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Grisaia no Kajitsu....

[OVERVIEW]

I begun watching this anime with low expectations, especially after reading the reviews that the others had so kindly provided. Personally, I had never played the visual novel and I am in no position to compare.

The one thing I can offer is my opinion when I watching this at night deliriously, preparing myself for immense disappointment. I was proven quite wrong -- this anime could hold on its own but not as well as Meikyuu and Rakuen.

But first and foremost, I urge of those who hesitate to at least give it a try or for the sake of watching the next ... two seasons of this. The Trilogy itself is genuinely worth it and this season was merely a very rushed introduction. I had expected there to be much more gore and screwed up pasts but even now I'm unsure if this is what truly took place in the Visual Novel itself.


[REVIEW FOR THIS SEASON ALONE]

For me, I thought this was quite comedic, despite the darker palette of colours it too for the introduction. Simple, Quick lines with the characters linked to it flashed across the screen so I was slightly piqued.

The first three-four episodes was fine. It tried to bring in a cool atmosphere and various masks of people and yet you as a watcher knows that what is apparent is deceiving. It does make you curious for the reason behind their personalities and does grasp your attention for quite a bit.

However, when the revelation begins, you can feel that the animators are rushing through it, big conflicts solved quickly in one or two episodes and sudden subtle changes in the characters after the conflict. I judged it as unnatural in my crudely delirious mind, feeling that could have been more development and more understanding towards the character.

Despite that, being a person who loves details more than anything else, I cannot deny that perhaps the original had made a deeper meaning for the course of events so I decided to let my disdain for the rush go away for the sake of carrying on with the anime.

Their interactions at times can feel random, deep moments can occasionally turn comedic in the protagonist's point of a view, a tad bit unfitting of a person who was more screwed up than the rest. Simply to put it; everything felt too easy. This anime certainly deserved more than 13 episodes and the characters deserved more than 20-40 minutes of view time to fully understand them.

That was this anime's weak point. In its rush, it tarnished a good story. However, it still did manage to pull off a story that one can understand.

[THE OTHER TWO]

I did not sing praises for the first but however, I must beg of you to watch or at least read/play the visual novel. Do not allow just one season to ruin the impression of the other two.

This season still gives sufficient knowledge to carry onwards to the next two, where the actual plot takes the spotlight. The other two is more well balanced and its consistency is better.

--------

IF there is any advice to give, watch this with the lowest possible expectations to stop yourself from inevitable disappointment. The plot is lacking but the characters are unique and amazing on their own.

[FINAL SCORES]

Story - 6
Art - 7
Sound - 7
Character - 8
Enjoyment in the midst of deliriousness - 7
Overall - 7

Watch it for the sake of the other two seasons.
Recommending this? Perhaps.

Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru or OreGairu for short.

From the first line, it had grasped my attention utterly and had me chuckling.

'Youth is a lie. It is evil.'

This anime in a short summary is relatable, thought-provoking, attention grabbing in the best way and most of all, it can send you spiralling down in inner turmoil because it makes you realize things you neglected maybe out of convenience or oblivion.

Scratch that -- A short summary would never be sufficient for this anime, in which I was skeptical about at first. But I can affirm one thing for most; it is worth your time ... to watch it.

Toss away all your previous prejudices about romantic comedies and the cliche situations you can already picture with crystal clarity in your head. This brings your daily problems in a new light with different perspectives. It's comedic (duh), heart-tugging in some moments. You just get... unreasonably attached to this weird specimen of a protagonist.

Character [10/10] [SPOILER]

This is the section that I felt is the most important for me personally.
It made the story what is it and the way it could go because the characters were so... bizarre? Can I really use that word?
Most characters are like fragments of your personality that you have once been or are but they are more extreme. One way or another, you will see yourselves in them, even if it was just a little bit.

The Protagonist: Hikigaya Hachiman.
Pessimistic to a fault, your day to day loner. And here's a little hindsight: He doesn't care what people think and he loves himself for it. Yet, you cannot shake off the fact that there is a subtle hatred for himself simmering at the background because he's willing to tell people how low he is, even if he accepts himself.
The subconscious self-sacrificing kind that clenches your heart to see him do this, even if it was for the benefit of others. He is the unsung hero in this anime and yet quite a queer villain with powerful and persuasive monologues.
And then you reach an epiphany: Those words are actually quite depressingly true at times.

The Antagonist?: Yukino Yukinoshita
The person in your life that pushes herself too much to achieve and in the end, often gains envious or jealous stares, the one that is too strong to care about the bullies. The one that burdens herself with duty and very focused to the extent of exhaustion, who finds it difficult to confide and rely on others because she had always been a lone fighter.
Yukinoshita is that relatable person you might have a friend of, or you are her yourself. She might be seen as an over-achiever, but she is just trying her best. Misunderstood so she couples it with brutality of her bluntness, to go against people who talk crap about her she overcomes it with the arrogance of achievement she has. Unique and amazing... but sometimes awfully pitiful.

The Cheerful One (because support doesn't seem right): Yui Yuigahama
She is the one that tries her best to fit in because she fears isolation. Sounds stupidly familiar right? The person who is like a 'worker bee' in a clique, afraid to go up against the head honcho and knows all too well what a fall out could do. Despite her cheerful personality, she hides a lot of pain because she is unable to understand her friends.

Story [8/10]

With the characters introduced of your varied loners and typical; you get this anime. Their banters are hilarious, the protagonist's methods to solve things are unorthodox and painful to watch at times and yet logical.

It makes you realize that some things cannot be understood -- rather, we can never fully understand one another but we can try. It goes through the trials and tribulations of friendship with still developing romance, giving light to the plights of the people in the different levels of the status quo.

To put it well and out, it is not your typical anime. It is worthy of praise (in my opinion anyway) and incredibly amazing to watch. You would hardly feel time pass with the tension that is often present in the anime, their arguments and their solutions that just draws you in immensely.

You will probably enjoy it.
So embrace it.
I dare you :)

As all my reviews start; where do I possibly begin?

Tsumiki no Ie or La Maison en Petits (House of Ice Cubes) is undoubtedly, a masterpiece. Using 12 minutes of your time, about one-fifth of an hour and approximately 726 seconds, it tells a story that needs no words (literally) and perhaps it might invoke something in you.

Thought-Provoking at best, symbolic, beautiful and simple. It doesn't need dialogue to express the protagonist's emotions, it doesn't need great animation to tell the tale. With a soothing tune in the background to complement the story, it is more than enough.

Like every person including the protagonist; our life begins ... and ends with simplicity. This story takes you on a dive to view the life of a seemingly lonesome old man who went to search for the pipe he dropped.

But as he goes further down, we see the life he had with the levels of his house that he built up moment by moment and brick by brick, all in which was engulfed and overwhelmed by the tides of time. Like memories we have, they tend to be submerged and overlapped by new and at some point, we reminiscence.

But most importantly, in the end, our lives don't have to be perfect. The house/journey can look perfectly bizarre but that's fine. You've lived, learnt and experienced things, from love to parenthood and your fair share of problems. You learn about death, but its what life is and all there is to remember.

Some journeys end fast and stop at the first layer, but you can choose to continue, even if it takes a lot of time. From simplicity to extravagance and simplicity once more, its still worth living through the moments.

But the question is: Do you regret it?

A review was due for this.
I genuinely thought I wouldn't like this anime movie, but I was pleasantly surprised. This story was... unexpectedly relatable to me as a person and although I held dislike for it in the beginning, at the end, I couldn't help but like it.

Although I rated most of the things a little low, for story and overall, it gets a solid 9. I suppose my reasoning for giving the plot a high score is needed.

My review contains a bit of a spoiler but rest assured -- what matters most in this anime is the details and I cannot simply divulge it ... with just words. Like a performance, it needs to be experienced by yourself solely to appreciate it.

First and foremost, I urge you to give this a try.

Frankly, I hated the antagonist at the beginning. She was the epitome of the characters I might hate, along with the rest of the community. Right -- [spoiler] Miu was the kind of character that would try to break friendships for her own convenience, hurting others because she just could for the sake of being remembered, even for the wrong reasons.

'I can't imagine anything. I can't picture a beautiful world. There are only dirty things inside of me. There's no true happiness anywhere. The world is dark and ugly and I am too.'

But for the sickest reasons, I related to her. I understood wholly how it was like to be desperate for attention and the fear of losing someone because it makes us all heartbreakingly human. When driven by emotions, we all eventually go crazy and are willing to go through all lengths. Miu perfectly personified that through her deceit and actions and I love/hate her for it.

And the protagonist, Konaha, just happened to be caught in the crossfire and scarred, unable to write until someone who would help him heal from the experience came along. And then his friends who were willing to be placed in a negative light just so he could be free from the chains that bound him to Miu made my heart break a little. For umpteenth times in the anime, they tried and failed and tried again. They saw the pain and hurt he went through and tried to save him from it once more showed their utmost loyalty, even if they knew they would be discarded in the end. It was incredibly beautiful and twisted to love it.

This was so humanly realistic (except for Konoha's extremely sharp chin that puts UN-GO to shame) and it is something amazing that I think everyone should watch.

Be patient with it and let it build because like stories, its beauty cannot be fully appreciated unless you read it whole. Do not judge it by its cover and give it try and I'm almost certain you won't regret it.

Overall [9.9/10]

How should I begin to talk about this amazing piece of work? Akatsuki No Yona is not your typical reverse harem (not really actually) anime and the heroine certainly isn't one to whine and actually gets things done. That was practically one of the best factors for me. Coupled with light humor and an underlying motive in the story, it just made it drastically more appealing for me.

Story [9/10]

Personally, I believe in bitter starts and hopefully sweet ends, and it brought forth that criteria expertly for me. As I had said, he character had a motive and were not merely just doing nothing and ... having fun.
It shows moments of happiness but yet you would feel the poignancy of their own pasts as they try to overcome it and develop. Most of all this anime shows that there is hope and perhaps with every villain (again, substantial), there is one that did so for better reasons and there is greater evil in the world. It's incredibly realistic and something most of us at some point or another could relate to.

Art [9/10]

In 1080p HD, I thought the art looked fabulous. Or perhaps I'm just a sucker for medieval/ancient architecture that has me squealing most of the time. The animation itself flows smoothly and there is one thing that I don't see much in other animes is that they add those little side prints you see in panels of manga. They do it expertly well too and convey the obviousness or hilarity of the situation and I commend them for that. Those little side prints are often neglected and I'm glad to see them put to use, especially when the mangaka herself has an incredible sense of humor.
Everything was pretty and kept to the original drawings, and they even added another effect which was the 'fire' in Yona's eyes. Believe it or not, such a thing does not exist in the manga and it was a nice touch to it. Good job animators :D

Sound [10/10]

Where the hell do I begin on this one? The Openings and Endings are amazing, especially the second opening.
The voice actors are incredibly talented, as per usual and they sound like they were all having fun as they made this. The best voice acting I ever heard was Hak's Laugh and it does not help at the fact that I know that his voice actor is Decim which makes me want to fan girl even more. Not going to lie; I probably replayed that scene at least 20 times.
The OST and background music are too, pretty amazing, if you bother to listen closely along with the dialogue. Applied at the right times and not over used, it gets a 10/10. The sound effects like punching and whatnot were pretty good too :)

Character [10/10]

I absolutely ADORE -- actually I LOVE the characters. Unique in their own ways, they compliment each other like pieces of a puzzle.
First of; Yona. I said this but she is not your typical heroine and one of the heroines I didn't want to slap. Her character development is excellent as you see her evolve from a sheltered and pampered princess into a being that is bigger than herself, willing to toss away the things she had known for her friends to prove her equal loyalty.
Hak, her closest companion and having a love interest for the heroine. Dragons, might I say, he has the most patience and willpower ever. In every way for me, he is desirable. Masculine and yet not overly, simple and yet you know beneath it there are complications with himself. He's so frank and amazing and observant. I should stop singing him praises before I think that I'm making out with him.
The Four Dragons; Ki-ja, Shin-Ah, Jae-Ha, Zeno. Again, Hilarious. They are so... bizarre and yet they pair up with one another. The interactions with one another is priceless as they lament and bond with one another. Most have a dark past and weird force of habits, but that's what makes them amazing and human.
And let's not forget Yoon, the pretty boy who is a genius. He is probably the one who we can relate to the most. The one that tries to be the best they can, but sometimes feel like it would never be enough. The one that would want to be praised to make themselves feel better and incredibly reliable. Need i say more?
Next and lastly -- side characters. They are special in their own ways too. They are properly developed and not half-assed and we could see their varied attachments with the main cast. Not drastically obsessive, but it makes you want them to be in the main role, and not just a side effect after one arc. It's the impression I don't often get and I'm grateful this anime had it.

Enjoyment [10/10]

From my long review... This is pretty obvious.
Did I enjoy it immensely? Yes.
Would I watch it again? I already did.
Would I read the manga over and over again? I already did that three times.
This anime/manga was strangely addicting and I don't regret it one bit.

Overall [10/10]
Like the ratings say, and like the music they played, it was a masterpiece. I genuinely did not expect myself to get attached to the entire story as I did, merely checking this out of curiosity and boredom. Not a big fan of music animes as per se, but this one strike deep in my heart.

Story [9/10]
It was predictable what would be the fate of Miyazono from the beginning, but there was nothing that can prepare you for the end. You can cloth yourself in armors upon armors of emotionless, but it just pierces through all your defences. I loved the development the protagonist ... went through, changing for the better even though it hurts so much at the end. Not only that, the little quotes that pepper the entire anime is a huge plus for me.

Sound [10/10]
The Opening and Ending was good. The choice of songs and its meanings behind them were extremely well done and it makes me want to listen to classical music more. The music is just so moving; especially the duets, the starts, stops the transformation that it nearly etches my soul. For a music anime, it accomplished Sound extremely well.

Character [9/10]
Kousei was... someone who developed incredibly lot. In the middle, I wasn't sure he was going to make it through but he did so exceptionally. I love the banters the characters have and their friendship just warms my heart.
I stepped onto the Kaori/Kousei ship so it freaking broke. They were hard to hate, even the supposed 'villains' aka Kousei's mother. In the end, you can't even hate her.
And their lips are sensual O.o

Enjoyment [9/10]
It was quite well animated, but some moments were dready for me. Through tears, laughter, grins and sniffing, I loved it and enjoyed it quite immensely. In my point of view, it is with little flaws.

So I loved this and would re-watch it again someday soon to bring back the feels.

Overall [9/10]
This was.... amazing. Throw away the typical geniuses (although the characters are in their own way) and place people who decide to find something better in the world in a different ways.
Plot [8/10]
The plot may seem a bit of a lackluster at first but before you know it, you're stuck in their loop, unable to tear your eyes away from the screen. Watch the protagonist go from someone who barely interacted with anyone and threw around fake smiles to one of immeasurable power and find his own worth, neither exaggerated nor underestimated. Narumi was heartbreakingly human.
Character [9/10]
Alice; the speaker of the dead. While uncovering, ... she shoulders the burden that she could have done something had she been earlier, but she always reaches one scene too late.
Renji, Hiro and Master; seeing the world with different eyes through connections and technology, usually indirect than direct.
Sou... the anti-hero in the story. Doing things that people in full view of the public cannot, bring justice his own way even if its outlawed.
Narumi... the high school student that wanted to find the bigger picture, something bigger than life and found it in words he spoke and wrote.
The main cast were beautiful and flawed in their own ways, so I loved them all, even the supposed villains who were also trying to find their own place.

In general, I love this anime ;)