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Disclaimer: English is not my first language!

✧ Introduction/the story:
This is a secuel of "Chi's Sweet Home", a short kodomo iyashikei anime that shows how much joy can a pet bring to your life, with new adventures and friends.

✧ The characters:
This time we get to see characters such as Alice, Tama and David, and of course, the Yamadas and Chi. They are very likable overall, but not complex, however, they are extremely fine for a series like this, that is supossed to make you smile.

✧ Production values:
The animation and sound are average and there are some recicled frames, but it's consistant through the 104 short episodes.
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✧ Conclusion:
Chi's New Address is a nice, heartwarming anime, I'd highly recommend it if you're having a bad day or you love cats and adorable things.

Spoiler free review!

✧ Introduction/the story:
What is it like to be a hikikomori? Or an otaku? Are they lazy or weird just because, or is there a deeper reason behind their behaviour? Do they have some mental disorder? Then what are the situations a person with mental illnesses have to go through? If you ever wondered about one of these questions, Welcome to the NHK is the perfect answer.

✧ The characters:
The main cast is amazingly handled and very well fleshed out. Despite representing a group of people, they are far from being bland or just stereotypes, they are charismatic, multi-faceted and you get to know them ... more and more with every episode. They have their virtues, their defects, their goals and what they think about other people and what they want to do with their lives.

Their attitudes, actions and personalities are justified and explored. The story emphasizes on why they are like that and why they act like that. They all have serious problems and it's very possible you could identify with them; we even get to know the most horrible and messed up side of them. This is what makes them human and the series really makes you care about them.

Satou, the main character, is easily the best written of them all. We basically see the life through the view of a paranoid, anxious person; we get to know his past and his relationships with other characters in-depth and with proper pacing. His character is so well developed and constructed that at some point he gets to becomes totally unpredictable to the viewer.

✧ The script:
First of all, this story deals with realistic situations and it shows you how being a hikikomori or an otaku genuinely is. Because of this the story gets more and more depressing and psychological as it advances, bit by bit you get to know that the main cast of characters have mental illnesses, existential emptiness, how they try to fill it and how reality hits them hard constantly without recurring to victimization or shock value. Rather, trying to show valuable lessons through them, implementing the use of smart and thought provoking visual metaphors and outstanding dialogue, especially when the MC is talking to himself.

NHK is a dark comedy that presents a very good transition between the funny moments and the darker side of it. Sometimes they even complement each other, enriching the plot, but this doesn't mean that you'll get misplaced wacky comedy when the story is handling its more serious facet. It amazingly deals with stuff such as self-hatred, having no will to live and trying to find one, feeling alone and useless, recurring to escapism, being stigmatized, emotional dependence, cursing others because of your own misery, obsession, using others for your own enjoyment and being easily fooled by the smallest sign of affection.

This show has some fan service, but most of the time it's there to make a point about the characters and their psyches, especially exploring the MC's mind and sometimes even in a way that might make you feel a bit uncomfortable, because it's there to show you a reality. Not only to make you grope for it.

✧ Production values:
The animation is far from perfect, but the setting is well constructed and it's perfect for the tone of the story, like a mix between the funny stuff and the serious themes the story has. Don't forget that this is a dramedy, so a setting with an ambiguous feeling is just right.

The expressive seiyuus fit the characters perfectly, the soundtrack isn't amazing but still very memorable, the contrast between the first opening and ending is basically telling you how the show is going to be. Be careful with Pururin's opening song, it's too catchy!

✧ Conclusion:
Welcome to the NHK is excellent. It deals with complex themes and mental illnesses with mature, realistic situations and greatly fleshed out characters with real problem. The animation and art style are not amazing but I really recommend you give it a try, especially if you have or had depression, paranoia, anxiety or wanted to commit suicide sometime in your life. Although you don't necessarily need to be a hikikomori or an otaku to feel identified with the characters.

~ updated 03/24 ~
English is not my first language so I'm doing my best writing this review, sorry!

Spoilers of the first episodes ahead!

✧ Introduction/the story:
Someone travels through time to save a person he/she cares for. I've already seen this. Madoka Magica, Steins;Gate, Higurashi. No creativity in that aspect, and in the case of Erased it's even worse because the time travel has no explanation at all. This is not a deconstruction and does not present something we have not seen before. This would not matter if the premise was well executed, but this isn't the case either, let me explain why.

✧ The characters:
The MC is ... a cold, edgy guy that is good on the inside, I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but it makes him cliche and boring. He is also terribly written, acting like the story needs him to act, he goes through traumatic situations as he goes to work every day. This would be excused if this was a fighting shonen, but we are talking about a seinen with mystery and drama. The main character even acts irrationally running out of his house when a neighbour saw him near the body of his mom and thought it was him who killed her, which is quite impossible too, why would he worry about being accused of homicide if there are some little things called inspection of the crime scene and evidence?, of course the MC has no absolutely no reason to kill his own mother, which poses the question: is the police brainless in this world or something?

In spite of having a 29 year old mind, he still acts like a child most of the time. The excuse given to the viewers is that he wants others to like him (which is kinda contradictory too, because on the first episode he's cold with everyone), for example, instead of asking for all the help he can when he travels to the past, he thinks he can do everything on his own, which is childish and illogical. Nevermind that he is only a bit surprised when he travels 18 years on the past, when he should be extremely confused and overwhelmed by the situation.

The other characters act like soulless robots too, especially the ones that talk to the MC about the murder of his mother like they were talking about the weather, they are also forgettable because most of them act like passive observers.

The actual kids doesn't talk or act like kids in this show, which takes away all the credibility. For example, there's even a little boy who suspects that the MC is up to something, and when he decides to talk with him, it's like he just read the MC's mind. We are talking about a 10 year old kid, not about a private detective.

✧ Satoru's power:
It's supposed that he "applies" his time travel powers to save his mom, but instead of focusing on that, he tries to save a girl he barely knew. Why would he care about her instead of worry more about his mom and his friend? I know the disappearance of the girl and the murder of his mom are kinda related, but there is not a direct factor between the two events, I mean, yes, he can save his classmate, but the kidnapper could abduct any kid they wanted and the events would end up being the same or simmilar.

Also, if the MC's mind applies the time travel like in the first episode, why didn't this happen when he saw her full of bruises? the time travel has no rules or explanation so the writers can make up anything that is convenient for the plot. You can see the inconstancy of his power only on the first episode.

✧ The script:
This anime also presents some themes through the dialogue, such as depression, or even existentialism, but never explores them properly, it feels like they were put there just to turn the dialogue into something "out of the ordinary"

The show also presents pretentiousness by showing how a girl is hit by her mom, which is not even necessary and it's shock factor, only there for people who get emotionally manipulated easily.

And no, the abuse is not there to delve into the psyche of the girl, it's just there to victimize her. These themes need to be explored with more delicacy and should not be thrown in your face like this. If you remove those scenes, the story would remain the same, just implying it with the bruises would have been enough, but no, you need to feel bad for a character about which you know literally nothing more than that she is a cute, but abused child. We can only conclude that this series also fails miserably on the psychological aspect.

Erased also fails as a mystery series, because the murderer ends up being really obvious and they don't give us the opportunity of using our minds or feeling excited about the mystery itself because the way that is developed is very hard-set and they never give it too much importance.

The drama on this anime is also forced and ridiculous sometimes, to the point that they want to convince us that a reason for a divorce could be something as improbable as an accusation of stealing a chocolate bar. And the viewers are supposed to take that seriously and feel bad for the characters. This was also an external excuse for the MC to have an ally.

✧ The villains:
Another aspect in which Erased fails with its writing, are clearly the villains, we have two villains, Kayo's mom and the murderer who killed Satoru's mother and the kids.

First, we're going to talk about Kayo's mom:
At first, the show never gives any reasons for the abuse and Kayo's mom even looks happy while beating her own child. You may say that these things happens in the real world all the time, but that doesn't make them realistic or relatable, because not only was the girl murdered by a psychopath, but she was also abused by her mom with no motives at all.
There's always a motive behind such acts in real life. For instance, does her mom have a mental illness? in other words, on why her mom hits her and not only on the act of abuse.
Then, when it's already late for delving into real problems or motivations, the show explains in literally two minutes the "reason" of her being a abuser, this is presented very superficially and in a way that her, Kayo's mom, ends up being victimized too.

Now, the main villain:
I'm not going to say who they are, but their "reasons" for killing little children are also very bad excused through a very morbid metaphor. We never get to know him enough to know his true motives.

People who are bad just because, are a big problem.

✧ Production values:
This anime has a very good animation with delicate shadows and a soft color palette that mix perfectly with the bittersweet feeling that the story wants to transmit. It's also very interesting how they put 2 voices on the MC to differentiate between his old mind and his young body.
The music is on point with the feeling of the characters and it mimetizes perfectly with the way that the characters interact.

The cinematic effect that shows the memories of the MC is very nice and interesting, but they could have taken more advantage of it. It doesn't fit the story altogether.

✧ Conclusion:
This anime is bad, it has poor theme exploration, it's full of conveniences, plot holes, fails on its psychological aspect and creating a good mystery, the tension and the drama are meaningless and the only good aspects are the production values.

ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE, SORRY IF I WRITE SOMETHING WRONG
Spoilers! (kinda)

✧ Introduction/the story
Bakemonogatari, A story of a guy that casually meets different types of girls throughout the episodes. Coincidentally, all of those girls are possessed by a curse that resembles an animal.

✧ The characters
The protagonist is a guy that wants to help every single girl he meets, even if he met her only 5 minutes ago, just like your typical self-insert protagonist. Like a male lead in every harem out there he is bland, boring, and doesn't know what to do with his life.

The story just introduces female characters that are all very ... archetypal, but they want to "hide" this fact through the pseudo-intellectual dialogue. Most of the time, their role is diminished to flirting with the protagonist, adding nothing to the typical formula.

I might add that the "jokes" between the protagonist and the little girl, Mayoi, are very disgusting and uncomfortable. I'm not going to describe all of the girls because they are forgettable due to their lack of charisma and originality. You can describe them in one sentence, except for the protagonist's girlfriend, Senjougahara. She's kind of memorable thanks to her attitude towards the protagonist and because she has the most screen time out of all the females. But she is not an important character after all.

✧ The script
Unless the dialogue is made with a bit of effort, it feels pretentious and unrealistic. It's not intellectual, it's not deep, it only tries to make you think that they are saying something smart, but if you analyze it properly, it makes no sense at all and most of the time it doesn't add anything to what's going on. This is just an attempt to "not to be like the other harems with empty dialogue and bland characters", but it ends up being almost the same at the end. Why? I'm going to explain it.

The story is divided in mini-arcs in which the protagonist meets and interacts with every cursed girl, conveniently, every girl ends up having a "crush" on the protagonist, so the show becomes a harem really fast, but there is no plot, there is no sense of progression, there is not a specific goal that would drive the plot.

✧ Production values
The art is amazing and very versatile, but most of the time it feels like an ornament more than an element that would complement the actual story. Sometimes the art has nothing to do with the story or the characters at all. This, plus the dialogue, which is not as smart as everyone says, are the most recognizable elements about this anime, and that's why it's loved so much.

The seiyuus are very good, they fit the characteres very well. The music is not that memorable and sometimes it feels repetitive, but it's apreciated how they made one opening for each arc.

The ecchi shots sometimes feel completely out of place, ruining the atmosphere, and the same goes for the jokes. One moment they are trying to sound smart (and failing miserably) and after two seconds the conversation changes its focus to panties or "touches". This all happens without a proper transition and I can't take what they are saying seriously because the fast change in tone overwhelmes me.

✧ Conclusion
Bakemonogatari is try-hard slice of life harem that wasted all its potential to be meaningfully different by staying in its comfort zone and the show ended up being mediocre.