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Dec 25, 2023
Well-writtenWell-written
Yuri on Ice has brought a lot of people into ice skating, and that's wonderful. It also starts out being pretty compelling by establishing an interesting narrative of this out-of-shape, anxious, in-the-closet skater trying to drag himself back up to the peak. Unfortunately, it languishes in this mire of protagonist self-confidence issues for which Victor is the only solution, is extremely repetitive (we get to see the same routine again? I wonder what he'll mess up because of nerves this time!), and is absolutely not gay enough. I do not have lived experience as a homosexual person, but other reviewers have spoken about their frustrations ...
Dec 25, 2023
Planetes (Manga) add
Planetes is hailed as a hard sci-fi classic, with an amazing and well-realized world. The popular perception is that it is a thinking person's manga, that it is lifelike and [insert hyperbole here]. I am impressed by how well the world of Planetes is constructed by someone without a background in it. Unfortunately, the contextualizing socioeconomics, politics, discussions of orbital regimes, etc. are all just window dressing. This manga is not about those things. This manga is about the main cast. They aren't very interesting or extremely compelling to follow. I would not refer to them as static, but I would also not call them ...
Dec 25, 2023
I had not binged a show for over a decade before this one. A lot of shows really don't have heart. 100 Girlfriends has a ton of heart. The cast are all silly cinnamon rolls who are a joy to watch interact in genuinely heartwarming interactions. Now, this is all predicated on accepting the "love at first sight" premise, but the exaggerated nature of this show made that very easy. Having multiple female partners myself, I was very pleasantly surprised by how genuine the show was about fleshing out relationships and how the "Rentaro Family" emerged through the first season.

I wouldn't say that its relationships ...
Nov 25, 2023
Promare (Anime) add
I really wanted to like this more. Unfortunately, Promare peaks early on (the trailer... it's the scene from the trailer) and goes on to lose the plot and rehash Gurren Lagann way too many times for me to respect it as an independent work. It ends up attempting a play-by-play of key moments in Gurren Lagann that are super predictable and feel really phoned in. Too much action, not enough character time, not enough plot. Many fun moments, but it's a tough sell for people who aren't super into the concepts and animation. It's all flash, no substance, and the one memorable scene is... super ...
Nov 20, 2023
Isekai Ojisan (Anime) add
This show snatched defeat from the jaws of the passable. It is a HUGE disappointment. Initially, the uncle and nephew's banter was pretty good, and the uncle in general was hilarious. I enjoyed having a different perspective on the classic garbage isekai story up until episodes 5ish: halfway through the show I fully internalized that it is not a slow burn towards the uncle's self-actualization or part of his journey to perhaps return, or bring his companions to his world, but is instead a watch party for a boring story about a man refusing to grow up.

Is this perhaps a commentary on garbage isekai? ...


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