Anime is full of grand adventures, epic tales and profound stories. It has the ability to take you to a completely different world. Yet, sometimes I just can’t be bothered with that. Sometimes all I want is to turn my brain off and laugh at some goofy people goofing off and being stupid. Seitokai no Ichizon is the perfect anime to lay back, relax and chill out to—it’s cosy, silly and light-hearted, and, honestly, I just can’t get enough of it.
In the very first scene of the first episode, “Understanding the differences in media” is written on the whiteboard. The characters joke about how they
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can make the anime more appealing than the light novel, with some self-deprecating jokes along with it. Out of curiosity, I decided to actually investigate the differences in media by reading the first volume of the light novel. While the light novel definitely has its appeal—one that’s slightly different from the anime—I think the anime’s funnier. The ‘difference in media’ I observed was the sheer power of visual comedy, voice acting and comedic timing. The anime breathes life into the interactions by adding so much energy and liveliness that’s only really possible in an audiovisual medium. On top of that, I noticed how the plot was shifted around a bit. Rather than adapting the story one-to-one, they took bits and pieces and mixed them with others, with different contexts, to make it flow a little better. So, I have to say, the anime and light novel did help me understand the differences in media. Thanks for bringing it up, President!
One of the big reasons I decided to watch this was that it’s a 2000s anime. I realised that I hadn’t watched many older anime and wanted to broaden my horizons by branching in that direction. Now, it’s very clear from the art-style that it’s an older anime, but I don’t mean that in a bad way. Older anime have a certain appeal to them that’s hard to describe. Although I’d say animation quality has improved over the years—especially in action scenes—I might prefer the character designs and style of 2000s anime. For the record, that’s not nostalgia speaking. I was a little poopy baby boy when the anime came out so I can’t say “those were the good ol’ days”. Well, peeing all around the house probably was the good old days, but that’s not the point. Despite not having experienced anime in the 2000s, there’s a particular charm to them, similar to that of a childhood summer. With the art-style and general ‘vibes’, the anime radiates that feeling and makes it so incredibly endearing.
The anime revolves around the main character, Sugisaki, and four other girls that he wants in his harem. Every episode consists of them sitting in the student council room talking, chatting, goofing off, wasting time, erm… that’s about it…? It’s as close to a sit-com you’ll get in anime (I think? I’ve never actually watched a sit-com). Slice of Life is one of my favourite genres, so I love this kind of dynamic, but I’d imagine a lot of people would be put off by this. Moreover, there really isn’t much conflict at all. Stories normally centre around conflict, so without it you’d think it would just be boring. But, slice of life seems to be the exception, for some reason. This anime is stress-free and never takes itself seriously, which is nice every now and then.
One of the funniest things about it is how self-conscious it is. It might even be the most self-conscious anime I’ve ever watched. I mean, even in the very first scene that I mentioned before, one of the characters read a review that says ‘the story’s the same and nothing goes on’, taking a dig at itself. Not only that but it’s pretty much a parody of harems. It realises how silly the idea of a harem is, so it doesn’t take it seriously at all. It’s so goofy and ridiculous that it sometimes feels like a parody of anime itself. It knows exactly what it is and doesn’t try to be anything it isn’t. Something I noticed around half-way through was that they change the lyrics to the ending each time. And each time, it’s complete gibberish. Utterly random and super silly. In episode 11, the ending is the President mouthing off about how great she is and how you must vote for her for the whole ending. Sometimes the ending has the voice actors laughing at themselves, forgetting the lyrics or singing out of sync, and they kept all of that in. Now, I don’t know about you, but I think the voice actors had a lot of fun with this anime.
Something that stands out is the references. I know Gintama is supposed to have a bunch, but I haven’t seen it yet, so this anime probably has the most I’ve seen in an anime. It mentions Naruto, Gurren Lagann (even kind of spoils it), Haruhi, Index, Fullmetal Alchemist and even freaking Metal Gear Solid. I can’t remember if it was in the anime or light novel, but one of the lines is, “Don’t speak until Hunter x Hunter is finished!”. If Sugisaki took a vow of silence and became a monk to obey that, he still wouldn’t be able to speak (please finish HxH, Togashi, I’m begging). Also, they reference the light novel’s publishing company a bunch. They go so off the rails with the references that they often have to censor themselves to avoid copyright, which, in itself, is pretty funny.
What’s more, the anime breaks the 4th wall more than any anime I’ve seen too. The first scene I described is one example of that. But throughout they constantly say how Mafuyu’s characterization is being ruined by her BL love, or how Minatsu being good at math doesn’t fit her character, or how having a meeting about what to do with student absences is too basic and wouldn’t be fun for the viewers to watch. It takes all the rules about immersion and throws them out the window for the hell of it.
Now, in terms of the actual comedy, it is hilarious. The skits and gags are utterly absurd and it never takes itself seriously. It’s fast-paced with ridiculous situations, great one-liners and goofy slapstick. It’s not necessarily adult comedy, but definitely not pee poo childish humour either. The lack of emphasis on immersion and realism allows them to do the most nonsensical and stupid things. The bread and butter of the comedy is the straight man, funny man act, where one character will say something stupid and the other will retort, addressing how little sense it made. But the characters aren’t type casted into either role—it usually changes to fit the situation. Anime usually has a ‘comfy’ type of comedy as opposed to other media, for me at least. Though Seitokai no Ichizon made me laugh out loud time and time again.
The characters themselves are quirky and hilarious. Each with their own unique qualities and flaws, such that you can simply put them in a room together and it’ll be hilarious no matter what they do. Despite lightly fitting into certain character archetypes, they each have plenty of aspects that distinguish themselves from that and make them lovable by their own merit. The anime drops us in with them already being friends, so they’re close to each other from the beginning. This lends to the comedy involving each character teasing or making fun of the others a lot of the time, which is possible because of how quirky and goofy they inherently are. It reminds me of a bunch of teenagers messing around and mouthing off to each other, which is what they actually are. But it really does capture that youthful dynamic of being so rude and horrible to each other, in a loving way. They can only do that because of how close they are.
Despite how much they tease and poke fun at each other, the anime makes it clear how much they genuinely value their friendship. They truly cherish the time they have together and the safe space they’ve created in the student council. And whenever necessary, they stand up for each other and have each other’s backs. As cheesy as it is, that’s a true friendship being portrayed.
Comedy is such a powerful tool, especially with how it can contrast seriousness. Don’t get me wrong, it’s mostly jokes—the author even said it’s “90% jokes and less than 10% serious”—but there are a few moments where it strips back the goofiness and has some thought-provoking scenes. There’s a scene where they’re in Tokyo and watch the sunset silently together, and somehow it’s really beautiful. A few scenes like that are scattered here and there, and although they’re not what stands out in the show, they’re rather impactful because of how rare they are.
It’s hard to really criticise a show that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I would’ve said that the interaction between the girls was lacking, but then there was an episode when Sugisaki got sick and it was just them, and they held out together great without him. I suppose it could be lacking some climactic and memorable moments, but I’m not too hung up on that.
Overall, it’s so lovable, silly, hilarious and has some great moments shining through. I’m looking forward to season 2 of this, which is hopefully just as good. 9/10.
May 8, 2024
Seitokai no Ichizon
(Anime)
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Anime is full of grand adventures, epic tales and profound stories. It has the ability to take you to a completely different world. Yet, sometimes I just can’t be bothered with that. Sometimes all I want is to turn my brain off and laugh at some goofy people goofing off and being stupid. Seitokai no Ichizon is the perfect anime to lay back, relax and chill out to—it’s cosy, silly and light-hearted, and, honestly, I just can’t get enough of it.
In the very first scene of the first episode, “Understanding the differences in media” is written on the whiteboard. The characters joke about how they ...
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 21, 2024
Mikkakan no Koufuku
(Manga)
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Consuming media can seem like a hopeless endeavor. Emotionally investing so as to live through the characters or reading into an author's intentions can seem pointless. After all, it's fiction and it's not my life. But I'd like to believe that, in some shape or form, I take with me a part of every book or manga I read, anime or movie I watch, or game I play. That in some way, I can affirm a belief, change a belief or develop as a person. Perhaps a single piece of media on its own may not have the power to do that, but over time I think
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it has an effect on me. Three Days of Happiness, without a doubt, had an impact on me. And more than anything else recently, makes me sure that consuming media isn't such a hopeless endeavor after all.
Before I go into the details, I'd like to mention a few things. Firstly, I've read the manga before. The manga is actually how I learned about the book and is what made me want to read it. But I read it a long time ago. Years ago, in fact. So I hadn't actually remembered much from it when reading this book. It surprisingly had the opposite effect of spoiling me. There were some plot points that I misremembered, making me more surprised when I read them. For example, I thought I remembered Miyagi and Himeno being the same person, for whatever reason. Another thing to mention is that I somewhat re-read this book. I read through roughly 85% of it but before I could finish it, I got busy. And I had put it off for so long that I didn't want to dive back into it from where I left off. So, I decided to read it again from the beginning. I think it was more enjoyable the second time around because I paid much more attention to the little details. Anyway, I just thought I'd give some context, for what it's worth. Three Days of Happiness is about a 20-year-old, Kusunoki, who isn't doing so well. He was a gifted child and had high hopes for himself, but now he was going to an average university, collapsing at work and was dirt-poor. While selling his belongings to make ends meet, he learns of a place where he can sell his lifespan. Curiosity leads him to inquire how much his life would sell for. And in doing so, he learns that his entire life ultimately amounts to a laughably pathetic 300,000 yen - meaning he wouldn't be happy and wouldn't make anyone happy and wouldn't achieve any dreams and wouldn't contribute to society. With this realization, he sells his entire life away, except from 3 months. To supervise his remaining time on earth, he is given an observer, Miyagi. She's similar to him in demeanor and also seems unhappy. The book covers these two's interactions up until death. It's depressing, gloomy and bleak. But over time, Kusunoki develops by confronting his past and his beliefs, changing his perspective of the world and transforms his life. Slowly, but surely, he breaks out of his hell and becomes a new person. Until finally, passing away after three days of happiness. The initial premise is certainly powerful. Not only is it philosophical in nature, asking the question of how a person's value can be determined. But its also inherently poignant, as it confronts heavy themes such as mortality and depression. The concept of selling your life is written to have quite a few varying mechanics, which all play a significant role at points in the book. Although it's existence is never explained, it's not the focus of the book so you never feel like wanting to know why it's there anyway. The kind of despair that's brought by knowing the rest of your life will never be fulfilling is hard to capture without such a creative concept. And the situation of knowing you're going to die soon is also very unique. The premise is a powerful vehicle for setting the stage for an emotional and sentimental roller-coaster. Despite the supernatural premise, the story itself is grounded in reality. Although there are fictional elements, such as Miyagi not being perceivable or knowing future events, the bulk of the book involves just walking and talking. Outside of those elements fueling some plot points and guiding the story on the right track, the real drive for the plot comes from the interactions of the main two characters and their development. Other characters serve to nourish that development, making it the core of the book. It starts off very slow. And remains slow until the end of the book. The pacing is consistent and doesn't grip you at all. Yet, it pulls you in a different way. The experience of reading fittingly feels like accompanying the final months of someone's life. It's uneventful, calm and composed. There is mostly no rush from the mystery or thrill from wanting the best for the characters. Instead, it has the allure of a rainy day. There's a sentimental sombre to the story. However, as it progresses, it evokes a completely different feeling. Closer to the end, I found myself wearing a warm smile, as if I was genuinely proud of the characters. They are vulnerable, realistic and strikingly relatable. I was able to empathize with them very strongly, Kusunoki in particular. It's written from his perspective and greatly explores his thoughts and feelings, which is a very powerful way to add depth to the protagonist. Seeing the similarities between me and Kusunoki through a detailed glimpse into his mind is one of the biggest reasons why I feel the book deeply resonates with me. The story is very intentional with it's scenes. Every character has a purpose in affecting the main characters or conveying a particular theme. Many of the thoughts of our protagonist and the behaviours of Miyagi are also strongly connected to the themes. Because of this, the focus of the book is clear, every component is relevant and it all feels very purposeful. The foreshadowing is also very purposefully placed. As I mentioned, I re-read the book, so early foreshadowing was much more noticeable during the second read. The author plants many seeds from the outset, making you doubt characters, motivations and what you've been told. A lot of the foreshadowing comes from Kusunoki's retrospective narration or Miyagi's behaviour and dialogue. Kusunoki will allude to a 'big mistake' he's made or notice a certain look in Miyagi's eyes, suggesting that she's hiding something. Pretty early on, Miyagi will say that she understands the feeling of wanting to give all her money away to someone, referring to the revelation of the childhood friend that she loved or how she gave him the 300,000 yen. Small and seemingly insignificant details like this add more depth to the characters. They become people who don't say exactly how they feel and make the reader think more carefully about who to trust and what to think about them. The book is precisely what I look for in a book. In my opinion, the advantage books have over other mediums is the ability to go into depth with interactions, dialogue and characters. Other mediums, such as anime, manga and movies have advantages in regards to audio and visual stimulus. I think because of that I prefer many genres, such as action, in those forms. But with books, mostly dialogue and characters' thoughts are easier to sit through and the detail given through narration is more insightful. What I look for in books are solid character writing, dialogue and meticulous detail. This book absolutely has that, with it's plot as a backdrop for it's superb characterization and witty and meaningful interactions. It uses the medium of books to it's fullest. The book is Japanese and I read a translated version, so take this with a grain of salt. The prose is simple, very simple. The sentences are short and straight to the point. It doesn't make an attempt to get you to read faster or slower with varying sentence structure, it doesn't awe you with pretty words and descriptions. It's matter of fact and direct. The book actually explains this, as it's supposed to be a journal written by the protagonist and not for others to read, and even says that it's far from beautiful prose. Despite this, I think it's brilliant. I'm not a very proficient reader and find difficulty reading older or 'fancily-worded' books. That's why I'm very glad that the writing is easy to understand, making it very accessible. The amount of times I had to search up a word I didn't know can be counted on two hands. In fact, I think I had to search up a food or Japanese term I didn't know more often. Rather than profound and imaginative descriptive writing, it fills your mind with details of the surroundings instead. Never dwelling on one particular thing, but instead painting a vivid picture in your mind by giving you as many pieces of information as possible. The narration comes across as earnest, like an unfiltered stream of thoughts. In spite of it's simplicity - or perhaps because of it - the writing has a precise accuracy to it. It conveys such specific thoughts and emotions through such short sentence in a way that's hard to describe how it's achieved. In regards to the dialogue, it feels natural and realistic. Characters aren't force-fed a 'personality', but are characterized carefully through the words they say. It has low energy and mature conversations, similar to how many people actually speak, whilst also maintaining a witty and entertaining flair. Alongside the rest of the writing, it is also made very purposeful, with layers of subtext, mystery and foreshadowing mixed into it. The dialogue goes a long way in evoking empathy for the characters and making the relationships feel genuine. Though the real selling point of the book is the themes. As mentioned, every scene is meaningful and purposeful, connecting it all to the themes and messages. With a story about a man confronting mortality and completely changing his perspective on life and love, of course there's a lot to dig into. The themes are thoroughly explored and, at least for me, highly relatable. I think the main themes relate to life and love. Ironically, the author says in the afterword that he did not intent to focus on those and I will get into that later. But, regardless, I still think that's what I took from the book. Starting with love, this is portrayed through most of the main characters. One of the things conveyed is the distinction between true love and fake love - empathetic love and manipulative love. Kusunoki's love for Himeno is fake whilst his love for Miyagi is true. And Miyagi's love for her childhood friend is fake whilst her love for Kusunoki is true. Let me explain the 'fake' part. Kusunoki thinks he's in love with Himeno. He describes how she's the only person he's ever cared about, clings onto their promise even after 10 years and she is constantly on his mind even after having one foot in the coffin. Near the start of the book, he has a dream where he speaks to Himeno, telling her how he thinks he enjoyed their time together more than he realized. When he meets her again after 10 years, he describes her as unimaginably beautiful. He even pushed away other girls, like Wakana his only university friend, because of how convinced he was that he loved Himeno. But then, of course, Himeno confesses that she always hated him. She had planned to make him witness her suicide. However, despite such a revelation, he moves on surprisingly quickly. Of course, he is destroyed at first, giving away all his money and walking in the rain. But the next day he moves on, vowing to stay alone, and goes on his vending machine tour. He never truly loved Himeno, but put her on a pedestal as somewhat of a crush. Perhaps as a defense mechanism to cope with his unfulfilling life. At the beginning, he describes his opinion of her as neutral and maybe even negative, because of the competition she brought. But what is fairly clear is that he never loved her back then. Only when she left and he realized that there was no-one else, he viewed her as the greatest thing to ever happen to him. He only "loved" her as it was convenient for him, thinking she would save him. That's why he was able to move on surprisingly easily when he realized she couldn't anymore. And that goes both ways. Himeno sent a letter to him when they were 17, as a cry for help. She also only "loved" him as a means to help herself. But when he didn't save her, she gave up on him, actually wanting to ruin his life and for him to die. Something that stands out to me is how there is no care or empathy for one another. Kusunoki explicitly mentions how he was happy that Himeno was bullied or when she was unhappy, because it meant that she would be with him. Even with Miyagi, she mentions how she wanted to see that her childhood friend couldn't live without her and to see him suffer on his own. There is no genuine empathy and care for the other's well-being, wanting the best for them. It's a manipulative love that simply uses the other person. Kusunoki and Miyagi don't particularly get along for the first half of the book. But the turning point for that is when Miyagi explains her story. She tells him of her struggles and tragic situation. And here, Kusunoki begins to genuinely empathize. Before he would not pay her much mind but afterwards, he starts to be more considerate. For example, letting her sleep on the bed instead of sitting in the corner of the room and deciding to be the easiest subject she's ever had. Instead of using someone else as it's convenient for him, he begins to genuinely care about them. And that's the distinction that allows this to turn into a true love, in my opinion. It may sound corny, but the book conveys the power of this 'true love'. It shows that through loving and being loved, you can have confidence and happiness. Kusunoki did not care how other people thought of him, because he had his love for Miyagi. The reason why seeing him talking to a ghost made people happy was because 'he looked like he was having the time of his life'. And he says how the final three days of his life were better than the worthless 30 years he could of lived, or the valuable 30 days of creating art, because he had her. Now the next theme is probably more prevalent in the book than the one I just talked about. It's about how to find happiness in life. Kusunoki starts off as very unhappy. His basis for happiness is built upon accomplishments and approval. At a young age, he was a very smart kid so his self-worth came from that. This is actually something I deeply relate to as I was also a smart kid, making me think I was special and that I'd do truly great things, but over time realized that I was pretty average. The mindset of thinking you're blessed takes away your desire to put in effort, thinking you should be able to do it because you're smart enough and if you can't, you're just stupid. So, I can understand how destructive this would be to his happiness and ego on a personal level. Later on, he studied less and ended up in an average college, making him unhappy. He talks about his younger brother being more successful than him and even going to a better college. His parents giving his brother attention, instead of himself, made him believe your worth is determined by your accomplishments. There are plenty of signs that he cares about approval and compares himself to others throughout the book. Early on, he gets angry when he sees a guy walking past, his age, smiling to himself. His neighbours throw a party and he can hear them having fun through the walls, making him jealous. We can see he cares about how others see him too as he finds joy in the idea of shopping late at night with a girl. And he wanted Naruse, his friend, to think he and Miyagi were dating. Despite them not dating and the former example not having truth in its implication, he finds pleasure in this because people will view him better. Incidentally, Miyagi criticises his list of things to do before he dies, saying those are not what he actually wants but what he thinks he should want or what other people would want. His idea of happiness is fixated on other's views instead of his own. And he values his life based on how much others approve of him and his accomplishments. When he doesn't get these things and feels unhappy, he blames the world, wishing it would 'get nicer', turning him cynical and reclusive. The impetus for the change within him comes from Miyagi. In a drunken fit, Kusunoki makes a bold claim that he's going to change his entire life in the three months he has remaining. Miyagi suggests that instead he should accumulate small, yet definite joys. She opens him up to the idea that it's the little things that matter. Hearing this, he ignores her and asks how his life would have ended up. But after, looking out the window, he realizes that he'd never stopped to look at fireworks. Something so simple, that has been there all along, he never took notice of. Miyagi then tells him that he would have lived those 30 years unable to let go of the idea that he was special and clinging to the shallow hope that something good will happen. She says he should have accepted reality back then. The problem was that Kusunoki never stopped to look around him, at the present, but instead idolized the past or dreamed about the future. This relates to another theme: escapism and expectations. Kusunoki relies on escapism to cope, making him avoid the present and preventing him from taking action. He runs away into the world of music and books, so he doesn't have to deal with it all. Miyagi said that all he did in the 30 years before his death was pay bills, read and listen to music. He says himself that reading is for people who have nothing else to do and that music might be why he was never able to 'get accustomed to the world'. He also describes a habit he had of imagining a beautiful world, having everything he desired before he slept. Memories he never lived and scenes he's never seen. The characters in the book cling onto a false hope, described as a "devil's proof", that something good will happen eventually. Miyagi doesn't sell her lifespan, hoping something will happen; her mother extends her lifespan hoping her husband would come back; Kusunoki doesn't kill himself or ever take action in his life hoping something good will happen too. Even Himeno tells him that she was a 'ten-year old dreamer' and never felt the need to mature, leading her to never develop. Living with this delusion, they convince themselves that it's okay to sit by and do nothing - that good things will come if they simply wait long enough. Kusunoki says that he hoped the world would 'suddenly get nicer'. He curses the world for his situation, angry that 'something good' hasn't come and not with himself for not changing anything. By running away by dwelling on the past and dismissing responsibility with false hope, he is unable to ever accept reality. What Miyagi was suggesting was that he should accept the world as it is. Rather than averting his eyes, placing his happiness in accomplishments and approval or cursing the world, he should appreciate its beauty and accept it. Instead of using music and books, for example, as a form of escapism, he should purely appreciate their beauty. And so, over time, he begins to take notice of the little things - the small yet definite joys. He takes notice of a rainbow, realizing how he forgot they even existed; he pays attention to the clouds; he explores his love for vending machines; he thinks a basic town still looks beautiful; he folds a thousand paper cranes; he buys food from every stand at a festival. Something I noticed is that the further into the book I read, the more visual descriptions there were. I'm unsure if this was intentional, but perhaps since its written as a journal, he never noticed the things around him at the beginning so there is no writing of them. But later on, he pays attention to them more, so there's more description. He says that he found the basic town beautiful because he 'no longer had a grudge with the world' - he accepts it the way it is. He also mentions how there are likely people who take better photos of vending machines but doesn't care, because it's no longer about approval or accomplishments for him, but he's doing what he wants. Moreover, he doesn't care that people see him as a weirdo for talking to 'air', because he's not looking for that approval anymore. He's found what truly makes him happy and what's important to him. Miyagi changed his entire perspective on life or, as he describes, allowed him to 'make friends with the world' and accept it in all of its beauty. Better than the 30 years of clinging to a past hope and escapism and better than the 30 days of accomplishment and approval, through this and discovering that his love for Miyagi is what truly makes him happy, he could experience, for the first time in his life, three days of happiness. Before I end the review and write the conclusion, I want to speak a little on the afterword. The author says how Kusunoki created his own 'hell', making it impossible to be happy. And we can definitely see that through his mindset. But, the author explains that his intention was to convey a very specific kind of beauty. He wanted to illustrate the view of someone looking at a hopelessly beautiful world. He thinks that the more regretful they are, realizing that they can't experience it anymore or that they'd been living in it all along, or the beauty of being able to throw all worries aside at death's door and truly appreciate it all, is what makes the world increasingly beautiful. I think I certainly understand that feeling, through reading the book. I can't say I experience that feeling, but the book conveyed to me what that would be like. And I think finding how to experience that feeling as soon as possible may be the key to happiness, or something like that. Three Days of Happiness is a deeply personal book to me. It resonates with me through its relatability, messages and emotional story. Noticing how Kusunoki's situation doesn't necessarily change all that much, only his mindset and perspective do, really makes me think about how much our happiness is determined by ourselves. Seeing how someone is before dying, and getting a glimpse into that beauty the author speaks of, I want to appreciate the world around me more and take things slower. I won't say something corny like "this book changed my life" but I can be confident that its affected me in a profound way. I hope that I was somewhat able to convey the beauty of this book in this review.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jan 10, 2024
Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu
(Anime)
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I'm a simple man with simple tastes - if I see a generic romance/comedy in the season, I'll watch it. Even if it's the same copy and pasted show that I've seen a million times before. I'll watch it. As for why... well that's a whole can of worms. But when I saw this airing I thought "well, guess this another one of those". I read the synopsis, saw a tall girl and a goofy looking edgy MC and thought, "okay, this is gonna be a another gag comedy with only one overused joke and appealing to people with a tall girl fetish."
I had it all figured out. So I ... watched the first episode, and I was right. He wants to kill her, but she's hot so he ends up falling in love with her, bla bla bla. Fell right into my low expectations. But eh, it was fine so I decided to watch the next episode. Admittedly, it was a little funnier but still what I expected. So, I watched the next episode. It seemed like they forgot about the initial gag with him wanting to kill her. Sure, but it was still a generic romcom. I watched the next episode. I guess it might be an okay romance...? They aren't reusing the gag at all and I think I'm starting to like it for some reason... I watched the next episode. And the next one. And the next. Suddenly, I realised that I was dying for the next episode to release, thinking about it all the time and replaying scenes over and over again. Then it hit me. Crap, this might be one of my favourite romance anime ever. Now, how the hell did that happen? The Dangers in My Heart is one of the most surprising anime I've seen. Not because of any crazy plot twist or incredible subversion, but because I was tricked into thinking it was a basic gag comedy anime. The synopsis of the MC wanting to kill her is blasted through the window and out of the stratosphere. Gone and never to be seen again. With shocking contrast to the initial premise, the atmosphere and tone of the anime is the complete opposite. It emphasises quiet moments and mundane situations, like sharing sweets in the library or walking back from school together and popping into the convenience store for food. All of the significant scenes involve the two main characters, Yamada and Ichikawa, talking alone together casually. I actually love how you can sometimes feel awkward silences between them because so many other anime always have a specific intention for a scene, exaggerating interactions and it never just feels like two people talking. Instead, they feel somewhat plastic, reminding you that there is someone writing a script for them to follow behind it all. The drama is also executed very differently to other anime. There are no emotional outbursts with screaming and crying and so on. Nor are there any absurd and unrealistic misunderstandings for the sake of drama. Instead, every conflict is carefully woven into the subtext, and understood by the characters and the viewer without a big scene to confirm it. But even beyond that, the drama isn't the best part. The anime captures the feeling of two normal high schoolers naturally falling in love over time. There is no unlikely circumstance forcing them together or some random one-off incident that makes the heroine fall in love. It's just two students that take an interest in each other, gradually talk more over time and eventually grow closer. Their interactions develop from infrequently exchanging words to each other, to only greeting each other by the school entrance, to texting and then to walking home together. Anna goes from being slightly stand-offish to nudging him and bumping his shoulder, while Ichikawa begins to open up a little and ask her more questions instead of being on the receiving end all the time. Something I recently noticed is how in so many romance anime, all that the characters talk about is the romance itself. It's always them saying something super flirty, doing something lovey-dovey like holding hands and making that a big deal, or something along those lines. And it makes the romance feel so unnatural because couples don't do that the entire time. They talk about mundane things too. A good chunk of the dialogue in this anime falls outside of lovey-dovey moments and is just two friends hanging out, which is such a breathe of fresh air in this genre. It might have the most realistic romantic development I've seen in an anime. And the realistic interactions really do stand out among the rest. I feel like so many romance anime try to spice it up with some unique premise but the ones that really stand out to me are the ones that don't try to. Now, give me a moment to appreciate the angelic soundtrack. The score has the ability to make scenes feel special. It's hard to explain but it really encapsulates the beauty of two people falling in love and how wonderful of a thing that is. There are scenes when the two characters are just looking into each other's eyes or take a second longer to think about what the other said, and the music will give it this sentimental tone that really pulls you in. You know, I think a decent comparison is unironically the minecraft soundtrack. Growing up, minecraft was always just there as a game that I knew of, sometimes played and enjoyed but never really appreciated. But recently, I starting listening to the soundtrack that I've heard a million times but in isolation, I realised that it's really beautiful. It has this nostalgic and tender feeling to it that makes you sit back and think: Man... Strange comparison, I know, but the soundtrack of this anime gives me a similar feeling where I have to sit back and think, "damn, that's beautiful". It really makes this romance anime stand out for me because with other anime I'll think, oh that's cute or aw that's nice, but it's rare for one to make me genuinely be in awe. It's hard to convey how you feel about music when you don't know much about music but that's what I think anyway. On top of the high quality animation, I think the colour palette also has a significant impact. It uses a lot of grays and dull colours to give it a sort of winter feeling. Living in England, it feels just like home (in a good and bad way). It makes the ambience calm and serene, matching the romantic element of the show. Now, even though I've made it sound pretty serious so far, the comedy is actually great. It mixes up jokes related to Yamada being an airhead or Ichikawa being shy really well, so most of it comes from the quirkiness of the characters. There are a few silly situations or even horny jokes here and there but the majority of it involves the characters bouncing off of each other, making them more likeable. Although, the characters are what make the show. I've talked about how realistic the show is and that comes from the cast. Unlike other romance anime characters, they won't panic over the tiniest things and aren't super dense. They're mature enough to realise that they somewhat like each other, even if not fully convinced that it's romantic, so they don't overreact to every little thing. This means they can hang out together and walk home together without it being weird or some big event. Anna is an airhead and a lot of the comedy comes from her being goofy and doing stupid things. But she's surprisingly perceptive. There are many moments where, over time, she learns about Ichikawa and it shows through her actions. I noticed that she never teases him for being shy or socially anxious but instead subtly helps him through it. For example, whenever he's too shy to say something, she'll patiently be quiet wait for him to get ready and say it - instead of interrupting. There are plenty of times when Ichikawa is too nervous to say something in a social situation in front of a bunch of classmates but she can tell how he's feeling or what he's trying to say by just looking at him. She makes him feel normal and I think that's why they work so well together. The anime makes an effort to portray her as very empathetic and caring, like a person with an authentic and big heart. She's unapologetically herself and likable through and through. Also, she's hot. I absolutely have a thing for tall girls so she immediately gets a lot of points in my book. Ichikawa is somewhat a self-insert protagonist, but definitely has ample individuality. He's relatable by being socially inept and cynical, but branches out into a full character as the story progresses. He thinks more critically about his relationship with Anna and how to work through certain situations. But something I really like about him is how he constantly pushes through the barriers made from his anxiety or embarrassment when it counts. When he realises that it's something important, he fights through that part of him. And I think that makes him very likable and admirable as a character. Also, the story has his first-person narration so it's fun to see his honesty in regards to his doubts, insecurities and feelings. Something I think a lot of people, and sometimes I, struggle with in romance anime is the feeling of envy. Despite it being escapism, we can't help but feel bitter about not having a romance like that ourselves. So when there's a protagonist who's bland, boring and all that but the heroines fall in love with them so easily, it's frustrating. But with this anime, there isn't a drop of that feeling at all. Every moment with these two characters is sweet like honey and makes me squeal like a little girl. The main character is genuinely a great guy who absolutely deserves her love, without it feeling unjustified or forced at all. And Anna feels like an actual girl who falls in love with a guy for who he is and not any silly reason like him saving her or being super hot when he pulls back his hair or something. The show makes you empathize with the characters all the way through, making each interaction heartwarming to your core. This show is one of the most pleasant surprises I've had in anime because of how I thought it would be in the beginning and how it gradually changed my mind. It's such a beautiful and fresh take on the romance genre. Despite how corny it sounds, with the music, the writing and the empathetic characters, it really makes love seem like a beautiful thing. And I think that's what the romance genre should be all about. This review isn't that in-depth because it's in retrospect. Season two just started airing but I got the sudden urge to make a review about the first season before I watch it. So I haven't watched the anime for about half a year. Still, I remember how it made me felt and I hope I could convey that in this review. It's now one of my favourite romances and I'm excited for the next season. PS: (Santa please give me a tall girlfriend to tower over me and hold me as a late Christmas present).
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 1, 2024
Ichinose-ke no Taizai
(Manga)
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I dove into this blind, avoiding looking at the genres, rating, author or anything. Thus, when I saw the absurd premise revealed, I assumed it would be a funny gag manga with eccentric and goofy characters - not to mention the round and cartoonish character designs to go along with it. But over time, I started to realise what the manga really was. I noticed that the characters weren't that eccentric and there was no barrage of jokes. On top of this, the artist begun to look familiar... On the surface it all looks nice and pretty but we are fed slight hints to an underlying truth. The bedrooms,
...
the nuanced body language and just a feeling of uneasiness. It creeps up on you until it rears its ugly head and reveals what it's really about. The Ichinose Family's deadly sins is about a filthy, despicable and selfish set of characters slapped together under the guise of a family. And it might be one of the best stories I've ever read.
What initially caught my attention was the art. It succeeds in doing so much from evoking intense poignant emotions, depicting inconspicuous yet meticulous and nuanced expressions and lulling you into a false sense of security with its fluffy and whimsical nature at times. In the beginning, the characters have the biggest smiles on their faces, with eyes sparkling and everything seeming good and jolly. Perspective is used to add a comedic touch, making certain reactions to silly situations very exaggerated and almost slapstick. But the contrast is stunning. This vibrant and lively style is ripped down to the ground with intensely disturbing scenes, like Tsubasa having trash dumped on his face and shamed in front of his entire class, or seeing his room flooded with the word "die" written on his walls. The characters we initially saw smile from ear to ear are seen at rock bottom, bawling and ugly crying. The characters wear these stressed and exhausted expressions that make the tension of the room stiflingly palpable. It's rather counter-intuitive but I think the simpler the character design, the easier and more effective it is to depict emotions on a character's face. And this manga absolutely makes the most of that. The intensity of every feeling felt by the characters is so powerfully conveyed in every scene. But perhaps even more impressive is the accuracy of the emotion. Every frame carefully choosing a particular emotion to convey and, even if only slightly noticeable, will show it through the tiniest facial hints. This is extremely effective in humanising the characters and emphasising the drama. On top of this, the incredible art extends outside of the characters. There are plenty of scenes - like in the characters' bedrooms or in the main living room - where there are small items of food, clothing and cutlery scattered everywhere. The mangaka manages to pack so much detail into these small areas to accentuate the feeling of claustrophobia and make the family feel as suffocating as possible, even through their environment. Perspective is no longer used to emphasise goofy reactions, but to bolster the dramatic tension of scenes, zooming in on the key elements of the shot. Moreover, the paneling is masterful. How each part of a page is used is often overlooked but hard for me to ignore in this manga. It's creative with its presentation in the way it builds up tension with nuanced expressions, gets you to read faster, and then on the next page have it all burst out in a single climactic shot. There are pages solely dedicated to a character's expression and with the next page will immediately showing the stark opposite emotion for effect. The only issue I have with the art is that it is perhaps overly intense. The characters are seen crying in 90% of the scenes so it's not saved up for any emotional climaxes. It's great to maximise the intensity of scenes and their emotions but is rather overused here. Still, the art is some of the best I've ever seen. Oh man, this is gonna be the hardest thing to write about: the story. Where do I even begin? For starters, let me say that the manga is EXTREMELY story heavy and is 95% of the reason you'll want to keep reading. But how do I unpack this...? Its like if you were to ride a roller coaster but there is no slow section and the track is invisible. The speed and force of the coaster is crazy, you'll have no idea which direction you're going in so you can't prepare yourself and it never lays off the gas until the very end. Weird analogy, I know. But I think it works. It's an expert dance of creating expectations and then flipping them on its head. In the first chapter, everyone is super cheery. We then get tricked into thinking what the drama of the manga is, with Shiori being upset but then quickly comforted. Our expectations are low. Then we slowly get suggested something creepy and menacing with the ominous rooms. But it only gets brushed over. After, we're thrown into the deep end with Tsubasa's extremely severe bullying and then, we realise what we're in for. Tsubasa has an arc about the bullying and his relationship with his friend. Subsequently, we move onto his sister. His sister seems to be getting groomed by an older guy but says she doesn't want Tsubasa getting involved. Through realising his genuine concern and love for his sister, Tsubasa musters up the confidence to stand his ground and help her. Turns out she was really uncomfortable after all, so the strength of their bond and the power of family prevailed. Okay, so I guess at this point we can guess the structure for the rest of the manga, right? We slowly find out about the rest of the family and through their love and because of how beautiful family is, Tsubasa will help them out one by one and that will be the end. Simple. So then his dad drives the entire family off a cliff, they all wake up with amnesia again and his dad has been replaced by a man we've never seen before... WHAT?! This happens countless times throughout the manga; the author will make you think the story is going one way and then the roller coaster will jolt in the opposite direction, making your heart drop. So then we get an arc with the mum. She finds out her actual husband was having an "affair" so she takes the kid of the other woman. But upon realising that she still actually loves him, she accepts it, confronts her memories and moves on. So then she gets completely erased from everyone's memories, her room vanishes from the house and she's gone... WHAT?!?!? This manga gave me that reaction more times than I can count. Okay, but maybe that's just a crazy one off plot twist. The story continues and we get to the grandpa who has been a background character so far. He explains that he's experienced a time loop of them waking up with amnesia 2000 times. *Rereads sentence*. He...experienced...Time loop... 2000... WHAT?!?!?!?! But... okay...I guess its a time loop then... so they try breaking out of it however they can. Then the replacement dad says it's all actually Tsubasa's dream and he's been in a coma for 4 years... HUHHHH?!?!?! (okay ill stop now). You know, the more I write, the more I realise how good my invisible roller coaster analogy actually is. But I hope you see what I'm getting at. I could throw about 20 more examples of moments that gave me that reaction and the ones I did give you were back to back to back to back. The story is ever dynamic and constantly subverting expectations. To think that the author expanded such a simple premise into this grand and complicated of a plot is impressive to say the least. Propelling all of this forward is the mystery. With each plot point and twist, they build upon the questions created and create even more of them at the same time. The "accident" and the family's "past" is constantly referenced as we're drip-fed information to keep us on edge. The mystery is also dynamic with how it affects the characters too. Initially, they are all friendly and affable but as the mystery is slowly uncovered, our perceptions of them change - the characters develop alongside the mystery as they are the core of the mystery. The use of foreshadowing is also very effective. There are subtle hints dropped in the form of seemingly meaningless objects or vague flashbacks or even cryptic messages and this starts from the very beginning of the story. Although, I do think that some of the foreshadowing was a little on the nose, making me think 'oh, so that's going to come up later'. I've realised recently that one of my favourite concepts for a plot is a reality made from a character's imagination. From this you can be as creative you want, bending what is possible in the real world, making it fun and interesting. But it maintains it's thematic relevance and prowess as it's interconnected with the character's psyche. So overcoming obstacles in that 'world' overcomes the character's psychological struggles in tandem. This manga uses this concept to its fullest by creating this dynamic and mind-blowing plot to do with dreams, time-loops and whatnot but still keeping it closely tied with the character's for it to remain dramatic and emotional. However, I still had some issues with the story. To begin with, this roller coaster has no cool down period - it is full throttle all the way through. Sometimes they'd throw a plot twist right after another plot twist, almost giving me motion sickness. I understand that the plot is very intense and it's intended to be that way, but I'd have liked there have been more low tension conversations where we really get to learn more about the characters. And I also know that would go against the nature of the show since it relies on not knowing much about them, but silly things like Shiori and Tsubasa bickering or small things like them driving in the car as a family, I just kind of wish we got more of that. Moreover, I think it ended rather abruptly. For how fleshed out and meaty the story was, we never got one big climax or one final reveal with a slow and satisfying ending. I still had quite a few questions by the end of it and, although I think it ended well thematically, I think there's more to be desired in regards to emotional satisfaction. But despite all this, it has one of the most exciting plots I've ever read in a manga and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire way through. Moving onto the characters and themes, these stand out almost as much as the story. The prevailing theme that every one of the characters pertains to is escapism. The whole idea of them all having amnesia comes from them not wanting to face their problems - so they repress their memories. They wrap themselves in self-delusion, ignoring the truth right in front of them. It's really interesting how this is presented in the manga: for example, the story is told from Tsubasa's perspective, and throughout the story he is deceiving himself to make him think that he has amnesia when really he is just ignoring his memories. There are subtle hints to this such as him never asking about himself and his quick acceptance of losing his memories, without any stress or worry. Other characters pick up on this and confront him about it. But what I find interesting is how, because it is told in first person, we don't know about his self-delusion, just like he doesn't know; he deludes us just like he does to himself. But it's not just him. The entire family is self-delusional. No-one wants to face the truth and so they do anything to avoid it. The dad even goes as far as drugging his entire family so they can stay in the dream. The whole family is a mess - fragile and broken. The glue that stuck them all together, Souta, was taken for granted and left them guilty, shattered and ashamed. But rather than taking responsibility, they evade it. They don't speak to each other, aren't around each other or even pretend to be a happy family with fake and awkward smiles instead. The grandma then falls into a coma and the family falls apart further. This weak and frail family doesn't know how to handle adversity and work things through, so they lash out and rip apart. When Tsubasa wakes up from his coma and asks about Souta, his mom grabs him and slams him on the table, snapping it in two saying "Don't talk about Souta infront of me!". Despite Souta leaving being entirely their fault, they completely ignore it, afraid of the pain and responsibility. This escapism is embodied by the dreams and is strongly linked to the heavy plot. The family is made up of self-centered, inconsiderate and unloving people. All of them did something to be frowned upon. And when they come together, they can't help but recognise this and harm each other for it. They get angry, then get angry about getting angry and never get along. Eventually, they give up, thinking that they simply can't get along and that it's a lost cause. In the arc when Tsubasa goes to Souta's "family" made up completely of strangers, we see a loving and wholesome household. Souta says this is because they are not family, claiming it is because the Ichinose's are family that they don't get along. But then, Souta's made up family fights - just as badly as the Ichinose family. This eventually gives Tsubasa the realisation that that is just how people are. They will fight no matter what. It's not a consequence of being family, and it's not that their family in particular just can't get along. It's because they're human. So they return back to the house. But return to the dream immediately. Souta gets the recognition and approval that he always wanted from his family, his family has the glue that they wanted back in Souta and everyone seems happy. But Tsubasa knows it won't last. Because that's how humans are. The mum will get moody, Shiori will talk back, the grandma only cares about the grandpa, the grandpa will lose his memory because of Alzheimer's and everyone will get bored of Souta. It will fall apart. So, instead of living in that temporary contentment within the dream, Tsubasa looks forward and leaves it. The reason for him being such a dynamic and powerful main character is because whilst everyone is stuck in their eternal escapism and cowardice, he changed and he looks forward. They leave the dream, confront the dad who forced them into it and are finally at peace. The whole time they were trying to be an ideal family so whenever they fought it was inevitable that it would make them all upset, knowing that they never could be the perfect family. That doesn't exist. What matters is that they are family. It's revealed that the grandad put them through the dreams on purpose so they could finally have one big 'family trip'. The issue with the family is that they never sat through the fighting and arguing to the end. They would run away, avoid, forget, and explode. The dreams were an experience they all suffered and enjoyed through, and made it out of together. The final chapter is maybe my favourite chapter because it really drives home the message. The significant part is that we still see them fighting. They fight and argue no different to before. They blame, criticise, talk back and are rude as hell to each other. But there's a beautiful panel where one half of it is them arguing in the hospital and the other half is them leaving, exhausted but together. No-one ran, no-one gave up, but together they worked through it and came out as a family. Even in the very last panel of the entire manga, they are still fighting. But that's okay. There is no perfect family. But there is beauty and strength simply in the fact that they are family. Its a passionate exploration of the unbreakable bonds of family and the need to work through your problems together. Escapism is temporary. Instead of rejecting and avoiding the truth, you must accept it and work through it. Through developing these vulnerable and sometimes evil characters, not dissimilar to people in real life, I empathized and really took the message to heart. This manga really was one hell of a roller coaster ride. With one of the most exciting plots and most heartfelt thematic exploration I've read in a manga, it shoots up as one of my new favourites. Without going into it, the themes really resonate with me and I definitely have a preference for this type of storytelling. I had a few qualms here and there but overall it was an immensely impactful experience that hopefully I won't forget even if I fall into a coma (hehe).
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 11, 2023
Kinou no Haru de, Kimi wo Matsu
(Manga)
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Okay...so where do I begin? Ah, right, context comes first.
So, Waiting For Me Yesterday in Spring (WFMYIS) is one of the only books I've actually completed from start to finish. Growing up, I was never interested in books and in school I would only pretend to read books - simply staring at the words - whilst getting lost in my thoughts in the meantime. I did, however, read 9 volumes of the Oregairu light novel but other than that, I've never completed a book from start to finish. I tried reading some "classics", such as Sherlock Holmes and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, hoping that they ... would be the gateway into the medium but quickly realised that it wouldn't work out as I had hoped. The big deal-breaker is likely the language used. Being so old, those books are hard to understand and in turn are simply tiring to read. Every other sentence I would be struggling to understand what's being said and would be searching up a new word in the dictionary. Eventually, I conceded and tried my hand at a light novel instead - namely, WFMYIS (yes, I am not bothered to type the whole title every time). And to my fortunate surprise, it was amazing. Honestly, I could not ask for a better companion to guide me into the world of books than this book. Compared to the aforementioned "classics", the language is actually comprehensible and although there are words I don't fully know the meaning of sprinkled in, they are words that I may have heard of before, are actually used in the present day and words that I will benefit learning. Also, they don't appear nearly as often. You don't know how thankful I am to read a book that isn't written in cipher-text. The other two books had me trudging through the pages whereas I was zooming through these. During the climax, I was glued to my seat and read over a hundred pages in one go, which I don't think I'd ever done before. So, needless to say, it was a fun time and consequently I am here to review it. I suppose it would be appropriate to discuss the premise first. It certainly is not a novel concept - time travel has been covered many times throughout all kinds of media - however, it's always been a genre I've had unwavering interest in. Piecing together clues, connecting the dots of how timelines interact or even seeing the reacts of revealing the time travel to other members of the cast; it never gets old. Despite being a common concept, this book takes a rather interesting spin on it. Usually time travel media involve going (only once) forward in time, back in time or being constantly stuck in a time-loop. WFMYIS goes back in time day-by-day to slowly build up to an important date. This is particularly fascinating because, since the end of each day connects to the start of the previous one experienced, it has to be cleverly pieced together. Not only that, but seeing the outcome and affects of what has already happened before it is experienced sets the book up for some great foreshadowing and helps build tension for what is to come. Delving into the story, we experience a slowly unraveling thread of events leading up to a clear climax. This turning point is made apparent near to the very beginning of the book so tension is accumulated throughout. Each day we gather more and more information on what happened in the past few days and learn more about each character who were, so far, a mystery. The story relies less on huge, high-energy events but more so on intimate moments between characters or subtle chilling moments alluding to something more serious or even sinister. This drip-feeding of information keeps you on edge. The structure definitely lends itself well to this style of storytelling; before each chapter, there is an interlude where we switch perspectives to the heroine, gaining insight into her incentives and backstory. Since she is an extremely relevant character to the story, gradually figuring out her intentions and picking up on certain details shown in the regular chapters but went unnoticed without this extra information certainly maintains a high level of engagement and is an effective way to get us to care about the characters more, without distracting from the plot too much. Where this is especially useful is before the climax; there is an alarming end to the chapter before, suggesting that Akari's brother could be physically abusing her. The interlude is then used to detail these events, on top of all of the suffering she put herself through to better her life and be with the one she loves. Truthfully, this interlude was maybe the most harrowing and disturbing read I've had. Although it wasn't considerably graphic or extreme, it was the detailed and explicit dive into her thoughts and feelings that really conveyed the hopelessness of her situation that made it so heart-breaking - even more so with the investment into making her likable as a character and getting us to care about her by showing us her perspectives through the interludes up to that point. And what this particular interlude did was set the stage perfectly for an emotionally charged and impactful climax. The climax involved a very intense set of events but what stood out to me the most was the thought-provoking nature of it. I will discuss the themes represented here later on but it made me think beyond the characters being good and bad and made the story a lot more grounded in reality. However, ending it after the decision to save Akito would have been underwhelming. Thankfully, before we are given a catharsis, the true climax with tenfold the intensity comes crashing down on us. The girl who we've been made to care for so much tries to kill herself. Now, suicide is a graphic concept and in fiction needs to be execute well to not come off as melodramatic or as if it is used for shock-value. The author does an excellent job at heightening the emotional intensity enough for it to be immersive. Moreover, it is realistic. Usually, in these kind of scenes, the person trying to kill themselves is (no pun intended) kind of sitting on the fence and doesn't take much convincing to stop them. There's usually a scene of them bursting out crying, mentioning some petty reasoning and then eventually giving up. In this scene, Akari is completely determined and does not falter. She calmly explains her position to Kanae, refuting any of his arguments and justifying all of hers. She had genuinely thought it through with sound and coherent judgement - this was not a hysteric outburst. And that's what makes this scene so engaging. I was truly not sure whether or not she would die. To boot, Kanae stands on the ledge, offering to die with her and she isn't fazed. I was fairly convinced that the book would end with a double-suicide. Luckily, it didn't but the heights of tension that it reached made for a satisfying catharsis afterwards when everything is resolved and all lose ends were tied. In my opinion, this was a fantastically written build-up, climax and conclusion. On the other hand, I do have some qualms with it. Firstly, it was not particularly shocking. Although there were elements that surprised me, of course, I was constantly theorizing what could have happened in my head. For example, I had theories that Kanae had actually killed Akito in the past once he found out that he was abusing Akari. I also theorised that maybe Akari had some elaborate plan to get Kanae to kill him and to be with him, since she loved him so much. Even though the truth was entertaining, these theories could have arguably been more exciting, albeit much harder to pull off. A plot twist like that could have been more hard-hitting. Secondly, sort of following up from the previous point, it was quite cliche at times. For example, having a childhood friend who falls in love with the main character because he was the only one who stood up for her is a very common trope in anime and manga. Also, the main character's reaction to the time-travel was also very stereotypical and expected. We all knew that the time-travel would take place so spending so much time showing how shocked he was and trying to convey that it really was happening was kind of stale. And although I was mostly entertained throughout, the first few chapters were pretty uneventful at times. Still, the story was very well thought out and written. Moving on to the characters, we have our main two, Kanae and Akari, and then some other side characters such as the grandma, Eri, Akito and a few more. There were also some that were rather obsolete, such as the friendly police officer and Akito's girlfriend. The only characters that really got development, though, were the main two. One massive strength of the book is that it is written from a first-person perspective. With the interludes, this extends to the heroine, Akari, as well. As aforementioned, I haven't read many books but from the little I have read, first-person perspectives are my favourite. There is a level of instant empathy and relatability when hearing the thoughts of the character, making us care more about what happens to them. Take for example the emotional interlude I discussed earlier, if that had been told from a third-person perspective, I don't think it would have been nearly as poignant. Hearing first-hand the despair and suffering from the girl herself drives home the horrible situation much more, in my opinion, in a way that wouldn't be as significant in third-person. The author is able to write very explicitly detailed monologues that take a deep dive into the characters thoughts, not only to flesh out the plot but to really humanize them, making them feel more like people and less like characters. The characters themselves aren't particularly quirky or unique. Kanae is sort of a run-of-the-mill teenager who has been put into a sticky situation. Akari is a little more unique in regards to the strength of her feelings for Kanae and the hardwork and tenacity she puts in. Due to this, I would definitely argue that this book is more heavy with the story than its characters. A lot of the monologuing relates to the story or is simply to describe the events happening in the moment. Although, as I mentioned, there is a substantial amount that is used to humanize them, I would say that there is more emphasis on what is happening to them than their morality or who they are as a person. Something that does stand out, though is the dialogue and interactions. It somehow is able to remain realistic whilst still entertaining and engaging. There is clear chemistry between the cast and because of this, the romance between Akari and Kanae doesn't feel superficial or contrived. Even in the suicide scene, there is still cleverly written comedy and teasing. As a whole, the characters are good and entertaining but don't stand out too much. This isn't that detrimental considering there is a larger focus on the plot, which isn't a problem at all when you look at how that turned out for the story. Now, let's talk about the themes. The book, as I mentioned, has it's priority set on the plot and does not branch too heavily into other aspects such as the characters and themes. However, it does present some interesting ideas. Circling back to the "thought-provoking nature" I mentioned (in reference to them deciding whether or not to let Akito die), the book questions your morality quite directly. We are made to think about whether we agree with the decision to let Akito die or not. We have plenty of reason to want him to die: he hits his sister, frightens her with his friends, steals her hard-earned money and is generally just a horrible person. But even still, does he deserve to die? And is that our (or the main character's) decision to make? The book asks you if you believe in second chances or if you think there's no turning it around for Akito, if what he's done is too much to be forgiven. Initially, the main characters decide on letting him die. It's the easy way out, after all. No more abuse, no more fear and one less awful person on the earth. And the book portrays this as not a negative decision. In fact, it really is hard to argue against it. However, personally, I believe in second chances. Picturing a future where Akito would turn it all around, right his wrongs and fix his life, I wouldn't be able to deny that man that opportunity because I have little faith it would happen. Not only that, but I would not be able to live my life knowing that I'm the reason he isn't walking around on the planet anymore. The book acknowledges the pain and grief that would bring and demonstrates a great display of hope with Kanae saving his life. I don't think that a well illustrated theme needs to be one that I agree with but I can't deny that it was very satisfying to see Kanae go back on his decision and go to save his life. Other than that theme, there are some lightly explored themes such as bullying and, of course, the romantic element, but what I discussed is what I believed was explored the best. The final thing I want to talk about, and this is something I'm not used to talking about since this is my first book review, is the descriptive writing. Now, to preface, I wasn't amazing at English in school. I got half-decent grades in it and my own creative writing was pretty average. Still, with the little insight that I have, I really enjoyed the writing in this book. The descriptions were so vivid and exciting to read. It never rambled on too long, over-detailing any description but still managed to paint a clear picture in my mind of whatever was happening. At the moment, I'm trying to get into writing myself and I must admit, I took a few notes here and there. Of course, the book is Japanese so a lot of credit for the descriptive writing goes to the translators, especially for the vocabulary used, but the foundation by the original author is very strong. Truthfully, some of the most enjoyable parts of the book were descriptions of simple things like a cherry blossom falling into Akari's hand or watching over the town from the rooftop of the school. With other, older books that I don't understand the language of, it's hard for me to appreciate this facet of the writing but with a book like this, it really is a joy to read through and experience. In conclusion, I am very pleased with this book as a whole, especially as an introduction in the medium of books. I think reading single-volume light-novels like this is a good gateway into books so that might be my modus operandi for the foreseeable future. Despite some problems or criticisms here and there, it is a very complete experience with many emotional ups and downs and I'm glad I picked it up.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 15, 2023
Black Lagoon
(Anime)
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(This is a review of seasons 1, 2 and the OVA as a whole)
Wake up. Work. Sleep. Repeat. Trapped in a system of control. Your boss doesn't care about you. You feel that nobody does. Is this all that you're worth? Is this all you'll ever be, pulled on the end of puppet strings, making no meaningful change or difference in the world? You're living your life chained down to rules. Sound relatable? That's the life of our protagonist. Rokuro is a quintessential John Doe, working a normal 9-5 job in an office that he has no love for and wishes he had more to get ... out of life. But when mercenary pirates threaten to kill him and take him hostage as they fight an attack helicopter in a torpedo boat, unsurprisingly, this makes our protagonist's life take a different direction. It becomes the trigger for him to take back control of his life. To do this, he jumps head-first into the cutthroat underworld empire of drug dealing, weapon smuggling and human trafficking, setting the stage for the gritty spectacle that is Black Lagoon. Even from the premise of the show, you can immediately tell that it is unique. Most commonly, anime is set in a high school with a lovey-dovey romance or action fantasy with cutesy characters and looks all pretty. However, Black Lagoon hits you in the face with brutal violence, murdering civilians and ruthless punishment even from our heroine, Revy. We then leave the common setting of anime, Japan, and enter the city of rotten and sinister outlaws, crawling with prostitutes and crime. This show feels less like an anime and more like a 90s Mexican gangster movie. We are exposed to an entire ecosystem of criminal activity with people hiring mercenaries and bribing police officers, all run by the dominant organised mafia. The setting of Roanapur springs to life with meticulous details and exposition, making it feel like a living and breathing city. Rokuro (AKA "Rock") and his new-found crew take on a variety of jobs within the city, each taking place over the span of around 2-4 episodes and usually involving violent battles with guns, swords and explosives. There is not an overarching story-line or end goal but is instead divided into seemingly unrelated arcs. Although this would be a downer to some, I think there are benefits. It allows the show to explore a very wide range of topics such as Romanian orphans, Nazis, child trafficking, mafia power struggles and so much more. And also, I think it makes the pacing very clever as we'll always get the climax of an arc within a few episodes so there is never low tension for a long period of time. Personally, I would have preferred if there was at least a foreseeable ending or to at least know what the anime is building towards but I suppose the answer to this is that the anime doesn't finish the story so there simply isn't one at the moment. A cathartic climax involving our main characters and fully wrapping up all of their development would have been much better but maybe too much to ask with an uncompleted source material. Moreover, there are a few "filler" arcs that sometimes focus on comedy (e.g. fake money printing arc). These were thoroughly entertaining but did not feel necessary in a relatively short anime like this. Nonetheless, I did enjoy the episodic structure and never felt bored at any point. The story is certainly very original. Firstly, our main cast of characters could very much be considered villains. They are pirates and criminals who ruthlessly kill people for money. They often do not go out of their way to save others, regardless of whether it's within their capabilities, including children. It's rare for anime to consist of mainly morally grey characters that are seemingly evil but we are made to like. Consequently, the anime covers a very interesting sub-genre that is often not explored: the lives of mercenaries and criminals. We learn about their priorities, the importance of relationships and the particular dynamics of how cities are run by corrupt mafia and higher authorities. Not only this, but it does not shy away from the realistic brutality and grim nature of the criminal underworld, to a level that most anime are scared to do. This gives the anime a very fresh flavor and keeps it engaging. At its core, Black Lagoon is an action. Often, anime leverage the medium to integrate fantasy elements such as powers or monsters into the fights as it does not break your immersion because anime is fictional to begin with. Black Lagoon instead maintains a realistic foundation for action through the use of guns, knives and so on but still makes the most out of it being an anime by elevating the intensity and stunts of the action scenes to downright insane heights. Although the fights involve the same mechanics as many live-action movies, Black Lagoon delivers a completely different experience by pulling off ridiculous acrobatic manoeuvres which would look silly and even impossible for actual humans but in anime form come off as badass. To put this into perspective, it's pretty unbelievable and slightly silly to see John Wick single-handedly wipe out a team of about 20 men but imagine if he did that whilst running directly into the line of fire, dodging them with backflips and slides and coming out completely unharmed. It sounds crazy but in anime, you wouldn't bat an eye. Black Lagoon takes the hard-hitting violence of live-action movies and combines it with the wild nature of anime action scenes to produce thrilling and adrenaline-pumping sequences action sequences. On top of Black Lagoon nailing the intensity of the action, it keeps it varied and diverse at the same time so that it never gets repetitive. For starters, there is a myriad of weapon selection involving dual pistols, snipers, flamethrowers, knives, shotguns, LMGs and even chainsaws. There are even original weapons such as an umbrella firearm. In addition to this, the anime mixes up the types of fights and setting for the fights as well. There have been battles on water involving torpedo boats. There are fights in bars, cities and even in a church. Black Lagoon dabbles in guerilla warfare, hand-to-hand combat, car chases and of course it's bread and butter: straight up shootouts. Black Lagoon also excels in its choreography. The huge variance in battles requires new ways of fighting and new battle sequences for every fight and the anime absolutely delivers. Especially as it takes an absurd approach to the fights that suspends disbelief, it would need equally absurd choreography to maintain that standard. The movements are fluid, dynamic and exciting and is aided by the fantastic animation quality. This allows the creativity of the fight scenes to shine through as attention to detail is meticulously added to unusual situations such as dual pistols versus a katana, without it seeming weird or too campy. As aforementioned, the characters are generally very morally grey. Most of the cast are unconcerned with killing people for money and do not go out of their way to save people. However, it is debatable whether they are anti-heroes or villains and this relates very much to the theme of justice, which I will discuss later. Although, one thing is for certain, the characters are unique and interesting. The anime involves eccentric mafia bosses, battle nuns, war maids and so on. There is no shortage of quirky and lovable characters who are at the same time absolutely terrifying. The anime does a great job at establishing the morality and power of the characters to create an intense stage presence and atmosphere. Take for example Balalaika; she has an air of mystery around her due to her facial scars and over time we discover that she is the boss of the Russian mafia in the city and took an active role in the Afghanistan war. In one episode, she dispatches her entire squad of expertly trained military to hunt down two orphans because they killed one of her men. She then watches as the child is sniped in each of his limbs and lets him bleed out so she can see him suffer. She also plans for the other to be shot in the head the moment they step off a boat that they thought was their escape. Balalaika is cold and violent yet compassionate and an honorable comrade. It is made very clear how she can dominate an entire city, making her frightening and believable. Revy, our heroine, is certainly the star of the show and similarly has her power and morality established explicitly. She takes the spotlight for most of the action and is the heart of the badass and flashy fight scenes. Her simple yet striking character design blends well into the gritty nature of the show and her dual pistol style is always entertaining on screen. Even outside of the action, she contributes a lot to the comedy, drama and themes. It is made clear that she is shaped by her negative experiences and believes power and money run the world. Because of this, she is not averse to killing people without remorse. Rock, as I had described before, is your run of the mill Japanese salaryman but has been thrusted into the criminal underworld. Among all the killing and evil, he is the voice of reason and upholds moral values. His situation is more relatable that it first seems. At first, he is stuck in a job that he does not feel satisfied with and is cared by nobody. Then, he finds joy in another area and takes a risk to go for it. He takes control of his life and joins the Lagoon company. It's very fascinating to see how a well-adjusted and normal person integrates into such a setting and how they handle taking part in the morally questionable activity. Rock does not receive as much attention as protagonists usually do in anime and I would have liked to see more of him. He only really takes an active role in the story later on, which is relevant to the theming but is rather lackluster on a purely entertainment level. Rock is used as a device to bring the setting and characters down to earth as we can self-insert into him and have a more coherent understanding on how these would work by putting ourselves in his shoes. There are a few more relevant characters such as Dutch, the leader of the crew; Benny, the tech guy in the crew; and Chen, another significant leader of the mafia in the city. However, the main attention to the characters is given to the pair Revy and Rock. There is also a very large cast of additional characters for comic relief and to fill in the story. Something that unites the characters is charisma. There isn't a single unlikable character, in my opinion, as they all ooze with personality. The dark humor used landed very well for me and made me fall in love with the characters even more. On top of the humor, the character interactions in general are very entertaining with constant teasing and even little things like smoking together or just chilling by the boat. The crew really feels like a tight-knit group and are fun to watch together. Also, the contrast between the rebellious nature of Revy and the formal and uptight nature of Rock is just a very funny dynamic. The themes of the show are intrinsic to the character development and ideals of the two main characters. The groundwork for this is laid out in episode 5. Revy is pillaging the corpses of the submarine when Rock questions whether that is morally just. In this moment, Revy sits down and explains her ideals. She has suffered a hard life of abuse, poverty and sexual assault. Being a good person would have never done anything for her. She was never saved by God or love or anything like that. The only thing that helps her is money, power and guns. Revy is almost offended by Rock's suggestion of being good to these people. Sentimentality and being compassionate have never benefited her so she does not believe in it. This explains her cold nature and lack of hesitance to kill other people. One prevalent theme shown here and in other places in the show is simply how cruel and unkind the world is. The Romanian orphans later on were explained to be victims of a death game set up for entertainment and this turned them into murdering psychopaths. The idea of money and power running the world is certainly emphasised often throughout the show. This scene with Revy and Rock in the submarine is expanded on in episode 7 (which is personally my favourite episode in the anime). Everything from the subtle facial expressions to the body language was perfect in this episode. Rock begins to see that Revy has money as her 'God' and notices the parallel between her and his previous bosses whom he despised. Just like them, she only cares for power and money and controls him. He put everything on the line to escape that environment so this situation of Revy confining him to her ideals and controlling him obviously frustrates him. With sudden contrast to his previous interactions with Revy, he becomes determined and passionate, not backing down for a second. He makes the argument that you can't solve everything with a gun, denying her idea that guns have absolute power. What's more, he calls her arrogant and calls her out on her petty attitude. Revy doesn't view other people as people. She sees them as objects of hate because of their privilege and feels entitled to trample all over them because she has suffered more. She uses her past trauma and struggles to play the victim card and excuse her immoral behaviour. Her view of the world being horrible regardless of what she does deceives her into thinking its okay to be immoral because you'll never get anything in return for being good. Her not using Rock's name when speaking to him here is relevant as she is not seeing other people for who they truly are. She looks past what they are actually like and simply labels them as better off than her. This is the source of her lack of empathy. She feels that the world owes her something so she shouldn't need to care about others. The anime is showing how our experiences can twist and squash our compassion but should fight through that and try to understand people on a personal level. Rock also mentions that if there is no justice in the world, you should be that justice. This is important as it relates to the theme of taking action and being a hero, which I will discuss soon. This conversation is significant as it demonstrates two stark opposite views to money and power. Rock sold his life for money and power and was completely betrayed by it. The person who showed him the pointlessness of it all was Revy. These two sharing perspectives and ideals causes a shift in Revy, and she slowly becomes more caring to Rock, valuing things like relationships more because of the discussion. However, Revy does not suddenly change her behaviour. It is gradual and realistic, as shifting your entire world view would be. Another prevalent theme is freedom and choices. In the second season, Yukio is a girl who inherits the title of boss of a yakuza by blood. She previously expresses that people have the freedom to dictate their lives. Rock risks a lot and puts himself into harms way to save her, believing that she was forced into that situation. However, she makes it very clear that she chose to be in that position. She chooses to stand up for her fellow yakuza and carries that burden by choice. Was Yukio was free as she was able to make the decision to carry the burden or not because she was forced into a situation that would make her carry it? The Romanian orphans were put through so much suffering growing up and only survived by learning how to kill. Did they make the choice to become immoral murderers or were they forced into it because that was all that they knew? Revy was in a position where she could make the decision to change her world view, despite her experiences. But perhaps others don't have that same luxury. Black Lagoon presents thought-provoking questions of freedom and choice but doesn't spoon feed you answers to make the anime engaging. The next theme I want to discuss is being a hero/making a change. Rock is trying to preserve the good nature of people. As he said to Revy, he is trying to be the justice he wants to see in the world. He takes steps towards this by talking to others and selling them on his ideals. He tries to make Revy think about others and learn empathy, he tries convincing Yukio that she was forced into the bad situation and that it was not her choice and he tries to save the Romanian orphan despite them being murderers. But this doesn't work. Revy still initiates conflict and kills without remorse, Yukio ends up offing herself and the orphan is shot dead. Rock is all bark and no bite. He never takes action, making others do the work for him and is even called out on this a couple of times in the show. Referred to by Yukio as "in the twilight", he lacks resolve to commit to an incentive. He wants to save people, it makes him feel like a hero and like his life means something, unlike his life back in Japan. But he doesn't want to be the responsible for the death of others. What he finds throughout the anime is that they are mutually exclusive in his experience. This is when a change happens. It is the beginning of his "villain arc" but I wouldn't argue that he's a villain. Rock fully accepts the outcome of what other people do for him. He asks Balalaika to kill all of the yakuza clan, so that he can save the one he wants to save. What Rock wants is change and he finally accepts the costs that come with it. This is the uniqueness of Rock in this environment. Everyone around him is stagnant and satisfied with their world. The mafia bosses want to keep the city under control, Revy was convinced with money and power being most important and Yukio only wanted to preserve her being with Ginji. They have either given up on the world or satisfied with how it is. Rock's desire for change, to be this 'robin hood' that he described causes him to impact the story with his decisions, mostly in the OVA. He initiates a complex plan to reduce the grips that criminals have over Roanapur so that he can make a difference and be a hero. Although this plan failed, he still has made an effort to commit and make a change. To reference a MJ song, "If they wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change". Rock became the change he wanted to see in the world. Whether or not what he did was right or worthy of being called a hero depends on the person you ask but what's important is that he took action. Black Lagoon illustrates the costs of change and that we should become the change we want to see - we should be the heroes of our own lives, especially if there is none. I don't often do this, but I watched this anime dubbed. I felt that with all the languages and with the western style of the show, listening to english would feel more natural. I'm glad to say that I was absolutely right. The usage of different languages flows really well and also the different accents used for Russians, Columbians, Italians and even Chinese added to the cultural flair of the show. The voice acting performances from Rock and Revy were especially impressive and I'll probably give more dubs a chance from now on. To conclude, I came into the show expecting a brainless high-octane action but came out with a thrilling and thought-provoking experience that will resonate with me for a while. The story and premise is very original and captivating, although I had problems with it. The characters are funny, charismatic and enjoyable to see interact. However, I would have liked more screen-time and spotlight for Rock. The fight scenes are stellar and balls to the walls. At points it is a little unbelievable, like when Ginji slices a bullet in half, but it is mostly very immersive. And the theming is complex and introspective, so it is no surprise that it is a challenge to decipher. Overall, I have my qualms with the anime but was pleasantly surprised with what I got out of it. On MAL I gave each entry an 8/10 but all together I rate it a 9/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 31, 2023 Recommended Spoiler
What do you do at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save us? With a title so obnoxiously long, I'm glad the anime is just as filled to the brim with content. Initially, I was prepared for a cliche fantasy-romance anime but very quickly realised that was not what I was getting. Instead, I was gifted with a gripping character drama involving delicately written themes of love and happiness whilst mixed with thrilling action sequences as a cherry on top. With that being said, let's dive into the spectacle known as -takes a deep breath- Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii desu ka?
...
Sukutte Moratte Ii desu ka? (AKA SukaSuka).
To begin with, the anime hits the ground running with an adventurous first episode, immediately drawing you into a fresh and vibrant world. Whilst introducing our characters, we discover this setting comprised of anthropomorphic animals taking part in festivals and running lively marketplaces. This world is nothing like our own and the anime makes this very explicit to us with its fantastic and engaging worldbuilding from the very first episode. Subsequently, we are met with a huge cast of characters of innocent and loveable personalities. This is when we are met with a shocking truth. These children being cared for are disposable weapons of destruction. This tone shift pulls you in, firmly separating this anime from a fluffy slice-of-life, and foreshadows the bleak events yet to occur. A grim, despair-inducing world is described as the people are constantly under attack by blood-thirsty beasts and the children are sacrificed for their safety. SukaSuka has a gradually unravelling mystery of what the beasts are, what the children are and why everyone lives on floating islands; this mystery is greatly intertwined with our characters and is one of the main forces of keeping the viewers' interest. The anime also lightly touches on the discrimination of non-animal people, relating to civil tension and seamlessly moulds this imaginary world into a believable setting for the narrative. However, I would have preferred more investment into the discrimination aspect and also some unique ideas on how the world is different to ours as a result of everyone being an animal. It certainly is a well-written setting but doesn't completely establish it as distinctive to other fantasy anime. As a whole, the worldbuilding is immersive and convincing, providing an effective backdrop for our story. Perhaps the facet of this anime that surprised me the most was the music. This anime has one of those scores that I have to listen to outside of watching the anime while studying or just relaxing. In fact, I normally wait until I finish an anime before searching up the OST on Youtube so that I don't get recommended any spoilers regarding the anime but for this one, I couldn't hold back and had to search up the OST at episode 2 -namely: Setsunai Koigokoro (Heartbreaking Love). The music has rather a large range of roles in the anime. Firstly, it adds a lot to the fantasy nature of the anime with dream-like, violin tracks to cover them running through the city, for example. Secondly, it plays a soothing role in calming you down, perhaps after intense plot points, and relaxes you over the visual of a peaceful night sky or sunset. And thirdly, but also most importantly, it propels the emotional weight of scenes tenfold to really pull at your heartstrings. The score invests you completely into a moment and gives you a feeling of awe at the beauty on screen. To tell the truth, it's so powerful it can even make not-so-beautiful scenes feel beautiful. For example, there is a scene when the main character gives a girl a not-so-safe-for-work back massage but the conversation before and even the event itself seems so serene because of the music alone. Additionally, the anime has many insert songs and uses them in important moments, including the climax. From this, you can tell that the studio went the extra mile to make these moments hit hard and from my experience, they were successful. The anime looks absolutely stellar with a consistently pretty art style and aesthetic character designs. The colour palette is fresh and energetic, bringing the anime to life in every moment. There are also plenty of scenes with picturesque, cinematic, and photographic visuals due to astute artistic direction. The animation studio has done an excellent job of creating a visual spectacle and is truly a joy to look at. The story has a very natural progression that never feels forced but instead moves along with the characters' actions. Over the episodes, we are gradually fed information about the main character's past which heavily relates to the current events and learn about the girls that are involved as well. As this information accumulates, the tension rises and the severity of the events escalates as we realise the gravity of the situation and the truth behind what is happening. Amongst this very intense buildup, the anime still manages to fit in ample slice-of-life aspects so as to not overwhelm the viewer and for the anime to not be too heavy. However, it still maintains its powerful narrative, especially as it involves the fate of the world, prophecy and other devices to create an epic atmosphere. Eventually, this buildup converges towards an emotional climax with an impactful ending that will not leave my mind for a long time. On the other hand, I think that the beasts could have been more developed and should have had their world-ending natures more emphasised. Within the story, there is no main antagonist or villain as the enemies just seem to be mindless alien-esque beasts with no master behind them, so there is no clear direction to funnel our anger of sacrificing the girls we care about. Also, the beasts are supposed to be a great threat to the world but the most we saw them do was destroy an island. The reaction to the island being destroyed was not very negative either so the enemies lack a sense of threat and do not do well as an object of hate. Despite this, they become much more threatening towards the end and work well in combat sequences. Overall, this narrative had so much more in store for me than I had anticipated and I am pleased with the execution. The main driving force for the series, however, is certainly the characters. The cast comprises of a few main characters and then a large array of children. Normally, having such a large cast of characters would be overwhelming and hard for the viewer to care about them all. However, this anime takes a bit of a shortcut here. Other than the main characters, the people we are meant to care about are children. This means that we don't need to like them or warm up to them as much as other characters as we all have a natural desire to protect them immediately. Having horrible things done to children is an effective tool to make viewers emotionally invested (as bad as that sounds). This can be seen in other anime like Made in Abyss and Grave of the Fireflies, for example. Very early on, we see a child fall off a cliff and learn that their lives are at stake, so we are immediately concerned. Even among the main characters, they are all young. Forcing such young people into life-or-death situations really keeps you on the edge of your seat and gets you to care about the outcome. The anime also, as aforementioned, invests in slice-of-life aspects and comedy. This emphasises the characters as simple human beings, just like ourselves, which contrasts the terrible things happening to them for a very heart-wrenching effect. A warm sense of community is built among the characters as they care for one another and value each other as family. Small interactions such as brushing their teeth together, eating together and playing outside really cultivate this sense of unity and belonging for all the children and adults in the storehouse. Unlike many other anime, this anime invests in the relationship between side characters as much as their relationship with the main character. The dialogue is also meticulously written. As the characters grow closer, you can noticeably see them becoming more comfortable with what they say, such as more sarcastic and snarky comments being made and more moments of vulnerability. Among many of the conversations, there is a subtle subtext acknowledging the harsh situation they are in. For example, the children never explicitly fish for pity or address the unforgiving nature of being sacrificial pawns and instead shroud it with a veil of nonchalance. The comedy is also well-scripted. I particularly liked the scene when Chtholly came back from battle alive and whilst Willem is hugging her, the others are casually discussing how surprised they are whilst Chtholly is freaking out and embarrassed, with all the dialogue overlapping each other. The main characters are also rather complicated and their developments are woven into the themes of the show very well. For example, Ithea is a girl who puts on a persona of energy and exuberance but underneath the surface, she is very socially aware, supportive and struggles with her identity. Ithea revealed that she had suppressive emotions and even suicidal thoughts at a point. By Chtholly reassuring her that she is accepted and belongs with them, she overcomes these feelings and this adds so much to the depth of her character. Chtholly eventually begins to forget her memories and struggles with her identity and mortality. She questions whether she is still herself if she can no longer remember those she loves. However, she is constantly reminded of what she has in the present and develops an optimistic perspective. She sees all of her emotions of sadness, frustration and regret as proof that she is alive and is herself. This reflection of her situation and resolve to live in the present rather than dwell on the past or worry about the future is a fantastic development from her worrying about dying or her hair turning red, powerfully conveying the message of coping with struggle and moving forward. She is also pulled out of her initial acceptance of death as unavoidable and begins to value living through her love for Willem. Her experiences with him and her love for him give her purpose and allow her to find happiness. Our protagonist, Willem, is definitely not a cookie-cutter protagonist. Despite previously reaching the peak of what effort can achieve, he claims to have saved no one. This carries with him, leading him to put his life on the line to save others as a means to make something of his life and out of guilt. On top of this, this guilt gives him conflicting feelings of love towards the heroine, believing he could be displacing his feelings of those he lost and using her as a substitute. Willem's purposelessness develops into him finding meaning through his connection with others. Also, generally speaking, he is a charismatic screen presence and reads between the lines, distinguishing himself from other cliche protagonists. In regards to the characters, outside of the child cast, the other side characters are rather underdeveloped. We are introduced to the Great Sage and Lillia, his companions and Eboncandle, his arch-nemesis but we do not learn much aside from that. We know that Lillia loved him and sacrificed herself for that cause but know nothing else about their relationship and barely saw them interact. To have such a seemingly important character be given such little attention is definitely one of my gripes. I would say that the main theme is happiness. All of the characters have their own struggles and there is a wide range of themes attributed to them but most of them can all be associated with happiness. Chtholly asks Rhan, "What do you think finding happiness is all about?" to which Rhan explains that everyone has different definitions of happiness. She also mentions that some people do not know what brings them happiness. But what is important is to "listen to your heart's advice". Rhan's answer can be seen in many cases throughout the anime. Ithea finds happiness in realises she is accepted and belongs, Rhan strives for the truth and finds happiness in that and Nygglatho finds happiness in those she loves being happiness - for example, she prioritises Chtholly's happiness by supporting her romance instead of her own and finds fulfilment in looking after the children. Moreover, Willem finds happiness in saving people and in those he loves and Chtholly finds happiness in realising her love for Willem and knowing that he promises to love her back, so much so that she says she's the "happiest girl in the world". SukaSuka conveys the message that happiness comes in many forms and is unique to us all. Searching for what makes us happy, or realising (as Rhan says) that we were "blessed all along" is what is important and what we should strive for. SukaSuka pulls you in with its alluring fantasy setting and vibrant presentation but keeps you invested with brilliantly crafted writing and thought-provoking questions. To be honest, I'm very surprised an anime like this has evaded me for so long considering it has so much I like about anime. Although I have some qualms and it was rather short, it is still an unforgettable emotional experience that will resonate with me for a while. 9/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Aug 25, 2023 Recommended
Set in the early 1900s, Gosick tells a grand tale of war and betrayal alongside love presented as a beautifully written spectacle that unfolds over a mere 24 episodes. Initially, I hesitated to watch it as historical and mystery anime are usually not my preference. However, from the get-go, I was pulled in by its endearing cast, gripping story and stellar art style. In fact, the episodes flowed so well into the next and had me so invested that I inadvertently began binging the show without realising it.
Starting with the story, it is at first structured into arcs which each involve a singular ... mystery over the span of around 3 episodes. The mysteries usually revolve around the world's urban legends but occasionally have relevance to an overarching plot and give hints to greater questions. Nearer to the end, the story converges into a streamlined set of events that eventually lead to a climax. Many may be put off by its somewhat episodic nature but I think the individual mysteries were entertaining enough to keep me engaged throughout. Each arc covers a unique premise with fresh solutions that never reiterate and are filled with meticulous details to maintain an appropriate level of complexity. Although the arcs are rather formulaic, I have been so genuinely interested in each one that having the formula repeat simply promises me another enjoyable few episodes. Gosick excels at leaving the viewer satisfied by tying up all loose ends at the end of each mystery. Every little detail is referenced and explained, including actions, and incentives and any questions left unanswered are intentionally so in order to build on the plot for later episodes. There is something that Gosick does differently that makes it different to other mystery anime I've seen. Usually, mystery anime actively makes the viewer part of the experience by giving them hints and prompting them to solve parts of the mystery themselves. But with Gosick, the mysteries are mostly completely unsolvable for the viewer (unless perhaps you're a genius or I'm just stupid). Many of the logic threads explained by our little detective leave me thinking "Yeah, there is absolutely no way I would have ever thought of that" either due to their absurdity or it being too complicated to accurately piece together. Moreover, there are times when during the unravelling of the mystery, they reveal information that is critical to the solution for the first time, meaning that some mysteries are unsolvable because you simply are not given all the relevant details before being told the answer. Over time, this makes Gosick a rather passive experience compared to other mysteries as you almost give up trying to string evidence together and allow the anime to spoonfeed you the answer at the end instead. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion. With the anime doing so much of the work for you and with the mysteries often not even possible to work out on your own, there is no fear of missing out on clues or being left behind in the story. The pressure of having to get the solution correct or work it out on your own is gone. In which case, the viewer can fully immerse in being told a story rather than taking part which is a positive to many people - similar to how people would rather watch a playthrough than play the game themselves as there is no pressure of needing to be good at the game to enjoy it. In this way, Gosick delivers a rather unique approach to the mystery genre - at least from my experience - and I enjoyed it very thoroughly. Closer to the end, the scale of the story approaches its peak. Many elements of the story and hints we are given along the way come together to create a gripping narrative involving all the major characters thus far and make sense of everything that has happened, answering all questions reserved up until this point. Within this final arc, there are countless unpredictable story beats with exciting revelations and shocking twists. Gosick was clearly written with the climax in mind from the beginning and sets the stage for it methodically throughout the show. The level of influence of each character's actions skyrockets as events affecting the entire country unfold, making the emotional weight of each plot point much more intense than before. The plot gradually evolves into a thrilling spectacle that is brilliantly paced from start to finish. It then ends with an extremely satisfying catharsis, wrapping up every question and desire perfectly. I may have preferred a more clear and emotional climax where all the emotional weight built up explodes into a single moment but I still like the ending I was given. Gosick's story is absolutely one of the show's greatest strengths and has left me feeling very pleased with the experience. Most certainly, however, the characters are the best part of the show for me. At first glance, the main character, Kazuya, is your typical dense airhead protagonist whose personality solely revolves around being nice. However, I think his absolute earnestness and kindness are very relevant to the theming of the show (which I will expand on later) and are surprisingly very likeable. He is not kind for no reason; his father was an imperial soldier and as the third-born son, he is always trying to match up to his older siblings. During intense moments, he strives to uphold his family's honour and meet their expectations going so far as to risk his own life to do so. Not only this, but his kindness also comes from his affection for our heroine. Being the only person in this foreign country who does not ostracise him and treat him differently, he is very justifiably nice towards her. Actually, he doesn't open up to her immediately but only after seeing past her aloof presentation. Moreover, he is not exceedingly empathetic towards everyone. There are moments when he witnesses death in front of him or walks past a corpse and barely feels anything. Therefore, I think he distinguishes himself from the generic unconditionally kind protagonist as instead, his kindness is very justified. However, I do wish there were more moments that give him the spotlight and for him to be more fleshed out. We only really hear a snippet of his backstory and he doesn't receive a great deal of development throughout the story so I would have preferred a more balanced investment in the characters' depth in the show, especially when it regards the main character. On the other hand, the character that receives plentiful development and is the undeniable star of the show is Victorique. This heroine is perhaps one of the most likeable characters I've ever witnessed in a show. Her breathtaking and stand-out golden hair, her stylised and flashy clothing and her commanding whilst endearing aura completely steal Kazuya's thunder. She is initially presented as aloof and condescending, which may put people off but we gradually see her in moments of vulnerability and, like Kazuya, grow to love her. The contrast, or "gap moe" if you will, between her usual demeanour and moments where she is embarrassed or affectionate grows on you and makes it almost impossible to hate her. If at any point you feel she is full of herself or egotistical, you then see her crying over being flicked on her forehead or begging like a baby for snacks and immediately lose that impression. Victorique is a perfect mix of shrewd, astute and exemplary whilst quirky, dorky and silly. She treads on a fine line between being incomprehensibly competent and peerless and being a helpless little puppy who needs her hand held wherever she goes. For me, perhaps the most enjoyable facet of the show is the interactions between Victorique and Kazuya. These two stand out in their own little world amongst all of the chaos that unfolds around them. The dichotomy between Kazuya's sheer honesty and straightforwardness and Victorique's roundabout way of conveying her feelings and snarky yet loving remarks make the characters so likeable and enjoyable to just sit back and watch talk to each other. I could honestly watch an entire show of these two just bickering, laughing and talking to each other. In general, I think comedy goes such a long way in making the viewer care about the characters which in turn propels the emotional weight of each event involving them. Seeing these two have so much fun together and making me laugh so much makes the moments when their lives are at stake all the more engaging and intense. This friendship is extremely relevant to Victorique's character. Victorique is a girl who is separated from the outside world and knows not of love. Her friendship with Kazuya and his extreme kindness and earnestness teach her the value of having people you care about. Unlike all others around her, Kazuya is earnest and honest to a T with no ulterior motives and does not try to use her in any way. Being the hyper-intelligent genius that she is, she is able to see past anyone's true incentives so Kazuay being honest to a fault regains her trust in people. Over the episodes, Victorique opens up and gradually recognises that she cares for him and this impacts her actions throughout the show. Initially, she keeps this image of absolute confidence and indifference to others but further on we see her bursting into tears and wailing when something bad happens to Kazuya and he becomes her utmost priority. She finally finds something that matters to her and sacrifices everything for it. Conversely, Kazuya also sacrifices anything for her and the paradigm of always "finding each other" illustrates how our relationships and the people around us are what matter the most and hold great power. This narrative portrays a very beautiful message and theme. Victorique's character development is an effective conduit for exploring the aforementioned theme and in my opinion is a work of brilliant writing. Overall, the characters are what makes the show so endearing, and likeable and gives it so much heart and love. To briefly touch upon production, Bones does a fantastic job with excellent animation quality (especially for an anime more than 10 years old now). The facial expressions are very detailed and nuanced at times and the fight scenes, although sparse, are well choreographed and animated. I think the colour palette and little details regarding infrastructure and clothing effectively integrated the story and characters well into the setting of the early 1900s, providing an immersive experience. The voice acting doesn't seem to have any room for improvement, especially Victorique's VA which nails cutesy, intense and serious moments. Moreover, the score is consistently high quality throughout. Although I cannot point out any standout tracks or songs (excluding the opening and ending) perhaps an insert song during the climax could have worked well. As a whole, the production is very high quality and has not aged at all over the 12 or so years it has been out. In conclusion, the show encompasses fantastically written mysteries with very loveable characters and wraps it up into a thrilling spectacle, leaving the viewer with a very satisfied feeling. I would have preferred it to be longer to flesh out the main character more (and because I'm starving for more interactions between Victorique and Kazuya) but I am very pleased with the experience I got. 9/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 14, 2023
Fire Punch
(Manga)
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Having read many of Fujimoto's other works, I have to say that this is his most gruesome manga so far. In fact, this is one of the most gruesome manga I've ever read in the entire medium. At no point does it pull its punches or hold back for the reader's comfort but it is unapologetically hard-hitting and cut-throat. It involves extremely heavy and disturbing subject matter such as slavery, starvation, and execution and with the setting being very dystopian, it succeeds in being unsettling and anxiety-inducing.
The general premise is a simple one. A man kills the main character's sister, so he seeks revenge. Sounds like ... one of the most cliche and typical stories you could write. But when you mention that the main character has to constantly endure the pain of burning alive without the release of death, his muscles had grown immensely due to the sheer stress they experience from the burn, that he has been roaming a snowy desert for 5 years straight among all this pain and that he has been enduring this since he was a child then the story certainly loses its conventional nature. We are also told of the existence of "blessings" which are essentially this world's superpowers bestowed upon people "chosen by God". Once again, sounds cliche. But then we learn that many of the people with blessings, such as generating fire, electricity or iron, are locked up en masse underneath a city and are tortured to produce energy and are not considered humans but literally treated as fuel. On top of this, women and children are abused for carnal pleasure, the population is controlled by a contrived and completely false god and everyone is in a constant state of cold, hunger and despair. Fujimoto creates a system of discrimination, abuse, and indoctrination that wonderfully sets the stage for a depressing and savagely brutal story. The characters stand out as eccentric and even to the point of insanity. Most of the characters are so used to dystopia that witnessing death does not faze them. Many of them are not even slightly reluctant to kill great numbers of people without a second thought. Even the characters that we are supposed to like are completely unhinged and that's what's amazing about them. The character's actions and dialogue are so unique and unpredictable in a way that is dissimilar to any other manga I've read. Take Togata for instance, a person who has lived for 300 years with the sole purpose of watching movies. They are nigh-immortal and will carry out the most unreasonable and immoral actions for their own entertainment. At one point the person acting as their camera-woman is on a train that isn't stopping and Togata decides it would be interesting to film how they could make it out of the situation instead of helping her - not in a sadistic way but purely for entertainment. The main character has endured an absolutely unfathomable amount of pain which is only possible with an unbelievably powerful resolve and conviction. He then loses his reason for living, only to find it and then lose it again and he eventually goes completely insane to the point of passing out and waking up to having killed 17 children. Fujimoto has written a superbly interesting character by pushing what a human can go through to its limits. What will a man be like when he has gone through unimaginable torments? When he is unsure of his identity as a saviour, killer or even a god? And when his sole purpose in life is ripped from him, giving him only the desire to end it all but all the people he loves tell him to live on? This interplay of moral conflict, cognitive dissonance and confusion creates a very psychologically complex character which is only possible through the extreme circumstances provided by Fujimoto. However, I think the eccentric and insane nature of these characters emphasises their human elements as well. Togata, who is a complete psychopath and is incredibly hard to understand is revealed to struggle with gender identity and is envious of men who get to have the body they want. They are also revealed to have a very human desire to be a hero and take an active role in the movie of life, leading them to sacrifice their life for the protagonist. Additionally, Agni, our main character, is a superhuman who experiences pain beyond anything we can imagine but is driven by the very realistic emotions of caring for his family, wanting to save people and putting your loved ones before anyone else. I think portraying all of these elements amongst these absolutely insane people illustrates the beauty and power of being human and reminds us that even in the horrible world Fujimoto created, they are still people who live, think and feel just like us. This is how, despite the characters being hard to compare ourselves to, there is still a degree of relatability and empathy to have towards them, making the events that occur to them all the more powerful. The art is consistently brilliant with many stand-out panels and very evocative and detailed facial expressions. The mangaka's drawing style successfully illustrates the gritty and dark tone needed to tell such a depressing story. It feels both messy and precise with how images pop out of the page and overwhelm you and yet you can still notice meticulous and nuanced details in the characters' expressions or movement. I wouldn't say that the character designs stand out too much with most characters looking pretty ordinary or dressed in classic military-style outfits but Agni is certainly an exception to that. The fire perpetually engulfing him and the vivid outlines of his muscles are both iconic and a constant reminder of his experiences and suffering which is very relevant to him as a character. Once again, as seen in his other works, Fujimoto delivers an absolute masterclass in panelling. Each frame perfectly flows into the next and he utilises them exceptionally for his fights, for building tension or even to show slight changes in facial expression. One technique that I love to see him use is when he shows the same panel many times consecutively with only very small differences that force you to pay attention to the details and really emphasise the slow passage of time. Arguably the most important facet of the manga is the theming. Fujimoto could have easily added in more fanservice in regards to romance or fight scenes but instead focuses on the narrative and conveying a message. He tackles a broad range of topics such as religion, revenge, guilt, morality and even the meaning of life. Even the exploration of these themes is rather broad. For example, religion is portrayed as a deceptive and despicable tool for controlling people but is also seen as a source of hope and a necessary solution in times of extreme suffering. Revenge is the initial motivation for the main character but unravels into a cycle of hatred and hypocrisy with Agni becoming just like the person he loathed, however, at the very least it gives him a reason to live. Also, Agni struggles with ranking his priorities. He wants to get revenge, protect his loved ones and save people but in the process, he kills many innocents. The manga constantly straddles the line of getting you to agree with the characters' actions but in the next moment questioning if you should be and beginning to disagree with their actions. In this way, it is very thought-provoking and rather introspective, at least for me, by making me question what I would do in Agni's situation. My personal interpretation of fire punch is that it conveys a nihilistic message that tells us to live for whatever reason we want, be it silly, unreasonable or stupid even, because there is no "true" or correct way to live. Togata lives simply to make a movie, the ice witch lives to see the next star wars movie, San lives to follow and worship his god and Agni lives for Luna. None of these are portrayed as correct or better than the other, they are all unique and justifiable reasons for living. Who is to say Agni's love for his sister means more than Togata's love for movies? In the end, Togata doesn't finish the movie, the ice witch never sees the next star wars and San is killed by and rejected by his god, although Agni eventually reunites with Luna. Our time on earth is limited and pointless so you can fill it with whatever you want as long as you are content with it. Whether your goals and desires are accomplished or not is up to the universe but all you have to do is make sure you're satisfied by the end of it. In all truthfulness, there are many things about the manga I didn't understand. The entire concept of the tree warming up the earth, why Judah looked identical to Luna and why Agni met Luna/Judah at the end and what that means are a mystery to me. The cryptic nature of the manga can be both unpleasant at times and thought-provoking at others but I cannot deny there were some chapters that left me completely stumped. I can definitely see this experimental nature along with the gruesome subject matter to be one of the reasons why this hasn't had an anime and why it wouldn't be for everyone. Moreover, I thought some characters were randomly thrown in such as the pole lady, the mind-reading man and the blade guy (resembling Denji's chainsaw man form) and I'm not sure whether to call it lazy or strange but I wasn't a fan of it. Overall, Fire Punch is an undeniably unique experience through its presentation, storytelling and writing that I would not recommend to everyone but will be a treat for those searching for the extremes of what manga has to offer.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 5, 2023
Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia
(Anime)
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Before watching this anime, I'd already read 8 volumes of the manga so I knew what I'd be getting myself into. Actually, I was reluctant to even watch the anime because I thought I'd clearly remember what would happen so there wouldn't be a point. However, after watching the first episode I immediately knew that wouldn't be the case and that it is definitely worth watching.
I think having read the manga, drawing parallels is inevitable and I would certainly say that I prefer the anime. The impact of voice acting, movement and colours cannot be overlooked and for a show of this nature, I feel ... that it makes a huge difference. The show creates this almost sombre or sentimental ambience at times which I think mostly comes from the dark blue and grey colours of the sky throughout the anime. Also, the subject matter of stargazing late at night and trying to fall asleep as well as experimenting with lo-fi soundtracks (which is, from my experience, really uncommon in anime) creates this really relaxing tone and since I watched most of these episodes whilst eating eggs after waking up in the morning it's a really peaceful experience. Overall, I think the atmosphere it creates is one if not its greatest strengths and makes it stand out from other anime. The romantic dynamic is really mature and down-to-earth, in my opinion, by showing a realistic and slow-paced development of connection. The main two characters at first have mutual insomnia, which brings them together often and then progresses to them forming the astronomy club, which makes them share a hobby and before you know it they're hanging out with each other all the time. Unlike other cliche romances in anime, there is no dramatic plot twist or eccentric premise, instead, they slowly grow comfortable with each other and enjoy each other's company. They also talk to each other about their worries and are simply there for support in their times of need. From my understanding, this is how love between two people normally forms between people and makes this anime a breath of fresh air among all the flashy and bizarre romances within the medium. Truthfully, this is one of the best romances I've seen in a while because there is no need for drama or romantic rivals to "spice things up". After all, the romance is so genuine and heartwarming by itself. The show also shines when creating what I like to call a "moment". When the music and visuals mix and the story reaches an important climax and in that moment you're left in awe and completely absorbed in the experience. The anime uses its dreamy and cosmic imagery, relaxing and immersive score and it's engaging whilst realistic romance to pull you in for satisfying moments that make you wide-eyed if only for a few seconds. I felt these "moments" when they were on the beach during the school trip and falling asleep, when they were talking in the rain under the bus stop and in the final episode at the Mawaki site where he told her he loves her under the moving stars, to give a few examples. The reasons why I have not rated it higher are that I felt that there were times when the art & animation stood out as jarringly low quality if only for a few seconds, the side characters could have been touched upon a little more and because it's not a complete experience since the story has not finished, so there is no ultimate climax, catharsis and conclusion at the moment. Overall, however, I think the anime provides a very unique experience with a standout atmosphere and realistic romance although I can see how it wouldn't be for everyone. It's one of the anime that surprised me this season and should a second season be released, I will most certainly be watching it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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