Back to SomeMoron's Profile SomeMoron's Profile

*Completed for the 2018 Anime Watching Challenge: (64) Watch an anime tagged as Martial Arts and/or Samurai*

First of all, I know full well that I'm late to the party with this one, and I'm kicking myself for not watching this masterpiece sooner. I don't like to use the word 'perfect' when describing something, especially when it comes to art, as it's completely subjective, but after finishing Samurai Champloo, perfect is the only word I can think of to describe it.

Samurai Champloo follows our three main characters on their journey to find the samurai who smells of sunflowers. Along the way, they go from town to ... town and meet and interact with that town's residents. While there are story arcs that overlap, the series is very episodic in nature, and oftentimes we're introduced to new characters and conflict every episode.

What makes the show compelling, is that the side characters are handled masterfully. There's not a single one that wasn't memorable, and you find yourself getting attached to characters that will never be seen again. Some of them are truly heartbreaking, such as the pickpocket episode, while some can be extremely funny, such as the artist episode.

But by no means does the supporting cast overshadow our three main characters. In fact, the best aspect of this show are these three and their interactions with one another. Our two samurai, Mugen and Jin, are polar opposites. While Jin is reserved and respectful, Mugen is brash and reckless. Acting as a sort of glue between the two is Fuu, a cheerful, somewhat air-headed girl. At first, the three absolutely cannot stand one another, but as they spend more and more time together, we start to see them come together as a group. By the time the series is over, they seem to have a sweet, genuine bond.

In addition to the story and characters, I would be remiss to not mention the audio and visual elements of the show, as they are equally good. As expected from a series directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, Samurai Champloo oozes style in every regard. The character designs, especially Mugen, are vivid and imaginative, and the fight scenes are incredibly smooth.

On the flip side, the audio is just as polished. With a soundtrack done by legendary hip hop producer Nujabes, the series has no shortage of memorable background tracks, as well as an incredible opening and ending theme. Complimenting the background music, the voice acting is impeccable. I watched the series dubbed, and the dub they put together is damn good. As expected, Steve Blum steals the show with another incredible performance, and Jin and Fuu aren't too shabby as well. There are a few issues with the dubbing of some background characters, but overall it's still very well done.

In conclusion, this series is amazing, and I can't put how great it is into words. If by some chance you haven't seen it yet, drop whatever you're doing and watch it.

10/10

*Completed for the 2018 Anime Watching Challenge: (17) Watch a completed anime with a popularity of or lower than #701*

Let's get this out of the way first. Yes, I am, in fact, human garbage, and my parents are more than likely extremely disappointed with my life decisions. With that in mind, let's discuss 'Asa made Jugyou Chu!', because my god, is this OVA something.

In the past, I have been known to rag on a lot of echhi anime. In fact, the ecchi genre is ranked as my least favorite genre by Anime+. Despite this, by no means do I hate the ecchi genre. I ... hate bad shows, and by happenstance, most ecchi shows are absolutely terrible. But when an anime does the genre justice, I feel as though it should be praised. For what it is, 'Asa Made' is pretty good, and if I'm being embarrassingly honest, I enjoyed the hell out of it.

I'm a simple man with the mind of a 12 year old, meaning it doesn't take a whole lot to grab my attention. Fanservice, in particular, is a great way to keep said attention, and 'Jugyou Chu!' wastes no time in showing you the goods. The fanservice is surprisingly really good, and the character designs are attractive to say the least.

On top of nailing the ecchi part of the show, I found the OVA to be pretty funny as well. Despite have some pretty low-brow humor, it managed to crack me up a few times at its sheer ridiculousness.

The word I'd use to describe it would be "fun". It's a dumb, goofy anime that shamelessly embraces its own stupidity, and for that, I have a great deal of respect for it.

7/10

*Completed for the 2018 Anime Watching Challenge: (52) Watch a completed anime with less than 2,500 completed members*

It's difficult to put my thoughts on this thing into words, as it's one of the weirdest pieces of media that I've ever seen. I don't even know where to begin this.

This is a compilation of short, tongue in cheek animated segments with some slight horror undertones, but by no means is it in anyway frightening. I don't believe it deserves its tag as a 'horror', as it's much more akin to a black comedy than anything else.

Regardless of its genre classification, each short is around one to ... two minutes long and showcase some shocking and/or gory imagery. Most of them are completely juvenile and come across as tasteless. Despite this, most of them are quirky and funny enough for me to ignore these issues. In particular, I really loved 'Terror of Olympic Game'.

Over all, it's a decent time waster, and it's not particularly long; So if you're a fan of fucked-up, shock comedy, consider giving it a watch.

5/10

*Completed for the 2018 Anime Watching Challenge: (89) Watch an anime adapted from a Digital Manga*

Going into Galko-chan, I had zero expectations. I was expecting another mediocre slice of life anime. Thankfully, despite my incredibly low expectations, the show turned out to be pretty damn funny.

I think the primary reason the show works so well lies in the length of its episodes. One of the biggest problems with the slice of life genre is that trying to make mundane, everyday interactions entertaining enough to keep the audience's interest for 20 minutes is a difficult feat. With Galko, each episode is approximately 7 minutes, meaning that ... episodes don't get a chance to wear out their welcome.

Of course, this quick pacing isn't enough to carry a show, and for Galko-chan to succeed, it needs a strong sense of humor and a memorable cast of characters. As mentioned before, I found the show to be really funny. By no means is the humor in this show 'high-brow', in fact most of the jokes focus on some rather raunchy subject matter. Yet, by some miracle, the jokes never came across as tired or forced.

In terms of characters, the cast is another one of Galko's strengths. Every character was likeable, and their interactions with each other were great. In particular, I really enjoyed the dynamic between Galko's spunkiness and Otako's no-nonsense attitude. On top of that, Ojuo fits perfectly between the duo with her oblivious nature.

To top it off, the art direction is beautiful with some bright, colorful designs, and the voice acting is very well done.

Overall, it's a solid show that's worth your time, especially if you're a slice of life fan.

8/10

*Completed for the 2018 Anime Watching Challenge: (85) Watch an anime with 30 minutes or more per episode*

Wasted potential. These are the only words that come to mind after finishing Mnemosyne. The first 3 episodes were fantastic, because it highlighted the show's greatest strengths; Self-contained, episodic mysteries with a gritty tone and supernatural elements sprinkled on top. If the show had kept this format for the entire series, it would be a strong 8/10 for me.

Episodes 4-6 are where the story goes downhill, as the creators felt it necessary to needlessly shove sci-fi elements and trite, boring lore into the show. From there, the story ... bumbles and fumbles until it falls flat on its face with a predictable, unsatisfying ending.

It's such a shame, because, as mentioned before, the first few episodes showed promise with a killer concept and setting, as well as some fantastic characters. Instead it abandoned its roots, and the result is a slightly above average anime.

6/10

*Completed for the 2018 Anime Watching Challenge: (93) Watch a completed anime with a popularity of or lower than #5,001*

I have several questions regarding this obscure, little OVA, most of them starting with the word "who".

Who was the intended audience, who came up with the premise, and who greenlit the idea in the first place? It blows my mind that this exists in the first place. The premise reads like a bad joke, like the bizarre ramblings of some sleep deprived writer.

Our story follows Rin Tin TIn a talking dog that desperately wants to fuck his human owner, Chika (No you didn't misread that). Along ... the way, the dog battles for her heart against other potential male suitors, such as: The local school rapists, a misunderstanding beach resort employee, and an old, cradle-robbing math teacher. This OVA is trashy from the get go, and it never lets up.

My complaints so far could be overlooked if the show was at all funny and/or entertaining, but sadly, it doesn't even have that much going for it. It is painfully unfunny, and most of the jokes it throws at you fall flat on their face. This is mainly due to the fact that most jokes revolve around Rin Tin TIn's infatuation with Chika, which come off as really creepy.

It's all downhill from there, as the animation is abhorrent, and the voice acting and music are irredeemable.

A complete and total failure on every level.

*Note: This review is strictly for the film. I will not be comparing it to the manga.*

One of my biggest problems with anime is that a lot of the characters that comprise the medium never act like human beings. Most characters are slight variations on tropes that have been recycled ad nauseam. So when something like Koe no Katachi comes along and breaks the barrier of tired tropes, I feel like it's my duty to sing its praise. If you haven't already, go watch this film. You won't be disappointed.

Story: 9
Without spoiling anything, the story follows Shouya, a high school student who attempts to atone ... for his treatment of Shouko, a deaf girl who he bullied in elementary school. Along the way he deals with his social anxiety and self-worth issues. It's very rare for an anime to deal with these kinds of dilemmas, and it's even rarer that they're presented and executed in such a mature way.

Art: 10
The art is simply fantastic. Nothing more to say.

Sound: 10
To match the stunning art, Kensuke Ushio brings an incredible soundtrack that fits the tone of the movie perfectly. Obviously inspired by minimalist composers such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass, the soundtrack is deceptively subtle. The tracks give the illusion that they're very simple, but if you were to sit and listen, you'd find an assortment of colors and textures within them.

The voice acting is top notch. Every character sounds great in the sub. The dub is actually surprisingly good too, so if you're not a fan of subtitles, you don't have to miss out.

Characters: 9
I think what I love about the characters is how lifelike they are. The way they tackle Shouya's social issues is very true to real life. That's how isolated people think. The way they tackle Shouko's depression and suicidal thoughts. That's how depressed people think. Another character that is really well done is Ueno. Not because she's a good person, but because of what she represents. She's the foil to Shouya. She's the manifestation of the toxic mentality of a bully that goes unchecked and unpunished. She's what Shouya would have become had he not experienced what he did. There are some weaker characters that don't contribute much to the story, such as Mashiba or Miyoko, but they weren't distracting enough to take away from the film.

Enjoyment: 10
I've watched this 5 times since I first saw it back in December, and I still get choked up by the ending scene. I love this movie so much.

Overall: 10

In my brief experience as a user of this website, I have yet to post a single review, however I can't let this slide. This thing is complete trash, and it wastes no time in reveling in its own filth. It's not even the concept of the show itself that cements its place as some of the worst anime I've ever seen. Trashy, exploitative anime, such as Highschool of the Dead or High School DxD, can be a good time, either by laughing at the ridiculous fanservice or through some legitimately likeable and fun characters. Eiken has neither of these things. As far as fanservice ... goes, it's almost insulting that they thought anyone past the age of twelve would find the character designs even remotely appealing. Hell, I think even twelve year olds would find this embarrassing. As for the characters, they are the most generic, bland ensemble that I have ever seen in an anime. All of them can be distilled into single word descriptions (sporty girl, shy girl, awkward girl). It's not even funny bad like some other anime. It just pissed me off. Heed my warning and don't go near this.