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Great anime is able to convey essential life lessons. Great anime are ones that allow us to resonate with our lives and say 'I see myself in that character', and ultimately, great anime remind us of why we still continue watching the medium even after all these years. Great Anime, without a doubt, includes the touching movie, ' A Silent Voice'.


It is not a story of romance. Although implied with a few hints here and there, it is instead, as the ending credits display the literal translation of the movie ( The Shape of Voice), about how different people with different ways of ... expressing themselves butt heads, burn bridges, develop self-hate, attempt to redeem said self-hate, before coming to accept that conflict is an inevitable part of life, realizing that the most important thing is to accept themselves and others, and thus moving on with life.


Our main characters, Shouya and Shouko's path to redemption are like the different designs on both sides of a coin, both having the same starting point- self-hatred, but have very different origins for their self-hatred. Shouya's come from guilt due to his past acts of atrocity as he sees himself as unforgivable scum and that whatever punch, kick, sneer or glare he gets are very well deserved. On the other hand, Shouko's come from her self-perceived inability to do anything but to invoke pity and be the catalyst of the burnt relationships around her.

The movie centres mainly around Shouya, as we are shown in very detailed fashion of his acts of bullying, easily allowing us viewers to incite a very strong hatred for him. After coming to the realisation of the consequence of his actions Shouya develops a self-loathing personality and refuses to develop bonds with others as he thinks he is undeserving. As his depression grows, the thought of ending his life inevitably came, before doing so, he tries to remedy everything that he has done in the past, the ultimate one being bullying Shouko. As he faces her head on and apologises', Shouko, like the light to Shouya's darkness, turns out to be eager to be his friend. And thus begin the attempts to make Shouko happy becomes Shouya's 'perceived' way of finding self-acceptance. As he does so.

As if the viewers' thoughts are being read, conflicting themes out in the open. Aren't Shouya's kind acts to Shouko mere self-gratification? Isn't Shouya undeserving of such kindness after inciting so much hatred? It is because the movie handles these themes brilliantly that we are in for a sense of realism, as it turns out that Shouya NEVER feels better about himself no matter how hard he tries, and Shouko isn't a one-dimensional kind girl that she actually is, and actually is using her kindness to hide her own weaknesses.

Most of the side characters which were introduced are reminders to Shouya's past, which makes him despise himself even more. Upon being friends with Shouko she too is affected as she starts to blame herself for Shouya's pain. Each 'friend' is revealed to have a weakness inside of them. Everyone then communicates in ways which are convenient for themselves. Ultimately, we then see how avoidance ultimately results in a complete fallout, even though it was a presumably happy reunion. The characters all reveal what they truly wanted to say to each other for the very first time, and results in once again, burnt bridges.

Taking a look at the friendships in life, superficial interactions to brush problems under the rug are indeed a very real thing. And what happened to these characters are a painful reminder of the consequence of putting on a mask to hide what we truly want to convey.

After the fallout, in almost a pattern-like manner, more self-loathing from Shouya and Shouko ensues, their interactions bright vibe died off, and their attempts to have fun together become futile. And similar to real life, it takes a significant event to give us a knock on the head (or in this case, a fall into a pool of water) to realise ' Why not do something about our shitty lives' or 'Why to can't we move on?'. Our heroes ultimately realise this in the very very satisfying ending, notably Shouya, as ever since he started self-loathing, time basically stopped for him, for once in his lifetime, he begins to see life as it actually is instead of seeing life in a way that was convenient for him. With this realisation, he is moved to tears, and so are we.


Aesthetically, KyoAni evolved from its already stunning excellence. Fireworks, Koi Fish, water ripples, all of these remind us that as tedious as frame drawing is, if done right, are excellent reminders of why we love the anime medium.
Backgrounds, notably the bridge at which Shouya and Shouko feed the Koi Fish , the fireworks display, and the playground, albeit not in the godlike detailed manner like Shinkai Makoto's work, are still at the level of being a feast for the eyes to spend time to just take it all in, (the directors probably know this, and put many many scenes in those places). Character designs differ from the usual moe like K-on and Hibike Euphonium, and are of a much suitable mature style.

If one were to nitpick, the already very good on its own soundtracks were not up to the godly tier of its art and story counterparts.There's no particular melody that allows you to look back and say 'Ah, Koe no Katachi' or anything like that, instead, it is about how smart the directors are in using them. At the scene of which Shouya and Shouko break down and open up to each other, no concert band music, no sad piano piece, was played. It wasn't needed, as the raw emotion that was being felt, rightfully takes centre stage. The very intense scene in which Shouko was on the verge to commit suicide, once again- silence, no thumping heartbeat to remind us of its huge intensity, it's like the directors know that we would probably listen to our own heartbeat as if time has stopped.

Character-wise, aside from a few, they have got what they ultimately needed - the knowledge that no one among them is a saint, and that every one of them is to live with each other's imperfections. Each of the character's and their vulnerability symbolises the many reasons that conflict occurs.

Sahara- cowardice and refusal to face challenges head on
Kawai- Self-denial in attempt to keep up an image
Ueno- the refusal to go down to someone else's level
Shouko- the acceptance of inferiority and self-blame
Shouya - self-blame to the intensity of the refusal to connect with others because of his self-perception of being a scum.

Aside from these, other side characters who were of huge significance to the manga were not fleshed out as much, notably the parents of both Shouya and Shouko. They are not given much screen time and look to be almost one dimensional. Nagatsuka was also just a comedy prop ( however, he is a without a doubt a very good one). Perhaps the only weakness in the movie, but still an understandable one as the flashbacks of the parents and the movie arc ( Nagatsuka's centre stage) were omitted. This, however, may possibly be for the best, as adapting a 60+ chapter manga via a 2-hour movie is never easy, and some things have to be cut. Better these than others.


From Nagatsuka's antiques to heart-wrenching acts of bullying. The show is a whole pot of emotions. And like a skilled puppeteer, the directors put everything into place perfectly with nothing outshining the other. Koe no Katachi is one of the few movies that can make you laugh, be on the edge of the seat, or just gasp at the sheer beauty of it all. My bias is very apparent throughout this review, but the praises that I can give for it here are just the tip of the iceberg of how I really am moved by this work of art, as it reminds me of why I love watching anime. It is actually one of the very rare occasions that I witness the audience break out into applause at the end. And applause is very much deserved

The take home message- Redemption? No, but acceptance. Simple, crucial, and now conveyed in a very beautiful ribbon, that is Koe no Katachi.

The title of the anime speaks volumes about the show itself — Scums, as in deplorable people, wanting to fulfil their desires in love.

How dreadful can they be perhaps? Well, you’re either the one who uses people as sex toys to fantasize about people you can’t have, or you might be the one who forcefully engages in physical intimacy with a friend who treasures you too much as a friend to refuse, or you could also be the one who uses the lust of people to take them away from the ones who desire them, as you yourself has basically nothing to do in ... life.

Notice that all examples have a thing in common – the manipulation of others, as all the characters in the show have taken down the dark road of fulfilling their own desires by using other people. With no emotional connection to the people you’re using, however, this is easy to do. But things begin to get complicated when it involves their loved ones, which throws our unlikeable heroes into turmoil as they are conflicted about saving either themselves or others. And no, this isn’t the show whereby characters are self-sacrificial martyrs who value their 'nakamas'. Instead, the show like to put their heroes in an emotional battle royale as they destroy one another all for the sake of fulfilling their desires.


The show, however, doesn’t shove in horrible characters for the sake of it. It does take the time to shed light on them by revealing their pasts, outlook of life, and so on. So, no matter how fucked up they are, at least you know what made them that way.

To emphasise my point, I will talk about the sex maniac Akane – She wants people to desire her, and indirectly take them away from others who desire them. Why does she do it? Because she herself is incapable of loving something or someone, and the only way she knows the value of someone is by observing how others value them, and in turn, she then entices the desired individual to see the value he has for herself. Her fucked up personality comes from a horrible background of always being objectified due to her good looks, and that people have always turned to look at her with eyes of a sex-deprived beast, rather than eyes who look deeply into the soul to have an emotional connection. Hence, feeling emotionally connected is an alien and impossible thing for her. A terrible character that you can't help but get mad, yet feel sorry for. And like her, the other characters are of similar ‘wonderfully constructed and understandable scum’.

The show explores themes that are very common in Western Romance drama series like the fine line between lust and love and the concepts of ‘no strings attached’ and ‘friends with benefits’. The fact that we’re having this explored is anime is in a sense, refreshing. It strays from the usual Rom-Coms where MC's are too embarrassed to even witness the undergarments of the opposite sex and instead depicts the characters engaging in physical intimacy, using it as a drug which treats their malnourished soul which lacks warmth, and as they use the drug more and more, their inability to be emotionally connected with others strengthens.

Logical and rational behaviour shows that if one desires emotional connections, one shouldn't engage in activities that try to suppress it. And how the characters are so oblivious to this fact makes them look so pathetic. It is infuriating, the show wants the viewers to sympathize with these people and in the unlikely scenario that they do, it becomes a depressing shitshow as you see characters destroy themselves like how you see people post self-inflicted wounds on social media and there's nothing you could do about it, no matter how you wish for them to get better and move on with life, they don't. It is futile and hopeless.

As depressing as it can be, we are at least given an end of this dark and depressing tunnel with an ending that wraps up everything nicely. With a single episode, it reveals how our scummy friends finally developed a rationale that they no longer need to use others as a crutch to cope with loneliness, but instead face loneliness head on and move forward with life. We also see that as scum-like as these characters are, inside, they are just broken, vulnerable people like all of us who just wants a happy ending that can get them out of the shithole that they are in. And when they finally do have a happy ending, instead of being angry and say that they don’t deserve it, we can all show a bittersweet grin for our despicable scums have become..not as despicable.


It is a huge misconception to call this show a realistic one. Yes, it is different from most rom-coms, and it indeed does show that in love, not all of us can get a happy ending, however, a show where manipulation is in abundance while emotional connections are non-existent isn't an accurate display of what love really is. It is a balance between the good and bad. One can say that the show is done in this way to makes us appreciate that we are not in the hell that these characters are in.

Manipulation, a lack of emotional connections, yes you WILL feel like crap as you watch this as it is basically crappy characters doing crappy things, but there is a likelihood that you can take a thing or two from this show to ponder upon, as the message that the show attempts to convey is a very simple one – One needs to stand strong and take the bitter pill that comes along with love and move on instead of trying to helplessly cling on via destructive acts. Oh and feeling intimacy with someone emotionally >>>>> physical intimacy ( a no brainer that these scums need to realise since episode 1)

Great Anime does not have to be full of exciting happenings that drive you to the end of your seat, nor does it have to be beautifully crafted with extravagant art and music. If one is technical, Sangatsu no Lion can very well hold its own in those areas, the art is drawn in such a way as if it came out of a storybook. The contrasting colours and music tempo to depict a shift in mood is done masterfully. But what blows me away is how the show can convey a story in such a way that it looks more like a first person ... view of the life of a young man whom all of us can see a part of ourselves in.


Staying faithful to the manga by adapting chapter to chapter (and always reminding us so with a white frame), the pacing of Sangatsu no Lion is never an issue. We slowly but progressively come to know of our Shogi prodigy – Rei Kiriyama who, as much of a genius as he is, is not invulnerable and is basically like us, facing the ups and downs in life. The beginning of the show pictures how Rei came to this present point in life, how he interacts with the Kawamoto sisters, how he fights not just his Shogi battles, but also his inner demons that often plunges him into a dark mood. Though many would argue that the second half side-lines the Kuwamoto sisters and even Rei himself and shows technical, tedious Shogi games, I argue that the second half gives Rei the opportunity to look into the lives of his seniors, who have stayed on the path of competitive Shogi far longer than he has, thus allowing him to basically see what lies before in the future, indirectly letting him understand himself further and develop his character.



The show is a good balance between comedy and drama, giving off a bright, vibrant vibe with people in laughter in joyous scenes while showing the sadness and gloom after. It is an ever-going cycle that allows us the viewers to understand that the joy and happiness that our characters are going through is unfortunately bound to be disrupted; and on the flipside, the horrible phases that they are going through are bound to end with a light at the end of the tunnel. For example, as we see the hardships that Rei faces with his family background, he stumbles upon his eventual solace in the Kuwamoto household. As he enjoys the warmth and company and leaves with a rare grin on his face, he stumbles upon a relative who reminds him of why he was shrouded in dark depression in the first place. It is not the Utopian fantasy that us viewers like to find escape in, nor is it the depressive carnage that makes us reflect on how fortunate we actually are, instead it realistically depicts how life is — a mix between the two.


A resounding theme that this show reminds us of is that the success and joy of one sometimes come at the expense of another. With a show that has a setting based on competitive Shogi, this is bound to be a given. Unlike most typical shounen anime, however, where we feel the joy of our characters upon the finishing move, we see how Rei feels guilt as he sees his opponents drown in sorrow upon defeat. The story masterfully depicts this in one scene — As Rei sees his opponent walk away in defeat, he then looks at his own palms, similar to how people look at their own shaking hands upon harming someone. He breaks down in turmoil of how he himself struggles with his problems, as he understands that relying on his proficiency in shogi to survive has to inevitably bring sadness to others if it means to avoid his own. This reminds us that we do not live in our own bubble and that whatever we do and whatever that happens to us has an alternate effect on others.


With this theme, comes the frequent ‘Light vs Dark' theme that this show utilises. It shows how certain happenings can have both a ‘good' and ‘bad' outcome/ effect. Be it a contrast between the visit of a friend and the visit of a relative, or the contrast between how Rei's Shogi opponents take their defeats with newfound motivation or self-destruction.


Contrastingly, the characters in the story are not just black and white, but a mix of grey. Kyouko, though depicted as the brash sister who takes advantage of Rei's feeble personality, is shown to have a lot more depth to her character as she is actually far closer to Rei than she presumably is, she gives off the ‘you really dislike but can't entirely hate her' kind of feeling. Rei himself isn't just a kind and feeble boy but also breaks down and shouts out his frustrations and his selfish desires to live on. There are no character archetypes, no tropes, and each character acts and thinks like real people with their respective backgrounds and experiences.


Sangatsu no Lion uses simple elements to show symbolism, it follows the basic principle of ‘show, don't tell' faithfully. It does not spoon-feed the viewer, it isn't too cryptic either, it prioritises letting the viewers pick up on the underlying meaning of scenes on their own. Be it the emergence of water that drowns Rei to show the depressing and suffocating stage of life that he is enduring, or the bright colours of the Kuwamoto sisters' home, in contrast to the almost monochromic colours at his own home, to show the warmth that it exudes. Daily life moments that if looked closely has a much more profound meaning – the scene where Rei realizes how cold he is when he is not in the Kuwamoto household can also be a deeper illustration of how he begins to rely on the sisters like an emotional crutch, or even the game of Shogi where each move on the board looks like an emotional attack on Rei's opponents as he defeats them and feels guilt afterwards.


What's so good about Sangatsu no Lion is that it feels natural, watching Rei charge and his goals and embarrassingly stumble at one of his obstacles, him finding the friends and family he needs due to the emotional scars that he received, it sort of reminds us of our own lives doesn't it? Though this is indeed a work of fiction, it could as well be an autobiography and none would be the wiser. It's not a ‘Slice of Life' that shows the typical everyday life of people, but a ‘Slice of Life' showing the life of a person growing up on life's treacherous but meaningful journey.

+A Brilliant setting that challenges the many themes of relationships
+Visuals alone make this show a worthwhile watch


-Though drama is well executed, the lack of a build up makes it all irrelevant
- Sense of realism is not there due to plot inconsistencies
-Romance that bloomed with next to no development
-Gags that destroy the tension of the show from time to time.
* A drama that is not too somber, with light hearted moments in between.

...
Kiznaiver epitomizes the word ‘Force’. It’s setting focuses around forcing a group of people to be bound together, like putting lab rats in a cage, and see how they interact with each other. Its drama focuses on how the system forces the problems that are supposed to be to each his own to be shared among all. Even its themes questions whether is it possible for relationships among friends to be made forcefully. And subjective to the viewer, one could deliberate whether the story progression, character reactions, and perhaps even the roots of all the drama that unfolds in general, to be forced as well.

Perhaps the show’s writer observed his friends headbutting each other and beating around bushes that he thought if only understanding each other were to come easy, that if everyone had a sense of each other’s pain, mutual agreement to problems wouldn’t be as hard to come by.

The concept of shared pain is intriguing. It basically puts the worldly concept of ‘All-for-one and one-for-all’ in the spotlight. From there, there are so many potential can of worms for one to open, so many issues to tackle. Thoughts like ‘Isn’t forcing understanding among one another, even for a good cause, self-righteous?’, ‘Wouldn’t people be caring and helpful to others not for the sake of the one who’s suffering, but for the sake of avoiding the suffering that they themselves experience?’, ‘If everyone can understand each other right away, then is effort to nurture a relationship, the very beautiful journey of making friends itself, redundant?’ are all awesome questions that could perhaps find its answers.


Kiznaiver takes on a much light hearted, and arguably less mature style of storytelling. In typical fashion, the drama involves the cookie-cutter ingredients of romance, phobias and characters’ pasts. Regardless of originality, these aspects could still be heart wrenching for the viewers to see if done well. But unfortunately, one would probably not shed many tears as the phobias are brought up in that one single moment of fear, and then never brushed upon again. It was as if to say that phobias, which are actually really serious issues in real life, are just typical character quirks and has insignificant effects on daily life. The drama that comes from romance like heartbreaks and unrequited love does not seem as moving as it could potentially be as the characters develop feelings for each other a bit too easily. One could argue that romantic development among characters do not need to be given a dramatic episode with tears, embraces, or heart-to-heart talks, but the romance between certain characters were so out of the blue that I had to rewind on a few episodes to make sure that they had a genuine interaction with each other. Like how it’s useless if a house is built on sand, regardless of how well the dramatic scenes were executed, which they were, such a lack of build-up made it very difficult to feel empathy for the characters as the story unfolds. Perhaps romance wasn’t the main point of the entire show, but it was indeed one of the main causes of drama, and understandably so because of the love triangles, and they were done so poorly to the extent that certain characters were given love interests that were so unexpected as if they were asspull consolation prizes designed to quell the rage of an unhappy shipper. The character arc that explains why a certain character experiences trauma was the redeeming factor. Though nothing new, it felt complete. It had flashbacks about the past to make us understand the character, it felt realistic as the character was portrayed as being in huge turmoil when reminded of said past. It also brings up the topic on how cruel the Kizuna system really is for treating such horrible experiences as a mere scientific observation, essentially bringing up a debate on whether relationships should be tackled via logic or emotion.

For the weak-hearted who cannot stand too many depressing moments, rest assured, as the Kiznaiver ride could be best described as the emotional rollercoaster meant for children who can’t reach that certain height to join the adults. It does not bring one on a journey of emotional conflict and tension at every twist and turn, but also has those light-hearted scenes that provide relief for the viewers psyche before plunging into a huge downward spiral of conflict and drama once again. Events like a group of friends casually conversing at a family restaurant, going to a camp in the woods together are all shown in typical slice-of-life fashion before showing characters isolating themselves from the group by walking away with tears in their eyes after a painful realization. Not to mention the bread and butter drama scene of characters confronting each other in a huge torrential rain. As expected of a drama, not eye opening, but not particularly bad. Up to this point, aside from the lingering thought of how the build-up of the drama could be more realistic with more development time, admiration for the show was still high. The main gripe that I have with the show is this: Afterwards, the mood of the whole show is lifted be it after a reconciliation that sometimes seem to be way to short, or even worse- through one of the main weaknesses of the show- gags that has no place of even being there. During some very intense moments of the show, viewers are thrown at with comedic scenes, which most of the time revolves around how the characters react in ways that are way out of context, as if to portray them as being ignorant to the predicament that they are in. Introduced to a horrifying system that binds all peoples’ sensations together? Sure, go ahead and fret about your crush being called by your first name. Being forced to yell out the thing that you don’t want to say the most before dying? Then let’s talk about your phobia of dogs, which was never mentioned again was of no contribution to the entire series. These gags destroy the immersion of viewers who are trying to take the show seriously. Maybe these were done on purpose to avoid Kiznaiver as shown as being too dark to compensate middle schoolers who can’t endure serious drama, we’ll never know. Kiznaiver is the kind of drama with such a theme and setting that could potentially be done in a very mature and serious way, but instead was limited by the amount of unnecessary aspects that were mentioned. Don’t get me wrong, no anime needs to be as dramatic as Clannad or Anohana to be called a great show. And even if that is indeed the case, Kiznaiver has great potential to reach that great standard. There’s nothing wrong with comedy in drama shows either, as it could perhaps be used for much needed character development, but Kiznaiver’s gags were so out of place that it tells that it doesn’t really know which direction that it wants to go, drama? Comedy? You can’t be a jack of all trades on this one.

Since this show is basically about putting together different people into a huge pit to spawn natural conflict, the writers do seem to make an effort in making the cast as diverse and different as possible. From different hair colour to different personalities to different pasts, one can’t deny that there is a distinction between them. Though different, they all share something in common, unoriginality. All of them easily slot in into a typical anime archetype. You have the muscle head who yells at every moment he gets, the childhood friend who acts all motherly around her crush, the quiet girl who snickers at every cringe moment she witnesses, the bubbly loli girl who could be very annoying at times, etc. Factors to most character-driven shows that either define them as a relatable, moving drama or as the term ‘melodrama’ is: 1) The likeability of the character or 2) the growth of the character. Are the casts likeable? The divide of character taste in the anime fandom makes this one hard to determine, as these characters can range from very lovable to wanting to see them die a painful death. Like childhood friends? Well you’re going to love this one from start to finish. Hate lolis? Then here’s a medal of endurance if you manage to finish the series. There is basically no character that everyone could agree universally as a wonderfully written, they are just, different. Then there are people who are on the fence, hoping that these cardboard cop outs are able to break out of their character archetypes, show different sides of themselves which could perhaps define them as realistic human beings. Did it manage to pull through? It ‘half-did’. The show isn’t stupid or terrible enough to show absolutely zero character growth. As the series moves along, the characters’ true vulnerabilities unveil. The loli shatters her happy go lucky shell and is shown to be able to feel sadness, the quiet girl is shown to finally overcome her past and hangs out with the group willingly. Though this does not involve the main cast, as some of them are really the same person from episode 1 to 12, change is there when needed and is not overdone.

The plot is not tight-knit either. The main issue lies within its consistency. As much as we are told to have a suspense of belief when we’re entertained, this consistency issues lies with the overexaggeration of even the slightest of things that it’s impossible to overlook. For example, the Kizuna System is explained to us clearly that everyone will have the pain of whoever’s suffering be equally shared. The intensity of the pain then shown is terribly unrealistic, characters are shown to be thrown to the floor when a guy is slapped by a little girl and the same reaction is shown when a guy is being hit by a truck. Pinching your own cheeks can make the whole group feel the same impact as if you were punched in the face by a thug. Not only that, something that was deemed as a fault by the Kizuna system, a very scientific problem, was instantly remedied by the power of friendship, as if it were just a flick of a magical switch. This makes the sense of realism in the show really lacking, and just like the many action movies in the cinemas nowadays, Kiznaiver then requires me to switch off half my brain to enjoy it.

There is no denying the fact that Kiznaiver is a very pretty show. Even the slightest details of reality like sun rays piercing through the gaps of the tree leaves as students walk along the pavement were not ignored. The animation when the Kizuna system is activated is so spectacular that it could make viewers feel like they had a jolt themselves. The one scene where one of the characters were bound to a hospital bed and carried around was full of vivid colours that perfectly depicts the bizarre situation that our heroes are in. It is a genius in using colours and lighting that perfectly highlights the mood of the show. The Kiznaiver ‘marks’ on the characters were beautiful whenever they activate at their own different situations. Not to mention the Godly OP where the imagery far overpowers the music itself. (Even if you do not like the show, do get to see the Opening sequence as it is THAT good.)

Being pretty yet disappointing lumps Kiznaiver in the same category as Kabaneri and Guilty crown, beautiful shows with huge potentials of writing only for them to disappoint. Be it because it was limited to the episode count or because of strict instructions by the higher ups who insist on inserting gags and other unnecessities. The idea of having a group of teenagers having their sensations being joint together by a system is inhumane and goes against all ethical principles in the world of scientific research. With such a dark synopsis, expectations were on how serious and mature this anime could be by challenging the viewers fantasies of friendships and relationships, that friendship goes beyond understanding people, that relationships is symbiotic regardless of your efforts. Viewers would probably expect to see characters in unbearable pain, with his companions suffering and blaming the sufferer to get a hold of himself. We could probably expect sources of their pain like their dark secrets to be forcibly revealed, and the pain would be like how one forcibly rips off a bandage off an infested wound. Kiznaiver did not totally fail in delivering these, but it just did not quite hit the mark.

It is still a show with a great theme that has loads of take-home messages. In the end, it tells how our apathy cannot be purged that easily by means of understanding others sensations, how friendship itself isn’t something that can be forged via logical/scientific methods but rather with abstract and emotional things like bonds. Perhaps some of us see the emotionless and numb MC in ourselves, that though he doesn’t feel pain, he comes to realize that no man is an island, that no one’s pain is just their own as someone close to them will also feel the pain as well.

Kiznaivers flaws are not big gaping holes, but are small mistakes that make up one huge leak. As amazing as it throws out its characters, message, and visuals in the limelight, it is unfortunately shrouded by the many smoke clouds that it brought with them.

+ Portrays a common but wonderful message
+ Brilliant music that takes a spin on the Western Classics
+ Wonderfully written main characters with great dynamics, and great interactions among them
+ Great story progression (even the smallest details that could be affected by an event were not missed out). (First Half)

- Romance aspect of the show muddies the message the movie is trying to portray
- Loose ends due to an underwhelming ending that focuses on unneeded romance, a contrast with its wonderful first half.

It is common knowledge that words are very powerful. They can inspire, bless, curse, and hurt others. And like anything that’s powerful, ... it needs to be controlled. There are some who are more open about it, claiming that ‘one should express himself without caring what others think’, while some say that ‘expressing and saying too much shows that you’re weak and emotional’. These are two popular yet contradictory mindsets that people in society have today.

This movie is about expression, it is about a group of friends who find trouble expressing themselves, be it because of a curse, past experience, trauma, or just the personality of the person itself that make them bottle up what they want to express and say. Ultimately, like real life, these feelings if caged for too long could no longer be contained. As shown when the female MC, although mute, shows very explicit emotions through her facial expressions and actions. In some cases, these feelings will explode in a violent eruption, as we can see when the drama of the movie unfolds with the characters yelling at each other about past problems at the top of their voices, not really in anger, but in result of saying something that needs to be said since a long time ago.

One could say that this is illogical, as why would they even need to bottle up their feelings anyway? The movie does well by fleshing out our 4 main heroes, as each of them has their own troubling experiences whenever their emotions are brought up to the surface.

Our main girl, Jun was a chatterbox who excitedly says whatever she sees, feels, and thinks. Her naivety in the end brought an eventual misfortune upon her family. Realizing that her expressive personality is the culprit, she comes to loath it and brought upon an unusual curse upon herself, resulting in her self-isolation from other people to avoid harming them.

The main male lead, Sakagami, embodies the much desired ‘don’t give a damn attitude’ that is deemed as ‘cool’ in this world today. He does not participate but observes the drama that unfold around him, be it among his family or friends. He could see how terrible expressing one’s feelings can be and thus develops a cool and aloof attitude, taking events as they are instead of reacting emotionally towards them.

Natsuki, the highschool girl bottles up her feelings not because of apathy, but in fear of how dangerous confrontation can be. She’s the kind who puts all her problems under the floormat, praying that the vagueness of issues would prevent her already half-burnt- bridges, her relationships, to crumble.

Tasaki shows the all-popular façade of putting on a tough-guy look who seems to be very expressive by shouting and yelling in anger all the time, but is truthfully hiding what he really feels on the inside.

These 4 characters and their personalities show very common ways in how we people today deal with our emotions, be it to avoid them, not giving a damn about them, or to fake them. Kudos to the people who gave these characters so much life that viewers could see a reflection of themselves in.

With such wonderful characters setting the bar for such brilliant writing. The movie maintains that standard with ease as we can see how these 4 characters, who are basically standing on 4 different corners on the personality scale, interact and unknowingly strengthen each other.

It is heart-warming to see throughout the movie that Jun began to trust and embrace her expressive personality once again. It is moving to see Sakagami for once in his life care about the emotions of others after realizing the fact that emotions could bring joy as well. One could yell the word ‘FINALLY’ after Natsuki yells out everything on her mind in a confrontation after she couldn’t bear the vagueness of her relationship in others and we give a round of applause to Tasaki who got rid of his tough guy attitude and instead says what’s really on his mind.

This movie is not receiving any awards for originality, the setting is done in typical anime fashion- in a high school with angsty teenagers. The character growth is predictable, and the theme of the importance of words and expression is a commonly used one that is recycled time and time again. But originality, or unoriginality rather, doesn’t deem quality. The Anthem of the Heart shows brilliant execution by never failing to get its message across. Anime drama tropes like yelling at each other at the top of their voices, isolating one’s self after a realization are usually cliché and cringeworthy, but these are the exact tropes that are perfect for the movie’s setting and are done well. We are given a sense of realism as we see how the 4 friends initially have so much trouble getting along, that when their friendship blossomed some lingering romance comes to the surface leading to unrequited love, and that even though they are close to one another, that doesn’t mean that they are immune to discord forever.

Aside from the 4 main heroes, the story progression is top notch as we can see how the writers are very thorough on how every significant event that happened in the past would influence even the slightest things. A notable example would be:

[SPOILER]

When the divorce of Jun’s family led to not only Jun’s trauma, but also changes in her mother’s attitude and life as she is forced to work for both their living expenses, the struggle to pay the bills as a family upon the father’s departure, Jun’s lack of a social circle due to her communication issues. A notable highlight of this is when Jun finally has the courage to speak to her friends in school, she does not miraculously become able to speak in her very own house and neighbourhood, and understandably so because the root of the whole trauma itself lies there.

[END OF SPOILER]

The Anthem of the Heart also shows that expressing one’s self isn’t limited to verbal conversation, as it also shows how musicals, or the songs played in them rather, could also portray vibrant or sorrowful emotions. Western Classics like ‘Over the Rainbow’, ‘Greensleeve’, and ‘Around the World’ were given a twist. The melodies of these amazing song were combined with lyrics written by Jun to express her past and her thoughts to portray her emotions to the audience. And as mentioned before, things like facial expressions and other things like tears further enhance what emotion that a character is going through.

Despite all its quality, the movie however, failed to maintain a consistency. The ending is in the very spotlight of this issue as it has developed much gripe from the viewers. With the powerful message of the importance of expressing feelings preached to the extent that it is blatantly shoving it in one’s face, the ending takes a huge U-turn on what the whole movie is about.

[Spoiler] It pairs up the 4 friends into 2 lovey dovey couples [End of Spoiler]

One could argue that this is only natural, and indeed there is nothing wrong with that, and this could even be a plus side, but the problem lies not with the romance aspect itself, but the indication that it takes the spotlight over the message that has been shown all along. A notable example would be when

[Spoiler]
Jun, for the first time in her life faces unrequited love, her character growth is thrown in the limelight on how she embraces the heartache and moves forward with life, knowing very well that this is just a result of expressing her feelings. This could be a very important lesson for all of us, that expression doesn’t necessarily bring good results like how it happens in fairy tales, but up comes along Tasaki to confess to her, giving her a happy ending anyway. It’s like the directors and writers completely forbid Jun to suffer, and that she must be paired up to satisfy shippers. What then, is the point of this movie? To see friendship blossom into romance and become couples? Or the other one that has been preached all along?



Not only that, the ending was also a crucial time space that could have been used to tie up the many loose ends of the movie, notably revolving the people around the 4 friends. Jun’s mom, who looked at her daughter with eyes of pity after she can’t speak anymore, was moved to tears after seeing how far her daughter has gone to improve herself. Daiki who was now finally a reliable senpai to his peers could be shown how he treats his friends differently, but instead falls in love with Jun. There are so many small things if portrayed could highlight the end of a very long journey that our young heroes has gone through. But instead, we are given romance that seemed to just be a mere subplot to become the epilogue.

[End of spoiler]


Despite its flaws, this movie still successfully tells the story of how most of us take a step back and avoid expressing ourselves after realizing that our words and expressions can indeed hurt other people. We then let the emotions swell up inside us to avoid those horrible experiences again. As we get close with certain people, the lingering thought for us to take a chance will emerge, and like a child tapping his feet against the sea along the beach, we would take a step forward and a step back, testing the waters until we can accept that these feelings inside us are fine being expressed regardless of it bringing us pain or joy, as it gives something far more comforting- closure.

Yes it is unoriginal, yes the drama and some scenes are predictable, but the Anthem of the Heart, without a doubt, impresses with great execution, and aside from the ending, was of great class. It is a message that is wonderful, and though preached and shared commonly, is a message that people need to be constantly reminded of.

Sequels are like a double-edged sword. For the good shows, the creators are always under immense pressure to replicate the success from the first season, but if done correctly, will be able to grow the cult following for an even bigger profit. For the bad shows, though there are no such expectations, the need to create a series to a non-existent fan base is illogical. Hibike! Euphonium season 1 was in the middle of the spectrum, dwarfed by the popularity and sales of the likes of K-ON while still having sales and ... popularity success to be remembered by the anime community for a while. It is a show that has promise, known for beautiful visuals in typical KyoAni fashion, niche concert band soundtrack, drama among friends, and the all but famous YURI vibes between our two wonderful heroines.


Those who are curious or eager to watch of season 2 are most likely avid fans of the first series in the first place, and the looming question would always be: ‘Is it as good as season 1?’ as viewers would inevitably draw comparisons from the shows predecessor.

Well, is it better? I would sit on the fence here and say that its different.



The world setting of this show does not need much of an introduction. We are shown the lives of Kumiko and Co. to experience the life of both a high school student and a member of a highly competitive concert band. When looking at both these aspects together, one would predict that certain problems would naturally arise. The most basic one would be how does one juggle their studies between club and academics? or how does severed bonds or a broken past affect a performance? These are touched upon, albeit in shallow levels in some aspects. A positive note that is easily overlooked would be that all these issues are not just experienced by the MC, but some are shared to the minor characters that were deemed irrelevant in season 1, implying that the show does not completely revolve around the MC, and that other characters are not one dimensional, but are also people who do feel emotions as they are each given their own screen time when facing hardship. The show also doesn’t lose its bread and butter of being a music anime, as we are shown how concert band members struggle and train for long hours by coaches, in training camps, etc. It’s a flare that has not been lost since season 1- A balance between light hearted moments shared by high school students as they casually hangout together and share small conversations, while still maintaining the immense pressure to perform and thus develop drama with heart-to-heart conversations and people yelling and screaming their frustrations out.


It is a very different take compared to season 1, who took ample time to introduce us to the world of concert bands as they took their time to introduce the instruments, the training regimes and competitions. The drama involved are also different in their own rights, as they mostly revolve involve the band concert itself, such as the competition to get a prominent role or into the team with limited seats, the dilemma to balance playing to have fun or to win, and the living hell when two sides are at war with one being in the middle wanting to bring both sides together. Season 2 takes the assumption that we clearly know the world of ‘Hibike! Euphonium’ and how it works, and brings the drama to the factors outside the club that could heavily effect one’s performance. Such factors include past mistakes, family background, and even trauma, these factors were not entirely absent from season 1, but are merely brushed upon.

This could be refreshing, this could be easily heartfelt by us, the viewers. If done right, this would not bear any complaint. But great ideas need great executions to be shown and illustrated, and in my opinion, this is where it failed to deliver. In almost every drama arc, it felt repetitive, it felt like there was always a pattern, in that the entire group could not do anything to help some troubled companion, and it was always up to Kumiko to be the mediator, to be the one who goes out of the way to help the friend in need. Kumiko then shows vulnerability and confronts the troubled friend, and the troubled friend would always be touched, and hence, mission accomplished.



This leaves the impression that Kumiko is the Great Counsellor that could listen and solve everyone’s problems. Is it because she is a good listener due to her personality? Or is it merely because she is the MC? That is debatable. Nevertheless, it does leave me to think that the nature of the drama of season 1 is discarded, as the problems there are usually solved naturally without the need of any intervention whatsoever. It slowly unfolds and finds closure in due time with no saviour or counsellor whatsoever, which beautifully left the underlying message of how not every problem needs a heartfelt speech or hug, but through facing off and let reality decide who is in the right or wrong, eventually finding its own closure. It can be hypothesised that the kind of drama in season 2 could be far more engaging compared to season 1, but that is entirely subjective to the viewer. Personally, I love the characters so much that even though I am aware of the execution flaws, the drama was satisfactory for me, but if one looks at it through an objective lens, this could be very off-putting.


In typical KyoAni fashion, the art is nothing to be scoffed at. We are shown astonishing backgrounds that could be easily mistook to be meant for wallpapers: The grand stage of the competition with wonderful lighting, the birds eye view of the city lights from the mountains, the scene of a character playing its instrument in a conveniently beautiful scenery, these are the eye candies that made season 1 such a delight to see, and the sequel does it justice. Simply breath-taking and wonderful. Characters are their usual pretty selves with introductions to characters who are just as pretty. Frame qualities are excellent especially at where it counts, with the fluid movement of fingers pressing against the instrument valves during soloes to the well portrayed yelling and crying of the characters in distress. It is by no means perfect though, as the usual plague of modern anime remains, with distorted character faces especially when the characters are far from a shot, a predicament of a studio who is rushing through frames with no time for checks. It is unfortunate that this is the norm nowadays with tight deadlines to meet. A notable highlight of the quality of the art is how beautifully the instruments are drawn, be in in shining gold or silver, as the artist leaves no detail left behind.



With music as the main foundation that the world of this show builds upon, this anime is indeed a delight to the ears with quality coming in spades. The soundtrack of the series is relatively the same as season 1 and does not fail to bring up the atmosphere, be it a cheerful or solemn one. Sometimes there is no soundtrack at all, as it gives centre stage to the wonderful melodies played by the concert band instruments. What’s wonderful is that most of the time during conversation, there are no soundtracks whatsoever, as we are then able to focus on the tones of the character’s speech, this control of knowing when to have a soundtrack and when not to is a huge surplus itself. The main highlight of this show, which is the pieces performed by the ensemble, are up to the standards that we expect to be, marvellous performances that we the viewers are tempted to give a round of applause to. Songs like the ‘Crescent Moon Dance’, and Japanese jazz like ‘Takarajima’ by T-Square opens up a whole different world from the usual anime music that we listen to, and if one is an avid fan of Japanese music outside of the usual J-pop, they could probably pick up more songs than I could that were being performed in the series. A totally refreshing sound that differs from the usual electric guitar and drums. Even if you think the drama is off putting to you, I recommend searching up the moments in which the ensembles are playing on YouTube. Unfortunately, these moments come few and far between, as more time is given to watch the drama unfold instead. Like a high-class restaurant with the highest quality of meats given in such small amounts that leaves us wanting for more. Season 1 definitely has the upper hand here as it not only has the quality, but also the quantity of these juicy moments to back it up.



Being a sequel, we can also see the already likeable characters that were polished so nicely by season 1 come to life once again. This time however, the side characters from the previous series are given more screen time for development, thus the main quartet, aside from Kumiko are not given as much prominence as before. The second years take up a significant brunt of the show and more sides of their personalities are shown, the crazy fangirl of her senpai Yuko shows us that she is not merely an annoyance to be cringed at, Nakagawa’s don’t-give-a-damn attitude is peeled off, and the all reliable senpais are shown to be not so reliable. This is amazing, as this shows that these characters are actually people with different emotions instead convenient plot devices, an issue that is nit-picked about in season 1. Kumiko is in the middle of all the drama and her growth from those experiences can also be seen as well as the usually smug girl who observes from the distance reveals that she is also vulnerable, and that she will come in close and personal to help her friends in need. Fans of Reina could be slightly disappointed, as she is typically shown as the typical talented first year who is the best friend of Kumiko. With most of her scenes being her playing the trumpet and asking the always contemplating Kumiko what’s wrong. This however leaves me with an underlying thought-Since we love the main characters so much as season 1 has developed so nicely, do we want to see characters we love to have more screen time? Or do we want to have characters we don’t really like shown more in hopes of us to start to like them as much as the main cast?



Overall, the enjoyment of this series can’t be measured on its own, as one has to look at the overall picture of both series combined. The first season introduces us to the world of a high school concert band and polishes up the main characters for the exact purpose of them to make us feel connected to them as even more dramas unfold in season 2 and ultimately tie up the series in a perfect knot with a satisfying end.



It is not the kind of show that depicts how handwork would leave success to be in the harvest, it is much more than that. It is about how a group of different come together to perform in one unit. The overall anime shows that not everyone will always be on the same page, and people’s differences will naturally come to produce friction between one another. There will be times when one member stumbles due to weakness, and the entire group is affected. And there also will be different ways of doing things due to different experiences, even though all of them are striving towards the same goal. It is about how each member of the team are to become a support to one another, like how the 4 parts of soprano, tenor, and base are always meant to be combined to produce a wonderful Harmonia of symphonies. Hibike Euphonium shows us the essence of harmony in terms of music, and in life. Perhaps the show precisely puts Kumiko in the centre of all the drama so that she could be the support to her friends, like how she supports the entire concert band when she plays the euphonium, though this is my own opinion.

[SPOILER]Another Beautiful touch, in what I thought, was how the name 'Hibike! Euphonium' came about, and it was eventually revealed as Asuka gave Kumiko her personal euphonium piece, which was named after the anime title itself. 'Hibike' which means 'to play', 'to release sound' was not merely in a literal sense to tell the students to play instruments, but I think that it is to also to play and resound those frustrations and everything that has been building up inside them, releasing those emotions in terms of wonderful music, and that is a huge chunk of what is the story is all about, to overcome conflict by expressing them and showing weakness.[SPOILER]



If one only desires to seek for the musical wonders, this show will disappoint, if one only desires to seek the drama that unfolds, one could be better off looking elsewhere, it is the combination of both elements that make this show a good watch, as all the emotions are all blared out in a wonderful symphony, as one. The characters in this show all join the club for their very own desires and reasons, and all of them express it out though their instruments, producing a wonderful harmony that leaves one to do nothing but to put their hands together in urge for an encore. The drama to some may be considered mellow and illogical to some, and the music may not to be the tastes of everyone, but for me, it is indeed a delight to the eyes, ears, and heart.



It is the type of show that introduces us to something that we the layman would hardly brush upon: the concert band, while also showing us something that we are all too familiar with, heartfelt emotion. Heck, it made me look back about my own high school life, and had thoughts of how I should’ve made golden memories by being part of a club that has all the shit going on instead of being uninvolved, leaving a bittersweet taste in my mouth.


+Wonderful Concert Band Music
+ side Characters that show more than one side of themselves to avoid looking like cardboard cop outs
+Likeable MC who runs the show
+ Realistic drama that is easily relatable to the audience


- Negligence of polished 1st season characters
- Drama can be in a pattern and repetitive

* Yuri Bait doesn't focus on OTP, the Kumiko X Asuka ship is sailing, with a treat of Shuiichi looming in the background

With the sure-fire moneymaking genre of in-your-face ecchi anime that attempts to make guys wet their pants, combined with the trend of many sports anime that make girls wet their pants, the anime universe decided to fuse these 2 recipes of success into one. And thus, ‘’Keijoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’’ was born. In this show, Tits and Ass (From now on will be known as T/A as I will be mentioning this a lot) go into a battle royale, pounding against each other in more than a hundred ways with the objective of knocking the bikini-clad girls off a platform to ultimately decide which female has the ultimate ... ‘assets’ that could win them a huge tonne of money.




Since this show has a plot regarding ‘plots’, it naturally divides fans into two camps: The former who think that this show is just a generic borderline hentai that shoves T/A every 5 seconds and thus having a non-existent storyline and cardboard characters, and the latter who are unafraid to claim that they love the T/A so much that this show is a Godsend. Though I share the sentiments of both camps, as the show goes on I came to realize that I am surprisingly, sitting on the fence here. Without a doubt, the show’s concept of using T/A as a sport already springs up the many red flags resembling a money grabbing hentai show, but the way they execute the series is something that I would not dare label as ‘half hearted’ or ‘purely for the sake of money’. As each episode went by, I began to feel intrigued and look forward to each airing episode, not PURELY for the T/A (I can’t deny that I am not a pervert here), but for the likeable characters and acceptable story, and most importantly, the ‘WTF did I just watch’ expression and the laughter that comes along with it.
Note: Surprise surprise, though this show has a shit tonne of fanservice, there is no nudity. In short : no explicit tits or butts, they are always conveniently covered) That is of course, the upcoming Blu-Ray comes and prove me otherwise.




Without further ado, let us try to analyse this beast.


Sound: Nothing much to be commented on here. It does not grind your ears like fingers against a blackboard nor is it something that you would call a masterpiece, Openings and Endings generic pop designed for the modern teen, and since I am a modern teen, I liked it. Music taste is pretty much subjective, so all I can say is that it’s not anything unique and could be easily forgotten once you stopped watching the show, but do give it a listen. Soundtracks are up to standards of a modern anime series, doing its job to create mood and nothing more, with cheerful music for comedic scenes, upbeat soundtracks for the action scenes etc. I could be nit-picky here and say that the variety of the soundtracks is a bit lacking, but hey, a show with T/A as the main highlight, even if Beethoven was playing the Moonlight Sonata in all its glory, I would still be absorbed by the flashy ‘action scenes’. Voice of the characters are adequate, with the clumsy girls having the annoying high pitched voices (as usual) and the Shounen-Powerup-MC having a loud and confident tone, they just get the job done. (If you are wondering about yelps and the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ whenever one’s T/A is getting smacked, yes, they are there for you as well). (6/10).




Character: In this type of show which shows the almost bare figure of many females which the male populace would like to claim as waifu, the creators made a good move to make characters of different looks, personalities and T/A techniques (more on to this later). I could draw a simile to how this diverse pool of girls can ‘almost’ satisfy each and every fetish of the anime community to how customers of a buffet would always find that one dish to fulfil their stomach. You have the big boobed one that always falls down and shows her undergarments, the never give up MC who always fight till the death and wins, the Tsundere friend who always manages to embarrass herself when no one’s looking, the flat chest who is envy of other people’s chest size, the one with the cat ears, the senpai who loves to fondles the boobs of others, the quiet but smart one…. I could go on forever.
Because of this variety, one could play the game ‘find the anime trope’ and could potentially be able to fill a whole Wikipedia page with them. This is not necessarily a thing needed to be criticised though, this show KNOWS that they are doing this trashy stuff, it is AWARE that it is predictable, and they are not shy to admit that, because this show doesn’t require complicated characters to run, it’s all about who uses their T/As the most effectively to achieve victory. You don’t need a brain for this, just your eyes. You wanna talk about character development? HA—HA—HA, that hardly exists here, many of them remain the same at episode 1 until episode 12. However, if one insists that there needs to be at least some, the anime creators comply by giving one or two flash backs here and there that lasts for 2 minutes at most for the sake of explaining why X character behaved differently from its cardboard personality and that’s about it. Aside from the MC, only 2-3 can be claimed to have their characters marginally fleshed out, in more ways than one. **coughs at bad pun**. (7/10 for character variety, 3.5/10 for character development).



Art: This show is amazingly fluid in terms of animation, there are no glaring flaws that would become a highlight on Tumblr, and though one or two stand still frames are of poor quality ones, the action scenes are well done. In a show where T/A are swirling, vibrating, glowing, charging in super speed, and even shapeshifting, the animators really went all out to complete this show to the extent that although the T/A are already really attractive eye-candy by themselves, I can’t help but be in awe of the many flashy movements and flashy effects that were put together, and, for a moment or two, take my attention from the T/A, and instead focus on the effects of them. A notable highlight to show how the artists really put effort into the show is that during its action scenes when the girls pull out their T/A moves, the outlines of the characters are noticeably thickened which actually shares a similar drawing style to AOT. Not only that, when there is a notable move that makes a huge impact, the drawing style changes to one in which there are multiple drawn lines to show displacement, speed, or even power, as if the panels of the original manga were coming to life and colour. In terms of how the characters are drawn, as previously mentioned, they come in all shape and sizes, A to F cups, red heads to blonds to white hair to the usual black. The pony tail, the twin tail, the short cut, the ribbon, there’s no lacking of options, and most of them are attractive. This show isn’t one to have any noticeable backgrounds whatsoever, they aren’t ugly, but they are not really eye-catching unless you make it a point to notice them. But its fine, the show doesn’t need them, (the bodies of the characters cover half the screen half the time anyway). With T/A being main stars of the show, some might ask: are the ‘physics’ done well? Absolutely, as farfetched as this show is, things move the way that they are supposed to, unless of course, their special power permits them to defy it. (8/10)




Story: The flow of the show is of the typical sports-shounen genre. The MC meets friends to partner up with, meet with overpowered mentors, work hard on training, finds new enemies, defeats them, become friends with said enemies, rinse and repeat. It is so generic that you could already tell the outcome of battles, thus rendering all cliffhangers and nervous moments irrelevant. For example: In a Keijo match, one could already predict that the side characters will lose no matter how powerful/strong they are all for the sake of making the MC crash in at the last moment to look good. Vice versa, one could also expect how the most powerful characters in the shows to do a 1v3 to make the whole development of certain characters unneeded since they would win without that development anyway. And lo and behold, the glorious MC making a huge comeback against presumably superior Keijoo players, leaving the characters who witnessed the match astonished, while leaving us stifling a yawn. It’s like the ‘power-levels’ of the characters are always altered to the liking of the writers, lacking a consistency. Comebacks are nice to see, but with ‘plot armour’ ever-present, the natural outcome, if following power levels, would be far more refreshing.




So, the blueprint of the story sucks, but what about the details, that is, the world building of the show? They are magnificent! Never have I seen a fanservice show leave my jaw drop so hard, the nitbits of what makes the whole world of Keijo are absolutely insane, farfetched, that one could think that a prepubescent 12-year-old came up with it. From exercise /training regimes that include using your T/A to pull heavy objects to lectures regarding the anatomy of butts and boobs are all brushed upon. Almost every simple aspect of life from Ice cream, warm ups, ball sports are twisted into a wild Keijoo fashion, and my favourite: the special techniques of the T/A: (I would only name a few to avoid spoiling too much), but here are the cream of the crop, their names are pretty much self-explanatory to what they do.) :


Vacuum Butt Canon
Butt Gatling
Titty Hypnosis
Wedgie Acceleration
Anal Probe Missle
Drill Nipples


Other techniques involve having butts that can singe clothing, butts enchanted by fairy magic, boobs acting as a samurai sword, etc. Some technique names are even parodies of famous animes, and when you hear them shout out their techniques, all the more laughter ensues.
(Plot: 3/10, World Building : 9/10).





The genius mind of the anime creators thought that by combining two trendy genres of the anime medium into one, the show could become a huge cash-cow to be milked for years to come. However, this hugely backfired in more ways than one. The beauty of sports anime is that it is so shounen-esque that it could pump people up, and sometimes even building desire to actually try-out said sport, that happened in Haikyuu, and KnB, could one even dare to imagine whether Keijoo could replicate such an effect? No way in Hell. (If Keijoo becomes a sport in real life I would be moving to Japan immediately though) Besides that, the intense/ drama moments from the shounen anime are not just mundane and predictable, but they could never be taken seriously, EVER. Combining ecchi with sports-shounen negates the appeal of the genres, and thus the show became a jack-of-all trades, a mediocrity. A slight positive to note is that though this is ecchi, the girls hit HARD, it ain’t about the T/A bouncing in slow motion, once they come in contact with a person, they are definitely sent flying, each swing of the butt is like a strong sucker punch, and boy do you see them writhe in pain when they get hit.



This show , in spite of all its mediocrity, is one of the most enjoyable shows that I have ever watched.


Imagine this: ‘A Keijoo player is at the brink of being knocked out, but at the final moment, is protected by a partner, the partner then reveals that she enjoys playing with her friends and thus would always protect them’. One problem about this dialogue: As the character emotionally reveals her passion for her friends, we are given a shot where her ass and the ass of the enemies are pounding against each other at rapid rates, not to mention the sound of their springing/bouncing ass dwelling in the background. Sounds like a horrible attempt at trying to be serious doesn’t it? Don’t worry, it is exactly that, its the type of comedy that can be imagined as how one could depict Martin Luther King giving his epic speech ‘I dreamed a dream’ in nothing but his underwear, it is THAT kind of funny. It reminds me of the times I laughed with my school friends over sex jokes when we just started learning the reproduction system in science class.



This show never fails to deliver what it wants to. So even though it disappoints to be a serious sports-shounen due to poor execution and its never-to-be-taken-seriously concept, it shows the very limits of what anime can do in terms of imagination and creativity, never to be replicated in any other medium. (Enjoyment :10/10).



You’re probably thinking, ‘what the fuck is this’, and that is exactly the appeal of this show, it doesn’t just escape the confinements of the box that is labelled in, it crushes it through its sheer capacity for craziness. Just as you think that this show couldn’t get any crazier, up comes another aspect of the show to blow your brains once again. I went in thinking that it’s just another To Love Ru/High School DXD that I can just stare at with lust, but out comes the laughter and table pounding that makes my parents think I’m insane. It’s not well thought out, and that is totally okay, the fact that it goes beyond the expectations of many, bringing up things that one could never consider putting onto a storyboard. The phrase ‘It’s so bad it’s good’ summarizes it perfectly.



Therefore my dear readers who have made it this far, even if you zealously hate fanservice, or perhaps you’re the one that faps to hentai every day of the week, try this show out. It’s a polarizing one indeed, where one could either give it a 1/10 at a drop of the hat, or a 10/10 comparable to the second coming of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, it is indeed one which will be brought up when you want to think of how crazy anime can be.

When I saw the announcement for this anime, I saw two words: “KEY’’,’’P.A Works’’, 2 of my most favourite producers are going to adapt one anime, I was so hyped I was tempted to watch it as soon as the first episode aired, but I like to take things slow so I basically avoided this anime page like a plague. Yesterday, I 'marathoned’ it throughout the night. Was it enjoyable? Absolutely. But to be fair, I cannot deny this show has its flaws, and not minor ones at that.

The anime’s setting in the beginning was refreshing, the MC uses super powers for his own gain, ... which is more realistic compared to the usual saving-the-world or protect friends motive which the typical shounens have. Then, he gets caught by the female MC and now joins her and the others to stop people that are just like him from using their powers. One of the series strong points that it looks into how people would use their given powers; some do bad deeds with good intentions, while others are genuinely good while others are just downright greedy.Meanwhile, Charlotte doesn’t neglect the normal ones either, the show fleshes out slightly the aspect of how in reality, if our world has people with supernatural abilities, what would the normal ones do? Manipulate and Research. The plot is slow, and it is very subjective to judge whether it’s a good thing or not, but to me I enjoyed the first few episodes where it shows how the MC’s group stop the others from using powers. It may look episodic at first, but instances of flashbacks and conversations show character’s backgrounds to understand why their personality is as such. Around episode 6-7 the pace picks up and the drama/action begins. One more point that is repeatedly stated by the MC is how almost if not all the powers in the show has a certain weakness, or as he calls it, incomplete. You wouldn’t see the general super strength, super speed, elemental types of powers much, they are still there, but more refreshing and odd ones also come to the surface.


Characters are done well, at first I thought the MC was like Lelouch, a genius who uses his powers to manipulate situations, he was the most developed throughout the series, and we can see him struggle with his powers, his relationships and even get to know his background. For a 13 episode series, it’s very surprising to see a character fleshed out well. Besides that, and I might be a bit biased here since I am a fanboy, but Nao is very special, be it in her dialogues and reactions, she isn’t the usual ‘dere’ steoreotypes and I can’t really put a finger to her straightforward and cool attitude, which is why I like her so much. She isn’t the pretty-but-dumb stereotype either, she’s quick on her wits and can actually do stuff.


Music was well done, as expected of KEY. I am a huge fan of Jun Maeda and his music, so I enjoyed the BGM and insert songs a whole lot. There’s a blend of English lyrics in the insert songs, which is a hit or miss, but to me it was very fitting. OP and ED were done in typical KEY fashion with Lia and Aoi Tada, and they have the same Angel Beat vibes. If you like the music in Angel beats, Charlotte would be perfect for you, same artists, and same styles. There’s also a group in the show that produces great music in the show, but I won’t spoil it’s it was by KEY, feels music was there at particular moments and they were awesome!


Art was beautiful! Not as good as say ‘5 meters per second’ but it reminded me of why even though P.A works have produced some disastrous shows, They would never fail in the art. This show has a lot of moments where they would just portray the night sky and its shining stars beautifully. Characters are well drawn in typical KEY fashion with moe-ish eyes, nothing new, but it isn’t bad.

Now you must think I am a fanboy that gives this show a 10/10, but unfortunately this show has a lot of glaring errors that as much as I love the anime and enjoy it very much, could not overlook.


For a 13 episode anime, spending around 5 episodes for the pace to pick up means you only have 8 episodes for the drama and action. How is that enough? The plot picked up pace no doubt, but it was so rushed that I couldn’t guess the direction of where the show is going. Speaking of direction, in shows there are things called sub-plots, but Charlotte has so many of them that in the end if they aren’t developed, just become loose ends. Huge plot holes are present and they make me feel confused about the character’s reactions/development at times. In fact, I mentioned that I liked how the MC is fleshed out, but I can’t deny how the other characters were mediocre at best in terms of this aspect. There’s the annoying little sister, the otaku (or close to one), the girl which everyone admires, go figure.


A comedic trope if done once is funny, twice is fine, thrice and it just makes me cringe. The comedy aspect of the show is so repetitive I don’t even laugh anymore; I understand that it’s used to lift the mood, and I expect no Gintama, but come on, don’t the producers think that using the same jokes all over again throughout the show is being very unoriginal?

Shows like Clannad and Little Busters by Key spend almost 15-20 episodes being slow-paced to make you be attached to the characters, and have 20 more to show all the drama, but when you have only 13 episodes. The same method isn’t going to work. ‘KEY’ is famous for its way of bring out emotions from its shows but I think they might be trying too hard, they shouldn’t focus on just that and sacrificed a well written storyline.

All in all Charlotte is great but flawed. From a critical standpoint, it was not as good as it was hyped up to be. But I enjoyed the show and never stopped watching except for toilet breaks/getting snacks. To me it was really enjoyable and could be one of my favourites (Nao fanboy).
If you don’t think about the flaws much and just want to watch something beautiful and touching, go for it; If you expect intelligent plots and realistic character development, you would be let down.

Spoiler section**

Charlotte has major plot holes as previously mentioned, when a show uses time-leaping as a plot, it is very challenging to make it have absolutely no plot holes, that’s understandable. But I believed the writers could have done better to explain some things that just became loose ends. For example, our MC travels back in time and all his actions that has a connection to the other characters should not have happened anymore; this means that all the relationships he had with others should go back to 0, but instead the other characters, particularly the female MC acts as if those things that happened still happened feelings for the male MC. From episode 7-10 everything that happened should have not developed any character besides the MC due to time travel, be it helping Nao’s brother, going to the concert together, but on episode 12 you fall in love? What????I can understand the MC liking the female MC, but it’s strange for the female MC to return those feelings when she has no memory of their experiences. You can say power of love and all that ,but the show doesn’t even imply any memories returning and if they did maybe I could have let it slide abit.

Then there are the sub plots which make no sense, you have a 12-13 year old yandere girl that would wield a knife at another person just because your crush likes the other person instead, crazy much? You have someone being healed through someone’s angelic voice when he has been psycho for such a long time? It could’ve been anime magic that’s present in many other shows so…Oh well. Not only that, in the last episode the MC travelled around the world to help people by stealing their powers and then boom! Happy ending with the female MC, when it looked so apparent that the MC lost his memories, and again with the memories and development criticism. It’s alright to accept a person as your lover when you have no memories of her right? As long as you have a token to prove that she has been there for you at least (Maybe I’m nit-picking here I’m not sure). Oh and not to mention the super convenient helicopter to the rescue when the MC is dying.

End of spoiler**

Maybe I was too critical, but I just wanted to see something touching and heart-warming as well as being well written.

P.S My rating is my enjoyment of the show but if you want to rate it not based on that, its probably a 7( And because of the Art and Sound that adds some points into it)

Plastic Memories was one of the many anime’s that was anticipated in the Spring 2015 season. Spring 2015 had so many good shows that Plastic Memories needed to be great in order to stand out, did it? Probably not.

The premise was one that I had never seen in a long time. In the show, humans have invented ‘Giftia’s, androids that have emotions and feelings just like humans. They can laugh, cry, have emotional pain, and they can have relationship with others too. Giftias are so human-like to the extent that they can be part of someone’s family when a loved one is lost: they can ... be a daughter or son, a helper in a workshop, a parent or guardian, and even a lover! There is a catch however; Giftias have a fixed lifespan of 81920 hours, which is about 9 1/3 of a year. And after that period of time they would start to break down. This is where our heroes come in, the retrieval team. These people come to ‘retrieve’ or to take away the Giftias that are on the verge of their expiration date.

After reading the synopsis, few questions might pop out, should you make memories with someone that is going to be gone for good? Or would you distant yourself to avoid hurting both you and your loved one? Why would you love someone when you know that they would go away? Plastic Memories shine in these aspects, as you can see how different people react upon being contacted by the retrieval team to take back the Giftias, which are not just robots or androids but have become someone important in their lives. Some try to run away, some are always in denial, some have already prepared for the worst, these are very real emotions that shows how we react in the real world as well, when we know someone is going to be taken away? How would we react?

Time to introduce the characters, despite the unique premise, the characters are not. We have the main character, Tsukasa who is the all-round nice guy and tries his best for the people he cares about, we usually use the word nice when we don’t really have anything to say about him, and he’s just that, nice. We also have Isla who is the kuudere type of girl, and always distances herself from other people, not to mention she also have the cute girl doing cute things trope as well, as she is pretty nervous and confused when doing certain things. These two characters have the most character development, which is not saying much. I can’t even remember all the side character’s name because of how one dimensional they are. You have the tsundere, the big-breasted girl, the boss who always gets drunk, and so on and so forth. Plastic Memories is not very strong in its characters, but the show is all about Tsukasa and Isla and how their relationship goes, *minor spoiler*** Isla is a Giftia, which means she has a limited life span, you probably know which direction the show will take after knowing this. End of spoiler ***

This show had lots and lots of potential; however so many overused tropes are thrown in it that it became a generic slice-of-life sometimes, it also had moments where the show looked like it didn’t know which direction to take. Another thing that bugged me was due to it being a 13 episode anime, the Giftia concept was not fleshed out completely, we do not know why the Giftias break down, we don’t know whether humans are trying to think of a way to stop these Giftias from breaking down to avoid breaking the hearts of their loved ones that are left behind. Another logical question is what kind of masochist would want to have a friendship/relationship with someone that they know would die in less than 10 years!

Despite saying this show has characters/concepts that have not been fleshed out and they might need more episodes. I personally think Plastic Memories could have been a movie instead, as some episodes look like some stand-still waiting for something emotional to happen, it’s like watching an anime that you know has the feels but you have to wait for 1-2 episodes for the ‘feels’ moment to come.

For those looking for unique scientific concepts like Stein’s ; Gate, you’re out of luck. This show focuses more on how people cope with the loss when the Giftias are taken away from their lives

Plastic Memories is definitely one of the ‘feels’ anime out there, but I don’t think it would be one where it could rip your heartstrings to shreds like some anime do, having only 13 episodes it still made me felt emotional at its teary moments as I became attached to the main characters, but not to the extent where I might feel depressed for a few days.
Plastic memories is a great anime for newcomers too, it is not too weird of a concept, its premise is very refreshing, fan service is there but not overwhelming, and it is one that hits home if you are the emotional type. Though the tropes are there, but someone needs to introduce the tropes sooner or later.

TL,DR : Touchy anime that has character development flaws besides the main characters ,has a very good premise that wasn’t fleshed out enough, a good show to see if you want to challenge yourself to the ‘feels’ but don’t want to cry your eyeballs out.

First Review, any criticism is welcome!


Akatsuki no Yona, the anime that aired along the big guns such as Parasyte and Your Lie in April,Nanatsu no Tanzai,(and even to an extent Shirobako)
It's no surprise that this anime was not on the radar for many.But for those who are watching this series, it was a surprisingly enjoyable ride.


Story:7

So fleeing the palace with the best friend and exploring the lands,looking for people to join the party ,how many times have we seen that story-line?and
Fulfill-your-destiny-MC type of stories are not rare either,and Akatsuki no Yona is no exception, however being cliched is not necessarily a ... bad thing as long as it was written and done well,and Akatsuki no Yona delivers in spades.Plot was done well, dramatic moments were perfectly done in its timing and execution.Comedy was done once in awhile and sometimes it could be a hit or miss,but in the end still managed to lift the mood when its needed.

The main thing people like (or is totally worth cringing about to some) is that the pacing in this anime is very slow,some episodes are spent purely watching how the characters interact with each other in their journeys, and even the antagonist gets some screen time,however these episodes are essential to conversations and flashbacks that allows us to be attached to the characters.No episode is meaningless however, as even the very slow episodes bring something to the story,and the plot is driven further,and shed some light on some characters.

I'll just say it here, the ending of Akatsuki no Yona is just the beginning of what potentially is going to be an amazing story.Hardly anything concludes, which of course will tick off some people, but I believe that with an OVA about to be aired and (hopefully) 1 or 2 sequels, the 24 episodes in the series could be just a part of an amazing series,on its own its great but not a Masterpiece.

These 24 episodes introduces us to the world of Akatsuki no Yona,and leaves us wanting.


Art :7

The animation in the anime were decent,but not great.Its not like the Fate series by ufotable where each strike and slash of the action scenes were animated into the finest of details. Akatsuki no Yona does just enough ,fight scenes weren't just a cloud of smoke,and blood wasn't shown in exaggeration when people are struck. In its dramatic moments though, the characters are drawn extremely well,and [minor spoilers] Yona's eyes are drawn beautifully when she is having her ''moments''.

In its comedic moments,the characters are drawn into their Chibi versions ,and though in my opinion may seem out of place in this anime,I got used to it as I watched more episodes.

Sceneries in the anime were alright, done enough to depict the atmosphere and mood of situations.


Sound:8

I LOVED the music and soundtracks, in particular is the first opening, at first I thought there was something wrong with the audio and went to check it out,turns out that it was a soundtrack that fits the setting of the anime perfectly, as Akatsuki no Yona was set loosely in the times of historical Korea. The same melody but different tempo and mood of the same song was also played as soundtracks in most of the emotional and sweet situations,which was a huge bonus point.

Besides the OP and the soundtracks that were similar to it,,the romantic scenes' soundtracks does not take away any attention from the scenes that were being played.. and complemented the scenes well.
You could sense the pain the characters have to endure ,when the solemn melodies come in, and know a huge breakthrough for our characters is about to be made when the epic drums come in. Heck,most of the action scene's soundtracks were beautifully made.

The other ending and openings were good,but not great.Special mention to the second ending which sent me back to memory lane with its traditional Chinese (or Korean) vibes,with traditional instruments playing in the background.

If you love stringed instruments playing in the background , you would love it, a refresher from the usual electric guitar/bass that we always have.

Characters:9
Now at the cream of the crop, Akatsuki no Yona absolutely shines in its characters,hardly any of them are there solely as a plot device, all of them had well made backgrounds and they're personalities weren't forced and were understandable due to their past. the 5 members of the party that will eventually join Yona and Son Hak though are side characters are given lots of screen time (for the exception of one who only joined in very late into the series).Granted, their personalities aren't unique and could be seen at a handful of animes,but they were very well done.Each of them benefits the party in its own way.And most of them have their own unique reasons for joining Yona, be it being inspired or wanting friends,to wanting to explore the world or even out of sheer loyalty.

Son Hak, the childhood friend and bodyguard of the MC though looked like a typical Gary Stu, is a more complex character that it seems, duty bound to protect the princess, he uses this as an excuse to be always be at her side, suppressing his own feelings.He tends to also be overprotective.However as the anime goes on you could see how he acknowledges Yona,that she has become stronger and allows her to do things that he would never allow her to do if he was still the same person as the first few episodes.He shows weakness and though have a cool exterior, can be swayed on the inside.

Soo-Won,though I personally dislike him is a strange yet refreshing character,though without much to do after the first few episodes,the actions he take with the short screen time he was given portrays his personality perfectly, though the anime has given him one and a half episodes of screen time ,a sidetrack from the main story ( which is one of the negatives I find in this anime) it made me realize he wasn't just the typical bad guy who betrayed his friends, but potentially someone much more deep and complex.


On to Yona, Yes she isn't the first female character ever to be portrayed as a determined character who wants to be stronger,there are many of her type out there.But somehow even as a male I could relate to her. Being in good care all her life, she is bound to be the useless MC that we see in any other show,who wants to improve herself after knowing how helpless she is,
no surprise there.However,

The pain that she feels after the twist in the beginning episode was portrayed very well, she couldn't do anything, and who could?after everything has been taken from her and thrown into the outside world,she was traumatized and couldn't have survive without her bodyguard.She didn't instantly transform into someone who could adapt and with the ''power of her friends''became strong,shes portrayed as a weak and feeble character who always needed help.Yes she has the huge confidence that most people in anime do, however just like in real life,confidence and motivation does not necessarily deliver results. Yona is still physically weak and relies on the people around her often,even in the later episodes. the motivation for her to improve is wonderful, not unique, but very very relatable , for those of us who think of ourselves as being inferior to others,we can understand how Yona feels whenever she is helped by her bodyguard or other friends,thinking of herself as a burden to others

Even though she has become stronger by just a little, the Yona you see at the end in episode 24 and the Yona you see in episode 1 is very very different,personality wise.You cant help but feel proud of her as you keep rooting for her through each struggle and obstacle, and by the end of the series she has grown to be a very fine person.Unlike a Mary Stu, she struggled and practiced ,and feels helpless from time to time,and she will still continue to struggle through her journey.

As a person who has a slight inferiority complex I could relate to Yona very well,feeling helpless when you do not want to is a very human emotion, but Yona shows us that having that emotion could be either an asset or a curse for us, depending on whether we want to struggle to improve or brood over it.


Enjoyment:9

Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Shoujo,

1.)Action? Decent-Good at best, bad guys weren't that tough to beat and when you know Yona and the gang are around you know the party is going to kick butt, with the exception of maybe the last few episodes where you could see Yona really struggle.

2.)Adventure, not too bad, being set in historical Korea and all, going around to find members of the party and fight the bad guys?not really unique, however this general,cliched storyline could still be great if portrayed well, which Akatsuki no Yona did.

3.)Comedy, sometimes its a hit or miss but it served its purpose,doesn't really stand up except for a fair few
.
4.)Fantasy, yeah super powers from the members of the party,and the portrayal of some prophecy/legend,pretty much.

5.)Romance,well since the story is just getting started, development isnt complete, though it is going somewhere,those who expect a Maid-sama like ending will be disappointed.

6.)Shoujo, its obvious that the romance is depicted between Son Hak and Yona.And I'm sure that the manga is continuing with both of them being the official couple, and how these two come together will be an essential part of the story,but with Yona being a dense girl and all the Shoujo aspect in the 24 episodes doesn't really shine.

With all these mediocrity why does it still get such a high score?Its because of the characters.

One thing I could say about Akatsuki no Yona is that its much more than the sum of its parts, the characters make this whole show so enjoyable,especially Yona. As I watched the anime I couldn't help but be a supporter of Yona to try to improve herself , and in the end I was very satisfied with a huge grin on my face,thinking that she has done well.And as a Hak X Yona shipper I kept rooting for them and though the story has just about finished its beginning chapters by gathering all members of the party, development between the two is there.

Akatsuki no Yona is an anime that doesn't look as good as it seems when you take it apart one by one like in the reviews, but when you watch it, you couldn't help but feel how wonderful this anime is, it is definitely slow, no doubt about that, and the cliches are there,but after around 5 episodes ,I was engrossed into the show and despite all its flaws, love it very much.

Though viewed by some as a reverse harem, you already know Hak and Yona has its moments and their romance is one the elements in the series.

Surprisingly when I watched Spirited Away, I couldn't grasp the message that it wanted to portray when I finished it, and read online about how Hayao Miyazaki wanted to portray the message about the growth of a young girl into adolescence, Akatsuki no Yona reminds me of that, the struggles on how to live when everything is taken away, and the path to become stronger could be devastatingly difficult. Watching Yona grow up from episode 1-24 not in terms of age,but personally is a thrilling ride that I don't think anyone should miss.

Though its slow, stick with it, you wont be disappointed.A very refreshing anime.Time to read the manga.