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The isekai genre is easily the most overdone genre in anime. Ever since the success of Sword Art Online in the early 2010s, isekai has continued to grow in popularity, with more and more series being churned out each season. As of 2024, the average viewer's sentiment regarding isekai is that its become synonymous with the phrase "quantity over quality." This brings us to one of the recent additions to the genre's catalogue, Suicide Squad Isekai. Is it more of the same junk food we've grown to expect, or is it a hidden gem which takes on the genre in a more creative and unique ... way? Unfortunately, the answer is the former. Suicide Squad Isekai doesn’t do much with the isekai concept, nor does it do much with the concept of the Suicide Squad.

The fantasy world that the main characters are transported into is nothing more than the same generic setup we've seen many times before: there's a kingdom, there's a war and the main characters are expected to be the trump card in winning the conflict. However, the world-building never goes beyond the surface level, and it's clear that the show itself has no desire to explore things in depth. It uses the isekai genre merely as a backdrop rather than as an integral part of the story. The characters themselves even make meta jokes about common isekai clichés and plot conveniences, but these jokes fall flat because the show doesn't attempt to parody or satirize the clichés; instead, it merely underscores how basic and cliched its own narrative is. The story's only redeeming aspect so far is the pacing, which moves fast enough within each episode to prevent the show from becoming too boring.

The main cast do attempt to add some life into an otherwise plain and generic isekai, with Harley Quinn's chaotic charisma doing most of the heavy lifting. However, the majority of the other characters fall into basic one-dimensional character archetypes. The worst example of this is Peacemaker who comes across as dull as a plank of wood whenever he's on screen. So far, there is little to no attempt at exploring characters beyond their surface-level personalities which is reminiscent of certain anime video game adaptations where the characters exist primarily to maintain the status quo and to serve as little more than promotional tools for a brand. There is definitely so much more that can be done with the concept of the Suicide Squad as there are countless comics out there to draw inspiration from, however it seems like the show is unfortunately not willing to explore the characters beyond their wikipedia page descriptions.

The show maintains high production values, as expected from Wit Studio. However, there are occasional noticeable drops in art quality during certain parts of some episodes, despite the overall good art and animation quality. The show's soundtrack is well-made and fits the genre and tone of the anime well.

Overall, Suicide Squad Isekai offers nothing new to the isekai genre, relying heavily on typical genre conventions and clichés that may not appeal to those who have grown tired of them. The standouts of the show so far include the good production values, vibrant character designs and Harley Quinn's chaotic charisma, powered by her amazing voice actor. However, the anime struggles to deliver a unique narrative and doesn't bother to expand on characters beyond their surface level personalities.

Current Scorings:
Animation: 7/10
Sound: 8/10
Story: 2/10
Character: 4/10
Value: 1/10
Enjoyment: 4/10
Overall: 4.4/10

Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf is a remake of a 2008 adaptation of the same title. However, this is my first experience viewing any sort of Spice and Wolf media, so this review will be based solely on the first three episodes and won't be influenced by any knowledge of future events in the storyline.

The premise of Spice and Wolf is quite simple. Much like Frieren, which aired last season, it focuses on slow, tensionless adventures as the main characters travel from place to place. Given the protagonist's role as a merchant, a significant portion of each episode delves into explaining various ... economic concepts. This might not appeal to viewers who aren't interested in learning topics such as the reason behind why the amount of silver in a coin changes and how to tell if a coin has a higher or lower purity. Problems arise with the execution of the exposition as there is a lack of visual storytelling used. The economics are explained in the form of a straight back and forth between the main two characters which is a visually uninteresting way to present the topic.

Character development is still in its early stages, but there are subtle hints dropped regarding character backstories which are likely to get fleshed out later on. Both of the main characters have likeable personalities and have an entertaining character dynamic which is the standout aspect thus far.

Animation production has been slightly above average, with character designs having a shiny modern yet simplistic appeal. The character animations are basic but serviceable for the type of scenes that are being displayed, though nothing visually groundbreaking has been showcased yet. The soundtrack so far excels in capturing the essence of the medieval European-esque setting.

Overall, Spice and Wolf is a visually average anime with a good soundtrack. Its unique economic premise and enjoyable character dynamics are strengths, though it leans too heavily on dialogue to explain its economic aspects rather than presenting them visually.

Current Scoring: (Subject to change)
Animation: 6/10 (Average)
Sound: 7/10 (Good soundtrack)
Story: 4/10 (Slow paced, not yet fully developed)
Characters: 6/10 (Basic but charismatic and entertaining)
Value : 7/10 (Remake of a classic with a unique premise)
Enjoyment: 6/10 (Entertaining character dynamics)
Overall: 6/10 (Fine)

Sengoku Youko is a good fantasy action anime which didn't gather much attention this season due to its lack of a sizable manga fanbase to generate hype. Given that this anime feels like a shounen from the early 2000s, many viewers more used to the action-packed gory violence of recent shounen (CSM, JJK) didn't bother giving Sengoku Youko a chance, which is a shame since this anime has the best character writing out of all anime airing this season.

The main cast comprises of a group of outcasts with tragic backstories and motivations the audience can understand. These characters work well together, connecting through their individual ... traumas. However, each character also possesses a unique personality and distinct goals, setting them apart from one another. There is alot of room for development and character growth as the characters have their own personal weaknesses which makes following their journey compelling. While the character writing isn't unconventional by any means, it still stands out, especially considering that many recent anime productions lack the fundamentals of a strong cast.

The story on the other hand, while not achieving any remarkable heights yet, benefits from an intriguing premise and the distinctive setting of feudal Japan, where humans and monsters coexist. Sengoku Youko uses this setting to explore the power struggles of individuals marginalized by society—an overarching theme reflected in the characters' backstories. However, one minor concern I have with the story so far is that the pacing seems a bit too fast, not allowing many important moments enough time to breathe.

Despite that, Sengoku Youko is the best anime of this season. It immediately spends the first 3 episodes fleshing out the characters by giving them tragic backstories, personal weaknesses, distinct goals and personality traits. These elements not only set the characters apart from each other but also contribute to an engaging group dynamic.

Current Scorings:
Animation: 7/10 (Good)
Sound: 6/10 (Nice music)
Story: 5/10 (Typical Old-school Shounen)
Characters: 7/10 (Well-built)
Value: 1/10 (No impact, unheard of by most)
Enjoyment: 7/10 (Fun)
Overall: 5.5/10 (Fine)

Dungeon Meshi is an anime that got alot of its attention by being animated by Studio Trigger, known for its highly energetic animation style which you can see alot of in this anime. The premise revolves around a group of dungeon explorers going on a mission to save the main character's sister who had been eaten by a dragon, however there is no urgency surrounding the mission since this dragon is a special dragon which takes alot of time to digest things. This gives the group as much time as they want to hunt monsters and cook them instead of focusing on getting the main ... character's sister to safety as soon as they can. Also, there is no need to worry about the characters lives in this dungeon since death has no meaning as characters can just be revived.

The show's main appeal comes from the characters so your enjoyment of this anime will come from how much you like them. All the characters have very basic personalities and are unable to stand out on their own. However, the cast works well as a team with each member able to make up for each other's weaknesses but that all is still nothing to write home about.

So aside from the cast being sometimes enjoyable, there is nothing going on in the plot to keep Dungeon Meshi interesting. Unless you are fine with the formulaic storytelling of slowly wandering a tensionless dungeon while killing monsters and spending a lengthy portion of each episode learning how to cook them.

Current Scorings
Animation: 7/10 (Good)
Sound: 5/10 (Meh)
Story: 1/10 (No story)
Character: 3/10 (1 dimensional characters)
Value: 1/10 (No impact)
Enjoyment: 2/10 (Mostly boring)
Overall: 3.16/10 (Bad)

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 is undeniably one of the most hyped-up shounen anime in the past couple of years. Before this season aired, there were many posts comparing the "Shibuya Incident arc" of this season to classic shounen arcs like the "Chimera ant arc" from Hunter x Hunter. As usual, while it was airing, words like "masterpiece" and "peak fiction" were being thrown around in the community, as always. Now that the season is over, I can say that Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 was no masterpiece and isn’t peak fiction. It gets some things right and some things wrong, like how most shounen do, which ... I will list:

What JJK s2 does right:

1. Animation
As it’s from Studio MAPPA, high-quality animation is expected, and this season delivered on that aspect. There were some quality drops in fights around the middle of the season, but they never take you out of the immersion. Overall, I prefer this season’s animation style compared to the previous one, since the new simplified art style allows for much more expressive character movements. Also the compositing no longer looks like shit.

2. Hype fights
Most of the fights are quite entertaining, as long as they aren’t hindered by something I'll get into later. The powers allow for some interesting battles, and the locations of the fights are used very well in this arc, with most characters utilizing the environment to their advantage.

3. Music
The music in this season is outright incredible, with every music track being unique and fitting perfectly with the scene it’s paired with. There were many times while I was watching where my mind had to switch focus to how great the music was in the moment.

4. Voice Acting
The voice actor who did Mahito is definitely overqualified for his job. His voice is full of emotion and captures the essence of his character perfectly. All the other voice actors did an above-average job at bringing energy and life into their characters.

What JJK s2 does wrong:

1. Convoluted explanations and exposition dumps
The explanations for a character's abilities and how they relate to cursed energy can be quite hard to follow, especially when that character is fighting on screen at the same time. This can hinder the enjoyment of a fight sequence since you need to concentrate all your brain power on reading the subtitles to understand someone’s power, and if you don’t, you’ll have to read it at least three times to wrap your head around most of it. What makes it even worse is that these exposition dumps are said by a narrator that sounds like some old lady they got off the street and not like the gigachad narrator in Hunter x Hunter who at least made exposition dumps cool to listen to.

2. Character Deaths
There are a lot of character deaths in this season with only one of those deaths which I consider to be a properly well written send-off. Other than that, there are three types of deaths that can be seen in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2.

a) Deaths for Shock Factor
This happens when someone dies just to make the audience go, “Oh shit, that guy just died,” and not because the character necessarily needed to die or should have died at that moment. These shock factor deaths tend to leave the viewer emotionally disconnected from the story.
b) Character revives just to die once again
This happens when a character you believe is dead appears again in the current timeline through some means and then dies again. Depending on how this is executed, it can take away the initial value of the character’s death and lessens the impact of the second death.
c) Flashbacks before death
This happens once to one character and plays out similarly to how they do it in Demon Slayer. They give a flashback to a character before they die as a cheap way to try and make the audience care. The flashback in Jujutsu Kaisen was clearly used before the death because that character did almost nothing the entire season. The flashback also didn’t even give us anything of substance that really mattered. It just showed the character as a child, paired with some sad music, which could probably do a good job at making an emotionally fragile person cry.

3. Underdeveloped cast members
Jujutsu Kaisen is filled with numerous characters, and like most shounen series, there isn’t enough time allocated to flesh out most of them and give them substantial roles. This results in a majority of the cast from the first season not doing much in this season. Some characters even show up to the battlefield only to ultimately do nothing and return home. Even when some cast members do get the spotlight, since they didn’t have much screentime beforehand, it can be challenging to develop a sense of attachment or care for them.

4. Uninteresting villains
The villains of this season are basic and aren’t particularly well-written, with most of them being defined solely by their power and nothing more. The only interesting villain was in the flashback arc at the beginning of the season, but he doesn’t matter anymore, as he had already been killed in the movie and replaced by some evil bad guy who lacks the motivations, personal connections, and charisma that the original villain had.

Overall, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 suffers from the same problems as most other recent shounen series and only really stands out due to its production values alone. It is quite an entertaining watch for battle shounen fans, but for those seeking more like what Jujutsu Kaisen manga fans had been saying this arc had, it’s not here.

Final Scorings
Animation: 9/10 (Mostly great with some inconsistencies)
Sound: 8/10 (Good VA work and cool music)
Story: 4/10 (Generic underground shounen 1v1 fights)
Character: 5/10 (Charismatic but basic in characterization)
Value: 4/10 (Most hyped up shounen arc, although lacking in longevity)
Enjoyment: 6/10 (Fun when not killed by exposition)
Overall: 6/10

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is a tightly paced, well-directed comedy anime with a fun and energetic cast of characters. All the episodes are beautifully animated and are directed with a fast, energetic style, similar to if Edgar Wright were to direct an anime. However, what really brings this show to life are the charismatic cast of main characters. Each of the characters has their own motivations and dreams that they are constantly aiming to accomplish, which goes along with the theme of the show, which is to follow your dreams and do what you really want. The characters all have great personalities ... that work well with the comedy. This is because Zom100’s comedy is focused on funny characters doing amusing things rather than comedy based on references to pop culture like in Gintama or forced chibi comedy in many battle shounen anime.

Since the anime is a comedy, one important thing to mention is that you definitely shouldn’t expect this anime to be a psychological horror zombie apocalypse. In fact, the zombie stuff is mostly background decoration for the most part, with the main focus being the adventure in a world where you are free to choose what you really want to do. Overall, the story isn't anything amazing since it's a comedy anime with a focus on putting the characters in funny situations. However, the pacing works wonders at never letting it feel like they're overstaying their welcome at any area the characters visit, and as a result, it never makes you feel bored. This season even has a decent conclusion for a first season, as it ends with the main characters taking a significant step towards their dreams.

I’ve seen some people criticizing this anime for being escapism for people who hate their jobs; however, there is a difference between the messages of Zom100 and your average isekai power fantasy. Zom100 encourages you to work for your dreams and make time to help people in need, as well as to give back to the people who’ve supported you, while isekai power fantasies preach the idea that you should give up on your own life and jump in front of a bus.

As a comedy anime, Zom100 is one of the best I’ve watched as it constantly entertains you with great animation and directing, as well as a fun cast of characters to follow from start to finish. It truly is a shame that this anime has already been forgotten about due to its terrible release schedule.

Final Scorings
Animation: 9/10 (Colorful animation)
Sound: 7/10 (Good sound design)
Story: 5/10 (Fast-paced comedy)
Character: 7/10 (Sexy, Charismatic and Well-built)
Value: 1/10 (Forgotten due to its release schedule)
Enjoyment: 7/10 (Fun)
Overall: 6/10

Re: Cutie Honey consists of 3 fast paced OVAs with fun characters and a rule of cool storyline all presented with artistic animation that was way ahead of its time.

What makes these OVAs really special is the number of popular names that are credited for these episodes. Episode 1 was directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi, most known for his directorial work with Studio Trigger, for example Gurren Lagaan, Kill La Kill and most recently Cyberpunk Edgerunners. Episode 2 was directed by Naoyuki Ito, who went on to direct Overlord and other Madhouse anime. But most importantly, episode 3 was directed by Hideaki Anno, the director ... of the Evangelion franchise. With three of the industry’s big names involved in the visual presentation aspect of this anime, you can tell that these OVAs are going to be a feast for the eyes.

The plot however is less noteworthy, consisting mostly of the cartoony evil bad guys terrorizing a town that our superhero Cutie Honey has to save. The first two episodes are mostly filled with ecchi jokes and cool battles, although entertaining, lack much substance. That’s until the third episode which since directed by Hideaki Anno, explores themes of isolation and identity which may come off as pretentious considering the tone of the previous two episodes.

The characters are colorful and lively and do undergo character development throughout the OVAs. Most of all, they’re a lot of fun, as they’re charismatic and have some human elements which increase their relatability. Overall, the characters aren’t amazing but they’re much better than you’d expect from a fanservice action OVA series.

That brings me to the next point: the fanservice. These OVAs are filled with it, from skimpy character designs to characters losing clothes in battle, and there’s even some yuri scenes in there for the yuri fans. However, unlike most anime, this show handles fanservice very well. The pace of the storyline and action is never hindered by it and isn’t used to dehumanize the female characters; rather, it empowers them. Of course, those who don’t like ecchi will still not enjoy it. Nevertheless, people like me, who don’t mind when fanservice is used artistically, will appreciate how it’s never overdone and how it never interferes with the pacing or clashes with the tone.

To sum it all up, Re: Cutie Honey stands out as a highly memorable OVA series, thanks to its accomplished directorial team and its high-octane, stylized action paired with tasteful fanservice. With only three episodes, it’s not much of a time investment. So, if what I described above appeals to you, I fully recommend giving this anime a try.

Final Scorings:
Animation: 10/10 (Artistic)
Sound: 8/10 (Great soundtrack and VA work)
Story: 6/10 (Episodic rule of cool mostly with some theme exploration in episode 3)
Character: 9/10 (Sexy and Well-built)
Value: 9/10 (Classic, inspired Kill La Kill)
Enjoyment: 9/10 (Short and fun)
Overall: 8.5/10

Spy x Family was once hailed as one of the website's top-rated shows for a brief period, even managing to secure a spot within the top 20 rankings after just one episode of its first season. Nevertheless, about a year later, it appears that everyone doesn't care as much as they used to with the current season failing to breach the top 300. Let me elaborate on the possible reason behind this shift in interest.

Spy x Family consists of mainly multiple disconnected short stories that span between half an episode to two episodes which focus on different characters from a wide variety of cast members. ... Sometimes those stories include a simple but meaningful message for you to take from and deal with some dark subject matter, however, most of these stories have little to no impact on the overarching narrative of the series. With an overabundance of these disconnected short stories, the main plot becomes sidelined for extended periods, to the extent that you can sometimes forget there was a goal in the first place. This can be seen in this season especially with the main goal of getting closer to Donovan Desmond, not progressing in any sort of way. Even the goal of Anya getting 8 golden stars has been sidelined to the point where the characters even joke about how she hasn’t been getting any. As of this season, it’s become quite clear that the way the author has structured the story seems to facilitate its perpetual continuation, something often seen in comedy anime (Gintama, Saiki K). However, when the central theme is as serious as preventing a war, the copious amounts of random slice-of-life comedy episodes leaves viewers pondering when the narrative will truly advance.

Overall, the majority of Spy x Family Season 2's runtime is dominated by disconnected short stories, often lacking in references or connections to the overarching narrative, creating an impression that you're just watching filler. Even the boat arc in the middle felt like a detour as, aside from some character development for Yor which we are yet to see the full outcome of, nothing that happened there really mattered in the grand scheme of things. While episodic shows can be enjoyable, introducing an important end goal without offering any meaningful narrative payoff for an entire season can be a drawback. The show's popularity and praise has seemed to be going down as a result of the show pretty much devolving into a Saturday morning cartoon with violent action. While it may serve as a good casual time-waster if you enjoy the comedy, don't expect any plot advancements in this season.

Final Scorings
Animation: 7/10 (Good)
Sound: 7/10 (Nice music)
Story: 3/10 (Episodic, mostly aimless)
Character: 6/10 (Charismatic)
Value: 3/10 (Less than previous seasons)
Enjoyment: 4/10 (Most of the comedy was a miss)
Overall: 5/10

At this point in time, 14 chapters of Kagurabachi are officially out, providing enough material to form a solid first impression of the manga. Looking back at the community's initial reactions to Kagurabachi, most people made memes about it due to its generic and edgy premise. However, as the weeks went by and more chapters were released, the memes died down, leaving the original readers either dropping the manga entirely or sticking with it to see if it would turn out to be the biggest fighting Shonen of the new decade, as some were saying.

In the early stages of a manga's storyline, there needs to ... be a certain element for the manga to stand out. Bleach had its amazing art, One Piece had its mysterious treasure, and more recently, Chainsaw Man and Dandadan stand out for their wild premises. However, Kagurabachi lacks such distinctive elements. The art is mediocre at best, with most characters having the same dull expression on their faces and being drawn in very stiff positions from a flat angle. The premise is an edgy revenge story that we've seen many times in many different anime and we've already seen it perfected in Vinland Saga. The fights use magical swords with powers, similar to what we've already seen done better in Bleach as well as generic sorcery, which consists of uninteresting abilities like teleportation and magnetic control. There are also certain plot elements, such as a person who is the last remaining survivor of their clan being hunted for their special abilities and a large underworld auction where something related to the protagonist is being sold, of which both have been seen before in Hunter X Hunter.

The characters are easily the weakest point of the series, with all of them given only a simple personality and lacking any distinctive traits, charisma, or chemistry together. The same goes for the villains, who have all been forgettable evil bad guys up until this point. This is mostly a result of the plot of Kagurabachi moving way too fast. Recent anime like Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen gave their characters some backstory, motivations we could get behind, and distinctive character traits before the main plot started moving, while Kagurabachi has already jumped straight into it with characters nobody cares about.

Current Scorings:

Art: 5/10

Artstyle + 1 (Bland)
Consistency + 2 (Consistent)
Character Designs + 1 (Generic)
Backgrounds + 1 (Standard)
Storyboarding + 0 (Uninteresting)

Story: 4/10

Premise/Setting + 0 (Generic)
Pacing + 2 (Consistent)
Plausibility + 1 (Somewhat)
Complexity + 1 (Not much)
Conclusion + 0 (Not concluded)

Characters: 1/10

Personality/Presence + 0 (Close to none)
Motivations + 1 (Revenge)
Interpersonal Dynamics + 0 (Lacking)
Development + 0 (None)
Appeal + 0 (None)

Enjoyment: 1/10 (Only read this to write a review on it. Didn't enjoy a single thing.)

Current Score: 2.75/10 ~ 3/10 (Very Bad)

From Up on Poppy Hill is the most mundane slice of life I've ever watched. It's full of boring daily occurrences and forgettable characters. This can be good if you are a fan of slice of life where absolutely nothing happens but it's definitely not good for those like me who prefer more in-depth characters and drama.

The main premise of the film surrounds students trying to prevent their club room from being demolished in preparation for the Olympics. However, there is no urgency surrounding this issue, no deadline that needs to be met or any requirements they have to fulfill in order to prevent this ... from happening. Things just keep going on as usual until half-way through the film it's announced that the board voted to tear the place down. How much longer do they have until this actually happens? Don't know. The majority of the film is spent outside of the club room and the main characters we follow don't seem to care that much either so so at this point in the story there was little to care about the club room anyways. This results in this part of the film feeling like a meaningless stretched out side story that was very difficult to be invested in. It all wraps up too easily to the point where you question whether it was worth giving a fuss about in the first place. The students head over to the President and he lets them keep their club room because the students want him to. That's all. This entire storyline is void of anything meaningful at all.

Another part of the film focuses on the relationship between the two main characters Umi and Shun. Both characters have the personality of a plank of wood and just fall in love with each other because they need the obligatory romance in a Ghibli film. The main focus of this second storyline is the characters finding out who is Shun's real father. There is no mystery or anything to be solved here since everyone who needs to appear conveniently appears at the right time to tell Shun who his real father is. Shun himself sums up this storyline through his own words, "I know this sounds like a bad melodrama." There is also a this part along the way where Shun thinks that he is Umi's blood-related brother and yet they both proclaim to each other that even still, they love each other. How awkward.....

So it's pretty clear that I don't like this film. Both the characters and the story are boring and I found it impossible to be emotionally invested in whatever was going on. I can understand there is a clear audience for this movie for those that are into very mundane slice of life without any drama but however this movie just wasn't for me.

Edit: I just found out that this movie's script is written by the same person who wrote Ocean Waves. Makes sense why I don't like it.

Final Scorings:

Animation: 8/10

Artstyle + 1 (Generic Ghibli artstyle)
Consistency + 2 (Consistent)
Backgrounds +2 (Consistently well-painted backgrounds)
Sakuga + 1 (Standard character animations)
VFX/CGI + 2 (None)

Sound: 6/10

Voice acting + 1 (Standard)
Soundtrack + 2 (Funky music)
Sound effects + 1 (Standard)
OP/ED + 1 (Forgettable)
Purposefulness + 1 (Reasonable)

Story: 3/10

Premise/Setting + 0 (Uninteresting)
Pacing + 1 (Slow)
Plausibility + 0 (Too convenient)
Complexity + 1 (Not much)
Conclusion + 1 (Cheap)

Characters: 1/10

Personality + 0 (Blank)
Motivations + 1 (Unimportant)
Interpersonal Dynamics + 0 (Unnatural)
Development + 0 (None)
Appeal + 0 (None)

Enjoyment: 2/10 (Boring as heck)

Overall Score: 4/10