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Dec 21, 2024
Mixed Feelings
Overall, I believe this film was more of an artistic expression over a compelling story on its own. For the record, both of these things can exist together, but it's pretty clear where the focus leaned on. It's an art form of symbolic thought and certainly ambitious as a portrayal of its themes, but I strongly feel that its presentation could have been better and more streamlined, especially since previous Ghibli films did not sacrifice much of its progression for subtlety.

Story: 3/10. Does it make sense to say this film was less of a story but more of a food for thought? How each pieces ...
Feb 20, 2023
The first episode and the first extended arc made me feel like this should have been a standalone movie instead, especially with how both the novelty and the pacing of the show kind of staggered at the latter parts. The emotional response I got from the first episode had me convinced that it would only go downhill from there, but the first arc tugged at my heart just as well. Then, I thought to myself again, it would finally go downhill. It did. It went from a 10 to an 8 for the next arc to barely a 6 for the last part. I'm not ...
Feb 16, 2023
InformativeInformative
This was a much-needed part for the series. As a finale, however? I would disagree with the basic idea. The series has tackled many topics across its different seasons: work-place ethics and environments, social relationships, complacency and ambition, peer pressure and fitting in, adulting and depression, and so many more. Ending a series with politics? It will certainly be a point of concern and debate. However, Aggretsuko had always been about its mix of mundanity and absurdism, hilariously jarring segments and wild chaotic additions to scenes and characters, which get to be rounded up fairly well and under their own spotlights. That was mostly what ...
Feb 16, 2023
It's more difficult to broadly criticize the show without entering into spoiler territory, but I'll try.

I feel like a lot of decent ideas for the show did not get properly integrated to the plot: Haida's conflict with ambition and social relationships, Ton's gruff disposition and depression, Retsuko's passive attitude and her sudden initiative. By which I mean, there were significant pacing issues and the juxtaposition of some scenes ended up affecting the impact of the progression and viewpoint of the development, especially as a viewer. As a whole, it IS a complex and compact set-up that fits in the (sometimes hilariously absurd) worldbuilding of Aggretsuko. ...
Feb 15, 2023
Chainsaw Man (Anime) add
In all honesty, I expected Chainsaw Man to be worse. One of its best aspects that served me well was the way the stakes leveled up, complemented by decent worldbuilding to set up the dangers involved. Which was what it needed, because the idea of its fanservice gave a very jarring and obtuse start. CM needed the gruesome balance to manifest the words and sentiments that fleshed out the characters. In the idea of the bloody hell that the characters were in, they all had dreams and goals of varying magnitudes... which also had one guy wanting boobs. A contentious point. I personally believe the ...
Feb 15, 2023
Mixed Feelings
Arknights remains to be one of my favorite Gacha games, and I remain a fervent believer that the anime adaptation will come to the point where its highlights shine and become recognized for the praise it's gotten for its story and development. The anime is a nice fanservice show, which I mean with positive affection. However, I don't think this will serve well for people with zero context about what Arknights is, which can be a dealbreaker for a lot of people. Some people don't want to play a Gacha game to see what the hype is about. I bet a lot of the information ...
Dec 29, 2022
The introversion is overplayed. Initially, it's what I would have liked to say. The more I think about it, that's part of the point. Bocchi the Rock! is a very nice balancing act of multiple characters that just meshes well with each other to form an idea of a band and its unity.

Hitori Gotoh is supposed to portray a very shy introvert, who's deemed to be fun by the people who end up being her actual friends. She's also mad talented, not just in playing an instrument. Her way of expression and imagination is exceptionally creative. Honestly, Bocchi the Rock! is a decent musical journey, ...
Oct 12, 2022
After its initial impression, LycoReco (LR) becomes a very compelling character narrative, and I certainly did not expect to have such a fun anti-hero dynamic based on the premise of this show. "Cute girls doing cute things and terrorism" was how I was introduced to the show. I didn't expect to experience a show that would go very well for my tastes, and I'm not into cute waifus. LR is a surprisingly great anime that you need a huge deal of suspension of disbelief to make the most out of it. Of course, this plays into my approach to criticizing the media I find entertaining. ...
Oct 1, 2022
I can't tell when's the last time a piece of media gave me a strong sense of wonder and horror for the world it builds upon. This season is just AN ARC for the world building efforts of Made in Abyss. And my goodness... Made in Abyss is how you raise anime to be an art form. Simply an amazing experience to be had. The sheer quality in environmental aspects and the soundtrack is a stellar example of what makes and feels like an adventure. The gruesome presentation and the concept of "accumulation" of every idea, moment and character... also makes a fulfilling experience.

The best ...
Sep 29, 2022
I have one fundamental issue with Summertime Render's (SR) actually decent story. It's the presentation of integral information to the plot, that is fragmented by nature. Normally, this goes well in building up hype or suspense, especially in SR's grim setting, but the viewer is left for literal guesswork as to what happens next. This is important, because we have a variation of a time loop approach that is integral to the whole plot, added with the setting's culture and characters. The viewer is given mere minuscule ideas that wouldn't help add up to the potential of the story. In similar stories, hints would usually ...


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