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Bakemonogatari is divided into 5 story arcs, each introducing a different girl that the protagonist Araragi interacts with. Each arc explores a fantastical physical phenomenon that manifested from some internal emotional distress in each girl.

Being an adaption from a novel, there are moments where the show can feel dialogue/monologue heavy, but the show does a good job of pacing that out with action-packed sequences. In addition, the dialogue itself can be quite intense with its humorous fast-paced exchanges. Furthermore, there is heavy usage of wordplay (in Japanese), providing another layer of depth in the commentary.

The visuals are also quite unique and immersive with its ... minimalistic touches. For example, no matter where Araragi is, whether it is the school or the neighborhood, there is absolutely no one else present except the relevant characters.

On the surface it may seem like the show is catered towards male otakus, due to each female character matching an archetype, such as tsundere, loli, etc. While there is arguably some self-indulging fan service throughout, the work explores the backstory behind them, allowing each to transcend the cookie-cutter template that they were based on.

Even if Bakemonogatari is not your cup of tea due to some hit-or-miss character arcs, know that it is only the introduction to many works in the same universe. If there is at one least one character arc that you enjoyed, you can skip to a series that focuses more on that character.

Based off a webtoon, Tower of God manages to leave an impression despite its adaption shortcomings. This first season covers just the surface of a long epic.

We first start off with a strange premise. Some ordinary-looking boy wants to climb up this tower (to be described) to follow a girl who ditched him to climb it by herself. He first needs to be granted access into the tower, which requires overcoming a clearly impossible trial dealing with a huge monster. Just before the trial, an onee-san appears out of nowhere, decides to help him survive just because she considers him bang material. He somehow manages ... to clear it, teleporting him to the 1st floor, where all the contestants are then ordered to own each other in order to advance to the next floor.

Ok you still following me?

Despite this strange premise, the show manages to keep me hooked with its imaginative world setting and variety of characters, with each episode peeling away little by little each character's background and motives, as well as the mystery behind the tower as well. In addition, despite the battle royale premise the development of various character relationships also drive the story forward. This "tower" everyone wants to climb has floors, each of which can be better described as self-contained worlds.

The anime adaptation sometimes fudges the details, making it confusing to follow, even after a rewatch. Some of this is understandable...there's not enough time to squeeze in all the intricate rules for a match. The premise of the story raises common red flags of a typical isekai anime. Dull ordinary dude gets teleported to fantasy world but actually possesses some OP superpower and gets all the chicks. That being said, unlike most isekai, this protagonist isn't originally from our modern world, making him slightly more interesting than the rest. Definitely recommend reading the webtoon to help resolve some of the confusion, but the animation is gorgeous and definitely worth watching. Don't remember much about the music, but the voice acting as always is top-notch (can't say the same for dub sorry).

Clannad manages to take viewers through tearful moments while also maintaining an overall light-hearted atmosphere. The show starts off with a cynical tone, as we listen to Okazaki's monologue filled with resentment, but any remaining bitterness quickly vanishes as the scene switches to him walking to school alongside sakura trees, accompanied with carefree music in the background. He notices a girl murmuring to herself, trying to work up the courage to go to school. The instant he breaks into her conversation, the scene climaxes through the music and the sakura leaves, portraying an auspicious fateful encounter for new beginnings.

It might sound strange for Clannad to ... be able to be both touching and carefree. Following a character-arc based formula, it is able to bring out different aspects of each character, ranging from humorous to serious. With that, it is able to package together very enjoyable humorous and heartbreaking moments.

Writing as a former member of a high school string orchestra, I was moved by Hibike!. Hibike! pits a group of determined wind ensemble high schoolers against the stark realities that one would expect to find in any high school orchestra, such as dealing with peers who aren't as invested in the orchestra (due to prioritizing academics or lack of ambition). From a no-name high school they set off to try to win the nationals in Japan.

There is something moving about seeing these boys and girls (mostly girls) sacrifice their youth and academics for a common aspiration. This is partially an observation about how ... Japanese high school orchestras operate, but it's inspiring to see the students stay after school in various classrooms to practice. They could also be found playing the euphonium behind the school grounds in solitude, or playing the trumpet on an outdoor corridor bridge, or on a hill overseeing a pleasant river.

After joining this ensemble, our protagonist Kumiko gradually learns more about each of her peers and their own upbringing and set of baggage, which gets fleshed out in different clashes and interactions. The conflicts are not your mundane high school romance drama, but usually revolve around each characters ambitions as a musician or student. Each resolution to these conflicts serve to advance the ensemble forward and the characters' relationship. As a male viewer, I was also drawn to the light tinge of yuri, or the platonic intimate interactions between the female characters.

As an anime revolving around the wind ensemble, Hibike! delivers an outstanding performance on music. I felt like I was able to get a better appreciation of the different instruments in the wind ensemble, such as the tuba. As a work of KyoAni the art is of high quality as one would expect. I was particularly impressed by the animation of the eyes that give off a delicate glitter during significant moments.

Overall, Hibike! is a must watch for anyone. While presenting a stark reality, Hibike! manages to maintain an uplifting mood with its spirited characters (Asuka senpai's assertiveness and charm) and forge a path that defies expectations. As a former H.S. orchestra member (section leader too) who was jaded by the reality I lived through, Hibike! manages to impart a "what if" that I can fancy on.

Basically refashioning cliche anime tropes mixed good art and sound.

They took a lot of liberty with the cliche anime parts, such as the childhood friend that becomes lover, oh and another one, oh and another one , and on top of that a key and lock that symbolizes their friendship and promise for each other. And I don't say liberty with a compliment, more like indulging.

Colorful art with good looking characters, with a really forced plot to make the two main characters stuck with each other, and a very predictable development of how their fake love relationship would turn out in the end. ...

But despite that, you could still enjoy the ride with with the nice art and sound and voice acting. In particular, I really like Onodera's voice, it is very feminine yet mature, and it really fits the character so well, but the voice standalone is sooo nice, I can't help myself to listen to it again. She is personally my favorite heroine, her gentleness contrasts from the other heroines; one who is hot tempered and flashy character design, and the other girl who is all over the main for no good reason.

All in all, a good anime for you to just turn off your brain and just enjoy some aesthetics. Nothing that original, just taking cliche elements and abusing them to a huger degree that you might find yourself face palming several times.

This anime can be described by one word: self-insertion.

That's right. If you are looking for a wish-fulfillment character that you can ogle and admire, you've come to the right place. This anime has everything for that, good art, sound. Those with an escapist deriving pleasure will like this.

Now, for those viewers who want to find meaning in their mediums, who want to identify with characters, sorry you will be disappointed. With this anime being a 25-episode only adaptation of an extensive light novel, its quite apparent that there will be lots of cherry-picking in scenes, and that the anime developers were mostly interested ... in revenue than quality. So a 9 rating for enjoyment is really just for those who came to experience short-term pleasure, but sadly others will have a 1 for satisfaction.

So all in all, what you have as a whole is a mediocre package delivered. Our crude taste buds are engaged, but your aesthetic higher level buds will suffer.

So how is all of this represented?

Well, firstly, good art and sound are self-explanatory.
For self-insertion, we confront a main male character who is an idealization for any male viewer. Again, this ties in to the escapist's affinity for such anime. It's arguably not a bad thing to be: we all want to escape from our mundane lives into the shoes of an awesome character. But in terms of deriving meaning and significance, you're not going to get much and the anime will leave you with a bitter unsatisfactory aftertaste.

So how is the story bad? Well, again the creators are appealing to the self-insertion character: for some full episodes you will find the narrator become popular with cute chicks, and then future episodes they have no significance. In other words, you got creators who dispose characters. Characters whose only significance is to show how awesome the main character is. And again, it's not a dumb thing on the creators part. They know that kind of thing is appealing to many viewers, and thus will earn revenue. I don't blame them, that's just how people make a living. But for mature audiences, I wouldn't waste time watching this, instead I suggest reading the light novel which I hear has more literary value, and does not exist for the sake of appealing to the viewers crude tastes.