- Last OnlineNow
- BirthdayJun 11
- LocationHer Heart đź’•
- JoinedJul 10, 2016
20th Anniversary Secret Santa Exchange Ode to MALentine Secret Santa Exchange RSS Feeds
|
![]()
Nov 4, 2024
(Certainly not dug up to continue my yearly streak of anime reviews.)
Let's keep this brief, and I don't say that because my battery is low, and I'm tired, but because like the series itself it's short and is a shoddy horror anime. Being only four episodes I knew it would be a simple watch, even if it was bad, hey it wasn't a huge time commitment.
It was a late night browsing though HBO Max and there she was, C Danchi's ugly head appeared from the abyss. It only comes with the Funimation dub as well which is, eh... passible if you don't mind dubs.
...
The story goes like this, we're set in Housing Complex C, a low-cost apartment complex in the town of Kurosaki. Our protagonist is Kimi, a literal freaking god who's observing humanity via the complex. She's observed humanity for 20,000 years and keeps a dainty naive image so not to seem like a goddess. The horror aspect comes from a family who moves in and worships a god in which sacrifices must be made. Little did this family know the god they were slaughtering for was Kimi in the flesh, oh the irony. As the episodes pass on were told this information in mysterious spooky ways with the characters dying sporadically and turning into moss. I couldn't be less scared, it was a snooze. In the end after essentially every character died, which with only four episodes none of the characters were compelling enough to leave an emotional impact after death, the occult family meets their god. To Kimi's dismay she realizes humanity is foolish, murdering for no purpose, and absolutely brutalizes the family with plenty of gore to spare.
I just don't find any real purpose to watching C Danchi, with only four episodes it's in this awkward not long enough to be memorable and not short enough to be a movie tier. It's demographic? Beats me, I can't think of one. An obviously bottom dweller horror anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all
![]()
Dec 20, 2023
Ready to fall panties first into your next harem anime?
Went in blind expecting nothing, after all it's just another harem. Nevertheless, the OP hooked me like a helpless fish! I'm a sad, sad, SAD, sucker for 00s Japanese pop music, haha! And Ichigo's OP was handmade for me, during multiple episodes I would repeat the OP so I could sing to it. ^^" There is an irreplaceable aesthetic from 00s anime, from the OSTs, 4:3, it's a time machine that makes me so happy. I'll say it for those in the back, the don't make em' like they used to.
Alright, so it's a 2005
...
Madhouse romcom harem based on shounen jump mangaka Mizuki Kawashita work, directed by Gundam veteran Osamu Sekita. C'mon, that's just goofy I couldn't help myself. Like that sentence shouldn't exist lmao. Sprinkle in a bit more nonsense with how the MC directs movies in the series.
I will say though from my expertise of garbage seasonal romcom sludge Ichigo 100% at the very least stands out a little. Love interests are compelling... except for Yui more on her later. You have your classic will they won't they which is par of the course, it ends on an open ending forcing you to read the manga to see the ending, but despite that I'd say this series isn't a complete waste of time.
[Spoilers]
Ichigo 100% gave me 00s VN dating sim vibes. Which is a compliment! I adore how in the first episode Manaka (which I have to say bro add in a single G and his name is deadass Mangaka) confesses to Nishino as a dare and they start dating immediately! It's a very one-sided relationship and doesn't last as you'd expect as Manaka is indecisive, doesn't actually like her when they originally started dating, and is basically idolizing her the entire time. The simplicity of having the characters ACTUALLY dating each other so early in the series makes Ichigo 100% have a ripple and a sense of originality that other harems fail to have. Not that I haven't seen other harems have similar set ups but it's rarer than typical harem story lines. It was another hook that made me want to watch more, so good on you Ichigo 100%.
[End of spoilers]
All the girls still follow the same troupes though so don't get your hopes up too much. That didn't take away from my enjoyment of the series nor from the cast as a whole. Satsuki for example is my type of moe girl. Dude she is EASY. Great chemistry with Manaka, energetic, some tsundere tendencies but not full tsun. Very open with her love of him, has lots in common with him, I'm a simple guy she's my pick lol. Ah, also has tragic tendencies as well, love me a good tragic heroine hehehe...
Yui, Yui, Yui. She's your tried and true childhood friend. Nothing more and nothing less. Out of all the love interests she rarely gets screen time at best she's a comedy piece. Half an episode is spent on her with a hide and seek scene where she sees Manaka as a "man" for the first time and in the manga probably will fully develop more into a true love interest. In the anime though, she's that one girl who happens to live with Manaka.
Toujou is what I would picture your stereotypical main heroine would be in the 00s for a harem. Reserved, timid, intelligent, a dainty girl who's very shy with her feelings. Times have changed, idk her character is dated imo. Of its time.
I haven't read the manga yet so I can't speak to how accurate of an adaptation it is. Based on characters I'm seeing on MALs page that aren't even in the anime, or how the manga's character designs looks quite different from the anime, I'm concerned to say the least.
All in all, as a way to get back into anime and as it was a nice short watch (not including the fact I'm now going to have to watch all the OVAs, Specials, and the entire manga since I'm a masochistic completionist) I had a fun time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Nov 11, 2022
"You can't do it because you think you can't. For almost anything, if you try, it'll usually work out."
It's refreshing to find a fresh short anime akin to Yama no Susume. There isn't a lot like them, ones with a continuous story, an enjoyable growing cast of characters, and most importantly of all is a joy to watch. In 3 minutes Yama no Susume captures the essence of a normal 20+ minute episode without losing any quality. It doesn't feel like a shorts anime is what I'm trying to articulate, the pace is what you'd expect from a typical CGDCT anime. For that alone, I
...
admire this series even more cause it's not easy to have that feel down perfectly by the first episode.
We follow Aoi Yukimura who is naturally shy and is a novice when it comes to climbing. When she stumbles into Hinata Kuraue an exuberant ball of energy, she reignites Aoi's encouragement to climb. (pun intended) Aoi hesitantly is pushed into the whole mountain climbing thing unable to really say no because of her innate shyness, but throughout the short series we see her find happiness from climbing, and how much fun it is to be with Hinata and the others she befriends as a result.
"I hadn't looked at the sky for a long time, but when you take an interest you start to be able to see something, and it leads you to something else."
Without being reintroduced to mountain climbing by Hinata, Aoi wouldn't have took an interest of climbing once more, and would have missed the opportunity to make friends with Kaede and Kokona. I'm impressed with the sheer amount of great lessons in this short series, and seeing something like climbing a mountain from a casual perspective is fascinating. Anime like Yuru Camp take a similar approach on camping and there are some parallels but as a whole Yama no Susume strikes a different chord.
I can easily see why Yama no Susume has garnered multiple sequels which all in all take the series from a 3 minute short anime into a full blown 24 minute regular series! It's a treat seeing the growth of Aoi from the perspective of mountain climbing and can't wait to see how far it progresses, what mountain will they climb next?
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Nov 6, 2022
Rose-tinted glasses be damned! There once was a boy who traveled the school halls cracking his knuckles just like Kaneki. Edginess be damned! My fourth time watching this cursed series, an anime I seemingly cannot complete despite being one of my first anime I began with. Inconsistency be damned! Even though it fell off after the first season with one of the worst butcher jobs I've laid eyes upon. Supremely putrid adaptation be damned! Tokyo Ghoul is unforgettable to me, in my heart of hearts, I believe that without it I wouldn't have continued watching anime, nor would I have started reading manga. It was
...
a catalyst, a martyr whom bestowed me a great curse in more ways than one.
To reiterate, this was my fourth time watching Tokyo Ghoul. The first time was in 2014, the second in 2016 with a friend, the third also with a friend in 2017, to present day all by my lonesome again in 2022. That's not all, I've also read the freaking manga a multitude of times. In spite of this, a celestial calamity has been appointed to me; a hex which makes it so I fail to finish Tokyo Ghoul whenever I rewatch it. It's occurred so often like clockwork that it's difficult for me to not think it's impossible. In what world does it make sense that a manga I find extra special always seems to end up stopped midway, for me to move onto other works and forget the plot like it never existed. There was a time when I read each new chapter of Tokyo Ghoul like it was gospel, I huffing the fumes like gasoline, I was all in baby. What are the odds I'll move onto another anime/manga midway through again? Hopefully zero, I seriously want to get this out of my head space, it's time to send it to the grave just like my middle school memories, no flowers needed just put it in a hole and cover it with dirt to wither away. Better yet cremate it and put the ashes on your nightstand as a constant reminder to finish what you start.
Going into the first episode I was nervous, butterflies were jumbling at different rhythms in my stomach. My heart of hearts, Mr. Brain, knew it was time, yet I was complacent. The though of having to watch the OG Tokyo Ghoul once more, then read the OG Tokyo Ghoul manga, then the sequel manga, followed by the entire amalgamation that turned out to be the rest of the adaptation made me dread the future. Sort of like how one day I'll have to watch all of SAO again to finish it. Tis the horrid fate of a stubborn no-drop dumbass. Once you commit yourself to this fate, your future is bleak. I held my breathe and sunk my hesitant face down below the mysterious liquid. Down beneath was a pleasant surprise, an all too familiar smell, a feeling one can only reach via a link to the past. The view underneath the goopy substance was rose-tinted, it was like catching up with an old friend. Memories surged, some were good, others well less inviting, but all of it felt right. Tokyo Ghoul is an old friend, you don't keep up with as much as you used to, yet once you finally meet again everything comes back in an instant.
Consolidating my thoughts on Tokyo Ghoul is an arduous task when it feels like it's stuck behind such a overtly thick lens, how do I traverse this minefield filled mindscape? What do you think dearest reader? The solution is simple, I don't plan to! Part of the joy of watching series from your childhood is remembering the past. That doesn't mean some of my opinions of Tokyo Ghoul have evolved with age, nevertheless that also doesn't mean my general opinion of the series is probably higher because of when I watched it. Teenagers are susceptible horny assholes, I was no different.
Tragedy, seeing fictional characters seethe in agony, following their cataclysmic fiascos, ogling as they mutualize themselves further and further into a downward spiral is one of my great pleasures. The way my eyes widen, my heart fastens, my internal temperature rises, and that sneer on my face as I cackle under my breathe, I can't help it. We watch with jubilant smiles on our faces as our innocent protagonist Kaneki Ken befriends the enigmatic glasses wearing beauty, Rize Kamishiro. Rize may not believe in fate but the following moments speak themselves. Under the allure of Rize, Kaneki follows her to a secluded area where she can feast upon him. For shame, Kaneki the strong shall feast on the weak, alas it seems luck fortunes those in power. However what's this? A metal construction beams falls from the heavens to mortally wound Rize. Though, with awfully large wounds himself it would take a- oh, let's put Rize's organs into Kaneki, all fixed doc! And that kids, is how a half-ghoul is born!
What does it mean to be human? The theme of humanity versus the monsters that are ghouls is ever constant. Kaneki with this new ghoulish side of him is conflicted, for him to stay human by his definition he must not kill. Yet for a ghoul to live one must devour the forbidden flesh. No more are is favorite foods, any regular food Kaneki attempts to swallow quickly is rejected by a force out his control. There's something he cannot control incubating inside his human tissue. Like a ticking time bomb out of his control the race he used to call his own is filling his headspace as livestock, a voice aching him to eat them. Early on we stumble upon another ghoul eating, Nishiki Nishio. In a hungry state Kaneki finds it tough to control himself, he doesn't have much strength in his body. Nishiki makes quick work of Kaneki and tries to snuff him away, yet Kaneki is able to fight back in a frenzied state. One eyed ghouls are stronger than regular ghouls (of course they are, the power of rarity heh) and nearly snuffs Nishiki by piercing him like a blood filled piñata. Great scene. In this frenzied state he stares upon his best friend whom he saved, yet all Kaneki can think of is: "meat, meat, meat, MEAT!" Thankfully he doesn't succumb to the urge, and is saved by a cafe full of peaceful ghouls named Anteiku. Kaneki learns how to blend into human society, and slowly realizes this messed up situation that is his life isn't changing anytime soon.
It would seem a challenger for weirdest guy has approached me, Tsukiyama Shuu, or the Gourmet Ghoul, is an eccentric who acts gentlemanly to lure Kaneki into his battle dome for the sole purpose to Kaneki's flesh. I'd do the same Tsukiyama, can't blame you. Overall this part the OG Tokyo Ghoul is the least compelling part of season one, but it did introduce a great character which is always a plus in my book.
After besting Tsukiyama (for the time being) we get to see the alternative protagonist KĹŤtarĹŤ Amon and his twisted mentor Kureo Mado. More tragedy ensues as Hinami's father is slain by Mado, followed by her mother in heartbreaking fashion. What makes Mado more human than a ghoul? The ghouls at Anteiku are peaceful, eating mainly those who are already dead as sustenance. They choose to not kill humans and instead want to blend in harmoniously. Everyone needs to eat, ghouls are no different, the sole difference being is ghouls need human flesh to survive. Touka's filled with rage of the news of Hinami's parents being slaughtered and wants revenge. Her parents were harmless yet they were hunted down like scum. Touka couldn't stand the injustice. Which leads us to a great peak of Tokyo Ghoul, episode eight. The first of many interactions between our two polar protagonists, Kaneki and Amon. Kaneki is the only person on the planet who understands the plights of both side of the equation, he could be the catalyst to bring comprehension between the two. The first fight between them is one-sided, but comes with a simple purpose. As Amon pummels Kaneki with no regard, Kaneki continues to get up and not fight back. Kaneki only needs to keep Amon from joining Mado and ruining the chances of Touka beating Mado. After taking a bite out of Amon to gain the power of his kagune, Kaneki tells him to escape before he becomes a killer. Kaneki wanted to spare Amon which tore into Amon's mind to no end. Mado is snuffed out by Touka and Hinami after some traumatizing scenes. In all the value of episode eight comes from the conflicted world views. The peak is when Pierrot kept swapping between to two sides presenting a similar story despite their hatred for each other.
The collective of my thoughts all comes to a singular moment in Tokyo Ghoul, the culmination, the pinnacle scene everyone thinks of when Tokyo Ghoul is mentioned. Kaneki's torture and subsequent degression into hell. Kaneki's desperation for salvation comes in form from visions of Rize, the torture shifts his moral compass beyond repair. Kindness is weakness; Kaneki's mother died because she was mentally weak, she should have been selfish and put herself first. Via his psychosis filled mental escapes he continued to vison worse and worse things. Rize challenged Kaneki's nature by the way he chooses to not change, not willing to accept who he really is. Kaneki has the power to change his life and save those he cares for. As the intense stress comes to a boiling point his hair wilts to white and he shatters the chains, neat symbolism. The imagery of all the white flowers finally turning into red ones as Kaneki doesn't choose to accept Rize but to use her power and devours her, once again well done visually. This is followed by the most famous fight, Kaneki v Jason. During this rewatch I found myself preemptively speaking the lines before they popped onto the screen, it's that ingrained in my psyche. The word that pops into my head is classic, never gets old.
It's a damn shame there's only 12 good episodes of Tokyo Ghoul. There was no logical reason to derail the story in the direction Root A partakes. It aggravates me to the same degree it did 7 years ago, if not more. The single blessing in disguise from the botched adaptation is it introduced me to the manga, which c'mon the art is other-worldly virtuosic. One would think with the amount of times I've watched Tokyo Ghoul it'd wear down on me, yet rose-tinted glasses aside I believe it holds up very well even as an adult. Hasn't aged much animation wise either, the OST has some all time classics, the OP is one the most memorable OP maybe ever? The ED has a fantastic math rock undertone vibe to it which is my favorite genre of music so major bonus points! Tokyo Ghoul was an integral part to introducing anime to me and shaped who I was back in the 2010s to a certain extent. What does it mean to be human? If being human means growing up and not watching anime, I'm swapping over, Rize gimme your organs! May we further unravel the mysteries and tragedy of Kaneki Ken another day.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Oct 21, 2022
Ah shit, who released the killing machine bloodhound Roberta? After the assassination of her master the Lovelace family figure head via the US Secret Service, Roberta reverts to her blood covered past and burrows into hell to avenge her master. Young Fernando Garcia Lovelace won't take this though, especially after seeing what Roberta turned into earlier in the series, Garcia wants nothing more for Roberta to stay by his side and is willing to stop for nothing to get it. Though naive, Garcia ventures back into troubled waters in Roanapur asking the Lagoon Company to snuff out Roberta's warpath. As a premise this final season
...
of Black Lagoon is thrilling, getting to see one of if not the most petrifying demi-human track and slaughter everyone in sight is beyond adrenaline-pumping, it's superb. At times the story can be hard to follow in my humble opinion, some parts are more convoluted than necessary.
The scene that pops in my head whenever I think of this season is the pinnacle of Roberta's descent into madness. Garcia catches up with Roberta and hides behind a wall to hear something traumatizing, completely demolishing Garcia's final hopes of saving Roberta... After the Bloodhound gets cornered by one of the commanders Roberta seemingly gives in and listens to his words. He gives Roberta a tantalizing offer of rejoining the resistance and Roberta attempts to fool him with sex appeal, and things go down if you know what I mean. All while Garcia has to listen to her moaning in the background he crumples, biting his lip till he bleeds... So haunting, love it. But we're not done it gets worse. I love that Black Lagoon doesn't hesitate throughout the series to show how grim humanity can be. As Roberta is taking off her pants to have some more fun, the belt turned out to be a freaking gun! Killing him on the spot. Roberta cackles in glee getting up and begins pounding his head into mush. Garcia knowing he can't listen to this one second longer jumps out to confront Roberta. This is Garcia's final naive moment in the series, he grows up fast. Roberta the psychotic bloodhound she is, believes the Garcia she's seeing is just another illusion, just like the one she has following her all times reminding her of past misery. It's gut-wrenching to see Roberta stoop to such lows, unable to see Garcia as nothing more than a hallucination from the overdose on pain meds or regret, Roberta tries to shoot Garica with a smile on her face. Garcia is saved by the US military, yes how ironic, and the hunt continues but man. This scene will stay dormant in my mind for years to come, the catastrophic lows of Roberta with Garcia's facade of Roberta disappearing is simply tragic, yet impossible to remove your eyes from. One of Black Lagoons greatest peaks.
Each episode was 30 minutes at the minimum meaning each episode was jam-packed full of developments, no filler here! One such development is the series long plunge into depravity for Rock. He's no longer the Japanese business man who stumbled onto the lagoon full of fear. Using his largest asset, strategy, Rock conducts an evil master-plan of sorts that comes with a large gamble. The only way to "save" Roberta from this endless nightmare of revenge is with that massive gamble. Garcia with the plan in hand realizes just how dastardly Rock has become but understands that there's no other option available. He confronts Roberta once more at the Golden Triangle, (an area where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet and is highly dangerous) this time gun in hand. A tense meetup to say the least as Garcia is flanked by the person Roberta wants the most revenge on, the captain of the US Secret Service. Garcia fires a blank shot at both the US captain and Roberta, as such of course Garcia get lit up by US soldiers... As Garcia bleeds out Roberta and the US captain quickly find out that those shots were secretly blank rounds. Garcia falls into Roberta blood covered destroyed body and kisses her, Roberta doesn't resist after that. Rocks plan worked out, Garcia survived, Roberta though dismembered of an arm a leg, an eye, and fingers survived, and so did the US captain. I don't think anyone could have anticipated this arc concluding with the majority of the cast alive. With Roberta's self-destructive ways, all things considered Rock found the singular path, a harrowing alleyway, in which the US Captain, Garica, and Roberta remained alive. Next level strategizing, it was badass to see everything fold into place.
Roberta's Blood Trail is brimming with content, never a dull moment in sight! Action packed as Roberta tracks and slaughters anyone on her warpath to insanity. It was hard to follow at times being a tad convoluted, but who cares, this final season of Black Lagoon delivers in just about every category. Having one of my personal favorite scenes with Garcia's facade of Roberta slipping away after hearing some of the most soul-haunting stuff a kid could endure. Plus we got to see some of my favorite side characters like, Shenhua the Chinese badass, Frederica the emotional cleaner (best girl), and Lotton a deadass chuunibyou comedy relief. Glad to see them, though it was limited in terms of screen time sadly.
I wish Madhouse finished the adaptation of Black Lagoon. Though Madhouse and uncomplete go hand-and-hand sadly. Starting amazing series simply to let them wither away with false hopes, just ask No Game No Life fans lmao. Nevertheless Black Lagoon was brutal at times presenting the grisly lows of humanity via Roanapur. The Lagoon Company still sails the blood stained seas doing the bidding for crime-ridden souls throughout Roanapur, it was a thrilling journey to embark on.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Oct 20, 2022
"If you want to go quick go alone, but to go far one must go together."
A sports anime that ambitiously attempts to crush two years of high school badminton into 24 episodes. As you'd expect it's rushed and matches don't have much weight to them. Part of what makes an enjoyable sports anime is seeing the matches play out with strategy with good buildup between the players in the match. Love All Play doesn't have that impact, it's hollow.
Same can be stated for the characters, outside of their initial introductions, nobody stands out in particular as interesting. There are twins, they are super happy and
...
energetic, as you'd expect they love playing doubles, that's their strength. Halfway into the series one of the twins becomes conflicted wondering if his passion in badminton is real, but he gets over it fast and the twins don't change personality wise.
There's the straightforward Sakaki who relies on power and isn't the smartest tool in the shed, yeah as you can tell all these characters are just troupes. He plays doubles with the MC of Love All Play Ryou, who is exactly what you'd picture of when thinking of a shonen sports anime MC, so I'm skipping over him on purpose. What's there to say? Ryou's biggest strength is his love for badminton and works the hardest to make his dreams come true, yeah we've seen this play a million times folks. Back to Sakaki, he has lots of siblings and works at his families western-style restaurant, as such he's a caring, considerate person, he teams up with Ryou simply because he loves the way he plays. As a team they're not a great match, but they have fun playing.
Alright we need a kuudere as everyone else is cheerful, oh perfect here comes Matsuda. As you'd expect he goes through the same character arc that each and every kuudere embarks on, but hey that's better than the majority of the other characters. He starts off cold and distant believing that everything needs to be done by himself. He's like this because his father (Matsuda's only real family member) is always working so he's always been alone and did everything solo. Yes, the lone wolf troupe. Over the series Matsuda learns being with friends is valuable. This does breed my favorite quote in the series let me paraphrase. "If you want to go quick go alone, but to go far one must go together." Through the power of friendship he wins his final match, wowie.
The final character of note is team ace Yusa, a player when first joining the team was told by his coach to never lose again. As his driving force to never falter, plus his ambition to date Rika, (MC Ryou's sister) Yusa cannot lose again and has to become a triple crown winner in nationals. Yeah, this dude has some major expectations put onto his shoulders. I liked his VA work him saying "Come On!" always got a laugh out of me with the weird pitch it was at. In the beginning of the anime he's presented as a total asshole but he was like that to push his team to be better. During the final match between Yusa and Ryou, (which dang the animation was pretty good!) Yusa kept his promise and we get to see Yusa with Rika a year later in the aftermath, how cute. Imagine playing hard to get so badly and still getting the ace, only Yusa the simp would follow that pussy to that extent...
Love All Play isn't worth much of a watch. Even from a sports simps pov it's mediocre at best and was difficult to watch most of the time cause I was bored. It didn't help that the OST was cheesy and generic, wish I could turn it off at times. In contrast the sound design of the badminton being played was exceptional, give whoever did the sound design a raise!
In all, the lesson to learn is, don't force 2 years of high school sports into 24 episodes you're setting yourself up for failure, simping does work if you're a generational talent, and of course friendship is magic, good riddance, don't need to have this series in my head space no more.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Oct 15, 2022
This season of HnI was simply stellar in all facets where do I even begin? It started off pretty slow with another Aoki championship match which was a cool mirror match not in terms of boxing style but career paths. Aoki is a non-orthodox fighter with crazy special moves like the frog punch and the double punch to name a few. Though Aoki has this wild style he takes boxing incredibly seriously and loves every aspect of it. Aoki trains hard.
Imae Katsutaka, the champion Aoki is faced to take down, is different yet similar Aoki. He's what you'd call a stick in the mud,
...
he dumped his girlfriend to devote all his time into boxing, to become stronger and become a champion. Imae looks at Aoki as a half-assed boxer who is making a mocking of the sport with his flashy moves and seemingly non-full commitment to boxing. In the fight over time Imae grows to understand Aoki more and realizes he's just as committed to the sport as himself! They're both boxers who aren't very talented, who won't go onto the world stage but have struggled tooth and nail to be where they stand proud now. Each loss Aoki learned and grew, for example the frog punch is one move that he developed strictly from a loss and as such became more powerful.
In this matchup between Imae, Aoki uses a new special move cooked up specifically for this championship which was literally just him looking away from the opponent causing any foe to also look the other way meaning in theory you could get a free punch, stupid but fits the personality of Aoki to a tee. The fight becomes a slog, neither fighter willing to give up and results in a tie. Aoki showed him what a fighter with a girlfriend could do, and after the fight Imae hooks back up with the girl he pushed away. Overall a fitting conclusion to a Aoki fight, it'll be fun reading where his story continues in the manga.
Ippo had a massive fight this season, arguably his toughest fight yet! Coming up to this bout doubt was starting to fill Ippo as challengers sprouted everywhere, people thought of Ippo as a weak champion. Although Ippo wasn't weak in terms of skill, that much is apparent, he had one glaring weakness! The Dempsey Roll is easily countered by a good counter puncher because the Dempsey Roll is dependent on repetitive weaving back and forth to gain momentum. The Dempsey Roll creates blind spots which make it challenging to commit a counter punch, if you fail the timing or hesitate even slightly Ippo will destroy you! This was all discovered when Volg made a sudden reappearance in Japan saying he wanted to make a comeback in boxing which was a really heartwarming mini arc, loved it.
The Dempsey Roll is weak to counters but who can actually commit to snuffing it out? Well here comes challenger Ryuhei Sawamura, who's boxing style could only be described as pure unadulterated violence. Sawamura craves the feeling of bones breaking, tendons and meat ripping, blood gushing. He's more of a psychopath than a true boxer. This came from a trauma filled childhood when his stepfather abused him regularly and after his mother abandoned him. Sawamura stabbed his stepfather and ever since then has become addicted to violence, he's constantly itching to find a piece of meat to brutalize, the stronger the piece of meat, the more Sawamura can tenderize it with his cold merciless fists. The more pain he can induce towards his victims the more Sawamura can feast on. His inhumane fighting style causes him to get disqualified often but that doesn't change the fact Sawamura is supremely talented as a fighter. His cool merciless mentality gives Sawamura a big advantage against Ippo since he will not hesitate in the slightest to counter the Dempsey Roll. Miyata himself said Sawamura is even better at counter punching than himself, his punches are described as bullets always aiming to cause misery.
The build up to the matchup between the two is beyond hype, I couldn't stop myself from binging the entire section as it was so gripping! Ippo didn't come into this fight empty handed though, he trained to evolve the Dempsey Roll past the human limit. The evolution was quite simple really but heavily taxing on the body. By suddenly stopping midway though the roll, and starting again one can change the predictable rhythm, and counter the counter. This is easily said but in practice is near suicidal for the longevity of Ippos career! The stopping of the roll sounds like a car crash, the high pitch screeching of pain as the muscles in Ippos lower body tear apart from the sudden loss of momentum, he can only do it a few times a match otherwise he could cause permanent damage. As such, the stakes of this fight are insane, Ippo said he'll stop at nothing to bring Sawamura down, no matter how many midway stop Dempsey Rolls it takes! Putting everything on the line, Ippo is in a way almost fueled by the same innate drive as Sawamura, hatred. Though Ippos is fundamentally different as he's mad at the was Sawamura fights, it goes against what Ippo stands for. They're lives are fundamentally different too. Ippo is a pure bred boxer through and through, Sawamura was built with negativity. By sitting around all you get is betrayal, he can only put faith in himself, in those blood covered fists. Ippo is the definition of tenacity putting faith in everything his coach has installed in him. Sawamura isn't motivated by something that simple, it's absolute hatred. And a man driven to those abominable lows will stop at nothing. Sawamura wants to turn Ippo into a tender piece of meat and will not hesitate.
It was an outstanding fight stock full of passion between boxers with complete opposite career paths. In the beginning it looked fine for Ippo he was able to throw anything at him. But it was like Sawamura was luring his prey into his trap, letting the tough hard meat weaken slowly until is was perfect for slaughter. And as soon as Ippo used the Dempsey Roll Sawamura made Ippo pay with a counter like no other. Sawamura stepped back with no fear to get Ippo fully into view and sliced a counter mid roll, Ippo blacked out instantly. Coming back to it, Ippo soon realized his worst nightmare, he'd have to use the midway stop roll. The fight felt simply violent as Sawamura executed his style to feel Ippos pain via his fists, Ippo took a beating and a half. But Ippo persevered using the midway stop three times. I loved the character of Sawamura, his violence made me smile. After the fight no more challenges came in to fight Ippo, nobody thought of him as a weak champion again. I'm looking forward to seeing Ippo step into the world stage as nobody in Japan, other than Miyata, is left to be fought. The progression of Ippos fighting is world class no pun intended!
The final big bout this season was between Takamura and David Eagle! Having conquered the Jr Middleweight division, Takamura made the bold claim of winning a multitude of other weight classes. Which with someone as talented as Takamura, who became world champion with no losses, just maybe he could! He gave up the Jr Middlewight belt and challenged David Eagle, a super-champion of the Middleweight class. David is a champion's champ, who despite being undefeated himself remains modest and unpretentious about his insane power. He takes each match very seriously, training at each moment and strategizing too. Unlike Takamura who's a media nightmare, David is hard to root against, a true good guy. Compared to Takamura's last opponent Brian Hawk, David is the total opposite! The build up and overall stakes of this fight aren't as massive feeling like with Hawk v Takamura, but still large. Takamura's fights always feel larger than life, maybe because it's on the world stage but Takamura is this monster that we're just glad to be following around! There was one scare that perhaps Takamura's right eye was screwed up as claimed by Miyata, but as the fight went on Takamura showed off something special.
David is a orthodox fighter who uses tactics and fundamentals to win fights, Takamura's least favorite type of fighting. The bout is the hardest either have either had in their careers, David even claimed he has never been able to show his true potential in any fight until his match against Takamura. Both fighters had their left eyes cut, which gives scares that potentially the fight could end by medical leave. Eventually Takamura's right eye becomes swollen shut and with the left eye filling with blood he fights blind! Not only that but he hits everything perfectly aiming directly in David's vital spots. With absolute resolution Takamura finds the resolve to not fold and wins his second weight class! Overall I found Hawk v Takamura to be a more compelling bout, however Eagle v Takamura was very entertaining as well!
It's a bit of a shame that this is the end of the adaptation when there's still so much left, the manga is longer than One Piece after all! Seems you'll have to seek onwards into the manga if you want your HnI fix! That's where I'll continue my journey and hopefully I'll get to see Ippo's step into the world stage and much more!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Aug 28, 2022
Tabi Machi Late Show is a collection of four short stories around seven minutes in length with each story being different in narrative but are woven together in central theme. Each episode has its own section to separate my thoughts accordingly.
Episode one: 8/10
A great introduction to the collection of narratives presenting a story about Azuma a chef who has been teaching Nagi a chef in training for three years. Nagi truly looked up to Azuma as a chef and was a massive role-model for him. When making pomodoro for Azuma he asks what's the secret that makes her pomodoro better than his but the
...
funny thing about it is there is no secret to making Azuma's a better chef. Azuma was the same way as Nagi when she was around his age and also looked up to her mentor when learning how to cook and wondered the same thing of what her mentors secret was. But ultimately the true secret was that putting someone on a pedestal is selfish as you automatically believe them to be better than you and in someway could even be looked at as cowardly as you're putting so much responsibility on that mentors shoulders. Nagi leaves afterwards to continue studying cooking just like how she once did and how her mentor once did too, a cycle if you will. And as I'll mention later in the review, the central theme starts here saying farewell. Episode one is a great introduction to this short series and I appreciate how well written it is. One could argue that the animation is lackluster, but I believe it adds charm plus the art-style in general stands out almost looking like it's from a picture book, so it fits the theme.
Episode two: 7/10
"Maybe you only realize who you should have been friends with after it's already too late." - Akemi Kumeno
High school is awkward and rough around the edges and that's how this episode felt. It's a short story about two high school girls with the first being one who's of few words, Koizumi, and another girl with a fake smile playing a phony game, Akemi, and how they reminisce how they could've been friends. After high school Akemi looks back at her time in school and realizes what could have been and also that Koizumi's words were right. Her fake smile shattered and the world around her fell apart. Only when she became older and she changed as a person did she realize her mistakes. But Koizumi was also in the same boat, she deep under her unsocial shell wanted to be friends too, both of them should have been more honest with themselves. I respected how the story made me feel so annoyed in the moment when Akemi and Koizumi were fighting, I knew that things could be different if they were honest with themselves! Regret is a feeling that lingers and persists into adulthood making you always question what could have been. It's sad to think that many of our lives could be entirely different if we simply apologized which would have given Akemi and Koizumi a real chance at friendship. A pretty good episode but felt round around the edges.
Episode three: 9/10
That plot-twist at the end left me SPEECHLESS, a beautiful short story about the festival in which one can see those who've past. The twist being at the very beginning we see it from the perspective of the dead girl and her family making it seem that they are the ones who are alive and the boy she meets is the one who is dead. The overall vibe and art style in this one is so damn comfy, it left me feeling really melancholic. That reveal at the very end put the whole story into perspective and made the boys actions throughout the short story make much more sense and left me gut-punched. Who knew a seven minute story could be so good?
Episode four: 7/10
The fourth episode is about bringing the core message, the integral theme between each of the four short stories. Saying goodbye, not being able to see those people you care about once more, or not being able to form a relationship and never seeing them again, to wave goodbye to those you love just like those in the past did for you, a goodbye is simply the ending of one part of your life. With that goodbye you transition into another and it could mean becoming a better person than you were before or it could mean regretting those past choices making you wonder what could have been like in episode two, but by saying goodbye you're moving on forward. All these stories were intertwined to such a high level, I adore all of these short seven minute episodes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
May 31, 2022
What does it mean to be strong?
It's a question Ippo's been thinking since the very beginning but there he is standing in the ring beyond groggy wondering why he's there. The lights are spinning in all directions, everything's not registering for Ippo. He's about to lose the championship for a second time, this isn't time for questioning. Nevertheless, the only way to figure out something so vague, like trying to grab at a cloud, is to march forward and fight the person in front of him. This singular moment epitomizes the grand series that is Hajime no Ippo, it's this moment in episode 72
...
that brings it home. Why are we starting here, let's take a step back and enjoy the journey of how we got here anyway.
Hajime no Ippo is akin to a multitude of other sports anime with everything you'd expect in one. Whether it be amazing rivalries, training arcs, tournament arcs, superb character development, it's all here. Hajime no Ippo doesn't lack in any category. What makes Hajime no Ippo stand out from other sports anime is the level of execution. Each key area is done to a level of mastery.
Let's start with our protagonist Makunouchi Ippo, he didn't start off as a boxing prodigy but as a target for bullies because of his family business. As he's getting his ass kicked by some bullies, pro boxer Takamura comes in for the rescue! After being rescued by Takamura, it lights a small flame in Ippos heart and lets him take a step forward and wonder what it means to be strong like Takamura. Overall as an introduction to the series it's nothing revolutionary it could even be labeled as stereotypical, but it's not bad by any means either.
Ippo's main rival is introduced early in the series with two sparring sessions. Miyata is almost like a natural counter to him early on in Ippo's career as Miyata is a technical out-boxer prodigy. Compared to Ippo who's a heavy hitting in-boxer amateur. Nevertheless, Ippo's innate tenacity leads to Ippo taking out Miyata in the second spar session via K.O. All anyone can feel is happiness seeing Ippo succeed against such a confident boxer like Miyata. This helps give Ippo confidence and humbles Miyata and forces Miyata to see just how talented Ippo is, I really love Miyata's later development too. Even though Miyata is Ippo's natural rival they haven't fought a real match against each other yet, I expect the tension and build up will exceed even the Sendo vs Ippo Lollapalooza which is insane to think about, though time will tell.
Hajime no Ippo's tournament arc is full of great moments that lead to Ippo becoming a pro boxer! Not only that but it introduces plenty of very important rivals of Ippo for example, Mashiba Ryo and Sendo Takeshi. Both characters are simply full of personality, Ryo is a dark almost evil seeming character who specializes with his hitman style and flicker jab. His absolute desire to not lose no matter what it takes leads to him using dirty tactics that injure Ippo in their fight, but he needs to win to provide funds for his little sister for school. I love how complicated of a character he is, Ryo isn't great at communicating which made him get fired all the time when boxing was the only job he didn't get fired from for being unsociable. He's hard to love but in his own way he's charming.
On the other hand you have my personal favorite character in the Hajime no Ippo, Sendo Takeshi. Sendo is a natural born fighter, who's always looking for a challenge. The best character I can compare him to is the legendary boxer in my favorite anime, Yabuki Joe. Sendo's fighting style is similar to Ippo's, however his brawling nature, his supernatural arm strength, and indomitable tenacity makes him a monster in the ring. I adore the backstory bits during the Sendo vs Ippo Lollapalooza and how after the fight he comes how to his grandmother, and she smiles and knows that he's stronger because of that loss. Sendo knows that he can't achieve his goal quite yet of being like his father either, overall a nice story.
Volg presents the dark side of boxing when you're not the winner. Volg, the World Amateur Champion is a boxer from Russia who excels at outboxing and taking points, but adopts a vicious infighting style when he moves to Japan. He moved to Japan with a purpose in mind though as he's fighting for his sick mother back in Russia he needs to win help cure her sickness. Even as he wins fights in Japan Ippo notices how depressed he looks, never smiling despite crushing his opponents ruthlessly. Sadly after two consecutive losses in Japan he was cut from his gym and in essence forced to end his professional boxing career early. This presents two sides of boxing excellently, one side is for those who win and keep bringing in the money for the gym, and those who lose and aren't financially worth keeping in the gym. It might be gloomy to see boxing in that light but that's the gritty truth. Volg had a large impact on Ippo and it was really depressing seeing Volg leave Japan.
To those who keep winning they are allowed to continue pushing forward, to keep putting one foot in front of the other, and eventually challenge the champion. The featherweight champion, the hard-nosed veteran Date Eiji. Despite his age nearing thirty, he's aged gracefully and is still able to compete at a very high level. After being destroyed years ago in a World Title Match he retired and gave up boxing to be there for his family. As the years past Date became a different person, but he couldn't contain his combative nature anymore and picks up his career for a comeback. It's hard to not root for such a likable boxer like Date, this is his last chance to make a title push, it's all or nothing. One of the top three boxing matches in Hajime no Ippo is Ippo vs Date, the hype and build up is very well done and leads to Ippos first painful loss for a championship. I'm really looking forward to seeing in later seasons Date's World Title push and if he makes it or not!
After the Ippo vs Date match I believe the quality of animation drops considerably till the Sendo vs Ippo Lollapalooza. It felt like Madhouse was trying to save up budget for the final fight, haha. Regardless despite the quality drop midway through the series it didn't take away from the story or any of the fights either, something just felt off during that quarter of Hajime no Ippo. One of the highlights during that part of the series was the Aoki and Tatsuya backstory, I didn't expect a mini arc on them!
Sendo vs Ippo Lollapalooza is the pinnacle of boxing, perfect build up with hype! As a rematch between two behemoths both got considerably more monstrous. Like Sendo said this wasn't a match for the Championship this was a match with their honor on the line where Sendo could go all out. From the very get-go Ippo using a Dempsey Roll made me nearly lose my mind, overall a fight for the ages, loved every second of it. I loved how the fight went full circle mentioning Ippo's pursuit of what it means to be strong, everything clicked in this brawl. The only word I can use to describe Sendo's punches are murderous, match that with his improvement to his lower body and you have a punch with no equal. Ippo had to use every technique he'd learned up to that point to perfection all in a row after six rounds of surviving Sendo's onslaught of punches just to win. All to be the very best in Japan, outstanding.
As of writing this review I haven't seen the rest of the series, I'm really excited to see what's next for Ippo and the rest of the boxers!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Apr 30, 2022
There is a deep rooted fear rooted in all people from a young age, the fear of not fitting in. If you don't fit in, you'll be bullied into obscurity, ostracized into nothing. Ballet isn't masculine, it's a girly art to be passionate about. Down below the character of Junpei Murao is a danseur a guy who loves with all his heart everything about ballet! Ever since a ballet recital that he nearly slept through he was moved by the strength and skill of the danseur on the stage evoking a feeling of brain fireworks, Junpei was on cloud nine. However, when tragedy stuck he
...
vowed to give up his greatest passion to be there for his family. It's typical when a father dies that the son is expected to step up as the man of the house, which puts a ton of expectations on young Junpei.
To bury a passion is to bury your purpose in life, Junpei pretends to be happy with his situation. He follows in his father's footsteps towards being a stunt man and joins the soccer team to fit the stereotypical normal boy activities. However, after running into Miyako Godai and Ruou Mori the love for ballet resurfaces from his cold heart and reignites his passion. MAPPA has done an excellent job presenting an artsy story with a unique angle with the theme of masculinity. Junpei's character arc is satisfying to see, even 4 episodes in it's exciting!
Created by the very talented studio MAPPA which are well known at this point with anime like Jujutsu and Dororo, it's no surprise this anime looks superb art wise. They've created a similar anime to Dance Dance Danseur in fall 2020 with Taisou Zamurai. Overall, I prefer the direction and themes of DDD more and overall the writing is less bizarre than Taisou Zamurai. It's also great to see a woman mangaka, George Asakura presents a special angle on the art of ballet! Art and animation, especially in the opening are big pluses, nobody's going to complain about eye candy!
Other than the main character Junpei, the rest of the cast stands out on their own, especially Junpei's rival. Ruou Mori is the mysterious rival for Junpei which should develop greatly the more the show progresses. His past is filled with abuse from the small snippets flashbacks, it's easy to tell why he's likes to live a sheltered life. When Ruou transferred to Junpei's highschool it didn't take long till he became a target for bullies. He didn't fight back and eventually the bullying escalated. It so happened that the bullies were Junpei's soccer friends, mainly Yamato Takura. In a desperate attempt to fit in Junpei doesn't take Ruou side, it's depressing to see Ruou sit there while Junpei lets it happen.
During a school talent show the bullies reach their boiling point pushing Ruou out on stage with a girls uniform. Before Junpei explodes Ruou starts dancing, which eventually becomes Junpei's greatest inspiration to drop everything in his life and become the greatest dancer! Mangaka Asakura is really good at creating these arcs that intertwine with the theme of masculinity very well.
Should you watch Dance Dance Danseur this season? If you want a special look that attempts to battle the concept of masculinity via ballet then go ahead it makes you think. Otherwise, it has the typical sports anime structure where the main character is very talented and you get to see the progression towards greatness and the struggles along the way. I'm looking forward to seeing how Junpei's rival Ruou's hidden past progresses and how the choreography of the dances goes. It's surpising how little people are checking Dance Dance Danseur out, it's a treat.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
