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It's not half bad. The story itself had a nice concept to it, and the animation was stellar. The only negative is that there were some strange choices for camera angles. Often, there were many times where I found myself thinking "why is this camera angle still going??" or "why didn't it zoom up?" or "I can't see what I'm supposed to see??". It's good, but it's just that timing and editing that would put the entire movie together is a bit off. And the comedic timing stretches out sometimes. I loved the concept and how the ending worked out. It surprised me in the ... end. It's a good movie, and I recommend it. Just maybe watch it on a nice big screen lmao

It's actually not bad. The first chapter is a little rocky, but from that point on the story keeps improving by leaps and bounds. It's a typical wish-fulfillment isekai, but the main character is smart & has an actual personality. I enjoyed the challenges that popped up throughout the manga that had to do with being reincarnated. Literally at one point (you probably know if you've read it) I literally went "ohhhh" at how the main character got burned for the way he was seeing everything. I also actually really enjoyed the worldbuilding, it's a nice mix of sci-fi and historical, and all of the ... drama between the nobles is entertaining stuff. There are some I guess deux-ex-machina elements- but they are fully explained, are part of the goals of the characters, impact character development and have harsh consequences for their use later. Overall, this manga was surprisingly entertaining.

This goes beyond isekai- it's just a damn good manga. The comedic timing is spot on, and Cid is such a fun main character. Hell, I didn't even have to look it up his name. I've reread this manga multiple times because it brings joy to my heart. It definitely plays around with what's usually expected out of the 'isekai' genre, in very entertaining ways.

Like for example, usually the twist of an isekai is just in how the main character arrives there, or how the world itself operates. This manga goes beyond that, because it's not simple wish fulfillment of the author. It's wish fulfullment ... of the main character, Cid. Big difference there! It means you see Cid's antics in trying to reach his goals and all of the misunderstandings that arise along the way. It's just so good, give it a shot, you won't regret it.

THIS MANGA IS SO GOOD

It's one of those ones you want to reread as soon as you're done! I absolutely adored it! The writing is fantastic, and all the characters feel fleshed out. Everything is well above average but the writing in particular is absolutely dead on. There was not a single time I felt lost, bored or disappointed-- it really delivered. Even in things that trip up other writers. Like for example, sometimes when a manga adds a lot of new characters, things get confusing to follow. Not here! Holy crap, I was shocked. Not really a spoiler, there's this one part where ... they just keep adding all these new characters and I was like "oh no this is going to get so confusing" and then??? It didn't?? It all flowed together so well and it all just made sense. Like it's absolutely unreal how good the pacing and characterization is.

Some other nice points: There's no crazy fanservice, and there's a wide array of diversity in the cast too, with characters from all around the globe (more later on). Overall it feels more like a tweens/teens genre because of the lack of fanservice, but it still gets incredibly dark at points and may rip out your heart.
I really hope this gets an anime adaptation one day.

Ok real shit? You should watch up to episode 18, then read the manga from chapter 40 onwards. This anime changed the ending MASSIVELY. The manga is complete and its goddamn beautiful.
Everything is wrapped up nicely & a lot of characters who die in the anime don't die in the manga. Really wish more people knew about it.

If it would have followed the manga I would have given this a 9/10 btw.

As for the anime:

Story: 7/10 It's good, it leaves you interested, and its not too predictable. Not anything that's going to blow your mind but it gets the job done. The dark ... moments hit very well. The tone of the story and suspense is what keeps you coming back to figure out "what happens next?"

Art: 8/10 Great art style, I enjoyed it :) The animation is smooth too.

Sound: 8/10 One of the parts of this anime that stood out the most. Really helps to set the mood of the show and the soundtrack is amazing at getting across intense moments in the story.

Characters: 9/10 Really, you are watching this show for the characters. Maybe you have a fave you don't want to die, or some kind of relationship you want to see... There is something for everyone here and they are all unique.

Also, the main protag is pretty likeable. Which is great to see in such a dark show. He doesn't get overly angsty or unrealistically hardened to the line of work he finds himself in. Instead he keeps his personality but matures over time and you can really see him learn lessons along the way. Most characters in this anime aren't the most developed in history however 9/10 for Tatsumi. Seriously, kudos, because that's how you write a protag.

Enjoyment 9/10. Whether you just have it in the background or get super invested, this anime will get you hooked.

Overall 7/10. I knocked down a point because of the anime-only ending. Seriously, the manga fixes so much. Anyway, should you watch it? Yeah! Just as long as you're fine with blood and gore :) and major character death :')

This anime is a fun ride! Only 5 episodes are out at the time of this review, but it seems like the creators have a solid idea of what fans enjoy seeing. A few times I got the feeling I was reading a fanfiction or watching fan art (I mean that in the best way). Daisuke and Haru are both very entertaining characters to watch, but add those interesting scenarios along the way?? Really good humour?? Well, looks like you've got a recipe for success :)

If you're the target audience, you'll really enjoy it. The story gets dramatic sometimes but overall not one to ... take too seriously, so just sit back and have fun ^^ I 100% recommend!

Blue Period is absolutely breathtaking. It follows an exploration into the art world by a novice who has to improve his skills at a rapid pace. Every chapter focuses on a different aspect of studying art (emotional or technical) and how our MC overcomes these challenges. Where this manga truly shines though is in its sincerity. I haven't researched at all but I definitely got the notion that this mangaka had studied art in this way too-- many scenes had details so meticulous that they could only have been drawn from real life experience.

The characters, relationships and story all feel real and not like ... cardboard cutouts of anime/manga tropes at all. This really impacted the overall tone of the manga and it felt like I was taking the journey alongside the main character.

Also, I need to mention that the challenges that the MC goes through really echoed my own experiences. Society's view of art, following your passion, family expectations, etc and more are explored in this manga and I know that if you're an artist you may relate to it as well. And even if not it's a damn good drama and you might learn a thing or two about art along the way (I know I did!) After reading this manga I always want to draw! 10/10 from me!

(Spoiler Free Review)

Weathering With You is Makoto Shinkai's next film after Your Name, and I have to say, it is an improvement. Where Your Name suffered from lacklustre characters, Weathering With You has a surprisingly loveable cast. The art is as beautiful as ever before. I genuinely had a pretty good time watching it.

But do I recommend it?

If you liked Your Name, there's no doubt this movie is for you. Go for it. This movie was good. But in a mild Fridge Horror kind of way. Like if you think about it for more than two seconds, the "romantic" scenes could absolutely be read in ... a horrifying way. It's like Shinkai was two steps from deconstructing the genre then sprinted in the opposite direction. Did the he realise what kind of story he was making? That idea is interesting to me.

Let's get into the main duo of this adventure: Hina- the kindhearted sunshine girl, and Hodaka, our main character. Hina is fine. Great, even. She's just, a normal character. And then there's Hodaka. The mad man. This guy is crazy, like you think he's just another anime mcnormaldude and he IS but like in a messed up kind of way. You see him come from a terrible past (which is never expanded upon which makes me angry! talk about lost potential!) and do all of these really illegal things and... the whole time he's just being a totally normal guy.

So what exactly rang alarm bells, here? WELL...

It was the message this movie was sending. Because of the main character's actions a lot of suffering happens to Japan's entire population just so he can be with this one girl. And near the end he looks kind of crazy to put it kindly. This is not necessarily bad storytelling, but is communicating a disturbing message. That doing illegal things are okay (and even cool and fun!) as long as its for a good purpose: for a girl you love. I'd brush it off this was a lighthearted movie which throws logic away for entertainment value but Weathering With You is very grounded in reality from the start (minus a few fantasy elements).

This complaint doesn't necessarily make this movie unwatchable, and I'm not saying young impressionable teens will turn to a life of crime from watching this movie because that's stupid. But for a story that does pretty solid work of accurately portray the struggles of young people in our society: finding a job, being independent, living without money, running away from your problems-- it sure doesn't portray the consequences for bad actions nearly as well.

This disjointed themes of this movie had the story lose its emotional impact for me over time, which was a pity because it had a solid start. This resulted in several scenes where the MC seemed to be overreacting to problems which could just be resolved peacefully.

The ending just... happened. There was no mystery to solve, plot twist to surprise or trope to subvert. Some plot threads such as the bad guys of the movie, the backstories of the two main characters and the whole weathering powers in general were not expanded upon very much. I feel like if those plot threads were explored more then Weathering With You would have had a less indecisive moral of the story and there would be a Point to anything happening. But nope. The main character gets the girl he wants and that's it: end of the movie!

Overall:

Art/Animation: Great no complaints here it was gorgeous as hell.
Sound: Also great there were several nice songs throughout.
Characters: Better than Your Name, a lot of the movie was spent fleshing everyone out and the two romantic leads actually spent time and had real chemistry together.
Story: The start was great with a good amount of 'show don't tell' which makes you interested in what's going to happen. There are various fun scenes. And then eventually evolves into a pretty cliche anime romantic plot which is fine... until the kind of disturbing moral of the story is revealed.

This movie is good but just... unsettling when you think about it. It's like the whole world bends to what the main character wants. So many people suffer from his actions. And at the end of it he is just glad he changed the world.

Even though he changed it for the worse.

At first glance this looks like your typical cliched isekai manga, I read the synopsis all like 'hero seeking revenge...?' 'he saves a slave girl...?' 'loli type characters everywhere?? no way this will be good' but thank the lord it was actually good, great even.

The main thing to take away from this manga is that yes, it does have cliched parts everywhere- However the execution of these cliches is done very well through realistic characters. Even the bad guys don't come off as that unrealistic since they aren't bad for the sake of it but are instead victims of deliberate misinformation, believing that they are ... actually in the right all along. The main characters' goals are continually being reached and are justified in the scope of the story. No character is there for the sake of it, nor any plot thread left behind. The hero's revenge is actually completely justified, the slave girl actually becomes a hero and not mere romantic sideplot, the loli type girls-- okay I can't really justify that but there's no fanservice and it's always cool to see a bunch of kids beat up monsters.

Another thing I need to point out is the main character's power: the shield. He also has some regenerative abilities but that is his main power and it does not change. Which is so so so nice to see because I'm just sick and tired of overpowered main characters with stats of 999 after like 2 chapters. The MC's powers can be unique at times but works with his weapon- for once it looks like the author actually planned the story with the heroes weapon in mind. Seeing him fight with a shield is not boring or frustrating but actually exciting to see as how he turns the battle in his favour.

If there's one word that would describe this manga it would be: satisfying. Wholly and completely satisfying. The villains get such a good end, each character's goals are reached (or close to it), and as a whole it's just an enjoyable read if you like isekai manga but are tired of all the fanservice or overpowered main characters. Give it a shot.

How am I after watching this movie? Angry. This movie was fucking good and it's such a pity that it came out when Kimi no Na wa did, because it deserves so much more recognition. Honestly, I believe it outshines it tenfold but this is a review not a comparison so let me give you my points:

- Great soundtrack/art/animation/the works. solid base. if you like kyoani why are you waiting

- EXPERIMENTAL. The perspectives and aesthetics shown throughout the movie are insane. Like if you think of one of those 'aesthetic tumblr posts' the entire movie is literally in that vibe.

- The noise level. not the ... music. the noise level- majestic. since koe no katachi is about living life as a deaf person most of the soundtrack is ambient noise, cute jingles or piano notes. It's quiet. But as soon as the action picks up and things get more intense the sound gets LOUD, in this huge juxtaposition of noise, on a greater scale than most anime take it. It's so good.

- Characters. Let's talk about that for a sec. I've only seen the original oneshot of the manga koe no katachi is based on, so I don't have a reference for what these characters could have been like, in for example, a theoretical anime series version of this movie. I don't know. But I can say for a movie with only 2 hours to spare it did pretty damn good to flesh out these characters as much as possible considering the size of the cast. We see 12 characters on the regular.

12 characters! (not just one-off, as regular appearing characters) and we know exactly who they all are. That's more than what I can say for a lot of movies and even anime out there. But naturally there is some bias. The two main characters bear the brunt of the character development (primarily our protagonist Shouya) and over time you can see a clear change not only in themselves but in their relationships. Characters don't 'learn a lesson' and change the next day. We're not talking about cheap development like that, in fact one of the more realistic things about koe no katachi is how each character's personalities stay the same but their values change. Everyone is trying the become a better person and clashing with everyone else by the end of it. It's gritty, it's messy, it's believable.

- As for story, Koe no Katachi is more of a 'let's put all these interesting characters together and see what happens' simulator than anything with a crazy, god-given plot. Suicide is a major theme and so is atoning for what you have done in the past. A bully is the main character, he picks on Nishimiya who is deaf, and the story starts from there. Everything past that is seen as a direct consequence of what happened back then, which eventually leads to the more suicidal themes as both main characters struggle with the realisation that many less people couldn't have been hurt if both of them had never existed. But this movie doesn't drone on. It's not preachy like that. Yeah, this movie will make you cry. But in a good way.

So did I enjoy Koe no Katachi? Um clearly yes. Go for it, you've got nothing to lose except all of your tears.