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May 20, 2024
This is an incomplete review since I'm writing this before the season is over. That said, this is type of show it's easier to write about it since it's not a Shonen or a thriller where the overall story can be determine how I feel about a show when it ends.
This is mostly a slice of life adult anime. I say adult since it revolves around drinking, and dealing with problems you go through as an adult such as your career, relationships, adult stress, etc. You won't see issues like upcoming semester exams to getting your first girlfriend.
Also as I mentioned, it revolves around
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drinking. The coolest element with the alcohol and drinks is everything they discussed are all real. For example the main characters go to a real distillery that actually exists in Japan in one episode. The bottles they show are real brands and different types of liquor. Even the different cocktails they show off are real, and you can look it up how to make it yourself. I really appreciate that sense of realism, and in a way educational since they describe the differences in the types of alcohols and what is in a drink.
Meanwhile the show is mostly about a very good bartender who is being pursued by a couple people at a nearby hotel who want him to help open up and run their bar at the hotel. Especially for international guests and wanting someone who can understand a customer's wants and needs well. For the most part he has refused, but between him and these two people, others slowly become a part of their story from other nearby bars and bartenders to other customers. The best way to describe it is you have the bartender as the main character, then a supporting cast with one off guests in an episode that drives the story and theme.
If anyone has seen the Japanese drama, Midnight Diner, it is similar how you have episodes with different people while revolving the core cast. Personally I like that, and it's a nice change of pace from the typical Shonen or action shows.
Overall I recommend it if you don't mind slice of life shows, and especially aim towards an older audience. It's a show to touch upon everyday life with the bar as the setting. It's not for everyone, and it's not perfect by any means. But it's an enjoyable and relaxing show to have with a drink.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 24, 2023
Overall I enjoy Makoto Shinkai's work, and this movie is no exception. The animation is once again top notch, and I personally love his art direction and style. Especially when he has scenes of capturing every-day Japan from commuting around an area, the train stations, the food, or even a simple car ride. To me I always enjoy those simple moments that showcase everyday life in another country where you see similarities and differences.
I digress, but Makoto does rely on some signature elements of super natural fantasy, a love story, humorous moments, and themes that relate to modern day Japan. The notable difference between Suzume
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and his last couple of films is the bigger focus on supernatural elements, and having more action related to it. You can argue it is constant in Your Name with how they switch bodies often, but this time it's more action heavy with how they have basically close these gates with a mystical creature about to cause earthquakes. Also the story does a good job conversing around Japan, and as I mentioned earlier I love how he captures everyday life.
In fact, when it feels like the story reaches the climax, you realize you're only at the halfway point. Unlike your name the climax was evacuating the town, then a conclusion arc with Taki trying to remember something important and why he has a connection to a destroyed town. That was literally the last 10 minutes or so, while what at first feels like a climax in Suzume is only a little halfway through the story. The journey actually continues for Suzume trying to find a way to change things despite how she could walk away at that point.
Honestly that is a strength with this movie. It's intense and an emotional ride throughout that doesn't let up until the very end. Similar to his past movies which I think is Makoto's greatest strength. You rarely feel like the story's pacing is off, or the story gets too sidetracked or bogged down. I say that for most of his films, and there are several moments throughout the film that make you emotional between the characters.
One of the main themes in the movie is related to earthquakes as I have mentioned before. It has become common in his films to have a theme related to a natural disaster, or something that is truly relevant to almost everyone in Japan. It makes sense since Your Name has a natural disaster with the meteor destroying a town. Aka a nod towards Fukushima with it being all gone afterwards. Weathering With You tackles the effects of climate change. Suzume is back to natural disasters, but a bigger focus how all of Japan has to live in a volatile region with earthquakes. It's an effective way to tackle a cultural theme directly tied to Japan.
The only issue I have with this film, and why it's not a 10/10 for me, is the love story feels rushed. Granted, it's not like they are getting married by the end, but the development of deep love was within a few days. It's a chaotic three days where it didn't have room to build the relationship unlike Your Name or Garden of Words for example. I feel like a bond was building, but the love element was too fast for my tastes and compared to his past films.
Otherwise, another great that will keep you entertained through an emotional thrill ride.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 26, 2020
I just finished this show, and it took me a long while to complete it just due to how gruesome the show is at times, let alone other flaws. I want to be fair since I know many people either latch it as a high 8-10/10, or a 1-2/10. Honestly it's in the middle if you take in account everything from the story to the animation to the sound design.
I will start with the positives. The sound design is very good. It replicates earthquake sounds well, and the music score is really good. Call it cliché, but I like a good orchestrated score and
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piano music. The art direction is good. I think the color palate and scenery is really well done. It captured many areas of Japan that are recognizable by any casual viewer well.
That said, I will go into the the more flaws. The first issue is the animation at times. This director is known for his unique style of animation, and one issue I get annoyed constantly is how he animates people's reactions.
This is where I will begin my spoilers, but overall it's a mediocre show. The story and characters along with animation are my issues, and I will dig into spoilers now. Back to animation, at times they look great such as the final episode when Kaito's final moments of flying on the balloon in the final episode. Then other times when they showed the kids birth with their mom, and it looks like she is taking a crap while looking at her new baby. Let alone how everyone has neck fat to weird double chins when smiling. His idea of drawing muscles is bizarre at times. His shows have this style all the time, but in a realistic setting over something that is more fantasy driven like Devilman Crybaby which fits more than here. It just annoys me, and I think it's not good animation at times.
The next big issue is the story, and how he insists on being as edgy as possible with killing people as gruesome as possible. I get how it's a disaster show, but at times the deaths are way over the top and gruesome. Also out of nowhere. The father dies by digging up a mine. First of all, no one when crossing that fence didn't see the signs until it was too late? Also the signs were covered in growth? A minefield? Come on, let alone in Japan. Maybe there is one, maybe not, but it's just not believable. Of course he blows up with bits falling on his family. It's just way over the top. Another scene is a fisherman's death, and you can tell he was dying due to how he was struggling from the impact and everything that happen. But the kids fall asleep, and they wake up with birds eating him with half of his body and bones sticking out? It's ridiculous, and uncalled for.
Then it became cliché how every time emotional music started playing like there is hope, then someone will die. It became obvious you know someone was about to die. The only deaths that felt emotional and well done were the mother and Kaito, if he truly died. There are hints in the ending scenes he might have survived with offspring looking like him. I digress, but those were emotional. The others you know was coming like Haruo with the music and running. I get it how there weren't going to be many survivors, but it was way overdone in my view, and in many cases in grotesques ways.
The characters are hit or miss. The main show is focusing on the two kids, the daughter and son. I think they were written fine, and had some good closure in the ending. More on that in a bit. But the father was an afterthought, then killed off quickly. Haruo didn't have much to it until the final 2 episodes. You could tell he was depressed, but not much explored until the end. The mother was actually decently written, but felt like we could have used more time with her. There are a good 2-3 episodes where it's just the kids. Finally, Kaito was interesting, but we needed more time with him as well. He always knew more than he let on until it was needed, but besides being a vlogger/online sensation, nothing else we knew about him. It's a shame he had a lot to him. Same with the professor.
Overall it's a decent show. I think from the natural disaster standpoint and surviving is well done. The way they handled many characters and the over the top deaths is ridiculous. It honestly made it hard to finish the show since I expect deaths, but not people blowing up with pieces falling onto their kids to eye balls hanging out. When I see that gore, it's to be edgy over realistic. Let alone how it happens all the time.
Honestly the show needed 24 episodes. More time to develop the characters, and more time to explain what is happening along with focusing on the broad survival of the people and what happen in Korea and the Philippines. The ending explored that briefly, and honestly the last 5 minutes are good showing what happen nearly a decade later. It's a satisfying ending, and the beginning is good. It's the middle part that is where it has a lot of issues from jumping from scene to scene like a convenience store to a cult to the sea.
In my view I would have made it longer by focusing more on characters. Have less deaths, and make it less gruesome and edgy. Finally, explore more to why the islands sank. It was briefly explain as a convenient set piece, and nothing else. I hate shows that do that. Overall, give it a chance, but if you drop it, it's not a bad choice.
P.S.: Olympics nitpicking. It ends in 2028 at the LA Olympics. Two things, they show the opening ceremonies in the LA Coliseum. The plans show a new stadium for the ceremonies and track and field. It's a given with the Olympics to host the biggest events in the newer stadiums, then used older sites for smaller events. Then it shows e-sports which hasn't been voted on. It's nitpicking, but as an Olympic junkie it bothered me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jan 16, 2020
Overall I give this movie a 9 out of 10 for a few reasons. For starters it's a very good movie across the board, but it's hard to follow up after Your Name. To clarify, there are many similar elements between both movies. Both have their own and unique story, but the way the acts flow and the main element of romance and youth mix with fantasy and science fiction are similar. Therefore, it's hard to fully recapture that magic again when the premises are similar. That said, it's a very good movie. But for me Your Name was a 10/10 for me, and this
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is a 9/10. Comparing both scores, Your Name is averaging .5 points higher which is honestly very accurate. In fact, I would lean towards a 9.5 if I could, but alas it's a 9/10 here.
I will start off with the only weakness is the stories between Your Name to Weathering With You is they feel a little too similar at times. Honestly it's tough to judge a movie based on that since I loved the film, but the wow factor wasn't as meaningful as it was in Your Name. The only other criticism beyond that is I feel like the pacing was a little slow early on. Our main female protagonist doesn't come in until about 20 minutes in or so. I could be off with the time since I am not having my phone out monitoring it, but not as quickly as Your Name. I feel like once she enters the main story, it starts to pick up. Otherwise, those are my only criticisms with the film.
Now onto the strengths of the film. With Makoto Shinkai's works he excels in art direction, animation, the overall premise of the story including it's subtle themes, and capturing day to day life of Japan. I mention the only weakness in the story already, and besides that the story is very good. The last third is a very emotional roller coaster, again similar to Your Name in that regards, but in a very artistic and amazing way. You truly feel for the characters in the last third of the film, and the ending is more bittersweet as well. I don't want to provide spoilers, but when you see it you'll understand why I find it bittersweet and why I loved the ending. It has several subtle messages, and Makoto does an amazing job presenting many themes that are prevalent, but not preachy or in your face like some directors.
Backtracking to Makoto's other strengths, he captures modern day Tokyo very well. I've been fortunate to have been to Japan, and the areas he puts in film are spot on to the real life locations. Furthermore, he captures society well from how people act in public to the negative attitudes you see at times. That is what I appreciate about his work is he isn't scared of pointing out the negatives of Japanese society. Personally I love Japan, and the people I encountered treated me well; however, in reality there are negatives that shouldn't be brushed aside or overlook. He does such an amazing job capturing that, and add in the element of youth trying to fit in works very well.
Finally I want to touch upon the technical aspects of the film such as the art, animation, and sound design. Again all top notch. One major element early on is weather, and similar to The Garden Of Words the way he captures rainy days and weather in general is artistic and beautiful. It feels like a moving painting more often than not. Add in amazing sound design to music by the Radwimps again, and it's blows you away. Lets say the story isn't your favorite out of his movies, but you can at least enjoy 2 hours of the some of the best animation and sound design out of Japan. Overall this movie is amazing. It's just slightly below Your Name, and to be fair it's hard to match that. The fact he come off that masterpiece and put out another masterpiece in it's own way says a lot, and there is nothing wrong preferring one movie or another since almost all of his work is top notch. I say kick off 2020 with an amazing film!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 9, 2019
I feel like this show got off to a slow start, and even was honestly mediocre early on; however, the show gets better as the story progresses into a solid Shonen anime. For starters the major issue I had early on was the humor was ridiculous, and like some other shonen animes it took a while to get going. Which is understandable since these kind of shows are designed to have dozens and dozens of episodes over a planned 12-24 episode series.
I digress, but Asta doesn't join the Black Bulls until episode 6, and he doesn't on his first mission until about episode 8 or
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9. We literally take 4-5 hours just to get on our first adventure beyond the training/intro phrase, and it wasn't paced well. That said, the first mission is okay, but nothing memorable. What really turns the series around is the Dunegon arc which isn't too long, but reintroduces Asta with his old friend and rival, Yuno. And we see multiple people form two different groups working together to overcome their challenges, and it works well. From here the show really gains momentum and becomes a solid show. Especially the Seabed Temple Arc which closes out season 1.
For me, and possibly others, the show takes about 13-14 episodes to turn the page into something enjoyable. The major strength of this show as it moves forward is establishing multiple characters with interesting and unique backgrounds, and they all have to come together to overcome their challenges. I also like Asta, but the show was weak only relying on him without a strong support cast in most episodes. The pacing improves, and even longer arcs are enjoyable and at a good pace.
Finally, the animation and sound design is good. I won't say it's groundbreaking, or the most beautiful thing I've seen, but it's smooth with some good action scenes. Some action scenes stand out better than others, but it's typical when it comes to a shonen anime. I say give this a chance, but you have to be patient to see if you like it after a good 14 episodes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 17, 2019
I didn't finish this series until after it aired, but overall this is another solid show by Trigger. In fact I give it an 8 out of 10 overall since it's not perfect, and in fact has some flaws or issues. That said, just form an entertainment standpoint, and if you're a kaiju or mecha fan, you'll enjoy this show a lot.
For starters, and I do my best to not spoil too much about the story. It's a good story, but not great. The one spoiler I have to say to explain some things is revealed in the mid episodes about how world isn't
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real, and is fact a creation of one main character. Now for this story it works well; however, it also leave some questions unanswered. Such as how this one person were able to create it, how this person got to this point, and so forth. Now these questions don't deter from the plot, but the lore creation is a little shaky here. Furthermore, there are other characters who developed in a way I may not fully agree with the direction. I won't go into too many details, but I will say how the hero ends up isn't bad at all, and is a good ending. Furthermore, the story in the 2nd half has more psychological elements, and it was presented well. Therefore, the ending fits the world I mention how it was created by one person and not our actual world.
That said, beyond some of the basis of the world, the main story of the main characters, their issues, and how they interact is well done. I truly enjoy Trigger's character creation from their aesthetics to their personalities overall. The characters goal is to fight off the Kaiju that keep invading their city, and somehow resets the world after every battle. That is the premise of the first half of the story until things are revealed, then it shifts to handling the world's creator. The overarching premise is fighting the Kaiju that invade the world, and figure out why and where they come from. Everything comes full circle in the end, and it works.
Moving beyond the story which is the most complex aspect of this show, the animation is amazing. I mention the character designs earlier, and I stand by how they have a great designs. The same thing goes for the Kaiju designs overall which are basically cool and fun. As a Godzilla fan I enjoyed this show a lot, and the battles were beautifully well done. Minus a few scenes here and there where the CGI stood out a little bit, but the animation was pretty flawless. Even the non-action scenes such as everyday life were beautifully presented.
Meanwhile the sound design was amazing as well. Since this is a giant monster fighting show, I expected top notch sound design, and we got it. The roars of the kaiju was good, and the action sounds from attacks to direct hits was amazing. It almost had an Evangelion feel at times during the battles, and Gridman's theme was awesome.
Overall it's a very good show. From an entertainment value alone you wouldn't have feel to waste your time. That said, my only issue is the story to an extent. The story works, and isn't bad at all. In fact, it's a good story. My issue is some questions surrounding the world leaves me wondering how the world came to be, how a certain character enter it, and so forth. That said, it's worth a watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 7, 2018
I will keep this short. I feel like Darling is flawed, but still a very good show. The biggest issue at times is pacing feels off, which is subjective, but off compared to past series by Trigger or A1 it stands out. Then the other major issue is the conclusion felt rushed, as in things didn't finalize until the final 3 episodes. Referencing Kill La Kill, there were clear objectives from the start. That isn't the case here since it seemed like a survival show, but the main enemy changes as the show goes on. That is fine, but the issue is the true enemy
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and objective was rushed into the picture towards the end. That is my biggest flaw since the ending is good, and the final battle is good, but the final "villain" was rushed without much build up unlike past shows.
That said, the strong suit is the characters and animation. Granted, there are a few episodes that will anger some fans on how the characters act, but it comes together later on. That said, it confuses the week by week viewers like myself. The good news is the characters are strong for the most part, and I enjoyed seeing them grow. Finally the animation is solid, and it's beautifully animated. I say give it a watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 10, 2018
I finally have watched this well known classic anime which I missed during the original Toonami run in the early 2000s, but I finally saw it during the re-airing on Toonami within the last few months.
To start off, it is a solid show overall; however, I wouldn't list it as a classic unlike Cowboy Bebop or Evangelion from the 90s era. There is a couple reasons why I feel like it's a 7/10, or possibly 6/10 depending on taste is because the story is all over the place. The story is very episodic with many episodes only focusing on the characters. To start off,
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the main cast characters are interesting and well done, and they develop well from the first 4 episodes into all working together as a team on the Outlaw Star. The downside is major plot points on finding the Galactic Leyline feels like a major after thought at times.
The reason it feels like a major after thought is the protagonists and antagonists are all aiming to find the Leyline, but you rarely see much development from the pirates to the Professor Chen. To me they popped up infrequently, and in a sense out of nowhere. I recall Professor Khan appearing in the later episodes after a prolong absence, and I was confused where he came from all of a sudden.
Honestly that is my biggest issue is the plot jumps around too much without much thought. In a three episode span you went from plot development with the MacDougall brother who is a key antagonist, then the next episode you had a women's strongman tournament, and then the following episode they were arrested. It feels like they are jumping around too much without a solid transition.
To be fair, individually these episodes by themselves are good; however, as an over arching story it is all over the place. Granted, Cowboy Bebop did something similar; however, I felt like each episode had more weight with character development which is lacking at times with Outlaw Star. I also feel like when the team moved in Cowboby Bebop around the galaxy, then it was logical and transitioned smoothly. I feel like that is lacking with Outlaw Star.
More often then not the crew is just trying to pay off a debt, or are hanging around somewhere. Nothing wrong with lighter episodes, but at least in Cowboy bebop you had many episodes you felt like developed the characters further within that episode instead of being what feels like filler. Sadly Outlaw Star has episodes that feel more like filler in between episodes with strong character development, or a major plot point. Not always since there is some development between Jean and Melfina, and there is a great episode of Jim having his first crush.
Overall there are some great individual episodes not related to the overall plot, but were enjoyable and developed the plot. Then there episodes like Jean in prison, which was a fun episode, but didn't do anything to the overall plot to his character being developed in a new way. Therefore, this is why I feel like the story drops to a 6 since I lost interest at times because not much happens at times.
Finally the art direction, sound, and overall enjoyment has held up well. The animation is clearly from the final hand-drawn to early computer animation, and it has held up well. The action scenes from missiles being fired to hand-to-hand combat is fluid, and it in my view very well animated. Furthermore, the sound design is amazing, and has aged well.
Overall it's a solid show. My only issues is the inconsistency with the story and how some episodes didn't have much point at all, and it was a missed opportunity to use down time to develop the characters further. That said, you don't want to pass up a chance to see an solid 90s anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Feb 4, 2018
Overall this is an enjoyable anime for the fact it has a unique story, very stylish and unique art style, and a solid cast of characters. Long story short, but demons infiltrate other humans and the earth; however, the main protagonist, Akira, along with a few others are able to be a demon, but keep their conscience of a human. In fact our main protagonist becomes a hero of sorts, and he'll work with his old best friend Ryo. I won't spoil much, but the best part of the show is their relationship and how turbulent and deep it goes. In fact these two start
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and finish the show, and I won't say much else since it'll be a spoiler.
Meanwhile Akira has other side characters he is heavily involved with, and early on they show some good promise. That said, as the show goes on, then it seems like their character doesn't go as far as it should minus his love interest Miki. I won't spoil much, but sadly it seems like the show could use a few more episodes to allow more character development time for the side characters who aren't featured in every episode, or when a major plot point about them occurs, then not much is developed beyond that. Sadly just how things end for everyone, how rushed it felt at times, and the pacing are my main issues with the story. Finally, some will be turned off by the nudity and constant gore. I got over it, but it was excessive at times in my view.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 13, 2017
Edit: I only want to add I hope for a sequel. It ends on a good note with personal relationships, but they truly left it open for further development among the characters. Especially with the lore in regards to the government, and their affairs.
I wanted to wait until we had at least a few episodes to write a review, and after this week's episode, episode 6, then I can safely assure this is shaping up to be a great show. Granted, I will probably edit this review when the show ends since a good start could falter halfway through. Having said that, as of
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now this is a must-see show for most anime fans.
To start off the premise is a steampunk Victorian England. The art direction capturing this steampunk industrial revolution London is breathtaking at times. There are quite a few moments the direct does a wide angle shot when they are driving to show you the scale of the city, and it's amazingly beautiful as well. Obviously this being a work of fiction, then there are many sci-fi elements from the tools they use to how unique technology throughout the show. Meanwhile the character designs are great, and so are the action scenes. Overall the animation is top notch.
Meanwhile the basic premise of the story is we follow a series of spies in London where two major factions control the area. There is some political aspects here, but overall they aren't too confusing or convoluted. As of now only one's own personal motivations has been revealed, and each main character feels unique. In fact almost every character so far has had good character development, and after episode 6 we even have character specific episodes. As of now it truly feels like all of the main characters will get ample air time for their own development.
Overall I don't want to go into more details since I feel like the premise and characters after a couple of episodes should suck many in. The only question is we are unsure if this is a 12 episode show, or a 24 episode show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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