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Aka is that kind of writer that is able to start a story and get you invested in it, but somewhere in the middle he loses his magic. I can guarantee you you can watch the first two seasons of the anime or the first 80 chapters of the manga, skip the next 81 chapters, reading the last 5 chapters and still manage to understand everything that happened. Why is that? Because the 5 arcs spread on those 86 chapters are mostly beating around the bush. Sure you get some development here and there, but mostly it doesn't make a difference for the outcome because ... Aka basically builds the whole story on those first 80 chapters and that's why he struggles with the rest, it is hard to develop a story that was already developed, so on the following arcs he mostly "goes back to the basic" returning to the entertainment industry that is mostly sidetracked, but it feels like filler, filling a certain amount of chapters his editor probably set him to do, I'm pretty confident this manga could have ended with 100, maybe 110 chapters - considering the content he officially released.

However, unlike Kaguya-sama, I managed to read the whole thing here in Oshi no Ko, so maybe kudos to him for "improving"? Still there's a long way to go, or maybe I am being to harsh? Maybe Aka himself wanted to ended this manga sooner, but he wasn't allowed to because it makes perfect sense - writing-wise - to have this story end 20 or 30 chapters after the 80th chapter and it wouldn't feel rushed, instead we got a story that gets really bad and a poorly written ending. I don't think it was even a controversial ending considering how most people hated it. So do consider that when reading this: half the story can be skipped and you would still be able to understand the ending, doesn't it make the quality of the writing here questionable?

I briefly heard about this manga, but I never gave it a read, so when I heard the anime was out I decided to give it a try and what a disappointment the state of shounen.

The characters, which in the first four episodes were basically the two protagonists and one antagonist, are too one-sided. The male protagonist is one of the wimpiest main characters I have ever seen and for it to be popular, people are seeing themselves too much on him and even when he gets his power-up - that comes with the price of losing his private parts, why? Who knows - he ... is still a downer, but a badass downer, so that's okay, I guess (?). The female protagonist is yet another example of "gyaru that falls for otaku", a common trope, but she seems to have actual room for improvement that will be limited by the mangaka writing skills. The antagonist is a cursed spirit in a form of an old lady obsessed with wienies, but that's okay because later on it is explained she appears in places where teen girls were brutally abused and killed and she would help them pass on, so we can only assume she hates penis because men are rapist and she will take what is most important to them - and that is my interpretation, it wasn't mentioned so far in the anime - and, to be honest, that's a take I wouldn't expect in a shounen. However, on episode 5 it all boils down to the protagonist, that was cursed by the antagonist, reacting "OH SHOOT MY BALLS ARE MISSING!" and the whole build-up they did in the previous episode was just a stupid joke out of a serious subject "lmao gottem". Oh... there's also the sexy grandma, that you can only tell she is a grandma because her granddaughter calls her so; some Japanese people look younger than they are and there are some people that are lucky on their genes, so maybe she represents those very few people that are old and still young looking and sexy?

The art is alright, feels like it is the standard of popular stories nowadays, but the colouring is so bad, no shades, no shadows, seems like studios are cutting costs on everything they can and that's what we get. The animation is mostly limited, except in some very few action sequences and it gets a bit better.

What I do want to praise despite all that is how incredible is Shion Wakayama's work as the voice actress behind the female protagonist, she is doing an incredible job! Can't say the same about the other protagonist which sounds like the same character in every production he works on.

BTW, I have seen some people saying how sexualised this is, I don't see a problem with that, the 2010s - or maybe even late 2000s - that stopped sexualising stuff in Japanese media as often, before then it was quite common. Is it a good thing? Does it add anything to the story? That's a whole different issue.

This film was created during the peak of the Japanese economic bubble, so a lot of resources were put in anime in general back then and you can tell by both the art and animation that this anime is great even by today and even future standards, however what this film excels in those two aspects, it lacks in story. The whole mystery going on here is so simple and uninteresting that reinforces how unappealing the story is, so watching this for the story is a bad choice, however it isn't all bad, as I previously said, the art and animation are superb, you might ... enjoy some of the action scenes, but that's it. It looks pretty, but it is just as boring.

As a side note, despite praising the art, I disliked how Kanuka was portrayed here.

This manga shows great promise, but the author seems a bit lost with only 25 chapters in, please bear with me I will try to make myself clear.

This manga revolves around the "idol" theme. Urumin is a failure idol in an underground group called Merry✰Universe, she is the definition of ponkotsu: she can't dance, but she can trip; she can't sing, but she can forget the lyrics. However she loves being an idol, and that what made her so interesting to Kimiya, her only fan in the whole world. Kimiya loves how clumsy Urumin is, the clumsiest, the better. And you would think that might ... be all an act, Urumin wished that as well, but she is a certified ponkotsu.

Most of the chapters are focused on the interaction between the failure idol and the unshakable fan and they can be really cute and funny. We are also introduced to the other 4 members in Merry✰Universe and each one has an unique and distinct personality.

So here is what this manga offers: a cute and funny interaction between the protagonists; interesting side characters that can expand the story in different directions without being more of the same; an underdog story, not only for the failure idol, but for her group as an underground idol group with a dozen of fans which can rise to stardom.

Now here is the bad side, only 25 chapters in and the manga already feels repetitive. I considered it a legit 8 until now - I am a bit shaken, but I will stand ground for now -, but even after a whole month hiatus - for a weekly series - I thought the author would figure out an actual story for the manga. Most underground idol groups don't make it, yes, but wouldn't it be amazing if we actually saw them trying their best in small festivals and rising to the top? Or seeing how the different members in the group interact with each other and how their choices affect one another? I understand the main point of the manga is Urumin and Kimiya and I am not saying we should change that, but the story has shown a potential to be developed, but, maybe influenced by the editor, we keep on getting more of the same and I am afraid it might get stale, because, repetitive, it already is.

So I do recommend the manga and I am cheering that we will get a nice turn of events and the story will go back to its tracks, I hope that in the future when this review is looked at we have an actual interesting overplot besides the Urumin and Kimiya interaction and all I said about the author is wrong.

Also, stan Popochi

This season can be divided in two parts, the good first 3 episodes and the other 9 bad ones.

The first three episodes are "complete", they have a start, a middle and an ending story, a new character is introduced with their motives and the results of those, that is a good enough arc.

However, things turn sour as the other 9 episodes go on, for instance: Bitch's role is so stupid in this season, it feels like the author is writing for toddlers considering how repetitive she behaves; the other three heroes are still cringe and they behave like spoiled brats, there could be other ways ... to deal with the outcome of season 2; episode 5 introduces another new character and a sense of danger (poorly), that is never spoken again, and yet a different "danger" happens later on that leads to nothing.

As other people have said, the greatest flaw of this season is the lack of direction. There is nothing wrong with a training arc or a gathering new allies trope, but when you watch certain episodes you end up thinking: "couldn't this be better worked? Couldn't the author turn this one episode issue into a 2 or 3 episodes and properly develop this character?" Ok, Naofumi occasionally says "we have to prepare ourselves for the Phoenix", but in those 9 episodes nothing is achieved, the episodes end and the results are given in a silver platter.

Just to be clear, the show doesn't have to be action all the time, but proper development is needed, and unfortunately there is not enough in this season. New characters are introduced that are more interesting than the other 3 heroes, which isn't a problem, if a character lacks development you simply give it to them, but the author took the easy way.

By the way, it is disappointing seeing the beautiful opening with detailed art and smooth animation, only to get a considerable downgrade to the anime itself, it isn't bad. It feels like those McDonalds' ad thing where what is shown on the ad and what you really buy aren't the same thing, you'd still eat it, but the ad looks better.

I love this franchise, it has a very rare form of humour in Japanese media that appeals to me.

This season was not in the same level as the previous one and its OVA, there are the same good jokes in season one, president Shino and secretary Aria with their sexual innuendos, Suzu being conscious about her own height, Kotomi and her suspicious incestuous actions and finally Tsuda dealing with all of them. What really threw me off this season was how a side character that is really annoying got more screentime than before, and that's Ranko Taka, the green hair newspaper club girl that is ... always trying to get a scoop. She makes things awkward, not even a funny awkward, just awkward. If they really wanted to give a side character more screentime, why not do it with Uomi... sorry, onee-san? Sure, in the last two episodes there are a lot from her, but there should have been more. Sure, some might say she is kinda like Shino, but she also has her own thing after she became an onee-san and she even has that awkward moment with Suzu that she always feel the need to hug her and rub her back.

So the whole reason for not considering this season as good as the previous one was the newspaper girl, I hate every moment she is in scene, she doesn't add anything and isn't funny at all, hell, even Igarashi, that one that is afraid of men, is funnier than her and she isn't supposed to be funny.

I love Seitokai Yakuindomo, it is one of my favourite animes ever, however there is something about this anime that makes me sad for not understanding Japanese, the innuendos. There are several puns in this show that if you don't know Japanese they will go by unnoticed, sometimes translator will spend sometime explaining what the joke was about (but doesn't explaining the joke make it less funny? Well, if you don't even know the language, how would you understand the pun in the first place?), but there are other times those jokes aren't explained, which is a shame. Nevertheless, this is a very funny anime, ... but I must say it is a niche Comedy, the blue humour doesn't appeal to everyone, however if you enjoy those things, you will love this anime, I will definitely read the manga afterwards because I am sure there the translator will explain those jokes the anime translator missed.

What a terrible run, what was once an interesting anime in a sea of generic isekai has become yet another generic isekai.

This season is basically divided in two parts: the first one is mostly about Rudeus having a relationship with a side character that gives of that filler feeling to it since they won't have any active role or relevance to the main story; the second part is about Rudeus meeting Sylphie, but they just keep on stalling this meet, or rather having Sylphiette reveal who she really is.

This season is also the cringiest so far, edginess levels that are very embarrassing to watch, the ... first part is the worst.

And we spend 12 episodes with Rudeus trying to fix his impotence, I am baffled with how bad the story is written, at times we are supposed to believe he is a 15 years old, but he has impotence? Coincidentally an issue if you add his 34 years old from the previous life. Not only that, when he has sex with other teens "his age" are we supposed to forget he is actually a 49 years old having sex with a minor?

This anime is pathetic, at first the universe seems interesting, even if some aspects - specially the magic - aren't properly explained or have a sloppy explanation to it, but after the very first season you can notice a drop in quality, but this second season? I have never seen the quality of the material gets stale so quickly. Terrible story, if you aren't into edgy content, skip this fire dumpster.

This is how Makoto Shinkai reaches his first major block, a great example that beauty without content is just shallowness.

The story is too packed however it never fully develops anything. Suzume remembers Souta despite seeing him when she was 4 and she cannot even see his face? It is implied that Suzume's mum died from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, but why does it have be so subliminal? Also, why does Makoto Shinkai have Suzume ask around about her mum as if she was doing it for several days (at least this was the impression I had instead of someone asking over and over)? What is ... the worm? Why does it want to destroy the region it is in? Why does Suzume "love" some dude she knows for 3 days tops?

If this is a film about grief, why is it so sidetracked? Even better, why does Makoto Shinkai uses Souta as an element to "help" Suzume overcome the lost of her mother? Specially with a romance that felt forced through the narrative? A story that could have been told having Suzume and Tamaki - the aunt - as the main characters since it would deal with two issues at once: a teenager that blocked - from her diary - the lost of her mother and a 40 years old woman that, despite loving her niece, feels conflicted about taking her in and "losing" her life.

Instead we get a generic romance, in a below average story, where the ideas that could have been the main focus are treated as minor elements, still it has the beautiful art and animation from Makoto Shinkai, so it is not "bad", but that does not make it good either.

This anime depicts what chuunibyou see when they are having their delusions of grandeur: main character is basically a god (he is literally all powerful, all knowing - at least for his followers - and all present), he has 500 elf waifus of all ethnic backgrounds and the whole late 2000's emo vibe to it thinking he is the last cookie of the package.

The show has this recurrent gag of having the main character in the main spot even though he says that he wants to be a background character. Sometimes it even feels like he is auto sabotaging, because how can he be so ... dumb?

In the end , this show is dumb fun, if you can look over this whole chuunibyou-esque behaviour, you might enjoy it, otherwise you can pass it, there is nothing new about this show.