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Apr 23, 2017
If you're a longtime anime fan, sometimes you're just in the mood for a great shonen series. Well, friends, look no further than My Hero Academia if that's what you're in the market for.
In today's media landscape of moral grey areas, antiheros, cynicism about humanity and general malaise, not to mention the complex geopolitical landscape we inhabit in the real world, life can be bleak. There are times when you just want to go back to believing that the good guys always win and that evil can be overcome.
While this a truth I believe will ultimately happen, it can be hard to see sometimes. Shows
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like My Hero Academia are a good means of escape from the harsh world we live in, and strengthen the values of justice and hope we all have.
The best way to describe MHA is if Harry Potter met Marvel superheroes. Basically, superheroes exist in this world, and there's a superhero academy that trains the best ones. It's pretty simple, but hey, the show knows it and it handles it's conventions expertly.
All the characters are easy to love and it's hard not to root for them. There are some classic shonen tropes in here but they are just refined and played so excellently- the rival dynamic between the MC, Midoriya and his longtime rival, Bakugo, the teachers/masters that reveal their true power when their students are in a pinch, the MC overcoming his humble origins to eventually become something great. What's a true delight to see is how all the students of the academy go from acquaintances to becoming friends as they face the various trials and challenges.
The last 3 episodes are pure shonen at it's most perfect, and there's a moment in episode 12 that sent chills down my spine at how cool it was.
Definitely watch this show if you're in the mood for shonen but don't want to wade through Naruto or tackle HxH (though you should watch that immediately if you like this). You won't regret it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 7, 2016
I guess this was a serviceable little show. I'm deep into FFXV now and I heard this series gives you a greater appreciation for the characters. Basically, it goes into some little vignettes in the past about each member of the party, but it doesn't really show anything major. Prompto loses weight as a kid, Gladiolus gains respect in training Noctis, Ignis gains respect in taking care of Noctis, Noctis gets revenge on a lamia thing that killed his mom. Out of the four, Noctis' story is the most interesting as something of consequence actually happens. It would have been cool to see further into
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the other 3's backstories but I'm guessing this is either explored in the game or will be explored further. Overall, a decent show that will give you a little more appreciation for the characters you play as, as the game does kinda throw you right in expecting who these characters are.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Nov 6, 2016
I decided to watch this show because everyone was watching it and losing their shit over it on r/anime, so I decided to stay relevant as an anime fan and check it out. It took me about 2 months to get through it, so you can see I wasn't exactly incredibly engaged with it if it took me that long.
Re:Zero is a show with some great ideas that are fumbled completely. Subaru is supposed to be an expy for the average person watching the show: otaku, gamer, socially awkward guy in the real world, but gets sucked into a generic MMORPG-like fantasy world. My immersion
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was totally broken when he just accepted this in 5 seconds and decided "cool, I'm in a fantasy world!". This is ridiculous-even the most isolated, depressed person would be bewildered and terrified if they were suddenly spirited away to some strange alternate reality.
Despite this, the show starts out with some interesting and curious mechanics that kept me watching. How did Subaru get here? Why does he have the ability to come back to life when he dies? Who is killing him whenever he gets close to telling someone that he has the ability to die and come back later? Whenever Subaru dies, he resets at a "save point" and has to repeat stuff he did, usually learning from whatever random mistake he made to figure out the best solution- so as you can see, the show knows it's audience.
This comes at a price, though- there are some scenarios you don't mind seeing Subaru screw up and repeat, like defeating a murderous death cult, for instance, but then there are some that just drag ass. The middle of the first cour is interminable. I really did not care to see Subaru's wacky butler waifu adventures at the mansion repeated ad nauseum. The show throws all the typical otaku bait at you- maid girls, cat girls, loli magicians and Emelia, the prototypical "best girl" that Subaru just decides he loves from day one with no precedent and no meaningful romantic development between the two. Like most harem shit, Subaru somehow goes around solving all the female's problems and the whole mansion and everybody praises his name.
This is where I almost quit. I hate that formula and it is like nails on a chalkboard when I see it, but THEN the show did something interesting. Around episode 13 or 14, that formula starts to get deconstructed. Subaru is told that he is basically only helping people to live out his bullshit power fantasy to save all the waifus that many Otaku have. He is told he really does not have any power to change anything and that he has a messiah complex. Subaru responds by groveling and admitting this and making a total ass of himself in front of best girl. I loved it- finally, the audience is told that their stupid Light Novel fantasies are selfish and masturbatory and that this is not how relationships with women work in the real world. Subaru is subsequently punished, beaten, and killed brutally many times over the next couple episodes as he deals with the pathetic reality of his own soul. I loved it, and I hoped the show would continue to Shinji the hell out of Subaru's ass and deconstruct fantasy harem tropes for the rest of the show.
But it doesn't. In typical fashion, Subaru gets over this and goes back to being male savior of all the waifus. This leads one character to pour her heart out to him over how much she loves him for about 10 minutes, to which Subaru just responds "sorry, but I love Emilia". This was an absolutely insulting and ridiculous moment. Rem, the confessor, had spent most of the series thus far helping Subaru and getting to know him, and is one of the few with actual character backstory. Emlilia, the girl Subaru is in love with, treats Subaru like shit and is barely on screen, but because she's the most "attractive" girl, Subaru and the audience are expected to root for her. Rem opts to just pine away in silence for eternity because of her love for Subaru and tells him it's totes cool that he loves another girl.
In what universe is this a realistic human scenario? It's more of the typical otaku harem relationship dynamics that give otaku such a warped view on how romantic relationships work. It was disrespectful both to the characters and the audience.
So after that, the show goes down the typical route and even though Subaru has no powers in a world where all the other characters essentially have superhuman abilities, he manages to rally multiple kingdoms to believe in themselves and take out a huge monster and the cultists. Fine.
I'm complaining a lot about the show, but there's also a lot to like. The art is fantastic, the commentary on otaku culture, though stunted, is good, and the sakuga moments are brilliant. Betelgeuse, the "villain" of the story, is one of the most insane characters I've seen in anime. He's a combo of the Joker and Mozgus from Berserk, with the insanity cranked up to 11. He's a little cartoonish, but incredibly entertaining. The ridiculous gore and "edgy" psychological horror stuff was also entertaining. The show also sets up an interesting world with many mysteries we still don't know about, so I'll tune in for the second season. We still have to see who will be picked for the Royal Selection and all that mess.
So over all, as many have said, it's a flawed but entertaining show. I recommend it if you're 16 and don't have as much as a critical filter for the bs or if you just want to be entertained.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Sep 25, 2016
I've been an anime fan for almost 20 years, with my heyday being in the "anime bubble" of the early to mid 2000s. Those were fun times to be an anime fan, with con culture really blowing up, anime being licensed like crazy, fansubs still being fun and clandestine and shelves at Best Buy overflowing with anime. One of those shows I always saw at Best Buy was "Gankutsou", and I always thought "Huh, that looks cool, maybe I'll buy it" but I never did.
So after saying "huh, I should watch that show" after 12 years, I finally did, and boy was it worth it.
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I don't think I've ever seen another show like it, at least in terms of the art style. Much has been made of the art in this show, so I won't go into that, but suffice to say it is truly unique.
What I really loved in this show were the characters and plot. I'm vaguely familiar with the Count of Monte Cristo story, and this version adapts the story into a far future setting where space travel and aliens exist, but for some reason the world is full of abstract Baroque decor and trappings. The Count of Monte Cristo is getting revenge on those that wrongly imprisoned him 25 years ago, and through the course of the show, we're treated to sparks that ignite into a full on uncontrolled wildfire by the series end. The Count is vampiric in nature, seemingly possessed by some sort of demonic alien deity that gives him his powers.
Us viewers see most of this world through the character of Albert, the son of the primary "antagonist" of the series. The show deals with him as he grows from an idealistic youth to a world-weary adult as he witnesses the Count's roaring rampage of revenge.
The characters are all developed incredibly well and you care about them all to where you genuinely feel sad when characters die.
The plot is addicting to the revenge nature of the show, and you'll marathon 6 episodes in a row without realizing it.
I think that this show deserves to be rediscovered. I don't ever hear anyone talking about it and it really deserves some TLC to restore it to a 1080p format- the art is too beautiful and I really think it would pop in full HD. This is also one of the few anime you can introduce to "laypeople" and they would get into it.
10/10-watch it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Sep 17, 2016
This show was probably most popular in the anime community for making fun of it's shitty CGI and the "CLANG!" sound that Gut's sword makes in the first couple of episodes. The internet hate machine picked up on it and then went on a rampage of unfairly judging the show, making claims like "It's not just the art, it's the pacing and direction" when being called out that they just don't like the CGI, and acting as if the show is an abomination in the Berserk franchise.
To get it of the way, yes, the art is absolutely awful. The CGI looks worse than CGI shows
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in the late 90s at times, and the complaints that it "looks like a PS2 game" are actually unfair in that many PS2 games looked better than the CGI in the show. The show also cuts between 2D and 3D scenes, and the 2D scenes always look excellent- why the heck couldn't they just do that for the entire series? That all being said, the CGI seems to improve a bit as the show goes on and the big fights are always breathtaking and fun to behold.
The show basically makes up for the art in every other way, however. Susumu Hirasawa is back with a great, "Berserk sounding" score, the characters are all incredibly true to the manga, Mozgus is suitably over the top and insane, and most importantly it "feels" like Berserk. I still got the feel of absolute cosmic dread throughout the series, and it doesn't shy away from the disturbing Berserk stuff that makes Berserk, Berserk.
I can't help but think though that my knowledge of the manga may have filled in some of the character gaps that may have been present. I saw some complaints that the show moved too quick and people didn't know what was going on, but honestly, if you're coming into this show fresh without watching any other Berserk related media you're going to be lost. It takes place during the third main arc of the series where earth shattering events have already occurred.
I was afraid that all the fan bitching was going to lead to the show not being continued, but it looks like despite all the whining people are watching the show, big time. The general anime audience seems to really enjoy it, and we're getting a season 2 next year! With the movies, show and new Berserk game coming out, it's a great time to be a Berserk fan after a pretty much 20 year drought of outside media.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 23, 2016
This was a pretty solid little show. However, I began to notice a lot of the problems the show had as I thought about it.
I'll watch any anime where the protagonist is not in highschool. I'm almost 30 and i'm long past the point where I relate in any way to kids in high school. I'll watch high school shows if they are stylistic or getting rave reviews, but I usually have been avoiding them lately. When i found out the show is about a 29 year old who has to go back in the past to stop a murder, I was intrigued.
The plot is
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pretty simple and is paced and handled very well. The only reason I gave it a 7 was because the ending was absolute bs and too convenient. Also, I thought the show should have handled some of the questions Satoru would have had- how long do I have to be my child self again? Isn't it terrifying that I have to relive all this shit I've already done?
It also affirmed the whole "you can be an antisocial apathetic otaku and everyone will love you". This is Satoru's character and like a lot of anime where boy saves girl, the whole town praises him for saving them all, even though he doesn't have an ounce of charisma.
I did like: the art, the overall entertainment factor, and it's somewhat mature handling of child abuse. Worth watching if you've gone through your backlog and are looking for a newer show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 14, 2016
BIG SPOILERS
So I decided I'd write my review for this show on this entry rather than the first season entry.
Ushio and Tora is a fun show that tries to evoke that 90's goofy edginess and fun that many shows had back in the day. While it largely succeeds, there are few arcs that go on too long and parts that are a little bit boring. There were one too many monster of the week episodes, and the HAMMR arc and Kirio arc had some cool moments, but there were a lot of dull episodes.
My biggest problem with this show is Ushio himself. Tora is a
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great character that we see grow over the course of the series and who we finally get a huge backstory on, and his character arc concludes beautifully. Many of the side characters also grow over the series and even get their arcs neatly resolved. Ushio, however, is the definition of a one-note protagonist. He's perseverant just because, can one-shot most of the villains just because, and every character in the show seemingly praises him for all the blessings in the world. I knew going in that I was going to be watching a hot blooded 90s emulation and didn't expect the deepest characters, but I feel that Ushio could have been made just a tad more complex. It's based on a 90s shonen, however- characters being badass just because is par for the course.
What about the good? The soundtrack is great, the animation looks straight out of the 90s, and the last 4th of the series is top-shelf stuff. The main villain, Hakumen no Mono, is literally the embodiment of fear and evil. The incarnations it takes and it's sheer power is on Lovecraftian levels, and I loved that.
I'm also a big fan of yokai and Japanese mythology, and I thought that the way they wove a lot of references to classic yokai was awesome.
Definitely worth a watch if you've been on a depressing anime kick and want something that makes you feel like you're watching Toonami in the late 90s.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 4, 2011
Full Metal Alchemist is an extremely popular franchise. I had watched the original series a few years ago and enjoyed it, but I didn't think that it was the greatest series in the world. However, the characters in the show stuck with me like few ever have. I was eager to see how FMA Brotherhood lived up to the original-and it surpassed it. This anime does everything right-a great plot that is intricately woven and resolves everything, terrifying villains, breathtaking action sequences, drama, humor, joy- It does it all perfectly. I am normally one that enjoys more obscure and unpopular anime as I grow older,
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but this somehow eked it's way into one of the top 5 best anime I have ever watched. A required view for all anime fans.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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