Back to axel360's Profile axel360's Profile

Keep Your Hands off Eizouken! is a show that reminded me “oh yeah, this is why I watch anime.”

I’ll try to keep this semi-brief, as I don’t want to gush too much; Eizouken and its characters stole my heart early on and never really let it go. The set-up is fairly straight-forward: three girls start an animation club at their school. However, the characters are unlike what you might find in most anime set in high school. It’s a nearly all-female cast, but if you’re expecting a CGDCT or fan-service-driven series, you will surely be disappointed.

The first thing you might notice is their appearances. ... They’re not your typical “we’ve done a bunch of focus groups and this is what guys want all anime girls to look like” anime girls. Instead they have distinctive character designs that you won’t soon be mixing up with the next batch of anime girls the industry has pumped out.

Led by the main trio of Asakusa, Kanamori, and Mizusaki, they’re just three sort of nerdy girls that are doing what they love doing: making cool anime, and for one of them, making a little yen as well. Asakusa and Mizusaki are the creative types in the club, while Kanamori takes care of...well, just about everything else. While Asakusa and Mizusaki’s imaginations run amok (especially Asakusa), Kanamori is the one that needs to rein them in. I guess you could say she is a bit more of a realist, while the other two are maybe a bit more idealistic. Needless to say, the characters and their interactions are an absolute delight, and maybe more than anything, a breath of fresh air.

So what makes an anime with such a simple premise so fantastic? If I had to use one word, I’d settle on “passion”. The characters, sure. But this is one of those series where I could feel the passion from everyone involved jump off the screen during each scene. The wacky animation, the upbeat music, incredible VA performances, the way they let you see the world through the eyes of the character; it’s all fantastic. More than most anime, I really got the sense this wasn’t just another project to be churned out as efficiently as possible; it was something they really cared about, even beyond whether it was profitable or not.

But this was not only a love letter to anime, but the creative process itself. I’ve never really been an artistic person, but I think those that are will likely find aspects of this show relatable: the things that initially stoke your creativity, trying to turn something in your mind into something tangible others can experience, and the challenges you’ll face if you’re serious about your passion. It does get a little into the nitty-gritty, describing some of the tricks of the trade in detail, and yet it still manages to hold my attention the entire way.

Now to briefly touch on a couple other things, starting with the animation. I’ve already alluded to how much I love the character designs, but it’s more than that. Their facial expressions, their mannerisms, and everything about the way they’re animated brings them to life on the screen. I’ve also mentioned their gigantic imaginations, but what I didn’t mention were the scenes where they are literally going into these worlds they’re trying to create; early concept art type of animation, homemade sound effects, and all. They’re really cool scenes that I haven’t seen replicated anywhere else.

Onto the sound. The VA performances are spectacular. In particular, Asakusa’s manic creative energy and Kanamori’s dry yet cheeky personality are captured so well by Sairi Itou and Mutsumi Tamura, respectively. The OST gives the series just the right sense of energy; upbeat, yet just a bit offbeat as well. And if the OP’s psychedelic visuals don’t grab your attention, its song surely will. Try not to get it stuck in your head.

The story? It’s not the star of the show, but I view Eizouken as more of a slice-of-life series, and for that, it’s more than adequate. I absolutely found myself hoping they’d succeed, and that’s more than enough for me for this type of anime.

If you couldn’t already tell, I adore Keep Your Hands off Eizouken! It was an absolute pleasure to watch from beginning to end, and maybe the single most charming show I’ve ever seen. Will we get a season 2? As of now, I don’t know. But I’m glad I was a part of season 1, even as a viewer.

But is it good enough to get the rare 10/10 from me? Easy breezy.

Kimetsu no Yaiba is proof you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel to make a great anime.

Story: 7
Probably the weakest part of the show. It’s not bad, just a fairly run-of-the-mill shounen story. If you read the synopsis, you should have a really good idea of what you’re getting into. Tanjirou returns home to find his sister Nezuko turned into and demon and the rest of his entire family murdered by demons. This leads him to the decision to try to turn his sister Nezuko back into a human, and in the process, become an actual “demon slayer”. And thus the adventure begins. It’s ... a pretty basic, and quite slow-moving, story, but it does the job.

Art: 10
Never, ever doubt UFOTABLE. They absolutely crushed it. This series has some of the most visually-stunning fight scenes in anime history. I’m sure others will mention this too, but episode 19 in particular blew my freakin’ mind. The way it seems the “camera” shifts, the fluidity of the movements, the beautiful effects of each of their elemental sword attacks. It’s just all so, so good. What a treat to my eyes this was.

Sound: 10
The voice acting was terrific across the board. Even Zenitsu, whose voice was hard on my eyes at times. I think it was supposed to be. The main cast were all really well-performed, but Saori Hayami’s performance as Shinobu was especially memorable.

And the music. Both the OP and ED were outstanding, but so was the music that played throughout the series. I know I’ve already mentioned it before, but the song played during the climax of episode 19: phenomenal. Seriously, chills.

Character: 8
The cast grows, but it’s Tanjrou, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke that get most of the screen time this season. The quartet is solid, but at times hit-or-miss. Tanjirou is very much the standard battle shounen protagonist. Determined, kind-hearted, hard-working, motivated by his friends and family, etc. It’s not a deal-breaker, but his character isn’t exactly ground-breaking. Nezuko, despite being gagged to protect humans in case sudden cravings arrive, provides a great deal of charm to the series. Her facial expressions and mannerisms, especially when no one is looking, are usually entertaining.

Zenitsu is the character that’s been hit-or-miss for me personally. The way he acts around girls is reminiscent of Brock from Pokemon, except with more frenetic energy. There are times when he calms down and I think he’s making progress, but then slides back into that ogling, desperate character I don't love. Then we have Inosuke. He might be my personal favorite character in the show. He’s introduced as wild, shouting shirtless boy wearing a boar mask. But when he drops the facade and shows genuine admiration for other characters, it’s quite endearing.

I don’t really have enough information to analyze the newer characters, but there are some intriguing ones among the rest of the cast. The Michael Jackson look alike, Muzan, and the sweet but deadly Shinobu are the standouts for me. I thank the creator for the latter’s “ara ara sayonara” line.

Enjoyment: 10
As you might notice if you check out my profile, I’m getting up there in age (28 as of writing this), and every time I think I might be growing out of battle shounen anime, something like this comes along, and I find myself feeling the way I did was a kid watching DBZ in the early 2000s. Episode 19 invoked similar emotions in me as certain DBZ scenes that are near and dear to my heart. I had a terrific time basically from start to finish, and a few incredibly “hype” moments really put it over the top for me.

Overall: 9
Yes, the story and its characters are not exactly revolutionary. But wow was it executed to near-perfection. Regardless of how old you are, whether you’re a guy or girl, this is an anime you have to watch. And if you like a good fight scene, brace yourself.

More of the same, for better or worse.

Story: 5
It very much lives up to its “slice of life” tag, as there isn’t much, at least in the way of progress, of an overarching story. It’s mostly made up of these little “battles” Takagi and Nishikata have. So if you are hoping for significant progress on the romance front, you might end up let down. They did try to include some of the other characters’ day-to-day lives with moderate success, but again, it rarely added to the bigger story.

Art: 6
The character designs can be hit-or-miss for people with their oversized eyes and noggins. Personally, I don’t ... hate it, but to each their own. The animation surely will not blow anyone away, which shouldn’t be a surprise. As usual, Nishikata is flustered quite easily, and it’s those expressions that probably the highlight of this category. But, like I said, nothing particularly spectacular overall.

Sound: 8
Rie Takahashi continues to deliver a great performance for Takagi. Sweet, sarcastic, and just a little smug. She really nails it. Yuki Kaji is again solid as Nishikata. Both the hopeful “this is the day I win!” and the baffled “how did she defeat me again?” moments really come through. Konami Kohara is also really funny as Mina. The OP and ED are both pretty good, especially the former. The “Zero Senchimētoru” line in the OP definitely got stuck in my head.

Character: 8
The core of the show still remains Takagi and Nishikata, and if you didn’t like them in season 1, I doubt you’ll change your mind now. Personally, I found them mostly endearing. Takagi is clearly the standout character. Her quick wit and understated smugness are still the #1 reason to continue watching. Like I mentioned, they made a real effort to include some other characters. The “eyebrows girl”, Mina, definitely had the most personality among the side characters. She took advantage of the screen time she was given, and might’ve ended up becoming my second favorite character in the show after Takagi.

Enjoyment: 8
Even though it was not anything new, I did still enjoy watching season 2. Takagi is brilliant again, and their mind games usually had some entertainment value to me. And there was just barely enough signs of progression to keep me interested.

Overall: 7
If you liked season 1, you’ll probably like season 2, unless that deja vu feeling is too strong. It was by no means a stand out show for me this season, but it’s not as if I didn’t enjoy tuning in once a week to see how Takagi triumphs over Nishikata yet again.

Possibly summer 2019’s most pleasant surprise that faltered just a bit at the end.

Ah, puberty. That weird time when your body is changing, your hormones are going crazy, and you start getting curious about this thing called ‘sex’, whether you’re ready to have it or not. We’ve seen plenty of high school sex comedies showcasing the shenanigans of boys. But we really haven’t seen a ton from the female perspective. O Maidens in your Savage Season attempts to remedy that. And oh boy does it not disappoint- up to a certain point.

We’re introduced to the Literature Club, made up of five girls: Kazusa, Rika, Hongou, ... Momoko, and Niina. When Niina brings up sex in a “what do you want to do before you die” conversation, that suddenly became a topic on everyone’s mind, whether they wanted it to be or not. I’m not going to break down each of their character’s but they had their own unique personality and opinions on sex, or “es-sui-batsu” as they called it. The deadly serious Rika and the sweet “girl next door” type of character, Kazusa, are probably the two stand-outs for me. There, of course, were other characters as well. The two most noteworthy were probably Izumi, Kazusa’s childhood friend, and Yamagishi-sensei, who has an unfortunate connection to one of the girls. They aren’t the highlight of the show, but their presence does instigate a couple interesting storylines.

There is romance involved, but most of the appeal is the random, day-to-day comedic situations they find themselves in. One random example is Kazusa worrying about sex, and thinking out loud to herself “it’s not going to fit”, then becoming relieved as the train in fact does fit through the tunnel. There’s clearly another very NSFW meaning to this, and they were able to convey that without getting graphic, while nailing the comedic timing. It’s those little moments sprinkled throughout that really made this a real joy to watch. However, the last few episodes experienced quite the tonal shift. It went from a light, funny, charming show to a more melodramatic, almost soap-opera-y one. The change was not for the better IMO, which is unfortunate because of how much I enjoyed the first three-quarters of the show. Although I will say it did end on a sweet note to sort of make up for it.

I don’t have a ton to say about the art and sound. They were both adequate, but certainly nothing special. The OP was quite good, but the ED was sort of meh. The art style reminds me a little of March Comes in Like a Lion, but maybe that’s just me.

Overall, I had a great time watching this show, even if it fell off a little in quality the last few episodes. But given that most of it was quite good, an 8 out of 10 sounds about right.

A very good shoujo that comes up just a little bit short of “great”.

It’s worth pointing out this is my first exposure to the franchise. I have neither read the manga or watched the original 2001 anime version. I went into the series with a mind clear of expectations or assumptions. And I came away impressed but not floored.

There is a lot to like about Fruits Basket. It has an ever-expanding cast of colorful characters with unique backstories. While there are plenty of light-hearted moments, it’s the pain that these characters carry with them that drives the show. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to ... anyone that the characters’ backstories are typically filled with grief. That’s where our protagonist, Tohru, comes in. If you have a problem loving and accepting yourself, she’ll provide both of those in spades to make up for it. This is despite the fact she herself has been touched by tragedy. You see, she literally starts the series homeless, having just lost her mother. After discovering her in a tent on their property, the mysterious Soma family takes her in, and the story begins.

A lot of other members of the Soma family are introduced, but initially it’s Shigure, Kyo, and Yuki she is living with. Shigure is the eldest, a writer, and a bit of a smart alec. Kyo is the fiery tsundere. And Yuki is the calmer and more collected school “Prince”. And oh yeah, they turn into animals from the Chinese Zodiac, which is an area of interest for Tohru, whenever a girl hugs them.

This is very much a character-driven show, and it comes through for the most part. So many of the characters are brimming with personality. But, if I’m being honest, I don’t think Tohru herself was one of them. She’s a very sweet girl, but as a character, she always felt a tad generic to me. She goes around “fixing” people’s problems with her kindness, which is admirable, but that describes too many anime protagonists to count. Tohru is the typical “nice guy/girl” MC. Luckily, she’s buoyed by the interesting characters around her, so it’s not a deal-breaker.

The main over-arching stories would probably be the drama surrounding the Soma family and Tohru’s love life, and they both move a bit slow. But in the meantime, there are plenty of day-to-day shenanigans and backstories to tell. In a way, this first season sort of feels like it’s setting the table for the rest of the show. Most of it is a hit as opposed to a miss, and there are even a couple instances that really do pull on your heartstrings. At times, it can feel a little formulaic. As I alluded to before, too many problems are simply solved with Tohru’s kindness.

The art won’t blow you away, but at times it will make you laugh. Some of the expressions during funny moments really add to the comedy. Being a shoujo, as the audience demands, there are plenty of pretty anime boys. So it has that going for it.

The sound is really superb across the board. Both openings and endings are quite good, and the voice acting really had no weak links. If I had to pick one stand-out, it’d probably be Yuuma Uchida, the VA for Kyo. He really nailed both his angry tsundere moments, and his softer, more vulnerables ones.

I enjoyed the series quite a bit. Some of the little mini-arcs I was more invested in than others, but for the most part, it held my attention throughout the 25 episode run.

Overall, I feel pretty confident in saying the first season of Fruits Basket is a very good shoujo. It does plenty of things right. The protagonist was a tiny bit vanilla and at times the way problems were resolved felt formulaic, but neither of those were deal-breakers. Unless you really don’t like shoujo, I would recommend this show to any anime fan.

8-8.5 out of 10 from me.

“It all started with that chord I played. I had no idea that I was strumming hard on his heartstrings with my own fingers.”

Uenoyama stumbles upon Satou, a sleepy stranger with a broken guitar on the stairs of their high school. Recognizing it just needs the strings replaced, and also seeing how bummed Satou was, he begrudgingly flies into action. One strum on the newly-fixed guitar, and well, you read the opening quote.

This first, chance meeting not only does a terrific job at introducing us to these characters and their personalities, but it also encapsulates so much of what I loved about this show, ... specifically its symbolism. In a way, guitar strings are not unlike a person’s heart. Yes, they can break often. But they can also be fixed, although sometimes you need a helping hand. And then, if the right chords are struck at the right time, something beautiful can blossom. Now, does this symbolism sound a little cheesy and heavy-handed? Maybe, but it works. And besides, a little cheesiness in a love story is not necessarily a bad thing.

To quickly get this out of the way: as a straight guy, I realize this show was very much not made with me in mind, but I heard positive things, so I decided to give it a shot. Did I regret it? Well, let’s read on.

The cast is a small, but strong one. I’ve already mentioned the two main characters, Satou and Uenoyama. The former plays the role of the quiet understudy. He wants to learn the guitar, but despite carrying around a fairly expensive one, has little to no knowledge. But you know who does? Uenoyama. Personality-wise, he’s very much the Yin to Satou’s Yang, or vice versa. Although he’s not a mean-spirited guy, he can be prone to angry outbursts. Just based on that little knowledge, you can see how this might lead to some interesting interactions. And without getting into spoiler territory, one of these guys has some serious demons of the past to conquer, and obviously that plays a big role in the story.

Then we have the other two members of Uenoyama’s band. Akihiko is the cool, calm, and collected drummer. Haruki is sort of the reliable older brother of the group. They’re not super involved in the main pair’s relationship, but they are able to dole out some timely advice, and have a unique dynamic and history themselves. They’re strong additions to a small, but very likeable cast. In fact, I found myself quickly attached to all four.

The animation might not blow you away like Kimestsu no Yaiba, but it’s quite effective at capturing the mood of the scenes and the emotions of the characters. And, although I’m not the one to ask, I do think the female audience will be satisfied with the male characters in the show.

For a series about music, I wasn’t necessarily blown away by the music, outside of the opening. It wasn’t bad, but the band doesn’t have a song that got stuck in my head the way some of the songs from, say Nana, did. The voice acting was however, quite good. I feel like the VAs did a great job at capturing the essence of these characters.

The story, while not spectacular, does its job. It may seem like a straight-forward story about four young guys and their band, but the romance, along with one of the character’s dark past casting a giant shadow over everything, keeps you interested. Then there's the issue of romance within the band that presents a bit of an obstacle, as well.

Overall, I really enjoyed Given. I think some might be skeptical, given some of the slightly sleazier shows the genre has offered up in the past, but those people would be pleasantly surprised if they gave this show a shot. Is it perfect or ground-breaking? No, but it has a tremendous amount of heart, and I’d recommend it to any anime fan.

A solid 9 out of 10 from me.

Not only awful, but quite frankly, sort of disturbing.

I don't pretend pretend to be an expert on psychology, but I would be legitimately interested in hearing an actual psychologist's thoughts on this show, because even to a layman, it's concerning. A quick look at the synopsis will give you the basic outline: Our main character, Erika, lies about going out with the guy she took a picture of, and in order for him play along, she has to become his "dog". Before going any further, I have a couple side notes in regards to some of the absurdities that lie within that statement. First of ... all, if the "reward" is as meager as MAYBE increasing two strangers' opinions of you, why take the "risk" with this gigantic lie? Also, who walks to within arms-length of a stranger on the street to "secretly" take a picture of them? Worst paparazzi ever. But I digress.

It's time to talk about the most important part to any romcom: the two leads. As previously mentioned, the main character is Erika. She is a real dud of an MC. Plain, boring, uninteresting, unmemorable, you name it. She is one of those "blank slate", self-insert insert characters whose only noteworthy trait is a "big heart" (which is the case for like 90% of protagonist btw).

And then there is Kyouya, the good-looking love interest that has everyone fooled with his "nice guy act". Oh man. They say there is a thin line between "tsundere" and "cruel", and he crossed that line and just kept going and going and going. While a tsundere like Otani from Lovely Complex manages to be harsh but never quite sadistic, and even maintains a bit of charm, Kyoua fails miserably. Of course, near the end of the season, the show made an attempt to explain why he turned out the way he did, but this supposedly sad backstory was insultingly unoriginal and didn't even come close to succeeding at explaining his behavior.

So we have the boring self-insert MC and the hot psychopath. Let's see how this plays out. Predictably, and despite all the abuse she takes, Erika develops feelings for him. The fact she would fall in love with someone so loathsome with no redeeming qualities besides their looks, speaks volumes about her character. But what about Kyouya's feelings? Of course at first, they can only be described as hostile, but in a shocking twist, he eventually reciprocates her feelings. Again, you might ask, why? Because she's the main character and the plot demanded it. That's the only rational explanation. He already mentioned how many had unsuccessfully attempted the "nice girl" act on him to try to win his heart, so it's not as if she was doing anything revolutionary. So yeah, this pairing makes zero sense any way you look at it.

However, more than anything, this anime sends so many poor messages. "Hey, if I take enough mental and emotional abuse, and basically turn into someone's metaphorical punching bag, maybe I can date someone that is more attractive than me!" That's the biggest message this anime sends to its audience. Whether you're a guy or girl, hot or not, I sincerely hope there aren't any impressionable teenagers watching these characters and trying to emulate either of them.

I can definitively say the Story, Character, and Enjoyment are all a 1/10. The art and sound, though, are not so bad. I'll give them both a 6/10. It's generally a pretty aesthetically-pleasing show to look at, and as bad a person as I think Kyouya is, his character design is unique enough to be memorable. I also think his VA, Takahiro Sakurai, did a nice job at portraying his coldness and hostility without being too cartoon-ish. I can't really say any of the other seiyuus jumped out at me, but it wasn't bad.

Time to put a bow on this review, though. So, how do you make an anime that is not only bad, but also makes the world a worse place because of its mere existence? Maybe you should ask the creators of Wolf Girl & Black Prince, because they nailed it.

Itazura Kiss: An absolute abomination of an anime that also manages to throw in some horrible messages on top of it.

This review of a show over a decade old will almost certainly get buried, but there are still some important things that need to be said and heard about this series. Despite the fact I am outside its target audience, I consider myself a bit of a advocate for shoujo anime, but for anyone that is not as familiar with the “genre”, either: (a) Do not watch Ita Kiss, or (b) If you have, don’t write off the whole genre because of it. There are ... plenty of good shoujo anime out there, but this is not one of them.

Character: 2
I could name the number of people I liked in this show on one hand, and that would even be the case if I got attacked by an alligator and lost three of my fingers. But the two leads will be getting the lion’s share of the attention here.

Our protagonist is Kotoko. Her defining characteristic is her lack of intelligence. Yup. To spell it out for you, she is quite simply the most bland, generic, uninspired main character I have ever come across. Her only real role is very clearly to be the “self-insert character”. Then we have Irie, the main love interest. He is smart, rich, and good-looking, but also a cold, pompous a-hole.

Oh, and Kotoko has been in love with him for two years despite having never spoken to him. What. The. Hell. The only rational explanation is she is just shallow almost beyond belief. Crush is one thing, but love? But you might be thinking, “hey, once she gets to know what an abhorrent human being he is, she’ll come to her senses, right?”. Oh boy would you be wrong. No matter how much he bullied her, abused her emotionally, mentally, and verbally, her feelings seemed to grow and grow. Watching her grovel for his attention and swoon anytime he as much as looked in her direction was one of the most pathetic displays I’ve seen in the medium. Like have some self-respect, jesus. So why would one of the smartest and best-looking guys in the country fall for a girl like her? Well, in reality, he wouldn’t, but she is the main character after all, so he basically had no choice. The plot demanded him to fall in love with her. Seriously, though, never has an anime couple made less sense and been this unlikable.

As far as the other characters, the only one really worth talking about was Irie’s mother. The bar set by the two leads was exceptionally low, but she might’ve been even worse. Ok, so she instantly wants the two to get together. Why? I have no idea, because Kotoko is a bore and a half. But alright, that in and of itself is not a deal-breaker, but the meddling. My god. Obnoxious wouldn’t even begin to cover it. It actually got to the point of sabotaging other potential relationships and trash-talking her own son to turn other girls against him. Are you kidding me? Irie’s mom is just the worst of the worst.

Story: 4
The story is dumb and predictable as well. Read the synopsis and there won’t be a ton of surprises, I assure you. Kotoko is rejected by Irie and has to move in with his family after an earthquake destroys her family's house. Great. Outside of the fact the romance lasted past high school, there was never a single interesting or original aspect to the story.

But now to touch on the “horrible messages” I alluded to in the opening line. Irie, as we’ve covered already, is intelligent, attractive, rich, well-bred, etc. But here’s the thing, just because you’re Mr. Hot Stuff or whatever, does not mean you get a free pass to treat everyone around you like human trash. Seriously, some of the things he said or did, specifically to Kotoko, were repulsive. And not only did he get away with it, she was still madly in love with the guy. Whether you’re a guy or a girl, you should not be allowed to treat people they way he did just because you have enough desirable traits. And this anime, and especially Kotoko, proved the exact opposite of that. I sincerely hope there aren’t any young, impressionable guys or girls out there watching this and thinking this is normal or ok, let alone the ideal love story.

Art: 3
The art, likewise is atrocious. Kotoko looked like a giant, confused toddler in most scenes. This was the case for a lot of the female characters in show. Irie’s model shifted so much you didn’t know if he was going to have the perfect shoujo bishie or deformed face look. It’s amazing this show is from 2008; it looks worse than most shows 5 years older.

Sound: 4
If you’re thinking the saving grace is the sound, you would be wrong. None of the OP/EDs were anything but skippable and there wasn’t a single VA performance that stood out. The two leads in particular gave flat, often-times grating, performances.

Enjoyment: 1
If it wasn’t for my self-imposed “no-drop policy”, I would’ve stopped 1 episode in. Every second was excruciating. I genuinely mean that.

Overall: 3
What do you get when you pair the most boring, self-insert MC ever with the world’s biggest sociopathic jerk, and do literally nothing else well or revolutionary? You get this unspeakable mess that should’ve never been put out into the world.

Death Note and Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san had a baby, and it somehow grew up to be the best romance anime in years.

When I first began Kaguya-sama, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It certainly was different than any high school romcom I’ve come across. Just the fact it was immediately clear both leads liked each other differentiates it from its peers. Not only that, but they’re each almost certain the other reciprocates their feelings. Sounds like a pretty straightforward solution: one of them confesses and they start dating. Right? Not so fast my friend.

The story largely revolves around Miyuki and Kaguya, the ... president and vice president of the student council, respectively. Given their social standing, intelligence, and looks, they are both quite popular with the opposite sex, yet they really only have eyes for the other. Oh, and one other important piece of information: they may be the two most stubborn, and prideful, human beings on planet Earth. You see, while they would each very much like to be in a relationship with the other, they would like the other to be the one to confess first. If you’re thinking, “they can’t possibly make a show out of two people trying to get the other to confess”, you would be wrong. Some of their mind games and schemes to get the other to confess, as well as their imagination of how these might come to fruition, is almost always hysterical. I’d also like to point out some of the character development for Kaguya in particular. Her character makes real strides throughout the season as we learn a bit more about her background in the latter parts.

And then there’s Chika, the secretary of the student council. She is a little bit of an airhead and is blissfully unaware of all the mental warfare happening between the president and vice president. This obliviousness often throws a wrench in the leads' plans in hilarious fashion. But what she lacks in I.Q. (at least compared to Miyuki and Kaguya), she makes up in pure charm. Some of the most memorable moments were just Chika being Chika. I’m not saying she’s the deepest, most well-written character ever created, but it you dislike her, you might just be dead inside, or you just haven’t seen “the dance”. But to quote the late great Billy Mays, “but wait, there’s more!’. Apparently the student council had a treasurer that somehow stayed hidden for a decent chunk of the first season. Enter Yuu Ishigami, the character I’ve heard some people refer to as “our guy” because of how (often times painfully) relatable he is. His addition immediately paid dividends. While he is more aware of the absurdities happening around him than Chika, he clearly wants no part of anything that is happening. He’d much rather be playing the latest game release or watching his favorite anime. Did I say relatable?

The art might not blow you away consistently, but if I were ranking anime based solely on the characters’ facial expressions, this would be near the top. The animation is definitely different than most of its counterparts. It’s not quite Shaft-level of odd, but it definitely adds to the quirkiness of the show.

Onto sound. Where do I even begin with the voice acting? Everyone, take bow. Top-to-bottom, this is some of the finest comedic voice acting I’ve heard in anime. If I had to pick a favorite, it’d probably be Konomi Kohara as the zany Chika. And of course, how can you not mention “Love is War”, one of those OPs I would place firmly into the "unskippable" category. Shout out to the narrator too, whose droll commentary on the war usually added to the comedy.

If you couldn’t tell, I thoroughly enjoyed Kaguya-Sama: Love is War. The characters are insanely lovable, their chemistry and interactions are fantastic, and it manages to be one of the funniest series I’ve seen while also having some real heartfelt moments, particularly later in the season. Unless you have something against smiling, watch this show, and pray to the anime Gods we get a second season.

Domestic Kanojo: This season's guilty pleasure anime. But is it any good?

Romance anime is often plagued by pacing issues. Put simply, it usually takes awhile for anything of consequence to actually happen. And who wants to wait 50 episodes for a kiss when the characters can start banging halfway through the first episode? But we’re just scratching the surface.

If you’ve read the synopsis, you know the setup. Boy is in love with teacher. Boy can’t have teacher. Boy sleeps with random girl. Boy’s widowed father marries these two girls’ divorced mother, and now all three of them are step-siblings living under the same roof. What ... unfolds is the classic “which step-sister should I be hooking up with?” scenario that children and adults alike all know and love. Feeling soap opera-y yet?

Now, is the show all smut? No. Certainly it does tackle some serious topics such as infidelity, the world’s increasingly loose definition of “family”, and “social suicide”, among other things. Some are done well, some aren’t. The story-line surrounding infidelity was probably the most well-done part of the series. It really captured the agony that it can cause outside of the people directly involved, as well as the fact these situations are not always as black and white as you might think.

Now, to touch on the characters a bit. The main trio consists of the protagonist Natsuo and his new step-sisters Rui, whom he hooked up, and Hina, the teacher he’s in love with. The most likable is Rui, who despite her tsundere tendencies, is actually shown to be quite a caring person and fairly honest with her feelings. The most interesting is probably Hina, because she is just such a wild card. Her feelings are more difficult to figure out than the other two, and often leave her very conflicted. I don’t have a ton to say about Natsuo, his character is sort of “meh”. The best compliment I can give him is we usually knew where his heart lied. Oh, and at least he didn’t take advantage of the hot but emotionally-damaged Momo, so there’s that.

The art was slightly above average for the genre, but don’t expect to be wowed. The character models were fine. Natuso and Hina’s in particular were a tad generic. Top-notch tongue physics. You’ll be seeing a lot of that.

Onto sound. The only voice acting performance that stood out to me was Maaya Uchida as Rui. The delivery had a nice mix of dryness and sass, while also nailing the few emotional outbursts Rui had. The OP was solid, but definitely not the best of the season.

So, all in all, would I say Domestic Kanojo is a good anime? No. It’s pretty low-brow and a lot of the situations are both contrived and melodramatic. But it held my attention, so that should count for something. Just not enough to warrant a high score.