Back to orihihc's Profile orihihc's Profile

So. Naruto is a great show. I think a lot of people get too comfortable being so critical of this show when they forget this series debuted in 2002, over twenty years ago. Look at the other shows from this year, none of their names are particularly famous. So now when people watch this show with the expectation that it is the best thing out there, (when they became anime fans later on and watched a plethora of other shows beforehand) they forget that this show is a product of its time.

When I watched Naruto, there was the "big three of Shonen" One Piece, ... Naruto, and Bleach (Dragon Ball, Evangelion, Inuyasha and Yu Yu Hakusho were a bit earlier). It's hard to speak about Naruto and ignore the impact the show had on the anime industry as a whole. Naruto brought a lot of international anime fans, and there's a reason; not only are the story and characters compelling but the animation is good. I won't lie, there is a lot of "filler," but if you look at the bigger picture the filler adds important characterization to the story.

Naruto is one of my favorite shows, so much so that I wrote about it in my diary when I was younger. The soundtrack also SLAPS. Since this review is only for the original and not for Shippuden, I will give it a higher score. While yes, Shippuden shares qualities with the original, there were some misses in its execution.

ANYWAYS, I think critique is good, but people need to realize this is a 20+ year-old show, from a different time, when there were fewer international anime fans, and when anime wasn't as mass-produced as it is now. I digress.

Season's of Blossom, at first, appears to be a nice romance and slice-of-life story about a group of friends. However, be warned, that this work delves into topics such as mental health, bullying, family problems, and more.

I'll start with the story. there will be spoilers. you've been warned.

The story is told in four arcs, or seasons, with four different 'couples.' The story is told in chronological order, with a couple of flashbacks here and there. The first season is light and funny; it is about spring and has a fake couple-falls-in-love plot. The second season is very heavy and low-key traumatized me. It is summer, ... with heavy rains and heavy heat. This season is sad and juxtaposes the happy summer with sad eyes hidden behind a smile. We lose a cherished character to suicide, and we see the repercussions of such an act on everyone else, including the audience. While I did say everything happens in chronological order, the romance aspect and character loss happens in the past. This season more so speaks about the repercussions of such an event on those left behind. The third season is autumn, and in comes the cold, and the leaves turn red. There is a main and side couple that begins here. This season also deals with heavy topics, such as bullying and self-harm in the past. This arc was rather funny, and because those actions were in the past, the audience isn't worried something bad will happen to the main character, as she has grown stronger in light of what happened. The final arc, winter, is where we witness a combination of all of the arcs. A character has been bullied (this is foreshadowed throughout the entire story), and he goes through a suicide attempt but is stopped by the rest of the characters. This arc is also very emotional, because it includes the buildup of everything that came before it, and we see that the main character of season 2 left a larger impact than everyone thought, because this season's main character's pain wouldn't have been noticed without him. There's a lot more to it, and we see that even more so when he was alive, he left a large impact on all of the characters.

OKAY, now to the characters. There isn't a single character that I did not like or understand their motives. Of course, there were actions I did not agree with, but I understood each character's motivations, even the 'villains.' All of them were very complex, and none of them were one dimensional. This aspect is further amplified due to the various situations the characters go through due to the changing storylines, and the complexity of youth. My favorite character is Lee Hamin, he is the main lead for the second season, and he resonated the most with me, which made the 'reality' of the story hit so much harder.

The art style is beautiful. It's simple and not complex like Van Gogh, but I prefer it that way. The simplicity of the drawings compliments the complexity of the plot. The story would have felt much different if a lot of what was being talked about by the audience was the appearance of the characters.

All in all, what makes me give this work such a high rating is the message, and that I think it was successfully delivered. I won't say what it is because.... I feel like we can all reach that conclusion for ourselves. I will say please give this one a chance! and pick it up again if u dropped it! (I did put it on hold while it was updating bc the time between updates and seasons was too long, but look at me now!)

Darker than Black has got to be one of my favorite adult-oriented anime out there.

As the title suggests, this series deals with the morally grey, and dark parts of the underworld crime scene. DTB takes place in a dystopian world where certain people have powers, known as “contractors” and “dolls.” An important aspect of the show is that “contractors” don’t have emotions, and act as rational beings, however, our main character, Hei, seemingly has both powers and emotions.

The series is episodic, with each one bringing the viewer a step closer to understanding the implications of such people and appearances of powers in the world.

What ... makes this show shine is its characters, specifically Hei and Kirihara, but the recurring side characters also add charm to the show. The world-building is intriguing always leaving the audience wanting more, and ever so slowly revealing important missing pieces to the full equation of how and why the world came to be.

I first watched this show in my early teens, but even then, I could understand how this series showcased that animation is not just for kids and holds so much potential in adult-oriented genres. Having rewatched the show as an adult, I can attest that it is just as entertaining and even more intriguing than I remember. Take each episode to be a character study, showing us, rather than telling us, the way the world has and has not changed since the appearance of the “gates” and “contractors.”

All, in all, I never feel like I’m wasting my time rewatching the show, it has phenomenal pacing, timeless animation, and a great story. I admit not everyone will like this show, as it might not be their cup of tea, but I sure as hell did.

Princess Tutu is a masterpiece. (If you love ballet, fairy tales, and classical music this show is for you)

The series opens with a duck who, in love with a boy (who turns out to be “Prince Mytho”) and wanting to save him, becomes the storybook character “Princess Tutu” fated to never profess her love to him.

These “characters” belong to the fairy tale The Prince and the Raven, written by the dead author, Drosselmeyer, and Duck has unknowingly stepped into the fairy tale that has enveloped the town. But a duck becoming a human isn’t the strangest thing you’ll see in this town; as the ... town includes a cat dance teacher and an assortment of other animals that live side by side with fellow humans.

What I love about this show are the characters, Duck is an enjoyable mess, who in her human form is very clumsy and goofy, and not very good at ballet. But after her “Princess Tutu” magical sequence she is suddenly graceful, majestic, and a perfect ballerina. (Alternatively, she has a duck form, which she ‘poofs’ into whenever she “quacks.”) However, Duck is so charming, with her naive and strong-willed spirit, her unique innocence and passion push the story into motion.

Fakir is my favorite character, and his growth throughout the series is enjoyable to watch, specifically how he and Duck become close as friends. I won’t spoil. But I liked the ending to their story.

The music is everything to me. I am an avid classical music fan and this HITS the spot. I first watched this show when I was a kid, and I still remember every single song in this series, from Swan Lake to Sheherezade, Gymnopeide to Dance Macabre. I kid you not, this is the best introduction to classical music for a kid (also ballet, I did ballet before watching this show, but it made me love it more.)

It’s not meant for children, with its PG-13 rating, but I watched it at, maybe age 10, and enjoyed it very much. It has some nudity (in the form of Duck transforming), violence and gore (fighting and blood), as well as some scary images and themes (the ravens and all that.) If your child has seen the Harry Potter series, this shouldn’t be too much at all.

I want to emphasize this was released in 2002, over 20 years ago, and still, the animation is incredible. I will admit I tend to like the animation style from the early 2000s better than anything released today, but it has that timeless feel, like any of the old Disney animated movies. The pacing is something I enjoy the most, and what I think makes it suitable for younger audiences to watch.

This series is something I would recommend to everyone. It’s timeless, funny, has great pacing, and the ending is fulfilling (at least to me, I have heard some complaints, but I cannot see the series ending in any other way.)