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Much as it hurts to say this, I can't recommend this anime to anyone other than fellow BL junkies. I don't know if the source material is any better; I've yet to check it out and don't intend on doing so anytime soon.

My first impression of the story was that it "definitely has the potential to make for a real cinematic experience". Kind of a weird thing to say about a shounen ai, I know, but hear me out. If the source material was handed over to Comix Wave Films or Studio Shaft, or some other A-list studio; and of course, handled with care by ... the crew, it could've been up there with, or at least just short of being up there with 'Byousoku 5 Centimeter', 'Koe no Katachi', and the like. Yeah, yeah, I know that sounded like heresy or whatever, but the truth is that this could've been "unlike any other shounen ai movie". It could've been something I'd enthusiastically recommend to regular anime fans who aren't BL enthusiasts. It could've been like 'Byousoku 5 Centimeter' and 'Koe no Katachi', but instead of a romance that tackles the struggles of long-distance relationships or hearing impediment, it's a realistic (and perhaps relatable) coming-of-age story about two guys facing discrimination due to their sexuality; tackling the social and familial struggles of non-hetero romance in a culturally conservative country like Japan (without treading into bara territory); all this whilst one of them is suddenly forced to face his past (I won't elaborate on this so as to avoid spoilers; all I'll say is that there was a major and key plot point they forgot about as soon as it was introduced). With a clear vision and a Makoto Shinkai-level director leading the charge, this is all but possible. Alas.

The production value is fine. It's not "top-tier anime movie-level", but rather "mid-tier seasonal anime-level". Disappointingly subpar and mediocre delivery and execution aside, the movie's biggest offence would be the utterly whack pacing and disjointed narrative presentation. It felt like I was watching a brutal supercut of a 12-episodes show into an under one hour mess.

Takt Op. Destiny is a promotional anime for a (hitherto) upcoming gacha game under the same name and it certainly doesn't try to hide it. Meaningful lore and character expositions are almost completely avoided for what I can only assume is the sake of avoiding spoilers for the actual game. However sparse, there is some degree of characterisation. So long as you get into the anime expecting little more than a prelude to the full story, incredible acoustically-recorded performances of real-life classical and jazz classics, awesome MAPPA x Madhouse visuals (that are, granted, a little inconsistent); it's really not as bad as some are making ... it out to be and quite enjoyable - especially if you're a classical/jazz nerd.

The story can be summarised as "main characters make pit-stops along a car trip to Houston to fend off D2s and meet other Conductors and Musicarts for an episode or two before continuing on their journey." It seems to focus more on establishing the post-apocalyptic setting and the overall mood whilst introducing the audience to some major characters and their respective standings with the main roster instead of exploring the narrative in full; and at that, it does a decent enough job.

Also the OP is pretty fucking good and features legends ryo (supercell) x まふまふ.

Double also, Takt is kinda hot.

Though it was clear by the end of the second episode that the following episodes' themes were going to get progressively darker and more complex, I didn't think it would take as dark of a turn as it eventually did. The esoteric and artsy nature of the show's artistic direction is sure to not sit well with many viewers, so while I wouldn't recommend this to everybody, I'd ask anyone who isn't turned off completely by the first episode to give the whole 6 episodes a go as shit escalates more quickly than you'd expect.

The 3D animation is neither offensive nor remarkable. I think it's ... alright and I got used to it pretty quickly. The soundtrack is very fitting and pretty unique, though I wouldn't call any of them bangers. A nice change of pace.

It's as if the writers were so caught up with replicating the magical NISIOISIN X SHAFT Studio effect and then cramping in the quintessential "anime movie" aesthetic that they forgot about actual narrative substance. That said, I don't think the deep-seated flaws this anime bears alone warrants scores as low as 2 or 3. However banal and superficial, there is some level of narrative depth. However poorly executed, there is abundant room for exploration in the more esoteric artistic premises the show employs like gender dysphoria, especially from an entertainment medium like anime. It does try to be different and put itself on a different ... boat than “most anime," which amounts to something in my eye if little else.

The episodic “protect-a-girl-per-episode-and-have-some-character-development-and-narrative-exposition-as-a-reward” format does a great job of keeping the action side of things fresh and the balance between screen-time in the “Egg World” and in the “Real World” is well-maintained (at least up until near the end of the season), but the extent to which each individual encounter impacts and influences the main characters’ development is poorly portrayed. This ties in with another of my pet peeve with this anime; the characterisation (or rather lack thereof). You’d expect an anime that tries to sell itself as a NISIOISIN-level, metaphor-loaded masterpiece to do a significantly better job at characterisation and portraying character development, but there’s little showing or telling of development between dialogic and visual tautologies and flashy action sequences over the course of 12 episodes.

As for the controversy surrounding how this anime "exploits" sensitive topics like self-harm and the sort, I think people are overreacting a bit. The fundamental issue is that the anime chooses to incorporate these elements but does little to justify their inclusion. Whether or not this constitutes "exploiting" sensitive topics for the sake of narrative material, I'll leave it up to you to decide. Another thing is that I can't help but feel that the show ironically a bit too honest to a fault at times; its portrayal of things like gender roles and similar topics often come across as innocently disillusioned (ie. how apparently "only girls commit suicide for emotional reasons").

Wonder Egg Priority focuses too much on style and too little on substance. It isn't a PSA on mental health and self-harm. It's merely portraying it. It romanticises them, but neither explicitly encourages nor discourages it. Its attempt at representing darker themes like suicide, self-harm, gender dysphoria and other facets of mental health issues commonly faced by youths and adolescents is commendable at best and offensively vain at worst. Though charismatic and well-fleshed, its characters come across as relatively superficial and lacking in depth and nuance for a show that tries to be as profound as it. The pacing gets noticeably sloppier in the latter half of the season; perhaps to compensate for the lack of exposition in the first half, though the show handles exposition very poorly to begin with (as indicated by the regurgitative recap episode). Sloppy, ineffective dialogic and visual tautologies are used a tad too liberally and deprived the story of any mystery, suspense, and nuance it could’ve had. Inappropriate, jarring bombshells lazily cramped in at random points throughout the latter half of the story felt like cheap applications of Chandler’s Law. That said, the anime does deliver a stunning sensory experience thanks to its technical excellence.

In all seriousness, the pretty dramatic reception the show received led me to believe this was little more than a low-effort S&M fanservice anime that's hardly entertaining for anyone besides the targeted demographic. I can pretty safely say after three episodes that this is not the case. The story is sprinkled with an albeit modest, not stingy amount of wholesome moments of varying subtlety. Some are a little more in-your-face whilst others are surprisingly subtle or well-executed for a show of its genre. It's certainly more entertaining and amusing than I expected; and for one reason or another, I hardly felt any trace of vexation ... towards either main characters in my three episode-sitting; I'd warn the faint of heart to steel themselves against the perpetual and relentless waves of second-hand embarrassment that may overwhelm you throughout the show, though. Whether the show's miraculous bearableness is thanks to the writer(s) of the source material or those of the studio adapting it is unknown to me.

Jokes aside, there's genuine room for character development and I do feel that the show does subtly hint at it somewhat - so the story could definitely go down that route should it desire later on down the road. The art and animation is solid and the voice actors are expectedly top-notch. I also really like Nagatoro's character design - and I find how she behaves when not around the main character very interesting. Honestly worth a leisurely watch for those who aren't too busy being uber-incels spreading unsolicited hate or uber-masochists fapping to every second of the show.

Unfortunately, a fire OP, hot guys, entertaining character dynamics and an overwhelming-though-certainly-welcome amount of wholesome bromance energy isn't enough to elevate this show past mediocrity - it's just another sports anime with faint traces of characterisation. It’s exciting, thrilling, action-packed, and funny and that’s mostly all that matters, though I must confess to being slightly disappointed by the wasted potential. As poor as the execution was, I felt that Renki’s characterisation and his struggle with mediocrity made for an interesting premise and I would love to see further exploration of it. The ending was a tad sloppy but didn’t do much to take away from ... my enjoyment of the show. I certainly wouldn’t mind a Season 2 if the source material is interesting enough.

It is fair to say, I feel, that a prevalent amount of MAL’s userbase can be divided roughly into two camps; the elitists with standards high enough to pierce the heavens itself, who scoff at most shows that do not take themselves as seriously as Evangalion and call out the sublunar “pacing” and shallow “character depth” of comedy-oriented, episodic rom-coms; and hype squad virgins who unironically feel that BNHA, Kimetsu no Yaiba and other over-hyped-but-honestly-not-too-bad action blockbuster shounen are amongst if not the greatest shows to have ever been released in anime history. Though my track record is far from perfect as I too falter ... to personal prejudices and biases every now and then, I try my best to distance myself from both stances and assume to the best of my abilities the role of a mediator of sorts.

Every few seasons or so, the hype squad arises from its short-lived slumber to scope out its next prey, and, understandably, this season’s prey appears to be this very show (though it being an adaptation of a manhwa, or Korean manga, which is hitherto unheard of likely contributes to the hype as well). As the law of nature itself dictates, this phenomenon entails only the ceaseless and bloody battle between the two factions who have been at each other’s throats since the very dawn of time; the elitists and the plebeians. So, without further ado, let us, as a certain someone would say, get to the meat and potatoes of this series and why I think it’s ultimately pretty mediocre (but can be enjoyable on specific occasions).

Premise. I for one am very fond of this show’s fantasy setting. I think it is a breath of fresh air and it reminds me a tad of the Tower of Babel from Christian mythology (pretty sure it is somewhat inspired by it too, if the few illustrations of the tower we see throughout the show are anything to go by). The air of mystery the show establishes certainly helps with the immersion too, I feel, and compliments its relatively non-linear storytelling as it puts the audience in the same boat as most participants of the tower; clueless, left to speculate and vulnerable to whatever surprise (and plot contrivance) awaits - though I must admit that I am not impressed by the few "tests" presented thus far. They all feel highly unremarkable, boring and pretty asspull-ish; as if not much thought went into them. I certainly hope the floor tests will improve as the story progresses.

A myriad of unanswered questions were thrusted upon the audience right off the bat; what is the tower? Where is the tower situated? Why does the tower exist? Who created the tower? What lies beyond the tower? How does the tower operate? And I-can-go-on-for-bloody-ever. As aforementioned, I really like how, contrary to the norm in recent fantasy shows, the narrative does not regurgitate exposition right from the start, though how well the show will utilise this element of ambiguity and mystery moving forward, I cannot say, as I have yet to and do not intend on reading the source material. I also like how there is somewhat of an end goal to the story; that being reaching the top of the tower. The only real way to fuck this set-up up, I think, is to either blue-ball the audience too much for too long by holding onto too many of the mystery's answers (or being too lazy to think of them in the first place) or by giving answers so unsatisfactory, you would rather the show took the direction Darling in the FranXX took.

Characters. Are. Fucking. Bland. They are every bit as dull, unimaginative and prosaic as one might have expected out of a blockbuster shounen. We have the sub-zero IQ simp homonculus of a protagonist whose survival and continued existence throughout the show is LITERALLY justified solely by luck and bare plot armour alone (“nooo you can’t just grant somebody shounen protagonist status based off of their cute face alone!! haha I give u uber OP sword cause u cute kbai”). Funnily enough, I found myself more invested in the supporting cast like the Administrators and their personalities and backstories than I did the main roster. Honestly, I have come to peace with how boring the characters are by treating them as complimentary narrative elements rather than an actual parameter of the story. I suggest you do the same, lest your interest in the show will likely be short-lived.

Production. Hoo-boy. Let’s save us all an even-more-heated debate by settling with “unique”. Truthfully, I’m not all that disturbed by the unconventional art style. The paper filter is distracting at times and so is the highly inconsistent art, but it’s manageable and not enough to pry my engagement with the story. OP and ED were alright. No qualms, but I’m certainly not fond enough of them to not skip them every episode. What caught me off-guard was this one acid jazz soundtrack that played near the end of the “Crown Game” arc. That shit was fire. Voice actors were absolutely fantastic. Some big-names, for sure, and my favourite VA’s are there too. Fight scenes were pretty average. Not OPM, but not Mars of Destruction either.

Summary. Fresh and intriguing premise and setting with dry and forgettable one-dimensional characters (yes, even Khun. He’s the tragic-backstory cutie I confess all the fujoshi, fudanshi and myself are fucking thirsty for, but he's still pretty basic). Definitely will continue watching this as a late-night, pre-bed show to slowly turn my brain off and pass out to (insomnia gang) and out of interest in what direction the story will take.

Despite easily being one of the better isekai shows out there, Log Horizon still falls into the same self-dug hole most shows of the genre fall into; poorly-written narratives and characters.

Let's start with the show's MMO and power-system aspect. One of the many things I've grown sick of in the isekai genre is how poorly-written, bland, uncreative and incohesive many of the power systems are. Though not impressive by any stretch, this show has at least succeded in presenting a fairly well-structured power system that doesn't seem too all over the place and feels adequately fleshed-out. It was, put simply, alright - though the ... show's writing falls short in pretty much every other parameter. The main roster shared an entertaining enough chemistry, but the same old interactions got old very quickly. However boring and immemorable, there were some character development, though everyone was ultimately as one-dimensional at the end of the show as at the beginning. The main character also wasn't quite as intellectually impressive as the show wants him to be and there are certainly far more clever characters whose respective reputations exceed them far less; though this isn't a massive issue for me. I won't get into the ample plotholes and how many unaddressed imprortant characters or details were littered throughout the show for the sake of avoiding unnecessary spoilers and to save time, but there are plenty of points which attest to how poorly-written the story is overall; a few more of which I'll get into shortly.

Another one of the show's greatest weakness is its inability to properly establish a tone. I found it very difficult to ignore the stark incongruity between how grave the narrative makes out the many of the situations to be and the actual lack of stakes at hand. There simply wasn't enough at risk to warrant both the characters' or our engagement in the affairs of this world. The show also tried to juggle between serious issues of personal, politcal and even socioeconomical natures amongst many others and a laid-back narrative. Though this isn't an inherently bad idea per se and I can't say I don't appreciate a well-executed change of pace and vibe; whatever the show's genre, it is expectedly not easy to masterfully blend multiple moods and tones; let alone conflicting ones. The best comparison I can think of is if [Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken] tried to take itself too seriously half the show and ended up tasting lukewarm.

One of the few things I liked about the show, however, is how it didn't make power-scaling and the notion of getting stronger the cynosure of its narrative. The main narrative focuses more on the world-building aspect, and the sub-story which took place in concurrence with the main plot at the second half of the show revolved around a group of underleveled young players who were going through the usual "learning more about my teammates, creating bonds with them and getting stronger with a side serving of character development" arc. It's a much appreciated breath of semi-fresh air.

In summary, I had great difficulties persevering through the first half of the season due to a grave lack of narrative direction to anchor me and keep me watching as I couldn't help but feel unengaged. That said, the story did take wind right around the start of the second half, but even that was sadly not enough to account for the overall poor writing. Still, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't an enjoyable experience.

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I am admittedly very torn in regards to how I feel about this series. Is it bad? No. Does it try to be profound? No. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Would I consider it well-written? I'm afraid not. My definition of "good" is loosely "shines or stands out in one or more aspect whilst upholding an adequate amount of quality in others." That said, allow me to elaborate on my respective opnions on each of the aforementioned aspects.

The premise and concept of the story is by and large fairly generic; it's a playful banter-like twist on your average slice-of-life/romance/high-school trope wherein the main protagonists are ... portrayed to be if Light Yagami was essentially a tsundere. That said, though lacking in originality and substance in terms of concept alone, the series does deliver in terms of execution, and more impressively production quality.

One noteworthy aspect of the series, I feel, is its application of monologues and a narrator. Though I personally felt as though the latter was often times overused and , this isn't to say that the voice actor did not deliver; quite the contrary, really. Especially for a comedy gag series, the show does

Now, the actual "mind-games" the overall premise of the show revolves around and two main characters relentlessly subject each other to might turn off those who walked into the anime in search of an actual Death Note rom-com, as it admittedly feels more like a humorous parody of it than anything else. Comically enough, it feels very much like a poorly made fanfiction of said series. Mind you, the show does not actually TRY to be clever; it is very easy to digest and the aforementioned "mind-games" which govern the structure of the show itself is more so a comedic tool than anything else.

Due to the relative nature of humour and comedy, I'll attempt to minimise my say on the matter. Though I personally find the formulaic humour the show presents to be a sort of a hit-or-miss, the general consensus seems to think otherwise, and this is perfectly normal. Again, humour is relative, and I think it'd be wise for me to avoid saying any more than this.

More remarkably, I wouldn't be unfaithful to the truth in saying that the anime owes most of its quality to the sheer amount of time and budget invested in it. This is easily the best animated series of this season. That said, it is a notwithstanding easy-to-digest, concept-wise somewhat interesting, and entertaining show that although didn't have anything besides gag comedy tropes to offer, executed it quite exceptionally. Though I can't justify giving this series a score higher than 6/10 for not bringing anything more than comedy gag tropes to the table, it was able to execute them well-enough for the majority of fans and viewers to enjoy, and as such excelled in it.

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OVERALL PREMISE & CONCEPT: [3/10]

A predictably generic forbidden love/incest harem melodrama featuring a very generic and abused main character roster; the dense, morally presumptuous MC, the shy, socially-inept, blunt and deadpan lass with a hidden soft side, the socially-adept superficial smile lass who exhibits sociability and conviviality, veils her truthfully repulsive and selfish nature with a nigh infallible facade and suffers from identity-confusion as a result of being too adaptive. Yeah, Oregairu, I know.

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NARRATIVE EXECUTION: [3/10]

The story progresses in strong adherence to generic melodrama tropes. Many of the characters were also introduced only to get thrown out of the window and omitted completely from the ... story. Finally, why in the nine circles of hell is everybody allergic to shut bedroom doors?

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CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: [4/10]

As a chiefly character-driven story, the main roster feels comparatively superficial, generic, predictable and unexceptional; they most definitely do possess some psychological depth and complexity, but their respective character concepts, outlines and progressions are very stereotypical and cliche. That said, the only character who showed some form of acknowledge-worthy character development was Rui.

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DIRECTING (COHESION & PACING): [7/10]

Above average pacing; transitions of scenes are fantastically done; many intentionally awkward and intense scenes were well executed and accentuated with deliberate pauses and prolonged silences.

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PRODUCTION QUALITY (ANIMATION, ARTS & SOUNDS): [6/10]

Unexceptional animation and arts; soundtrack was above average though.

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CONCLUSION & CLOSING REMARK: [4/10]

An overall fairly cliche and unexceptional melodrama series with no more than a handful of noteworthy moments and an myriad of narrative flaws and complies too much with abused tropes and has an generic main roster. It owes most of its quality to its directing aspect.

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