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I really ended up adoring this anime. For one, there won't be another anime or story telling quite like this where it tells the story of growing up as a young girl to a young adult. It's not even a story about growing up, but a story about breaking out of your shell and the risk that comes with it as a girl.

I think there is a lot here to resonate with the female audience here. Being treated like a sex object even though one is barely *14*, the whirlwind of negative emotions that comes with neglect and change in one's environment, the complete disconnect ... you feel with everyone else when you're struggling with... heavy things as a kid. There are so much anime stories out there from the boys' perspective, and I'm glad Wonder Egg Priority exists. This story has merit.

Everything in context in terms of character writing makes sense. I don't see this as an anime leaning too much on anime tropes, so absolutely a cult classic going forward.

By all logic this series should not exist, but yet here it is. 15 years later, Fafner still manages to shatter my heart into pieces. With its devastatingly sad continuation off Exodus' ending, it courageously rolls onward on its own pace and owns up to the plot and philosophy it has committed to.

Fafner has nothing to merchandise but its own story. The characters has grown up over the years and have their own life, and The Beyond manages to be as dense in details as all the previous seasons. It's spectacular to know the protagonist age from 14 all the way past this current iteration ... of his 20s. Which, if anyone has noticed the releases of the story in real time, this meant that it never felt as if the characters are stunted or frozen in time at any season. It's as dynamic as the viewer's life, should they have followed the series since it's initial debut.

Am I saying this show is worth the follow and watch? HELL YES. And it's a damn shame this series has fallen into obscurity even in the mecha fandom.

Story wise this is one of the best storytelling in anime I have seen that does not lean on traditional character tropes to tell a story. For The Beyond it still manages to gut me with all the subtle way it tells the viewer of the suffering without outright telling you and is absolutely shameless about it. It's only when you sit down and let it sink in that everything *feels* a certain way. Yet it manages to be hopeful and cheery when it can amidst all of it, so much so that it doesn't feel like torture and instead feels actually good to watch.

While looking at a screencap may not feel anything special, the cinematography and battle scenes of The Beyond is still a treat to look at with its clean, clear show-not-tell presentation. It also has obscenely beautiful scenery shots and has zero qualms about abusing 3d to achieve whatever it wants while still somehow not being immersion breaking. Watching this in 4k is like having my eyes cry crystals, and it's a shame it's not drawing the attention it deserves. Fafner is equally pragmatic and gorgeous in its graphics.

10/10 because thinking about how this show should not be here and is still here, together with us, is just mind blowing to me. If you haven't given Fafner a spin and are looking for a complex and yet enjoyable storytelling, please try worming in through the first season and join me in feels hell.

Let's get this out of the way.

1) This is the most mature and tasteful anime about romance to date. That said, it is my own personal opinion that your enjoyment for this anime hinges heavily on your own emotional and social maturity. Yes, it's homo. Yes, it's about adult men doing their feminine sports. Yes, it's ~*gay*~, and these people exists in real life. Wake up.

2) This may be labelled as sports, but you would be a fool to think it'll get your blood pumping. Ice skating is about making things look as deceptively easy as possible. The amount of finesse and strength required ... to pull these moves off in the show is so incredibly high, the skaters can probably crush your skull with their thighs!

Hope that explains some of the jarring divide plaguing most debates. Moving on.

The romance is of two males. The amount of respect the writers have given to a relationship of that nature is something I have not even seen in BL/Yaoi works. It feels extremely human, realistic and powerful. It is not fetishized, never once poked fun of, and has never treated this romance less than a relationship between a male and a female. Although indirect about the way they tell they romance, you can feel their adoration for each other oozing out and rotting your teeth. These characters never tell you why the specific reasons why they fell in love with each other, but they do show you lots of vague ideas about why they are. It's also a completely healthy, functional give-and-take relationship on both ends. I'm mindblown!

Hands down the best writing in terms of representing people, one of the best animation put together for complex movements I've seen. In short: holy f*cking sh*t. This anime really, really shouldn't be possible given all the social stigma, pressure and workload. Yet here we are.

I am giving this a solid 10/10 for simply doing all the things that other animes have failed to do. This. This is the only anime I have seen where it doesn't treat the emotional and social maturity of the audience like a child's. It handles a romantic relationship so damn well I'm actually having trouble believing this anime even exists at all. Some days I wake up and it's like, "wait, is Yuri!!! On Ice real?".

This should be on Cowboy Bepop level in terms of importance in anime. Why? Because we've been getting loads of BL/Yaoi baiting that stayed stagnant and refused to push the boundary, refused to step out of that fetishized hell and embrace actual human relationship. Hell, it's better than 99.9% of the BL crap I've to sit through. It's human. I can feel these characters. Yuri!!! On Ice is a HUGE game changer in romance storytelling. It has set the bar so high, it oozes out so much good directing, I'm afraid nothing will even come close given the current standard in anime.

The development of the characters and their relationship with each other is so incredibly well done and strong. There hasn't been a single moment where they throw you the typical annoying drivel of the relationship tragedy drama, and the characters, imperfect adults, mind you, just... make do with what they have and progress. It sends out a really good message, and I love it. It is absolutely positive. It's okay to find your niche, your passion, your life and love in your late 20s. This show seems to tell you that, and we do need more anime that sends this message as the active anime community's median age inches ever more closer to the early 10s.

Side characters aren't given that much spotlight, since this is an anime about ice skating competitions and realistically there is only so much screen time you can give to all of them. This is acceptable. It really is the same with a lot of other sports anime if you think about it.

The only flaw of this anime is the animation. Yes, despite my crazy praise earlier, this anime is still made by human beings probably overworked to their bones. Studio MAPPA is nowhere near I.G Production levels in terms of sheer man-power. There are some parts where the motion looks off, and a few where there's errors in the animation, details or coloring. But! That is still a minor issue. These problems usually strikes the minor scenes, and unless you really paid attention you will not see it. It is not a major problem, but amusing to highlight nonetheless.

Expect mindblowing levels of respect, acceptance, maturity, feels, details, comedy and emotional connection.

In short, should you watch it? Yes, absolutely, but read 1) and 2). I have shown this anime to various adults who are either homophobic or do not care about anime, and their unanimous opinion is that Yuri!!! On Ice is an amazingly good show! Watch it!

Hoozuki no Reitetsu follows Hoozuki, the second in command of Japan Hell. Characters and settings are all heavily influenced and taken from old Buddhist, Taoism, Chinese, Shinto, Japanese and what-have-you legends. If you are not familiar with them, be very prepared to have a terrible time. Otherwise, this manga is a genuinely enjoyable one. Through Eguchi Nastumi's own interpretation, she brings a comical twist to legendary folklore characters such as Momotaro, Hakutaku (BaiZe) and even Satan.

I would personally very much like to emphasize on the fact that your enjoyment of this series will be heavily downplayed if you do not even slightly comprehend Asian folklore ... and cultural. Not just Japan, but China and a little of India too. The fact that this comic takes place in Japanese Hell should be a good enough indicator.

This manga is written in a gag style sequence similar to Gintama, if only less plot and less emphasis on arcs. The art itself is heavily influenced by old Japanese art, due to the Eguchi Natsumi having studied Japanese art in her University. In other words, if you come into here expecting the usual flare of Anime/Manga art of 201X era, then you would be disappointed.

As the focus is towards more to the gag nature, little actual fleshed out story and character development are present. That is not to say it has none; Hoozuki does eventually make more acquaintances and have more sadistic comical adventure as the series goes on. So everyone has different interpretation of their character development. Your millage may vary!

I would recommend this manga to anyone who found Saint Young Men or games like Devil Summoner interesting. If you are of an Asian descent or are interested in Asia Cultural and Mytho, give this series a spin.