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Ahh Beelzebub, where to even begin with this masterpiece? Can you name a series that perfectly combines delinquents, gag comedy, demons, and battle shounen? Maybe you can, but I sure can't, and especially not the way Beelzebub executes it. It's a series that manages to always keep you on your toes with its unpredictability, keep you laughing with its unique brand of humor, keep you in awe of the godtier battle art, and keep you engaged with its intriguing story! But if it's truly as great as I'm making it sound, why don't more people know about it and yet how does it manage to ... be one of my all time favorite manga?

Why yes, it's true that many are aware of its existence, it's not typically known as well as its contemporaries at the time aside from the obvious big titles. Series such as Reborn, D.Grayman, and Sket Dance will be remembered more fondly by most familiar with that era of Shounen Jump than poor Beelzebub. But with such a wacky premise, I find this hard to believe. Since there's already a synopsis you can read, I'll keep this part brief. We follow a delinquent named Oga, who is the most feared yankee at his school, and one day stumbles upon a baby. Little did Oga know that the baby in question is the son of the king of the underworld, who is sent to Earth to destroy it. But baby Beel quickly gets attached to Oga. From here Oga is on a journey to raise Beel while running into tons of mischief along the way.

Although I kept the synopsis brief, I bring it up not only for the sake of a thorough review but also to shed light on a less brought up accolade that's unique to Beelzebub. And that's to have a baby character, who's integral to the story and shows up in just about every chapter, to be both NOT annoying in the slightest and actually hilarious and a character I loved from start to end! It's not just in animanga where I'm not typically a fan of baby/adolescent characters, it's in most media (hell maybe even irl too). Typically this archetype does nothing but cry, whine, bring in some forced "cute" factor, and 9 times out of 10 will be involved in a scenario where they either cry or shit themselves and thus give away the characters sneaking around in some scenario where they're trying to hide from someone. Strangely specific example aside, this is NOT the case with Beelzebub at all!

In fact, the baby in question is perhaps the most charismatic character in the story, next to Furichi, where his love for Oga is naturally conveyed through their teamwork improving in each passing scenario, the lengths they both go through to protect one another, the multitude of expressions, sounds, and spells Beel utilizes throughout the story, makes him so likable! He's one of the rare instances of a pure baby character through and through that you root for, feel pity for, and tear up for as you witness him truly become the king of the Underworld. Perhaps quite literally in a couple scenarios where he has to kick some ass as a giant! And that in my opinion is Beelzebub's biggest strength, and biggest weakness, its characters.

No no no, don't think that I'm saying its characters are bad or anything! In fact it's the complete opposite! Every SINGLE character introduced in this story is incredibly compelling to follow and learn about. From best girl Aoi going from her 'nice girl' alter-ego to her yankee mode, Beel's narcissistic brother En, rich boy Himekawa, demon doctor Lamia, the list goes on and on with its incredible diverse cast where they all somehow manage to gel so well together that I actively looked forward to the more characters were crammed into a chapter or arc. Not only is this not usually the case with even my all-time favorite piece of media ever Gintama, but this manages to achieve this accolade while still balancing all sides of what makes Beelzebub, well Beelzebub! The yankee, demon, sol, battle shounen, and gag comedy elements are present throughout the story from start to end, while managing to never let its large cast get out of character! But like I mentioned, this is also its one and only blunder.

It has a large cast, and for every new character that gets introduced (especially towards the end of the series) you'll just be DYING to see more of them to get their character expanded on. But nope, at least for those outside the main cast we follow from early on in the story. And their unique character designs only exacerbate this problem because of just how awesome they look, and how they usually fight! Oh my god, how could I forget, THE FIGHTS!!!!

Now we're onto another huge strength of this manga, er more like a two for one deal. And that's the fight, action, and ART of this manga as a whole. Incredibly stylized art style by Tamura Ryyuhei. Not only is the art itself insanely crisp, smooth, and gorgeous to look at, but the paneling is bare bones and cut and dry which adds more emphasis to the amazing art within the panels. I'd compare to One Piece's paneling, but with slightly more diverse panel geometry. But back to the art at hand, the characters all have mostly proportional facial features, with more of the buff dudes getting increasingly wider, and the demons getting even more hell-ish and wicked the further along this manga you get, and the girls (especially En's Maids) are all a CUTE!!!!

Each archetype is drawn with a rare type of finesse that doesn't poke fun or parody the origins of the character, (well save maybe for Himekawa, but even then he's so stylish! And as a child he still had drip, he was what I like to call, a drip dragon) but respects it and uses its exaggerated, cartoonish design to enhance a character trait about them. Let's take the main character Oga for example, attire is that of a casual delinquent, but with teeth like that of a shark, and a grimace that scares just about everyone in his path save for Beel. However, as a reader, and perhaps I can only speak for myself, but I found his design to be overall endearing! Which I think characterizes his personality to a tee! Oga is a guy, whom most shit their pants when being confronted by, however even when he's out for blood, his demeanor is usually that for the greater good even if he doesn't want to admit it. Grinning in the face of opposition, a desire to beat his opponent even if he doesn't get much out of it, other than to get stronger, and if that's not badass and inspiring to always max out your own potential (albeit in a somewhat twisted way), then I don't know what is.

And the last part I'd like to touch up on in the visual department are the spreads usually showcasing the battles, or some crazy shit going on because god dammit you will get some damn fine art that will have you left aghast! Whether that's some obscene, weird scene going on with other worldly entities, people fighting demons with everything from their swords, to magic, bare fists, summons, and energy blasts that will leave you baffled how chaotically well these different types of violence mesh so well in this story! But that's when you remember, "oh yeah, this is Beelzebub.".

And that's why it's one of the few series to blend so many different subgenres, yet still manage to maintain a sense of cohesion throughout its entire run. This is where I feel many may disagree with me on, as a lot of people seem to like one or two aspects of Beelzebub, and dislike the other. Whether that's them preferring the SOL moments, over the violence, or maybe preferring the gag arcs over the delinquent heavy ones. But for me, I found it transitioning from arc to arc very smooth throughout. The only bit I found somewhat jarring, was towards the end when Oga, Beel, Toujou and Co. are one shotting baddies we barely get to learn about before moving to the next one at a machine gun's pace. But even here, I found the fast paced momentum to be exhilarating! It's like, "Who the fuck are you?" "DEMON BISHOP THE 4TH" "BAM BLAST, EPIC FIGHT ENSUES, WITH A TSUKKOMI FROM FURICHI" "OKAY WHO'S NEXT?!". It has that type of energy which I'm all for in final acts of animanga personally.

Welp that's Beelzebub, where to even begin with this masterpiece? Can you name a series that perfectly combines delinquents, gag comedy, demons, and battle shounen? Maybe you can, but I sure can't, and especially not the way Beelzebub executes it. It's a series that manages to always keep you on your toes with its unpredictability, keep you laughing with its unique brand of humor, keep you in awe of the godtier battle art, and keep you engaged with its intriguing story! The characters are lovable, it never completely disregards any of its components that make it unique at any point (eg; it will still have comedy in the battle bits, or drama in the SOL arcs), the art is just beautiful and exciting to admire, and its vast plot will leave you in anticipation dying to know what's going to transpire next! As for why more people don't know about it, well like I always say when it comes to comedy, it's perhaps the most subjective form of entertainment out there, combine that with the amalgamation of various genres that makes Beelzebub, Beelzebub makes it a varied experience that's right up my alley personally, even though many others may find all the variety tiring or confusing. But personally, it just makes the journey that is this manga incredible, unpredictable, and fun! So hopefully, if you're someone who hasn't read this series yet, I cannot implore you to do so sooner!

BRIEF REVIEW W/spoilers: Hilarious tale that I'm glad to have embarked on. Admired the jump from cartoonish to hyper realistic art styles. Was also surprised how often this story becomes closer to sci-fi/horror, than comedy at times. That being said, as much as I loved that component of the story, I really loved it for the comedy and any time Baka Ouji gets involved. I can't help but get major Gintama vibes from it. From Baka Ouji probably being a source of inspiration for Prince Hata, and the ending looking surprisingly familiar to a certain era of Edo Japan that's been taken over by Amanto. ...

I'm a little confused by the ending, does this mean that Yukitaka and that girl are now together, and WAS THAT THEIR CHILD?! So many questions and I wondered if this was axed or if Togashi-san ended it on his own terms. Although I do wish it stayed predominately comedic throughout all of its tales, I do admire how it used aliens and sci-fi to create unique and hilarious situations. Best chapters were the early chapters, followed by the Rangers. I also got a huge kick out of the panels that were just a cacophony of random, deformed, life forms that were reminiscent of Berserk's eclipse, especially in the chapter were we witness the girl accidentally putting her dad into her subconscious where he's then subject to seeing a monster-ized version of him and his wife bickering. With this juxtaposition between comedy and sci-fi in mind though, unlike Gintama which knew how to properly balance both, Level E comes off more strong in its approach to both creating a stronger tonal whiplash from one to the other. In Level E, where I'd be looking forward to a predominately funny chapter, I'd get met a chapter with body horror, long paragraphs about alien life-forms, with an ending that leaves me scratching my head wanting more, not because it was particularly engaging but because it didn't feel fully fleshed out.

All in all though, when this series is funny, it's one of the funniest manga ever. When it's good, it is DAMN good and for that reason I love it. Wish it had more chapters, but I'm glad to have picked up this series as I have thoroughly loved my time with it!

Easily the best animanga of all time, shit I just might even say my favorite piece of media as a whole. Nothing has impacted my life as much as the lessons I've taken from this story (next to Mob Psycho, OPM, Ping Pong, bobobo, GTO, Cromartie High, Mashle, and nichibros as well as Berserk, Golden Boy [THE OVAS], Saiki K, etc.) huh thats alot, but hey, that's just a few examples of my efficacious love for this medium, manga. Which REALLY started with this series, but don't close off the tab just yet! Daijoubu, although I will briefly touch upon my personal love and connection ... (ooo lalala) to this series, I will still primarily be focusing on the series itself and not just memememe. Because I want youyouyou to develop just as much of a personal bond to this series as mememe on your own. Although I did in fact begin my venture with this series through the anime, my focus will be in regards to the manga, as I prefer that medium but implore you to experience both as you cannot go wrong with either. So what exactly is it that compels me to call this both the greatest manga and anime of all time, that had such a profound impact on me that I'd turn around my life for the better?

Now much like my Nichibros review, I'd wager that half of what you get with this series depends on your style of humor. Unlike Nichibros, which does have its fair share of feels at the end don't get me wrong, Gintama presents a style of humor that not only ticks all my personal boxes, but is also chock full of heart tugging tales with great characters and pearls of wisdom that are inarguably well-written. I mean at over 700 chapters, you best believe that there's more soul to this series than the amount of silver in the world! Er I mean more than just gags and goofs, because I discovered this series when looking for something that was similar to another all time favorite of mine, ‘Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo’! Which sure, to some may be nothing more than the most absurd animanga series of all time, but to me it's so much more. Among all the fart jokes, it taught me to not always take life so seriously and to always stay true to my values and be nothing less than my truest self no matter what others think! But I'll save that for my Bobobo Essay, so anyways what about Gintama?

At this point, I heralded Bobobo in my top three favorite animanga of all time. Convinced that no other series could top it in terms of its sheer absurdity! (and to a point that may still be the case. ..) HOWEVER, there was but one series that kept getting chucked at me no matter the recommendation site/algorithm I used, KINNIKUMAN! but also, GINTAMA! I am convinced that there is not a single silver soul, or megane adorning animanga otaku that has not had this series also recommended to them. Ya like comedy? Gintama! Ya like drama? Gintama! Battle shounen, Monkey magic, One Piece?! This silver balled series didn't get its reputation for nothin’! For me though, I was initially drawn to it by hearing that it has toilet humor. I was sold right then and there. You mean to tell me that there's a series that's as insane as bobobo AND has toilet humor, AND has this interesting looking character on the front of the first volume with silver hair and a badass looking robe to boot? So I figured I'd give it a shot, but did it come close to Bobobo in, not only it's humor, but over the top insanity?

In short, yes. But in long, not immediately. Allow me to explain. I'm sure by now, if this is a series you're considering picking up or are just curious to hear other's thoughts about it, then I'm 11% certain that you've heard this series described as a, “grower”. And this is a common sentiment I must concur with. For as much as the series's art, sense of astonishment from the world we're immediately presented with, and its sense of humor, I was honestly a bit miffed by the character designs. Admittedly when Otose was introduced I was REALLY gunning for her to be a non-recurring character because for some reason I found her insatiably ugly! Lo and behold, she'd become one of my top five favorite characters from the series. And basically that's this series in a nutshell, given it's length, the style of humor and remarkable tales you'll embark on, it's guaranteed that over time you'll develop a kinship to the series like no other. A common saying is that “The only person who says Gintama isn't their favorite series, is someone who hasn't read or watched it.”....”or it's just not their style of humor.” And that's the thing, it just so happens to be mine, and next to comedy manga, I love Shonen manga (I know it's a demographic and not a genre but you know what I mean). So basically what I'm saying is, that it's no wonder why I love the series so much and why this “review” has been nothing short of a madfan, (me) fondling Gintama's Gintama's. So let's get more literal, analytical, and nitty gritty into the aspects of this story that makes it the perfect animanga and my favorite piece of fiction ever written.

I'm not here to give you a synopsis, but an essay regarding my thoughts on this impeccable series. But with that being said, in short, we follow an odd jobs trio as they take on duties in a land of edo era Samurai that has been taken over by Amanto (aliens). So we're left to follow the crazy trials and tribulations that these three characters face in a world that combines both sci-fi and edo era Japanese Samurai culture into the craziest, hijinks ensuing landscape known to man with anachronism that Samurai Champloo creams at the thought of!

Character designs, while somewhat simple and blobish initially, become more refined and absolutely gorgeous as the series progresses. Accentuating the eccentric and impeccable world building/character designs/and story world as a whole as you slowly but surely develop a fondness for these characters. Giant inu's, tiny inu's, and even the most based prince known to man with a penis on his head and a theme song that demands whatever liquid it was you were consuming to be chucked from your nostrils upon hearing it! It has it all! And to think it was all drawn by a Gorilla who wants nothing more in life than to be a steamed cheese bun, and honestly who could blame him? As the series goes on, and especially towards the final few arcs, you'll have some impeccable spreads and art that demands all your ‘mirin and ogling attention. These pieces are beautiful and that's not even counting the phenomenally illustrated, funny, and creative volume covers, OR the random bits of extra art and illustrations that also make up a bulk of the volumes. I've yet to come across a mangaka hone and refine the beauty of his art like Sorachi. “But what about ONE?!”. Here's the thing, ONE started out amateurish but became GOOD overtime, and now he's got his own unique untouchable style I could only wish to achieve someday. Sorachi however started out GOOD but became INCREDIBLE (I'm talking at least to the same level of Akira Hiramoto of Prison School fame, to me at least) overtime. So please, when reading Gintama I implore you to take a second to admire Sorachi’s fantastic illustrations, ESPECIALLY some of those action pieces involving Takasugi and the Kiheitai before and during the silver soul arc.

So who exactly is it that created this incredible story that knows no bounds? The man in question is none other than Sorachi Hideaki. Now I'm not here to do nothing but jelque a man who doesn't even know I exist and will never read this essay. But what I will say, is that beyond his obsession for all things with a Dragon or monster prefix, I find him to be a compelling individual. One glance at his reader's corner in the aforementioned volumes, (again with oh so gorgeous art!) you'll get the impression that this man does not give a fuck. His blunt, literal, and annoyed nature contrasts with someone like Oda who, while silly in his responses to his readers, recognizes the wide age demographic and reach of his series and thus maintains a level of composure in his replies. Gorilla Senpai on the other hand just could not care less what others think and will bash his own series, fans, himself, his (poor) editors and it's own popularity to the same degree he critiques himself. I'm writing a whole blip of this because I've yet to come across an author/mangaka who seemingly abhors both themselves and the world so much and is yet still able to write and illustrate life changing stories that have impacted me on the deepest level known to man, as well as written humor that has transcended my consciousness beyond Earth's stratosphere. I'm just impressed that this man who seemingly hates life also see's the beauty in it and thus taught me that lesson as well.

For every fart, shit, and ball sack joke, there's a life lesson worth learning from these stories. Standing straight and living by your own rules, having a dream and chasing it, staying light and having a child-like heart that makes everything fun, changing for the better and not just for ourselves but for those we care for, learning and growing from our mistakes and to not be constricted by them, and to see the good in others instead of the bad. These are just some of the messages you'll get from this unabashedly vulgar series, and surprisingly so, probably when you least expect it.

Gintama is an incredible series, shit I just might even call it my favorite piece of media ever made. It's able to maintain its integrity with both its silly and serious side like no other and STILL manage to have you laughing your ass off to crying it back above your thighs for OVER 700 CHAPTERS with marvelous art, and so many unique characters and situations that you'll have finished it without even realizing it. If you made it to the end of my nonsensical and crazy ramble about my favorite piece of media ever created, then firstly thank you, secondly what the hell man?! You managed to do something more absurd in your free time than me?! If you went that far then you may as well also read 700+ chapters of a Samurai Sci-Fi romp written by a lazy gorilla. ANPAN!

Cromartie High remains as one of my favorite manga/anime of all time, top 5 material easily. Though I’m surely not breaking any new ground by saying that. You can travel across the web, or attend any anime convention and find plenty of others with that same opinion. As I always say with my write ups, namely when it’s for my personal favorites since they tend to be comedy/shounen/motivational series, ‘Comedy is subjective’! If someone has a sense of humor that doesn’t align with a series, then their mileage will inevitably vary. This too isn’t a groundbreaking take ... either, however I bring all this up because I find it absolutely preposterous that despite the anime getting the acclimation across the world that it rightfully deserves, the manga does not nearly get the same amount of appraisal. So I’m here today to convince you that, although you can’t go wrong in either way you decide to engage with the series, the manga is infinitely the superior option. For it’s a funnier and much more complete package than its anime adaptation. And hell, I’ll even toss in a personal side-quest just for you toots, to also answer why this STILL manages to be one of my personal all time favorite series ever all these years later.
Okay, I’ll be honest I went a little harder than I intended to with that introduction. Not in regards to my love for the series, for I’ll get into that later. But in regards to how well others, aside from myself, treat the source material. Let’s not beat around the bush though, the manga itself is far from unpopular. According to stats taken from various sources it had a whopping “4.5 million copies in circulation, won the 26th Kodansha Manga Award for the shōnen category in 2002, and it was one of the Jury Recommended Works in the Manga Division at the 7th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2003.”- (Kodansha Manga Award, n.d.). So yeah, saying that this manga doesn’t get the praise it deserves is pretty frickin far-fetched now that I think about it. Especially given everything it’s spawned in its wake such as both an anime and live action adaptation of it exists. But what exactly does it excel in so well that made it so beloved and why do I consider the manga the superior format?
Wow, maybe that should’ve been my opening paragraph instead. Definitely a more substantive thesis if you ask me. Anyways, firstly a brief synopsis, even though it really doesn’t need one at this point. A smart boy named Kamiyama finds himself enlisted “no no trust me, this word is much more appropriate than ‘enrolled’.” in the most badass school of delinquents and hijinks ensues. Given that this is source material, we’re given more of what makes the series so good. And that’s the main reason I decided to pick up the manga in the first place, with a measly yet golden assortment of only ten episodes I thought it was absolutely criminal how short it was. So thank god the manga has 338.3 chapters plus a short lived official spin-off focusing on the teachers, to make up for the adaption’s short length. And as expected it has everything that it’s anime counterpart has in spades but it also contains aspects worth praising that are unique to the manga alone such as the art, the use of multimedia, the amount of unpredictable plots/situations, the genius paneling that lends itself exceptionally perfect to its comedic timing, lore, plenty of insight into Nonaka himself, and the vast array of characters that are unforgettable. I’ll be touching upon each of these in my write-up.
The artwork lends itself exquisitely to the jokes and situations characters find themselves. Initially though not as concrete, the characters have a broad build, a stoic face, eccentric features across their face/head, and have the super angular yet thick character outlines that gets even more refined as the series progresses. Not only that, but many of the characters share the same ‘copy & paste’ tough guy sort of face, EVEN Maeda’s own mom! Nightmares from her aside, I found the illustrations themselves to not only enhance the jokes and hilarity of the situations themselves, but gorgeous to look at as well, especially in pages dedicated to a character portrait. I specifically remember a chapter introductory page with Kamiyama on it, poised by a motorbike-erized mechazawa “don’t ask” that I was enamored by. Not only did I feel like I was looking at a poster for a Dean Martin film, but it was then that I got the feeling that Nonaka was heavily inspired by 1950’s western pop-art and comics. As the series goes on, the individual characters begin to lose the same face look and develop concrete visual designs. It’s as if Nonaka saw the cover of GTA: Chinatown wars and went, “lol, that’d make for a funny chapter” and base the look off of that going forward. Anyways, I often feel as if the art-style is the most overlooked aspect of the manga, for not only do I find it aesthetically pleasing, but also extremely varied.
This varied artstyle not only comes from the “less human characters” like freddie, mechazawa, banchou-chan, ara-chan, and masked-takenouchi, but from the volume covers themselves. Seriously, these are all gorgeous and uniquely stylized. Volume one looking like a communist propaganda poster with an eye-grabbing color contrast of red, white and yellow. Volume 4 and 5 are unabashedly influenced/parodying warhol’s style with the former being a blue freddie shredding a guitar with nonaka like hair, and the latter literally being a can of soup, oops I mean soup can-erized mechazawa “don’t ask”. Hell the cover of volume 13 being a human masked takenouchi taking porky pig’s spot at the end of a melody melodies “that’s all folks” closing card is what inspired me to cosplay as him. This is also far from the only time Cromartie high utilizes real life images, as it also uses it as a means to open up or close a volume with a hilarious scenario. What I’m trying to get at is that the visual component of this series is often pigeon-holed as “stoic and stiff” and while that rings some truth in the anime, aside from the di-gi-charat cameo, in contrast the manga is actually so much more. Which is golden since this is a book we’re talking about. Each volume is uniquely illustrated, most of which exhibit a unique artistic technique or style that I find mesmerizing to look at, with the final volume and thirteen being my personal favorites, but you can’t go wrong with any of them.
Another aspect that the manga dunks over the anime is the insight on Nonaka himself. Throughout the series we’re given an insight into the man that I’m sure I’m not the only one who related to, who created this very series. These ‘bonus’ chapters are not only hilarious on their own, but also gives insight into the environment and work behind maintaining relevance on such a popular series. All the glitter is not gold however, as funny as they are they also paint the manga-industry in a realistic, stressful light. However Nonaka demonstrates not only in these chapters, but by creating Cromartie as a whole that even when hard times come your way it’s not only important to see these as experiences to learn and grow from, but also to look on the brightside. We often fixate on the negatives in times of distress, however it’s at those times that we should look on the positives and make the most out of our time in these circumstances.
This theme is mostly at play in these Nonaka centric bonus chapters. As I’m certain, getting the news that his series wasn’t hitting high marks with readers, or that it was getting canned were not all sunshine and roses. But despite that, he turned those very scenarios into some of my favorite chapters, in which despite the darkness he was still able to find a light at the end of the tunnel and humor throughout. So all I can say is, despite the odds being stacked against him and his creation, he still managed to come out on top.
Anyways enough wanking off Nonaka, as I’m sure that’s something he’d dismiss entirely. The last aspects I’d like to focus on are the vast amount of characters, situations, and lore exempt from the anime. Listen, I’ve said it 100 times and I’ll say it 100 more, comedy is subjective. And ultimately, Cromartie’s sense of humor just so happens to tick all my boxes. Situations such as Takenouchi’s time in America, Kamiyama’s backstory, the Sumo-Club, Planet of the frickn Apes, and even a bunch a chapters where we’re actually introduced into the staff at cromartie! And that’s not even including the spin-off written by Nonaka that came out in 2018 (which is also something I can’t recommend enough). Basically, if you loved the sense of humor of the show and were curious about the lore (or if you didn’t give a crap about the lore for a comedy series until reading this) than you’re slapping yourself in the face by not reading it. I literally could not stop myself from putting down the series because of how much fun I was having reading each chapter. And I’m aware that some people may need a break every now and then with gag humor, but I am not that person. The more obtuse, ridiculous, and nonsensical the better, so I never tired of this series' gags. There’s also so many chapters that I can choose any page at random and instantly make my day 10x better just by having a hearty laugh reading it, it’s the pinnacle of timeless. Whether it’s a unique spin on the boke-tsukkomi routine, juxtaposition between character designs and actions, the utter insanity of the predicaments they find themselves in, a running gag, deadpan humor, or even introducing a new character who feels like they’ve been with us the whole time, this manga nails every comedic style in comes in contact with. In my opinion, (well duh).
Cromartie High remains as one of my favorite manga/anime of all time, top 5 material easily. Though I’m surely not breaking any new ground by saying that. But what exactly does it excel in so well that made it so beloved and why do I consider the manga the superior format? Well instead of summarizing everything I’ve gushed about up until now, simply put, it’s funny! And is much more layered than people give the series credit for, or hell, how it may seem on the surface to others who equally enjoy the series as much as me. I dunno about that though, for I have mechazawa on my bboy sweats, a plush mechazawa, and a HUGE cromartie high poster on my wall, anyways I’m not autistic I swear, I just have a very childish sense of humor and a deep appreciation for media that can make me feel warm at any given moment, I promise!

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I was given this manga. The front depicts a pale boy, and a fiendish looking girl beside him standing in a classroom of what appears to be melted bodies. Being a fan of horror manga, the cover made me even more enticed to start it ASAP. Because even if a horror manga doesn’t manage to make me wet myself, I can always appreciate the art, or sheer absurdity of the story. With that said, was Dissolving Classroom as scary as the cover depicted?

The story is created by Junji Ito, a famous horror mangaka mostly ... known for his series Tomie. A series I’ve yet to read as of writing this, but have heard nothing but great things about. Recognizing the name did make me more excited to see what was in store. So what was in store?

A story involving a brother and sister, both of whom are odd, must keep moving place to place after leaving behind a trail of peculiar instances. The boy, Yuuma, constantly apologizes to everyone on account of his sister causing mischief for everyone they encounter. Though apologizing is actually his way of communicating with the devil. Anyone he apologizes to gets caught between him and the devil in a sea of electromagnetic waves that slowly causes them to melt. When he praises someone’s beauty, he’s actually praising the devil and thus anyone he directs his compliment towards turns more and more hideous. His sister, Chizumi, has a much more sadistic appearance and goes out of her way to torment anyone unlucky enough to cross her path and enjoys devouring the bodies that her brother melts. The manga is an amalgamation of all their misadventures, culminating into one book.

As usual, the art is amazing. Aside from the attention to detail on the deformed victims, melted bodies, or even the normal humans themselves, Ito is able to convey such an uncanny and uncomfortable feeling through the expressions of the character's facial reactions. Sure, I won’t lie, before we see anything gory our first encounter with something out of the ordinary is Chizumi. And I thought she looked hilarious, maybe that was intentional but she did not freak me out in the slightest, at first that is. While her design was nothing too frightening, the way she interacted with others, aside from being an edgelord saying she wants to eat their brains, was off-putting and awkward. Her ugly appearance only enhanced her disturbing nature, which was much scarier than her physical appearance alone.

Though I’d say the same applies to her brother as well. Chizumi is constantly telling the people who they encounter that her brother is a freak who performs these rituals as a way to get closer to the devil. He gets off to both apologizing and complimenting others. He also enjoys bringing his abusive parents from back to the dead to beat him. Disturbing stuff I know, but his normal appearance juxtaposed with what he does behind closed doors makes him more intimidating than his sister. Both siblings constantly point the finger at each other for who’s to blame for all this wicked stuff happening. Yuuma tells people that his sister is possessed by the devil as a punishment for him killing animals as a kid, hence all the terrible happenings surrounding them. While Chizumi tells others that her brother killed animals as a ritual to appease Satan and that he’s the one creating all this madness as a means to get closer with the devil.

And the craziest part about all of this, is that by the end of the story, it’s still unclear who was telling the truth. Though there’s no doubt in my mind that Chizumi is possessed by a demon at the very least, I believe her story over her brothers. Though there’s validity to what he says as well. I think that as a kid he wished death upon his abusive parents so much that he wanted to send them to hell. And what better way to do that than to befriend the devil himself to give him the ability to do so? The devil making a demon possess his sister only makes his apologizing ritual easier to pull off, and whoever’s the demon inside Chizumi gets their payment through eating Yuuma’s victims. The final arc reveals that a detective that was using one of Yuuma’s victims, who managed to survive despite incurring brain damage as a result, to find the truth behind the siblings was, satan all along? Or did Satan just possess him as the siblings attended a press conference? Again, it’s unclear and up to the reader’s interpretation. Mine is that he possessed the detective spontaneously at the end, as Yuuma had performed the ritual enough times to bring Satan as close to him as he could. And the series ends with the author saying that nobody knows what happened to everyone who watched that press conference through their TV’s and that it’s up to the reader to decide what happened.

My only gripe with the series is of no fault of the story itself, but rather the translations. There were times where I had an inkling that something was supposed to be scary or conveyed in a different way than intended. Sometimes the dialogue felt very literal with zero subtly. For example, seeing a panel with text along the lines of, “Yes, I am chizumi and I love to suck brains. Muwahah.” was very common and lacked the same punch that the rest of the page had. Maybe it’s stilted on purpose and that’s just Ito’s unique style of writing. Who knows, but I personally felt it detracted from the horror aspect and made it more comedical at times. Which isn’t a bad thing necessarily, but I’m not sure if that was the intended effect.

Getting this book filled me with joy and confusion, and seeing Junji Ito’s name on it only made my craving for a spooky comic that much more voracious. Did I get what I wanted? Most definitely, I got much more than I expected. The combination of the art, grotesque imagery, and disturbing nature of their situations caught my intrigue and held it long enough that it only took me two sittings to complete. If you’ve yet to read this then please do yourself a favor and read it, especially if you love body horror, and guro.

This series (the anime at least) is my go to example for a great concept done horribly wrong. Maybe that’s a bit too harsh, but it’s because of how much this series let me down. In short, this series is about revenge, it asks the question, “if you could send someone you hate to hell, at the cost of also sending yourself to hell after you die, would you?”. Sounds enticing doesn’t it? It portrays this question through letting people access a website at a certain time, then receiving a doll with a red string. If the string is pulled, their victim of choice is ... sent to hell post-haste. As aforementioned, while you get to live the rest of your years peacefully, once you pass your soul will also be taken to hell. The person who takes you there is Ai, the hell girl, and her followers known as the Hell Correspondence. After rumors start spreading about people being dragged to hell, a blackmail artist and his daughter (who has some sort of telepathic link with Ai) spend the series getting to the bottom of the hell correspondence and asking themselves if this is something they should be intervening with. Now, with a premise this awesome, why do I hate it so much?

It’s because this premise is diluted by the repetitive nature of this show. If you’ve seen one episode, you’ve seen them all. That’s not to say there aren’t episodes that have different premises. But those are few and far between. On top of that they’re always sandwiched between a plethora of other episodes that follow the same beats as the rest. Each episode usually goes like:

- Person A goes about their business

- Gets bullied or mistreated by Person B

- Person A finds out about Hell Correspondence

- Uses it to get back at Person B

- END

This wouldn’t be so bad, if it didn’t go on for nearly 26 episodes, with only slight variations. It gets so predictable, and if there’s something I dislike more than a show with zero effort or heart put behind it, it’s a show that wastes my time by being so formulaic. Now I’ll give it props for having some very interesting episodes splintered throughout. Some of my favorites include; a hikki-girl who refuses to go to school and only texts one friend. She’s constantly checked on by her teacher to come back to class. Annoyed, she sends him to hell. Only afterwards finding out that her friend was the teacher. Both are relieved they’ll meet each other again in hell. Any episode where we learn the history of Ai/Hell Correspondence. An episode where they visit a haunted sanitarium where Ai meets her match. An episode where a fraud-psychic challenges hell girl. And lastly, an episode where a random drug addict tries to send an innocent girl to hell and this conflicts with the morals of Hell Correspondence. Yes you read that right, these demons have morals and standards.

Had this series been 12, or maybe 16(and even that’s pushing it) episodes, this series would’ve been better. I’ve heard the subsequent seasons of the anime and chapters of the manga add more variety and spice up the story, but after 26 episodes of nothing but a story with foreseeable events, I was in no hurry to pick up the next season. Aside from its repetitive nature, the other aspects are nothing to write home about either. The character designs(aside from hell correspondence) are ugly, they constantly reuse the same animation sequence when they’re about to send someone to hell, though the tormenting sequences are always unique. The music was okay, but the OP and ED were killer. The animation was serviceable, the backgrounds did their jobs. To the show’s credit though, it is very satisfying to see these assholes get their just desserts. But after a certain point, it almost loses that satisfaction because of how often it happens. If I’ve sounded like a broken record this entire review, I apologize, but I think it’s very fitting given the show I’m talking about.

What do you get when you combine idols and the romance of the three kingdoms? A clusterfuck presumably right? Wrong, you get a fun romp of Koumei from the Three Kingdoms being isekai’d into modern day Japan. With a mission to make aspiring idolstar, Eiko, world famous. Since he believes her songs have the power to bring world peace. The series reminded me of another series called “Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad” in more ways than one. How did it do that? And was this anime able to keep such a ludicrous concept interesting throughout its run?

I’m unfamiliar with the Romance of Three-Kingdoms and Chinese history ... as a whole. So I was hesitant on picking up the series feeling that it wasn’t for me. I was relieved that “The Romace of the Three Kingdoms' ' wasn't required reading. Nonetheless, I was surprised at how much fun this show was, given the concept. I was expecting it to be the usual “smart man enters foreign territory that the audience is familiar with, and now has to get used to our culture.” I’ve seen that done in all kinds of media. Personally, I don’t think it can be executed more flawlessly than the way it was handled in SDF: Macross, but I digress. Koumei, being as smart as he is, doesn't stay in his dumbfounded state for long, and ends up throwing the world he’s in for a loop rather than vice versa like I’d presume. In fact most of the early episodes follow a monster of the week like structure, but more on that later. For now, I’d like to focus my attention towards the music. Possibly the most crucial component for making such an odd story work.

Once again, I’m not too big into idols, or its culture. I think idols peaked with Lynn Minnmay from SDF Macross, dammit there I go again. Anyways, it presents a handful of idol songs that might have left Koumei speechless, but me being indifferent. Despite the show being centered around idol culture and that kind of music, the show also presents the audience with bits of rap, folk, and rock. The standout track from the OST the OP. BAN BAN A CHIKI CHIKI BAN BAN, is such a great opening song and the visuals are a wild trip of wild flashing colors and silly looking dance moves. The song never appears in the show itself, but still holds as one of the only worthwhile tracks for me.

Despite the bombastic visuals of the opening, the animation and art style does its job. The animation only becomes notable when there’s a performance. The dance moves along with the eccentric on stage antics/exaggerations is clearly where the show’s budget went. Otherwise, I found the show pleasing to look at. I think it was a tasteful move to demonstrate what it was capable of only when absolutely necessary.

Similar to the visuals, I found the voice acting to be quite well done. Eiko, Koumei’s (and Eiko’s boss to a lesser degree) seiyuus went above and beyond. Okiayu Ryoutarou does an exquisite job giving Koumei the cunning and calculated, yet warm demeanor his voice holds. But it’s a shame that once we enter the second half of this series, his voice becomes a faint voice echoing in the distance more and more. Because once we enter an arc dedicated to getting Eiko a spot on a world famous music festival, the scope of the Koumei’s strategies expands as does the cast, for better or for worse.

Though many saw Kabe’s inclusion to the story as a detriment, I did not. Actually, his debut episode is still one of my favorites in the show. I thought the way the show presented his rise and fall from fame was a well executed change of pace from the norm. The way his story was cleverly implemented into the story was seamless. However I do think that from the episode after his debut onward, the show does slowly lose the magic it once had. Early on I had wished that the series wouldn’t be a monster of the week ordeal. Each episode presents a hurdle that spells out the end for Eiko’s singing career, only for Koumei to miraculously pull through and come in clutch with his stratagem. I got my wish and as stated, I was pleased, initially. But the more the series progressed, the more of what made this series so fun became relegated to the sidelines. That being, Kongming. And it’s a gradual deviation, because instead of the series focusing on the titular duo of Eiko and Koumei, more and more side characters get introduced. And as a result, the focus shifts and the time spent with Eiko and Koumei in the same area becomes infrequent.

Kabe is often seen as the catalyst for the downfall of this show. But I disagree as I think it was Nanami’s arc that sealed it’s fate into mediocrity. The last exciting moment dedicated to kong-ming that reminds me of why I love the first few episodes so much, shows up again in Kabe’s rap duel with Kongming. Arguably the best moment of the show as we get an insane spectacle of their raps being personified into dragons and ancient chinese soldiers. Couple that Kabe’s solid verses getting decimated by Koumei’s eloquent soliloquies had me in stitches.

Afterwards Kabe doesn’t have much impact on the narrative, with his ‘hoora’ being a diss track he made for Azaela being performed live in the climax of the show. Calling her out for being two faced and fake like she is. Speaking of fake, Nanami’s “bond” with Eiko was my least favorite aspect of this series. Eiko’s relationship with Kabe at the very least was relegated to being nothing more than co-workers and being decently acquainted with one another. Eiko comes across Nanami performing on the street for fun and is moved by her performance. This wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that their relationship moves at lightning speed. And before you know it, they’re already at the “the bffs split up phase” when, shocker, it's her band that’s been Eiko’s rival for the 100k follower challenge. Episode 7 onwards is dedicated to the following: Kabe bonding with his old pals, Nanami’s relationship with Eiko, Eiko trying to find her voice trying to impress a snobbish producer, and Azalea's group's uprising. Koumei is hardly present and most of the three kingdom references are completely dropped.

It doesn’t help that the episodes become padded with Nanami’s song being played by both Eiko and Nanami spontaneously throughout. Not to mention, the laziness is only more apparent when these scenes are accompanied by stills or just shots of their audience smiling. Although I was never a huge fan of Eiko in the first place, she served as a good foil to Kong-ming. Being this young woman who’s in touch with current trends and being eager to rise to fame nicely contrasts Koumei's calm, smart, and whimsical demeanor. And though he’s from a different time period, he assimilates to the new world he’s presented rather quickly. And as I said earlier, the show didn’t let this trope overstay its welcome and for that I was pleasantly surprised. However, I would’ve preferred it if the series took this concept and experimented more with it than just dropping it completely. Perhaps if it were to show one of Koumei’s stratagems being foiled by either modern tech or something that exists now that didn’t then. Though it does show that Koumei wasn’t an infallible person in a touching scene where he feels guilt about not partying with the soldiers of his king's army before what would be their final battle. It doesn’t focus on Koumei or his stratagems after a certain point, and instead we’re given backstories to characters that aren’t nearly as interesting as the man who this show is named after.

Paripi Koumei reminded me of another series called “Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad”. In that both are music series that deal with the long road it takes to become a superstar. But not only because of that, but because both develop a habit of playing the same few songs the in-universe characters created ad-nauseum throughout the series. And it’s done so often that it makes emotionally gripping moments feel like a parody of itself. The show started out with a ridiculous concept that surprised me with how well it worked. Once the show enters the “100k like” arc, it becomes a slow downward spiral into mediocrity. And if I want more of the magic that made this series special, I’d pick up the Romance Three-Kingdoms before I’d pick up the manga.

I was not expecting to enjoy this movie as much as I did. In fact, I wasn’t expecting to watch this at all. I went to my local movie theater with the intent of watching Fortune Favors Lady Nukiko, and if you’re curious about my opinion on that film then you can read my review and analysis for it. However, this is all about the unexpected bonus that accompanied the film called,”Deiji Meets Girl”. Did I stumble across an amazing series, or was it nothing but another brick in the wall?

For starters, this film isn’t even a film at all. Rather it’s a collection of ... shorts culminating together to make one large piece. In fact, I was thoroughly confused until about the third short. Because before Fortune Favors Lady Nukiko played, there was a foreword by the director and producer of the film. Not long afterwards, there was a message that told the audience to stay tuned after the credits to see a theatrical version of “Deiji Meets Girl”. I figured I’d be watching a theatrical exclusive trailer for an upcoming series, not the entire series itself! (and one that had already aired the year prior at that). Despite my confusion (only bolstered by the abrupt ending of Fortune Favors Lady Nukiko) I was captivated by the unique artstyle this compilation of shorts had.

The visual aesthetic and character designs are what stuck out to me the most. With each character having a shiny glow to them, almost as if they were plastic, with a dark blue (almost purple) outline and shade to them. The series takes place on an island, usually in the dusk hours, which only makes the scenes that much more beautiful.

In this story we follow a girl named Maise Higa, who works at her dad’s hotel. One day, a boy who’s a famous celebrity/performer named Ichiro Suzuki checks in, and not much later strange happenings begin to occur. Such as the entire hotel being enveloped in water, a giant beanstalk that goes through the hotel, or a bunch of mysterious large frog-like figures looking to take Ichiro with them. To my dismay it’s never explained what’s causing these events, or what they have to do with our characters in the first place. I also failed to find any symbolism behind them. So I assume they’re just meant to be weird abstract adventures for the sake of being abstract and fun. Maybe occurrences in this world aren’t completely out of the ordinary. I mean, there’s even a bit where Maise’s relative is a legit medium. Who’s able to sense sorrow in Ichiro just by looking at him through her hand.


The ambiguity to these occurrences is my biggest gripe with the show. Given the length of them, I wasn’t expecting anything too in depth regarding the characters or lore to their world. But I was expecting more of an explanation for why any of this is happening in the first place. Why did Maise accidentally crushing Ichiro’s glass vase cause their environment to go back to normal? Is it all make believe? Is everything we’re witnessing just an exaggeration of events that actually played out? That’s what I assume at least, but even then I’m still left with lingering questions.

So did this series of shorts match the wildebeest of the flick that played before it? No, but it did tonally fall in line with it. While I wouldn’t call it an Iyashikei, it’s still just a series of random events in the lives of the characters we follow. Though I’d say this has a more definitive plot and central conflict than Fortune Favors Lady Nukiko. I admit though that this is a great companion piece to that movie, so kudos to GKIDS for screening these together. As for the movie on its own, if you have 25 or so minutes to kill, using it to watch this would be a great time. Don’t expect anything too life changing from it though. But do expect a very unique visual aesthetic, and some beautiful backgrounds that serve as a nice backdrop to a unique spin on the,”boy meets girl” type of story. Or should I say “Deiji meets Girl”....Who even is “Deiji”?

‘IMPROOVMENT’ is a phrase often used to demean others who might be more than pedantic in improving themselves. I always disregarded that insult as there’s not enough people motivated to improve themselves or the world around them. Though being so caught up in your image and how you look to others can become unhealthy, there is nothing wrong with doing good for yourself. But what happens when you’ve finally reached the top? You did the time, you reaped all the rewards, and your help isn’t needed anymore. What do you do then? This show tries to find the answer to that question and many more. ... It’s not the flashiest show of the season, but it tells a damn compelling story. The show is littered with helpful advice that you can apply not only to yourself, but also your workplace. I wasn’t expecting much from a story about a good guy turning bad, but the clever storytelling, twists and character interactions/development throughout made this show one of the highlights of my week. What was it about this show that made it such a joy to watch unfold? What separates it from your typical D&D inspired fantasy anime?

I didn’t expect a fantasy show (or a show about a post-dystopian future however you want to look at it) to educate the viewer on how to make their workplace more efficient. But also get deep into philosophy. Asking the viewers what is it you’re really living for? Are you actually living for your own happiness or just to please and seek approval from others? In the story we follow Leo, a hero, who is so overpowered that not even the humans, who created him to fend off creatures from another world, want anything to do with him and are afraid of his power. Feeling like a crumpled piece of paper tossed to the side, he sets out to join the demon army he single-handedly destroyed so he can have revenge on the humans. This raises many questions such as, why would the hero want to join the “bad guys”? And couldn’t the hero just eliminate civilization himself without the assistance of the villains he already defeated? The show answers all these questions in clever and emotionally gripping ways that I do not want to spoil. Though I will say that at some point it’s revealed that the demon army aren’t all bad people.

In fact, their leader (Echidna, and the entire army plus generals aside from Mernes) follows the philosophy of a goblin from long ago (Eibrad) who believed in peace between the humans and demons. Echidna’s only goal is to retrieve the philosopher’s stone so that the demons can live in a peaceful world free of bloodshed. The stone however, is sealed away in the human realm and of course, it’s human nature to attack that of which they fear. This presents a moral dilemma, that this entire time it’s entirely possible that Leo’s reason for existing was brought on by nothing but fear by the humans. We also learn of each of the general's personal dilemmas and have an episode dedicated to each. Showing Leo teaching them how to manage their duty better and learn new skills along the way.

Personally my favorite to least favorite general goes from Lily, Mernes, Echidna, Shutina, then Edvard. That’s to say I still liked all of them, however there’s no denying that Lily’s unrequited love for Leo, even up to the twist climax, is something I rooted for. Her issue is handling logistics, and let’s just say that a young girl who can shape into a 600 ft tall wildebeest isn’t the best at business management. In her episode, it’s Leo’s job to teach her how to become a better leader and to not be afraid to ask others for help. Mernes has issues socializing, Eibrad is unaware of abilities, power, and talent he’s born with and expects everyone to be at his level, Shutina doesn’t know how to delegate her workload onto her subordinates, and Echidna is tasked with making sure everyone is doing their job. Each of these episodes are great, and had it stayed with the episodic-like nature of Leo gaining the acceptance of a general per episode, I’d still consider this show a good time. But after Leo’s true intention and desires are revealed through flashbacks and him possessing something integral to Echidna’s mission. Once all is revealed a little after the halfway point, the plot does a 360 backflip and becomes something even more profound.

While the story and characters managed to leave such an impact on me, how about the other components such as the voice acting, soundtrack, and animation? Firstly voice acting, this was a case where I think everyone gave a solid performance, but I’d give the edge to Eibrad’s VA during the heart to heart conversation he had with a more stoic Leo in a flashback. And Lily’s VA for being so full of spunk. Staying in character and giving a great performance as Lily even when put in dire situations, involving being forced to attack the love of her life. And I just have to say, but SPOILERS! During the final battle where Leo is fighting everyone, I noticed that Lily takes the brunt of the beating. It’s bad enough that she’s seeing a side of her love that she’s never seen before, but to get the point across of how serious he is, he dishes most of his cheap shots onto her and berates her the most. That was probably the most emotionally draining part of the series. Had to get that off my chest, end of SPOILERS! But aside from those two, I think everyone was serviceable, and Edvard’s VA was also solid, doing a good job giving Edvard a brooting, but hearty and warm voice.

As I said earlier, this show isn’t particularly flashy despite it dealing heavily with both fantasy and magic. So in terms of animation, there wasn’t much to note aside from the fight scenes, which are fun and exciting to witness. My favorite being the battle between Edvard’s goblin army and these anti-demon mechs they’re made to fight and teach Edvard some humility. The final fight was well animated and fun as well, though the outcome and progression was rather predictable. Also I thought the foliage and Earth terrain covering modern office buildings in establishing/long shots was unique and cool to see, and reminded me of a moss covered stone. The music wasn’t anything memorable, aside from the second ED being a great closure to each episode. Though I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring up the amount of times I chuckled after hearing the OP each episode,”IKITE IKITE IKI TSUKUSE!” then the rest of the song plays and it’s alright. Reminded me of the opening track of Mieruko-Chan’s anime, with its “YAMETE YAMETE, MO YAMETE!”.

Anyways, was there anything about the show that made me go Yamete, Yamete, Mo Yamete? Well, as I said earlier, it’s a great show with plenty of surprising twists but it’s not particularly flashy. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel sluggish at times. In fact, most scenes are just people talking. If you’re expecting a fast-paced action oriented fantasy anime with explosions and magic spells galore, then you’ll get some of that here but you’re better off looking elsewhere as they’re few and far between and aren’t the focal point of the show. The conversations between characters can also drag on for a while and feel like they’re talking in circles just for the sake of padding out the run time. There’s also a handful of characters we see once or twice and never again. Only serving as temporary plot conveniences.

But despite the slow burn nature of this series, I was still bewildered at how many great morals and bits of great advice in a show I had no idea was about improving yourself and your approach to life. I was pleasantly surprised at the show making a statement about issues rooted in reality despite it being a fantasy anime, that’s what makes it so much more compelling to me than your run of the mill isekai or D&D inspired story. Which can all be great, but don’t usually offer as much substance or nuance to their dilemmas and morals as Yuusha Yamemasu does. Though it can get somewhat tedious, I’d still recommend this to anyone looking for a medieval fantasy show, but takes an introspective look at how it presents its story and characters.

I was thoroughly confused by Macross before sinking my teeth into the series. You’re telling me that these aliens, who are giant humanoid creatures, are usually, there’s exceptions, tamed and turned vulnerable through the power of Japanese pop idols and mechs that resemble a fighter jet with human limbs? Frankly, I was sold because that sounds like the sickest shit ever. My first exposure to this franchise was watching the original series, SDF-Macross from 1982. It’s one of my all time favorite mecha series, and I loved everything about it. The larger than life robot fights, aliens (zentradi), personalities, drama, and the music. The song ... “My Boyfriend’s a pilot” is a song I never grew tired of. In fact, it still pops up in my music rotation to this day. When I heard that they were airing a Macross movie in my local theater, I knew I had to be there. Macross on the big screen?! My imagination ran wild, but as long as the fights were epic, the idol singing got stuck in my head, and there was a love triangle that humanity's fate rested on, I’d be a happy man. So did Macross Frontier: The False Songstress meet my expectations?

Being mostly unfamiliar with the franchise outside the original series, I was worried I’d be missing vital information, crucial to understanding this movie’s plot. Thankfully that wasn’t the case at all. Upon research after watching the film I found out that this is actually a movie adaption of a TV series of the same name, with some slight differences, at least in this movie. I knew enough of the lore to pinpoint Zentradi in the crowd, understand the vocabulary they use in this film with words like, ”deculture”, and a handful of references to SDF Macross. The girl who’s working to become an idol even sings the classic, “My Boyfriend’s a Pilot” at some point. That being said, even without my basic understanding of the universe, a viewer could watch this movie on it’s own completely blind and still be thoroughly entertained.

The movie centers around Alto, a young pilot for the Macross, who’s unit and area get ambushed by aliens called the Vraja while on an expedition across the galaxy. Meanwhile his friend, and head commander’s daughter, Ranka aspires to become an idol instead of following her “Nii-san” footsteps. He’s not her biological brother, but took on the role of raising her after her actual family was killed in an attack by the Vraja, and she lost her memory as an effect. Coinciding with the invasion is the appearance of pop idol legend Sheryl. Who’s claim to fame is that she’s not genetically enhanced, or biologically altered with robot parts and sings/performs as impressively as she does. It’s up to Alto to fend off the Vraja, find out if there’s a lineage between their attack and Sheryl’s arrival, and make sure Ranka is in good company while on the road to becoming an idol.

This story is remarkably similar to SDF-Macross’s story, and for that reason you’d think that I’d be peeved, but I wasn’t. Maybe it was the relief I felt that it was going to be similar enough to SDF-Macross that I wouldn’t be lost. Regardless of the reason, I was glad the plot was more familiar than I’d anticipated. I was surprised the love triangle wasn’t drawn out long, or held much significance at all. Ranka and Sheryl held little to no ill will towards each other, even before the climax of the film where they perform together. Maybe it’s a different case in the sequel, but the love triangle drama wasn’t as strong as the dilemma that Alto faced when dealing with Sheryl and his CO (Ranka’s brother) when he was convinced she was a spy. Alto even goes as far as to slam into Sheryl like a professional football player after he thought she was going to hurt Ranka. As far as the plot goes, there’s only two gripes I have. The first one being that, either I missed a scene or it’ll be explained in the next movie, but the significance of Ranka’s pet alien rodent, Ai-kun, is never fully explained. The other is that Alto’s learning the ropes of what it takes to be part of the fighter unit he joins is glossed over, as are the other people in his squad. They’re given distinct designs, but aside from Michael, hardly anyone else part of their platoon has any lines. Again, maybe this touched on more in the sequel or the TV series, but our roster in this movie is very small. I was also confused about the significance of Sheryl’s earring and how Alto was able to see into her past while wearing one. None of these problems had deterred my enjoyment, in fact, it motivated me to learn more about the Macross universe.

The characters are fun and unique, with their dialogue and banter between one another being endearing and feeling natural. It wasn’t ground breaking dialogue, but it did more than serve its purpose as a vehicle for what I was looking forward to most from this film: The mechs, the space kaiju, and a cute idol performing her guts out to a background of space warfare. And boy did this film deliver on that front. I was slightly disappointed that the ships and Vraja were CG, but something about the way it looked appealed to me aesthetically. It wasn’t good CG, or particularly attractive to look at, but something about it was endearing and I liked it. Sometimes the camera would spastically jolt left to right instead of just staying still and focusing on the action. Instead it felt like it was trying to be a part of the action, which was done right for the most part, but it was something I picked up on. Aside from that, the fights, explosions, and final performance culminating together at the end elevated my experience from an 8 to a 10. It was amazing stuff, great powerful songs being played while these huge robots, ships, and aliens are all fighting each other in an effort to save Sheryl’s unit from being annihilated. Sadly they’re not able to take all the ships they set out to save as refuge, but they regardless put up a great fight and arguably came out victorious.

Macross Frontier surprised me with its charming sense of humor, larger than life fight scenes, and tantalizing romantic drama much more than I’d expected. Being only familiar with the first installment of the franchise, I was floored that this gave me a similar vibe as that series did. Though my theater’s audio wasn’t as loud as I wanted it to be, and the film itself seemed compressed and not set at the right resolution. From what I’ve heard, this was not mutually exclusive to my theater. So I don’t dock it any points for that, and I’d recommend this in a heartbeat to any fan of mecha anime. Did this movie meet my expectations? Yup, all I wanted was giant robots, explosions, and cute girls singing and it did more than delivered.