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Dec 21, 2024
While I don't quite understand the hype behind this show, I did enjoy it quite a bit, even if I had to somewhat force myself to finish it.
Dungeon Meshi is an odd mix of high fantasy adventure, slife-of-life comedy, and cooking show. Unfortunately, this causes some unevenness in the pacing and overall vibe. it starts with the issue that the whole premise of "party survives by eating monsters" relies on the idea that the group has no time or money to restock in a city before saving their missing party member, yet the moment the group steps into the dungeon again, any sense of urgency
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is completely lost and the group makes there way through all the different locals of the dungeon at a seemingly leasurely pace. most of the time of earlier episodes is spent on killing monsters and cooking them. and while there is plenty of fun character interactions and a ton of "dungeon building" (I refuse to call it world buildiing), it all feels very filler-y. most episodes have very little relevance for the larger story at hand, and it becomes very clear that the author was more interested in the dungeon itself and the general concept than telling a compelling story.
it isn't until half-way through the show that the main story actually starts rolling and we get to see some darker, more mysterious sides of the characters. still, every other episodes returns to the "let's have dinner first" formula of the early episodes, where the story gets put on hold for some more dungeon building.
as a lover of complex stories with tons of plot twists, the consistently casual, low-stakes atmosphere combined with the drip-feeding of actual story made it somewhat hard for me to stay motivated to continue this show. that said, the characters are well written and it's fun to watch them interact with each other, and the mechanics behind the dungeon are somewhat interesting, especially when the author manages to sprinkle some genuine mystery into all of it. so with that taken into consideration, I give Dungeon Meshi a fairly light 8. it's the kinda show that is perfectly palatable as somethng you put on every day for dinner, but I wouldn't recommend binging it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 19, 2024
While I think the phrase "fell off" is somewhat overused, it unfortunately does perfectly describe Nisekoi.
Season 1 of Nisekoi, while not particularly original, did everything right: establish the premise, introduce all relevant characters, throw them into the typical rom-com situations, and explore the main plot mystery a bit while advancing the relationships, with a big shift in the grand finale. lots of well-timed humor, lots of doki-doki moments. and while nothing stood out as particularly interesting, the manga executed it all more than competently, and Shaft's anime adaption only futher elevates it into solid 8/10 territory.
Unfortunaley, the material for Season 1 was the best the
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manga had to offer, and that's where the "fell off" part comes into play. after the big Romeo and Juliet arc, everything comes to a grinding halt. the story drowns in endless filler, relationships dare not to progress under any circumstances, and new characters are being introduced to mask the fact that nothing actually happens from here on out.
thusly, Season 2 of Nisekoi simply feels like a collection of OVAs with no actual plot relevance. Shaft are still providing the same high quality producction as always, so at the very least it's nice to look at, and a lot of the gags still hit their mark. but while never truely boring, it ultimately does leave you with a sense of "why did I bother watching this?".
maybe in hopes of a Season 3?
in a weird way, we should be thankful that it never came to that, because after many years of non-progress and one-off Tsugumi-Filler chapters - admittedly the jokes were always still on point -, the Nisekoi manga ended in one of the most lackluster endings I have ever seen in a rom-com, only rivaled by the likes of To Love-Ru's "non-ending".
Admittedly, a lot of my negative thoughts stem from me knowing where it all ends: nowhere in particular if you don't read the manga, and with a meh ending if you do slog it through those 200+ chapters. so as harsh as my words may be, I cannot give Nisekoi: Season 2 lower than a light 7. because ultimately, I was entertained. it was a fun time, even if it lacked any substance. but I'd rather rewatch Season 1 multiple times over having to watch Season 2 ever again.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 5, 2024
if you are a fan of amazingly animated, over-the-top fight sequences and overpowered main characters, this show will be right up your alley.
apart from that, Solo Leveling really does not have much to offer.
Sung Jin-woo is the single most bland and generic male LitRPG protagonist imaginable, with the visual appearance of a random background character and no discernable personality to speak off. he is the perfect self-insert for anyone and no one in particular.
the show fails to establish any meaningful secondary characters either. at most, you see glimpes of characters that may or may not be important at some point in the future, but as
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far as this part of the story is concerned, they might as well not exist. Jin-woo does not interact with any characters in any meaningful way, except for one kid that simply exists for plot convenience to allow Jin-woo to persue his solo-leveling endavours.
with all its short-comings in regards to character building and personal storytelling, the world building and larger mystery of Jin-woo's powers are intriguing enough to keep you watching, and the fight scenes are truly spectacular.
Solo Leveling is a visually impressive but ultimately extremely shallow affair that cares more about establishing its LitRPG elements and foreshadowing future characters and plot points than providing a compelling story arc in itself. at the moment, its just a flashy 4-hour prologue.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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