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-Disclaimer-
First of all, as a non-native English speaker, I don’t guarantee my writing accuracy in this review, and I early apologize for the mistakes you might find in it.


I didn’t read much manga in my life, but it appears that my father had bought Panorama Toukitan and it teased my curiosity when I saw the book. I read it, and I wanted to share my thoughts about it, because there was only one other review. So here it is!


STORY: 8/10
The story was interesting! It’s adapted from a novella of the same name by Edogawa Ranpo. It tells the story of an unknown author, who will ... usurp the identity of one of his successful colleagues in order to fulfil his dream. Unfortunately, many obstacles will hinder him until the end of the narration. Dreamlike, even symbolic, this rather short and finally rather simple story raises questions about the perversity of the human being. It deserves an 8.

ART: 8/10
I enjoyed the drawing style. It was quite realistic, but the images of the nature, and the different animals (like the fishes or the plants) were very lyrical. I found the visuals very pleasant, especially from the 6th chapter to the last chapter. I really liked the use of colour in the front and back covers. They are vivid, but still in pastel tones, which reinforces the dreamlike side of the whole work. He has a very interesting style, and has brought his touch to Ranpo’s work, which gives a very interesting result. 8 seems a fair score to me.

CHARACTER: 7/10
Since Panorama Toukitan is eight-chapters-long, we obviously don’t have the time to discover each character, but the main one is still very interesting. We can quickly understand his frustration, his aspirations, and his dream. Chiyoko, the dead author’s woman, seems mysterious and seems to have an almost evil personality. In short, the characters are not overly developed but that’s not so useful, and more importantly, the story is too short to be able to do that. Therefore, I don’t find it a problem. That’s why I’ll put a 7.


OVERALL: 8/10
Panorama Toukitan was very good. It reads very quickly, and I think it’s a shame that so few people have discovered it. With very good art and a mystical story, you get caught up in the narrative. I recommend it to you if you like the Seinen and Psychological genres.

-Disclaimer-
First of all, as a non-native English speaker, I don’t guarantee my writing accuracy in this review, and I early apologize for the mistakes you might find in it.


One thing I like with MAL is the anime ranking. We can browse and search for the anime with the worst grades ever. And that’s how I discovered Mukidashi no Mitsuko. When I saw the picture, I was so amused, and I decided to watch it. This ONA isn’t long so it’s quick to watch, and we can find it on the creator’s YouTube channel! There were no reviews on Mukidashi no Mitsuko’s MAL page, so I ... decided to write mine.


STORY: 7/10
Since Mukidashi no Mitsuko is a very short film, the story is quite simple. However, I found it poetic and the nonsense of the situations made the whole short film really funny. I was truly surprised, because I wasn’t expecting anything from a 6-minute long short ONA with a bad score on MAL, but in the end, I laughed several times! That’s why I’ll put a 7.

ART: 7/10
Mukidashi no Mitsuko has an uncommon drawing style, which I really appreciated. We can feel Taniguchi’s (the director) touch. I must still admit that the animation wasn’t very successful, but I know that the director works independently and does not have a high budget for his projects. I think 7 is a good score for the art.

SOUND: 7/10
As I said before, Taniguchi works alone, which explains why he did all the sound effects himself. Some will find this disturbing, but I found it hilarious! Regarding the song, I thought it was funny. In fact, the assumed cheapness of the whole anime makes it very comic. It’s one of the features that made me enjoy Mukidashi no Mitsuko. I believe the sound deserves a 7.

CHARACTER: 6/10
The characters are introduced in a fine way. In six minutes, you obviously can’t develop them but I didn’t think it was especially a problem. The main character is a bit cliché, he’s the caricature of the exhausted workers in Japanese society. On the other hand, we have a sort of mysterious winged angel. So the characters are funny, some are original, but I wouldn’t say they’re fabulous either. 6 seems a fair score to me.


OVERALL: 7/10
Mukidashi no Mitsuko was good. The nonsense and the ‘handmade’ style made it really enjoyable, as well as this song. I recommend it to you if you’re into weird and alternative ONAs and independent productions.

-Disclaimer-
First of all, as a non-native English speaker, I don’t guarantee my writing accuracy in this review, and I early apologise for the mistakes you might find in it. This review might contain minor spoilers.


Basically, there exists a manga for practically every activity you can imagine. So painting was used as a plot basis too, and it gave birth to Arte, manga by Kei Ookubo, which I haven’t read. Since it had a bit of success, it was obviously adapted into an anime. The picture from MAL as well as the synopsis teased me, and that’s why I watched it during spring 2020. I found it ... quite good, but it’s obviously not the best anime of the season. I still enjoyed it, so I would like to review it, because I wanted to share my thoughts about different things, whether they’re positive or troublesome to me. I read some reviews complaining about the accuracy of the historical transcription, but I’m not a Renaissance specialist, so I didn’t know if this was correct, although I had this feeling at some points. So let me start!


STORY: 8/10
This is a story of a noble girl who aims to be an artist. Unfortunately, the society in the 16th century wasn’t used to artist women. She will fight in order to make a dream come true. Well, when I sum up the story like that, we can directly think that it is a bit cliché, and yes, we’ve seen this narrative scheme hundreds of times: a hero has a dream, but obstacles stand in his way, and he overcomes them. So it’s necessary to add to the idea some elements that will guarantee a success. And Arte’s author did it pretty well! The adventures, the discovery of the outside world (since Arte comes from a noble background and doesn’t know too much about what’s going on in town), all this contributes to the embellishment of the story which I found very nice. Each week, I wanted to know more about Arte’s adventures. It proves the story’s a good one. I also wanted to talk about the feminist aspect of this anime. It obviously raises the question of the place of women, certainly in the Renaissance society, but we can draw a parallel with our modern society. At first, I thought the script was going to push too hard on this feature, but in the end, I found that the feminist side was used very well, without overdoing it. So the plot is interesting, rather endearing, and carries a message of tolerance, without exaggerating. 8 seems a fair score to me!

ART: 8/10
The art of Arte was really pleasant! The drawing style was really aesthetic, which surprised me! The character design and the entire graphic charter were good. I still noticed it slightly different from the original manga. The animation was correct, as well as the lightning. Like I said in my introduction, I somehow had the feeling that Arte doesn’t represent the Renaissance accurately. I sensed it when I saw the portraits drawn by Arte. The background was plain, had one colour, but I don’t think real Renaissance paintings have this characteristic, and it even contradicts what Arte’s master, Leo, taught her. But again, I’m not an art expert, and I’m sure I’m getting into some very minor details. I haven’t much more to say, the art was good, even if it is not especially peculiar, and I think it deserves an 8.

SOUND: 6/10
The sound was just fine. The soundtrack is not incredible, but it goes pretty well with the scenes. Still, it must be said that the music is not very developed, it’s quite simple, few instruments, not many changes or progressions… And again, my problem with the soundtrack was the fact that it’s not in a Renaissance style. Some people won’t mind, but I was a little disturbed by this anachronism. When I say that, I especially think to a song that is played when Arte is nerved or is under stress. It’s a kind of string instrument playing notes quickly, without any chord accompanying, doubled by the piano. It seemed out of the point to me, actually. I found the dubbing pretty correct, the casting was OK. So I’m a bit disappointed about the music but it’s not horrible, either. That’s why I put a 6.

CHARACTERS: 6/10
For me, Arte’s weakness is its characters. They were all a bit cliché: Arte, a cheerful girl who wants to make hear dream come true and helps everyone she meets, Leo, the mysterious master, who doesn’t talk much but has a tragic backstory… You understood it, I didn’t find the characters very interesting, they were predictable, had just one main trait that was used all the time. It’s too bad… Sometimes I was even nerved at some of them, like Arte when she has her ‘romance’ phase. 6 is for me a fair score for characters, and I may even be overrating them.


OVERALL: 7/10
Arte is an enjoyable show. Although it’s not incredible, it delivers a good message, has a good art and an attractive plot. My main problems with it was the cliché characters, not developed enough for me, and hypothetical historical infidelity, of which I can’t be sure, unfortunately. I still know that some people are not bothered by that, since it is fictional. This anime might be for you if you’re into Slice of Life and Historical genres!

-Disclaimer-
First of all, as a non-native English speaker, I don’t guarantee my writing accuracy in this review, and I early apologise for the mistakes you might find in it. This review won’t contain any major spoiler!


I really enjoyed watching Tower of God. I first discovered the anime with MAL, but I couldn’t afford waiting a week to know what was next, so I started reading the Webtoon before finishing the 13 episodes. Since I already knew the story line, my impression on the anime must have been altered when some plot twist or any revelations occurred. That is why I may underrate it. So here ... is my review of Tower of God!


STORY: 9/10
The intrigue is simple: a boy, the 25th Bam aims to climb the Tower of God because of a girl, Rachel. We have a concept, a goal, and (very important) a developed fantasy world. These elements guarantee an efficient and successful story! The original plot by S.I.U. (author of the manhwa) is truly interesting! It is effective and the different tests from the floors are relevant! While we follow Bam and his teammates through their adventures, we learn more about the world they live in : the Shinsu (a power used in fights), rules and legends of the tower… I really liked the floor-by-floor functioning (since it’s a tower) and the hierarchy in the tower administration. We quickly learn how the tests are organized, and we can see the betrayals, the compromises, the alliances that go on behind the scenes. The force of the story is indeed all those plot twist and mind games from the different protagonists, who are often willing to do anything to get to the next floor.

ART: 10/10
Tower of God obviously stands out from the other anime by its very particular drawing style, especially with the slightly ‘unclear’ borderlines and the character design. I enjoyed the different atmospheres between the different places, created by the dominant colors of each of the sets, and the light. In short, Tower of God has a surprising graphic charter that is out of the ordinary. Each character, each place, is characterized by its decor or its clothes, and I found it pleasant to see an anime whose drawing is a little unusual. But on top of this uncommon side, Tower of God is very aesthetic, and well animated! That is why I find that its art deserves a 10.

SOUND: 8/10
Well, as a classical musician, I have rather complicated taste when it comes to OST. However, I found Tower of God’s music quite successful. They were a good reflection of the feelings of the characters, or the atmospheres in which they evolve. Still I didn’t find it absolutely incredible either, so I think 8 is a fair score. Regarding the dubbing, I thought it was pretty good. I’d also like to make a digression about the opening which I thought was nice. As I said, I’m not particularly into K-pop but it’s great that a Korean music band can sing an anime OP! (and I don’t know if it has already been done many times in the past)

CHARACTERS: 9/10
Again, all the different characters are unique, thanks to their design, as I explained before, but also to their backstories. We rapidly understand the aspirations, strengths and weaknesses of each of them. I especially liked Khun Aguero Agnes. As the episodes go by, we learn why he came to the tower, and we find out his ingenious plans for moving up the floors with his team. I’d like to point out something that I thought was a bit of a shame. In the manwha, Anaak Jahad appears to be really dark, but the adaptation has weakened that trait, for some reason that I won’t explain here (I don’t want to spoil too much). Even if the general adaptation of the manwha into anime is still very successful. I must still admit two characters nerved me : Yuri Jahad when she says she will help Bam because ‘he has a cute face’ and Endorsi Jahad who doesn’t believe in man-woman friendship. Maybe it helps us understand their personalities but … ugh … they should have found something else. However I don’t think we have to sum up the anime this.


OVERALL: 9/10
A great anime. I highly recommend it to you, especially if you like fantasy, fights, and mysteries (but it is not necessary)! With his uncommon drawing style, we are completely immersed in this fascinating world. It’s a good adaptation of an outstanding manhwa. Thanks to artist S.I.U., we can enjoy the design and the breathtaking story of Tower of God. This adaptation of a korean manhwa shows an opening of Japanese animation to other cultures, and it promises cool possibilities for the future. I’m looking forward for new adaptations of Korean works!

-Disclaimer-
First of all, as a non-native English speaker, I don’t guarantee my writing accuracy in this review, and I early apologize for the mistakes you might find in it. This review won’t contain any spoiler!

I discovered Planetes navigating in the top anime list on MAL, and the name as well as the image have intrigued me. I clicked to read about it, and I was surprised! 8.32/10 in average, some 10/10 in the reviews… This is how I decided to watch this anime, but at the end, I was quite disappointed. I saw the 10 first episodes very quickly, but I made a huge break ... to see the 16 others, and this shows that I was a bit bored during the first part of the anime… So let me review Planetes step by step.


STORY: 6/10
The plot promised a lot of things, and I’ll be honest. I didn’t like the first 16 episodes of this anime for a simple reason: I didn’t care. Although there were good ideas, I felt really unconcerned about the story. Each episode seemed disconnected from the last one… However, from episodes 17 to 26, the plot was way more interesting. The characters had a real goal, they were finally doing concrete things other than just doing their job (even though their job is interesting for two or three episodes, but after this I understood all its stakes). The final narrative arc was great! I was finally motivated by the story. Nevertheless, the main romance was mediocre. I’m not into romance at all, and I wasn’t involved in the two protagonist’s relationship issues. So I have the feeling that I waited sixteen episodes to finally watch something relevant, which saves the story grade. I must still confess that the plot raised some very compelling ethical questions about space travel. 6/10 is a fair score.

ART: 6/10
Not incredible at all. It’s a matter of taste, but I do not enjoy the character design and the general drawing style. For 2003, I don’t think it’s revolutionary, but it’s not horrible either. I did like the little transition in the middle of the episodes though (I don’t know what you call it). The level of detail was very low, and lightning was quite bad too, but the part in space was enjoyable. The graphic chart of the planets is an example of things that I appreciated.

SOUND: 5/10
In the beginning, I would have given to sound a fair 6, because the soundtrack was acceptable, without being incredible. BUT there was one song that spoiled the whole thing. I don’t remember exactly when it occurred, but there was a sort of flute, which was completely out of tune. I found that too bad, and this is why I decided to give the sound only a 5. Not horrible, not incredible, just average. Regarding the opening and ending songs, I found them fine. Sometimes the transition between the end of the episode and the ending song was rough, because it was a totally different mood, but I don’t think I can blame the anime for that, it’s just a bit disturbing.

CHARACTER: 7/10
Characters are one of the strengths of this anime. The stories of the different protagonists are often well presented. Some are sad, some explain their dreams… Many of the characters were developed in a good way. Lavie was funny, Yuri was touching... However, as I said, the romance part of the plot was pretty annoying to me.


OVERALL: 6/10
This anime was fine. Although I found its first part annoying, I enjoyed the other. The art and the sound are not amazing, the story has interesting aspects, but I found that the romance was ruining it. I personally don’t understand why there’s such hype around this anime, which even received an award, but if you enjoy Sci-Fi a lot, this might be for you (and many people found Planetes outstanding!).