Jeoffrey

The idea behind this anime series is not a bad one, the question of what a game would look like if it were truly one-hundred percent realistic is an interesting one. Unfortunately though, I often found it really incredibly stupid, especially when it came to the humor. It is probably not the show's fault, but rather did not match my sense of humor. However, I am sorry. I am awarding this 5.8/10.

I was never blown away by Kinmoza and it's certainly not a series that immediately comes to mind as "the best anime where cute girls do cute things", but I've spent two seasons with the protagonists already, so it makes sense that I should see how it all turns out. It isn't a bad conclusion to the series, but it's not half as powerful and emotional as I expected it to be. The movie is true to the original series. It has the same kind of simple humor and cuteness, which doesn’t have much of an effect on me here, though. In fact, it only made me smile a couple of times, and not even the ending evoked any intense emotions in me or made me feel like I had seen something memorable. Like the series, the movie isn’t something I’d recommend to my friends if they wanted to see a cute relaxing anime. It’s kind of sad that, after two seasons of Kinmozi, a movie and a special, the only thing that stuck in my mind is the Ayaya song... 5.8/10

So, after fifteen years we have finally reached the end of the Gintama saga unless Mr.Sorachi is trolling us again. The movie seems to act as a conclusion to the storyline in the anime series, in classic Gintama style, but who knows what he is going to come up with next... Anyway, this finale was classic Gintama, alternating top-quality action scenes with crazy and sometimes even stupid comedy that parodies many things, including other popular long-running anime series. It can also have a more sensitive tone and is sometimes skilfully philosophical, at other times it blatantly tugs on the heartstrings. In other words, once again it covers a lot of ground, throwing a lot of disparate elements into one unexpected and harebrained thing, that is meant to both entertain the audience and leave them feeling they have seen something really cool. I thought it was a fitting conclusion and I was quite surprised that it was not as overly emotional or intense as I had expected it to be. So, due to that I am not as emotionally devastated as I thought I would be at the end of this long journey, as a huge fan of this anime series, which I have enjoyed so much over the years. On the contrary, I think it was all good, and I am happy I can watch it again sometime, and that maybe, just maybe, they have not finished with Gintama just yet, although no one knows what is going on in that head of Hideaki Sorachi, and what he is going to come up with when he gets tired of playing Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice…

Just like "White Snake,"  this "Green Snake" is, I think, one of the high points of contemporary Chinese animation. In other words - it is a feast for the eyes. It is really charming, captivating, and imaginative. I was not only very impressed by the 3D animation but also by the peculiar animation style at the very end especially, when the main protagonist fights with the monk. The setting was quite well-executed as well, the world between worlds where the soul gets to go if it is not ready to leave (if I understood it correctly) looked very interesting. There is such an odd combination of mysticism with its demonic entities and then the modern-day with its motorbikes and skyscrapers in an oppressive atmosphere of constant decay. This combination was very well done and had a great effect. Unfortunately, the narrative did not manage to grab me as much. In truth, I was probably a little less entertained by the plot in the end than the classic love story of the first movie, and the whole result, and how it all came together, felt kind of weak to me and not half as gripping as the screenwriters probably wanted it to be. Yet, they managed to build a decent atmosphere around it. I was interested in what was really going on, although then the final denouement came, and I just did not find it exciting. I just ended up with a kind of resigned "OK then...". It was not that bad, but I was expecting something more surprising. That is why I got the impression that the narrative was just simply mediocre in the end. Sometimes it seemed to me just played for effect, which unfortunately did not work on me. However, thanks to the visual aspect, I am willing to give it more points because this is the type of quality I expect from 3D animation. 6.9/10.

I am not going to claim that I was as interested in this anime series and as satisfied in general at the start of the season as I was at the end of it. Truth be told, I did not think that a lot of ideas which seemed kind of weird and idiotic at first would make a good show, however, later on I found them to be quite good and original. Could you imagine mixing evolutionary principles and science (or why some animals have to be the way they are) with Creationism (because there is still a God behind everything) and setting that in a corporate environment (employees, departments, contracts, meetings...), and it works? For the first few episodes I was just confused by what they were trying to do, it all seemed quite strange to me. However, I gradually started to get more and more into their clever and crazy way of mixing up different ideas. Of course, the educational value of this anime series cannot be overlooked, they introduce animals you may not have heard of and also tell you about the traits and abilities of creatures familiar to you which you may not be aware of. You are very likely going to be finding yourself on Wikipedia checking up on some of that information after the show, and it is likely to stick with you and make you a bit more knowledgeable! Likewise, now you might even know what kind of people to try and find when doing creative work because the show tells you that a diverse team of personalities is really ideal for a successful creative process because everyone brings their own unique perspective and innovations to the table. You can see people you know in the various characters by their opinions and approaches to things. I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised at how good the anime series is. The other thing I have to commend is the wide range of creatures the crew here gets to play with. There are real animals, mythical creatures, extinct creatures, and even mascots. Everything is approached scientifically, on the one hand, it is explained why something does or does not work, and on the other hand, there is a mad attitude that not even the craziest idea is completely wrong, and that you can build something upon even the biggest load of crap. This is a cheerful, playful, and original anime series that is also rewarding and cleverly crafted, although it took me a while to get over all the craziness. Accepted! 8/10.

I found the beginning of this anime series really interesting, similarly, watching the strange relationship going on had a little something to it at times, and I found Yoshida likable because the character made a lot of sense, and his head seemed to really be in the game. On the other hand, I was squirming uncomfortably at some other important parts. OK, so yeah it is perfectly normal to not try and have sex with an underage girl, however, I somehow could not get over the fact that it was still quite weird to just take her to one’s home to sleep over at night. I mean, if you really wanted to help her out just for a short time, I guess it could be OK, however, I sure as hell would not just let her stay for six months without immediately wanting to know exactly why she ran away from home and did what she did. Plus, if there was ever a good reason to contact social services then this would be it... Well, all right then, maybe I could try to get my head around it (I could come up with an explanation so I could accept it). However, there are more things that have a weird vibe and do not sit well with me, meaning I could not fully buy into it. What annoyed me, in general, was the behavior of most of the female characters (except maybe Asami), and the way they dealt with their problems. Again, I could list a ton of things that I found were just not believable, or that I just did not like. When some anime fans on a forum started gossiping about who Yoshida should get together with, intensely debating the pros and cons of all the female characters, I had already made my mind up that he would be best staying single. *SPOILER* Likewise, I just watched in disbelief at the very end as everything was being torn apart, and I could not even understand Yoshida anymore and wondered if it was not just another Dogeza: I Tried Asking While Kowtowing episode (because even here Dogeza, a traditional Japanese way to apologize, can resolve every problem and handles anything that seems overwhelming). *END OF SPOILER* The whole of this drama felt weird to me, I could not empathize with the situation, and I did not really find the way the characters dealt with it believable either, and it felt almost stupid at times. So, I am sitting here thinking about my final decision of what I should award this, what I actually took away from Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway, and how much I enjoyed it. All I could bring myself to award this was a very unconvincing "meh". 4.7/10.

For me personally, Horimiya is an outstanding production in every way. The way the show combines humor, romance, emotion, and psychology is extremely good, and I think it just makes for a great show. Yes, I have heard criticisms that this anime series should have had at least twice as many episodes, so the characters would have had more time to breathe, and everything would have been more fleshed out so the audience would have felt they had a deeper insight. However, I do not agree with that really! If this anime series had been longer, then I think the general brisk pace of the show would have suffered, and above all the realistic straightforwardness and compassion with which all the problems are dealt with would have taken a beating. Truth be told, that is probably what I liked best about the show really, and the idea of going deeply into every little trifling drama for God knows how many episodes (basically just a lot of unnecessary pathos), would have been really very irritating by the end! I thought that actually everything developed quite nicely and naturally, I found it all believable, and even though, in some people's opinion, there was not enough time, there was still a chance to get to know all the supporting characters well enough, and they interacted with each other in a good, reasonable and funny way. I also think the animation is good and it has an excellent soundtrack. In other words, I for one have nothing to fault, and I enjoyed it. 9/10.

This is a fairly traditional fantasy anime series, based on a Japanese RPG game, where the most that managed to surprise me was in the last few minutes of the twelfth episode. The rest is pretty generic, boring, full of clichés - in other words, I did not enjoy it very much. On the other hand, I probably enjoyed it a bit more than, say, King's Raid: Successors Of The Will which had twice as many episodes, and which I found as traditional, predictable, and uninteresting. I did not like the main duo, and only found two of the minor characters interesting (Deflotte and Adelheid). I definitely did not like the mascot and the maid. The villains were, in my opinion, very weak with uninteresting characteristics (especially the Pope) which I thought detracted a lot from the tension and atmosphere. I was more amused by the design of the last monster than I was scared or excited by the final confrontation. Thanks to the last part of the show, I did get the impression that somewhere very deep under all the generic pathos and clichés there might be something interesting. In other words, there is something more complicated going on behind the scenes. However, I did not see anything that deep throughout this anime series (if there were any hints, they were pretty damn weak) so I was both surprised and disappointed like "it finally started to get interesting, but now it is the end?!?" - So find out in the sequel or you will just have to buy the game! Err, no thanks - I was not pleased, I did not find the show entertaining, and even the decent twist at the end could not save it! 3.5/10

This show was a pleasant surprise for me personally, and something a bit different for an isekai anime. The pragmatic main male protagonist is something quite refreshing, and in all honesty, I have no problem in understanding and believing the logic used in their world. It is enjoyable to watch the way they involve the audience in the essential problems of a kingdom, such as its infrastructure, resources, economy, as well as politics, and military strategies. Plus, everything is explained in a fairly interesting and realistic way, whilst retaining an endearing and charming atmosphere that for some reason reminded me of the vibe Spice and Wolf had a bit. In other words, there are not that many anime series which show you quite reasonable ways out of various problems, teaches you some basic principles of how the world and society work (I cannot remember the last time I saw an anime series explain market economics using a supply and demand chart), and still manages to hold your attention with a meaningful narrative that feels like it is going somewhere, and features characters I personally found quite appealing. So far, I have been enjoying the demonstration of how a realist rebuilds kingdoms, and I am now looking forward to the second half of the season in January 2022. 7/10. EDIT 2.4.2022 – Part 2 – The second half continues along the lines of the first one. I can still follow most of what’s happening here and find it convincing enough. Then again, I have to agree with one issue I've seen pointed out here – the series takes itself so seriously that it makes any logical error hurt considerably more. There are indeed some holes here and there, but not enough to make me question the overall logic of the series or at least the writers' serious effort in this regard. Again, I found some of the topics and solutions to problems intriguing. In a couple of cases, I have some doubts as to whether they were the most effective solutions, but it does make me think about things, which I really like. I'm also quite surprised at the number of different issues the series tackles, and the unexpected and peculiar topics it sometimes brings to the table and analyses. There's a lot of talking, and there's more than one episode that is strictly debating, but as long as it makes sense to me, why not? Anyway, I'm no genius, and only about one part of my personality is a realist (often arguing with the idealist and perpetual dreamer in me) yet this show still manages to convince me that it can be interesting, original, and sometimes clever. Plus, I enjoy its atmosphere and I like some of the characters here. Maybe it's just a load of nonsense (as someone said here) and I'm a fool for not seeing it, but ignorance is bliss and I didn't waste my time with something I’d give a Boo! rating to, so a win for me and also for the Realist, who still gets a 4 from me even after the second season and if there are more episodes in the future, I'll watch them. (Part 2 - 6.5/10)

Personally, I think that How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord Omega(LOL) is a satisfactory sequel. Although I hesitated for a few minutes of the first episode of the second season as I wondered what I actually liked about the last season where they were shoving tentacles down my throat right from the start.,. However, Diablo's entrance quickly dispelled my fears and I was, at times, embarrassed by the fact I was once again carried away by this entertaining show. In fact, you could say that the second season resembles the first in many ways, except instead of the word Diablo, God is overused. So instead of "I can feel the Devil in me now!" there is "I can feel God in me now!" and the meaning is so stupidly ambiguous that it is actually quite entertaining. SPOILER What really got me and I consider it the best moment of this anime series, was realizing that it is perfectly fine to have a harem, nobody minds that, but woe betide you if you actually have sex with the girls there! This is my introduction to the gentleman Varakness... END OF SPOILER There are just so many moments that are so stupid that they are hilarious; sometimes it is really weird and bizarre, other times there is cheesy fanservice combined with yet another variation on the overpowered main character in the fantasy world, but still fun and original. However, in general, I would say it is okay. I thought the opening sounded like a Japanese DJ BoBo even though I actually like it. I am awarding 6/10.