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- BirthdaySep 16, 1995
- LocationUSA
- JoinedJun 30, 2013
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Aug 23, 2017
I should preface this by saying that Tsuki ga Kirei is far from a perfect anime. While the background art is gorgeous, the characters themselves are often very inconsistently drawn and the background characters are almost always CG'd very badly and distractingly. And while the characters are lovable and relatable, the grunting noises that the main boy Kotarou makes when he's frustrated (in the Japanese dub at least) are really annoying to me. But despite these things and a few other small details, I still consider Tsuki ga Kirei to be a masterpiece in storytelling and likely my personal favorite anime of the 400+ I've
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seen.
In its 12 episodes, this show focuses on one main thing: the relationship between protagonists Kotarou Azumi and Akane Mizuno. Any other drama that occurs in the show itself is somehow tangentially related to their relationship, and anything else is left to the cute shorts after the ED. By focusing exclusively on one thing, it gives the relationship the time it needs to flesh out before the viewer. And it definitely takes its time at some parts. Some parts of the show are almost agonizingly awkward with Kotarou and Akane just sitting, unsure of what to do next and not wanting to make a wrong move. But as awkward as these scenes are, I think they very appropriately capture an important part of their relationship, and reflect the two characters' personalities as well.
Other small details in the show like Akane's potato sack that she plays with the ease her anxiety and Kotarou's boxing with his lamp pull-string add depth to the characters and give us a bit of insight into the quirky middle schoolers that they are. And these details are very welcome in a show where a decent amount of the characters' interactions happen over text message (LINE specifically), with no accompanying dialogue. I've heard people complain about the obnoxious LINE product placement, but I think the show is just being realistic. That's what Japanese kids use these days! Their social interactions occur over LINE, and in conversation that talk about it as such.
When the characters are being quiet, though, the backing music is fantastic. It's usually quiet and unassuming, much like the characters themselves, and it perfectly captures the moods in the show. The OP and ED are equally fantastic, with the ED in particular giving me butterflies after every episode because of how cute it sounds after something good happening in the show.
Overall, Tsuki ga Kirei is a beautiful show. The characters feel real and relatable, and they both have lives outside of the relationship, with Kotarou being an aspiring writer and participant in a local festival's parade, and with Akane being a track star. They don't need each other, and if not for them just being put in the same class, they may never have started dating. But the series shows the viewers how they happened to come together and why they're attracted to each other. Watching them grow as a couple and as individuals is a pleasure to watch, and I would recommend it to anyone that likes a good romance show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Mar 27, 2016
Grimgar was arguably my favorite anime of the Winter 2016 season. Although many people criticize it for its EXTREMELY slow pacing, I think this show actually pulls it off. This show really isn't focused around action and fight scenes, although they are present. Rather, the shows takes the common theme of "throw characters into an RPG-esque fantasy world where they can't escape" and focuses on character development, relationships (almost exclusively platonic), and teamwork. It doesn't shy away from the difficult situations that a team might face in a world where they put their lives on the line, and it portrays well how slow their sort
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of lifestyle may be. Because the main team is comprised of those newbies who nobody else wanted, none of them are particularly special, but they make up for their lack of skill with determination and strategic teamwork.
The art is absolutely beautiful with watercolor-like environments contrasting with the anime-look you'd expect from the characters. The character designs themselves are fairly plain, which fits very well with the tone of the show. The soundtrack, OP/ED, and insert songs were decent, but not particularly special. The main appeal of this show is really the characters and how they react to the situations presented to them. While I could call it the "drama" between characters, it really isn't overly dramatic, and feels very real.
I give it a 10/10 for being thoroughly enjoyable, despite some of its shortcomings (like some less-than-stellar animation at times, its seemingly randomly added insert songs, etc.). But beware aware that the pacing is very slow, and unless you're ready to sit back and just be in the moment, you may get impatient.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 3, 2015
I originally found 07-Ghost while searching for a shoujo anime that didn't have a romance element. This is the first entry alphabetically under the shoujo tag, and conveniently it doesn't have a romance tag. That's a lie. More on that in a bit.
I won't bother synopsizing the show, because you can find those elsewhere. 07-Ghost has a good story overall, following Teito Klein's journey in rediscovering his past and getting back at the army for making him a slave. The implementation of that story, however, is less than desirable. It took me a very long time to finish watching these 25 episodes, mostly because for
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the first 9 episodes, nothing important happens. It's extremely slow and boring, and only after that point does anything entertaining happen. Afterwards, the show starts picking up and kept my attention for the most part.
Studio Deen, the animation studio behind this show, is famous for being pretty bad at all things anime, and that is very apparent in this show. The general art is nothing special, other than looking extremely shoujo-esque. All of the male characters are extremely pretty. Explosions look terrible. It really looks like they took stock video of real-life explosions and edited them over animation. A lot of the other effects are also pretty bad. It can be very humorous at times, though.
The music was nothing terribly special. The OP and ED songs are pretty good, but the soundtrack is unmemorable. All sappy moments just have a piano version of the ED song.
Now I will return to the romance aspect. Although there is no romance tag, and frankly there are no female characters worth mentioning, the show is basically made of yaoi fan-fiction fodder. I really feel like the author sat down to write a manga while thinking, "How can I encourage as much fan-fiction as possible from this?" General rule of thumb: If a character has blonde hair, Teito will be very attracted to them at some point. There's no actual romance, but it is very suggestive of secret relationships. The characters also often talk about how important the power of love is. The general theme of the show is also how love is more important than hate, so at least it has a nice, cheesy theme behind it.
Overall, the show was good, but don't expect good animation and DO expect a lot of yaoi under/over-tones. Despite being male, I tend to enjoy shoujo romances a lot, but this was very strongly targeted towards an audience that I don't fit into, so maybe it just wasn't for me. Would I recommend it to a friend? No, unless they're a fujoshi.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 13, 2014
This is a show that more people should appreciate.
Mahou Shoujo Taisen (or as my friend used to call it, 4 minutes of disappointment) is a series of shorts that is currently airing weekly. We called it disappointment because we expected it to be full 24 minute episodes, but it turned out not to be. REGARDLESS, it's turning out to be unexpectedly wonderful.
The show contains arcs of about 3 episodes, each highlighting a new character from a new region of Japan. The entire premise of the show is that each region of Japan has a magical girl protecting it and its traditions. Each arc focuses on
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the magical girl fighting off a "magatsuhi" that invades her territory. They have a very small amount of backstory, a relatively interesting battle scene, and a happy ending where the magatsuhi explodes and food rains from the skies. Sounds like a great day to be in Japan.
No one aspect of the show is fantastic, but altogether, it's very entertaining. The fight scenes are interesting but not overblown. They only have 4 minutes at a time, so they can't draw it out too long. And they don't pull a Dragonball Z and extend them for multiple episodes either. They get to the point and have a good time with it.
The one problem that I have with the show is that they don't really go into the details of the culture of each Japanese prefecture. They make a point of noting which prefecture the story takes place in, but nothing truly stands out to an American audience at least. All of the scenes tend to look similar enough to me that I don't really notice they're in different prefectures.
All in all, though, the show is good and deserves more attention. It only has 4 minute episodes, so it doesn't take much time, and it provides enough enjoyment to justify watching AND MORE.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 24, 2014
I expected Sky Girls to be a sort of Strike Witches-esque show with fan service and a lackluster plot. However, it surprised me in how interesting of a series it turned out to be.
Plotwise, Sky Girls became very interesting as time went on. The first five or six episodes were relatively boring, but over time, little plot twists and small details made the series worth watching.
Artwise, it wasn't fantastic, but certainly wasn't bad. Some CG things were really awkward, but they were few and far between. Otherwise, the animation was smooth and the Sonic Divers were made well. Although this isn't related to art, I
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should mention that while this show does contain mechs, the show doesn't really focus on them. They're moreso just tools used than real plot foci.
Musicwise, there wasn't a whole lot to comment on. The opening is one of the dopiest songs I've ever heard. ("Oh, prerry radies, Sky Girls. Fate understood. Innocent red. Last arms. Haaaaaaaaa.") However, after listening to it far too much, it's kind of catchy. That might just be because I find it kind of deplorable from a musical standpoint, though. The endings were uninteresting and forgettable, in my opinion. The soundtrack is decent but not too notable.
Characterwise, the characters were very well fleshed out and given necessary attention. The interactions between characters were realistic and even very heartwarming at times.
Overallwise (and who needs words anyway?), Sky Girls was surprisingly enjoyable. I give it a seven overall because, while it was a great show, it wasn't that great, and the shortcomings that it did have prevented it from being fantastic as a whole. While there wasn't a whole lot of fanservice, there was a little more than was necessary. Could the show have been better? Yes, and it had a lot of potential. Was it a complete waste of potential? No, definitely not.
Would I recommend it to a friend? Yes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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