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As a guy who rarely watches any romance shows and movies, disliking most that I come across, "I Want to Eat your Pancreas" proved to be a surprisingly enjoyable movie for me. It isn't difficult to understand why this movie is rated so highly on MAL but let it be known that it isn't for everyone, particularly for people who are well-versed in romance/tragedy anime and watch them from a strictly academic standpoint.

On paper, "Pancreas" doesn't do anything particularly original or inspiring from the standpoint of a romance film. It can feel a little cliched, plot points are predictable, and some events in the ... story seem improbable. However, this only really occurred to me on hindsight. As someone who watches films without overthinking unless there are glaring issues or contradictions, I was drawn into the rather special relationship between our main cast.

I'll refrain from spoiling but I thought that the character dynamic was wholesome and believable, albeit I think it would be fair to assert that such a relationship is difficult to achieve in real life. But that's kind of the beauty of some of these shows, they attempt to portray something that is plausible even when it seems unobtainable in our daily lives.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the direction of the movie. While it may feel rushed or shallow and cliched to some, I thought it adequately demonstrated the overall thematic purposes of the film without limiting itself by time constraints. After all, the reason why cliches exist in the first place is that they can be very effective if done in the right way. The way in which the movie constructs this narrative feels natural, yet remains suspenseful enough to engage viewers. You care about the happiness of the two leads, and its partly because it lends itself to romance cliches without wholly becoming a cliche in and of itself.

Having only finished the movie about 30 minutes ago and therefore having little time to think about it, I don't feel like I could do the movie justice attempting to summarize its themes or messages. But the one notion that really struck me when watching this movie was that while the two teenagers' initial interaction felt coincidental as if guided by god, the movie does not stoop to such fatalistic belief in such forces. Rather, supposed coincidences can in fact be a culmination of human choices. We are in control of our own lives and naturally will come across those special people not by "coincidence" per se, but by pure mutual compatibility for lack of a better phrase.

I said earlier that the relationship in this movie seems plausible but difficult to achieve in real life. However, this movie lends hope to the possibility of such happy coincidences in life. It may be hard to believe at times, but unique and beautiful things happen to all of us during our lives, often thanks to our interactions with others. After all, I'm a firm believer that a fascinating movie could be inspired by the biography of any human being on the planet.

“WATASHI NO SMARTPHONE GAAAAAA!!”

I’ve never been a big fan of Western sitcoms with their occasional punch lines and automated laugh tracks. It only took Hinamatsuri a few seconds for me to start giggling hysterically in a manner that belies my 17 year old, pubescent self. It was at this precise moment where I decided that Hinamatsuri would be something rather special and refreshing, a show that could genuinely impress me with its ridiculousness.

I was not disappointed. Hinamatsuri delivers its humour in spades. The absurdism of this series was both amusing and perhaps ironically, surprisingly realistic. Of course, the realism stems from the bizarre context ... of the show; the dynamic relationship between an airhead girl with psychokinetic powers and an affluent Yakuza thug gives the series room to circumvent conventional perceptions of daily family life. Queue hardworking, hobo girl and middle school bartender girl and you have yourself the foundation of comical greatness.

So what exactly makes Hinamatsuri’s humour so impressive and universal? The show fully exploits the unique interactions between characters that possess ideals and characteristics polar opposite from one another. But not in a way like Fate/Zero, for instance, where contrasting ideals give way to tragedy and nihilism. Instead, the show often sets up circumstances and events that deflect the viewer’s attention from the comedic nature of the show. Genuine character development and dilemmas through various interactions - all done in a surprisingly organic way – before we are hit by something preposterous just when we least expect it. Sometimes, humour of this nature can feel jarring and inappropriate but somehow, Hinamatsuri absolutely nails it either by forcing out the belly laughs or by bringing in the feels with impressive subtlety.

Indeed, what probably impressed me the most about Hinamatsuri was its ability and proficiency in oscillating between comedy and matters of real seriousness. This is most aptly demonstrated in Anzu’s homelessness arc. The title “Hobo life 101” sounds like an attempt to compliment the show with another source of humour and Hinamatsuri does capitalize on Anzu’s gullibility and almost tragic misperception of the value of money. However, this arc sheds light on homelessness with a level of sympathy and depth rarely seen in any media, let alone a screwball comedy anime. The show poignantly reminds us that not all homeless people are lazy vagabonds with selfish intent. Sometimes, particularly in nations like Japan, the homeless are simply old, single men - cast away by society, perhaps as a result of the recession of the nineties or other societal preconceptions. These people can still be hardworking, caring and compassionate; sometimes displaying a level of humanity lacking in the rest of the world. While Hinamatsuri’s portrayal of the homeless is certainly somewhat romanticized, the message retains its potency. It reminds us to be thankful for our circumstances, and to demonstrate empathy for those less fortunate than us.

Hinamatsuri treats other stereotypes with the same level of attention. Through Nitta and his interactions with both Hina and the Yakuza, we can see that the Yakuza and its members are more than cruel, bloodthirsty criminals. They can be tender, considerate and tragic personas – attaching themselves to the infamous Yakuza not because they want to, but because they have to. Hitomi, on the other hand, epitomizes the terrible overwork conundrum that has plagued Japan over the past decades. Hina’s characterization hints at the failings of a society which accepts laziness in its youth… It’s heartening to see this comedy use its core characters not only as sources of humour, but as thematic pillars to propagate its messages.

The characters in the show are excellent. Nitta, Hina, Anzu and Hitomi are all well characterized and well developed through the course of the anime. This isn’t a comedy which uses its characters once in a skit before refreshing. The characters grow from each experience and develop into real, relatable, three dimensional beings. Even the side characters get their fair share of love and attention – the consequences of their actions are everlasting and add to the legato between plot segments.

I had no real problems with Hinamatsuri’s art and animation style. I’m hardly an art critic but I really liked the extreme close ups and detailed facial expressions with pencil shadings whenever something ridiculous happens. Some of the art was striking and demonstrated a careful attention to detail from the staff at studio Feel. Animation quality felt consistent throughout and only ever complimented moments of comedic value.

The OP and ED are both great and are sung by the VA’s of Anzu and Nitta respectively, which was a nice touch. The OST didn’t seem particularly notable but the voice acting was excellent for a show with some pretty demanding VA moments. Moments like Hina stating nonchalantly “I want to go to a girly club” or pissed off Nitta sounding pissed off elevates the comedy to the uncontrollable laughing level.

Hinamatsuri is a comedy with heart. It’s one of those rare shows that can do many things well at the same time, leaving you with a package that makes you crave for more by the time the show ends. I’m willing to sell my soul to the devil for a second season – manga readers tell me that it only gets funnier.

This is a review for K-On!, K-On!! and the K-On! Movie

Never in my life did I expect myself to enjoy a moe anime - not that I had ever seen one prior to watching K-On! Being a huge Urubutcher fan and just thematically challenging and ambiguous media in general meant that I went into K-On! expecting myself to hate it. I was so wrong...

Story 9/10

Honestly, this one was a bit hard to mark as K-On!'s story revolves around a group of high school girls in a band and their experiences going through high school. But everything was done in an enjoyable manner, the story is ... a satisfying one and it models the sort of high school life I wish I had (I just graduated last year and I'm already getting sentimental damn..). There were some genuinely touching and heartwarming moments along the way which I seriously appreciated.

Art and Animation 8/10

K-On!'s art and animation remain consistently solid throughout and occasionally impresses, but otherwise, there wasn't anything particularly jaw-dropping. The art style, however, was most suitable for the genre and for the overall mood of the show with oversimplifications of some body parts as well as frequent comedic sketches. Props to Kyoto animators for doing the correct chording and fretting for guitar/bass, there never was really many shots of the keyboard and I'm pretty horrible at drumming so I can't judge.

Sound 10/10

For many of us, the sound is a huge standout in this series. Some of the best voice acting I've ever witnessed originates from this show. Yui and Ritsu's voice actresses do a particularly good job. And the music. I've been listening to K-On!'s soundtrack for the past 3 weeks now and I'm still not sick of it. I've learned quite a few of these on guitar and piano already just for fun, there are just so many absolute bangers. The 4 EDs all stood out; Mio's singing and the heavier rock tone made the songs less cutesy and gave the sound more edge. I also like the songs Yui voices, especially Fuwa Fuwa Time as well as the two 'tearjerker' numbers: U&I and Tenshi ni fureta yo. Honestly, just some of the best sound you can ask for from an anime.

Character 10/10

All the characters are simple and lovable, I mean that's the essence of moe right? My fav is Yui because she's like my spirit animal - if only the real world wouldn't condemn those who act in the way she does... But yes, I love how the girls are all so friendly, nice and transparent, the world needs more people like them.

Issues

I have almost no issues with the show whatsoever, there are two I would like to point out though. Firstly, I wish they would play us whole songs or at least the typical 1:30 length for concerts and performances. It feels like we miss out when we don't get the whole concert experience. I much prefer the Your Lie in April approach here where they perform complete works. Secondly, the first season for me was too rushed. They rushed through two years of events four times faster than that of the second season. I get that senior year in high school is the most important and that maybe there wasn't enough source material but it made the experience feel a little incomplete.

Enjoyment 10/10

This is one show that is sure to keep you smiling - provided you aren't a nihilist and that you're open to cute stuff (categories which I thought I fell under so you never know xD ). Finally, a show I enjoy that doesn't include bloodshed and drama!!

Overall 9/10

Big shout out to my mate Daniel for inspiring me to watch this with his beautiful karaoke rendition of Don't say 'lazy'.

Unfortunately the manga adaptation of the anime does a poor job of transferring the epic, over the top scale of the show onto paper.

I find it quite disappointing that the manga itself is deemed complete only after three volumes, ending after Ryuko finished taking on the Elite Four and Nui for the first time. That felt like a particularly jarring and inappropriate note for the manga to finish on since the world of Kill la Kill is still so undeveloped and ultimately open ended. The story itself up to this point is practically the same as the original anime, albeit much of the detail is ... left out which I feel is quite a shame considering that for instance the anime does a great job of dramatizing the extravagance of the fight scenes. In the manga, the entire elite four fight during the naturals election is condensed down to a mere 40ish A5 pages. The overall rushed pace of the manga gave me no opportunity to truly enjoy the story and world of Kill la Kill.

The art itself was quite well done, although often ambiguous enough to evoke confusion from the perspective of the reader. This is particularly evident in volume 2 and 3 where content is densely packed so that the plot can progress quickly. If it wasn't for the fact that I'd seen the actual anime I would be pretty clueless with what was actually happening at certain points in the story. In terms of character drawings they were well done but somehow I don't like how Satsuki and Ryuko's faces were drawn, their features aren't as sharp as those from the anime. Despite the fact that it's definitely more detailed, I can't help but think that the anime depictions of these two were better manifestations of each character's respective personalities and outlook.

Unfortunately, we had general underdevelopment of character mostly due to the dense packing of plot events in this manga. Ironically, Ryuko is more well developed than Satsuki here unlike in the anime where Satsuki's ambitions is colored in a far more sympathetic light. In the context of the anime I could understand why Ryuko would be less developed, she doesn't really have a meaningful past and because of that she is seeking to find reason for her existence. The fact that none of the characters in the manga are truly developed is quite disappointing.

Due to the fact that I'd just finished watching what I thought to be an exceptional anime (my favorite out of the five I have seen haha) a couple days ago, the manga adaptation served as a stark contrast in that it just so much worse. I understand that budgeting and deadlines may have been an issue here, but I was just generally disappointed by the manga. I just wanted to see more Ryuko but this adaptation doesn't truly do the character or the anime justice. Fight scenes lack the gorgeous, over the top quality that made the original anime unique and I can find little meaning in the densely packed material of the manga.

This is my first ever review, hope it's been helpful.