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I write this review with a sad heart after a disappointing viewing of Vinland Saga. I'll be as brief as I can.

GOOD START GOES STALE WITH AGE.

Vinland Saga certainly captures you with a promising start. It sets up interesting characters and subplots, rooted in a strong setting and premise. However, it does little to develop these things. After the time skips, all becomes stagnant. A huge arc is spent walking around in retreat with dick-measuring contests between foes masked as "action scenes" interspersed. We haven't seen any of the characters develop to the point where we should care what happens to them, especially the supposed ... "main character," who hardly gets any screen time in his own show.

AM I SUPPOSED TO TAKE THIS SHOW SERIOUSLY?

The show is supposed to be historical fiction, so some realism is warranted. But then why are some of the characters so strong that they can throw trees and take a dozen arrows without feeling pain? Why is Canute, who in the real world grew pious with age, start out pious and then adopt the cynical attitude toward religion of "God's an asshole and we don't need him" that is for some reason so present as a cliche in anime with religious themes? I may be biased as a Christian with a fascination for history, but Canute's sudden shift in attitude makes absolutely zero sense in a Medieval context. Strife was normal for them. This did not shake their faith. Cynicism in the face of suffering is a very "modern" thing. Also, who trained Thorfinn? How did he learn all these moves? Does he really have no character or personality beyond wanting revenge?

IT GETS KIND OF BORING.
Even with developments like Canute's change of heart, the characters are not interesting enough and do not develop enough in a believable way to make me care. Consequently, the show becomes a bit of a slog after the twentieth raid, the five hundredth skirmish, the six thousandth monologue, and the one millionth "Keep moving, men." We're told the Norse are winning their war against the English (which, according to history, they will), but the only progress we see are a handful of Vikings in constant retreat. Like the Vikings, I, too, felt like staging a mutiny against this show. And so I did after Episode 20, in the midst of Canute's "transformation." It was so ludicrous I had to drop it. Still, there's enough to like about Vinland Saga that I get it's widespread appeal, but I don't get how one can call it a masterpiece. It's far from that.

I'll try to be helpful with this one.

This is a harem comedy with some Haganai vibes. I recommend the dubbed version because it's hilarious (in a good way). I'd put it on par with the dub of D-Frag! as far as harem comedies go.


Story:
A boy is enrolled at an all-girls academy for extremely rich and refined high school students. It's out in the boonies and is kept secret from the public, so you know these chicks are as isolated and sheltered as Tarzan--except instead of being unfamiliar with the civilized world, they're strangers to the life of the "commoner." The MC is one such commoner. ... He's introduced to the academy as an experiment and is allowed to stay, provided that he pretends he's into dudes (which is more of a running joke than a plot point) and manly muscles (even though he's a thigh-man). He makes a club that does random stuff. You know, your typical harem affair.

I'll be up-front with this, since I believe it's not a spoiler: this show ends without a winner, meaning no one girl definitively ends up with the protagonist. In other words, it has a "go-read-the-LN" sort of open ending. If that's not an immediate turnoff, I'm sure you'll enjoy the comedic banter the show has to offer.

Art:
The art is passable. There's some ecchi with an ass-man bias, but I managed to ignore that aspect for the most part. But hey, if you're into impossible wedgie outlines in every uniform, more power to 'ya.

Sound:
This animu has music. The track wasn't uniquely stylistic like Kill la Kill or No Game No Life, and no songs particularly stuck out like "Lost My Pieces" from Toradora! or "You Say Run" from MHA.

Characters:
For a harem protagonist, the MC is a pretty cool dude, but not in a badass sort of way. He's just a funny guy who acts like a normal person would if thrust into a 2D world. You've also got your four heroines: a spunky/socially-awkward best friend type (AKA, "best girl"), the perfect popular one, the loli kuudere genius, and the katana-wielding samurai who tries to be badass but is easily flustered and loves cute things. There is also a sadistic maid.


If you've already watched all the good stuff and you're looking for more, I say give this show a shot. It's a nice way to pass the time.

In order for a harem rom-com to work, you have to have good characters. In the first season of this show, there wasn't much to like aside from Sena (in my humble opinion). Not only the male lead, but the girls were pretty generic and stereotypical, and the show relied a lot on fanservice. For some reason, I chose to watch this season. I was surprised to see some heavy moments and actual character development, with funny self-aware jokes and wonderful voice acting (kudos to the English dub cast). The story, sound track, and art were pretty weak, but it was an okay show. Even ... though I only give it an overall score of 7, I figured it deserved a review for keeping me watching to the very end when I thought it would let me down.

The visual and auditory subtleties sprinkled throughout Your Lie in April's narrative and dialogue are what drive the show. The detailed facial expressions, beautiful artistic moments, and colorful imagery are truly amazing. My only two complaints about the series are that (1) whenever things got heavy, sometimes the writers would bail out of the situation with a joke, and (2) the details of Kaori's reveal at the end seemed totally irrational. Despite this, it had an excellent variance of tone (as I happen to prefer the pairing of drama and comedy) and a fairly solid resolution (which is hard to say for most anime). Is ... Your Lie in April for everyone? No. If you're just looking for smiles, watch Konosuba or whatever. If you're looking for something bittersweet like Sakurasou, Your Lie in April might be up your alley. All in all, it's a great show.

Clannad isn’t the first show to ever cause me to tear up. but I must say, I’m very impressed. I’m glad I picked Clannad back up again after putting it on hold three episodes in. The main character and protagonist is a riot with his sarcastic humor yet charming inner-personality (in a way that kind of reminds me of Kyon from Haruhi).

Still, though, Clannad didn’t exactly leave me feeling “fulfilled” enough to
call it “amazing,” let alone “perfect.” Nagisa is a fine character and female lead, but her conflict in the final arc had me rolling my eyes. The writing in this show can ... get a little cheesy at times. Moreover, I feel like Clannad tries way too hard to make its audience cry. For every backstory, there is an "accident" that is the source of all woes through which the given character suffers. It quickly becomes a tired gimmick rather than an interesting plot point with actual shock potential.

Also, the relationship between the two main leads seems to fade in and out, and the male-to-female character ratio was severely lopsided. Granted, these things are common among anime of the harem genre (to which Clannad certainly belongs), but they still bothered me.

All that said, I do recommend this show. It may not be a masterpiece, but it is definitely worth your time.

How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend II is a series that had a lot of potential, but ultimately left me with an empty feeling in my heart. On one hand, it had one of the most original and dynamic anime heroines. The show handled the heavy parts well and provided balance with comedy. On the other hand, I feel like the creators could’ve explored certain plot points more. I'm aware that the trope-ish characters were meant to be two-dimensional, but I also feel that they deserved more development. Plus, I found the fanservice more bothersome than other ecchi shows with parody elements in them. It’s ... as if most the visuals budget went toward those scenes. Moreover, no satisfying conclusion was met with the story. I understand that this is common for anime (often for good reason), but I still consider open endings the cancer of this green earth.

All in all, though, Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata is pretty enjoyable.

I hate slice-of-life. The lack of plot associated with the genre is hard for me to get over. That said, I'm willing to watch if a slice-of-life show comes with a certain *flavor* that I find appealing. Sweetness and Lightning is adorable and surprisingly touching. It's the quintessential feel-good show, especially for folks who sometimes feel overwhelmed by all the bad things in the real world. Sometimes, it's necessary to just sit back and take in the beautiful things, which Sweetness and Lightning offers. The visuals are astounding, the characters are pleasant to follow, and Tsumugi is JUST TOO CUTE.

Give the show at least ... a couple of episodes. The plot is stale, but everything else is worth your time.

March Comes in Like a Lion is a masterfully artistic show that features plenty of Akiyuki Shinbo’s signature head-turns and the best of “Shaft quality.” It is the only slice-of-life series to keep my interest for so long. Even during the arcs about shogi, a sport which I know nothing about, I was very engaged in the story. The characters are a treat, as are the beautiful Shaft visuals. It's a great show for those who are depressed and want a heartwarming slice-of-life show that doesn't just pander with aesthetics, but intelligent writing and relatively complex subject matter. I highly recommend this series, as I ... will certainly be watching its sequel.

Also, Momo is the cutest thing since Tsumugi from Sweetness and Lightning.

This was my very first anime film outside Studio Ghibli. As usual, Kyoto Animation nails the art style and emotional scenes. The premise and main subject matter surrounding the story are refreshing (at least for me) and, for the most part, well capitalized upon. That said, it seems as if the writers didn't really know what to focus on. Is this a movie about romance? Is it about bullying? Is it about self-worth and suicide? Is it about living with hearing disabilities? Yes, I am aware that it is about ALL of those things, but I think the plot would've done better to emphasize one ... of those and made it the main focus of the entire plot. Moreover, many (if not all) of the characters lacked the screen time to make their development optimally believable or impacting. Also, the sound track fell a little flat in highlighting the tone at times. All in all, though, this was a very good film.