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At first, I wasn't going to review this. Almost everything has been touched on in other reviews, but I thought I might share my experience as it seems to be a little different than most.

I remember when this first came out so many years ago. There was no dub yet, just bootleg fan subs. And frankly, it sucked. Poorly done, even for a kiddie show. I thought it was probably much too scary for little kids. The art is sloppy and the animation is mostly less than average. The characters and episodes were poorly written. There's no overarching plot, just Scooby-Doo Ghost of ... the Week shit. The Japanese VA work seemed blah. There was nothing to keep me watching, and I dropped it after 2 or 3 episodes. I could see why it tanked in Japan. I wouldn't have graded the original better than 40/100 for an E- on the edge of an F.

Then, over the years, I kept hearing about how funny this was. "Where TF are they getting their sinsemilla from?" I wondered. It was many years before I got the picture. People were talking about the official English dub. It took a few more years, but I finally got around to checking it out.

The art and animation still sucked. The episodic nature was still lame. But the new take on the characters and dialog was simply off the chain. This version is as brutal and vulgar as Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt. Maybe even moreso. It certainly helped that ADV got the best dub talent avaialble at the time. And the VAs completely crush the delivery. Monica Rial and Chris Patton are especially noteworth MCs. I was LMAO through the vast majority of episodes.

But after a while, it all started to wear on me. It became downright offensive. There was nothing or no one in American culture or society that didn't get skewered in the most obnoxious way. Poor Christian Slater! The first 12 episodes were A- material all day long. But I think I can only go as far as giving the dub an 80/100 for a B- as a complete project.

Don't let that spook you, though. The dub is definitely worth at least a try. But the sub is Dead On Arrival. For the final overall grade, I'll split the difference and call this 60/100 for a D-. I'd avoid it if you are at all woke or sensitive, but if you like bawdy, and to roll around in the gutter with your humor, you want to check this out.

When this came out, I remember thinking, "A fantasy with a mecha?? Oh, god spare me please!" But anime could be sparse in the US back in the day, so you took what you could get. I'm glad I swallowed my expectations, and gave this a try. In fact, over the years I've given it a couple tries. One of the very rare animes of the era I have given multiple watches.

The art work for the day was well above average. Same with the animation, for the most part. There's some cost cutting in the middle episodes but it's not too distracting. There are ... some action scenes that still are wonderful examples of how good hand drawn animation could get.

For the day, the character writing was very good. I suspect they might seem a little cliche today, as so many other animes over the years stole the ideas for themselves. The narrative, for the most part, is impressive considering they managed to weave mecha and fantasy tropes together, and didn't end up with a complete cluster. It's a satisfying story that holds together well through the season.

I've only seen the dub, as that was all that was available on Blockbuster VHS tapes back then. Still, the English cast does a nice job and is instrumental in making the series successful. Kudos to the director as well. It must not have been easy to hold this together when it could easily have become a Frankenstein's monster of a series.

Sadly there is no armor against the flowing of time. Back in the day, this would have been an easy A- grade. But I suspect the ages haven't been too kind to Escaflowne. Still, I think it would be good enough to earn a solid B at 85/100 today. Definitely worth another stroll down memory lane. And worth checking out if you are into classic animes of days gone by.

This one is not passing the 3 eps test. It had a germ of a good idea, but was quickly slammed into a mountain of isekai cliches and tropes by the producers. Bye Bye Dragon! Bye bye!

The art work is no better than average for the genre. Backgrounds look cheap and hastily drawn. Same with the animation. First episode was acceptible but it quickly slid to kid vid in episodes 2 and 3. Yeah, OK this is a low-budget production. Did you have to rub our noses in it?

The characters, at first, seem like they might provide some originality, but no. They quickly slide ... into their standard trash isekai slots. It must have taken a lot of effort to make a lamia this boring. The MC is supposed to be a dragon, but we don't get to see much of that, except as a deus ex machina to try and move the plot along.

What little plot is presented, though. It takes some bad writing talent to make a mere 3 episodes seem sloggy. Everything is cut and paste from a bunch of other titles, in hopes the viewer has little experience with anime, and won't notice. Pluck them from their original series, slap a new skin on them, and toss them out there to the wolves. The foreshadowing provided offers no hope either. More of the same old isekai slop the industry pukes into the mass consumption trough each season.

The VAs were nondescript. Their direction was less than inspired. He just hung the actors out to dry with little to no leadership. And the director's misuse of the soundtrack seemed amateurish at best.

I'm flying away from this one as fast as I can. It's almost failing at a D- 62/100 grade. Slay this dragon by avoiding it like it was the plague.

Ep 6 update: I was all ready to dump this like a murdered corpse. Then we got some new, intriguing characters introduced. It's enough to interest me, to see how/if the writers can work them in intelligently. So I'll stick around until at least ep 9 now. It still has the same shortcomings, but there seems to be a chance for them to be overcome. I'll nudge up the grade to a full C, 76/100

Passes the 3 eps test, but not by much. Some of this is as brutal as playtime with yakuza.

I'm not much of a fan of the artwork aesthetic. I ... don't know if they meant to go with an old school 90s style vibe here or what. But it looks stilted for a modern anime. The animation is all over, from pretty good to dismal. Overall, the graphics scream low budget.

The title pretty much spells out the plot. It's looking so far to play out most of the typical yakusa and romcom tropes.

The characters were looking totally cookie cutter. Could have been plucked from any of a number of other anime. But the FMC redeemed herself when she clobbered a yakuza with a hair dryer in ep 2. Yoshina at least shows some high spirit. The MMC is pretty much a dumbass with a mean streak. Doesn't seem to have much redeeming value at all. I wish Yoshina would beat the fuck out of him, and get it over with. Calling their relationship dysfunctional would be putting a nice spin on things. The rest are pretty meh. But after getting to spread their wings a little in ep2, the characters collapse back into their cliche stalls in ep 3. So who knows when, or if, there will ever be any real development?

The VA work has been OK to meh. The actress that voices Yoshina has been notable. The rest are pretty cliche, probably due to direction flaws. They just seem to be pushing this out the door, without much care being given to the quality of the product.

While this is not criminally bad, I'd say it'll have to improve a lot to keep me viewing for a whole season. It's only a C- at this point, grading out to 72/100. It could get better, and I'll update the review if it does. Conversely, it could just end up as food for the fishes.

Ep. 6 update: Still can't get with the character art or the poorly applied 3D CGI. It's been half a season now and there's been no inkling of a plot. I'm going to be a lunker, shake the lure on this one, and swim off into the depths. Drop the grade to 68/100; only a D+ I am afraid.

Ep.5 update: What's with all the romcom and harem cliches? Plus that 3D CG was really annoying. Another episode like this, and I'm snapping the line on this one. Drop the grade to 72/100; high C-

Going to pass this one on the 3 eps test, ... but still kind of on the fence about it. Will this sink or swim? I'm not convinced it won't go belly up.

The artwork is all over the place. There's some really nice background work, but some of the character art is downright wonky. Same inconsistency with the animation. In inconsequential 2D scenes, it can be pretty good, but in important scenes, they break out some lame looking 3D renderings. It's distracting.

I'm not totally buying into the story yet either, The MC is written as a typical yutz. The side characters are more likeable, but very two dimensional so far. Are they fishermen or convenience store workers? Not much depth, regardless. The writers try to work in some comedy, but mostly it falls flat. While I have always been a fishing fan since I was little, I have yet to see anything from the writers to hook me into this tale at all.

The VA work is decent but I wouldn't call it inspired. The director seems to take the actors into cliche performances. And with the animation weirdness, I can't find much to like about the direction. The soundtrack is bland, but at least it's not distracting.

I'll continue to nibble at the bait for a few more episodes, to see how this evolves. But I am not sure if it can reel me in. If I was to grade this to this point I'd say a mid C at 75/100 would be about right. I may not be taking this hook, line and sinker, but I will stick around for a while to see if it improves. I'll update the review whichever direction it goes.

I had to wait to see the whole season before I could give this series a fair shake. It tries to do a lot of things, and some it does better than others. In the long run though, I was very pleased with most of this.

The artwork is what initially caught my attention. Bright and powerful, to muted and depressing, the scenes are all very well done indeed. Some nice background work. They played around and experimented with the animation quite a bit. Sometimes it kind of sucked, with some so-so 3D rendering. But most of the time it was well done, and a ... couple episodes I found magnificient; like Demon Slayer levels of magnificient. Kudos! It could have used a little more consistency, but it all comes out in the wash as very well done. Be aware this series is not afraid to toss lots of gore around. I found it wonderful, but it might be too much for those of sensitive nature.

The character designs have some interesting artwork for both protags and antags. The MCs and his retainers get nice features and colors. Some of the side characters are a little over the top, to the point of being goofy looking. Still, they seem to fit the high-spirited semi-comic vibe the producers were going for.

The character writing was mostly good, with one HUGE exception. The MC and his retainers are all treated well by the writers. I thought the antagonists were a little too villianous, to the point of being comic. The huge exception is the priest. OMG, especially in the first haff of the season, he is so annoying, Wanted to reach into my screen and slap him. The writers start to take him a bit more seriously as time goes on though.

The VAs were kind of all over the place, from being really good, to so overacted they were laughable. I greatly got the impression this was a direction flaw though, trying to inject dumbness as some sort of humor. So while it wasn't a total put off, there was a lot left to be desired, And one thing the director did get right was use of the sound. It was used to enhance scenes nicely.

I couldn't evade that I liked this a lot more than other recent samurai/shonen titles. If I was grading, this it's a very high B+ at 89/100. If that damned priest had been killed off by the 2nd ep, I'd probably have given this an A-

I held off on this review to check the new content, and wasn't disappointed at all. For all the lame producers out there that want to reboot beloved franchises, this is your study in how to do it right.

The artwork was splendid. Even the original background work didn't compare to this. The animation was better than I suspected it would be, They managed to blend hand drawn, 2D and a light touch of 3D CGI about as perfectly as I have ever seen done.

The characters are what made the original so special. I must say that this rendition improves on all the characters. ... I like what they did with the MCs. They made Lawrence more assertive, and less clueless about non-business things. Holo still retains her cute capriciousness, but shows a more serious side, as well as being a touch more sassy and flirtatious; wonderful improvements. The writers also helped flesh out some of the side characters as well. The characters in the new arc are super well done. Elsa deserves a spin-off of her own,

I thought the narrative writing improved as well. A touch of fat was trimmed from the original, which helped pacing tremendously. And the final arc was done so well. It makes our journey, the character designs, and the world building so much stronger in the long run.

Again, the entire VA crew does an exemplary job. I especially was impressed with Holo's VA, who seemed to find ways to broaden the character simply with her inflection and tone of voice. The director used the cast to great effect, as he did animation and the nicely appropriate sound track. Kudos to you all!

Holo may be a Wise Wolf, but she's awfully foxy. Lawrence has more than a little weasel in him. If I could grade these animals, I would have to jump past my grade from the original production, and shoot this up to 98/100 for one mighty fine A. You only hurt yourself by not giving this redition of the series your best regards.

My favorite anime family, even if they are fake. While some of the movie is a little over the top, it still was very enjoyable, and worth the watch.

The artwork certainly was up to par, and there was some fine background work. The animation was a decent enough blend of 2D and 3D, which wasn't brutal. It was skillfully applied if not totally unnoticeable, much like in the series.

The main characters are the masterful crew from the series. There's not much added to their development, but nothing detracts from their lovableness. A couple allies make cameos as well. The new antagonists are, well, ... kind of taken to an extreme. Sure, they were caractitures. They landed on a very thin line of believability, but not unappealing in the long run.

The plot was OK, but there was nothing really new or original here. Struck me as a thinly veiled remake of season 2, but it wasn't horrible in any way. Entertaining enough to be satisfying. Anya is adorable. Loid is ultra-capable. Yor is totally insecure but bad-assed. And Bond is Borfy. What more do you want?

Voice acting for the MCs was top notch, like always. I thought the main antagonist was a bit overacted, but not horrible enough to detract from the narrative. I thought some of the direction was a bit overdone, but I suspect it was hammered hard, because the original venue would have been for a theater, and not for TV or a stream. It was comic book movie cliche in spots.

You'll want to spy this with your little eye. Not perfect, but done well enough to earn a 90/100 and an A-. I'd recommend this for all in the family, because it's not shit. A sweet dessert that warms you, without a whole lot of nutrition to worry about.

I've been holding off on writing this review, because I kept fearing this might end up in the weeds. But after the season end, I have to admit I've really enjoyed how the season progressed, and appreciated most of the decisions for the direction the producers took this. I was a little leery with ep 1 and the isekai angle. I saw no real reason for it. It does come into play slightly, but not like your usual trash isekais. They could have fairly easily made this a fantasy type SoL which is really what it turns out to be.

I liked the art overall. ... It's not knock your socks off, but it is very sweet, colorful and well rendered. Nice background work. I thought the animation was a touch above average for this type of series. There were some shortcuts, but nothing blantantly distracting.

The characters were going to make or break this series, and it all comes out in the wash as very good, indeed. Dahlia is so well written and believable in her conception and portrayal. So well rounded and fleshed out. Other studios should take note on how it's done. It was excellent she didn't descend into some wishy-washy lovelorn schoolgirl once Wolf was debuted. One of the highlights of the writing in this series is neither MC turns into a romantic simp. A realistic platonic relationship grows naturally between the two. So well done, kudos to the writers. While there is some hint at romance. especially in ep 12, it's not what drives this narrative.

Even the side characters were well written and portrayed as beyond mere props. And I have to hand it to the entire VA cast for making this series so calm and not unnecessarily dramatic. It's laid back, but with enough activity to keep the narrative moving along at a nice pace. All aspects for a fine job done by the director.

While I wasn't super impressed at first, this series blossumed into a very satisfying experience. If I was grading, this would get a 87/100 for a B+. If you are into chill character development this is highly recommended. I'd be happy to see this get another season, for sure.

When I originally watched it as it came out, I ended up grading this an A- at 90/100. I recently rewatched it, and caught so much I missed in the original viewing, I had to bump that way up.

I always loved the artwork here. Nothing edgy or avant garde but there's a wonderful creativity and professionalism that is apparent behind every scene. The second time through, I caught so much in the animation that I had missed initially. There is no detail too small not to be fussed over. It is not shonenesque by any means, but it's near perfect for every scene presented.

Originally I ... thought our trio of heroines were a very odd fit, and I was sometimes a bit quizzical about how they interacted. The second go around, it dawned on me this anime is a love lettter to the industry. These three individuals represented the three segments of the business required to create anime series. It made more sense to see how they meshed and conflicted at that level. The writers did such a nice job in that regard. Kudos!

The narrative is pretty straightforward. What's got to happen to make the girls' anime dreams come true? They are presented with realistic challenges, and have to deal with them in realistic ways. No waving of the fantasy magic wand and everything works out right. They have to work hard, and assemble a team of trustworthy helpers, to bring their vision to fruition.

One of the things that really struck me in my second viewing was how absolutely magnificent all the VA work was. From the MCs down to the most fringe secondary characters, the director knew how to get the best work from everyone, With the splendid artwork and animation values, the director put in some of the finest work I have ever seen,

I don't often mention soundtracks. They rarely add or detract from most series. But the series has as good of a soundtrack as you'll ever hear. Easy Breezy may be the most obnoxious earworm ever created. There it goes into my head again, and now it will be stuck there all day.

I couldn't get my hands on enough Eizouken. As I mentioned previously, this grade skyrocketed to 99/100 A+ on my second viewing. It was epic to see something so wonderfully woven together, as a gift of love to the entire industry. I can't recommend it enough, especially if you are sick of all the shonen/isekai/mecha/romcom trash the studios put out today. This is what anime aspires to be, and almost always fails to become.