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Fast pacing has always been motto of this show but this time it felt a bit too fast and completely overshadowed the drama element. When you expect drama/laboring moment, things suddenly get solved. Dr Stone is a lighthearted show after all, which is fine by me.

Plot armor is off the charts per usual, main characters turn into pulverized scupltures then Yuzuriha glues them back in mere minutes.
Towards the final I lost my ability to take anything serious while the show remained engaging. I'm glad Medusa device ran out of battery otherwise I was going to start questioning the laws of Dr Stone universe.

So I think ... the show had a shot at 10/10. I just can't say no to vivid color palette. Dr Stone manages to add alot of characters to roster while keeping them all very defined and distinct. I could watch Chrome and old man Kaseki all day long. Yabee!!
But things were too tight and packed up no matter how I look at it. It is going to be a definite 9/10!

(This review contains mild spoilers)
I'll keep it short and focus on the second half as I already spent my energy on the anime adaptation which follows the manga strictly.

Pros:
● Very good foreshadowing for the first half
● Amazing worldbuilding, future punk + magic, why not!
● Nice tiddies, I approve them.
● I really liked Nikaido's skill description, it puts alot of weight behind her actions.

Cons:
... ● After first half, plot feels patched up, made on the go.
● The idea for the creation of the final boss is a bit too cliche, embodiment of feelings strikes... yet again...
● Final arc dragged for too long and it ended with an anticlimactic boss fight. Ass-pull Gyoza Wand had to be summoned! Someone dropped the ball seriously..
● Second half (aka final arc) was too action heavy till very end, I think overall character development suffered there a bit. There was just not enough room for feelings, it remained intense for dozens of chapters.
● Kaiman's past took alot more episodes than present Kaiman's development. When Nikaido behaves affectionate towards him, it just looks unreasonable because Nikaido literally spent more time with many other characters.
● Epilogue wasn't satisfying enough. It was one solid slice of life chapter but since the cast is too large alot remained unanswered.. Some side characters feel unfinished/unpolished despite their common appearence Dokuka, Tetsujo, Kasukabe, Kawajiri. I feel like they all had to say a couple more lines...
● The author teased the romance between Kaiman & Nikaido, Shin & Noi, Haru & Haze, Ebisu & Fuji many times but never developed it. I know forming couples is common trope, therefore authors are avoiding it these days but after many crucial events how do they even maintain their "friendzoneship" ? Honestly at some point they just behave like robots..This one is maybe too personal but my eyes searched for some more sparkles!

Overall, I am blown away by Dorohedoro. After anime ended with cliffhanger, I dipped all the 190 chapters, 18 years of work in 3 or 4 days. No regrets! It was a unique experience for me because I have never read a "gory" manga written by a female author before. It didnt leave a strong and dramatic aftertaste. Story is gory and a bit silly after all... I couldn't help myself but notice the drastic improvement in artwork after volume 3, and it got even better gradually. Problems here & there but I got hooked up in the end..

I stumbled across Dorohedoro while I was digging past seasons on MAL. The poster looked so original, dark and high quality, I couldn't take my eyes off it so easily. Upon closer look, the use of CGI was hard not to notice... I was about to condemn it casually and walk away. Then I noticed Netflix and MAPPA senpai flexing in background. Seinen, Violence and 8.11 score for CGI ? Sounds like the acid trip I needed! It turns out this 12 episode snack is a good sample to break down the prejudices...

● STORY: (8/10)
Former top dog with identity crisis, lots of clues but ... no connection between.
Story never truly unfolds itself, instead it expands further and gets cheesier by each episode. It happens to suit my taste. Luckily the story revolves around multiple characters so I can get a little grasp on the situation. I have some questions regarding to their plot armor though...


● ART: (9/10)
Good news, CGI blends just fine. Sometimes I barely realize the 2D-3D transitions. Bad news, CGI still has long way to go. Some complex movements still look gritty, slow-mo, too exposed and anatomically incorrect. Background art is very detailed and immersive in most scenes. There are wasteland, hell, punk, bdsm and halloween elements all over and somewhat shades of barouqe style. Character designs are remarkable, even those with mere seconds of screentime are real lookers. For me art style was a major selling point.


● CHARACTER: (8/10)
I found main characters likable, intelligible, responsive, matured, well-developed for an 12 episode show. They all have defining moments, defining soundtracks, backstories, unique traits, work ethics and such. No wonder they were all nominees for Crunchyroll 2020 Anime Awards.

● SOUND: (10/10)
OP: Simply amazing, probably one of the best I have seen in last couple years. Good setting and it goes hardcore halfway, mincing scene is just a killer!
OST: In general most soundtracks blend perfectly with scenes. Fights are backed with sludgy & raw metal music with slow & masculine riffs. On top of that the OST still has enough left in tank to reflect downtown, backstreets and cozy places. The fact that there is no sign of J-pop is a true blessing to my ears (gomenne... :( ) and it makes the soundtrack very unique.
VA: It took me a couple episodes to get used to the protagonist. He sounds like Cpt. Buggy... Just because of that sole reason my brain contidioned itself to hear "bakayarooo" everytime Caiman speaks... Otherwise voice acting is very very good, voices and character traits match perfectly. No sweet talking, excess breathing and yelling. A true seinen essence to ease my mind.


● ENJOYMENT: (9/10)
Dorohedero is one of the shows that remain laidback no matter what happens. If you ever wished to have a heart-warming breakfast in a small greasy & shady restaurant, wished to use fire-flushing toilets and avoided CGI for a long time then this is your chance.


Story: 8/10
Art: 9/10
Sound: 10/10
Character: 8/10
Enjoyment: 9/10

Overall = Enjoyment;

2 tbs of Shield Hero
2 tbs of Sword Art Online
1 tbs of Reincarnated as a Slime
a pinch of Overlord
a pinch of Leauge of Legends
mix them up with 2 pokeballs, 2 medium size graboid eggs and 1 jumbo size xenomorph egg and there you have it, BOFURI


If you are looking for:
> Chill (Genki)
... > Gag-free
> Anti-heroine
> Factions
> Minimum fan service
> Minimum profanity
> Steady pace
> Nice colorful level designs
> Creative skills
> Good choreography
> Lots of action
> Decent 2d effects
> Decent artwork
> Good balance between intoduction, progression, climax and ending
? Ignored side characters
X High pitched voices..
X Moe (Cute girls..)

then you should watch this anime.

=====================

⬤ Now lets start breaking things down: [Mild Spoilers]

The show revolves around Maple, an inexperienced online gamer, who thinks way out of the box, ends up exploiting the game with the help of RNG gods, turning the server into her own ASMR diary, driving developers up the wall. Frankly speaking, show keeps dropping pieces of information from the perspective of developers to keep the plot in check. Also at the end of each episode you get a glimpse of in-game public chat which is a nice addition. Maple's bestie on the other hand, is a pro gamer who could probably make a living with her proficiency in gaming. The contrast between Maple and Sally often leads to fun stuff during their adventure.

Being introvert high-schoolers, Sally in particular, the duo adventures into state-of-art dungeons to acquire more skills while top factions are pumping out more recruits. Gotta admit, it looks ridiculious as hundrds of boomers wear the same armor and obey some teen guild leader as if they are real life wage slaves.. but I wont dig it up here..
The duo ends up making "overly generic" friends in "overly generic" ways which leads to founding of their small guild which consists of "Blacksmittooo", "Brainy kid", "Brawny footman who is nice to cute girls", "Glasscannon lolis", "Some katana user"; of course their only job is to cheer for <insertname>-sama. Dont get the wrong impression though, a light-heardted anime like this can go sour with unnecessary character depth, still some characters are far off the track.

The climax, begins with an all out event, in which Maple wastes her adequately potent skills in a blink so she could test out her other skills & unleash some more boss music. The 2 major factions introduced in the early episodes slowly unfold themselves as Maple gets in their way. It comes down to quality vs quantity. At this point Bofuri salutes us with 3 episodes of pvp-galore including major clashes that are guaranteed to leave a mark on YouTube.


⬤ Letdowns:
➔ Episodes between introduction and climax were a bit of a downhill, setting was rather dull
➔ High pitched VA (moe animes) and pokemon sounds are always a challenge for me..
➔ I expected some Harley Quinn action from the twins, those hammers were so mouth-watering yet they kept pounding the soil like lawn mowers. Baka!

⬤ Final thoughts:
I am honestly amazed by the amount of tricks this anime has up in its sleeve considering it is only Pegi-13. No wonder Bofuri became popular and meme-worthy on Youtube. No fan-service, no gags but it is good at trolling.. If you forget about your expectations, this show is easy to enjoy. In the end, I feel satisfied and lighter, my body accepted it. Thats all that matters.

⬤ Scoring:
➔ Story [6/10]: See above..

➔ Art [7/10]: Consistency and frame rate are questionable but it is hard to believe they are on tight cash..

➔ Sound [6/10]: SFX is ok, as for soundtracks honestly most of them sound like christmas songs but handful of them definitely stand out, ending song is among them:
48 - Good Night
37 - Good Night (Instrumental)
45 - Bulletin board Rhapsody
41 - Inferior
23 - Because its a Companion
15 - Tactics Shuffle
08 - Level One
06 - Relaxing Waltz
05 - Waltz ☆ A La Mode

➔ Character [5/10]: See above..
➔ Enjoyment [8/10]: See above..

➔ Overall = Enjoyment...

I guess it is time for me to awaken from my petrified state and make a review on this...

The show has good & steady pacing, very easy to follow, 100% immersive for those who are not bothered by the hella thicc plot armor. It all begins, featuring the good guy ("Google" in flesh & bone) and the bad guy ("Yujiro Hanma"). Since both characters are flag bearers of their own factions, lets say they have metaphorically good qualities to them... But it shouldn't bother you. Amidst the fight between two ideologies, scripters surely manage to arouse our attention to the main feature of the show, ... "worldbuilding", something we all wished to see more in "Reincarnated as a Slime s1". Needless to say, I very much liked the idea of mass-petrification. Sounds very unique and appealing compared to most isekai out there.. Art shifts actually managed to make me laugh, something unusual for me.
Despite the violence and ongoing war, not much drama going on, show remains lighthearted most of the time. (How can it be the other way with all the information flow, art shits and gags...) Villagers living on the seaside, doing their thing surely gives you nice soothing vibes. I also fell in love with their sandals!

There were bothersome things but they can just stay as tiny little mentions:

1) Brawny guy in the beginning kept earraping me :(
2) I am really noy sure if Senkuu was the first outsider.. Noone freaks out upon seeing him after 4 millenniums, and guards are tasked to repel the outsiders as if it happens on daily basis ? I'll play along with it hehe
3) We get to hear about science every 2 minutes, religiously, brain-wash level. Maybe it was meant to empathise with villagers, but a bit too much for my liking...
4) Village folk is overly cheerful despite the turmoil.
5) I am big fond of greenery & nature. But in this show colour palette seemd a bit dull.
6) Also please stop using VA for puppies dang...

Very cheap overly heroised freebooter support characters, picked up by the main character on the roadside... A common point of shounen animes sadly.

The anime is supposed to follow one single storyline but since the plot is kind of falling apart there is an episodic feeling. It doesnt have the depth of Basilisk for sure. It is more like a showdown anime. Show gives you no clue about evil doers. There are just some problem guys that needs to be sliced up.. You could call it your average half-season anime, saves the day..
If you want to put your brain into powersave mode and wanna see some ... slice action I guess you could give it a try.

This show reminds me of a few:

*Basilisk
*Dororo
* a tiny pinch of Demon Slayer
* a single grain of Samurai champloo
* and also, I cant stop thinking about Zoro because of Jubei's unique skill haha

Decent production but falls behind the most in its league.

This is going to be a sketchy review with minor spoilers here and there, deal with it!

PROS:
⬤ Beautiful water paint backgrounds, greenery (although not on par with Made in Abyss.)
⬤ Very stylish goblin and kobold designs
⬤ Likable characters
⬤ Understandable power scaling
⬤ Good pacing
⬤ Alot of room for character and party development. Lots of ups and downs keep the viewer interested. (Deaths, financial situations, psychological aspect, new skills)
⬤ Mary turned out to be the main driving force of the show at some point. Hats off for pulling it off.
⬤ I actually enjoyed the fan service, Yume's resting animations in particular ! Main guy interacts with Yume ... and Merry equally so you really cant tell what he is planning to do.. It is kinda cool. (Just like Saeko and Rei from highschool of dead)

CONS:
⬤ Not much gore, even high budget moves always end up with dissatisying blood splash or cheap stab kills
⬤ Too much screen time for stares..
⬤ Static animation
⬤ Some of the backgrounds seemed too washed-off for my liking
⬤ Soundtracks are definitely fitting but none of them are worth mentioning.
⬤ There is no latter season or manga source to continue with. But if you enjoy light novels, go for it..

SUMMARY:
I was tired of weekly marathon per usual and decided to watch something else and I'm pretty happy about it. The show was rather light-hearted even with gore and major deaths... I am not big fan of teen charaters, I was especially irritated by Moguzo's emotionless panda face back in 2016..
But the characters won me eventually. For first couple episodes the focus was on isekai logic and the dandere girl. I have seen enough danderes so I was a bit bored. Anyhow, the show got really good after the first major indicent...
I found show more fast paced and action packaged than Goblin Slayer. Both shows are definitely comparable. Goblin slayer is surely darker.
Some shows are better when watched weekly (eventhough they are not episodic), and some are better when watched at once. I think Grimgar falls under the second category. Just my thoughts...

As for my favourite character...it is hard to choose:

Ranta is a very wide character literally mix of OP characters "Usopp, Sanji, Zorro, Franky"
Merry is a stoic girl with background and hard to read which reminds me of Robin from OP, Saeko from Highschool of Dead, Rem from Re: Zero
Yume is a very vivid person. I'd say she is mix of Nami and Carrot form OP

I know what you think about Merry...She is still the winner for me... Well thats about it, hope you enjoyed my half-assed review. My humble opinion is that this anime deserves a flashy [[ 8 / 10 ]] !


Story: 8/10
Art: 8/10
Sound: 7/10
Character: 7/10
Enjoyment: 8/10

Overall: 8/10

>>> How was the main character ?

⬤ A reincarnate and a pre-adolescent schooler with high magic stats just like Tanya but with mix of Rimuru and Armin's attitude. This one is even more optimistic and always hyped up. He also doesnt give a shit about the fact that he was reincarnated. I guess it is slightly different than reincarnation, more like he is carrying the will of someone else, instant brain overwrite..poor boy..lol
⬤ Again his gender is open to discussion...Like its not enough he is wearing some type of shoulderless dress, whatever..

>>> How was the world ?

⬤ I liked it. As expected of creators of ... Slime, theres lots of greenery in K&M world but its also infested by demonic creatures. Humans somehow managed to survive. As the name implies the countries are of medieval western sterotype
⬤ You get to extract stuff from monsters, it is almost like Pacific Rim.

>>> How was the side characters ?

⬤ I grew liking to most side characters. They are all serious and assess the situation they are in humanely enough, I enjoyed their screentime. Only the dandere queen made me cringe because she is too dandere!..

>>> How was Fanservice ?

⬤ There was only a side character, no biggie ( I mean they were big...)

>>> How was character designs ?

⬤ I was expecting to see some thicc robots like mechwarriors or dreadnoughts which was the reason I hyped. Instead I got to see typical Gundam robots. Thats fine too.
At first, the derpy run of robots at the end credits put me off but after few episodes I got used to them. Those robots not only come in humanoid shapes and swords, they also carry wands instead of miniguns!
Robots are under constant development which is main point of the anime. The cgi quality was... bearable. It is actually too good for a medicore show. I knew it would happen, digital effects have been the selling point of 8-bit productions so far.

⬤ There are traces of quality drawing but it feels like facial animations lack the required attention and framerate but character designs are nice. As for races we got to see dwarves and elves but they arent of important matter its stil la nice touch to have them.
The evil faction also had its own unique hellish design. It kind of reminded me Last Exile for some reason


>>> How was pacing ?

⬤ It was fast from the very start. Isekai transformation was already done in first 30 seconds. Then we got to see the main character gradulate through grades rapidly just like Tanya.
The constant development of robots and technoogy wars probably kept the tension high. After first half, we were introduced to other good and bad factions.
I wouldnt mind fast pacing. This one is a half season anime anyway.

>>> How was the plot ?

⬤ I didnt put too much thought on it but I think it has too many plotholes. Im getting "just watch it dammit" vibes from K&M.
One of the things I like about this show is that there arent many GAGs which makes the tension of worldbuilding constant.
It can be considered a military anime but unlike the most it doesnt involve much drama, not with that happy face...It only involves robots and wands..

>>> How was ending ? [SPOILERS]

⬤ In the end everyone became couples and main character ends the wand wielding robot age and starts spaceship age. I dont know how cheesy it is but I really appreciate that they wrapped it up.

>>> What made you watch it ?

⬤ Aside from 2 animes Summer 2019 is a poor season... I needed fillers. Since Knights & Magic is a 8-bit production I wanted to watch it. I even got to hear King Dwargo's voice actor!
So it is basically "Reincarnated as a Slime" + "K&M wallpaper" + the cool name "K&M"

>>> Do you recommend it ?

⬤ Quality-wise and emotionally, with all the cheap writing it wont give you the same taste compared to hyped seasonal animes with +8.00 score. A medicore anime about Robots and medival stuff. A decent filler, a little escape route for mecha fans and wand lovers. It gets a flashy [[7/10]] !!! If you have too much free time go and watch it.

My score:
Story: 6/10
Art: 7/10
Sound: 6/10
Character: 5/10
Enjoyment: 7/10

Overall: 7/10

WHY I LIKED:
⬤ Floating tropical islands
⬤ Castle interior
⬤ Good pacing
⬤ Extraodinary outfits for the Strawhats
⬤ Good development for Nami
⬤ Animation quality, I liked Luffy's second and third gear designs alot. It gave me AOT vibes watching him.
⬤ Lufffy was serious most of the time and I liked it.

WHY I DISLIKED:
... ⬤ Nothing is special with story.
⬤ Exaggerated villain, to think he was rivalling pirate king..

SUMMARY:
This movie makes a fast start with a flashforward scene and soaks you in with Luffy's jungle fight, Nami fanservice and the little gag between bad guys. Pieces start to fall into place on par with the movie length.
The movie shows how graphic quality can give the story darker tones it needed. This movie ranks second on my one piece movie list coming after "One piece movie 4" them both share a monumental !!! [9/10] !!! (though I have watched only the first 10 movies yet..)


Story: 8/10
Art: 9/10
Sound: 8/10
Character: 8/10
Enjoyment: 9/10

Overall: 9/10

*this review contains light spoilers*

WHY I LIKED:
⬤ *spoiler* Luffy vs Boss fight scene was very satisfying to watch. Luffy just kept using dozen of skills uninterruptedly, without expecting a counter-attack

WHY I DISLIKED:
⬤ Low quality eyesore animation, a big downgrade from movie 4
⬤ Out of place character development for Zorro
⬤ *spoiler* Nami beating off a battalion of marines in with single swipe, the heck... when did she get that strong...
⬤ *spoiler* The plot armor again, I just cant get used to it.. The bad guy destroys Zorro's hand but it takes a few hours to heal. Plot armor seem to love Zorro and Nami alot.
...
SUMMARY:
-We have a couple of fillers left but it doesnt fit in the story line... what are we gonna do ?
-Lets make a movie then... Oversaturate colors and give it a movie feeling...

During my time watching this movie I wanted it to conclude as soon as possible so I could continue the tv show from where I left. The magic didnt happen Im afraid.
The anime is pretty much average, so it gets a bittersweet [[ 6/10 ]] !!

Story: 6/10
Art: 5/10
Sound: 7/10
Character: 5/10
Enjoyment: 6/10

Overall: 6/10