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This is a focus on Kokoro mostly, and maybe a bit of Ningen Shikkaku. I'm sure Hashire Melos! and the two Akutagawa shorts would work better in adaptation, considering they are short stories rather than the two novels... but I didn't watch, since the Kokoro adaptation was so bad. Maybe I should give the other 4 a try, since the animation teams differ.

It looks like this series adapted some of the most well known Japanese literature pieces (the Ango one I was actually unfamiliar with) so I'm guessing the audience was already familiar with the story. No longer human was actually a pretty good ... adaptation, as it was the longest and most fleshed out, fitting since the story is novel length. Pretty solid for 4 anime episodes, they got most of the important plot detail, did little to portray the anguish though. I'd suggest Junji Ito's adaptation, if you want to avoid the book (personally didn't even like the book, but I mostly like Dazai's pre-war stuff).

Kokoro as a novel is even longer than ningen shikkaku, but only got a measly 2 episodes which did NOTHING for the book. It focused mostly on the latter part with K and Sensei, and the animation was terribly clunky too. Poor character design choice with K by making him look extremely grotesque. The climax isn't even that great since there was no real buildup, no sense of attachment for Sensei, who is supposed to be revered... until the climax. They just skipped straight to the dramatic parts, which isn't even that dramatic without the context. I was seriously appalled by these two episodes, but luckily the directors and art changed with each story.

Homosexuality is taboo in Korean society. It's very unfortunate, but homosexuality is usually regarded with disgust, or ignored. There are few Korean movies with LGBT themes, and even less tv shows. And while manhwa is a much more flexible medium, there are rarely even any BL or GL works, much less any pieces that have LGBT themes at all.

Welcome to Room #305 is published through Naver Webtoons; it is for the mainstream Korean audience, who are generally homophobic, unlike BL/GL works that target mostly readers familiar with and interested in homosexual relationships. It's unique in that there isn't really any romance centered on a ... homosexual couple. Instead, it is more about educating these South Korean readers on LGBT issues. As a Korean (American now) frustrated with the way queerness is treated in South Korea, it does a great job in clearing up the stereotypes and animosity rooted in our culture.

Welcome to Room #305 is a slice-of-life comedy. While the manhwa generally light-hearted, queerness is treated seriously. The drama and conflict comes from homophobic views against the queer characters. Some of the LGBT themes are played with (like the gay guy's name being "Homo"), but not treated as a joke.

There isn't a big cast, but they are diverse enough to provide entertaining interactions and to progress this manhwa's daring explorations in LGBT themes. Most of the character's developments are focused on queer acceptance, whether they're straight, or not. And even though LGBT themes is the central point of the manhwa, it does have the slice-of-life charm by telling a story about a young, initially homophobic, man and his friends, making of friends, and his mishaps during his university years.

The art is simple and in full color, and well fitting. There really aren't any backgrounds. WANAN (the author) focuses more on the characters, who have cartoony and exaggerated expressions for comic effect. And simple does not mean bad, as the art style is consistent and in proportion; the coloring, solid.

Overall, it is a fun read. And while the dramatic arcs gets drawn out sometimes, it is well done and sadly consistent with the culture this story reflects. As a slice-of-life piece, rather than a message on morality, Welcome to Room #305 is fun and has interesting short stories and gags that allows it to hold the mainstream audience's attention-- probably why it is so well acclaimed and popular, despite its "taboo" focus.

I've seen many kids shows, enjoyed a lot of them, but none of them are on-par with Tribe Cool Crew.

The story is pretty generic. Guy meets girl, and they both want to get better at dancing, and there's an underlying motive to reach the level of some celebrity. No real marks for that. However, it's about street dancing and that makes it fairly "fresh" compared to other children anime about pop. Hip hop supremacy.

The dance component is unique, and they mix in a lot of different styles even though it's hip hop, but tends to repeat.

The art style is really good. It's charming ... and appealing, with bright, fun colors. The background characters aren't off model, and the main characters seem consistent. The only problem I had was with the 3D for the dance numbers-- it's a bit bland and boring.

The sound is pretty good, but it's not great. The music is fitting and catchy, but some get redundant. The voice acting is solid. There are no standout, really popular voice actors, but they portray the characters well.

The characters are probably what make this show so delightful. The main characters have dynamic interactions. While Haneru and Kanon are the main characters, the rest of the 5 man team have their own share of depth and dreams. It's interesting to see an adult majority in a kids anime, and they have a fun and healthy relationship in mentoring and supporting the main characters. They have good banter and conversations too.

The character design is very unique. It's unlike other music/dance anime which feature only pale and thin characters. TCC has a wide range of body types in this show, showing you don't need to be model thin to dance well and have fun. The diversity of the characters, appearance and personality, support the colorful show really well.

TCC gives a positive message on body image and gender roles (Haneru really doesn't care. Dude has an off shoulder top and his role model, Jey El, is fabulous as heck). It really doesn't downplay the standard children anime themes of teamwork and hardwork and friendship either, but it's nice to see it introducing some concepts that are rarely ventured in kid's shows too.

It's fun, and definitely fresh. It'd be nice to see other children's anime to tackle new areas and themes like TCC does too.