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Kimi ni Todoke was my first school romance shoujo I watched when I was 17 and new to my anime journey, it instantly fell into my top 10 of all time for me, and at the age of 24, it hasn't changed. For years, I was hoping that we would get a continuation of the anime and I was slowly losing hope as the last season was in 2011. But boom, one day on Twitter it's finally announced! SEASON 3! The way I screamed, you don't even understand - FINALLY! I just finished watching season 3 and I'm so happy.

The story picks things up from ... the previous season, but this time our favourite people, Sawako and Kazehaya, are now officially a couple! And we get to see how they navigate and get used to their new dynamic. It had ups and downs, and at times they can be a little corny, but overall, it was so heartwarming to see their love on screen, oh how I've truly missed them. And I couldn't have truly thought of a perfect ending on the last episode, OMG (no spoilers lmao).
We also saw more development from Ryu and Chizuru, who are my favourite secondary couple. I loved how we got to learn more about their relationship and how much they have grown together, it made me appreciate them even more. I hope we'll get to see more of them in the future.
And last but not least, we got some more insight into Ayane and how she views herself and her relationships. Her unlikely bond with Kento was not something I was expecting, but it was truly beautiful and I loved their connection (again, no spoilers lol).
I felt that the story was more cohesive and was put together really well, and it didn't feel like certain situations and conflicts dragged on too long. As much as I loved season 2, the misunderstandings were hard to get through and went on for too long - which made it a little tedious to watch, even though the ending was worth it. I'm glad we had less of it this season though. Overall, I loved watching the story. I was worried about the season dropping on Netflix and even more worried when I saw only 5 episodes, but I believed it was fleshed out well within the hour time frame, you don't notice how time flies when you watch each episode and I love that given feeling.

One thing I'm glad they did was continue the original art style and animation, that was one of the things I fell in love with when I first watched the series, and they truly didn't disappoint in this season. They even brought back the original voice cast, and it brought back so many good memories and their performances were great. Most of the original and beautiful OST was used, with a sprinkle of some new ones, and a new OP. And I love it - it's so catchy and I did not once skip it! As well as the ending art for each episode! I wish we had an END song but it's okay, it's not that bothersome.

Each character in the show goes through personal growth and changes, whether it's in their relationships or their self. And I believe these were done well. Sawako's growth, especially, since the first season has been so satisfying to see. Seeing her grow and mature, and in the end, being more secure in herself and her relationship with Kazehaya. As well as seeing her be more secure in her friendships and her relationship with her parents is too cute, especially her dad, who's very protective of her lmao. Kazehaya is pretty much the same as Sawako and goes through his insecurities and worries about how he wants to treat Sawako, but I'm glad he confronts them, and with that, I'm excited to see what their relationship is gonna be like moving forward. Heck, I'm looking forward to the future of every character's relationships and dynamics.

There's no need to go over how much I enjoyed this - it should be obvious. The humour, the good moments, the sad moments, just everything was so enjoyable. I can't believe I've finished the new season already, I want more! I was smiling so damn much that my cheeks started to hurt. The blushing I did, the way I held my pillow to my face....everything was too cute for me to handle!

Overall, this was an amazing return for the series, and please, if you have never watched Kimi ni Todoke - please do! One of the best Shoujo's ever - I promise you, you'll fall in love with the series and the characters, just like I did all over again. And to my fellow old fans, don't miss out on this season! Thank you to the producers and author for listening to the fans and bringing back this beloved anime - I have more hope for a season 4 now and I'm looking forward to it!

Oh boy....there is so much to unpack in this anime. It was on my watch list for a while, but I decided that it was about time to see what the fuss was about. But wow...saying it is messy is truly an understatement.


*SPOILERS*


So. the plot essentially is about a bleached hair girl named Momo, who has an insecurity about her darker skin, as she always applies sunscreen and doesn't like to partake in her swimming as much (as she's a good swimmer) because she doesn't want to be out in the sun too much to make her skin even darker. This insecurity came about ... because her middle school 'friend' told her that her crush, Toji, doesn't like tanned girls, which was found later to be a flat-out lie. But that issue is brushed aside quite quickly and forgotten about. But after an exchange of confessions of having mutual feelings, Momo and Toji start dating. However, her 'best friend' Sae, as well as another guy in the mix, Kairi, make the relationship difficult, with Sae doing everything in her power to sabotage the relationship, even though she's supposed to be Momo's friend and Kairi being mixed into some mess too. Then a crazy love triangle develops and a lot of dramatics and melodrama go on for 25 episodes.
The first 10 or so episodes especially were so frustrating to watch and even at times very mean-spirited, I don't think I've ever seen a story that has raised my blood pressure as high as this one has, and oh my God, I wanted to punch my computer screen so many times, SO MANY, especially because of Sae (who I will talk more about later). There were some charming moments, and dark and mature themes that were interesting at times, but overall, the story had a lot of annoying/weird tropes and shallow moments which made me cringe so hard at times. However, I'm willing to let it slide because of the anime being released in the early 2000s - I can't expect much from that time. Everything as the story was going in a more positive direction, some more bs came lurking around the corner. Way too much drama for an easy watch, it was so all over the place and some issues had no resolutions or were brushed aside.

Let's get into animation and art. This show had some of the worst animation and art I watched because you could tell when a lot of the episodes were low-budgeted and no effort was put into background scenery and characters. After seeing the manga art, I feel like this anime did a disservice to showing the beauty of Miwa's vision with her character designs and colours. And because the animation and art not being great, it makes the dramatic moments lacklustre cause sometimes the facial expressions of the characters in their moods do not level with the VA. So yeah...not impressed.

The music was okay, but it's not like I particularly cared for the OST. I will say though, the OP and END were good and were always a good listen to when they would come on.

Right.....the characters. Lord, everyone is a mess, but some characters were more bearable than others.

Momo: Momo was an alright lead girl. She's sweet, outgoing, and talented. Unfortunately, she faced a lot of hardships from being bullied and harassed by her supposed 'best friend' Sae, who is completely jealous of Momo and tries to make her life a living hell. Seeing all the bs she had to endure from Sae, her romantic relationships and the people around her was so hard to watch at times. But she prevailed and we love to see it. However, I do have some issues with her character. One thing I didn't like about her character was how she had no self-love and was too co-dependent on the idea of needing to have a boyfriend to keep her happy. It would have been nice if she could've done some soul searching and been happy being single instead of bouncing from one boy to another - especially cause it just came across as toying around both of them and of course, it was wrong, especially what she did towards the end of the anime - which made me give her the side eye. But nah, she had to end up with one guy and I do think she made the right choice in the end (until I read Peach Girl Next). But to almost jump out of a hospital window because you wanted your boyfriend to listen to you was over the top. Like, girl, it's not that deep, especially cause they were dating for how long, 2 weeks? Amongst other stuff lmao.
I also wish she had more friends and we would've seen more of her personality and hobbies outside of her relationships. Like yeah, she had swimming, but it's shown in the first 6 episodes and that's about it. And yeah, she has acquaintances in her class but I wanted her to have more genuine friends and connections, not just her toxic relationship and her frenemies as her only circle around her. It was jarring for her.
One thing I will say though, I'm glad she was not a pushover and always stood up for herself. That's what made the anime a bit more bearable to watch.

Toji: Man, I wasn't a big fan of Toji. He was an airhead and easy to manipulate at the beginning of the show. I just had to wonder why Momo liked Toji in the first place because he was not a good boyfriend. I hate how he was always putting Sae first above his OWN GIRLFRIEND and not seeing the lies and manipulation that Sae was doing to their relationship, just being too naïve! It's only when Toji hears a snippet of the real her from Sae herself in a set-up conversation with Kairi, is when he finally wakes up. But by then it was too late for me to fully like him again. He even breaks up with Momo due to Sae having a big threat against Momo's well-being. Part of me gets it, but at the same time, he could have spoken to Momo about it and called the police on Sae. Idk I would've done that lmao. But even with that, he was so horrible to her during the breakup and it was upsetting to watch. Now granted he matured a bit towards the end of the show and still showed up for Momo, but still. But I will say though, after reading Peach Girl Next - he was the better choice in the long run.

Kairi: Kairi was a character I liked from the beginning. Sure, he was a bit of a player and goofy, but he really cared about Momo and always stood up and stood by her when she needed it, all the things Toji should have done when he and Momo were initially dating. Because of his trashy older brother, Ryo, he was not so quick to fall into Sae's manipulation and helped to expose her weird self. He was always there for Momo and I thought it was sweet. His only flaw is that he couldn't prioritise Momo and fully love her the way she deserved during their relationship, because he was in love with Misao, the school nurse and his old tutor, as she was the only one who accepted him for who he was and he has been in love with her for years. This made the relationship rocky, especially when he kissed Misao whilst she was sleeping (um?). But yeah, apart from that, I liked his character.

Sae: You know....I don't think I've had such a hatred for a character before, dislike? Yes, but hatred? Not until I watched this witch. She is truly a horrible person, like, my God. It was obvious that she was insecure, but a lot of her actions were inexcusable. I just don't understand why the class was so quick to go with her lies when Momo hasn't done anything bad to anyone. She did some horrible things, even going as far as putting Momo in a compromising position and unsafe position, all because she wanted to date Toji. Like yeah, we saw her struggles in the anime and her abusive and one-sided relationship with Ryo (which was mad creepy btw because he was 25 and Sae was 15/16), but after all the stuff she did, I found it hard to feel a lot of sympathy for her. A little, but very little. It annoyed me that Momo was so quick to forgive Sae and hang out with her again, another flaw of hers. She should've kicked her to the curb completely, but she's TOO nice! Sae was lucky that Momo cared regardless and saved her from a lot of dangerous situations. A true narcissistic.

The other characters were okay (more so acknowledging Misao and Ryo), but they were really in the story as plot devices to move the story along and to allow the main characters to develop, so I don't care too much for them.

Entertaining? To a certain extent, yes. I'm not gonna say it was completely bad, some of the drama was interesting. But a lot of it was quite jarring to watch because a lot of the issues could've been solved if people properly communicated with each other and not run away from their problems. If you live for drama and messy relationships, then by all means, this is the anime for you, plus its a full adaptation of the manga. I'm glad I watched this, but it's unlikely I'll watch it again. Once was enough for me.

Highschool of the Dead was one of my 'starter-pack' shows when I was starting my anime journey as a 17-year-old. Maybe it was because I was a new anime watcher, but I was easily impressed by the shows recommended to me at the time and thought they were 'masterpieces' - such as this. I loved it and gave it a high rating on my first viewing (8). But it's been 6 years since that time, and I'm more in tune with my anime preferences and use more critical thinking. I decided to rewatch HOTD again out of nostalgia and to see if it still lived ... up to the hype I had for it. Yeah...I don't really like this as much as I did back then.

The premise of the story is essentially about a zombie ecopolyse starting out of nowhere and how five high schoolers, a school nurse, and a small girl come together to survive against this sudden horror that has come to be in their lives and find their families. By killing zombies and creating zombie bloodshed. Yeah...thats it. There's not really a lot to say in terms of the story, as it's pretty simple. Most of the story is really moved along by  weird plots planted inbetween episodes, and annoying fanserivce - and man, it was super fustrating to watch. Just don't get me started. Now let me just say this:. I understand that this anime falls under the ecchi genre, so I do understand that some fanservice was going to be present. And I don't mind it if it serves a purpose in the story and is not too much (because some can be good if done well). However, every second, I felt so uncomfortable by the constant boob and panty shots that were constantly shoved on my screen. It was too distracting. From the infamous 'boobs dodging bullet scene' (which was laughable), the maid outfit that was worn by Saeko. Hell, even the school nurse being almost naked and hitting on the boys was icky to me. In general, I really hate the oversexualization of high school students. Anime or not. And HOTD definitely takes the cake. I may have overlooked this at first viewing because I was young and naive, but I truly cannot stand stuff like this now and avoid any show that has anything like this. The show tried to have some 'emotional/touching' moments, but then it got ruined by fanservice, which made it hard to take those moments seriously, and I found myself rolling my eyes a lot.

I won't really go over the characters that much because, to be honest, I don't particularly care for them. The main characters consist of sterotypical archetypes: the cool one, the smarty pants, the dumb one, the unhinged, the tsundere, and the sane one (who appeared to be anyway). And most of them didn't really have qualities that I could appreciate in good characters. I will say that if I were to choose a character I liked, it would be Saeko. I do have some issues with how she was written, but she was the only one I could somewhat tolerate. And perhaps Alice (the little girl) and the dog. Yep. The worst character for me was definitely Rei. My God, she was so annoying, and every time she'd appear on screen, I would have a frown on my face. I won't say too much, but I can assure you, you're going to hate this character if you watch this show, hell, if you don't already.

The animation and art were good, and, to be fair, still are. I think it's kind of aged well, in my opinion. Not always the best, but still, I liked it. Although I think all the great animation budget went into the echhi scenes, I didn't particularly care for the OST for the show, but the OP and ending songs were bangers; I never skipped them.

Overall, this anime had a lot of potential, and it's frustrating that it wasn't used to its fullest. I truly believe that if they focused on writing the story better, creating more meaningful characters, and toning down the fan service, this could have been a great anime. But unfortunately, it was disappointing to watch it on second viewing, and I don't see myself rewatching it in the future; it will only be a memory to me. If you don't mind extreme fan service and are able to turn off your brain to ignore the weird plot, then maybe you'll like it. But I just can't really recommend this show to the next person. Unfortunately, the series was never completed and has been discontinued (RIP Daisuke Satou). It would have been interesting to see if the anime could have gotten better over time.

I went to see this movie a few days ago once it was finally available to view at my local cinema. I'm a huge fan of Ghibli movies, so I was looking forward to seeing what Miyazaki had to offer this time around. I'd admit, I was quite confused when I saw the movie at first, because at a certain point of the movie, it felt like a fever dream and just random stuff was happening. It was quite hard to fully grasp the concept or the message the movie was trying to convey. After watching a few analysis videos and rewatching the movie again, ... I've gained a new appreciation for this movie.

I believe the overall message was to depict grief and how to supposedly overcome it or move forward, despite the cruel reality of the world. The main character, Mahito, is forced to adjust to a new life after his mother's death and to embrace his new stepmother (who's basically his aunty), on top of becoming a big brother and being in a new environment. This, of course, is overwhelming for him, and he's not receptive to it at first. Getting into fights and self-inflicting injuries so he doesn't have to attend school. Just in general, he is struggling with processing a lot of his feelings.
After his stepmother goes missing, he is led to this mysterious tower by a Heron (who attempts to lead him to it on several occasions beforehand), where he goes on this wild adventure to find her and bring her back. On the way, he meets interesting people amongst other things, makes friends, and even meets his mother (in her younger self), learning more about her and having a sense of closure that he gets to see her one more time and be accepting of the reality of his life being where it is now.
While he is there, he meets the tower master and is given the choice to become the successor of the world he created (which originally was going to be given to his stepmother and unborn child due to bloodline—hence why she went missing) and to continue making it beautiful and balanced in exchange for the reality he lives in. Mahito declines, as he realises it is not what he wants. And in the end, he finishes his journey with a new perspective on life, having found himself and deciding to embrace his new life and what is ahead of him.

With that being my personal interpretation, this is what makes the movie beautiful to me. I've read a bit of Miyazaki's life, and this seems to be his most personal movie out of all the Ghibli movies. I believe that while he may have added some personal life elements to his character (such as losing his own mother at a young age), I believe it's the tower master he sees as himself a lot more. After creating a unique world through his movies for years, he was longing for a successor (his son), as he's now getting old and can't keep up with this forever. But from what I read, it doesn't seem to be heading this way, so I guess the movie is also a message to his son to create his own story and his own world as he sees fit (I guess). Even hope for the future.

It goes without saying that the animation was amazing. The art, the colour palette, and the OST were beautiful . But again, I didn't expect anything less from this studio. It was visually pleasing to watch and pleasing to hear. It kind of got me emotional at times. I won't go over the characters that much because I liked all of them. The Heron (even though I found him a little scary at first), the grannies, and so many others. In my opinion, Mahito is a well-written character. I'll admit, the humour wasn't really hitting like that, but it doesn't really take away from how good the movie was.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. As someone who is still grieving the loss of my father in the past year, Mahito's story of healing and self-discovery connected to me on a deeper level, and I'm glad I rewatched to realise this. And I believe the message that Miyazaki wanted to put out there; I'm sure a lot of viewers could relate to this or appreciate his life's work and what he's done for Ghibli Studios. I know it might be difficult to understand at first viewing, and I'll say this movie is not for everyone. But I still recommend watching it (or rewatching it) to form your own opinion and interpretation of the story.

I read this could be Miyazaki's last movie, and whilst it's sad to think about that possibly, I think this movie is a good way to say goodbye and solidify a legacy he has made over the years.

(7.5/10)

Slam Dunk is often labelled as the best sports manga of all time. Not only has it had a huge influence on basketball in Japan, but worldwide as well, and sports manga in general. Hell, the manga is rater over 9 on here, so I guess the claims are justifiable. This was enough for me to dive into the SD universe and see what the hype was all about. As I found it hard to find and read the manga at the time (due to it being out of print for a long time), I decided on the next best thing; the anime adaptation. I've ... finally finished the 101 episodes, and I have some thoughts.

STORY:
The story is pretty simple. The story follows the life of Sakuragi, an arrogant and violent hothead, who in the beginning despises basketball. This is due to being dumped for the 50th time, but for another basketball player. This changes, however, once he meets Haruko, who encourages him to join the basketball team and become a great basketball player, as she felt he had underlining potential. He agrees for shallow reasons (due to him being attracted to Haruko), but as time goes on, he comes to appreciate and develop a passion for the sports. It was good to see Sakuragi's journey as the show progressed and I liked how realistic it was. He was of course terrible in the beginning, but when you see the great moments he has on the court, it really makes you admire how far he comes. The show does start a little slow but as it picks up, it gets really good. There were so many amazing moments (that at times I had to rewind to allow them to sink in) and I liked how the show gave you mini lessons on basketball as well. As someone who never watched basketball before; I gained a lot of knowledge, making me appreciate the sport even more than I did before. The only criticism I have is that 101 episodes are not justifiable considering what was aired. The pacing at times during the story was way too long, especially the matches. For example, the final match between Shohoku and Ryonan was 18 episodes long (if I'm not mistaken) and I feel like that was unneccesary. SD had a bad habit of constantly using flashbacks to really stretch out the story and matches. I understand that it was used to add context to the story and the stories of certain characters, but at some point, it became an annoyance and frustrating. I also felt like they used Sakuragi's antics too much to drag out the matches. Even though the match did have a great conclusion, and a lot of 90s shows were like that at the time, I still stand my points. Other than those negatives, I enjoyed the story. (7.5/10)

ART/ANIMATION:
I'm not gonna say too much about the animation cause this show aired in 1993, almost 30 years ago. It was good for its time. At times the animation was great, other times it was sloppy. I didn't have an issue with it. The art though? I love the character designs so much, especially Sakuragi's hair. I was lowkey hurt when he shaved it off, it was his best feature lmao. (8/10)

SOUNDS:
I really liked the OST, OPs and ENDs of the anime. I don't think I hated anything that was played throughout the show. It has some of my favourites out of all the animes I've seen so far. (8/10)

CHARACTERS:
Other than Sakuragi being in the main team lineup of Shohoku, the rest consist of Akagi (the captain), Rukawa, Miyagi, and Mitsui. These four characters were all written well and had good personalities, that intertwined with each other well, whether it was good or bad. I specifically liked Mitsui's story and liked seeing his growth throughout the show, despite disliking him at first. Rukawa is honestly my favourite character. Not just because he's insanely good as a player and his determination, but his personality is relatable, at least for me; taking naps most of the day, is quiet and likes to be on my own lmao. I also liked the rest of the characters such as Haruko (although she kinda just acts as a vessel for Sakuragi to be motivated and to improve on his basketball skills), Sakuragi's friendship group (although sometimes they can be jerks), Korgue, the coaches, the opponents etc. All have a purpose in the story and are all entertaining in their own way.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but Sakuragi is my least favourite character in the show. Despite having his good moments and stuff as I mentioned earlier, I couldn't really stand him. With his constant self-proclaimed genius remarks, arrogance, antics and behaviour of constantly picking up fights with everyone, whilst funny at times but the annoying rivalry with Rukawa, I just couldn't really like him. I was hoping that perhaps he would humble himself as time went on, but nope! At some point, his gags wore off very quickly; and went from funny to infuriating. Especially if it would drag out the matches. I know that's the point of his character and all, but I have a low tolerance for characters like that. (7/10).

ENJOYMENT:
Despite the issues I had with pacing and Sakuragi, I did find myself entertained and enjoying the show most of the time. Some great moments and funny humour. (8/10)

OVERALL:
I like the anime overall and I would recommend it if you don't mind the pacing and can tolerate Sakuragi lmao. It's a good way to get into the SD universe and learn more about basketball, even getting into sports anime; I have no regrets.
It's a shame the manga was never fully adapted, which explains the awkward ending it had. It doesn't make sense either considering how insanely popular it is too. I hope one day a new full adaptation will be done, I think SD deserves that (even though a movie has recently been released).
Would I rewatch this anime again? Maybe? I have since been reading the manga and I'd rather consume SD through that instead, as they fix the issues I had with the anime, and overall is better, would recommend that more. (7.5/10)

Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie is an anime that received so much hype before airing, based on the trailer alone. People were saying it's gonna be as good as My Dress Up Darling (which I loved by the way). Saying that Shikimori was gonna be the next 'Marin' or replace her as the ultimate 'waifuu', as one would say. After watching the full 12 episodes - yeah...no.


STORY:
The story overall is pretty boring. I mean, is there even a story to begin with? I started watching this show as soon as it aired as many viewers did - but I stopped watching mid-airing and only ... started picking it up again last week to finish it. That says a lot in itself. The premise of the 'story' revolves around the lives of Izumi and Shikimori - who start off as a couple from the jump. Izumi - the clumsy boyfriend who has terrible luck and keeps getting himself injured or close to death, and then you have Shikimori - the overprotective girlfriend who has superhuman strength for some reason and always protecting his ass. This gimmick wore off for me very quickly and soon turned into an annoyance. Even if it was the other way around - my opinion would still be the same. Then the following episodes just follow generic slice-of-life episode tropes. That's it. There just wasn't really anything interesting at all - hence why it took so long to finish it. Some nice moments, and cute moments here and then for the relationship I guess, but it wasn't enough for me to really be invested. (6/10)

ART/ANIMATION:
The art and animation were pretty much the only things I liked the most about the show. The colour scheme was really nice, I liked the art and the animation wasn't too bad. Not that I really paid so much attention to it anyway. (7/10)

SOUND:
Eh..I didn't really care for the OST for the anime or the OP song. I really only liked the ending song. So, yeah! (6.5/10)

CHARACTERS:
I briefly touched upon Izumi and Shikimori previously, but honestly, they're pretty much an uninteresting couple with little substance. They just don't give me any reason to root for them - and maybe it's because they started out as a couple - there's not a lot of development in their relationship to understand or appreciate why they are together in the first place. Their relationship seems so co-dependent on one another and the obsessive and clingy behaviour of Shikimori to be her Izumi's 'saviour' in a sense makes their relationship appear unappealing and unhealthy. I mean...there was an episode where a small girl was thanking Izumi for saving her from drowning and Shikimori got really jealous...it just came across as cringe and weird. Other than her strength...she doesn't really have an interesting personality to me...hence why I wonder why she's so popular lmao. As I said for Izumi, his whole personality trait revolves around having bad luck pretty much - other than that he's bland.
I want to briefly mention Kamiya..who came and went. She was part of this 'love triangle between the main couple and it was so weird. Crying to the girlfriend that she loves her boyfriend and then the girlfriend comforting her, saying she's sorry she hurt Kamiya? And she should cherish the feelings she has for HER boyfriend? Huh? It was so corny.
Her and the rest of the side characters...I didn't really care for. They're pretty generic and not appealing to me. (5/10)


ENJOYMENT:
Like I said before..some wholesome and cute moments now and then, but overall...this was a drag to watch. (6/10)

OVERALL:
This anime was a disappointment to me, and I really wanted to enjoy it, but it fell really short. From the beginning, it had unrealistic expectations and didn't deliver or live up to the hype. I don't see myself revisiting this anime again. But, hey, if you just want to switch your brain off for a bit, or don't care much about the plot and so forth...then maybe you'll like it. It's not for me but I'm sure someone will find it nice lmao.

Yesterday, I finally had the opportunity to watch this movie in cinemas. After sleeping on it, I have some thoughts I wanna share.

*SPOILERS*

STORY:
In terms of the story, it was simple and straight to the point. Bad guys wanna take over the world, heroes fight to stop it from happening, basically that. For long-time fans of the franchise, such as myself, it brought back a lot of nostalgic moments such as past characters and previous arcs that occurred, but they reintroduced in a way that is a good introduction for those who may want to know about dragon ball or newer fans. It was pleasant to ... watch and brought back a lot of good memories. I also liked how the story was focused on different characters (Piccolo and Gohan specifically) rather than Goku and Vegeta. It was refreshing, cause as much as I love them, I've always wanted more spotlight for Gohan and Piccolo, I hated how they were done dirty in DBS and I'm sure many would agree. A nitpick I have though, is I wish the story had more originality to it. For example, the Red Ribbon Army. It's just like, why? It's not like there was anything new to them, they have the same goal as previous leaders, just new villains. I would have preferred if we left RR alone, cause they already had a good conclusion in DBZ. It would have preferred for the movie to focus on different villains and plots. Another criticism is that certain parts were rushed, and some of the fights were lackluster to me. And the ending was, meh (except the last scene with Goku and Vegeta, that was funny). Some good moments here and then, and some funny humor. However, I can't say I was overall impressed. I was left a little disappointed. (6/10)

ART/ANIMATION:
I liked the art in the movie and the animation was quite impressive. I had some reservations after seeing the trailer, as the movie was gonna have CGI animation. I don't mind CGI now and then but the whole movie? I was afraid this was gonna put me off but I was proven wrong and it was done pretty well. Some sloppy animation/art now and then, but it didn't really bother me that much. Whilst I would've preferred they used the previous art style they had with DBS: Broly, (because I really loved it), I can live with the direction they chose to take with this movie. (7/10)

SOUND:
The OST for this movie was okay. I wasn't blown away, to be honest, but I didn't hate it. I can't say it's memorable to me, unfortunately. (6/10)

CHARACTERS:
As I briefly touched on, I liked that the movie focused on Gohan and Piccolo. It was refreshing to see how they would handle threats to the earth, rather than relying on Goku and Vegeta to take care of it. At least it was nice to see their appearance, as well as Broly and his friends, Beerus and Whis.
I especially liked Piccolo's character development in the movie. He was pretty much the main focus and it was nice to follow him around and see him try to spy on RR. I also liked his interactions and relationship with Pan, it was nice to see. His transformation was pretty cool, although I'm not sure if I'm a fan of the design. I also didn't really see an issue with him wishing to unlock his own potential, as he never really had the chance to, and considering it's hard for him to catch up to the Saiyans these days, I hope this transformation can be used in the future so he can be useful in fights again. At least the dragon balls were used for something helpful for once.
Then we have Gohan. Seeing him have the spotlight again was nice but I'll be honest, I didn't particularly care for him too much in this movie considering he wasn't really involved in the plot until the second half of the movie, despite him being one of my favorite characters. His entrance to the battle was good and he had some good moments but my point still stands. Like Piccolo, he had a new transformation, and as much as it looked cool, I was a little confused about how he obtained it. I mean, he hasn't really been training as much, and it was emphasized that he could do more training, he even acknowledged himself. It came out of nowhere, it seemed like fanservice to me and convenient (Piccolo almost dying) to defeat the main threat. I would like to see an explanation one day on how he got to such a point. I liked his hair design though, gave me memories of his SSJ2 transformation with the bang, which really suits him. As I said, the transformation was nice, but it didn't make sense considering Gohan's current state in the movie.
We then had Gamma 1&2, and Dr. Hedo. I can't lie, it was nice to see new characters introduced and all but I didn't really care for them. Some good moments and a nice redemption with them but overall, I did feel a little underwhelmed, to the point Gamma 1's death didn't phase me at all. Just a straight face. Didn't care for the other two villains in the suits lmao.
Now Cell Max is my biggest annoyance in the movie. I did not care for cell max at all. Sure, the animation when he enters was cool, but that's it for me. He reminds me of Bio-Broly, and that's not meant to be a compliment. I also didn't like his design. So yeah....not much to say on that part. Big fighting beast, with no substance. And it's a shame cause Cell is one of my favorite villains in the franchise, he deserved better.
It was nice to see some other characters, for change, like Android 18, Krillin, Bulma etc. I really liked Trunks and Goten's design, at least they've finally aged and look their age cause it was one of my issues with DBS. I would've liked to see their correct fusion come to play, but we didn't get that. At least they added some humor to the movie. (6/10)

ENJOYMENT:
Despite some of my gripes, I didn't hate the movie. It did have some good moments that I liked and enjoyed. Other moments, were a miss from me. (6-7/10).

OVERALL:
The movie is a mixed bag. To me, it's quite a disappointing sequel to Broly, despite the good moments it had. A lot of room for improvement. However, I would still recommend watching to form your own opinion. If you're a hardcore fan of DB and live for nostalgia, you may like the movie, some will not. As I stated before, it's decent for beginners, to the DB world. I didn't hate the movie, and maybe one day it'll grow on me.

For ages, I was debating whether I should watch this anime or not. Accidently coming across it through discussion online, it seemed to have a bad reputation, low ratings and labeled as the 'worst anime in history' amongst many. However, I decided to give into my curiousity and see what the controversy was about by giving myself a couple of hours to watch the full 12 epsiodes. I have to say, its bad, but not THAT bad, yanno?

*SPOILERS MAY APPEAR*

STORY (6/10):
The story was so fustrating to watch. To what started out as Makoto (MC) pursuing a girl called Kotonoha and starting a relationship, set up ... by a supposed friend called Sekai, quickly turned into a love affair between Sekai and Makoto, whilst Makoto was still in a relationship with Kotonoha. Then things just went downhill when Makoto would bascially become intimate with any girl willing to open their legs to him, whilst he was 'dating' Sekai, and would feel no type of way about it. At the very last episode, Makoto eventually learns that actions have consequences, and why you shouldn't play with people's emotions with deciet and betrayal, as psychologically, people could snap. As ridiculous as people would think the story is, in a way, displays a kinda realistic theme that could be applied in real life relationships and mostly in school settings, for the most part. As messy as things unfolded, I don't think the story is THAT bad, unbearable at times, but it was hard to turn away at the same time.

ART/ANIMATION (4/10):
This show definitely had some of the worst animation and art i've seen, and unfortunately this was a pattern for every episode, except the last two. The angle shots at times were very irritating, but at the same time, its a harem anime so of course they're gonna get as many boob and panty shots as they can. I would say, though, its really the outdoor settings to where you'll see some decently drawn art. I'm just gonna assume that the budget was pretty much low for this show lmao.

SOUND (5/10):
The sounds used for this show are pretty much forgettable (for the most part). I'm personally not a fan of the song used for the opening. If anything its annoying and aged like milk, you can really tell that its a product of 2007 (in my opinion anyway). I watched the intro on the second episode (first viewing of it) as I wanted to see and hear what it was like, but after that, I found myself skipping it for every episode. The same thing for the outros and some songs playing during episodes. The only song that I liked out of the whole series was the song played towards the end of the last episode (when things turn left).

CHARACTERS (5/10):
It's safe to say, I absoultely hate every character in this show, except for Kotonoha, to whom I felt so sad for throughtout the series. Let me go through the most important characters one by one:

MAKATO - This dude is truly the worst MC I have come across in my history of anime shows ,and mainly the reason why a lot of people hate this show. At first, I thought he was decent guy in the beginning but his true nature unravelled pretty quickly as the show progressed and he became so unlikable, even to the point I wanted to reach to the screen and strangle him so bad, ugh! He's a selfish preverted MF who has no regards for others feelings, no patience and only cares about his own pleasure, and he will get it one way or another. Once he gets what he wants or becomes bored with the person he's with, he'll just throw them away like trash. Whilst towards the end he felt somewhat remorseful, it just wasn't enough to convince me he wasn't all a bad guy, as his actions after the fact were the worse, and karma eventually came at his doorstep. As harsh as his punishment was towards the end and I personally don't believe he deserved it, I can't say I didn't see it coming and it is what it is. Most would say that's what he truly gets.

SEKAI - This girl...like Makoto, she seemed somewhat decent at first, annoying but decent. Just a friend helping another friend become a couple with their crush. But with no time wasted to show, her intentions became very disingenuous . She would use 'special training' as a way to manipulate Makoto's feelings for her, as she had feelings for him, even though she knew it was wrong and he was still with Konotoha. This makes me question why she felt the need to help Makoto in the first place? I found it hard for her to believe she felt gulity about her affair because she was consistent until she finally lured Makoto away from Kotonoha, and eventually stopped caring about Konotoha's feelings. She comes off as very jealous and very manipulative. I didn't feel bad for Sekai when she got treated the same way Makoto treated Kotonoha. It's true that how you win them is how you lose them. It became clear eventually that Makoto never really cared for her the way she genuinely cared for him. Once he had other options and after Sekai's revalation, Sekai was no longer was a priority. Her karma in the end was definitely justified.

KOTONOHA - This poor girl was the only character that I felt so bad for, as mentined earlier. As shy and closed off she was at the beginning, I don't blame her. As time went on, she became more comfortable, but unforutnately Makoto began mistreating her. Seeing her being emotionally and mentally and physically abused by people she trusted, and others around her was hard to watch. Her kindness was taken for granted and she eventually became lifeless, on the outside and inside, its not wonder she became unstable in the end. It was a sad sight to see.

As for the rest of the characters, I could care less because they either add nothing to the story, annoying or they're just there for Makoto's pleasure.

ENJOYMENT (6/10):
As watching, I noticed myself getting very pissed off as each episode came because most of the characters were stupid and were making stupid decisions. I wondered how I managed to get through this series, but regardless of its major flaws, I somewhat found it interesting and somewhat entertatining. The conclusion was definitely something and the most barable to watch. It will definitely be on my mind for a long time, perhaps I won't forget lmao.

OVERALL (6/10):
To me, its not the best show out there, for obvious reasons and as you watch it, you'll understand why this show gets a lot of hate, but I don't believe its the worse, you know? To each its own though. I'm just glad I watched it to form my own opinion. If you're mentally and emotionally resiliant, then you may be able to bare with School Days. You will find it difficult to watch the beginning, but if you start, watch till the end because I promise the last few episode will be interesting.

I dropped this anime a long time ago, but I want to share my thoughts on why I never finished this show, even though I somehow finished the first season, God knows why I did.

*SPOILERS MAY APPEAR*

STORY (3/10):
To be honest, the story was pretty trash. This season, was basically centered around Ren and Haru's relationship (which I have a lot to say about that later on), but nothing made sense to me. The story was pretty much all over the place, there's too many plot holes and barely to no resolutions to anything that is told. Just poor writing overall. There's more I can say ... about the story but this would be an essay! This gets a 3 from me.

Art (7/10):
The art is probaly the only positive thing i'm gonna say about this anime. I did like it and the colour scheme is nice. Animaton had good and bad days. That's all really.

SOUND (6/10):
Sound is okay... I guess lmao.

CHARACTER (3/10):
Girl...I have a lot to say on this section; especially on Haru and Ren, and their relationship.
I know some may feel a type of way for me saying this but I'm just gonna say it...Ren and Haru's relationship is WRONG. I'm sorry. Haru is such an unlikable character, why is he pursuing a relationship with Ren who is underage and he's an adult? I just don't know how people are cool with that? I get that age of consent is different in Japan, but it doesn't make it morally right, you know? Throughout the show, Haru came off as a weirdo, very manipulative and forceful, at times having a go or being mean to Ren for no reason and pushing himself on him. There were definitely times where I just wanted my punch him through my computer screen, if only it were possible. He's just a terrible person. As for Ren, I feel bad for him because he's doing his best to keep Haru pleased and stuff, but he's really not doing anything wrong and I kinda wish he saw that, even though sometimes he would put Haru in his place, but still. I was kinda hoping he would've saw how much of a trashbag Haru was. I also hate the fact that the writiers were pushing this 'brother love' concept on Haru and Ren as they're step brothers, but they're in a relationship?... Make it make sense please. Even though they're not blood related, they're still family...its just didn't and still doesn't sit well with my spirit. I wish they didn't mix those two concepts together because they don't flow, like pick a struggle. I really hate this relationship.
As for the other characters, they were either there for the sake of plot, or pretty forgettable. Some funny moments with them, but really had nothing to do with the whole story. Overall, the characters were either pretty weak or bs.

ENJOYMENT (3/10):
There wasn't a lot to enjoy about this, there's a lot more negatives than positives, how I watched 7/10 epsiodes, heck, even the first season is beyond me. *Sighs*

OVERALL (3/10):
To conclude, I didn't like this season at all. Even though season one is no better, it was slightly more bearable to watch. I don't know what more I can say about this other than the writers need to do better, MUCH better. Better characters, espiecially with a better and APPROPRIATE love story, and better story telling. If you're a hardcore Fujoishi or yaoi lover, you may be able to bare with this, I guess. However, if not, I do not recommend this. If I were you, save your time and energy, because there will be times you will get pissed off like I did.

Went to see the movie yesterday in cinemas, so I want to leave some of my thoughts and feelings on this movie.

*SPOILERS MAY APPEAR*

STORY (8/10):
In my opinion, this is the best Broly movie that was made compared to the ones in the Z franchise. Even though the movie concept is not that original, I think Broly's story was told much better. The story wasn't complex but the execution was pretty outstanding! It was also nice to see more history about the Saiyans and early beginnings for Goku, Vegeta and Broly. There was some parts that kinda felt rushed, but overall, the whole thing was a ... treat, not much to complain about, especially when Vegeta turned Super Saiyan God and Gogeta came into play!

ART/ANIMATION (9/10):
I loved the art in this movie, but the animation, I was blown away! The animation definitely was one of the best parts about the movie, the transformations and fight scenes were satisfying to watch, Toei really outdid themselves on that part. If only they were to do this type of animation within the anime in DBS future episodes, but that's very unlikely to happen *sighs*

SOUND (8/10):
I think the sound was pretty good, don't really have a lot to say on it.

CHARACTER (8/10):
There's not much to write about the main characters like Vegeta, Goku etc. because they were pretty much the same ones we all love/hate etc. But I have to say, I really like Broly's story, way better than the original. Broly in this movie seemed more "human" and had more personality rather than another Saiyan who was crazy as hell and didn't really have much to offer other than the fact he's strong. I felt bad for how he was treated by his father, and I'm kinda glad that he wasn't killed in the end and was given a chance. He seems like a great guy and I hope to see more appearances of him when Dragon Ball Super returns with new episodes, maybe even joining the Z Fighters. I also think Bardock was portrayed better with Gine (Goku's mother), as in the original version, Bardock seemed heartless and didn't really care about Goku, but on this movie he went out of his way to make sure Goku was safe and didn't suffer the same fate as he and the others were. Overall, the characters in the movie were great! At first, I kinda did wish that the other Z fighters were featured in the flim, but then again, they wouldn't had served any purpose, Goku and Vegeta had it in the bag.

ENJOYMENT (9/10):
Overall, I really enjoyed the movie, it had healthy amounts of fighting, great humor, and amazing execution.

OVERALL (9/10):
In conclusion, I really enjoyed seeing the movie and it definitely wasn't a waste of money, I would recommend. I personally think this movie redeemed the reputation that DBS had and is the best movie out of all the movies in DB and DBZ, but hey, that's just my opinion. I can't wait what will follow through when DBS returns in the future.