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Anime seasons as of late have been filled with a hopeless amount of formulaic productions. Season after season of inundating slice of lifes, reincarnation fantasies, and morally binary superhero fighting shows that all seem ostensibly different. Not to say they’re individually bad, in fact, I’ve enjoyed a fair share of them. But it’s important to remember that anime is a storytelling medium. You shouldn’t have to go into a season expecting most of the shows to fit into one of those three categories. And sadly, long were the days of Death Note and Code Geass where we had characters who were manically supercilious and selfish ... but also unbelievably charismatic that made you hooked. So with the intriguing premise My Home Hero provides, it’s only natural to get excited about something that strays so far from the usual anime titles. But to answer your curiosity and the ensuing question “Does My Home Hero break the mold?” - well sort of and I’ll explain that in this review. But as a quick TLDR for those who just want to know whether they would like the show or not without having to read the whole review to come to the same conclusion. If you’re someone who appreciates methodic careful storytelling, respects strong characters with conviction, and admires hand drawn animation that flows seamlessly: you’ll hate this. If you’re someone who just wants something different from the seasonal bombardment and don’t particularly care about the finish: you might find this interesting. Or if you’ve exhausted all the anime on your plan to watch because eating without watching something seems so otherworldly in 2023 then I'd recommend you give this a shot.

With that being said, My Home Hero is the most disappointing anime of the spring 2023 season for me. Not because of how the show ended up, but what it could have been with its premise and source material. While it does try to adapt something unique in anime. It also shows why anime producers have gravitated to the limited show archetypes they produce within; it’s because they don’t know how to make shows of this kind and using a working formula is so much easier. My Home Hero as a suspenseful cat-and-mouse crime thriller fails in appalling fashion and ends up a weird amalgamation of anime triteness and imitated seriousness that misses what makes other shows of this nature gripping and exciting. While it’s unfortunate that this review will have to address these serious problems of the show, I’ll also explain why it’s good in some other aspects.

Tetsuo, the dad, is a frustrating character and detracts from any potential sympathy you may feel for him. On one hand, he’s an admirable family man that continuously shows his love for his family. but on the other hand, he’s just this goofball that feels so alien in the show my home hero is trying to be. He’s constantly getting caught in these shameful predicaments that every storyteller knows not to include because it damages the main character's respectability. Worse than that, he makes these high pitched squeals in the slightest discomfort and makes these embarrassing facial expressions in scenes where he’s just conversing with people that feels so unnatural. He also unironically fist pumps the air every time something goes his way which feels extremely forced. Who the hell does that? It’s this lack of composure and this unnaturalness only seen in anime that makes him seem so pathetic in a setting like this. The sad part is he does some intelligent stuff and is somewhat calculating. But it’s completely overshadowed because his plans are always foiled by variables he hasn’t accounted for or other people outsmarting him. Only for him to somehow weasel out of it by sheer happenstance or submission. That’s bad, not bad for the story per se even with the questionable overindulgence of deus ex machina. But bad if you want to make a main character people can root for because it makes him feel powerless and unassertive. Those wimpy self-deprecating characters might work in a more light-hearted story. But when you place a timid salaryman in a crime thriller, you best give that character some redeeming qualities so he becomes somewhat respectable and competitive in the dog-eat-dog world you place him in. Or make him start off not fit for this world, but slowly and unbeknownst to the characters themselves, morph into someone who does like Rock from Black Lagoon. That’s bona fide development and it makes characters feel more three-dimensional. But these come from a complete lack of understanding of what makes a suspenseful enthralling story. And this lack of understanding is even more apparent in the animation, or more precisely, lack of.

To classify something as animation, the things on the screen have to move. In which the characters and background of My Home Hero do very little of if at all. That's bad in just about any show. But especially bad in a crime thriller because you want a lot of subtle facial expressions to accompany dialogue that exemplifies intentions, inner feelings, and the mind games at play that sometimes tells more than the actual dialogue. The characters in My Home Hero just don’t react to the things they’re hearing or react so slowly and obviously telegraphed that you’d think everyone else would catch on to whatever fib they’re trying to hide. But this rigidity becomes so much worse when you look at the beading sweat on their face to convey nervousness. The sweat doesn’t actually pour down their face, it just stays there as the character it’s supposedly beading down mouths whatever they’re trying to say in real-time. It’s this lack of even trying to make the animation look somewhat lifelike that’s so ire-inducing. There’s a point in the show where Tetsuo needs to wear some bandages from a head injury he sustained. They made the bandages into this plastic see-through film that looks like he just put a glass bowl on his head that only propagates the goofy narrative. It’s these things that show a lack of effort or care of the production that makes it so much harder to watch for anyone with eyes.

In a surprising turnaround, the opening is actually gorgeously woven to fit the narrative with imagery that plays into the show really well. The difference between the opening and the rest of the show is night and day. You’re shown scenes As Tetsuo walks across puddles and in the snow alone. Representative of the hardships he endures to ensure his family remains safe as he reminisces of the times they were happy. Of a time when his family was happy as he willingly takes this journey of self-destruction for a daughter who shows infinitesimally less affection for him. With scenes of his family together vague enough to be relatable to many but specific enough to feel realistic and heartfelt. As Chiai Fujikawa belts her heart out about a love so profound yet fleeting in an octave high enough to blow Ariana Grande with all the autotune she can muster out of the water. This lethal combination will make even the most hardened anime viewers shed a tear. But the real kicker; the main reason as to why I enjoy and would go so far as to recommend this show to some?

It’s because that stupid insolent daughter reminds me of myself. A child oblivious to any of the hardships their parents have to undergo and will complain just about any inconvenience that comes their way. The litany of offences you make that your parents can somehow umbrella under the term “rebellious teenage phase” that only a loving parent affectionately ascribed as a home hero can love. I didn’t even go into the show expecting to get so emotional over a bad daughter. It might be because I’m now a university student studying abroad or the fact that this aired on father’s day and I get to spend time with him after what felt like years. But I get really emotional when Tetsuo randomly blurts out stuff like “Let the three of us continue to live happily”. I see the potential, he’s just a father forcibly placed in shrinking confines of a situation he himself placed his family in because of his blinding love for his daughter. It reminded me of all the things my dad did for me growing up. All the things you never say but do to express love. Driving his son to 6am football practices every week for a school team he wasn’t even a starter for. Buying an insane amount of snacks for his son’s first airplane ride by himself because he was nervous his son might be hungry on the plane. Sending care packages with tons of little things I love to make me feel better during exam period. The show captured parts of that type of love a dad has for their child, in its own extreme way. It's just a shame the show didn’t know how to mix that in with the crime thriller portion of the story and made him sound like a bumbling idiot every time he did something loving or sacrificial. I think that’s something that might resonate strongly with you if you grew up with a loving dad. So that’s why, as everyone trained their sights, preparing to drop and cast this show off as more seasonal schlock. I couldn’t help but choose to fire a blank.

Picture this, you’re in extra time and it’s the final play of the game. Everyone’s sweaty and knackered, rightfully so, the scoreline is 6-6, or at least that’s what you think cause you never really keep track of the score during games. You’re in the penalty box and your best bud passes a beautiful through ball to you. You take a clean touch, fake a shot to the left, and whip the ball into the top right bin. The goalkeeper doesn’t see it coming at all. How could he? The crowd goes wild. A little quieter than normal you note–probably cause you’re at an away ... game. The ref blows his whistle, “fweeeeeeet”. The game’s done, you’ve won. You run to the sidelines and your mom hands you your favorite drink, a scrumptious blackcurrant Ribena that was in the cooler only seconds ago. You take a comforting sip and look around. You pinpoint exactly why the crowd was quieter than usual. It’s because your dad was dozing off in the middle of the game. Your mom sees where you’re looking at and gets mad. “JORDAN, how many times do I have to tell you, don’t sleep during your son’s game.” You’re not mad, you understand. He had to drive your ass for an hour and a half at 6am to watch a little league football game on a Saturday morning. You take a look at the other teams bleachers, trying to find the goalkeeper you just styled on. Strange, you can’t quite pinpoint him from the coagulate of jerseys until one of them walks up to you with his mom. His mom says: “hey, that was a great goal, my Kev could have never saved that.” You look at the child in tow, weird, you don’t remember a kid with glasses on the pitch. His mom notices and explains how she doesn’t let her son wear glasses on the pitch in case a ball hits his face. So that’s why he couldn’t save it, he couldn’t damn well see the ball could he? This, this pseudo-thrilling shithousery is Blue Lock to me.

The start of Blue Lock was actually bearable, dare I even say interesting. Seriously, it’s a good concept on paper. A bunch of ambitious teenagers vying for a chance to become Japan’s national team striker through a rigorous and ruthless training regime with one person remaining. Or that’s what it seemed at the start, until you realize that no characters introduced get eliminated. Or the absurdity of fielding a striker in goal could ever yield effective practice for anyone involved. But I understand there should be an expected level of plot armoring and suspension of disbelief afforded when it comes to these shows so I will give it some leeway. Instead, this review will focus more so on the myriad of reasons why this show doesn’t even work in an entertaining sense.

First and foremost, it’s the animation. For some surreal reason, some people actually think the animation in this show is good. The characters are drawn decently and the food looks realistic enough. But most importantly, the actual animation of the football? Really? For the people complaining about the work of the CG in another popular series that aired the same season that I just so happen to adore–You should be up in arms here with knives and pitchforks screaming “Sic ‘em!”; it’s hideous. But the biggest and most heinous animation problem are the still frames filled with exposition that completely ruin the flow of each play. Matches are shown in these constant close ups of the characters slowly gliding across your screen as you hear the play happening in their head. But the play itself is never actually explicitly shown. It's reminiscent of those imovie projects you had to do for middle school where you couldn’t quite figure out how to get the images to stop moving with the ken burns effect as you try your best to match your squeaky dialogue with the 4 second image overlay. It’s an embarrassing production. Football is dynamic and exciting at heart, especially in attacking play. But this static imagery completely ruins the momentum of each play and makes it really hard to sit through some of these moments that I would like to imagine were exciting on paper. If you don’t get the animation right for a sports anime, it’s really hard to build from there.

The ranking system is atrocious and representative of everything wrong with shonen anime. Why would the ranked 299 person realistically even have a shot at becoming one of the best players. It’s this unnecessary from the bottom to the top type writing that tries to maintain hype through introducing opponents of increasingly high rank. This might work for some, but to me, it’s tedious to sit through knowing that someone with more power but with even less personality will appear and none of this matters. Take Nagi for example. How on earth does he have the ego to say he’s the best player as he’s introduced when he’s ranked 250 something in this facility alone. It’s just meaningless fluff because it’s obvious they’re trying to drum up some kind of idiotic point where he realizes oh he’s not god’s gift and there are people that challenge him here. Then Rin comes along with a similar ego complex, but is just stronger and replaces what little Nagi’s purpose was. The part that really infuriates me is that after what seems like these development arcs for each of these characters. They’re reduced to these shells of their former selves and are added to Isagi’s collection of assets like they’re all tools in Mickey Mouse’s toolbox. “Oh toodles!!! Who will I pass to today?" As he bring up 4 options to the screen. I can just imagine the kids watching screaming at their screen: “Garou! Kunigami! Bachira! Chigiri!” or whoever else “fortunate” enough to be Isagi’s plaything at this current moment.

Strikers aren't the king of the castle but Blue Lock certainly thinks so. Football is a teamsport; it’s an 11-aside game played on a 105 by 68 meter rectangular field with the objective of putting the ball in your opponents net. The game most importantly is driven by cohesive teamplay. Unlike something like basketball where there is abundant teamplay, but there are also plays that can be started and finished by a single player because the pitch is relatively small. But it’s different in football. There is so much buildup required for each goal. Blue Lock doesn’t have nearly enough of this. I think it’s because of this ignorant “ego” thing they try to drive into each player. The mortifying “chemistry reaction” and “devouring” they keep bringing up as what they believe to be “football”. To anyone who has not seen football, please do not look at this affront and think this is what football’s about. It’s so cringey and it hurts every fiber of my being.

Similarly, players like Bachira and Chigiri are obviously more suited to be wingers. Yet they’re still pushed into this rigid idea that they’re number 9s. It does a huge disservice to your greats like Kagawa and that legendary Japanese midfielder that people get disappointed when they pack in Fifa. These midfield Maestros are some of your greats, why would you think to disrespect them by saying strikers are the most important position. Take some time to look back at the past few world cups, was Giroud the main reason France won the world cup in 2018? How about Spain’s 4-6-0 formation where they fielded 0 strikers and won the world cup in 2010? It’s just this cringey decadent idea that strikers are the most important part that I just know comes from a place to get impressionable children riled up for your show. Frankly, it’s dishonest and insulting.

Another crucial problem with only having strikers is, you only have a limited amount of qualities and unique skills to give around where players can excel at: Pace, finishing, hold-up play, off the ball movement, spatial awareness to name the key ones. And evidently, they’re exhausted pretty quickly. What you’re then left with are pure power upgrades that I really dislike. Where it’s this childish one-upping of “I read his play”, “I read his reading of my play”, “I can jump higher than you”, “I can run faster than you”. It’s just not fun to watch from a tactical and footballing standpoint. And deep down, Blue Lock knows this, so what do they do? They decide to introduce imaginary monsters. Yes you heard me right.

Just like Bachira and the monster inside of him, there are 2 wolves inside of me, one hates this show, the other also hates this show. The individual monsters of this show don’t work and don’t get expanded on. When you lean into that supernatural realm without actually doing anything meaningful with it–Or when they don’t iron out properties of these supernatural concepts like in the case of Blue Lock, it just becomes nonsensical mumbo jumbo. You have no limit defining, everything just ends up feeling so pulled out of the hat for convenience sake. It’s also those flaming eyes when the monsters come out or when they enter “serious mode” that are so badly animated for some of these scenes. They all start to look like Endeavor from MHA to me and it’s admittedly hysterical. But from a non-biased critiquing standpoint, it’s abhorrent.

This menagerie known as the Blue Lock facility also feels so barren and boring. There needs to be an incentive to make this program feel rewarding where players should want to stay here because they’re becoming their best selves. Be it, superior practicing methods, state of the art training equipment, illustrious coaching instructors, you name it. But Blue Lock doesn't have any of this. It just feels like a death trap that unbeknownst to each of the players before they join, if they get knocked out they can never play for the Japanese national team. I feel like these sort of stipulations should have been included in the letter. If not, screw it, just go full squid game and say if you’re knocked out you’re executed. That would have spiced things up a little bit. I also think it’s laughably pathetic how this show is only situated in an air conditioned indoor football pitch as they prepare for a competitive outdoor sport. It’s almost as if these writers couldn’t have borne the thought of not being in an airconditioned room. The world cup and every club football competition is played outdoors. So why are we conditioning these kids to never see the light of day?

I don’t understand why Blue Lock had to introduce made up characters in the series. I understand this point is more a pet-peeve as not everyone that watches Blue Lock is familiar with football and that’s totally fine. But as for me, I’m just wondering why we had to make up characters mixed in with real footballing greats? Noa Noel? Seriously? Noa-ne cares. I had to sit here as they tried to explain white-washed Thierry Henry to me. You should either choose to reference only real life players or make up all the players for your world. Because from where I stand, it just sounds like you’re undermining the two goats of our football generation, Messi and Ronaldo.

The only thing that I can appreciate in this show are the subtle or not so subtle yaoi elements. It’s the only thing that’s keeping me engaged in this show and I’m not even lgbtq. The series really tries to reach a target demographic here and I for one am happy it succeeds on this front. When Bachira calls out to Isagi to free him from his captors. I shudder at the thought of these 2 loverboys not being together. My favorite line is when Nagi or as I know him as “NTR-gi” says: “Sorry Reo, now that I know how good this feels, I can’t go back to how I was before” (20:59, Ep 20). Gosh, That was a fun episode. They should just do this every episode, feign seriousness and drop these banging sus one liners in the middle of the game. Just start testing the homies, see if you can catch one of them lacking. Alas, these characters have to be serious, they’ve got indoor football matches to play!

Look, if you like Blue Lock, that’s your prerogative and I could never take that away from you. Nor would I want to, everyone’s allowed to enjoy what they want. As a football fan myself, I was massively disappointed that a show I was sold to be this “excellent intense battle-royale football show" fell so flat on its face. Why can all the other sports get shows like Kuroku No Basuke or Haikyuu!!, and we get this. I’ve seen clips of these other shows and they look phenomenal. It’s just not fair. If you were starved of football content as an anime fan, I’d recommend watching the 2022 World Cup instead of watching this 24 episode choppy passion-devoid mess. That was a real treasure to behold.

Chainsaw Man is not overhyped, not in the slightest. I’ll repeat it again for the people in the back. Chainsaw Man deserves the hype and is every bit as good as it’s made out to be. Maybe it doesn’t have as many universally appealing ideas as Demon Slayer or Jujutsu Kaisen. And its much more prickly exterior might serve as a barrier to entry for fans that have grown accustomed to the generic shounen-type stories that are regurgitated every season like that once-cute now-tiresome Christmas ornament that your family brings out every year. But I believe that it is exactly that prickly exterior derived from ... its damaged characters that makes this series so endearing and beloved by fans (including myself). It is the struggles, tantalizing aspirations, and challenges that the characters go through that make Chainsaw Man the emotional masterpiece it is.

*Early disclaimer, I will be touching upon a couple of character traits, noteworthy aspirations, and backstory details, but nothing that I would consider spoilers as they are either described really early in the series or are minor details that are negligible to the plot. But if you want to experience Chainsaw Man completely fresh without a preconceived perspective, just know that I am giving this a 10/10 and would recommend this to you over your Epipen if you were suffering from an allergic reaction. Even just catching the OP as you’re fading in and out of consciousness is worth it.

The characters of Chainsaw Man are extremely misunderstood, but this is precisely the reason why I believe Chainsaw Man is worth your time. Behind their infamous personalities lies compelling well-thought-out characters that are driven by personalized goals. While these aren’t always the most virtuous, once you find out why they have these goals to begin with and their pitiful outlook on life; how society has beaten each character to become who they are and what little they want, it’s heartbreaking. And none of this is more prevalent than in the titular character the Chainsaw Man himself, Denji.

Denji is not the one-track mind breast-obsessing pervert you’re told he is. After the untimely passing of his debt-ridden father, he is offloaded with an insurmountable debt that he is forced to pay off. Pushing the juvenile Denji to work odd jobs and even sell his organs to try to cover. After some unforeseen circumstances and an impressive display of his powers, he gets recruited by Makima to join the public safety bureau, specifically, special division 4: an experimental unit that consists of expendable devils-hybrids and fiends. The classic, Suicide Squad fighting-fire-with-fire type of unit. It is here where he meets his coworkers and where we get to see how Denji truly views himself.

Denji has simplistic desires because he’s never had the self-confidence or understanding of what the world can offer. He is enticed into the dangerous profession of being a public safety devil hunter through the promise of basic provisions such as food and shelter. Initially, he accepts this offer because he thinks that that is all there is to life. In that sense, he is no different to a dog. He is complacent with what little he has been given and will fight tooth and nail if anyone or anything threatens to take it away from him. That easily misguided tenacity is ultimately what demonstrates his vulnerability but also his value. We see this when Makima starts teasing him with any sort of affection, he’s infatuated. He’s raring to do whatever she wants because she shows him that there is more to life than he knows. But she also engrains the idea that she’s the only one that can and will provide it to him. With this, you come to realize that the reason why he has this perverted obsession with breasts is because he has never had any truly meaningful relationships with anyone, romantically or platonically. From this, we ultimately realize that what he truly wants is not to cop a feel, but to love and be loved.

Many people in the anime community believe that Denji is dumb or stupid by nature which just isn’t the case. Due to his cruel upbringing and lack of human interaction, once he’s brought into the city, he shows himself to be both naive and gullible which people mistake for pure stupidity. He’s constantly played like a fiddle and led on by things everyone watching can easily recognize to be traps. Worst of all he’s also easily preyed on emotionally and taken advantage of by the sheer mention of an attractive female. But that’s not his fault, it’s his childhood. Shounen anime has conditioned people to have this perfect idolized main character in mind. Where characters with similar backstories as Denji, miraculously become these cunning, all-knowing, and unnaturally righteous protagonists once they switch into another environment or gain powers. It’s so unrealistic it’s obscene. Why would these characters suddenly become society's most upstanding do-gooders after they’ve been oppressed and treated like shit for their whole lives. They’re much more likely to become what Denji is, a guy that puts himself first and only looks for his own happiness. And it is that growth beyond this mindset as he begins to care for others on an emotional level that makes him such a great character. Through Denji, Fujimoto expertly tackles 2 shounen fallacies. The first being that: omnipotence does not equate to virtue or righteousness. The second being: sheer increases in power level does not equate to actual character growth.

Aki Hayakawa is the admirable older brother that makes you feel ok. Aki is the complete opposite of Denji in appearance and the way he conducts himself. His uniform is neat and ironed compared to Denji’s disheveled one, his hair is tied compared to the scruffy one of Denji’s. Even in personality, Aki is relatively calm and collected compared to the easily riled Denji. Aki is realistic, he knows his limits, he knows what it takes and knows what he needs to give up to achieve what he wants. Initially in the series, his aloof and stoic demeanor clashes heavily with Denji’s because of his disdain for Devils and how animalistic Denji is at the start. This is only exacerbated by their subsequent living arrangement that forces them to constantly interact. Once we get more screen time of him through this, we come to find he does feel. In fact, he’s probably the most emotional character of the series. He wallows in his own pain and suffering because he believes that showing it is a sign of weakness, especially in front of Denji. But even worse, deep down he’s afraid if he opened up about his feelings, no one would care. As the series progresses, we see them warm up to each other. They try to fight the bromance at first, but they really can’t. They learn and grow from each other, both of them learn that the other one cares for them and they are not alone in this world. This blossoming relationship is heartwarming to watch and a definitive strong point for anyone who wants to see a well done hybrid of a mentor-mentee/sibling relationship form.

Power is the mentally deranged sister that ticks you off but you also can’t help but want to protect. Power serves as the main comedic relief of the show; she's brash, belligerent, and comes to some hilariously stupid conclusions. She also shows no mental fortitude or backbone and folds whenever something becomes too difficult. She’s introduced in the show much to the displeasure of both Denji and Aki. With her joining the household only adding even more chaos. Indirectly, serving as a catalyst for both Aki and Denji to bond over their mutual disapproval of her actions. Similarly, she also individually benefits from this relationship as in the trio, specifically with Denji. She learns from this trio how to work together and that the summation of efforts can accomplish what she individually can’t. As a side note, one of the scenes I can talk about as the anime didn’t adapt it for some reason is the Operation Super Smart panel. It is a very cute panel that any anime-only watchers should check out.

The trio of Denji, Aki, and Power in this dysfunctional household and their interactions is the driving force that makes Chainsaw Man so emotionally charged. They fight, they bicker, it feels so real and relatable. You recognize the habitual responses each of these characters have towards one another. When Power shows her lack of hygiene or says something so out of pocket that everyone shakes their head in disapproval. Or when Denji gets too revved up over something childish. You're always waiting for Aki to rear them back in line. While I appreciate these moments in and of themselves, their nuances in delivery shape the tone of many of the scenes. Especially important, these little idiosyncrasies each character has serves as horrifying indicators when you realize one of them isn’t ok. When the humor stops or when the characters have a slight shift in expression, you realize the characters are hurt and they are feeling something that they can’t muster up the courage to say. This makes it all the more poignant when something happens to them. In addition, the growth in each character also feels well drawn out and actually stays in effect later on in the show. That’s why I believe this trio of characters alone makes this show worth your time.

*I don’t want to talk about the other characters as I don’t believe I can divulge into any meaningful discussions of them without any spoilers of the anime and manga. Just know I also hold them in really high regard and that some of these other characters have some of the strongest emotional moments in the season.

The devils in the series are another strong point of Chainsaw Man that adds creative freedom. Chainsaw Man is set in a world where any kind of human fears spawn devils, they take forms and have powers resembling those fears. With the more people fearing a fear the stronger its corresponding devil becomes. However the devils aren’t as binary in good or evil as one would imagine. Humans can form contracts with these devils to gain certain powers in exchange for sacrifices that can come in many forms (quite literally the “deal with the devil”). Even further, some devils are willing to lend powers to humans to take down other devils. The devil's act as their own separate entities and function with a level of autonomy that makes each of them feel unique.

Another positive for people that are looking for a narrative-driven anime. Chainsaw Man has a story that also feels extremely logical and flows well. As each episode progresses you genuinely feel the story is progressing. There also isn't that sort of serendipity you’re used to in typical shounen where the power of friendship rules all and somehow no one on either side dies. The outcomes of each battle are unclear and vary in complexity due to the diversity of devils present. Leading to some very suspenseful showdowns. It’s also not only the fights themselves that show serious tact. The human drama and careful writing really shine in these showdowns and you can see how each of these characters unravel as the battles progress. Most of these arcs span multiple episodes and once you start, you can’t really stop thinking about what happened and speculating what could happen next until you finish that arc. This anime pushed me to pick up the manga because I couldn’t wait.

To the manga readers that were wondering whether the anime is worth a watch. I believe it’s worth a try but the anime is very faithful to the manga and you wouldn’t be missing out if you didn’t. There are some merits and faults of the anime regarding the animation and music I would consider before making your decision.

The animation in Chainsaw Man is absolutely stunning, it adds a sense of realism that really excels at showing different facial expressions. In the case of background art, Fujimoto saves himself in the manga and doesn’t go all out with the background art except for certain scenes that add to the shock-value of a panel but loses potential immersion. Conversely, the anime fills in everything, which is expected and it’s done rather well. Both have their own advantages and I could see arguments for both.

The OST is really one of a kind and complements the show extremely well. The visuals in the opening contain many western film references that will be appreciated by some. The actual opening released by Kenshi Yonezu fully embraces the unpredictable and erratic nature of Denji. The soundtracks composed by Kensuke Ushio also play perfectly into the fight scenes. Additionally, the eeriness of some of the other tracks in his soundtrack leaves the audience unsettled and pushes them to think if there is more to the scenes than meets eye. The 12 different ending themes was an original idea that were delightful touches to end an episode off on. The abstract visuals in the endings were also solid inclusion that referenced what happened in the episode nicely.

Overall, Chainsaw Man impresses on so many levels I think it’s safe to say it delivers on the hype it got. From its extraordinary characters to its technical brilliance, Chainsaw Man is really a cut above any recent shounen that's easily become one of my favorites. As someone who has recently read part 1 of the Chainsaw Man manga, I can definitively say this is only the beginning of something exceptional and I’m really excited to see how they animate the upcoming arcs.

To anyone who has lost a loved one, I’m sorry. Not just for the loss of that individual. But also for the ineffable anguish that comes during and immediately after the passing that lasts for what feels like an eternity, which for some, it is. Tatsuki Fujimoto’s sentimental masterpiece explores the woes of that loss and a person’s melancholic outlet to coping with it. All whilst simultaneously tackling the biases of edited film and media.

Before I begin, I implore everyone reading this review to read Sayonara Eri first because this review will discuss major events within the story that aren’t necessarily unexpected. But are more ... powerful when experienced first-hand. All spoilers will be delineated with the *Spoilers ahead* message before the paragraph even if only a portion of the paragraph discusses narrative content for an easier and safer spoiler-free read (however there won’t be much to read without the spoilers). With that out of the way, let’s begin.

*Spoilers ahead*

Sayonara Eri is the story of a seemingly emotionally damaged student, Yuta, and his cathartic journey to move on from the loss of his mother and later Eri. When you begin reading Sayonara Eri, Yuta comes off as an insensitive detestable brat. His addition of a Joker-esque hospital explosion in an otherwise loving video of his mother leads you to only wonder how someone so sociopathic could have edited the sections leading up to it. This sentiment is only repeated through countless students and even his own father. Leading to his first suicide attempt that contributes to the story’s ever-present nihilistic theme. However, he’s stopped by Eri, an unassuming peer who actually enjoyed his unforgiveable tribute piece. Dedicating her remaining time to help him create a moving piece of film that emotionally provokes his classmates and the readers themselves. As this part of the story moves on, we get to see the reasoning behind Yuta’s decision to add the explosions; a futile excuse as to why he didn’t record her mother in her dying moments. Sublimely presenting his ceaseless crave of fantasy as a mechanism to remember things as how he wishes them to be. An excellent turnaround for a dislikeable character that some stories can’t accomplish with 10 times the length.

One of Fujimoto’s most interesting additions, are the black bars recreation of a video recording from a phone. They help detach the footage from reality within the manga as they enforce the notion that the audience is quite literally never getting the full picture (with the exception of a few panels). Evidenced by Yuta’s mom’s shift from her primordial characterization to what his dad reveals her to be; an abusive mother who wanted to film a duplicitous comeback piece for her studio. In its antithesis, the switch from Yuta’s dad being argumentative to supportive of Eri provides perfect juxtaposition for how easily an audience can be manipulated through film. Contributing to the idea that if such bleakness is pervasive in edited footage, Yuta’s life off camera must be even more depressing manyfold. Finally, perhaps the most harrowing of all, you as the audience come to the jarring realization that Eri is only ever shown through this medium as well. The saint who solely talked Yuta off suicide and reinvigorated his interest to film comes off as a sad manipulative attempt to be remembered positively by her peers, in which she succeeds. Exhibiting the prevailing issue that “after passing, you are only remembered by other’s dwindling memories of you”. However the recorded footage not just the explosions, but in its entirety, represent a permanent fantasized testament to you as a person. As evidenced by Eri actually appearing as Yuta’s fantasized vampire decades later in his warped imagination and her thankfulness for the video during the final scene.

*Spoilers end*

The drawings for Sayonara Eri are good, nothing groundbreaking but very solid. However what makes them special are the nuanced approaches to amateur camera work. The slanted shots, the varying distances in shots, and the sudden frame shifts all fit in extremely well with this self-aware gem. In addition, even though I find the typical black and white aesthetic a hindrance to my enjoyment of manga. It works really well with Sayonara Eri and contributes nicely to the somber atmosphere set up. As an extension, for an amateur manga reader such as myself. I found it much easier to read than your typical manga with its formulaic layout. It might serve as a great recommendation to many of your friends looking for a quick read depending on their interests.

In summation, Sayonara Eri is a brilliant depiction of a misunderstood child in the face of tragedy and it beautifully encapsulates the sort of naive idealism you so desperately try to maintain in the face of such a loss. Combined with its great artwork and emotion-heavy story. It’s an easily-accessible short read that I believe is worth the read if you have any interest in human drama or have experienced anything similar. So when someone asks me how great Sayonara Eri is? I say it’s the best thing since sliced bread, but that might only be because dramatic masterpieces are my jam.

“What would you like to be when you grow up?” Most children say “a doctor”, “a pilot”, or other intriguing mainstream professions. These jobs all differ in functionalities and skill set but one thing stays the same, free will. Most children can choose of their own volition. But for Magahara Desumi that choice was never presented to her. At least not until the events of this anime.

*This review contains minor spoilers that are highlighted*

Love After World Domination is a story about 2 star-crossed lovers and their trysts whilst trying to hide their relationship from everyone in their lives. However, contrary to the show’s premise, ... this show doesn’t take itself too seriously. Exemplified by the villain organization Gekko being less harmful than a housefly and everyone’s Hannah Montana’s levels of double identity disguise that makes this moronic if you look at this anime critically.

This show requires 2 things from you to make it an entertaining watch, these being your suspension of disbelief and an open attitude. This is because this show relies heavily on subversions of the norm and comedic reveals for its comedy, where at times, even at the cost of its own practicality from a storytelling standpoint. However, if you can look past this, this show is a blast to watch with its exemplary character chemistry, diverse side characters, and hilarious albeit slightly repetitive comedic sequences.

*Minor spoilers ahead*

Desumi and Fudo have some of the best romantic chemistry in a rom-com. With one specific thing that is really appreciable in their relationship that isn't present in other rom-coms. This being the way that they support each other in achieving what they want. Many rom-coms in this day and age only play to the attraction of each other’s appearances making the romance feel extremely superficial. In a similar vein of thought, some romance MCs do help their significant others improve or achieve but do so in the hopes of them fitting the mold they themselves lay out. Case in point a similar anime called Boarding School Juliet, where the female MC actually says she wants someone “who can change the world”. This isn’t genuine because it shows that the MC only likes a type specifically but not them specifically. Leaving the viewer unsettled as to whether the MC would leave the other one if a better option came along. Desumi and Fudo however, do not defy each other’s choices, but instead support their choice and freewill regardless of the outcome that might consequently affect themselves. Exemplified by Fudo pleading with Desumi’s father to make her own decisions and Desumi supporting Fudo’s writing phase.

*spoilers end*

Love After World Domination utilizes its side characters with a given purpose. The side characters are a bit generic but heavily contribute to the overall development of the story. They use your preconceived notions of them to subvert your expectations for comedic effect. As seen in the frequent reveals of many Gekko members and their many roles in everyday society. Similarly, the show also uses these side characters as an important catalyst for the events happening in each episode. Thanks to its largest cast of side characters, each episode feels relatively unique when they really have the same plot outline; the protection of their secret relationship from everyone else. However, this is also one of its weaknesses as the show sometimes trips over pre-established character traits in previous episodes in order to get an extra laugh or make the episode reach a happy conclusion. Thus requiring the suspension of disbelief and an open attitude to new developments.

The animations of Love After World Domination unfortunately aren’t the greatest with this sentiment only perpetuated by the Gekko costumes looking like a 12 year old’s rendition of a skeleton on halloween. The regurgitated power rangers getups are also a massive throw off that seem overly effortless from an animation and creativity standpoint. Leaving this entertaining and intriguing premise seem somewhat silly when you begin watching the show.

Overall Love After World Domination en masse had some outstanding MC chemistry and effective side characters that makes this a very worthwhile experience. However its animations and plot contrivances are a slight detrimental to the immersion of the show.