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The story of the bullied, closeted gay high-schooler in a small town is a clichéd (but relevant) one in American media, and yet seeing this brand of narrative in the context of BL is refreshing. BL is considered to be the sphere of fantasy. Much of it is character-driven and chooses to place less emphasis on plot and setting, placing the main couple into a bubble. Nagai Saburou’s Smells Like Green Spirit is unique in that it explores both the characters’ impact on their environment, and how the small town and its inhabitants have molded the characters and their decisions.

Some of the characters and ... scenarios feel familiar at face value: the beautiful boy, the aggressively closeted teen feigning homophobia. However, the attention given to their presentation allows them to feel realistic rather than worn-out.

Facial expressions are Nagai Saburou’s strong suit and serve to set the mood of the narrative. Manic laughter, comically absurd faces that might be more suited to a gag manga, the poignant holding back of tears, blushing young love, and eerie smiles that slowly dig a pit of dread in one’s stomach: all are illustrated with equal effectiveness. The animated expressions breathe life into everyone from the troubled antagonists to the gossiping aunties of the town. The overlapping and shifting of emotions lends to an element of the unexpected that keeps the story engaging.

At its heart, this story is about love. Rather than the oft-glorified romantic love, it places equal if not more importance on friendship, familial love, self-acceptance, and the ways in which they conflict. Will placing your own happiness over that of your loved ones ultimately make you happy? To what lengths should you go to hide your true self to fit in and live life in a way that society dictates, and who will be hurt by this? What values should be prioritized and what sacrifices are necessary to have a life that you’re satisfied with? The main characters wrestle through the process of discovering their personal answers to these questions, while other characters suffer from the consequences of past choices.

This manga presents the different ways in which those who don’t conform can be themselves and exist in an environment that isn’t always accepting of them. It’s an amalgamation of humor, intense discomfort, romance, fear of the unknown, the joy of newfound friendship, and a bittersweet coming-of-age story. By drawing parallels between and contrasting the lives of the various inhabitants of one small town, Smells Like Green Spirit shows that navigating the convoluted branches of the journey of life doesn’t always turn out the way you expect or desire. But maybe there isn’t just one answer to finding your place in the world. 

The Kagerou Project (Kagepro franchise) centers around the mysterious incidents surrounding a group of children with supernatural eye powers. This premise is simple, but in its simplicity leaves room for unique interpretations. The franchise itself comes in the form of various media that, through its ambiguity, allows the viewer to piece together a story and interpret it in various ways, creating an experience almost like an interactive mystery. This sort of unconventional storytelling was a challenge to adapt to anime, and while Mekakucity Actors made an admirable effort, it left much to be desired for both those familiar and unfamiliar with the franchise.

(Prior to watching ... Mekakucity Actors, I had exposure to some of the Kagepro franchise: all but one of the songs, and an inconsequential portion of the manga.)

Story: 5
While it has a decent amount of strong episodes, Mekakucity Actors as a whole is inadequate in terms of clean plot execution. Viewers who were not familiar with the franchise likely found themselves confused as to the details of the plot at many points. However, I would say that leaving elements of the plot up to interpretation isn't actually a problem in itself.
Kagepro's alternative storytelling was hindered by poor pacing when adapted to anime. The latter half of the series introduces many significant events that are rushed and messily presented, giving the viewer little time to digest each subsequent plot development.

Art: 7
For the most part the animation is clean, colors are vibrant, and backgrounds are visually impactful. There are moments of stiff animation that come with most shows, but it's not noticeable enough to affect the experience much.

Mekakucity Actors felt very Shaft. So much so that at many points it was perhaps "too" stylish. The extreme stylistic elements are frequently and often inappropriately placed. The (in)famous Shaft head tilt is employed so casually that it loses any drama that it was meant to have. (This would perhaps be the most dangerous anime to play a Shaft-Head-Tilt drinking game with.) It seemed as though Shaft often utilized style for the sake of style, which worked to the detriment of building the mood in many scenes.

Sound: 7
Fans of Jin's work would enjoy the music, including the new OP and ED songs. Most of the vocaloid versions of the original songs were not included. (Whether this is a good thing or not is just a matter of personal preference.) While not exceptional, the BGM was fitting (except for that one dubstep track...that was unexpected).

Character: 7
Given such a large cast of characters, it is inevitable that many of them wouldn't be able to be developed well in the span of 12 episodes. Some characters remain flat and inconsequential throughout the whole show, despite having relatively important roles in the main plot. Mekakucity Actors devotes a significant amount of time introducing other characters' storylines, only to either choppily resolve them or outright drop them. There are conclusions I drew about the resolution of certain subplots that I don't think I would have thought about had I not been familiar with the franchise already.

Given the direction the show ended up taking with the plot, I'd say that certain characters who were essential to understanding the story (Marry, and perhaps Seto due to his role in her life) should have been given more screentime and development while others (Momo) could have afforded to cut back. However, the characters themselves were likable and their interactions were fun to watch.

Enjoyment: 8
Despite its shortcomings, I found myself looking forward to each episode of Mekakucity Actors. The first half or so of the series felt solid to me, with its issues in character screentime and pacing only coming to light upon the realization that half the series had already gone by.

While I wouldn't call myself the most knowledgeable fan out there, at this point I'm familiar enough with the songs that I've formed certain theories about the plot and characters without having any absolute conclusions. That being said, it was just fun to see all of the characters being voiced and animated, and anticipating how the story would play out. Going into Mekakucity Actors with no background whatsoever could get confusing, as certain motifs in the songs are also present in the anime but not really explained. On the flipside, it might be better in some ways to go in without expectations, as certain things could be predictable and/or disappointing for those with preconceived expectations.

Overall: 6
The semi-episodic format, while befitting the original spirit of the story, cripples the show in the way that it chooses to use its time. The main plotline was not resolved in a way that felt natural. Characters who end up being of almost no consequence in the main conflict are given a disproportional amount of screentime given the 12-episode total. It seems that Mekakucity Actors was either indecisive in its goals, or did not get its priorities straight in reaching those goals.
That is not to say that this anime never does it right: many of the subplots are interesting and revealed in a satisfying way, and the characters are fun to watch. The melancholy, fairytale-like presentation of the little monster was charming and presented a mystery to the viewer from the beginning. There are many examples where Mekakucity Actors pulls its pieces together nicely, but as the story neared its conclusion, the flow was ruined and its flaws became painfully apparent. Mekakucity Actors is perhaps adequate if taken as one piece of the Kagepro franchise, but as a standalone anime it is weak.

Samurai Flamenco is a strange animal. Despite its conventional appearance, it is full of twists and turns. Overall, Samumenco addresses its core themes very effectively, primarily the theme of heroism. It has likeable and developed characters with distinct personality traits. It also comments on general character/plot tropes, mainly involving heroes and villains, as well as the sentai/tokusatsu genres. (And doesn’t always take itself too seriously while doing so.)

It’s hard to find a show like this where you truly don’t know what to expect. It may be for this very reason that this show received such widespread negative reception: it's a bit quirky, but it ... isn't initially apparent whether or not it's trying to be. Many would say that Samumenco isn't quite sure what it wants to be. But now that it’s over, I can say that I’m very glad I stuck with it and that the writers had a clear objective in mind, even though the execution of that vision wasn’t always apparent.


Details:

Story: 8
It starts out as a slice-of-life about an eccentric wannabe superhero, and proceeds to go through two major tone/plot shifts. The plot is paced somewhat erratically, and many might find the plot twists jarring. However, both of these shifts contribute to the overall themes of the story.

Art: 6
At its best, Samumenco’s art and animation is solid. At its worst, the animation was pretty awkward. Unfortunately there were often moments where poor animation detracted from the experience as a whole. While this can be forgiven for background characters, there were some important moments that would have had more impact if not for the distraction of poor animation. I think it would have been interesting if Samumenco had a style of animation that mirrored its eccentricity, but for the most part, things are pretty conventional.

Sound: 7
The OST itself wasn’t especially memorable. The BGM fit the mood well, but there were no standouts. The OPs are enjoyable and fit the tone. (Personally, I really liked them both and they got me excited for each episode.)

Characters: 8
The characters range in development, but overall they were all believable and likeable. The eccentric main character, Masayoshi, is an upstanding young man with a strong vision of heroism. What he lacks in ability, he makes up for in spirit, which is pretty darn endearing. Another major standout was Maya Mari. The story starts out from the POV of the other male lead, Gotou, the "average joe" who gets fleshed out gradually, if not as thoroughly as some other main characters. Some of the characters had very distinct and often conflicting personalities, which made their interactions very entertaining to watch. (A good example being Masayoshi and Mari’s contrasting senses of justice.)

Enjoyment: 9
Although there are a lot of fields that Samumenco could have improved in, I still enjoyed it thoroughly. There are both serious and humorous quoteable moments. I found myself crying and then laughing at some points. The humor varies from a little tongue-in-cheek to downright hammy and ridiculous.
I really loved the initial concept of the show, and was a little sad to see the plot veer from the slice-of-life superheroes plot of the first segment. For a period of time I wasn’t sure what to feel, as the rapid plot and tone shifts made it seem as though the show was going through a rebellious teenage phase. However, after a certain point everything fell together (albeit somewhat messily), and I would recommend that anyone who is interested should give it a chance and stick with it.