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This review will be for both Season 1 (S1) and Season 2 (S2). S1 was excellent, but S2 was a letdown. My overall rating considering both seasons is between "Fine" and "Good". If you want to give this anime a go, I recommend watching S1 and looking up what happens in the manga afterwards. Although S3 is in the works, I am unlikely to give it a watch if the show does not stop milking the drama at the expense of established character development.

- Story. I enjoyed watching the main character Sawako’s love life and social life blossom at the same time in this slice-of-life ... anime. As a social outcast, Sawako worked hard to improve her communication skills. It was touching to see her friendship with two other classmates deepen to “best friend” status. I didn’t have issues with the pacing of events until the last few episodes of S1. Not much was happening despite the air time being devoted to it. Ironically, the romantic tension between Sawako and Kazehaya (the male lead) was supposed to be at its peak. Unfortunately, the feeling of the show dragging on continued throughout the ENTIRETY of S2! My patience ran so thin that I literally fast forwarded through the last 3 episodes of it.

- Characters. The show had an excellent cast of main and supporting characters. They had distinct personalities and different ways of thinking. S2 did them a disservice thanks to the bad writing. One big change was made to Kazehaya’s personality without much foreshadowing done in S1. It was obvious that the change was manufactured in order to create drama between him and Sawako. A new character was also introduced in S2 to exacerbate this drama. He meddled in their love affairs because of his own motivation, which did not make much sense to me.

- Art. The art is a very pretty and classic shoujo style. I especially love the freeze frames capturing Sawako’s true smile.

- Animation. It's Production IG, which explains why a particularly well-animated sequence sometimes came out of nowhere!

- Music/Sound. I enjoyed the show’s background music. The opening and ending songs were not bad either. Sound design did its job.

- Writing. S1 was mostly well written. There was a small twist to the “unpopular girl meets popular boy” plot. In addition, we watched the object of Sawako’s affection push her towards simultaneous personal growth. In my opinion, the show didn’t stick the landing when it came to their romance. That arc should have been wrapped up by the end of S1 or early in S2. More time could have been devoted to the romance between two supporting characters, which was set up in S1. Instead, S2 starts with an inexplicable falling out between Sawako and Kazehaya despite the fact that they began texting at the end of S1. While grappling with her feelings, Sawako stops confiding in her BFFs to an unrealistic level. S1 spent a lot of time showing us how Sawako eventually came to see herself as an equal to her friends. The trio’s closeness was well established by the time S2 came around. Sawako was apparently not the only one hit with amnesia; Kazehaya got a personality rewrite justified by exposition. As a result, the miscommunication between the main leads felt unnatural and gratuitous.

- Emotional impact. S1 made me laugh and cry (with joy), but S2 greatly frustrated me.

I want to like this show more than I actually do. First off, it’s racist (I’ll explain in the Writing section). I would have dropped the show by the end of episode 5 if it weren’t for Kong, my favorite character. Seeing him reappear in episode 8 encouraged me to hang on. Episode 10, the second to last episode, was the first ostensible feeling of fun I had watching the show. Episode 11 then wrapped up the series in a satisfying manner.

- Story. This show is 40% sports 60% character arcs. There were a couple revelations about character backgrounds and relationships that pleasantly surprised ... me. However, the pacing was too slow. Half of the main and supporting cast are unlikeable for the first two thirds of the show. Kong and Akuma had the tightest narratives, with clear motivations and actions resulting from their internal struggles. The others had several logical inconsistencies that got in the way of convincing storytelling even though I understood what the show was trying to say with each of them. It follows that the payoff from episodes 10 and 11 took too long to arrive. In my opinion, there was enough imagery and foreshadowing that 2-3 episodes’ worth of B-roll and extraneous side plots (such as one character’s weird incest romance, or a background character's soul searching journey) could have been cut. It was not worth my time sitting there waiting for things to “get good” between Kong episodes.

- Characters. Each character grapples with what ping pong means to them. Why do they work so hard to train? Why do they want to win? Why do they like to play? Do they like to play? Who are they playing for? The answer is rooted in their individual pasts and life experiences. Kong is the star of the show for me. He faces high stakes pressure fueling his desire to win. What is most compelling, however, is how he deals with his trials and tribulations. He changes so much as a person by the end of the show. His reasons for change are open to interpretation, but I think the show gives me enough information to come to a conclusion that makes sense.

- Art. The lineart style is exceedingly HIDEOUS! In fact, the lineart is so poor that a character who changed his fashion sense was literally unrecognizable until another character said their name. It made me realize there are basically no character models for faces. As for the colors, I liked the pastel-like shading style. It made some background scenes look really nice.

- Animation. Decent for a lower budget show. It is rough around the edges, yet it fits the unhinged art style. There is some weird 3-D CGI, but I think the team did the best that they could. They made interesting stylistic choices such as animating an actual arrow as the ball travels between players. I was worried about the recycled animations, but there was only one episode in which I fast forwarded through them.

- Music. I thought the soundtrack (synthwave/electronic vibes) was fantastic. The use of the music transformed the mood of the scenes.

- Sound design. The actual selection of sounds was fine, but I noticed several moments where the sound didn’t sync to the animation. Most frequently, a shoe would skid on screen and the sound came late.

- Writing. What's up with the casual racism? Kong is referred to as “China” throughout the show. Not “that Chinese guy” or “Chinese player”, just China, as in the entire country. While they called him China less frequently out loud as the show progressed, they still referred to him as China in writing on screen and then once more in episode 8. While his Chinese identity is part of his character development, I don't care for this offensive delivery. Early on, they also threw in a stereotype about black people being good at dancing, in order to combat stereotypes (the irony). Who greenlit this? I expected better from 2014.

Even though relationships are supposed to be a core theme of this show, several depictions did not make sense. Without giving too much away, the friends in this show seemed to support each other less than their rivals/antagonists. It was hard to believe the utter dearth of empathy between two characters when they were extremely close childhood friends. Their supposed fallout was not properly explained; I wasn’t buying the one-liner provided in the show. Furthermore, Peco and Smile’s team has zero camaraderie - we constantly see the bad blood between seniors and first years -- and somehow they are on good terms at the end. The seniors had even expressed their bitterness at being neglected by their own coach, who focused all his energy on developing Smile.

Smile and his own coach’s relationship was also unconvincing in comparison to Kong and Peco’s relationships with their coaches. I do not understand where Smile and his coach began trusting each other and working together. His coach seems more interested in beating the competitive drive into Smile instead of drawing out Smile’s intrinsic motivation.

Speaking of character motivations, a couple of main characters had confusing turning points in their motivation. I could identify that there was supposed to be a catalyst, but not what it was in the scene. I had to look up other people’s interpretations online because the show didn't leave enough breadcrumbs to figure it out myself.

For some reason, this show likes to tell you all about Smile’s prowess rather than show it as it does for the other skilled players. It was irksome to hear a side character remark for the umpteenth time that Smile was a ping pong monster murder machine. I think we got it the first time, and the second time, and the third time, as they played robot noises synced to his movements… His matches were boring and predictable.

This review will be for Haikyuu Seasons 1-4. Due to the continuity of characters’ personal and technical development spanning seasons, I cannot review the series piece by piece.

- Story. Haikyuu is both educational and entertaining. First, the show introduces you to the basics of volleyball in a (mostly) realistic style. Even though I didn’t know the rules of the sport going in, I only needed to look up a small amount of information to make sense of the plays. I also watch a volleyball coach’s reactions to Haikyuu, and the show seems fairly plausible/accurate based on the coach’s explanations.

Moreover, I feel that Haikyuu ... established the community and culture of sportsmanship behind the high school sports scene. All of the various subplots emphasizing personal and team growth are depicted against a backdrop of harsh realities: that teammates are vying for limited starting positions; that there can only be one winning team out of hundreds. A bigger picture of healthy competition between rival schools is ever-present.

Season 1 set up the backstory to the Karasuno players (our main cast) on both the individual and team level. While the trope of “thinking as the ball floats in the air” was overused, I appreciated the slow development of camaraderie between players. Certain players got along with others faster; cliques formed in a way that mirrors real life groups (friends vs. associates). This gave off the sense of a foundation for the bonds that would only deepen throughout each season. Season 2 and 4 focused on player improvement, both physical and mental, before diving into the matches. Season 3 was an action packed set of episodes that still managed to cram in character development for an amazing payoff in the last set. For me, Season 4 also culminated in an incredibly cathartic moment.

- Characters. Every single character, whether main or supporting, on Karasuno or another school’s team, had dimension. At least one motivation, desire, or fear can be associated with someone who takes up screen time; no opponents are purely evil antagonists. This is a rarity not only for sports anime, but for TV shows in general.

The cast also displays characters with various personalities. We see people who are more positive or negative; those who are more serious or carefree; those who are more analytical or intuitive. They may have similar struggles, but they work through them differently. I think each character is multifaceted and doesn’t fit perfectly into a stereotype. For example, Hinata acts like a buffoon when describing volleyball, but he surprised me by being the best at interpersonal communication on his team. Interactions between members of Karasuno, or between Karasuno and other schools, were equally interesting to see.

- Art. The art is great! I don’t mind the change in art style with Season 4, although the hair is a bit too simplified - sometimes Hinata’s new hair looks like a wig. Otherwise, I think the new style of faces makes them look younger, and thus more age appropriate. I prefer the less saturated color palette of the old art style, but I don’t have a problem with the new one either.

- Animation. Good quality animation every season. I personally did not mind recycled animations because I felt that the budget went where it was needed most. For Season 4, I noticed a change in animation style/direction, but not necessarily a reduction in quality. I can forgive the two outsourced episodes featuring hilariously off-model characters over this long-running show.

- Music. Incredible background music. Several OP/ED theme songs have found a home in my anime running playlist.

- Sound design. Does the job. With a handful of scenes as an exception, I think the sound direction is underutilized. The show tends to makes a statement with a slow motion scene over bgm.

- Writing. I smiled, frowned, laughed, and cried. I had anxiety and elevated stress levels. I brimmed with pride at mah boys. My main critique with the writing would be the overemphasis of metaphor as it was constantly spoken, animated, and reinforced by character design. We get the point…flightless crows…I don’t think the audience is that stupid that we need all three reminders at once.

First and foremost, this is not a happy show. I think of it as an episodic collection of parables tinged with horror and philosophical questions. Out of 13 episodes, there is only ONE episode with a distinctly warm and fuzzy ending, and even that one started out sad. I guess they tried to warn us with that title card description: “The world is not beautiful”.

- Story. A traveler with a talking motorcycle visits different countries, hoping to someday formulate her own world views after encountering new sights, sounds, ideologies, and perspectives. The pacing is fast, but well done, thanks to the show's strong world building ... and storytelling elements.

- Characters. Kino is the main character and Hermes is the supporting character.

To me, Kino is complex; she’s basically an introverted extrovert. Her replies are terse, yet straightforward. She constantly initiates conversations with strangers, asking to hear their stories. Since she often tours countries accompanied by guides, I assume she is doing a fair amount of talking even if we don’t hear it directly. While Kino’s demeanor is generally calm and soft spoken, she routinely expresses her thoughts, feelings, fears, and desires. There was plenty to infer about Kino’s personality starting from the first episode. There are only a handful of moments throughout the show in which she chooses to withhold communication. Understandably, her demeanor is a byproduct of the dangerous world. At least once per episode, we see her practicing quick draw, maintaining weaponry, restocking supplies, etc. There is no question as to why Kino has survival skills, and she utilizes them during several brushes with death. Kino herself underwent a tragic backstory.

As a result, the world directly shapes Kino’s views towards violence. I wouldn't say she is apathetic at all. She values her own life and is visibly shaken when she has a near death experience. She feels empathy for other people if she witnesses violence inflicted upon them. However, she usually does not intervene if they take place within a country's borders. It is not simply that Kino sees herself a neutral observer, but rather that it is part of the rules of the world in the show. Villagers actually remind Kino that it is not her place to interfere with a country’s customs. It is simply bad etiquette. Thus, there is only one clear instance of outsider interference depicted in the show.

Hermes is a sassy foil to Kino. Through their small interactions, we are reminded that Kino is alone. At the end of the day, Hermes is a machine. Though opinionated, he doesn't actually care to learn from Kino's interactions with other people; he has no use for it. Hermes is often used as a conversation conduit, allowing us to learn more about Kino. Sometimes, the way Kino treats Hermes reminds us that she's just a kid (granted, one who has been through a lot).

- Art. The lineart is okay. It is a more dated style. I think the muted sepia colors match the mature tone of the show.

- Animation. The animation was decent for its time except for episodes 6 & 7, which have poorly animated fight scenes. I’m not sure if the issue was budget or technology, but it was not smooth. Coupled with the physics defying action, the results were hilariously bad.

- Music. The soundtrack, while not varied, is simple and gets the job done.

- Sound design. Effective when it matters most. However, there are frequently moments that are simply too quiet (and probably not intentional).

- Writing. I don't think the point of the show was to be thought provoking. The episodic plots are built around one simple lesson (it only takes one person to believe in you, the cyclical nature of oppression, etc.) Instead, I think its goal was to have you put yourself in Kino’s shoes with the hope that the feeling stays with you after the episode ends.

This show is not rated E for everyone. The plot twists are DARK. The show provides plenty of foreshadowing and then reveals a messed up twist casually so when it hits me, I sit there proclaiming “this is F’d up!” with my eyes bugging out of my head.

What could have been improved was the ratio of happy and sad episodes. Despite being dark, the tone of the show wasn’t necessarily heavy. I think an additional episode with a happy ending would have rounded out the experience. The plot of episodes 6-7 should have been condensed to one episode. They could have used a full episode dedicated to Kino’s mentor, who was briefly shown in a flashback. As the narrator, Kino briefly said her mentor was a story for another time. This was a missed opportunity!

Episodes 6-7's fight scenes were so stupid that they deserve a small rant. The tone shifted from seinen to shounen, which was frankly immersion breaking. Every other fight in the show follows some degree of realism based on Kino’s stature and training. I literally laughed out loud at how dumb the animation and impossible physics looked in episodes 6-7. There was even the classic “opponent divulging their tragic past in the middle of the match” trope. I ended episode 6 with a vow to drop the show if this were to continue for the remainder of the show (luckily, it doesn't). Unfortunately, I feel that the combat detracted from a dark twist at the end, which unexpectedly came from Kino.

- Emotional impact. Overall, the show is kind of an ephemeral piece. I don’t particularly remember Kino, Hermes, life lesson, or plot point, but I remember the feelings elicited by the show. And boy was I feeling a lot! I approached each episode with apprehension. It felt like there was always some sort of danger or messed up revelation around the corner. Or right when I let my guard down, something super sad would happen. The show achieved a creepy Twilight Zone vibe at times, and it was filled with different types of plot twists. My mouth fell open at the end of the last episode. I was sort of in shock, and I'm still thinking about it as I write this review. The show is depressing, but didn’t leave me depressed. Kino and Hermes’ discussions helped me process the horrors of what unfolded. Kino's somewhat hopeful attitude towards accepting the world, whether ugly or beautiful, takes the edge off.

P.S. In my opinion, 2003 is superior to the 2017 remake. The latter is prettier, but also devoid of emotion in comparison to 2003. I dropped 2017 after four episodes before I began 2003. Out of curiosity, I watched parts of the overlap episodes in 2017 and noticed many small changes that neutralized characters' personalities and emotional impact of scenes. I was surprised that such tiny details could make a big difference.

The fist episode made me go "eh maybe"; the second made me think "hmm seems interesting"; the third made me go "okay I have to see what happens next" and then the fourth made me realize "I'm all in".

- Story. The show hooked me with its Game of Thrones-esque convergence of multiple subplots, from character’s personal journeys to political power struggles and war.

- Characters. Multifaceted characters, especially Askeladd. He was so complicated and intriguing that I almost forgot Thorfinn was the main character. Canute’s personality change, although drastic, was explained appropriately in the show. Even random extras such as a woman who briefly takes ... care of Thorfinn were interesting. As for Thorfinn himself, I am attached to this character. I want to see him find peace and happiness again, and I am eager to see his story unfold. Thorkell is a bit too much, however. I get that religion plays a factor (Vikings welcome dying in battle since they will go to Valhalla), but his personality takes it too far.

- Art. Good. While characters are certainly “uglier”, their faces are gritty and expressive. The background scenery is beautiful.

- Animation. Good, especially fights.

- Music. I noticed the superb background music within the first episode.

- Sound design. Great job, very impactful.

- Writing. My only issue is with over-the-top romanticism of Vikings as superhuman murder machines. It breaks my immersion at critical points of the show. People should not be able to jump across the length of an entire warship, leap across an entire castle moat, or throw a javelin and skewer 10 people on it from 500 meters away. There is only one character for whom this might be appropriate, as they are regarded as a living legend, but it’s still completely ridiculous.

- Emotional impact. This show captures how life had little to no value during the olden war-torn era. It was kind of depressing. On top of that were the tragic twists in Thorfinn and Canute’s lives.

This movie was disappointing for me. I enjoyed the first third of it, and then it steadily went downhill after a specific point. I watched it two times, several years apart, and my opinion remains mostly unchanged. The movie has pretty art and colors, but the writing and characters fall flat. I would not watch this movie on my own accord; I had only rewatched it as a means to spend time with a friend who I haven’t spoken to in a long time.

- Story. The story has some magical/supernatural elements and time skipping, but it’s not difficult to follow. I think there was a ... missed opportunity for the movie to become a thriller, due to the incremental revelations of the time skipping phenomenon and the tragedy that the two main characters try to prevent. Furthermore, there needed to be clearer development of two critical aspects for the plot: the romantic relationship between the two main characters and buy-in of several characters to engage in what is essentially domestic terrorism.

- Characters. The main characters are kind of bland. I think the supporting cast are a little more interesting. I don’t have an issue with Mitsuha’s more muted or serious personality, but she doesn’t really have more dimension when she is interacting with her friends. She is somewhat mischievous when interacting with Taki. Taki acts more serious but the audience is again told by another character, not shown, that he is supposedly hot headed. I can recall only one scene that actually depicted that part of this personality. Another character later tells us that Taki has changed, but I don’t see the point in making this statement if there was not a clear standard to compare his personality to in the first place.

- Art. Pretty lineart, gorgeous colors, great art and style direction.

- Animation. Beautiful.

- Music. The actual background music was unmemorable, but the songs with lyrics used at several points were really nice. However, I do not have an emotional connection to the songs - so they are simply pretty to me.

- Sound design. Also largely unmemorable, if not for a few well timed suzu bell chimes.

- Writing. To elaborate on what I mentioned in the Story section, the romance was really out of place to me. In fact, I think the director was aware of this which is why supporting characters had to TELL us that the one of the main characters is in love with someone else leading up to the confession. There was definitely an entire montage showing the development of a close platonic relationship. I would have preferred if it stayed that way and hinted at the start of a romance at the very end. Not only would it have made more sense, but it would have also been thematically appropriate. It wouldn’t have detracted from the plot either; you can indeed care deeply about someone without falling in love with them. There was even a scene of unconscious realization of love that I thought was stupid. Maybe instead of having a character cry and wonder about it, they could have spent that time showing them blushing at something the other character wrote to them. Even one instance of this would have been more sensible than none. I don’t buy the angle “it’s a movie, so they don’t have enough time to show development”. Yes they can. Maybe remove one of three scenes in which one of the main characters is groping boobs and replace it with actual character development. It’s not that hard!

Next, one of the main characters basically has to convince their friends to destroy public property in order to prevent the tragedy that only the main character knows is going to happen. One friend straight up says that’s a crime… and then casually goes along with it? The other friend was built up to believe in conspiracy theories, but was not provided any convincing evidence to readily agree to committing domestic terrorism and potentially damaging the reputation of his father’s company. There was even a lighthearted montage leading up to the plan.

Furthermore, I was not a fan of the cringy dialogue between Taki and Mitsuha. There is a key scene in which they are supposed to have a quirky teenager conversation highlighting their relationship. Instead, it comes off as jarring and inappropriate for the time and place, considering the tragedy is about to occur and they are bantering about groping boobs.

- Emotional impact. I laughed two times, once because something was stupid and the other time I thought something was genuinely funny. I was either neutral or negative (thinking “this is stupid/unnecessary/nonsensical") towards everything else. The movie lacked true catharsis or buildup. I think the only great cut was in the first third of the movie before the first song started playing. For the reasons discussed in the Writing section, I felt nothing during the scene that is commonly regarded as the most emotional point of the movie. The reaction that the film wanted to elicit from me was not justified.

FLCL was ahead of its time. Watching it now, you might not think it’s anything special. But when I first saw it 17 years ago, it had it all: great art, animation, music, action, silliness, seriousness, and coming of age stories woven into a bizarre plot. I think it still holds up in 2021.

I watched the dub exclusively. The English voice acting is good (extremely rare for 2003), and the localization is on par with the English localization of the Phoenix Wright game trilogy. They did stuff like changing Family Mart to 7-Eleven and even porn magazine brands for an American audience.

The show doesn't take ... itself seriously; it even parodies South Park. It doesn't promise to show you the path to enlightenment, but it manages to cram in a surprising number of emotional vignettes in 6 episodes. Even when I didn’t understand what was going on in the show when I was younger (and lacked the vocabulary to identify what I felt), I still felt the profoundness of each “life lesson” through the emphasis of the art, character expressions, and music. Today, I now understand some of the other concepts that weren’t applicable to me back then. (See my Writing section for a brief list of these concepts.).

- Story. The pacing is fast, but appropriate. It can’t dive too deeply into many themes, but it introduced an unexpected amount of them. The plot is a little hard to grasp, but it’s certainly there. Basically, it’s about a kid living in a small town, feeling frustrated and abandoned by the big brother he idolizes. A stranger comes into town and disrupts everything he knows. She turns out to be an undercover agent of sorts.

- Characters. I think the characters are pretty relatable.

Naota’s brother (Tasuku) left the nest and went to focus on himself. Even though we don’t ever see his face or find out why he doesn’t call home, we see Naota and Mamimi learning to cope with his absence. I think his name is symbolic; it kinda sounds like tasukete (“save/help me”). Naota and Mamimi frequently call out his name in situations where they need help.

Naota, an emotional preteen with no one to really talk to his feelings about, learns to be more real with himself and come into his own as a person. He was able to take the admiration he had for his brother and translate it into action, thereby symbolizing his growth and no longer being stuck in the past while missing his brother.

Ninamori had to maintain her image as a perfect student and the daughter of the town mayor amidst her father’s affair. She felt burdened trying to fix her parents’ relationship when it wasn’t supposed to be her job to do so as a child. Her faster, more straightforward reconciliation with her feelings and learning to communicate them served as a contrast to Naota, who took a little longer to get there.

Mamimi took the longest, and it was unclear by the end of the show whether or not she was really able to move on. She had a similar character arc to Naota dealing with abandonment and attachment issues, but I think she was also plagued with bullying, loneliness, and probably mental illness.

The other adults (dad, grandpa, teacher, policeman) are painted as wacky and childish through Naota’s lens. They aren’t really integral to the story or themes, so it’s not a big deal to me.

Haruka is the least fleshed out main adult character because she’s more of a catalyst for the development of everyone else. Her personality on the surface is spontaneous and wily. We don’t really know who she is because she’s basically an undercover agent willing to use anything to achieve her goal, including manipulating Naota, performing sexual favors, etc.

- Art. Visually stimulating, colorful, and stylized 90’s art style that I think still looks great today. I think the character design is good and the main cast have distinctive faces.

- Animation. Tons of random variation between 2D to 3D and other stylistic choices such as animated manga panels for emphasis. With respect to 2D fight/action scenes, it is incredibly well animated considering the year it came out - to give you a frame of reference, it’s better than Seven Deadly Sins Season 3. I thought some key scenes were still visually captivating and rewatched them.

- Music. This show introduced me to the pillows over a decade ago, and I still listen to them today. The soundtrack was curated, edited, and timed so perfectly that the show might just be a promo for the pillows à la Daft Punk’s Interstella 5555. The stylistic sound of the pillows captures the essence of melancholy, inspiration, etc. when each scene calls for it. I can tell that a lot of care was put into meshing the animation and music into one work of art. For instance, an episode ends playing the song Hybrid Rainbow, and the last scene shows a rainbow over the ocean.

- Sound design. Good sound design emphasizing plot, action, and character development.

- Writing. While the story and characters are over the top, I wouldn’t say the writing is nonsensical. There is a universe with its own rules and “soft magic” systems. Information is revealed incrementally in the last several episodes. If something really weird happens, it gets explained a little later on.

While the comments breaking the 4th wall were funny, my critique of the writing would be the overuse of sexual innuendo. Some of it was genuinely funny to me, others gratuitous - I didn’t think it needed to be pushed that much considering we didn’t have many episodes.

In interviews with the director, he literally said that he just put a bunch of stuff in the show because he likes it. While you shouldn’t read too deep into everything, I think it’s worth noting some of the symbolism. Baseball is probably a recurring motif because it is unpredictable. I think that one cat is a reference to the cat in Trigun. In the end, I think people can take away meaning from the show based on their individual experiences - a hallmark of success for a medium.

Some of the fleeting concepts packed into the show include:

- Learning when to let go
- Being honest with yourself
- Toxic, co-dependent relationships
- Realizing when a relationship is one-sided
- Communication
- Being disappointed when your ideal of someone isn’t who they really are
- Not speaking up and feeling awful about it
- Seeking revenge creates more problems

- Emotional impact. While the show itself doesn’t explore its themes too deeply (it honestly can’t with just 6 episodes and the crazy plot), it makes me think.

My review will be for Season 1 and 2 together as I have rated them the same. This show threw me in for a loop because I went in only knowing the name of two characters. It ended up being a rollercoaster of emotions on top of being a visual treat. A lot of care went into how the show itself looks from an animation standpoint, but I was also impressed by how well the writing turned out. Every so often, I would have a question about something and the show would address it almost immediately.

- Story. I thought this was a slice of ... life comedy about a boy with psychic powers. I did not expect a sudden serious shounen plot with character development, relationship arcs, and feels trips. Relationships and personal growth were central themes coded into awesome fights. It’s like Gintama, but with a tighter storyline due to the limited number of episodes. I was hooked. Season 2 especially had an unexpected amount of consecutive plot twists.

- Characters. I think the show has charming and endearing characters. The titular Mob is strong in terms of power, but wants to develop as a person. His character development spans both seasons, up until the very last episode. His personal growth is tied to the plotline and magic system, so I won’t discuss further. Just know that there is a reason for the “100” in the title of the show.

Mob and his brother served as interesting foils, often demonstrating “the grass is always greener on the other side”. Their sibling relationship gave me ample doses of serotonin. Interestingly, the show touches upon family trauma caused by the psychic esper gift. Though it doesn’t dive too deep, it is an important lesson.

Reigen is the shrewd con artist who unknowingly acts like a mentor figure to Mob and a voice of reason at several points in the show. His character is hilarious! Imagine my surprise when I ran into his quite serious character arc. I did not think the show was going to address some of the issues he had. I was also not prepared to feel the resounding loneliness from one scene of his birthday episode.

Mob’s friends are supportive and their interactions are heartwarming despite the absurd antics. So is the development of the friendship between Mob and Dimple, a ghost aiming to possess him. I went from hating Dimple and his dumb face to approvingly calling him a “ride or die bro”.

- Art. The actual lineart is just okay, almost too plain for me to watch. However, it has some pretty good character design. Everyone has the same face, and yet they all look different. I also appreciate the use of color. Scenes from peaceful scenery to neon light show fights. Psychic esper energy looks sparkly and cool. Even the title cards for each episode are colored differently.

- Animation. I think the show is probably known best for its fight scenes, but I was equally impressed by the variety of graphical, animation, and coloring styles used in one show. The animators constantly switched between to depict not only moments of impact during a fight, but also to illustrate various scene transitions and montages. For example, an episode from season 2 employed an animated manga panel sequence that left me impressed by its creativity (and money saving tactics!). Other small details, such as the crumbs on people’s faces when they’re eating, contribute to the show’s quirkiness.

- Music. The soundtrack, although not particularly memorable, did the job during a handful of key moments.

- Sound design. Smartly executed sound design, from sound effects to silence.

- Writing. Superb! The general script is funny and employs varying types of humor. The only minus is that the characters who are children do not act their age. Literally no middle schoolers talk like this. Some of them already look really old, so why not age them up to high school at least? However, I can’t be too hard on this due to the highly exaggerated nature of the show. Realism obviously isn’t the point; it’s more about the message and characters growing within the universe of the show.

For a show that can be ridiculous, the continuity is tight. New developments to the magic system were introduced seamlessly following appropriate buildup; I was frequently able to make the connection before the show confirmed what happened through exposition. Characters learn new techniques after a battle encounter. Our strong cast of physic espers get stronger not by vertical power creep, but lateral technique adoption.

I also appreciated the self awareness of the show. It often made quick jabs at shounen tropes (talking too long during fights, the absurdity of adults harming literal children, etc.) in a manner that actually tied into themes. The omniscient narrator used for comedic effect was great. However, I didn’t think it was at all necessary for anything beyond that. The audience had plenty to put two and two together.

- Emotional impact. This show took me on a wide spectrum of feels: I was either laughing, holding my breath during fights, or overwhelmed by the cuteness of a wholesome exchange.

Tsurune scores high in art-focused respects. Its story and characters could use some work. Although I enjoyed watching it overall, I wouldn’t recommend it to my friends. Because of this, I downgraded it from a 7 (Good) to a 6 (Fine).

- Story. The pacing was poor. Very incremental changes were only happening to a small cast of main characters, half of which were lackluster. I felt that the show truly picked up 3/4 of the way in, when it was nearly over.

- Characters. Character development is a slow burn that cranks up for Narumiya and Seiya around episodes 6-9. The show reveals their pasts ... in a complex and layered way. Seiya was always obsessed with Narumiya, but their relationship evolves. I think this relationship carried the whole show. Their individual character growths continue up until the very last episode. Narumiya learns a lot and changes his understanding of group archery in a short amount of time, so there is payoff for the time you've invested as a viewer.

I have issues with everyone else who is supposed to be a main character. They were basically caricatures. Even the three girl side characters were better developed; I actually wished they replaced Onogi, Nanao, and Ryouhei entirely. Onogi is a stereotypical tsundere. His only character arc is learning to play nice. Nanao is the stereotypical laid back play boy with cringy catch phrases. There are only two moments where he seems like a real person. Ryouhei is stereotypically naive and happy. You hardly notice the moments when he is self aware. They attempt to depict him as the the glue to the team. Coach Takigawa's past could have been as great as Narumiya and Seiya's, but the overly dramatic dialogue killed the serious bonding moment between Coach and Narumiya.

Even the antagonists suffered the same fate. They were mean spirited and obnoxious with no redeeming qualities. Usually a good sports anime tries to make you understand where the opponents are coming from.

- Art. Gorgeous art and colors. Their eyes are like jewels. I find the side profile views of the characters super beautiful - the placement of the eyeball in relation to the rest of the face looks elegant.

- Animation. Great! Nothing else to say.

- Music. Really good background music.

- Sound design. There are some strong moments of sound paired with with visually arresting archery scenes and scene transitions.

- Writing. The dialogue can be cringy at times and detracts from the emotional impact of the scene it is trying to enhance. There is a small, cheesy plot twist at the end of episode 13 that left me smiling yet exasperated at how terribly contrived it was. The characters also communicate poorly with each other. I wondered aloud several times why no one addressed an issue like a normal person would, as these characters are standing within the same physical space and should respond appropriately.

- Emotional impact. The show is good overall, but feels kind of empty.

This review was hard for me to post. I would approximate Episodes 1-20 as a solid 8/10, but Episodes 21-26 are a 2/10. What happened to Claymore is that the animation caught up with the manga, so the studio just started making things up in order to bring it to an end. All of the great things that came in the first 3/4 of the show were thrown out the window. As much as I loved it, I can't recommend a show saying you must stop a majority of the way in and then go read the manga instead. The manga also ended up rather ... cliched and didn’t have the same feeling as the show.

- Story. The show is set in a grim and imaginative fantasy world. I have been watching anime for over two decades, and I have yet to come across something similar to this show. I was fascinated by the world building and eager to see the culmination of its mysterious plot. Only women are turned into "Claymore", or half-demon beings whose sole purpose is to slay said demonic beings that attack and eat people. Like demons, Claymores possess superhuman abilities such as speed, strength, and regenerating wounds -- but it comes at a price. Claymores are also ranked by strength.

The end of the plot, however, devolves into a power creep DBZ match that answers no questions.

- Characters. You can usually count the number of non-whiny and genuinely developed female characters in an anime show on one hand, and that number is usually zero. On the other hand, Claymore's entire cast rocks. Furthermore, the show depicts good development in the relationships between the Claymores themselves as well as between Clare and Raiki.

Towards the end of the show, these carefully crafted personalities and motivations disappear as Clare pursues stereotypical shounen level fight showdowns.

- Art. I do not normally watch shows if I do not like the art. Claymore was an exception. Although I find the art ugly, it fits the dark atmosphere of the anime.

- Animation. It wasn't the best, but it was okay for its time.

- Music. It had a decent rock and orchestral based soundtrack to enhance the scenes.

- Sound design. Meets the bare minimum for sound effects.

- Writing. Before the show fell apart, the tone was generally dark and serious, with a few interjections of humor and hope.

- Emotional impact. I felt disappointed. Also thanks to this show, I can never hear "motto, motto" ("more, more") in other anime's without having a flashback to caveman logic Clare and laughing my butt off.