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“But I think it’s natural that not everything you try will go well, right? So, I’m gonna start again from scratch.”
-Yoshioka Futaba

Depression is hard. Grief is difficult.
Its patients are not easy to deal with, there's no easy way around it, no shortcuts. People don't suddenly turn from careless and down to bubbly and happy.
That's why I respect what the anime tried to do. If I'm trying to watch this show just to kill time, Kou will just be another stuck-up selfish brat, but in truth he's a very realistic character.

The series is in the point of view ... of a rather naïve and bubbly girl. We see the world through her eyes and how much confusion the guy she loves -Kou- brings her. All her feelings are that typical of an innocent teen who hasn't been through any hardships in her life. Which is pretty fine, and not something I mind. On the contrary, it shows how difficult it is for a person to get close to someone who isn't doing very well.

Or it tries to.

Story: 4/10
See, this is where the problem arises. You can see what the show intended to be like. You can see the potential, and you can also see the extreme boredom. Nothing really much happens in the show. We don't get to see Kou's personality or dive into what he's going through. We have to wait for 12 whole episodes to see anything going on. I understand the intention, it was to show us that you can try and try and try again and you still won't be let in. But there was so much lazy work it cannot be overlooked.

Like how being class representatives was just a plot-device used to make the characters in the show forced to be friends. I don't know what kind of 'training program' it is that is just some sort of a treasure hunt. Or the very unnecessary cheap love triangle that started because one of the girls was treated like a human. The show is just not trying even though the idea could have been very well executed.

Characters: 4/10

Yoshioka Futaba is a very realistic character. Most of the girls barely out of middle school think like she does, and are equally as sensitive. She's a very hard-working teenager when it comes to her human relationships, whether it's friendships or romantic relationships. Having been shunned out, she starts becoming a people-pleaser because there's nothing worse than loneliness, but shortly afterwards looks for another change. There's something admirable about her, she's persistent, awkward and emotional. The show gives her lots of depth, the only headache you can get is that being in a 15 year old's mind isn't very easy, but I believe the show made a great job portraying this character.

The secondary characters is another thing the show falls short in. They are so goddamned bland. You have a typical actually stuck up teen who hates everyone and everything (don't ask questions, we don't end up knowing anything about her) a shy girl with a baby's voice and a loud guy. That's pretty much all there is about them. They were plain accessories used yet again as a lazy method of showing the journey about caring for Kou.

Tanaki Kou Depressed clear as day since the very first episode. Difficult and hard to deal with but easy to relate to, at least for me. I can see how I could be seen as Kou by my family and some of my friends, I've been through a phase like this and to this very day I try my best not to fall into what Kou was falling into. I've seen many reviews bashing how Kou should be left alone and that he's an ass, but clearly anyone who says so hasn't dealt with depression, a few hours into the show you can see that Kou deeply care and does not want to, unlike many 'assholes' in different anime shows, Kou is neither trying to be cool nor trying to hurt anyone. After a difficult incident he has lost his will to do anything and that includes friendships.

My main problem is what follows:

The Romance: 2/10
It's not that there isn't much of a love story. It's that it felt more like a mentor and a mentee relationship. I might as well have called him Kou-sensei, the Life Coach! All through the series, all the guy does is throw some life-coaching advises and continuous criticism for the way Futaba lives her life. I again understand that it was intended to show his indirect care towards her, but that came off as regular teaching sessions.
But what downright pissed me off the most was a scene where Kou literally pins down Futaba and tells her he could rape her if he wanted to as a way to warn her not to be reckless.
This is NOT, in anyway, okay to even think of. There are so many ways you could warn a girl to be more careful than this.

Sound and Art 7/10
The opening and music were very sweet and fitting for the anime's aura. I didn't particularly adore the characters' design but the backgrounds were quite beautiful.

Enjoyment 3/10
Welp, cannot help this, I got really bored.

Overall: 4/10, the show tried.

I can understand why anyone would not like this anime.

Nothing much happens. It gets repetitive. It feels more like a Slice of Life than what you'd expect from a fast-paced, full-of-fights anime. But it's quite a joyful ride. What made me first start watching the series is the extremely bizarre plot. I have yet to watch something similar to this idiocy. Now mind you, I'm not saying it in an offensive way. If anything, I'm amazed I was entertained throughout the whole show. The anime relies on its comedy and development of characters more than it relies on going anywhere. Which is what you'd ... expect after reading the synopsis. I mean, what else would go on other than random characters trying to kill our dear octopus?

Story: 6/10
It's quite straight forward and laid in the synopsis. And that's all there is to it, really. If you don't like the idea or think it's silly, don't try to watch the show. I, myself, found it so dumbly funny, and that didn't change in the whole 22 episodes. While the show doesn't have much to rely on and tries to be funny, I didn't laugh much. But I wasn't bothered, either. The key here is that it never failed to entertain me.
Another thing that I shouldn't have liked much is how repetitive it gets. We see an almost exact execution in episode 13 and 22. but the keyword here is: should've, because at the end of the day I never once got bored.


Characters: 6/10
Koro-sensei is quite a character! He's very wholesome for someone who wants to destroy mother Earth once and for all. I wanted to know more about him other than the flimsy useless flashback we get to see at the very beginning. But he's one hell of a teacher I wish I had in school. And has a very remarkable laugh, that is.
The only character that truly bothered me is Irina Jelavic. Or shall I say your episodic dose of second-hand embarrassment. I understand that's the shounen anime and they have -for some reason- to have this dumb, moronic female characters with huge boobs that do nothing but shove them in people's faces. While they do try to make her useful towards the end, the character had no role but being a weird sexualized idiotic object, her existence was very unneeded.
The other characters were fine themselves, there are all possible cliches but they don't -at all- feel forced or one dimensional, the anime takes its time to give most of them some sort of depth. There wasn't anything special about them, though. I did take a liking to Nagisa and I wish to know more about him in the second season.

Art: 7/10
It's the classical anime we all know and like to see. There's no denying that Koro-sensei's character, specifically, annoyed me to death. After all, there isn't much effort going in a smiley face and lousy tentacles, is there? I understand it's drawn this way for some irony/comedy, but it fell short for me. Nagisa's hair is also a little (too) silly but the art overall is very pretty and something I enjoyed watching.

Sound: 4/10
That's where the anime falls short. The soundtracks are so unremarkable I can barely remember anything.

Enjoyment: 8/10
I watched it in a span of a few days, it's not a binge watch material like many series I have seen, a couple of episodes a day provided me with enough entertainment.
Just throw any kind of logic in the bin if you truly want to enjoy this show, there is so much that does not make sense but what can we expect, when the synopsis is as weird as it gets, right?

Overall Rating: 7/10
I look forward to watching the second season.

When one reads the synopsis of the anime, they will automatically feel interested. The idea seems very new, and different. It also makes you curious to know what will happen next. And for the first two episodes, it kept getting more and more interesting.
Until you realise that the 'plot' is completely unrelated to the execution.

story: 2/10
As mentioned in the synopsis, apathetic middle aged dude gets reincarnated to a little orphan girl by a pissed off 'God', because somehow this way will show him that God exists, and make him grateful, he then gets into this tough world but discovers that there is some sort of ... magic(?) that people fight with, and that he had amazing, unique powers.

Well, I had many problems:

My first problem was how irrelevant the whole reincarnation into a lilo was. He volunteers to enter the army at the age of 8 (no questions) and goes on to become better and better. Having already been an apathetic person, this helped him in being a 'merciless' soldier. and his past life also helped him, but is that all that there is to the whole reincarnation process? We get to rarely see 'God' or 'X Being' in limited scenes where he says empty words that mean nothing, but somehow fuels Tanya to 'overcome obstacles', I have 2 questions:

1. Isn't talking to him acknowledging the fact that he exists?
2. How can she not believe in God, yet falsely pray to somehow make her magic work? made no sense.

It was a great disappointment to see that the reincarnation was only made so that we'd see how the dude seemed very wise in her other life. [as Tanya]
While the first 2 episodes seem greatly interesting and different, the anime just falls into a very normal series about war. (No right or wrong, patriotism, fighting solely for one's country and following authority) The whole trying-to-be-badass-and-challenge-what-is-calling-himself-a-god- could have easily been avoided. It added nothing to the plot but explaining why a ten year old is leading war.

My second problem was the fact that Tanya was a fucking lilo. Her being a lilo is a hit or miss, a hit where you think this is brand new and different, interesting to see a 10 year old bossing everyone, or a miss where it's very creepy and offsetting, and also where you cannot believe how everyone acted like it was completely normal and ok for an 8 year old to join the army and beat others all by herself. I don't know about you, but I don't think it was normal back in 1942 (her being a mage doesn't justify anything.)

I also did not really understand the usage of magic, there is little to no details about it. It was unnecessary and can completely be thrown in the garbage. In the series, some humans have 'magic abilities' which can help the country in war, so scientists create some flying shoes and boxes which 'mages' can fly with to fight enemies. They can also protect themselves and, while using very normal guns, shoot very non-normal bullets. Now don't ask me why people who can use magic need rifles and bullets to begin with, because I cannot give you an answer. It felt like the 'magic' was only put there in an attempt to make the anime look cooler. We never know any kinds or types, any details, what can make it weaker or stronger, when it started existing, its abilities. We know nothing at all.

BUUUUUUUT, the anime *is* entertaining. At one point it did feel repetitive and boring, but for the most part it was greatly engaging. I think it would have been much better had the protagonist been a normal aged character, or if the reincarnation thingy was of any relevance to the plot.

Characters: 5/10

Tanya wasn't a very bad character. Staying in her/his head was quite entertaining and the thought progess was enlightening, but I only felt that the show was about her, which was of no problem at all, but left me forgetting all other characters. I just found her, or him, a little too smart. It's not like he was a General in the military in his past life, he was just a very simple businessman, his talent and abnormal ability of command, training, and combat were just too...unrealistic. His flexibility as well. He adapted rather too quickly to transforming from a middle aged man to an infant girl, he did not even blink.

my problem with the characters was the X being/God. He was very bland and childish, in the very few scenes where he appeared to pause time, it seemed that he was only trying to tease Tanya while failing miserably to 'prove his point.' Such a meaningless character.

The other characters, as mentioned above, are very easily forgettable. The only character worthy of praise was Colonel Sioux, he left quite an impression on me.

Anime Art: 6/10
I divided it 5 for the background and places, and the other 5 for the characters design.
The backgrounds & places are extremely beautiful. I paused the anime more than a couple of times to take screenshots of how mesmerizing most of the scenery looked. What made the rating go low was the characters' design and how bad they were. Tanya and Viktoriya especially looked very, very sloppy. It pained my eyes whenever Viktoriya appeared in any scene.
There is some lazy work in the battles as many scenes are repeated or static, but this did not cause me much of a problem as they did, at the end, entertain me.

Sound: 8/10
Although I didn't feel it was used much, the sound was very good. From the opening and closing themes to the soundtracks and everything in between..

Overall: 5/10
the story and characters' design needed lots of improvement but they did not prevent the series from being an engaging one. Not something I'd regret watching but not something I'd recommend, either.

I'm gathering whatever I have left of what were once my nerves to be able to type down this review, after having every single one torn apart as the anime ends.

Everyone has their reason to fight. Whether it's for a family member, for a memory, for making ends meet, or just for loving the sport.

Story and characters:

This series is powerful. It's inspirational. No, it's way beyond inspirational, each episode will give you a surge of motivation to do just anything. To be active in any way, and as a personal case, it made me start practicing sports again. This is the kind of series ... you'd want to show to your kids, but it's, not one bit, an anime just for children.
Hajime no Ippo is no ordinary anime about sports. It's about sports, passion, and determination. About struggles, persistence, pushing beyond limits, fear, courage, and overcoming obstacles. It isn't like anything I have ever watched in the sports genre, let it be an animated series or a non-animated one. It truly is the authentic meaning of a masterpiece. It's, by no means whatsoever, a short anime. But every single episode of the series has importance, none of them are empty fillers. Hajime no Ippo shows the true meaning and struggles of being a sportsperson. It shows both the dark and bright side of boxing.

I have always been a huge fan of boxing but never once considered watching it in an anime series. What grabbed my attention was the fact that Hajime no Ippo is one of the most highest rated anime series ever, which made me extremely curious and eager to give it a try. How can someone possibly make such a long anime series when it's just about boxing? Is it episodic? Is it full of fillers? What about this anime makes it so special?
I started the anime with the intention to watch only the first episode so I can avoid it and move on, I was completely sure I wouldn't manage to even finish it.

And hell if it didn't prove me wrong.

From the very first episode, you get engulfed into the anime. The main character is an abnormally pathetic, weak, naive character. The moment you lay eyes on him, you know you'll be in for one hell of a character development. He's someone you can definitely root for, and cannot help but love. The passion he has for boxing is shown in every single episode.

But it's not him exclusively.

This is where the anime truly shines. It will take almost every character you get introduced to, and fill them with life, persistence, and determination. It will suck out all the possibilities of the characters coming off as shallow or one dimensional. Ippo surely was the main character of the anime, but trust me when I say you'll find yourself in a continuous state of confusion, wanting both parties to win, not fully wanting Ippo to win. Moreover, you get to see how a match is viewed by many people. Everything is thoroughly explained in a very interesting and engaging way. There is a huge amount of detailed, accurate information about the world of boxing. You'll get to see the importance of rivals and competitors. And how they can motivate you way more than your supporters can. Sometimes even more than your own self. You'll go out of the series understanding at the very least what boxers go through, if you did not manage to catch the basics. George Morikawa made sure to constantly show us the struggles they go through, what goes through their minds, and how they manage to get up no matter how many times they fall down. The anime is a direct punch to the moronic idiots who say boxing is all violence and brutality with no thoughts.

****MOREOVER, the anime showed me something I have ALWAYS failed to see in drama/comedy anime. The comedy ---wait for it--- comes at the RIGHT time! No jokes! Combining drama with comedy is not an easy task. Most if not all of the drama/comedy series I have seen so far make a huge, sloppy, awkward, cringe-worthy mess of the two combined genres. It would always end up with supposedly 'funny' scenes coming in the worst timing plausible, detaching you from the 'dramatic' scene and leaving you very uncomfortable. Morikawa does not once commit this huge mistake. And if pulled off, such as this case, it can be a mesmerising series. The dialogues are very well-written and executed. The anime simplifies the basics of boxing whilst showing the complexity of being a boxer.


Animation/art and music:
I should mention one of the strongest, if not even the strongest part of the anime. Now I won't say it was flawless or even near flawless, there is a lot of lazy work and a huge amount of repeated scenes. But what made it special is how well presented the facial expressions of the characters are. I have never seen such a powerfully drawn and animated characters, their facial expressions are extremely expressive and very well suited, I'm not exaggerating when I say it's much, much more powerful than in non-animated series. The fighting scenes, repetitive ones excluded, are very, VERY well done. The alternation between spectators, cornermen, the two fighters, and the commentators adds a superb amount of suspense. At some points I felt that I was in Ippo's place, being out of breath with heavy shoulders. The voice acting couldn't have been any more flawless, and the right background music came at the right time, but it needed more music.

Sure, there were things that annoyed me about the anime, but they were all minor and can be overlooked. The repetitive scenes and glossed over Miyata annoyed me most. It was very surprising to know that Miyata's teammates gave up so easily on him when Ippo showed, as we're shown that Miyata has been with them since he was a preteen. My other minor problems are mostly personal/what I preferred. I was looking forward for an anime about a very ordinary guy that gets beaten and loses a lot and then starts climbing to the top. But Ippo trained with a very talented coach and was around the best fighters. As for his inexperience, how he gets beaten to a bloody pulp in every fight makes up for the fact that he can beat those who exceed him in experience. He learns rapidly in his extensive training and in the fights, in the hardest way possible.

Overall: 10/10
My enjoyment level exceeded its limit. The anime made me happy, sad, angry, but most of all, it ruined my nerves. The average match takes about two episodes, which is equivalent to 40 minutes. And the big matches take about 3 episodes, that's a whole, ongoing hour of extreme tension. The final match had me holding my breath till the very end, I literally had to take fast, deep breaths after it was all done. Don't get fooled by the idea of a single, small match getting extended to 2-3 episodes, you won't feel a tiny bit bored through any minute of it.

It's beyond impossible for me to rewatch anything even if it's a year after, but somehow, some way, I've started rewatching the series even before finishing it. Worthy of being my first ever 10/10 rated series.

Ehh, a very mediocre anime with nice anime art.

The story: 5/10
A very cliché start, hated kickass player gets kicked out of the company and a smirking youngster slyly smiling up at him takes his place. A rather calm and cool protagonist decides to leave quietly and call it off for a year. Then a story begins when he enters a cafe and decides to start from the beginning. here is nothing really special or different about the story, it's all about following up his life and how he plans to be first again.

So, the legendary god of games Ye Qiu has retired and ... suddenly this great, Qiu-like talented fighter appears. With the same weapon, umm---no suspicion? It was irritating how much time it took them to realise that Lord Grim is Qiu. Throw in normal, pathetic, angry antagonists and you get what you expect, exactly. The last two episodes, however, are completely idiotic. To avoid spoilers, I would say they took a completely unrelated turn in a very annoying way. We get it, Qiu is a god of Glory, but the final episodes were too exaggerating.

**One a rather personal side note: I sometimes--a lot of times---found the anime hard to follow and a little confusing, there are far too many teams and characters thrown from the beginning, and sometimes players would go off and play with other teams, and with Xiu creating/joining different teams, it got quite difficult for me to follow up.

If you're looking for a game themed anime with a strong plot, interesting twist and engaging action, this anime is not for you. It's a rather Slice of Life full of fighting scenes.

Main problem: Ye was way too strong, it sometimes stripped out the fun of watching. I'd understand if the game was tricky or is full of twists, but you see nothing more than fighting scenes.
Side problem: The anime takes itself way too seriously. Funny how it's listed in the 'Comedy' genre. They make it seem as if the people are fighting for their lives in wars. There are a few 'funny' scenes featuring Steamy Bun or Huang Shaotian, but they are very limited.

TL;DR
+For the most part, the story is not bad, but it's not at all special.
+A nice amount of episodes is entertaining,
-Way too strong protagonist, sometimes strips out the fun from the episodes.
-Last two episodes are idiotic and exaggerating.
-Nothing much happens, feels like a Slice of Life. (neutral)
-We get introduced to many teams and characters so it can get confusing.
-Anime takes itself way too seriously.

Characters: 5/10

The protagonist, Ye Xiu, is a very calm and collected, cool player. Sometimes he comes off as *too* cool, but otherwise he's fine. Sometimes it bothered me that he led people without explaining things first, coming off as not my type of leader, but it soon got okay since the outcomes are always very good. He does not judge people by their levels or abilities, and is willing to work with anyone and improve everyone's skills. He believes in teams rather than working individually, slowly becoming more appealing. I wouldn't say he's a mindblowing character, but he's someone I wouldn't mind watching. What irritated me a bit is that they made him seem so abnormally cool and laid back, sometimes (And way too strong!). In contrast to all his always amazed supporters or hotheaded, easily angered antagonists.

The supporting characters:
Rou Tang: Aside from the stupid antagonists, Rou was my least favourite character in the anime. She's way too robotic and monotone, almost always expressionless and seems bored out of her minds if she's not. I couldn't, for the life of me, understand why she exists.

Steaming Bun Invasion and Huang Shaotin: These two characters can come off as annoying for a lot of watchers, but I personally liked them because they made the anime much lighter, and cracked me up/made me smile more than a few times.

Guo Cheng: For some reason, I never managed to like this character. She was too thickheaded and idiotic for my liking.

I would have loved it if we had seen more of Su Mucheng, the character seemed very interesting and intelligent. Unfortunately, we don't get to see much/enough of her.

My main problem with the characters are the antagonists, they're all volatile and short-tempered, coming off as a little *too* cliche for my liking. They're all easily forgettable and a little bothersome.

TL;DR
+Nice main character, sometimes *too* cool.
-+Variety of characters. Expressionless, boring, funny, too many of them.
-Poor antagonists. Very cliché and short-tempered.

The Art: 8/10
Perhaps the best aspect of the anime. It's very, very decent. The characters are well-drawn. Though the scenes are a bit repetitive, the anime art is, for the most part, very pleasing to the eyes.

The Sound: 4/10
I started watching the anime without knowing that it's Chinese--don't even ask, and because I'm used to Japanese voices, I was taken a bit off-guard and very annoyed at the beginning when I heard Chinese (Especially because I don't like how it sounds) But it takes less than an episode to get used to it, the voice acting is terrible, though. Some characters completely do not match with their voices.

As for the music, it's very underwhelming. The song played at the final episode is cringe-worthy. Opening and closing are meh, and the background music isn't very good.

Enjoyment: 6/10
Maybe I would have enjoyed it more had I known it's more Slice of Life-ish, the expectations vs. reality made my enjoyment become a bit less. But once I've accustomed, it got much more entertaining.

Overall score: 5/10. Meh, not something I would recommend, but not something I'd regret watching at all. Pretty mediocre. (And pretty bad for the genres it's listed as)

(Spoiler free review, TL;DR parts added)

The story: 4/10
The synopsis and the general idea are very interesting. A brocon loli and her 18 y/o brother, with absolutely no parental guidance get thrown in a world of games with no explanation, everything is settled by games then. I ignored the no background build up or explanation whatsoever because the idea of two 'geniuses' playing games to take over the world and beat that world's God seemed more than interesting. The characters, together as 'Blank,' never lose, so the 'thriller' or 'excitement' isn't on whether they will win or not, it's on *how* will they win. (Though ... there's sometimes the 'What if Blank loses' idea, but you'll let go of that idea later on) So there's that, it's how the idea was executed that dropped the rating. Some of the games were intriguing, but others were incredibly, abnormally idiotic. Especially the final game. The pace of the story is, as well, a reason why the rating dropped. It's a mess. One of my main problems, as well, is the excessive usage of fan service. This anime will sure teach you what 'fan service' really is. There is not a single episode without at least one 'fan service', there's a whole character existing just for the sake of fan service, it gets *too extreme*

TL;DR
+idea seems interesting.
+some games are good.
-execution is very bad.
-pace is all over the place.
-some games are horrible.
-Too much fan service, disturbing loli scenes

The characters: 2/10
Holyshit, this is a horrible set of characters, the least unbearable character was Sora, an 18 y/o shut-in NEET with a lot of sexual frustration. That being said, he's not so much of a great character, either. But my main problem was with Shiro, and Stephanie.

Shiro is another average loli that's in love with her half brother. First, I do not understand why she's 11 years old? There was no reason for that. It made everything much, much more disturbing. I don't know about you, but seeing more than a couple of scenes of a naked 11 y/o is not that very pleasing. She also seemed much, much smarter than Sora was, but for some reason he always got the spotlight.

Stephanie: The worst possible character I've ever had the displeasure of watching. An annoying character with absolutely no dignity whatsoever that exists for the sole reason of fan service. Pantie shots, nudity, having a collar tied around her while walking all around her country as a freaking dog (One of the outcomes of her losing a game against Blank) Later being tied to a tree while almost naked in front of the town as well. There's all kinds of fan service going on here, 99% of them on Stephanie. The character has no self-respect, dignity, and not a single brain cell. This anime is the first to introduce me to stupid characters existing just to be made fun of, and for extreme fan service.

The supporting characters weren't any better, either. It seemed like Jibril only was there for the purpose of worshiping Sora just because he's a genius and would do irrational things like licking an ex-enemy's foot because her new God told her to do so. Izume, though an annoying character, would knock some sense into their world by constantly being suspicious about the main characters and their intentions.

What I somewhat liked: The relationship bonds between the characters. Sora and Shiro's mutual trust was very nice, and Izumi's realisation at the end of the anime was also a bit heartwearming. That's all the positives that could be there.

TL;DR
+Relationship bonds and mutual trust between characters
-2/3 main characters are appalling
-Stupid character with no dignity existing for fan service

The Art: 8/10
Animation is nice. The colours are too bright and neon, too much pink and purple is used which I expected not to like but ended up liking a lot, made the anime stand out. What I didn't like was the drawings of the characters (Especially Shiro. Seriously, what is wrong with her mouth?), and the clothes.

Sound: 6/10
Mediocre forgettable music, voice acting wasn't bad but I had a problem with Shiro's voice.

Enjoyment: 5/10
In spite of all what's mentioned above, the anime succeeds in not being a boring one, and excluding the disturbing loli scenes, mindless fan service, and the shitty excuse of a character Stephanie, it could entertaining.

*Spoiler free review:

My, my, what a huge mess.

I will start with what I've liked. I consider my overall rating 4/10 to actually be very high, considering the garbage I have just watched, so let me be clear: Those 4 are solely for the anime art and the music. The art was outstanding, and the music was very good. And to be honest, it was very engaging and sometimes intense.

Everything about the series is a mess. I have not read the manga, but I have heard it's the worst adaptation ever. My judgement is based on the anime alone.

TL;DR --> The anime:
1. Lacks a definite ... plot.
2. Is full of plot holes
3. Ill/No character development whatsoever.
4. No explanation at all.
5. The anime follows a certain pace then, at the last few episodes, they introduce us to not less than 10 characters, and make a dramatic mess.

___________

Full, spoiler free review:

Story: 2/10
I'm not even sure how I should rate this, or if I should even call it a 'story.' To put it simply, there isn't one. So the anime is twelve episodes, and until the 9th-10th episode almost nothing serious happens. Just a regular battle between Ghouls and humans, showing you how it's a chain of revenge and hatred, how both parties are avenging their loved ones and also protecting themselves. And it was okay, I didn't mind it.

Until I was introduced to not less than 25 people in 2-3 episodes. With no explanation, no story build up, no background. Nothing. Just a bunch of violent monsters destroying everything for no damn reason. (Controlling the world!!! buahaha!!!) Then another bunch of monsters kidnapping whoever they like for torture. What???
I want someone to point where the plot is. Where the story, or anything is. The anime relies a hundred percent on its violent and fighting scenes. The points given above are for the general idea, the anime had a great potential to be an amazing one.

The characters: 2/10

Annoying characters: check ✔
Stupid characters: check ✔
Boring characters: check ✔
hot-headed characters: check ✔
Whiny characters: double check ✔
Weak characters: check ✔

ALL of the mentioned above with no character development: triple check ✔

There is seriously zero character development in this anime. ZERO. (Until the final episode, only 1 character gets developed)

Let's start with our main character: Kaneki Ken.
Your average goody two shoes cliché character who does not hurt a fly and stands to their principles. Now I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I actually love this kind of characters. But the dude's. So. Goddamn. Whiny. I did not mind it at the beginning, I always put myself in the character's place. It is OK to whine considering what has happened to him. But one can only whine so much. I did not have to bear with him crying about how weak he is till the very last episode. He does not want to be weak but he also does not do anything but wallow in self-pity. I wanted to smack him, tell him to get a grip and do anything. He had a potential of being a very lovely character.

Moving on to the second main character: Touka Kirishima
Tough girl with a troubled past. Had to bear with her pain in the ass attitude at the beginning because it was understandable how infuriating it can be to have a harsh life while an oblivious airhead enters your life. Fine, I can bear the annoying attitude but do not also be a hotheaded airhead that acts on their feelings all the fucking time. This amoeba does not think for 2 seconds before doing anything, and no one even cares to stop her. The old man would just go like 'Refrain from doing that.' 'Don't do that, you'll get *us* into trouble.', but she does it anyway. And she's not that strong to begin with, she's reckless and stupid. Oh, did I mention how there's absolutely no character development whatsoever? Because we'll have to deal with this creature the whole 12 episodes this way.

Eh. I have only watched the anime a couple of days ago and I'm already forgetting the supporting characters. They're that forgettable. After struggling, I managed to remember some of them

Shuu Tsukiyama: A psycho sadist obsessed with Kaneki and his blood. A seemingly very interesting character praised for his strength is actually very weak and easily vincible. Then there's this old, stupid owner of the Coffee shop who cannot control a damn child, and other 30 characters you should not give a damn about.

The only character that I found slightly interesting is Amon Koutarou, a first class police investigator and a cliché character that wants to change the world. Unlike other investigators, he sometimes racks his brains and doubts.

The Art: 10/10
So, so incredibly beautiful. It's like a special time was taken for every character to be drawn and the scenes are put beautifully. Flawless anime art.

Sound: 8/10
The music was very good and the voices were nice and matching.

Enjoyment: 5/10
While everything about the story and the characters and the sequence is completely hideous, as I mentioned above, the anime relies heavily on its fighting scenes, and that's somewhat done well. Enough to make me want to see more in spite of not enjoying how the events are unfolding. Some scenes such as Mado vs. Touka and the final episode.

If I can describe the first season of Tokyo Ghoul in one sentence, it would be:
One piece of shit you cannot stop watching.

Spoiler-free review:

I tend to be very wary when it comes to the Shoujo genre due to the amount of clichés I'll be facing ahead of me. But it's alright, I do not mind a cliché as long as it's well executed.

This one was disastrous.

The characters: 1/10

I think the worst thing about the anime was its characters. Extremely horrendous, from the main characters to the very useless ones. Let's start with the main characters:

Takumi Usui: I think I should start making a list of my most hated characters, and I'm sure Usui will top that list. I have never seen such an atrocious character in ... my life like this before. If I had one word to describe Usui with, it will be: stalker.
Usui is a literal stalker that started following Ayuzawa everywhere she went. We don't see much about his character. We don't see him doing anything but stalking Ayuzawa. It's beyond me why every girl in the school worships him. They don't like him, they literally worship the dude. Every single person in the school worships him, let it be male or female. For no damn reason. Sure, he's good looking, but that's all. He's a cold, emotionless, expressionless character that rejects girls in the worst way possible. He does not to talk to anyone, has no friends, and does not do anything but stalk Ayuzawa. It seriously got creepy. He would even casually pat her head, half-hug her, or calls her 'his maid' or 'his' in front of people, despite her continuously telling him not to 'casually touch her.' He repeatedly makes her uncomfortable and tensed. I don't know about you, but if the girl I like does not like my presence, I wouldn't be around her 24/7. He went as far as pretending to be a stalker when there were rumours of stalkers targeting maids so 'she'd be ready.' That's the kind of a creep he is.

Misaki Ayuzawa: The demonic Class President who scares off boys and helps girls. As it's quite obvious in the synopsis, Misaki isn't your average girl. She's not so very feminine, an Aikido kickass, and a workaholic. She's a very cheesy character of the not-like-other-girls theme. But a character can only get so cliché. Misaki exceeded the limit. The anime wanted to show how much of an oh so strong independent woman it got so annoying. She's the top in academics, the top in sports, the Class President who handles all kinds of responsibilities and organises events. And she also has a part-time job as a maid in cafe. She's hardworking, determined, selfless, accepting, thoughtful, hot-headed and a tomboy. On top of that, she does not have a single breakdown. She's completely one dimensional, annoying, and boring. I think it's the worst version of a tsundere I have ever seen. A very forgettable character. If anything, she came off as a sadist who likes to scare boys, and a masochist who likes to be in pain.

The supporting characters: You shouldn't really expect any meaningful supporting characters when the main characters themselves are one dimensional, so here I am, repeating again, every single supporting character is a stupid, one dimensional airhead.
And seriously, what is WRONG with the whole stalker idea? Not only does Ayuzawa have a main stalker, she also has 3 other stalkers that go to her cafe every single day until they're penniless because Ayuzawa is 'kawaiiii', even though she was their enemy at the beginning and they hated her guts. It IS NOT OK to stare at a girl at your school every day at her part-time job.

The supporting characters can be distributed into 3 groups:
A. The stalkers: mentioned above.

B. The dumb airheads: all her coworkers at school and basically every other girl in the anime.

C. The worshippers: Which are the rest of the school: We have
1. 5 boys who look exactly the same, who worship Ayuzawa because of how smart she is and how much they want to be like her. (They also follow her everywhere in the school)
2. The rest of the school: Usui worshippers. Every time he opens his mouth, they fangirl and drool (Not literally) at his words. Like he's a god.


The story: 2/10
One point for the idea. It's your typical tough girl with an oh-I'm-not-like-other-girls theme, and your average hot boi that everyone is head over heels for while the only person who grabs his attention is the one who does not give a damn about him -- the tough girl. It's a very famous cliché especially in the Shoujo genre and if it can be done well, then it can be good. I think this version of it was the worst I have ever read/seen. The anime is mostly a very tedious Slice of Life about overused one dimensional characters. It's dragging, extremely boring, full of unnecessary details with a very shitty romance--if I dare call this creepy thing they had a romance. Nothing ever truly happens. Romance lovers should skip this anime as well, there's a very limited amount of 'romantic scenes', and a lot of awkward ones. (Though, to be fair, the final scene at the final episode was decent.)


The Art:
It was alright. The characters are well-drawn but would alternate between a decent drawing and a crappy 5-year-old scribbles a lot.

The sound:
It was okay. The voices are kind of decent, but the music was a bit underwhelming.

Enjoyment: below zero.
Nothing about the anime was enjoyable, there is not a single thing you can find even slightly amusing and not a single character you can root for. It was torturous.

Overall: 2/10 Appalling. A very terrible experience.