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Genuinely a masterpiece of a show, and I don't use that term lightly. I'm not a "tough" reviewer for the most part - I'm actually quite generous compared to other people it seems, but I'm very tough on what deserves a full 10/10 and this meets ALL the criteria.

This anime is so refreshing. No, the genre isn't entirely "unique", but the level of quality in execution sure is. If you often find yourself bitterly disappointed by seinen, especially of the thriller or mystery variety - you're really gonna love this.

If I were to have one slight gripe with the show, it would be that I ... think more discerning viewers are able to see quite far ahead with the story telling. Trust me, there are some plot twists you are NOT going to see coming but overall, I felt like I could see the writers setting up the dominoes as well as exactly where they were going to fall... The strange thing is though, this show has a kind of magic that made that process feel extremely satisfying, rather than boring and predictable. I guess it's all in the writing and planning?

Everything about Odd Taxi is a feast for the eyes and ears: amazing animation and art style, a SUPER catchy OP (on top of it cementing itself as one of my favourite anime, it's also earned the extremely rare title of "OP that I never skip or get sick of"), an awesome OST... as well as a great cast of characters whose lives intersect in such a complicated but always clearly well-written way... I could honestly sit here and write an additional ten paragraphs praising this show.

Watch Odd Taxi.

Oops... I went into this blind & not realizing it was part of an existing series (kind of), so I was SO confused for most of my viewing; I thought it was a double-opener first episode for a full series and it was only when it ended but there was about 5 minutes of credits I was like "OH FUCK NO THIS IS A SHORT FILM ISN'T IT???? FUCK MY LIIIIIIIFE!"

Anyway, to review it somewhat objectively (in the sense thatIi went in with absolutely no prior knowledge and basically consumed it for what it was, not that I think my opinion itself is objective) I'm ... shocked they put so much effort into an ova.

The animation itself was kinda... well, shoddy feels a bit too harsh, given that they *did* put considerable effort in keeping the girls consistently cute and doe-eyed throughout even if proportions and framing were kinda outta whack on more than one occasion... let's say, 'not entirely polished'. That aside, the directional choices really helped lift the production up so you didn't notice it quite so much. Choice of backgrounds, framing of scenes (I know I JUST complained about this, but for the most part the framing devices used are super artistic and interesting!), cutaway shots (? not really sure what to call them, but y'know, when they randomly decide to focus on some flowers or a leaf blowing in the wind) and the music were excellent and reminded me somewhat of Kuzu no Honkai in that regard.

The way in which the characters are introduced made next to zero sense, but honestly I found myself shrugging through most of it like "well, so much anime is so ill-planned or doesn't have the airtime to be able to take its time with introductions I'm actually kinda desensitized to this" so though annoying, it actually didn't hinder my viewing all that much. Despite being only about 40 minutes in length, it successfully managed to make me invested in 3 different pairs of friendships. Albeit with the notion that this was a full series...

Despite the seemingly tepid score I've given it, I'd actually recommend this to people that feel like watching something that's a bit balls-to-the-wall, acid-trip insane. I know there's WAY kookier stuff out there, but the way this ova (for the uninitiated, of course) just throws information at you full-speed & in a seemingly incoherent chronology was definitely a ride, for sure.
[ Someone pointed out on the forum that the amateurish nature of the production was probably a meta choice given that it's a story-within-a-story made by an amateur acting troupe, and I think that's a fair comment to make soIi thought I'd add it as an addendum to this review! ]

If you were a fan of Paranoia Agent or Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei I think you'd have a fun time this this! Maybe it's just me but I got the same sort of frantic energy from this that I did from those two shows.

story- 6
art- 6
sound- 7
character - 8
enjoyment- 6
overall- 6

For those of you - like me - who have never watched Bleach, I wouldn't pay too much attention to the fans who are saying "non-fans might not enjoy it." Perhaps Burn The Witch makes some references that went completely over my head as a non-fan, but there wasn't a single moment that I felt like I was out of the loop.

Sure, the story suffers from being so short - time constraints mean having to dump the viewer right in the middle of the action. I agree with the criticisms that say this feels like a 12 episode show and we're starting on episode ... 4, but I think overall they did a good job of establishing relationships, each character's personality & motivations, and a pretty significant amount of worldbuilding in just 1 hour. Everything left me wanting more, and I PRAY that one day this gets picked up as a full series, even if it gets handed off from the author to a studio for them to make their own thing out of it. (Maybe it wouldn't be as good then, maybe it would be best to keep the author on as a director/helper in the script department or whatever, I'm just hypothesising here after all...)

Animation was top notch, and they really got the "feel" of central London down pretty well. In fact the only other show I recall getting it close to spot-on is Princess Principal. (Even Magus Bride's rendition feels kind of one-dimensional and fictional/idealized, though that one gets praised a lot. But I mean that's just my own opinion.) The OST was pretty sparse overall but what *was* there was great. I actually need to do a quick re-watch because there was one song in there somewhere that I liked a lot...

My overall scoring:-
Story: 8
Art: 10
Sound: 9
Character: 8
Enjoyment: 9
Overall: 9

I have to say I'm rather surprised by the low score this manga has. I understand that mileage may vary/different strokes for different folks and all that, but I can't help but feel this deserves far better than an 6.85! (Its current score as of my writing this review.)

Story & Art - 8/10
Character, Enjoyment & Overall - 9/10

(Firstly I'll start off by making a comment about the printing quality, as I bought all six volumes as they were being released in English. I'm not sure what the quality of Kodansha's manga is usually like, but for this release at least they did a really nice ... job! It's actually one of my favourite manga I own on presentation alone just because the paper is nice and thick and the cover has a really nice and satisfying to hold matte finish. As for translations, I'm no expert but the language always felt very natural so from a casual reader's standpoint, they also did very well on that front!)

Now, as for the series itself, I have to say I have a big appreciation for how this topic was handled. Works that revolve around adult women AND is taken seriously/isn't just comedy are hard to come by, let alone finding any that are of legitimate quality...

As a woman in her early-to-mid 20s a lot about this manga hit close to home. I don't cosplay nor have I ever actually been to an event (sadly, I live in the countryside so all the good stuff happens too far away...) but I often feel the disapproval of those around me for my interest in anime and manga and so I try as hard as possible to hide these interests, just like the MC does. The issue of finance is also brought up rather frequently, a struggle I can relate to all too well... these are expensive hobbies, y'all!

I won't talk too much in this review, I'll just say that this story has a wonderful cast of characters, and the story is very grounded and realistic. The art is really pretty (a little janky at times probably from deadline rushes but it's forgivable since it doesn't happen often) and on top of that you can TELL this is a story really close to the author's heart. She even went as far as to create an entire magical girl franchise to serve as the backdrop of the series! You even get character sheets for their personalities and how to make their costumes etc. A lot of love went into this series.

The manga has a really satisfying conclusion, which in part contributes to my high score since no matter the genre or medium (manga, tv, film...) I'm rarely satisfied by an ending, so I have to give Sakuma massive props in that department.

Overall, I would suggest at least picking up the first volume to give it a try. I'm going to be suggesting this series to all my friends because I feel like this really is a hidden gem!

Man, what wasted potential...

Story: 6
Art: 8
Sound: 8
Character: 6
Enjoyment: 6
Overall: 6

I'm going to preface this by saying, episodes 1-4 are ABSOLUTELY worth watching. Up until this point, the show was a solid 9/10 for me.
...
Sadly, beyond that point, everything falls apart; the story, the characters, and definitely animation. If you heed my advice, I would also offer a hesitant recommendation to skip over episode 5 and watch episode 6; but this is ONLY if you want more background to one of the police officer characters (I won't elaborate because spoilers, but at the end of episode 4 you'll know who I'm talking about). Now, I say hesitant because it's a deeply disturbing episode, and episode 4 provides a far neater 'ending' than episode 6 does.

As an aside, I would also highly recommend episode 8. It's a side story that doesn't relate much to the main plot at all and it's delightfully macabre. The animation is pretty shoddy, but I really enjoyed the characters in this episode!

MOVING ON. The soundtrack is pretty sparse, but what is there is delightful. It does a fantastic job of portraying a certain feeling that will have you swept up in the moment alongside the characters. The OP has been stuck in my head ever since I started this show! The animation starts off incredibly strong, too. It's evident that they ran into issues later on - be it time or monetary constraints - which is why I've awarded both only an 8 despite these two being my favourite aspects of the show.

Despite my dissatisfaction with the large majority of the later episodes (as well as the conclusion), I can at least see and appreciate some of the things Kon was trying to attempt with this show.

In the end, I'm still glad I watched this show, even if only for a handful of good episodes that it provides.

So, I decided to drop it after episode 7. Not for any particular reason; it was actually a pretty enjoyable episode but I felt that it was a natural end to a mini arc (which I consider to be one for each member of the student council) so it felt like an okay place to stop.

The artwork is great - loved all the different facial expressions. Not just the crazy ones, but ones used for comedic purposes, or simply to highlight how beautiful some of the girls are. This, for me, was the highlight of the entire show - the music is pretty good but ... nothing outstanding and the characters I find to be just above average.

Leading in from that last point: the array of characters, on the surface, are pretty cool and diverse in both personality and design but I never felt it go anywhere. This show is pretty shallow on character development, save for perhaps Jabami and Mary, but even with them it felt like painfully slow baby steps watching them develop...

Overall, my enjoyment was just slightly above middle of the road. I could have continued with the last 5 episodes left to air, but as I mentioned before, this felt like a comfortable places top stop. I can't see any kind of "plot twist" beyond this point that would shake up the show enough to keep my interest, and I feel like I can completely predict how the last 5 episodes are going to play out. I might be interested in picking this series back up in the future though, if I find out that the plot gets some kind of shake up down the road. If it's more of the same though I'll have to pass.

I'd say give this show a try if you've already blown through all the great stuff because it's not TERRIBLE. But don't expect anything life changing either.

So much about this really hit home for me. It's kind of amazing how two people, brought up on opposite sides of the globe, could have an almost identical experience when it comes to identity, sexuality, and mental health... Having said that, I think even if you are straight and/or a man, there's still a lot of enjoyment to be taken from this humble little volume.

First and foremost: though I know many of you will find other means of reading this story (*wink*), I still feel it's worth mentioning for anyone contemplating buying the physical release that Seven Seas did a fantastic job with ... this printing! It looks and feels good. Thick, quality paper, crisp and clear print, etc.

But back to my previous point.

Though I feel a good chunk of this manga's audience will be lesbian/bi women and those with mental health issues, I think it's a good read for anyone who fits neither category. The art style is adorable, full of expression and life and she does an excellent job at creating diverse-looking characters so the narrative never gets even mildly confusing! On top of that, it's a good look into many social aspects of Japanese life: how their society deals with mental health, of course, but also more broadly relateable topics such as the quest for love and understanding, the struggle of living up to your parents' expectations, finding a job and the general hardships of entering adulthood.

Another aspect I find deeply fascinating, is that her way of living during this period of her life could be defined as an almost hikikomori lifestyle. So I would say you also get some insight into that aspect of Japanese culture to some degree!

Really, despite its rather dark and dreary subject matter, Nagata does well to emphasize the importance of self love. This is definitely the story of a fighter and not a quitter, so you don't need to worry about coming out of it feeling worse than before! I've only owned this manga for a week and I've already read it twice, because it actually feels like a very uplifting read to me, despite being so uncomfortable (for me, it feels like a mirror is being held up in front of me at many points, haha).

There's still so much more I could say about this manga! Instead I'll end it here with a short summary: 10/10, and I hope and I pray that Seven Seas also decides to release her sequel manga!