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Dec 16, 2017
In a nutshell: Girls' Last Tour is a beautiful show about two friends travelling somewhere, anywhere, in a broken world. But even when everything is grey, bleak nothingness, Girls' Last Tour shows us that we can still somehow find joy and bliss simply by being together. This is a fairly relaxed show. There is no exciting plot to follow. There is no daunting enemy that our heroes must somehow conquer with the power in their hearts. This is a show that is much more about daily life and watching the world outside. It is the "sitting in a cafe
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on a rainy, staring out the window" rather than the "racing down an empty highway in a supercar" kind of show.
The part I love most about Girls' Last Tour is its emotional strength.
Combining wonderful art, music, and voicing, it is able to conjure emotion in ways that don't need to take advantage of the usual feelings-cheap-shots. And it doesn't just hit the usual emotional targets of sadness and happiness. What stuck out to me is the profound sense of wonder, tragedy, and simple bliss that I got over and over again. These are things that are usually quite hard and unusual to aim for. It's difficult to describe, but this show yanks on my heartstrings like nothing else while not taking advantage of emotional low-blows, if that makes any sense. However, this is not to say that this is just a serious or depressing anime. In such a dead world, Chi and Yuu are bright lights of joy and happiness. There's plenty of comedy as well, usually due to the antics of one character in particular.
Story, other than the fantastic world-building, is non-existent (and not the point). There are really only mini-plots, but no real major plot other than the tale of the past. (I've rated Story as 9 anyways because I'm a real sucker for mysterious world-building, even if it's only in the background)
Using moe chibis juxtaposed on a brutalist landscape is such an amazing contrast. Art in the show is wonderful. Though everything is usually grey and rectangular and sharp and mute, it actually never gets old. The background shapes and environments are always changing. In a way, the dullness of the world is so much more interesting than the usual fantasy/sci-fi worlds that are wild and brimming with vibrant color. And when there is color in the world, it is used spectacularly. Animation is also on point. The chibi faces are put to good comedic effect. Animated movement is simple but effective.
Music and sound design are, simply put, incredible. It's hard to describe without a spoiler-ish example, but there are great combinations of songs, sound effects, and art that just put you in awe. Voicing fits perfectly for each character, and some characters are really just enjoyable to listen to.
Overall, this is a show that I cannot stop loving. It is not action-packed. It does not have romance. It does not have an incredible rise of a hero against all odds. It is a wonderful piece of slice-of-life, atmospheric, and emotional art that reminds us that anime doesn't need intense action or distressing conflict to be great. I cannot express just how wonderful and amazing this experience is.
By the way, even if you don't end up watching this, I implore you to at least listen to the OST. Though some songs will not have the same impact without knowing the context, the score is amazing on its own.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Oct 10, 2017
This is a fairly simple and sweet slice-of-life manga about a married couple and their kids from the perspective of the father. It is a comedy with shades of diabetes-inducing romance thrown in and some drama sprinkled on top. All in all, it's an enjoyable read if you aren't looking for plot or amazing character development.
The comedy is usually pretty silly with a new punchline on each page. The art is pretty good and conveys emotion well enough.
Each chapter isn't very long, so it's a light read as well. Good to pick up every now and then when you
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want eyebleach. Guaranteed to give you warm fuzzies.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 29, 2017
Look, if you want intellectual comedy or real story, look elsewhere. This is straight-up bathroom humor at its very finest, distilled further into 4-koma form.
Pretty much every punchline is a dirty joke. Heck, it's amazing that there are this many possible variations on dirty jokes.
What's special about this is that it's female-oriented bathroom humor. Kind of refreshing in a disgustingly weird way, since bathroom humor tends to be more about guy things. Here, we get references to "that time," underwear, grooming, dating, attempting to amend the dropping Japanese birth rate, etc.
Anyways, it's a great escape back
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to a really base form of humor. Consider it mental bleach.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 29, 2017
A charming anime about friendship, endurance, and at its very core, humanity. Do not skip over this anime because of the art style - Made in Abyss does tell a very serious story which it quickly makes apparent.
We get to see the world of Made in Abyss with childlike wonder through the eyes of our main characters. It brings us back to a time when we believed we could do anything with just our hearts and a dream. We root for our main characters as they encounter test after test, form emotional bonds with others, and struggle to achieve their dream.
It's
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heartwarming and heartbreaking. Thrilling action is punctuated by emotional crashes and buildups based on hope and care. It's the kind of thing where you sometimes just want to hug a character.
The art and music are both splendid and probably key to Made in Abyss's amazing emotional content. Character and relationship development are also very good. Altogether, Made in Abyss is great experience. There are lighthearted scenes, great world-building, and pretty deep emotional impact packed into just 13 episodes. Highly recommended to watch, because you will definitely enjoy the ride.
Although... when you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back. Just what lurks in that darkness, and what becomes of those who venture into it?
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Sep 28, 2017
In a nutshell, Gamers! is a sweet rom-com anime about high school gamers who get entangled in a web of misunderstandings over love. You’ll like it if you enjoy the dramatic irony of characters agonizing over misunderstood lines and situations. You’ll dislike it if you wanted a serious focus on gaming, though Gamers! handles gaming in mature and non-cringey way (which I appreciated). There’s also not much as much character or relationship development as I had hoped for, so here’s hoping for a second season!
Note that gaming is not really the focus of the anime, but rather the string that ties our
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cast together.
Art and animation are good, especially so during ridiculous or emotional scenes. I felt like the voicing was really, really good – certain vocal quirks build up some characters very well, and comedic scenes benefit greatly from characters audibly freaking out.
Would recommend for the great voice acting and silly romantic confusion. Certain scenes are very sweet and well worth the watch if you enjoy that kind of thing like me. Don’t watch if you find misunderstandings frustrating, because that’s really all the anime does.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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