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If I were to describe this show, I’d only use one word: ridiculous.
And it’s not “ridiculous” in a bad way. Sometimes it may sound pointless, some of you may feel put down by the opening song but, trust me, you have to give a chance to this.

The story (8) is really nothing exceptional, it all revolves around a theme that is packed into a six minutes show. There is never any continuity between the episodes but that doesn’t really matter ‘cause the main goal here it to make you laugh, or at least, if you’re not really into the genre, smile.
There’s a short recap at ... the beginning of each episode so even if you happen to miss the first episodes, you’ll surely know what’s going on and decide for yourself if it’s worth giving a shot to the other episodes too.
Sound (9) is really enjoyable. The opening is weird, you’ll get some piano music with Namikawa-san awkwardly singing for a whole minute.
Ridiculous but still amusing. The ending song is rather quite, it’s the off-vocal version of the opening but what makes it amusing is the fact that do appear the humming as lyrics subs (well, the opening itself consists in Namikawa humming).
The casting is okay, there are some new voices such as Juri Kimura, not probably as popular or well-known as our Namikawa-san, starring as Ponta (the main character, he voiced Isana Yashiro from K-Project and Italy in Hetalia).
Then, again, the characters (9) shown are really few, but they manage to entertain the audience. We have the smart girlfriend, Akomi-san, that plays the role of the ‘straight man’, although she’s a girl, pointing out her boyfriend’s idiocy. And, there again, we get to know Ponta’s friends, all as idiot as him.
They're usually shown as busy in some gathering they do, meetings where they try to discuss smart and pressuring issues such as the global warming without reaching any plausible conclusion and mostly with poor results.
And hell if they are great.
In an anime industry full of clichés, I think that even this level of idiocy is a new way in bringing a humor that doesn’t need panties or ecchi jokes to amuse.
About the art (7) I’d say it’s rather fine. The animation, the colors and everything else are okay. It’s a six-minute show, don’t expect sparkling colors or something worth of Free or Utapri, but the animation and the backgrounds make everything enjoyable.
They made a good use of their budget.

Enjoyment (10) is surely ten! It’s a light comedy, it doesn’t take too much of your time. If you’re searching for a new anime but don’t have too much time to spend on it, watch Kare Baka. It’ll make you laugh a little and realize that, every time you’ve told yourself that you’re an idiot, you still didn’t know what idiocy was about.

So, overall, it’s short and light. If you’re into the comedy genre, even if paradoxical at times and non-sense, you should give this a shot!

The awesomeness. Oh man, if there ever was a word to sum this anime up, it would be PURE, EXQUISITE awesomeness. I've never read the manga, I've discovered this anime for pure case, in the recommendation of Gugure! Kokkuri-san, but it was probably one of the best choices in my life.


Story: 8

Story? What story? Gekkan Shoujo is a slice of life, it's plot–less. Well, you may think it's supposed talk about Chiyo and Nozaki-kun's love. Yes, you may think that.
But forget about it.
That's as important as panties in hentai.
There's no plot. Despite this you won't find hard to catch up with the anime's pace. It ... takes you wherever it wants to, and you're there, following all it happens and cheering for poor eternally mangazoned Chiyo.

Art: 7

Surely it's not something to be amazed by, but it's pretty good. The opening is manga-styled in some parts, with screen-tones, colors and action. Some scenes are ridiculous but what are you expecting? It's Gekkan Shoujo.
The character design too isn't particularly appealing.
Well, I guess tanukis win over everything. Tanukis and boxes.
Oh, and Suzuki. Yes. I think he has the most original character design (no, wait, just kidding here).

Sound: 8

While the ost is not outstanding but neither particularly bad (I can dare to say that it's pretty nice sometimes), the opening and the ending are something that I've instantly fell in love with. Particularly the opening song. Its theme is really catchy, so you won't help but love it.

Characters: 10

I'm not exaggerating.
Those character are probably the best ones I've ever seen on an anime TV. They're not stereotypical, they're meant to mock everything that is common in anime/manga.
Nozaki is dense, he's honest and in some ways he resembles (of course, in my opinion) Saitama, from One Punch Man. He loves his work and the way he acts towards his editor is of pure devotion.
Chiyo is the forever and ever friendzoned protagonist. She's cute in the way she fails at catching Nozaki's attention. She may seem annoying, with all her Nozaki-kun", screaming all the way long, but there's worse out there. She may look like that boring heroine from your usual otome game but deep inside, what makes the difference is that she's always failing at her attempts at being noticed, so you can even feel some pity for her.
Then, we get to Mikorin, a totally unusual tsundere, that says hot lines and gets embarrassed by the things he says. I'd really love to add more about Kashima-kun and the theater club's president (forgot his name), but really, they're cool.
Really cool.
The point is that every character is unique in his own way and that's what makes the difference, what makes me give a full 10 to this.
I've forgot to tell you about Maeno-san. He and his tanuki are the real deal of the anime. And he's voiced by Daisuke Ono. Enough to make him epic.

Enjoyment: 10

I was crying. I've never laughed so much and I've never re-watched an anime as much as I did with Gekkan Shoujo.

Overall: 10

Watch it. You'll tell me if you liked it.

If you've never heard about Koisuru Boukun, I'm highly suggesting you take a peek at the original yaoi, after watching this. Why? Because it's a work that deserves to be appreciated and that I'm highly suggesting you read.
Of course there are many yaoi out there and the major part of them do have the same plot pattern –this anime, unfortunately is one of those. But despite that, it's really worth a try.
Maybe it's too focused on the main characters, forgetting to give space to others side characters as well, but I like the way it is, though the manga's pace is really slow if compared ... to the anime.


Story: 6

Why the long praise if the story is only rated 6? Well, that's obvious. 'Cause this yaoi has nothing new or innovative if compared to the others. The pattern is the same, always the same, and won't change too much if you have a tsundere joining the party. Morinaga is in love with his senpai, ut it's a one-sided love. YAAAY.
So, the deal is making senpai fall in love by trying to rape– I meant, to end up with him at bed with the sole purpose of being treated (at good reason sometimes) as the worst human being that ever walked on Earth.
Of course, nothing to complain since that's an attitude more than expected from tsuntsun characters. I've read many yaoi to the point that I can tell the plot of most of them and how the story will turn out even after an episode or a chapter.
The way things work/turn out is always the same though Koisuru makes everything more complicated by never bringing Souichi to admit his love for Morinaga.
Enjoy, girls. You'll turn 90 and yet you'll have to find out if Souichi will ever be honest about himself.
Nothing new for the plot.

Art: 8

Pretty good. It's smooth and sometimes also fluid. The backgrounds are nothing particularly special, there are no outstanding features but I bet the anime budget wasn't even in the beginning so high as someone would expect.
Instead on investing money on yaoi, apparently the Japanese anime societies prefer to waste– I meant, spend lots of yen bucks for dancing idols/homos, touching each other in the butt but obviously NOT pretending being heterosexual for the only heroine in the entire story, that is punctually a boring, normal and annoying girl with no qualities (every reference to existing rev-harem anime is purely casual).

Sound: 3

I got sick of that damn music they're playing in the sex scenes. Really, I'm not asking for a miracle, but at least a decent ost? Something that wouldn't give you chills when you're watching certain parts?

Character: 4

I like Souichi. His character design is what I appreciate the most about him. The seyuu too, it's a great choice made by the authors. Hikaru Midorikawa is sure a voice that rings some bells.
To huge fans of BL stuff, surely won't sound unfamiliar a name like Shiki, from Togainu no Chi (TNC) but even on Kirepapa as Chisato (laxative for his son's friends, yaaay!).
His voice has something really cute that can adapt to every situation, both uke and seme. The only problem with Souichi, well, he's that he's a stereotypical character, and as a tsundere he has lots of flaws.
A character that reflects a model is never 100% original, it has to fit a scheme and so... how can I say it? It loses its potential. Well, then again there's the motto: "De gustibus non disputandi". So, you may like it or hate it, I'ts up to you. Probably out there there are also fangirls squeezing at tsuntsun characters.
Much more dislike for Morinaga-kun. He's a good guy/gay (I think) but, in some ways, he's also childish, sneaky and possessive (I know that to those who just saw the anime it may sound a contradiction, but if you ever happen to read the manga you'll understand how annoying he is, though he really loves his senpai).

Enjoyment: 7

Hail yaoi. I enjoyed it since there were some funny parts.

Overall: 9

Overall, despite my strong dislike for Morinaga-kun, despite the crappy sound, the stereotypical characters and the obviously and totally predictable plot, I like this yaoi. It's one of my favorites ones because, differently from the others, are tentacles-free, there's no bondage, no raping (well, just slightly, but in the end Souichi lets Morinaga have his way through, so...), and don't need s**t like chains or other perverted and f*cked up and sick stuff to gain popularity. For once, we have a powerful uke, who doesn't look like he'd die if separed by his seme. Souichi could live even without the brat– his kouhai, though he'd still suffer at the beginning. At least in this case, there's not a real dependence between the two characters, thing that you'd usually find in many other works such as Junjou Rapentica. So, in overall, the show is quite enjoyable. If you're fond of yaoi, obviously.

Aldnoah.Zero, also known as A/Z or whatever it is, wants to be a great anime. And it really does try to. You have everything you'd want to see in a mecha anime: action, cool effects, and maybe, and just maybe, even nice characters.
So, you may say, if Aldnoah.Zero has all of those things, why does it fails bad, so bad (in the second season even more) at shining like the jewel it wanted to be?
There's a lot to say about this anime, and I perfectly know that if they just tried, Aldnoah could have turned out even better than the train-wreck that actually is.
When you ... watch an anime, and of that anime, even after one year, you can't even remember the plot or the most important scenes, man, that's not a good sign.
You didn't succeed in making something that people would remember. I clearly remember plots, stories and wonderful moments of anime that I've seen before Aldnoah, and I feel something when I remember them.
But with this anime is impossible. And it pains me, 'cause the first season got my hopes up and gave me lots of feels.
Enough with this, let's get to the core of the review.


Story: 5

Okay, I'm not making a summary because it's boring for you who read it, and me to write it, and it's unneeded.
To put it frankly... You never know how sequels will turn out.
They can ruin the entire anime to the point you hope they never existed (Kuroshitsuji II), they can be freakin' awesome (...still have to find an example) or they can be horribly plain.
That's the plain case.
If the story ended with the last episode of the first series, it would have been better. The plot is static, they want you to believe it's dynamic, they want to give you action and character development but you never see any of them.
The pattern is always the same: mighty enemy (that is always the same enemy), Mars people fighting Inaho's squad and the always and casually useless people of Earth that need Inaho's intellect to save the day.
Whoa. How convenient.
No, seriously, you arrive at the end of the story and you already know that every fight will end the same, that at some point Inaho will do something that will turn the tables and the enemy will be defeated. Or even if he doesn't do that, he still goes on on living, he never really puts his life at stake, though they want you to believe so.
And again, it's useless to talk about the flaws of the plot, that are the same of the first season; the Martians, that in less than 70 years develop an unnatural hate towards people of Earth, and about all the moments the plot goes nowhere.
Want me to sum it up? Two twinks fighting over one woman.
And how does it end? It's a shitty ending, I guarantee you that much.


Art: 8

While the plot (and the characters as well) are really deplorable, the art is pretty good. Actually, what I really loved were the mecha fighting scenes and all the effects that were added. More plain and flat is instead the character design. Nobody is particularly outstanding. Though the animation is fluid and dynamic.
Hm. Yeah, that's all.


Sound: 10

If hearing Hiroyuki Sawano's name doesn't ring a bell, let me make your sense tingling. Hiroyuki Sawano is the composer of lots of anime OST. Guilty Crown, Ao no Exorcist, Shingeki no Kyojin, Owari no Seraph and many others. I don't know many names of composers but I can tell that his music is something else.
His soundtrack is what made me give to this anime a full 6. Sawano's music is what it takes to an anime to take a step and get in another rating –in my opinion, of course.
There's something really awesome and stunning in the ost he makes. If you're thinking the anime is a shipwreck (well, I think it's a train-wreck, but please, ignore me in this point), please, take at least an hour, or even half an hour of your time, to listen on Youtube to the songs of the ost. "Harmonious", but even the other titles.
Then, if you still feel the hatred for Aldnoah, I won't blame you.
But if you feel the feels, you're on the right track, pal.


Character: 3

No. Just no. Don't give me this s**t that characters are original, that there's development and all, 'cause there's nothing.
The side characters are there just to be some filler, and most of them are useless to the plot/nuisances to the core. You see some Inaho's friends, and yet you have to understand what's the meaning of them being there. They're pretty good, okay, but they're nothing compared to the almighty Inaho.
And maybe it's normal in some anime, that a bunch of friends gather around an overly strong MC, but this is not the case.
In this case every side character is useless, their being on board doesn't really make a difference. And what about Inaho's sister? Yes, quite forgettable.
She doesn't really shine.
Where's the character development? In the martian girl?, that starts caring for terrestrials? But please.
The ending is the stunning evidence that all they went through was useless to the means of their internal growth. The princess in particular, was the biggest delusion ever.
Obviously is no needed me to tell you that this anime tries to be so original by recurring to absolutely-not plain personality models like the tsundere one.
Hail for originality.


Enjoyment: 4

And then we get to the enjoyment part. Watching Aldnnoah.Zero was a pain. But not watching the first season, that was rather enjoyable. No. It was watching THIS season. My excitement for the new episodes decreased and decreased even more and for the end of the anime, it all went downhill.


Overall: 6

Watch it when you have time to kill. When you want to watch a mecha anime but you don't want to weight yourself with a deep plot or with questions about the meaning of life. When you want to see a totally predictable fight. Or if you watched the first season and you thought you'd give it a try despite all of this.
Do it. You may even like it.

I've never ever written a review before, so this will be my first.
There are many things that I want to say about this wonderful manga and the reasons for the which you SHOULD really give it a try if you're still hesitant about reading it or not, but I'll move step by step, just to be clear.


~ STORY: 9

The plot is wonderful and pretty original. I won't go through everything that happens since it's all written in the synopsis but I'm a person who prefers watching anime instead of reading manga. I don't have much time to spend on them and I pretty dislike reading ... things myself or waiting for chapters to come out monthly, but as soon as I started 'KARNEVAL', I never once complained about this issue.
So, if you're new to manga, or you're a PRO that eats at breakfast 600 chaps of Naruto, either give it a try.

~ ART: 9

Still better than Shingeki no Kyojin (don't hate me for saying this). I like Mikanagi's drawing style as well as her colouring. I find it pretty original it-self and there's always so much detail in everything she draws. What really gets me are the outfits, the richness in the clothes, always inventing something new to make Tsukumo look more cute and Nai look ... more gay than he actually looks. The action and fighting scenes are absolutely perfect despite I think there's never enough of them (and I loved the fact that the same efficiency was kept in the animation, in the anime's episodes). Character's design is original, and despite in the first volumes the art was pretty 'rough' (pardon me for the term, even if quite inappropriate itself) I still find wonderful, sometimes, comparing the last chapters and the smooth and linear style of them to the 'rough' ones of the beginning. Her progress is amazing, and that's exactly what makes me give a full 9 to the ART.

~ CHARACTERS: 5

By the way, less praise for the characters. Now, I'll make a premise, just to be.. frank. I know that out there there are many people saying that Gareki and Yogi are fabulous together and the most original characters that the world and the entire universe have never seen but, unfortunately (or fortunately), we're humans and we have different opinions.

Actually, I must say that what's mostly delusional about all the potential of this manga, is the fact that we have MCs that have a lot potential, and that in the 70% of the cases, goes to waste. To top it all, all we barely know about the side characters is their favourite dish and their fetishes. I'm not saying that we should know life, death and even miracles of Jiki or Kiichi (because describing it as a sadomasochistic relationship I suppose is enough for all the fans) but it wouldn't be too wrong to know more about Hirato, Akari or Tsukitachi.
The 'Adult line' is never getting enough attention, which is always drawn by the MCs: Gareki, trying to be useful but always ending up useless, good only at being a cool and absolutely not a stereotypical tsundere at Yogi, our yellow/silver prince that sometimes goes yandere because he loses the patch that prevents him to transform into a post-human. And, talking about Yogi, he has wonderful powers, is a far more powerful fighter than his happy tree friends but still NEVER uses them; and so, we get to the wonderful Nai, as useful as a tossed tissue.
Yeah, there's also Karoku-sama, but, hey, he's just Nai's mama and being the son of two important physicians or whatever at the Research Tower is no more important, since it's passed 45 chapters. And here we go with Tsukumo. In the last chapters we got to know her past, her dramatic story, and- yeah, I feel sorry for her but I must admit that after all this time, I can't bring myself to like her.
Apathetic. Too much apathetic. I won't say she's worse than Nagato Yuki. But sometimes, she's worse of Nagato Yuki. I won't dare to compare her to Mikasa from Shingeki no Kyojin.
Of course I still like the main characters, because all in all, they look wonderful together, colourful, they have great interactions and they all look like an happy family despite their dark pasts (even Gareki's).
[Have I already said that they're colourful?]
But I still find many flaws, in this aspect, as I said before.
Karneval is not about the MC. I still believe that no manga nor anime is all about the MC, and I'm saying it because, after 5 years of watching anime and reading manga, I believe I have 'built' a sort of experience.
I really do like the side characters, but I'm always getting this impression, that they never get enough care from the mangaka. There's so much to say about Hirato's and his half-brother's relationship, and all we still know about the two of them is NOTHING. If I wanted a sadistic bastard with no past and a smiling grin all over his face for the whole series, thanks- there's Kuroshitsuji. And I won't talk about the fact that the reasons why Tsukitachi joined CIRCUS and other things about Akari, thing that would give him a damn background, are never told. And, hey, wait.

WHAT THE HECK IS CIRCUS, AGAIN?

~ ENJOYMENT: 8

So, yeah, despite all I've said, I'm FULLY enjoying it and I guess you should at least give it a try because the story goes smooth, there are a few twists and sometimes you may even think: "HEY! WHO'S THIS WEIRDO AND WHY DOES HE KNOW X?". Of course you'll get the answer 30 chaps later or you won't even get an answer, but I still think is part of life even asking questions that would forever being unsolved (like why the Universe is expanding if it's infinite, so it shouldn't be expanding nor restricting but who gives a sheet of paper, that's Karneval we're talking about).

~ OVERALL: 7

What I'm always seeing, chapter by chapter, is a lot of material and potential that is always being wasted. Precious space in panels given to unnecessary information, things said about Varugas and Kafka and other organizations when we barely manage to get a grasp of what the heck is everything about, because maybe it was never told, or maybe we just lost track of it and if we did, it was only because the mangaka thought IT WASN'T so important. So we see random characters appear, holding some grudge against some others or suddenly forgetting about their friends, and after 20 chapters or less we still don't know why (not even a hint on the reason) or we see fillers on fillers in every damn chapter of the MCs doing something like sewing, attending parties, going to the sea and attempting to take back someone’s boxers lost in a hot spring, or complaining about how they miss Gareki, instead of giving space to some explanation of what's happening or, for instance, why some dead people are alive.
And I know that this manga is a shoujo, but what really makes me sick is the fact that I'm always getting this never-ending Yoreki scenes, where the fanservice floods all the way and nothing changes: Yogi jumping Gareki and Gareki always punching him back. So, my problem is not with the gay thing or the slight shounen-ai, because I guess lots of mangaka do that, but if the turn of this manga is to bet everything on fanservice, to sell it more, to the point that sometimes it overcomes the plot, well, let me tell you all right now that it's not working.
Or at least give more attention to other pairings as well.