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I am routinely fatigued when I look at the catalog of manga and anime out there. I admit I haven't taken in nearly as much of either as the avid weeb but a few years ago I was introduced to Chainsaw Man. With every chapter, came a high pace, dark, erotic, mystery, and action experience that floored me. It's rare to find a work in fiction that can capture all of these elements so seamlessly and where I felt a level of empathy for a lot of the characters.

Realism is a branch of film I love and is always something I'm most interested in with ... anime. It's mostly exemplified in the psychological genre, but even then, tonally it's difficult to find. Slower-paced stories, an atmosphere that could swallow you whole, an overwhelming force in the wings, and character stakes are just a few things that characterize what I love most in my favorite animes. NGE captured real-world psychological turmoil through a Sci-Fi lens. Monster gave us one of the most grounded stories anime has seen. And Chainsaw Man....well I think it would be a stretch to call this story realistic by any stretch but just like the others mentioned, Chainsaw Man engulfs itself in so much cinematic prowess. You have an eerie soundtrack creating an uneasy atmosphere as if everything is about to fall to pieces. This is then pieced together by quiet, sobering moments, off-kilter in nature distributing what I've come used to in typically anime pacing and I'm more familiar with in Fincher-esc films. There's sooooo much tension and mystery brewing, and a lack of trust always surrounds each and every character we encounter. With that trust comes STAKES. I don't want to just throw shade at a lot of anime but some really do lack stakes, and in turn, become quite a passive and forgettable watch.

They were able to immaculately translate the manga to screen. It blows my mind how they were able to weave the darker humour and sillier erotic moments into a story that takes itself quite seriously. Like we'll go from Himeno throwing up in Denji's mouth, to one of the most beautifully adapted sequences I've personally ever seen when Himeno faces Akane. Genuinely gorgeous animation all over the place, MAPPA rode a great balance with 3D and 2D which progressively got better with each episode. And the attention to detail was really appreciated. They really got creative with shot compositions with both action sequences and quieter moments. Even in a story that was quite serious in tone having some pretty sad moments all over the place, they still created such a puzzlingly energetic and fun experience with the creative direction.

All these characters from the manga had perfect adaptations. Makima has that menacing put enwrapping grip on you throughout the 12 episodes we get. You know there's something up with her but you almost don't care. Himeno gets more humanity translated.
And in the case of Kobeni, for me, in the manga she was rather forgettable, but the anime brought a newfound appreciation for that character. In a world of badasses, it was important to have a character who reacted in the most realistic manner, and even with that, she could still hold her own.

Was utterly transfixed by Chainsaw Man. If you haven't watched it at this point and find the more realistic approach to a story so fantastical intriguing, give it a go. It's a breath of fresh air.

Berserk all in all is one of the greatest achievements in storytelling that I can recall. The manga, though incomplete, was and still continues to be a seminal experience for a lot of people. The anime on the other hand while missing a lot of the manga, manages to craft a beautifully told origin story of how Guts went berserk. He is easily one of the most badass characters in anime history and for being as old as it is I was extremely impressed by the action direction. Even if they filmed a lot with tight shots to avoid much more animation intensive scenes, it ... was expertly directed in a way so that you still had an understanding of the actions in each battle.

What can be said about the OST that hasn't already been said, iconic as hell. On top of that, this has to be one of the fastest binges I've ever gone on. I vaguely remember watching episodes of Berzerk maybe a decade ago but that didn't change a thing about my experience especially in the latter part of the show where everything felt so fresh.

I would have given so much for a second season, considering the setup of the comradery of Guts and Griffith over those 25 episodes. It was so palpable and tumultuous, and in the end, that last episode was so visceral in its depiction of hell. I felt so uncomfortable throughout and vailed with sadness watching all these characters we had followed over the series perish in almost one fell swoop. Not to mention, Guts forcibly watched the person he loved being taken advantage of (that's quite a polite way to put it) and he couldn't do a thing about it. They really made you feel this mutual pain and anger directed at Griffith that's palpable as fuck. Like by the end I didn't think I could hate a fictional character that much. Petition for a second season continued 20 years since the original series just so I can see Griffith getting his ass handed to him by Guts.

For an anime that came out almost 30 years ago, and with a catalog of amazing animation proceeding it, I am still left awe-inspired by the challenges Morimoto, Otomo, Kon, and the frontline of animators managed to achieve in this anthology series. The animation is pristine in quality, the detail is so specific and the challenges the directors seemed to take in their stride have not gone unnoticed. Between the dynamic camera movements and physics-inspired animation of the first episode, to the amazing one-take perspective of the last, this was quite the watch. Not to mention the fun and creative storytelling uniquely identifiable from each ... episode. This was a super enjoyable watch.

Beautiful. This manga really had me wrapped up in everything these characters were going through from the first panel. When I read the initial synopsis I thought this strange taboo of a girl dating her dead sister's fiancee would be hard to get past, but how Natsumi and Togo get wrapped up in this guilt, and this feeling of being left with a curse was gutwrenching to see unfold. It's almost like the romance intended took a back seat to focus on the grief felt, and ultimately just showed how much Natsumi loved her sister. These moments of confusion and feelings of deceit are written ... and drawn so well I couldn't help but sympathize with that gut-wrenching emotion.

It's a shame Haru no Noroi hasn't picked up more attention from manga readers, I assure you this isn't something you want to skip.

Currently scratching my head at why this anime has critical relevance. I was intrigued from the first episode, there were some pretty grotesque moments and the beginning of what could have been an interesting plot....emphasis on "could". The anime is 13 episodes and still, most of it feels like filler.

Most of the characters are downright annoying as hell like Lucy does some reprehensible things but even then she's 10 times more interesting than her other personality. Kohta is just an idiot, dude just so happened to forget how his little sister and father died and WHO killed them. Not to mention even after he makes ... this realization he STILL ends up having feelings for Lisa. Every character on this show is just so dense, and I feel dense for sticking through this 13 episode shit show.

Between the not even slightly intimidating militia antagonist who walks around the beach the entire show, bested with every encounter with a diclonius. And then let's not forget to mention all the weird harem shit going on, giving all these "character moments" which are a t h i n veil for some sorry excuse for fan service. Characters taking a bath every episode, getting in fights, and ripping each other's clothes apart without a single bit of battle damage to show for it. These romance/ecchi elements just don't fit with the other parts of the story.

For the most part, the story goes nowhere. When they introduce new characters into the plot my hopes would rise with the idea of something even slightly interesting happening. But disappointment is left in every instance, and what remains, are redundant scene's....in their house.

Mannnn this anime is a breath of fresh air. Some peak writing, in a similar vein to Quentin Tarantino's films, both plot, and dialogue-wise. The suspense and back and forth between characters are so fleshed out and has a proficiency that's hard to compare. It seems rare to see a show wrapped up in a bow the way Odd Taxi does in its 13 episodes. How the writers were able to tie things in and leave us questioning things to the very last moment, not to mention answering those questions, kept me engaged from the first episode. Easily one of my favourites of this season.

I want to rate this higher so bad but the lack of a concrete story just stops me from doing that. Not to mention, there is next to no character development whatsoever, I find myself barely caring about any of the characters by the end. There were next to no emotionally derivative moments, making characters who had rather tragic endings amount to next to nothing.

That being said though, it can't be denied, this is a truly awe-inspiring sci-fi world that Tsutomu Nihei has constructed, with truly unique and interesting design choices. I can't help but get this truly claustrophobic sense when reading this as the ... world feels so compact but expansive at the same time. Structure, after structure, is contained within huge metal walls, showing the reminence of a once-populated world. This can play as both a positive and negative because while the world is so intricate, it very quickly becomes rather visually monotonous and hard to differentiate from panel to panel. My take away from this is that the mangaka intended this as a way to sort of convey how Killy seems to feel wandering these metal ruins (I feel like 50% of this manga is just walking). As time goes on Killy seems to be losing track of what's going on himself.

I have to admit it has one of the stranger ways to tell a story and a lot of the time took me some thinking to even understand where we were narratively speaking, but overall this was still a fun read. Unfortunately, though, the issues mentioned really stop it from being as highly rated for me as it seems to be for others.

What can I say that hasn't already been said. Monster is the culmination of every quality that a story can hope to succeed in and more. It stands against any story I've ever seen in its truly cerebral, thought provoking, chilling take on the psychological genre. Every character arc, every scenery, all forwarded the plot towards an incredible end, really cementing the themes of loss, trauma and identity that really every character in Monster was trying to grasp at. From the locations to the world building and the characters this anime hits on every front and has been one of my greatest viewing experiences ever. ... Truly unbelievable.

I don't know what to say when talking about NHK. I really enjoyed it in the end, I found myself to love the characters -though admittedly their personalities are pretty frustrating most of the time. At first, I wasn't fond of the premise, following a hikikomori around as they constantly make promises of redemption that are never kept was kinda grading...but the psychological spins that would unravel made up for some of that. I think the main thing for that kept this from being something more special than it was, is the fact that you have quite a dark premise with some quite realistic themes ... following characters with low-key personality disorders and schizophrenic tendencies, you would think that by its final pages they would come off with something a bit more fundamentally impactful. In the end, it felt as if Tatsuhiko Takimoto's black-comedy-esc take on a psychological romance ended at a bit of a lul.

The main issues with the story for me were how some chapters seemed to plod along and in some instances felt like we were going in a bit of a circle with the characters. If that was tightened up and replaced with some more concrete character decisions, instead of the consistently wish-washy ones that we actually got, it would have elevated the story and felt like more of a progressive tale. Instead, it feels as though the characters haven't really moved very far from their starting point, I guess the one thing that can be said as a positive in that front is that it seems Satou and Nakahara have come to terms with their issues and have accepted them, finding solidarity together.

Outside of this grievance, I found NHK hilarious at times, super captivating at others and even though he annoyed me a lot, I was always routing for Tatsuhiro to change and loved the bonds created with Mizaki and Kaoru, even though they can come across as rather hollow at times.

What a beautiful experience. This felt from the first episode like a Ghibli movie mixed with Tarzan. But no way could I have foreseen how truly dark the anime would go. It strikes the perfect balance in the fantasy genre where it explores the wonderment, and the sacrifices, of that "longing" that is described. The abyss has consequences, ones of which are fantasy-esc but have real-world logic. I found myself episode by episode emotionally captivated by whatever was around the corner and that engagement was only emboldened by the rich world-building sprinkled in. Some of that can be credited to the beautiful art direction, when ... I made the Ghibli reference I wasn't kidding. Made In Abyss has the attention to detail and awe-inspiring visuals that the likes of My Neighbour Totoro and Princess Mononoke managed to captivate me with when I was a child. In a way, watching this anime made me re-experience that sense of wonder I felt back then.