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Have you ever had that moment when you are in utter awe with how animation flows past your eyes with an interesting story? That's what I got in this wacky adventure. There has been a lot of complaints, but I will only address one of them right away. Its animation is creative and imaginative and it has the pacing like Gainax shows in the past. Where it falls, however, is that this animation is not consistent. What I mean by consistency is that at the start of every episode there is a dream sequence done by a new animator. SO I DO NOT SEE ANIMATION ... BEING A COMPLAINT IF IT'S DIFFERENT BECAUSE THERE IS A DISTINCTION BETWEEN A REALITY AND A DREAM. Ok now that's out of the way I need to explain why FLCL Progressive is worth checking out.

Story:
FLCL Progressive piggybacks the story from its prequel. If you haven't watched the prequel, then I will say that it is about teenagers growing up. Some grow up too fast, while others grow too slow. Our main protagonist, Hibajiri, is a girl who seems to have grown up too quickly. What I find interesting is how the story is a journey for her to become both younger and older. She becomes more emotional like a kid and she also becomes more mature like an adult. The story is also filled with a plot behind the scenes that make up for the climax in episodes 5-6. WIthout giving too many spoilers to a short 6 episodes, I think everyone would come out with a joy ride. As for its originality, it is not really anything new for people who have watched the prequel, but otherwise from that it is noteworthy considering how the rest of the 2018 Spring and Summer are made of sequels and isekai shows. If you want a breath of fresh air then this is your best bet. (8)

Art:
As a show with a Gainax feel, things seem to flow in an imaginative way. The creative powerhouse of Gainax may have left their work with Production I.G., but I think FLCL Progressive shows that the Gainax spirit has recovered by at least a considerable amount since then. I especially liked the dream sequences in which the animation and art style was drastically different from how the show usually presents itself. In each of these moments they are not only visually appealing but also thought provoking. This combination did not fail me at all, and from beginning to end I was pleased by the presentation. (9)

Character:
I cannot say the characters are that strong because they seem mostly flat. It was hard to cheer for Hibajiri because she is a very aloof character and our other main character, Iide, doesn't seem very consistent. I will say that Haruko, the eccentric adult, carries the show until she eats someone she shouldn't have. Haruko and Hibajiri act as total opposites of one another and help make the show more coherent, yet the downside is that I'm never too sure what side these two are on all the time. Are they against each other, going toward a common goal, or does it even matter? Sometimes they are enemies, teacher-student, love rival, I will let someone figure that part for me. It's not average by any means though. Have you seen an anime with characters experiencing a multitude of relationships? So it is just fine. (6)

I do not put enjoyment as a part of the score, but I can promise you that FLCL Progressive is not a waste of time. It is a breath of much needed fresh air from generic shows.

Darling in the FranXX is one of the best original anime this year for using refreshing, non original ideas. I would give the anime a lower score, but I do not grade by comparing an absolute masterpiece to a newcomer. I think I have to say this outright: Darling in the FranXX is inferior to a lot of anime but is superior to most 2018 anime. Like most reviews, I will grade story, art, sound, and characters in that order.

Before I go further, I need to address two common complaints. The first is the teenage melodrama. For this criticism I scratch my head and ... wonder if this actually valid because our main characters are fucking teenagers. Did you want teenagers to act like adults, because if that happened you would lose the story. In the second cour the children needed adults and if the anime had the teenagers act like adults they wouldn't need a role model. So there is no way teenage melodrama can be a criticism because it is essential to the plot. The second complaint is coincidentally about the plot too. If you are opening your mental notebook saying one cup this anime and one cup that anime then I have to wonder what exactly are you trying to watch. You could compare Darling in the FranXX to Neon Genesis Evangelion or Gurren Lagann, but the comparison should not affect your score because those two anime also reference mecha anime from the past. So if you lower a score because of how the show uses references, then you now know why you haven't enjoyed much anime lately because the succeeding season will always reference common troupes from the past.

Enough with those two complaints here comes the review.

Story:

So the Earth is now barren and everyone needs to live in plantations. Vicious beings called Klaxosaurs attack these plantations and the plantations fight back by using children in a mecha called FranXX. A lot more stuff happens but there are really two basic premises that everyone took from the story. 1) It is about what it means to be a kid and an adult. 2) The kinds of relationships that create a healthy relationship. Symbolism has been heavily emphasized to convey these two ideas, and you will see a lot of birds and beehives. Not we must discuss what makes the story good and bad. The story is good because we learn more about the world as the show progresses until an exposition dump. It could be bad because sometimes there is no action accompanied with the story and some people find this boring. I do enjoy watching these kids mature, in fact that's the whole show. Relationships change a lot within the teenage melodrama. To get the maximum value from the show, it is worth understanding that the children have been fighting monsters their whole lives so the melodrama comes because they are scared and are willing to protect any value they have because it does not involve fighting. I think this concept accompanied with the melodrama make this show bearable. Agree or disagree, the story has a progression and its concept matches character development. I can't ask for more. (7)

Art:
I do not think anyone can deny how fluid the animation flows. I am not a professional art critic, but I at least know what good art in anime looks like. I appreciate the designs of the FranXX and Klaxosaurs the most because of how stylized they are. One point of criticism is the fact that all the characters are wearing uniforms. I can see how this could be a lazy way to create character design, but the teenagers live in a society that actively conforms them. In fact, they take off these uniforms later on and start to present themselves as individuals instead of slaves of the state. The best way they did this is the wedding attire. Weddings are contracts bound by love whereas the contract between the individual and Papa is more robotic and totalitarian. Besides from character design, the show repeatedly use red and blue to convey harmony between its leading male and female characters. By implementing art into the story and being original in the process, I have to praise Darling in the FranXX for its use of art. (9)

Sound:
There are many moments in the anime when there is a climactic battle or an emotional moment between a couple. The sound accompanying the moment dazzles me every time and makes for good highlight moments. To avoid revealing too many spoilers, I will just mention one scene that seems fairly obvious from the summary. The moment when Hiro and 002 can effectively pilot their franXX was filled with music that could rise you from your seat as they pierce through a massive Klaxosaur. A major fault I have with the sound is that it does have highlights every episode and I would have to wait for a couple episodes before the sound really blows me away. (7)

Character:
I gave a lot of good scores, but the character section is when things get debatable. I thought every character was essential for the plot and anyone who doesn't must not get the bigger picture. Nevertheless I will address where the characters can be weak. Our main character Hiro is as generic as he can be. Sorry that was a lie. He is generic in all aspects except two. He has good backstory and changes in more ways than one after each battle. Otherwise from that every other teenage character seem to follow a theme. You have some annoying characters and some good ones, but I think they really shine in their relationships. You can clearly tell that some couples are really meant for each other whereas other couples just don't match at all. Nevertheless I must give credit where it is due. Each of the characters add more depth to the story and allow the story to tackle more issues than it could if it lacked its group of kids. So on one hand you have a story built on the relationships between characters but on the other hand it is a mecha anime and will lose a portion of its fans. (6)


I hope this review changes some opinions for those who have or have not watched Darling in the FranXX. Reading this far alone deserves some sort of congratulations. I just don't understand the other reviews about this show when they talk about the anime industry or compare it to anime from the 90s because most of us did not watch anime that far back.

**Spoiler defending the Virm**
In a particular episode everyone lost their heads when the VIRM were introduced. A couple episodes before a VIRM in a mask was killed by the Klaxosaur queen and we saw he had no body. So the VIRM did not come out of nowhere and were hiding all this time. In fact the VIRM not having bodies also explains how the home of our kids is maintained with "invisible caretakers". Adults could not have taken care of the children because the adults do not like parasites/pilots of the franXX and only have the physical capacity to fight or live contently, not take care of anyone else.

When I read "Prisma Illya" I immediately cringe and back away. Compared to the other fate titles, the Illya series has a very different demographic. This would be true... except this movie seems to bend the rules a bit. In fact, all I know about the Prisma Illya franchise is that its about a magical girl, but this movie has surpassed my expectations. If you are even slightly interested, then let me fully hook you in into a Fate title that has more to do with "stay/night" and "zero" than "last encore" and "apocrypha".

Story:
For a fate spinoff, it is surprising to see Shiro ... Emiya appear as the main character. The story follows him in his struggle to take back his sister who is also the ultimate wish granting advice. His means for rescuing her is by participating in the grail war. So who is his servant? Well... he doesn't really have one. Shiro literally fights with limited power against foes that have appeared throughout the fate series. So why is this a magical girl anime? It really isn't besides from the "card install" feature. I love the direction of this movie and I guarantee that you will appreciate how, instead of having a magical girl anime sprinkled with Fate elements, the anime has a strong Fate premise overshadowing a magical girl genre. (8)

Art:
At often times, the art is symbolic. Some key pieces of clothing act as minor plot points and this is the exact kind of usage that I admire. The character designs of the master have also sold me into appreciating this movie because seeing the masters install their servants is outright interesting. Where the art fails, however, is in the action scenes in the second half of the movie. You will find the quality of animation and art to become not only more generic but also in degraded quality. Given how Silver Link, an animation studio that does not have action as its strong suit, is mainly in charge of this movie, I might be able to let it slide. I don't ignore this mistake though because the climatic action scene near the end has the worst animation overall. (6)

Sound:
The sound is wonderful as it depicts the narrative in both tone and mood. The only real flaw with the sound is in the action sequences as we hear the same sword piercing noise consistently. It does not offend me because it shows how this grail war is really like a war, yet I do not think it will hurt to add some variety. (5)

Character:
So Illya is by far the best character in this movie... Nevermind she only appears in the last minute. Our characters are actually mostly male. This is actually a great thing for the movie since I can stop searching for who the fan service character will be. I can also focus on Shiro Emiya more and see how, instead of having a small harem, accumulate an actual relationship with a female in this movie. Furthermore, our main antagonist, whose name I cannot say out of spoiler reasons, appears to be just as interesting as this new badass version of Shiro. Look forward to seeing this new character dynamic that is, in a lot of ways, similar to Fate/Zero's two main rivals. (8)

Enjoyment:
I don't count my enjoyment for the overall score, but if you are curious it is a solid 7. I found the movie to be a refreshing take on the magical girl genre and the grail war archetype. I was also throughly entertained throughout the movie and I felt like I could really root for Shiro Emiya more than I did for the Shiro Emiya in Unlimited Blade Works.

After watching the movie a second time, I've realized that you actually do not need to see Prisma Illya to understand what is going on. To have the full experience, however, you would need to watch Fate/Zero and/or Fate Stay/Night.

I have seen bad anime and good anime come and go, but whenever a good anime is presented I am either disappointed or frustrated with the bandwagons attached to it. Luckily, Mayoiga is not one of these anime. Originally I gave Mayoiga a 1, but after removing parts of my ego there are some parts that make Mayoiga a bit more than a pathetic anime. This review will have no spoilers and the purpose is to convince you to rewatch or begin to watch Mayoiga.

Story:
Mayoiga is about a group of isolationists that decide to move into a village so that they can restart their ... lives. Immediately we understand that this anime is about exiles and we discover why they are exiles exactly because none of them are memorable. The main hook of this anime is the mystery of the village. The romance isn't the strong suit and when the mystery is revealed I have a hard time understanding what is real and what is not real. Story is not the strong suit by far, but what makes it better than dreadful (2) is that it has a narrative in mind and does not forget important plot points to our main character's trauma. Despite this, you will often find that a large cast of characters would be difficult to work with in 12 episodes. (3)

Art:
Art is always a debatable category. I thought it was fine because it shows the defining characteristic of each character. When the art does not do this, it portrays average characters in a less than average story. Does this sound familiar? Mayoiga fits the horror-genre archetype! Since I do not want to reveal and spoilers, I will say that the CG at this time was terrifying and it fits perfectly with the mystery of the village. (6)

Sound:
I liked the opening and ending... only if they were for a different show. I find that the upbeat and sad nature of these songs do not define the show and although it serves to hype me for the next episode it does not hype me for the story or characters. The overall soundtrack has a bunch of ambiance that seems offsetting, yet it somehow fits when understanding what a train wreck this anime really is. The best song you will hear, however, is the hippopotamus song. (3)

Character:
The characters of this anime are generic and flat. I wasn't rooting for any of the characters except 2 of them: the female tour guide and the bus driver. The only thing to keep in mind is that literally all of these people are isolationists. We often define each of these characters for a trait that society deems immoral like we have a character that enjoys executions and another that enjoys killing. Those are the extreme examples, but some other examples are also beauty and unemployment. There are so many different people here that I could not tell what the point of Mayogia really was. (1)

Enjoyment:
I don't count my enjoyment to the overall score but I will say that I was enjoyed enough to finish the 12 episode run. I never felt like sleeping through the show at any given point and I think its best to treat this show as a comedy rather than an actual mystery. (5)

If you have time in your hands before the next season starts than I recommend checking out Mayoiga to pass the time. Just know that you will gain minor enjoyment and a loss of time.

Do you like little sisters? Good, because our protagonist Itsuki loves them probably more than you do. I give this anime an overall score of 6, but that does not mean I think it is distasteful. In fact I think that some people will give this anime a 8 or 9, maybe even a 10. This review is a spoiler-free review by the way, but it would not hurt for people who have watched this anime already to read this review too.

Story:

I acknowledge how the story may seem non linear at times, but I assure you that this anime actually has an excellent narrative. ... The overall plot is Itsuki, an aspiring author, making his way through the light novel industry while passing through hardships. It is a story of friendship and comedy for the most part, but I would pay more attention to the background. This story is actually about a depressed young man who fights against reality, diving into his own form of escapism, probably retreating into his perverted light novels, only to realize how his peers have earned successes that he has yet to earn himself. For instance, one of his friends is a much more talented writer while the other has an anime in the works. Itsuki deals with his issue by not caring about it. As the anime goes on, you will find Itsuki making peace with himself, and I feel that this narrative would be enjoyable for literally anyone who has felt at least a taste of depression. The flaw to this narrative, however, is that it lacks a dark theme since this narrative only lies in the background, but the anime makes it obvious enough for an attentive audience to peace this together. So now that I have pointed out where your attention should be, I think you would find the story to be at least above average. (8)

Art:

Given the silver link art quality, I thought this anime would be able to use art to its advantage. I was right in some parts as the art is often used to show Itsuki's room clearly and everything outside as a foggy and generic setting. Although it gives the impression that Itsuki himself views the rest of the world as irrelevant, I feel that scenes where some of the girls are naked are more horrific rather than enjoyable. Now that I'm here, I would like to emphasize that the fan service is not good. I'm not a personal fan of fan service, but the anime is willing devote 5 minutes every two episodes to only showing fan service to the reader. (6)

Sound:

This is the worst category for good reason. So I did not hear anything in the background, I do not know why. Maybe it is to illustrate how Itsuki is living in the real world, but I think it is because the show did not have enough budget. Nevertheless the opening and ending are great, but I think the overall soundtrack could be used to describe the anime's overall mood rather than a deafening silence. (4)

Character:

Earlier I mentioned how this anime is actually a narrative of a depressed young man. That was a lie. This anime is really a narrative about multiple depressed people that hide their flaws from each other. I'm not going to say any spoilers, but I will just say that every episode has a little crack of the character and you will enjoy, or sympathize, with the character when he or she breaks. (8)

Enjoyment:

Please take this category with a grain of salt. I thought it was at best fair. I could see how other people would enjoy this anime more than I did because I really liked the episodes when the characters played board games, showing there inner flaws or making a spoof of another popular work, but I thought that the overall silence of the anime was very unfavorable. I suggest that you just pay attention to the character's dialogue because they really are interesting at times, and I also recommend that you treat this anime as a totally different work from the likes of Shirabako or any other anime with a Japanese entertainment industry. (6)

Overall:

This anime has its ups and downs, but I just have to give it a little more than average. I predict that there will be many who enjoy this and many who don't, but it's really a coin toss. Would you be willing to toss that coin? I would. There is something for anybody in this anime, but if you are more of a edgy type of guy I would say this anime is not for you. (6)

This is a spoiler free review on an anime that both deserves and does not deserve a lot of hate. I know my score is relatively high, but I urge you to keep in mind that this review is written by someone who has watched all 25 episodes and has acknowledged both the strengths and flaws of the anime.

Story

Alright let's get this out of the way. This show is not like Fate/Zero or Unlimited Blade Works or really any other Fate plot in the franchise, but I don't understand why these anime are used to compare against Apocrypha. The plot in Apocrypha is very ... different and plays with the rules of the Holy Grail War instead of having the standard 7 master-servant pair. We instead have 14 pairs split into two factions with a ruler class servant in the mix. An argument can be said that bigger isn't always better, and I agree with that statement. If the premise alone was to have this standard war, I would be bored to hell. Yet Apocrypha catches me off guard as it tells a more unique story than I've initially imagined. The first episode reminds the viewer that it's a battle between individuals, and right from the start we are in Sieg's perspective. Sieg is a mostly neutral character in the war that knows very little about the servants and masters, likewise we do not know much about the characters because we have been following Sieg's perspective the whole time. What makes the story from interesting to outstanding is the fact that Sieg's admiration for the heroic spirit starts to build and it makes him very different from the other Fate characters that aim to manipulate their friends, servants, and masters; Sieg is true to his values. Fate has changed their narrative from one about a hopeful hero in a reality to a dreamful hero in a fantasy. (10)

Art:

I do not care about the studio that worked on this, but I will have to say that the art was mostly great. Toward the end of the show, however, you will find a drop in quality for good reason. If you actually read the story section (hopefully), then you should know that Sieg becomes more human and therefore more biased about the side he fights for. The art drops only for characters Sieg sees as an enemy to his goal. This clever use of art to portraying character gives this section a 6, because even though I credit the director for making that choice, I would have to argue that the use of a different animator would be more acceptable. Besides from that, the character designs are precise and describe the characters fully. None of these designs are too complex though, but the choice of more simple designs allows the viewer to absorb this Great Holy Grail War more easily. (7)

Sound:

I liked the soundtrack. I honestly did, but when the soundtrack changes only after 23 or so episodes, the anime gets a little repetitive. This soundtrack would give this section a 2 or 3, but the music at the last fights bumped the score up. The last fight, for example, emphasized crescendos and Sieg's powerful emotions. Before, Sieg was a very passive character and this would support the reason why the soundtrack hasn't really changed before the last episodes. (6)

Character:

I think I talked a lot about Sieg before, so instead I will give a basic overview of the cast. I will start with the red side because it is easiest. So the red side has less development than the black side overall, but it still manages to portray its themes in relative ease. Some themes to consider while watching the anime are the use of desire. You will see that with most of the red faction since some of its members want their dreams to be fulfilled without consideration for the rest of the team while the rest are trying to preserve the good of the entire faction. On the other hand, the black faction is much more organized and has more development than the red. The black faction will change the most over the course of the anime and you will generally find the theme of individualism. In other words, the black faction's members mostly respect each other and allows the masters and servants to work toward their own goals without damaging themselves like the red counterpart. Considering all this, the character score is at a 5. Nothing very impressive here. What makes this score better are Ruler and Sieg's character arcs that depict a journey of struggles against their destinies. A common troupe for a fantastic franchise. (8)

Enjoyment:

I did not think Apocrypha was great, but I also thought it was better than average. There were many times when I was excited about each fight because each one showed a conflict between the characters and sets aside the faction part entirely. I never particularly thought any of the fights were dull, but they were mostly all noise. Yet again, considering Sieg's state in the fights, I would not be surprised to hear mostly noise. (7)

Overall:

I actually give apocrypha a high 7 and I don't think it should be any lower than a 6. I am shocked about the negative reviews, especially when the review says the anime "lacks creativity" and Sieg has too much "plot armor". I will quickly debunk these reasons so that you enter the story with a less negative outlook. I would like to remind you that the anime is very creative with its presentation in every scene shows a side of a character since mostly everything, including the setting, acts as a noble phantasm for a servant. Also, to say Sieg has too much plot armor is not true in many ways. For example, Shiro from the Fate/Stay Night series went from school kid to servant slayer in a few days. Sieg, a being with perfect circuits, obviously has a better chance than some school kid. So just take the negative reviews with a grain of salt and treat the anime as a separate work. Treat it as a story about a hero trying to realize his dream and taking it with his two hands.