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You know, up until episode 7 (and included), I was able to go along with Mio's personality (or lack of one) pretty well. With the entire family drama going on, it was easier to look past it and focus on the bigger plot and since the characters looked good, it didn't bother me as much.

But from episode 8 onwards, when the show really started to focus on Mio and the different dynamics with different characters, her lack of personality really makes it hard for me to continue to watch (besides the constant apathy and taking every single wrong choice available, all because she never ... wants anyone to worry about her and she always considers herself a nuisance).

And mind you, some can argue trauma and the way she reacts being justified, which I get, but even so it really comes off as lazy writing more than that. I finally gave up at the end of episode 10 because this was beginning to make my brain rot with how obtuse she was being and Mary Sueing her way through the plot, hoping things will go ok, when it's clearly not what Kudo wants either so it makes no sense for her to think it's what's "best for him" either.

Episode 10 could have been a great chance to show her take some steps towards becoming more independent or at least have a mind and opinion of her own, but instead it just reinforces that she cannot ever make a decision, even when faced with consequences either way and, OF COURSE, this just means the decision has to be made for her instead by 2 guys fighting it out. And no, the time period this is set in doesn't have to influence any of this, because if it did supernatural abilities would also not be in the mix and yet they are.

It's sad because there could have been a chance for the show to depict some semblance of Mio healing from her trauma and growing as a person, but instead we just get more of the same and it's exhaustihng to keep watching, so I decided enough is enough. I wish I could pick this back up 8even with a season 2 coming soon-ish), but I do not have the time or patience anymore to sit around for another season to see her probably not really get better anyways.

While I could go on about BL tropes and how they play out in this anime, I'll put it aside as there's already plenty of reviews out there about this topic.

Instead, I want to focus on the main reason why the score went so low for me, despite looking forward to watching the movie afterwards. The animation was all over the place, sometimes it was beautiful and polished, others it looked even worse than the later seasons of 7 Deadly Sins (especially the weird shadow under their chins and the even weirder proportions in some scenes). I'm not sure if the studio was cutting corners ... or if they didn't have enough time to finish everything with the same polish, but it really pulled you out of whatever was going on since the art itself was that bad.

I really hope the movie will get better treatment and that the animation/art style will be more concise this time around, if it had been more consistent for this anime I would have given it a 7 instead of a 6.

Also a small side note that personally annoyed me but might not annoy all, they always shyed away from the sex scenes which I don't personally mind. However they always started the scenes as if they were going to fully comit to them and cutting off in weird sections leading to pacing issues. I'd rather they either faded to black at the right time or just comited to showing the full scene. Stopping somewhere in the middle didn't really leave anyone satisfied, I don't think.

I think this may have just been the very first AMV.

While I'm now intrigued to take a further look into the manga, I don't recommend spending 40mins of your time watching this, might as well just play an 80s playlist instead.

For those I've seen explaining it would be more enjoyable to watch if I had read the manga, I'm sorry but there's no way this would have made you happy, even if you were a fan of the series. I'd just be upset this was all they put together.

Although I do have to admit, if they hadn't used only English 80s songs and instead ... added Jpop from the 80s, my enjoyment would have gone way furtherup and I'd give this a 3 for allowing me to find new music.

As someone who started this show hoping from some light hearted, cute slice of life rom com, from the snippets I'd seen of the show around the web, I can now say after binge watching this anime that it was a punch in the gut.

Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo starts out just like that, all about romances being hinted and you feel like everything is going well, even if most plot points seem to be resolved by the middle of the show, which should have alerted me that a big twist was coming - and boy did it pack a sucker punch to the feels ... and the angst.

If you're looking for something light and sweet, better end it halfway and not go down the spiraling angst roller coaster that follows. Mind you, I don't believe it's really out of character, nor was it unbelievable, but it just leaves you with a bitter taste, no matter what way the show will end. There were plot points that could have been progressed in such a better way without going to Kuzo no Honkai route. They were all valid developments, but could have overall been treated in a much healthier way, especially since you end the show with some major holes for some of the characters.

While I enjoyed most of the characters and their development throughout the show, if you're someone like me who was expecting something along the lines of Tsurezure Children, will leave this show with a very bitter taste. Nonetheless, if you're in for the ride, strap yourself in and enjoy, since I don't really feel like it ever goes into the melodrama side of things, not as extremely as Kuzo no Honkai did to become basically angst torture porn for your heart.

I'll go slightly into spoilers from here on out, so beware!

If we go deeper into each story line and how they develop, I was left wanting much more from Momoko and Niina's stories. While Rika was keeping my sanity and faith in love intact (and Hitoha was mostly neutral for me, I feel like it was handled well enough given everything that was going on in the show), a great portion of the plot is about Kazusa, which I loved. Most of the deadpan rants I went on were soon followed by her own pointing out how dumb things had gotten, which was refreshing, while she still maintained her innocence and the shyness that is to be expected for her character.

Momoko's storyline was quite interesting, it's not everyday a character I'd point out as clearly canon LGBTQ+ actually develops on that during the show, however we were able to see a small introduction to Momoko's realization of perhaps not being straight, while also being shown how what seems to start as a "normal" romance can turn sour very quickly. Momoko was very refreshing, didn't feel melodramatic or over the top and I wish they had given her more development, but unfortunately it wasn't possible considering Niina (who could have helped immensely developing Momoko's side of the story) was unfortunately wrapped up in Kazusa's plot for what I would consider shock value.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think the way she acted was out of character, not given everything she had been through, however I believe she could have coped better with her trauma with Momoko's help as a friend (even if it never became romantic) instead of having Izumi become a surrogate for the affection she used to get from the guy who basically groomed her. Niina has every right to have a warped sense of self worth and romantic love, but I don't think she benefited anything from her obsession with Izumi and it truly derailed the show for me, since it also caused a lot of unnecessary angst for Kazusa's plot.

In the end, while most plot points are solved, you still end up with Momoko being unsure of everything and Niina not coping in an healthy matter with any of her trauma and I honestly don't think she would in the future, not from the way the show ended.

Will I pick up the manga to try and see if it can change my mind? Probably not, I had enough heartache for this year and 2020 had been a pain enough as it is. Also keep in mind, from what I've seen, the translated manga had yet to catch up to the anime so for all we know the ending for the anime can even not be canon, while the drama most certainly is. I can only hope Momoko can find herself and Niina can learn to grow healthy habits without being through Izumi or even using Momoko to not lose her as a friend. Either way, I don't think I want to find out.

While I don't regret watching this to the end, I don't think I would have picked this show up if I knew where it was going, I feel like it sullied everything without any need and I can only thank Rika and Amagi for being the shining wholesome light in a rather bleak development. I have no complaints for those two, completely wholesome and realistic, giving me the light hearted rom com I came to watch.

I usually wait until the end of the season so I can binge watch sequels, especially since I can usually avoid spoilers well. I'm a massive 7DS fan, the last 2 seasons were a solid 9/10 for me, and I heard the rumors this season's art was.... lacking. I saw some screenshots but assumed people were overreacting, or that they were nitpicking on background shots, etc, and finally sat down to binge watch the third season. I couldn't make it through the whole first episode, it's even worse than people made it out to be.

I've watched a lot of anime, old and recent, and I ... have to say the animation on this is on par with bad anime compilations on Youtube, the ones where there's just 3 frames that they alternate to make it seem like people are walking. I really wish there was a way of saving this season, but if the first episode only has THAT to show, the rest of the season can only go downhill from there. And mind you, I'm not fretting about white blood or whatever. Characters look flatter than stick men, there's barely any movement in any scene and the only time anything looked slightly decent was when it was night time and they were by the fire, so the filter over the designs looked better.

I can't take it seriously and I refuse to sit down and watch 24 episodes of this. Unless A1 Pictures comes back for season 4 (which I highly doubt) or they replace Studio Deen with someone who can actually animate, I'm going to stick to the manga.

Please note I actually do like some of Studio Deen's work, but even for them the standards have dropped. This doesn't look like an anime, it looks like someone dubbed over badly drawn fan art with the actual VA's.

Story: 5/10

It's your average love triangle plot, with some music elements to mix things up. It's nothing new and it doesn't really surprise you at any giving point. The worst part of the whole story was how there is never an actual conclusion to anything. There's no closure to at least give you some sense of fulfillment, which is one of the most frustrating aspects of Fukumenkei Noise. Also, I really don't think it's fair to even call this a love triangle when Yuzu never even had a chance to begin with. Honestly though, the story had potential, but they failed to ... make it shine to its full potential.

Art: 8/10

It's pretty good and consistent overall, except here and there, especially in some of Momo's scenes where things just seemed a bit less worked on. Also, unfortunately, there's some CGI in the music scenes (it's very minor though), which I'm not a fan of at all, so that takes away some of the immersion for me.

Sound: 9/10

This is where Fukumenkei Noise really shined for me, I'd even go as far to say that it was one of the main reasons why I kept watching until the end (besides Yuzu, that is). Personally, I was really captivated by Alice's voice. It's something I haven't come across before in all of the other music animes I've seen. Now, of course, this will be all dependent on personal taste. I know from some reviews I've read that some people really hate Nino's voice. However, if you do enjoy it, it will make you hang on a little bit longer. Personally, I've even downloaded all of in No hurry's songs aftewards, if that goes to show you how much I've liked them.

Character: 6/10

Definitely one of Fukumenkei Noise's biggest flaws, apart from the story, is the main character, Nino/Alice. She isn't relatable, she's incredebly frustrating to watch (especially if you're on team Yuzu) and there's no real character development from her side, besides her voice training. On the other hand, I found both Momo and Yuzu enjoyable characters, they were more complex and thought out and felt way more human than Nino ever did. Despite all of that, every character in this story is still frustrating to watch at the end of it all, because the right choices for them to make are always in their grasp, yet they always go with the most obnoxious and angsty choice possible instead. Everyone's a masochist.

Enjoyment: 6/10

Besides the music bits, there's not much to work with here. I do admit the first few episodes were a lot better than the last few. I felt like I was losing interest more and more with each episode, yet I powered through in the vain hope it would get better, that I would get something out of this whole ordeal. But, as I mentioned before, I didn't. There's no closure, no actual meaning to any of what you just watched. That alone annoys me enough to steer me away from reading the manga, which is still an ongoing project. Despite hearing it's actually better than the anime, I still have a bitter taste left from the anime, so I don't think I can handle diving back into this work just to get my heart broken all over again over nothing.

Overall: 6/10

Are you missing anything if you don't watch Fukumenkei Noise? No, not really. If you're interested in the music aspect, I recommend watching the first episode and go from there. You get a great feel for what's to come musically and if you do end up enjoying it, watch up until you reach "Canary" and then you can skip right to the end where they finally debut a new song "Noise" (which is my least favourite of the three). If the music aspect isn't that appealing to you, I suggest you skip this and give the manga a shot, since it seems to be the better option. Overall, if you're looking for something like this, but with much better execution, character wise, I recommend you watch NANA. It's still frustrating to watch, but at least everything actually makes sense.

Right before I began watching Pupa, my biggest concern was that it wouldn't be very good considering every episode is around 3 minutes worth of content (4 minutes if you include the credits). Strangely enough, it managed to deliver bite sized depictions of the most twisted scenarios you could imagine, strong enough to make me have to drop the show after watching episode 8. It wasn't a scary show per sei, but it was very unsettling, more so than I usually can handle (I'm not exactly a lightweight when it comes to horror, but since the show cuts everything so much to the point, there's ... very little time to mentally prepare yourself if you're bingewatching the show).

Despite all of the negative reviews here on MAL, I don't think Pupa is a bad show. Yes, there's hints of incest, among other seriously messed up topics. Up until episode 8, you never thought things could get any worse and yet they do, not for the story itself but for the actual topics they address. Of course, one of the biggest downsides is the length of the episodes, despite how well they made use of the time. Nothing ever feels like it flows smoothly, instead it feels like you're getting glimpses into this messed up world Pupa revolves around, which isn't bad, but it doesn't make much for an actual story.

Overall, I think if you enjoy gore and horror you'll probably enjoy watching Pupa. The show isn't for the faint of heart, and even some horror lovers like myself will have to tap out early since this show actually managed to make me want to hurl at some of the scenes, but that only goes to show how much of an impression it will leave on you. So, if this sounds like the kind of thing you'd find interesting, don't get discouraged by the negative reviews. Pupa isn't a perfect show, but it's not the worse thing out there either.

After hearing everyone and their pet raving about YOI online, I fell into the shounen ai hype train and finally decided to watch it. If you're doing the same, there's one key thing you need to know before watching: YOI, despite all of the gifs and fanart you may have come across, isn't actually about BL. I wouldn't even say the VERY light BL you do get would be considered that big of a deal for the whole story. Don't get me wrong, it's very cute and enjoyable when it does happen, but YOI is a sports anime more than anything else.

If you're going to ... try giving this show a watch, don't do so thinking it will be a sportsy Junjou Romantica, because you'll end up disappointed. Watch it because the characters are all likeable and interesting and somehow always relatable (except the imouto fanservice, but when don't we get one of those nowadays?). Watch it because the OST is one of the best things I've heard in anime in a long time, to the point where you never skip past the opening theme or the ending because you /have/ to sing and dance along to the tune. Watch it because the show focus on personal growth instead of relationship goals, while also somehow providing us a very accepting athmosphere, where nobody ever trashes the fact Yuri and Victor get together (though, again, it's never as explicitly claimed as in all BL works, but somehow that feels ok? because sometimes everyone keeping things simple and not making such a big deal about it is actually more relatable than what most BL shows give us).

I won't say YOI is perfect, because it isn't. Although it doesn't feel rushed, the story itself could have been further stretched out to include more detail. The animation itself can get a bit janky in some routines, while looking flawless in others. And if you're a fan of BL, you're never going to get a massive confession scene or anything that ever leaves you truly satisfied, but that's ok. Because YOI isn't about romance, it's about personal growth of all the characters, not just Yuri, and it's about figure skating. And even if you don't think you're going to like it, you probably will, so give it at least 3 episodes before you trash it!

Watching Kuragehime felt like a throwback to when I was a little girl and I started watching anime and falling in love with this whole new world. I'd even go as far as to say I regained some of that wide eyed innocence in me while watching it.

I can't explain what is it about this anime that made me feel so warm and happy on the inside, but there's a lot to love. Tsukimi is an amazing lead, both funny and also relatable, without ever feeling cliché (which happens /a lot/ in these sort of plots). Kuranosuke is everything I needed in my life in ... a character, so unique (although I'm well aware cross-dressing males aren't exactly news in anime) and refreshing. The chemistry between these two is what keeps most of us hooked, because you actually get to see both sides perspectives throughout the story instead of a one sided glance at things from the leads perspective.

Overall, you fall in love with Kuragehime and you get royally annoyed that it only got 11 episodes when it should have, at the very least, been granted 25. Even with the short amount of air time, the anime doesn't feel unfinished though (for the most part, that is) so you don't have to worry about that. You will want more and you'll probably end up reading the manga to know more (like I will), but I don't think that's a bad thing at all.

PS: on a very, very small note, the one thing I wasn't super into was some of the supporting characters, especially Mayaya. It's just a personal thing, really, but I found her very annoying for some reason. So if there was any cons I had to point out to this anime, she'd be it.

I feel like Heart no Kuni no Alice is the epitome of what being on drugs feels like. I've never read the manga (though I am curious to check it out), so I can only speak for this movie, but good god, what a mess.

Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed a lot of different parts of this, but the general feeling you get is that you find yourself constantly murmuring "what the fuck" under your breath as time passes and you feel like you've made no progress, nor have you learned anything. The beginning itself messes up your concept of time altogether, because it ... feels like nothing ever really connects.

I do have to give credit where it's due. The characters themselves aren't bad, I actually enjoyed how they were all quite darker than I initially expected. I can even say I enjoy the world that was created. I just feel like this should have been a series, not a movie, maybe then they would have had more time to explain things. But then again, if the goal was to make you feel as lost as Alice in Wonderland must have felt (not this Alice though), then they did an amazing job.

At the end, I couldn't help but laugh at the whole experience. And I mean really giggle my heart out. I think this is the type of thing you need to watch with friends so you can poke fun at the whole experience (and some alcohol to make things even funnier will also do the trick). It's not bad, but it's not good either. I guess you could call it just another weird dream you had that you laugh about when you wake up.