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- JoinedFeb 1, 2008
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Jun 21, 2021
A competently put together show passes time with offending but not exactly standing out either. The story and characters betray their RPG-game-adaptation roots from the outset with all the trappings of the genre. While not new in anyway, the story narrative and world is constructed well enough and populated with characters that are generic but coherent. Proceedings move along with sufficient momentum until the end without ever hitting any real peaks or throughs along the way.
It is also not a looker in the design department with the drab colour palate and so-so character design. Music and sound design is not memorable. The voice performances
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are mostly fine although personally I did not really like the main male lead. Animation for fight scenes were not bad but with everything looking so dark and drab, it struggled to standout.
All-in-all a very Tab-A-goes-in-Slot-B kind of proceedings here which while not being particularly offensive is also not particularly interesting either. It's something most have probably seen before that is not elevated by any special artistic merit so only really recommended if there really is nothing else out there.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jun 18, 2021
Dynazenon like Gridman before it is show of seemingly of contradictions, marrying all the bombast and over-the-top-ness of tokusatsu genre with a more realistic way of building narrative and character. Since it is built on the template established by Grudman, it shares many of the same triumphs while mirroring a few of the flaws as well.
The dialogue and the script as ever is top notch, utilizing the realistic style that is not afraid to use stretches of silence together with establishing shots to its advantage. This is still refreshing in a genre that is obsessed with shouting at and overexplaining to its audience. The
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characters interactions feel more genuine, interesting and relatable despite the outlandish situations in which they find themselves, particularly the core three characters. All this is then married to a visual narrative style is outstanding from the detailed scene composition and framing to the character expressions and mannerisms. The epitome of show don't tell as much of the lore is implied rather than expressed. This is a very thin tightrope which in this case may leave one a little unfulfilled. The story weaves in many elements and strands that in end the generous would conclude were left to one's imagination while others would consider were left a bit loose and dangling. Overall though the show feels less interested in building lore than living the lives of the protagonists as they face their pasts, overcome their now and look to the future. While this leaves some of the characters, especially the antagonists and "guests characters" feeling less fleshed out as I would have liked but this was probably not their story to begin with anyway.
The art direction and animation is great from the detailed background art to the suitably garish designs of the mecha and kaiju. Everything feels bold, cohesive and imaginative especially when coupled with the script and fun fight choreography. The CG this while very noticeable is improved from Gridman. A visual treat for sure. The sound design and music is also superb, in turns providing the necessary stage for the character dialogue to shine to the music that underlines the quieter emotional moments before cranking it up for the battle scenes. The voice acting is once again superb and well directed, with even the narratively inconsequential characters providing flavour and colour to proceedings.
Overall I enjoyed Dynazenon immensely. I came for the aesthetics, link to Gridman and promise of OTT kaiju battles in but I stayed because I wanted to spend time to learn more about the characters and see them live, grow and triumph.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 7, 2021
Here is the another entry into the otome-game-isekai-hybrid-with-a-unique-gimmick-and-overly-long-title and it is one that is not too bad an entry, at least for much of the series. The central conceit here of course being that the story revolves around the villainess of an otome game and her doomed outcome. Truth be told, this premise is probably the series' main strength coupled with a cast of characters who are pleasant and well-played, epitomized by our titular "villainous heroine". Her introduction and initial interactions with the rest are strong highlights. However character development from therein is unfortunately a tad clunky and do not stray too far from their
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pre-assigned tropes. This causes the story to sag and drag by the midpoint before the turn which unfortunately is as cliched in inception and ham-fisted in execution as you can get. A tad disappointing after a promising start although nothing here is outright offensive.
The art and character design are appealing enough without being particularly extraordinary although for an isekai there is a distinct lack of world building. It is even less than the barely there character growth. The music is pleasant enough and fitting with some nice music. The voice acting is pretty good although a bit stock.
In the end, HameFura (I guess?) is a series with an intriguing premise, a good start that unfortunately could have done a whole lot more with the what it had. At the time of writing, a new season is just around the corner so hopefully there is redemption. As it is, a fairly harmless series that is just about gets by with its first impression but couldn't last the distance.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 28, 2021
I just don't know why I persist after the first set of the Ryo-Ohki OVAs followed by the Universe TV series and movies which were pretty great. Everything since from all the alternate takes / reboots to the various spin-offs have ranged from barely relevant to outright bad. Isekai Monogatari & Tenchi GXP are not terrible per se but they were at best tangentially related to Tenchi. However they felt a need to tie it all together into one giant lore that presumably aims to be dense and rich but ends up incomprehensible and ridiculous. Just about every character that has ever showed up in
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any capacity in any "related" series puts in an appearance here either as glorified extras or extended cameos. At least I think so since I could not recognize or remember more than half of them nor can I remember them now after watching them. The titular hero himself is now a tertiary player in his own series and what should have been the defining development that original fans have been craving for comes off as just another event in a slideshow of events. It just suddenly shows up, happens and then just as quickly fades into the background. Detailing the event should be a spoiler but the show manages to spoil it just fine by itself.
The art is jus plain ugly and calling the animation limited would be charitable. The bottom of the character design barrel has been well and truly scraped with true abominations making the cut. I have nothing to say about the music because I cannot recall a single note of it.
I must admit that Tenchi Muyo was a formative element in my anime fandom so to see it fall so far and so hard is genuinely distressing. Scenes that should be invoking nostalgia and warmth only stir up regret and sadness. Hopefully this is truly the end.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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May 2, 2021
Another one of those "bonus" episodes bundled with a manga after the TV episodes have already been forgotten which in my case as soon as the last episode finished. Without any memory of the series that spawned this "special", it felt neither special nor a bonus. The harem cast was pretty much as generic as they come so to pair it up with a bog-standard cliche episode just underlines the typical problem with these type of standalone episodes. Any dialogue or story narrative is secondary, if even that with the emphasis solely to throw as much fanservice as possible on the screen but even that
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does not stretch beyond mildly titillating. A boring way to waste time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Apr 25, 2021
Finally watched this movie a number of years removed from the original series which had ended rather abruptly to set-up the movie. In fact, this movie is essentially several episodes telling a story arc stitched together with some additional production and heftier melodrama. The story anyway is the actual core of the series, wrapping up the the tale of the (previously) titular rascal and bunny senpai. As before, there is some metaphysical mumbo-jumbo about Theory of Relativity and such thrown in but suffice to say the relationship between the main three characters is the main draw to this movie and it lives and die by
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the viewer's connection to them. Personally, I find the main couple likable and believable plus the new girl is sympathetic so I rather enjoyed this movie. All the other characters do show up and do stuff that either move the plot along or as garnishing but are ultimately inconsequential. The story ultimately wraps up well and while I am not exactly sold on the necessity of the final scene, it is a satisfying end. Technically, the art and animation appears to be neat and well-done with a nice bump in the sound department in the form of a swelling orchestra underscoring the melodramatic swells and dips. Overall though, as mentioned it is not much more than an elongated episode on supplements so fans of the original series will love this conclusion but non-believers will probably find nothing here that will change their minds.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 3, 2021
Does Jujutsu Kaisen present a completely original story populated by never-seen-or-done-before characters?
Does Jujutsu Kaisen display deep plot nuance steeped in deeper meaning?
Does Jujutsu exhibit any restraint employing cliche shounen tropes?
Well, the answer to all these questions is a resounding nope and if someone is coming along to Jujusu Kaisen looking for all the above, then they would most likely be severely disappointed. Yet, all the shounen genre cliches and tropes from the relentless talking exposition to the off-the-shelf stock characterization are assembled here and executed with so much relentless energy and a sense of fun. I liked and cared about the core characters because
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I found them likable and easy to root for. The supporting cast were sufficiently quirky and off-the-wall without straying into stupid territory.
It also looks and sounds very good with off-the-charts fight sequences taking center stage with superb animation and great choreography paired with nicely paced soundtrack. Those seeking great action will find plenty here.
The story is not anything new but it is told clearly and well enough. The narrative always has forward momentum, constantly progressing with the slightest moments of introspection.
It is hard to not compare Jujutsu Kaisen with Demon Slayer where likable cast wades through pretty well-worn narrative path while serving up a kinetic visual and aural treat but fans of the genre will find plenty to like here. In short, did I have a blast with Jujutsu Kaisen. Well the answer is resounding yup.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 26, 2018
I just don't get the latest entry into the Cutie Honey universe. I am not a fan of the series or Go Nagai in general but Re: Cutie Honey knew what it wanted to do & was entertainingly fun.
Cutie Honey Universe was neither. It looks fine with some occasional very interesting visuals (such as in Episode 6) undercut by some quite rough moments. Music was also fine. I quite like the new theme actually but that the original theme is missing is a slightly disappointing. Some of the action and fight sequences were also genuinely quite good. Not great but not terrible either.
Any flaws
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I felt with the visual and audio presentation however were minor compared to the problems I had with the overall tone, plot & characters. The story had difficulty maintaining anything asides from negative momentum, slipping and sliding to its eventual sad misguided conclusion. The 'fanservice' and 'comedy' moments, standard Go Nagai tropes, were not well used and only served to bring any story momentum to a screeching halt. Too many characterizations were illogical, insubstantial and ultimately infuriating.
Ultimately anything good that Cutie Honey Universe achieves is really undermined by bad writing and misguided direction. Not recommended.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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