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Unless you are looking for mindless entertainment, don't waste your time watching this movie.

Spy x Family, at this point across all adaptations (both the TV series and this movie), is essentially a filler anime, meaning that nearly every single episode is defined by a stark lack of momentum in the storyline.

Or, perhaps it is more accurate to call it a kids show, a cartoon; something akin to the likes of the Powerpuff Girls, even Spongebob Squarepants (not to belittle these shows, they are great... at times, but both are structured very similarly.) Rather than being your typical villain-of-the-week, Spy x Family employs something more ... unique: trivial/mildly-infuriating problem that could be easily prevented by better parenting (i.e. "discipline")-of-the-week.

Even this movie, which is clearly stated to be non-canon, it still feels like your typical Spy x Family episode. That is,

1. An opportunity to gain a Stella / a problem threatening Westalis presents itself.
2. Anya makes it worse.
3. Yor tries to resolve the problem, only to do nothing, get side-tracked in a pointless side-plot, or makes it worse.
4. Loid is left to fix up the mess, as usual.
5. Everything is resolved and we return to the base-line: nothing is learnt, no development is made, no Stella acquired, and Anya still a sniffling, nose-picking dumbass.

Now, an argument does present itself; doesn't nearly every story follow this exact same principle when boiled down to its most simplest form? Yes, to an extent, but the issue lies in the fact that Spy x Family provides absolutely no development, no gratification at the end of this episodic plot line, for all arcs and episodes. Believe it or not, Code: White follows the exact same principle. And chances are, if you're anything like me, you would prefer to watch a story unfold, develop, watch the characters grow and change, rather than seeing it remain stagnant, deflated and completely formulaic.

However, it goes without saying that of course Spy x Family is quite an entertaining series. Each of the characters has their own charm and the idea strikes me as something quite endearing; people who have never experienced the love and care of a family and have been rejected from institutions or society are pushed together to become a family, thus experiencing what it means to be a parent, to love and to be loved, to be a child. Code:White does a great job at bringing out those emotions. And it is important to keep in mind that Spy x Family is not your typical shonen, which is why its such a great watch with people of all ages. There's not many anime that you can genuinely say that you would be comfortable watching it with your parents, even grandparents, and Spy x Family is one of those anime.

Code:White is a kids movie, simply. And if you like the series, understand that this movie is not-canon and is unfortunately not going to contribute anything to the overarching plot of the series — not like the actual anime is doing that anyways — then by all means, watch it with some friends, family, its a great watch. But because it is so trivial and silly and pointless, especially considering the ending, I simply cannot recommend it.

I walked into the cinema not knowing a single thing about The Boy and the Heron.

And I walked out still not knowing anything. Nothing about the plot, the characters and what they represented, especially the rather 'Okay, I guess that's it,' ending and, in particular, what Miyazaki was getting at, what he aimed to actually achieve with this movie. You can't just come out of a 10 year long pseudo-hiatus and decide to come back out swinging with a nearly 3 hour experience with literally nothing to tell. Yet, for some reason, that's exactly what happened. Walked out with absolutely no clue what the hell ... just happened.

No, I had not left immediately after entering. And no, I did not fall asleep; yet after a while I was borderline comatose. I sat and watched the full 2 and a half hours, completely observant in the first three quarters, and my attention slowly waned ever since. At about the halfway point, the film dissolved into an incoherent mess, flooded with Miyazaki's mindless ramblings of literally nothing. If I had to describe The Boy and the Heron, it would be like listening to a lunatic ramble on and on, the words meaning and inferring nothing, his speech slurred and delirious, yet so desperately we grasp for something out of it, some meaning, that after a while of listening to what is essentially incoherent rubbish, we just give up and move on.

As a preface, I should add that, while I do enjoy Ghibli films, I wouldn't consider myself a fan, yet I do get excited when I'm about to watch one. I know that a good time is about to be had, where the animation is amazing, often the emotions are so touching and endearing joined with an amazing soundtrack. Most times, I rarely dislike a Ghibli film. And, if I didn't find it as good as I normally do, it's generally just an 'okay' film. However, for this one in particular, admittedly I had some anxiety because I honestly believe that Miyazaki had not made a single good movie since 2004, when Howl's Moving Castle came out. Ponyo and The Wind Rises were alright, the others completely mediocre and forgettable.

So, Miyazaki's streak of completely amazing movies was long gone, and the Boy and the Heron is just another poor attempt to bring himself back up to his level. He has long gone past his prime, his peak.

Coupled with the fact that there was no advertising for this film and that it was absolutely boggled with ambiguity, so much so that it honestly felt that not even Miyazaki himself knew what was going on, it was impossible to even grasp a fragment of an idea. And, it's not like it does anything particularly well. While I do agree that not all pieces of media need to have a central message and that they can be good without one, for instance Pulp Fiction, the Boy and the Heron just does not impress me with its writing. Some scenes should have been highly confronting for Mahito but I didn't even know what the hell was going on. Even the plot line literally made no sense. It's set in WWII, because of course it is, you can't have a Japanese film not talking about WWII in some regard, and follows a boy called Mahito. After a while of trying to go through some character development, he takes psychedelics and everything makes 0 sense.

You can't be like, 'this film is ambiguous so you can draw your own conclusion,' and tell me that the parakeets meant something to you. Perhaps I should also add that, for some unknown reason, Miyazaki is fucking obsessed with birds in this film. I don't think there was a period in the film lasting longer than a minute that did not have a bird in it. But never in the film is it ever made clear why he had to have so many birds throughout this movie. We get it man, you fucking like birds! But please, for the love of God, give me something to grasp on, some idea or anything. Yet, we don't get a single thing.

There is absolutely no wonder as to why there is no advertising, no promotion and nothing about this film disclosed before its release, aside from the name and a poster.

That is because Miyazaki does not have a single fucking clue what the hell the Boy and the Heron is about.

Paul sat Rudeus down, “Rudeus, she’s a child. That girl you have been trying to engage in pussy-pummeling-party time with - pardon my Demon God tongue - is under the legal age to give her consent in this six-faced world. My boy, you will go to jail and whatever weird purgatory this world has.”

“Okay Paul,” Rudeus said, “I understand. I won’t try to have sex with children anymore.”

- One tsundere later -

“So, as you can see, this is my child slave who I force to manufacture anime figurines like the Chinese.”

“B-But what about the Doldia village arc? Didn’t you witness children literally being kidnapped ... and forced into slavery, right before your eyes?”

“Say whaaat?” Rudeus cocked his head.

Laughter track.

“Anyways, those two bimbos over there? Yeah, I coerced them into being my hooligans after kidnapping them, trapping them in my bedroom and left them without any food or water for a day, and then sexually assaulting them.”

“Weren't you also kind of in the same condition when you were in the Beast people's prison?”

"Whatever, man. Did I mention I've almost started a religious cult where we worship the panties of the one responsible adult in my early life?"

“Damn it, Rudeus!”

Laughter track 2.

But hey, at least he didn’t try to have sex with any kids because the bastard’s got ED so it’s not that bad… right?

;

I don’t understand the hypocrisy that many fans of MT have towards the anime.

‘Yes he is sexually assaulting minors, but at the same time the world building is pretty neat, no?’

Actually, let’s scratch that.

'In this wonderful new world full of opportunities, a 34 year old man gets the chance to redeem himself and become the best person he could possibly be!'

What does he do?

“He wants to fuck kids.”

How can you possibly say that this show has any redeeming qualities when things like this stick out like a literal shit stain? At the same time, the same people liking this dog water anime would not say that Redo of Healer is a good show. They would not watch Shoujo Ramune and Boku no Pico as it is blatant child porn. But, when it is insinuated, never quite going the extra mile - but, a friendly reminder it does happen this season - it’s suddenly okay?

And to all the people saying that this anime is about personal growth, let me remind you something. Rudeus, from when he was first born into this world, to this season, has remained the exact same person. Physically, of course not; I see you plebeians frothing at the mouths when Rudeus was suddenly ripped. But mentally? Psychologically?

Rudeus has not changed. He is still a fucking pedophile.

You may call me a misogynist. You may call me a pervert, a ‘hentai’ if you will. You may call me a filthy bastard. You may even call me a horrible anime reviewer.

But, I will always stand for Prison School. No matter what insults you hurl at me, I will say every single time:

THIS. IS. PEAK.

“On this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not over come it.”
- Matthew 16:18

As is the case with any anime reviewer who would dare considers themselves a connoisseur of the arts, although all others are but imitators, there must be some sort ... of foundation when reviewing any anime. Oft times, it is tempting to resort to cliches, to standard conventions of reviewing that can be used generally for all types of anime. This type of foundation, while formidable against criticism most of the times by appealing to easily understandable guidelines, is nothing but banal. ‘Story: 7, Characters: 6, Art: 8,’ etc. You may have even seen that awfully reused review type on Steam with a list of check-boxes that are ticked off; as if any piece of medium can be condensed into such categories! But, when you approach an unconventional anime such as Prison School, an entirely different approach must be taken, out of respect for the artist’s integrity and a true appreciation of the work.

When faced with the beauty and mystery of the Mona Lisa, would you give it a grade rating? A mere ‘A+?’

No, of course you wouldn’t.

So why treat Prison School any different?

Forgetting about the ‘mark,’ we must appreciate this magnum opus for what it’s really worth.

There exists a very odd breed of anime, one that you must be courageous to venture downwards because when you eventually put it on your MAL, you will be bullied. It threads beneath two valleys: the soft-core ecchi with innuendos and metaphors to suggest, and blatant pornography. In that rift, you will find Prison School. While not appropriate for watching out in public, you can’t exactly jack off to it.
Prison School is simply unabashedly erotic, so much so that it’s ridiculously easy to get slightly queasy, especially for the layman. Water sports, BDSM, scat, bimbofication, foot fetish, bondage, CBT, voyeurism. If you can name it, you can probably find it in Prison School. But, at the same time, this is not porn. No, Prison School is not porn. And, no matter how close they get to unleashing it all, we, the audience, are left edging and keep blue-balled. So, if you can’t call Prison School an ecchi or a hentai, what would you call if?

A goddamn masterpiece.

All of the fetishes in this anime are so blatant, almost ridiculous in nature, that it feels like nothing but a celebration of sexuality. Yes, oft times they do feel satirised and maybe even ridiculed, but is that not the very nature of our sexuality? It’s ridiculous, crazy even, but at the same time it’s fun.

Well, obviously it depends on who you’re asking because you would never see me doing scat, but you get the point.

Prison School excels where other anime would fumble. It doesn’t try to hide any sexuality, it goes all out and says, ‘this is a fetish, this is also kind of weird, but that’s okay.’ There is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in Prison School. You like what you like, you’re into what you’re into, and that is completely okay.

And, I should also mention that Prison School is, quite frankly, one of the funniest anime out there. Many times I’ve found myself wincing and even crying ‘please stop’ at some of the scenes, but at the same time, it was ungodly hilarious. That being said, I can sort of understand the negative reception that Prison School has gotten. Im sure for many people that the sexual humour is a just a bit too much and I get that. But, if you’re like me and find humour in the dumbest of things, then Prison School is a definite must-watch.

Just make sure that you do it behind closed doors. With headphones on.

"Creativity takes courage." - Henri Matisse

Art mustn't merely portray, it must evoke. The best pieces of art are the ones that make you feel a certain way, and when you ask the person next to you what they think, they say something completely different. The Mona Lisa, evokes romance, indifference and melancholy but really it just comes down to your own perspective. The Sistine Chapel might make you breathless with admiration and awe, but yet again those feelings aren't the same with everyone. We resonate with art in our own way. However, not everyone is intellectual enough to grasp the full meaning. What you see ... is entirely different to what you understand. A painting might look like a bunch of smears and a complete mess, but it's so much more than that. It's a shame that not everyone has the prowess and courage to indulge deeper into these works, and merely take it at face value. To judge a form of art solely on these perceptions is criminal, and Abunai Sisters is no exception.

There's a new masterpiece in town, yet not everyone has the intellectual capacity to fully comprehend it. Abunai Sisters is not just a representation of traditional American cartoons, but a deep and emotional harmonic dissonance. It's a perfectly imperfect piece of art, and simply a beautiful mess. For those of you who take it at face value — which is likely almost all of you — let me explain.

Abunai Sisters doesn't judge. It merely shows. In our society, women are almost always judged basely on appearances. Koko and Mika are representations of women oppressed by these standards of 'beauty' and 'attractiveness,' who've resorted to breast implants and cosmetic surgery in accordance with society's expectations. As a result, they've become celebrities; the apparent pinnacle of society's social chain, the ultimatum in beauty. They've become mere objects in the face of society and lost their status as a normal person. The lives of these two beautiful celebrities are constantly tormented by the likes of Paparazzi and Madam Hokuroda, a representation of society's expectations on 'beauty' for celebrities. Koko and Mika are women trying to live their lives and are forced to abide by society's expectations, but P and MH — a representation of society — continue to bug them all the time.

Like I stated in the previous point, Paparazzi and Madam Hokuroda are a representation of society (in the point of view of celebrities). Paparazzi Matsumoto is a depiction of your stereotypical paparazzi. A full-fledged pedophile who constantly bugs these poor celebrities because of his obsession with their appearance. He doesn't try to engage in conversation with them or understand them more, but constantly torments their lives to satisfy his cravings of lust. Madam Hokuroda is a representation of every single other plebeian, the one who stalks the likes of these celebrities to fill the void of their own lives. They don't possess the beauty, talent and attention of these celebrities, and thus backchats them on the interwebs like Twitter and Facebook. Together, they attempt to steal the booby stone.

Whenever Koko's and Mika's breast vibrate like a HD rumble joycon during Sephiroth's final smash, it's a representation of social media. Their breasts vibrate whenever society torments them; a depiction of them getting @'d on social media. Why won't society just leave these beautiful women alone? Why must society torment them?

The booby stone, a recurring idea throughout the "anime" is a representation of the celebrities final hope; their ONLY chance of privacy. In our world, we have more chances of getting to know all about a celebrity than our own friends and family. You can merely google it, and you'll know their weight, body type, height and other things. It's appaling. That's why their final increments of privacy — the booby stone — is treated so preciously by these celebrities. And, that's also why society — P and MH — wish to steal it from them so much. It's the final inkling of knowledge, the final chance to fully objectify these people and it's so god damn precious to them. We as society should be ashamed for objectifying celebrities.

Now, the Taj Mahal. Koko and Mika's home is the Taj Mahal. I actually don't know why, so don't ask me.

Anyways, that should prove to you that there is more to Abunai Sisters than meets the eye. It's more than just a 'shitty representation of American cartoons' and is a truly dreadful story. Stupid fools, think before you judge.

“I find out what the world needs. Then I go ahead and try to invent it.”

- Thomas Edison, Main Character in 'The Current War'


Every so often, there comes an anime that genuinely feels like nothing else. All the other shows of the season or maybe even the year pale in comparison to these works of art, yet in no way is it credited to it's superiority. Many times these anime are poorly directed, damaged by horrible voice-acting, ruined by god-awful animation and sometimes just plainly worse. Take Odd Taxi for example; each episode feels like a chore until you reach the end, but would you ... rather watch the 5th season of MHA or Tokyo Revengers wherein every episode is a chore? It's not just the idea behind these anime that makes it stand out, but rather the pure ingenuity and the heart that is poured in relentlessly by the staff to the point that it becomes more than an anime, more than a TV show and certainly more than the generic horsewash that we are victim to every season.

And just recently we've been blessed with another anime that becomes more than a cartoon.

If there is anything that you take away from this review, let it be this: never EVER buy Junji Ito hardback manga, let alone his utterly disappointing adaptation of Osamu Dazai's phenomenal 'No Longer Human.'

Unless you enjoy looking at sex scenes every 20 pages or so, there is no reason to actually buy the damn thing. The art is by far one of Ito's least impressive, the story just uses shock value for the sake of drama, the characters are ridiculously boring and you'll soon forget who is who. Instead, read it online. Try to pirate it because that's the only way you'll get ... your money's worth.

Though, I do admit, the hardcover does work rather well for a saucer. That is when you take off the paper cover.

Actually, let's talk about this. What the fuck is up with the paper cover on 'No Longer Human?' It's so fucking annoying. Every time I want to read the manga I have to take it off because it just feels horrible to hold and just begging to be ripped. I get it, I get it. The cover is a facade, sure. It's symbolic of the protagonist's face that he shows to the world, and the massive fucking hole cut into it which shows a picture of two ghosts is actually his inner, deep psyche. Sure, sure, it's a representation of Jungian persona, sure. But come on! It's the most annoying shit ever. Who the fuck thought this was a good idea?

And the hard cover? Oh for the love of god please don't get me started on the hard cover. The texture is utterly horrendous and it feels like I'm touching a laminated piece of paper, except it's 10x thicker.

And what about the pages? Aside from the fact that they smell like shit, it's actually not that bad. The quality of the paper is far more impressive than the usual ones you get, probably because you have to pay around 50 FUCKING DOLLAARS

FUCK YOU ITO
ILL NEVER BUY A MANGA FROM YOU AGAIN

World's End Harem shoots two arrows, one aiming for 'amusing erotic anime' and the other aiming for 'not really unique hentai.' Both arrows miss and instead hit the bullseye on 'Mass Effect: Andromeda.' If you don't get the reference, then instead think of the target as 'shitty sci-fi made purely to pander to a select demographic and, consequently, take their money.' Who in their right mind thought it would be a good idea to make this groundbreaking, highly intelligent, and noble prize-winning hentai premise into a pitiful and subpar sci-fi? As soon as things are about to get down and dirty and you take out ... your tissues and bottle of lotion, the main character yells out his chastity and unquivering belief in prohibiting pre-marital sex until he finds this girl from 5 years ago who probably died except that mystery was ruined because in episode 2 they literally show her and make it so that there's no intrigue in finding out whether she's his sexy advisor woman or not. If you, like Reito, as says on his mal page, are not good with 'werewolf game,' then I recommend this anime.

66 million years ago, the dinosaur-killing asteroid slammed into Earth. What people don't know is that the "asteroid" was actually a tiger patterned UFO that crash landed when aliens had decided to invade Earth.

Coordinating the attack and leading the space armada was Rumiko Takashi.

Unfortunately for the aliens, due to the crash, the invasion was abandoned. Since then, Takahashi has been drawing character designs for Ranma 1/2, Inuyasha, and Maison Ikkoku using a piece of charcoal on the walls of a cave.

These would then come to inspire all generations of mankind henceforth.

The Mona Lisa was inspired by Shinobu from Urusei Yatsura.
American Gothic was inspired ... by Ranma 1/2.

And so on.

The influence and legacy of Rumiko Takahashi is outstanding, and none can refute the impact she has had on the manga/anime industry. One of her greatest works - which is really the only one I've actually seen from Takahashi - is the film Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer. Not only does it embody the essence of Takahashi's signature crazy and unpredictable style found in her manga, but it also has a deep message, or at least that's what I picked up from the movie. At this point, I'm not really sure if the message was intended or pure coincidence considering how the movie falls flat on it's face towards the end, but we'll still go through the analysis. Unfortunately, I won't be able to go into this message considering that it's essentially a major spoiler.

The story is chaotic, crazy, unprecedented, unpredictable, absurd, and just plain fun. Of course, that only lasts until the final parts of the film in which it's explained why things are happening this way. The ending, in short, was absolutely terrible. But if you can look past that, you will most certainly enjoy this movie.

The animation and sound design are absolutely superb, and what if I told you that the movie came out in 1984? You'd be completely surprised, considering the prevailing quality of both over the anime that's coming out nowadays. Technicality and creativity are fundamental to great sound and art, and the movie excels at both. The same can be said for the voice acting as all VAs execute their characters brilliantly.

If you've watched Urusei Yatsura and are familiar with the characters, then seeing them again for the second time would entice you, probably. But if you're like me and tend to enter this movie not knowing anything, then it wouldn't be too much of an issue. Just don't expect any character development.

All in all, I highly reccomend this movie to fans of Urusei Yatsura. People who haven't see the original series on the other hand? No way.

Kadokawa's 'Isekai Quartet' and the amalgamation of the world's most overrated anime of the worst genre. Type Moon's 'Carnival Phantasm' which you're likely only watching for Fate and don't even know what a 'Tsukihime' is, aside from the funny cat. Now, Key has joined the fray. Kaginado is the gathering of Key's most notable works, from Clannad to Air to Kanon to Little Busters and et cetera. Each episode lasts for a mere 4 minutes and you always feel like there should be more... Let's talk about it.

Like 'Isekai Quartet,' all of the characters from numerous Key works are gathered into a single high school ... where they live out their lives in unrelenting comedy, a breath of relief for those who've cried their eyes out with each show/visual novel. Basically, it's a high quality shit post.

Do you want to see your favourite characters like over-sized babies? Then Kaginado is for you!

Everyone is here! Every seiyuu is voice acting their respective character and it's truly a relief.

The characters are the same. LMao.

If you still haven't recovered from the emotional trauma of that Key visual novel/show, then Kaginado is a great place to go on from there. At some point in the future, you'll see your favorite characters reimagined like a tinny little twerp with other characters that you probably don't know.