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How tf you make three relatable musician characters holy shit.

Inserting Dai with the "There will always be a child prodigy leagues better than you" while also putting Yukinori in a "There will always be a raw talent spitting at your years of hardwork" is CRAZY WORK. And don't get me started with Tamada because holy shit you rarely see drummer character depicted like Tamada. It's a common stereotype in anime and manga for a drummer to be energetic, very outgoing, and skillful. I mean, sure, Tamada was introduced being goofy, but the rest of the film? As a struggling rhythm player it's so fucking tear-jerking ... and relatable af to see him lost like ACTUALLY LOST IT mid performance, regretting his life choices afterward, then proceed locking himself out, practicing just cause of a passive-aggresive comment by the child prodigy. He really went from asking Yukinori how many mistakes did he make then finally making it, and by making I don't mean performing at SoBlue but rather the old guy that's been keeping up with him since the beginning is WHAT I WANT IN LIFE. There are lots of common musical stereotypes, behavior, struggles and all of them being so fucking intimate and realistic.

I also love how it depicts getting "chills" from listening to live music performance because often times in anime, chills are depicted by bunch of zigzags running up through the characters body in a goofy way, yet Blue Giant depicts a more realistic representation of it.

ZETTAI UNMEI MOKUSHIROKU

I watched this anime with the "Utena is Evangelion for girls/shoujo" thought in mind because someone mentioned it on twitter and I later found out that there are considerable amount of people saying the same thing about Utena. Well, is it? I think it is, for me at least.

Is it good? In short, yes, it is good. BUT there are some things you should keep in mind if you're considering watching Utena because if these things bothers you more than it bothers me, you'll probably hate it. Hence why I put Mixed Feelings on this review.

The battle was quite good, Utena and the ... supporting characters were all interesting. Personally out of all the duelists, my favorite would be Juri and definitely not because of her entire character is driven by heart wrenching angst (definitely is). The music was INSANE by insane I meant I can guarantee you'll be singing the pre-battle sequence song. The last 10 episodes was oh my god I loved it and the ending felt worth it for me. The ending gave me the same feeling as NGE for me, if not, almost the same. This is VERY philosphical and you can find users on MAL disc. and YouTube pointing out the philosophical subtexts, allegories and all that. I myself, is interested in it, but I must say I'm not the brightest lmao so I had to see like two Utena video essay on YouTube to appreciate it even more.

All I can say about Utena (the good things) is that... *inhales copium* you need to kinda treat Utena like NGE. It's the type of shows that you don't need to understand the very technical and logical side of the plot and story, but rather just feel it. You don't see much endings like Utena and NGE in modern anime scene + you get to see classic shoujo style anime which is very cute!

Now that I got that out of the way, now for the part that made me finish this in like a month or so, which is considerably very slow.

Utena has this monsters (or rather, duelists) of the week formula repeated TWO TIMES... AND EACH ARC WAS LIKE 8 EPISODES-ISH (?) basically it was a chore for me to go through. It started right away from episode 1 all the way through like episode 8, and I thought, "Okay that was kind of a chore but it was necessary to show the depths and stories of each duelists, it's totally... fine". Then we got a recap with new contexts for us to understand, "Hell yeah! Finally new arc! Shits about to get serious!"

It did not get serious. Lmao

Right after the recaps (1-2 eps) we got a new whole arc with new characters (some are important) and... Another duelists of the week formula with different motives/villains. And hey, IT WILL REPEAT AGAIN ONCE AGAIN AFTER THAT ARC + RECAPS CONCLUDED. Finally after the third duelists of the week, you'll finally arrive at the final 10 episodes which were, again, insane. I'm gonna say this again that I ain't the brightest in philosophical subtexts and allegories, but people said that there are some philosophical shit that were important for the plot and shit that I... Didn't understand right away. Besides that, each time they start a new arc, they reused... No that's a bit too harsh... REHASHED... The pre-battle animation and song. The first time got me hyped af everytime (yes, every 8 episodes, I was hyped af it slapped), but the second and third arc... What ick-ed me the most was the song because... It's all the same song, but they simplified the drums like... WHERE THE ENERGY GONE TO?? (I'm a drummer I'm sorry I had to say this).

While going through those repetitive arcs, I couldn't help but think, "Is it the same like this in the manga...?" But assuming from what I saw from a anime filler information website, some are canon (?) So I suggest just... Go through it I guess and DO NOT SKIP RECAPS because shit went down on those recaps.

So, what I'm tryna say is that if you're willing to go through all that, then I recommend you to watch Utena and I can assure you the ending is WORTH IT. If not, then it'll be helluva chore for you.

But despite all those "necessary flaws", I still love Utena because in the end it still got rather summarised and pretty much even comprehensible for my monke brain. I think (again, this is my monke brain speaking) Utena is slightly more understandable than NGE...? BUT THAT'S ARGUABLE AND I UNDERSTAND IF YOU THINK OTHERWISE. I just wish that they'd make it more interesting and not just sprinkle foreshadowing context on repetitive duels.

Oh and I also have to warn you that Utena contains sexual abuse on minors, brother complex, incests, etc. so... Yeah.

Aaaand that's it, see ya' (in Charlie's voice).

This is my first ever review on MAL and I don't usually write reviews so, I'm no expert lol~

All I can say is, this manga gives off little sparks of joy in a melancholic way right from the start to the very end. The serene Akira, the theme of rain, athletic, somehow it just works.

Age gap! I didn't expect I'd love this because of the rather controversial tag. I found out about this manga from the movie starred by Komatsu Nana rather than the manga/anime itselves. And to be honest though? If I found out about this manga before I watch the movie, and I ... see the age gap tags about a 17yo girl with a middle-aged man? I don't think I'd read it lol~ But this manga (or rather, the movie first) really taught me that this is not some "disgusting" forbidden relationship story. Instead, it gives off such soothing vibe. So, if you're hesitating to read this, scared if it's gonna turn out creepy, rest assured, it's not!

Though, I must say some aspects of the story could've got a much more insight.

In conclusion, if you wanna have a smile here and there, some giggles, soothing vibe, heartwarming read, and a good read during rain, read this!