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Apr 13, 2025
I used to think that no matter how bad your story was, it'll always be enjoyable if it was a death game. However, that was before I discovered this series. This review contains slight spoilers for volume one, but I'd suggest reading through this anyway so you don't waste your time if you decide you don't like it.
Nice concept. We have someone who willingly enters into these death games as a way to earn money. Is she poor? Homeless? Nope, she just doesn't like regular jobs. Okay... she also has a goal of surviving 100 games, or something. Again, no proper reasoning behind this. Just
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"because", I guess.
There's two parts of this series I really don't like. For one, there is not a single male character anywhere to be found. Death games are usually played by people who have run out of options, right? That isn't strictly set to women-only. What makes it worse is one of the later games in volume one has like 300 contestants. All girls. It makes zero sense. These games also require the participants to wear specific clothing for each game. You'll see a pattern emerging quite quickly: it's all woman's clothing. Does this world have zero men in it or something??
The next stupid thing is that the only actual risk is death. Which seems obvious, but if you've watched your fair share of death game shows you know that isn't the only thing that happens. People get injured, people need to cut limbs off, etc etc. But there's no risk to that here. They have a special chemical injected into their blood when they start the game that is able to instantly solidify the blood upon contact with air, stopped anyone from bleeding out. This also means their limbs can be re-attached if they survive the game later. This is so stupid because it removes almost any form of risk throughout the entire game.
Maybe the story gets better later. Maybe it's just the first two or so volumes that suck. But that doesn't matter. You've already set up the world like this and introduced a mechanic that removes any form of risk. With a couple changes this could have been an amazing series following a girl battling for survival. But it isn't. And it sucks.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Apr 13, 2025
I actually enjoyed this more than the first season, even though it was a "filling the gaps" show. I don't have too much to say, so I'll keep it short. Also I watched this when it aired but am only writing my review now (lol).
I'm not saying that season one was bad, it really wasn't, but honestly having less focus on the romance and more focus on the slice of life this time around really provided some much needed depth to the characters for me. I'd go as far as to say that this is one of the very few shows I've watched were the
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characters feel like living, breathing people instead of characters in a series. I loved the romance, yes, but I loved the group dynamics more.
The OP for this season was really good too, but I don't have too much to say on that part. Banger song and banger visuals.
That's about it from me. If you only liked season one for the romance, don't watch this. But, if you felt like something was missing, or you want to see more of the friend group in a non-romantic setting, watch this. It won't disappoint.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Mar 31, 2025
It's the most cliché a shoujo can get, and I loved every second of it. You won't be getting anything new here, but if you enjoy the first three episodes, stick around.
[Story] 6/10 - As I said, it's a cliché shoujo. There's nothing new here, but it was still interesting enough. Pretty good side cast and your main couple are the cutout "bullied shy girl" and "tough hot guy with a sweet side" characters. It's got the fluffy, wholesome moments, the moments on the emotional end (though I never found myself crying), and everything in between. I do think the side cast were a strength,
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I really enjoyed the moments between the main friend group.
[Animation/Art] 8/10 - Really nice background art and character designs. Overall pretty well animated throughout the season. Animation isn't too fluid but it isn't clunky or stiff either.
[Music] 10/10 - I LOVE THE SOUNDTRACK! It's up there with A Silent Voice for me. I might not have gotten past the first episode if it wasn't for the soundtrack, but once I got past it I ended up binging the show. Honestly the soundtrack turned a pretty bland first episode into something I was almost crying to (even I didn't know why...). OP and ED are pretty good (I prefer the ED), they definitely have the same vibe to them. Nothing spectacular though.
[Characters] 7/10 - I've kinda already gone over this in the story segment so I won't copy-paste it.
[Enjoyment] 9/10 - Yes, it's cliché. Yes, it's pretty generic. But it was good enough to binge the second half. I didn't feel bored when watching.
Overall, 7/10. Maybe it's because I haven't watched too many shoujos but I found it really entertaining even though it was very cookie-cutter. At the end of the day, it's gonna vary from person-to-person so I'll leave you to decide.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 24, 2025
It's been a while since I've read something so refreshing whilst still keeping the tropes that make its genre up.
Mane Mane Nichi Nichi is a comedy/slice of life manga (with a little romantic side story/s) centring around the three managers of a high school's baseball club. The entire series is full of jokes that I haven't really seen in manga before. In a weird way it feels ecchi without any fanservice. It's a really funny manga that will have you laughing out of pure surprise, coming from the award-winning author of "Teasing Master Takagi-san" (which is great too).
It's an episodic manga and whilst certain
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story points connect in between, for the most part the main gag/event in a chapter will conclude within the same chapter.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 23, 2024
I'd love to call this an anime made for fans of the game and not for the average viewer, but honestly half the time I was watching this it didn't even feel like that. That being said, if you like the game, sure, give it a shot.
The weakest volume getting the weakest adaptation definitely suits, and if there's ever another season I feel like it would look much better than this due to the overall better quality of the story and fights. The visuals were alright, nothing amazing but nothing horrendous. The lineart for characters was pretty thick/blurry rather than the thin and crisp style
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I'd grown used to in the PV trailers. Compositing/lighting was pretty good and didn't seem too flat.
Overall animation was pretty clunky and rigid, however some fight scenes (especially in the second half) started to move towards being more fluid. but even then non-fight animation was either non-existent or just... meh. You can definitely tell which cuts were done first, for example a certain cut in a scene in episode 11 (NOT what you're thinking of...) was really fluid compared to the rest of the scene, most likely because it was done at the beginning of production.
The opening and ending sequence really shows what the studio/s are capable of though, as the visuals are amazing and everything feels more like the PVs. The jump between those and the main show is quite jarring, lol.
I'm no expert in guns so I can't comment if the sfx were realistic or not, but overall the sound design was your average anime sfx. Nothing bad but you're not watching the next Yasumasa Koyama or Rei Ueno show. Voice acting was good too.
I liked all the cameos we got! It was nice to see characters that weren't a part of this volume be included in a scene or two.
Characters designs felt a bit off for a couple characters. I think Yuuka's was a bit weird-looking, but since she was a cameo and not a main character I didn't mind too much since she only had like 1 scene lol
There was a lot cut, such and worldbuilding and stuff, so whilst the main story flowed alright, it still felt a bit weird at times. Again, this didn't seen like it was intended to be viewed by an audience that hasn't played the game, so cutting out parts that fans like is a weird choice. I do get the episode limitations and all of that though.
Overall, I wouldn't watch this if you haven't played the game. And if you have played the game, I would only watch this if you LOVE the Foreclosure Task Force volume or just have some free time. I would still recommend this to Blue Archive players, but not excessively.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 19, 2024
This isn't a perfect adaptation of the light novel, but it's miles better than the movie. Character designs are a bit questionable at times, especially for more close up shots, but it doesn't impact the reading experience much. I do think there was a lot more comedy added compared to the light novel, which kinda makes the emotional scenes less emotional. The characters do feel pretty similar to their ln counterparts, and are actually expressive, unlike in the movie. Just don't watch the movie. I beg of you 🙏
Overall is a good adaptation and definitely worth the read if lns aren't your thing. If you're
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fine with reading books then go read the light novel instead
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 22, 2024
With the horrific mess of an adaptation that was "The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes" coming from the same studio, I was quite sceptical about watching this movie. But that was before I learned that Hirao Takayuki was the director. I don't know him for much, but his direction in the 5th Kara no Kyoukai movie in particular was amazing for me, and his work has stayed as some of my favourites ever since.
"Pompo: The Cinéphile" is a hidden gem, covering a topic rarely seen in anime: directing. For a movie about directing, I was expecting the direction to be good, and
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good it was! Camera angles were really unique and well done and even transitions to different scenes were just so cool and impressive. It isn't really something I can put into words, it's something you have to experience.
[Story] 9/10 - This isn't the next I Want to Eat Your Pancreas or A Silent Voice. This (most likely) won't make you cry, it just isn't that kind of movie. But will this make you jump and celebrate with the characters? Hell yeah! It's a mash of funny characters, interesting moments and surprisingly a lot of stressful scenes, especially towards the end. The last 10 minutes or so felt just a little rushed but it was more of an afterthought of mine than anything. If there's one thing to take away, I think I was honestly surprised at how I actually felt as if the movie that Gene was directing was actually award-worthy, since you don't see too much of it. The way scenes are slowly brought in along with the actual show's story is excellent and almost tells another side to the characters, especially Gene.
[Animation] 8/10 - Really fluid animation, especially at the climax. Again, another note to the director because they are SO many creative cuts in this movie that have incredible animation! Really only brought down a couple points due to the background art. It's good but nothing to be amazing at like The Tunnel to Summer, but I prefer it this way because this was actually an enjoyable watch and not a mess like that movie.
[Sound] 8/10 - Soundtrack was great, I especially love the piece that plays about two thirds in (but I can't spoil hehe)
[Characters] 9/10 - Loved all the main characters, the balance between comedy and realism was perfect.
[Enjoyment] 10/10 - A really fun watch that I think anyone could enjoy. Just watch it already!!!
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Mar 12, 2024
(Note: this review is based off a fan-translation. As of 2024/03/13, Seven Seas has announced an official English publication, releasing in Sept 2024.)
Out of the three currently released Four Seasons books by Mei Hachimoku, I'd say this was the weakest. But I wouldn't go as far to say this was a disappointment.
The story was well-rounded, I just wish there was more to the story before time stopped to help introduce the main character, Mugino, more. The entire story is based on the two main characters trying to travel across Japan whilst time is frozen to try and find why time is stopped. Mugino, the main
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character, is well written and his character development is really good. The same goes for Akira, if you were to compare her at the beginning vs her at the end you'd think they're two different people.
Character dynamics felt good, even if it was just the two of them, and the reveal of how everything worked at the end was really well thought-out too. My only real negatives are about the beginning and ending; it takes about two paragraphs before time stops so we never really get much of an introduction. The ending did make sense but it wasn't really that impressive, it felt more Makoto Shinkai than Mei Hachimoku which isn't a good thing in this case lol. I don't want to get into spoilers but it could have been thought out a lot more. Maybe my opinion will change once the official translation rolls around.
The illustrations were good too. I love KUUKA's style for coloured illustrations! They look so good! My only gripe are the black and white ones. They weren't as good as the ones in Tunnel to Summer or Wait for Me but were still good. I still prefer the black-and-white-only style we got in the Tunnel to Summer rather than the shaded versions we got in Wait for Me and Amber Autumn.
I think the main issue this had compared to previous entries is the lack of tension. In Tunnel to Summer, there's a constant build up to the final time when Tono and Anzu are set to enter the tunnel and a preparing to throw everything away to do so. In Wait For Me Yesterday, there's the constant build-up and tension leading towards April 1st which we know is when Akito dies. But in An Autumn in Amber, there just... isn't.
There also weren't any major events I like to associate with the Four Seasons series, like the summer festival in Tunnel to Summer and sneaking into the school in Wait For Me Yesterday. But again, in this there just weren't any.
This is the weakest entry into the Four Seasons series, but if you like the other two, go and read it. It (hopefully) won't disappoint you, just don't go in thinking it'll be as good as Wait For Me or Tunnel to Summer. I do believe that the reason this wasn't as good as it could have been is because the author was writing another series, which looked more to be the priority, at the time. That series finished recently, so hopefully the Winter novel will be just as good as Tunnel to Summer and Wait for Me!!!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 30, 2023
"The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes" is a movie that derails from its light novel counterpart, and is a masterclass in ruining your source. However, whilst the movie has its (very large) issues, both as an adaptation and as a standalone, it's still worth a shot if the synopsis is interesting to you.
[Story] 4/10 - The story is fine if you're an anime-only. But, coming from the novel, I don't think I can even begin to describe how much is cut. Entire fleshed out characters get stripped to a couple of scenes, the two main character's motives aren't shown properly, and don't even
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get me started on scenes. With how much was cut and how much was anime-original, this might as well have been a standalone movie. I'm not even kidding when I say reading the novel is an entirely new story. Everything, from the beginning, middle, and end, is almost entirely different, aside from major plot points. The most important chapter (the final one, last ~15 minutes) was changed FOR NO REASON as it could have easily been fit in the same timeslot that it got into the movie even without the change. I guess the director wanted some emotional impact which would have been easy to add whilst following the script if the characters were actually adapted properly... yet he chose to introduce a bunch of plotholes for some tears, I guess. The entire epilogue was cut, too, which is a huge shame because it improves tenfold on the movie's generic ending. If there's one thing to take from this if you're an anime-only, it's to read the epilogue of the book. It provides a ton more closure.
[Animation] 9/10 - Wow. Just wow. This movie looked incredible. You can tell the studio put a lot of effort into really immersing viewers into the setting. They did a really good job at the lighting, backgrounds, everything - it just gives off such a cool summer vibe that I absolutely love! The only reason the animation is not a perfect 10 is because of the main focus of the story - the tunnel. The book describes the tunnel as, well, that: a tunnel. It's eerie, dark, ominous - you name it. Don't get me wrong, the glowing-maple-tree-cave the movie had wasn't bad (apart from the glowing-maple-tree-cave), it just felt... off. What's creepier, a perfectly normal tunnel that has the ability to do what it does in the movie, or an already supernatural-looking cave? If I was Tono, I'd be bolting my ass outta there as soon as I saw the trees. Other than that, there were maybe one or two scenes that felt a bit weird in comparison to the rest of the animation, but I really liked the visuals this movie produced. Honestly my only other gripe was how blurring was done. When the "camera" changes focus, or really most scenes with something blurred out of view, the blur looks almost vertical, rather than in all directions, so it looks slightly off. Really not that much of an issue though. I do think you can tell that the studio tried to stretch their budget out as much as possible, because there are a lot of scenes where characters will stay perfectly still for 10 seconds or more.
[Sound] 7/10 - I really liked the OST for this movie. Both the opening and ending credits songs are really good and the main soundtracks are really good too.
[Characters] 6/10 - The characters felt pretty shallow compared to their light novel counterparts. Comparing how they act on screen to the book, they might as well be separate characters that happen to share a name and face. They almost have completely different personalities compared to the book, and the movie strips them down to be so one dimensional it hurts. There were times whilst watching where I was like "Wait? We're at this part already?" and it just felt too early for parts in their relationship to happen, as if it were forced.
[Enjoyment] 7/10 - This is only this high because the novel is my favourite ever, so I'm glad it got an adaptation. Yes, it's a mess, but it's still an adaptation, even if half of it is anime-original. Honestly, the movie is actually pretty enjoyable if you put aside all the differences to the novel. But if you want to bring them in... this ain't it.
But at the end of the day, do I want studio CLAP to do more adaptations of Mei Hachimoku's books? To be honest, yes I do. The studio itself isn't that bad, as shown by Pompo the Cinephile and the (very) short movie "Toki no Kousa" over on Youtube. The reason why this movie sucked as an adaptation is mainly due to the director. It's clear he wanted to be the next Makoto Shinkai with the amazing visuals we got, but I think he got a bit too sidetracked and realised that he only had 10% of the budget left for animation and... well... actually adapting the story.
This was my first, and possibly last, review that I'll ever do on this site, so thank you for reading if you actually took time out of your day to read through this monstrosity.
TL;DR The Tunnel to Summer is a visually stunning movie that could have absolutely been one of my favourites if only the runtime was longer. If you're only here for the movie, and don't care about the novel, you'll love it. But please, if you can, read the novel. If you're reading this after watching and think the movie was a 10/10, the novel will be a 100/10. Trust me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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