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The animation quality was really good for the first few eps but that was about it. When it comes to the story, it never really does anything new. The best description I could give the series is that it's "baby's first shounen". Any new anime fan would love this series but as someone who has watched his fair share of shounen, it just doesn't hit for me. Not to mention the villains which admittedly don't have a lot of sauce due to some of their actions unfortunately not being as graphic as they could've been. Will himself is a pretty heroic person and he doesn't ... really have a lot of flaws. He has some intrusive thoughts leak out here and there but it's not big enough to make a dent in his character.

As a fan of the original one-shot, I was interested to see the story animated which is why I went out of my way to watch it on premiere day. It was a pretty darn good adaptation. The animation was incredibly fluid and it really captured Fujimoto's style 1-to-1. There were some movements that looked like they used tweening or something and it wasn't awkward in the slightest. It looked natural and fit the scenes they were on.

Speaking of natural, that's one way to describe the VAs as well. I especially love Kyomoto's voice, as it perfectly fits the character. Since I've already read the ... source material, I knew the story was going to be good but I believe the movie elevates it beautifully using the medium's quirks. There's this key piano music that plays and, while I don't necessarily think it's a cut above other piano performances used for emotional moments, it definitely does its job.There were a couple of moments where you're left without any background music and I also think the movie chose those shots well. Fujino blaming herself for Kyomoto's death was one such scene where the silence worked.

Art is also a big part of this story and I'm glad there were things that mirrored the fake Chainsaw Man stuff. Pochita's door looked very cool. Pages and volume covers of the fake manga looking like those of CSM's were great in a silly kind of way. I really liked the scene where Fujino flipped through Kyomoto's JUMP cover and she saw her old 4koma. The page it landed on I think was a page with fake Denji and Reze. Fujino and Kyomoto's comics were partially-animated as well and that was a treat to look at.

This story is one that lays Fujimoto's doubts and feelings as an artist bare in his own wacky way, and the film tries its damndest to do that justice. The montage after Fujino sees Kyomoto's autographed jacket once again was extended and I personally believe that it could've been trimmed down to how it was originally. But aside from that, you can't get an adaptation as perfect as this.

This is Doga Kobo's 50th anniversary anime, which is also an original. I was itching for a series that had just aired but also something that had a conclusion so I picked this one. I think it's alright. The first episode was really strong. The camerawork was pretty atmospheric when it needs to be. I thought the setup was unorthodox, yet interesting, as it focused on the formation of an anonymous artist group rather than what animes usually see as "a bunch of girls that play instruments form a band". The anime had this really cool format of the girls working on the song and ... the final product would sometimes be used as the ED of the episode. It helped that the songs themselves weren't half bad.

After all the main girls were introduced I began to notice a pattern which I didn't wanna say was a problem yet because there were too little episodes. However, after finishing the show, I can now say for certain that the anime had a problem with solving its conflict. I thought that characters would resolve their issues pretty easily, or at the very least, have quite simplistic presentations as to how they're capped off. The episodes where Kano and Mahiru, the two main members, recruit the last two members have this problem. The execution of how they were convinced to get onboard with the JELEE group wasn't all that satisfying.

Speaking of the characters, I have some thoughts, though I'd like to start with the last two JELEE members. I thought Mei was the least developed of the group. Other than her "recruitment" episode, she really ran out of meat and it seemed like the story knew that and only managed to implement her when it's in support of other characters' development, particularly Kano. As for Kiui, I was surprised at how much stuff she got in comparison to Mei.
Because of this, I would call her my favorite character but, again, the nature of the show's quick resolution of problems dampened the experience.

As for Mahiru and Kano. I really didn't like how their struggles formed. I thought the seeds the story planted for them being "weird" was forced and unrealistic. Mahiru quit art because her peers thought her drawings' colors are weird, as if the mural didn't look amazing. Kano, expressing that she wanted to be like her mom, who was a big shot producer, was met with laughter from her classmates, which is probably the most baffling thing to me. It all just feels very artificial as the starting point of the drama but I also had problems as these things progressed. Kano's mom was a weird case, because there's definitely signs of neglect which would make you root for Kano but the overall portrayal of her character was not really that malicious. This is because the show lacks any acknowledgement of said neglect between the mother and daughter.

Truth be told, the series as a whole would be best enjoyed in a surface-level way. There were a lot of ideas that were introduced later on that never really got the screentime they deserved, like with Mero's own scummy problems, and Kano's dad. If this had gotten double the episode order it had, I could see it being a very good show. The artist group foundation and that "in-universe ED" format brought it up for me.

The other title I saw this as was "While Cross-Dressing, I Was Hit on by a Handsome Guy!" and I decided to pick it up, not knowing that it would become a full series lmao. Regardless, I stuck with it and I found myself having fun. The story follows a crossdressing couple doing cutesy couple things with a crossdressing touch. It's a very simple, no-drama series with a slightly unorthodox premise. The "obstacles" the characters face are primarily general dating stuff as well. Like, I remember one of the later topics is with how one should be alright with being vulnerable with their partner and ... stuff. It's very nonchalant with the whole crossdressing thing for both sides of the couple and I think that adds to the lighthearted feeling while also simultaneously being pretty solid "rep", I would say. Overall, it's not the most impactful series in terms of comedy, and depth but it's definitely a cute little thing one should read on the side.

This is a romcom I somehow picked up and I don't remember why. The story follows Kurokiya as she tries to get a reaction from Tadao, her childhood friend and crush, by trying to be lewd. The main joke of the manga is how Tadao is straightface gang despite everything that Kurokiya tries to do.

When it comes to a comedy manga with this premise, it has to really lift itself up with something in order to be entertaining. I think this manga does that well as the mangaka knows how to make really exaggerated and humorous expressions despite the generally serviceable artstyle. It also helps ... that the series is only worth <50 chapters long, which makes for a light read that doesn't overstay its welcome. Also because of this length, the romantic development flowed in a pretty comfortable pace, in my opinion.

At the same time though, I can't say it filled my heart as much as other series when the main characters finally got together. There are a few side characters and they were fine too, especially Kurokiya's friend which made for a couple of comedic scenes here and there.

I picked this one up because I was intrigued with the artstyle and was left with a pretty decent romance. I thought the way the artist draws the characters is pretty but there's a clear winner in the form of the love interest, Senpai. The two main characters don't really have "names" per se so that makes describing them pretty easy. When it comes to the romance, I can't say there were moments where it stood out but they were fine nonetheless. My only problem in terms of character relates to the main character, Kouhai, where he has this weird little ghost thing and I ... thought that the manga was a little inconsistent with what it is. There are times where it feels like a conscience but then there are times where it acts more like Kouhai's insecurities and stuff.

The TL for this wasn't the fastest and there was a little note at one point saying that the tail end of the series was going to have an annoying drama thing. I was prepared for that but I never really see it came to be, although I could assume it's talking about a new character, Mocchan, and her feelings for Kouhai and how she would come to terms with that. I personally didn't see it as unnecessarily angsty and I thought it was done in a pretty alright way. So yeah, alright manga.

This feels very reminiscent of the author's previous work, Fujiyama-san wa Shishunki, in a sense that it provides a really strong slice of life feeling but with the added bonus of buddhist culture. The characters are fun to see but I'd say that they work better as a group, particularly the characters who aren't the two leads. This is also something I noticed with Fujiyama-san, as well as the balancing of risque shots in manga as it went on. With Chion-san though, the art feels more fleshed out- granted, this doesn't mean that the work before this was bad in terms of artstyle.

With regards to ... the ending, it's very lowkey and as someone I've heard talk about the manga, you could feel that it definitely needed more "meat". Regardless, this manga provided an enjoyable experience as it caters greatly to my taste. I'm sure that the author's work after this, which is Insomniacs After School, would follow the same type of beats and provide the same type of comforting feeling. Also, there's an abundance of panels and pages here that just screams that vibe that I really enjoy.

Suffice it to say, it wasn't that very good. Dynamic camera angles were seen in the anime and that was nice to see coupled with in-game moves and hit effects that players of the franchise are quite familiar with. The character design was fine, although it gets a bit too muscular and there's definitely a problem with their decision on doing polygon shadows or whatever that was. I watched the Japanese dub considering how I'm used to Tekken characters speaking their own language, with the majority doing Japanese. That wasn't really the best considering how the subtitles are timed to fit with the English dub, ... causing the dialogue to be spoken earlier or later than the subtitles themselves. Although, I did check the English dub for a little bit and I didn't really like how slow it felt, specifically with Heihachi.

Original scenes were added and they helped in fleshing out the cast but with a huge ensemble of characters, you could only focus on the ones that matter. As per the Mishima storyline, it provided what was expected coming straight out of Tekken 3. However, that's not really the best when you're incredibly limited in episode count (there are only 6 episodes), and thus, lacking in character exploration.

Like Jin's relationship with Xiaoyu and Hwoarang was nice, but only seeing that play out during the tournament and not in-between his 4-year training was disappointing, seeing as how a show based on a game with a genre that provides minimal storytelling, could've definitely seized the opportunity to broaden it. Seeing other characters like Julia, Leroy, or King were nice too but they're implemented with the idea of you, as a viewer, knowing their in-game lore already. This results in an incredibly barebones introduction to their motives and how this all plays into the game's saying of "All Fights are Personal".

I'm not gonna lie when I say that this was quite an angstfest. And although I'm not really turned off with that kind of approach, it's a double-edged sword especially with how the series tackled its themes. Like for one, it sets up interesting conflicts with its three main characters. However, I wish I could say that I enjoyed how all of it played throughout the manga's run.

As it went on, there's this idea of "I don't like doing this thing I'm doing but it's for the sake of the other person so I have to keep doing it". While I could see that bringing ... in juicy drama, and that I was definitely into it at the start, I felt that it dragged on a bit too much and made it too complicated for my taste due to how this idea kept stacking on itself unnecessarily.

Regarding the themes, I liked how it handled gender identity and expression, particularly through Kaito and Yuki's exploration towards femininity. Their dynamic was, by far, the best in the series and what made me continue. Mikako on the other hand, had a more darker conflict and it's on-brand for something like that to leak into the situations of her peers, for better or for worse.

The latter half of the manga really made a few things sour for me, due to the previously mentioned length and certain plotlines feeling unsatisfying. An example would be the lack of screentime for Nemoto due to his wrong deed being sidelined for the main trio's angst, and only bringing him back near the end without much acknowledgement for the double down of his situation. Another example would be what came after the double down, in which all three leads lived together, setting the final arc for the manga. And lastly, the resolution of Mikako's arc. It rubbed me the wrong way when the epilogue handwaved her situation, fully acknowledging her devolution.

All in all, teenagers are assholes with some being more than others, and this manga encapsulates that. It just so happens that the presentation's enticement is outweighed by the manga's irritating scenarios.

Needless to say, I enjoyed the manga throughout its whole run. The dynamics were entertaining and the author has a knack for setting up transitions between tones well. A slife-of-life, romcom story like this is no exception when it comes to the repetitiveness of the genre combination. With that being said, the manga is well aware of the tropes present and uses that to its advantage. It knows how to balance its comedic aspects alongside the more serious side of the setting.

Every main character has shown their flaws and it was nice seeing these get tackled as a group, with characters taking other characters' opinions ... and whatnot. The arc containing Miko and Osaragi's falling out, and the relationship advice chapters where Kaguya and Miyuki acknowledge the "next step" of the relationship, were great examples of that.

Miyuki's hardships and the mindset that came with it were interesting to see. Kaguya's attitude and family drama were also pretty entertaining. Ishigami's past problems and personality were the highlights of the manga for me. Miko stern character worked in contrast with her weird quirks. Although, I feel like the only character that needed to show more of their layers was Fujiwara, whom was seen as the comic relief but took helm every once in a while.

The manga ended not with a bang nor with a whimper, but it fits the tone of the previous few conclusion-focused chapters. I understand that there were a few notes dropped that I would've very much liked to see, taking inspiration from the original tale of Princess Kaguya.

All-in-all, the characters shined through their interactions with each other, and the stories that they've brought due to these interactions were also pretty damn nice. There are many flaws to a series but sometimes those flaws are overshadowed by its strengths and the emotions that the reader may have felt during their time of reading. And for that reason, I give this series my 10/10.