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this manga deserves more lights. I know Shinohara from SKET Dance and also about him being Sorachi's ex assistant. and I love how he inherit 'Gintama-ish' comedy yet still has his own flavor in it.

SO, the story premise actually sounds very basic; Nico, a 'talented' witch, need to train her spells in society. But she needs a familiar to accompany her, and she chose Moi, her half ogre childhood friend that happened to be her love interest, to protect her along the training phase. the story goes how her spells tend to give 'comical-effect' and brings Moi lots of trouble. Classic Rom-com of shounen ... level.

BUT, that's not all. Actually, the main plot & storyline goes beyond what expected. As I also read SKET Dance, when you're given an over the top absurd comedy, it feels a little cringy when the plot got too serious. But in WITCH WATCH, the drama feels just right. Even I didn't expect it would be a twist for something that is rather 'predictable'.

the strength of this manga is on the comedy part, but well.. not everybody likes gag in a form of 'long dialogue'. That must be what makes people back down from this series. and yes, there are chapters that's also 'too-much' for me, HOWEVER, out of the new-gen comedy themed I read, WITCH WATCH were the one that makes me laugh the most.
(and hope when the adaption released, the comedy will be well delivered in voice acting)

TL;DR

if you like hilarious gag that actually have strong plot, magnificent cast with some relatable recent issues, heartwarming new-found family trope, well written romance, AND NO UNNECESSARY HAREM OR ECCHI FAN SERVICE..
try WITCH WATCH a shot ;)

this is one of the great things i've had in a while.
after mesmerized by the animation, I go check the manga and both are just amazing-work that really worth the time

story:
amazing. this is why i love anime with a weird theme. who would make a story about a ballroom dancer, but it was a nice experience because i would definitely know nothing about this kind of world, i learned something new.
however, the plot device is as common as any sports could ever do, but it doesn't bore me because the competitive dance is already strange enough to catch my attention.
thought there are some miss detailed ... moment that not adapted, it is still a really fun story to follow, but those details(in the manga) gave more depths to sympathize the character.

art & sound:
absolutely amazing. the colors, the visual & sound effects, the jazzy ost, thought the body structure looks a little bit weird at some scene (like the long neck and stuff) but that irregular shape gave me chills and emphasize the tension. i love the character design and how beautiful they draw the eyes. this series is a total beauty and elegance.
though that's a shame i wish i could see a more detailed performance than just some cutscene with inner monologue. maybe it's hard to animate a whole dance performance or maybe it's just not interesting enough to waste that duration?

character:
I am surprised. they took care of the characters really carefully, everyone, not just the mc, they have their own history & role in each part, well i couldn't say all of them but at least the majority of them. everyone has their own development in some way, not just a fill-in to make things merrier. but still, there's a miss in details where they're better portrayed in the original source

overall:
i enjoy it a lot. to learn and experience something that doesn't really cross your path in life is really a wonderful moment. even though it's fictional, it's nice to know that somewhere in this world this kind of thing is happening, this world is really big and full of amazing people you didn't know

maybe i don't feel the way as everyone feel
wondering what stuff that sitting around on number 2 spot, the score kinda deceived me.. or maybe it's just not my stuff

at least this stuff is still acceptable for those who's not a big fan of timey travel theory but still enjoy SF that have this type of content, however, i can't really feel the heat of the climax
story-wise, it was brilliant, the science & theory aside, but most of it just things that pass go by for the sake of progressing to the final conclusion. only few moments that I truly enjoy.

art-wise, if the color scheme ... supposed to make the scene to be thrilling and depressing then it's almost there, it's just I don't really feel that, but the idea of turning akiha the heavenly city of the anime culture into a total nightmare kinda spot on.
sound-wise, all I can remember there are loooots of long long dialog with so minimum bgm and crickets and crickets, summer vibe indeed. however, miyano mamoru, as always, did a brilliant performance.

character-wise, yeah the tsundere might not be as annoying as the other tsundere, at least with no violence, and the other dere(s) at least they're lovely but not have enough punch to leave a great impression. and the MC, besides being crazy and depressed, it's just miyano-san being awesome. i can't feel strong chemistry between the character, even the childhood friends, the romance, or maybe it's because they're just a bunch of weirdos, or it's just supposed to be that way?
p.s: not a fan with designs that uses the same clothes for weeks

overall: maybe those all sound grumpy, but i appreciate it with all my heart that this isn't that bad, brilliant concept, and originality is the charm. it's just from that high score I expect something would be enjoyed by general, or maybe I'm the minorities that cannot truly enjoy this, however, i managed to finish til the end.
if there's some hidden greatness within this series then, changed my mind, but if the answer is "the sequel will make it great" then, i'm not buying that, i've had enough

it's been a while since I truly laugh from a gag-anime.
it's a real classic boke-tsukomi stuff but i think it's a bit underrated.

long story short:
it about a bunch of weirdos living under the bridge
at the pov of the MC, the cast is just a bunch of people with mental issues, but in pov of viewers, there's a chance that the fantasy aspect might be real. I think this is one of the charm of arakawa under the bridge, it never told what is real.

and another big charm from this series is there's always a little depth and meaning from their comedy, a little life lesson ... and message are slipped inside the scene. lots of gag-anime are creating dumb scene just for the sake of being funny.

the animation and sound is fine enough, it's not the mighty quality since it's just a mere slice-of-life comedy, however the seiyuu's line up, as you can see they're all the veteran gangs, really deliver the character and the scene perfectly.
as for the character, they're just variant of weirdness, not that quirky, mostly specialized in this specific type, but that combination of weirdness is the spice and sauce that works perfectly in this series.

and overall it's been a while since i truly enjoy such heartwarming-gag. this weirdness deserve more love

as peoples rate it as a shitty adaption, actually it's not really that bad. there is plenty of battle series that not as good as this opm season 2, however the fact that the quality decrease really affects the overall review. at first, it really disappoints me but after a while actually, it wasnt't that bad. I try to give a fair review about it

TL;DR
it's fair. just because season 1 is so damn awesome, it doesn't mean that this season is overall ugly. but for a better experience, Murata-sensei did better in the manga.

story: 9
if we talk about the story then we talked about the ... original works, the story is great. I love how opm convey a great plot with the spice of comedy, such as the hierarchy of heroes and they lose sight what actually the meaning of hero is, the setting and how everyone underestimates Saitama makes us grind our teeth, and when Saitama kick the monster's ass in front of everyone gives us this accomplishment feeling like "in you face, dumbass!". though the plot story is pretty much so-so, I think the charm of this series is the pacing, how the story flows and of course the comedy!

art: 6
fair enough, not that bad, but wasn't good enough. of course, the season 1 is like an almighty adaption, a lot non-anime watcher praising it, and it is indeed amazing with all detailed movements on battles. well, it regressed like a lot, but there is some decent scene but not much that it looks well, but most of it like on genos or Garou, but still I expect more to them.
the CGI is too obvious, unlike in season 1, it looks so damn natural that it's beautiful.
the color scheme also downgraded.. esp on the highlight effect, as everyone said, genos metallic effect kinda bothering, but it doesn't mean it hurts our eyes to see.. but yeah, the staff working hard on it and maybe the budget is not as much as the season 1 had, it's fair.

sound: 6
yet I have to compare it to season 1, it has this pretty awesome vibes with the electric guitar bridge and all, and somehow I didn't notice it in this season, it's kinda lack of punch on the BGM, no memorable things that I could remember, or perhaps they only reuse the same theme?
well it's not wrong to reuse but at least they have to add a new one if they did, I just can't remember any of it.. so sorry.
and sometimes I feel like the seiyuus sounds off, it's not the seiyuus fault since they're doing great in other series, I always think it's the sound director fault if the seiyuus sounds rather plain.

character: 8
yeah if we talk about the character we talked about the original works once again. I love opm characters, even the minor one like A class or B class have a decent design, quirky, and unique ability it's pretty hard to create a lot of faces yet all of it almost stand out, memorable. one-sense and yusuke murata-sensei really did great!
but in this adaption well.. it's fair enough, but yet again maybe the color scheme will bother you a bit

overall:
in some way i enjoy it, when it end i kinda.. wants more(?) or perhaps expect something more than this. it's pretty fair, it's not that ugly nor shitty, it's fairly good overall. i bet the staff really work hard on it but maybe they're not as experienced with the staff that works on season 1, or perhaph they don't have much budget to make as awesome as season one. it's fairly good.

i have to praise the studio for adapting this series beautifully.
it's a typical classic shounen that really neat.
i saw it in every top watch list and curious, i didn't realize it's in the shounen jump gang series

story: 8
i am a fan of neat writing.
like any other typical shounen formula, yeah it's the very classic fighting-training stuff, with some organization/group of justice related, the setting's pretty interesting, a bunch of swordsman fighting demons that actually normal human with no 'super-duper-power'. i love how the author develops the superpower with sense, like breathing, however, it is still very classic that in someway makes me think:
"ah man I ... watch a bunch of this kind of stuff.. i'm tired"
BUT the special trait that i want to praise is it is done so neat, it's not just a senseless brawl fight, there's some kind of special setting in each battle that makes it all worth watching, tanjiro, use his intelligence with his limited capability. tho it's a bit lacking in the element of surprises, it is still fun to watch


art: 10. outstanding, indeed
i love historical visual elements, the beauty of classic Japanese art style, the visual effect, flowers, Hokusai's classic waves. beautiful, amazing. the visual makes all the scenes perfectly. the animation and camera work did it right.
well i just can't deny the artwork is perfect, the cultural ambiance is just too beautiful, perhaps that makes this series so popular

sound: 9
seiyuu done it right! i always think that all of seiyuus is talented. some of the series hire a popular seiyuu but the directing might be bad and they ended sounds flat, but the directing is great they sound awesome
not to mention the ost, i always love ost with classical Japanese instrument and it fits perfectly

character: 8
yes, it's generic, but it gives this kinda fresh feeling, it's typical but quirky,
but the hero, tanjiro is the kind of character I can't understand, it's too good to be true that such a kind human-being exist, he fit a hero character perfectly, but, his kindness just.. well it's fictional so it's not a big deal
and for a shounen battle series, somehow the character design is.. hmm too cute(?) it's a bit lacking on macho-ism or strong element on the protagonist or supporting characters, but it doesn't matter, there's still room for development. but i could understand that the author creates them with great care, even the antagonist, they have their own purpose, struggles, and history.

overall: 8
i enjoy it so much i can watch it over and over again. because it's beautiful, the artwork really did a great job. well yea, people would think this is overrated, but it's worth watching

after watching it through the end all that leaves is:

well, at least the animation art is great.

for you who actually a digimon fan will found it as a total rip-off of war game movies, then I can't help the Digimon version seems more like.. better..

well, it's because 'it's the work of the same staff' thing, then why would they made a freakin similar theme just to make it fancier with unrealistic weird family drama.. I just.. disappointed.

but for you that haven't watched the digimon version might think it's pretty much interesting theme

i can't find the protagonist stand out that great except he's just ... being a math smartass and all. the heroine is just plain to the point that for the first half movie I just see her as a horrible girl.
the seiyuus sound unnatural or perhaps the drama itself is unnatural in the first place that makes the seiyuus sounds bad(?) i'm not sure..

in the end i totally can't help to be biased by digimon because every plot just too similar with different characters and visual..
well but if you bored and have some free time, it's pretty much alright

i'm a big fan of umino sensei's honey and clover series. when i heard she has another awesome series, which is this series, it was not to appealing because the main theme is shogi, the thing i don't understand at all
HOWEVER.. i was wrong. after finishing 2 season and continued by reading the manga.. i still don't understand shogi at all, BUT this is indeed amazing with no doubt.

it's a story of a bittersweet of life, pretty much similar with my favorite Honey&Clo, my thoughts are
"ah.. i wish there are a lot more of anime story that similar to this"
all tragedy to comedy packed in ... one piece. the animation staff really did a got job execute this one.


the art is just splendid. how they mixed a slice of life expression visualize in fantasy drown you out into the story. sometimes watching a slice of life drama is a bit hard because of the serious content about life but it amaze how they make it beautifully with a lot of different expression in visual, it never bores me.

they make a plain protagonist can be so interesting. Seeing Kiriyama, the protaginist, developing as character, the way he desperately trying to survive and sturggles feels like raising a child, it makes me sad and later makes me proud..

the seiyuu did a great job! especially for momo(a kindergarten kid) and the cat thoughts sound just to realistic, i bet it's hard to act a voice of a kid so realistic like that. the sound and all bgm and ost fit so well i can't ask for more!

and here comes the supporting character that seems plain but actually when you get a good look at everyone, they're all quirky, look simple but actually rich with untold story, just like a normal human being in real life, each person has their own amazing adventure, don't underastimate side character!

overall i enjoy it a lot. i wish they make the third season of this series. this is the review for the 1st season but i want to praise how the production and quality of the 2nd season is evolved.
tho i really want to give it a 10, but the 1 point is for honey&colver that brings me here :'')

i hope a lot of people watch a lot this kind of anime and will cherish their life

here the most intense horse racing you would encounter in a story. the idea of a race crossing a continent which is united states is bizarre and awesome. i haven't read all part but i catch up with what happened through the animation series, and this one is within my TOP 3.

in this series everything is reset, i new start for new universe with similar element, it might be a dissapointment because all part 1-6 are kind of abandoned with lots of unanswered question, but..
i think it's just how jojos works.. for some peaople maybe this part is dissapointing to some point, but i enjoy ... this part without biased to the previous jojos.

the story telling as always, awesome. there are puzzling but this puzzling feeling is makes this series greats. i'm sure the dialogue are mean more than what it is.. it's hard to grasp what really happened through reading it only once.. but still got the rough idea about it. it could be considered as a skillful and genius story-writting. the plot and setting, the ambience, and culture at those timeline are neat + you still got the doofus jokes from the character.

the artwork are excellent, all those details within pannels really gives you the feeling throughout the story, all the movement, especially in battle really easy to understand, and if you actually really observe.. you might find some foreshadow.

++ since jojo is all about joestar, but it's fascinating hows the first-half story tend to more focus to this zepelli guy. unlike the other jojo that are quirky from the start, johnny is rather plain yet not the kind of this pure-boy dude phantom blood Jonathan. and as the story goes you'll find johnny evolving, changing little by little through the race, and what is more awesome is the fact that johnny cannot walk, the contrast point unlike the other superhuman jojo.
and what's best is diego brando existence that is less-jerk than original dio. the anti-hero of this series, meanwhile both facing the same villain yet still opposing the main hero.

overall
there's still this puzzling feeling when the story end.. but there's still jojolion(part 8) where the story migh be relevant to some point *since i haven't read it yet.
but i enjoy it so much, the reset plot is refreshing (because phantom blood is like a sitcom drama for me.. i can't stand it and i hate vampire..)
at first you'll think "wut. will i just read a horse race continect for 96 chapter."
but later a bizarre thing is actually happening without you realizing.

p.s: you'll love the cheese song

***edit

after 3 parts of bizarre-ness then finally here part 4, a finally visually normal teenager with bizarre-ness.
i'm jojo-ing marathon now and so far it is still amazing

contrast to the other jojo who touring around the world, this part focus on one location, a bizarre city, morioh. a city full of psychos.

unlike the other jojo that makes weird conflict in their adventures, this series mostly potray a pretty much daily basis conflict yet still in bizzare way. mostly the other jojo's character are bulky with disgusting fantastic body, this one is rather more reasonable, and might be cuter.
it doesn't mean the other jojo are bad, ... it's more like refreshment with a new style yet still contain jojo element on it. awesome.

amazing art & animation. i love how the make a cheerful pop color and combine it with psychotic plot. jojo color scheme are always awesome but rather dark and a bit vintage-feel, but this one are evolved, adjusting with the current timeline and era. it's awesome how they consider the color scheme in it's part. OST + BGM + SFX = always as its best.

after 3 parts, it's awesome that the author still able create a original character without have similarities with the previous that was created from the other part. maybe there is some similarities but i haven't found any character that compare-able. it's really hard to make a simple yet quirky character, and this part MC are just really a fun gang to follow!

edit part;
i love how they make the MC, Josuke, acts like a real teenager, bcs the previous jojos are just too much for character that actually still in their teens. it shows perfectly that they really are in their teens, then the breathtaking moments of the last 4 episode hit it right.. it's shocking.
i could say the arc and the main villain character is outstanding, perfectly written. this is the best villain so far i could find in the story i've experienced. the main villain, the david bowie aka yoshikage kira is really evil in very smart way. actually it's rather typical BUT the entire final arc makes it perfect. the thrills is really terrifying. the villain is a human yet it's scarier than our usual mighty-immortal-vampire.

;overall;
i enjoy it a lot. if you skip the other part maybe it is still enjoyable, every part has its own iconic bizarre-ness feeling. the climax of final battle end this part perfectly! somehow the previous parts climax lacks some thrills but this one really mind-blowing. it is definitely a refreshment from the 'thesedays-anime' series. the best fun-thrilling bizarre adventure!