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This is a twofer review (aka Letter of Complaints) for Aries and Orion.

In terms of art style, the new series has it in spades. It's not perfect, but it is most certainly quality. Watching the Reloaded special episode (23 in Orion), it was awesome to see some of the old strange designs ironed out for past characters. Unlike the original, the pacing of the story has ramped but not because the over arching storyline was complicated, but rather poor pacing of character growth. Like the original series, lots of characters don't get much development (ie. Handa, Shourin), but this ... is especially so given the shorter run time for this new series. Many characters just don't seem to belong or should be where they are given the pacing and lack of character development. I will go through it in some detail, but that will be past the spoiler warning below. The overarching story is way more believable than the last few story lines we had in recent Inazuma Eleven. It's 5th Sector, but more grounded. That said this is a show predominantly for young children so it's not the most crazy story line ever. Overall, I would say the greatest appeal of the show is in the new characters with the aftertaste of the classic Eleven characters. Though the true villain was honestly different, most that led to that was less than ideal. I believe the show would've done much better if it invested more character development (Haizaki & Hoshinari) into the stories they did start rather than ending them abruptly and frequently.

tl;dr: Cool new art style and cool animations with cool new characters and returning characters! But be warned, they are bogged down by not-so-cool new characters. Also this is an alternative timeline pre-Alien Academy, post-Zeus.


----SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT----


Inakuni Goods:
In Aries, Inakuni works very well as a close, tight-knit group of friends, but given the pacing most don't get much time to develop individually. Those that did had varying results. Unexpectedly, Iwato, the new Kabeyama, is one of the more interesting characters from Inakuni. He has multiple gag partners and even teams up with Aphrodi and Hiroto. Michinari also had a great moment with Endou and I really wished they continued that instead of "Junk Food Funny Time with Goujin" in Orion. Finally we have Umihara, whose design I love very much. She had some interesting internal conflicts, but none were given much time to develop. There have been multiple times where her character development starts, but the plot had to move forward before we could get to see a well paced progression both in Aries and Orion.

These characters aren't from Inakuni but I figured this would be the best place to mention. Haizaki Ryouhei and Nosaka Yuuma (and by extension Nishikage) are the de facto main treat of this new series. They brought an interesting storyline that carried all of Aries and most into Orion.

tl;dr: Overall, I think there are a few decent new characters additions, but most were discarded in Orion and for some reason those that shouldn't have were. (Umihara, you should've came back earlier...)

Inakuni Bads:
Goujin Testsunosuke is funny(?) I suppose, but he is really just a punching-bag gag character that is in debt. The cost of keeping this guy in the story was to have lackluster team. He shares the forward position with 5 other characters that are way more relevant and interesting than him. I would've preferred if he was benched like Megane in the original series. Similarly, I honestly don't understand why Mansaku and Hiura are on the team. Especially Mansaku, who really hasn't done anything since learning his first hissatsu. For the most part, these Inakuni members don't truly interact with anyone but themselves. However, these members pale in comparison to these two characters:

Inamori Asuto is just a copy-pasted version of Endou, with the added plot relevant detail that may or may not resemble Luke Skywalker. The problem with his character is simply the fact that he has little character growth and what growth he could have gotten is either non existent (Aries) or is swept under the rug (Orion). The writers demand that he must get screen time, but there really isn't much to write about for him. The more interesting details about his character, like how life was back at Inakuni or what he thought about his fake father is treated too lightly. This would not be that much of a concern if he was a supporting character like everyone else from Inakuni. The biggest deal breaker for me is the fact that all his lines are literally things that Endou would've said, who now has to shut up and just stare. This simple fact makes it pains me. This worked in GO and Chrono Stone because Endou had justifiable reasons to take a backseat and let the children pave their own path, but here it feels more like Endou isn't being the captain he truly is and his spirit was programmed into a talking robot.

Mikado Anna is a terrible character. Her role in Aries was disgusting to watch and she has no purpose in Orion. Managers of Inazuma Eleven have been declining in quality since the original series and Anna takes the cake. The three managers from the original series all had plot related relevance to varying degrees. In GO, they were around but their character brought liveliness to the commentary. Ootani Tsukushi (who really does look like a background character) serves the bare-bone requirements. Anna, however, takes being dislikable (like Natsumi initially) to incomprehensible. Her conflict like the Inakuni members doesn't even go anywhere. Honestly, it kind of feels like they sort of forgot about it because they were to busy thinking about winning the next match. Instead of redeeming or doing something cool for the team (like Natsumi) she proceeds to care about the enemy?? Her obsession over Nosaka is simply put really irritating to watch. All managers of the past have showed team spirit and comradery in all past series. Anna lacks this. She simply dos her dues and moves on to more loftier concerns about Nosaka, an enemy villain at the time, rather that those suffering on her own team. He nosiness in Nosaka's business and stalker behavior is unlikable. If they wanted to add this romantic plot they should've have done it in Orion, which did not happen as Nosaka straight up rejected her at the end of Aries. It is such a waste of a nicely designed character.

tl;dr: Less than stellar character development and pointless character developments made moot.

Return of the Originals:
To be honest, I think they did pretty well in terms of the balance between screen time for the old and new characters. Kidou was effectively utilized in Aries and smoothly exited in Orion. His role is similar to Gouenji in the original season 3. I don't know how much better they could've handled Gouenji, but they most certainly didn't have to cut Endou that much. Endou is basically a shell of his former self given how much screen time he had in the original. As I mentioned before, Inamori has basically poached his character (episode 44). Times when it should have been Endou to pull the team together, it was Inamori doing the mood-making. It feels especially disingenuous when he runs off with his "dad" in Orion. Endou had the same situation with Daisuke in the original and considering the pacing of the show, Endou running off to spend quality time would have been way more justifiable. There are also some nice new character developments for (not dead) Kira Hiroto and (not Gran) Kiyama Tatsuya. It is simultaneously fan-service and actual plot at the same time. The Fubuki twins are the same, but on a much smaller scale. Saginuma was pretty much shafted. It was great to see one of the coolest characters there, but he really just suffered most of the way through and left to dry.

tl;dr: Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with how they handled the OG characters, but Endou.

It is impossible to hate this manga if you are familiar with the original Idolm@ster. The story is about everyone's favorite secretary, Kotori Otonashi and how she got into 765 Production. Though she has received some lore bits over the many years, I'd say this is an essential read for anyone who wants to know more about her and 765 Pro. I believe that this is an modestly interesting read for anyone, but I highly recommend at least watching the 2011 anime to gain context and the full experience.

The story revolves around Kotori's introduction and exploration into the idol business, which her ... late mother was a part of. It's a story
that puts a twist on the cliché story, and simultaneously carries the innocence and subtle maturity rarely seen from this type of multi-media franchise. We also get to see another side of important characters from the series like Kuroi Takao and Takagi Junjirou. The manga also makes happy references to other characters and productions in the Idolm@ster series which is a happy thing to see for long time fans.

It is tough for me to write this review with as little bias as possible. It was hard to me to see if this manga could really stand on its own for newcomers to the series on the off-chance they come across this manga first. Re-reading it has assured me that it can. Characters that appear in the story are not just there for the sake of reference and actually serve a purpose for the most part and the manga also has a number of original characters which allows the story to stand on its own. Despite how short is, I believe that this manga is probably the most ideal prequel to the original Idolm@ster story we could get despite how short it is.

In terms of quality both story and art and very high. The writing is done by Tatsuya Takahashi, who is an industry veteran and has been involved with the series for a long time. The same can be said for art is by Mana who has drawn album covers for the franchise. Both did a wonderful job in delivering this story to new and longtime fans of the series.

I must preface this review with the fact that I have not read the original light novel which this manga is based off of. As such, I suspect many things I say here about the pacing and plot may not be the case for the light novel. I highly suggest reading it as I believe that this story is an interesting read (though I have not read it myself, but I do intend to!). Anyways, here's my review for this manga (see the tl;dr at the bottom if you don't want to read everything). Minor spoilers by the way.

Clockwork Planet takes place ... in an alternative reality where planet Earth was effectively replace by a mechanical world created by an enigmatic person known as Y. Our main character, Naoto finds himself entangled in the mysteries of his world and effectively goes on a journey to save his malfunctioning planet.

While this is by no means a unique premise, the author was quick to establish intrigue for the world. This is then layered by the introduction of our main character and the main heroine, Ryuzu. The initial stages of the manga introduces our MCs and the fantastical pseudoscience that governs the laws of physics, which hooked me immediately. As the story goes on the plot gets greater in scale and covers the politics of mechanical Japan as well as the organizations and people that govern the cities that are actually built on top of giant gears. Unfortunately, I must admit that towards the end of the manga, things get a bit nonsensical, but this is mostly the fault of the main villain who is effectively the big bad final boss for this manga.

Out of all the characters, the main villain is the one I have the most problems with. He's shown to be an insane character, but his backstory and motivations feel shallow because of how little we get to see him. This character tends to ramble about things we the audience never actually get to understand as the manga is cut after the final battle. This is a problem I see with many villains for this series, but the main one is by far the worst in my opinion. On the other hand, our main cast and supportive cast is very well put together. Despite being the generic protagonist Naoto manages to express his own opinions and motivations while being an effective, self-insertable character. He's not overpowered in the traditional sense, giving him some sense of vulnerability. His "wife" Ryuzu, is visually my favorite character, but after grabbing the attention of the audience plays more of an comedic, yet overpowered plot device that drives the initial and later battle scenes. While her motivations are generic, she makes up for it in story driven beats. Marie is your classic tsundere. Many find her annoying, but I think she's pretty likable. Her bitchy attitude makes sense given her background and she rounds off later in the plot. Her partner robot, Halter is first introduced as your classic bodyguard. He doesn't stand out for the most part, but shines toward the really end of the manga. There's also the supportive cast (which is really just three characters) and they are enjoyable in their own right.

The artwork is clean and dynamic. Character designs are directly inherited by the light novel and they all look really cool and intricate. If you ever get to see the coloring for the characters, they all stand out yet complement each other. It's like watching a rainbow in front of grey clouds.

TL;DR
I personally enjoyed this series for the character dynamics, world building, and the cute characters. There were many comedic gags that I thought were cute despite the main story being somewhat dark. While I gave this a 7 overall, this should not dissuade you from giving this manga a try. If you came here after watching the anime, just go read the light novel!! I will soon do so as well and I am pretty excited to see where this series may go. Thanks for reading and have a good day!

I have since watched all episodes. I stand by what I wrote.

"It's bad."

is awfully subjective and arrogant. I'm not gonna lie, this show is no Jujuju Juju, nor does it have the aesthetic of Fumetsu no Anata e. But I can guarantee that this show is relatively more interesting than Eden Zero (that's also a very subjective bar).

If you are tolerant of somewhat shallow characters and want to waste time, I think you should give this show a go. Personally, I was somewhat entertained, but it was by no means thrilling in any way. For reference, I gave this show ... a 6 for "Fair enough."

The appeal of this show is definitely not the mobile game characters. They simply serve as a plot device to serve the main characters. The story focuses on the members of the Granseed Academy student council in which they fight monsters that serve the God of Destruction (intriguing I know). But if you can look past that you will realize that the story revolves around the main characters and not really the conflict at hand. The conflict is simply the means for character development. Whether the show is "good" or "bad" is dependent on how much you like the characters. Animation is decent and the same can be said for character design. Music is fitting, nor is it intrusive. Overall, not an awful experience, but keep expectations low.

This anime is based on a video game, specifically a Korean mobile game. I've personally never heard nor played it but based on some light research the story of the anime is completely independent of the game, a completely original story. As such I have no say how players will view this show.

Simply put, Platinum End is a story about a boy who commits suicide, but is saved by an angel so that he may participate in a battle royale to become God.

Disclaimer: Platinum End takes a very cynical view on the concept of God. If you love listening to Pastor Dave preach every Sunday, I would not recommend this to you.

Tl;dr
Platinum End is philosophical and presents interesting questions on the role of God, but suffers from a lack of character depth. However, I thought it was interesting and I think you should give it a chance and read with the ... role of God in mind.

The story is written by Tsugumi Ohba, the critically acclaimed writer of Death Note and Bakuman. In terms of story telling, Platinum End does not reach the intimacy that Death Note and Bakuman.
Platinum End is set in modern society, so there is little world building. Thus, it heavily relies on the characters for most of its story. There is a great emphasis on specifically human psychology and their outlook on life. Topics such as greed, depression, cynicism, etc. are used as a means to question the role of God. Many of them come off as simple and one-dimensional, but not out of place.
The story heavily relies on the dialogue between these characters who have all decided to take their life and are chosen because of their dissatisfaction with the world. The core theme that this manga centers on is the role of God. How should God act in the face of cruelty and injustice? Should God intervene to make humans happy? And specifically, What is God?

The art is by Takeshi Obata, the same artist that partnered with Ohba on Death Note and Bakuman. If you love his art style, there is more of it here! The art style is definitely not as radical as Death Note nor perky like Bakuman. It is more somber and blurred compared to his previous works.

From here on out, I'm going to take a more polar stance on this manga.
Personally, I found myself realizing that the scope of this manga is too big for its own good. That's not to say that it's terrible.
First, characters in this manga are shallow. But I believe this was intentional and too much of it would take away from the core themes that Ohba was trying to establish.
Second, this manga handles its main character in a somewhat unorthodox way. It establishes Mirai as a depressed main character, but he rapidly turns into a messiah character. I found him to be somewhat unrelatable toward the end. A similar thing happens with the main heroine and I believe that most readers would loose interest because of it.
Third, the angels literally do next to nothing for the story other than being a plot device. There is little to no character building for them which I believe is a missed opportunity.

Overall, I thought it was a fun read and the somewhat open-ended? ending was interesting.

At this point, I can't help feel that "Isekai" is a term that means "Educated modern guy reforms the cavemen" or "Genius is born in an archaic society."

Who our main character was doesn't really matter, what does matter is the setting. Our main character, Wendlin von Baumeister (something like that), is the 8th son of a poor, low-ranking noble he is fated to a commoner lifestyle. Luckily for him, he is a prodigy that receives an magical education from another prodigy. The story details his exploits climbing up from the bottom of society.

Story: Compared to the original light novel and the manga ... adaptation, the animated series does not compare at all in regards to pacing, content, or dialogue. Everything has been whittled down to meet time constraints and to fit enough plot. In the original, more raunchy topics are touched on, but this adaptation has been mellowed out for reasons we can guess.

Art: The art design is somewhat bland. Nothing too special. The effects were pretty, which is probably the only this I found notable.

Sound: The opening was pretty jarring for me at first, but it's actually a banger. The ending was calm and nice to listen. Sound effects and the BGM throughout the series is somewhat exciting. However, I did not like the harsh piercing noise for the sound for the activation of magic. It was unique, but my ears didn't like it.

Characters: The main antagonist, while somewhat cliche and one-sided, was gratifying to watch. On the other hand, the main character and his sidekicks were more or less typical characters you would find in other isekai with little ambition other than to serve the main character. Particularly, the last girl to join the harem was very boring for me. People complain about main characters having "no personality," but I say they are wrong. This girl should be deemed as the standard for "no personality."

Enjoyment: I only watched the show as I read the source material. While I did get a kick out of seeing the characters I read about in motion, I can't say I would recommend this for the common watcher. As a connoisseur of "bad anime," this was good enough for what it was, but far, far, far from something I would call enjoyable.

It's no mystery that this is a terrible show to watch. However, I do not intend to put blind hate in this review. It is clear after doing a bit of research, that this show is not intended for your average anime watcher.

Shironeko Project: Zero Chronicle, as the name implies, is a prequel to a bigger story. From that I assume that this story will require prior knowledge of the main story. As such no one who has not played the original game will be able to provide a fair review (in my opinion).

Overall: I, and many others, think that ... this show was a waste of time. There were moments where I really wanted to enjoy the story, but couldn't due the glaring flaws of this show. I would only recommend this to any fans of the original game. If you have not played the games, do not watch this show.

Story: Just from watching this alone, I highly do not recommend this show to anyone who doesn't know the original game. As it is, it provides little context, world-building, and character development as I believe this is a supplemented in the game.

Art: Flashy, colorful, a bit over the top. It is easy to call it cheap and cliche, but if you get a kick out of that you might like it.

Sound: The music and sound design fits very well and does bring atmosphere. Unfortunately, it does not reach its full potential as it is bogged down by the rest of the detrimental factors of the show.

Characters: Simply put, they are incredibly cliche. I believe that most character development is found within the original game and not here. But as it is in the show, the characters can only be described as boring.

Enjoyment: There were many moments where I found myself, wishing the show didn't waste time. It's unfortunate as I truly thought that this story had potential up until the last few episodes.

Side note: It seems that there is going to be a Nintendo Switch game for the series as a whole will be released in Japan.

Honestly this is review is not free of bias, I watched this show when I was five and I absolutely loved it as a kid. I will do my best effort to be not biased, but do take this review with a grain of salt.

Story:
The story is pretty simple. Our hero gets possessed by an alien who calls himself Ultraman and he goes around and beats up Kaiju that threaten Earth. The story does have progression despite how it might seem at first. I cannot say much because spoilers, but the ending is pretty spectacular. However, getting there can take lots ... of patience. You won't miss much if you skip most of the ordinary kaiju fights.

Art:
This series was made in 1980 so don't expect the clean artwork you see today. Perspective can become pretty jarring and some things aren't particularly well fleshed out. Fight scenes are lacking compared to today's standards.

Sound:
The opening and ending is amazing (bias). But they are without a doubt, pretty catchy. The sounds effects are pretty crude and old, but its pretty good if you can get past that.

Character:
Honestly, characters are pretty two dimensional. There isn't much character development, but the show really likes to bait people into the typical "He's gonna finally reveal his identity!" card. Pig the robot is pretty charming despite looking nothing like a pig nor is he visually appealing. Marume becomes less of a jerk. Other than that none of the humans particularly grow.

Final Thoughts:
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who is fed up with Power Rangers or anyone who don't like Godzilla like stuff.

I personally enjoyed this series for how short it is. I started reading this thinking it was a romcom, then assumed it was a joke manga. However, the unexpected conclusion and the story that lead up to it is truly worth the read. I am amazed how attached I got to some of these characters despite the manga's wackiness.

Story: 7
The story is based around our main character Yuu who has one mission: to find a way to fix his mother who is in a deformed vegetative state. But luckily for him, he awakens the ability to "time slip" where he can ... temporarily go back to the past and potentially change his mother's fate.

While the premise is somewhat interesting, the plot seems to be going nowhere to for the majority of the series. It's just our main character, Yuu running around messing with people while trying to stalk his younger mom. But as the story goes on, these events lead to something peculiar, which changed the present in ways Yuu did not intend. While changes are minimal, these changes lead to a stunning conclusion.

Art: 6
The character designs to be cute and sometimes has fan service, particularly when it comes to Hanada. The character's are fairly expressive, but it does not particularly stand out compared to other works. Nothing much to be said here.

Characters: 8
Yuu: He does not change much for the majority of the series. Despite being the main character, he serves more as a comic relief. He can be seen as annoying sometimes thanks to his bombastic and somewhat distorted character, but the effects it leaves can be heartwarming at times.

Hanada: She can be seen as the secondary protagonist. She is first introduced as a mature, bossy person, but is quickly reduced to a somewhat pitiful character. Hanada is the character that has received most character development throughout the series and you can't help but love this tsundere girl.

Touko: Yuu's mother is not a heavy focus despite the premise. While she is an important character, she simply serves as Yuu's motivation. Also her deformed self has no character.

This show should not be viewed for its story. It is a personification of our bodies that is brimming with character. On the surface, Hataraku Saibou is very much a bland edutainment series, but in some moments you can see a lot of humanity.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who is suffering in high school biology class and anyone who is simply looking for a good Killer T(ime).


Story:
Hataraku Saibou does not have the most interesting story. You can easily generalize it with this formula:

1. Everyday life ruined by wound.
2. Red gets scared.
... 3. New biological problem introduced
4. White and gang fix problem.
5. The end

For better or for worse, Hataraku Saibou's strength does not lie with it's story, but rather with its characters.

Art:
David Productions has down a wonderful job designing the characters of the local inhabitants within us. It is easy to identify who is what based on their clothing, expression, and physical build. The world is watercolored and has a friendly atmosphere which nicely contrasts with the rough dystopian-like setting whenever problems occur.

Sound:
The opening music is so catchy. There is a sense of teamwork and harmony that rides with the upbeat rhythm of song. While it's OST isn't the most unique or memorable, it does a great job setting the tone.

Character:
Again, it is easy figuring out who is what based on design and personality. Small details can reveal a lot of character for some characters. For example, Red's cowlick can reveal that she is in fact a sickle cell, which explains her clumsy nature. There is a surprising amount of character development for a edutainment series. Notable characters include Killer T, Helper T, and Cancer.

While trope-y the very characterized personalities really help bring out a sense of a diverse, yet harmonic world.