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Apr 29, 2021
With DanMachi already having 3 seasons of anime content, along with a movie, a spin-off, and some special episodes, this OVA uses the characters it had established previously and sends them - yet again - on a short but explosive (literally) adventure. There's no new story content, nor is there any noteworthy story progress, as it should be. Still, this is one of the funniest OVAs I've seen in a while. DanMachi's OVAs have always been absurd - more so than the original series, yet that's exactly what makes them so enjoyable - at least if you're up for that kind of ridicule.
You can expect
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your typical onsen scenario along with the standard ecchi shots, but what made this so funny was the particular type of comedy, which was just absolutely ridiculous, in a better way than the previous OVA at that. I won't talk too much about it here since it would spoil the fun - just watch it for yourself, if you're reading this review, you've probably seen the other 2 OVAs as well and know what to expect. Let me just say that this episode pretty much jumped onto the "gamer girl bathwater" meme from a couple of years ago...
In conclusion: tightly packed 27 minute episode of ridiculous (explosive) comedy, amusing characters & wicked setting.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 16, 2020
Now that Beastars has come to a (personally somewhat unexpected) abrupt end after its 4 year journey, I want to contribute my own review for this Manga. Beastars is Paru Itagaki's first long-lasting piece of literature, which makes it quite impressive that the series went on for its course of 196 chapters in a total of 22 volumes! There may be slight spoilers in my wording but I will try to keep it to only necessary parts.
As the synopsis suggests, the setting of Beastars is a world populated by anthropomorphic animals, a society on a comparable level as our own. Even though the characters in
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this story are animals, they also manage to display many human emotions and thoughts. But, unlike or rather significantly more than in other recent stories with similar background (namely Zootopia), there are problems splitting the worlds inhabitants apart, resulting in a tense society. How do carnivores and herbivores peacefully coexist in a world where predators still have their carnal desire for meat and prey still have their instincts of fear? This issue turns out to be the driving point of Beastars' narrative, as Paru tells the stories of several characters of this world over roughly 5 distinct story arcs:
Story:
Everything starts out in Cherryton Academy, an inclusive high school with mixed education, suggesting herbivores and carnivores get along. This would not be possible without strict behavioral rules and etiquette for both parties, as we are shown over the course of this first story arc - it displays the main characteristics of this world in a closed environment (the school), from where on out you are introduced to each of the characters, their personalities, mindsets and relations. The first main problem, the murder of one of Cherryton's students, the alpaca Tem, quickly kicks off plot and introduces our main character Legoshi. He is a big and menacing gray wolf, a predator, who is rather introverted and sullen and was a close friend of Tem in the Drama Club, which quickly pushes suspicions onto him. From here on out we are shown more and more of the cast, including Cherryton's seemingly perfect student represent and heir to a large conglomerate, Louis, the small but fierce dwarf rabbit, Haru, who partakes in physical relationships solely to feel as equals and face her own self-worth, and many more characters to come.
Overall the story is kept interesting throughout the entire course of the Manga. This paragraph will have a few minor spoilers. After a really promising start in the school setting, it shifts towards the bigger picture as the plot progresses, allowing the readers to get several perspectives into Beastars' world. This shift was really enjoyable, as it happened quite a bit into the story, where the school setting had already had its share. The slice of life pacing throughout the arcs is also well distributed, making some passages quite enjoyably wholesome to consume, while others manage to keep you tense for what is to come, especially more towards the climaxes. My main issue with the story as a whole is that it feels like it strode off its path towards the end, which can be attributed to the shounen tag, with a sort of Tournament Arc happening in the last arc. Some characters feel more and more left out and the progression is all over the place, all in all resulting in a feelingly rushed and abrupt ending, especially concerning the romantic relationship between Legoshi and Haru, which was the main driving point throughout the first two thirds of the story. Almost all characters do have their conclusion in the end, but in my opinion there could have been a few more chapters to finalize these things. Sadly, this leaves a small sour taste, as the ending (arc) could have been better.
Character:
Now, having talked enough about the story, let's move onto the characters, which are simply put really great and are essentially the main focus of the story's narrative. Everyone has a unique personality, individual beliefs and evolves throughout the story. There's Legoshi who manages to overcome and later embrace his menacing role as a gray wolf, Louis who grows past his ideallistic views and Haru who overcomes her self-worth problems. There are way too many characters to delve into here, but doing so would probably spoil some bits of the story - in conclusion, there are not many boring characters and almost all of them keep their significance throughout the story. This keeps it interesting for the reader, as you are able to experience the world from many viewpoints.
In short and without spoilers: the main characters of this story all have their individual problems, mostly concerning their role in society, which is why the anthropomorphic setting works so well. Everybody tries to find out where their place is, how they should be and who they want to be, sort of a story about self-exploration. Diving into each of these points would probably not fit here and would be boring/spoiling to read, so it's best to experience it for yourself!
Art:
The characters aren't the only aspect of the Manga that evolves! The art style starts off rather rugged looking, but has its own unique charm. There are lots of details where environment is shown and especially the character designs are really well done. Since this is Paru Itagaki's first Manga (next to Beast Complex), it's not unsurprising that the art style changes over the course of the 4 years it was worked on. In my opinion the art gets better as the chapters progress. All in all, this Manga is enjoyable to look at - it's not focused on visuals, but rather on discussions lots of times, but the art style manages to keep up.
Enjoyment/Overall:
In general this Manga is really enjoyable if you are into character-driven stories. There's drama in inter- and intrapersonal conflicts, there's romance, friendship and disagreements, there are parts full of suspension that keep you enticed and there are parts full of wholesomeness and calm that balance it out. What weighs down my enjoyment is, as mentioned earlier, the last arc, which to me feels like it derailed the story at times, shoved some characters to a point of near non-existence, introduced others which were quite blatantly not needed and seemed to obstruct the pacing, and finally ending very abruptly. I would have really liked to see more of a conclusion, after such a long and somewhat irritating arc, but overall I would still say I really enjoyed the Manga, as all parts prior were quite well done.
Do check out this work if you are interested, it's a great telling of a "what-if" society, with interesting characters, and a nice art style. The story is told by the characters. Even if the final arc isn't as rewarding as the first majority of this Manga, it was still something I gladly enjoyed reading each week. The first major arc of the story was adapted into anime-version by Studio Orange (the ones that made Houseki no Kuni, specializing on CG art), and turned out to be a great introduction into the world of Beastars. So if you're still unsure, check out those 12 episodes and decide for yourself, in my opinion it's a story worth experiencing. A second season of the anime is still in production at the time of writing this review.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 9, 2020
This is the second part of the two-part prequel to Studio Trigger's (first) movie Promare, centering around the seemingly violent "burnish terrorists", and introducing their key figure, Lio Fotia.
Story:
You get about as much as you'd expect from a 10 minute character prequel - you get to know about the Burnish and their situation, after having been introduced to the firefighting "Burning Rescue" from the first short prequel.
Art:
Since this is only a prequel, I think there wasn't put as much effort into the art here as compared to the full movie - it's still your recognizable Studio Trigger animation though, with their contrastful color palettes and
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quirky character designs.
Sound:
If you've seen some other Trigger productions, you will notice a similar feel to this prequel. It was especially nice to hear some voice actors from Kill la Kill reappear, as well as some more teases of the great soundtrack from Hiroyuki Sawano, which are more prevalent in this second short, and which is fantastic in the main movie.
Character:
In case you've seen the first prequel about Galo, this short manages to showcase the Burnish's side of the story, and how the seemingly violent Burnish might not actually be as bad as the public thinks they are and that there may be more going on behind the scenes.
Enjoyment:
I watched the two prequel shorts after having seen the movie, and still enjoyed them as they gave me more info to what happened before the main events of the movie.
Overall:
If you're planning to watch the movie, you might want to check out these two 10 minute shorts (the first one about Galo and this one right after), for some hype and to get you into the movie!
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 9, 2020
This is the first part of the two-part prequel to Studio Trigger's (first) movie Promare, centering around the character Galo Thymos, the rookie recruit in Promepolis' firefighting unit "Burning Rescue".
Story:
You get about as much as you'd expect from a 10 minute character prequel - it sets the ideologies Galo and the (typically) crazy setting for the movie nicely though, as you might expect from Trigger.
Art:
Since this is only a prequel, I think there wasn't put as much effort into the art here as compared to the full movie - it's still your recognizable Studio Trigger animation though, with their contrastful color palettes and quirky character
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designs.
Sound:
If you've seen some other Trigger productions, you will notice a similar feel to this prequel. It was especially nice to hear some voice actors from Kill la Kill reappear, as well as some teases of the soundtrack from Hiroyuki Sawano, which will definetly impress you if you decide to watch the movie (especially this short's outro song).
Character:
Not much can be established in 10 minutes, but as mentioned above, you get a small glimpse on the characters of this movie, mainly the firefighting protagonist Galo.
Enjoyment:
I watched the two prequel shorts after having seen the movie, and still enjoyed them as they gave me more info to what happened before the main events of the movie.
Overall:
If you're planning to watch the movie, you might want to check out these two 10 minute shorts (this one focussing on Galo, as well as the second one focussing on the burnish resistance's protagonist Lio), for some hype and to get you into the movie!
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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