Back to cherryblossom519's Profile cherryblossom519's Profile

I usually don't like to write reviews on things that aren't completed, but I couldn't resist this time. I'll be honest, Attack on Titan was one of the first anime I watched, and I really liked it. But the anime is NOTHING compared to this. I expected a simple, mindless action manga, judging by what the anime offered, and the 18 volumes that are out at the moment far exceeded my expectations.
With such a large amount of characters, making readers care about each and every one of them is a difficult thing to pull off, but Isayama does it just fine. I especially liked the ... arc that focused on Ymir and Christa, I just thought their relationship was so nice and it gave depth to two characters that could have been completely useless. As for Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, they aren't exactly the best main characters, but they're all good in their own way, they all have their flaws and good traits alike. Oh, also, this is a bit off topic but I love that they're none of that "power of friendship" crap that's in most shounen.
**Incoming spoilers**
Now let's talk about the story. I thought that this manga wasn't going to have much story at all, aside from killing titans and making military plans. That all changed with the arc where the Survey Corps decided to overthrow the king and they started to discover more and more about the Titans. While some were upset that we didn't get to see Titans for a while, I think that part did a lot of good for the story.
If I have any complaints about Attack on Titan, it would be the pacing. Some parts are a bit too slow, some too rushed. I also didn't like the way Isayama revealed the Armored and Colossal titans' identities, it didn't feel right.
Overall, Shingeki no Kyojin is an awesome manga that I would totally recommend for lovers of action series, this was a much longer review than I had hoped, and I can't wait for volume 19.

I didn't have high hopes for this show, and I think that's why I actually sort of enjoyed it. Does it have a beautifully crafted, original, well-developed storyline? No, it's about steampunk zombies. Does it have some really cool action scenes? Yes. If you're looking for a mindless action show, something like Attack on Titan (because the two shows have only been compared like, a million times), you might want to give Kabaneri a try.
The characters aren't even remotely interesting, and neither is the story. I did like that it had a happy ending, though. To me, there wasn't too much missing from the finale, ... and I wouldn't mind if it never got a second season.
The art is fantastic, I expect no less from 2016 yet I was pretty impressed. The voice acting, for the most part, isn't really worth mentioning but I think Hatanaka Tasuku did a pretty good job as Ikoma. He has an interesting voice, it's slightly different from the typical shounen hero so it caught my attention.
Overall, KnK isn't entirely terrible, but it's definitely not worth any more than the few hours it takes to watch 12 episodes.

Hetalia is one of those shows that's so bad, it's good. It's one of those shows that you watch when you have nothing better to do. With the fantastic concept of personified countries, I wish they actually would have made a story out of it instead of random, nonsensical skits. Some of the jokes were bad, but it's entertaining enough.
Common misconceptions about Hetalia: 1. It teaches you history. No, it doesn't. Yes, it does base some of the skits off of real historical facts, but it doesn't really teach you anything. 2. Hetalia is racist and offensive. It's not hard to believe that a ... show about stereotypes would have some people complaining. Although it does make fun of some countries, it doesn't get to the point that it's actually offensive.
Overall, Hetalia isn't worth your undivided attention, but if you're really bored one day, it's mildly entertaining.

I don't want to say this show is a masterpiece, but... it kind of is. But it's not a masterpiece simply because it deconstructs mahou shoujo, like many people will say. It's more than that.
Madoka Magica is really engaging. The good pacing makes every episode worth watching. You can't skip a single one of the 12 episodes, and you wouldn't want to, anyway. Even though it's not really suspenseful, I wanted to know what would happen next the entire time.
What I really liked about it, and this was probably to be expected from a deconstruction but good nevertheless, is that the show doesn't focus ... much on fighting against a common enemy, rather it focuses on the conflict between the magical girls themselves. There is a common enemy, though: Kyubey. It was obvious. What wasn't obvious was Kyubey's motive. And even though I didn't quite understand its whole plan, it was explained, and that's what matters to me.
I also feel the need to mention the "be-careful-what-you-wish-for" theme. This isn't an uncommon theme, but what I like is that it really CONTRIBUTES to the story. It's not just a futile attempt at a moral.
As for the characters, well, they're not exactly the anime's strong point. They're all pretty stereotypical. The only interesting character was Mami, and they killed her off three episodes in. I liked Kyoko's backstory, though. It's an unusual take on the usual family-being-killed thing. Character development was fantastic.
The unique art was kind of weird at first, but once you get used to it it's actually really nice. The soundtrack is amazing, too. Overall, I'd say Madoka Magica is a bit overrated, but isn't all good anime overrated? If you haven't seen it, please go watch it now because it's great.

Daily Lives of High School Boys- It's literally exactly what it sounds like, no misleading titles here. I didn't have high hopes for this series, considering how bland and boring it seems, but I was actually pleased by it. Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou seemed to me like one of those anime that starts out awesome and quickly deteriorates into episode after episode of unfunny nothingness. To my surprise, this show was pretty consistent for the most part. The first few episodes had me laughing much of the time, and I still got a more than decent amount of laughs in the middle, but towards the ... end the jokes became more predictable and less funny. Not to mention the absolutely nonexistent fourth wall.
The only big issue with this anime is its lack of ANYTHING other than jokes. The story, if you can even call it that, solely consists of a series of short skits showing the various 'adventures' of a group of high school guys. None of the characters really have any personality whatsoever. They literally only serve the purpose of making joke after joke. As much as I love humor, that isn't okay with me under any circumstances.
Another thing I disliked (which I think everyone has said but I'll repeat it) was the extremely violent female characters. I mean, as glad as I am to see that not all anime girls are weak idiots who are dependent on guys, there's a certain point where enough is enough. It was only funny the first few times.
The animation is as simple as it gets, which was a bit disappointing since I really like detailed, high-quality animation. The soundtrack isn't terrible, considering comedy anime don't usually have very good music. The opening theme was enjoyable, but the rest of the tracks were kind of bland.
Overall, I found Daily Lives of High School Boys very enjoyable, but it could have been much better. It gets a generous 7/10 rating from me :)

When I heard that "Angel Beats!" was one of the saddest anime ever, I was totally ready to cry. After watching so much comedy anime, I was strangely excited for some feels-heavy stuff. I don't want to say that I was completely disappointed, but... Angel Beats is full of wasted potential.
The main issue, though inevitable, is the limited 13 episodes. Unlike anime such as The Devil is a Part-Timer and Madoka Magica, which can pretty easily be fit into 12-13 episodes, Angel Beats was a fantiastic, but HUGE idea and was missing much-needed development.
This exactly is why I didn't find the show very sad. There ... wasn't nearly enough time to get to know the characters, so I didn't feel bad for them at all during the sad scenes. Where the sadness lies in this show is the way it makes you reflect on life, except I can't really give it full credit for that because that's not what it was aiming for! The show wanted you to feel bad for the characters, and that just didn't happen.
Another thing I disliked is that I never really understood WHY they were fighting against Tenshi. We're thrown into this big war between the main group of characters and Tenshi, but... Why? Nor did I understand the sudden romance between Otonashi and Tenshi. Otonashi didn't seem to have any feelings for her for most of the series. That said, I'm glad they all found their happiness in the end.
As for the art and soundtrack, both are beautiful. Good quality animation and a fitting soundtrack.
Overall, I give it a 6/10 because it was not bad, but could have been much better.