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Dec 27, 2024
I cant believe this rating. A portion of society must have become so weak-minded that they feel compelled to follow the collective lies of the internet just to fit into a group and remain accepted. This is where Look Back comes in. It starts receiving praise, and soon, a flock of people blindly agree, parroting phrases like "Fujimoto is a visionary."
Fujimoto is a trend chaser not a trend setter. This one shot was written when autobiographical-esque stories were catching people's eyes a few years back. Disney beat them to this... with Luca & then Turning Red. Yup. Coming of age stories that feature
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pre-teens going through an emotional and grounded struggle.... but failed.... why? they because they were pointless just like this one...
This is why there are reports that anime insiders are having tough conversations about how anime will slowly lose its mainstream appeal in the coming months and years. Since products like Look Back offer nothing new, it meant to suck up the free money and nothing more.
It lacks cohesion, or point and feels like something a first-year CalArts student could write without much effort. It’s reminiscent of theater students who craft scenes solely to shock their audience to be different without delving into meaningful details. The characters are barely developed, and we’re fast-tracked through months of their lives with little explanation. But Before we can even question the story’s direction, it ends.
If you felt emotionally shaken by the film, it’s likely because you wanted to feel that way—not because the movie earned it. The anime industry seems to be leaning toward this "CalArts pretentiousness"—prioritizing surface-level shock value over substance. This approach might sell in the short term, but it risks alienating audiences who have grown tired of hollow narratives. Instead of calling these stories out for being subpar, some fans pity them or convince themselves they’re profound when they’re not.
And sure, the sleazy strategy of the free manga promotions to get people to buy a ticket might have helped Look Back break even, but the reception in the U.S. wasn’t stellar. Even the animated Lord of the Rings film made more money while being hated and criticized while featuring a character no one knows. Think about that. If this is the direction anime studios want to take—believing such shallow content is the future—then expect studios and distribution companies to face mounting losses and be forced to be bought just GD Kids had to be bought....
I honestly think, that Fujimoto is someone who benefited of the golden era of anime—series like Naruto, Bleach, Demon Slayer etc set the foundation through hard work. But instead of building on that legacy, he churns out forgettable projects based on trends(autobiographical stories trend) and shock value to cash in on easy profits. Honestly, do you think people will still be talking about this film next year? It’s a forgettable, borderline scammy cash grab.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Dec 25, 2024
Final Review:
Ah, Battle/Action Shonen has long been a staple genre, captivating massive audiences with its compelling storytelling and unforgettable characters. From the rise of classics to modern ones, it has consistently provided stories that audiences can root for from start to finish. Yet, in this era, it feels as though the genre is entering its twilight, exemplified by Dandadan, a series hyped as the "next big thing" that utterly fails to deliver. Even the manga sales suggest the audience isn’t buying the hype
Let’s be honest: is this anime/manga made for anime/manga fans? Or is it designed for the TikTok crowd, or worse, the author’s
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misguided assumptions about what the TikTok generation likes? Dandadan feels tailor-made for an audience that craves edgier, shock-value content without the need to think critically about what’s happening—or why it’s happening. Nothing in the series invites analysis or introspection. It’s a fast-food product: a quick hit of superficial entertainment with no lasting substance. You get in, get your "cool" moments, and leave. Maybe you come back next week for another flashy scene. Maybe you don’t.
Is this really where Shonen wants to go? Catering to an audience that values content not for its quality, but for its rapid-fire, flashy, and ultimately weightless moments? The premise itself is absurd: the female MC is obsessed with finding a guy who reminds her of an actor she liked growing up, and the story devolves into her inability to cope with this fixation.
And the characters? They’re memes. Momo is a meme. Ken is a meme. Aira, the Cat, and even Juji exist solely to generate more memes—they’re all shallow, one-dimensional caricatures. Parody labels aside, this story can’t even decide what it wants to be. At least FLCL fully embraced its identity as a parody, but it did its homework by creating a compelling narrative around it becoming a staple in anime history for that very reason. Dandadan, by contrast, hides behind the guise of a legitimate Battle Shonen while shamelessly churning out memeable panels to bait views and clicks.
Because, that's the thing, Dandadan looks like it has all the right ingredients for greatness: supernatural elements like spirits and aliens, an intriguing premise, and a vibrant aesthetic. Yet, 12 episodes in, the story has lost itself in its own setup. Those supernatural elements? They’re nothing more than superficial hooks designed to lure viewers into the first episode. Plot progression and compelling character development? Absent.
Instead, what we get are moments clearly engineered to go viral: shock-value scenes, questionable angles, eyebrow-raising dialogue, and crude humor that feels like a poor imitation of Chainsaw Man—but with an even lazier concept. The result is a hollow spectacle that values shock over substance, memes over meaning.
The result? A medium increasingly dominated by stories that cater to a narrow, superficial taste, prioritizing excessive body horror and memeable panels over genuine storytelling.
Dandadan is a parody masquerading as a Battle Shonen. Its romcom elements are mediocre, its action is uninspired, and its characters are hollow memes. If you’re willing to turn off your brain, you might enjoy it for what it is: a mindless collection of flashy moments designed to distract, not to engage. But for those who value story, character, and depth, this series is an empty shell hyped up to be something it’s not.
TL;DR: If you want to enjoy Dandadan, you’ll need to set your expectations—and your brain—at the door.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Jun 26, 2024
There’s only one way to describe this season: disappointing & lazy. I've never felt compelled to write a review before, but this story feels like an insult to the audience's intelligence. It pretends to be a redemption story but fails miserably since the adaptation cuts so much from the source material which begs the question is this story really "peak"?
This story feels more like a masterclass in baiting an audience into thinking it's deep when it’s not. The studio’s changes and omissions from the source material, even under the author's supposed supervision, reveal how juvenile and immature the story truly is. The numerous alterations in
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just one season suggest an attempt to create a "safe edgy" version of a mess the critics had already warned about.
The premise, “A 34-year-old dies and is reincarnated as a baby getting a second chance,” is enticing. However, it quickly devolves into a wife-collecting simulator fantasy and this season made it glaringly obvious that this was the whole point.
After the last episode(11), I have to agree with the critics. This isn't the "peak" of the isekai genre; it's the ultimate NEET escapist fantasy. The story requires us to suspend all critical thought as conflicts are resolved instantly, and the protagonist's troubling behavior is rewarded constantly.
This season lacks any believable justification for the protagonist's actions, like going to school for 12-14 episodes just to play wife simulator because…. yup. We are expected to accept everything without question. The return of Roxy was bad because it reduced her character growth to just another love interest for the MC.
After this season is very obvious why this story made sales. The story sold not for its world-building or fantasy elements, but for showing three out-of-his-league girls falling for a NEET who gets to have them all. The plot points serve only to place the MC with different girls, ending in them becoming his wives: The teleportation with his cousin, the ED, and labyrinth are just excuses to collect wives.
And I think we can all agree that presenting the mother the way they did became the biggest slap in the face to those who stuck around reading/watching this mess because of the mother and she just ends up just being mentally DEAD.
But we all know why. Because she would have been the only person who would have stopped or scolded him for cheating and made him grow up from his predatory ways.... But forget actual growth. Who cares about her and what she thinks about her son doing the same thing her father did to her, right? Forget that. That would be too real..... That would be good storytelling but welp.
The mother was written off to avoid addressing the protagonist's predatory behavior and he could go on collecting wives.
Once again, this is where I admit the critics were right from the start. Congrats on seeing it before people like me did and not wasting your time. Honestly, you tried to warn people lie me, and more people should have listened.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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