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Apr 18, 2016
Senakagurashi is great for anyone looking for a quick fix of sugar. The problem with a lot of romance manga nowadays is they tend to go on and on, to the point where you get sweetness overload and just wanting the manga to end (see: Kimi no Iru Machi)
However, Senakagurashi at only 3 volumes is a near perfect length for the story it wants to tell. It showcases the month they spent together and their eventual development in a well-paced and digestible manner. It's sweet and refreshing all through-out.
The two main characters play off of each other fantastically. The side characters, though not getting much
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time, are likable. It knew to keep its focus on the main characters and their development and I appreciate that.
As much as I've liked this manga, giving it anything more than an 8 is being unfair. The thing with sweet, sugary foods is they got one flaw: they don't have much substance.
As much as I love the story and characters, there's not really much to chew on. It's a very light read, finishing it in a few hours. Of course, you don't really eat dessert to fill yourself up, but when it comes to fluffy reads, few get anything more than an 8 from me (and this is from someone who rates Girlfriends as a perfect 10 and one of my all-time faves).
However, if you're looking for something to make you giddy for a bit, and enjoy decent romance, nice characters, and a fun scenario, then you will not regret picking up Senakagurashi.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 17, 2016
If you are remotely interested in the premise of this show, and have yet to read the manga, I beg you, READ THE MANGA FIRST. Reading the Manga before or after watching an anime usually doesn't bother me, but trust me on this one. This adaptation has a really big problem, and it will affect how you enjoy Yamada-kun and the 7 Witches.
The main problem? Pacing. This anime has a really bad pacing issue, maybe even one of the worst. The story arc that the anime is trying to adapt spans over a total of 90 chapters. Yes, nine-zero. Let me remind you that this
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is a 1-cour anime, meaning it only has 12 episodes. And in that 12 episodes they have to cram the development of the 7 witches, numerous side characters, and surprising plot twists. It looks like the studio tried its best to adapt it to its fullest, but accomplishing a feat like that may be borderline impossible.
Not to mention, Yamada-kun is a complicated enough story as it is. Cramming it into 12 episodes not only emphasizes its weaknesses, but develops new ones as well, like rushed developments and exposition dialogue. Giving it 2-cour may very well solve its issues, but the fact of the matter is they tried to cram a story as convoluted as Yamada-kun into 12 episodes.
But does that mean you should avoid this show like the plague? Hell no! This anime is actually insanely fun when you get into the crux of it. The characters are all lively and hilarious. The interactions with the kisses is pretty cool, and can make you giddy from time to time. Though the music is not particularly outstanding, the OP, 'Kuchizuke Diamond', has to be one of my personal favorite OP's in anime. Every time I hear it I just have to drum my lap and tap my foot to the beat.
Also, this show has to be one of the best demonstrations of just how talented Japanese VA's are. The show plays around body-switching, and the results produced when our MC and Lead Girl (both polar opposite personalities) are outstanding. How the VA's capture the personality of the person they switch it shows immense talent and mastery. I have to give special kudos to Hayami Saori as well, a VA that I've been fond of because of her recurring roles as an archetypal kuudere, one of my favorite tropes. This anime showcases that she actually has great vocal range, playing the vulgar MC easily. This is the show that made me put her into one of my all time favorite VA's.
If you want the full Yamada-kun experience, please do read the manga instead. The story and character relationships are touched upon better there, and the pacing is a lot better. It's actually pretty good; you will not regret the time used while reading it.
But if you have already read the manga and loved it like me, by all means do not let this pass. There is enough here to make you overlook its pacing issues, and by the end you will find this a satisfying adaptation of the manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 21, 2014
I honestly came in and watched this with the lowest of the low expectations (that OP did not help, too), but I was pleasantly surprised how good it actually is.
If you want my quick opinion, I recommend this to anyone who likes RomComs. It's damn funny, and the romance is pretty OK. The art style is worth taking note of (very reminiscent to Sakurasou), and it also has some decent drama, if that's your thing. Now, on to the review.
-Gael Cliche-
OK, bad things first. The story is about a very beautiful girl who gets in a fake relationship to avoid creepers. Hilarity ensues. Gee,
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haven't heard of that one before. They don't put in very many twists either, so the story gets predictable from time to time.
-Choose Your Archetype-
The cool beauty. The childhood friend. The stoic girl. The tsundere. The loli. Sigh. There is absolutely nothing wrong with archetypes, as long as you put your own twists in it (see: Steins;Gate, which uses harem archetypes (Kurisu is a tsundere, Mayushii is an airhead, etc.) in a non-harem setting). The problem stems from the fact that OreShura does very little in that department (the Mazusu-is-a-bitch route looked promising, but I feel they didn't exploit it enough).
-Oven Ain't Hot Enough-
Most of the characters, in my opinion, are under-baked. They get very little airtime, and most of that airtime goes to comedy routines too. Hime's introduction lasts only 2 episodes, and most of it isn't even her on screen. Ai gets introduced waaay too late into the story, so I wasn't that invested in her (which is a shame, since her character could've been good). But what pisses me off, Natsukawa Masuzu, the MAIN FEMALE LEAD, is UNDERDEVELOPED. THE. MAIN. FEMALE. LEAD. I mean, just...how?!
To it's credit, Eita and Chiwa have really good character developments. I mean, it makes sense that Eita will be well developed (he is the MC, after all), but Chiwa? I mean, yes, I want each and every character to be developed well, but if you're going to pick only two characters to develop, why not pick, oh, I don't know, THE MAIN FEMALE LEAD?!
-The Pet Girl of OreShura-
On to the stuff I really liked. If you liked the general look of Sakurasou, then you are going to love this. The colors are all very light, and very easy on the eyes. I fell in love in first sight, to be honest.
-My Rock-
When it comes to RomComs, OreShura is a very solid choice. The romance is pretty OK- it has its moments now and then- but the comedy is where this really shines. This anime is absolutely hilarious. Seriously, if you want a good laugh, just watch the first few episodes. The notebook gag and delusions gag in particular really gets to me, just because of how relatable it is.
-Natsukawa Mazusa-
OK, I'm seriously not over this WHY IS THE MAIN FEMALE LEAD UNDERDEVELOPED?! I mean, geez...
I could write a whole frackin' rant about this, but maybe some other time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 17, 2014
I originally gave this anime a ten, but after a few days of thinking and rumination, I finally settled down with what I think is a fair score of 8. Why? Well...
White Album 2, for me, is very good. Each aspect of this anime is done very well. The story is fantastic. It is very believable, and you will get invested to the plot and the characters. Speaking of characters, that for me is another strong point of White Album. Haruki, Kazusa, and Setsuna are all very likable, and you could easily emphatize with all 3. They are all three dimensional, with motivations, goals, and
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flaws. Another strength of this anime is the sound. Though the BGM doesn't exactly stand out, the music that the characters perform are actually very good, and you would fall in love with 'White Album' by episode 1.
If I have to state any weaknesses to this show, it would have to be the animation. Stills appear numerous times. The one that particularly irks me is the concert one, where instead of showing us, say, the atmosphere within the gymnasium, or the audience just rocking out to the music, we get a montage recycled animation from the last episodes. A bit lazy there, I think. It didn't actually affect my experience much, though, since I'm more of a story guy than an art guy.
I hope you could see where I'm coming from when I gave this anime an initial 10. So why did I take it back? Well, in my personal opinion, there isn't what I'd call an 'x-factor' to it. Even though White Album 2 is great in pretty much all aspects, there's really nothing that stands out from it. I noticed that those animes that are 10-worthy really has aspects that make it stand out from the usual crowd, i.e. Steins;Gate with its stellar storytelling and character development, or Clannad A.S. with its heart wrenching scenes.
But for what it is, White Album 2 is a really damn good romance. It's very well made, and I highly recommend that you pick it up if you have the time.
(Note that this is my first review, so apologies.)
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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