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Since there are already several reviews, I will keep this brief. Jigokuraku is what the ideal action shounen manga should be. There are many battles, and while they last for more than a chapter or two, they aren’t repeatedly drawn out for 30+ chapters. Most of the characters are fleshed out, even characters introduced towards the end, and there is character development. While as with any action shounen there are convenient deus ex machina moments, it’s not near the level of Dragon Ball Z, and readers will have to say goodbye to characters. The story takes some common story ideas yet manages to create a ... situation that feel different enough. I strongly recommend this series.
Story: 8
Art: 9
Character: 9
Enjoyment: 9
Overall: 9

"Oh...Necromance. It is regrettable that it met its fate like this." - What the king should have led with in chapter 1.

In all seriousness, it truly is a shame that this series received the axe. Perhaps because of there being no truck-kun, axe-kun decided to step in, and so this series has ended prematurely; bad jokes aside, the reason for the axing was low sales. Thankfully the author, rather than rushing the ending (which in all honestly they could have gotten away with considering what was going on during the last couple arcs), chose to finish the arc as they had originally intended. So while ... readers of this series won't get a true ending, there is at least some closure for the series, and the series is left in a position where the creator can easily enough continue. So, knowing that this is an axed series, is it still worth reading? While not a must, it isn't a bad way to spend a couple hours and flesh out your manga list.

Story: 7
The story is different enough from the typical hero fantasy series out there nowadays. The hero isn't transported in from another world or reincarnated, no revenge/betrayal/edginess. The series isn't aiming to be an epic or have battles lasting dozens of chapters. The hero party has some clear goals, and while attempting to fulfill those goals, they end up occasionally helping others in need. Arcs aren't drawn out, but are delivered in small servings. It's simple, yet because of its simplicity, it's refreshing in a way. There are definitely hints of things that were to come (but didn't beat the axing) that would have added more depth to the story, but unfortunately the execution of those foreshadowed events can't be judged.
Art: 6
The art is nothing spectacular, but does the job and suits this series well.
Character:5
The characters are like the story, very simple, and therefore predictable in their actions. Depending on the type of character interactions you enjoy, you'll either find certain characters annoying or endearing. I personally found a few of the characters annoying, but was interested enough in the story to look past that. The characters are at least pretty consistent with their types, and there is character growth.
Enjoyment: 6
If some of the characters were slightly different I probably would have enjoyed the series more. The creator often tries to be humorous (mainly silly humor), and while sometimes it did well, sometimes it fell flat. Overall, I was looking forward to seeing the story progress and am disappointed the series received the axe. Had the story been further along, it may have scored higher.
Overall : 6

Review will focus purely on the story aspect since there isn’t much to be said about the other aspects. Aside from some things involving goblins this is a minimal-spoiler review.

The Goblin Slayer anime is based off a light novel series. There is a manga adaption which had already covered the story arcs covered in the anime prior to the anime’s completion. Viewers of the anime will likely notice a bar at the top of the screen warning about the show containing disturbing images. Is this bar warranted? There is no denying that Goblin Slayer is a rather graphic series. Considering the typical fantasy anime usually ... put out nowadays, I suppose there's no harm in having the warning, especially since the series is R+. So now you might wonder, Goblin Slayer is a graphic series, but is it a good series? Yes. It’s not amazing, but it is good, and accomplishes what it sets out to do.

The general story of Goblin Slayer is simple. The series follows an “adventurer” who is known in the adventurer’s guild by the name Goblin Slayer. Big surprise, he specializes in killing goblins, monsters who take pleasure in killing humans. Women will sometimes be spared death but will instead live a life of being raped and giving birth to goblins due to all goblins being male, so there’s no happy ending for people caught in a goblin attack. No surprise that this anime is graphic.

This series does serve a purpose in that it’s an excellent example of dark fantasy. Fantasy series are usually epic adventures of heroes slaying monster after monster until finally defeating the ultimate evil. Goblin Slayer purposely focuses on the less grand, yet still dangerous, adventures that would occur in such fantasy worlds. As is emphasized throughout the series, while goblins are a smaller-scale evil, whether the hero defeats the demon lord matters not to the villagers being killed in a goblin attack. Without those willing to do the less glorious work there would be no one to celebrate the work of heroes.

The series being graphic isn’t simply for shock value, it’s to show the reality of the world featured in the series. And the reality for the people in the world of Goblin Slayer is a dark reality. Should you watch this show? Maybe. If seeing intense gore or monsters raping women will leave you too disturbed to continue watching, then you shouldn’t start the show, cause nearly every episode has gore and several have scenes that show or suggest rape. This show is not meant to necessarily be enjoyed in the same manner as most other series. But if you’re looking for a good dark fantasy, not the usual hero saves everyone, but what happens to those the hero can’t save then this might be a show to watch if you haven’t yet.

Also, a FYI for people already acquainted with the series through reading and wondering what's different... In the anime two arcs are flipped. Otherwise, if reading the manga adaption of the novels there aren't any differences worth noting.

A quick review for those debating whether to read this short series since there were no reviews.

Story: 5
As the synopsis reveals, the aim of the main character (Iori) is to achieve revenge for his father. The “surprises” in the series weren’t all that surprising and had crossed my mind as strong possibilities prior to their reveal. The series ending left me unsatisfied, and I was left wondering whether the ending was the intended ending from the start, or if the author was told to cut the story short.

Art: 8
The best part of the series was the art. It wasn’t anything amazing, but it was pleasant ... to look at overall.

Characters: 5
All the characters were boring. It was hard to like or sympathize with the main character or his friend/servant. While you were left disliking the “villains”, it wasn’t anything special beyond the general “that guy is awful”, and not at all connected to the revenge.

Enjoyment: 5
The score is kind of a given between the story and character scores. Art alone can’t make a manga enjoyable. This series truly failed as a drama.

Overall: 5
Should you read this series? If you’re looking for a quick series to read, and don’t mind not getting much out of it, sure. If you’re someone who finds one or two hours spent on a boring series a complete waste of time, then you should pass on reading this series.

Hope this helped!

Limited spoilers review!

This review was written after seeing all episodes.

At first glance, “Phantom in the Twilight” appears to be a reverse harem in the style of many otome-based anime from the past so many years, but it doesn’t quite fit the bill. The series itself doesn’t seem to know what it’s supposed to be and throughout its short twelve-episode life suffers multiple times from an identity crisis. One episode it seems to be following in the footsteps of otome-based series, the next it’s turned to head down the path of one-episode arcs with an overarching theme to tie the episodes together, and yet another ... episode it begins to crawl towards a focus in action. If you’re looking for a series requiring deep thought, or even active thinking, this series will bore you. If you’re looking for a series to pass the time and chill, something not requiring much thought or attention to understand, then this series might serve you well. With that out of the way, let’s get into why it received an overall rating of 6.

Story: 6
The story itself is nothing special. Two college-aged girls, Ton and Shinyao, traveled to England to attend school. Ton has always wanted to go to London due to her great-grandmother having left her family to go there. Due to a mysterious incident that happens early in the first episode the two girls become separated, and due to a searching spell which Ton inexplicably knows (you’re supposed to assume she learned it from whatever sources she used to learn of her great-grandmother apparently), she finds herself in a café with individuals whom of course are not human and are male; however, she need not worry, for they have a connection with Ton’s great-grandmother and are plenty eager to assist her. At this point it’s normal to assume that this is a set-up for a bunch of shipping scenes between Ton and all the males, but I’ll give the show credit, it didn’t take the easy route for the relationships (though it would be the logical choice for a show such as this). From the second episode onward the show travels in different directions and doesn’t do an amazing job in any area of the story. The surprises aren’t big, and even when not entirely predictable, simply leave you thinking “okay, no biggie”. After each episode (minus the final) there are little chibi shorts which provide a little insight into the “world” of the show which are a cute addition and are actually be my favorite part of each episode, which isn't exactly a good thing.

Art: Not going to bother going into any details or rating, nothing special, onward to the next thing.

Sound: 8
The voices suited the characters very well, none felt out of place, which is always nice. The opening theme I personally didn’t care for and tried to add to the action vibe of the show I felt. The ending theme more often than not broke character with the final moments of each episode but was pleasant to listen to. Battle music was nothing extraordinary but served its purpose.

Characters: 5
Characters are flat, two dimensional, and aside from one of the side characters have no development; even with the side character, the development was foreseeable and nothing special. All the characters, even the villains, fall into neat stereotypes. While decent character growth would be hard to achieve in a short series such as this to begin with, there’s no effort whatsoever to be creative in the character department.

Enjoyment: 6
I began watching the show just to watch it if that makes sense. I didn’t have high expectations, so by the end, I wasn’t disappointed… Okay, I was slightly disappointed; the action scenes truly are lame considering how many of them are thrown in. As I mentioned in the beginning, this show works well if you want to watch something casually, but if you’re looking to become engrossed in a series this isn’t the series you’re looking for.

As previously mentioned, this series lacks a true identity. It doesn’t have enough romance or shipping material to make fans of otome-based series satisfied. The action scenes are not worthy of considering this a true action series. The drama is not dramatic, the surprises are not that surprising, but at least the ending is somewhat of an ending. That’s right, the ending does at least provide enough closure where things are settled enough, you’re not left expecting anything beyond this final episode; a mediocre predictable ending granted, but for a mediocre predictable series, this ending works just fine.

Hope this helps!

"Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody" really should be called "Snooze Time to a Copycat Show Nothing New". The show is an adaption of a light novel series. Part of the purpose of such animes is to leave the viewer wanting to go and read the series. When I'm left thinking, well, good thing I didn't buy the first novel that's not a good sign.

Story: 3
Probably being generous with a 3 here. The story is unoriginal and does nothing to try to spice it up. Main character gets trapped in a fantasy world, is overpowered from early on, and develops a harem. Oh, and ... helps a few people during the series. That's pretty much the anime. While a small snippet of one episodes eludes to something bigger going on, as is usually the case when characters get trapped/sent to other worlds, I didn't care enough for the bigger picture to want to pursue the series further (plus even what was hinted at seemed like an overused plot idea). I'm not saying that any anime that comes out now with the whole trapped/reincarnated/etc. in another world story is worth under a 5 rating; that premise is so flexible in ways to spice it up, to make it stand-out and fun, which is probably why it still is being used so frequently in anime and manga. This series was just not a good representative for such series.

Art: 3
Nothing extraordinary, experimental, cutting-edge, etc. While it didn't hurt the eyes, it was just boring.

Sound: 3
Just look at the above, though change eyes for ears.

Characters: 2
At first I was thinking the main character could actually be interesting due to him being on the more mature side; in the end, though, his maturity simply meant he always knew how to approach things calmly. He was boring, no other way to put it. The other characters composing his harem are also boring, often stereotypical, and even forgettable.

Enjoyment: 2
I can't say I really enjoyed the series much at all. It was blah the whole way. The series should have had a sign that said "Nothing to see here, move along".

Overall: 3
Now, perhaps for anyone simply wanting to see a mostly loli harem with little action actually occurring within the harem, this series is decent. For everyone else though, the series will likely come off boring, a rehash of ideas already being used for years now. I actually forgot the series ended last week, the final episode was so anti-climatic, that I didn't realize till this morning that the series didn't have a thirteenth final episode. I suggest to most people debating about whether to watch this series, as many others already have, to save the time and pick another series.

Nejimaki Seirei Senki: Tenkyou no Alderamin is a 13 episode anime series based off a currently publishing novel series. Odds are, you already have realized a couple things, but if not here they are now: First, this series tidies up an arc at the end, but it otherwise has an open ending. Second, odds are there won't be a second season; if lucky, there will be an OVA in the future, but it likely won't even be that. So, if these two factors are a big deal, you may want to wait on watching the series. If you don't mind, continue reading for a more ... detailed review.

Story: 9
The anime is essentially composed of a few sections, which each section tidying up neatly, while still being open to the next section. This allows the anime to flow nicely, though unfortunately, also leaves the series with a somewhat open ending; though the arc is tidies up, the viewer is left knowing that much is to follow along with foreshadowing, and it just isn't covered. Granted, anime based off of light novels serve not just to gather and entertain viewers, but to serve as an advertisement of sorts for the novel series, so this is to be expected.
As for the specifics, while the whole premise isn't made entirely clear, enough information is given to where the viewer won't dwell on the lack of information; also keep in mind, it's common for lots of details to miss making it from the novel series to the anime, so for minimal omission to seem apparent is pretty good on the anime's part. The setting seems to be perhaps a fantasy enlightenment period, with the main contrast being the female military uniforms, which have leggings and school skirts (since how could any anime girl not wear a pleated skirt as part of her main outfit?). Though the fantasy element is light, involving only the use of spirits (which some scenes may have you wondering whether they are fantasy or more sci-fi), the implementation of the spirits in the series adds to the fantasy feel.

Art: 7
What can I say? It's not terrific, nor experimental, but it's clear and crisp. Nothing to wow over, but nothing to complain over either.

Sound: 7
The voices suited the characters well I feel. The opening and closing also fit the series. The series does a good job overall with using music in scenes, though there were a couple times where it bordered annoying for me.

Character: 9
While the main characters fall into stereotypes, they were portrayed well, to where they helped the story. A few of the characters remained rather static, while a few of the others grew over the course of the anime, which fit into the character types. The series also does a good job in reminding us that the characters are in a war.

Enjoyment: 9
This series had a mix of my favorite genre, favorites character types, and was based of a novel series so I started watching it expecting to highly enjoy it; thankfully, for me at least, it met my expectations.


Overall, I give this series a 9. I can see someone who's into "typical" shounen anime finding this series slow and boring, so if fast-paced action is what you're looking for, this series may not be for you. While this is a fantasy military anime, this is of a totally different strain than, say, the Gundam series. If you enjoy seeing what happens behind the action in war scenes, with action scenes involving character's planning counter-actions as much as actual action, this series is one you'll likely enjoy. If a semi-open ending is something that will bug you, you'll have to personally decide whether it's worth watching; if you enjoy this series, by the end you'll be wishing the light novels were being published by Yen Press. Hope this helped!

This review is made with those who have read some of the other reviews, but are still undecided, in mind.

I decided to watch this anime since I remember reading the first couple of chapters of the manga a few years ago. While I have no idea how the manga progressed, considering this anime was only 12 episodes while the manga is still publishing, it's obviously not going to follow the manga to a tee; that being said, that doesn't mean it can't be great on its own. Unfortunately, while I find myself wanting to read the manga, it's because I want to know just how ... badly the anime screwed things up.

Story: 5
The story premise is decent enough, but the progression in the anime was awful. There was one episode towards the end where a good chunk was the backstory of a character that did practically nothing for the plot; what was covered could have easily been summarized into two minutes of brief flashbacks (as opposed to the long ones) so the viewer could understand a few of the dynamics between this character and a few of the others. On the other hand, some of the most anticipated battles get...well, no screen time. And the ending of the series was pretty much the default ending for a few of the episodes, since apparently, the writers couldn't be bothered to create a special final line for the last episode.

Art: 6
The art was interesting at times, but ultimately, nothing special.

Sound: 5
The opening is heavy metal, so I'll admit I was biased towards it, not being a fan of that genre. I tried to listen the whole way through the first time but just couldn't bring myself to. The closing is pretty random for the series and a total contrast to the opening. While there is music throughout much of the series (courtesy of one of the characters), the music played often feels misplaced, making it even annoying. The sound of one of the characters (hint, the one who says "happy birthday") I felt was well done.

Character: 4
The main character Mahiru was made annoying; by that, I don't mean his character type (which is also annoying), but I mean he was literally made to be especially annoying even for his type. How many times do we have to be reminded about how he likes things "simple" (his definition of simple isn't the average)? Turns out quite often. Kuro, the other main character, is actually the only character I cared for in the whole anime by the end; kitty Kuro and his silly moments are actually some of the few highlights of the show for me.
Besides those two, we have the tsundere friend; the two extra friends who have almost no screen time outside of the first episode; the snobby rich kid; the "hot" guy who appears to be a lolicon (which none of the characters even comment on...); and featuring the villain who is psycho but with some "sad" backstory...actually, make that villains. That's not even all of them, but you get the idea. Granted, stereotypical character types can still be done well to where the characters don't feel recycled, but in this anime they aren't.

Enjoyment: 5
The best way to watch this is probably to binge-watch and finish it in a day or two; it retains some entertainment value at least since you keep anticipating those revelations and epic battle scenes, while not giving yourself enough time to get frustrated that they still haven't showed up, just to let all the disappointment and frustration sink in after you finished. I personally binge-watched, finished the series in two days, and looking back I don't want to think about how I would be feeling if I had watched this weekly as it was airing.

Overall: 5
To be honest, I'm probably being generous, but there's a lot worse out there in my opinion. I can't compare this to the source of material (the manga), as much as I wish I could. I can only assume that they crammed as much as they could, based on what was published, to try to create a full series while making an alternative ending; an ending which, quite frankly, sucked. If you have free time, and have nothing better to watch, go ahead and watch Servamp. Otherwise, go ahead and watch the next series on your to-watch list.

Datenshi Gakuen Debipara is at heart a spoof which makes fun of certain aspects found in manga/anime, as well as the Shin Megami Tensei franchise. It's a short ten-chapter, one volume series which reads rather quickly, so time-wise it can easily be done in one sitting.

Story: 6
It's silly, but it's a spoof; if a serious, original story is what you're hoping for, you'll be highly disappointed in that regard. It's a mesh-mash of lots of typical shounen story and character ideas all rolled up into one very corny, but often ridiculously funny story whose setting and basic storyline could easily have been for a Shin ... Megami Tensei game.

Art: 7
It's good. Not amazing, but worth being considered above average in my opinion.

Character: 8
The manga is full of stereotypes, being the spoof it is. It works well with the whole atmosphere of the story, though. The short length also helps, since some of the characters which come across as ridiculous are initially amusing and funny, but after a while they would have gotten extremely old and wearing on the reader had this series been much longer.

Enjoyment: 9
I enjoy reading something which can give me a good laugh, which is what this series did for me. At least half the chapters I laughed out loud at least once, and there were many more mental chuckles. While reading in one sitting is time-wise possible, I suggest if you find yourself after the first half beginning to tire of the characters, to take a break and return to finish it later. I personally found the middle the most lacking in humor for me, but the series as a whole has high enjoyment value for those of us who just need to laugh at something ridiculous.

Overall: 7
The main points of this manga is its silliness, which it does well in delivering. The story is corny, but given the fact that seriousness isn't what this manga aims for, it works just fine. Due to the awful silliness of the humor, if you're someone who's incapable of cracking a smile over the awful tackiness of movies such as Sharknado, this series may not be for you. If you're the kind of person who spends half the time laughing during such movies, this series will serve you well.

Is this a manga you'll want to reread? Probably not.
Is it worth reading that one time? Yes!

So, a review after the series has actually finished. Having started reading this a few years ago and following it up till it's finish, I hope my review will prove of some help for anyone thinking of starting this series. And in case anyone's wondering about how this relates to the anime, I have not seen the anime of this.

Story - 6

Without trying to spoil anything, here we go. To begin with, it's a common shoujo story in it's basic form; girl and boy both like each other, though one of them (the main female in this case) initially dislikes and then tries to not ... be in such a relationship with main male. Eventually end up in relationship, but main female wants it hidden initially. Continue on from there and you can probably figure out the rest of the story. To make it "unique", the mangaka had the main character, who at school acts like an unbeatable role model student trying to enforce school rules with all the students (though mainly the boys), work a part-time job which she wants to remain a secret - being a maid at a cafe. Though most of what happens is predictable, it does still entertain the reader (rather than annoy), so it's not bad for it's genre.

Art - 7

The art is pleasant enough, not rough or repetitive in that half the characters look the same. All the major and the majority of the minor are easy to tell apart, with only a few reoccurring minor ones perhaps causing problems in that respect. It doesn't have a "wow" effect, but for a shoujo does it's job, though none of the characters are really eye candy, which can be either good or bad I suppose.

Character - 8

For the type of manga it falls under, it doesn't do too bad with characterization. Though some are flat-out ridiculous, it doesn't get to the point where it annoys the reader, but rather, fall right into the story. The main characters, in all honesty, aren't really "special", it's more some of the other characters and how they all fit together that led to a rating of 8.

Enjoyment - 8

As I mentioned earlier on, it does entertain the reader, which is the whole reason for reading a manga such as this. It doesn't get too mushy-mushy, so is easy on readers who usually avoid typical romance shoujo (which I fall under).

I gave it an overall of 8 in my list rating since you can't give half points; if I could I would've probably given it a 7.5 rating. If you're looking for any of the following - something unique, smut, or totally unpredictable - I suggest you look elsewhere. If you don't have the patience to read a 85-chapter (I believe, and that it's 98 including extras) typical romance shoujo, don't enjoy predictable story lines, or just flat-out can't stand typical romance manga, you'll want to look elsewhere then too. If you're looking for some simple, yet enjoyable, romance story while waiting for the next chapter of ... manga to come out, then this is for you.