Jeoffrey

A standard rom-com ends with a kiss and "they lived happily ever after", but Kaguya is far from a normal romantic comedy that ends with a kiss because there are still many things left unsaid, many steps to be taken, and many secrets and problems to be dealt with. So instead of watching the frolicking of a newly formed romantic couple, we get an intense drama that becomes stronger than the comedic aspect of the show at times. Kaguya reveals more layers to her character than there are in an onion, and Miyuki will again have to grapple with the masks we put on. It's beautifully paced and if you choose to watch the movie in TV format (4 episodes) you'll be surprised at how well it’s handled. You wouldn't even know it was a movie, that’s how nicely and logically the story is divided. However, the level and style of animation are simply made for the big screen. It looks gorgeous, and the film is full of unexpectedly creative shots and scenes that are anything but ordinary. I thoroughly enjoyed it all. Kaguya doesn't work for me as a hilarious comedy, the only actually funny part was the "trial", however, it does work as a decent romance (although only at the very end) and it’s also a solid and complex drama. 9/10

Mou Ippon! may have a slower start, quite a few classic sports clichés, and a distinctive animation style and character design that not everyone will like, but it’s undoubtedly an above-average sports anime. In fact, Mou Ippon! has very likable and believable main characters, and it does a great job of portraying their emotions, so you can easily root for them. Judo is presented and portrayed so well that even those who know nothing about it will find it interesting. Most importantly, the matches are excellently animated, they have momentum, speed, and energy, and they are simply entertaining to watch. The background music worked perfectly for me. It was quite striking, and it accompanied the scenes and even enhanced them. This all makes Mou Ippon! a superb advert for judo. I was intrigued by the girls’ story and I’d like to find out more about it - an above-average sports anime.

The Tale of Outcasts tries hard to tug at the viewer’s heartstrings but the only episode that evoked any emotion in me was the third one with Harriet and Mory, which was more of a subplot within the main story. The beginning felt like watching Andersen's "The Little Match Girl", but the atmosphere left a lot to be desired. All the hardships looked very contrived, and their escalation seemed to have been done just for effect. What I found interesting was the bond between Wisteria and Marbas, and I was curious to see how it would be handled. Then came the third episode which really worked for me emotionally and I thought I would finally start enjoying the show. I figured it was going to be about the main couple wandering around, meeting various demons with unusual problems, helping them to deal with them, and strengthening their mutual bond. I was partially right, but the series focused too long on each demon, trying to build as much drama around everything as possible, which felt incredibly unnatural. It didn't work for me and I found it boring. Plus, I probably saw the dullest and most useless Sherlock Holmes. Wisteria's character development in the penultimate episode was interesting but I only halfheartedly made it to the end of the show. The Tale of Outcast is yet another mediocre series in the winter season. I quite liked the animation and music, though. 5/10

Is the second season better than the first? I don’t think so. It’s still the same thing, with the protagonist being the main driving force of the story. His determination is something to be admired. He keeps trying to (un)successfully break through the wall with his head or at least cry his way to a better future but the writers just won’t let him. He hasn't yet realized who or what the real danger is, that is, whom he’s supposed to stop. The second season at least makes some progress on that front. There are some hints about Kisaki's motivations, and we find out that he's not the only one who can screw things up in the future. The show offers a few answers and some food for thought, so I wasn’t bored in the least. Granted, it was all just a big family drama with darker undertones, but powerful enough for me to enjoy the series. I’m giving it an 8/10 again and I'm curious to see what the already-announced Tenjiku Hen will bring.

The concept of parallel worlds is an interesting and satisfying theme, and it just calls for a fateful romance. Unfortunately, this one doesn't work very well for me. To Me, the One Who Loved You is drowned in both of these themes. The movie constantly explains in great detail how everything works instead of just showing things and leaving some room for imagination. It lacks lightness, atmosphere, and powerful emotions... Or maybe I just had trouble believing the emotions in the movie, just as I wasn't crazy about all the science stuff. In short, the movie has a great idea, but I wasn’t impressed by how it was handled. Average at most. 5/10

The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist In Another World has an interesting beginning and ending, but a completely bland and boring middle. It seems to be a mediocre isekai but there are several cool ideas that got me interested. A theme that I liked was the juxtaposition of classic fantasy magic with Eastern mysticism. Making these two different kinds of magic confront each other is an original concept. Seika also has a cool, logical motivation for not wanting to show his abilities in the beginning, and I quite enjoyed the way he cleverly kept everything a secret. But then came the more boring passages which I’ve seen countless times before. It was a standard magic academy, and the writers were trying to build some deeper connections between the characters, which often didn’t work for me at all, for example, the storyline about Yifa and the awful CG dragon. This is where it started to remind me of many other mediocre magic academy fantasy series, and I started to lose interest in it. It wasn't helped by the fact that Seika seemed to forget that he didn’t want to stand out from the crowd. During the tournament, he was almost pushed to the foreground without it making much sense within the context of the story. The overall impression was saved only by the last two episodes, in which the writers came up with an interesting idea and uncovered the true meaning of the hero for the world and his connection to one of the characters. It caught my interest again, and I was curious to see where the story would go. I was also quite intrigued by how mature and cool Seika was during the final two episodes, which fit nicely with the plot twist and also with the fact that there's a reincarnated grown man in Seika's body who's been through some things. It got me excited about the show again and made me forget the dull parts of the story that preceded it. The animation is nothing special, but the finale greatly improved my overall impression. 5.5/10

Two hitmen and a little lady - not much more or less. A simple and self-contained story about the importance of family. It also reminded me of what I heard in an interview today – the moment a child comes into your life, you have no choice but to become an adult. It was fun to see how Miri just appeared in the lives of the two killers and turned everything upside down for them. It was nice how they both approached the whole thing and how they struggled with everything. I didn’t find it hard to relate to them and start rooting for this odd family. I liked the main characters. I heard people complain about Miri being too annoying and loud, but that’s just what perfectly normal kids are like - sometimes annoying and loud, sometimes cute, sometimes silly, and sometimes unexpectedly smart. Honestly, I thought the writers captured a child's character much more accurately than other similar shows, without over-idealizing. On the other hand, what do I know, I don't have any kids of my own... Anyway, I definitely liked the series, there was nothing to criticize about it. It might have been a bit predictable in some ways, and over-the-top at times, but it didn't stop me from enjoying it. I also liked the animation and the music. I guess I’m starting to get dad vibes, which kind of makes sense as I’m 36, but Buddy Daddies was a very enjoyable and entertaining show for me. 7.5/10

Tomo-chan Is a Girl! may have a lot of flaws. For some people, there might be nothing new in it that hasn’t been done before and better. For me personally, it was exactly what I needed this season. I enjoyed it with a smile on my face for the entire thirteen episodes. It kept me entertained and excited, its romantic line warmed my heart which is something I appreciate, especially this season in which most of the shows were unimpressive or downright disappointing. I grew fond of all the female characters. Each of them was distinctive and interesting. Finding out more about them was often surprising and made me like them even more. The male characters weren't as awesome. I could relate to Jun’s aloofness, though, and I felt that he and Tomo had great chemistry. I was rooting for them, which is essential in a rom-com. The humor worked for me as well. It was quite surprising considering how much of it was the slapstick kind. The best thing for me was all the interactions between Carol and Gundou. I found the pair amazing and enjoyed most of their screen time. The show was well-paced, there was always something going on, and there were no dull moments. I liked how the story was told and I liked even better how it was concluded without dragging it out and waiting three seasons for the relationship to get somewhere. Tomo-chan Is a Girl! is probably the only new series I want to give a 5* to this season. I do realize that it wasn't perfect, and it wasn’t the best rom-com I've ever seen, but I did enjoy it a lot. I’m giving it an 8.8/10.

Bungo Stray Dogs is the kind of show where I can easily predict what the new season will be like – an initial flashback to introduce some of the characters and their relationships, then a slower build-up to create the atmosphere, and then in the second half everything suddenly takes a turn, things get going and there’s an awesome action, drama, psychology... This time, however, the main storyline is open-ended. It ends at the height of action when everything is still in motion, pieces are literally flying across the chessboard, and two geniuses are playing their game in which nothing is ever the way it seems at first glance. Even though one of them may have twenty moves planned out, the other one is still one move ahead of him. I’m having a great time trying to predict the unpredictable, which I mostly fail at, so the series keeps on surprising me. Even though the twists get increasingly wild, everything still makes sense within the universe and in terms of general logic. It really is quite a ride. Another strong player has joined the game, the stakes are damn high, and things aren’t looking up for the main characters this time. The only thing that slightly annoys me is that all the characters have plot armor. In a conflict of this magnitude with so many extremely strong players, it's just not possible and some casualties would lend it some gravity. Of course, even this fits into the whole "expect the unexpected" concept that this series excels at. I'm very satisfied, though not enough for five stars. It might happen in the next season as it has an excellent starting point. 8.3/10

Inglis reincarnated to finally gain full control of the sword, except that she rarely uses the sword in fights (or any other blade for that matter), and mostly just kicks and beats everyone. There is a spirit of an ancient and powerful king in Iglis’s body, except that apart from an explanation of her unnatural abilities, it has absolutely no effect on the story. The protagonist certainly doesn't act like a wise ruler, let alone a man. It's hilarious at times, except that half the time I was laughing at the show rather than with the show. The animation was pretty good, except that the characters' faces are weirdly deformed at times and the CG monsters are awful. It may seem like I wasn't excited about the series at all, except that I enjoyed it a lot thanks to a likable and energetic protagonist who wants nothing more than to punch everyone in the face, friend or foe, and then will devour an entire feast with equal passion. I do realize how bad and even dumb it actually was in many ways, except that it’s part of what made it enjoyable for me. 5.5/10