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This doesn't deserve such a low score! This is was awesome for what it was. It's an early 90s OVA you get what you see, it's nothing crazy high quality but they're usually fascinating and this one is no exception. The story in this is one of the coolest and most well thought-out depictions of Japanese occultism I've ever seen in anime. The entire thing is steeped in mythology and lore about death and hell and deities like King Enma, stuff like that. If you've heard of an Onmyoji before thats what the main character is based on, amongst other things.
Eventually the story went somewhere ... I wasn't expecting but absolutely loved. Like demonic Law and Order. If you're looking for adult goosebumps style anime, this is it. It almost reminded me of an episode of the Twilight Zone in a way.

This is one of the best "chill" shows I've ever seen. The fact that it's ecchi and even has some hentai scenes in one episode probably drives a lot of viewers away but thats ok because "real" anime fans are the target audience of this show. It's funny, it's cute, it's relaxing, it's got cool supernatural stories.
I see some people hating on it for being episodic which I don't really get. Some shows are episodic, stories have been told episodically for millennia and there's nothing wrong with it. I preferred being able to put this on to wind down when I felt like ... watching something chill and funny. I wonder if some people who hate episodic shows just ruin them for themselves by watching them straight through?

This honestly may be my favorite war movie of all time simply because it manages to be both a highly gripping take on war but also very entertaining. You don't have to endure the extremely harsh and frankly dull monotony of death that actually makes up most of war yet you are still shown realistic fates of those thrust into a conflict in a beautifully realized world. Venus Wars excels in showing the individual in war, not just at their most futile but at their most powerful. The climax of the movie had me almost breathless and the ending made was one of the ... most respectful I've seen of it's characters. I hate a story that destroys it's characters at the end, real life is grim enough to waste your time watching entertainment that aims to depress.
But speaking of the futility of war and this movies rejection of such a principle here is a quote from one of my favorite authors and books

“I quite understand how we are driven to lead statistical lives, but I repeat that it is the duty of art to make us imagine the particular; to make us understand that the rights of one human being are not a fraction of the rights of more than one, and at the same time that in any situation of collective evil, the suffering is felt by no more than one person; only one feels the bitter agony of injustice, only one dies”
― Jacques Barzun, The Use and Abuse of Art

Venus Wars embodies this quote in the best way possible and I can't recommend it enough. And don't even get me started on the top notch world-building, I can't think of a better example of a writer practicing show don't tell. You could learn how to write amazing worlds just from watching this film!

Looks like I am the one of the few people to watch this show and probably the only one to watch it recently if the other review dates are anything to go by but that's a shame because this is one of the best shows I've ever seen. I was hesitant to give it a 10/10 but I realized that despite being somewhat low-key Shingu manages to achieve everything it sets out to do and doesn't fumble once even considering the fact that they had to rush the ending. This show is just chill personified, watching it makes me feel like I'm biking around the ... neighborhood with friends on a late summer night in grade school, wrapped up in a blanket on Christmas eve, and enjoying a glass of wine with a lover on a crisp fall day all in one. It's relaxing to the nth degree and for that I will always be thankful for this show. It's also just incredibly well written. It's been a long time since I've watched an anime that achieves the level of literary merit that's usually reserved for highly regarded works of literature but Shingu knocks it out of the park. There are no bad episodes or plot-lines or characters, nothing is ham-fisted or thrown together haphazardly, the show is just flawless in it's execution.
It's a shame that so many find it boring and dropped it early on. I can see why they would because the show doesn't really have a lot of action going for it but it's still a shame that so many missed out on this because of the unavoidable misrepresentation in it's trailer/promotional material. It looks too Eva like for people looking for a relaxing show and it's too relaxing for people wanting an a show like Eva but I assure you if you feel any connection to the themes and vibes of this show in the first few episodes then stick with, you won't be disappointed.

10/10

I'm mainly reviewing this because none of the reviews are positive on this show yet but I really liked it. This is like Gunsmith Cats but way cooler. If you found your way to this page you're probably already ok with cool unique 90s OVAs and this is one of the best. What a welcome surprise. The girls are super cute and capable, the technology is advanced and the situations try to feel like what'd be used by a super secret spy program.

The main girl Cleo and her secretary have some of my all time favorite character designs. The set designs are beautiful too, ... constantly going to New York and Dubai and France with all the best spots being depicted in the accompanying shots. It's just good solid spy movie fun, like a a more light-hearted James Bond. If any of this sounds good to you then check it out!

I cannot believe this hasn't been used in countless vaporwave works yet. A lot of stuff is called proto-vaporwave or original vaporwave but this is actually unironically vaporwave before vaporwave. The pixel art is beautiful, the characters are perfectly wacky and the weirdness is so wonderful I just can't even with this movie.
The comparisons to old school educational computer games are spot on. It truly feels like you just started up the weirdest Carmen Sandiego game ever made. It also has me thinking about Kenny Lauderdale's video "What is anime?". Because I honestly can't tell if this is anime. It's a Japanese animation yet its ... got numerous live action shots as well. Whatever it is it's wonderful and belongs on this site.

I've never written a review but I wanted to document how I felt about this show. This is gonna sound like an overly wordy recipe off the web but I need to begin with my childhood. Ever since I was little my dad took me into the woods to go hiking. I've been camping since before I was born and less than a year after. The first 25% of my existence was spent in the woods on the trail, so this show got to me, ok? I'm not sure when but sometime shortly after the sleeping bags, fires, small gas stoves and tents in ... winter started popping up I began to get into this show more than normal. There is something about losing the electronics and getting into nature for a night, or better a week that always makes me feel better (for the record I'm only 21 years old). But suffice to say I was heavily invested in this show from the get go. And the payoff is beyond great. Do not binge this show, please. It's not made for that. It's better to watch on occasion when you're feeling down out, tired and/or off, late at night when everyone else is asleep. It's made for those times when you don't just want to relax your body but your mind. When you want that rare piece of media that will quiet your thoughts more than elevate them. Thats enough for an introduction though, hahaha.

The shows characters are stellar, 10/10. It really and truly (hontoni!) develops real and varied people to populate the narrative. With stunning style Nadeshiko the MC befriends a club and a solo camper to such a degree that they all become obsessed with the outdoor camper lifestyle. Never before have I witnessed such dedication to camping.

the food is amazing!!

Watch the show if you want to know more. I didn't think I was gonna rate it this high but at the end I just felt I had to. It's hontoni a show that is greater than the sum of its parts. There is truly something special about the love of the outdoors coupled with CGDCT, check it out please! Every character is perfectly cute.

I was mostly interested in this show for the A E S T H E T I C, but I enjoyed it immensely. It is easily the most I have laughed at any show anime or not in a long time. I loved the satirical nature of the plot, I loved the characterization and how the show took itself exactly as seriously as they should (at one point saying "Damn making sense!" as the statues walk somewhere). I loved how half the jokes were just basic one liners while others were actually historical (like Ares being accused of not paying child support to Athena). And ... Mika is such an awesome MC.

If you like satire watch this show