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Mar 19, 2018
Oh boy. Where do I begin with this mess.
PLOT:
Well, the first thing I want to address is that there's no plot. At all. In all 12 episodes, the characters go from fight to fight and problem to problem with no real connection between them until the very end. So, if you're looking for a plot that even exists, then don't bother, but very few harems have plots anyway.
PROTAGONIST:
The second biggest issue is the protagonist. Ichika is quite literally, the densest harem protagonist of them all. Every 5 seconds he's confused about either a concept he's learning in school or a hint one of the
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many girls are trying to get through to him. He continuously misses it all, and it got frustrating after the first few times. This running gag must have went on for a few times every episode. At least. Let's also not forget that he's generic as all hell on top of that, and doesn't have any distinguishing qualities from the many bland harem protagonists out there.
One point about Ichika's density that's important to mention is that the light novels later on point out that Ichika is doing this all on purpose so he doesn't get killed by the girls he doesn't choose. By playing dumb, it gives him a buffer. However, I see this as nothing more than a retcon. There are plenty of points where we can hear his thoughts and they clearly displayed Ichika being confused and not understanding the situation at all. If you've seen this point brought up in defense of this garbage show, don't listen to it. The retcon is sloppily done.
Another point I don't understand is why all of the girls are into Ichika. Harem anime are usually choked to the brim with power fantasy, with the male MC showing off his power for the women so that they fawn over him. However, Ichika is generally not that powerful and doesn't have the 'stupid but powerful' trope that is commonly used. I'd say that this is what I appreciate the most about IS, that it doesn't give in to ALL of the common self insert tropes that these shows follow, but that just leads to other issues. The girls shouldn't be into Ichika at all, aside from Houki and Rin, who were both his childhood friends. Still, once they experience his density first hand, that old desire should disappear quickly.
SECONDARY CHARACTERS:
The harem isn't as bad as the protagonist, but it's still pretty damn bad. Most of the girls are basically all the same character after their introduction. They're from different countries and they all are hopelessly in love with Ichika. I also think their designs are all pretty damn generic except for the main girl, Houki. Something about her is a cut above the rest. That isn't to say that Houki's personality isn't as annoying as the rest of them, but at least she's the most appealing to look at.
As I mentioned earlier, the entire harem shouldn't have any interest in Ichika. The power fantasy makes up for this gaping hole, but without it, the idea makes even less sense. I mean, I understand that these shows are designed for self insert, but it's still really lazy.
IMPLICATIONS:
There's an idea that this anime puts forward. Women are the only ones that can plot the IS, with Ichika being the only man in the world that can do so as well. Women are basically the ones who take control of the world because of this, and the anime never addresses this. What does it do with this concept? Puts a male in an all girls school and they all fall over him every second. That's what I call a lost opportunity.
CONCLUSION:
This anime takes a concept that could have had something to say and turned it into generic harem trash. There's no real plot and what happens in episode to episode are events we've seen in other anime a billion times over.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Mar 14, 2018
I don't know where to start with this trash heap. Well, I guess we should start with the MC. Lux Arcadia is naturally an extremely dense harem MC, but he's more than that. He's also a massive bitch boy. It's like there's a spectrum as to how much the male MC gets walked all over. If Arata from Trinity Seven is all the way on one side, then Lux is all the way on the other. It was frustrating to watch, seeing him get thrown around like a rag doll every five goddamn minutes.
The plot is extremely generic as well, but harems in general
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have awful plots. It's not like you're watching for that aspect.
Speaking of what you're watching for, I have to say that the ecchi is pretty tame in comparison to other harem shows. Most of it is comprised of Lux getting into dumb situations, which happens at least maybe once every other episode. It doesn't just come out of nowhere.
Each of the girls are stereotypical and generic. The main girl, Lisha, drops the tsundere act in a single episode. I'm not really complaining because the trope is dumb, but it still doesn't Mae any sense. Krulucifer is okay, but all of her advances just get ignored by Lux's idiocy. I'd even call Lux one dimensional, being that there's nothing to him other than the 'impossibly nice and stupid' hero routine.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Nov 17, 2017
The first season of Magi is actually pretty good. It's better than an 8 for the most part. I would have given it a 9, until I saw the end of the final episode. Spoilers ahead.
The antagonist gets talk no jutsu'd. Yep. That's what happens. All of that buildup just so Alibaba can declare "I'm not going to hate anymore!" then the antagonist smiles and floats up to Solomon. A few exchanges of dialogue had caused him to abandon all his hatred? Yeah, I'm not buying that. Also one of her underlings gets scythed right through the goddamn stomach and she survived. I'm watching the
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second season now, and they're going through a character arc for Dunia, but still she should not have made it this far.
It was a good show that got pretty much ruined by a terrible ending.
All of the characters are great. Alibaba is a competent lead. Aladdin isn't that annoying with his childish antics and Morgiana is adorable. Sinbad is also a perfect character, which can be a downside for some, but he's not the protagonist so that's better at least.
To repeat, the show is good, but the ending sucked.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 28, 2017
The aspect I really like most about this show is the characters. They're all pretty likable, especially Tendou. The down side to that is that they're all pretty stupid. Each them keeps assuming the worst of each other romantically, and to be honest it got old after the first three or so episodes when the premise started.
For this reason, the storyline is pretty damn bad. It's really repetitive and gets old fast, even to the point of frustration. The only reason why I rated the show a 7 is because the characters were good.
As I mentioned earlier, the characters are all pretty solid. Amano,
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the MC, is probably my least favorite due to the fact that he's the densest of them all. He can't pick out the most obvious social cues. He might have no experience in that stuff at all, but he seems to know how to act in certain situations and not in others. To be honest, it seems like the writers made this for serious plot convenience. On the flip side though, Tendou, the main love interest, is goddamn adorable. My favorite character in the series. Even though she's pretty much perfect in every aspect, she loses her composure in Amano's presence and even when he's not there either. I still don't really know what she sees in Amano, but that'll probably get explained eventually.
Besides the plot in itself, my other concern with this series is the order of arcs that this anime decided to go with (though it's likely based on the LN). Episode 12 seemed disjointed and ill-fit to be the finale. Meanwhile, episode 11 had more closure, and did a better job in cementing the relationship drama that was plaguing the series for the entire season. It was weird going from 11 to 12, where the characters just went back to bickering about relationships and getting into the same misunderstandings as usual.
This is a nitpick, but I don't really know why people say this show is an accurate description of gamers. Growing up in NYC from age 8-18 (2003-2013), I was never called a nerd in a derogatory manner. Gaming wasn't that niche, and it's been growing in terms of popularity over the last two decades. In high school, this stuff was practically popular. To be fair though, I wasn't at the top of the social food chain (being in the middle is the most accurate description). This is also NYC, a pretty developed city by social and societal standards (stuff like students talking back to teachers is really rare), so that could have an effect. This is all anecdotal. It could be different for other people who grew up at the same time as I did.
All in all, I'd recommend checking out this show. It's not exactly the best in terms of romance, because the characters spin in circles, but it's pretty funny at the same time. You'll get frustrated, but it's also really satisfying when things finally go where they're supposed to.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Sep 26, 2017
Where do I begin with this dumpster fire? Well, I guess I should preface this with harems aren't exactly my cup of tea. They make little sense in the first place, but this show takes the stupidity to a whole new level. Oh yeah, spoilers.
Story:
This is an easy one. There isn't one. Touya dies and gets reincarnated in another world as the most OP protagonist in recent memory. He enslaves god after god, and has 5+ girls lusting after him. NOTHING HAPPENS. There's no character arcs. No real villain. No fucking nothing. This show is 12 episodes of a literal fantasy. I'm convinced that
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God and the other divine stuff in this show isn't really them, but parts of Touya's heaven as he wastes away there after he died.
Characters:
I'm not even going to distinguish characters by name because there is no point. The boy character, Touya, is a bland, personality-less, overpowered as all hell, and extremely unintelligent protagonist. That's it. Nothing about his old life comes back in any meaningful way. He's just extremely strong, and nice. The epitome of male fantasy.
Then there are all the girl characters, who are all the goddamn same. They're all really weak in comparison to Touya, and they all are in love with him. The only difference is that they've got different voice actors and have different aesthetics. That that stuff away, and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them. Absolutely no substance to these women whatsoever.
Conclusion:
Don't watch this. I honestly dropped it at around episode 3, but decided to catch up a few weeks later because I wanted to see if this show had decided to get its act together. It didn't.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Sep 18, 2017
I told myself that SAO is bad only because Kawahara wrote the LN series during a time when he didn't care about quality that much. Now I can say with 100% certainty that he still doesn't. There will be spoilers in this. I'm just ranting at this point too.
Don't get me wrong, the movie itself is pretty enjoyable. The problem is that the more you think about the technicalities of the plot, the less sense it makes. This is pretty much how I felt about SAO after I rewatched it. The first time I thought it was pretty decent but after rewatches I realized it
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was hot garbage. Only now that I look for these inconsistencies do I know how bad Kawahara's writing is on the first viewing.
My issues with the movie are as follows:
1) The plot makes no sense. Yuna is supposed to be an AI that is revived to a near biological sentience after taking the memories of SAO survivors. HOWEVER, Kirito is greeted by a girl who looks like Yuna that gives him hints on how to save Asuna. During the entire movie, it seemed like Yuna didn't need these memories at all. So, what's the point then?
2) Kirito manages to beat Eiji. During the beginning of the movie, it's clear that Kirito's lack of physical prowess holds him back from being a good player in Ordinal Scale. This is a good thing, because it allows us to see Kirito not as a boring and bland OP protagonist, but as someone who knows what it's like to have power taken away from them. Well, surprise surprise, but this premise is dropped half way through the movie. Kirito randomly becomes a badass again, and defeats AN AUGMENTED Eiji. Bionics that give people super strength and agility. Do you know how little sense this makes? Thanks Kawahara.
3) The sense of danger in the final act was blown out of proportion. After Yuna's concert, a bunch of monsters show up and people's first instinct is to fight them, and not take their devices off? Seriously? Way to artificially bloat danger for no reason.
4) Augmented Reality seems pretty pointless when it comes to VR-like video games. The movie tries to make Ordinal Scale seem like SAO. Why? What is the purpose of this? AR's best use is like how it is used in Accel World, helping with day to day tasks.
5) The characters outside of the main group are as one dimensional as they come. Kawahara doesn't know how to write villains. Kayaba and Sugo were both evil for the sake of it in the series. Eiji and Yuna's dad were evil to resurrect Yuna in the movie. It's stuff we've seen before. Yuna herself is pretty much a pop idol. Not much nuance there either.
I do have to give the movie credit in two areas. The first being that it didn't bore me. I was entertained. The action was pretty good throughout and the art/animation was also good. The second area would be the relationship between Kirito and Asuna. I'm glad they've gone full romance again after letting that go for multiple arcs. Seriously. The last time we saw them kiss was in the Aincrad arc. The harem stuff was awful. At least this time I can say thanks Kawahara unironically.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jul 30, 2017
So after seeing that the first anime will be dubbed in the coming months, I decided to watch both series out of curiosity. I didn't review the first series but it's pretty much the same as the second so the review will count for both in my case. My decision to watch this show was a waste of time. What a pile of garbage this anime turned out to be. It's not a 1 because there were a few redeeming factors. I'll start with the negatives first, starting with the worst going downward:
Characters: Holy hell does this series have garbage characters.
Basara, the main character
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(whom I will be referring as Basura, the Spanish word for garbage as of this point), is your typical harem MC that never really loses and has this intense niceness to him that no normal person would ever have. That is a critique for the harem genre in general so I'll keep that part short. Anyway, what makes Basura such a terrible character is a combination of two main factors. The first is his lack of care for things he obviously should care about. Multiple times people tell him "you know what I'll just stop talking now," right before revealing incredibly useful information. What the hell is that? Any normal person would hound for important information. The second is his ineptitude at what a brother-sister relationship should be. He keeps talking about protecting his little sister one moment, and fondles her breasts the next. He has this really unhealthy view of protecting his "family" and yet he's basically dry humping them all. SIBLINGS DON'T DO THAT. EVER.
Mio, the main girl in the harem, is is pretty much fine except for one area. She's clearly in love with Basura. YET SHE DOESN'T DECLARE HER LOVE AT ALL. All 22 episodes and she keeps letting him go on as her "big brother." Why? This makes no sense. All the girls just fight over Basura and she just lets it happen. However, I'll save that for issues with the plot.
All of the other characters are extremely forgettable and useless. They don't have their own lives. The girls are just there to be a part of the harem and the guys are either momentary allies to further the plot or are enemies.
Plot: Now, the plot actually isn't that bad. Don't get me wrong is generic as hell, as most light novel stories are. As a harem plot, Basura will illogically ignore the women fighting over him while he's in the very room and just ignore it for the sake of the plot. This is an issue with the entire genre, but if a harem is going to do this, then it should at least do it without him present. The issue I have with this though is that the plot blatantly insults my intelligence. Multiple times very obvious convenience allows the protagonists to win. Basura constantly contradicts rules that are made minutes after they're said. In fact, many demons comment on how a certain area is only for demonic rulers and we see Basura there in the very next frame. What the hell was the point of establishing that rule if it's not going to do anything? The writer of these novels really has no care in the world for coherency at all. To be honest if it didn't have these specific aspects annoying me I would have been really bored. Basura showed multiple times to instantly recover from damage that should have killed him. You start to wonder what's the point.
Art: This is really the only main redeeming quality of this show. It's pretty to look at. However, it's far from perfect. The reason is because Basura looks almost identical to Issei from Highschool DxD. That's probably not the light novel author's fault but whoever drew these characters didn't have much taste for originality. What's worse is that although Highschool DxD isn't that greatly written either, at least Issei wants the harem, meaning his actions make sense in the context of the show. Here it makes no sense at all. AGAIN. SIBLINGS DON'T DO THESE THINGS.
Ecchi: To be honest, this show goes pretty damn far in terms what it can do before becoming a hentai. In fact, many scenes look like sex with clothes on. If you want a show purely for this factor then you'll get what you're looking for. It's actually pretty good in this department. Of course, there's also Mio yelling "Oni-chan" every time, which made me want to shoot myself.
My overall thoughts on the show are pretty simple. If you want to watch an ironic comedy, where you're laughing 90% of the runtime of this show, then go ahead. You'll have a good time. I couldn't stop laughing for most of it. This garbage was that bad. If you're serious in wanting at least a decent ecchi show to watch this isn't it. You'll stick around for the juicy stuff but you'll want to bang your head against your desk in-between them.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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