Scalpelexis

[Watched 8 episodes, drop] This adventure ultimately didn't charm me at all, and I can't say that the concept of the very shallow travel stories of one witch worked in a single aspect. The harshest disappointment is the raw realization that the author of the source material had infinite choices as to where to send the flying broom. He didn't even choose a serious one, he didn't choose one that was exactly comedic, a wise message apart from the compulsory nursery school morals, and no space was used to weave a decent subliminal main storyline or any semblance of development. A couple of times we had to accept 2 episodes in one episode, as if there wasn't enough material and depth. I experienced a constant clash of conflicting attitudes and characters with the main guide, who would be a special case for an elite scholar in the field of multi-schizophrenia. Elaina swears at one point that she's just a traveling Hermione and won't interfere with anything, only to turn the kingdom upside down in the next episode. One day Mother Teresa, the next ignoring the suffering of the most innocent, condemned to the death penalty for the most banal of trivialities. It was easier for me to think nothing of the sometimes obnoxiously narcissistic heroine, but it still didn't leave me unmoved. The relatively young studio C2C pulled it off and I really enjoyed the animation. As the action sequences were excellently handled, full of spectacularly depicted magic, I was actually disappointed by how few there were, which made Episodes 1 and 4 more than stand out against the below-average rest. In many places on the internet you'll hear comparisons to Kino's Journey, but make no mistake, this work is its plain, poor sibling, with little to offer compared to Kino. And if I were Elaina, I'd let this anime be eaten by, say, a flesh-eating zombie flower. A better 2 stars

Magic, blood, anarchy, punk, masks, smoke, and above all, mushrooms. An unorthodox world full of strange rules and people that captivates with its extraordinary stylization and winsome dark humor that isn't afraid to cross the line into the perverse and absurd. Even with death stuck to its heels like the most annoying chewing gum, the story uses it as a major comedic element and constantly makes fun of it. It hits the mark with its bizarre-looking characters: The main duo are purely lighthearted and likable, except that, as mentioned multiple times here, En's gang consisting of Shin, Noi, and Ebisu are the main reason Dorohedoro is so entertaining. The plot is explicitly built on their chemistry and isn't afraid to sacrifice up to 2/3 of the running time for them at the expense of any progress in the story; a truly successful masquerade, as I didn't notice this element and when I did towards the end, I didn't mind it at all. None of this would have worked without the avant-garde visuals that mix comics with CGI, and while it doesn't always fit, I can't imagine a more appropriate approach. Of the music, I enjoyed the exceptional number of quality closing songs. A drained 4 stars.

Episodes about noticeably minor characters certainly don't hold my interest. I'd welcome it if it was more intertwined with the main storyline plot-wise. The bounce from one game miles and years away to somewhere else is distracting.

Production I.G. has it back under full control and it immediately looks different (literally). Doesn't make sense from a coach's perspective to leave a suffering player on the field, but we know Tanaka.

Anyone who enjoyed the best part of the series about the ex-soldier girl Violet learning empathy and awakening her own feelings will find another nice addition in this film, or just the opposite. The film is a typical safe bet, replicating the parts of the original anime that garnered the most acclaim. Violet definitely benefits from the harmony and slight "interweaving" of the plot, which can’t be done in 22 minutes, and so the running time lets it afford to build the plot gradually by constantly adding candy to the fire. I connected with the otherwise stiff Violet's relationship with Isabelle and Taylor much more easily and comfortably, the touched smile came more naturally to my face and I enjoyed the oozing kindness to the fullest (Mmph, was there dancing? There was dancing! And I can handle that). The biggest letdown is the relegation of Violet and the entire writing company to the role of observers rather than active figures in the story, especially since we've grown accustomed to them playing the most important parts in the series. The strong connection these characters have with the audience from the series made it harder to feel here precisely because of their passivity and a certain emotional detachment as they perhaps too mechanically hit the notes of their profession. I welcomed a bigger role for Benedict the postman, unfortunately for my taste he was as overly robotic as his colleague Violet (those shoes of his...). And while it might just have been the cherry on top to make the picture complete, I still missed that desired and expected specific closing moment that would have driven home the happy ending; for there are no clouds to be found here. I would sing odes to the impeccable form under the direction of the KyoAni animation studio and composer Evan Call, I’d have no problem whatsoever with repeated and continued productions from them. The world of Violet Evergarden offers ample opportunities to roll more and more heartfelt stories from the typewriter, and I personally would have been content to just harmoniously enjoy the scenery of Leiden. The film didn't surprise me with anything, but I had an inkling of what it was serving up and what I would be sinking my teeth into. A satisfied 4 stars.

No, not like that, that's not how I imagined it at all. The previous season pretty clearly painted the future storyline on the wall, where we already had the whole present beautifully wrapped, ready to go, it was just missing that last bow. But it took an ungodly amount of time to pull it off, as if it had been woven together with the skill of a tyrannosaurus or by deliberate stalling for the sake of building false tension; either way, neither option is laudable. The story is literally sadistic towards all the characters, and it doesn't matter who you end up rooting for. The fate of a love triangle logically tends to be that one of them gets stuck peeling carrots whether they want it or not (unless it ends with something crazy), and yet SNAFU Season 3 did the impossible and stabbed everyone in the back. And after the wound healed a bit and there was a light at the end of the tunnel, 3 others came from opposite sides. The throwing of people under the bus was up to Olympic level, and while Hachiman came out of it more often innocent than not, even he couldn't completely avoid it. We suffer the preordained downfall of one character and logically lose our long-built sympathy for the other because he simply doesn't appear on screen, and I find that not only an annoying cheat but a failure of writing overall. The last 2 episodes iron it out nonstop (though I had to wait for that confession, the payoff was truly beautiful) and we get the coveted final act and the expected sugar-coated conclusion, which I unabashedly enjoyed, but the journey hurt me perhaps more than the protagonists. It's a shame, a terrible shame. There may be a ton of melancholy and elaborate roundabout speech under the guise of the "complexity" mentioned in the comments (which is only played at), but I couldn't shake the impression they were making a camel out of a gnat. The ending deserves that extra star, but it doesn’t make up for the 10 weak episodes. If it had been a movie or multi-part OVA? Ideal standard!

A Whisker Away mostly drowns in its own mediocrity. A generally cute film with a fairly novel idea about the double life of the main character, it never hits the target despite all the darts it throws. A good idea, but with a rigidly predictable twist. The heroine is endearingly active and proactive, but also incomprehensibly a headcase, short-tempered and overly intrusive (I don't understand how she's calm and empathetic in one position, which obviously suits the boy, and then doesn't even remotely replicate those insights in the other position). The boy is soooo boring and unremarkable. The ending is neither epic nor moving even a couple of times despite attempts to copy familiar elements of Ghibli worlds. The drawing is decent, the only music is pleasantly composed. Unfortunately, for all its uniqueness, it's a film that's easily forgotten. The dart landed no higher than a sadly deserved 3 stars.

I can't think of a more useless 4/5 of a movie than the ones in Doom. It's the most generic action/horror hunting D-film with a couple of likeable guys, a couple of goons/slimeballs ripe for elimination, cliches along the lines of I go everywhere alone etc. The more than boyishly oversized satisfaction (especially for Doom players) comes in the finale by throwing in first-person POV, admittedly a bit warped (and nowadays worse looking), but sparing no carnage even with weapons so legendary in Doom mythology as the motorcycle. The charming mercenaries played by The Rock and Urban also add points to the film. While it doesn't make up for the hour of endless tedium, I'll gladly throw in an extra star for the ending.

[Watched 5 episodes, drop] That one time in the world of anime where Tokyo is armed to the teeth like every other American city. Only instead of submachine guns, it's wired microphones, legal or otherwise. There's no problem that can't be solved with a rap battle where the contestants physically fry their opponent with sick rhymes. No need to kid yourself: this mix of JoJo with a random male vocaloid is a rank piece of crap with a terrible story and a laughably awkward script, but at rare moments it falls into the category of so bad it's good. The anime sticks with the idea of using microphones in everyday life, which can only result in a windstorm of absurd situations and inconceivable ideas that leave me either gaping or laughing. With the rap battles comes an incredible range of colors used, but more importantly style and music to a literally dazzling degree. I'm not particularly fond of this genre of music, and I couldn't even imagine Japanese rap working until this point... but once more than one character decides to kick it up a notch and mega speakers come pouring out of the sky, it has solid appeal. The satirizing of this society is a hoot, and despite the apparent total lack of depth, I was ultimately convinced that this garbage might actually be worth something. Edit after episode 5: After the opening introductory episodes, the anime loses its appeal awfully fast, the characters are a bit much and the original ideas get tossed in the trash. Too bad.

As already covered by Larky, this anime failed to play any of its aces for a win. The beginning is incredibly overdone, full of grandiose catchphrases about sex, virgins, and asses, only to drop anchor once the proverbial going gets tough. You expect more exaggeration, more play within kinky boundaries, and if not that, at least some romance, but even that is about as exciting as bathroom mold. When, near the end, the guy honestly suggests "What if we never had sex?", it just underscores the clueless rambling with a non-existent goal (and the flashback and realization that otherwise they wouldn't have kids and that probably wouldn't be so great) doesn't change that. Anything involving a blow-up doll was the highlight of the series, but there’s precious little of it.