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🌟 GINTAMA REVIEW 🌟

🔴 THIS IS A REVIEW ON ENTIRETY OF GINTAMA ANIME, NO SPOILERS 🔴

⚪ The cast is absolutely fantastic, which just keeps growing on you. There's just no way you could dislike a single character. All of them have good designs, some sort of significance throughout, their introductions never felt jarring & the dynamics are always heartwarming.

⚪ The general misconception is that Gintama is all about parody. But trust me, it's an unique blend of every genre alike & the focus on parody is bare minimum to keep that aspect funny consistently. The blend of genres is also the brightest aspect of the ... storytelling. From comedy to action to drama, the range is unbelievable. Also, it's applicable to the tonal shift as well. Pay-offs are usually very satisfying as a result!

⚪ The female cast was awesome, possibly the best I've ever seen in shonen. From Kagura, Kyubei to Tsukuyo, Otose; you can't help but adore each one of them!

⚪ Voice acting is something I never really focused on but in Gintama, I must admit that the voice actors were phenomenal. Possibly a huge part behind the show's success across the world!

⚪ Both the Benizakura Arc remake & original fanservice movies were good, something which is very rare for a long running franchise these days.

⚪ Gintoki, with all the core traits of a shonen protagonist, never felt the same old-school generic lead character. And every bits of credits for that goes to Sorachi for presenting him in such a magnificently likeable manner.

⚪ The world-building was a huge attraction. Edo period with alien invasion, modern day technology, Samurai outfits, idol culture, hostess bars, space travel & skyscrapers get as hilariously weird as it can be!

⚪ Unpredictability in arcs as they're so random is something very enjoyable. You never know what's gonna happen until the middle of the arc. Besides, majority of the serious arcs carry a message for the viewers to comprehend! Only one thing is always certain: a great conclusion. Beautiful!

⚪ For a industry that has shown incompetence in managing a big cast & delivering a satisfying conclusion under the shonen demograph, Gintama came as one of those rare surprises to me with an all round success!

⚪ Episodic concept is something I always try to avoid as getting invested in it is something I consider hugely difficult. But Gintama surely has managed to change my opinion on this format. Episodic episodes, in my opinion, were the greatest strength of the series initially!

⚫ Comedy was the key aspect for majority of the series & while it was brilliant for most of the parts, it still had some hiccups here and there.

⚫ The OST were fantastic but the usage wasn't. Sometimes, some of the tracks felt too repetitive or out of place. Although, it gets somewhat fixed from S3 onwards. But not much, and beyond the halfway mark.

⚫ Some of the arcs were highly inconsistent. Mostly you'll have Yoshiwara in Flames or Vacation Arcs, but some other times you'll also have Hard Boiled or Glasses Arcs. Subjectively depends on your taste though. But the lowest of some of the arcs are intolerable at times.

⚫ Too many Japanese references that's not very ideal for casual viewers with less knowledge on anime or Japanese culture in general. Therefore, some of the gags were always unfunny to me (e.g. the ones on Japanese actors) but at the same time, I enjoyed the anime references (e.g. Bleach, Hunter x Hunter, etc).

⚫ Animation is perhaps the show's biggest fault in the technical department. 4:3 & 480p for 201 episodes for a 2006 series was disappointing but it never really bothered me given the series's overall quality. And it improved significantly from S2, with the peak being S4. Animation, however, was never something out of the world, it was just consistently good in S4 (which is great for the long running seasons, i.e. S1, S2 & S4). The gorgeous art made it so visually pleasing. But from S5 onwards, it went downhill pretty significantly. S8, being the final ever season, didn't please me in that regard either.

⚫ Takasugi (and Kiheitai) was one character that had a a good amount of satisfying development & growth but I still feel like Sorachi missed out on a lot of opportunities for more exposure. Takasugi's growth into what he became, Kiheitai's formation & many more aspects could've been fleshed out a bit more.

⚪ TOP 5 SERIOUS ARCS: Farewell Shinsengumi, Shogun Assassination, Courtesan Of A Nation, Yoshiwara In Flames & Okita Mitsuba/Shinigami.

⚪ TOP 5 LIGHT-HEARTED ARCS: Hasegawa Prosecution, Vacation, Feigned Illness & Rehno.

SEASON 1: 9️⃣
SEASON 2: 8️⃣
SEASON 3: 9️⃣
SEASON 4: 🔟
SEASON 5: 9️⃣
SEASON 6: 7️⃣
SEASON 7: 8️⃣
SEASON 8: 9️⃣

‼️ LONG STORY SHORT: Gintama had its fair share of inconsistencies all along. But the problems were never minor. Negligible would be the ideal description. On top, the beautiful journey compensates everything & forces you to remember the positives only. Such is the greatness of Gintama. Go & watch it ASAP if you've not already! That's it!

PLOT & STORYTELLING: The plot as a whole started out to be intriguing, very much at that. Amazing would be the ideal fashion to describe such a strong start. I still remember how well of a first arc the "Kazekage Rescue Mission Arc" was. But it was "Pain's Assault Arc" where the series peaked with a thematic value escalating the narrative to a brand new level. Absolutely zero boring canon arcs prior to that arc overall. I could feel a "heart" in the series. I felt confident that "yeah boy, it really will live upto the expectations." But unfortunately after that, the series took a ... massive hit in its quality & went all downhill once the final major arc in "War" began after a fabulous buildup. The reanimation jutsu, Madara, Kaguya & what not. It felt as if the series is happening all too suddenly now without any sort of buildup or convincing plot points whatsoever. Contextualising certain scenes with flashbacks was one process I started to hate after a period of time. On top of everything, the obvious lack of a political magnitude most likely hurt the storytelling department the most in my eyes. Another thing was the whole point of the show being ignored — Naruto became Hokage, only in the OVA, not in the main series with numerous filler arcs & 500 episodes overall. That's disappointing too. And with all those annoying and some rare good filler arcs alike, the plot & storytelling in my opinion was extremely mediocre overall.

CHARACTERS: Being the centre of attention of the series, Naruto stayed true to his characteristics and grew upon well & somewhat satisfyingly, at the cost of the charm but with the addition of maturity. Though the usage of the common "Nakama" trope felt bit too much at times & the lack of development of a tactical aspect of Naruto was a missed potential. And of course, there were a handful of good characters present in the series like Jiraiya, Kakashi, Gaara, Pain & all but the amount of characters staying insignificant throughout the series was disappointing to think. Hinata, Nejj, Lee, Choji & more, you name it. Then there was Sakura who had a significant growth in characteristics but still felt insignificant on the larger scale. And there was this forced dynamics between Sasuke & Naruto that was preferred to be grown awkwardly ahead of the natural parallel between Gaara & Naruto or the childhood bond between Shikamaru & Naruto. The problems in handling and utilising such a massive cast was evident throughout the series & to my eyes, this is arguably the worst segment of the series.

VILLAINS: Akatsuki surely have best set of villains, or rather antagonists. The underlying depth within was always present. From Itachi to Pain, to Sasori to Madara, there were different people with different problems that were all presented well altogether. Their motive made a lot of sense too. But actual question lies within the success rate of a well written conclusion to the group or the individuals. My answer? I was disappointed. Except for Pain & Itachi (and early Akatsuki villains), the major guys couldn't live upto the bigger expectations. And Kaguya? I prefer not to speak. So all in all, villains weren't bad at all but the utilisation could've been much better. In the end, they didn't impress me therefore.

ART & DESIGNS: This is a department where Naruto Shippuden was pretty good. The new designs of Naruto, Neji, Sasuke, Pain, Madara, Deidara, Temari, Ino, Obito & many more were simply fabulous. Even if you don't like those characters, you're still bound to like their beautifully handcrafted designs. But then there are Zetsu that looked awful no matter what. So it wasn't really all too flawless but regardless, hats off to Kishimoto (and Pierrot too) for pulling off such great designs throughout the series.

ACTION & POWER-SYSTEM: The power system was swift, simplistic & did its job well. Although in Part 1, the fights were a lot more tactical. In Shippuden, however, the fights became flashier & more about overpowering. Though, that's acceptable with the fabulous choreography & animation most of the major battles had. Narratively too, a lot of battles will remain memorable forever. But what isn't acceptable for me actually is the power ceiling that was brutally broken during the War Arc. At the end of the Shippuden, there's probably not a single person on planet earth who can rival Naruto or Sasuke. Not a fan of ridiculously OP power levelling but since this particular series ended, it won't leave you a room for complaining much.

WORLD-BUILDING: The world was explored a lot more in Shippuden compared to the Part 1. World expansion was swift & well but not satisfying given the amount of proper exploration there was. I was always curious to find the lives of others in the other hidden villages. But in the end, it held no significance down the road or in the plot given most of the events took place in Hidden Leaf Village anyway. The culture, however, could've been shown on a much better level. As if every village-men are all same, only thing that differs is the place where they live. Also, politics barely had any significance of a world-building consisting a governing body. Population never had any sort of reaction even after so many wars & conflicts other than during the end of Pain's Assault Arc. Therefore, at times, the hatred towards Jinchuriki felt a bit too unrealistic. But the lores were carried out well to a certain point. But overall, world building was very mediocre.


MUSIC: This is probably the one of the two departments in my opinion in which Naruto Shippuden is nearly flawless. From the background scores to the opening/ending themes, everything was just spot on. There were a lot of memorable OPs with few of them being legendary in fact.

VOICE ACTING: I've seen entirety of the series in English dub & honestly speaking, I loved it. Jiraiya, Kakashi, Tsunade, Sakura, Sasuke, Gaara, Naruto & many more... The cast was just ideal & their performances were even better. Flawless really.

ANIMATION: Inconsistent. But for a weekly anime it was totally acceptable. For a weekly anime to have that many amount of well animated fights is very rare, take One Piece for example.

PACE: Consistently well in the canon arcs adaptation (if not the arcs directly) & consistently terrible in most of the filler arcs. Overall, calling it poor would be perfect. Adaptation could've been much better with Naruto being a weekly manga with no hiatus whatsoever.

MOVIES & SPECIALS: The last three movies & the Boruto movie were good to great. I enjoyed them. Prior to them, not so much. And the specials? I liked nearly all of them!

OVERALL: The first half of Shippuden & second half of Shippuden feels completely different. Quality was what being escalated every now & then in the first half with personal investment level reaching sky. But seeking moments here & there to keep the boredom out became my habit in the second half. This is all about subjectivity but unless you've seen only a few anime; or you're young and into mainstream battle shonen; or you're intriguingly obsessed with Naruto, there's no solid reason to watch Naruto Shippuden after "Pain's Assault Arc." Skipping the fillers is must & even then, boredom from nearly half of Shippuden is guaranteed with the terribly written War Arc. A smooth experience is something you can't really expect. But if you're young, you're in for witnessing an unforgettable journey of an oppressed underdog who lost his parents after birth due to a reason that changed the whole world in an emotional story of bonds. "Watch-and-forget-during-the-lockdown" is probably most ideal way to describe the mediocre show personally.

— Canon arcs were solid, except for the unnecessary recycled flashback spams at times which really annoyed me, if I'm being honest. Sasuke Retrieval Arc could easily have been a solid 10 had it not been for the Naruto vs. Sasuke on rooftop flashbacks for like a million times. However, the progression was great & it always leaves you at a state where you'd be asking for more & more. Enjoyably intriguing, to say the least!

— Filler arcs, on the contrary, were inconsistent throughout with no evident tonal difference, which was a great aspect. Some were great, some were good, some were mediocre & some ... were flat-out boring. However, the filler arcs explored the characters, provided them some sort of growth & surfed the world pretty well! But whether the events & developments remain intact remains to be seen. I'd be happily surprised if some of the filler arcs are addressed in the future! That said, the one-shot fillers were mostly hilariously great! Wish if they did those much more than what they did otherwise.

— All the characters were great. However, the vast developments were mostly dedicated towards Sasuke & Naruto. Sakura, for example, barely had any major significance or impact. Hinata too barely appeared in the canon arcs, with all the "crush" & stuffs there was to show. On the other hand, many characters particularly required no such development & were really likeable! Naruto's charm made him the best character of the show pretty easily. Although, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Lee, Guy, Gaara & Shikamaru were few of the others I liked too! Character designs were also as lovely — Naruto, Iino, Sakura, Sasuke, Itachi, Kakashi, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kiba, Neji, Shikamaru, Choji, Shino & Anko's designs specifically were my favourites!

— Comedy was spot-on. Even though some of them were repetitive at times (Jiraiya sneaking in on women, Lee drunk, etc), they always felt hilarious! My favourite gag was Kakashi's excuses for getting late though!

— World-building felt solid & really interesting at times, but nothing was particularly explored to the extent where it could be judged thoroughly. The fillers could've done a better job, under the supervision of the Mangaka, at this one instead of just throwing off random locations.

— Action was brilliant for most of the part, from choreography, to shot composition & animation! Especially in the canon arcs. The power system however wasn't mind-blowing or something but was simplistic & that's where its strength was! Although what held back the action's full potential was the storytelling structuring, in my opinion. For example, One Piece usually sorts out a huge chunk of flashbacks before the real fight begins. But for Naruto, it's the opposite. The start-stop-start-stop action is something I didn't exactly like, as it all comes down to preference after all.

— Off-the-fights animation, on the contrary, was inconsistent throughout just as the art. Sometimes, the characters looked too round or sharp, with the backgrounds being good or mediocre. Animation too felt stiff where the characters looked so unlike. But whenever Studio Pierrot animated an episode themselves, it was always fabulous!

— Background music was great throughout. Nothing extraordinary, nowhere near bad. The perfect balance you can ask for. Although, a bit old school understandably. But honestly speaking, it gets kind of repetitive & boring at times as the series progresses.

— Opening & ending themes mostly were boring to me. Fighting Dreamers, however, was an iconic banger undoubtedly! Three or four OP & ED were also good enough.

— I watched the full series in English dub & I must say, it was fantastic! From cast to the voice acting, everything was top-notch. The only English voice I wasn't fond of was of Orochimaru. Overall, 9.5/10 for the dub!

— Movies were so very unlike the series. All of them were bad or just "barely watchable." However, most of the OVA's were great! Especially the Sports Day one!

— But despite having not read the manga, I can confidently say the direction was mostly spot-on for the canon arcs but the fillers spread basically ruined its potential of greatness. 89 episodes of nothing significant was a pure waste of the potential though, primarily because of the storyboarding & spread. The pacing also could've much better had they addressed the issues I mentioned earlier.

— Would've a 10/10 without the flaws I mentioned. Still a solid 9/10 for the canon contents, 6/10 for the filler arcs & ovverall a good 7/10 for the entire series. But in the end, the series was still enjoyable, if not "very," regardless & that's what matters the most I believe!

— The first & last episodes of the series were really memorable! That said, I am onto the Naruto Shippuden now! I don't exactly have huge hopes for the series, but I do expect some obvious improvements after everything Naruto Part 1 has done to set it up perfectly. Consistent enjoyment is what I'll be asking for primarily, nothing else really.

POKÉMON XY & XYZ JOINT REVIEW

STORYTELLING: The same old-school formula of Ash finding out a region, meeting new friends & rivals and aiming to conquer its league. Except, this time he deservedly got too close. But don't let this mere description fool you. Even if it was the generic system of storytelling, the tone & intensity the series carried throughout made it the greatest ever Pokémon anime series till the date, at least for me. Though, most of the fillers were forgettable while many are too memorable. The ending, however, made me forget every complaints I had.

PACE: This is the weirdest part. In early XY ... S1 & XYZ, there were bunch of annoying and boring fillers that actually hindered the pace of the series as a whole that caused the series to be rushed significantly towards the absolute end (though, it was still great). Storyboarding was something that needed to be done way better than it was.

CHARACTERS: Every single characters were great & that's a major reason why I fell in love with Pokémon XY. The significance certain characters had, be it on plot or on the main characters, needs to be appreciated. Unlike its predecessor, none of the characters were "boring" but rather enjoyable! Alain, Serena, Sawyer, Clemont & Ash (despite being a bit static at times) were the ones who stood out the most for me! Serena's character in arc in particular was the most realistic I've ever seen in Pokémon, while Sawyer was the most unique kind of rival Ash has ever had. Whereas Alain's story was totally not so Pokémon-ish with the dark turn of events here & there that developed Alain into the one we know today.

POKÉMON: The introduction to Kalos Pokémon & Mega Evolutions were great throughout. The Pokémon of Ash's friends, rivals & companions were all interesting too. But for Ash, it was a different story with all the focus going into Ash-Greninja eventually for nothing significant. Overall, his team was undeniably the strongest he's ever had (alongside Sinnoh & Alola) but in terms of characteristics, the team wasn't really all great. Also, Team Rocket's Pokémon weren't that memorable either. Another minor complaint could be the no explanation behind Mega Evolution X & Y (like Charizard).

REGION PORTRAYAL: The modernism of Kalos & uniqueness of certain cities were captured magnificently in the series. There's no doubt that it was the best portrayal we've had until this point (alongside Alola, of course)!

TEAM ROCKET: Classic Team Rocket, nothing particular to say about them. At times, they were hilarious. But most of the time, they were boring & annoying. OS-AG-DP Team Rocket was creative, BW Team Rocket was terrible & XY Team Rocket was mediocre. But the role they played in Team Flare Arc was really great so there's that!

TEAM FLARE: Easily the best Evil Team till the date, with not so evil motive. But the threatening they looked & the devastation they caused ended up giving us one of the greatest Pokémon arcs ever, so I don't complaint much!

GYM BATTLES: Pretty much every single Gym Battles were great and with a lot of emotional values, with Viola, Korrina, Clemont, Olympia & Wulfric's battles being the greatest ever gym battles till the date. Every gym leaders were great too & the buildup we've had prior to the Viola, Korrina, Clemont & Wulfric's battles made the battles even more significant in solidifying their greatness! Moreover, Olympia's battle was the most significant of all in the larger picture to the plot while Wulfric played a key role in Ash's development. Whereas the battle of Clemont was pinnacle of friendly rivalry m In short.... Cinematography, choreography, writing, intensity, tone & direction, everything were just perfect!

LEAGUE: Even with the chopped off battles & all, the Kalos League was simply phenomenal with its intensity, tone, battle choreography and writing & animation. The significance it played to build up the final arc made it even better!

ANIMATION: A huge upgrade over its predecessor undeniably. But still not "great" for a 2013 show. Could've been way better. But the fantastic art-style, some brilliant background arts, the wonderful character designs & the phenomenal battles compensated the otherwise mediocre animation most of the time. Regardless, this is the kind of formula I still prefer for Pokémon than the new generation of style!

MUSIC: XY S1, my all time favourite Pokémon OP, had a phenomenal remake of the "Gotta Catch 'em All!". XY S2 OP, on the other hand, felt a little lackluster in composition but strong lyrically. XYZ OP was quite the opposite of XY S2 OP though. But in terms of background, the English Dub was really incompetent in replacing the Japanese OSTs. But question remains, was there any necessity even?

VOICE ACTING: The voice cast was something that isn't talked about enough. After Diamond & Pearl, I feel like this is the peak of Pokémon altogether from every aspect & rightfully so! Although, there's no doubt that Sarah Natocheny definitely could've done a better job than she did. I believe she was nowhere near her Diamond & Pearl or Black & White self this time around. The maturity she tried to bring in this time didn't quite suit Ash & actually made him feel static at times in the series.

OVERALL DIRECTION: Almost everything was just fantastic. Be it utilisation of the characters, to building up the final arc, to handling certain arcs, or the series' pace as a whole. There were a few flaws here & there though (like the Ash-Greninja, Filler Streaks & all) but in the end, it didn't really hinder the enjoyment I've had while watching the series weekly or rewatching it after 4 years. In the end, the old-school formula reached its peak with the near perfection direction!

MOVIES: Well... Probably the weakest point of the series but it doesn't really count as they're all non-canons. The last movie, however, was quite decent comparatively.

SPECIALS: Pretty mediocre & unnecessary even. Although, not particularly bad. Enjoyable somewhat, more so if you wanted more of XY content. But I'd rather suggest rewatching a few moments through the official Pokémon TV or YouTube.

FINAL RATING (FOR BOTH XY & XYZ): An unbelievable improvement over its predecessor(s). Even with its major or negligible flaws & rare inconsistencies, Pokémon XY (Z) will forever remain as the greatest Pokémon series ever with its unmatched legacy due to the way it perfected the iconic & classic formula of Pokémon. A solid 9/10!

NOTE: ALL THE RATINGS are given on the basis of POKÉMON ANIME STANDARDS. XY & XYZ are a 7/10 for NORMAL ANIME STANDARDS OTHERWISE, I believe. And I watched entirety of Pokémon XY, XYZ, Movies & Mega Evolution Acts in English Dub (with the notable exception of the Specials, that I watched in Japanese Dub with English Subs).

- A fantastic psychological story of human cruelty & the monsters within.
- Extremely slow pace that prevented me from getting invested properly.
- Neatly written complex characters with each depicting different themes leading up to the singular tone of the series. Tenma, in particular, is the standout.
- Thematically, the storytelling process was phenomenal. Felt like a tangle of strings being unraveled as we witness morale justifications through the acts of human-beings & monsters alike. Credits to the mangaka in particular.
- Fantastic OST's, coupled with brilliant cinematography, setting up the tone of the series.
- Felt really overdramatic at times.
- The "perfect suicide" plan felt very awkward to ... me. If Johan wanted Tenma to live his life in despair and no recognition with the horrible memory & leaving no traces of Johan whatsoever, what was particularly supposed to happen to Nina then? You could argue "psychopath" but still it's awkward to me.
- Decent animation.
- Final 10 episodes or so were straight up fire.
- Extremely strong climax that was built up well throughout.
- First & the last episodes were one of the best first & last episodes I've ever seen!

- Slow start (that eventually made sense) but fabulous pacing afterwards.
- CONSISTENT ANIMATION.
- GREAT CHARACTERS who were all handled well & had key roles to play.
- BRILLIANT PLOT that showcased imperialism, racism, feminism & what not. Plot definitely was its strongest point.
- GOD-TIER ENDING. Satisfaction is guaranteed.
- ATYPICAL FIGHT SHONEN. Never felt like "I'll save the world, yeah!!!" stuff as the characters had much larger reasons.
- FANTASTIC PLOT TWISTS. Especially the one with Selim & Philosopher's Stone.
- FABULOUS WORLD-BUILDING. I loved Amestris!
- Lots of Sakuga fest. Studio Bones nailed it.
- Great art. Takes time to get used to eyes though.
- Great music. Although, the OP's ... or ED's weren't consistently great.
- Winry is cute AF.
- Ed & Al are a lovely duo! The dynamic they provided to the series is unimaginable!
- Sound designing problems (effects felt too loud).
- EASILY TOP 5. 10/10. 🐐

STORYTELLING & ARCS: Storytelling was the highlight of the show undeniably. A lot of things keep on happening around and best part was how Gon & Killua were involved in those. The arcs in particular served no definitive highlights to their characters (with Greed Island and Heaven's Arena as an arguable exception) & that's what made the storytelling so unique to me. The stories weren't focused on them but rather had them. And yet, the characters' progression were never hindered for once. The depth and layers as well as continuous change of themes and tone in the storytelling proved to be the vital point of ... the show.

CHARACTER & THEIR DESIGNS: Almost each and every characters of the show played some key roles throughout the show. No characters can be deemed useless. And the amount of development the major characters recieved throughout the journey of 148 episodes was a delight to experience. Gon, Kurapika, Meruem & Killua, in particular, were highlights of the show with Hisoka lurking around the favourites-corner. Besides, when it comes to designs, Madhouse did yet another fantastic job. Killua, Gon & Hisoka's designs in particular were some huge improvements from its source material or first anime adaptation. Maybe, only the Zodiacs didn't look as good as others.

ART & ANIMATION: Art-style was a fantastic upgrade over its inconsistent source material and overall, both animation & art were consistent enough. Although, they can't be deemed fabulous or anything. They were just good, or great for a long running show that Hunter x Hunter was. While the art managed to capture the vast world building so extravagantly with a beautiful color palette, the shot composition and animation added a different dynamism that made the show a beautiful piece of art to watch and enjoy. The animation, however, became extremely good during certain moments such as the fight between Gon & Hisoka. Besides some fantastic choreography, the shot composition and clever usage of budget also allowed the fights to look great.

MUSIC: Probably the most underrated aspect of the show. The theme song and almost every ending themes were consistently great. I never skipped any one of the openings or endings at all! Such was the obsession I had with the show in itself. Besides, backgrounds scoring added a different feeling to the show. Originally, Hunter x Hunter is a very dark manga. But most importantly, with (the color palette and) the music, Madhouse succeeded in giving the show a brand new dimension. But that didn't hinder the quality, epicness or darkness of certain moments or the penultimate arc. A true shounen.

POWER-SCALING: Nen is usually considered one of the finest power-systems ever & I can understand why. It was never about the brute force but rather the brain. Intelligence > Power was always showcased with Hisoka & Killua as the leading examples. With bunjee gum or godspeed, a loss is inevitable unless you adapt and apply yourself properly on ground. Nen truly played an important role throughout the series with a huge surprise in the end where human's raw evolution was shown to be not forgotten amid.

PACE: Pace was pretty consistent throughout with Greed Island, Heaven's Arena & Yorknew City Arcs being perfect. But the problem arose with the beginning of Chimera Ant Arc that was painfully slow at times. In the end, the slow pace also made sense and only enhanced the arc further to provide a satisfying finish. Overall, I'd say the pace was pretty good, if not that great.

VOICE ACTING: I watched the English dub and it was simply flawless to begin with. Every voices suited their respective characters ideally with Hisoka, Killua, Gon & Leorio being the best performances of the entire show. At times, I felt the English dub was much superior to its Japanese counterpart in my honest opinion (which is quite surprising nowadays, with the exception of Black Clover arguably).

MOVIES: Probably the only "disappointing" aspect of the entire show. First movie was mediocre and second movie was just good at best. In the end, nothing matters given the movies are totally non-canon.

DIRECTION: Now that I've talked about everything, I must admit — the series wouldn't have anywhere near what it is if it wasn't for the direction. The series had 2 fillers in total with some good pace, fabulous arcs, great action, fantastic shot composition & what not. The direction itself needs applause seperately.

VERDICT: Overall, what I feel like is that no episode was ever less than a solid 8/10 for me & such was the enjoyment I've had over the last few months. I was invested very deeply into the anime & loved every bits of it. A pure masterpiece in every way. Probably could be the epitome of shounen once Togashi comes out of the hiatus and finishes the storyline. Although, it's still very hard to convince people to watch it given the shounen tag (which some people don't like anymore) as well as the misleading and generic synopsis. But trust me, the series is nowhere near what its impression otherwise feels like.

FINAL RATING: 10/10 easily. Just dive into it & have a blast of a few weeks. You'll not regret. Currently having a hangover & have no wish to watch anything else right now. Undoubtedly my most favourite anime alongside Vinland Saga!

STORYTELLING: Nothing sort of a great story as expected. Generic as Pokémon has always been but this time the execution was nowhere near what its predecessors have otherwise offered in the past. Some arcs like the Tournaments Arcs were good and the N arc was fantastic. But that's about it. Every time time it feels the show is about to peak, it goes downhill straightaway.

PACE: Highly inconsistent. Intolerably slow at times, extremely fast in the other times resulting in a Filler Arc in end. Spread of fillers was still better than last series. Though, the fillers were mostly incredibly terrible.

CHARACTERS: Ash was one dimensional and ... back to zero after years of development. It was strange and his goofiness was annoying. Although, I found Cilan to be the most annoying character. His connoisseur gag got old too quick and thankfully the spam stopped by the time Unova League arrived. Iris, on the other hand, wasn't bad but she didn't recieve huge chunk of development and remained poorly stagnant throughout. In the end, both of their ambitions remained as ambitions and recieved no temporary conclusion like the past characters. Besides, none of the the side characters were memorable. Trip, the rival of Ash, in particular was bland and edgy for no good.

POKÉMON: The Pokémon of the three main characters had good chemistry mostly. But that's about it. No Pokémon in the entire series stood out to be an ace or icon of the series. But I liked how most of Unova's Pokémon were gradually shown.

REGION PORTRAYAL: Pretty good, much better than the previous generations (maybe except Johto). But the annoying extra vibrant and one dimensional backgrounds made it look bad.

TEAM ROCKET: First half was about seriousness for nothing, second half was a hard attempt at redeeming their characters, resulting in a mess. Lack of chemistry with their own Pokémon resulted in an even dull Team Rocket than ever. The comedic relief aspect of their characters were long gone.

TEAM PLASMA: Just why couldn't they appear beforehand? Their relevance pretty much lasted only for the N arc and that's very disappointing considering the immense potential they had for the plot.

GYM BATTLES: No memorable battles at all. Not that great battle choreography either. Animation was mostly mediocre (pathetic in fact for a 2010-2013 show).

LEAGUE: Outright pathetic. The worst league ever. No more comments.

ANIMATION: Great character designs. Bad and extra vibrant background arts. Negligible animation update from its predecessor, resulting in a mediocre animation for its era.

THEME SONGS: All the theme songs were extremely great. Probably best set of theme songs Pokémon have ever delivered alongside Advanced generation!

VOICE ACTING: Ash sounded extra childish but other than that, I believe this was the peak of English dub alongside its predecessor.

OVERALL DIRECTION: Inconsistent. The potential for the series was immense and it failed to cash in on that unlike its predecessor. It feels as if the franchise would've been much better without this series' existence. The director was probably clueless throughout.

MOVIES: Two bad movies. One good movies. The movies' qualities were very much relatable to its core series.

SPECIALS: Both Cilan & Iris' special were decent enough. Much better than most of the episodes of its core series.

FINAL RATING: 6/10, at best. Two or three good arcs, with three or four "great episodes" in the entire series. Much too disappointing.

Spirituality, the power of youth, the ignorant society where you can still expect support of a few, the bond of love, two relatable characters, some realistic supporting characters & how everything in the end affect the society as a whole are key elements of any Makoto Shinkai films. And Weathering With You was no different. Coupled with some fabulous animation, art & music, the film was a fabulous experience for me. The metaphorical themes of the film and how its narrated may not be so original but the execution just makes everything so perfect, mesmerizing and a joyful treat!

Although, as compared to Your Name, it ... may not be any better film. But what exactly does make it more enjoyable for me? The fleshed-out depiction of something very realistic and important through a very unique concept and a beautiful love story (that Your Name also had).

The only thing Your Name did so, so, so much better was giving insights to the daily lives of the characters. But given it was never the intention of Weathering With You's fast-paced storytelling, I'm not quite sure if that can be considered a flaw.

STORYTELLING: The plot and the storytelling is probably the highlight of DP. Coupled with some fantastic arcs, DP successfully remained thrilling throughout for me.

PACE: Pacing was one issue that was well managed in the first two seasons. Third season, however, was a complete disappointment in terms of direction with bunch of fillers. On top, the spread was horrible. Fourth season somehow regained the pace back after the initial episodes though.

CHARACTERS: Characters were another highlight of the series with Dawn, Ash & Paul being the most remarkable characters. It felt as if I'm witnessing three seperate journeys correlated to one another. I loved how Dawn never ... felt like a 'companion' but rather a lead character. Bond between Ash, Dawn & Brock were entirely on a different level making them the most lively trio in my opinion! The arcs that provided some natural development to the characters were unique and solidified the path to conclusion! Ash's growth as a trainer and Dawn's rising confidence were so pleasingly evident. Besides, even the minor and side characters had a lot of impact, influence and relevance on the plot, making DP a fantastic experience overall. The designs however were only decent but the artstyle was still good!

POKÉMON: Lots of Sinnoh as well as Pokémon from other regions were shown providing the perfect balance the series needed. But what stood out is the most is the Pokémon partners of the main characters! The chemistry, the bond, the determination & everything were perfect reflection of their owners making the "Pokémon cast" very memorable!

REGION PORTRAYAL: This is another weak-point of DP as it failed to showcase the beauty of Sinnoh. The region, throughout the series, looked extremely one dimensional and boring to some extent. Hoenn or Johto, in that regard, were much better.

TEAM ROCKET: Many complaint about the 100% appearance rate of Team Rocket in the series but I actually found them to be as good as ever! In my opinion, the portrayal of Team Rocket in DP has been the most hilarious till the date!

TEAM GALACTIC: Team Galactic showed a lot of promises initially. Every arcs carried a tensed atmosphere and promised us of something huge. Even the last arc was extremely good. But only if the conclusion was as good.

GYM BATTLES: With the limited animation DP had, I loved how the battles still managed to be extremely intense. Credits to the buildup and the choreography. But what I liked the most about the battles were the showcases of stats moves, hazard setters, fusion moves & counter shield. They were amazingly done making DP the closest series to the games!

CONTESTS: Contests were one aspect I found tremendously boring in AG. Although, the experience was totally different when it came to DP as time kept on going, I actually ended up liking 'em (possibly due to slightly better animation comparatively)! The extravagant moves and chemistry shown by the trainers and their Pokémon with some intense yet so elegant battles were just amazing to see.

LEAGUE: The Sinnoh League is probably the most well-written league till the date. Lots of emotions were put in as numerous characters got their conclusions. Battles, too, were a delight to watch. Although, Tobias vs. Ash could've been a much better battle (though, I don't mind Ash losing out.

OVERALL ANIMATION: Other than battles where a lot of efforts were put in with whatever the resources were, the animation overall was a disappointment. There were hardly any upgrades evident post the AG saga initially. But once the series started to adapt 16:9 resolution, the animation too somehow got much better. Color palette, however, seemed dull throughout but not one-dimensional.

THEME SONGS: Pretty much all the theme songs were good enough. Especially the 2nd & 3rd season's themes. Although, they weren't anywhere near the predecessor (a.k.a. AG).

VOICE ACTING: Sarah Natochenny did a fantastic job in voicing Ash. The emotions during his highs and lows were captured so well. I feel like her voice acting skills played a key role. Other than her, everyone else were as good too, which was a surprising element!

OVERALL DIRECTION: The direction overall has been just 'good' with the sky-high potential it had for a Pokémon series. Had the fillers been spread with a proper balance, the series would've turned much better than what it was. Although, that said, DP is still a GREAT series nevertheless!

FINAL RATING: Rating DP is very difficult with the highs and lows it has. The flaws were very trivial but evident at the same time. But the positives were everywhere, that managed to overshadow the production issues and whatever flaws it had! The stortelling process was a delight to witness. 192 episodes might seem bit too much, but trust me, it's worth it if you're a Pokémon fan! And therefore, I believe giving it a 8/10 is absolutely fair! That said, DP is surely my most favourite Pokémon Series alongside XY now!