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C'mon, this wasn't as bad as yall made it out to be?

From my observations, one reason for the community reception behind this anime is because it came fresh off, and seems to have been seen as the spiritual successor to, Winter 2022's My Dress-up Darling, and this may have had set expectations a little too high. Now, i am not saying the criticism for this show is unwarranted, its just that i feel that the hatred for this has been blown out of proportion in discourse about the show.

Shikimori-san has a pretty blatant and on-the-nose way of reversing gender roles. It would put ... the couple in a position where gender stereotypes about masculinity and feminity come out, and would well... reverse them. Shikimori aims to act feminine in order to fit in with the school, but fails spectacularly no matter what. However this failings are not treated as failings, rather theyre validated as Shikimori choosing to "be herself". All of her decisions in how she behaves, especially when in cases when the action is not traditionally associated to be feminine are all treated as something that is "cool" and to be proud of. The female characters actually have agency, which should be the norm, but isnt something that the average romcom has. Izumi also has this one scene where he goes "Please dont tease me" and becomes all flustered and blushing, something that is typically associated with a female character in any other romcom. This reversal is what makes for this dynamic in their relationship which i will talk about next.

And so there is this interesting dynamic between Izumi and Shikimori, as Izumi happens to be extremely unlucky. The anime doesnt fail to hammer this point as it is one of the first lines of narration in ep 1. This is used to create situations where our mc ends up in trouble in order for Shikimori, to swoop in and rescue him. This happens over and over and over again and is probably the main thing that the show does, at least for the first half of the series, even the ED has this sequence where Shikimori is helping Izumi dodge and knock obstacles away.

This dynamic seems to have created this idea that this show is another one of those "waifu bait" shows with Izumi being an audience insert, but i could not disagree more. The conception of an audience insert protagonist is someone who the audience is supposed to project themselves onto, a blank slate, featureless, in a show meant for escapism. Well, when u consider the things that happen to Izumi, losing his things, getting his planned events ruined, it evokes laughter or pity rather than encouraging projection. Theres the other kind of audience projection, i.e. "this loser is you", but i find it hard to see Izumi as a loser at all. Izumi has a lot of qualities worth liking about him, his resillience to his unluckiness gimmick, or his ability to see the best in people, which earns him friends. It seems like any male protagonist who isnt straight up confident and upfront is suddenly a "generic loser mc" or a "self insert romcom protagonist" like what happened with Wakana Gojo last season.

Perhaps the most tenable criticism of Izumi's character is the unluckiness gimmick in itself. Its absurd, to the point that its funny (intentionally or not). However it becomes understandably hard to take him seriously at all. Any dramatic moments that youre supposed to feel sad for become comically laughable. Its also obviously a cheap way of creating situations for the wholesome interactions that we all expect out of a couple in a romcom. In this case, it manifests in the form of Shikimori saving him. If you can look past how contrived these situations are, and get over how repetitive the unluckiness gimmick (and it seems easier said than done for most ppl), then you'll probably be able enjoy these cute romantic moments more, and by extension the show too.

Shikimori-san is actually at its best when it... isnt focusing on Shikimori or Izumi honestly. The side characters, some of them pretty blatantly queer coded, are great too. Theres this introverted girl named Hachimitsu, who despises outdoor exercise, and she gets a whole episode dedicated to her and Izumi for them to train for their school's sports festival. I wont go into much more detail about it, but the experience was really heartwarming, and seeing them training hard together for the sake of the rest of the team, was easily one of Shikimori's best scenes. This is only one of the examples of Shikimori's side character episodes, and if theres one thing you should watch Shikimori for, its for the side characters.

The studio suffered from an outbreak of COVID in the middle of the show's runtime, which led to delays. Thankfully the end product is still of passable and servicable quality visually, and overall, it still looks decent, tho definitely not the best thing that Doga Kobo has made.

Easily the most overhated show of Spring 2022, Shikimori-san is a show that i recommend with significant caveats. Ultimately the appeal of the show for me was ironically Izumi, despite the repetitive nature of his unluckiness gimmick.

Contains spoilers, Spoiler free TL;DR at the bottom.

"I like this show" ~Anya Forger in episode 1.

You could not have possibly missed this, Spy x Family has taken the community by storm. It is everywhere, be it in the form of Yor and Anya fanarts (with an appalling lack of Loid ones) or Anya smug face memes.

I simply have to praise the production of this. This is clearly a passion project, you can't tell the difference between Wit's episodes and Cloverwork's episodes, because it's so coordinated and seamless. The anime takes the manga's material and elevates it by leaps and bounds. The best example of this ... is in ep 5, or the (I guess you can call it a filler?) episode where Anya makes Loid and his agents enact out her favourite scene of a tv series she watched. If this was picked up by any other anime studio, it would likely be presented as a minor, unimportant slideshow that took place in their house, just as the manga presented it. However with the production's emphasis on seamlessness, the anime does not merely animate only the panels itself, rather it adds to the panels, and it goes above and beyond to show the flow between the panels too. Thus, the anime manages to make a seemingly unimportant sequence in the manga into a full length episode that is almost completely anime-original, with stellar animation, and an amazing, though rather short fight scene between Loid and Yor. The sound design in the anime is also very fitting. The combination of spy thrillers and jazz music has always worked perfectly since forever, and Spy x Family is no exception. The main background “suspense” theme strikes that perfect balance to be noticeable enough to add to the mood of the scenes it's in, and also subtle enough to not be distracting. SxF uses this music really well, without going overboard with it.

This anime is called Spy x FAMILY, and one of the other key appeals of it is the dynamic of a found family that the anime creates. The facade of a family turns more and more into a genuine familial relationship as the anime goes on. This is made extremely clear to your face as the series goes on. Loid especially saw his family members at first as nothing more than a stepping stone to world peace. While he of course still sees them as tools to world peace, he also starts to genuinely care for them and look after his daughter’s well-being more and more out of love, and less out of obligation. He’s also uncharacteristically dense when it comes to Yor and her secret identity, which I find it funny above all else, but can be taken as a possible criticism. Yor and Anya’s relationship is also so heartwarming!! The most wholesome moments of Spy x Family for me at least, are the moments when Yor trains with Anya, both before the start of school, and the dodgeball match. I think the whole family dynamic is best exemplified in episode 4 during Anya’s interview to get into a prestigious school. Anya rates her parents with a “perfect 100 points”, spelling out their heartwarming familial relationship. The futility and stupidity of comparing parents, and worse trying to force a child to do it, is then embodied by a professor of that school, a rich, arrogant and pompous sadist. You are supposed to hate him, he was written to be hated, and the catharsis that the viewers experience after seeing Loid thoroughly intimidate him and causing the professor to be berated, though rather contrived and simplistic, is what helps us love and get behind this found family.

The primary appeal of Spy x Family isn't the thrilling spy action, its stunning production, or its found family aspect. These are great reasons to love this anime, but the main reason that this is so beloved by the community is its comedy, and the thing that ties all the comedy together, is Anya. Anya carries the comedy, no scratch that, Anya IS the comedy. The whole ED is dedicated to Anya. Most of the comedic scenes will somehow involve Anya in it, whether that be Anya's shocked expression whenever Loid or Yor think of something unhinged, or her smug face when something goes her way. Chances are, if you think Spy x Family is overrated, or you straight up dislike it, you probably do not like Anya as well. Ep 11 being considered to be the worst episode of the series by some, just because Anya acted a little more kid-like than those people were comfortable with, just proves this even further. The one major scene where Anya was not involved would be Yuri Briar's visit to the family, and for me at least, this was easily the most unfunny episode of Spy x Family. In fact, Anya waking up the following morning complaining about missing the excitement was easily the funniest part of the whole sequence. Anya’s antics and shenanigans in order to feel that sense of excitement and go “waku waku” reflects her mischievousness, her eagerness to save someone from drowning reflects her purity, Her studying hard to appease her father and in her mind achieve world peace reflects her child-like innocence and naivete, all of these make her such an endearing and adorable character. Of course, the people who understandably dislike Anya will probably think her actions are cringe, or her cuteness is forced, but i have to disagree there. I simply think she acts like a typical child would, and am more than willing to dismiss her occasional “cringe” moments simply as child-like naivete.

Anya's ability to read minds is one of the most unique things about Spy x Family, and it's worth talking about a little. It’s the perfect excuse to create funny internal monologues. The 2 differing backgrounds and mentalities of Loid and Yor will almost always allow them to offer 2 vastly differing perspectives, and the fact that they are actively hiding their identities just make it even funnier. However in episode 3 it's also used to show the differing but mostly negative attitudes of attendees of a nationalist rally. While Loid points to the importance of educating Anya politically, all Anya does is get dizzy from all of the hate and patriotism of the members of the rally, reflecting the gross state of politics within the country. This so-called “gimmick” is genuinely really well explored so far, and I really look forward to seeing how else Anya’s ability will be used more later during Part 2 in Fall.

Spy x Family being this popular due to its family-friendly accessibility and great writing just gives me hope that passion projects can still exist amid the endless drag of seasonal anime these days. A brilliant adaptation we did not deserve, Spy x Family blends thrilling action, hilarious comedy and endearing characters to create an absolutely superb and well-rounded experience. Highly recommended indiscriminately to all anime fans. Thank you for reading.

This review contains minor spoilers.

My Dress-up Darling is the hottest new seasonal anime of Winter 2022. While it was airing, this beat AoT and Demon Slayer in several top anime of the season polls, which goes to show that it's popular and really well-liked. There are many things to love about Dress-up Darling, but at the same time, I don't think it’s perfect.

Well, why is it so well-loved?

The most obvious reason would be the characters, both leads in particular. Marin Kitagawa, the poster girl of this show has been a widespread hit among the community at large. Fanarts of her have been spreading like a ... plague, more and more people were making her their profile pictures, even if you have not heard of My Dress-up Darling, you could not have missed seeing her face. I think the main reason why Marin is so popular is just for her raw energy. She is an outgoing person, and does not hesitate to convey her thoughts or earnest opinions about something on the slightest whim and just cannot hide her feelings, leaving both Gojo and the audience to deal with her idiosyncrasies. Her raw excitement when she sees a character she adores, or her earnest yearning when she went up to Gojo and asked him to make a cosplay outfit. This kind of energy is really contagious, and it spreads to both Gojo and the audience, cheering up both him and us. The community adoration of Marin also stems from how relatable she is. From the smallest things like having 50+ favourite characters, to just her enthusiasm when she puts on her outfit. I’m sure that everyone has felt that feeling of excitement before, and I think Marin perfectly captures the exhilaration that we feel when we are genuinely excited about accomplishing something.

Gojo is NOT an audience’s insert. I was of this sentiment when the show first started airing. I genuinely believed that this anime was nothing more than “Loner, introverted, average-looking dude with no friends meets cute, popular and outgoing girl that everyone will simp for”. Well, thankfully I was proven wrong. Gojo is a realistic character, he has a passion for making hina dolls, and i think this is where My Dress-up Darling shines the most. It captures what having a passion looks like really well in both Marin and Gojo. Gojo's attention to detail to the level of near-obsession and his perfectionist yet intimate standards of "beauty" is something I can personally relate to, and I'm sure literally anyone that is fervent about a hobby can also see themselves to varying extents in Gojo. He is still flawed in his work, he can't draw faces well, largely due to his lack of social interaction, because no one is perfect at anything, there will always be room for improvement.

I think the two leads bounce off each other really well. The saying “opposites attract” fits really well here. Gojo is introverted, and Marin helps him break out of his shell. Marin can’t make cosplay outfits, despite wanting to cosplay characters, and Gojo helps realise that passion for her. Marin is eccentric and somewhat impulsive, whereas Gojo is more grounded, which does help them in a lot of situations. It makes for an enjoyable dynamic as they complement each other really well, and they cover for the other’s flaws.

The visuals. Cloverworks thankfully did not disappoint with this, and it did not end up in total disaster like some of their previous works. The quality here is better than 90% of other seasonal anime, it’s more than enough for a slice of life show like My Dress-up Darling. The artist for the manga should be given some credit too, the designs of all of Marin’s cosplay outfits, barring one, look absolutely amazing. My personal favourites are Liz the succubus and Black Lobelia, they remind me of Krul Tepes from Owari no Seraph and Lena from 86 respectively, two characters that I like a lot.

I think a largely overlooked reason that it is so beloved is because many people, myself included, agree with the themes and the overall message of the narrative. It is not subtle at all with its intent of preaching the message “Don’t be ashamed of liking whatever you want”. It’s something that surely everyone can agree with. Back in the days when anime was not as popular as it is today, and it even still happens today, it’s not uncommon for anime fans to be ostracised by others on the sole basis for liking anime, and I think this show speaks to them on a personal level. It’s refreshing, and it’s always uplifting to have one’s hobbies validated, no matter how weird it may be perceived to be.

One more thing that I really want to appreciate is how much My Dress-up Darling covers cosplay. Personally, I was never into cosplay, it was always a very foreign idea to me. My preconceived idea of cosplay was really just "People spend money and order an outfit, they wear that outfit and they show off." While I respected the hobby, I never understood the appeal of it. My Dress-up Darling was my first real exposure to cosplay and while cosplay will still never be my thing, it really changed how I looked at it. However, now i do understand and appreciate the effort, the attention to detail and the pains that the outfit makers have to go through in order to create the perfect outfit to represent the character

Now, clearly from the score, I also have some criticism to lobby here, and now I'll explain why some people may not like this show, and the gripes that I personally have.

The characters. Wait, wasn’t I just gushing about how good the characters were? Well, let’s start with Marin, while parts of her personality are relatable, she’s an unrealistic character. No sane person, no matter how whimsical or capricious, would stalk a dude that they have just met and barge into his house, uninvited. No sane person, no matter how whimsical or capricious, would accidentally rent a love hotel and mistake it for a photography studio. Her outright stupidity at times is used as a plot device to get them into the situation that the author wants when there is no other seamless way to do it. It makes some of the funny moments feel really convenient. As for Gojo, he comes off as a typical, generic nice guy romcom protagonist in the first few episodes, it was only later on when i started to really like him, not to mention, his “sad” backstory in order to get the audience to sympathise with him and justify his introvertedness comes out of nowhere, when we barely know the guy. It can seem manipulative, and I really didn't buy this introductory episode. I unfortunately could not empathise with him as an introverted loner, and I ended up liking Gojo for other reasons.

The fanservice. I hate to be that guy who comes off as “the fanservice hater”, because I do not hate fanservice in general. However, I do dislike the fanservice in My Dress-up Darling. In ep 2, for example, Gojo was clearly uncomfortable with Marin when she stripped to get him to “take her measurements”. The scene was clearly contrived for fanservice, and when it's at the expense of someone’s dignity, it does not sit well with me. The love hotel in ep 11 once again was contrived to provide the usual romcom hijinks. Once again, Gojo, the voice of reason, was against the idea of them, being minors, spending time in a love hotel. However, Marin replied with “yeah, if you’re normies”, and then pulled out the sunk cost fallacy argument, which is just really helpful in assuaging these kinds of concerns. This “fanservice” that the show has does not add much enjoyment to it for me. On the contrary, it can be annoying at times and I really think this show could have done without the fanservice.

Overall, I think My Dress-up Darling was a really enjoyable ride, and it was something I looked forward to watching every week. However, it’s far from perfect, and there were parts of it that hampered an otherwise amazing show. While I'm willing to overlook most of the flaws and i think the show is good for the most part, I would ABSOLUTELY NEVER feel safe recommending this to the average person, for obvious reasons.

Contains some mild spoilers.

"Demon Slayer is carried by its animation"

A common take that haters of this show love to spew, but how true is it actually?

Demon Slayer S2 picks up immediately where the movie leaves off with the main trio and now the sound hashira going to the "entertainment district" to kill a demon residing there. It introduces us to the new Sound Hashira, and also new villains, in the form of a pair of brother-sister demons.

It goes without saying that Demon Slayer's fight scenes look spectacular, i dont think i need to spend much time praising the visuals or its ... choreography. When people talk about or hype up Demon Slayer, this is the first thing that comes to mind. While Demon Slayer may not be Ufotable's best work (that goes to Heaven's Feel in my opinion), it does not change the fact that it is still undeniably one of the most well-animated shows in the medium.

The score is by the renowned Yuki Kajiura, and its decent. It compliments the animation and the fights well. It hits when it matters, nothing much else to say about it. The Aimer OP and ED, while they are very nice songs to listen to, do not really fit the dark, gritty tone that the show was trying to adopt, especially towards the latter half of the season, but i dont think this means a lot in the grand scheme of things so i wont dwell too long on it.

Now onto the less amazing parts of Demon Slayer.

Demon Slayer's character writing is very polarising. Tanjiro, probably the most interesting character, is an altruistic, selfless empath. He never fails to see the good in even the worst of demons. He is a nice guy at heart, and easy to get behind which makes for a likeable protagonist, but not necessarily the most interesting to watch. Zenitsu and Inosuke on the other hand, represent running gags that the show has. Inosuke is aggressive, hot-headed and short-tempered, while Zenitsu is a simp. Most of their dialogue and personality revolve around this one trait that they have. While fans may find them to be funny and great comic relief, I am certainly not one of them. The 2 new antagonists have a somewhat endearing sibling relationship, but we are spoon-fed their backstory just as they are about to die. It comes off as if they are forcing us to feel sad for characters that we would otherwise not care about. Because, before the backstory, i saw the 2 villains as one-note, blank slate villains which will surely die by the end of the season. Their backstories are admittedly somewhat sad and heartbreaking and I am sure that these moments do make many viewers feel for the characters, and thats great. However for me, and lots of people i've interacted with, these moments come off as emotionally manipulative and forced.

The dialogue in Demon Slayer is very VERY bloated. There is an extraordinary overuse of monologues. Monologues arent inherently bad, but when its used so much, it gets to the point of being completely meaningless. This causes the flashy, pretty looking fights to become somewhat boring and stale. What do i mean by this? Demon Slayer has a tendency of treating its audience like they are 3 year olds who dont have basic reading comprehension. It feels this need to explain everything that happens on-screen, even the most blatantly obvious things. "I'll slash as hard as i can!", "The slash didnt go through!!" This kind of "walkthrough dialogue" (a term coined by a friend of mine) that almost narrates the events shown, give the fight sequences themselves a lot less impact and make them far less meaningful or immersive.

As for the tonal inconsistencies, there are many sudden tone changes that happens out of the blue. The show would randomly crack a joke in the middle of a fight, the music stops, and some sound effects intended for comic relief start to play. Dont get me wrong, comic relief isnt bad, but the timing is what matters, and Demon Slayer times these comic relief moments IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTENSE FIGHT SCENE. This breaks immersion, and reduces investment, especially when it comes out of nowhere.  Thankfully, as the season progressed, this became less and less of a problem as the show managed to stick to the dark, gritty tone that it had originally intended to adopt.

Demon Slayer is also rampant with plot conveniences. Characters would have broken fingers, be punched in the gut 10 times or so, and still effectively be at full fighting capacity. At one point, Tanjiro goes down, has a flashback about Nezuko, manages to get back up (albeit with a little bit of difficulty and limping), and is suddenly ready to fight again, "Determination conquers all", a common theme throughout the series. So whats the problem here? The injuries and hits that they take feel very meaningless. Yes sure, when they do get hit, they get hit very hard, but why does it matter? They just get back up a minute later as if nothing happened to them. Fingers broken? Just hold the sword with your remaining fingers lmao. Got stabbed through the chest? Just shift the position of your organs lmao. This can potentially stop me from taking the fights seriously, as the stakes become nonexistent. The only real stakes that are present, come at the end of the season, but by then, the fight is over, and the impact that it leaves, is not very significant.

Its easy to see the appeal of Demon Slayer, and i do enjoy what it has to offer. It is easily accessible, easily digestable, and it looks great, making for a very entertaining show to watch, but its definitely not without its fair share of flaws. I imagine the diehard fans of the series either dont consider my issues as flaws, or are willing to overlook the flaws despite them being present. On the other hand, i imagine that the diehard haters think the positives count for little when the myriad of other flaws are present. Both positions are totally reasonable and understandable. Thank you for reading.