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This anime is a conspiracy from the Japanese government to turn the anime community into an agglomeration of mindless, gyaru-loving zombies. Marin is an android sent from another planet who is only pretending to be human. A cluster of everything that succeeds in a waifu bait, all for the purpose of sucking out your soul and making you obsess over a 2-dimensional drawing that only exists in your fantasies. The main character isn’t human either, he’s essentially just a giant bag of slightly moldy potatoes who also happens to paints dolls. This isn’t Dress Up Darling. It’s the Marin anime.

It's an anime about cosplaying, ... but don’t let it fool you. This is merely a cleverly used plot device that gives an excuse to have Marin strip down as much as possible. Thanks to this, it manages to reach levels of fanservice that other anime are incapable of. It lets us know Marin’s exact breast size while making it sound important to the plot. Most of the characters that Marin cosplays as are often weirdly sexual, so much so that an entire episode had to be dedicated to pointing out that she was almost naked in one of the outfits. Doujin artists are gonna have a whole damn field trip with this one.

When it isn’t focused on fitting us much fanservice into the story as possible, the cosplaying aspects do actually manage to be educational… at times. Still, for every informative scene there’s another 5 ecchi ones, so don’t expect your hopes up too high. Or do get your hopes up if you like fanservice, I won’t judge. Promise. Sometimes if it’s feeling up to the challenge, the anime will include a fanservice scene that disguises itself as an educational one. There’s one point where two characters spend half an episode figuring out how to shrink a girls breasts in order to fit it into a cosplay. Spoiler alert: you use a B-holder. This is good to know, but the fact that it took 8 infuriating minutes of needless fanservice to get to that point is ridiculous. Most of the genuinely interesting facts about the process of outfit design are quickly glossed over, but the moment boobs or nudity are involved it becomes a super serious plot point that needs a whole episode designated to it.

But beyond all the wasted potential of the premise, it actually manages to be a half-decent romcom. Despite Gojo being a literal cardboard box, majority of the interactions between him and Marin are some of the more well directed scenes you’ll find. The combination of a shy guy and a popular girl is done to death in anime at this point, but Bisque Doll manages to stand out amongst the crowd thanks to fulfilling character interactions and progress between the main pair. The relationship grows at a steady pace, and honestly the fact that the relationship in a series like this progresses at all is a blessing in itself. As fun as it is to shit on Gojo for being a loner, he’s not the most boring main character out there. A lot of why he’s the way he is explained, often indirectly, through his hobby of painting hina dolls. It’s a hobby that both characters and audience won’t necessarily connect with, but one that has been all Gojo has known for most his life. It puts him beyond just being a loner for the sake of relatability, and paths the way for some decent character growth as Marin enters his life. Of course, the relationship is still heavily idealized, however it’s distinct enough to at least be worthy of some praise.

Side characters include a highschooler who looks like a primary schooler and a middle schooler who looks like a high schooler. The initial meeting of Gojo and the highschooler (who in case you forgot, looks like a primary schooler) involve him walking in on her naked. This is true visual storytelling at its finest. And how convenient that all the cosplayers happen to be girls. I’m sure this is a complete coincidence and definitey not because the author only wanted to cram in as much extra fanservice as possible. Until there’s a Gojo cosplay no amount of side characters can save this series.

Cloverworks really didn’t hold back with this production. Somewhere at the studio a horny old guy probably proposed the idea of spending as much of the budget as possible on perfecting Marin’s boob jiggle and the rest of the production crew just went with it. Seriously though, every single episode maintains a solid quality without ever dropping. Something as average as Bisque Doll really shouldn’t look this good, but here we are. Dialogue, music, shot composition, animation, it all creates a smooth flow that is heavily lacking in most similar anime. It all contributes to the dynamic between Gojo and Marin that manages to be more than just a repeat of existing tropes and low-effort romance bait. Most of the time…

I’ve harped on fanservice a lot here, but it’s hard to ignore it when it takes up more than half the series. Overall, Bisque Doll is a disappointing anime. It isn’t appalling, and it isn’t the worst romcom by any means, it’s just a lot of needless otaku pandering that wastes any potential it initially had. The series is fairly laid back, so when it fails to use the cosplaying premise to its advantage all it has to fall back on is making Marin as idealised as possible. This is fine at times as it can lead to enjoyable scenes, but it isn’t enough to carry a whole twelve episodes. It could have been so much more, but in the end was just pretty okay.

Maybe it would’ve been more enjoyable if I hadn’t spent half the viewing weirded out at Marin’s weird triangle shaped smile that she does.

**THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Somewhere between the release of .Hack and the year of 2013 the isekai genre devolved into a downwards spiral of recycled ideas being vomited out by any studio looking to make a quick buck. The World’s Finest Assassin tries to break free from this cycle, spicing up the genre by making the protagonist a world-class assassin instead of a loser otaku. If that isn’t enough to satisfy you, he’s also an anti-hero with the mission of bringing down the hero of the world. Apparently, any slight change to an isekai is enough to get an A+ for originality from the anime community.

You ... know, sometimes I feel bad for isekai protagonists. It must be terrible having every single girl in existence want to get inside your pants. Lugh is such an attractive human being that even his own mother can’t help but be strangely obsessed with him. It’s honestly quite impressive, he only had to manipulate 2 girls to swear absolute loyalty to him, and they’re so dedicated to him that they’re even willing to clean up his wet dreams for him. If that isn’t true love, I don’t know what is. In case you were thinking that his actions are morally wrong, don’t worry. His emotional manipulation is definitely 100% only for his mission. He would never actually have perverted thoughts about minors… except for a wet dream when sleeping with two of them… and he might kiss one… and get excited at seeing them naked… but besides that he’s fine!

The producers for this anime are absolute fucking geniuses. Airing this at the same time as Mushoku Tensei’s sequel is such a brilliant way of avoiding controversies. Who’s gonna worry about this 60-year-old assassin sleeping with kids when Rudeus motherfucking Greyrat is running amuck on the front page of every social media site. This is by the same author as Redo of Healer, so it’s damn right the boundaries are going to be pushed at every chance possible. There’s some child trafficking themes (which by the way, are handled fucking horrendously), some pedophilia, and overall just a little bit of something for everyone. At the end of every episode, I thought to myself, surely this can’t get worse. But it did. It got worse with every new fucking episode. The production team knew it too, the initially good art style visibly degraded the further the season progressed. It was a smart move including numerous still shots of naked girls to take up screentime, why worry about animation when there’s some nudity on screen. Why doesn’t the author just make a hentai? The world may never know.

Anti-heroes can be a great part of an anime if done correctly. They can push character decisions and motives past being a basic right or wrong. They can allow the viewer to question their own sense of morals through the actions of another character. Or sometimes anti-heroes are just included to look cool, which is essentially what World’s Finest Assassin does. He’s a professional assassin, the finest even, that never feels much attachment to the lives of others and is willing to do whatever is needed to complete a mission. There are, of course, no consequences for this because it wouldn’t be cool if a badass character suddenly cared about the act of taking a life.

The rest of the cast are forgettable. I was hoping that the world’s hero who our assassin protagonist was supposed to track down would be at least interesting, but they end up being a no-show for the entire season. The main harem basically consists of a servant girl, a girl of nobility, and a well-spoken ara ara girl. Unsurprisingly they’re all painfully bland with their defining personality traits being them wanting to suck off the main character. You’d think that severe mental trauma from witnessing your friends get raped as a child would be quite a life-changing event, but apparently not in this anime. All is solved after the protagonist shows up, buys a girl being trafficked, and adds +1 to his collection of love interests. By the way, the main love interest is also his cousin. You can’t make this shit up.

Audio-visuals are passable. As mentioned before, the art has a pretty noticeable drop as the anime progresses, but it never gets to the point of making the experience worse than it already is. The opening is pretty overrated but at least it’s unique and not just another copy-paste of an existing isekai theme song. None of it really matters though, as this anime would still be a 1/10 even if it had the greatest damn visuals of all time.

“The World's Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat” is another awful isekai that desperately tries to disguise itself as smart and original. It shouldn’t even be worth a full review yet here I am, actually putting some thought into the meaning behind something that never had any thought put into it in the first place. For the love of God, avoid this if you have any sense of human decency left in you. At least other similarly trashy isekai have some self-awareness.

This is a straight 1/10 and it isn’t even close.

A nice short with some fun visuals.

It isn’t revolutionary in any way and can be potentially forgettable, but there are worse ways to waste 25 minutes of your life. Some of the more dramatic scenes are lackluster because of how brief they are, and the most enjoyable parts were easily the more lighthearted moments that were more present in earlier episodes. The depiction of Okinawa was something I really enjoyed, being expressed through the experimental art style.
The ending theme is also really nice, enough for me to add it to my music playlist.

Overall, it was fine, and considering it's the length of a single 24 ... minute episode it's entertaining for what it is

As much as I would love to write a troll review giving this 10/10, it's so awful I can't bring myself to do give it anything higher than a score below five.

Why does every series about an orc need to include a rape scene on every second page? There’s no meaning behind it, it’s weird fanservice that is neither enjoyable nor funny. It doesn’t make the series mature. It’s about an orc trying to find a woman that he can impregnate, this is some middle schooler type shit.

Characters are boring, the plot is stupid in a bad way, and at the moment it doesn't feel ... like it's going anywhere. If you're a fan of Mushoku Tensei make sure you go don't go into this with any high expectations.

This review contains mild spoilers for Part 1

Worldbuilding has become such an overblown thing in anime. It doesn’t matter how many maps you can draw of the world, how many different species of dragon there are, or how many generic medieval town look-a-likes there are, a bad anime will still be a bad anime. Mushoku Tensei markets and presents itself as an isekai with a large focus on worldbuilding and adventure, and this is truer than ever in the second installment of the series. I love a good adventure as much as the next fantasy fan, but in Mushoku Tensei good character writing, a believable ... power system, and a structured narrative all get left behind as Rudeus travels around the map partaking in as many pointless complications as possible.

While the first season mostly involved Rudeus growing as a character from one location, Part 2 is almost the complete opposite. It feels as though a new species, biome, or village is introduced every second episode. There’s nothing that connects each location to the overall plot, they simply exist for the sake of it. It’s understandable that this is done for the sake of making sure Rudeus’ journey is a genuine adventure, but nothing ever feels like it serves a purpose. A cool tree village of beast people is introduced? Too bad it’s gone the very next episode with nothing being gained. If you’re wondering what role the beast people serve in relation to the rest of the world, how surprised would you be if I told you they were often subjected to slavery in other countries. Maybe this would be an interesting concept… if it didn’t already exist in every other isekai to ever exist. I must admit though, it was great seeing the heroic Rudeus take an official “slavery bad” stance, which even he himself wasn’t too keen on at first.

The worst part of such an adventure focused cour is that the cast is constantly being shuffled. There are numerous opponents and obstacles, but never a central antagonist that is the focus of one arc. An interesting character might show up for one episode then not appear for the rest of the entire series. Remember when all those unknown characters were hinted at in Part 1? Turns out it was just a massive bait, and they’ll be on screen for at most one episode each. There’s one rule a lot of fantasy writers tend to follow that I find interesting, and it’s to only introduce world elements as they become relevant to the plot. There are obviously successful exceptions to this, but Mushoku Tensei seems to deliberately go out of its way to introduce as many irrelevant things as possible. There’s one character that is supposed to be important to the story, but will show up out of nowhere, give the protagonist a convenient power-up, and disappear. They add nothing to the current storyline, but sure do add to the needlessly large cast of characters. It’s not just some characters that this applies to either. Every single character besides the main trio will never be important for more than three episodes at a time.

It’s disappointing how little purpose the side characters serve, as the three who actually do stick around aren’t all that special.
Rudeus’ hyped up character growth continues as he figures out how to be less of a pervert. He isn’t quite there yet on the maturity scale, but good on him from going to constantly sniffing panties as a baby to only occasionally spying on naked children. He becomes even more overpowered of course, how else would viewers be able to relate to him if he didn’t have numerous random power-ups.
Ruijerd begins to hold beliefs other than “only save children,” something that still holds up as the most nonsensical moral I’ve ever seen a character have.
Eris exists.
Roxy? Sylphiette? Who are they?

But on a more serious note, Rudeus is still too much of a ridiculous character to take any of his growth seriously. A lot of his laid-back attitude was supposed to be resolved after the guild quest in Part 1, yet he still treats every serious event as a casual occurrence. His perverted actions are obviously supposed to be something bad, but there are a serious lack of consequences to actually show that his actions are wrong. If anything, there are too many characters that actively promote Rudeus’ behaviour, with they themselves having unnecessarily perverted characteristics. Ruijerd is still too one-dimensional with his only trait being that he saves children, something that only impacts his decisions very occasionally in the first place. Eris suddenly becomes a skilled swordsperson off-screen, but her growth is hardly ever shown outside of training. Her biggest role at the moment is to be a love interest for Rudeus, after all what’s an adventure without a cocky princess for a heroine travelling along with them.

As much as I’ve complained about the worldbuilding, the art and sound are fantastic and do a brilliant job at maximizing the potential behind the world. Character designs make each character truly feel like they’re part of an immersive fantasy world, even with them being as generic as they are. The openings are interesting, and I like the idea of introducing the different settings through unique openings for each episode. I have zero complaints about audiovisuals, and I hope that Mushoku Tensei sets a good standard for future fantasy adaptations to come.

Part 2 of Mushoku Tensei was one big buildup with no payout. It would’ve been great to see more done, but the story currently feels like its expanding on the world for the mere sake of it. A good adventure series will do more than just attempt to fit as many locations as it can into the shortest amount of time. There was no reason for Mushoku Tensei to be as expansive as it tried to be. It appears that this is only one part of what will be a series that explores Rudeus’ entire life, but man I hope he’s finally completed his super revolutionary omega fantastic character growth by the time he’s a grandad.

This is nothing but a complete waste of what could have been a fantastic anime. I’m not kidding when I say that at its core Blue Period has some of the best characters, themes, and ideas you’ll find in recent anime. But for everything it does right it also does something wrong. The series is completely devoid of life and personality, and to call the finished product disappointing would be an understatement.

Blue Period is about passion. It’s about identity. It’s about the differences between hard work and talent. And of course, above all else, it’s about art. Putting the actual presentation aside for a ... second, the anime does a fine job at exploring a variety of themes and concepts. Similar character-driven anime will fall into a habit of forcing too much drama out of characters, detracting from the realism and relatability of the show. Blue Period, in comparison, is incredibly down to earth and consistent. Try and remember that this is an anime about art, so I went into it expecting a lot of extended metaphors that achieve nothing in the overall narrative besides sounding clever. To the credit of the author though this was not the case. There are still some moments that came across as excessive but at least they managed to relate back to the main themes and ideas of the show.

But despite all these strengths it turned out to be one of the dullest shows of the season. You’ll probably see plenty of people making jokes about how the series about art has terrible art and animation, and they aren’t wrong. It’s not insultingly bad, and I genuinely believe that animation means very little in the overall quality of an anime. Good directing can save even the most awful-looking shows, and most faults seen in Blue Period can’t be blamed on the art quality alone. Hell, some parts of the show don’t even look that bad. The actual artwork looks fine, and it’s easy to pick the values out of them as though they were a real painting.

So, where exactly did it go wrong? In a number of places, but to simplify things most of the issues stem from a complete lack of care put into the anime. Or if you wanted to sound smart you could say that the series ironically lacks passion, the very thing it tries to express the importance of. As a result of this the show feels incomplete. Entire scenes will go by without any background music, and this wasn’t deliberately done to increase tension, it was done out of pure laziness and lack of a solid production. And when they do finally decide to play a soundtrack, it ends up sounding mediocre at best and adding no value to scenes whatsoever. This completely undermines the importance of major moments in the series and fails to guide the viewer through scenes the way that it should. Instead of having incredibly impactful scenes with beautiful directing and music you get to listen to the sounds of brushes awkwardly hitting canvases while characters randomly cry as they deliver meaningful lines in the most monotone voices imaginable. Dialogue and character interactions become an absolute mess due to this and id present throughout all twelve episodes. What a joy. This isn’t the fault of voice actors or animators though; it’s the result of a product being rushed out before it is properly polished and refined.

The characters of Blue Period are amazing, and this still holds true despite the lack of production quality. Some major character moments aren’t as meaningful as they could have been, but the fundamental ideas behind the characters and their development are always there. Yaguchi, the main character, aims for his goals through hard work rather than natural talent. Of course, it isn’t the most original idea, but the way he is explored through his dedication and passion for art is simple but well-executed. He truly becomes his own unique character throughout the series rather than a simple copy-paste of any typical drama or sports protagonist. The side characters are equally as great. Each one gives a unique insight into the varying minds behind art, all with their own motives and values. Some people might enjoy art as a way to express themselves, others might pursue it due to a lack of other options. All kinds of people are presented in the side characters, and they’re all equally engaging to watch. My favourite character is by far Ryuugi though. He’s probably not the first time a crossdressing character has been written with such seriousness, by very rarely do you see a genuine crossdresser written with this much depth, particularly in anime. The series gives such a down-to-earth view of his character and manages to do this while tying it all back to the main topic of art. All of the character writing in Blue Period is great, but again it ends up losing a lot of its significance due to the lackluster directing, art, and sound.

Fundamentally, Blue Period should not be a bad series. It has a solid base with great characters and plot elements that allow it to convey its messages relating to art and passion. Unfortunately, it lacks just about everything else. Animation is the bare minimum, background music is almost nonexistent for entire episodes, and the pacing is all over the place. I’m sure all these things are a lot better in the manga, but this is about the anime, and frankly the anime is a lifeless slideshow with way too many glaring issues to be considered a good production in any way.

Move aside shoujo fans, this is what peak manga looks like. It is, quite simply, a masterful work of fiction with unparalleled greatness. Watching a girl masturbate in order to draw manga is nothing but an incredible premise, and I must commend the author for his masterful execution of the issue.

There are numerous genuinely humorous moments so you’ll either be laughing the whole time you’re reading this or just be horny. It’s a win-win. And, because it’s just so amazing, it manages to include cute romance with a nice ending. The only challenging thing about this manga is successfully finishing a chapter without getting ... distracted by overwhelming horniness.

This is fiction of the highest quality. 10/10

Kowloon Generic Romance is an interesting manga. It can be slow, unpredictable, and often puts its own spin on themes and ideas typically not found in manga. The characters are fairly standard; however, they all have a certain amount of mystery surrounding them that goes along with a slowly unveiling plot. To no one’s surprise I’m sure, this is anything but a generic romance.

The setting of Kowloon is definitely one of this manga’s strongest points. It’s clearly designed to give off a nostalgic feeling, and the idea of nostalgia is something this manga has really held onto over the course of over 40 chapters. Like ... everything else in the series, the town of Kowloon is mysterious and suspenseful. Just once you think you have a grasp of everything it offers another turn will force you to rethink your previous perceptions. The town is beautifully drawn with its own distinct style, and this along with some enjoyable characters leads to an engaging world that manages to stay as something you are able to relate back to real life.

The characters, particularly the main pair, can feel rather inconsistent at times. Some out-of-character moments can feel incredibly forced for the sake of the story’s overall mystery. The characters aren’t necessarily bad, and actually do a good job at matching the tone and aesthetic of the series but attempts to make them deeper or more complex felt lost. That said, they get the job done, and their flaws only have a small impact on the overall enjoyment. Side characters are better in terms of consistency, and slowly become more fleshed out as more chapters pass. Themes of identity, nostalgia, and love are explored through the characters, and it will either come across as well-written and thought-provoking or a bunch of nonsensical ideas being thrown around in an attempt to make the story complex.

Overall, Kowloon Generic Romance manages to be an incredibly engaging and suspenseful story despite occasionally finding itself lost in its themes. It’s a lot different from Jun Mayuzuki’s previous work, but I’d still recommend anyone who liked After the Rain to give this a try. If you enjoy a slow-burning mystery with a distinct setting and characters, Kowloon has all of that and more.

It’s rare to see an anime that handles its themes as tactfully and down-to-earth as Kageki Shoujo does. I’ll be honest, going into this anime I had originally dismissed it as another shoujo that was targeted towards a different audience to me. The tall, energetic girl and the short, reserved girl contrast never stood out to me early on, and the setting of a prestigious theatrical school never grabbed my attention either. But then each episode would tackle some new theme or explore some new character, and before I knew it I was drawn in by everything this anime had to offer.

While the anime does ... tackle themes such as trauma, stalking, and eating disorders its important to note that this isn’t the sole purpose of the series. It explores the theatrical industry as a whole, and these are only one portion of it. That said, when it does delve into these darker themes it does an incredibly good job at it. Each character was properly explored and easy to understand, providing great insight into some of the thoughts and mentalities of people affected by these issues. When stalking is brought up it is able to give reasons for the stalker’s actions without ever justifying the act of stalking itself. The anime never gives off the impression of being dark for the sake of holding the viewer’s attention, rather it just simply addresses problems that you can find in the real world. You can almost feel the severity and impact of these through the screen, with some characters feeling all too real at times.

At first the characters might not seem all that complex, but this changes with each passing episode. Numerous well-paced backstories are placed to help better understand the characters, and by the end it really feels like everyone in the show serves a purpose rather than just existing for the sake of it. Character development is great, and a lot of it is shown through acting and performances which was really impressive. Every character has their own goal with their own reasons for seeking it, and you can see them strive for it through their actions. Characteristics of each girl are also reflected in their performances, and emotional moments are blended in with this brilliantly. Breakthroughs in characters become so much more meaningful when there are passionate voice lines during a play going along with it. Rather than having the theatre school as nothing more than a simple setting it becomes a part of the characters’ growth, adding depth and symbolism to the overall story.

Visuals remained solid throughout the anime, and multiple directing techniques were used to enhance certain scenes. Good camera shots made scenes easy to follow and flow well, and there were some neat uses of subtle lighting at various points, particularly whenever something would take place on stage. Of course, the visuals aren’t breathtaking, but good directing and scene composition makes them stand out despite this. A good soundtrack is used well when it needs to be, and when paired with strong voice acting the entire anime suddenly becomes more impactful. The opening and ending are both great and have managed to stick with me after finishing each episode.

Never before have I been so interested in watching a play about Romeo and Juliet. I found myself wanting to see more of each character perform, and the anime really delivers on this in the last few episodes. There is visible development with each passing episode and it’s an absolute joy to watch.

Solid 9/10, time to go watch the Rose of Versailles

This could quite possibly be one of the worst takes on the idea of time travel I’ve ever seen in anime. You have anime like Steins Gate, Re:Zero, or Tokyo Revengers managing to add something new to the concept, and while not everyone might like them most people should agree that they’re all at least somewhat unique in their own way.
And then you have Bokutachi No Remake give its spin on time travel, following our main character after he gets sent back in time and decides to… enter an art college?

The story kicks off with the painfully generic main character, Kyouya, struggling to ... find a stable job in his current life. When life is looking worse than it’s ever been, he makes a wish to get sent back in time, and would you believe it? His wish conveniently comes true! Apparently, the only other possible choice he has to fix up his life is to enter an art college so that’s exactly what he does. I’m not sure why he doesn’t become financially stable using his knowledge of the future to win some bets or lotteries, but each to their own I suppose. Once he settles into the college, he enjoys making films and various pieces of media while being surrounded by his own harem, what a lucky guy. The aspect of time travel barely phases him, and rather than try to figure out the source of it he simply enjoys life as a 28-year-old in an 18-year-old’s body. Oh boy, it sure is great getting to project myself onto another pathetic main character who’s been put into a situation that others would only dream of.

Mr. Self Insert isn’t without his flaws, however. You see, he’s too amazing for his own good, often negatively influencing other people’s lives by simply being too perfect. This is a major issue that Kyouya is forced to overcome with each episode. Maybe his genius is from his extra 10 years of experience, or perhaps he’s naturally talented and wasn’t given the correct opportunity in his previous life. Either way there is very little attempt made to justify his amazingness, and you just have to accept that he is and always will be an incredible human being. They’ve made sure to give him the same character design as every other light novel character to ever exist, so you will have no problem imagining his experiences as your own.
“After all, no matter how amazing an individual is, they’re less interesting without some kind of flaw.” This is a quote taken right from the very first episode, and it is absolutely hilarious to look back on after having watched all 12 episodes. It dares explain basic storytelling techniques straight to the audience and then completely butcher it in practice. To state out loud the character needs flaws, then to proceed to write a main character without any, is one of the funniest ways I’ve ever seen an anime screw itself over. It can’t go an episode without contradicting itself in some way and it’s almost impressive.

But I don’t wanna bully the poor main character too much, as there are plenty of other characters to focus on as well. There’s a writer, a voice actor/singer, and an artist all living with Main Character-kun. They aren’t great, but when compared to the main character they are a massive improvement in terms of writing. They help provide a good insight into the struggles and hardships of various artistic industries while actually adding a sense of life to the anime. Granted it’s not perfect, but I can appreciate how the series at least attempts to show some of the struggles of real-life through the characters. An artist might lose their motivation to draw, a writer might be overwhelmed by how hard it is to become truly successful, or a singer might lack the self-confidence to truly work for their dream. These are all shown to some extent through the character decisions and various pieces of dialogue. It isn’t great, but at least there is something there in terms of character depth.

For a show that likes to ramble on about media and storytelling it really sucks at both. There’s one scene in the first episode where we get to listen to a characters explain some screenplay techniques. This was more for the sake of showcasing the characters’ intelligence than anything but seeing as the anime went out of its way to spend five minutes explaining it, I might as well see how well it goes when paired against its own advice. It brings up the idea of ‘complications,’ an unpredictable turn in a story that leads to the protagonist failing. In this anime, however, you’ll find that the ‘unpredictable turns’ are simply terrible. The twists make no sense as this anime is pack-full of plot contrivances. Our protagonist never truly fails, and small inconveniences are overdramatised to the point where they just looks silly. This anime will try to make you believe that minor incidents are huge failures when they’re obviously not. Also, in case you’ve forgotten the main character is a generic self-insert, and no one wants to insert themselves into a guy who fails at something. Seeing him effortlessly complete every task that comes his way is anything but a complication, and no, I don’t count the fact that he is too good at everything for his own good to be one.

Scenes will often feel incredibly forced, with numerous out-of-character moments that only exist to make something is happening on screen. There is never any sense of fluidness in the writing, and the entire anime is filled to the brim with ridiculous plot conveniences. The main character makes progression in a relationship? The love rival appears. The protagonist needs help doing something? Another character will appear with exactly what he needs. Multiple characters will act different to their usual selves in some scenes for the sake of the plot, completely ruining everything that had been built up about them previously. It’s lousy writing down to the core, and everything about it feels forced.

The art and animation are subpar for the most part. A decent amount of effort was put into making sure the girls were cute enough, then the bare minimum was done for everything else. Character expressions are surprisingly well done for the most part and you’re able to get a good understanding of the characters through them. The soundtrack was forgettable, and I still can hardly remember anything about the opening or ending after having finished the anime.

Bokutachi no Remake had the comedy tag when it began airing, but by the end was labeled as a drama with touches of supernatural and romance. Childish ideas are hidden behind failed attempts at a dramatic telling of a situation many people may wish to find themselves in. Because of this, this anime will never be anything more than another typical and forgettable light novel adaptation full of plot conveniences and lackluster characters. There are much better time travel anime out there, and there are other anime that manage to achieve what this anime attempts at a much better standard. If you want to see an adult re-live their school life, go read Re:Life. There’s no place for Bokutachi no Remake, and honestly there was never going to be.