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May 20, 2022
It’s easy to think that the premise of One Punch Man will get old fast. It clearly has for some. For me though, the One Punch premise took a back seat to all the other humorous elements at play. When that punch did show up, it felt like the perfect ending to top off the surreal experiences that had built up to the finale. You may be able to predict the outcome to any fight Saitama partakes in, but good luck predicting how he’ll end up there or what events will take place in the aftermath.
Saitama is a regular, (actually really below-average) kind of guy
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who is a hero for fun. He has no passion for anything due to being terribly OP. The only thing he really seems to care about is saving money (although he would never get a regular job). Most animes are filled with characters who take themselves way too damn seriously. Saitama is the guy who outright cuts those characters off during their exhausting monologues, telling them to “summarize it in 20 words or less.” In this way, Saitama is often the stand-in character for the viewer. I honestly can’t think of a better role to have such an OP character play. No one else would be able to realistically maintain the level of detachedness required.
Saitama’s reactions to events are *truly* artful and are a sizeable contribution to the humor of the show. This is due, in part, to the S-tier animation. This is one of those things that’s hard to describe—you have to see it. (I also refuse to spoil anything lol) The visual gags throughout this entire show were constantly surprising and never disappointing.
The humor doesn’t just come from Saitama constantly wiping villains out in one punch. Yes, there is a lot of that, especially in the beginning. We increasingly get to see side-characters take on enemies who wipe the floor with their carcasses, until Saitama shows up and finishes them off in *spoiler alert* one punch. But it’s so much more than that. Contrast between Saitama, his environment, and everyone around him definitely also play a huge role. Genos, Saitama’s “apprentice” is a perfect foil who adds a lot to the humor.
In the simplest terms, Genos is deathly serious whereas Saitama is never serious and probably *should not* be taken seriously unless you need something killed. Genos looks up to Saitama for his strength and as a result takes everything he says and does seriously. Meanwhile, Saitama has literally nothing to offer Genos in terms of advice or training (Genos is a cyborg, so training would be somewhat useless anyways). Genos is more of a fanboy than an apprentice, which adds to the humor considering Genos’ normally stoic composure. That said, Genos does a surprisingly good job at humanizing Saitama, as Saitama does show some level of attachment to him. He does seem to be somewhat concerned with helping him, but recognizes his own shortcomings and basically sees Genos as already being better than him.
These kinds of traits help a lot in preventing Saitama from being unlikeable as a result of being OP. If he were egotistical, it would ruin the show. He’s actually probably the most humble character in the show, which ends up making him a lot *more* likeable than most. This obviously also adds a lot to the humor too. While side-characters are constantly bragging about how strong they are, there is the underlying awareness that their strength is nothing in comparison to that of Saitama. (It also makes it extra special when they inevitably get their asses handed to them in battle.) This in and of itself is an entertaining thought, given the kind of guy that he is outside of his overwhelming physical strength. It’s also worth noting that being OP on the battlefield doesn’t prevent Saitama from facing challenges in his regular life, which the show does a good job of exploring—all the while keeping it entertaining and lighthearted.
There is no ~~serious~~ story. This is a parody of shonen after all: when the story is present, it’s there to make fun of itself. If you need characters and stories that are full of deep/serious drama in order to enjoy a show, even a comedy, you probably won’t like this. Most of the characters (read: everyone except Saitama) are extremely stereotypical. Everything that exists in this show is pretty much there to contribute to the comedy. There is a plot, but it’s definitely flimsy. I personally didn’t feel that these things held the show back very much, if at all, and I’m 100% normally the type to criticize poor plot and character development. The thing is, there still isn’t a useless moment present in this show. The pacing and storytelling are fantastic for what they are trying to achieve: humor. If this weren’t the case, maybe I would be more concerned. However, there really weren’t hardly any moments that made me cringe or left me wanting more in a bad way. This show almost never takes itself seriously, and the couple times it does contribute greatly to character development. I honestly think keeping it simple was the right move for this show considering the focus, and in the end we develop a pretty solid understanding of the world and the characters we’ve been shown thus far.
As I said before, the animation is S-tier. There’s not much to say about it that hasn’t already been said. I also found myself actually watching and enjoying the intro, which I pretty much never do.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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May 18, 2022
Honey & Clover definitely has some nice moments, but the flaws are just too major to ignore. I’m dropping it, because there is one major thing I can’t get past: Hagu.
Hagu is infantilized right from the very beginning. Her uncle introduces her as though she were a toddler who can’t speak or think for herself. Oh but don’t worry, Hagu is 18, as the show is certain to tell us right from the start. She doesn’t speak for herself. She is much more apt to just making sounds or gestures. (Seriously.. why doesn’t she speak?? and when she finally does… she sounds drunk….) Often the
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characters speak about her rather than to her. Regardless of Hagu’s stated age she is portrayed in literally every other sense as though she were a child. None of her features or characteristics or design or anything would lead you to believe that she were any older than 10 years old (IF that) if it hadn’t been explicitly stated otherwise. Episode 4, the christmas party.. there is literally a scene where Hagu and some other girl are admiring Ayumi’s legs and Takumi is like “I’m sure you guys will get legs like this when you become adults.” ?? Episode 5? same thing, but this time? breasts. same response. what the fuck.
So was there anything I liked? Actually yes. I loved the art and the music. I also love slice of life, and so I’m naturally inclined to like the slow pace and the feeling that every episode is full of moments we just happen to drop in on. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much else that I enjoyed, even putting Hagu aside (which is a pretty big ask, mind you).
So here are some other things that have been annoying me thus far:
It often feels as though there is little to no purpose/direction when it comes to scenes that are chosen to show us. They don’t always drive the story forward or develop the characters further. They’re sometimes not even very entertaining. We are only on episode 3, and suddenly we are thrown into this dramatic scene where Ayumi gets mad at Takumi for basically liking someone else and it’s like— why do we care? We barely even know anything about either of these characters yet. Why should we feel bad? Should we feel bad? It feels like we are supposed to think this dude is a jerk for liking someone else or something, but whY? Did he lead her on? Wouldn’t it be nice if we had some context, so that we could come to some kind of conclusion on our own? The main character also gives mary sue vibes. Maybe his one flaw is that he’s a bit of a pushover? There are also so many moments when, in spite of how obvious it already is, character’s feelings are explicitly stated to us via internal monologue. It really isn’t necessary.
There is a scene where Yuuta has just come to visit his mom and one of her coworkers asks, “Is it possible that you haven’t been coming home because you don’t like Kazu?” It’s immediately obvious that the answer is yes, and for a moment it seems like the show may respect the audience enough to avoid just giving us all the answers and allow us to interpret the details on our own. But no, after leaving his mom’s workplace, Yuuta immediately starts telling us about his home life in detail. Eventually, he runs into Kazu and they go to a batting cage, where he recalls what his mom’s coworker said and says, “She was right.” Seriously? Couldn’t you have just shown us all that through the plot instead of explicitly telling us that? At the very least, is it necessary to tell us that you don’t like him outright when it’s already obvious? The visit is wasted on his redundant internal monologuing. It might have been nice to just show the visit and let the viewer come to their own conclusions.
Honestly though, even if the rest of this show were better, it doesn’t matter. The whole situation with Hagu is just too fucking weird and it ruins the show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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May 17, 2022
I can’t even be bothered to write an in-depth review but I’ll try my best. Let me just start by saying I got to episode 22 before I literally couldn’t force myself to keep watching it anymore. It’s that bad. I was hoping that something NEW would happen — maybe we’d finally see Onoda start to reach his potential or more emphasis would be put on Naruko becoming an all-rounder, but 22 episodes in this season is even more of a mess than the fist two. It feels like a complete repeat of the first two seasons, except it’s not because it’s worse.
The main reason
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I even watched the first two seasons were the fun personalities and the humor. The humor is still there and there are definitely some really funny moments (Orange Beena) but there’s not enough to carry the show. The characters... suck ass. I mean, seriously. There are so many “new” characters who are basically just copycats of the older ones. I liked the additional focus on Teshima and Aoyagi, though I feel that a lot of their story is really repetitive in this season. The only new character I actually liked is the tall guy (I forget his name) who rides like a metronome. He’s such an airhead and definitely unique. A lot of moments with him are truly hilarious. Other than those three, pretty much all the characters disappoint. It’s just more of the same, no character growth to speak of. Also, what was the point of giving so much screen time to Imaizumi, Onoda, and Naruko in earlier seasons only to have them take the backseat this season? Especially considering how little they were ever developed?
The plot is literally the SAME as the first two seasons. I have no idea what the creators of this show were even thinking. There is so much they could have done but didn’t. Different races, new kinds of practices, hell, make some of the members of the team hang out outside of school or practice for once or actually show them in school more. It would have also been great to see how Hakone academy dealt with the aftermath of losing the last Inter-High, but all we see is the assembly of the new team and some talk about how they have to overcome their loss. What about having some of the third years come back and help with some practices for their old team? I mean, literally anything but repeating the same exact plot. The same problems that held the first 2 seasons back hold this season back, only now the characters can’t save the show. I honestly regret even watching this much.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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May 16, 2022
(This review is for the first 2 seasons of Yowamushi Pedal)
This anime is what happens when you throw all the typical shonen characters into an anime about road racing. It’s pretty hilarious at times. It might be a weird comparison to some people, but my experience watching this was similar to the Disastrous Life of Saiki K. Some (most) of the characters are complete stereotypes. They’re also mostly stupid. They say things that are either blatantly obvious or completely wrong like 75% of the time, the rest of the time they’re usually being stupid over-the-top. There were times when it was a little bit touching
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or exciting, but mostly I kept watching it for two reasons: 1) Funny. 2) I like cycling and it made me want to ride my bike real bad.
There are a lot of issues with this show. Yowamushi Pedal is at its best when the emphasis is on comedy, but it's not consistently comedic. There are times when the mood is meant to be more serious. Unfortunately, the story wasn't well-written enough to get me actually invested most of the time. (There are only a couple exceptions, which I can't share without spoiling anything.) There was a lot of potential for interesting character relationships, but none of them really get fleshed out very well.
I think the worst thing about this show was Onoda, the main character. He really doesn’t change much over the course of the show, save for maybe getting better at cycling, and even that isn’t really done very well. At first, you may feel a lot of sympathy for Onoda. I certainly was rooting for him. I thought the concept of an otaku joining a sports club was great. He starts out shrimpy and timid. The problem is, he stays that way the whole show and it gets old fast. I’d have to go back and watch, but sometimes I felt like it actually got worse as the show went on. (It might have just been getting really old.) He stutters constantly, has zero confidence, doesn’t learn from his mistakes, is unreliable, etc. and never improves even after facing circumstances that really should have taught him better. The other characters try to help him build confidence to no avail over and over again. I’m currently watching New Generation, and he still hasn’t changed.
Okay, to be fair, I otherwise did actually like the rest of the characters, though they were completely over-the-top and ridiculous. They might be trope-y, but honestly, a lot of the characters are legitimately like-able or at the very least fun/funny to watch. There are plenty of moments where characters subvert expectations. I liked a lot of the designs for the characters. They were all pretty distinct and the art style is pretty decent most of the time. Some of the opponents of the main team are basically designed/act like supervillains (ex: Midousuji) , which is amazing and hilarious for a sports anime. (And weird. Very weird.) In spite of how ridiculous a lot of the characters seem, the show actually does take the time to flesh quite a lot of them and their relationships with each other out via backstory.
There are a lot of flashbacks, maybe too much. They work pretty well most of the time, but I feel like it might have been more exciting to take us along on some of these stories as they happen instead of the constant flashbacks. Honestly, the story is the weak point of this show. It’s kind of all over the place and it’s not really clear to me what sort of journey the characters are supposed to be on besides winning the next race. I guess it’s all just about them relying on each other? But they basically overcome the same challenge over and over in that regard and that’s really mostly it.
It’s hard for me not to compare sports animes to Haikyuu!!, so I’ll just say this: I think one of the things that makes Haikyuu!! so great is the individual, unique journeys characters go on to target their weaknesses to improve. The characters legitimately grow a lot in measurable ways throughout the show, and we’re there for mostly all of it as it happens-- in sequential order. There is just as much emphasis on the struggles and failures as the successes, which makes the successes all the more satisfying. When and if substantial growth or struggle happens in Yowamushi Pedal, it’s hard to even notice because the story is too scattered in its focus and sequencing.
Characters changing their approaches or learning lessons is typically near-instantaneous. Or even worse, all the progress happens off-screen. To be honest, we’re lucky to even see progress via flashback half of the time. As a result, the few changes characters do undergo end up feeling underwhelming. Characters talk about how the challenge of races cause rapid growth, but that doesn’t change the fact that it would have been more exciting to put more focus on characters identifying and targeting weaknesses in practices leading up to said races.
The aforementioned lack of character growth and struggle really holds this anime back. There is just too much time dedicated to the (extremely drawn-out) races that could have been better used showing us how the characters were practicing to improve in the build-up towards the race. It would have made the actual races even more exciting and raised the stakes if we knew how hard the characters had actually worked and were able to see examples of them using their new strategies and facing their weaknesses “in battle.” It also could have been the vehicle for a much better, more cohesive plot. These kinds of things also probably would have been great for displaying the importance of teamwork, the whole theme of the show. It’s weird and unnatural (although those words could be used to describe this whole anime lol) to see characters change so suddenly right when it’s convenient for them to do so. It’s also weird when characters face the same problems over and over again, overcome them in the moment, and then continue to be the exact same and learn absolutely nothing moving forward. (Onoda)
The racing, tactics, and practice in this show is all just there as a vehicle for characters to act ridiculous, look ridiculous, and say ridiculous things. Oh and don’t forget displaying the power of teammates and rivalry. Can’t forget that. That’s like the whole schtick. We barely see anyone really struggle in this show except for background characters who are usually just in awe of or easily blown away by the raw natural talent of the main cast at every race. Usually struggles are overcome by just pedaling harder or believing in yourself or relying on your teammates or whatever. Yeah, it’s fucking cheesy. This show is about the power of teamwork. That’s the kind of show this is (and that’s how Sohoku rides. lol.) This isn’t really an anime you watch for the story imo. You watch it in spite of that for the funny or wholesome character interactions.
I don’t really have much to say about the animation or soundtrack for this anime, because I mostly found it to be completely average. There is CGI, it’s somewhat noticeable but not egregiously so. The artistic decisions are on the whole very tolerable, but not noteworthy. The character designs are good. There is strong and varied shape language depending on the character, most of which is well-executed. Everything else art-wise does it’s job and doesn’t stand out.
Ultimately, this show had a lot of potential as a concept, but could have been a hell of a lot better. That said, I recommend watching it anyways if you like sports anime, just for the humor and characters. There are a lot of moments that will make you cringe and the story is a mess, but the funny moments in this show are honestly worth it. I mean seriously, I can’t give anything away, but there are at least a few things you’ll watch the characters do in this anime that you’ll never EVER see in another sports anime. (Hime, hime….)
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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