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This was a very fun and light take on the magical girl genre. It's set in a hypercapitalistic society wherein Magical Girls are kind of like private firefighters used to be, or like private exterminators are now. So while you do get awesome magical girl action and adorable transformation scenes, it's given a backdrop of this small startup business in a difficult market. But the characters really sell the story, and this is one of the few anime where I can genuinely say I liked all the characters and was excited to see them every time. I'll lay out the show's ... pros and cons as I see them:

Pros: Great dialogue writing and character designs. The personalities of each character are very developed and they're pleasant to watch. You get a real sense for the underdog feel of the characters. The action scenes are awesome in my opinion. I really like the "magical technology" angle played into for the fight scenes, and how not everything was just a matter of awesome moves, but also awesome thoughts. The Main Character is Best Girl and I really like seeing her flourish in the environment she's in. The supporting characters, especially the president, are awesome. Everything is tasteful with little ero-fanservice of any kind beyond what one could expect from any magical girl transformation scene. I was really worried they'd ruin it by going in that direction and it was refreshing to see a magical girl anime which didn't feel the need to resort to low tactics to retain attention. Finally the show kept everything light-hearted, which gave it a very good atmosphere. Within three episodes I felt comfortable with people being introduced, and dropped a lot of my customary suspicion that this would become a "dark" magical girl anime. This gives the show the space it needs to breathe without worrying about conflicting emotions.

Cons: You kinda have to turn your brain off for parts of it. It's got the classic "Everything's fine, that scyscraper was insured" logic underpinning a lot of its fights in cities. Also what may be a con for some people is the repeated transformation scenes, which I like because I just like transformation scenes , but which others might not like. To be fair it is way less egregious than other anime, and seems to be done less for time-filling than to respect the tradition and aesthetic. Finally, there is the Yamashita Daiki issue, where in my mind whenever I hear his voice I go "Oh that's Deku" and then just insert Deku. It doesn't help that he voices a green-haired character with a personality like Deku's. But I found that easy enough to look past; while Nikoyama wasn't my favorite character I didn't dislike him overall.

I would recommend this anime for anyone who likes light-hearted magical girl shenanigans. I really really liked it, and am psyched for a second season.

I wanted to write a review of this anime, because it deserves one.

So this was easily one of the most beautiful anime I've ever seen. The visual effects are presented in a way which is stunning an unique, and left me constantly mesmerized. The characters and setting are all loads of fun, and you really feel a palpable sense of the stakes at play. The action sequences can get over-the-top, which is usually something I don't like, but because of how well they're executed I found myself loving the ride. The attention paid to setting and time create an atmosphere I ... haven't seen in an anime before this.

But I gave it an 8, not a 9. Why? Because of pacing. At the end, the season loses a lot of steam. It feels like they needed to plan just a little better to avoid that, but I also can't tell if they just kind of wanted to take it easy at the end or something? I don't know, it just feels like there should have been more there, and like the season was over but still had episodes. But that is literally my only complaint.

It's the toughest 8 I've ever given, because I want this otherwise perfect anime to have a 9 from me, but I can't with the last three episodes being what they are.

Some spoilers.

This anime was kind of aggravating. I was really liking it for the first half of the show. It felt like it was a very good and self-aware parody of the "detective" genre of anime that has been coming out. The comedy was always on point, and even in the second half that didn't stop delivering. The show's creators are great with comedy and slapstick.

The issue is that they devolve into their own cliches and cease being a parody when they seriously bring up the House of M and Sherlock Holmes Bloodlines stuff. They're not doing that in a ... satirical manner, they're trying to drive the show with that plot. At that point not only did the show enter groanworthy territory but it also started taking itself way too seriously. It would have been much better off as a straight-up parody whose overarching plotline was also a parody, but they decided to go the ambiguous "are we serious or are we joking" route.

I want to recommend it but I don't know if I'll keep going with the second season. It seems like it could have been a lot better. But it gets a 7 instead of a 6 because it has solid comedy that doesn't fail to deliver.

I tried to write a spoiler-free review but it was just empty. So, possible spoilers ahead.

This show was a simple rendition of the "emperor and empress swap bodies" plot, common in donghua. But the fact that they made all of their characters so likeable really drives the show. There's a lot of intrigue and plot that helps carry the story, but if the characters involved were assholes I doubt I'd care. I found myself quite invested in the outcome of secondary characters, which is good. It also knew when to end, rather than dragging itself out. I would say ... that if you like court-themed Chinese anime, can tolerate both the CG animation they normally use *and* the chibi-style animation they switch to quite frequently, you'll probably like this show. If that kind of stuff bothers you as little as it bothers me, you might just find yourself having a great time with this one.

Strong points: Characters, Relationships, Intrigue
Weak Points: Animation, Sound, Tone-shifts

This one kind of came out of left field. I was expecting a cheesy Korean BL drama which I could half enjoy and half laugh at. What I got was an incredibly dense story line set over one of the best examples of atmosphere building I've ever seen in an anime. The romantic tension felt entirely right when it was supposed to, and too far when it was supposed to be too far for comfort. It is indeed cheesily BL at times (EP12) but I don't mind that so much when there's such a banging soundtrack and atmosphere. It's kind ... of tough to get at what I mean, but there's this really deep 80's synthwave vibe to this show, and the music just constantly slaps. The camera shots are gorgeous and the cinematography is top notch. I recommend this anime to anyone who can stomach BL and likes really good atmosphere building.

I continuously asked myself "What the hell is wrong with this anime?" while watching this anime. The animation is so absolutely ridiculously good that it's confusing. They aren't animating anything that needs that much detail. This show rides and dies on its dialogue and comedy, which is does very well. And this show would have still gotten a very high score without having the quality of animation it had. But right off the top, every little movement of the characters and their environments is so detailed and deeply-imagined that I was constantly replaying scenes to catch all the details. ... Little stuff like the way carrots roll, or the way rain hits an umbrella, they're so insanely well-animated in this series. It feels like the writing and plot would have made the series a nice tasty slice of cake already, but the animation just makes it like galaxy mirror cake. To find out that this came from the same studio that made the absolute abhorrent trash that was Hand Shakers is just amazing to me. I hope they can continue to put out stuff which caters to a more mature audience.

I recommend this anime to anyone who likes saccharine comedies, who likes cats, or who likes ridiculous animation for scenes that do not require it at all.

This is a pretty darn enjoyable anime. The plotline felt fresh and the characters each seemed to have realistic motivations. The world is well-outlayed, and there's a healthy balance between seriousness and lightheartedness. It never felt like the shounen MC was too OP on his own, or that anyone was having too easy of a time. The ending felt a little rushed but it also left the door open for greater explanations. The politics and negotiation are well done, and I like that they don't under-write the character's plans and schemes. Also, the ero-fanservice is pretty minimal, with there ... being one self-sexualized character, and the rest portrayed without sexual overtones. This isn't a masterpiece of an anime or anything, but well worth a watch if you're into fantasy and like when characters actually treat with each other on a serious level.

The best analogy I can make for this anime is that it's like a really good racecar driver is driving a really average racecar. The general concept of a realistic idol show will greatly restrict how much depth is going to be allowed through the medium. While it's possible to make a 10/10 SoL Idol anime, it would be incredibly difficult, especially without delving into surrealism. That said, the writers of this anime were adept at using this medium to convey an engaging and overall very moving story. It really feels like this is almost as good as it possibly could ... have been without trying to do anything grandiose. I'll break down some of the strong points.

The characters all feel real. They're not overly engaging, but that's kind of the point; this anime really blurs the line between work drama and idol show, so having characters like Yamanaka feels on-point. By the end of the show I liked every character, but it wasn't in any way overwhelming, which is good because no one character stole the show. Their development feels correct for adults of their age and their responses to the situations they're put in are understandable. That makes for a very muted show compared to a lot of high school SoL anime, or even anime about younger working folks, because writers use youth as an excuse to inject both levity and louder plot effects. That's removed from this anime, so expect a lot of understandable reactions and human responses to pressures. Personally I liked that, even if it did mean that the emotional stakes would remain relatively low.

The episode length adds to the feel of the show. That it's quarter-hour episodes rather than half-hour episodes allows them to tackle things with a speed and attention to detail that they should. Things that would take almost half of a twelve-episode anime only take a fraction of that amount in this anime. The use of the "Character Backstory -> Character Plotline Advancement" episode structure really works with this and makes the focus on individual characters seem less onerous.

The usage of montages is correct. I find that a lot of Idol anime focus heavily on the same plot points, and this anime straight up bypasses some of the expected idol anime plot points using montages. They instead fill their space with character development and actual plot. The time skips are frequent and well-used in order to progress the storyline at a captivating pace. I have to say some people might find that a little bit jaunting, but for me as someone who is tired of seeing idol anime practicing scenes taking up entire episodes, it felt like a breath of fresh air to see the plot moving more quickly than all that.

Finally, the overall feel is solid as a stone. The message and themes are definitely adult and will likely not resonate with many. I can't get too far into specifics on that without venturing into spoiler territory, but by the end of the anime the writers have definitely chiseled the feelings they were trying to put forth. I can't remember the last time an anime was this outright brave in doing that. Like, they knew what they were trying to do and what they had to do, and absolutely accomplished it. I have an incredible amount of respect for that, and hope more anime will choose to take these kinds of risks.

I'd recommend this to anyone who likes Idol anime, Office/Work anime, Slice of Life anime, or who generally likes anime featuring adults dealing with non-sexual adult themes.

Golden Kamuy is the chef's kiss of historical anime, perfectly balanced with comedy, action, and philosophical depth. The characters as always are always well-portrayed, and the plotlines are whimsical tangents to the main storyline. There are no words to describe the catharsis of being that occurs in the third episode of this OVA trilogy. I would recommend this for anyone who has already watched the first two seasons of Golden Kamuy and enjoyed them a lot. Especially if you liked the episodes featuring Edogai, because the third episode definitely has humor along those kind of extreme lines.

You go, Anehata Shiton. ... You...you just go.

About a year out from watching this I finally have a way to describe it.

Super Cub is like if someone came up to you with a slice of bread and was really insistent you eat it. And you generally like bread so that's cool, but you're wondering why it's so important. They're like "Trust me, just eat it." So you take a bite and it tastes like bread.

Bread so good it makes you cry. Just bread. But bread isn't supposed to be this good. It's not honeyed, no special ingredients. Just basic, regular bread, getting salty because you're ... crying over how good it is.