater that has passion for the sport, and wants more than anything to hone his skills and become the best he can be.
There are many supporting characters, all of which have their own motivations. There are characters like Phichit Chulanont, who's goal is to inspire his home country of Thailand to embrace figure skating, and Christophe Giacometti, who's inspiration comes from sharing a podium with Viktor, preferably with a gold medal around his neck. These characters do well in support, but this series is all about the main three. Even Yurio can take a backseat at times to Yuri and Viktor, but this is generally ok, as the relationship between these two is the shows driving force. 10/10

Art:
The art style of "Yuri!!! on Ice" is definitely one of its strongest qualities. Character designs are clean and nice to look at, as are the costumes that the skaters wear during their performances. The animation of the skating sequences is mostly good. There is a bit of CG that is noticeable, and sometimes the animation from one scene to another can look sort of choppy, but it isn't obvious enough to detract from the overall quality of the scenes. There is a suprising amount of detail during moments where characters are doing spins and step sequences. The art remains largely unchanged during moments off ice, save for the fact that they aren't spinning at high speeds. Colors are vibrant and clean, making this series an easy one to pick up based on animation style alone. 9/10

Sound:
The OST for "Yuri!!! on Ice" is a mixed bag for me. While I really enjoy the orchestral score, especially the track our title character free skates to, the tracks that play during most of the short program skates are boring, bordering on cheesy. They don't give me the sort of emotion that a track needs to make it memorable. The opening and ending theme do exactly that. The opening theme is a grand affair, littered with horns and a dubstep-esque feel that do what they set out to do. The ending theme is an upbeat song with a similar EDM style that makes keeps the hype going well after the episode has ended. The sound effects themselves are truly wonderful. The sound of skates meeting ice during the appropriate scenes are wonderfully accurate to how that type of thing would actually sound, helping add to the immersion.
The voice acting in this series is superb. Jerry Jewel and Micah Solusod have had previous experience doing Russian accents, so choosing them as Viktor and Yurio respectively made perfect sense. Both take an episode or two to come into their own as the characters but they both do very good jobs with their roles. Josh Grelle was downright perfect as Yuri. Grelle's ability to reach both higher and lower registers really helps with a character that switches between the two fairly often. As a show with multiple nationalities on display, so to are those countries accents. Most are good, but one of them was quite distracting to me. 8/10


"Yuri!!! on Ice" has the potential to be a very important series down the road by handling its subject matter the way it does. Never in this series does this subject become a spectacle. Never does it become a distraction. Never does it become a problem. It is simply another part of what makes these characters so great and worth watching.

Military style shows are a dime a dozen. In order to stand out it needs to do something to be fresh, exciting, or just different enough to be worth the watch. Alderamin on the Sky tries to do this, and seems promising at first, but it doesn't follow through on the things it tries to do different. Instead it plays it safe as the 13 episode series comes to it's end.


Story:
Our five main characters luck their way into High ranking status by saving the princess after the boat that was taking them to the military exam began to sink (for no apparent reason, other ... than plot convenience). They find themselves involved in a war, the cause of which is discovered through the development of the plot. The story slogs along for the first few episodes. It takes a little while before the main plot comes into fruition, but once it does, it becomes one of it's stronger aspects. With that said, I'm disappointed that the series didn't dive further into the spirits or the Alderamin religion as a whole. The war is based on this fictional religion and these spirits that are largely unexplored. 6/10

Characters:
Ikta is the only character of the main 5 that feel developed enough for me to be invested in. I appreciate the fact that despite the events that lead to him being in a high ranking position, of which he does not want, his demeanor towards his peers, the princess especially, remains largely unchanged. He treats her as a friend and person, rather than a princess. He has a brutal honesty about him that is refreshing and relatable. His decisions in battle are well thought out, and the series does a good job of explaining them well enough to keep them being unbelievable or convoluted. Yatorishino has some development as well, but not nearly enough past the "Do what I must to protect my country" persona she has at the beginning of the series. Torway, Matthew and Haroma get way too little screen time for me to even consider then as main characters. They are likable in the time they are on screen, but even some supporting characters are more involved than they are. Suuya is one of those supporting characters and I appreciate the way she carries herself. 7/10

Art:
The art so far has been adequate, but some questionable choices were made in the battles that can be noticed all within the same episode.. The battle at the end of episode 4 was a glimpse of how good this series can look. The camera focuses on the character that is doing the most damage as they weave in an out of enemies, striking them down effortlessly. A battle that takes place just beforehand is poorly executed. It consists of extremely zoomed out wide shots of a battle taking place. When the camera zooms in, it doesn't show any of the battle in the forefront, but rather characters planning their next course of action while the real action happens around them. When they do focus on the action, the scenes are very interesting, I just wish they would be done that more. 5/10

Sound:
Sounds effects are interesting. During one moment, gunshots are loud and blown out. The next, it simulates how a person would hear after just having been involved in a bloody battle. The OST is filled with wartime- style horn pieces that fit very well within the action setpieces. The voice acting (DUB) is less than stellar in my opinion. While characters like Ikta and YatorIshino fit well with their respective VA's, characters like Senpa and Matthew sound wooden and underwhelming. 6/10

Overall, I give this series a 6/10. I don't regret watching it, however I wouldn't buy it.

It's a good thing Planetarian was only 5 episodes long because I don't think I could have slogged trough 12 episodes of this series. The synopsis spoke of war, a "Sarcophagus City" where "Junkers" would scavenge for lost artifacts, and a glorious planetarium worth repairing to see it's wonders. During the series, we get the littlest snippet of only one of these things.

Story: This story is a snooze fest. The main focus of this story is boring and ultimately doesn't pay off at all because of how long it takes to come to ahead. Other scenes, including the series conclusion take what feel like ... ages to finish and don't nearly reach the emotional payoff it was looking for. Everything feels disjointed, and alot of potential was wasted on these drawn out scenes. I wanted to see more of this city, I wanted backstory on this war, I wanted to see more about Yumemi's creators and what happened to them. I wanted to learn why Kuzuya was a "Junker", and what led him to live this life. I want to know why it's constantly raining. I want to know why there are robots on the street that attack people as they see them.

Characters: Seeing as though there are only 2 characters that get significant screentime, It would be very important to develop these characters into people you care about, people you want to see succeed. Unfortunatley, Planetarian woefully misses on this point. The lead character Kuzuya (who's name I had no recollection of whatsoever) is a dull, boring character who's decision making skills are as bizzare as his attitude. In the first episode, he is entirely and thoroughly annoyed by our other lead character, Yumemi. Despite showing utter disdain for Yumemi for the entirety of the episode, he decides to stay and help fix the Planetarium she has been residing in for over 30 years. They develop a "friendship" that feels entirely forced for the sake of giving the viewer something to care about when the series comes to a conclusion. Yumemi gets a pass for me. She is a robot dedicated to assisting customers that come to the the planetarium. She spouts off information as if it were another day, blissfully unaware that there are no people left to come and see her presentation. Her actions and motives make sense, which is enough to make her OK.

Art: The art is the best thing about this series. It's clean, has good rain effects, and the Planetarium scene is well done enough, however short it was for the amount of setup it took to get to that point. The character design is effective enough for the setting.

Sound: The sound effects were realistic, with special attention to the constant rain during outdoor scenes. The music was serviceable, but not very memorable. The main characters VA work was good. Jill Harris and David Matranga fit their characters well. There wasn't anything that stood out, save for a few lines from that Matranga that impressed me.


Planetarian's only saving grace is it's clean art style and decent voice acting. The story and characters are dreadfully executed and extremely forgettable. You'd be better off avoiding this one.

I write this review with a hole in my heart. It exists because I just finished a series I have adored for over a year, and what a finish it was. I am so happy to have gone on this wild ride, as it happened to be one of the best of 2016 to this point, and I'd wager a bet it will remain one of the best.

I began this series on a whim. I was about to travel halfway across the United States and wanted something that would satisfy me for the 4+ hours it would take. I had heard some great thing about ... season one and decided I'd give it a shot. At first, I can't say I was too impressed. I enjoyed the first 7 episodes, but there wasn't enough to leave me wanting more, so I took an extended break from continuing. When I resumed, I realized it was a much better show than I was giving it credit for. I finished the first season, and while I thought the ending was poor, and some characters were barley given any screentime, I really enjoyed it.

Season 2 greatly improved on the things I didn't like, and took all the things I loved and made them better.

Season 2 did an amazing job of capturing the emotion of knowing that a beloved mentor and friend of the kids in Korosensei wasn't what they thought he was, and that his deadline was quickly approaching. The comedy was still around and was used in ways that didn't damper the serious moments that come throughout the second half of episodes. Twists and turns abound, as many unexpected things are revealed to help develop characters and teach us of their motives and desires.

Where this show shines is in it's characters. Every character is given a likable personality, as well as personal conflicts that need to be resolved. Some characters take center stage, but all the characters are integral to the overall story and how the emotional payoff is delivered. Korosensei in particular is amazing in the sense that no matter the situation, he has a lesson prepared for the students he so greatly cherishes. All of the characters have varying traits to them, and sometimes they clash, but in the end, they all end up banding together and becoming a tight knit group when the final moments are upon them. This series makes you care about it's characters, every single one of them, making the ending an emotional ride.


Ansatsu Kyoshitsu (Assassination Classroom) Season 2 is one of those series that get better and better with every episode, and the emotional payoff at the end is so bittersweet, that it makes it a must watch for anyone that likes this type of genre. Weather it be Comedy, Action, Sci-Fi, or even Drama, this show has you covered and then some. It is no doubt a 10/10