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Mar 24, 2025
So, I finally watched Gundam Seed Freedom. I honestly never thought I’d ever see this film. This is a movie that’s been talked about ever since Destiny ended back in the 2000s, yet nothing ever came of it for decades. I thought this movie would never be a thing. So, when I first saw the trailers for this over a year ago, my first thought was “Really? This is actually happening?” But, my second reaction was indifference.
If this movie had come out ten to fifteen years ago, I would’ve been extremely hyped for it. I was a massive Gundam fan
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back then. I still am now, but my hype for Gundam was at its peak in those days. I loved the original Gundam Seed. Even now, despite my several issues with the series, I think the original Seed is a decent show, especially if you watch the remastered version. It has a really bad reputation because it’s linked with Seed Destiny, which really sucks. I didn’t like Destiny back then, and I definitely don’t now. That, and the fact that it’s been so long, my interest expectations for this film were pretty low. The fact that it’s taken me this long to finally watch it should say enough.
Yet, I still found myself disappointed. Yeah, I don’t like this film much at all. I won’t say it’s the worst Gundam movie ever. F91 still holds that spot for me. But I will say it’s the worst of the three Gundam movies based on an alternate-universe franchise, being this movie, Endless Waltz and Awakening of the Trailblazer. I’m one of the few Gundam fans that loves Awakening of the Trailblazer. I think that film is great, and a worthy end to the 00 franchise. I would even say a necessary one.
This film is much like Endless Waltz in that they’re both rather unnecessary, tacked-on sequels to stories that had completed, and had nowhere left to go. But I would rather watch Endless Waltz over this.
There are some good things about this movie. The art and animation are both good. All the constant recycled animation both Seed and Destiny are infamous for is pretty much gone here. There are some, but they feel more like homages rather than laziness. The music is good. That’s always been a constant strength of this franchise.
Kira and Lacus actually go through arcs in this, and are actually allowed to show vulnerability, which was sorely lacking in Destiny. They actually feel more in line with how they were characterized in the original Seed. The mobile suits all look cool, old and new models, save one. The Destiny Gundam actually got a better combat showcase here than it ever did in Destiny. I would argue Shin got the most badass moments in the film, even more than Kira.
That’s it for the compliments though. The worst part about this film is that it’s a complete rehash of destiny. The movie starts with the heroes fighting the same terrorist group from the first half of Destiny. The main villains have the same goal as Durandel, the main villain of Destiny. They even recycle the same superweapon from the end of Destiny. The climax is pretty much identical to the final battle of Destiny, with the same stakes.
The new characters, on both the hero and villain sides, are all nothing to speak of. The main villain is pretty much a lame mix of Durandel from Destiny and Azrael from Seed. He’s a worse version of both characters.
Athrun has criminally little screen time. Cagalli has even less and does little to nothing. Murrue and Mu are…there. Shin, while having the most badass action bits, is still treated like crap from pretty much everybody for the entire film. It’s sad because Shin could’ve been a decent protagonist in Destiny, as the first half of that series was actually somewhat decent. But, they completely screwed him over at the end of that show, and here he’s treated like an idiot and a joke by everyone.
People complain about 00 and the Witch from Mercury and how many of the battles feel very Shounen-like, but they have nothing on this film. The fights in Destiny already felt too Shounen-like, but this took it to another level. Some of the Gundam battles in this finale would be right at home in G Gundam. Honestly, this film feels like a Gundam movie and more like a Shounen movie. You know, like the old DBZ, Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece movies. This feels like one of those. Gundam is supposed to be a war story. Seed felt like a war story. Even Destiny felt more like a war story than this does.
I wouldn’t say this is a horrible movie. I just find it a nothing burger. Maybe if this had come out in the late 2000s I would be less hard on it. But as a film released now, it just feels like a cash grab, capitalizing on nostalgia, like a lot of things nowadays. This feels a lot like the code Geass Resurrection film we got several years ago, and I’d rather watch that than this.
This film really isn’t for anyone except diehard fans of everything Seed. If you don’t like either Seed or Destiny don’t watch this. If you like Seed but not Destiny, don’t watch this. If you’re someone who’s curious about Gundam Seed, then just watch the first series, and pretend nothing after that exists.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jun 30, 2024
I’ve been a fan of Hibike Euphonium since 2021. I would say it’s my second favorite anime from Kyoani after Hyouka. I really enjoyed S1. S2 is definitely the peak of the series, though I do really like Chikai no Finale and Ensemble Contest too. Season I would say is sadly the weakest of the franchise. Now, I do still like this series. This season does not ruin the series by any means. There’s a lot that this season does right, and it does deliver on most of the important elements. Also, there will be SPOILERS ahead.
This
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season looks gorgeous. This might be the best the series has ever looked, and that’s saying something. The character designs and level of detail on display is just amazing. The music is good too. The OP and ED were both fine. The few performances we did get are well done. I also think the season (and series as a whole) ended on a mostly satisfying note. The very end showing Kumiko as a teacher was emotionally satisfying.
Kumiko I thought really carried this season, much like how she carried the band to victory in the end. The reason I’ve been so invested in this series is not just the visuals or the nice performances, but mainly the character of Kumiko and seeing her journey throughout this series. Watching Kumiko grow from a passive, indecisive girl at the very beginning to a responsible adult and leader has been a real treat to watch. It’s like watching your daughter grow up before your eyes. I would say she’s one of my favorite female protagonists in anime. In this we see Kumiko deal with the responsibilities of being club president, and all the trials and tribulations that come with that. We see her push through all of that, and let go of her own pride, to bring the group together and prove that she’s the best leader. We also get to see her struggle in knowing where to go in life, which is something most of us goes though at some point.
I don’t even mind that she lost the solo at the end, like many people are. I get why people are bummed out about it. A part of me is still bummed out myself. However, I think her losing the solo at the end does more to showcase Kumiko’s growth and leadership skills than if she won. That’s why I still enjoyed this season despite the issues.
Now, we get to the negatives. You could tell this season was rushed, with them cramming the whole year into a single season rather than two. This mainly showed in most of the performance being skipped over. While Kyoani certainly did not phone it in with this season, for the reasons I stated, you can tell that higherups really wanted to wrap this series up and move on.
The lack of performances would be fine if the drama were compelling, like in S2, but I didn’t find it particularly interesting. Most of the main drama could’ve been avoided if Reina, Taki, and Mayu weren’t so awful at communication. It would be one thing if that were a major theme of the season but isn’t really. Because none of those three characters ever face any real fallout from their terrible behavior this season. Kumiko pretty much takes everything onto herself, and they get off scot-free. All three of them do apologize to Kumiko for their behavior in one way or another, but it feels disingenuous because you don’t get a sense that any of the learned anything throughout the season.
Mayu I would say is the biggest wasted opportunity in the whole series. Up until now, all of the other Euphonium players have either been senpais or kowhais to Kumiko. Asuka and Natsuki served as mentor figures for Kumiko, whilst Kumiko then assumed the mentor role herself for Kanade. Mayu was the chance to final have a Euphonium player that’s a actual rival for Kumiko, but it doesn’t work. Most of her interactions with Kumiko are the same, where Mayu asks if she should quit, and Kumiko having to defend her meritocracy stance. Most of their meaningful interactions come at the very end. Mayu barely feels like a character at all, but just a tool to cause drama.
Finally, we get to Reina. My God! I’ve never cared much for Reina, but I could deal with her in previous seasons. In this she’s mostly insufferable. She berates Kumiko for being a bad president, when she does nothing but elevate the drama further, and just is a terrible support and friend to Kumiko throughout the whole second half. She claims it’s to preserve club stability, but we all know why she was really acting out. Because she couldn’t bare anyone talking bad about her grade school crush. Then she chooses Mayu over Kumiko for the solo. Again, I’m not against Kumiko losing the solo, and you could argue Mayu was a better choice. But that on top of everything else she put Kumiko through is not a good look for her. I’m actually glad that they didn’t go the yuri route and have them get together. Reina doesn’t deserve Kumiko.
The worst thing about this is that Reina never has any growth or change. She’s pretty much the exact same person at the end of the series as she was in the beginning. Which is ridiculous given that she’s the most prominent character in the series after Kumiko. You have characters like Kanade, who haven’t been around nearly as long, yet go through much more growth. Even minor characters like Motomu showcased more growth than Reina ever did. That’s not even getting into characters like Asuka, Natsuki, Kaori, etc.
Overall, this is still a fairly solid season for all the reasons I stated. I still recommend it, but it is the weakest season. There’s a lot that could have been done better. Still, it was a decent end to an amazing series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 12, 2023
RWBY Ice Queendom is a RWBY spinoff, but this time done by an actual anime studio in Shaft. That means the show is actually good, right? Wrong! Despite being done by a studio known for masterpieces like Madoka Magica and the Monogatari Series, Ice Queendom might be the worst thing I’ve seen from this franchise. When RWBY volumes 1, 5, and 8 are all things I’d rather revisit than this there is a serious problem. Also, there will be some minor spoilers.
It sucks because this is a series I was looking forward to. I’ve been a fan of anime my entire
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life and have been a RWBY fan since 2016. I’ve often wondered what RWBY would be like as a tradition al anime. So, when this anime got announced I was excited. When the first promotional image of an evil Esdeath Weiss my mind went wild. I wondered if this would be an alternate timeline to the original timeline, like a RWBY version of Flashpoint. But no. Because that’s an actually cool idea.
Instead, the first few episodes are a clumsy readaptation of volume 1. The last episode is a readaptation of the first episode of V2. And the remaining 8 episodes are the RWBY version of The Cell or Inception, which sounds a lot cooler than it is. Essentially, Weiss gets trapped inside her dreams by this new nightmare grim, and it’s up to her team, and Team JNPR, to rescue her, whilst fighting an evil version of Weiss.
Now, does that sound like a plot that should last 8 episodes. This is the creators taking what should be a 1-2 episode arc (3 episodes at most) and extending it to 8. So, you can imagine how bad the pacing is in this. That’s the biggest problem with Ice Queendom. It’s incredibly boring, tedious, and pretentious. Admittedly, the dream world they’re in can be inventive, but even that gets old really fast.
On top of that, it’s just not animated that well. All the best animated bits are in the trailer. Overall, the animation ranges from average to subpar. That’s bad because the action, especially in the early volumes, is one of RWBY’s key strengths. Even the character designs weren’t that great, in my opinion.
I don’t think Shaft was the right choice for this. Yes, they’ve done great stuff before, but not much really super action driven, at least not like RWBY. After watching Lycoris Recoil, I think A-1 would’ve been a better choice. Or Trigger.
What really annoys me is that there are people in the RWBY fandom that defend this, saying it’s good enough. But then in the same year you see something like Cyberpunk Edgerunners, which is also based on a divisive Western property, and how great that was. When you compare that to Ice Queendom the difference in quality is night and day.
That’s why I hate Ice Queendom. Because this was their chance to bring in a new fan base. The greatest barrier RWBY has always had to attracting new fans has been its look. The animation, especially early on, is quite rough, and it puts many people off it. They had the chance to have a RWBY series in traditional animation to get those people onboard, and they squandered it with this garbage side story.
There was so much else that could have been done with a RWBY anime. This either should have been a complete alternate timeline, like I previously mentioned, or it should’ve been a straight-up readaptation. If this had been a straight-up readaptation of volumes 1&2 that would’ve been much better. This could’ve been an adaptation of the recent VIZ manga by Bunta Kinami. Also, they should’ve gone to a different studio like A-1.
RWBY is a franchise I’ve always thought had potential. I’ve always been fond of the world and characters of the series. It’s why I’ve been a fan for so many years despite the series’ myriad of problems. It deserves better than this. Imagine if RWBY got the same treatment as Cyberpunk did with its anime. That would’ve been truly amazing.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Apr 15, 2023
Suzume is the latest Makoto Shinkai movie. This is the first one I was lucky enough to see in theaters, and it was well worth it. I consider myself a fan of Shinkai’s work, even though I thought his last two entries were overrated. I do like Your Name, though I do think the film is overhyped. It’s by no means a masterpiece, at least when it comes to the writing. But I thought the film was okay. I was not a fan of Weathering with You at all though. Ironically, I think some of his best works
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are his more obscure titles. 5 Centimeters Per Second is my all-time favorite of his. I really enjoy Children Who Chase Lost Voices and Garden of Words. I even like Voices of a Distant Star and The Place Promised in Our Early Days. So how does Suzume rank with all of those?
Well, like with all of Makoto Shinkai’s films, the visuals and music are top tier. I don’t think another anime director does background detail quite as good and real looking like Shinkai does. It looks even more impressive on the big screen. However, unlike the previous two films of his, I was much more into the story and characters here. I had no idea what this movie would be about going in, as the trailer kept everything vague and mysterious. But I found myself really liking the premise and the journey our main characters were on for the most part. I don’t think there was any character in this I actively disliked either. With Your Name I found the lead characters great, but the writing and side characters were a mixed bag, especially in the third act. Other than looking and sounding amazing, like all Shinkai movies, I really liked nothing else about Weathering with You.
The main issue with the film is the romance, and by extension some of the padded scenes in the middle. I know supernatural romance stories are Shinkai’s thing. Almost every film of his has a romance between the main leads. Sometimes the romance is done well like in Garden of Words and even Your Name. Here though it feels very rushed and forced because of just how many things are going on and just how many side characters introduced that Suzume interacts with. One of two things I feel needs to be changed here. Either cut down on all the subplots and side characters and focus more time on the two leads’ relationship or just not have it be a romance. Like I said, I like all the side characters in this. But if Shinkai really wanted a romance between Suzume and the main male Souta, he really needed to focus more on developing that instead distracting from it with all these other B-plots. As it is, the two should have just been really good friends like the two leads in Children Who Chase Lost Voices were.
Overall, if you’re a fan of Shinkai’s work then this is a must watch. Even if you didn’t care for his previous two films, you should still give this one a chance. It’s not his best work in my opinion. I would still prefer Centimeters Per Second, Garden of Words, and Children Who Chase Lost Voices above this. Check those movies out too if you haven’t. I’d give this one an 8 or 8.5 out of 10. That rating might go up or down depending on subsequent viewings. But right now, that’s how I feel.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 26, 2022
Dragon Ball Super: Superhero is the latest Dragon Ball movie, but it’s special for me as it’s the first DB movie I’ve seen in theaters. It’s actually the first anime movie I’ve seen in theaters in a VERY long time. I live in a small town, and there are no theaters that close to me that play anime films that are released in the states. So, I’ve missed out on seeing many big anime films on the big screen, including the last several Dragon Ball films. I was going to see this film eventually regardless, because the Dragon Ball franchise, mainly
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DBZ, is one of those series that defined my childhood. It was my gateway into anime. I watched Dragon Ball Z every day on Toonami back in the day. I watched all the old DBZ movies, and played many of the video games, most notably the Budokai series.
Watching this movie on the big screen definitely took me back to those times, as there are many callbacks to DBZ, Dragon Ball, and even the video games. It feels a lot like a love letter to the franchise and fans (unless you’re fans of Gotenks). Also, this review will have some minor spoilers regarding what happens.
Having said all that, I’m not one of those blinded my nostalgia. I acknowledge that the series is far from perfect. Looking back most of the old movies are pretty subpar if not just bad. The last arc of DBZ, the Buu Saga, was not that great. In my opinion, nearly everything the franchise has done since the end of Z has dropped the ball. Most fans will agree that GT wasn’t that good. It’s pretty much a universal opinion that DB Evolution was horrible. And this new Super relaunch of the past decade has largely been disappointing for me. Granted, I do like Battle of Gods and he previous movie, Broly. However, I’m not a fan of Resurrection F or the Super anime series. I can go on for pages stating why I don’t like them. With that, and the early trailers showcasing that this would be 3D animated movie, my expectation for this movie were pretty low.
However, I can say I was surprised by this. Now, that are some things that irked me in the film (things that have been issues for a long time) but I had a much better time with it than I expected. Much of that has to do with the fact that this is not a story centering on Goku and Vegeta for once. That’s been an ongoing problem with the franchise for the longest time.
This time Piccolo and Gohan have center stage. I’ve always been a fan of both characters, but the franchise has not properly utilized them since the Cell Saga of DBZ. Rarely enough, you can say Piccolo is the main protagonist of this film. That’s something I never thought I’d see. On the antagonist side, I do like the Gamma Twins (Gamma #1 & Gamma #2). When I saw the trailer, I wasn’t sure about them, but they might be my favorite characters of the movie.
The action is also pretty fun. It’s not on the level of Broly, but it’s still highly entertaining, which is what most people watch a Dragon Ball movie for. I actually didn’t mind the CG in this. I definitely like 2D animation more (and some CG anime are really bad), but there some 3D anime that I really enjoy. Heck, I’m a regular follower of RWBY, so I’m used to 3D animation. While a bit dodgy to start with, the animation was well done for the most part. Would I like the movie better if it was 2D animation? Probably. While the movie is mostly CG there are some segments of 2D animation, and it looks great. Part of me wished for the whole movie to be in that animation. Still, the CG is my no means the worst.
Now, we get to my negatives. The biggest one is Cell Max. First of all, his deign is crap. They just took Cell’s second form (his worst one btw) and gave it a red recoloring. Wow. It must have taken a whole 2 minutes for the creators to come up with that design. I had the same issue with Frieza in Resurrection F. They took Frieza’s third form and gave it a gold paintjob. Here it’s actually a bit worse because it’s not even the original Cell. It’s a mindless creature with Cell’s design presumably just for fanservice. If you’re not even going to have the Cell we know then they should’ve just designed a original creature, but that wouldn’t be as marketable.
The heroes’ new forms fare better, but only slightly. I’m not a big fan of Gohan’s new form, to be honest. I didn’t mind Piccolo’s, though the name sucks. But at least there was a bit of effort put into his design. That’s been a consistent problem in Super. Except for maybe Ultra Instinct, the new transformations, for both the heroes and villains, have been pretty lame. Most are simple recolors. There’s a distinct lack of imagination with these forms likes there was in DBZ or even GT. As bad a GT could get, at least it had cool characters designs. It had cool original villains with intimidating designs like Baby. Super Saiyan 4 had a very different and unique look to it rather than just being a simple recolor like SS Blue or SS Rose. It’s just laziness.
Speaking of which, while it’s cool to see teen Goten and Trunks I wish they had more to do. As usual, they had to be lazy with Goten’s look. First, he looked just like Kid Goku, and here he looks almost identical to Cell Saga Gohan. Even his end of Z look reminds me of Yamcha in OG Dragon Ball. Why is GT the only place where he has an original design? Also, if you were looking forward to seeing Teen Gotenks in this film, you’re in for disappointment. Toei seems to love trolling us with Teen Gotenks. First, they did it in GT when they were going to fuse, but then Goku was like, “No, you can’t do that.” Here they fuse, but screw it up so it’s just fat Gotenks, and he’s played for laughs. It just shows that Toei really doesn’t like Goten, Trunks, or Gotenks for whatever reason.
Regardless of that, if you’re at all a fan of Dragon Ball, I think this movie will at least entertain you, especially if you like Gohan and Piccolo like I do. It doesn’t disappoint of the action, and the animation won’t bother once you get used to it. When it comes to the new Dragon Ball movies, I’d say this is definitely better than Resurrection F. I might even like it more than Battle of Gods. I have to think on that. Broly is still the best movie though.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 29, 2019
Date A Live is a sci-fi/harem anime released in 2013 based on the popular Japanese light novels of the same name. This series has, apparently gained a significant amount of popularity. It hasn’t been to years and we’ve already had two seasons and a movie has been green-lite. Honestly, I don’t get the hype this show has. The premise is one of the stupidest premises for a series I’ve seen. Beyond that it’s just a generic harem that we’ve seen done hundreds of times before. The characters, except one, are stale and boring. The villains are terrible.
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The comic relief is painfully unfunny. There isn’t much to this show but I’m going to be as fair as possible here.
The series does have some things going for it. The animation is pretty good, though it does take a slight drop in season 2. The animation regarding the fight scenes are particularly well-done. The music is decent. The two openings and endings pretty good especially season 2’s opening theme. The score is fine too. There are a couple of good and memorable tracks. I also like the character designs (except Shido’s) especially designs of the Spirits. There is one other good thing which I’ll get to.
The first problem is the premise itself. This idea is stupid even by harem anime standards. This premise sounds more like the premise to a hentai. Shido can somehow seal a Spirit’s power by kissing her which is never explained by the way. Ratatosk also has Kotori and a team of dating experts constantly breathing down Shido’s neck which ultimately serves no real purpose and is just there for comic relief that isn’t very funny. The crew of dating experts they recruit are supposed to be the best in the world but the advice they give Shido is often just retarded. Their main source of information is basically the equivalent to Japanese visual novels. Who thought this was a good idea?
The next worst thing is the characters. They are all simply tired stereotypes. Firstly you have your lead Shido who is just your generic main character we’ve seen in God knows how many anime. His design generic and lame and he has zero personality. These types of characters are my biggest pet peeve when it comes to anime/manga. It’s clear that these characters are only there to serve as wish-fulfillment characters and to give the audience someone to relate to. You can have a relatable character without making him look generic, be a loser, and be devoid of personality. The prime example is Yusuke Urameshi from Yu Yu Hakusho. He is relatable but he also has a distinct and likable personality and he’s a true badass. We need more Yusuke type characters in anime and especially in harem series then I would believe all these women being attracted to them.
The second big character is Tohka who is the main heroine of the series (and I use that term loosely) and Shido’s primary love interest. While she starts off okay and I like her design I ultimately don’t care for her. She doesn’t do that much despite being the female lead, she’s just an airhead most of the time, and she can get quite annoying at points.
You also have the quiet reserved girls Yoshino who is another Spirit and Origami who works as a soldier for the AST. You have Shido’s sister, Kotori, who is a basic tsundere character which is an archetype that I usually can’t stand and she’s no exception. There is Shido’s other sister, Mana, who is just as bland and boring as he is.
The only worthwhile character in this entire series is a Spirit named Kurumi. She starts out as the villain in season 1 but in season 2 becomes more of an anti-hero or anti-villain (whichever one it is). She is your typical yandere character but I found myself enjoying her. Her design is great, her powers are interesting and cool to look at, and her personality just feels refreshing and fun compared to everything else in this show. She is, without a doubt, the best character in the show. She’s not amazing or anything but compared to the rest of the cast she’s definitely a step up. I think she’s wasted on this show.
The other characters aren’t even worth talking about. They do try to make some of the characters standout from the crowd by giving them some weird quirks. For example, Yoshino often talks through a hand puppet. Origami is not only a reserved girl but is also a stalker character when it comes to Shido, though it’s played for laughs (ineffectively I might add). Despite this the characters are still stale and boring.
The comedy doesn’t work at all. From the stupid comedy from Kotori’s so-called dating experts to the traditional harem anime humor it just doesn’t work for me here. There isn’t even that much fan service. Don’t get me wrong there is fan service in this but it’s pretty tame compared to other big harem anime like High School DXD, Sekirei, To Love-Ru, etc. Fan service is a small point but if the story and characters aren’t grabbing me I have to gravitate to something. Usually shows like this at least have T&A down but here there really isn’t that much of it.
Overall, Date A Live is extremely overhyped. If you’re looking for a harem series to watch there are many better choices like High School DXD. That series has better characters, better story, and definitely more fan service which is what the majority watch these anime for. There isn’t much going for this series. All the characters suck save one. The premise is extremely lame and poorly executed. The only good points are the visuals, music (for the most part), and Kurumi.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Jun 29, 2019
Death Note is probably one of my all-time favorite anime. The premise is interesting and different, the story is suspenseful, it presents itself on a very adult level and treats the audience with respect, and, best of all, the main characters (Light & L) are just amazing. Even it is labeled a shounen anime/manga it is much more adult than 98% of shounen series out there. It is really more of a seinen. Despite the supernatural elements of the Shinigami and notebook of doom, the show seems quite grounded and real. The characters feel real and not over-the-top with wacky
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designs (except L). Nearly every episode will leave wanting to watch the next one to see what happens next especially in the first arc. The series does have its flaws however. There will be some spoilers, so be warned.
There are many things that I find great about this series. One is the premise itself. The concept of the Death Note is quite interesting and not really something I’ve seen before. The rules of the Death Note make for some great kills which Light, with all his intellect, joyfully exploits. I really like Light Shinigami companion. Him and his fellow Shinigami is what I think Death Gods would look like unlike Bleach.
Another positive note is that this is one of the rare anime or just stories I’ve seen that follows the villain as the protagonist as opposed to the hero especially in a shounen series. I know some people will say; “Light isn’t a villain. He’s a tragic anti-hero.” No! In the very first episode he rambles about being the god of his new world will having a huge shit-eating grin on his face. However, Light seems to take such delight in what he does it is really hard not to enjoy him. I love watching him come up with new schemes or plans to outwit the police and L. I also have never seen a story where the villain is the protagonist before, so that was interesting. The antagonist is L, who is also an amazing character. Only he is the good guy of the series.
The first arc of Light against L is probably one of the best arcs in anime history. When I watched that arc I couldn’t stop watching. I was dying to see what came next. Very few series have been able to do that. I loved seeing L and Light try to one-up each other. The rivalry between Light and L is also one of the best rivalries period. Their rivalry shits on Goku and Vegeta’s. Yea I said! Bring the hate mail! They had amazing chemistry whether they were on screen together or not. They should never have killed l off. The series only suffered for it. The only bad thing about that arc was Misa and her Shinigami who appeared more than halfway through the arc. I found Misa to be just as annoying as Light did. She did nothing but cramp Light’s style and just make things harder for him.
Unfortunately, we now come to the more glaring flaws. I can pinpoint the moment where this series went downhill. When Light loses his memory in an attempt to get L off his back is when the series began its downward slope and never really recovered.
After that we transition into the second arc revolving around these company board members where one of them is a fake Kira. None of these villains were that interesting, and the one who turned out to be the fake Kira was the least interesting of all of them. This arc was boring as hell, with jarring shifts in tone. Before this I could not get enough of this show. However, from when Light loses his memory to when he gains it back I just remember not caring and skimming through it when I first viewed the series.
Things do pick-up when Light regains his memory and L dies. L’s death is truly a sad scene in more ways than one. As I said I think it was a mistake to kill him off. I say this because afterwards we get the final a.k.a the Near and Mellow arc. While this arc is certainly not bad it is still a step down from the first arc for sure.
I do enjoy Near and Mellow, though they were never able to fill L’s shoes. Also, Light seemed to come off as less intelligent and cautious in this. It seems like after L died he got cocky thinking no one could touch him anymore. Well, we see where that got him. That’s fine and all, but I thought how Light was caught in the final episode was lame.
From a technical aspect the show is great. The art and animation are superb. It is one of the best looking anime out there. The soundtrack is great for the most part. The first opening kicks ass. The second opening I hated at first, but it grew on me. The endings were fine. The score was amazing, and fit the content very well.
Overall, Death Note is a really good series. If nothing else check it out for the first arc alone. It is not only great but it has some of the best stuff of any anime or just fiction in general. The Near and Mellow arc wasn’t bad. It is actually fairly good, but just doesn’t live up to that first arc. It at least kept my interest unlike the arc before it. It has amazing characters in L and Light, great premise, great music, and a good story making for a great experience. It definitely has flaws but I think the good points overshadow them.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 29, 2019
Attack on Titan, a.k.a Shingeki No Kyojin, is, in my opinion, the best anime to come out this decade. It is based on the manga of the same name that is very popular in Japan even before this anime came out. So because of the popularity, this anime had a ton of hype behind it prior to its release. I tend to use caution when going into a series or movie with a lot of hype surrounding it. Usually the series or movie cannot live up to the immense hype and I am left disappointed. For example, Sword Art Online
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is an anime that came out the previous year that had a bunch of hype surrounding it. In my opinion, that is a series that did not live up to the hype at all and was mediocre at best. However, this is the rare time where the hype is justified.
One of the big strengths of this anime is the world. I love how they took a simple concept like zombie giants attacking humans and created a grand and intricate world around it. I love this world and the way it looks, though I sure as hell would not want to live in it. The animation is breathtaking. This is some of the best animation I have seen in almost any animated series. The animation here is movie quality. This anime was produced by a relatively new studio called Studio Wit (though they had help from Production I.G.).
The soundtrack and score are off the chain. This has some of the best music that I have heard in a while. The action scenes are top notch as well. I do not normally like 3D but some of these action scenes were made for 3D. The weapons that the characters use here are called 3D gear after all.
The characters are a bit simplistic, but they are still likable. The characters are not the strongest aspect of Attack on Titan, but they are still good. The main characters, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin start of basic, but as the story goes they get fleshed out and get a bit more depth. Throughout the series we are introduced to more characters like Sasha, Jean, Levi, etc. There is not much development for them in this season. However, I still grew to like them and can easily sympathize with them even when they are making bad decisions.
The most major issue I have is that the pacing can be a bit slow at times, especially in the second arc of the season. Some episodes felt like padding or even filler.
Another big strength of the show is that while the characters are basic and do not have much development besides the main characters, you still grow to like all of them or at least relate to them. This series does a good job at showing the dread and direness of the situation and how it affects the characters. Plus, the lack of development isn’t really an issue anymore in the later seasons. Seasons 2&3 really improve upon the characters.
This anime is very violent and unsettling not just from the gore but from the psychological of being trapped like livestock by these titans that are superior to them in nearly every way so there is nothing they can do about it.
Overall, Attack on Titan Season 1 is definitely the best anime of 2013 and of the past ten years. This series has nearly everything going for it and the issues are minor ones. This anime is not for everyone. There is a lot of blood and gore and there are many unsettling psychological moments. This series is definitely not for young kids. However, whether you are an anime fan or just want to see a good quality series then definitely check this out.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 3, 2019
Blood+ is an anime about vampires and one special vampire hunting them down. I can’t say I haven’t seen that before. I have seen worse vampire anime and definitely worse vampire stories in general. However, at the same time, there are better vampire anime out there as well like Vampire Hunter D or Hellsing. Hell, why stop at anime. Watch stuff like the Blade movies. This series seems very much like Blade in a lot of ways. You have a main character, Saya (in this case a woman), who is a powerful and special vampire (supposedly) who wields
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a cool-looking sword and slays other vampires. I can tell you that Blade could kick Saya’s ass any day of the week. I would much rather watch Blade and Blade 2 than this anime. I would watch this over Blade Trinity but that’s not saying much. There will be some SPOILERS from here on so be warned.
Let’s get the good points out of the way. Firstly, the art and animation is good for the most part. For an anime that came out in 2005 the visuals are good. The animation during the fights was usually fluid and some of the action seasons are decent mainly ones involving the Shiva lies. The music is also good. All the openings are great and will get you hyped until you realize what you’re watching. The ending songs are okay and the score does its job.
One of the main issues I have with this anime is the characters. I find most if not all of them boring, uninteresting, or just whiny. If you like the characters that’s fine, but I was not invested in any of them. At first I was invested in Saya’s character but as the series progressed I became less and less interested. Many people think Saya is a great character and a very strong female lead, but I did not see that really. Saya would not be in my top 10, 20, or even top 30 lists of best female characters in anime.
She’s not badass. Her fights are honestly pretty dull. Plus, she almost always has to get saved by her Shiva lie Haji, her brother Kai, Solomon, or somebody else. Haji does most of the work in fights and Saya then has the finishing blow. She is also whiny and indecisive. I could forgive it at the beginning because she is still adjusting to everything. However, as the series went on her indecisiveness grated on me.
Diva is even worse. She is built up as the main villain and a massive threat, but she wasn’t really. She wasn’t that great of a fighter and her personality and motivation was really weird. At first she wanted to kill Saya, then she wanted Riku but then kills him,, then it seems like she wanted to sing, then at the end I guess what she wanted was a family. It is really confusing. Did the writers want us to feel sympathy toward her at the end? She tried to kill Saya multiple times, she killed Saya’s real father, killed Riku, and took on Riku’s appearance as a final insult. She gets no sympathy from me. If she did really want a family then that’s a rather weak motivation for the main villain.
Diva’s Shiva lies were more of the main villains than she was and they seemed stronger too. They are the ones with the grand scheme to take over the world and replace humans with Chiropterans, not Diva. Even though Saya and Diva are supposed to be the head vampires their servants seem stronger than they are judging by what I’ve seen each of them do compared to Saya and Diva. I know Saya and Diva’s blood is deadly to them, but from an ability and combat efficiency standpoint they seem better. The Shiva lies get all the good fights. I am never hyped to see Saya and Diva fight. I always wait for Haji or the other Shiva lie to come fight or fight each other. The final fight between Saya and Diva is pathetic. While that was happening you had Haji fighting Diva’s head Shiva lie and that was a much better fight.
Also, it is so boring. This anime is fifty episodes in length and it could have easily been half that if not even less. It really shows in the pacing, which is slow and tiring. There are some episodes where barely anything happens. The story isn’t big or complicated enough to warrant being as long as it is. The plot is pretty straightforward and there are really no twists or turns. Diva’s Shiva lies want to replace humanity with Chiropterans as top of the food chain and Saya and her group has to stop them. You could’ve easily resolved that in a 25 episode series or even a 12 or 13 episode series.
Plus, there’s the whole love triangle between Saya, Haji, and Solomon (Diva’s Shiva lie) which falls into Twilight territory. Okay, it’s not that bad but it does give off that Twilight vibe to me, which isn’t a good thing. People give this anime’s successor, Blood-C, a lot of shit. That series, while not perfect, is better than this. Blood-C is much shorter so the pacing is better, the action is better I think, the lead heroine does more, and there is no Twilight-esk love story in there.
Overall, Blood+ soap opera making as a vampire anime. The action scenes involving the Shiva lie are decent but the rest is just dull. It’s too long and the pacing is super slow. The main character, Saya, is boring, indecisive, and not that strong overall. The other characters aren’t any better. The villains are weak especially Diva. Her motivation is all over the map, she didn’t come off as this badass ultimate villain, and she doesn’t really do much. Her servants seem more like the main villains. They have more screen time than she does. They are the one that have the grand scheme in mind while diva just seems to be just going along with it. The only characters that are somewhat worth anything are Haji and Solomon. As I said previously there is much better vampire fiction out there. It is definitely not the worst but I’d skip it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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May 3, 2019
Serial Experiments Lain is pretty much the Inception of anime or about anything else Christopher Nolan has done. If this anime was directed by Nolan I’d believe it. If you thought Inception was hard to follow then this will really blow your mind. Lain is essentially a psychological thriller with a touch of cyberpunk. Cyberpunk was really popular in the 90s with the success of The Matrix. Even Japan got on the cyberpunk bandwagon with anime like Ghost in The Shell, Akira, and this series. However, unlike most of these types of stories, Serial Experiments Lain is more character
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driven with the premise and ideas raised are there to explore the character Lain and not the other way around. I’ll say this is probably one of my favorite anime now.
The main reason this show works so well is Lain herself. I’ll say that lain is probably one of the best female anime characters out there. If I made a top 10 best female anime character she’d probably be on there. It’s simple but I love her design. She isn’t a badass female warrior like Erza from Fairy Tail but infinitely more complex. The entire series is told from her point-of-view. As the series progresses we delve deeper into Lain’s psyche and even personalities that even she did not know she had. There is even a good twist at the end as to who lain really is which I won’t spoil. Normally I don’t care for twists like that, but I felt this one earned it because there are hints and clues throughout the series leading up to it as opposed to just pulling it out of your ass.
The cyberpunk concept of technology getting out-of-hand and the blurring of reality and the online world has always been a fascinating concept. In fact I think such a concept is even more relevant today than in the 90s due to the huge advancements in technology and mobile devices and social media now playing a huge role in everyone’s lives. The series looks great too. The series has a very unique style that I haven’t seen anything quite like it. It also has an amazing atmosphere that is a bit hard to explain. It’s a very confusing, mysterious, and dark anime yet somehow quite soothing.
The music is great as well. The opening and ending themes are quite good. The opening is interesting because the lyrics are sung entirely in English which is rare in anime. The score is great and it complements the style and atmosphere almost perfectly. They really knew how to handle the score. There are a great many scenes where there is no music playing at all which added to the dark atmosphere. When the music played it added to the dark yet soothing tone. However, there were some rock themes playing at times that I thought were unneeded. Most of the rock tracks play when they’re at the club Lain always goes to which is fine, but there are some tracks that play when Lain is in the wired which I thought was a bit out-of-place but it’s not a big deal.
Granted, the animation isn’t great by today’s standards. However, I don’t have as much of a problem with the subpar animation than I would with most anime. I think the art and animation goes well with the overall style of the anime.
Also, I wish the side cast was more memorable and had more development. I guess you can’t really have much development for them because the entire story is told through Lain’s eyes. I like Lain’s friend, Arisu, but the rest of the side cast is completely forgettable. Even her parents and sister are nothing characters really. I guess it’s supposed to add to the tone and the blurring of reality and the wired.
Overall, if you want to see a good cyberpunk series, psychological thriller, or just wish to see a show that makes you think check this out. Every episode is on YouTube.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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