Jeoffrey

This is the second movie from the My Hero Academia universe, and as with the first movie My Hero Academia: Two Heroes I found some aspects of this movie did not work very well. For example, the way the characters gets in all the troubles, or the fact that the movie recycles some of the same proven narrative tropes as the anime series like A) to make the audience emotional, putting kids in danger works best, B) obligatory emphasis on teamwork, C) Deku has to use 100% of his power, and D) there must be a cheasy way of dealing with the consequences of Deku's use of his full power... However, there are many more things that can help me forget these negative aspects and I can announce that I enjoyed the hell out of it! I was pleased to see that there is no main protagonist but rather protagonists, plural. Deku gets just as much screen time as Bakugo, and to be honest, I think Bakugo is more appealing and interesting because he seems “cooler”. The action scenes are absolutely magnificent, just sheer dynamite, and the final fight animation made me wonder if I was watching a really good adaptation of a part of the Dragon Ball universe. Bones animation studio has once again convinced me of their mastery at producing action that is fierce, colorful, and full of fluid movements... Story-wise it is a classic, as someone who knows the anime series and what to expect, yet many of those proven narrative tropes still worked for me, and so during certain scenes I felt compassion and concern for the characters, and was on the edge of my seat during the fight scenes, barely pausing for breath due to the suspense. I think this is a really good movie and personally, I found it insanely impactful. 8.8/10.

In my opinion, Tamayura is definitely a cut above within the slice of life genre. The atmosphere of the show is really masterfully done (I enjoyed the use of Dvorak’s Humoresque, more than when it was used in the commercials for Hera spreadable vegetable fat in the 90s). It is set in a delightful and picturesque environment (there are some interesting photos), and a healthy dose of cuteness, amusement, and poeticism thanks to things like candy, photography, and the search for Tamayura. It just felt like a nice glimpse into a lovable world of friendly characters and it just flew by. This OVA series really inspired me to continue with Tamajura: Hitotose, and due to its various little quirks and originality, like the ones mentioned above there is a pretty good chance I am going to remember this anime fondly for a long time to come. 7/10.

Guin Saga has a very long-winded beginning packed with heroic fantasy genre clichés, reminding you of the line "Look to my coming on the first light of the fifth day, at dawn look to the east.". Halfway through it turns into an attempt at something like a full-blooded Game of Thrones, although when it reached that point I found that I suddenly stopped liking a lot of the characters! Although it is quite sophisticated, epic, interesting, and entertaining to watch, I am actually happy that it is finally over and I do not have to watch another season about, say, Remus’ demon possession (which really drags on in much the same way as Marlena's demon possession in Days of Our Lives) and how unscrupulous Istavan can get. Damn it, I liked this guy so much in the beginning when he was like a sort of Han Solo and I wanted so badly for him to fulfill his destiny and for his dreams to come true. Anyway, in the end, I feel ambivalent and slightly irritated by it all, probably like the fans of The Last of Us after playing Part II. The narrative was at least quite interesting, it was also sophisticated and also quite convoluted, but over all an unadulterated sword-and-sorcery fantasy. I noticed a lot of character and relationship development, although I was not really happy with the way they did it... Damn it, Guin was the only person I liked without any reservations. It was fine for what it was, even though I never want to see it again... 6/10.

This is a simple little movie about a romance between two students. Nothing unexpected or dramatic happens, and it is rather understated and slightly predictable. It is like a depiction of a young teenage girl’s diary entries about her first love. I do, however, think Hakubo (that means Twilight) is a much more interesting romantic movie than another movie of the same name. The original creator and scriptwriter took a simple narrative and added poetry and I think it actually works quite well. It is very good musically and is visually stunning, and the final image makes me believe that art can capture the artist's feelings. I also really enjoyed the classical music on the soundtrack... My overall feeling about this movie is that although it was definitely slightly more than an average movie, I was not significantly affected by it and do not feel the need to watch it again. It was a satisfactory one-off... 6.4/10.

Even though I was not too keen on the first season, the second season was much more up my alleyway. I felt like something was finally actually happening and that the characters, narrative and romantic elements were developing. Also, most of the supporting characters did not seem as throwaway and I was really impressed with Ishigami especially. I thought the eleventh episode, which was devoted to Ishigami in particular, was the best episode of the entire series so far. As with the first season, the jokes were not that funny although that could be more my fault due to my sense of humor. 7/10.

I got what this show was about, it was crystal clear after a few episodes. The Japanese really love William Shakespeare and basing their shows on the story of Romeo and Juliet. I was certain I got it because the concept of light and dark, black and white - or if you like yin and yang, means something to me... I did some research and this anime series is basically a prequel and original lore for the free-to-play action RPG of the same name published by Colopl. I found the resulting anime adaptation neither surprising nor particularly offensive. Some ideas in the narrative were not completely pointless, and it was quite watchable, although the ending is very rushed, clichéd, and ridiculous... On the other hand, you can understand why overly cautious heroes destroy their enemies by burning them to ashes because apparently cutting them in half, crushing them, or even stabbing them in their vital organs is not enough to kill some bastards... I was not convinced the relationships between the central characters were very deep, and I found the romantic development between the two leads very feeble. Although I found the characters likable on the whole, one was extremely unsavory and it was no surprise he turned out to be a psychopath (see the last scene of the whole anime series). All things considered, it was a pretty standard advertisement for the game, just a generic fantasy anime series with a lousy ending. Although it is only the beginning, it is still something I might not remember in a month. 4.3/10.

To be able to cram such a brilliant bittersweet story into thirty minutes is a real accomplishment! It is narrated by the adorable Flower, and so I found I was smiling from ear to ear, and the way it all played out was very moving... In other words, I found it quite beautiful, and very soon I realized that imperfection is actually an endearing quality, because nothing lasts forever, and solitude is... Those thirty minutes gave me a lot to think about, more than a lot of movies with a much longer running time. 8.5/10.

Let me tell you about how the reviewer Scalpelexis totally spoiled my enjoyment of this anime series! I kind of liked it, especially the animation which I think is beautiful, and I also liked some of the characters (especially Leo). Then, after reading Scalp's review (at the time he wrote it), I had to admit that he seemed to be absolutely sure, plus, he even knew exactly where this whole thing was heading after only the first episode?!?? What really spoiled my enjoyment of this anime series was that I got the feeling that the manga author completely neglected the fact that Asian people behave in a totally different way to Europeans because we are definitely not as overly deferential to each other. The fact that the main protagonist deals with her problems in a typical shonen style - refusing to give up, and working harder than others, because it is bound to be noticed and appreciated - does not fit me either. So thank you, my dearest colleague, if I had not read that review you posted (so it is actually all my own fault), maybe I would not have noticed all those things, and I would be now writing a mainly positive review of a really nice anime series... I would however like to point out that the manga author skillfully portrays a young woman's struggle with her place in society and shows it firstly from one perspective, and then in the second half manages to turn it around (disadvantages become advantages) from a different point of view. I would also highlight the lovely animation and respectable soundtrack. I could go on about how I found a lot of the characters quite endearing and that it actually had a nice atmosphere. However, I had to watch a lot of the episodes through gritted teeth, because I started noticing those little discrepancies, things that just did not sit right with me, so I just could not get into the right mood and completely chill out. Should I award this show a feeble four stars or a strong three stars? That is all that matters! OK, a strong three stars... 6.4/10.

At first I was really enjoying this anime series. I liked how the characters were mature and believable, the way they were communicating their feelings and emotions with each other. Gradually, though, that changes and the ending is incredibly rushed, leaving out a lot of important developments, so the overall impression of certain decisions end up looking very different than they do in the manga series. I have read the manga series, and even though I did not like the length of time it took for the characters to really realize how they feel when it is so obvious to the reader, it all makes sense in the end. In this show, however, first of all they have left out two important characters, the development of the relationship between the main couple is missing, and at the same time is missing the growing coldness in another crucial relationship which then leads to the scene on the bench in the last episode where they are both finally honest with each other again, something they were not able to do for quite a while, and because of it, it does not really make sense. The manga is just a bit better because it explains and shows what matters in the relationships. In this show it all feels weird because it is missing context. So I am not very satisfied, because as an adaptation only the first half of the season makes sense, however, after that it is just a reductive and unspeakable version of the classic four-way romantic entanglement. 5.5/10.

The animation in this movie is really pretty, and the narrative has some interesting ideas like with the masks, however... To be honest, there are two pretty big problems I have with this movie: Firstly, I was not very impressed with the main female protagonist and the movie did not grab me emotionally. Throughout the whole movie I had a strange feeling about the romance, or rather, I just did not care, and this is definitely a bummer with a romantic movie. I did not find it moving nor did it provoke almost any emotional response in me... Secondly, I could not root for the main female protagonist, and I did not actually like her adolescent behavior or the persistence with which she pursued the male protagonist at all. However, some parts of the narrative were original and quite good, such as the "Island of Cats". In addition, I thought the soundtrack was also very good, and I enjoyed that. It is an interesting movie, although I guess it was just not my cup of tea... 6/10.