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Nov 4, 2024
I want to preface this by saying this review is written from the POV of an old fart who watched the OG Ranma ½ anime on live television in its heyday.
If you’re new to Ranma ½ and want to enjoy the newer generation of anime series (not this reboot, but everything else), do yourself a favor, do not watch this. Why? Because everything else pales in comparison. The storytelling, the voice acting, the animation - Ranma ½ is one of the few anime/manga series that actually has it all, be it comedy, romance, action, art, etc. It’s difficult to enjoy most shows nowadays because weebs
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put trashy anime on a pedestal resulting in poorer creativity and production in general, i.e. if garbage sells why bother? It’s especially rare to find an anime with emotional depth in the romance genre (I still get choked up when Akane got her bad ‘cut’ which had a bittersweet backstory; TikTok twerps would never understand) or an anime with decent jokes in the comedy genre where the punch line doesn’t involve human waste (*cough* Dandadan *cough*). Sorry kiddos, sometimes old does mean better. There’s no doubt why Ranma ½ remains to be Rumiko Takahashi’s best selling manga series of all time.
So how does this remake fare against the OG? Well the pacing is much faster which is more coherent with the manga, although I didn’t mind the slower pace in the OG with filler scenes/episodes as a die-hard fan (my only hope is that this reboot will be a faithful adaptation of most of the major arcs of the manga). First thing that jumped out regarding the remake was the color palette, which looked odd at times since I was used to seeing a red-headed female Ranma but Mappa turned the red into a pinkish color. The other complaint per the consensus seems to be about mildly censored nudity which is quite juvenile IMO - if you’re an older fan like me nipples or no nipples don’t make or break the series; if you’re someone who only cares about fan service and don’t mind a bland plot then you’re better off watching Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian or something along those lines (hint: if the title is long that’s a cue - shit blows). My main beef with the reboot is the mediocre music - background music in the OG was phenomenal in that it assisted in creating the atmospheric tone to the story/upcoming scenes about to occur, whereas the instrumentals in the remake are rather lackluster. However, Anta Nante as an ending theme is not bad - nothing can top the OG opening theme of Yappapa but that’s just my personal nitpick (did I mention this is my favorite series, for the nth time?). It’s true - one is the harshest critic for what matters to oneself.
The fact that Mappa picked this up is great and it shows in the animation. However to be fair, any studio would do for us old timers who have waited 30+ years for a reboot since the OG anime ended abruptly before the manga was completed; hopefully this remake will adapt most of the major arcs. It was practically a miracle that most of the OG VAs returned as well. I do think Kappei and Noriko’s voices have aged too much to sound like teenagers but thankfully their performances as Ranma and Akane, respectively, are still top-notched. Hats off to Megumi as female Ranma and Koichi as Ryoga (who are in their 50s and 60s, respectively) and sound just like they did over three decades ago. I still feel thunderstruck as I type this by the fact that Ranma ½ is back. We are BACK Kuno baby!!!
Bottom line: watch Ranma ½ if you haven’t already, but beware as your standards are about to be permanently altered and there’s no going back.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 18, 2024
Dandadan is an anime supposedly exploring paranormal topics such as ghosts and UFOs which sounds great on paper, however it fails miserably in framing a coherent plot with any of the ideas above. The story is utter crap, the humor is infantile, and the characters are as obnoxious as they get.
Let me explain.
Story: You’d think the concept of ghosts/UFOs is intriguing, but the presentation is basically a hodgepodge of anti-stereotypes executed in the worst way possible for the sole purpose of flamboyance. The show opened with a punk asking the female protagonist to pay for the love hotel so he could get laid. Now mind
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you this was the first few minutes of the anime, I sat in my chair already smelling a rat from a mile away thinking this series was probably going to shove as many outlandish scenarios down the audience’s throat as possible in order to sell itself as edgy/cool. My intuition was confirmed when the story proceeded to show an alien abduction with an attempt to rape the MC by stripping her down to her undergarments. I mean as a rated R show this wasn’t completely preposterous, but then the anime started to crack jokes about weenies and at that moment I began to question who exactly the targeted audience was, which brings me to my next point.
Humor: the viewer gets bombarded with jokes about bananas, piss, and poop. As an R-rated show we deserve better. I don’t see how the MC’s weenie being “taken" by a ghost is supposed to be funny, nor him going to the toilet without genitals. We're not in elementary school. Hard pass.
Characters: a feminist type girl paired with a weak boy whose design probably stemmed from the Egyptian deity Osiris with his weenie chopped off (and there's the occult connection for Okarun ladies and gentlemen). Just when you think things couldn’t get any more bizarre, a woman who could pass off as Kim Kardashian of the anime universe showed up as the protagonist’s grandma (again selling edginess shattering traditional stereotypes because grandmas are supposed to be knitting scarves at home while making chicken soup for grandkids). All of them couldn’t stop screaming/yelling throughout the show which I get is common in shounen, but coupled with all the issues listed above the whole thing was just so obnoxious that the anime essentially became unwatchable.
Overall the flow of the series was a literal mess and the execution was garbage - cringe is not the new cool.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Sep 29, 2024
This anime was certainly a rollercoaster ride - if my score was a reflection of how my journey went over the last six months it would be as follows:
How it began: 3
By the time it ended: 7
Let’s start with the bad: voice acting was unconventional, sleepy and sluggish. The first few episodes were so unbearable I thought the protagonist was mentally challenged (despite the premise of him being a legendary assassin), or that I had set the playback speed at 0.5x by accident. The animation felt cheap and the jokes were corny. I couldn’t drop the show fast enough.
However part of me felt that something
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ain’t right - like eating sushi for the first time at a third rated restaurant but deep down you know the same dish can potentially taste so much better at an authentic Japanese joint. Even though yakuza plotlines are a dime a dozen, a story can’t be that awful if there are two live action movies made for it right? Following that train of thought, fast forward a few weeks after dropping the anime I proceeded to watch the live action movies - boy so glad I did. None of the aforementioned issues were present in the live action movies. The casting for Akira, Yoko, and Misaki in the live action was perfect. The comedy was on point. If you’ve never read the manga like myself, highly recommend watching the live action first BEFORE diving into the anime - it’s a game changer.
Went back to watch the anime after the live action experience and everything became instantly better. Albeit still not a fan of the sluggish voice acting but it became tolerable because the story started to pick up. The Fable ended up being the casual slice of life yakuza show that I didn’t know I needed.
Oh, and Kuro-chan is the MVP.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 29, 2024
Yatagarasu is the anime equivalent of NHK’s Taiga drama, a historical television series highlighting certain prominent figures in Japanese history broadcasted every year (the last one I watched was Sanada Maru from eight years ago, highly recommend that one if you haven’t seen it already). The story follows two second-born sons and their political conflicts, one as the crown prince and the other as a servant to the former, during what looks to be the Heian era (per the show it takes place at Yamauchi in an alternate universe). Although the concept of power struggles within the imperial court and bureaucracy in general are not
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new by any means, the portrayal is reasonable, considering that in traditional cultures first born sons tend to succeed as family heirs versus latter born children. The addition of the ability to shapeshift into ravens makes the plot more interesting as well. The art style is a bit too rigid for my liking but it works.
It’s certainly a breath of fresh air to see an actual seinen anime that lives up to its tag and not some cliche isekais that are a dime a dozen. This show is easily one of my favorites for the season, albeit not garnering enough attention. If you enjoy period dramas and/or a proper seinen story similar to the likes of Ōoku, don’t miss this one.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 28, 2024
Something is seriously wrong with the shoujo anime industry when season after season viewers are fed with garbage content - Vampire Dormitory is no exception. This show was released to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Nakayoshi, a monthly shoujo magazine serializing various manga series. I used to read Nakayoshi myself when I was a kid (notable serializations included Cardcaptor Sakura, Magic Knight Rayearth, Sailor Moon, etc). Sad state of affairs if Vampire Dormitory is the best Nakayoshi can offer nowadays.
This anime is essentially a crossover of Twilight and Ouran High School Host Club where a poor girl crossdressed as a guy and sold her soul
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to a vampire for a cheap meal. There was a scene, and I shit you not, that the MC begged the vampire to drink her blood to satiate his hunger since he was deprived of “food” for an entire week and she was worried about his well being; she’s basically his slave and “lovin’ it” - truly sickening but in a way describes today’s society to the T. If teenage girls are the target audience who are supposed to be gushing over this crap, the future is grim.
Visuals - decent; typical shoujo big watery/sparkly eyes, pretty standard for this genre
Sound - forgettable. I always find it silly to talk about the music unless the anime is spectacular because it’s cherry on top, but never the actual cake. There’s no saving a trashy anime even if you layer Joe Hisaishi’s work over it.
Characters - simply a reciprocal slave and master/vampire relationship. However for the life of me I don't understand why the MC feels the need to wear a wig. I mean if you’re going to crossdress then cut your hair like Mizuki in Hana-Kimi instead of doing this half ass job which seems to be a setup for yet another “heart-throbbing” revelation later on.
Not sure who would actually enjoy this, maybe if you’re obsessed with vampire stories and/or BL (even if the official pairing isn’t BL, the side characters appear to lean that way) you may like it, otherwise it's a cringefest.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Feb 18, 2024
Watching Solo Leveling is like watching your brother play video games when he’s hoarding the gaming controller in the pre-smartphone era. Is it enjoyable? Nope. Is it a decent way to kill time? Sure. The anime had a good start - the creepy grin from the stone statue had Attack on Titan vibes (could probably pass for Dina’s twin), but the show went downhill after that and eventually flatlined.
And then the unprecedented event happened: Jinwoo hit second puberty and deepened his voice.
Now usually I find the debate between anime vs manhwa/manga to be counterproductive because if the story is shit the format doesn’t matter, unless
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you tend to nitpick on the nuances as a desperate attempt to support your bias as to why one is immensely better than the other. For action genre, anime is generally preferred because reading the manhwa/manga is equivalent to watching a fight in slo-mo which is extremely unsatisfying. In Solo Leveling’s case, I have to concur that the manhwa may very well be the better option (despite not having read any of it) because you wouldn’t be able to notice the elephant in the room that is the voice change. When Jinwoo went through his second puberty I legit had to check whether I clicked a different show by accident. As the anime progressed I even started wondering whether he could pull a dagger out of his sharp chin since the character design of the ‘enhanced’ version was so cookie-cutter.
At the end of the day this story is overhyped with nothing to write home about that would motivate me to read the manhwa, but at least with reading you wouldn’t be second guessing whether you’re watching the right show after the so-called upgrade.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Feb 18, 2024
Well this manga takes the cake - the epitome of making a mountain out of a molehill. The supposed coming-of-age story with depth somehow ended up being an obnoxious case of bipolar teens suffering from Stockholm syndrome.
Every character in Aku no Hana is unlikable and unrelatable. Aside from the fact that it’s difficult to wrap my head around why stealing gym clothes can turn into such a fiasco, but how does a middle school kid get bullied into succumbing to his fellow classmate and eventually developing an attachment to the said abuser is the main problem. There’s no clear/convincing explanation to Nakamura’s behavior either,
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i.e. why she acted the way she did, except the reader is constantly hammered by the hysteria brooding within the MC. And then there’s the crush, who actually has a backstory as to why she’s bipolar, but again her extremity requires such a mental leap that you can’t help but wish she seeks psychiatric help throughout the manga.
I have no idea why this piece is praised to high heaven; perhaps I'll never understand unless I adopt the mindset of Happosai (the infamous underwear thief from Ranma ½) who, believe it or not, may actually be more sane than any of the characters in Aku no Hana.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Jan 28, 2024
Let’s get it out of the way: Itsuomi is a creep.
There I said it. Yes the guy who tells a deaf girl “let me in your world” after merely meeting a few times briefly. If this isn’t the definition of a sleazebag or some sort of swindling scheme then I don’t know what is. In fact this anime would be more interesting if Itsuomi actually turns out to be a predator as a warning shot for naive girls falling prey to some random douche they met on the train. Nothing about their encounter smells organic. This is the problem with shoujo in general, where the
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same cliche script keeps getting recycled over and over. Take Kimi ni Todoke as an example, where it had the same timid girl crushing on a popular guy trope and all of the sudden the earth revolved around her where she became sociable/likable/etc. At least in Sawako’s case she wasn’t deaf so there was less of a barrier, but no they had to replicate the same cringy setup with Yuki whose disability, in the real world, would probably force her to jump through extra hoops to get acknowledged by society, yet the story makes it seem like her deafness is a feature, not a bug, as an attempt to differentiate itself from the typical shoujo stereotype. This anime tries to paint a world where everything is hunky dory with ikemen chasing after girls with hearing impairment, which is a total disservice to the disabled community where all their struggles are swept under the rug because, well, ikemens are irresistible, that's why.
The visuals are good at first glance, but with each passing episode you gradually notice the exaggerated plump/shine around the characters’ lips like everyone is wearing lip gloss, including the dudes.
I don’t recommend this series to anyone (sorry tiramisu from Costco ain’t gonna cut it, though never in my life did I expect to see anime characters shopping at a Costco but here we are). That being said I’ll probably continue watching just to see if Itsuomi is really a swindler or not to spice up the plot, however I'm not holding my breath.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jan 13, 2024
Imagine a granny going on a Pokemon adventure, hopping from one town to another with companions joining along the way to collect gym badges (grimoire) while reminiscent of past connections - that’s Sousou no Frieren, except there’s no Pikachu, no Team Rocket reciting their cheeky motto, and no ‘gotta catch ‘em all’ jingle to sing along with. In fact I dubbed it as the wannabe adult version: a thousand year old elf regreting why she didn’t spend more quality time with her mortal comrades in the ‘good old days’, similar to the lecture your parents/grandparents bombard you with when you’re stuck in a car with
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them. Look I get it, everything sparkles ten times more in youth, I’m no spring chicken either and getting old sucks. We’ve all seen dozens of anime series where the MCs want a do-over to fix themselves (i.e. ReLife and Koe no Katachi, to name a few), but what makes Sousou no Frieren so spectacular to secure the top anime spot? If you ask me that’s still a head scratcher, eighteen episodes later.
The real kicker is in the first few episodes when Fern asked Frieren whether their journey had a purpose, and her response was “not particularly” - at that moment I literally laughed out loud and applauded the candor. What is the point of watching this anime? Beats me, the protagonist had no clue either. Consequentially after the aforementioned dialogue I dropped this show, only to pick it back up during the in-between season gap with nothing else better to watch. As the story progressed it did improve a bit about a third of the way in due to it occasionally sprinkling some words of wisdom. For example, Frieren hid her mana to one up her adversary as suggested by her mentor, who probably read 'The Art of War', that is, “to appear weak when you are strong”. The flip side is “to appear strong when you are weak”, which strangely enough describes the essence of Sousou no Frieren - an anime that tries very hard to be sophisticated but turns out lukewarm. With the average human attention span shortened to a quarter of what it was a decade ago, it’s inexcusable for a series to be barely watchable until a third of the way in, and only mediocre at best. Did Sun Tzu save the show? Perhaps, at least he kept me from dropping it the second time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Nov 12, 2023
Now this is what I call a dumpster fire.
Don’t know how anyone can recommend this finale other than dwelling on pure sentimental values; I was seriously wondering whether I was watching a different show in a parallel universe. Isayama spent an entire season building Eren’s manipulative and dark persona only to squash it in the last 25 minutes of the show with a wimpy meltdown. Eren, who never displayed a single ounce of romantic interest towards anyone in the series, did a 180 at the end as a cheap fan service just to check the box. Needless to say, my jaw dropped to the floor.
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Character assassination at its finest - not cool.
To be fair, ever since the ability to transcend time was revealed I had an inkling that this anime was going to turn to shit, and it did, as evidenced by what REALLY went down with Eren’s mom. I’m sorry but this is just sloppy writing; when you can change anything past/present/future incoherence is bound to happen. Seasons 1-3 were phenomenal and should have concluded then, instead we got another season of unnecessary drama with Gabi/Falco and the alliances (who in my opinion added zero value to the story but that’s a rant for another day). However I’m glad this journey is finally over, because when attack on titan becomes an attack on logic you know it’s beyond salvage.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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