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Can people stop pretending this work consists of three movies? Like the mere existence of 3 entries, with movie slapped somewhere in the description embarrasses me. What we actually have is a regular seasonal anime, that has the regular episode and tv structure.

Anyway, treat this as a little recommendation and follow up on some of my thoughts about the continuing legend of the galactic heroes anime. This season we have the continuing story of fabulous bishounes playing politics in space, while something that looks more cartoony than wars in Star Wars plays on the background.

There are the usual flaws here. A lot of the ... political, and thematic heavy matters come more to terms of aesthetics, instead of something thematically relevant or studied upon. Big universe chattering event come and go in one or two episodes, new regimes rise, and lot of politic intrigue is always presents. But the bulk of it always passes by, leaves not much impression or is properly elaborated upon. Logh does not holds this flawed democracy, military regimes, decadent nobles, or our charismatic war heroes to much scrutiny or sociological study. Rather they mostly work as plot, excuses for cool conflict, aesthetic background for the characters to explore, a thing I find really cool.

Nothing says this better than the heavily militaristic setting and background for most events. Because the military and war in Logh barely remind their historical counterparts. Characters looking at screams, some commander coming to unbelievably dumb or intelligent conclusions, or some ships firing and blowing up. This is the actual warfare presented, with the actual antiwar epic coming mostly from supposition and implied content.

If you are thinking in terms of downgrade in regards to the original series, the only aspect I really care towards (omg some of the designs tho) are the side characters. Those are usually pretty bad, having their existence and whole personalities based on narrative purpose, or in some preachy messages on politicians or nobles. Logh is perhaps exceptionally in showing when the story does not give a fuck for one character. Their dialogue gets unbelievably dumb and asinine (this can get painful at times).

Nevertheless, Yang and Reinhard stellar journeys makes up for it. A weird though I have when watching them, is of their existence akin to in universe forces of nature. Narrative, conflict, the whole universe is moved by both characters, their decisions, ideals, and most important personalities. Enabling a story that even when having dozens of characters and plotlines, still feels intimate and focused.

Props for the music also. Perhaps it feels less grandiose or epic than the soundtrack for the original series, but the tracks are definitely better implemented. They always have the right timing and moment when using background music. Those even allow for some of the deaths and sad moments of actual nobodies in the series to actually feel powerful and tragic. Basically there are great tracks all around.

Beyond everything, the new Logh is fun. Seeing these characters planning and executing changes to the very fabric of this universe is always exciting. I love the recurrence of historical motifs and events, the gloriously stupid nobles. There is a splendor in the bizarre nature of axe fights in space, which makes them way cooler than lightsabers. Perhaps there is some hidden depth I am not getting, however what keeps me coming back for Logh is always the fun. And I am glad it delivered.

In my continuous questions of why cashgrab sequels keep being made, we arrive at another Psycho Pass movie. Perhaps a little introduction on my philosophy about the subject is needed. Continuations have a specific purpose, since they should not only tell what happens next. Your work should feel whole regardless of future events, with no worth in simply showing what happened next, everything and nothing are both valid retorts when thinking about the future in fiction. So when writing a sequel, it is important to expand on why it’s different, maybe on the setting, tone, characters you are following, to generally excuse the different ... time of release. In addition, maybe expand on something, progress an idea, make it seem like you are writing the natural evolution for events. You need to have some god dawn point, behind opening an ended story. Sometimes the result could be a new appreciation, or context on an earlier work, a new light or way to see an experience. This is not an example of anything said earlier.

Even if going for more Psycho Pass, just for the curiosity in regards to what happened next, you are going to be disappointed. The movie is a weird prequel, telling the story of our group of officers before Akane Tsunemori joined the gang, mixed with a backstory for one of the more forgettable characters in the franchise, Sugou Teppei. Which finds its biggest achievement on either front, in giving Sugou the minimal emotional investment in his struggles and conflict?

The issue of only achieving the bare minimum in terms of characters extends to the entire cast. There is a stark lack of focus, coming with a difficult to find just one narrative to tell. Instead, it opts for several stories, that of one soldier looking for revenge on the nation that allowed him to die (It reminds me of Patlabor 2 in several instances). Alternatively, one about intrigue, corruption in several military factions, and undistinguishable higher ups in the army. And a detective story, a la Psycho Pass norm, focusing on another flawed aspect of the Sybil system (Gee, where have I seen this before).

There are not many threads connecting each story. The way it comes together as whole is usually forced, the disjointed parts barely relate, inform or progress one another. Sure, the same characters get tangled and involved in several things, but besides their presence, the connective threads come mostly from convenience. The end result is something that barely seems to have been written as a movie, but more of a blueprint and introduction to future events.

The central theme is clear, even if not present on most scenes, this presents a conflict of several characters trying to maintain their sanity, be part of the normal society. In addition, they face a world that forces them to take maddening, self-destructive actions, for the good of that same system. Basically the same question of the first season, with actually less depth and way less dramatized struggles.

On a certain way, this movie actually reminded of the original forgettable Psycho Pass Movie, with its setting of guerrilla warfare, corrupt military and shaky dealing of Sybil with the outside world. Yeah other nations were basically hell, and the movie offered more of a simplified justification on why people followed Sybil in the first place, because new places were even worse. Nevertheless, it was still an expansion, giving a better picture of international affairs. The current one does not even have the luxury to amount to such excuse, because it repeats the setting and the same twists about the military.

Not all is awful as I am trying to portray. We still did not get the legit awful movie, so it can be elected as the second coming of Psycho Pass 2. Action scenes are serviceable (Ok no they sucked, but they are beautiful some of the time). The highlight may only come from an almost throwaway moment of Masaoka, telling the person he loved the most his life ideals and ambitions. Really, I sure as hell love this scene.

Perhaps it is wrong for me to expect fiction more focused on questions, studies of human nature. Give me a sci-fi with strange aliens and technologies, which does not ask how a technology works, but instead how it affects society and life. That is all I need for a great time. In here, we have a somewhat watchable action series, (no longer a detective show because it is somewhat autistic in regards to intentions), which is occasionally fun but gives me no motivation to watch more.

Can dead franchises tell new tales? That is the question I sought to answer, or if you prefer my perspective, when coming back to Psycho Pass, after many years. Do we have a team ready to bring some new life to this world, or are we looking for the second coming of Psycho Pass 2, the one that killed the series for several years?

First, it is important to establish why the series was so relevant in the first place, the place where people’s fond memories of the series always came from. The quality of its first season was on its boldness, in presenting tough ... questionings of reality, in this dystopia where crime was gone, but the system took most of our freedom alongside it. The setting committed and thrived on the idea of how far we are willing to go in the quest for safety, to control risks, and eliminate negative consequences, having on the other side the meaning of that search, in regards to the end in freedom of choice.

What particularly fascinated me on the Psycho Pass world was how it puts mental health as one of its primary issues. Now the aspect is the new defining element of status, worth in society, your chances of finding relations, having a job, future and perspectives all hinged on this. Bringing alongside a new kind of anxiety, need for control, and many issues about mind-altering drugs. Those never-ending conversations on Hue, and psychopass, referencing the same idea.

Sure, the series is hardly innovative, or has something new to say on any given topic, you can find similar, but more though provoking content in works like Clockwork Orange, or Minority Report.

Nevertheless, the way Psycho Pass mixed the theme exploration with pulpy bloody action was really fun. The show never seemed sure, if it wanted to be a noir series, filled with style, gunfights, explosions, and epic action set pieces every episode, or to more directly portray ideas, and the subject matter. While those conflicted ambitions never truly worked well together, they made for a complex surface, which is cool enough regardless.

So if you miss the old mixture of sci-fi exploration, with the fun bullshit of a thriller detective story, you better forget about it, because the writers clearly did the same. This movie is extremely straightforward on its choices and topics, and on how it tries (and fails) to only be a fun crime story. Please do not think of only this observation as a death sentence (even though, yeah the lack of ambition is part of what kills the movie).

This is the textbook example, of a narrative that goes through the basic motions, while barely trying something new. If you have seen a movie before you know what to expect, you have tired twists, a couple of cliffhangers, the constant whodunit moments, and the well know questions on what is really happening. Coupled together with the generic sadistic villains, the strong cool dude, accompanied by the women preaching her ideals in long monologues.

You could make an argument the standard story is intentional, the movie is trying to carve a new status quo, dynamics and characters for the upcoming series, after a long hiatus. Even on this regard, how little is achieved is hard to forgive. Our main characters, which are supposedly the thing the movie means to establish, come off as simples as they could. Ginoza is now your tough noir detective dude, and Mika is the irritable brat, trying to prove her worth, and showing real competence when the time calls for. Basically those typical stereotypes are our “new” mains, the movie never allowing much interpersonal conflict, to emphasize their conflicting worldviews and ideologies.

So what is left is a movie treading no new ground, giving us only a new institution, which is meant to exemplify another contradiction in the system (like we do not have enough of those already). Not even its few actions scenes are memorable, leave much impact, or thrill. Ginoza fighting a mech, might come off as cool when watching, but is no Motoko Kusanagi taking out a tank with her bare hands.

The movie is not a complete waste of time, however. The aesthetics are beautiful, placing the story and events in a scenario of dreamy snowy mountains, and mines. So, not much of the flavor of now tiresome oppressive dystopian cities (The blade runner standard aesthetic for the genre). Again we are introduced to the ludicrous never working Sybil system, that appears to malfunction in every episode. Psycho Pass always presented a fun world, with the crazy talking gun, whose job consists of judging people and turning them to bloody pulp, the weird new technologies. In addition, it brings back the old all-seeing lady, which is the personification of the totalitarian system, while always being clueless to everything happening.

In conclusion, the anime never managed to answer my desires, or gave me anything to hope in regards to the series to come. Perhaps there is still a narrative to be told in the Psycho Pass universe, one which progress its concepts, world and characters, but this was certainly not it.

Also, the guy who though this new OP, and ED were a good idea, has no notion, of what he is doing. He managed to both remind me about the better older show, I preferred to be watching, while managing to make the original songs way worse, with the remixing, so fuck you.

Finally we have it, the new anime about loud teenagers with cool swords fighting the ultimate evil. Another shonen jump work which I ultimately like, but have a hard time describing the experience as not frustrating. So let’s get to that.

The animation and presentation are definitely a plus, containing beautiful 3d backgrounds, that are seamlessly implemented (for the most part). The composition and usage of color are great, setting the mood really well, making for a good ominous spooky atmosphere, which in turn, really brings to life the more melancholic tragic aspects of the story. Those only come into play when we finally see the ... demons dying, sadly. The lament for these wretched creatures, lost to all love and humanity becoming really touching. More importantly the animation is fluid where it matters, the action scenes, the audience can always follow what is happening; feel the strikes and impacts of every blow, in those. So basically this looks sex.

Oh yeah, it also sounds sex. The music is phenomenal, impossible to find a mistake with. Every track seems to have a purpose, melody, also allowing for an entire new layer when added. You can get the gist of a scene, the danger, peril, sadness excitement of moments, or whole sequences with the soundtrack alone. I would argue sometimes in terms of emotions, those are actually doing most of the job. Try and imagine episode 19 without the incredible track in the flashback, or the rush for the final strike. You would have a completely different fight (and a way more boring one). In terms of translating the Kimetsu no Yaiba’s story into anime, there is definitely a lot of work in crafting this show, which is shown in every episode (not mob psycho levels, but it sure is up there with the best).

In terms of narrative, it also contains some cool stuff. It understands the appeal of modern shonen, those are usually short and direct to the point. Borrowing a lot of elements and inspiration from classics in the genre, but making for a breezier, better-paced viewing. Which I would argue is great in a genre where pulpy action and excitement are 90% of the appeal (though Yaiba moves way too fast a lot of the time). Also, there is always a good sense of progression, getting slowly larger in scope, the story allowing for constantly bigger threats and enemies. I do think the show handles the whole slowly developing for a larger narrative with dozen characters, and world ending stakes somewhat neatly.

Unfortunately, there was a lot that stopped me from completely buying to the emotions of this melodramatic and exciting tale. The characters were the issue for the most part, needing a more elaborate development in several key moments. The first episode is infamous in that regard, for killing the protagonist family in the middle of its run, while giving our main 3 scenes interacting with them. On this specific situation we find the protagonist motivation, the fact he lost everything of value, while gaining determination to save his sister and fight demons. But it feels like more of an afterthought, irrelevant, because we barely know this character, or have any grasp on the relations displayed, and bam, they die. Understanding the protagonist is essential, we need to see what he loves, get true action and moments with those people, see that family and discover why they were something to die for. The entire basis of the series relies on the Nezuko – Tanjirou bond, the thing it needs to nail more than anything. However, the introduction blows it pretty well.

The issue of never managing to land, the big importance character moments and interaction, is prevalent. There are some obvious shortcuts attempted, like both Zenitsu and Tanjirou’s main fight in the anime, rely on a memory of an important father figure. Detail, we were not aware those characters even existed before the conflict of the episode started, and their whole appearance in the narrative is through flashbacks where they say important information. These interactions and supposedly super important people have no weight, or purpose, only serving for exposition. The lack of development is almost disturbing, just try and give such appearances relevance before putting them as devices to move plot. Try and think of episode 19 without the music, suddenly there is not much to care.
Narratives inevitably become more complicated, entangled plotlines more common, complexity only tends to rise with progression. In turn this makes the need for a strong foundation really pressing, especially in the shonen genre, one infamous for introducing dozens of new characters per arc. Yaiba is giving strong signs of branching off, as lots of new super relevant people have been introduced. Nevertheless, I cannot trust our main party to hold interest at the center stage.

My boy, Tanjirou, is probably the best of a character this show has, and even him does not hold that well on his own. Sure I may love way too good for this world boys, filled with kindness, comprehension, focus on always attempting to do what is best for the world, with everything he’s got. It may be impossible to not grow attached with the guy, seeing the lengths of effort displayed, the entire journey revolving around saving loved ones, and even more surprisingly, the own demons he uses that blade against. Goodness just comes so naturally for him, acts of helping, trying to understand, while also putting everything on the line for others, they just hit me right in the feels.

Nevertheless, no matter how much I love his nature, there is something lacking, which comes in the almost nonexistent challenges. The ideals and what Tanjirou represents are never meaningfully contradicted, and he never experiences much in terms of failure. The ideals are too perfect, and come pretty much unscathed through the course of the story. This means he is not given much to react to, and learn from the world, or adversaries presented. Conflict mostly comes from external, physical barriers only there to be surpassed, but are not really that meaningful or memorable. While somehow everyone else features way worst when hold to scrutiny.

Another issue comes from how Kimetsu no Yaiba is not really developing most of the concepts presented. The anime wants to have this tragic depressing side, where the demons are representations to some of humanity deepest anxieties, and desires, perverted on these loveless creatures. All the while denying to develop, and add human characteristics for the demons through most of their appearances. Giving the whole weight of characterization, humanity through flashbacks is a really roundabout way of adding the idea. Especially when they happen just when the character is dying, i.e., there is no more conflict, i.e., they do not matter anymore. The contrast, between the man eating monster at the surface, and human nature in the core, is barely allowed time, proper position, to shine, and make room for conflicted feelings towards the adversaries. The fact those are inflicted souls suffering is here, but portrayed in an addendum like manner, which feels related to nothing.

The same wasted potential can be seen on the emphasis the show gives to the importance of empathy. Shown in the signs of it wanting us to understand and care for these creatures, their humanity and existences are not objects of pity, indifference, rage, but are of worth, deserve to be respected, and ultimately acknowledged. Humans and demons alike deserve compassion, someone who will attempt to understand their pains, try and help, Tanjirou being in the role of always doing this. Nevertheless, the concept is never given relevance in the narrative, our characters never win because of understanding the demon, the knowledge of who they were as people is in effect, made practically useless. Despite the importance of bounds, helping the weak and afflicted, being something hard to deny, Kimetsu no Yaiba does not have a particularly meaningful thing to say, or topic to explore, regarding such point

Concluding, Kimetsu no Yaiba might be an action spectacle at times, with plenty of fun moments and interactions, which I would overall recommend. There were some reasons I could never completely embark in this mostly comfy show, about an impossibly good natured kid. Go for Mob Psycho for a way more interesting version of such, but you are probably going to have a better experience than me.

You know, I will be relentless when writing this review, but I do feel compassion for Araki’s situation when writing this story. Coming out of his enormous success with previous Jojo’s parts, having a huge follow up by fans, and probably being laurelled by praise of his editors, it would be simple for him to accommodate. To stop trying, challenging himself and coming with ways for improvement. This movement is something Araki does not fall into, though to the expense of failing hard the ceiling of his own works above him.

The general premise of a Jojo part, is no brainers for anyone familiar with the ... series, we have our megalomaniac villain to defeat, a group of idealistic heroes, the clear distinction between good and evil. And, of course the oldest way of resolving conflict, proving your rightness, by simply eliminating the other guy, and his objection. Fighting and beating the crap of bad guys is the main element of Jojo, with its bombastic, masculine fights and weird powers. To an extent I am not much of a fan of mega complex power systems in general, those are simply endless rules, limitations, specific powers, which mean nothing, and just amount for the author playing really complicated logistic chess with himself in every battle (with endless exposition). Nevertheless, I respect the variability, and immense number of circumstance those create.

Really, there is nothing wrong with this premise; it can amount to some of the more interesting works of fiction. Araki himself, has already proved repeatedly, he can spun this mold, to something at least interesting. Playing such stupidity earnestly, filling simple narratives with energy, a grand scope, and comprehensible dramatic and logistical stakes, can generate great entertainment.


This was sadly not the case here. Araki takes out most of his dry stupid humor, the situation awareness, and pleasure in indulging in baffling scenarios. There was always a tendency at looking at the humorous, seeing conflict, world and the general scenarios as a joke in Jojo’s, the climax of part 2 being exactly about how nothing makes sense, and the protagonist poking fun at the antagonist, and chain of events. There was always an unbelievably childish humor, filled with eschatological occurrences (fezzes everywhere), pointless gore (lots of killed animals), endless sadistic unbelievable murders, waiting at every corner. The characters were smartasses, just throwing one liners, and witty dialogue at one another, overreacting to everything in the most enjoyable way possible.

Now most of this is gone, or toned down. The bizarreness remains in name, but is sadly lacking in attitude. Those were replaced with more drama, serious naturalistic reactions, and long moments of people staring at another, rationally thinking the best course of option. Or in the endless joyless fights, that comprised most of any specific episode. Levity is kept to a minimum, self-importance of specific situations and conflicts raises to unbelievable heights. Character interactions, witty dialogues and bouncing personalities, that were mandatory in any episode of parts 3 or 4, are barely here.

A shame none of this serves to make a more meaningful narrative. Characters are barely anything more than skilled stand users, which fight really well. There is strange case to be made for them, because they seem to make the impossible, start to get less interesting the more the story progress. It is as if you know less about this people at the end of the line, than at the end of first quarter. The flashbacks and introductions are promising, presenting group dynamics, personalities, their wants, needs and troubles in life. When finishing their specific episodes, any main character narrative is over, their motivations go nowhere, development is nonexistent, ideals are barely there, specific quirks and attitudes are so rarely remembered they barely count as there. There is no one with a comprehensible, well-developed mentality, and specific mindset. The cast mostly consist of the same guy, all mechanically dealing with the next enemy of the week most of the time, with not much else going on.

However, those pale in comparison, to the disastrous structure. Events and objectives come and go, with seemingly very little progression, or any meaningful change. There is no reason for the climax to not have happened maybe 15, or even more episodes earlier, and nothing occurs of substance in most of the side quests. You have these awful character deaths being sold as grand twists, when they actually mean nothing in the grand scheme, change nothing, and are not even culminating or cathartic for the characters themselves (with one exception). Those amount only to sappy excuses for everybody to get sad for a moment, and then quickly move on as if nothing happened. This ends in a climax, where the main conflict is resolved with no internal change, or the protagonist learning something, but by being granted the ultimate bullshit power up, and everybody stands (including the audience) having no idea what the fuck it does. Of course, there is an even better epilogue, about a minor story before the events of the main series, which helps not to inform or close character or story, but just to give a better sense of the brilliant recurring theme of destiny. Those priorities are just so completely wrong.

Despite still considering Araki a good writer, there is no other label than disappointment to part 5. Because of overextending a simple story, while removing everything that made it fun. While some individual moments, and battles are actually enjoyable (Araki is a master at twists, constantly changing and messing a fight scene), those are completely eclipsed by a messy whole. Obscuring the weirdness and coolness of narrative, in cloth of self-importance and pretentions is a mistake I did not expect from the man, and found nothing in his vision to compensate.

A good point to start a ginga eiyuu densetsu (named as logh from now for brevity sake) review is the questioning on why the lives of powerful people are just so fascinating? Where does this amazing interest comes from in seeing generals, emperors, dictators, enacting strings of power, intrigue, tragedy. In following the lives and death of individuals with such ambition, chosen to change the destiny and history of people, societies, worlds. Such allure comes from way more than the facts actually being shown, Rubinsky discussing his plans becomes way more than a character we know barely nothing about, explaining his ambitions, and Job ... Truniht announcing a single vote, becomes the most epic thing ever. In my opinion this feeling is at the heart of the appeal in series such as game of thrones, house of cards, heck half of code geass popularity can be traced to how it taps into the same aspect. One of actually feeling like what we are experiencing is some extensive mind game, truly clever battle between those in power. You can actually slate it everywhere, by doing so with a minimal quality, your show can put up an air of sophistication, self-importance. Logh is probably the series that taps the most into said appeal, take the examples I said above, Rubisnky speech means very little in terms of his relevance as a character, but by making it all connect to a web, a system of power surrounding several major players, it gains a whole new importance. It ingeniously connects and gives meaning to the mundane, making it all part of a big machine, a gigantic game for dominance between truly powerful individuals. Nevertheless, it never ends up feeling like a ruse, simply an air of pretension, because of having the study of power and its implications takes central stage in this narrative, and the political intrigue being spectacularly well handled. In this analysis I will try to look to several key aspects of this show, in trying to give some insight to its flaws and merits. Comparisons to its older (and superior) version in the 1988 ovas will not be absent, but will not be the focus of the text. As always (sadly, apparently I still have to say this) there will be spoilers in the review (happy now?).

At the core LOGH is the story of the ascension to prominence of two young individuals, Yang and Reinhard. Yang in particular is really hard to define when looking to some of his attributes. Because of being marked by contrasting characteristics, a pacifist that acts as the brightest and most successful admiral in the history of the free planets alliance. An idealist, always thinking and talking of the world as it should be, instead of how it is, but always keeping his actions, to a degree of enviable practicality. A historian at heart, with the eyes firmly at the past, but usually against his will is forced to create and become a part of history, in deciding the key events that change the fate of nations. The freedom of thinking and acid critic he enacts, being directly against the strict dogmatism and value of authority, which makes the organization he is in, the army, in pretty all its occurrences. A humble man always doubting his own judgement and the paths he chooses, while getting forced to make the most important decisions imaginable. Which give a lot of understanding to his passive aggressive nature, that some find off-putting. It comes from a place of never getting your wishes achieved or listened to, and having your own existence to be about following other people dreams and illusions. He in effect knows the problems and defects in society better than everyone, but finds himself unable and unwilling to do something about it. As Yang does not believe, he has the right to do so. Onto him, you can find the maximum ideals of democracy represented. No matter how Yang personally can disagree, find an order stupid or preposterous, they come off as absolute to him. Because they come from the system, are issued by the elected representatives of the people, the only ones capable of exerting sovereignty through the popular vote, there is no room for not obeying here. One of the more general conceits of democracy is to exert control not only on the ends, the objective society’s wants, but on the means, the way to get there. A single instance illustrates this perfectly and is the apotheoses of what the character stands for (spoilers for the freaking OVA). When faced with a golden opportunity, a way to destroy the leader of the galactic empire, in effect saving the free planet alliance, the ultimate goal anyone on the country could advocate for, he does not act. Instead he obeys an order of cease fire, which would most certainly doom the country, because regardless of how justified the ends may be, they are only as righteous as their means. The correct ways and means for acting, make the correct goals in a democratic society, and Yang express the full extension of that, with a single decision. A general humanism also marks the character, human lives are never tools to be played with, used to achieve superiority or tactical advantages. Instead he makes them the goal, saving and ensuring the lives of as many people as he can, is the modus operandi and tactic for Yang. Satisfaction of the individual can be traced as main ideological objective for most modern democracy, and for putting those in the forefront it helps to drives this point, something that paradoxically his government completely forgot, amidst its nationalistic ideals.

As a contrasting figure (not as good though) we have Reinhard. Looking at his worries with efficiency and results gives great insight into the character. Unlike Yang, those are the major things he cares about, his conflict with the nobles does not come from a moral rejection from the awful things they enact, since he is willing to go to the same lengths, but from how they lack the capacity to rule, a complete inefficiency in doing so. Instead of worrying about methods the results are absolute to him. His justification to strive for power, to think as righteous in ruling over others, is a believed conceit of being actually superior, he has the best talent and knowledge, can bring results no one else can. Reinhard is entitled to issue orders, to become a supreme ruler of the galaxy, because of being in effect the best man. Yes, he is this kind of conceited, egotistical brat. Where to someone else with more abilities to appear, he would be right to challenge and attempt to rule as well. His ideology is born from an idea of putting the capacity to decide, and actually solving the issues as main goals, the justification of a government. Despite bizarrely never taking such ideas to its logical conclusion, since those are encapsulated by his subordinate, Oberstein. There are hints of romanticism, a valorization of a fair fight and some general ethical ideals (as hypocritical as they come), which never allows him to do so. Both the in history parallel with the Rudolf dictatorship and the historical parallel with the Nazi regime are also pertinent here. In either, you can see the same worries with efficiency, the debates and democratic system, the individual liberties were silenced, to allow for greater decidability. In the name of efficiency and nebulous goals, any form of control of a government acts were dropped, which gave birth to a catastrophe that killed millions. They give a certain air of terror to young Reinhard’s ascension, since the audience is never sure he will not fall to the same pitfalls, become a similar monster in another display of history ever repeating cycle.

To be fair, the focus on powerful people also makes for what I believe is LOGH greatest flaw. In displaying a fascination with history, it becomes very clear what kind of history is attempted to be portrayed here, the one focused on individuals, great names and figures, that eclipse everything else and mold its run. This universe seems to be inhabited, by barely anyone else but those in power. How many foot soldiers, the unknowns, with names forgotten by time, that actually fight and act in wars did we follow on this narrative? Very little and their appearances barely have an impact, or much relevance only being tools to represent the horrors of war (cutting 90% of Poplan and his group scenes and relevance is like the dumbest creative decision they could take). With the only moment you could argue otherwise is the Schenkopp sequence on Iserlohn (isn`t he also a really high level commander though?). This leads to a weirdly impersonal way of combat, where the things that matter are the commander plans (those little graphics of fleets are more relevant than any foot soldier), rather than the reality of the people amidst the battle. This is really far from the ideal, not allowing to get a full grasp of what is happening, the full magnitude of the massacres displayed before our eyes. The maximum you can get of that, is brief glimpse of unknowns getting tricked and killed in a flash, so hooray for giving a dawn.

Though it could be argued, it makes up for everything I said above, with the sheer scope of what is being attempted. The scale of the developing narrative is something very rarely reproduced in fiction, most important plot beats give this sense of grandness something really epic happening. Most twists and turns matter a lot, seem to change and mold the mere fabric of this universe, its long standing history. The takeover of the greatest fortress and the largest invasion force ever seen, being great examples of that, giving the sense we can merely grasp the magnitude of what is occurring. Despite this season still presenting a really straightforward, and simple republican x empire conflict. Most of the major players, which will make for a way more multifaceted, complex struggle were merely introduced like Oberstein, Trunhilt, Reuenthal, the nobles, Rubinky. Which is when LOGH actually comes to shine, with lots of interesting well developed character, each moving their own political and personal agendas, making for a way more engaging and developed conflict. Nevertheless, the seeds of it all can be traced here, and this quality of the narrative can be perceived really early on (not that the animation does much to capitalize on this, but whatever).

There is also a long standing issue I have with the way it presents some antagonistic characters (calling for villains in this narrative is kind of hard). The show has kind of an attitude of trying really hard with those, to the point they are fleshed out, bring meaningful and well developed ideological and personal conflicts, or not all with some that have absolutely nothing going for them. The series is infamous for the stupidity of some of its cast and for good reasons. The sheer idiocy they manage to achieve is kind of hard to describe. An apt comparison would be to say they are a lot like the antagonist in the famous anime series Akame Ga Kill, shallow, idiotic mass murders. You can see the type whenever there is an admiral which usually hits his subordinates a lot, or is really eager to meaningless die by sacrificing his entire fleet for a warrior’s pride or bullshit like that. They have this really exaggerated and hard to take serious personality, and make the dumbest decisions possible in the face of battle. Having these over the top personalities would be not of an issue in of itself, the problem is they really lack variety in their madness, usually displaying a really boring monotone mindset and actions. Like the most different of those is the proclaimed rival of Yang, and only because of hiding his own stupidity in a lot of empty rhetoric. And they also never create, are the source for interesting conflict, or really add anything of value to the overall narrative. They represent worthless obstacles, which our protagonists surpass with ease, and to show how fucking awesome they are supposed to be. It’s like having everybody to say this is not enough already, we have to nerf everybody else for them to look even better.

On a better note, the pacing which was the long standing fear of the franchise fans was not much of an issue here. It is a bit more rushed than the older version, but tells mostly the same events just fine. That is until the last episode, which finds to be a good idea to rush as fuck some key narrative elements. What is supposed to be happening is not really easy to understand, much less to engage and feel the impact of certain events. I swear, I would not be bringing this up as a flaw, if it was for the sake of amounting to a satisfying end note for some narrative threads. Which is completely not the case, the story stops in the middle of the conflict, leaving us in one of the more insulting cliffhangers endings (or as I like to call them, fuck you finales) I have ever seen. So well done guys, you almost made it, but fucked in the last possible moment.

Being frank, I was also really not a fan of the character designs, pretty noticeably the ones that changed drastically from the old OVA. They took one of the titles with more varied and iconic character designs in the medium (like frankly there no two individuals with the same, from the hundreds in Ova’s cast) and turned the main ones into generic bishounens. A weird case where you can find the importance of the character being inversely proportional to how generic they are designed.

A way larger problem comes with the way the empire is represented in this series. A huge part of the appeal of the older series, was how the conflict was rather ambiguous, with no clear good and bad guys (in some instances). This quality is lost when you have such a great focus on the alliance side though. It is kind of hard to argue the imperial side is not being represented as a villain in this particular narrative. The aesthetical way they presented pretty much says so, they enact morally reprehensible acts, which barely anyone in the free planets alliance does. And not much happens on their side of things, sure Reinhard and Kircheis get some development and are represented in a more sympathetic light, but this makes them closer to understandable complex villains than anything else. Not sure how to fix this though, most of the important events in this part of the novel and 1988 OVA are happening in the alliance’s side, to the point if they stopped at this point, they would have the same issue. So here is just a wish that they fix this on later seasons, movies, getting to the point where the galactic empire is more meaningfully fleshed out and becomes way more than the adversary, because so far that is not really the case.

An utmost understated quality LOGH always had is how it always have known how to bring out the fun. In such a serious looking narrative, encompassing a war epic with lots of mature themes, this may come as a surprise to some (there are no characters staring blankly for hours while no dialogue happens, making for a boring pseudo contemplative tone here). This narrative contains elements of pulpy ridiculous violence, when we have soldiers actually fighting hand to hand with hammers, axes and the sorts, and this being the decisive factor in space warfare (can you think of something more ridiculous and awesome than that?). There are also the really cheesy melodramatic speeches, and character deaths culminating on those over the top displays of their lives and paths, the really hammy exaggerated villains (okay those were always lame). These are funny additions to the narrative and help to showcase how you are actually allowed to have fun, and portray some ridiculous shit in such a serious narrative. Which comes off as a shame, because those were mostly absent in the remakes narrative so far.

So does this new anime deserve a ludicrous title of savior of anime, because of its amazing quality? Hell no. Is it a worthy successor to the original 1988 OVA? Not quite. However, it is a thematically interesting experiment, with (emphasis on some) great characters, and elements that are hard to find elsewhere. I am definitely interested to see how they can further develop this in movies, and in what our galactic heroes will do next. If you have an interest in history though, just do yourself a favor and watch it, the fascination this series has with this topic is impalpable, and can be seen though several parallels, references and just the general story.

Patlabor is a classic. The term comes with a lot of responsibility, and believe me, I truly do not like to take or give it lightly, but throughout the years Patlabor has cemented its name as one of the more well recognized and critically praised mecha franchises of the 80s. Managing to stand not that far away in terms of importance and influence, to the likes of Gundam or Macross. Sadly, my experience with it has been nothing short of underwhelming, basically making for a highly frustrating disappointment overall. On this analysis I will attempt to shed some light to what I consider to be ... the pivotal structure problem with the series, the characters, which are my main reason for never managing to connect with some of its entries. As references for this I will be using mostly the ova series Mobile Police Patlabor, with some additional commentaries on its continuations, Patlabor Movie 1 and 2.

My issue at heart here is actually philosophical one, on the writing of this OVA. The main ideal of characterization this series seems to be going for is something I fundamentally disagree. On the OVA’s first episode, there is a line by Gotou that describes perfectly, said ideal of character writing. On said commentary he points out how his subordinates, the main guys we follow through most of the episodes, are not the autistic pilots of Gundams, dangaios, Mazingers. This commentary lands a pretty decent joke and reference (you would have to kill me, to make me remember an instance where the jokes in this Ova actually made me laugh) but is also indicative of a bigger view on how these characters were purposefully created. It references a logic of taking out eccentricities, extreme aspects of personality, in order to portray their personalities as more mundane, normal, you could say as “realistic people”. Even in this case where the personas are a bit more expressive and show a wider range of emotions than in pretentious crap like Kara no Kyoukai. The problem being, this attempt at streamlining does not lead necessary to what I would call better characters. In fact, I think it plays the contrary effect on this franchise, the personalities are streamlined, to the point they really lack basic aspects of really basic character writing like engaging conflicts, arcs, motivations, depth, psychological introspection, making they really way less interesting as people to the emotionally unstable autistic pilots, who were portrayed in really exaggerated ways, that were kind of a genre cliché (blame Zeta Gundam for this). This for me is a clear example of confusing subtlety, in having the character aspect being more nuanced, having it to be implied through details and small actions rather than literally explained, for dullness in having barely anything in terms of content to these personas. Patlabor is an obvious attempt of going for the latter, but forgets to give the meaning on the small, in having a good grasp on ideas they were trying to imply, to give us a good enough of a sense as to whom these people really are.

Credit where it is due, at the very least the cast here contains a variety of personalities. Each character has its own unique reaction and characteristic be it Oda’s aggressiveness, Nagumo’s rationality, Noah’s childishness. Such characteristic may never portray or give comprehension to a deeper true character, but the very least they serve to create scenes; each persona adds a unique facet and reaction to situations, which in turn makes for dynamic scenes. The developments in history are made on the basis of their unique personality, not on convenient character writing. But when we look to the foundational aspects of good writing, the characterization quite literally falls apart. How many of the main characters in Patlabor have well stablished and portrayed motivations and goals? The answer is two, them being the guys who have pretty much already accomplished their goals at episode 1(firing guns for Oda, being with Alphonse for Noah). So yeah the joy of seeing someone attempt for a goal, an objective, a thing of desire, and work his way through complications to get to that is completely gone here. This issue is only elevated by the complete disconnect between the conflict and the cast, the conflicts being presented through the OVA (with the exception of episode 5) have completely none personal stakes, they have absolutely no relation with whom they are, what they want, being that their repercussions only matter on a social scale (which also does not matter since the OVA has really bad world building, but this is a topic for later). It is a weird case where characters are not moved from desire, worldviews, personal issues, traumas, but because it is their job, they are paid for that and they just sort of have to do it. I usually prefer characters where the reasoning for their actions are explained and have more to them than simple duty, but hey that is just me. It also creates a weird instance where the lack of stakes or interest for the conflict in the characters themselves, also leaves me really disengaged on what is being presented, since it is through their eyes and perspective that we as audience members experience said events. You would think that in Ova where everyone lacks urgency completely, they would try to get us interested on them as people instead, develop those guys to be really compelling, well written. Which is completely not the case, throughout this entire fucking Ova most main characters never grow much from the way they were initially introduced. Take Shinshi for example, he is a main in this Ova and in the first movie. Throughout the course of both the only things we get to know about him is that he is a really passive scarred guy, and the fact he is married (which manages to be his most notable “trait”). At the end of the day we learn absolutely nothing new about the guy, he is still the same person he was in episode 1 (I would argue he is a worst character at this point, because now we know his existence is limited to that). I am not saying Patlabor needs to give ample characterization, depth, or psychological introspection to everyone, the kinds of basic layout which were being used here can work for simple secondary character. Take Sakaki for example he does not need much more than his gloomy obstinate and oozing in authority personality to work for his function, for the screen presence he occupies, and his relevance in the story, that is good enough. Giving this treatment to a main one or I would argue even less to some, is completely unacceptable though. The instances of character development that do happen are also so bizarrely handled. On its first movie Patlabor sets up what should be Noah’s most important flaw, an aspect that was a clear build up for a future arc in my vision (which I think the OVA was also trying to set up, but they were so incompetent at that I am not sure). Said flaw being her dependency on external objects, she named several things throughout her life as Alphonse, and implies her happiness can only happen in terms of being together with said objects. Of course the narrative has absolutely nothing to do with this flaw (it never does in Patlabor, because who needs conventional storytelling of tying conflict with characters flaws, and making arcs about overcoming those flaws, right). But then what happens in movie 2 really gets the cake as most awkward character moment ever. Said continuation literally starts with a scene of Noah saying she does not need her freaking Alphonse anymore and she is over it. Her infatuation with Alphonse the most important aspect of her personality, being built up and reiterated for an entire OVA series and a movie, and the resolution to all of that is part of a time skip, where what is shown is only the aftermath of said change. This movie in general also has this issue of presenting character change from previous entries with time skips, with barely any context, but it as least gives them new situations to react to and aspects of personality, which was more than I can say for most of the OVA, so well done, I guess.

The bigger issue here is not really the personas sucking (which they do). But in how Patlabor needs way stronger character writing for the narrative it is attempting to work (the films 1 and 2 are exceptions for being a detective mystery and political thriller respectively, more focused on plot). There is a great focus on detailing the day to day of these people, the way they interact and play with each other (was this supposed to be comedy), those moments were really more important than the conflict and surrounding narratives at hand in some episodes. There is a focus on character here, which is really not paying off, and comes mostly as a waste of time. I also do not think Patlabor understands what makes said slice of life like scenes functional. Scenes without conflict are great to show the personality of the individuals, showing how they truly act in the absence of an external force, these are the moments where we truly see characters’ act, instead of react to things like threats to their lives. Those can also be great to show people in a great variety of circumstances, or how mundane habits and values can shape or show the true personality besides facades. It can also be a way of stablishing relatability with characters, showing them as normal humans, which engage in the same kind of regular activities as you do. Patlabor barely uses those to any of those functions, instead opting for repeating the same traits (how many times did we need to see OTA wanting to shoot in his spare time?) repeating the same facts about the characters, repeating the same kind of interaction between them ad nauseam and also the most repetitive and obnoxious attempts at banter and humor I have ever seen. During the entire OVA, the only moments where I felt it put those scenes to great effect was in the start of episode 5. In 13 minutes this episode manages to do more for the characters, than the show had done so far in its entire run. By having they start the episode going home, meeting their family connections, or other relations they are inserted into, giving then an entire new situation, portraying a completely new aspect of their lives, even when one of them choose to do not go and stay at the district, that choice also tells a lot about them, especially in Gotou’s case. We even see hints at motivation and desire being drawn for Shinohara in this episode. It is this entire new, really mundane environment the characters go through this episode, that allows we to know way more about them, than any of their repetitive gibberish banter and constant reaffirmation of traits (because of course when we know something about a character we have to see it repeated eternally to understand he is really like that). Despite this instance of effective character writing being no life saver for the OVA (nothing could at this point) and never translating to some bigger exploration in further episodes, it still leads along with the more personal objective(finally) of a long lasting rivalry, to episodes 5 and 6 having the more engaging moments in the show. Those were the key difference of those episodes, not the change in tone (Ok not having those jokes happening so often surely helped).

Have you ever experienced a perfect movie? As an avid anime watcher I am always looking for these titles, the one where seemingly everything clicks. Works of such transcendental quality, with impeccable theming and symbolism, that join extremely effective storytelling with gigantic personal and emotional impacts. Shoujo Tsubaki is for me(and for everybody who does not have shit taste) one of those, a piece of fiction without an equal in any media. This review basically is my embarrassing attempt to spread my love for the work, while also trying to prove as flawed, many of the retarded claims made by most of its detractors. Also ... spoiler free review, there are thing in life that need to be experienced in full glory, without spoilers slightly altering(ruining it is just not possible here) the experience.

Will start with the technical aspects because good Lord, those sure are spectacular. I am writing about a work mostly done by a single guy, that took 4 long years to be finished. Yes a single guy, the genius Harada Hiroshi, animated the whole thing, frame by frame while also directing the work and writing the script. The movie is the result of 4 long years of hard arduous work by this guy, pouring his heart and soul into the script and every frame he was drawing. Honestly it just singlehandedly redefined my own definition of an auteur work and of a passion project. It just oozes the dedication, effort and passion that went into every line, moment, onto every scene. Really the aesthetic it reaches for is something completely different than anything me(or you reader)has ever seen before. The complete lack of movement, the static main frames with barely any in-betweens, the really lazy transitions all of which people complained as cost saving techniques also add a lot to the look and feel of the work. You can just simply be shown any moment in the movie, and you will immediately get something truly wrong is happening(yes it is that remarkable), that of course adds a lot to the disturbing nature the craft is trying to subtly show. Same can be said about the drab muted color design, bad composition, lazy usage of angles. Many detractors still find reasons to complain about this artistic unique style of aesthetics and directing with the really retarded logic of comparing it with other works, most notably Hoshi no Koe, another one man project made by the legend, Makoto Shinkai himself. What those idiots apparently can not figure out is how the gigantic difference, the 10 year gap between both works can create in the animation craft. Shinkai when working in Hoshi no Koe had it his disposal the most recent computer animation techniques, which was in fact a technique with little usable skills at the time only being used to fix a little the artwork and actually made the production project slower. Never forgetting how it is that movie experimentation with newer technologies that made for its worst visual aspects, like it's awful usage of depth of field, the weird lightening that randomly turned characters into ghosts. So yeah really unfair and totally off the mark comparison. This method just in general loses completely the idea of how this work of fiction should be appreciated and judged. We cannot compare the quality of this movie production by seeing its nonexistent qualities in comparison with literally anything you ever watched. No, no, no, you need to look at the effort, the dedication shown by spending years and lots of money just to make this project. It is in recognizing that for someone in this conditions he achieved a really impressive result(even when that is not the case). Is this concept of just forgetting anything about the quality of the work at hand and just focusing on the artist, his experience, what crazy lengths he must have gone to manage something of this magnitude truly that hard to grasp. Even when limited the animation is used to really great affect here, it just gets how to pass tension and terror so well. It understands how what is shown is never what is really terrifying, a person with a knife trying to kill us, sure, that can be a little scary. But a creature you cannot see, something you cannot understand, an unknown and highly dangerous threat you cannot understand or define, this is way more disturbing. It gets how not showing can be the most effective tool, by always showing everything, the schlocky gory scenes with its weird animation style, in all its glory, hilariously full of itself.

But since the production cannot amount to much else than pretty colors, I will talk about the concepts, the several thematic threads found in the movie. Out of the bat I have to say this work has a fascinating style of thematic exploration. People who cannot believe how short term duration fiction can represent broad interesting topics in a though provoking manner, should definitely watch Shoujo Tsubaki. It is the exception that proves said though as flawed. An analogy with the way ideas are debated in general, the dialectic can help to explain the brilliance found in here. The movie's thesis is really simple, it represents a truly pessimistic view on world and society. Suffering, moral degradation and nihilism are the core of this world, having hope on happiness, or in the possibility of a better life, can only leave you to dreadful disappointments. The movie presents a fully formed worldview, one that resonates with universal feelings in the hearts of many, the fear the malice, the distrust, everyone has at least one moment in their life's when they think of the world as an awful place. But of course nothing in a debate is simply self provable, its veracity and worth only given by how it interacts and disproves other ideas. Here comes the movie counter thesis, that finds its representation in the mentality of the protagonist, her naivety, her hopeful dreams and love and happiness, the belief of those feelings as an important part of life, and that her situation will improve in the future. The film goes for a really fascinating method to argue for its main thesis, instead of having much of any arguments for the counter thesis, showing its positive aspects, how Midori's view of the world may make sense under a certain perspective, the film goes for nothing of that. It does not want to make you belief in the thesis, by making it ultimately defeat, prove as flawed a strong and well constructed opposing argument, ultimately making you even unwilling come to an understand or even an agreement, with an idea the viewer could otherwise despise. No, the dialectic process at work here is really different, it is one that involves proving your thesis, by having most of your world, characters and events, as just more evidence of what you are trying to say. Having the character sadism and cruelty becoming more and more extreme, happening frequently in most scenes, their acts yelling in every way possible of the unfairness of this world, the more extreme the act the better, as evidences for your thesis. There is no need for a strong contrast, like showing in detail the calm everyday life that serves as base for Midori's way of thinking and actions, which would make both the counter thesis better supported, and the horrible things happen to her more shocking(yeah I know it would probably not work doing this either)by contrast. But just start with rats eating a certain someone and that is all we need to see. Really having something really good happening, allowing for different changes in value betweens scenes other than from bad to awful, would do a lot to improve this work. So if we extend the comparison with debates just a little further, let's make a though experiment, to imagine a certain debate where Shoujo Tsubaki would be one of the guys discussing. The person Shoujo Tsubaki, will act in this debate by barely acknowledging any of the people arguing with him, instead opting to yell what he means all the time, and showing with truly great conviction, the truth of what he is saying, even when he has basically no evidence or reasoning for it. Can you believe someone will end up disagreeing with this guy? It surely was not the case with me.

This is the part where I have to admit, Shoujo Tsubaki does not contain the best cast of characters in the world(it is high up there though). But this far from a problem is also one of the work`s greatest qualities. Because really the objective quality behind these characters really do not matter. Their function in the history is not to have depth, likeable traits, motivations or backgrounds, but to represent perfectly the ero guro genre stereotypes. Following rules and genre clichés do not represent shortcuts, when the author shows the laziness of writing unique personal developments for his history. These constructions and clichés are in fact the end all of fiction, the author should be looking and trying to replicate exactly those. Between developing characters, situations and themes which would propel his craft, the piece of fiction he is trying to make, or trying to simply follow genre rules and expectations, it is pretty obvious what should be the creator priority. So complaining about the lack of character depth makes completely no sense already, but let's look a little deeper into the characters. With the exception of the protagonist they are group of completely deranged malicious people, most them shows signs of cruelty, sadism, greed, mistrust, luxury, lack of empathy, they also usually lie a lot, really they make for a fine representation of the ugly aspects of mankind this movie is attempting to portray. There is another argument for the lacking personality in most characters consisting of a flaw, which is that the focus in showing the unpleasant side of humanity, with no insight or introspection to the people making those acts can only amount to that feeling, unpleasantness. It can never be shocking(people saying the violence in here is for shock factor are idiots, there is no way to be shocked with what is being presented), sad, disgusting, terrifying. They do not emerge here because the characters have no personality to react to the cruelty, we cannot see aspects of our personality in them, which would makes us at least feel empathy for the people suffering and making others suffer, see aspects of our ourselves and our life's, identifying them as human beings kind of not so different from us. This would really make us care in a lot of ways for the fucked up shit they do. It is not this is some really difficult stuff to pull out, just give the characters unique perspective and worldview, a personality that can react in a unique way or think differently about the violence. As it is in the best of cases you get a slight feeling of distaste for the events at play, or at the worst you can laugh maniacally at all the ultra gory scenes. I truly applaud those that managed the latter.

When you are dealing with this level of artistry in the making of a show, you can expect it be noticeable in all of its aspects. Of course the world building is no exception, instead of going for lazy exposition and adding countless of useless details to a setting, that would otherwise not affect characters plots or themes, shoujo Tsubaki goes for a more minimalistic route. Sure we may not know much about this world and city at the end of the day, but every bit and ounce of information adds something in a symbolical or character level, making for really effective storytelling. The whole thing manages to portray the state of Japan after world war 2 way better than overrated classics like Godzilla, Akira, or others critically beloved but otherwise garbage titles like Billy Bat. Really if you are looking for a complete understanding of this period, the complicated sociopolitical situation, the harsh living conditions of the population, this, right here, is the work you should be looking for. Just the way they tie the analogy of western domination and the affects of the bomb with my favorite character, Wonder Masamitsu(mito), is superbly done. His ability, an incredible magic from the west is obviously a reference to the atomic bomb, the complete dominance it establishes over other characters also showing the state of Japan at the period. In one of the show more fantastic surreal sequences, it even plays imaginary pretty similar to people being burned to death, an iconic image of effects of the atomic bomb. This kind of symbolical representation can be seen in several aspects of the setting, where the simply generic representation of hellish places, filled with poverty, crime and really hard to live by, is not a lazy generic portrayal of any place having a disaster, or just difficult social times. No, it actually has lot of symbolical value, which of course I know of, but will not say here, for simplicity sake.

Let's get a bit controversial here and talk about specific scene. Also really important spoiler warning, if you do not want to be spoiled just jump to the next paragraph. The infamous rape scene between Tokkuriji Muchisute(you will be missed) and Midori will be my topic. A lot of people question the necessity of its inclusion since it does nothing to progress plot(having Midori suffer even more horrible things adds what exactly?), character(having this character do even more awful things to Midori adds what exactly?), it gives no further context or new view on their relationship, has overall no greater structure or thematic effect, just one nonsensical reason after another. But there is an important question to make, why was this scene necessary, why was this disturbing really sensitive topic chosen to be displayed here. In regards to choosing topic of grand social significance, specially controversial ones, there needs to be a care in the what and how you are portraying said aspects. Sure there is a gigantic difference between portrayal and endorsement, showing a rape scene does not equate in any shape or form to any sort of argument or defense of this practice(it is usually the other way around). In fact as a general stance I am all in favor of free speech, put all the things and topics you want in your work of fiction, but the question of why is important. Why does your story needs sexual abuse, the most tired and cliché imaginable way to establishing characters as likeable/unlikeable(Sugou sends his hello), good/bad, why does it need to have this act which constantly shows and spreads toxic gender roles, that is mostly used as a cheap shortcut to create sympathy for characters. What kind of purpose or vision do you have for putting any of it in your story, especially when it deals with topics really sensitive for millions of people everywhere(there is even a term rape culture going around goddawmnit) being really uncomfortable for a lot of people out there. There is no way to just simply see the scenes totally disconnected from the act`s social significance in society, so maybe for the author as a member of society to pay a little attention to that, and put some fucking though in what he is putting in his story would be not so much to ask. And as a matter of response to this criticism, I do have a general stance of not even bothering with social justice faggotry, and I sure will follow it here.

So concluding if you were looking for an awfully looking movie, with terrible characters, dialogue, theming, plot, directing, than please look somewhere else. On this review I simply cleared some surface elements, just skin deep details that represent a tiny fraction of what this movies has to offer. There are so many great details I can write about in length here, like the way the effective usage of the soundtrack, like playing a melancholic love music during sexual abuse, the occurrence in several instances of symbolism connected to xintoism based religions, which of course adds another entire layer to the whole movie. The style of narrative that utilizes techniques of Japanese traditional storytelling to achieve new heights by using really interesting, creative ways to tell this narrative. So would I recommend this? Yes, yes, yes, just do yourself a favor and spend your next hour checking this masterpiece out, I guarantee it will not be like anything you have seen before.

Score: Wanting to die/10

First a clarification, this review will be about the series Madoka Magica, its continuations the movie mahou shoujo madoka magica rebellion, and its recap movies (cashgrabs) will not be considered or discussed in this evaluation. And no, this review is not in any segment or paragraph spoiler free, so be warned when reading.

Despite this not being a method I really like to use, I feel obliged to start my analysis exploring the concept that no one can shut up about when discussing this, yes the fact of whether madoka is a deconstruction, or not of the mahou shoujo genre, for it apparently containing an entirely ... new perspective on the genre. One of the reasons for the series to be perceived in that way, is mostly due to the lack of knowledge of most anime fans, darker and more dramatic takes on mahout shoujo trappings are common since the times of uta-kata or princess tutu. Mahou shoujo is way more diverse, and madoka differs way less from it, than a fan that has only seen a few shows kind that can imagine (and yes there are lunatics that have only seen one mahou shoujo, madoka, and still claim the series is a deconstruction). But no, the concept of madoka being a deconstruction is not only based on its unusual tone, but in the idea of it actually containing lots of commentary, about the mahou shoujo genre. Aspects like the action in such series being unrealistic, and would demand way too much of the human body to be feasible, the innocence of supposing that girls in this kind of situation would simply join due to the presence of a common enemy, character deaths being a common reality in this story, just to name a few. Madoka is taking a few elements people take for granted, and applying what could be said as a more realistic logic to them, having this as a way to comment on the genre’s nature. The problem in here is the content itself, what Madoka is actually saying about the genre with this, basically the series is using the commentary I explained above just to talk about how unrealistic each said aspects are. But verisimilitude with reality is not, and should never be the objective of any fictional story. The girls on those kind of plots join and have power of friendship to triumph over everything, not because of how much sense that makes realistically speaking, but because such elements are part of the socially important message those series are trying to pass on to younger audiences. When replacing those aspects for selfish heroes the series is in effect losing the messages which give meaning and purpose to the genre and its architypes. This is the issue I take with most of the so called deconstructions, they usually are works so eager in criticizing genres, to portray its meaning as hopeless idealism, but at the same time they construct nothing, no new coherent ideology in response to them. It just ends up amounting to a fake realism. They point out clichés but fail to recognize that making a story where the heroes always lose, is as predictable and unrealistic as one where the heroes always win. Only portraying the other extreme, the cynical, the immoral, the despair does not make such works any real representation of reality. If madoka fallen to such trappings, my verdict on the theming and meta aspects of the show would be pretty negative, but happily that is not the case, and this is where madoka simply brilliant ending comes into play. When all hope seems to be lost, to the point where simply having hope would mean a flaw in character, when it seems the whole series is engulfed in its own cynicism. Than we have the last episode making an unbelievable turn, hope is reaffirmed through a wish, the uselessness of practicing good, because due to the entropy that could only lead to an equal amount of suffering being done, is contested. The universal rules this perverse system that seems to deny everything to individuals is changed by said wish. Madoka in its last act reconstructs and reaffirms ideals that form the genre, the idealism destroying the own cynical setting the series builds up, following the simplest format of all, of the hero that by making a choice and having personal sacrifices, escapes and subverts a pervert system of control. The template for mahou shoujo is the result of that, reappearing here, at the series last moments. To conclude, I am not sure if what madoka is doing is actually a deconstruction or not (to be sincere I do not really care that is the case or not) but what madoka does efficiently has to explore about the mahou shoujo genre, is interesting to say the least.

I have Always considered myself a big fan of Akiyuki Shinbou style of directing (despite never being sure, he is the actually directing some of the shows he is credited to). Despite the variables levels of quality of a lot of projects he seems to be attached to, in each one of them I can safely say, the directing really added a lot to the experience. His style of directing may not be as artistic as something like what Kubrick usually did, where the directing itself and usage of symbolism are used to strengthen themes, and make complex really subtle points about the work, his style is marked for being really accessible and even so extremely memorable. The show tries in every regard to be visually stimulating, every scene, be it for the imagination and creativity presented in the designs, scenarios, location mapping, the usage of color pallet, backgrounds, everything in the series shows this attention to detail and creativity. Every Witch liar has a completely different form of being presented, and the forms of physical combat are among the most creative I have seen in anime. I have to point how not a lot of the directing or the detailed production is purposed to reinforce the series themes, but the effort and passion demonstrated are certainly praiseworthy.

An important element, I would like to present a defense towards, are the characters. Sure madoka may not have the most interesting and complex characters in the world, and I am not sure if there was a way to make really great characters of a really plot focused 12-episode series. But claiming as a lot of people do, that the series characters are empty puppets for the ideas and history, goes beyond overkill. Take Madoka the protagonist for example, her way of acting and thinking are completely understandable, her low self-esteem due to her lack of capacity of seeing merit in the things she was able to do (it would have been great if that trait did not need to be repeated 15 times), as such low self-esteem is her motivation for a dangerous altruism, leading her to want to make good things for others even when those actions mean prejudice for herself. Her insecurity and hesitation in regards to her wish are also perfectly understandable, due to the almost no way out situation, in which she is being forced to make that decision. This tendency marks madoka’s characters, they have simple personalities, that are easy to understand and sympathize, and their actions are coherent with the form they are written and their ideals. One character that negatively stands out for not being that way is Sakura Kyouko, her character and arc simply do not work. The establishment is relatively well done. First we are presented to her and steadily her character is demonstrated through her actions, her individualistic mentality, when allowing that other humans may come to die, just to assure she will have more grief seeds, and for actively trying to take away the territory of another mahou shoujo, by force. Later we find out her past, the fact she inadvertently has caused the destruction of her entire family, because of a wish she made judging it would help her dad, and how those elements explain the mentality she displays nowadays. All of this is shown in a short amount of time, but establishes her really well as a narcissistic asshole. And then what happens? Later she simply changes her mind, after a 5-minute conversation with Sayaka and starts to worry enough about her, to even sacrifice her life to save Sayaka. This change is not only sudden, she is also awfully explained, I do understand the fact of she forming a form of identification with Sayaka, because the two of them are suffering the shock of really awful reveals, that change completely the way that they see themselves. But from that, to there actually being this great connection between the two that justifies said actions, there is a great difference. The character development in this case, consists of convenient writing, that ignores previously stablished character aspects, just for the story progression, that needs Homura to face the Walpurgis Night alone. On a certain way it is way worse than Mami’s characters that has a more simplified development and arc, while still being coherent, due to her minor importance in the history. So in general the madoka’s cast is mediocre to ok, the characters do their job, and do not really deserve a lot of the backlash.

One of the more prominent themes in Madoka is the dichotomy and clash between altruism and egoism. Which one those two concepts rules, or should rule our actions is extremely relevant for the series, having every character show a unique point about that. Sakura Kyouko being the most emblematic example, since her introduction her character is defined by her egotism, and for giving absolutely no value to helping others. Those characteristics are the result of her troubling past, especially the idea of it being useless to try to do good things for others, because of our lack of capacity of understanding and really managing to enact good acts for them. The series answer for that is bringing the same logic for her own egotism, Kyouko on her own vision may be thinking she is acting according to what is best for her, but she finds herself unable to comprehend her situation, which in turn makes her incapable of realizing what is actually beneficial. In the other side of the spectrum we have Sayaka, always acting for the good of others, feeling disgusted to even imagine of taking personal gain with the situation. The character due to the loss of her body, starts to only define her value by measuring how useful she can be for others. This excessive altruism is the reason for her fall, after placing the value of her existence only on how useful she could be, when she starts having doubts on the society she is trying to protect, Sayaka is left with nothing becoming engulfed in complete despair. Homura is an odd case since her actions seem to be altruistic in a first glance, after all her motivation is the love she fells towards Madoka, but such love is essentially selfish. She wants to save Madoka only, not worrying with anything else, like other people, how they may see her, the broader situation, and being because of that incapable to solve the situation. The ending portrays a synthesis of both concepts, sure Madoka’s sacrifice may be the utmost representation of selflessness in the series, but that is only possible due to Homura’s egotism. The union of both, egoism and altruism is the answer, both are important sources to guide our actions.

Another remarkable aspect of this work are some of the sources it takes influence from, especially two great literary authors. Goethe is the most obvious, madoka raises a lot of the same questioning that are in the center of his reputed work Faust, some witch’s lair even containing direct visual references to that. And it is not hard to understand why that is the case, both works focus on human beings trying to enact impossible or almost impossible feats, through short cuts without putting the necessary effort. In this process the characters lose their humanity and souls, to see their desires come true. The message is also pretty similar; be careful with what you wish for. Kyuubei is also kind of reminiscent of the charismatic devil offering temptation to humans, and portraying an even understandable perspective for the audience. H.P Lovecraft, probably the most influential figure on terror as a literary genre, being another. Gen Urobuchi is in my opinion trying to recreate the existential horror that Lovecraft’s works contain, the idea of the incubators being extremely reminiscent of the Cthulhu, this supernatural being that inflict terror on the characters, this mysterious being that gives no importance or value to human kind. The key differences are in the form both beings are portrayed, Kyuubie has motivations, methods and objectives explained in the series, the figures of horror in Lovecraft’s books on the other hand have pretty much everything about them involved in mystery, the mentality of those creatures cannot be understood for human beings and trying can only lead the individual to madness. Theoretically having said aspects explained would be a point in favor of madoka, but that is the deal. The horror in those histories comes from our lack of capacity to really know, of there being these incomprehensible horrors, which you cannot understand or predict. Giving answers and demystifying said beings only makes them less scary or threatening. This is one of the cases where raising questions and intrigue means way more for a work than any answer and explanation. If you view Madoka as an attempt in existential horror, it simply does not work on that aspect.

The narrative quality of Madoka also cannot be understated. I have already seen people referring to this series as the one that has perfect story’s pacing, and despite not agreeing with the sentiment, I really get the why. The narrative structure of madoka works really well, containing a healthy number of twists and revelations spaced out excellently. Having each one the twists fulfilling an important function in the narrative and in the character’s arcs, by changing the character’s perception of themselves or the reality they are inserted. Between those revelations the series never stops paying attention to how each character is being affected, how they react to the new events and reality. This constantly changing and evolving style of narrative makes madoka one of the more addictive experiences I have ever had with anime. Sure there is a degree of convenience involved here, I will always find hilarious how Homura is always getting late or in the nick of time in several events, even when she has the capacity of moving infinitely faster, than other characters. But there is nothing that really hurts the series internal logic to a high degree, or really represents important structural problems in the series.

To sum things up, as I rewatched madoka I gained a deeper appreciation for the anime. I managed to comprehend what the series is trying to do, and what is the point it trying to make with its aspects. While not always being that successful in those, it is overall doing a good job in its diverse aspects. I may not believe it will ever be a masterpiece in my eyes, mostly because of the characters, which I never managed to form a connection or caring that much about. Moments of intense emotional turmoil like those Madoka and Sayaka went through barely affecting me. But still I got a satisfying experience of the whole thing.

I will be spoiling pretty much this entire show so be warned.

You know this is not the review I wanted to write. After finishing and loving the first season of honey and clover, I wanted nothing than to watch, and write a review of why Umino Chika did the unthinkable again, and managed to keep the spectacular quality of last season, and her other work, 3-gatsu no lion. Unfortunately, this is not the review I will be writing right now, I will try to portray my honest impression of this season, and how it managed to be an interesting disappointment.

On the positive side, this series ... definitely had some strong aspects. The relation between rika and Mayama actually works quite well, forming the stronger emotional aspect of this season. It is kind of easy to understand why both characters start to get so attached to one another, and how both develop as people, because of the other. Mayama starts dropping the appearances of maturity he so eagerly displayed in the first season, managing to defeat the fear of looking juvenile in the eyes of the older woman he deeply loved, to actually taking action, doing what she needs the most despite how pathetic he may look when doing that. Rika’s case is even more apparent, her terrifying past made her unable to move on with her life, stuck in an endless cycle of regrets and sad memories, and even getting her apart from her friends and family. It is through seeing how much someone like Mayama really cares for her, and through confronting some memories of her past, with his encouragement, that she finally manages to take the decision to start facing forward, and trying to live her life again. If only the other characters in this show had this good of resolution you would not see me giving a single complaint of this series.

I would still argue the best aspect in this show is how enjoyable it still manages to be. Acts like Nomiya support and endless wisdom, acting like such a bro, will always be very endearing in my eyes. The same can be said of Miyawako cheerful and playful attitude. And really just the characters in this show can just be so loveable and adorable at times, I cannot get enough of them, no matter how clustered unauthentic and even baffling this series becomes with the drama and subplots, the mere idea of seeing this characters I love on screen, is just enough for me to still get some satisfaction, out of it.

It is probably better for me to explain why the character’s work much better in the first season and not as much here though. What always strikes me about the character writing in the first season of the show, was not how complex or well developed the characters were (even though I would argue some them really were), but how the series finds the perfect balance between idealization and realism. These characters were never what I would call realistic representations of people living this period in life, they are noisier cheerful, and way more optimistic than anyone I know this age. But there is also this important aspect of realism to them, they always had some sort of character flaw and the issues they face tell so much about our own issues, their search for meaning, their fear of rejection, their difficult to let go of their past and actually make progress in life, to the point anyone watching it could relate to these characters in some way. This is what always made me see watching this show as a magic time, the characters were never bogged down by excessive realism, which would make them unpleasant, like per say something like 13 reasons why, but they were never so idealized, I could not relate to them, and see them just as some idealized fantasy for escapism. This show in its first season managed this balance perfectly, I could get happy and consider those adorable characters a special group of friends I loved, with all the amusing comedy and interactions between them, while still getting my needed dose of character drama, pathos. Half of what made every emotion feel so genuine and well presented in my eyes, was that this style of character writing really was perfect for the turmoil of emotions, this show wants to portray. This season changes that a little, by choosing to have a bigger focus on drama, the realism becoming more relevant than the idealism. Dropping that balance, for the realistic spectrum of things, did not add much to the show, only made it lose the magic, the endlessly sentimental tone I loved about the first season.

Perhaps the most egregious aspect is how it handles the resolution for morita’s character though. Throughout the first season, the most well established and important quality he had was his emotionally distant approach to his friends, since he could not let go of an issue with his past and really be with them. How do they handled said particular character conflict here? Just make he not really care for the issue he was facing, it only being really important for his fucking brother. Yes, the biggest character flaw morita had, was just the fact he was trying to please his brother with some fucking plan he was coming up, without really caring about it. This is fucking brilliant. Actually scrape what I said above, what they did with hanamoto was way worse. They took one of the most adorable relationship in this entire series, which was previously compared as exactly like the one between a little brother and sister, and made it so, he now has some weirdly romantic infatuation with Hagu and is fighting for her with guys half his age. People who thought that rei and hinata to get in a relationship was weird, should come and see this bullshit. Also it is sad to see how takemoto has absolutely nothing to do or importance in here. As much as I love the man (which I really do) his participation in this story ended with his development last season, and his rejection by Hagu. Actually I would argue this whole I want to find meaning in a never happening love conflict, is a character regress with the answer he got from last season. His impact in other characters and the way they solve their issues is also almost nonexistent. Hagu’s character arc probably has the best closure in this. Her resolve to actually let go of love to achieve her goals, and be able to assert her will, even though she knows this might be selfish on her part is great. The way she underwent and manages to overcome the fear and stress of losing the only thing she was really good at, and capable of doing, with the help of the connection of those around her and with determination and self-discipline, is awe inspiring to say the least. Outside of Hagu I cannot think of a character who truly had good closure. When I was praising how Honey and clover handled the theme, of the difficult of changing yourself, I did it, because I believed by the end of the characters would still develop and solve their issues. This is a story after all, just conditioning a good closure to a theme is simply not worth it. I kept thinking, well the character development is obviously not coming in this early stage of the story, because of the themes it was trying to portray, but surely by the end of it every main character will have achieved solid catharsis and development. Only Hagu, and Takemoto early in the story got that. Yamada being the worst offender in all of this, which had the capacity to spent 37 episodes building a character arc that ends in the exact same place by the finale of the show. So great work again Umino Chika?

This season this does adds something considerable in terms of themes. Although briefly touched upon in the other season, the theme of talent takes the upstage in this one. The Morita backstory, and Kaoru entire participation in this show have as primary importance to tackle this theme, having several parallels throughout the story. Talent is in no way correlated with happiness in this world, both talented and untalented people suffer a like. The untalented had to solve with the difficult find meaning in their lives, their actions are in no way unique and can easily be replaced by someone else, never being able to compare or compete. They are torn with envy of those who are really capable. The talented also suffer a lot as well, both because of the resentment of those who lack their capacity, as well as with the guilty whenever they feel they are not using the ability they have, which other people would die to have. So far so good, talent as a theme may be overused in fiction, but this series is actually exploring it a little differently. What it never did was to actually solve any of the conflicts such duality brought. How did the characters solve the difficult feelings it come with this disparity in capacities and with their own limitations, and abilities? Actually they did not, they just moved on with their lives with the help of their friends I think? Because that was how Kaoru did it btw. There is the whole talk to your brother and try tell him, how you feel, try to make him understand you, speech by Hagu, but we never see this understanding between these opposites happening in the series or if that ever happened. Is Takemoto hard work supposed to show even the untalented can make meaningful things putting effort into it? In the end I am at a loss at thinking if this got any resolution, so I got nothing here

If you payed attention, in all I wrote above the idea of this being a lacking resolution is a constant one. This season did not need to do much for me to really like it, I do love this series special just for being a fun time if these characters. All I really needed out of this season was an okay conclusion to most of what was being built previously, while still maintaining the previous charm. Unfortunately, this failed both as a conclusion and both in maintaining the familiar charm, I love about this work. Perhaps I should call the whole thing a failure and score it low. Which I am not going to do, even if I cannot in good mind call this a success from Umino Chika, I still find her writing and works far more entertaining and interesting to think about than a lot of people successes.