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[Interesting direction and good ideas, but VERY VERY mediocre execution].

⪻- Review | Comment and Reflection -⪼

I won't extend too much, this was one of the worst sequels I've had the opportunity to see, it's incredible how the strongest point of the series (the supernatural) becomes the most tedious and boring. Not only because of the horrible design change that ruins the great aesthetics of the series, but also because they wasted an idea with so much potential. The series already had a more than good direction, it had those details that broke the fourth wall in a subtle way and nothing heavy or dense, the ... simple fact that the chapters are disordered is a tremendous detail that makes you clear the two order that is in space time. Even that season had its good things, I highlight the idea that the frames are lagged to simulate the danger of being erased when Haruhi gets bored of the world and them, this actually builds well what Kyon must avoid in the future, but the August infinity arc was one of the worst things I've seen in a long time. I understand that the author/director wanted to convey despair so that we can identify with Yuki for everything she suffered, but there were ways to make it more dynamic without being so dense, instead the author/director decided to go easy by repeating the same chapter to generate despair in a mediocre way. The worst of all is how he uses this arc as an excuse to do as much fanservice as possible, it literally seemed that every time the characters went to the pool, the whole budget was spent on animating new sequences focusing on the ass or boobs. At the end of it all this arc was so irrelevant that the ending added nothing to the plot, even the mansion killer arc added more than this garbage. After this attempt to replicate Tatami Galaxy, the series comes back with some interesting chapters in which we can feel again that feeling of danger so endearing that managed to capture a minimum interest in knowing what would happen, or those discussions between Haruhi and Kyon that transmitted an incredible tension that kept you attentive to the screen, and the detail of the final chapter in which we see why Kyon told her to repeat the phrase that this is not real, it's all fictional, connects everything perfectly. Oh, and as for the first episodes, I didn't talk almost nothing about them because literally nothing happened.

A season that in the final stretches went up quite a bit, but in general had a rather mediocre direction and a too slow pace. With this I'm going for the movie, I hope it's totally worth this shitty trip.

["What would have happened to my life if ...?"]

⪻- Review | Comment and Reflection -⪼

Tatami Galaxy is one of those works that are difficult to enjoy because of how they are told, in my case I was fascinated by it, but what would have happened if I didn't like it? I would probably criticize it and do the easy thing of labeling it as pretentious because of the fast pace of the series that manages to confuse you many times, or I would simply dredge it up and forget about it.
Tatami plays with this, the butterfly effect. How everything can change after just making a ... simple decision.... It is a journey, a journey in which "Watashi" learns to mature and understands that not everything is pink, that there are not 2 or 3 colors, but nuances, a journey in which we will identify with one situation or another.

Watashi is a narcissistic person who could never appreciate what he had in those infinite timelines. He reached a point where he saw Ozu as a demon who always made a mess of his life (from his point of view), and although it is partly true that Ozu, regardless of whether he enjoyed doing evil or not, did spoil the lives of others a bit, but he had his reasons for doing so, selfish, but he had them. The important thing here is that Watashi when he finally understood that the reason he never found happiness, or that pink color, was not because of Ozu, but simply because his thoughts were wrong, selfish and he did not know how to appreciate what he had, so it would be hypocritical to complain about Ozu's selfishness, when he was even worse.

Each character has a well-established function in the plot, Johnny as the immoral identity that is within us and always acts on instinct. Jougasaki would be more or less like Ozu, but on the contrary he would be the stereotype of the popular and gentlemanly boy, but who in loneliness would show his true and disturbing side. Higuchi would be the one who would initiate the journey, the one responsible for Watashi getting endless opportunities for him to mature and come out of his ignorance. And so each character with a well-established role, and who are part of the nuances Watashi must appreciate.

I thought all the chapters were excellent, 2, 11, and 12 my favorites. While I was expecting the typical story of the boy who tries to conquer the girl of his dreams with the help of a close friend (whether celestial or not), chapter 2 gives a 360 degree turn to everything. The 11th for being the catharsis of the protagonist, understanding his situation and how ignorant he was, and at the same time is the chapter that best explains all the worldbuilding of the series, and making sense of the opening and title. The 12th is the climax, with Watashi finally matured, he does his best to get out of that infinite space of tatamis, and finally when he succeeds he gets to where the journey began, in episode 1 where Ozu is cornered and attacked by everyone (basically a Racconto to reach the same situation that started everything, for Watashi not having taken advantage of the opportunity that swayed in his eyes). Another detail I love about 12 is that we can appreciate the world from a general perspective, and not Watashi's, that's why we can see Ozu's real face, and not Watashi's exaggerated interpretation, and at the same time the opening changed, the ending was always the opening, and the opening the ending. This kind of details make me love the work, and that's why it becomes one of my favorites, and today 10/7/2021, my favorite anime.

[A hidden place of sensations ...]

⪻- Review | Comment and Reflection -⪼

Shigatsu has many incredible nuances and they are treated excellently. One of them would be stage fright, which is represented in an impeccable way, and the best example would be Kousei Arima. A boy who when playing feels tremendous tension to the point that he cannot hear anything (which is not entirely true), and not only feels tension by the fact that he is going to make a fool of himself like other pianists like Takeshi and Emi (which also feels tension to disappoint Kousei), but something more complex.

He is anchored by his past. ... He always wants to get away from the piano, and it is that at the same time that it generated an exaggerated happiness, then it would give him a trauma for everything he lived through the mistreatment and overexploitation of his mother towards him, causing that over time he began to hate to his mother ...

The culmination of his hatred is when he orders his mother to die (who similarly does the same with the piano). After all this what happens happens ... His mother dies, and from there, Kousei begins to see everything in black and white. He hates the piano, since from his perspective it transformed his mother into a monster, to the point that every time he plays it he has hallucinations of his mother, and this generates enough tension to not pay attention and supposedly "not hear anything ". This not only affected him only in the field of playing the piano, but in that of romantic relationships. And this makes sense, since in HIS EYES, his own mother did not show him a paternal love ... And the fact is that his mother really did love him, but she used questionable methods so that her son could survive on his own having a comfortable future, but instead caused the opposite by some wrong decisions (or so it seemed).

But there comes the light, the hope ... THE COLOR! Kousei meets the angelic beauty, by Kaori Miyazono. A blonde haired girl that shone in Kousei's eyes and in those of the spectators, that while she played she captivated us with her beautiful and calming melody ... And that in an environment as dark as Kousei's, makes everything suddenly turn Colour. Many animes implement the idea (or analogy) of color in the dark, even one of my favorites called Oregairu does it indirectly, or even Naruto. But Shigatsu focuses directly on this section, and connects all aspects of the series, with color. Music is color, as it enlivens the environment and good music makes listeners' ears shine. The characters also represent color, since while there are some who retain the protagonist in the dark, there are others like Tsubaki or Watari who support him regardless of the circumstance. Or stage fright, which is one more resource for the characters and Kousei to overcome the tension generated by the stage and let themselves be carried away by the music, and I could go on ...

And there come characters like Watari, Tsubaki, Takeshi and Nagi, who seem very good to me and that 2 of them also face stage fright like Kousei (not at the same level, but like any musician). Takeshi, unlike Emi, has a logical and more convincing reason why he considers Kousei as a very important rival, and the concept of the hero may seem questionable at first, but as they develop the idea, you understand more about the characters and why he decided. play the piano. On the other hand, others like Emi seem wasted to me, they don't have a motive or a philosophy like "that of the hero" to consider Kousei as a rival, they were simply surprised that he was very good at playing the piano and that's it. Even so, he is not a bad character, and he does not make the play worse at all, but he was certainly the worst of Shigatsu. Now, we have Nagi, someone that I personally hated a lot in the beginning, but I shut my mouth afterwards. While you know her, you understand hers because she bothers her with Kousei, and it is because of her, her brother was losing contact with her, and she no longer gives him a ball as her brother. But then after being trained by Kousei he understands why Takeshi admires Kousei so much, and over time he realizes that he is not like a robot that does everything perfect and that he has no feelings, but quite the opposite, he is a human like his brother , and while I was looking at Kousei, at that moment he was shining like never before ...

Nagi seems to me to be excellently implemented, as after Kousei has overcome her fear of the piano at Caps. 10-13 (thanks mainly to Kaori) Kousei gradually loses motivation after the news that Kaori got sick. But that's where Kousei's aunt comes in, who would force him to teach Nagi to play the piano, and so he takes an interest in the piano again and becomes wiser by learning to be a teacher, and the same thing doesn't happen to him. than before.

Tsubaki was another incredible character, who brought to the table the dilemma of the childhood friend, or the selfish character. I love how she always tries to force that she was supposedly Kousei's protective sister, in order to escape from what she really feels or thinks. I also find it very good that she has a lot of personality, and is not a walking cliché, and the proof of this would be when in a chapter it is explained that she has always hated the piano. And she has reasons to do so, since since childhood she could hardly ever play with Kousei, she took away the possibilities of being able to play with hers. And more reasons to hate the piano and music in general is when precisely the piano would cause abuse and all that to Kousei. That is why when Kousei did not play she felt a relief, but at the same time sadness, since she did not know what Kousei was going to do in the future, but later she would meet Kaori, and Kousei would decide to return to the piano, and so little Little by little Tsubaki realizes that Kousei is fascinated with Kaori, and thus he would hate the piano even more.

Watari fulfills the role of the friend who always supports the protagonist. He surely was not the most worked of the quartet of main characters, but he fulfilled his role as the friend very well, and he knew how to guide Kousei through the bad times, with incredible phrases that personally excited me.

As for Kousei, the final culmination of the character, it would be chapter 22. In previous chapters we saw Kaori's proposal to commit suicide .. This hurts a lot, since Kaori's unbreakable and powerful smile is now a melancholic face without hope of living . Then they would have another meeting where Kaori would play for the last time for Kousei without a violin ... It shone like the sunrise of a sun, and it seemed as if it had recovered its color and was brighter than ever, but that would be momentary, and it was the color would go in a moment. Kaori falls into Kousei's arms, and says that she does not want to stop playing the violin (which at the same time indirectly confesses to Kousei), and Kousei realizes that it is his turn to give her color, for that sends the audio of him playing the piano with Nagi, and this would encourage Kaori to have an operation and take the risk of dying, or surviving. While she is being operated, in the other contest in which Emi and Takeshi participate again, it is Kousei's turn to play, and while she plays, Kaori is being operated, and Kousei plays like she would never do in her life her. He is sure that Kaori is going to die, but he is not going to get depressed, but instead, he would do the opposite. He plays the piano in an inexplicable way, but one that conveyed many sensations, and Kousei put all his effort in so that Kaori can go quietly to heaven, and he knew that Kaori was going to die, but still instead of giving up on playing the piano, he continues with the legacy. And so we see a silhouette of Kaori saying goodbye to him, and thus finishing playing the piano, while shedding tears of regret, and more than after having clarified to Watari that he likes Kaori, he never specifically declared himself to her. .

And so the letter would arrive, in which it is revealed how Kaori was always in love with Kousei, since from childhood Kaori always admired him, and he indirectly gave her enough color for her to decide to leave the piano and play the violin. Kaori had a hard time standing out to get Kousei's attention, but it is when she finds out that she may not have any hope of life left, that she makes the decision to do everything possible to play with Kousei at least, and that is why the change of look exaggerated, in order to talk about nonsense with him, get a laugh, and be close to fulfilling his main objective ... All this was a swirl of colors, since the 2 mutually motivated each other, and in the end you understand you mean ... "Your Lie In April".

[The right way to recreate a "waifu war", without the other aspects of the series being neglected and relegated to an unimportant plane]

⪻- Review | Commentary and reflection -⪼ - [REMAKE]

Let's be honest, this season in story is not at the level of the second season, since Zoku was the "peak fiction" season that the whole Oregairu franchise had, but if we can attribute anything to this season, it's that it reached its peak of quality in terms of dealing with the "waifu wars". I am one of those who believe that Oregairu could have ended perfectly in the second season, since romance was not ... and is not the main focus of the series as it is in Ao Haru Ride, besides that the theme of genuineness (main concept of the series) was already worked excellently. With all this I'm not saying that it's a bad idea to continue the story, I'm just suggesting that the second one could have also been a good closure for the franchise. If before it was a good Slice of Life that deconstructed RomCom, now it became a tremendous romance that rebuilds the seeds left by the preceding ones. The goal of the first seasons was to use genuineness as a base to build the relationships between friends, and to achieve this it had to deconstruct RomCom to focus on the concepts that were left in the air, and not on the typical romance like "love at first sight" (bullshit, like Ao Haru Ride) or bad comedy that would slow down the plot. Once the relationships between the protagonists are strengthened and they manage to understand each other, they would go in search of the genuine. Basically, the third one uses the genuineness and the relationships as "engine", to finally focus on the romance and take the previous context as a base, while it takes good advantage of the nostalgia factor by putting those beautiful flashbacks that manage to show the great progress of the characters (a resource that is always useful in the climaxes).

Without going any further, right at the beginning of the first chapter, we can notice how Yui finally learned to make the recipe for the cookies she tried to make when we were first introduced to the character, and the author puts in a flashback reminding us that Yui wanted to give them to the person she loves, to then return to the present and see how she gives the cookies to Hachiman. Yui asks at the same time that they have an inauthentic, forced and loving relationship, in which Yukino is present as someone extra as just a friend, as she is really selfish, she doesn't care about the genuine, but to get the love of the man she loves. Yui was insecure when it came to making decisions, she depended on people like Miura, and she was in her group almost by force, since she really wanted to talk to Hachiman in the moments when he was alone, but Miura prevented her, since Miura's sow discriminated Hachiman like most of the students in those times. Yui was someone very easy to manipulate and co-dependent on others, but being someone cheerful and rambunctious, it is easier for her to become independent unlike Yukino who is more shy and reserved. One of the main reasons why Yui was so manipulative and reserved is that even as a child she always avoided standing out. Yui after meeting Hachiman realizes that he does not seek to please everyone, because he does not want simple relationships in which each one is friends with the other for convenience or ulterior motives, but authentic relationships, but at that point in history he did not believe in that and kept his philosophy of solitude. But then what happened happened, and Hachiman realized that he finally has a chance to have his wish come true by meeting the girls, and at the same time Yui is no longer afraid to show what he really wants, but the methods he would use to get what he wants would not be authentic, but if anything he shares with Yukino, is that Hachiman's "I'm looking for something genuine", would encourage them to be independent....

Codependency had been introduced before in Oregairu, but this season is where the latter problem is worked on the most, and I love how despite it being the typical season of choosing the waifu for the protagonist, it doesn't focus on that aspect at all, but on the mindset and situation of the characters, and how they must mature and separate themselves from codependency to finally get closer to the genuineness the protagonists crave so much. Let's take Hachiman as an example. He to live with himself and feel special and unique, depended on a forced and unreal pride, or we have the case of Yui (which I already analyzed before), and finally the most affected, Yukino, who is forced to act as if she were part of royalty, someone self-centered, cold, and arrogant who tries to be """perfect""" like her sister because of the family stress she has in her way, when we all know well that Yukino does not want to be a Haruno 2. 0, since she does not represent her in any way. In fact she hates her, as Haruno is someone who despite the image of a "perfect" and "nice" girl she has, hides a manipulative side that enjoys the suffering of others. Even so, Yukino is forced to have as her idol a person she hates, but who, whether she wants to or not, she respects as the sister she is. She has no choice but to be another puppet who does not know how to respond to the social pressure of being the youngest daughter ... she has it hard, Yui unlike, is someone more extroverted and it is easier for her to become independent, Yukino not, as she was always someone shy and spoiled, who was not allowed to go out much, and there were few people with whom she could talk, Hayato one of them, someone she also hates, as he is the same shitty person as Haruno. All of Yukino's problems would be solved when she meets Hachiman and Yui, but mainly Hachiman, someone similar to her, and that for some reason she felt more comfortable talking to him than with her own family, when curiously they were discrediting each other, when he would be the one who would motivate her to be more rebellious, and that's why she decided to tell what she really thinks to her mother and sister without any fear.

Chapter 6 is one of my favorites of all Oregairu, and is that we are told in detail what I told about Yui, we can see how lunatic she was to get Hachiman's love, and it can be interpreted that from the beginning she used Yukino as an opportunity to connect more with Hachiman (an innocent but selfish gesture). What Yui did not expect, is that she would form a pure and beautiful relationship with Yukino herself, and the conflict that would arise in this episode is to see how Yui faces the question of whether to keep that false selfish personality to try to make her wish come true, or to respect yukino and avoid being a miura 2.0 in order to maintain the authentic friendship that was forming.
As for the last episodes, I found them to be some of the best of Oregairu, and we can see how Hachiman starts to take interest in Yukino, always trying to protect and guide her just as Shizuka guided him, and not only her, but also Yui and Iroha, since he was always someone over protective, and in fact Iroha was the one responsible for bringing out Hachiman's over protective "housewife" side. With each passing chapter, we can see how Hachiman has evolved as a PERSON and as a character, as each time he appears he shows he has an authentic personality, and one scene I really like, is how he helps Yukino up, instead ignores Yui and Iroha, this clearly highlights Hachiman's crush on Yukino and shows his favoritism and what he thinks without lying to the others, and more Hachiman's love for Yukino is shown, after he made up an exaggerated excuse to continue being with her, and that is that Hachiman has always done exaggerated things for everything, as he doesn't know how to express himself directly despite the recognizable change of the character, as he and Yukino are not very good at communicating, even when Hachiman was about to propose, she says something very ironic, and that pretty much defines Oregairu; "I also think that if you just talk they won't understand you, but I try my best to understand you. "
Both always have to use complex and difficult words, since they do not know how to express themselves clearly, and much less with feelings, or at least at least up to that point, since then both of them declare themselves, and thus finally arises romance that we were asking for so much with one of the most emotional and original declarations of the anime.

Episode 12 (the finale) I thought it would be mostly good fan service, but it surprised and surpassed the ending of the previous season, placing it among my favorite endings of the anime. We have Shizuka's "supposed" farewell to Hachiman with a fantastic dance, and a moment in which he reminds Hachiman of his phrase "Youth is lies and evil", which is an interesting thought, but Hachiman is ashamed of this, this refreshes us the incredible work that the author achieved with Hachiman.
Shizuka without a doubt happens to be my favorite female character, she is literally Jiraiya made female! She is a being of light that we should all take care of, and that doesn't need a development as such to be one of the female characters of the anime, but an excellent characterization. She already had her own adventure and journey, and has no evolution to show as a person, but to offer her wisdom and experiences. She is someone who did not know how to take advantage of the opportunities she had, and despite currently having the latest state-of-the-art car, she was not able to achieve happiness, she was not able to experience what it is like to have a genuine and loving relationship, that is why she guides Hachiman so that he does not get lost on the road like she did. Yui is not left behind either, she knowing about Yukino and Hachiman's relationship, it seems that she doesn't want to know anything about them anymore, but she still decides to face her situation and accepts the reality, and attends the club to tell both of them "The person I love has a kind of girlfriend. And she happens to be my best friend. But I want to stay friends, what could I do?". And Yukino, who admittedly didn't receive as much prominence as Yui this season, but is nonetheless another excellent character who learned to value herself as well as Hachiman did, and is now able to stand up to her family members and speak her mind bluntly.

Oregairu is my favorite RomCom without a doubt, and possibly the best or one of the best romance anime, as it works very well the concepts it implements without being pedantic or pretentious, and always does it subtly. It manipulates you and plays a lot with double meanings, especially for that direction from the second season onwards that uses a lot the corporal communicative factor, which gives a special meaning to many of the actions of the characters. It is full of symbolism, parallelism and interesting thoughts. An excellently worked romance and without being the central axis of the series. It characterizes and develops many of the characters in the series very well. The vast majority of the characters have a well-established role in the series. And above all it has a protagonist that easily rivals the best of any genre and demographic. For that and for being one of the most real and authentic anime..... It's a genuinely good series!!!!!

[The first time I watched Oregairu Zoku I made a mistake, and that was to take it as just another comedy, as I was expecting a sort of Kaguya-sama 2.0, but it was totally different, and I realized that the focus was not on comedy at all, or at least in the anime]

⪻- Review | Comment and Reflection -⪼ [REMAKE]

It's no secret that Oregairu is called by many as the best romcom, and curiously enough, this one is the least like this genre. While Kaguya-sama is a romcom in all its purity and splendor, Oregairu goes further, and maintains to a certain extent the structure ... of romcoms, but without focusing on romance as Kaguya or Angel Beats does. In the second season is where everything changes and what was left of romcom in the series disappears to a greater extent. Oregairu deconstructs many of the romcom clichés, and above all takes the comedy factor out of the picture to focus on developing the characters and concepts. The atmosphere becomes more tense and serious, the dialogues are more confusing and difficult to understand, as the characters would use gestures to communicate disgust, anger, sadness, and many other types of reactions and emotions. The characters come to life... It is so much so, that it no longer seems like a romance or a comedy, but a slice of life, a slice of life that through genuineness seeks to address the types of relationships that exist in the world. Definitely the mistake I made was to expect the typical comedy of a series that does not offer that at all, and when on top of that from the beginning it already deconstructed this genre in a very subtle way.

After stating the thesis, I think it's time to talk about the season in question. After the first season's accident of Hachiman mentally destroying the purple-haired girl, the atmosphere in the school service club is quite awkward and tense.... But then just then Tobe arrives along with Hayato, and would ask him to help him propose to Ebina, and Hachiman accepts the request and decides to solve the problem on his own as a gesture of selfishness, thus further forcing his invalid philosophy. What's interesting about this, is that Hayato asks Hachiman to do what he can to stop Tobe from confessing, since Ebina has no interest in him and no one, and even Ebina herself indirectly tells him to do something to stop it from happening. Many will ask, "why don't they just tell her the truth for fuck's sake and be done with it?" Hachiman himself answers it, "If all this comes to break their ties, then they were never deep." With this he makes it clear that their relationship is shitty, as they are fake people who are not able to tell each other the truth and what they think to each other. In order for Hachiman to solve the problem, he would propose to Ebina, in Tobe's place, so that Tobe would realize that she is not interested in love relationships. This Hachiman calls it self-sacrifice, the method he has started to use to help others, ruining his social status to solve one or the other problem, as Hachiman does not realize that he also has a value as a person, and for that very reason Yukino is against his methods, and Yui stresses this very thing to him, and how he does not understand feelings no matter how smart he is, as he is not able to notice the appreciation Yukino and Yui have for him.

After Tobe and Ebina's problem, Hayato invites Hachiman on a group date of sorts. This is not done as a teasing gesture towards him, but as a help or a nudge. He knew through Haruno that Hachiman's environment was not the best, and even knowing that he had another chance to ruin the chemistry that arose between Yukino and Yui, he does this as a simple gesture with no ulterior motives, so that Hachiman understands that he has to value himself, and would also stress this to the girls and Hachiman's former platonic love. Hayato didn't do this to play the good guy, at first glance you might say so, but it's actually because he gave up on getting Yukino's love ...His help is a declaration of defeat against Hachiman.... The guy who supposedly has everything, actually has nothing (referring to Yukino) and the guy who supposedly has nothing, has everything.

A few days later, another character is introduced, who, by chance, ends up being voted as president, without being mentally prepared, but even so, she is interested in the position of president. This is how Hachiman helps her and we see how she brings out her overprotective side without him noticing it, and helps her learn to assume the position well. Iroha is the representation of that naive character who believes in rose-colored relationships, and has a wrong image of school life and the world. For this very reason, Hachiman helps her, as he reminds her of her "past self", someone naive who had a wrong image of the world (the development of Hachiman would also be a key character). Then comes the most important point of the story, the organization of the party. A student from another school goes to the errand club to ask for help in organizing a celebration. Obviously Iroha as president has to be present, and she is not prepared enough to solve the problem on her own, so obviously someone had to keep helping her, that's why Hachiman would accompany her and for the thousandth time (like the moron he is) he would decide to solve the problem on his own... He attends many of the meetings and gradually realizes that there is a disorder in the environment, until he comes to a deduction. Everyone throws out many useless ideas to avoid the main issue, as no one has the courage to take the charge of being the public image. In this context, even Hachiman's "self-sacrifice" would not solve anything, and so Hachiman as the public image would also be of no use. The only way to solve the problem was for everyone to calm down and get their act together, get rid of useless ideas, and keep the positive ones, but time was running out and Hachiman was losing faith that he alone could accomplish all this in a short period of time. When he is depressed and does not know what to do, the heroine arrives, and what I think is the best female character of the series and one of my favorites of the anime, Shizuka Hiratsuka. She would take him for a ride in her car to relax, and on a bridge where silence is what abounds, with a beautiful and soothing environment (without so much noise and chaos, unlike the student association), the two would have one of the best conversations of the anime (and look that this series has many excellent dialogues and moments throughout its 3 seasons). The teacher tells him that he has so many problems that it would be hard for him to sum it all up, but the main one and the one he has always needed to know, was that he wasn't able to ask Yukino and Yui for help. It's true that Hachiman can read between the lines and deduce everything, but not the feelings. He talks about how in a relationship you have to be prepared to be invulnerable, as problems are part of relationships, and Hachiman understands that in a friends relationship it is impossible for there to be no problems. He talks about Yukino being trapped in a shell and needing someone to save her (a concept that would be worked into the third season), and the conversation has a lot more content, but I don't remember it well enough to summarize it all, but the amount of excellent dialogue he possesses is over the top. I can only say one word, and that is, SPECTACULAR.

Hachiman reflects on what happened to the point of not being able to sleep, as he has all the key pieces to understand what he wants. Iroha shows him that it is not worth it to be someone naive again, and proof of this would be what would happen later with her being rejected by Hayato. Yukino and Yui would show him that loneliness is not something to be proud of either, and that it is only something that hinders him and keeps him in the wrong reality. And Shizuka gives him attention that he needs from the beginning of the series, as the narcissist and cynic that he is. Hayato would show him that he needs to value himself and not despise himself. At the same time, characters like Yoshiteru, Saika, and others, would show that nowadays he is no longer lonely. And his sister, who was the only one with whom he could always bring out his authentic side because of the confidence he had in her. He goes to Yukino and Yui, and leaves his pride aside, and that's how the lonely Hachiman asks for HELP, but still Yukino tells him that he should take responsibility for his actions, and that it bothers her that he can't express what he really wants and feels, it only confuses her more and more, and that's when Hachiman launches his famous speech, he takes the step to be a better one, the step to... Get the "genuine". Yukino finds it hard to understand the situation and is even more confused, and Yui who did not understand Hachiman's wish, simply supports him emotionally. Soon after, they return to dialogue with each other until they understand what he means by genuine, and even without knowing what he means 100%, they will do their best to please him and maintain the beautiful friendship that the 3 of them formed.

One of the chapters that best highlights Hachiman's change is the one in which he has a race against Hayato. Hayato obviously outclasses Hachiman, being someone more talented, but still emphasizes the hatred he has for him, being someone who can be honest with those around them. Hachiman talks back to him, and tells him that he hates him too, just like that. What's so special about this? Hachiman doesn't hate him out of envy or something similar, as he is actually happy with the way he is at the moment. He hates him because when he sees Hayama, he sees his former self reflected, as they both shared the aspect of falsehood before. It is true that Hachiman was somewhat more sincere and straightforward, but it is undeniable that he used to force a personality that he did not want. Therefore, by telling him that he hates him, it is also as if he is saying goodbye to his past self with a few simple, short words.

I really like the final chapter, as Yui exposes her selfish side and decides to keep everything, with Hachiman's friendship and love. The person who was oppressed by others, learned from Yukino and Hachiman to say what she really thinks. Yukino, on the other hand, allows herself to be manipulated by her, since she was always codependent with the characters around her (by this I mean that she is easily manipulated by the people close to her). I leave my analysis until here, since I would have to talk about the 3rd season and it is not the time, but the final chapter seems excellent to me, and I am one of those who think that Oregairu could have ended here. I missed a lot of things to talk about, but I don't remember them all or I'm just too tired to write xD. I feel like I could have argued one point or another better, but I still feel satisfied with what I exposed. Oregairu is the proof that a series can get rid of its genres and roots, and focus on more important things for the plot, in the case of Oregairu, the way it treated the genuineness in people (and that in my opinion it innovated, or at least nowadays with so many generic school anime), loneliness and how cruel it is, naivety, self-appreciation, how to make a good cynical and narcissistic character, how to avoid having wrong images about things (as I had when expecting a comedy), while everything revolves around relationships and how they work. Oregairu is more than a comedy or a romance, it's about how 3 teenagers (or more) deal with their personal problems while maturing and understanding each other. Just because it's a school show doesn't make it less than anime like Evangelion or FMAB, and just because it has less seasons than Fruits Basket, doesn't mean it has worse moments. I am proud to say that, "Oregairu is the best romcom without being a romcom".

[I have finished the first season and I loved it, because in spite of the lousy animation and style, the first chapter seems perfect for me to start]

⪻- Review | Comment and Reflection -⪼ [REMAKE]

The anime introduces you to a boy named Hachiman Hikigaya, who right at the beginning of the anime, launches several phrases that make you question if loneliness is positive for life and a reason for pride for each one, and that is one of the successes of Oregairu, which manages to manipulate you or rather makes the attempt, to the point of making you believe things that you should not and ... that in reality are wrong. Hachiman Hikigaya, is a 16 year old boy that being a loner is part of his philosophy and he takes it as a reason for pride, but what I like the most is that he actually despises himself, but at the same time he is "proud" of it. He forces a false personality after the experiences he had throughout his life, which also led him to have such a hooligan and hateful attitude.

As you know, a more than excellent character named Shizuka appears, who plays the role of the teacher who guides the protagonist when he is lost or doesn't know how to move forward (like Jiraiya, Rayleigh, Roshi etc). Hachiman is forced by the teacher Shizuka Hiratsuka to join a club that consists of helping students who need help or have any request (something totally contrary to the philosophy of the protagonist). Then Shizuka introduces him to another student named Yukino Yukinoshita, who, like him, also feels lonely, but unlike him, she wants to stop living alone and is not proud of it, she is always on the offensive and therefore acts like an "Ice Queen", since she received a huge rejection by all the girls, as they envied her intelligence and beauty. This is how the two, who get along badly throughout the series, will have to solve problems together by force, and there they will meet another member who would be Yui, who happens to be related to Hachiman's story.

Each mini arc is good and serves to get to know Hikigaya, Yukino and Yui's personalities better. Without realizing it, they begin to form a sincere bond, and Hachiman brings out part of his true personality, and Yukino stops being so on the offensive. It seemed that Hachiman was already going to change by being forced to help people alongside Yukino and Yui, but Hachiman's forced pride kicks in. It all culminates at the moment in the last chapters when he mentally destroys the supposed president, whom he reproaches for how useless she is in a humiliating and merciless way. It was a very good moment for the protagonist and one that he enjoyed very much because he makes it clear that he is forcing his pride and his supposed philosophy, for fear of returning to being naive as he was before. That's why he himself stresses that he despises himself and acknowledges that he is a hypocrite.

Yui Yuigahama is important for Yukino, as she finally finds someone to trust and relate to by being HERSELF, and at the same time Yui no longer had to feel oppressed and could say what she wanted without problems (something Yumiko Miura didn't allow her to do). Yui and Hikigaya's arc was very good, the flashback I wasn't expecting at all, and it was interesting and entertaining to see the conflict Hachiman and Yui had. Hikigaya thought that Yui felt sorry for him, and that she wanted to return the favor, but it's really nothing like that, she just did it as a sincere and genuine gesture without any trick behind it like the other girls in her past did with him. After that plot twist, another one happens where Haruno's sister reveals to Hachiman that Yukino was present in that same car, which crashed him, and Hachiman would be disappointed in her as he thought she was more sincere (but then again he is no one to talk as he is also a fake, that's why he forgives him). Haruno does this as a lousy attempt to break the relationship that was emerging between Yukino and Hachiman, for personal reasons that are revealed later.

There are other points I would like to touch on, such as the way each relevant person is taken advantage of and has a well-executed function in the plot, without going any further, Saika Totsuka has the function of a character.

As an initial season, it does its job perfectly, as it introduces you to the main characters with questionable personalities, and if you watch it in retrospect you will enjoy it even more, as the first season (and the others) tells you things you don't notice at first glance, and ties the whole plot together in a spectacular way, and this is important, as it then works out themes like self-sacrifice and authenticity, and another reason why I say that as a beginning it works perfectly, is because the aesthetics, which indirectly or directly makes it more comfortable to watch, and makes the anime easier to consume, and this prepares you for the following seasons, in which the tone of the series becomes a mostly serious one, which makes it difficult to consume and understand.

⪻- Negative Points -⪼

The biggest problem with the first season is the rhythm of the series, the humor it handles (which I don't dislike), the style and the animation (which would be what causes the most rejection). Although I myself admit that it is mediocre, but I interpret it as a way to make the anime more "digestible", since unlike the second season it has a more serious aesthetic and the characters communicate in a way Incomprehensible, this one has a more comic and caricatured style, and the dialogues are much easier to understand.

My conclusion is that after having finished the 3 seasons, in hindsight it improves a lot, but as the first experience it is good, and if I had had the animation of the third, or at least that of the second, it would be 8-9.

[The worst season in all of Baki]

⪻- Review | Comment and Reflection -⪼

This season starts off pretty good, and at first glance it's a crazy start. They introduce you to the 5 antagonists of the arc who are interested in Baki, and at the same time introduce you to the concept of defeat.

The start is crazy to be sure, but it's actually a cliffhanger trap. Let me explain myself, the concept of defeat is interesting and with a lot of potential, but when I thought about it, it didn't make any sense. If what the prisoners are looking for is defeat and not simply fight ... Baki "because he is the protagonist", then they would have fought Yujiro instead of Baki at first.

Then the other problem apart from the concept and the idea, are the fights. This strengthens what I said earlier that it is a "cliffhanger trap", since the animation looked crazy and the fights were going to be the fucking best anime in terms of animation, but then they come to you with a disgusting CGI, and the 2D animations are static and infumable. The worst thing is how they lengthen the series, fights that could perfectly end in 2 episodes or less, are prolonged unnecessarily.

And what angers me the most, they WASTE old characters from previous seasons. I am referring especially to the Karateka of the previous season (Saidai Tournament) who leaves behind the pride that characterized him so much, and decides to learn and implement the Chinese arts in karate from him. This completely destroys the character, since the main characterization of him was his egocentricity and pride, and in addition to being humiliated in the previous season, he now also loses his pride. And let's not even talk about the new ones ... Dorian had potential, but the end was one more shit, a forced and pretentious personality change. Or we have the blond prisoner whose name I forgot because of how inconspicuous he is, who in the end was another smoke-seller (OH, surprise, Itagaki wasting people and using the typical formula of inflating characters) ... Then there is Speck, who despite not be complex, at least he has personality and imposing and his fight against Hanayama was the best (the only one he rescued). Yanagi is the same as the blond prisoner, but a little stronger. And Hector Doyle is the second and best among the prisoners, despite being possibly the weakest of the five, although he has very questionable actions and his relationship with Retsu seems frigid to me.

Everyone is immortal. Literally, I do not think it is normal that with such brutality that they attack each other, not a single one has died. I also find it very convenient that the doctor is able to adhere one end to the body and that it heals in two weeks.

And with this 2 weeks, I go to the penultimate point ... ITAGAKI'S TIME MANAGEMENT IS HORRIBLE, taking as an example the brother of the medical fighter of the Saidai Tournament, now suddenly he is ultra strong and rivals the prisoners, he is It gives relevance for some reason (?), and all this when not even a month will have passed since the saidai ...

Finally, Baki turns into Gary Stu. He gets Power-Ups for the sake of it, and for that simple reason the author can't even develop or characterize him. Baki lost ALL the charisma that characterized him so much in the first season. That's why I think Baki was a good lead in the first season, but then he gets too bad and he gets horrible, and let's not even talk about his relationship with Kozue that the construction is lousy. That is why he is the protagonist that I hate the most in anime, and he is not at all underrated as many youtubers say.

[This season is the best by far]

⪻- Review | Comment and Reflection -⪼

Baki's scoop is very fresh. By fresh I mean that it is a first that brings something new to this industry with such repetitive and generic animes, and this is surprising, since Baki itself is very simple.

Baki's story is good, simple, and entertaining. As the scoop says, Baki is a 13-year-old who under the supervision of his mother grows stronger, learns different martial arts techniques and fights against different enemies. All this to surpass his father from him, considered the strongest being in the world and nicknamed the "Ogre".

Baki as such does not ... have a strong enough reason to defeat his father, that is what I find interesting, since he is being forced into something he does not want, but then the push would enter that would drive Baki to fulfill his objective until the end. day of his death, and that would be the death of his mother, which causes Baki to go into anger and challenge Yujiro in one of the most epic battles in anime.

The art and animation are very bizarre, but I love them, as they transmit a lot of power in the blows, and the aesthetic is very original.

Finally, the negative points.
The fundamental thing I consider is that Baki abuses the factor "this character is the strongest in the world", and this is bad. It gets to a point where you can't take power levels seriously due to how absurd everything is, let alone expect something from a character. The best example would be that the anime says that the soldier Baki fought with is considered to be the second strongest being in the world and in the end he is a smoke seller ...

Another thing I hate is that it does NOT make sense for Baki to befriend all the guys he fights with. For example, the smoke seller who was considered the second strongest man, who previously intended to kill him without problems, now suddenly become friends for no reason.

For these negative points, Baki just seems good to me, but it is not an anime that I would watch again or crazy.

[I never thought I'd say this, but this GOBLIN SLAYER spin-off seems to me very good]

⪻- Review | Comment and Reflection -⪼

The scoop on this manga is better than the original work. It consists of telling you IN DETAIL the past of the Goblin Slayer, and the development of him while hunting Goblins, and also the manga develops more secondary characters such as the receptionist, or the lancer, and this is important, since one of the biggest problems of the original work is that it already has the protagonist very developed and is very wise and intelligent, that is why the original work does not ... focus on telling his past, but his present adventures.

As for the plot, this tells the tragic past of the Goblin Slayer, in which we can finally see what he was like in his beginnings, see how, unlike now, he only makes pure mistakes, and the interesting thing is to see how he learns from these until to be as he is today .. while he is fulfilling his goal of revenge little by little. By the way, the manga works with one or another secondary character, such as the explanation of why the witch is in love with the spearman, and is that she feels admiration for him and sees him as a hero, that is why she wants to help him and useful series (it is not something very complex, but decent).

Nothing to say about art, the illustration is still as good as the original.

But now we go with the negative, and I said well that it seemed very good, but after reading it it declines. What is very good is the first 30-40 episodes. Where I consider that it declines is after the little witch appears, since it takes a slow pace, it becomes half boring and I do not understand the thread that the story wants to follow, apart from the fact that the drawing becomes normal and nothing interesting happens as before . I'd almost say it's very good, but it actually declined in my opinion.

“Before the Demon King destroys the world, the goblins will destroy the villages. The appearance of a powerful enemy is no excuse to neglect the weakest ” - [Goblin Slayer]

⪻- Review | Comment and Reflection -⪼

The first arc is decent, it presents you well to the protagonist, who already shows that he has a cold attitude and that he takes care of him (killing goblins). The story then introduces you to things like the adventurer's guild, the rank system, and the priestess (who after being saved, wants to return the favor to the Goblin Slayer). The good thing about this story is to see how ... the perspectives of characters like the priestess or the High Elves change, who before did not understand the Goblin Slayer, but now they do.

The story then introduces you to the dwarf, the high elf, and the naga who ask you for help stopping an army or something like that (this is when they introduce the "Demon King" demon realm burned down). The goblin killer refuses and makes it clear to us that his only target is the goblins, and that's what the story is about. The group of the dwarf and the high elf ask permission to go with him on one of his missions to see how it unfolds, and the Assassin agrees. In the end, the story shows you the cruelty of the Goblins, as the characters change their points of view. So the story takes an interesting turn, as they put a theme of "gods and a chessboard", which opens the doors for the manga to become somewhat complex.

In short, the story of Goblin Slayer consists of a protagonist who is immersed in revenge and focuses on a single objective, to kill the Goblins. But he's in a society where the Goblin missions are underrated and there is a lot of discrimination and capitalism, which is why the society of the Goblin Slayer world sucks, and that's what makes Goblin Slayer in terms of world building and politics, good.

In how many good moments, there are many. One of the best would be the Goblin attack on the farm, in which the Goblin Slayer asks for help to stop them, puts his pride aside and finally asks for help. In this same there is another very good moment in the final chapter, when the Goblin Slayer is about to kill the Goblin leader, the author gives us a flashback telling how the Goblin became strong, and it was after the mistake of a beginner after forgiving one, and then the author links you to one of the opening phrases that the Goblin Slayer said at the beginning; "You never forgive a goblin"

Finally, I want to touch on a more than interesting subject, and this would be art, specifically. In this case it would be the "illustrative language" (which I have been mentioning for a century)

Illustrative language is one that through an illustration (artistic, design, typographic or photographic) can transmit a message, an emotion, a tragic situation, even a symbolism or parallelism, etc. Everything will depend on the context and the illustration obviously. Let's take the following example, in the Goblin Paladin Arc, the "fighting princess" is caught by the Goblins and then luckily rescued, and after waking up from her faint, she is traumatized and simply says "Goblins" with a subtlety that it conveys to you the tragedy of the environment (on the other hand, in the film adaptation, the attitude he has is that of someone relieved, that is, it makes no sense after all he suffered).

For these reasons, illustrative language is a very important factor, and that together with politics and worldbuilding, makes Goblin Slayer a good manga.