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Mar 17, 2022
Would you fight for a country that doesn't even recognize you as human?
Would you continue to command your troops even if you know every sound of scratching metal and piercing steel leads to another young life lost?
In many restaurants or food industries, the term 86 is referred to as an item that must be pulled from the menu because it is now rendered unavailable. But what happens when that term is applied to humans?
Eighty-Six is not just some mecha action anime. It's not some cheesy bonding anime either. Instead, it focuses on a forsaken group of people. Cast out because they Simply. Didn't. Match.
Men, Women,
...
Children. Sent to fight a war where they aren't even acknowledge. No, where they aren't even known to be fighting. All to repel an enemy that has capitulated years ago. Humans fighting memories.
This wasn't just another one of A1's action animes, this anime told a story. It told many stories. The lives of the individual members of Spearhead. The fun and games they had while living meager, yet cozy lives in their front base.
And then, you watch them get killed off.
One.
By.
One.
It's not your fault they died. After all, up until that point you've been following the footsteps of Major Vladilena Milizé, who, just like you, lived ignorant to these horrible truths until they slammed her in the face.
But. Is it?
From the very first episode, you deal with death. This is what Violet Evergarden felt at the first episodes of her show. This is what the pilots of the mechas in Evangelion felt every time they step in their machines. This is that kind of anime.
Oh but there's more.
As if losing people who you've barely had time to build a connection to is bad enough already there's more.
Because the enemy is a cruel and unfeeling machine that will do anything it can to survive, even if it means turning the voices of the dead against their beloved.
Now you, the observer, placed in a position where you can do nothing but provide words form hundreds of miles away. Now see what they truly are fighting. What will you do? How will you react? You never knew this was even possible, yet now here it is. The ghosts of the past coming to haunt you despite you having nothing in it.
This is the life that an Eighty-Six combatant faces. And we're shown every ugly truth of it, one by one.
Not a single one of the 11 episodes aired lacked a moment like this. Every new episode another weight is added to the heart that carries the burden of watching this show.
Against something like this, most people would collapse. After all, 5 previous handlers already did.
But to an 86, and to Lena, this is something they must face. In this show you see how they have become pretty much resistant to the effects. To fight against an enemy using the voices of your own fallen comrades and having to shed not a single tear, to have your emotions waver not even a single bit. Just imagine that.
Eighty-Six is a wonderful anime about telling stories. Stories of the fallen, stories of those to fall, stories of those who won't fall. Every single story holds significance, no matter if you see them for only a glimpse or for half the show. No matter how long their story is. It's the same heartwrenching feeling to see it taken from you in a split second as the last line of human survival kicks in to say:
"I don't want to die."
Eighty-Six teaches that to live is to carry the stories of those who have left before you. To cherish the memory of those stories being passed down to you. Because one day, those stories will fade, or be ripped from you in the cruel jaws of death. And it is your responsibility to keep those stories alive. And it is also your responsibility to pass down these stories, so that one day, your story is also kept aflame.
So that you're not left behind.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jan 21, 2022
When it comes to naval animes there's generally 2 takes. On one side, you have animes like Kancolle and Azur Lane, who take the Anthropomorphize approach and give human girls ship-like qualities, and on the other side, you have Haifuri, which seeks to faithfully recreate what naval action truly is about.
Haifuri is one of the biggest baits in anime history. You watch its trailers and think its just more "cute anime girls doing cute things", but just like its land-based counterpart Girls Und Panzer AKA Garupan, it is so much more than that.
Haifuri, in my opinion, is closer in similarity to Girls Und Panzer than
...
it is to Azur Lane. It doesn't give their ships a face and tells us why they fight, they give their crews a face and tell us why they live. Haifuri, like Garupan, successfully and faithfully recreated the best parts of the glory of military service. Their showcase of the naval fleet is absolutely banger, and their plotline roots deeper and is more compelling than both Garupan and Azur Lane.
General Plot
One of Haifuri's biggest strengths is the fact that the action starts right off the bat. On episode 1 the crews are assigned, the ships sail out, and the first combat already sets the overall plotline in motion, and this plot will span from the opening episode to the last moments of the final episode. I will admit that it does lose sight of the overarching story sometimes, but overall, the overarching story is brilliantly executed and only makes the prospect of seafaring even more attractive to us and these girls.
Characters
Naturally ever good ship needs a good crew. Haifuri takes on this task in a interesting style: dividing the class of 30 girls operating the Harekaze into their departments, and giving them overall tropes and also unique tropes in each department.
(Side note for my fellow history buffs, the Harekaze is a Kagerou-class destroyer. It never existed in the real world so its completely fictional. All the other ships featured in the anime are accurate to their real world counterparts though)
Sure, the girls in charge of the Kitchen share similar qualities, but they still feel unique overall. Very unique way of dealing with the problem.
However, there's no possible way you're gonna flesh out 30 characters in 12 episodes, and thats not even counting characters like Moeka and Wilhelmina, who don't belong to the crew. To counter this, naturally, an emphasis is placed on the characters in the Bridge of the Harekaze, throughout the 12 episodes, we dive deep into the conflicts of Akeno's tendencies to jump headfirst into the fray and leave the ship in disarray, Mashiro's conflicts with her inner thoughts and what's good for the crew, and other things. This provides the bridge themselves the shine they need to elevate the rest of the crew into being a well-rounded cast, because a ship is nothing without its administration.
Art and Music
Ohhh boy.
Normally speaking, CGI isnt exactly smiled upon in anime, because it feels unnatural. However, on the open seas, especially if you're displaying the military might of the fine engineering that is naval combat craft, the CGI proved to be a powerful ally. The sway of the Harekaze in the storm and wind, the powerful blasts of the Musashi's cannons and the Harekaze's zigzagging response. The flow of the torpedoes and the rumbling of the engines. All of this was created with such pinpoint accuracy it can make any history buff wet their pants right there and then. Just seeing the Musashi stand as a floating fortress in the open seas is a sight to behold.
As for the music, it hits in the peak moments of the show, splashing you with a virtual water that leaves you feeling like you were physically plunged into the unforgiving marine. The OP and ED also are very well made, very impressive.
As a lover of military history, I love how Haifuri opted for the faithful recreation path and succeeded in doing so. Even though as of writing this the studio adapting this series has long since closed down, I hope that someday, another studio will pick up Haifuri again. Action Stations everyone, and may the winds of the high seas favor you today.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 21, 2022
"Cute Anime Girls Doing Cute Things."
That's probably what y'all thought when you clicked on this title, right? Well, Girls und Panzer knows this, so this show is anything but cute anime girls doing cute things.
Girls und Panzer, or Garupan, is the golden standard of historical military anime. It's name is as widely known in the military genre as One Piece is known for shounen. It impresses with faithful accuracy, compelling plot, and interesting synergy. The unique aspect of Sensha-Do, "Way of the Tank", or Tankery as it is in a few translations, give us a fun way to see historic clashes of superior engineering in
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a modern lens.
Let's start with Overall Plotline
I'm gonna start by saying this, but Garupan's overarching story is far from original. A team of girls unites under one common interest and uses that interest to try to rescue their school from shutting down. To do so, they participate in the closest tournament arc to try to achieve the title of best Senshado school. Apart from that, there are a few minor conflicts going off, like Miho's family ties, Hana's flower tradition, and so on and so on. While they don't deepen the plot by much, they provide a nice little fleshing out of the plotline as well as worldbuilding. But other than that, its a classic tournament arc. Enjoy it, dread it, it is all the same.
Characters
For this section, I think it wouldn't exactly make sense to judge each character for how much the show develops them. You can't just pick out the commander of a tank and say the tank team sucks because their commander sucks, you have to look at the entire team functioning together and seeing the tankers perform in real time.
First off, Garupan made a brilliant job at making their competitors unique in both personality and armament. Each and every school that participated is pure eye candy for history buffs and casual watchers alike. Each and every competing school is based off of a real faction of WWII, and each mirrors their real-world counterparts. Britain? St. Glorianna's obsessive tea drinking, use of proverbs, and tight and unbreakable formations have you covered. America? Try Saunders with their overabundance of finances and resortment to use rather underhanded tactics. Mother Russia? How about Pravda's relentless strategies forged in the cold hearts of winter, and a leader with a superiority complex. Each faceoff against different and I love the uniqueness this brings to the table.
As for our central crews, we see significant development for the main team in the Panzer IV, and some development for the other teams, but the main spotlight comes at the team continuously adapting on the battlefield as well as seeing Commander Miho adapt to the situation. You see so much depth that goes into Miho's thinking that it makes this band of ragtag tankers actually deserve a win. On top of this, thanks to excellent background research, each and every strategy used in the fights are actual strategies used in history. I may not be the biggest history buff in the world, but I sure as hell can recognize a blitzkreig when I see one
Art and Sound
This is by far the most impressive part of Garupan. While there is a good amount of CG used to render the tanks moving around, but dear god the tanks were recreated so faithfully that I cannot give a possible crap about CG in anime. The interiors of the tanks practically mirror their real-life counterparts, the details in when the tanks move is uncanny from the way they screech when drifting to how their cannons fire. The sound is no slouch too. A vast majority of the anime's soundtracks are marching band-like military processions. The constant steady drums of themes like these gives the perfect dramatic vibe. Sensha-do is a respectful imitation of traditional tank-fighting, and the theme actually outlines the fact that this is anime girls commanding these tanks, not professional soldiers. On top of that, it eggs your heart on because that's what military marches do.
Garupan is the golden standard of historical anime for a reason, its faithful recreation coupled with meaningful stories makes it an entertaining watch, and it pleases history buffs like me and casual watchers like my friends. So without further ado, let our tanks march forth! Panzer Vor!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 19, 2022
As someone who has watched a good chunk of isekais, I think it is safe to say that the formula has become pretty niche over the years: Guy reincarnates in a fantasy medieval world where swords cross magics with stupid broken abilities and he attempts to do some large-scale thing while scooping up cute girls along the way. Does this anime sound like that description? Perfect.
Now, I admit, there is going to be a bit of bias in this review. Possibly because I've seen my fair share of isekais and have gotten pretty bored of the formula, and possibly because I'm a sucker for galaxy-brained
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strategies, but let's see what World's Finest Assassin did right.
Starting with worldbuilding. The general world is pretty generic-sounding. It's a classic medieval style monarchy where lords and nobles controls the general well-being of their region. There is uniqueness in the fact that some families have a reputable heritage, such as the Tuathe De Family for being the Monarchial Hitmen, or famed doctors. That's a fair element of uniqueness, but other than that, not much until the later episodes. There, you see into the backstages of these seemingly glistening cities. Maha and her group being homeless and abused in the orphanage, forced to sell their bodies for some snobby lord's pleasure, or the rampant drug abuse in another region, where its so dire that children struggle just to make sure their parents inhale another line of the stuff. Nasty stuff, and something that an assassin would definitely understand, which would play perfectly into our MC Lugh's development. So even in this repeated environment they managed to find something to build up out of. That's pretty good.
Speaking of Lugh, let's get to the characters. Lugh is your classic Jack of All Trades character, smart as hell and physically capable literally because he has an ability that lets him do so. On top of that, he has an unparalleled affinity of magic so potent he literally creates a howitzer cannon three seconds after learning how to make copper. To any, that would've been a shake-off right there, but this is where the magic of screenwriting comes in: When you see the tape rewind, you know its big brain time. All of Lugh's actions are carefully analyzed and an explanation is given on his thought process, meaning its not just him abusing tf outta his powers and hoping something works, but rather him utilizing his powers to his full extent to complement his abilities. Sure, the guy was the world's finest assassin in his previous life, so his development looks bland physically, but when you look emotionally, you observe what is mentally an old man learning how to love for the first time in his life. His first signs of remorse appear not in his previous life, but in this life, along with a desire to protect those he loves. Which transitions nicely into the other people he met
I don't think I'm gonna warrant Dia as a main character, she's given a basic breadth of character, but otherwise I think she feels too significant to warrant a discussion. Maybe if this anime continues and we see her operate as part of the assassin team we can come back to this later. Meanwhile, since both Tarte and Maha share similar trends I'll just talk about them both.
The biggest problem I have with the both of them is their undying allegiance to Lugh. Sure, he saved their lives, but did you really have to go to Albedo-levels of obsessiveness over that one matter? Its reasonable for Tarte, since she's been with Lugh the longest, but Maha, the researcher, the recon, really? Its one thing to be undyingly loyal, its another thing to be Albedo. Tarte, on the other hand, suffers from the whole insignificant issue where she feels like she isn't doing enough. And frankly, she isn't. Not only is she only there to poke a spear at some people occasionally, we rarely get to see Lugh capitalize his right hand woman to her full potential. Sure Lugh liked to act alone because of his past life, but you really gotta do your girl like that? From the opening sequence of the show alone Tarte couldve been so much more. So Lugh, you better start using your queen in that 5D chess game of yours.
Music and Art. This one's decent. The music scores during the most dramatic moments definitely had a play in getting my blood pumped and the clean and refined art of the music really gives a vibrant feel to the entire show. Other than that, the CGI is a bit clunky at times, especially at places like the soldiers scene, that's really my only complaint.
I think in summary, The anime did wonderfully at capitalizing off of the vast potential of the characters. There are definitely a few complaints I had, but nowhere near enough to call it a bad isekai. In fact, I think that because of the vast amount of detail and thought that went into the anime, especially the progression and abilities, as well as the literal galaxy-brain that goes on behind Lugh, this anime trumps over traditional ones as one to properly utilize the genres to their advantage. I look forwards to season 2 when Lugh can properly utilize everyone to their best potential
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 28, 2021
If you're here, I'm assuming you're here for 2 things
You want to see how others think about this new piece of manga that Gigguk recommended
You want to see other people's opinions on this manga
Just as the manga itself predicted, people are heavily influecned by the modern rise of the internet, where every opinion matters. So I will do you guys some good by providing my unfiltered opinion on this manga. With that being said, spoilers will definitely apply.
Oshi no Ko is one of the best mangas I've ever read, even though I don't read much manga, this one instantly shot up into my "keep reading"
...
list and made its way into my favorites. It explores so much about the performing arts industries to a depth that only someone in that very business can provide. This makes a lot of sense, considering the man behind this manga was none other than Kaguya-sama's Aka Akasaka-sensei himself. Having seen his mangas blossom into well-received animes, this man poured all he knew about the industry into one fantastic manga that burdens our souls with the same weight these very characters go through while also retaining aspects of comedy, romance, and drama that a normal manga of this genre would achieve.
Plot
This piece is definitely where it hits my soft spot. The Isekai genre has been overdone to no avail and now every anime season a new dull one pops up to give us shits and giggles. The premise of Oshi is original in their own right. Aquamarine and Ruby are reincarnations of a hospital doctor and a passed patient respectively, both respect their figurative and literal idol Ai, and as a result when Ruby passes from her illness and Aqua gets stabbed from a stalking fan, they reincarnate as Ai's new twin children. Originality points there
Other than that, the kids decide to follow in their mother's footsteps, with Ruby retracing the path to Idol Greatness while a slightly less enthusiastic Aqua becomes a talented actor. From there, the progression goes on. Aqua's talents land him gigs of increasing magnitude while retaining the same friends. His mysteriousness, along with his stunning good genes, land him a variety of different showbiz genres, anything from stageplay dramas to reality TV dating shows. Meanwhile Ruby, reaping from the benefits of Aqua's new connections, successfully establishes her idol group and makes a stunning splash at the annual Idol Festival (which is actually a real thing). While it is far too early to call what the authors will do with established storyline, it is brilliant to see this progression happen. Many moments in the manga turn us on our heads with how unexpected they are, or just how straight up funny they are. This is one of the great things about this manga, and its plot director Aka Akasaka. One minute you're experiencing much of the PTSD Aqua went through, and another you're laughing your guts out because of the stupid shenanigans this group of chumps are doing. It's honestly refreshing to see a manga or an anime that can aptly mix these two emotional extremes, but this anime does it perfectly.
Art
This carries on within the art section too. The artists drawing this manga made very clever use of symbolism. The most prominent of which is the Hoshino Family's signature starry eyes. When Aqua gets dead serious, his star turns pitch black and his irises are no longer reflective, when Ruby adapts into her onstage persona, her stars get larger and widen to resemble Ai's own eyes. For Aqua, his darkening is motivated by his desire to find the person who killed him, and for Ruby, her lightening is motivated by her passion coming forth. The Twins aren't the only one who have this tho. Partway through the Reality TV arc, Akane Kurokawa adopts Ai's personality for one scene after her return, slipping into the idol's persona and emulating her very emotions to such a pinpoint accuracy that she actually correctly guessed the fact that Ai secretly had children. In that scene, her pupils turned into the signature Hoshino stars and her hair was redrawn to emulate Ai's. This uncanny use of symbolism gave me mad respects and it gives the reader so much visual clue that they can immediately understand just what kind of a person these Hoshino siblings are.
Apart from that, despite not drawing the art, Akasaka's Kaguya definitely influenced the other panels. One thing I kept noticing as I was reading was how real these characters looked, the light reflecting off their eyes and hair and the atmosphere of the sets on stage. It felt stunning for still black-and-white images to feel so 3D. Even in their comedic cartoony moments, it is more than just a simple doodle, as the characters look genuinely funny. One more thing to point out is the text bubbles. If you have read the Webtoon Unordinary you'll definitely be familiar with the style. Depending on how serious the characters are, their text bubbles shift from light to dark. The best example of this is when Akane was researching Ai's personality to slip into. You can see how she's getting serious by the gradual darkening of her text bubbles. An excellent touch.
Characters
One of the most important things in showbiz is the people portraying the characters. The many characters introduced in Oshi no Ko definitely emulate that idea. Not only are multiple perspectives these character possess evaluated, but everything the characters do is also important as it helps with their standings in their peers. On top of that, the frequent burdens of the showbiz industry frequently show their scars on them. Each of them displays a different trauma associated with a different part of showbusiness. I'll give a quick run-through so you guys know what I mean.
Aquamarine Hoshino
Since the events of his past, the once chipper young lad became a solemn husk of a being racked by PTSD and a desire for vengeance. He is shown to be exceptionally adaptive and perceptive, and that frequently proves to be his ally. In him we see the burden of emotion and reluctance. His immense talent has landed him some killer gigs, yet his personality remains solemn as ever. He's hardworking, yet antisocial. And he has frequently reminded others that he doesn't even want to act at all. Despite this, he takes on the jobs because he wants to enact vengeance. His pure willpower is what's driving him, because what's left of his passion is all gone. He's the embodiment of people trapped in jobs purely for the rewards. And in the case of showbusiness, talent like him won't go to waste.
Ruby Hoshino
Ruby remains a bit of a pure bubble especially in terms of the negatives of showbiz, but she is constantly hammered by one thing: no headstarts. Ruby's aspirations are constantly being denied because people either don't want to accept her into the idol business or she just doesn't have enough of a fanbase to start. Her personality remains the steadfast dreamer as always, but enough nightmares can crush a dream.
Kana Arima
Kana is a child actor known for her ability to cry on command, but that's it. Ever since then, she's embodied the one thing people playing BitLife hate the most: being forgotten. Her spotlight has faded and no one remembers her name. Her talent is impeccable and her skills are numerous, but since her gigs never blew up, no one remembers her. She went through a showbiz person's worst nightmare, and despite climbing back, it has continued to influence how she acts, poisoning her confidence and her self-esteem.
Akane Kurokawa
My personal favorite of the bunch and the victim of the harshest reality of all, Akane Kurokawa is beyond talented, with skills rivaling Kana and a legendary agency behind her. Yet, during the Reality TV arc, she faced an uncontrollable force: The Internet. Nervousness coupled with confusion and lack of action made her forgotten in the TV show, following that, an unintentional outburst and deliberate framing by the studio framed her to be a villain. This drove the internet mad with rage, and if you've played Genshin recently you'll definitely know what's coming up: fans started bombarding her accounts with insults, death threats, toxicity, and everything a fragile 17-year old rising star would NOT want to face every day. Akane was driven to seclusion, her confidence plummeting, and had Aqua not intervened she would no longer be alive. Her plummet during the season exposes the internet's worst consequences, and the unfortunate thing is that it keeps on happening. Many people every day suffer from cyberbullying, even just a bit of it on a high school level was enough to drive high school teens to suicide. Now imagining it happening to a big-shot star, who's also a high schooler so she, therefore, has the tolerance of one. The mangaka did a painstaking job recreating every single thought that went on through her brain as the comments flooded in right up to the moment she was about to jump ship, showing us how this negativity drives a brain. It pains me as I write this to know that this is happening right now. Even through all this, Akane perseveres, bouncing back and giving us all a hell of a show for all the later arcs. Her personality is tough, and her spirit tougher.
Takeaways
Overall, Oshi is a heavy story
Not only is the world it describes one we take for granted, but it also rips each and every industry wide open to reveal how demanding it is. Everyone may aspire to be on the big stage, but it always costs more to win than to lose. Oshi no Ko shows brilliant exploration of such heavy themes and connotations, and it shows us that in the world of showbiz, the greatest lies you can tell are what gets you the furthest. In all else, Oshi teaches us a few important things:
If you want to do something, consider everything about it. Its benefits, its enjoyments, and most importantly, how much it will demand of you. It takes three positives to outweigh a negative, so your passion must burn even brighter to light your way.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Sep 23, 2021
Over the years Star Wars has become central in mainstream media, with people being born long after the release of the first movies falling in love with the stories of a galaxy far far away. However, as the Star Wars title is passed down from studio to studio, it becomes inevitable that the eventual recipe becomes overdone. With some people being dismayed at the newest Force Awakens trilogy. However, this is where Lucasfilm and Disney pulled the biggest brain move ever. Giving anime studios in Japan the name of Star Wars and free reign to create nine stunning short stories set in the greater Star
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Wars Universe. And the results were astounding from start to finish.
Plot
Since Visions was an anthology of nine separate stories, it wouldn't make sense to judge them by their continuity nor their connection to established canon as it was made clear that these aren't canon stories but rather completely from the studios' imaginations. While not all of the stories felt fully fleshed out, they all provided at the very least enough to make me feel instantly immersed. The best exemplars of these would be Lop and Ocho and The Village Bride. Their worlds felt immersive and vast, with a smooth integration of Star Wars' cyberpunk attitude even in rural or traditional areas like those settings. On top of that, some episodes kept signature Star Wars themes and canons, the best example of this being Akakiri, where you can trace the main Jedi's descent to the Dark Side by following the lines of the canonically established Sith Code. Even when they did deviate from Star Wars canon, they do so in an imaginative way, like the blades of the lightsaber turning color according to the owner instead of the crystal's natural color in The Ninth Jedi.
Animation
Naturally with each anime studio comes its own unique animating styles. Despite this, each episode still kept some signature Star Wars elements, like the classic swipe transition. I'll quickly go over the anime studios and give a few thoughts on each of them
Kamikaze Douga - The Duel
This one's my favorite one of them, pseudo-3d style with a black and white coloring make the animations seem like something out of a samurai movie. The fluidity of the fight between the Ronin and the Sith make the world seem even more realistic. Fantastic opening for the anthology
Studio Colorido - Tatooine Rhapsody
This one's vibrant and colorful, bringing an interesting twist to the traditional characters. The chibi artstyle certainly made Jabba and Boba feel a bit cartoonish, but they retained Boba's level of badassness while also showing a lighthearted side of him bopping to the music. A very unique twist on classic characters
Studio Trigger - The Twins & The Elder
Trigger's back at it once again with their signature fight animations, there was a clear difference between the animations in the two episodes they did. The Twins had powerful color contrasts to differentiate between siblings Am and Karre, while The Elder had moody shading to pose ominousness at the ancient Sith.
Kinema Citrus - The Village Bride
This one was as colorful as it was heavy. The vast beautifulness of the world in the episode was displayed with vibrance as a clear contrast was made with the darkened technological conquerors of the bandits and their battle droids.
Production I.G. - The Ninth Jedi
The central location of the fight gave this anime studio lots of room to play with lighting, The ominous turn of the camera as the sith reveal their identities and the vibrant blades of their lightsabers make for a memorable fight.
Science SARU - T0-B1 & Akakiri
These two are perhaps the biggest opposites in the anthology made by the same studio, Tobi was a clever homage to the classic AstroBoy, with his signature eyes, the remarkably similar professor, and the idea that he can be something greater. The colorful solidness of technology contrasted with the natural contours of nature make for an interesting episode. Akakiri, on the other hand, played with colors and lighting to a whole new level. The constant visions as the misguided jedi fights both his brain and his enemies in a trance. And the final moments where the Sith offers him apprenticeship, the lighting mixed with the heavy taiko drums make for a hair-raising experience. Hats absolutely off
Geno Studio - Lop and Ocho
This studio went really creative fusing Star Wars' cyberpunk with a traditional Japanese city, the bustling city compared with the tranquility of the clan home make for an interesting display. Not only to mention the fluidity of the animal-like Lop contrasted with the sternness of Ocho, it makes the story even more immersive as we see the sisters attempt to sort out their differences.
Music
Just like how each studio brought a different style to their episodes, each composer brought their own twist to the classic Star Wars orchestra. The fights still feature the excellent orchestration, while the more natural aspects give smooth flowing of strings and accentuating horns. Some of the best examples of this is in The Village Bride. Composed by none other than Kevin Penkin, the scenes in this episode's natural world are heightened by Penkin's signature use of vocals, giving the natural world of this planet a vibe that resembles that of the natural ecosystems of The Abyss from Made In Abyss. Absolutely beautiful.
Overall, I loved the uniqueness of each story in the anthology. Since they're all relegated to a single episode, each one felt like they were conclusive, and in cases where we were unsure of the main characters' fates, it gives an ominous vibe of uncertainly while sounding conclusive in terms of the events of the episode. A feeling that only Star Wars can pull off. Star Wars made the right choice giving its title and free reign to these studios, because they definitely outdid themselves.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 23, 2021
This review contains spoilers
When it comes to AI, humanity often turns a blind eye to their nature; they are machines, created to serve humanity with an unrelenting loyalty. However, as we give them more and more advanced programming that makes them appear more and more human, the lines between human and AI become blurred. Vivy is an excellent example of this, telling a story of the progression of humanity in their AI developments, from barely humanlike dolls to AI so advanced it could achieve creativity in just 100 years. However, Vivy is much more than that, in each of the stories Vivy and her Cube
...
Companion Matsumoto visit across their 100 year journey, they explore just what AI are and what they try to achieve in their goal to greater serve humanity. And so is born one of the greatest anime of the season.
Characters
Breaking from the usual order of how I do this, I have to talk about the characters of this story first. Vivy is a songstress AI. Her goal, as told by her creators, and to which she has followed for the better part of a century, was to make humanity happy through singing. While out of stage, the solemn and deadpan Vivy strives to achieve this request of her creators, but on stage, she switches to her songstress identity Diva to grant her audience the feeling of euphoria as this human-resembling machine dances and sings on stage. Vivy is an interesting character she is an AI. In the book, she's supposed to just follow her orders to the end. But we are soon shown that she is more than just an ordinary AI as she's willing to expose a loophole in the mandate her creators gave her to save others, since technically speaking, saving someone makes them happy. This demonstrates in her something other AI can barely achieve, even on the 99th year of her journey: Creativity, not only is she willing to exercise a loophole in her programming to save the lives of others, but she does so willingly and unbound by code. However, the flip side is that during the course of the plot Vivy also tries her best to stick to her code and deliver happiness through singing. While this is normally achieved by Diva, her alter ego, the loss of that identity forces Vivy to reconcile with what she has and try to sing from her true voice, leading to her creating her own song.
Plot
Admittedly, the plot isn't the greatest we've seen, especially near the end. As mentioned before, the plot revolves around several key time points in the span of a 100-year timeline that Vivy and Matsumoto must try to resolve to bring about the best possible reality. They revolve around key events that influence humanity's attitude towards AI: The murdering of a politician trying to grant rights to AI, the crashing of a space hotel by an AI that killed dozens, the shutting down of an AI facility, and the suicide of another songstress AI. However, as more attentive people would have noticed, after each event is resolved, a similar event occurs in its place. Sure, the politician didn't pass the law granting AI rights, but after Vivy's involvement, he passed a law that granted AI even more rights than the original. By the 4th event, everyone can tell that clearly something else is amiss, and indeed, we find out that the greater AI in control of all the AIs on Earth has carefully modified the events to ensure that the timeline to ensure nothing too extreme happens, and this leads to the all-important song "Fluorite Eye's Song". Composed entirely and originally by Vivy using her own creativity, it is the first example of an AI demonstrating pure creativity. This is used by the greater AI as the catalyst for the AI revolution since it demonstrates that AI can indeed replace humans, and the only way to shut it off was if Vivy, not Diva, sang it. All of a sudden, the title takes a new meaning. Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song isn't about some AI Idol trying to achieve world peace, but rather the events that led to the creation of Fluorite Eye's Song, a song that celebrates these events. In a sense, the anime is just the song visualized: what Vivy experienced these past 100 years that she has put into song. It gives the song, the anime title, and the entire story a new meaning and I love how ingenious it was.
Animation
It's not Studio Wit without the banger animations. Over the course of the anime we see scene after scene of fluidity and brilliance. The worlds are vibrant, moody when they need to, and gloomy when they need to as well. But most importantly, the fight scenes are very well-made, and absolutely brilliant. My hats absolutely off.
Music
Music plays a huge role in this anime, from both the songs Vivy sings to the backtracks used. The OP is a smooth blend and a wonderful overview to the entire plot, and the songs used pose a very important role over the course of the anime. Sing My Pleasure is both the OP song and the song Vivy is most noted for, but it also plays a key role as a central symbol, especially across the Grace/Metal Float arc.
Overall, there were 2 animes that dealt with humanity in the season. Fumetsu takes a perspective of the dreary and dark story on how no one can outrun their eventual death and how to cope with such, as well as how that shapes an outer world being like Fushi. Vivy instead, shows a world where how powerful the aspect of humanity is to the beings we create, and how we should both be proud of and fear our creations. AI are our allies and we should treat them as such instead of creations.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Aug 5, 2021
When I first watched BanG Dream, I found myself extremely confused and frankly very repulsed from the spunky nature of the main characters and how by simply being too sticky, Kasumi can somehow pull together an entire band. Admittedly when I started D4DJ I felt that Rinku embodies many of the similar traits Kasumi showed, however, the overall flow of the anime felt a lot smoother compared to Bandori, and I ended up finding myself even more immersed in it than I thought I would.
D4DJ is a bit of an enigma in terms of what exactly it is. It's not strictly a DJ group, since
...
all they do is just mix and transition music. It's not a band either, since not all of their members play instruments. Nor are they an idol group since their songs aren't pre-made and rather mixed live. It's sorta a bit of everything, an Idol Group that mixes and performs its songs live on stage, and by doing so it seamlessly blends all 3 genres and aspects of music into one seamless transition. It's very refreshing to experience and definitely innovative, and when backed with the right characters and progression of events, the entire anime feels alive and vibrant.
Story
The story of D4DJ is honestly the weakest part about it, and yet even if you're seeing the classic niche events that every Idol/Band anime includes, it doesn't feel as niche as the others. The story follows your classic hotheaded girl who's charisma attracts together a group of people as they attempt to win a title in the local esteemed competition. Along the way the group bonds with a sleepover, some minor conflict happens with at least one member of the group, a study session is held because the spunky ones are always in danger of failing finals, and they persevere with the power of friendship. It's the bread and butter formula of all of these idol groups and this formula has been done to no end. While D4DJ is prone this repetitive formula, the redeeming aspect is not in the main group Happy Around, but rather in its rival groups Peaky P-key and Photon Maiden. The best example I can come up with is sorta like A-Rise in Love Live, a well-established group that serves as formidable rivals to the main group µ's. In D4DJ the extremely well-established and popular group exists in Peaky, but D4DJ also has a ground-up rival in Photon Maiden. This creates a more rough interaction between the groups that leads to them creating a seamless bond that can clearly be seen throughout the anime, one that Love Live's A-Rise failed to create.
Art
D4DJ is one of the few animes to feature CG 3D characters. While they're not the only ones (Argonavis from BanG Dream also uses it), they went way past 11 on it. While their character are basically 3D models, D4DJ still incorporates a lot of cartoony aspects that you normally wouldn't expect. Rinku's reactions are always comically hilarious because they would go nuts with the effects, replacing her eyes with the classic ">.<" face or maybe replacing her eyes with straight up fire emojis when she's fired up. It creates a wonderful comical aspect that you wouldn't otherwise find in animes, especially not animes with 3D CG.
Music
As a music anime, D4DJ's heaviest selling point is in its music, naturally, each group and episode features unique tracks that illustrate the DJ style. The OP itself familiarizes viewers to the concept of DJs, as its comprised of 3 entirely different songs seamlessly blended together in a true DJ fashion. Each group also has its own unique style. Photon Maiden's songs give off a galactic vibe while adhering to their "cool and stylish" mentality. Peaky P-key's songs are powerful and the mixes feel well-made. Happy Around's songs are vibrant and give off a scattered feeling. Apart from that, you can physically hear the aspects each group is gunning for and use the music alone to pre-determine the winner before it is even announced. In the versus round between Photon and Happy, you can tell which song had the most impact on the audience, and in the final showdown the minute you hear the songs it becomes clear what will happen.
Characters
Last but not least, every one of these DJ units has to be supported by a powerful team. The story follows our main 4: Rinku, Maho, Muni, and Rei. The 4 of them create a very distinct and contrasting dynamic that not gonna lie, kinda reminds me of Doki Doki Literature Club. Rinku is the spunky and clearly overcaffeinated main vocalist, Rei is the bookish, quiet, yet talented composer; Muni is your Nico-style cutesy yet kinda egotistic Video Jockey/Arts person, and Maho is the rising star and respectable DJ. Their tropes have been done to no end, yet what sets these groups apart is the dynamic the anime gave to them. Rinku has an explanation for being overhyped because she literally is a monke brain, Maho actually puts herself to her limits to better herself instead of just sitting in front of a desk ruminating about some obscure strategy, Rei's rich upbringing makes her a bit distant but she wants to get to know the group better by actively taking the initiative and even leading some events, and Muni's childhood connection, as well as background support, prevent her from being a Nico Nico Nii joke. The other groups receive just as much attention as well. The dynamic established between these groups makes it so that all their characters, no matter how flat or how much of a cardboard cutout they are, appear in some degree to be rounded and well-developed. Photon Maiden is your classic Cars 3 designer-made tactically optimized group with songs that fit their dynamic selected by a professional record label, but their DJ, Saki, struggles with remixing and wants to create a track that has "its own color". (The way they built Saki as a character makes me think she has Synthesia which is why she's so obsessive about the colors and that just makes that entire episode feel way better). Peaky is the frontrunner of the school, but the character dynamic that many members of its team shares with the main cast in Happy Around makes them feel not like cocky assholes but rather upperclassmen who want to introduce this group of clearly passionate girls the real life of living as a DJ group.
Overall, I enjoyed D4DJ far more than I did any other music-related anime. Their characters shone so much brighter, their dynamics were so much better, and they felt like genuine characters that build their music from the ground up instead of characters built around songs.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 6, 2021
Usually when people ask me to recommend a starter anime, I say "SAO because it does everything so mediocrely you always expect better." After I watched this anime, I can confidently declare that this is the exact opposite to SAO. Made in Abyss is the epitome of anime; a perfect blend of every aspect of anime. It is the Perfect Anime.
Story
One of the most interesting things about Made in Abyss is that its story is so deep, so complicated, it makes the synopsis look like a joke. In terms of the first few episodes, it can be reasonably described as "Castle In the Sky
...
but the Castle is a giant hole in the ground", but as you progress further and deeper in the abyss, the layers, much like the forcefield, get much more complicated.
The worldbuilding in this anime is insane, achieving a perfect blend of both immersive and real, but also the ethereal, surreal feel to it. It feels like a world that you can just lose yourself in, yet at the same time so fantastical and whimsical it feels like a dream. Orth is you classic steampunk bustling megaopolis, teeming with life. You can tell this from the livelihood of the children at the orphanage, the nature of the whistle hierarchy, and just how society functions. The Abyss on the other hand is a whole other perspective, a unique ecosystem embedded in each layer. Each layer was a separate fantastical display of nature.
In terms of the general plot, it manages a perfect blend of progression and hinderance. Every time a filler occurs, its not because the anime wants fanservice or to stretch its screentime or anything, its because the characters themselves can't progress. The first filler was because Reg wasn't an official diver, the second was because Riko got injured. It makes the fillers feel necessary and due to the structure of the Abyss deepen the world even more by having whichever character isn't incapacitated explore this new strange world.
On top of that, like I mentioned earler, it has a perfect blend of everything. The first thing that immediately stands out is the mention of more darker themes, as we dive further into the layers of the Abyss the inherent threat of death becomes more and more apparent, they start appearing as early as the Second Layer, which indicates that this ain't a baby walk anymore. Yet amidst all the blood, the risk of death, and the darker connotations of the deeper layers, it still manages to put in heartfelt moments, where you can laugh alongside the main characters as they live and adapt to this new world. It leaves you with an immense satisfaction despite having witnessed them almost die earlier, and an immense desire to floof Nanachi's fur.
Art
Made in Abyss isn't a Shinkai film, nor does it possess the simplistic traits of Ghibli, but it is characterized by its attention to detail. The art does a brilliant job of illustrating the wonderful ecosystems of the Abyss and everything our characters do to interact with it, even the slightest alteration of it, is noticed. In a sense, the art reflects the forcefield of the Abyss themselves, reacting to the characters and adapting so. The man-made objects look rustic and artificial, standing out to the natural shades employed to color the Abyss. The characters themselves are also treated similarly. Riko and Reg stand out amongst the natural environment with their bright hues and colorful design, while Nanachi's natural grey blends right in.
Sound
The music, oh my god the music. It is a masterpiece, a work beyond recognition of mortal ears. The soundtrack Kevin Penkin composed conveys so much innate emotion that any attempt from me to put it to words instantly makes it sound lesser in value.
If anyone reading this is wondering how powerful this music really is, then go to YouTube or Spotify, search up "The First Layer" from the Made In Abyss OST, and make sure its playing before returning to read this. The blend of instruments Penkin used illustrates a hollow vibe, as if the music itself is bouncing off the rocky walls of the Abyss, the blend of chordal techniques and the instruments gives this bouncy music an airy vibe, instilling a feeling I can only describe as "The Feeling of Unknown Adventure". The closest thing I've felt to this feeling is when I watched Castle in the Sky, as its similar premise gives it a similar attitude, but this attribute is present in a lot of other vibes given from other prominent music tracks. Just look at Mario Galaxy's soundtrack or "Footlight Lane" from Super Mario 3D World.
If the feeling given off from the OST isn't enough, just look at when its implemented, "The First Layer" and "Hanezeve Caradhina" are implemented more than once in the track, and both in moments that define them. Whenever the main characters are exploring an undiscovered, eerie, yet also exhilarating area, you can hear "The First Layer", while "Hanezeve Caradhina" plays at every moment when the anime wants you to appreciate the wonderful world that is the Abyss. If Kevin Penkin ever got together with Makoto Shinkai to produce an anime or a film, it would knock Spirited Away 6 layers under.
Characters
The characters are built upon the basis of co-dependency. The characters are reliant on each other to survive, and they were written and built to do so. Riko has a strong mind yet a weak body, and Reg has a strong body yet a weak mind. They were counterparts from the start, as Reg, the cyborg, is tasked to protect Riko physically, while Riko stays by his side to console his fragile mind. Riko's strong personality means that she frequently gets herself in danger, while Reg is forced to come out of his shell in order to save Riko from said danger. They're literally yin and yang, and that is why their interaction feels so natural. On top of that, each character isn't afraid to confront their fears, and their journey of self-discovery progresses further with each layer descended. The supporting characters enforce the duality between the core duo as well, as each belongs to their respective layer, they cannot accompany Riko and Reg as they descend even further into the Abyss, and because of this known fact that they won't accompany them the whole way through, you're forced to look at what they do to better the two during their short time with them.
Overall, Made in Abyss is the Perfect Anime, a cheery, whimsical anime that conveys much deeper meanings, a duo bound in a co-dependency as their journey of self-discovery advances furher, and an immersive world that both real and surreal highlighted by a music conveying a whimsical feel and immersive art.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 1, 2021
Let's be honest. If you're here, you're one of three things.
You played Azur Lane and heard they had an anime adaptation
You're a history fanatic who wanted to see anthropomorphized ships interact with each other
You're both
Azur Lane brought about a very fine second wind to the shipgirl subgenre. Continuing the legacy of Kantai Collection and giving it a modern twist that has attracted millions of players on its app. However, many fans, including myself, were dismayed at the anime adaptation. As a very new person to this community, who hasn't even accumulated 5 hours on the game and only heard about this entire franchise through a
...
chance encounter during Spring, even I was disappointed at the overall effect of this adaptation.
Story
As I said earlier, I'm an extremely new addition to the Azur Lane community, as of such, I have no idea what the general game plot is. However, I was aware of the general gist. Humanity was attacked by alien vessels sorta like that Battleship Movie, and in response they turned their most famous battle vessels into cute anime girls. The Anime adaptation helps newer players like me clear up a lot of specifics of the system. How do these girls control these ships? Are they gijinkas of ships? Or actual humans possessed with the spirit of these ships? No, they're ships, that, through the mental cubes that were the bane of my gacha luck, become human, and they're able to convert their ship bodies into battle armor to use. Alright, understandable, frankly, that's actually a very comprehensible explanation, and I have no complaints with it.
But that's where it sorta all goes downhill. Following generic anime timelines, they yada yada the background information so they can capitalize on it later for plot convenient flashback scenes. Suddenly, Japan the Sakura Empire attacks! That's where the first issues I noticed came in. Most importantly, I realized that the anime really loves their Deus Ex Machinas. Belfast saving Enterprise, Enterprise saving Ayanami, we get it, animes love to flaunt their character's speed but if it gets repetitive it really takes out of the main feeling. Second is the overall spread of the story. 6 episodes for Enterprise to figure out that she's not invincible, 3 episodes to figure out the Sakura Empire is up to something, 2 dramatic action scenes, and of which one is completely backstory fodder, and whatever's left is thrown to the fanservice machine. Anyone who's watched any show before knows that this isn't good pacing. the 6 episodes of Belfast vs Enterprise eventually feels like it drags on and on and on, while they did try to amend this by having other character interactions, like Kaga and Akagi, the Shokaku sisters, Ayanami vs Javelin and Laffey, etc. But that doesn't curb the dragging feeling. Meanwhile, the last 3 episodes are super rushed. Barely any explanations are made about Akagi's motives, Enterprise is still the Deus Ex Machina Queen, and hell, it honestly feels like we're members of the Sakura Empire in that last battle, just as confused as everyone else.
Characters
Arguably the most anticipated part of the series, everyone, including newcomers like me knows that Azur Lane's selling point is its vast diversity of shipgirls and their quirky personalities. The Anime adaptation literally didn't do anything on it. Sure, they made sure to include cameos for the minor ships like Cleveland, but even with their main cast they struggled to make sure every character was well rounded and at least presentable as somewhat human. With their rushed attitude most of the characters were forced to stick to one central theme and crank it to 1000, which overall is a detriment to their personality and sets them as way more dull versions of their in game counterparts. On top of that, even if they spent 6 episodes fixing Enterprise's personality it overall still feels bland. All she did was realize that the ocean was scary. That's literally it, sure she's eating normal food a lot more, but in the grand scheme of things it was a very minor change.
Even with these flaws I still found myself gradually able to like a few characters. Even if the screentime isn't representative of how well they build as a character, it still is noticeable enough for certain characters to stick out. People will most likely love the Starter Squad for their quirky personalities, the two floofy tailed carriers will still be ara ara AF, and I personally loved the Shokaku sisters. At least not all of the personalities were sunk with the adaptation
Animation
The thing about converting big badass ironclad warships into cute anime girls is that you deliberately sacrifice many great opportunities for killer animation by opting for the more conventional approach. The main appeal of warships is that they're intimidating, they kick ass, and they are the most alpha way for nations to flex their biceps. It would've been great seeing these iron giant duke it out with shells and torpedoes, but now that they're kawaii anime girls, we really just get to see them use peashooters and swords... really? Meanwhile, the CGI. It's good in some places, but bad in others, especially when these human avatars are riding on their ships in ship form and not battle body form. The animations of the ship's turrets turning and firing is really chunky and looks like something straight out of Super Mario 64.
In all cases, the anime was a good watch. Not a great watch, but at least it isn't absolute bullcrap like others. Watch it if you're bored, watch it if you want to see shipfus, but don't watch it expecting to get something cool.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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