Anilist Notes

Rewatching drunk 26/02/25 - 06/03/25 (ran out of tonic so had to wait it out)


Before I decided to commit to watching this again, I was afraid that I wouldn't like it as much as I did the first time. I thought that it would come off as cheesy or even repetitive. I'm glad that I was greatly mistaken. Hell, I think I appreciate this even more now.

As tradition I'm watching this drunk, yet again. I'm accompanied by a newly opened bottle of peach vodka and it fits impeccably. I don't really know why but this show feels so great to watch while drunk. Maybe its the slow pacing, or maybe its the heavy tones it always touches on. It always feels like a non sober kind of experience.

For a bit I was afraid that the show wouldn't hold up as much as it did but I was gravely mistaken in that regard. This anime isn't one of my favorites for nothing and this first episode proves it.


This show really reminds me of how I felt watching 5 Centimeters per Second. They're both sad in a very similar kind of way. I also love how almost every character has a face. Even the background characters, they seem to be doing their own thing with their own lives. This makes the setting all the more alive.




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A very drunk take on how much I love this show.

This show hit very very different to what I expected it to hit. The pacing, the attention to detail, the long drawn out shots. I haven't felt this from a show in a long time. I went in expecting something similar to a shitty isekai. Or hell, something similar to domestic girlfriend. What it ended up being was something I didn't expect even in my wildest dreams. It's actually a great fucking show. It was one of the best romances I've seen.

I love how slow and meticulous it is. Focusing heavily on visual elements that bleed into what the characters are going through. It's very similar to Liz and the Blue Bird in that aspect. Giving each scene plenty of room to breathe and adapting the whole cinematography based on what our characters are going through. I love how every time we go into Ayase's Diary the whole episode changes into a film reel as if we're taking a look into the past. A past that's been written down, not being experienced in real time. It's these minute details that I loved.

I watched the last three or four episodes with two shots of Gin. When episode 9 rolled in I knew we were in for a heavy conclusion. So I got myself ready. I went down, poured myself a glass and continued watching. As it went on, I knew one wasn't gonna cut it. So went with another. It's rare to find a show that is supplemented heavily by alcohol. With how slow and meticulous this show is, the alcohol made me focus on the little things, as it does so often. I noticed how the rays of light were shared between scenes, showing how a memory impacted Ayase at different times. There were so many details I just started noticing out of nowhere.

I know that I've always enjoyed shows with a little bro sis spice. But this goes miles farther than anything I've seen by far. Watching this legitimately makes me question how much I enjoyed Citrus. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching it, but it doesn't stand an inch to this.

This show really got me in the feels. It felt relatable to the point that it felt like it understood me in a way. I'm not talking about the incest part, but the stages of romance part. Sometimes, liking someone isn't just about your own feelings. There are certain factors that you have to think about. Like how Ayase and Asamura have to consider their parent's feelings, they can't just ignore the world around them. It's that nuanced questioning where you find yourself at a crossroads. You want to imagine a fantasy but at the same time, you know fantasies are still fictional and there are so many more things to consider, not just your desires.

Not bad. Not bad indeed. This stands in the same tier as Slime, a notch below Hell's Paradise and a notch above Eminence in Shadow (anime, not the LN).

I still find the characters not particularly appealing, and the world seems like a standard copy-paste isekai adventure. It wasn't as deep as Overlord nor as light as the usual cookie-cutter ones. But the story was quite fun to watch unfold. Despite having watched GS multiple times through abridgements (about four or five of them), viewing this felt as if I were rewatching a show I had seen before, albeit narrated with a different story. It was a bit strange but entertaining.

I loved the show's music. The sound effects and songs, in particular, resonated well with the theme, and that OP is godly, though the song could've been better. Although the characters may have felt somewhat generic, they were not subpar in any way and were enjoyable to watch. Except for the god-awful Goblin Slayer character CGI, the visuals weren't anything to scoff at either.

All in all, it was a fun watch.

I'm sick and this is my medicine.

For an Iyashikei, I'm pleasantly satisfied. I started this because I was sick and I wanted some mental peace didn't this give me peace.

Imma keep the next season for when i get sick again.

While I appreciate the humour in this series, the absence of an overarching plot is something I can't live without it seems. It's a similar reason I couldn't bring myself to finish Nichijou. While I enjoyed individual episodes, the lack of a driving force left me demotivated to continue in between. No story beat or mystery is waiting for me on the next episode to pull me in to watch the next one.

Certainly, the show had its highlights. For instance, the episodes featuring the soul-transfer alien girl and the phantom ramen were particularly impactful. These moments stood out, but unfortunately, not every episode resonated with me in the same way.

If you asked me to summarize what I felt about this show. I would say something along the lines of...

Sometimes you might feel like you're dealt the worst cards in a pack. Even then, to think you can't enjoy the game without ever winning is foolish.

I've often felt like I've been at a disadvantage with everything. I have less than average memory skills. I've never had any sporting abilities. I used to be the guy who always got picked on at school. Nothing seemed to go my way. At least, that's what I wanted to believe.

There's this comfort in being sad. To be in a state of gloom has a certain satisfaction to it. I used to adore it. Like a poisonous fruit, you can't stop eating. Though I knew of the dangers, I envied the taste more. This love for being sad is like a self-sustaining loop. Like, ouroboros eating their own tail for eternity. I wanted to be sad for eternity. I wanted to feel something. If misery was what was available, I wanted to drown in it.

One of the most common thoughts I had back then was. "What would I feel if I got told I would die today?". In a way, I felt nothing about it. I didn't feel any ties at all to my family. I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere. It was as if I was a creature born to this world with no roots or relations to call home. Further, I 'wanted' to be like that. I didn't want anything to tie me down. I was scared of it. At the time, death looked to me like what candy would look like to a child.

Is it worth it? I would ask myself again and again. To not feel anything. Was it a worthy price to pay for the cards I was dealt? For most of my life, my answer would have been yes. It most definitely is worth not feeling anything when the alternative is misery. Who would want pain? But then again. If you numb yourself from the sadness you feel when you lose something. Would you not lose the joy you feel when you get it, in return.

This show wasn't good. I hated its main character. Huh, I don't even remember his name. That's how much I cared about that backless man. I don't know if I even want to call him a man. That's how angry seeing the guy makes me.

As for the show, it was... mostly stupid. I didn't watch this expecting logic. It's quite the contrary actually. I started this because I wanted some brain off show to simply... escape.

I'm not really sure if I'll watch the second season. There's only so much even crazy girls can do to cover for a plot as bland at this.

This is unexpectedly good. It reminded me a lot about Noragami. This had the same vibes. One thing both managed to ace was at balancing comedy with a serious undertone. They're really good at keeping up steaks while being as comedic and free-flowing as possible. I was able to both laugh at its jokes and feel connected to its characters. This merger between being silly and serious is what made Overlord so bad. It tried to mix in extreme cruelty with a pinch of comedy. And that... undoubtedly failed. Overlord's plot points felt out of sync because of it.

This was such a hard show to watch. Took me a lot of strength to not drop it. There's no denying that this is a great anime, but its not for me.

This guy really reminds me of back when I used to struggle with depression and was going through my nihilistic phase of life. God, I hate those memories.

I'm not even sure if depression is the right word. The kind of feeling portrayed in this show and the kind I was going through wasn't some irrational behaviour. It was the logical conclusion of a perfectly sound train of thought. It was a sense of emptiness caused not by emotional feelings, but by self-reflection and extrospection.

"If things seem hopeless when you're alone then rely on someone. Otherwise, no one else will rely on you"
That hit me harder than I thought.

Every episode felt like it was telling something so deep but it flew right over my head. I just couldn't relate, not even a bit. I know I wanted to watch a slice-of-life but i bit off wayy more than i could chew with this one.

Like most isekai. This too has a ton of incoherent plot points. With deathless characters. Unnecessary mysteries that don't move the plot at all. Then mysteries that are kept mysteries for so long they don't even matter anymore. And so on. Though, I must say. It did have some... merit. Its merit doesn't lie in its world-building, side characters nor action scenes. It's in how our main character handles pain. It simply intrigues me how stupid the plot gets sometimes but how good the shield hero's rage is embodied in the show. Especially the shots where we get to see the inner monologue and internal conflict of our shield hero. The show simply aces in showing what's going on inside that head of his. It simply does a very good job at displaying internal conflicts in a non-cringy way.

I have mixed feelings about Kaguya-sama. Watching it then, I can't say I enjoyed it emmencely. But when it comes to originality. This simply blew me away. From it's very very enjoyable narrator to it's varying cast of character. The anime is a cesspool of originality for me. It's hard to find a comedy that doesn't reuse old techniques to crack a joke or simply copy and paste some slapstick joke with a different context. This however, manages to remain unique from start to end. That by itself is worth a praise.

Something I love about Kaguya-sama is how perfectly it mashes serious tones with very very comedic tones. At times it's seriously goofing around while in the next scene it's questioning if their ego is displeasing to others. Especially the ending ep. The anime does a very good job at constantly shifting between two modes of progressing the plot seamlessly. On one hand using well thought out jokes and on the other doing serious character development through thoughtfullness.

Though I enjoyed it very much. I wasn't able to attatch myself to the characters. It feels to me that the anime gave me every reason to make a connection with it's cast but... I simply couldn't. I still don't really understand why exactly I feel this way. I believe the sky hight expectations I had coming into the show had a pretty big say in it. When you go into a show with atmospheric expectations. You tend to loose what the show is really about. This is very common in games. The hype the marketing department of a gaming publisher pushes out sometimes blows the actual proportions of the game into the stratosphere. This makes a huge about how you feel about the game within the first couple of hours of play time. Even if the game is good. You compare it to the expectations you have. If your expectations were higher than what you got from it, you'd feel dissapointed. Sometimes even blidniding you from the beauty of an experience right in front of you.

Even then, hype or expectations aren't something that can be stopped nor banished. Best way to cope is to convince yourself to enjoy what it is you get. Not what it is you expect. If I had been successful at it, I'm sure I would've enjoyed the anime more than how much I did in the end.

This is a very 6/10 kinda show for me. I'm just disappointed....

The opening episode along with the first few episodes grabbed my attention, setting a promising direction for the plot. A zombie comedy with impactful moments sounded great. However, as I continued watching, it didn't really turn out as I expected. It started feeling more and more like a shitty isekai. Where the main characters just spout out generic dialogue.

The show attempts a no-stakes, lighthearted comedy vibe, but inconsistently places characters in serious situations. The tonal shift is sooo bad. On one hand, it insists, 'Hey, this is a post-apocalyptic world, our characters are in constant danger,' and on the other, it pulls absurd stunts then insisting that 'Everything's been fine all along, nothing to worry about.' The show struggles to embrace its own absurdness, caught between conflicting tones. Its telling us to both take it seriously and not at the same time. This is ripping apart the characters to the point I can't even hope to connect with a single one of them.

While the premise is fantastic, the characters disappoint. It feels like a budget Konosuba, attempting the same chemistry as Kazuma and the gang but falling short. The potential is there, but the execution is well below what it should've been

The backgrounds look amazing but the animation sucks. And the characters honestly feel painful to watch. They're soo goddamn awkward. I know that's what the show is trying to get at but come on! Don't be that unlikable about it.

In short
Here lies a slice of life anime so superb, it could make a plant grow roots in concrete. Alas, my attention span, like a restless toddler, demands a constant dose of drama, leaving this masterpiece to wither away in the barren wasteland of my boredom.

At length
This show is like a warm hug on a cold day. The kind of show that makes you want to curl up in a blanket and forget about all your worries for a while. It's charming, it's cute and it's as relaxing as it ever could be.

On top of all of that, look who decided to take a break from all the murder and mayhem! Ufotable, the masters of action-packed anime in my eyes, have actually proven that they're not just murder junkies. In fact, they can do cute and calming just as well as they can do extremely detailed fights and explosions. This show may not have any fights to speak of, but that doesn't make it any less stellar.

It's like ufotable took a step back from all the chaos and decided to smell the flowers for a change. And you know what? It suits them. The animation is just as gorgeous as ever, but instead of slicing and dicing, it's all about the small moments. The way a hamburger slowly changes its colour while cooking under high heat, the way a smile spreads across someone's face after a spoon full of ramen, or even the individual fishes in the fish stall. It's the little things that make this show shine. This takes the every frame is a masterpiece saying and turns it into a motto.

Alright, let's get real here. As much as I loved the calming atmosphere of this show, I have to admit that it got stale real fast. It's like eating your favourite food every day for a month straight. Sure, it's great at first, but eventually, you start to crave something else. Anything else.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm all in for relaxation and taking it easy... says the guy who's dropped almost all shows from the genre, case in point; K-ON, Tonikawa, Iroduku, Snow White with the Red hair, Adachi to Shimamura, Wotakoi and the list goes on.

But still! This show takes it to a whole new level. It's like watching paint dry. Sure, it's pretty to look at, but after a while, you start to wonder why you're still staring at it. The show isn't made for people like me whose attention span requires a constant dose of manufactured drama to stay engaged. As the episodes rolled on, I couldn't help but feel like I was being lulled into sleep. It's like the show was giving me a sedative without even trying. I appreciate a good slow burn as much as the next person, but this was starting to feel like a sleeping pill disguised as an anime.

It was fun while it lasted, but it didn't last long.

I really enjoyed the mainline Fate works. Fate/Zero, UBW and Heaven's Feel. But this just doesn't pack the same punch as those three did. Plus this isn't done by ufotable so you can't expect that crisp, fluid animation either.

This just feels like it took every bad thing from the previous Fate's then just rolled them up into a single package. I'm honestly at a conjuncture about whether I should drop this or not. It's just soo bad.

This isn't to say there aren't any positives. There are a few good characters. But the majority just falls through IMO. It's not that they aren't explored. There's enough backstory given to them. But it doesn't make them any more interesting than they are. I think they are better described as long-named isekai light novel characters than anything.

Then there's the action. It just feels so formulaic. Like, you have a couple of guys in group 1 fighting a couple of guys in group 2. Then they both retreat. Rinse and repeat while adding some casualties here and there. The chemistry isn't enough to make those encounters dramatic or memorable. They just happen. And the context you're given isn't enough to add enough depth for you to care about it either.

In a way, what I see wrong in the writing here is that the story is pushing a narrative of war most of the time. But it doesn't do anything to give this a wartime vibe. All infantry are disposable homunculi or summoned creatures. There are no outside casualties so you aren't led to think about the moral implications of the grail war. Then after pushing so hard about being a war, when two servants meet with each other, we go down an exposition rabbit hole about each's origins and backstory. like WTF, they're in the middle of a fight and you think that's what I want to see right now!? You think I care about that?? I'm not saying this is a bad way to handle it, Heaven's Feel does an absolutely fantastic job of mixing exposition with action scenes. But this... this is not the way to go about it.

Man, this brings back memories. It's been more than two years since I last read this... Time sure flies.

Ngl, the dialogue is pretty crap. Ever since I watched Gintama, most shows feel like they've been written by children.

Even then, my main gripe is with the characters. I can't stand em and the story isn't doing a well enough job at countering it. So I'm gonna let this go.

Don't get me wrong. The show seems really cool. I think that's really where the show's attraction lies too. It relies a lot on the watcher thinking the show is cool as well. Just like Another, which relies on the watcher thinking the show is scary even if it's just a pile of gore. Otherwise, it just gets boring. I bet this would be a holy grail for 9 yr olds who enjoy playing with nerf guns.

Psycho-Pass is a trove of world-building. The Sybil system this show prides itself in is a really nice take on your run-of-the-mill dystopia. But the characters... They sorta fall short. They seem like empty husks whose purpose is to play a part. They don't feel natural. It's like they put too much effort into the worldbuilding, and not into the characters and plot.

The show is wholesome as hell. It puts a smile on my face each time the credits roll. But that's just it. It's wholesome. There's no real conflict. There's no real challenge. There aren't even any stable antagonists. This made watching it really boring. This felt like the fantasy equivalent of an overpowered isekai protagonist.

As the name suggests. This is indeed a snow-white show. The girl wishes for something. She gets it. No compromises. She just doesn't change nor does she learn much. That's why I think it's boring. From start to the moment I dropped it. The character didn't go through anything that needs her to overcome fear, a skill or anything. She's already perfect. She doesn't need to grow because of it. This makes the plot all the more bland.

Rewatching drunk 26/02/25 - 06/03/25 (ran out of tonic so had to wait it out)


Before I decided to commit to watching this again, I was afraid that I wouldn't like it as much as I did the first time. I thought that it would come off as cheesy or even repetitive. I'm glad that I was greatly mistaken. Hell, I think I appreciate this even more now.

As tradition I'm watching this drunk, yet again. I'm accompanied by a newly opened bottle of peach vodka and it fits impeccably. I don't really know why but this show feels so great to watch while drunk. Maybe its the slow pacing, or maybe its the heavy tones it always touches on. It always feels like a non sober kind of experience.

For a bit I was afraid that the show wouldn't hold up as much as it did but I was gravely mistaken in that regard. This anime isn't one of my favorites for nothing and this first episode proves it.


This show really reminds me of how I felt watching 5 Centimeters per Second. They're both sad in a very similar kind of way. I also love how almost every character has a face. Even the background characters, they seem to be doing their own thing with their own lives. This makes the setting all the more alive.




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A very drunk take on how much I love this show.

This show hit very very different to what I expected it to hit. The pacing, the attention to detail, the long drawn out shots. I haven't felt this from a show in a long time. I went in expecting something similar to a shitty isekai. Or hell, something similar to domestic girlfriend. What it ended up being was something I didn't expect even in my wildest dreams. It's actually a great fucking show. It was one of the best romances I've seen.

I love how slow and meticulous it is. Focusing heavily on visual elements that bleed into what the characters are going through. It's very similar to Liz and the Blue Bird in that aspect. Giving each scene plenty of room to breathe and adapting the whole cinematography based on what our characters are going through. I love how every time we go into Ayase's Diary the whole episode changes into a film reel as if we're taking a look into the past. A past that's been written down, not being experienced in real time. It's these minute details that I loved.

I watched the last three or four episodes with two shots of Gin. When episode 9 rolled in I knew we were in for a heavy conclusion. So I got myself ready. I went down, poured myself a glass and continued watching. As it went on, I knew one wasn't gonna cut it. So went with another. It's rare to find a show that is supplemented heavily by alcohol. With how slow and meticulous this show is, the alcohol made me focus on the little things, as it does so often. I noticed how the rays of light were shared between scenes, showing how a memory impacted Ayase at different times. There were so many details I just started noticing out of nowhere.

I know that I've always enjoyed shows with a little bro sis spice. But this goes miles farther than anything I've seen by far. Watching this legitimately makes me question how much I enjoyed Citrus. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching it, but it doesn't stand an inch to this.

This show really got me in the feels. It felt relatable to the point that it felt like it understood me in a way. I'm not talking about the incest part, but the stages of romance part. Sometimes, liking someone isn't just about your own feelings. There are certain factors that you have to think about. Like how Ayase and Asamura have to consider their parent's feelings, they can't just ignore the world around them. It's that nuanced questioning where you find yourself at a crossroads. You want to imagine a fantasy but at the same time, you know fantasies are still fictional and there are so many more things to consider, not just your desires.

Holy fuck kinda first EP was that. How is this show rated so low!? That's a 10/10 ep.

This show doesn't know how to capitalize on emotion. There are so many emotional things happening all around but it's just considered as background noise and not important. Like when the chief of the mountain village died, we didn't even know for a fact that the guy died. He just went down and the shows there acting as if it never happened. I mean, I understand if the show is trying to convey something like, people die so? now move on, kinda vibe. But come the fuck on. That's not what was portrayed.

A very interesting premise brought down by the execution. Same tale as The Executioner and Her Way of Life. There's a lot going on but the writers just didn't know how to capitalize on that. The world-building is fascinating, but the way each part of it interacts with each other is severely overlooked. The characters had a lot of development going for them, but only in the first two or three episodes, and then they stopped being developed at all, except for Kumi. What I'm trying to say is that this show did a lot of things right, especially in the fantasy department, while also doing a lot of things wrong. It feels as if they came up with the world first then the story. I hate how things just keep fucking happening out of nowhere just to keep the plot going. There's no natural sense of progression, everyone just goes wherever direction their head points to.

I'm just disappointed by the wasted potential. I suppose that's why people rated this so low. Not because it's bad, but because of how good it could've been. This had the potential to be another Trigun if it didn't fumble on the basics.

Good show. Really good show. Been a while since I've seen a good yuri. Guess I wasn't disappointed. This is a solid 6/10 in my books. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone but as a yuri fan, this gave me what i wanted.

The last time I took a long break from anime, it took me a little while to get back in. Mainly because my eyes weren't used to the low frame rate. Seems like the transition is pretty much seamless this time. Maybe because the last time I stopped, it was to focus more on TV shows and movies while this time it was for games. Still, two months is a while in my memory scale. So I'm glad I'm assimilating back in without issue.

This show suffers from the age-old plague of yeeting out most of the character's emotions. It doesn't show enough. When there's an emotional scene, there are certain ques you expect to see. A sombre look here, a voice crackling for a split second there, to even a little smile that only lasts for a frame or two that disappears in the next. People go through a wide variety of emotions in small spans of time, and showing them in anime is even harder. But there are shows out there that do achieve this. Like Frieren or Monster or even JJK to an extent. There's a reason why they're hailed as some of the best the medium has to offer. This, however, falls flat in this regard.

I suppose this is a matter of budget as well. If you've got a bunch of money, you can spend that on these very faint but intimate shots, that some people might very well not even notice. The anime that masters this in every sense is Liz and the Blue Bird. It's a fucking masterclass in showing not telling emotion. Sometimes the showing is about worldbuilding or letting us get a glimpse into where the story is going, and then there's this, where you get a close view of what the character is going through in real time. Not just their actions or the consequences of their actions, but their immediate reactions.

"This world really isn't fair, is it?"
As someone from a third-world country living in a first-world country, I feel you, girl, I feel you all too well. If you give up, there's nowhere to go but down. And considering how fragile your situation is, letting go for even a flash, cascades into total collapse. It's tough but you gotta keep the ball rolling. Now that's a nice message. Good on you show.

Goddamn, this show is much better than I thought it was originally. I still would've preferred it touched on the subjects it wants to touch with a little more, rawness rather than with extra thick elbow-level industrial-grade gloves, but it's doing something, which is much better than nothing at all.

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that I didn’t get shit about that ending. Like, I know what I’m looking at. I know how we got there. I just don’t get... why? Why is this how it ends? I just don’t get it. Is there something between the lines, or not?

Watching this felt like humanity was being called out. It exposed what makes us both great and shitty at the same time. It felt deeply in tune with how people would actually handle earth-shattering events. How we split into factions. How we create our own sense of justice—built on trauma, warped ideals, and fractured truths. And most of all, how people just... accept even the strangest, most occult things. Because there’s only so much we can give a crap about before we move on.

What I loved about the show, aside from that gorgeous, jaw-dropping world-ending sequence, was how it explored so many perspectives. It humanized the individual and showed how their choices ripple out, affecting entire systems in unpredictable ways. Because everyone starts somewhere. We see minor protests snowball into fully fledged cults. Mere journalists rise to prominence, only to realize they weren’t feeding people the truth but the lies they wanted to hear. Office workers doing anything to move up the ladder, even giving up on loved ones. The commentary on humanity was so dense, so cutting.

There were so many points in this where I was completely awe struck. One of the first is when we are finally shown the space ship. The whole first episode shows us how day to day life is for these teenagers, from their crushes, to the pains of school. While all of this was happening though, when people looked out, they seemed a little dejected. As if they were spacing out while focused on something in particular rather than a random direction. Then in the end, the show cuts to this jaw dropping scene of the city sized space ship casually floating in the sky. Really puts a nail in how the ship is like a weirdly shaped cloud in the sky for daily onlookers, but no one's forgotten the shadows it casts.

This really reminded me of Pluto in how on point the world building is. Merging sci-fi with the real world so seamlessly.

Honestly, I’d call this a must-watch show. It starts off feeling like an incredible slice of life and ends in a full-blown end of the world. I mean, what else do I even need to say?

The journey of my attitude towards Monogatari as a whole is very similar to that of Garden of sinners. When I first dipped my toes into them, I recoiled. I couldn't go further than a single dip. I didn't dislike them because they were bad, unlike those shitty isekai's out there, I didn't like them for how brash they were. They were confusing, they didn't have a coherent and easy for follow narrative, and most of all, they demanded me to pay attention and piece the story together. To some, this kind of introduction works like wonders, to me, it was screaming boredom.

However, as time went on and I immersed myself more into the medium, I started seeing patterns. I noticed that even if a story is at first oblivious, there's always a point, if the story wills it to be so, the characters and the world starts making a coherent narrative that isn't as demanding as it originally was. Allowing you to enjoy the connections and the drama, rather than focusing all your energy into seeing past the translucent veneer wrapped thickly around the premise. Case in point the otherworldly disarray of the Fate universe.

After coming all the way to the final sequence I can say that Monogatari is not a show I like. It's not even close to WHAT I like or expect in an anime-the monotonous color scheme, the blatant disregard of normal storytelling. But it sure left an impression, one that'll stick with me for a very very long time.

I started watching this after a whole month of not watching anything, which is pretty rare in this day and age. I took a little break to focus all of my free time on playing games on the new PC I built. When some games are like 20 hours long, it's very hard to fit anything else into my already tight schedule. Coming back to this treat of an anime after playing Alien Isolation has to be one of the best feelings ever.

Ever since I saw the first trailer for this, I knew I was gonna love it. The animation, the music, the vibe. It all culminated to give it that 'anime of the year' kind of vibe. And I don't mean this in the Oscars way where the movies are purposefully engineered to be award-winning. This just had a natural aura to it. On top of that, this seemed like the type of show that would make me cry. And oh boy, was I right, in less than two episodes no less. For as slowly paced a show as this is, which is why it feels like watching a show about the mundane life of an elf, my emotions were always running wild.

It's rare for me to appreciate an anime's dialogue as much as I appreciated the dialogue in this one. Every utterance had the nuance of a real human being, with enough depth that certain phrases stuck with me for the whole length of my watch. I have even repeated some lines at work, trying to see between the lines, trying to decipher the perspective of a millennia-year-old elf.

MadHouse knows exactly how to create a perfect show. I don't know how, but this formula is something else. What I'm experiencing with this is akin to Violet Evergarden. The emotions. The characters. Everything blends together beautifully.

I'm surprised I'm not finding even a single character annoying, which is surprising. Even in some of my favourite shows, there are characters that I just can't stand. Not this.

The first cour is what I would call a contemplative piece, where each episode made me think more from Frieren's perspective. And the second season is all about the application of that thought into an action scenario. Because let's be real, there's only so far you can go with only contemplation before it gets boring. So I believe the story progressed naturally into that state, though when the tone first switched it rubbed me the wrong way. This is mainly because I watched the whole first cour in one sitting, and then the second cour in another. The around four-day break between the two accentuated the dismay I was feeling.

I need a sequel this very instant!

This is on the same level as some of the best isekai fantasies out there. Like Overlord, Slime and Isekai Ojisan. And the fucking climax fight. It was one of THE fights i've ever seen period. Its even better than the Fate fights, and I love those, especially the one from FGO Paladin Agateram. This is peak shonen right here. Can't wait for more.

When I first started watching, the show felt a little cheap. This made me appreciate the animation of Horimiya even more than I had when I was watching the show. It surprisingly had next to no visible CGI set pieces and low texture background items. Every set piece seemed as if it had effort put into it. In the non game world scenes of this, especially at the start, it was hard looking at the background because of how bad they were. Even the character art. This is entirely different to how I see the game world tho. I don't know if this was intentional of if the animators simply put all their effort into polishing the VR world, but everything like the texture quality got pushed down a bunch in the real world scenes.

Where the show shines is in the fights. Its not just the spot on animations. Its also the choreography and the fact that almost everything makes sense. The actions the characters make feel like they have a logical progression behind them. This is in start contrast to Slime's make out of thin air kind of battle system where you can't really expect anything. Here you can, and seeing our characters morph what you were expecting with their own flair makes it even better. Especially with the combos they create.

Lets not even talk about the Wazaemon battle. I think that's where the whole budget of the show went. The whole sequence looked fucking amazing. When he unleashed Clear Sky, i was giggling like a little kid at how good it looked. Fuck Artoria's Excalibur, this is sword slashes at its best.

The story took a turn I never expected. Compared to that generic ass first season, this feels like a completely different story. I'm all in for that.

Now I see why so many people pleaded with me to watch it. This just kept getting better, never hitting the ceiling. Here's hoping the third season keeps it up, especially with the character work. In the first season, I didn't connect with a single character. Why? Because I didn't have a reason to care. They all seemed like black or white characters who existed only to further the plot. I don't know how, but the mangaka learned to write good characters after the first season's arcs. The Gojo arc starting this season alone made me more invested in the cast than the whole first season. And that was only a handful of episodes.

I'm not saying that it has given up its roots; I still feel alienated sometimes by the choices the story takes that feel awfully shonen-esque. But as a whole, I like it.

I hope I'm not the only one, but I hope Kugisaki stays dead. If she's revived, there better be a good reason or else I'm putting this in the same level as that Reincarnated as a Slime season that came up with random bullshit to bring back a character who was clearly dead for reasons that hurt the whole story more than not. But we all know she ain't gonna be dead for long...

Then there's that second OP, goddammit. That in itself is a masterpiece. Nothing less. The colors, the animation, the transitions, the foreshadowing. Everything is spot on. Near the end of the series, when I completely understood all the symbolism in the visuals, it made me appreciate it even more. If I were to critique, I would've asked for a better song because it far downplayed how epic the visuals were, but I'm just asking for too much at that point.

For 30 minutes of two people just having a conversation to be this interesting, if it isn't Garden of Sinners, I don't know what story can pull this off. Maybe Frieren.

After watching the first two or so movies, I was pretty confused about what was going on. When I watched the first movie a few years ago before I even got into Fate in the first place, I didn't get ANYTHING. I was utterly clueless, scratching my head going WTF did I even watch? Was it me who was too stupid to not understand it or was it the movie? However, now having completed almost all of the Fate adaptations, I picked up on bits and pieces here and there like the mystic eyes and magus' but the general direction of the story nor what it was all about was lost to me. This made me sceptical about how it would progress.

This confusion didn't deter me from this tho. If I'm being honest, it made me want to know more. Though the overall story was confusing, there were so many elements of the initial movies that kept me hooked. The amazing fight scenes, the interesting characters and lo and behold Shiki herself. Looking back at all of the movies, now it all makes sense. When I started the first movie, I wasn't expecting it to be the starting piece of a whole storyline, I was expecting it to cover most of the loose ends because of the fact that it was a movie.

As much as I enjoy Fate, I never liked its storytelling. With the exception of Fate/Zero, I didn't really get invested in the well-being of its characters to the point I connected with them. It's an entirely different story from the Garden of Sinners. With its more character-driven, dark and nuanced approach to morality, it struck a chord that made Fate/Stay Night's storytelling feel surface-level.

As someone who's distinctly aversed to philosophical stories like Lain, I'm surprised I found myself thinking about the story on a much deeper level than, good fight, good show. I feel that this is because it didn't try to force it down our throats. Most of the heavy topics were simply things I picked up from what I was drip-fed, making it not feel forced and boring to boot. Hell, I literally watched two people have a 30-minute conversation about what it means to be a human without ever feeling distracted or bored. That's saying something.

One of the biggest highlights of the whole series of movies is how experimental they are. For one, how the chronological order doesn't match up with the release order. As much as I hated it in the beginning when things really did start making sense, it was satisfying to see why the story was shaped the way it was. The movies are ordered thematically. It's not just random. We're following the life of Shiki as we're putting the puzzle together piece by piece.

In the end, despite wishing the conclusion had a little bit more nuance, the journey leading up to the end is top-notch. The series did a good job of interweaving philosophical elements without pretentiousness and making it boring and that is what makes it so great.

This is one of those shows that I knew was going to be a banger even before I started the first episode, just like with Frieren and Edgerunners. What I didn't expect though was for my expectations to be blown away as much as it did. I felt so many emotions watching this. There were multiple times when I was visibly sweating, sitting at the edge of my seat watching the action. Which pretty much defines the show. Its a story with action at its center. I love it when shows just grab me and don't let me go, moving from one battle arc to the other with little to no downtime. This suits well with my watch habit of binging whole shows at once or in two parts.

Watching this was hype incarnate honestly. From the moment our guy became a Kaiju to that fucking meteoric punch, I loved all of it. Then there are the characters. I really liked Kikuo from the beginning then began to slowly like the other characters as well, they grew on me. Especially the photocopy Levi and the battle loli. Even the comedy landed almost every time. I was squeaking quite a few times.

There's something about the action that just hits right. Its not just the action in and of itself, its the setup, the execution, the payoff and the easing at the end. Each time we went on a cycle, it felt soo satisfying. It was like the Wezaemon arc from Shangri-la Frontier but a whole show with that level of hype. I'm an easy guy to please. Give me some characters I care about, likable and give me non stop action, I'll chuck it down like my chocolate almond milk.

And eh, yeah the OP and ED are just disappointing. The ED sounds like a copy paste pop song, which I know for a fact that I've heard somewhere else. They should've sampled something more creative. The ED... the song is pretty good but the animation man. The start of it is very creative, then it turns into a bunch of blobs that look meaningless. The soundtrack however, that was something else. Especially when we get to a fight scene, when the guitar riff comes on I knew I was in for a ride.

Why does it feel like everyone except spiky hair and mashed potatoes is getting character development? Spiky is always like, I'll do it and potatoes is always like haaaaai. Can the two of you have any other personality traits than that for fucks sake? I mean, if every other character were as depthless as those two I would be satisfied calling this a shitty show but that isn't the case. The goddesses and even Gilgamesh are amazingly written characters filled with personality. then we have those two abominations. This just doesn't freaking add up.

Why does Fate always have this problem with its primary character? Here it's the pointy-haired kid. In Stay Night it was Shirou. Both of these guys share the same sense of bland idiotism of saying yes to everything. Just try harder, do better, blah, blah. It's always more talk while everyone else does the work. I can't stand these types of characters.

As much as I like this series, I just wish I got to see the whole picture. The story really has a lot of potential that feels underutilized. The worldbuilding alone is enough to house so much more, alas we get confusion-inducing shows like this. I wonder if I'd ever go down to the visual novels...

Having viewed the two prequel entries, I approached this with the same expectations I would attribute to a mindless isekai, which translates to rock bottom. I don't know if that's the reason or if there was a shift, but this truly took me aback. The story and worldbuilding, as always, was shit. The main characters, the pointy-haired kid whose I name don't even remember, and mashed potatoes were as poorly written as ever. However, the notable difference this time was the focus on the Knights of the Round Table. It felt like the entire movie belonged to them, relegating everyone else to the status of mundane side characters. Their characters were so well written, that I even connected with a few of them. I know, even I'm surprised!

What significantly altered my overall opinion of this movie was the final battle. They were a spectacle to watch. A mash of different experimental art styles together with rich character emotion made every single final battle a bliss to watch. The one that stood out however was the fight sequence between Agravain and Lancelot. The animation, the music, the falling pyramid in the background. From the setup to the conclusion, it stands out as the best fight sequence I've ever witnessed. Period. It executed the entire circle exceptionally well without unravelling. I've got nothing but praise for that level of execution.

This movie certainly knew how to make fight sequences work and how to mesh two or more together. During the final battle, multiple 1v1s were happening all around. The way the focus shifted from one fight to the other without making it seem forced was well done, to say the least.

This is the type of movie I would give anything to see in a theatre. This has that feeling to it. The feeling of being grand.

For a series of movies that have been underwhelming at most, this is what I expect from Fate. Good fights. And this movie was delivered. This is the first of this series that I'd say deserves to be a part of Fate.

Rant

Same old goblin slayer. You know, there's something about these fantasy shows that makes it so difficult to take them seriously. The reason why I can't take this seriously is the same reason why I couldn't take Re:Zero seriously. As much as it seemed cool, whenever there's some moe moe main character, my suspension of disbelief breaks like a hammer through a window. It's hard for me to take it seriously when I see stuff like that. Same thing with Goblin Slayer and the bring back to life using a virgin shit. Like come on! When you spread plot armour that thickly how am i supposed to imagine that these characters are really in danger? They all might as well die and the next episode will revive them.

This is what bumped me with Space Dandy too. Like they had that Zombie episode and the whole universe pretty much turned into zombies. Then the next episode is like, nah, that shit never happened. How am I supposed to believe that? Gimme at least a hint of an explanation. This is the type of storytelling that really bums me out. I'm not saying that it's bad, but it's just not for me. I want my stories to at least explain or consider the consequences. I want them to evolve use past sequences and build on top of them. Not act as if they don't exist.

This is the reason why I love Hinamatsuri so much. Usually, comedies just don't care about continuation. It makes sense considering how easy it is to write over-the-top gags that leave things in such a mess that it's hard to recover from it. But Hina, it takes a different approach. It takes the hard route. It uses those plot points to weave different ones, and this is where its emotional impact lies as well.

I'm truly impressed. This stands out as one of the best isekai I've ever watched, hands down. It's right up there with Uncle from Another World.

What sets this apart is the production quality. The visuals are stunning, they look remarkably similar to Heavenly Delusion. I even checked if they shared the same studio. Though they don't, they do share high-quality visuals. The characters are all visually striking, the fight scenes are impressive, and surprisingly, there are no CGI monstrosities, which surprised me. They're usually quite common in these shows. And, for heaven's sake, this is an isekai we're talking about here. How did an isekai achieve such high production quality?

Now, let's talk about the story. This is where the show truly shines. It avoids falling into the usual tropes and clichés with its characters. Yes, the main protagonist is a bit dense, but not to the extent of other isekai protagonists. In the end, he does get the girl, making it a win-win on all fronts. The minor plot points are also well-written. This show accomplished what I wished Hell's Paradise would do: introduce the characters by showcasing their daily lives, allowing us to explore who they are, and then finally bringing all the characters together to see how each one reacts in their own ways. No near-death life story bullshit.

This isn't to say that it doesn't feel like an isekai. It does. The story has all of the usual isekai elements in it, like heroes, demon lords yada yada—it doesn't transcend isekaidom. But what it does do is push forward the line of the existing formula using great writing and superb production values.

This show finally did the orbital canon well. By literally nuking the enemy with a freaking asteroid. That was extremely satisfying to watch. I love unhinged displays of carnage like that. Its absurd and fun.

I've been finishing far too many shows in one sitting lately. This one too...

I'm not usually one to like absurd shit, but when absurd shit is coupled with absurd action and an absurdly good story. Now that's a formula I can get behind.

Now, this is one god-tier anime. I suppose all it took was a few glasses of Gin & Tonic to give me the confidence to give this a try, but it sure was worth it. The alcohol helped me get used to all the weirdness, and the hype kept me hooked. This is the kind of show where, once you start, you can't really stop watching. Calling it wild is an understatement. This show to me felt like what would happen if you push the medium of anime to its absolute limits. I'm not talking about limits in the sense of say the animation quality or how realistic things are, but I mean how much you can push before the viewer feels detached from what they're seeing. Take for example how characters sometimes interact with their name tags, the text literally hangs around. Normally you'd be like, whaaa, but the execution is so well done, you don't even feel that in Kill la Kill.

When episode 12 rolled around, and we hit the first finale, I genuinely thought the anime couldn't do any better. Hell, I thought the show only had 12 episodes; that's how conclusive and good that finale felt. When the episodes went on, I assumed that the show would just burn itself out. Oh ho, wasn't I wrong? It reached even higher levels of hype and kept me invested throughout. It's like the show is so out of this world that nothing seems to feel out of place. Everything sort of clicked, as weird as everything was. It's like when you pile up a bunch of inconsistencies that, after a point, you can't even tell each one apart from the other. That's what the show felt to me. And I loved it.

I'm not usually a huge fan of the shounen whiny MCs. This is why I couldn't handle Naruto. Those characters are so goddamn annoying. I'm not saying that Matoi wasn't annoying at times, but the show managed to do so much that the annoyance covered itself up. The transformation sequences, the power-ups, the fights, they all added up to so much that I couldn't help but be on the edge of my seat, eager to know what happens next. It's rare to find a show that makes you this pumped up for a fight scene. And to find a show where every damn episode makes you go like that is near impossible. I'm surprised Kill la Kill managed to do that without messing it up.

What dragged me into the show was how many things were happening all the time. The creativity of it all was mind-boggling. I imagine the writer going, if it can happen, I will wish it to happen. This is especially evident in Mako'd dialogue scenes. There's some random shit in every freaking frame in that. I can't imagine the animators came up with completely new designs just to show it for a split second. I can feel the effort that was put into this show. Though it's wild, everything feels calculated and in its rightful place. The abstractness doesn't feel abstract for abstract's sake. It's like the show is telling me that there's no point questioning why it happens because that's not the point. It's all about looking at the absurdity and having a great time with it.

Then there are the characters. I don't think I need to say much about them. The level of development each of the main characters received was extraordinary. And the show very much acknowledges the difference between a main character and some random NPC, rather than half-assign everyone, it selects a cast and goes with it. Take Mako and Gamagoori's relationship, for instance. Initially, it was coincidental, but as the two found themselves in completely random scenarios, as often happens in this show, Gamagoori slowly grew accustomed to having Mako around in those weird situations to the point where he developed feelings for her. Seeing this unfold over the entire span of the show, rather than a brief arc while everything else is happening, is incredibly satisfying. It's as if the subplots aren't overshadowed by the main plot, and the main plot isn't hindered by the subplots either. It makes the main plot even more sweeter.

There's also the sound mixing and the music. There's no denying the music is awesome. But what really caught my eye was the sound effects for all the action scenes. The sound didn't suspend my suspension of disbelief in the slightest. It merged well with what I was seeing. Unlike in say Reincarnated as a Slime or The Eminence in Shadow where there are a lot of fights going on, the sound is extremely mediocre at best. The sounds just don't match very well with the things that are happening, it feels dejected at times. As if the sound was given more oomph just to make it sound cool or larger than it is.

Can't believe i finished this in one sitting.

Hell's Paradise is essentially Fate but with a few seinen elements sprinkled throughout.

The show had its shortcomings, and almost all of them were related to its power system. People getting powers out of nowhere, discovering new senses in mere hours after learning about them – it just felt off. Do they think we're stupid?

But that isn't what I enjoyed about the show. For me, it was the conflicts, specifically the dilemma of what it means to live, that most characters had to question at some point. I felt the show handled these inner conflicts well. The visual storytelling nicely matched the inner monologues.

Even then, the show could've handled the characters much better. For instance, instead of thrusting them straight into a death royale, it could've taken time to invest us in them by showing their day-to-day lives with a trickle of exposition and slight introductions to the power system. After that, it could drop the ball and let us see how everything adds up. Like how the first three seasons of AOT invested us in the characters before the impactful events of the final season. Developing characters right before they die is overused nowadays, but at least the development was good.

All in all, I quite enjoyed this. Though I'd categorize this in the same box as Reincarnated as a Slime and Fate. I really hoped this would have gone the Heavenly Delusions route, which is the impression I got from the first episode, but you can't always have everything, can you?"

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I have a feeling I'm gonna like this. Not that I didn't expect it. When I first read the first two chapters of this, I knew I was gonna love it. The reason why I stopped it was because of that and because this was still released. And you know how much I hate getting into unfinished manga. Now I'm sticking to that like glue, ain't ever want another devil is a part-timer happening again. Up until I caught up to its manga, it pretty much dominated my favourite manga list. After that, I read up on three new releases and the charm just left. I can't handle the pauses between releases I simply lose interest. If I'm consuming something, I need to consume it within a certain period before I lose interest. The same goes for people in my life, especially women. No matter how much i get invested, I simply lose interest in the long run and that never ends well. Okay that's quite a tangent, but you get my point.
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Surprisingly i seem to understand what the characters are thinking. Which is... new if I'm being honest. I don't know if that's because I've gotten good at it even a bit or if the characters of this show are just that shallow. I wonder.
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Not bad, this shit's good. Wayy better than i expected. I knew it would be good, but good in a Noragami way. Not to say that this is that far off, but its got some merit.

The final season fucked up one of the core pillars that made AOT that one special anime, beyond everything else. Before, the story and the world-building felt completely justified, even the fantasy aspects, because causation begets consequence. However, the final season broke that. New plot elements were introduced far too many times without a proper long-term basis to them. There was no smooth buildup and no logical backup except "trust me, bro." The reason why I loved AOT so much in the beginning was because it made a point of not doing exactly that. Although it is pretty common in normal shows, I grew not to expect that from this. So I wouldn't say that this is a perfect final season, but it sure as hell was fun to watch.



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Many people complain that Hallucinogenia is a bad conclusion to the Titan mystery, but I personally think it could not be better.
First of all, it's not some made up bullshit but an actual worm we know nothing about - so it might as well be some supernatural creature that died without having a shot at turning someone into the first titan, and on some parallel universe, Attack on Titan could've actually happened. This makes it fit perfectly with the realistic and grounded nature of Attack on Titan's plot. If the solution to the mystery was magic or aliens, like many fans speculated, this would've been just lazy and unimaginative. This is perfect.
Secondly, hallucinogenia fits perfectly with how Titans actually work. Titan powers come from inside the nape/spine of the shifter and from a mysterious elecrical charge. So it's only fitting to Hallucinogenia, who literally looks like a severed human spine, through which our nerves run electrical impulses.
Thirdly, with Hallucinogenia we finally have an answer to what the world of the paths is and how are all Eldians connected. If Hallucinogenia attached itself to Ymir so it would be able to multiply, it only makes sense why Eldians all carry Founding Titans/Ymir's genes. Hallucinogenia multiplies like a sexually transmitted disease, its cells are spread out into every single Eldian from birth but are not awakened unless they are stimulated with a spinal fluid of a titan, or, in other words, already awakened Hallucinogenia cells. The reason why only 9 titan shifters are able to willingly control the state they are in, is because 3 daughters of Ymir did not merely inherited non awakened Hallucinogenia cells from birth, but actually ATE hallucinogenia worm itself which was attached to Ymir's spine. Later their children also ate their spines, because that's what king Fritz demanded, and so original Hallucinogenia worm, which is literally like a hive mother to all Eldians who possess its spread out cells, was spread evenly between 9 individuals, and is passed throughout generations by eating. The founding titan is simply the Eldian which possesses the biggest piece, or the head of Hallucinogenia. This is how Eren had it in its spine when he and Zeke made contact, it was there all along and in Griesha/royal family before that. And the hive mother Hallucinoenia - the founding titan is what connects all its cells and titan shifters, just like a bee hive mother is connected to all the bees. And when an Eldian dies, Hallucinogenia collects back its multiplied cells, and since they are situated in the spinal cord of a human, it collects conciousness and memories of those they belonged to. This is how Eldians end up together in the world of the paths, which is simply the nervous system of the original Hallucinogenia.

The ovas technically support the different timeline theory. Technically he says that this world, or potentially the timeloop exists because of Mikasas inability to accept erens death. Every single time weve seen the story "end" is a timeline where Eren dies and Mikasa griefs it and then a new universe happens. If the loop exists and the theory is true, then the anime only ending would be the hypothetical timeline where either Mikasa does accept the death of eren, or Eren doesnt die therefore the time doesnt reloop. It would be interesting to see if Ymir was the one attached to Mikasa because she also was stuck in a loop of being loyal to the royal bloods, so she was using her powers to try to give Mikasa, someone with the same attachment as her, an opportunity to live out her attachment or something like that.

Asuka was right. Disgusting. It pretty much summarizes my whole experience. Nothing more, nothing less. Just disgusting.

Fictional stories often revolve around a protagonist embarking on a transformative journey, emerging from it in a different light. These are the tales we often crave – witnessing a person rise from nothing to become a world-saving warrior or a young girl grappling with her problems to evolve into a better version of herself. Such stories carry arcs that change our characters, offering a sense of closure.

Then there exist narratives like this movie, which begins on a dismal note and descends into an even more distressing position. The only other show that managed to scratch a similar itch was NHK, an amazing series where the protagonist doesn't end up with the girl because, well, that's life. Things must be earned, and miracles don't just land at our feet. This movie, though, was an entirely different beast. Upon finishing it, I couldn't help but feel awful. Why did it have to unfold in such a manner? Was this inevitable from the start? And finally, was Shiji always such a bitch?

Nevertheless, this movie is nothing short of amazing. It caught me between its threads, never letting go. While it featured heavy thematic flashbacks, inner monologues, and prolonged seemingly mundane dialogues, these elements never felt out of place. Perhaps it was because the initial series had perfectly set the tone, making it less surprising and more of an expected continuation.

What sets apart my experience with this film from the usual anime is that it didn't quite give me the typical vibes or even a sensation of anime being the very reason for my existence. It didn't even make me feel like it would significantly improve my life. To be honest, it was rather frustrating. And yet, that's precisely what makes this movie so great. While numerous shows frustrate me unintentionally, Evangelion did this intentionally to the highest degree possible.

So all in all, did I enjoy this movie? No, I did not. Wait it worth it? Fuck yeah, it was.

I started watching this when I was on a 14-hour flight and managed to devour 8 episodes in one go. I was tired and couldn't sleep, so what better option than this, honestly? I had to choose between the three Evangelion rebuild movies or this. Given how I was feeling, there was no way in hell I was watching the anime equivalent of a depression drug. I wanted something uplifting, and boy, did this show do the trick.

Kirei – that's the first thought that came to my mind right after finishing those initial 8 episodes during the flight. And that's precisely what stuck in my mind even after completing the entire series.

The romance in this show had a unique flavour to it. It didn't delve deep into a specific kink like that cosplay girlfriend anime, nor did it venture into the extremely bizarre territory like that mysterious girlfriend anime. Instead, it chose the more mature path, which was quite refreshing and I loved it. Typically, I despise the conflicts in romance anime; they often seem utterly foolish. Take Citrus, for example, even though I enjoyed that show for reasons I'd rather not discuss here, hehe, its conflicts were simply ridiculous. However, in this show, both the conflicts and their resolutions felt genuine and plausible. They didn't shatter my suspension of disbelief in the slightest. It was truly enjoyable to watch, and it felt comforting as if I wished to live and experience it myself. This mature quality struck me in a way that few shows have, and reminds of me Bloom Into You.

The show did have its peculiar moments tho, like that half-episode or so where Nakami and Magari were simply strolling around, discussing how things unfolded throughout the entire season, like a recap. I mean, seriously, why? I just watched the show; I didn't want it to backtrack! Except for that mishap, probably due to budgetary reasons, I really enjoyed the show.

It had the nuances of high school romance that made me hooked. Like the nuances of being a professional in Barakamon.

In short
Here lies a slice of life anime so superb, it could make a plant grow roots in concrete. Alas, my attention span, like a restless toddler, demands a constant dose of drama, leaving this masterpiece to wither away in the barren wasteland of my boredom.

At length
This show is like a warm hug on a cold day. The kind of show that makes you want to curl up in a blanket and forget about all your worries for a while. It's charming, it's cute and it's as relaxing as it ever could be.

On top of all of that, look who decided to take a break from all the murder and mayhem! Ufotable, the masters of action-packed anime in my eyes, have actually proven that they're not just murder junkies. In fact, they can do cute and calming just as well as they can do extremely detailed fights and explosions. This show may not have any fights to speak of, but that doesn't make it any less stellar.

It's like ufotable took a step back from all the chaos and decided to smell the flowers for a change. And you know what? It suits them. The animation is just as gorgeous as ever, but instead of slicing and dicing, it's all about the small moments. The way a hamburger slowly changes its colour while cooking under high heat, the way a smile spreads across someone's face after a spoon full of ramen, or even the individual fishes in the fish stall. It's the little things that make this show shine. This takes the every frame is a masterpiece saying and turns it into a motto.

Alright, let's get real here. As much as I loved the calming atmosphere of this show, I have to admit that it got stale real fast. It's like eating your favourite food every day for a month straight. Sure, it's great at first, but eventually, you start to crave something else. Anything else.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm all in for relaxation and taking it easy... says the guy who's dropped almost all shows from the genre, case in point; K-ON, Tonikawa, Iroduku, Snow White with the Red hair, Adachi to Shimamura, Wotakoi and the list goes on.

But still! This show takes it to a whole new level. It's like watching paint dry. Sure, it's pretty to look at, but after a while, you start to wonder why you're still staring at it. The show isn't made for people like me whose attention span requires a constant dose of manufactured drama to stay engaged. As the episodes rolled on, I couldn't help but feel like I was being lulled into sleep. It's like the show was giving me a sedative without even trying. I appreciate a good slow burn as much as the next person, but this was starting to feel like a sleeping pill disguised as an anime.

It was fun while it lasted, but it didn't last long.

Amazing. A sincere 15/10. This is truly a carnival phantasm.

Honestly, I have to admit that I'm not familiar with a lot of the characters that this anime parodies. I haven't watched or read Tsukihime, and I know nothing about Fate Grand Order. And as for the cats that show up in every episode? I'm clueless. Despite all that, I have to say that watching this anime was an absolute delight.

The first episode was particularly outstanding. It not only gave me a clear idea of what the show was going to be about, but it also set the tone and expectations for the rest of the series. Type-moon really outdid themselves with that first episode. In fact, you don't even need the usual three-episode rule with this anime - if the first episode doesn't hook you, then nothing will. That's how well it established the show's themes and overall direction.

I have to admit, the silliness of it all caught me off-guard. Considering the original source material is filled with intense violence and emotional turmoil, turning it into a comedic parody seemed like an odd choice. But the show exceeded my expectations in every way. It didn't feel like it was parodying the original just for the sake of it - it had its own unique twists and turns that made it stand out. It never felt like it was mocking the original just for the sake of it. The writers put a lot of effort into creating an alternate version of the characters, building up their own comedic context and even going so far as to give them, Carnival Phantasm-centric character arcs.

You can really feel the passion that went into creating this show. It's experimental, it's humane, and it's incredibly creative. Though some source-based jokes went completely over my head, I still found myself thoroughly enjoying every episode. The level of effort put into the writing and character development was truly impressive, especially considering they could have just used the existing characters in a comedic context. Instead, they took the extra step and crafted their own unique version of these characters and it shows. I have a lot of respect for the effort that they put into this project, and it really paid off.

When I'm feeling blue or under the weather, I have a guilty pleasure of turning to some truly generic anime with names like "The World's Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat" - a title that pretty much sums up the entire vibe. Honestly, I can barely remember anything about it, except for the final battle scene which was surprisingly epic.

Picture this: a final battle scene between the protag and the main villain is about to begin. Before everything, our hero casually does a thing - he projects a metal surfboard into the air, because why not? The two engage in a frenzied fight blah blah blah... but just as things are looking dire for our main man, everything goes white. We're blinded by a flash of nothingness, and for a moment, it feels like the world has come to an end.

But it's not the end - it's one of the most epic moves I've ever seen. That metal surfboard, the size of a small car, was launched into orbit. And like a well-aimed ICBM, it came hurtling back down to Earth, crashing into the battlefield like an orbital cannon. The result? Total and utter destruction, as if a fucking nuke had just gone off.

It's moments like these that make you wonder what kind of crazy energy drink the writers were drinking. But hey, who cares when it's this entertaining? The show may have been a forgettable trashy isekai, but that finale was pure gold.

Imagine that scene, but instead of a fleeting moment, it lasts for an entire movie. That's what you get with Redline. This movie is pure adrenaline-fueled insanity, spread out over two hours of non-stop action.

You've got everything you could possibly want: cars with jet engines attached to them, orbital destruction lasers, and even unlimited energy nitrous. Yeah, you read that right - freaking infinite energy. And don't even get me started on the animation. It's like the artists just said "screw it" and went all out.

When the opening credits rolled and my eyes caught sight of that nitrous can, I erupted into a fit of childish giggles. In a world where even Hollywood blockbusters have ditched the good old blue liquid in favour of sci-fi technobabble, it was a refreshing sight to behold.

I haven't been this pumped for nitrous since the days when the Fast and Furious franchise was still worth watching - which let's be honest, feels like a lifetime ago. But here we are, ready to indulge in some good old-fashioned N2O action. Who needs flying cars or time-travelling DeLoreans when you can have a can of nitrous? It's like the cinematic equivalent of mac and cheese - it may not be the fanciest thing out there, but damn, it hits the spot.

You know, Redline is what Death Race should have been.

That first episode may very well be one of those rare gems. A perfect blend of storytelling and execution with some very funny sequences. I'll have to rewatch this some other time to make sure tho. The number of times I got distracted watching this was not doing this show justice.

A few months later...
After rewatching the first ep, I can confidently say that it has aged like fine wine, it's as great as the first time. It took me a few minutes to readjust to the quirks of low frame rates in anime considering it's been over a month since I've last watched 'anything'. But soon those nuances faded into oblivion as the comedy took center stage.

This show falls into the category of love it or outright hate it, leaving little room for a middle ground. And I find myself on the side of adoration.

Getting back into the anime game with this series was one of the best decisions I've made. The relentless humour is precisely what I craved after weeks of not reading or watching anything. It was refreshing. It's not like I regret not consuming anything; I simply didn't feel the need for it. I had other things that gave me the same kicks. I think I'm slowly starting to understand my capacity. When I'm immersed in work, I struggle to enjoy watching or reading something, while I really enjoy socializing. Yet, when I'm at home, I love consuming stuff and I hate going out. It's a weird duality, to say the least.

An actual tournament arc? Is this for real?

The first six episodes of this series were an absolute delight. If it had sustained that level of quality, matching the brilliance of its debut episode, I have no doubt it would have become one of my favourites. Regrettably, the show took more of a comedy using generic shounen tropes path—races, cultural festival tournaments, battles with upperclassmen, and the like. Although amusing, it failed to maintain its originality for long. Nevertheless, it was still fun, which is a significant plus. One of the main drawbacks, however, lies in the underdevelopment of the characters. In the initial episodes, this was not an issue as we familiarized ourselves with their personalities and the whole cast. But as the series progressed, we yearned to witness their growth or, at the very least, some form of change. Instead, they remained largely unchanged, reverting to the same individuals we encountered at the beginning. Had this been an entirely absurdist comedy akin to 'Carnival Phantasm,' this lack of character development would have been inconsequential. Yet, this show aimed to explore life's challenges through comedy, occasionally adopting a slice-of-life tone. There were instances when this approach worked well, particularly during Takao and Roka's arc. However, those instances were few and far between.

Watched the dub. Don't regret it to the least

Episodes 1-12 were perfect. Nothing more, nothing less. They had some of the best storytelling and writing I've seen. Yes, the animation lacked at times. But it did the job and it didn't feel like it was holding the story back. Each episode had something new to explore. Slowly building up the whole world and mysterious but lovable protag, Vash the Stampede.

Then came episode 13. A sort of recap story. It was... alright I suppose. Sometimes you had them in these old shows. And it wasn't like it was a complete recap. It had some new scenes and moments to spice things up too, like its ending.

Then the whole train crashed with episode 14. The only episode to not feature Vash in the front. It was just soo sooo weak. I couldn't even keep my wholehearted concentration on it. I hate not fully focusing on what I"m watching. I rarely let myself drift off. If I do drift off, and often, I would immediately consider what I was watching drop worthy. I really don't like to waste my time watching something I didn't enjoy or get a kick out of. But episode 14 just didn't fit right. Compared to the momentum the show had up until then. It didn't make sense. How could an episode be so, bland? The conflict didn't feel all that interesting. The characters weren't all that developed. It just didn't have enough to make me care about the situation. In the end, adding up to make the episode outright boring.

The same can partly be said about episode 15. Though, it wasn't bad per se like its predecessor. It didn't have the same quality as the rest. The writing felt sloppy and lazy. The dialogue wasn't witty at all. Hm. This is where I'm currently at so I wonder what direction the show will take going forward. I really hope it will go back to the previous formula.

Yea, it did go back!

So that's it huh. I can't believe I got to watch two absolute bangers back to back. First, it was the daily lives of high school boys and now Trigun. This show sure was something. It was perfect in its own way. Sure it had a ton of problems, like with the animation and the way certain characters were written. Plus a whole lot of pacing issues. The show sure does show its age now. But, I absolutely loved it. I loved the characters. I loved that gritty art style. I loved the comedy. This was soo good. At first, I was comparing this to Samurai Champloo. But god, this surpasses that by a long shot. If it weren't for the weird inconsistencies, Trigun would have definitely made it into my favourites.

All in all, this is so what I would call a Classic. Wouldn't hesitate if I ever got the feeling to rewatch it. This is the kind of epic that doesn't bore you no matter how many times you watch it.

I still can't believe I finished 26 episodes in two freaking sittings. Ahhhh, well, not that it wasn't worth it. This was an experience of a lifetime.

That was an.... experience. I can safely say that I really enjoyed the movie. It really hit the spot, just like how Your Name did. There were some things that I found odd but in general, I enjoyed it.

First off, the relationship just felt... forced. Thats pretty much what kept this movie from getting right there into my favs. It's just I can't imagine a girl falling in love with a guy in the way that Suzume did here. It doesn't make any sense at all. I know they went through a whole journey from one edge of Japan the other but come on. They didn't even share a ton of intimate moments. Suzume going, I can't live without him doesn't feel coherent.

That's pretty much all the bad I can say about this. I pretty much loved everything else. The music was... god.

I'm top of that there are the transitions. As all of Shinkai's films, they were amazing. Especially the title opening screen. When Suzuke was trying to close the first door, when the music was ravaging and the tension was high, when they finally closed it, the music faded and out of nowhere the whole view collapsed into a thread and the iconic soundtrack started playing.

The first transition that displayed SUZUME was mindblowing. I literally watched that multiple times because i couldn't believe how smooth it was. An absolute godsend of a transition right there.

Can't believe this was my most anticipated movie of the whole year. I'm someone who doesn't really stick to movie releases. I rarely watch something on release. I wait a few months till the hype dies down and everyone forgets it. I like it that way. I did the same thing with this, but compared to any other show, I was struggling keep myself from watching this. I wanted to watch it.

All in all, this was a nice movie. It didn't leave me emotional enough to cry, but it did get a tear or two out of me. Which is a lot in this day and age.

This looks like it fell right off of a shooting star.

I really like the show's subtle sense of humour. Its spread far apart but hits just right.

Wow, just wow. This was farrr better than I thought it would've been. Hell, I started this cos I wanted to calm down after edgerunners. What I got in return was a full freaking package! This has to be the best ecchi I've seen period. The art looked absolutely amazing. The characters looked absolutely amazing. The thirst traps were absolutely amazing. What more could I have even asked for???

This is the ideal horny anime! No doubts there. This show is literally what I went into hoping from my dress-up darling. It was such a disappointment.

I'm still ashamed to think that once upon a time, I passed off after reading around a dozen chapters of the manga thinking it was an ecchi without ecchi. Ohhh, young me. You knew nothing. Still, that's pretty much it tho. This show is an ecchi. Not much more.

What surprised me the most in a way is the dark turn the show took after ep 9 with the detective and all. I thought it was going to take the same route as the vampire meeting did back in episode 5 or something where our insomniac protag got confronted. That whole scene felt silly and not serious.

But the detective woman story sure took a deep dive. The show wasn't deep, not by any means. Still, it's interesting to see at least making the other characters do the thinking for our sort of braindead protag.

I loved the story!
It has the potential to be another Attack on Titan. Compared to your run-of-the-mill isekai, this has depth. It has complex dynamics at work and we get to see how that affects the world. The world-building is also top-notch. Even the initial scenes, I love how this started, with the character who we thought would be the protag getting brutally murdered out of nowhere. Now that's some chilling Game of Thrones S1 levels of storytelling right there.

What I'm trying to get at here is that this show has the depth to be a story that fans would literally make lore-filled wikis about. That's the kind of premise this show is built upon. This could have very well been the next Overlord or Mother of Learning in that sense.

What angers me the most is how the author goes so close to hitting the target through every story beat but reels back in before the climax. It's frustrating. I wouldn't have been this interested in this if it wasn't for the general path the story was going. It was perfect. But it all felt silly. Just like the Overlord anime, this got the animefication treatment, dumbing down the story. But in this case, there wasn't anything to dumb down, the source material itself was dumb.

However, the bane of this show is the writer. I'm not saying that they suck in terms of writing quality, but they just suck at building up a great idea into a vast universe. They don't have what it takes to take a great premise and build it up into a great story.

I can only imagine what this story could have been if the author had been willing to go all in and had the talent to do so. Imagine a story where Menou is forced to grapple with the moral implications of her job, not through cliche anime tropes, but through implications of the killings that she had done throughout her life. The show just tells us that she's killed people and ends it there, we don't feel that when she's with Akari. what we see is a conflicted person who doesn't even show the work ethic to be an executioner put in that role. Not at all what they're supposed to be. It's these kinds of conflicts and inconsistencies that kill the story.

That's the story that I wanted to see. But instead, we got what we got. A mediocre anime that could have been so much more.

Converted the note into a review cos it was too fucking long.

Here are a few comments I found under youtube videos for this to maximize the emotional damage.

Both Maine and David were strong enough to fight cyber psychosis and take one last look at the people they loved before their deaths.

ED--
Lucy walks the rest of the way home distraught after Falco drops her off, pauses to smoke to try and calm herself, breaks down screaming in the shower/tub, gets out and cries on the windowsill, can't run away from her pain of loss, then realizes David's dream for her to go to the moon.
This ending has so much more meaning to it after watching the finale.

Night City remembers people for how they died and not what they did before that.
It's safe to say David easily goes down as one of the most legendary cyberpunks in Night City. He battled MilTech, Arasaka, and it took Adam Smasher to finally put him down.
The best part? David died human.

I love how they had the intro being David’s absolute blast of a journey through night city with a pretty chaotic song and then the outro slows down with Lucy in the aftermath of everything that happened in the show. Sort of represents the viewer’s upbeat and happy feelings as the show starts to depression as the show ends. Phenomenal show

The more I think about the ending of this show the more depressed I get…I thought this ed was Lucy feeling lost and powerless seeing David slowly killing himself for others, but now I realize that it’s her absolutely depressed after his sacrifice…this show keeps finding ways to hurt me, man…

So true random person on the internet. So true.

If someone told me this was how Gintama ended. I would've no doubt believed them.

I almost started ep 266 before I remembered that Gintama had a couple of movies. Only found out about this while checking them out :P

The movie sure had a lot of pitfalls. The whole time travel plot was wild. That always happens when you introduce multiple timelines. Everything gets so jumbled up.

But in my eyes, they can certainly be justified by how much emotion this packed. It was an all-out ending. That's the message I felt from it. It wasn't meant to be logical. It was meant to be a send-off. Considering the author wrote this as an alternate ending. No wonder it felt so heavy.

In a sense, the show didn't explain anything. It was completely focused on the yorozuya. You know, all this time, when people mentioned yorozuya this and yorozuya that. I wondered why they were so attached to that word. It's just the three of these guys. Call them a gang or something. Now. I completely understand where they're coming from. This movie rewrote the word's meaning fundamentally.

Watching this movie felt different. I've been with these characters for close to four months already. That's far longer than I've associated with any other. The witcher series comes as a second. Though It took me only two months to finish all the books. Half of the time I've spent with Gintama.

I've grown so used to them and their antics. So watching all of the characters five years from what I'm used to. Was like how it is when you look at old pictures of yourself. Reminiscing about how it used to be and how it is now. Hell, Madao is literally an ojiisan now. Nothing comes even close to a portrayal like that!

And for those who ramble on whether this is canon or not;

Gintama is literally the show where they had an arc about characters reacting to a real-life popularity poll and then conspiring against each other to get higher numbers. With that many fourth wall breaks and characters reacting like they're everyday occurrences lead me to believe that canonicity in Gintama is as tangible as the day Madao becomes a functional part of society.

Woohoo, finally finished writing notes for both this movie, the last season and the season before that. Ever since I started watching Gintama. My note-taking rate went down sharply. It's not that I don't want to. It's that, I didn't have anything special to say. There's only so much you can praise before the praise becomes normality. This movie was a good refresher on that. It was a self-contained story and entry. Letting me write whatever the hell I pleased like back when I used to watch different shows that weren't Gintama. Man, I've been watching this show for a long time. No wonder why I'm so attached to it.

As much as I love binging shows. Man, it's tiring. I finished this in less than a single day. Before you come to any conclusions. No, it wasn't as easy as it sounds.

After a long while, I decided to watch anime during the day. I'm mostly a nocturnal anime enjoyer. Watching something before I head to sleep well past midnight. This time, I simply couldn't resist the urge. I finished the previous season of Gintama the night before and I didn't want to wait till nighttime to continue. Good thing I had this downloaded locally. My router would have cried if I hadn't.

The weather played a huge part in making the mood as well. It was pouring outside. It was still noon but the sun was nowhere to be seen. Creating a perfect mixture of laziness and comfort. Without knowing what to expect, I played the first episode.

When I shut the laptop down, it was after a good couple of hours and I was one episode away from finishing a whole new arc. It was the Kintama arc. Ngl, it was amazing. An all-out war in Kabuki! How is that not interesting? On top of that, just thinking about what went through the producer's mind when they decided to make one OP and two EDs just for the four-episode arc is mind-boggling. If they were low quality and bad it wouldn't have been that surprising. But they were absurdly good too.

Later that night at around 8, I felt my body craving more Gintama. Most of all, I wanted to see Kintama arc's finale. The reason why I stopped watching wasn't that I felt bored or tired. I was forced to take a call I couldn't ignore. Making sure to free myself from everything I had to do that night. I sat down and started watching.

After finishing the rest of the Kintama arc which was only a single episode. I expected the rest of the 13-episode season to be plain old Gintama with their usual antics. Well... like hell it did. Right after a full-on serious arc. We're given another.

After finishing the first episode of the Courtesan's arc. My resolve was set. I was dead set on finishing this arc too. I mean, the Yorozuya literally raiding the Shogunate's palace. WTF!!

If someone told me that I would live to see three absolute blasts of arcs back to back. I wouldn't have believed them. Gintama is great. But that's too demanding of a feat even for Sorachi. Guess who was wrong again? How in God's name am I supposed to stop watching when we're finally given an insight into the past of the Shimura family's dojo? I did not want to miss it! By then my resolve was clear as day. I was finishing the whole season then and there no matter what.

Still, as much as I enjoyed it. Watching that many episodes in a single day do take its toll. After I finished everything I felt soo tired. It felt as if I just came home from a good cycling session. My mind was exhausted.

In the end, totally set a new record. A whole season in a single day.

This season had a rough start. The visuals were absolutely fantastic. There's no doubt about that. But of all the 150 episodes I've watched. The first ten episodes of this were the worst. They honestly felt disappointing. It feels even weird to tell that. I mean, we're talking about Gintama here. How CAN it be bad? They were wayy too fast-paced for my liking. It was as if the story didn't know what to do, so it just ran as fast as it could. Most of the jokes went right over my head.

The main issue was that they sucked at buildup. Because the buildup sucked, the payoffs didn't work either. The payoffs themselves weren't bad. They were as Gintama as ever. But everything leading up to them was so so bad.

There were even a couple of episodes where it felt as if Gintama's charm had been broken. But it didn't take long for the show to pick itself back up. In the end, it took around 20 eps for the show to grow on me.

Sometimes you just gotta appreciate how much work has been put into Gintama. In Gintoki's scandal arc, the staff literally remade a whole scene in the OP to reflect a single 2ep arc. That's so much work for just two freaking episodes. The changes weren't even obvious. Anyone who didn't pay attention would easily miss it. I'm referring to Hasegawa's appearance on the OP because he's one of Gintoki's supposed partners on his night out drinking. Small details like this just make me love the show even more.

There are certainly some things different from the first season but they didn't veer too much off of the essence of Gintama. I'm more than three months in and I still love everything about this show.

Oh, and how could I forget...
Jugem Jugem Shit-Tossing of Shin-chan’s Two-Day-Old Underwear of Shinpachi’s Life Balmung Fezalion Issac Schneider 1/3 Pure Love 2/3 Hangnail Anxiety Betrayal Knows My Name Or Does It Really Ignore Calls Squid Dogfish Halibut Trout-Cod Dogfish... This Is A Different Dogfish, I’m Talking About The Dogfish Shark Kaluga Angler Ray Yuuteimiyaoukimukou Pepepepepepepepepepepepe Runny Diarrhea.

Wasn't that something...

When I watched Bakemonogatari, my mind always converged on one single thing. Boredom. The show just didn't click with me. All the ecchi-like scenes. The girls. Everything felt out of place. More like the show wasn't made for me.

The story wasn't at all interesting. Yes, it had its strong parts, like the comedy. But it was in no way special. The story didn't captivate me. It didn't grab me. I wasn't invested in it or its characters. I did like the relationship between Araragi and Senjougahara, at least to a certain degree. But come on, she's a freaking psychopath. She scares me! How the hell am I supposed to root for a relationship like that? This block I have with connecting with the couple isn't really a fault of the show. It's more of an inability from my side based on my biases. Even if I can't really blame the show for it, this was the only thing I at least liked about the whole plot.

Then there are the characters. Ahhh, to me they felt like empty husks. Really, just husks. They didn't feel real at all. I think the story was trying so hard to be meta that it failed at everything else. I did appreciate the time when Senjougahara broke the fourth wall talking about voice actors. But that's about it. All those kanji just flying around wasn't at all entertaining. It was honestly boring. I'm not against the whole tell not show theme of Monogatari but come on, just spouting exposition without a story to tie them together is just a bunch of meaningless facts.

I was literally ready to call it quits right after I finished Bake. I hadn't watched a show this bad and I didn't want to experience any of it ever again either. If I hadn't been convinced so many times about how the show got wilder as it goes, I would've never watched Kizu.

Speaking of Kizu... This three-movie trilogy is comparable to some of the best titles I've ever watched. I'm not even exaggerating here. If you were to chart my enjoyment between Kizu and Bake it would be like day and night. Okay, it did have its fair share of fanfare. I mean, it had a lot of fanfare. But it's impossible to undermine everything else around it. Unlike Fate's UBW which does a lot of things right but nothing great. Kizu similarly does a lot of things and does them so well, that they're noticeable outright.

One of the most unique things about Kizu is its vibe. I'm really happy it didn't go down the weird abstract route of Bake nor the fantasy route of UBW. It was on a pedestal of its own. Especially with that godly soundtrack. I love the whole jazziness and the epicness it brings to the table. If you listened to the soundtrack in isolation without knowing anything about Kizu, you wouldn't even imagine it's what's played behind flying vampires fighting for body parts! It simply elevates everything even within each scene. The music makes the show feel more like a fight between morality and the rules governing ethics. As if it's a grand once-in-a-lifetime showdown.

If there's anything bad to say about the trio. It's their utilisation of CGI. Oh god wasn't it bad. When the show looks good it looks pretty good, not great but pretty good. But when it's bad, it's really really bad.

The fuck even was this... It's like a weird mixture of Samurai Champloo and Hellsing. But in the end, I was pretty disappointed.

Animation was one of the biggest problems for me. It was certainly unique, with its cel-shaded style and heavy use of shadows, but it just wasn't pleasing to the eye. The characters were often stiff and angular, and the action scenes were choppy and hard to follow. There were some action scenes where I didn't understand what was happening until all of the action ended.

The story was also a letdown. It was basically a revenge story, but it was so predictable and boring that I couldn't bring myself to care about the characters or their motivations. The ending was particularly unsatisfying, and it felt like the show was just wrapping things up without any real thought or care. The characters were the one saving grace of Afro Samurai. They were all interesting and somewhat cool with the sci-fi elements. The music was... well, music, I suppose. Definitely not something I would listen to again.

I think my biggest problem was with the execution. The concept was cool, with a mix of high-tech and traditional Japanese elements, but it just wasn't executed well. I never really felt connected to the story. Everything just didn't feel right, as if they all worked alone in their own echo chambers, but when put together, it just created an ugly mess.

If you asked me to summarize what I felt about this show. I would say something along the lines of...

Sometimes you might feel like you're dealt the worst cards in a pack. Even then, to think you can't enjoy the game without ever winning is foolish.

I've often felt like I've been at a disadvantage with everything. I have less than average memory skills. I've never had any sporting abilities. I used to be the guy who always got picked on at school. Nothing seemed to go my way. At least, that's what I wanted to believe.

There's this comfort in being sad. To be in a state of gloom has a certain satisfaction to it. I used to adore it. Like a poisonous fruit, you can't stop eating. Though I knew of the dangers, I envied the taste more. This love for being sad is like a self-sustaining loop. Like, ouroboros eating their own tail for eternity. I wanted to be sad for eternity. I wanted to feel something. If misery was what was available, I wanted to drown in it.

One of the most common thoughts I had back then was. "What would I feel if I got told I would die today?". In a way, I felt nothing about it. I didn't feel any ties at all to my family. I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere. It was as if I was a creature born to this world with no roots or relations to call home. Further, I 'wanted' to be like that. I didn't want anything to tie me down. I was scared of it. At the time, death looked to me like what candy would look like to a child.

Is it worth it? I would ask myself again and again. To not feel anything. Was it a worthy price to pay for the cards I was dealt? For most of my life, my answer would have been yes. It most definitely is worth not feeling anything when the alternative is misery. Who would want pain? But then again. If you numb yourself from the sadness you feel when you lose something. Would you not lose the joy you feel when you get it, in return.

It's not often that I watch the first entry of a show and then proceed to continue with it. There are so many shows I've simply started then left their sequels hanging. One reason is I don't want to get heartbroken after finding out there isn't any sequel after a cliffhanger. I detest it. The other is, that I'm simply not interested in continuing. Hell, I've got a whole list dedicated to shows like this. Then there are shows like 86. They've got action, they've got drama. There's even a taste of tragedy. With great animation to top it all off. This is the perfect combination for a brain off show that's extremely enjoyable. What more could I ask for? A coherent and realistic plot? Oh, be real. Brain off and coherent plots are mutually exclusive. It's extremely rare to find titles that master both. Any show that does both has to be a literal classic. Looking at you AOT.

I don't think I have enough fingers to count the number of things this season does better than the first. In the visual department, season 2 is literally a far cry from the first. Even though the art style of the first was pretty good its animation felt cheap. It had a lot, I mean a lot of crappy CGI shots. This season, however, not only was the art style improved, the animation was soo much better. Even though CGI shots aren't completely absent. I think the studio understood what they can do and what they can't do and then focused on the former.

Then there's the cinematography or whatever equivalent of it in animation. I've noticed that anime as a medium doesn't really give this side of the equation priority. Considering how hard it would be to draw in 3D this is quite understandable. 86 honestly aces this. Its camera positions and scene composition puts all others to shame. Hell, this could even hold straight in a one-on-one against Fate UBW for crying out loud. And you don't call that Unlimited Budget Works for no reason.

Now to the meat of what I thought was unique and great about 86. It's heavy, I mean really really heavy, use of a certain type of visual imagery. The abstract kind.

Rather than explaining a certain plot line or basically giving out exposition through conversations, the show tries to do it visually as much as possible. There are times when a scene conveys so much but not a single word is uttered. I've always found myself thinking about watching shows, what if they only *showed* rather than explicitly telling us. Let's face it. Listening to characters talking about outright obvious things is boring. 86 nails this. The show uses the fact that it's an anime and not bound to reality to the fullest degree. Most of the emotionally packed scenes are simply without dialogue. It's like we're on a journey. Rather than holding our hand at every step, we're only pointed towards our destination while leaving the rest for us to figure out.

Okay, I'm not gonna hide the fact that this show is at times.. dumb. That's just how it is. You're dealing with a dystopian world, aren't you? Plus this is sort of a shonen so you can't really expect deep characters. Still, for what it's worth. The show managed to do really good in so many different things than one. I'd say the main difference between Fate UBW and this is in storytelling. Fate was visually beautiful, just like 86. Fate's characters were memorable, just like 86. However, Fate's story was plain boring and didn't have a good depth or hook to it. 86 on the other hand has so much more going for it. Ahhh, I can't even wait for the next season.

Not bad. Not bad indeed. Quite the wholesome experience.

Let me first clear it out, I don't like musicals. I don't like musical movies and the same applies to anime. If however, the musical aspect is deeply intertwined with the story's drama like what Your Lie in April pulled off, I would be head over heels. But if there isn't a good story to back up the musical aspect, I simply lose interest. Reference; K-ON. I need an interesting overarching story to keep myself attached. Having good music on top of that is sort of like a bonus. Tbh, I find them repulsive because strip the musical aspect out and you don't really have a lot left. Kongming sure had a lot left.

This is exactly what Ya Boy Kongming was. A somewhat good story on top of some good tunes. I won't call the story great. It was okay at best and somewhat stagnant at worst. Or rather, the story wasn't really trying to be huge. Yes Eiko's dreams were grandiose personificated. But the story itself didn't take that and make it into a big deal. This is primarily fueled by how overpowered our boy Kongming is. That motherfucker can get you through anything. Tell him to find you a million dollars by 7 tonight and that son of a gun would do it. He's like a geine in a bottle. This didn't do well for the show's suspense and tension. Because once you know you always have a trump card up your sleeve. That struggle just vanishes.

This was an enjoyable show. The story had its lightheartedness that I didn't really vibe with. But it was fun and that's all I ask from this kind of show. Oh, and before I forget, that OP and Underworld slap hard.

That last episode was beautiful. It has to be one of the best I've seen in a long time. It even brought me to tears. The show took all of the relationships that the story had painstakingly crafted and just let them be themselves.

The show is still plagued by the major shortcomings of the manga, primarily how underdeveloped Shidehiko Hishigata is. This was the reason why I didn't like the manga's ending, and the anime is pretty much a carbon copy, so my thoughts persist. Near the end, he goes from being such a multifaceted character built up from episode 1 to one of those generic I want to destroy the world kinda antagonists in only two or three episodes.

What's great about Summertime Rendering is that's about the only terrible thing I can say about it. The opening and ending themes were sleeper hits. I didn't expect them to be as good as they were, especially the second opening. The first one felt more like it should have been the ending song, but whatever.

As I expected, I loved the character designs. The animation style was great, although I did dislike the rare glossy look it had. But it was few and far between to affect my experience by any margin. The speciality of Summertime's characters is that you can put them inside any dress, and you'll still be able to identify them, even if they're only a blip on your screen. For such a long story, it only has a few characters at the core of the story, and they are developed to the fullest. This is why it's so weird to see our primary antagonist, Shidehiko, turned into a flat, black-and-white villain. It's weird.

The story didn't have the punch I expected, mainly because I already knew what was going to happen. This is literally the first show I finished where I had already finished reading the manga. So obviously, I knew what would happen. Even though it's been, what, two years since I've read this, it never really left my mind. It's not like I minded, hell, this deserved to be in there.

Rewatched on 2025-06-04 in one sitting with James and Vik

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A truly binge-worthy show. That is as easy to forget as it is to watch.

This sure is a show to remember. Not for its story but for those damn visuals. Like, Akudama Drive before it, the main strong point of the show was its aesthetics. Personally, I liked Akidama more simply because of the neon colour palette and the breathtaking environment design but Fate took fight choreography to a whole other level. The good number of close combat fights give enough proof of that.

No matter how you look at it. The production quality of Fate is top-notch. It's hard to find a show that ticks so many boxes. The visuals were amazingly done. The fights were a treat to look at. The characters were pretty interesting. The mystery behind the grail was fun. Then there's the freaking music. What makes a good soundtrack isn't just the soundtrack itself. You can have a really good track but if it isn't mixed in well it just simply fades into irrelevance. Fate simply nailed that part. Though, the tracks aren't especially memorable. They were done extremely well. See this is a point I seem to be hitting no matter what I talk about. The show does so many things well. But it just doesn't seem to do anything superbly. The music was good and well done. But not something I'd listen to out of context. The characters were interesting but I doubt I'd ever find them relatable. The animations were superbly good but not enough to etch into my mind. Even the scenes damn it. The cuts and transitions of this show were better than anything I've ever seen. Even then... The show doesn't feel special. Like something is... missing.

I think this emptiness I feel about the show is a creation of my own. I simply find it incredibly difficult to take fantasy seriously. Unless I'm dealing with the so-called, hard fiction genre, it's almost impossible for me to connect with the characters deeply. It's just that I don't know enough about the world to believe in the fate of its characters. I don't know if the dead stay dead or if they supposedly come back to life in the next episode (looking at you archer). This uncertainty stops me from getting emotionally attached to any of the characters. Fate/stay night is a prime example of a really good show caught in the crossfire of this internal conflict.

The difference between Fate and the fantasy world of Mother of Learning is how much reinforcement is given to the logic of the world. Basically worldbuilding. MoL's magic system felt real. I knew the rules and limits of the world. I had a reassurance that it was impossible to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Like everything was built upon a solid foundation where every cause and consequence was clearly defined. If this is not the case like in Fate, it's hard for me to care when things just happen out of nowhere. You could say it's worth the plot twist. But to me, it totally isn't worth the sacrifice. I've already lost my suspension of disbelief.

No matter how empty I think the show is. There's no way I can refute the fact that I finished both UBW seasons each in under a single day. Even I'm surprised. This goes to show how good the show really is even if I can't connect with it.

That was.... interesting. I don't know why but this show felt like it was on the same level as NHK. A very grounded story said using abstract concepts. Although Sonny Boy is at the epitome of weirdness.

First of all, I adore this art style. That's the primary reason why I picked this show up in the first place.

The show felt like an anecdote to change. That people can change. Your change might not be recognized by anyone. It might not even be on anyone's radar. But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Because you're there to witness it. Even if the whole world's blind to it. You aren't. And thinking your witness isn't worth it isn't going to take you anywhere. There's nowhere to go if you run away. You can only run forward.

If you told me to summarize the show.

Things just happen.
We can't control the world. We're mere observers. We can only control the little path we make for ourselves. So hating ourselves and being numb towards the world isn't going to solve anything. It's only going to make you more miserable.

That last ep sure was something. Not many stories take that path. It wasn't a victory. It wasn't even a tie. It showed the crudeness of reality. That the world... doesn't really revolve around us. So what do we do facing that meaningless? Live so you don't regret it with the smile. What a last scene that was.

I think I'm in love. That was... AMAZING. From the animation to the music to the story. Exactly my type. And the ending too, it was hilarious.

Ahhhh, this is what I call a perfect first episode

-----

That hit wayyy too close to home. This is the second time I'm watching this first episode and I've laughed and cried both times. This time, I'm continuing further!

-----

This has to be one of the most mature shows I've ever watched. Most of the seinen stuff out there just feels a little bit too edgy to ever be taken as life advice. This right here feels real in just the right way.

-----

There's something about this show that resonates deeply within me, touching the very core of my being. Our protagonist, Handa, possesses a level of relatability that few characters across any medium have ever achieved. While many claim to find characters relatable, I often find myself disconnected from their experiences. Yet, Handa is different. His values, his conformity—they all mirror different facets of my own identity. Even his narcissistic tendencies strike a familiar chord within me, leaving me wondering if I'm one myself.

One aspect I've come to despise is the act of dreaming. And I don't mean the kind that occurs when your head rests on a pillow. I'm referring to the aspirations we hold for the future. I find it difficult to derive solace from envisioning a reality that does not yet exist or may never come to pass. The disparity between thinking about the future and being present is striking. The future, by nature, is laden with complexity. We continually yearn to transcend our current circumstances, forever fixated on what lies ahead. Our imaginations soar, contemplating the boundless potential of where we could be.

However, there is also a profound beauty in living in the present. While the future may appear enticing with its endless possibilities, there is a certain peace and contentment to be found in embracing the now. It is in those moments when we truly immerse ourselves in the present that we discover the depth of our existence. When I see someone joyfully engaged in the present, uninhibited by thoughts of what lies ahead, it has a profound influence on me. These instances, where spontaneity and genuine enjoyment take precedence over future aspirations, are the ones that truly matter.

Handa's final words to Naru, "When I see you having fun with no thought for anything else, it has an influence on me too. These are the moments that are important for me," encapsulate the essence of cherishing the present. In his journey, Handa may have battled with his own narcissism and grappled with the allure of a future filled with grand aspirations. However, in the end, he recognized the significance of living in the moment and finding happiness in the simple joys of life. It is a reminder that while dreams and aspirations can inspire us, it is the present experiences and connections that truly shape our existence. Handa's realization serves as a poignant reminder to embrace the present, for it is in these fleeting moments that we find true fulfilment.

With each episode's end, I was hit with a surge of emotions. They weren't exactly directed towards the show per se. More so towards myself. The show constantly reminded me of my childhood. In a way, the show took me on a nostalgia trip. The characters just felt so 'real'. The conflicts felt real. Character motivations felt real. Even the events themselves. Nothing felt forced or 'for the plot'.

Usually, I'm not one to watch completely down to earth shows. Most of the shows I enjoy usually have a hook to them. Take After the rain's portrayal of dreams and reality or Hibike's dive into perfectionism. I always have a knack for a bit of drama or an underlying conflict. Usagi however, did not have such a big hook in it. Yes, it did have quite a several conflicts, but they were more episodic than grandiose. Even then, I loved watching the show. Throughout runtime it made me think about my childhood a bit more. Even though my family always reminds me of it, for better or worse, I haven't really put any effort by my own accord to delve into my past.

When I was a kid. I used to be one tough nut. If the accounts of my family members are to be believed, which I sure do, I was arrogant through and through. So, they had a pretty hard time dealing with me. The scar that goes right through the centre of my right eyebrow is enough proof in and of itself. If anyone compared my lifestyle and attitudes now to my younger, cockier me, they'd certainly conclude that we're distinctly two people. This is why I found that I related a lot to Daikichi. Even though, the age gap I share with Daikichi is much much higher than that of Rin. This is also why I don't go into my past often. It's like looking at a different me. A me, that I'm not sure I know even. So, everything just feels foreign. Memory sure is an enigma. When a few go missing here and there but older more prevalent one's don't. Understanding how you came to be the person you are today turns into an absolute detective show.

Rewatched 2024/08/27

For the first time. I let my mom pick which anime she wanted to watch. All this time, I specifically picked and chose what to show her. This time tho, I just told her that there's this extremely popular Japanese anime studio named Studio Ghibli that makes Disneyesque movies (my only exp with them was cat returns, okay..). Then I showed her their Anilist page sorted by popularity and told her to choose one. And that's how we ended up with this.

The ending sequence of the movie is simply phenomenal. Well, the whole movie was phenomenal but that ending carried a lot more weight than some 12 ep anime's I've watched. I simply couldn't hold back my tears to it. In a way, it was like a photobook. You keep them to remind you of the people who are close to you. Or the people who 'were' close to you. Those minimal scenes of Setsuko just goofing around carried quite the punch. It was like a memory that isn't worth forgetting but one that will be forgotten nonetheless. This is a theme the movie reminded me a lot about. Even though how playful their life was. In the end. They were simply forgotten. That's why the scene in the opening sequence really struck me after I finished the movie. The station cleaner threw away that carton without a care in the world. Without knowing who's ash it contained. Without a single clue about the person, it belonged to. It still saddens me to even think about it. Man, that's so tragic.

This is why I couldn't help crying at the end. Even in the presence of mom. I couldn't hold back. I tried my very best to keep my composure to no avail. I gave up my attempt at keeping my pride intact and just let my emotions have control over me. They simply couldn't be bottled up. And like a balloon popping after blowing it up too much. I let it all out. My eyes kept watering and watering.

Honestly, I didn't expect this at all. There was a reason why I told my mom that Studio Ghibli's movies were Disneyesque. My only experience with them was with The Cat Returns. Grave of the Fireflies is a far cry to that. On top of that, when I first saw its release year. 1988. I was like: Awww, is this one of those old-timers? So, in a way. I was fully hoping to see a children's movie. In the end. My expectations were literally bombed into oblivion.

This was just the thing I needed. This evening I went to see that Chinese Marvel film. I don't even remember its name. I just called it the Xi Jinping movie. I was in all meanings of the word disappointed by it. The concepts themselves weren't bad. I really liked the 10 rings. I think it's cool. The way it's used for propulsion. The way it handles as a weapon. Everything. It was as interesting as Dr Strange's magic system. Which is my favourite part of the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, the movie was also inspired by Chinese fantasy. Which meant a lot of flying around as if Earth had the same gravity as the Moon, kinda scenes. If I hadn't gone to the cinema with a couple of friends. I wouldn't have been able to stand it at all. Plus the beers we smuggled in helped a lot too. I mean, we were the only ones at the cinema. Just nine people. Not a soul was there except for us. And the cinema has like 200+ seats. So, in a way, we owned the place. I bet they lost money just screening it to us. The electricity alone for the A/C and projector must cost a lot more than just nine tickets, right?

Anyways, coming home from that whole debacle. This was one hell of a watch. In a way, it shattered some preconceptions I held about Japan too. Until now, I thought Japan was a country where the people had an extreme sense of commune. I'm from a country where 'community' is considered a pinnacle of society. So, I know what it means to be extremely social. It's only now that I realise how mistaken I was. Japan didn't become the pacifist nation they are known for now through just social evolution alone. It's built on top of an extremely cruel and brutal past.

My mom told me about this article she had read just after finishing the movie. After the Second World War, a census had revealed that there were more than 125,000 orphans in the country. But all the orphanages in the country combined could only handle around 12,000 kids. Just let that sink in for a bit. The movie is truly a look into the reality of that discrepancy.

For some reason, it feels like I'm gonna forget this show faster than usual. Idk, it's just a feeling.

Usually when we're watching a piece of media. There's a certain structure we expect. A format that almost all modern media follow to be best of their abilities. First, there's the introductory stage. You get introduced to the cast and the world. There's some exposition sprinkled here and there. You're fed as much information as possible. Then there's the conflict loop. Which most of the time looks like something along the lines of;

Conflict buildup => High point => Payoff

First, there's a burning issue that has, is or will disrupt the natural state of things. Then the highpoint where the protag(s) actively involve themselves in that problem. Then end of the tunnel at the end. Now lay character development on top of this loop and you've got what we call character arcs. The characters may change for the better, or worse or even stay the same. The author may call the shots towards whichever side they fancied.

After all of that is the ending. The true ending or the grand payoff you could say. Or perhaps a rabbit hole if any sequels are planned. We're so used to seeing this formula in the content we watch that it's pretty much etched into the back of our minds. These days, we sort of expect shows to follow a loop like that. There might even be times when we're dissatisfied when shows do things that are way out of the box.

NHK is one like a black sheep. Most of the time it stuck to the formula. But there were times when it felt like the show was testing foreign waters. Trying to experiment. The ending sure was one of these. Unlike almost every show I've ever watched. The ending of NHK felt... real. Real as in; that's how it would've ended if the story took place for real. The ending wasn't tragic. Nor was it blooms and butterflies. It was in all senses of the word, neutral.

In the end, even after so many events, Sato as a character didn't change a lot. Just like real people, even if we experience unexpected or special events. They often change us but in really really small ways. Most often than not, we simply revert back to our old selves after the high runs out.

I'm happy the show didn't definitely tie a knot between our couple. Hell, it's an overstatement to even call them a couple. But that's how life is I guess. Nothing really happens the way you want it to. Things just flow. And sometimes it flows in directions you yourself are satisfied in and sometimes not. It's hard to predict anything. I think that's what the show was going for. Without going down that path, that emptiness you feel, won't be there, would it?

When I watched this, this show felt like it was calling me out. Like it was revealing things I knew but wasn't ready to accept. Life doesn't always work the way you want it to. Just like how our couple just lives on. Things don't happen out of anything and expecting others to do something for us isn't gonna lead us anywhere. If we want to move forward. That's on us.

This is why I honestly loved the show. It didn't try to feed us with a sense of satisfaction just because the show was coming to a close. It held on up until the very end. Never trying to shy away from what it was trying to say. This in all its glory managed to hit me hard. The show was depressing. Not in the usual tragic way though. It was more like; so that's how life is like huh, kind of depressions. Honestly, I'm surpri...
Sur....
Puru Puru Pururin.... Puru Puru...

I'm already feeling the edges of my mind slipping away...
It's only a matter of time... Till I... Till.. I... Puru Puru....

Finally! After 10 months and 11 days of sitting idly, I finally built up the confidence to watch this. All this time, I just didn't feel like giving it a go. It wasn't because of a lack of interest either. It's more... of the opposite actually. I was afraid I won't be able to enjoy this to the fullest if I watched it right now. I was too excited to watch it. Thus a deep-rooted anxiety manifested inside of me. Now that I've watched it, I'm not surprised. I was right to think this wasn't your average movie. It made me cry twice. It's not like I shed tears for everything I watch, especially movies.

I found the anime through youtube. I saw a clip of a guy (Kousuke) who was in a hitting stance with a baseball bat in his hands. He was waiting for a ball to be thrown from the direction of the camera. Out of nowhere, a basketball entered the scene from the right and hits our guy. He's thrown to the ground by its impact.

From the very first moment, I saw that clip. I knew this was a must-watch. Especially because of the way the characters moved and the nuance the animation had. It just felt so... smooth to me. Most anime don't really go through the gritty process of animating the random movements humans make. We often randomly move our hands when we feel like it. We change the position we sit in every couple of minutes. Our movements aren't perfectly calculated. They're filled with chaos. This movie tries very hard to recreate those motions.

Most of the shows out there look too smooth to be human. I'm not saying it's in any way bad. On the contrary actually. I at times enjoy the graceful and efficient gestures and movements characters make in anime. It's something that's uniquely bound to this medium. You don't really see it anywhere else. However, I do appreciate shows that go the extra mile. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is such a movie, so I can't help but appreciate it.

I've got this allure for old anime characters. I'm not talking about the way they're written or the way they act. I'm referring to their character design. Their face, their body etc. Compared to modern anime characters. I just like the old style better. I'm not saying I like all of the old design types. For example, I hated the character designs of Haruhi. And that can be considered old... right? Relatively at least. What I'm talking about is the design this movie shares with shows like Lain. With oval-shaped faces and whatnot. I don't know how to explain it exactly okay... I'm not an artist. I just like it and I don't know why. Period.

One thing I loved especially about it is how it handled memory. It was literally an integral part of the whole story. I haven't really seen many shows that went this deep into how memory literally shapes our reality and the way we see the world. It reminded me of memento. Man that was a good film.

Back when I was a kid. I had a keen interest in relativism. Okay, I didn't know shit about philosophy back then. But, I always asked myself if how I see the world is how others see the world as well.

What if the way I perceived emotions and my environment different to that of others? If yes, then how do I even explain what I feel to anyone other than myself? For example a question I had that made my head go numb back then was; How do you explain a headache? What if the feeling and intensity of pain felt by me isn't really how others feel it? Okay okay, I know those are pretty simple questions but hey, I was a kid.

As such, those primitive seedlings of relativism really facinated me. Watching the show reminded me of them again. It was nostalgic in a way. Mainly because I've stopped asking questions like that. For the most part at least. Because I'm less confused about it now compared to then. So in a way, I miss my childhood curiosity.

For as long as I've known about virtual reality and stuff. A huge fear of mine is if we could copy our brains to a digital format, would it be a copy of me and not me me. Like, it would mean that one me, the original, would have to die or be killed. While the other me, the copy, although it's identical to the original is still just a copy. In a way it scared me. It's that eerie vibe you get when you finally find out Hugh Jackman's trick behind his vanishing act in the prestige. This show even delves into that kind kind of stuff.

If I were to talk about the stuff that this show reminded me of its gonna take forever. I can't believe the writer managed to put this much in. I mean, yeah, that is one of the reasons why it's so confusing. It just fluds you brain. In a way I felt that the show sacrificed viewer reach and understanding ease in favour of philosophical ideas. I don't know if I wonna be happy about that or not. Like, I'm happy this show reminded me of so many things while I'm not happy that the show isn't what I'd categorize as entertainment. Because I'm not gonna lie, the show was boring and I didn't really enjoy it per se. I enjoyed the ideas it made me rethink and realize but not the show itself.

The first arc of the show was amazing. Spanning the first 6 eps. Its payoff especially was simply incredible. Unfortunately, the show never managed to reach those highs ever again, and that's disappointing.

Ohh the time loop arc... It was the literal definition of a soul-sucking experience. 8 straight eps of the same thing happening. Again and again and again. The same dialogue. The same actions. The same scenes. The only difference being the camera angles. It was pain. Okay, the first 2-3 eps. I appreciate how they showed it through different perspectives and camera angles. However, even if one aspect of it changed, doesn't mean it didn't stop other aspects from being less repetitive. So by around the 4th ep, it was boring as hell. It's like we were looking through the eyes of Yuki. Watching the same set of circumstances unfold again and again. This made me feel her pain, in a way. I was in the same position as she was. Trapped in a loop. No way to stop nor change it. Restricted to simply be an observer.

I liked the mystery island arc a wee bit. Especially its concluding episode. Would you believe it if I said I jumped around laughing in my room? Maybe not. The Ace Attorney references were one of a kind. That was classy. Really well done.

When it came to the mystery tho... It just wasn't strong. Someway or the other, from the beginning, I had a feeling the man of the mansion was faking it. Either because the butler didn't let Harumi check for his pulse or because it's related to our esper boy. An event like this occurring next to someone with such close ties to a certain 'organization', just didn't feel right to me.

Honestly, I expected more from the whole show. I wanted it to be like those first 6 eps. I wished for it honestly. Instead what I got was a delusionary girl whose absurd wishes came true. A true fantasy of a person who wants to be God. I don't enjoy watching selfish people. It was just... so hard at times. If I ever find myself to be in Mr Nice Guy's shoes. I'd be like, fuck it, let the world end. It's better to not exist than to live in a world where you're only but a slave to God.

1st rewatch 2021-10-09 (with mom)

That was... beautiful. Even though it's short. I mean extremely short. I couldn't stop crying after watching it. This honestly rivals the emotions I went through in the last eps of Violet Evergarden. That's how good this is. I love the characters as well. They're so, likable. And man, didn't I connect with the Gin and Hotaru. I can't believe, I just said the two names from the top of my head. Recently I've had a ton of trouble remembering character names. Being able to remember them in itself is proof of how good this thing is.

Truly one of the pieces of media I've ever watched. Period.

The plot is so simple. There isn't any spicy character development nor extravagant world building. Its focus is really specific, yet. I can't help but feel satisfied by it. Yes, i have a certain soft spot for romantic tragedy. But this movie. It managed to tick every box in my list.

It's characters are expressive. They aren't overly exaggerated. The scenes are wonderful. Loved the simple art style. And most of all. That ending man. From the start of the movie. I knew it'd somehow or the other lead to a tragic ending when Gin would be touched. But man, didn't it hit me hard. It's like. Endings don't have to be complex or surprising for me to be satisfied with it. It just has to have good closure. No matter how I look at it. I just can't. I can't find any possible way it could've been improved.

This is why I think the story is perfect. It's a bite sized package with the power to make you cry for half an hour straight.

When I thought, this couldn't get any better, episode 5 dropped... Then when I thought, an anime about kids doing funny stuff couldn't make me cry, episode 6 drops...

Oh man, have you ever stumbled upon a show that just hits differently? Something that's so perfect, it feels like it was made specifically for you. That's exactly how I feel about Hinamatsuri. I mean, I've always had a thing for comedy, but this show takes it to a whole new level. It's like the writers knew exactly what would tickle my funny bone.

But Hinamatsuri is more than just comedy gold. It's a rollercoaster of emotions that'll leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. And let's be real here, if a show can make me cry, it's an instant winner in my book. Hinamatsuri had me reaching for the tissues more times than I'd care to admit. But the thing is, it's not like those tearjerkers that leave you feeling like a hot mess for days. Looking at you Edgerunners. This show manages to pick you back up and give you a big ol' hug before the credits roll. It's like Gintama in that sense.

I don't know man, there's just something about Hinamatsuri that's so damn special. It's the perfect blend of comedy and heart, and it just hits all the right notes. So if you're looking for a show that'll make you laugh, cry, and feel all warm and fuzzy inside, Hinamatsuri is definitely the one to watch. Trust me, you won't regret it.

Guess this show is what pure masculinity looks like.

When I first saw that nudity tag in this. I was like; Well it is a diving show, so maybe diving shots? Man, wasn't I wrong? For better or worse, I'm so glad I was. This show's way better than I ever hoped it would be.

Hell, I added this to my planning list after seeing a clip of a scene where a dude got offered water then he lit a lighter next to it and it caught fire. It was absolutely hilarious and I simply couldn't pass it on. But I expected this to be more of a story based show with drama mixed in and comedy being a way to spice things up. But nooo. This show is pure comedy. Everything else was second. And I love it for that. It just felt unbound. Like, the creators just did what they felt like without holding much back. I really appreciate the lengths this show went to. I mean, naked drinking parties aren't really the norm, right?

Plus not to mention the fan service. Normally, I really don't like fan service. It just feels like it's there to calm the mood or something. As if it's there to just satisfy our lustful desires rather than progress with the story. I'm not saying Grand Blue doesn't do this. But damn they do it well. I don't mean well in an ecchi kind of well. I mean well in how deeply the fan service gets integrated with the comedy. There's never a service that goes without reason. The show always milks them out for a joke or even a meta commentary.

I'm just breathless. It's like this show was specifically made for my tastes. Yea the animation sorta sucked and the characters didn't have any depth. I mean you could simply explain each character in one line. And the funny thing is. The show literally did that when they introduced the characters. I love how it didn't try to complicate things. It just gave us some characters. Then told us their qualities and just threw their hands up. But who gives a crap about depth when you could define a character arc by how many pieces of cloth they're wearing at the end of it. Man this show's nostalgic.

Even I'm amazed school was this chaotic. Oh well, guess that's how it is when you put a bunch of guys in the same class for 7 years straight.

It's been three months since I've watched an anime and wasn't this a good depute. Yeah it had it's, beauty and the beast -esque moments. But damn, that was good.




The movie really sucked at continuity. Sometimes things happened out of nowhere and I'm here scratching my head trying to piece together what the hell happened.

At around the one hour mark, I was like. Hm, good movie. It seems like a reimagined Disney movie doesn't it.

Then the two hour mark hits and I'm here sitting at the edge of my seat. I love what the movie was getting at. It was wayy more than a Disney knockoff. It's a story that can stand on it's own two feet.




Watching this reminded me of my parents. When I was a kid I used to love doing things in secret. It had a certain kick to it. I'm not talking about any mischievous stuff. Just plain old things, like starting to love a new sport. More often than not, I'd never tell my parent about it. It's not that I didn't trust them either. I simply didn't want them to worry too much about me.

As much as I tried to keep what I loved hidden. As time went on. I got to know that my parents knew nearly everything about my secret adventures. They pretend to not know just to let me enjoy my freedom.

With time I started to grow more and more confident in myself. I started to let my feelings and desires color the clothes I wore, rather than trying to hide them under a cloak. It's this kind of maturity Suzu went through when she decided to show her real self. Rather than hiding behind a mask. She exposed all her feelings.

Guess Suzu and I share some things in common huh. Except for the singing part. I suck at it.


After more than half a year after watching it I just found out that the main girl of Beauty and the Beast's name is Belle. Mind blown.

When I started watching this show. My mind was all over the place. I was wondering what the hell the show was even trying to do. From its hallucinogenic art style to its blazing fast dialogue. My senses were filled to the brim. Hell, from start to finish of the whole show's run time my fingers were always on the pause and rewind keys. I always had to go back or pause to really get what the characters were saying. Adding to that the almost never-ending exposition took me a while to get used to. For that though, I'm grateful. I'm happy that I continued to watch it till the end. This anime is like those experiences where at you don't really know why you're even there to begin with but you still don't leave.

Ever since I was a child. My parents have always told me one thing. Learn well and succeed in life. They showed me that the best way to achieve what they called happiness is through learning and having a good job. I being the naive child believed this without question. It was only when I entered my A/L that I began to see the inconsistencies with such hope. Like the unnamed protagonist. We all at one point in our life believe that life will be a rose-coloured garden. If it isn't today it will be tomorrow or the day after. Or maybe after I hit up on that dream job. Or when I finally have the funds to buy that car I've always wanted since I was a kid. We all hope that we'd be better off someday if we just have that one thing. It may be an object of material value. Or like our protagonist here. A raven-haired maiden as a lover.

However, when you end up not being able to achieve such a fate. You tend to fall into a deep void of dissatisfaction and depression. Starting to hate yourself for not being able to make what you hoped a reality. Even if that hope was unrealistic. You blame yourself. This soon spirals into an uncontrolled loop of regret. With you wishing you had just taken a different path. A different choice. This is what happens at the end of each episode of the series. He wished to go back in time and have done something differently. Everyone wishes this at some point. The ability to time travel. To clear a mistake. To redo an action that leads to regret in hopes of healing (haha, redo of healer).

This is where you have to think. Will changing past circumstances fix you? Will it really point you in another direction? Even if it takes you on a different path. Will that path is satisfying? This reminds me of this study I read about. It did an experiment with people who were of different levels when it came to economic stability and wealth. In it, there was this certain amount, after which, your emotional wellbeing and happiness didn't really increase even if the amount of wealth you had increased. Yes, having a low income is bad in all senses of it. We sort of have no choice, the world runs on money if we like it or not. But it really comes down to what you want in life, doesn't it?

Coming back to the plot. Say you do get what you wish for in life. Would you be happy then? Or will you still be unsatisfied? This is where the show really attracted me. Even if you do get something. Like, the countless lives Otaku Watashi finds himself breaking through. Even if you have a certain thing that others would only dream of, you won't really be happy unless you accept that a perfect life just doesn't exist. Trying to lead a perfect life is simply a disaster waiting to happen. It's more about your mindset. Expecting a perfect life only leaves you with dissatisfaction. It's like what egghead said to Underworld Watashi. Even if you can become the person who you dream of. To focus your gaze on that which is unrealistic and relying on possibilities of a person who you could have become simply leads you to unsatisfaction. Accepting who you are now and the life you have created for yourself is what matters to achieve what we would call satisfaction.

The anime really is about being happy with what you've got personified.

The line "There's nothing more boring than a successful love story" in the last episode really struck me. No matter, how much we look forward to one. When it's there. It really is boring. Without an opposite. It's basically nothing.

DO NOT READ THIS!! SHITTY GRAMMAR AND IDEOLOGY WARNING!! THIS IS ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE NEUROTIC BABBLINGS I DO

When it comes to hopes and dreams. It's really hard to accept the distance between possibility and impossibility. You wish for it to be in the realm of possibility. So that you can work hard and finally reach it. But not every dream can be attainable through effort. You may try your best but fail to reach it. You may invest countless hours of your time but in the end, it is time spent gaining the unattainable. Like Ouraborus infinitely looping to catch a tail that will forever be a step ahead. No matter how many steps forward you take. Giving up on a dream is okay. But living in regret for what you could not achieve. Even if it was unattainable from the start. People tend to blame themselves for what they cannot do.

It's hard to determine what's possible and what's not. Sometimes the difference between the two isn't something that can be seen through the naked eye. You need to experience it to find out. The even harder thing to figure out is the difference between a goal that you can achieve if you held on to it and goals that cannot be achieved no matter how long you hold on. A very fine line differentiates the two. But both require countless failures to be experienced to be identified.

When it comes to dreams in the realm of possibility. Should you influence another to follow such a dream as well? Looking back at a past failure they may feel a sense of fear. Making them defenceless in front of the walls that need to be claimed to make it a reality. It's really hard to decide if you should influence another person to climb such a path. Will it be the best for them? Could it be that they are happy the way they are? Will they forever regret not trying to fly even if their wings have been clipped? More importantly. How should you even look at it?

Say you're a sparrow who doesn't know how to fly. You tried very hard in the past to flap your wings as hard as possible to take flight. But to no avail. Should you keep trying? Should you keep flapping your wings until you emerge from the murky depths of the gravity that holds you? Or should you stay with the ground folk and get to know them? Accepting that flight is not for you. You may even enjoy having your feet be pulled by the forces beneath your feet that you may never conquer. Will you one day look up at the sky and regret the winds you could have flown with? You may never forget the day you decided to stay on the ground like a tattoo of regret. Etched into your skin to forever remind you of a string you never followed in the fabric of life. Or will you forget to look up at the sky? Growing more and more impassive of the hopes and dreams you used to harbour.

The show is about finding hope. Without hope. People take different parts to fill their place. Some like Tachibana try to fill it out with apathy while some like kondo tell themselves that this is for the better. No matter how try to down that void within. The regret still exists. Because losing hope isn't simply shit about losing a future. It's also about losing friends and anyone and anything that's connected to it. However, having a relenting hope it's detrimental too. Kondo's wife left him because he focused his attention more on it than on her. Simply having hope doesn't always cut it. Sometimes, those promises we make to ourselves push aside things we adore. But when it comes down to it. You've gotta put it straight. You need to decide which will make you happy more and wh device you will regret more.

Like how Bloom Into You made me think long and hard about the identity of a person or the multiple faucets of identity a person can have. After the rain made me think about what it means to have and lose hope

Not everyone is gifted with talents or wealth from birth. Some are, but most aren't. That's simply how the world is structured for better or worse. Then there's the ability to improve your skills. To spend immence amounts of time with a hope to one day escelate and become a better version of yourself. But sometimes, no matter how hard you try, or wish to try, you're simply capped by an invisible hand. A force you do not have control over but has boundless control over you. No matter how hard you try to break free. It keeps holding you without a care in the world nor a sweat in it's forehead.

Even if you spend your whole life trying to get better at something. There may always be someone who's better than you. Overlord really made me think about the difference between what we hope for and reality. It made me understand the disconnect people have when they do not have competition. A hope or confidence that hold on to you to let you know you're the best. Until you aren't. There's sometimes simply a barrier that cannot be overcome. In feeling this best thing you could ever hope to be. Is to be happy that you can at least be fit to be a nail clipper. This does not mean you cannot ever surpass or be better than those who are above you. But you simply are limited by unbenounced forces that force you to do way more to achieve the same fruit as another would with only a drop of sweat.

The anime resonated with me at an unexpectedly deep level. With my inherited memory disabilities. Seeing people around you do things you can't ever hope to do hurts ineffably. A profound sense of resentment and sadness engulphs you. With it's origin not being the fact that I'm not currently unable to recreate what another is doing but because there's a very high chance that I may very well never be able to do it. Knowing suck a limit exists is simply depressing. If the limits were higher than that of an average human, I wouldn've been satisfied. I'm satisfied with my athletic abilities, even though I'm what people call average. But when a limit is low enough to be noticable in the presence of the average Joe, the emotional impact is adamant. To be surrounded by people who consider what you are incapable of, as a mere simple feet that doesn't even need a spark of concentration. That indeed is a sight looked upon through tears.

Even though the anime through out most of it's runtime is very generic and formulaic isekai. Through the specific things it follows, I've found myself to be invested in it. Mainly because of the emotional and sentimental connection I've built up with it.

The show was awful. That I couldn't agree more. The animation was literally all over the place. In one scene the characters are extremely detailed and in another, they're comparable to stick figures. It looked as if the art director was popping a different kind of pill for each and every scene. Visual consistency simply didn't exist. Oh, then the plot. It was so full of plot holes. And then the world-building. Ah, and what about setup designing. There isn't a word in the language to describe how unreal and artificial the interiors and building architecture felt. I know the show was trying to go the sci-fi route but at least make it seem realistic. This is a show trying and failing to be 'high-concept'.

Vivy really made angry. It felt like it could've been so much more. If the story were thought of just a bit more. The set scenes thought of a little more. It could've very well have been the next Akudma Drive but with a better plot. Like hell, robots gaining consciousness. Tell me that isn't a buzz word in and of itself. It was as if the whole series' budget was spent on fight scenes and not the drama scene. To me, as a person who adored darma. The whole ordeal felt as if it was mocking me. You can't even compare the level of detail through out the world when robots are fighting each other to two characters just talking. You'd even take it for two whole different shows. I've only been this angry at a show once before. It was for the second season of Nisekoi. It wasn't a great series but it had some really good comedy. And to see it's story head the place it did in the second series from a slice of life harem to whatever the fuck it turned out to be really dissapointed me. I'm dissapointed at Vivy too in this sense. Hell, just look at all the machines the cube bot Matsumoto came up with. Don't tell me they don't look like crap. When it first made it. I was like, give a 5 year old only one type of lego and tell them to make a plane and that's what they'd make. It was that awful. I know I shouldn't put my expectations onto a show itself. Mainly because it's the work of it's directors and writers. They didn't make this for my sake. They made it for their own sakes. But... all in all I'm just angry.

Even then, I couldn't let the show go. It was like a lingering memory of a past tragedy in the corner of your mind. You always plead for them to disappear. But in the corner of your mind, you know you don't want it to disappear. Even its existence is comforting in its own way. As a remnant of a past, you've deviated from. A time of old you wish only to learn but never visit.

The show was beautiful. If only in its own way. Which I believe many would hate it for. For once, I'm in love with the imperfections of a show rather than the perfections. During the first couple of episodes, I was thinking that this was what it was to fail at Violet Evergarden. But the more I watched it. The more I saw it as its own entity. A show that wasn't foreshadowed by another that came before it.

Because of all its flaws. Vivy to me felt like a look into my past. Back when I first started watching anime. Where each and every scene felt thrilling to watch. You didn't care if what you were watching was good or bad. You didn't even know what good was. You just watched it for what it was. Not really expecting anything. Crappy show or not.

As bad as the show was, it managed to somehow make me feel... nostalgic. Like listening to a soundtrack from Minecraft. The show made me feel like I was lost. Like, I've changed. Not many people like change. Including me. Alas, change is certain. It happens every day and like a circle, its path always wanders from the imaginary straight line ahead.

Now that I've grown to identify what's good and what's bad. I've begun to prioritize shows based on what they appear to be before getting into them. Compared to when I first started off. I've found myself some bearings in the whole world of anime. If I were to look at Vivy from such a point of view, it's pure and utter garbage. However, putting technicality doesn't really describe what the show made me feel. Even in life, sometimes it's the unexpected and mundane things we remember the most from our past. And now, a show I never would've given a second glance at if I had known what I was going to see has managed to etch itself into my mind in ways I'm still having trouble processing.

A classic you should never watch

I'm absolutely blown away by this show. With every passing ep, it continues to unravel its layers and becomes more, much much more than your average gore-filled shounen. I love how much the show cuts into its characters. The visual storytelling really reminds me of 86. But the difference here is that the steaks and the story don't feel overblown out of proportion. The conflicts feel so down to earth as if this was always the way it was going to turn out. What sets Gangsta apart is its unflinching portrayal of the struggles and the unsettling sense of normalization that can accompany such experiences. It's a show that skillfully captures the complex interplay between conflicts and their emotional aftermath.

On top of that, I love how much subtlety the show has. Like the slowly trickling memories of Worick and Nicolas, or the relationship between Nic and Nina. There are so many nuances and intricacies this conveys by showing rather than telling.

This is some monster levels of writing right here. Nothing less, and maybe even more.

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There's no denying that this show at times had pacing issues. When it felt stale it was like waiting for pork to finish cooking in the oven. It took ages. But even then, it didn't stop me from enjoying this. The staleness, though boring had its own charm. The show loved to take its sweet sweet time with the characters. Exploring each of their nuances thoroughly. This felt more like a character show than an action, even considering the number of fight scenes scattered all throughout it. I love this formula. This felt like it took all of the great things about Monster and Attack on Titan and mashed them together.

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Fuck...... I don't think I've been this angry at a show in a long long time.

This is one of the best shows I've ever watched. Even then, it's being left on the sidelines at a point like this. Literally at the middle of a fucking arc!

Ever since I started watching anime, especially the slice-of-life variant, I have felt a disconnect between what I was seeing and how I imagined the characters to be feeling. Why aren't they acting the way I know people would? Why do they seem like husks? Obviously, the budget is the culprit here; however, there are certain scenes, especially those conveying deep emotional messages, that require micro-expressions to fully feel what our characters are experiencing. This would make the emotions they feel all the more real. Liz is a movie that has mastered that intimacy. The entire film is shot extremely tightly, almost claustrophobically, which opens up a whole new world of character expressions. The sounds of everyday life added to the whole experience.

I'll be honest; I hated Hibike Euphonium. I was neither interested in orchestral music nor the relationships between the characters. It felt out of touch and... boring. However, Liz, though part of the same franchise, was not part of the same tree. It was entirely something else. After the whole buildup, when Mizore left the comforts of her cage, there was no dialogue to tell me what was going on, but the music itself made me shed a tear. The music conveyed the story, as beautiful as it was.

To me, this is the kind of production I've always wanted to see from an anime—portraying a perspective that feels more human and connected than anything I've ever seen before it. This is a visual, auditory and storytelling masterpiece.

This movie man... you know those kinds of media that change your outlook on things and leave you slightly changed at the end of it. Maquia is that kind of a movie for me.

When I was a 10-year-old kid, my dad went to the UK. He went there as a student in search of opportunities, much like the path I find myself on now in Canada. The cost of his pursuit, however, came at a steep price - all of our hard-earned savings.

As the months went on, it became painfully clear that my dad wasn't destined for fortune. During this time, my mom stopped working to dedicate herself to me. Though her cooking skills are like that of a 5-year-old, she didn't stop trying. Putting in so much effort and care only a mother could provide. Yet as the calendar pages turned, the money that my dad sent began to dwindle. Like a flickering flame fading into darkness, there were some months when it disappeared altogether. And with no savings to speak of, these were hard times.

I can still hear the hushed conversations between my mom and my absent father. She'd kindly ask me to step out of the room, but the walls themselves couldn't contain the echoes of her desperate pleas for help. Those were the times when life dealt us a difficult hand, but as a child, the weight of our struggles escaped my understanding. Blissful ignorance shielded me from the harsh reality we faced.

Back then, just like Ariel, I was just a naive kid; reluctant to attend school, quick to complain about our meals. Yet, in the middle of all that, my mom never told me to live with what I've got. She always let me do what I wanted, but I sensed she carried a heavy burden. Because of that, I always refrained from spending more than I needed to. Sometimes my school gave me a chit of paper with a fee written on it for some project they were doing. It might be to build a pool or even for a class trip. Even if I got scolded for not bringing it, I never took it home.

In the tapestry of life, my mom, like Maquia, wove a story of selflessness. She did everything within her power for her child, even if it meant sacrificing everything she had. And looking back at it now that I'm living independently, I can't help but admire that.

After reading 331096 (yeah 6 digits) I was utterly blown away by how much it alienated me. It was truly terrifying. It was a mixture of gore and psychological horror perfectly blending together to create quite a hard-hitting story in only 10 pages. Compared to other works of Amagappa Shoujogun, especially their Mountain of Amputee are focused on supernatural or physical horror. Not psychological. However, after finishing Atataki, I was yearning for something more. I wanted to find out the extent to which anime and manga could make me feel this way.

Compared to other mediums. Anime never felt serious enough to be considered psychological for me. Yes, there are shows like AOT with huge backstories and meaningful tragedies. But nothing ever gave me chills. This right here is where Perfect Blue shines the most. The movie felt real. The characters felt like real human beings. I sometimes miss this in anime. The medium is heavily influenced by highly saturated and over the top character tropes and archetypes. Because of this, you don't often see 'normal' people in them. This is why I love the art style of this show so much too. Reminiscent of Serial Experiments Lain, another show with a gorgeous art style, this show has this simple yet detailed aesthetic. You can understand a lot of the story just by looking at the background. I really appreciate the amount of thought that went into the little things. The little nuances.

For most of the run time. I was sitting at the edge of my seat with my mouth agape. My surprise was fueled by one, the incredible story. And two the cuts. How can I ever not mention the cuts? From the very beginning of the show, the transitions were simply awe-inspiring. Ever since I saw its first major transition. The one where Mima the idol snapped her head to the side on stage and we're inside of a grocery store with Mima the actress. I literally wound back and re-watched that scene three times at how awesome it was. But guess what? It was only the beginning. The movie is littered with extremely well-done cuts like that. If the cuts were purely aesthetic and without meaning I wouldn't be fussing over them this much either. They played a huge role in how we understood the story. In the later part of the movie, these cuts were the hallmark of Mima's degrading psyche. They intertwined with the plot itself. Making them more of a narrative element than a visual one.

After finishing the movie. I spent a good amount of time just pacing around my room. The ending left me in such a place that I just couldn't stop thinking. It's been a while since I've seen such a piece of media that pushed my mind into as big of a clusterfuck as this. It also reminded me a lot about another psychological thriller I love. Christopher Nolan's Memento. Man, that was a good movie. Took me two watched to get it down properly. I didn't even wait a single second after my first viewing to get right back in. I went into that movie during lunch and came out at dinner after two whole watch throughs. And it did not disappoint. I feel Perfect Blue is very similar in that regard. Both of these movies were primarily powered by their focal points. Memento with our amnesic protag and here our mentally degrading protag. Both showed the viewer what the main character saw. Not what really happened. And I gotta say. I can't help but praise this perspective choice. It was like we were literally in the shoes of our character. It didn't matter if things really happened or not. What mattered was how our main character changed through the way she perceived the world. Which we get to see from the front row.

Honestly, I really loved Perfect Blue. In a way, it made me feel how it was like for someone suffering from issues like the characters we saw. Because they felt like real human beings. Unlike flushed out characters in other shows, I felt I could connect with the characters here on a level far more than those on most traditional shows. All in all. This is one of the best psychological thrillers I've ever seen, no doubt about it. From it's aesthetic to it's characters. The movies is beautiful stylistically and plot-wise.

Haruka (SS 1-4 | SS+ 11-12 | SS+ OVA 6)
Kaoru (SS 5-8 | SS+ 7-8 | SS+ OVA 4)
Ai (SS 13-16 | SS+ 5-6 | SS+ OVA 3)
SS Sister OVA (Miya Arc)
SS+ 13 (Finale)

Future me. If you're ever gonna rewatch. The eps above are all you need. The rest is just.... meh.

As for personal favourites. Kaoru is best girl with Miya a close second followed by Ai. I loved Haruka but her finale really didn't leave me with much to like. It felt too generic. I honestly cringed at the ending. Kaoru's arc is really really good. Honestly, I related with her character at a deeper level than I would've wanted to and it was totally worth it. As for Ai... Her arc really knows how to stimulate a guy, if you know what I mean.

That finale tho. Fucking hell it was good. One of the best I've ever seen. Okay, I know hot spring eps are cliché. But this thing took it to a whole another level. The comedy was top notch. Plus building everything upon its predecessors and managing to even reference the show itself for comedic value and pulling it off. Now that's something I respect.

the show was quite the experience. Before I started the show I was somewhat... Numb to romance. It's like when you don't experience a certain feeling for so long, you even forget what it's like. After watching it. Ahhh it's all coming back to me. Feels good tho, it's been a while.

Ah ah, oh no oh no. Of all the characters of the show. Tsukasa is the one I'm genuinely scared of. No offence but she feels like a freaking psychopath. With an attitude to complement. I mean, I even lost count of how many times she slapped our poor boy. I'm getting nowhere near her thank you very much

The story of the original Steins;Gate was awesome but when it came to my overall satisfaction of the series, it lacked a bit. It may have been it's old anime style and it's somewhat dated look. But in the end, I expected to be more excited bu the show that I really was. With that mind set I started watching Steins; Gate 0 and immidiately noticed something. It's that I absolutely love it. The music was great. The animation was great. And most of all. It's certainly my time. Dark and gloomy. I always wondered, what type of stories I like. Or what's a common characteristic of my most rated and loved shows. It's through watching this that I understood that I fall over heels for tragedy that's done well. This story all in all is quite tragic. With Okabe unable to get over his fears and has gone through such devestation to make him even loose his mad scientist persona. Even then, the plot's complexity doesn't change and I love it. Yeah, I had to spend a couple of days just thinking about it to fully straighten myself with the whole world line scenarios but still. It was definitely worth it. This sequal truly put the Steins;Gate trilogy in my book as show's you'd love once you go in neck deep. Along side movies like inception and books like recursion.

On top of this. How can I not mention the animation of Okabe's Reading Steiner. I mean, I was completely blown away the first time I saw it. It's just so satisfying plus scary at the same time.

Watching the first Steins;Gate didn't exactly make a a believer of this world or it's characters. It was entertaining somewhat but that's it. It didn't leave a lasting impression on me. But this second season totally left a lasting impression while at the same time involving me deeply inside it's world and it's characters.

There are many ways a show can go about hitting a chord in the jolly nerve. Some do it through pure originality. And some do it by using normal jokes in a wholly different and unfamiliar context to mix things up. Some use an excess amount of a certain character feature. Nisekoi is sort of like the latter. It's filled with an unbeknownst amount of goofyness and naivity in it's characters. Personally, I desipise this form of comedy. It most of the time feels like the writers were just too lazy to come up with something unique so they used a formula that works. Personally I don't even enjoy loose plots. One's that deviate so far from reality or a coherent structure to make the characters just ploys to keep the whole story going, even if the world building is a mess of a thing. Then there's the harem. I don't even want to talk about those.

Even then. I continued to watch Nisekoi nonetheless. You won't belive how glad I am at myself for pushing through. I don't regret it in the least. This honestly is new for me. Usually, I consider these type of shows to only be cringe worthy. Although, I try my best to steer off these kinds of shows. It's the plot of Nisekoi that simply kept me at it. Watching a harem develop one screwy at a time is probably the hardest thing in the world. A whole cast of girls chasing behind one main or vice-versa in essence always manages to get a chucle or a cringe out of me. This show is no exception. It really made me reflect on how much I hate romance harems and made me go through a whole mental deepdive of why that is. However, even though, the show is pretty much a harem extravaganza. When it was time to get serious. The show really got serious. Like in the arc where Raku went to work for Chitoge's mom, as absurd as it is when you look at it critically. The show really managed to make it emotional and not blow the whole thing up. It really was very very good character development. And I have to appreciate that.

Although the whole anime is littered with stupid plot points. Every now and then, you come across a scene that's superbly orchestrated. It's those rare moments where the anime really shined to me. The delicate but elegant ways it moved it's plot forward. Like how it handled the finale's Shakespearian drama. It's both damn funny and serious at the same time. It's scenes like that that made me enjoy the show. Even if I were just a yawn away for most of the plot.

I can't believe how much season 2 disgusted me. With... Aliens... Like what the actual fuck? The moment I saw those... those... hellions. I simply couldn't even look at the sequel again.

Watched the first 31 episodes starting 2020-10-13 then paused indefinitely.
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Ahhh brings back memories. I'm still awestruck at why I paused this in the first place. I really don't remember. It's as great as ever!
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GTO is wholesomeness personified. However, it's not wholesome for the reasons most shows are. It shows you by example, not shying away from some messy topics to show that there's always a light at the end of the tunnel.
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I think I see why I paused the show at ep 31. I really really don't like this arc. In a way, I hate it on a personal level. I don't hate the show itself. But the antagonist of it. In a way, you can take this as how good the show is at crafting the story to be this compelling. In another way, making it dreadful enough to leave me in a mood to not watch anymore isn't ideal either. I'm at a weird crossroads.
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I finally passed my pausing point. Heh. I'm glad I decided to push past it. GTO still manages to fascinate me in weird ways. If it was only the absurd comedy I would've called it a day. If it only made me cry once, I would've called it a day. But that's not just it is it? No matter how much I watch, it always hits me as hard as the first ep. The stories feel so original. It's how unique GTO's formula is that really drags me in. That comedic undertone while being so emotionally dense. It's like Gintama but if people had responsibilities with no easy solutions and deadly consequences for their actions. Onizuka is a weirdly silly character in a world that's trying its best to crush his light.

I once talked at length about a facet of this with a friend of mine who's looking into studying Architecture. At its core, he's completely committed to art. That's pretty much his solace in life. His passion. Sometimes he might even forget to eat when in the middle of making a sculpture. When you're deeply passionate, you start to wonder if you can continue it forever. This comes down to whether you can monetize your passion and whether there is a marked need for it.

However, no matter how much you love different forms of art and built environments. You will never be able to fully express your creativity in any realistic scenario. There are regulations you need to follow. There are a customer's needs. Even if you make a perfect design. When a client tells you to change it to fit the image in their head, you feel like everything's coming crashing down. As if the design is now impure.

This leads to the question. Is this how you should think of your passions? If using your skills in a corporate environment to satisfy market needs is going to limit your artistry, would it be better to fight against the current way of things and leave a mark your own way? Risking the fact that you might come to hate what you're doing if things go south. Or should you yourself adapt to the way the market works and simply go with the flow? This is quite a paradox in a way.

Onizuka is often forced into circumstances where he must choose between these two. Should he keep striving to be the best teacher possible? Push through all of the scandals, the students and the teachers in his way while keeping strong to his ideals of being GTO. Or should he adapt like how all of the other teachers have? Giving up on the students and prioritising his own well-being for the sake of his wellness.

If it isn't obvious already. Onizuka always chooses the GTO path. To go against what everyone says. To put a mark on the world, in his own way. Not giving a shit about what anyone else does to impede him. And he holds strong till the very end. Not wavering even when faced with the predicament of literally being forced to go fishing for a whole year and losing his status as a teacher because he didn't want to snitch on his student for a crime he didn't even commit.

Though the arc ended rather comically and positively. I'm surprised the show even attempted to tackle a question like this. You don't see paradoxes like this answered nor even discussed usually, considering how hard it is to not get it wrong big time. And with such a resolution too. I mean, it's Onizuka we're talking about here. Once he proclaims something. It might as well be etched in stone.
----
There's just something to GTO's style of storytelling that's making me so emotional watching it. I can't seem to pinpoint what it is. In one way, it's making me really nostalgic; in another, watching the honest to god way these characters act is really satisfying.

This was my first long-form note. So please be kind. I don't want to edit/rewrite it.

On my first watching I didn't exactly understand what made this movie special. I honestly considered it to be somewhat overrated and with a personal score of 7, I let the movie go. Yes, it had some good visuals but, the story, more specifically the ending just didn't manage to skip a beat in my heart. But no matter how hard I tried to forget, the movie just resonated inside of me. Yearning for something that I didn't know I wanted. Like the characters of the movie, I felt as if I was searching for a piece of my heart that had been lost after my first encounter with this movie. So, I decided to watch yet again with my whole family. I went into this rewatch with only one goal in mind. And that was to regain that which was lost from me. Although, at the time I did not know what. In watching it, I understood what I failed to see the last time. This is when I was truly able to appreciate the visuals and the way the story is presented. This is why I think, this movie falls into the same category as interstellar. Like Kimi no na wa. On my first watching, I didn't give much if a damn about the characters of it. But it was on my second watching that I truly understood the uniqueness and beauty of that magnificent movie. Although I acted as if it was my first watching in from of my parents, even I was at awe to the number of minute but crucial and spectacular details I had missed on my first viewing. Like the location the second meteor landed was right on top of Mitsuha's family shrine, or the incredible cuts this movie has, or the breath taking scenery that's drawn, I'm looking at you, you autumn leaves on the way to the volcano. Not only was I impressed by the execution and design of this anime, but also by it's story. This time around unlike the first, I legit shed tears multiple time at runtime. And the last act, with both Mitsuha and Taki try to find themselves was very heartwarming. Even though I knew exactly what was going to happen next. It's these kind media, that I like the most. You get to understand it a little better the more you watch it. You won't feel like you've wasted your time because no matter how many times you watch it. It never fails to entertain you. This I believe is the essence of this movie. It's git a great sound track, it's git a great plot. And didn't I mention the character design. I mean, they look and feel fantastic. Plus the visuals are basically out of this world. Like blade runner, every scene of this movie can be made into a wallpaper, and you'd still be staring at it in awe. It's when all of these qualities mix together into one neat package that you can easily digest do you get entertained the most. This is why I love this movie. Because it manages to invoke feelings in me that I never thought I had. It is through watching it the second time, was I able to pinpoint what I truly missed after my first one.

I have mixed feelings about Kaguya-sama. Watching it then, I can't say I enjoyed it emmencely. But when it comes to originality. This simply blew me away. From it's very very enjoyable narrator to it's varying cast of character. The anime is a cesspool of originality for me. It's hard to find a comedy that doesn't reuse old techniques to crack a joke or simply copy and paste some slapstick joke with a different context. This however, manages to remain unique from start to end. That by itself is worth a praise.

Something I love about Kaguya-sama is how perfectly it mashes serious tones with very very comedic tones. At times it's seriously goofing around while in the next scene it's questioning if their ego is displeasing to others. Especially the ending ep. The anime does a very good job at constantly shifting between two modes of progressing the plot seamlessly. On one hand using well thought out jokes and on the other doing serious character development through thoughtfullness.

Though I enjoyed it very much. I wasn't able to attatch myself to the characters. It feels to me that the anime gave me every reason to make a connection with it's cast but... I simply couldn't. I still don't really understand why exactly I feel this way. I believe the sky hight expectations I had coming into the show had a pretty big say in it. When you go into a show with atmospheric expectations. You tend to loose what the show is really about. This is very common in games. The hype the marketing department of a gaming publisher pushes out sometimes blows the actual proportions of the game into the stratosphere. This makes a huge about how you feel about the game within the first couple of hours of play time. Even if the game is good. You compare it to the expectations you have. If your expectations were higher than what you got from it, you'd feel dissapointed. Sometimes even blidniding you from the beauty of an experience right in front of you.

Even then, hype or expectations aren't something that can be stopped nor banished. Best way to cope is to convince yourself to enjoy what it is you get. Not what it is you expect. If I had been successful at it, I'm sure I would've enjoyed the anime more than how much I did in the end.

1st rewatch 2021-09-29 to 2021-10-07 (Watched with mom)

Violet Evergarden is a masterpiece of tragedy and self-realization. Following the war survivor Violet, the story builds upon her journey of self-realization through the bonds she builds up and through the bonds she lost. We follow our main protagonist on a journey with love being the end of the tunnel. The twist is, Violet who was raised from childhood to only be a tool of war is unable to comprehend universal human feelings. Through this, we set out to explore the journey as she uncovers what 'I Love You' truly means.

When I first added this series to my wishlist. I knew one thing. That being the similarities it had to Your Lie in April. I wouldn't disagree. Both have very tragic plot lines. But personally, I liked the density and depth every episode of Violet managed to carry compared to the slow pacing of Your Lie in April. Each episode is a complete roller coaster. I'm honestly perplexed at how it managed to keep its composure while being as emotional as it is. I never felt as if the story was repeating itself. Not only this, the uniqueness of each episode was what made me shed a tear to each and every ep after the 6th. I didn't expect a plotline built only within the span of a single episode to hit me so hard. It managed to hit so close to home. At times I was left wondering what I'd do if I'm somehow the person being affected by the tragedies the story's characters are going through. It really made me empathise with many of the characters that appeared. Needless to say, some of them showed increasingly high levels of naiveness which irritated me. Like the astronomy student. But all in all, managing to make me care enough about a character to cry about them within a half-hour period is simply mindblowing. This is the first show I've watched that managed to pull it off.

Thinking of other aspects of the anime, such as its music and art style. I gotta say, I'm not disappointed. The music pretty much fueled the tears that I fought so hard to keep in. The OST is truly something that I would definitely listen to even if it were out of context the show. Evan Call really outdid himself. The art too is simply magnificent. The character design exactly fits my description of a perfect anime character. Like Bloom Into You's and Your Name's art styles, Kyoto Animation successfully managed to have a colour palette and an environment that truly made each shot a masterpiece.

Speaking of the main plotline of this story. I usually tend to avoid anything that goes close to the topic of war. Except for those rare exceptions, like the movie Darkest Hour. Following UK prime minister Winston Churchill through the tipping points of the second world war. Even with my obvious aversion to war-related media, this show truly captivated me beyond belief. Focusing on the way war affects people personally. Violet Evergarden focuses on the little things from a grand scale of things. Wars may be fought for a philosophical or political cause but when it comes down to the battlefield. It's real people who fight in it. With their own personalities, friends, family members, lovers, hobbies etc. It's this up close and personal perspective to war that violet strives to engrave into the viewer's mind. From the fire that burns Violet's (the character) conscience due to her hand in the war to the feelings of a soldier who's on his deathbed. The show goes up and beyond to show the effects of war from a personal level through its extravagant choice of characters. The story of the dying mother and her daughter was what teared me up the most. I'll probably never forget that.

In a way, the story is about letting go. Letting go of the past that haunts your dreams. Letting go of the hatred that divides and incentivises conflicts. Letting go of the pain you keep inside of you. In an age where instantaneous communication nor a medium to rant like the internet doesn't exist. Releasing pressure created inside of oneself is next to impossible if you isolate yourself. You may add distance because you're afraid of those around you or because you're afraid of what they would see in you. But the result is the same. No matter what the packaging is. Loneliness hits you no matter what you use to dilute it. A void of pain inside of you.

Sometimes the only way to release it is to simply write it out. Expressing one's own feelings publicly is a hard task that requires immense amounts of courage and trust. But the freedom of writing one's thoughts down on a piece of paper has the satisfaction of privacy and creativity. This is why Dolls exist. To help people express their feelings they might've never been able to put into words themselves.

All in all, I love this anime. I don't consider it anything but a masterpiece. The show truly resonated in me to a point I couldn't stop crying when it ended. It's a show that's tragic by design. I love it, but clearly in a way different to how I love shows like Bloom Into You and Konosuba. Its uniqueness extends to my love of it as well.

Rewatching 2025-04-04 to 2025-04-25

Simply the saddest thing I've watched in my life.

----- rewatch

Some scenes still remain just as uncomfortable to watch as they were the first time. They still land exactly as heavily as they always did tho, nothing's different about that.

You know what. Was I stupid when I first watched this? How did I not notice the way music is used in this show. Yes I knew it was good. I knew the tracks were amazing. And I also knew that the music made me cry many number of times. But why do I not remember how dramatic the music is in bringing out our character's emotions. I'm watching Emi's origin story at the start of ep9 right now and this whole scene is pure auditory overload. How the present her's piano track is playing in the background. How there's a subtle percussion and string harmony accompanying it. How there's drums to deepen each scene change. How the flashback emotions fluctuate the intensity of the piano track. How her thoughts of the past and future entangle with each other. WTF am I hearing and watching right now. If it were just a piano rendition it would've been good but not THIS.

This synchronization is peak cinema!

At this point, I should probably start counting the episodes that don’t end with me crying.

I was a fool to think that this show wouldn't be as hard hitting as it is. I thought I was just over hyping this. I thought it was just tear bait. Oh no no no. This is on a league of its own.

I agree, me from five years ago. This is indeed the saddest thing I've watched in my life. Nothing even comes close.

You know, when I watched this for the first time, I didn’t like the ending all that much. How could Kaori change so drastically, just like that? You don’t just get rid of your fears and anxieties overnight. There’s no way.

But now... having gone through something similar myself during those final months before I left my home country. I get it. I can say for a fact: you do change. You change in ways you never expect, just from knowing that this is your final stretch. And I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it must hit if you knew your life was actually ending. I think I’d become a different person entirely, completely unrecognizable from who I was before. Just like how Kaori changed.

I understand her now, at least a little. Her perspective. Her sadness. Her resolve, and at times, the lack of it.

Because since I last watched this, I ended up being in Arima’s shoes too. Watching my grandfather slowly get swallowed up by cancer. Losing more and more of himself, bit by bit. First, not being able to visit our house. Then, not leaving his own. Then... not even being able to leave his bed. It all happened so fast, looking back. And yet at the time, it felt like forever.

And it wasn’t just us preparing for the inevitable. It was them too.

Rewatching drunk 26/02/25 - 06/03/25 (ran out of tonic so had to wait it out)


Before I decided to commit to watching this again, I was afraid that I wouldn't like it as much as I did the first time. I thought that it would come off as cheesy or even repetitive. I'm glad that I was greatly mistaken. Hell, I think I appreciate this even more now.

As tradition I'm watching this drunk, yet again. I'm accompanied by a newly opened bottle of peach vodka and it fits impeccably. I don't really know why but this show feels so great to watch while drunk. Maybe its the slow pacing, or maybe its the heavy tones it always touches on. It always feels like a non sober kind of experience.

For a bit I was afraid that the show wouldn't hold up as much as it did but I was gravely mistaken in that regard. This anime isn't one of my favorites for nothing and this first episode proves it.


This show really reminds me of how I felt watching 5 Centimeters per Second. They're both sad in a very similar kind of way. I also love how almost every character has a face. Even the background characters, they seem to be doing their own thing with their own lives. This makes the setting all the more alive.




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A very drunk take on how much I love this show.

This show hit very very different to what I expected it to hit. The pacing, the attention to detail, the long drawn out shots. I haven't felt this from a show in a long time. I went in expecting something similar to a shitty isekai. Or hell, something similar to domestic girlfriend. What it ended up being was something I didn't expect even in my wildest dreams. It's actually a great fucking show. It was one of the best romances I've seen.

I love how slow and meticulous it is. Focusing heavily on visual elements that bleed into what the characters are going through. It's very similar to Liz and the Blue Bird in that aspect. Giving each scene plenty of room to breathe and adapting the whole cinematography based on what our characters are going through. I love how every time we go into Ayase's Diary the whole episode changes into a film reel as if we're taking a look into the past. A past that's been written down, not being experienced in real time. It's these minute details that I loved.

I watched the last three or four episodes with two shots of Gin. When episode 9 rolled in I knew we were in for a heavy conclusion. So I got myself ready. I went down, poured myself a glass and continued watching. As it went on, I knew one wasn't gonna cut it. So went with another. It's rare to find a show that is supplemented heavily by alcohol. With how slow and meticulous this show is, the alcohol made me focus on the little things, as it does so often. I noticed how the rays of light were shared between scenes, showing how a memory impacted Ayase at different times. There were so many details I just started noticing out of nowhere.

I know that I've always enjoyed shows with a little bro sis spice. But this goes miles farther than anything I've seen by far. Watching this legitimately makes me question how much I enjoyed Citrus. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching it, but it doesn't stand an inch to this.

This show really got me in the feels. It felt relatable to the point that it felt like it understood me in a way. I'm not talking about the incest part, but the stages of romance part. Sometimes, liking someone isn't just about your own feelings. There are certain factors that you have to think about. Like how Ayase and Asamura have to consider their parent's feelings, they can't just ignore the world around them. It's that nuanced questioning where you find yourself at a crossroads. You want to imagine a fantasy but at the same time, you know fantasies are still fictional and there are so many more things to consider, not just your desires.

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that I didn’t get shit about that ending. Like, I know what I’m looking at. I know how we got there. I just don’t get... why? Why is this how it ends? I just don’t get it. Is there something between the lines, or not?

Watching this felt like humanity was being called out. It exposed what makes us both great and shitty at the same time. It felt deeply in tune with how people would actually handle earth-shattering events. How we split into factions. How we create our own sense of justice—built on trauma, warped ideals, and fractured truths. And most of all, how people just... accept even the strangest, most occult things. Because there’s only so much we can give a crap about before we move on.

What I loved about the show, aside from that gorgeous, jaw-dropping world-ending sequence, was how it explored so many perspectives. It humanized the individual and showed how their choices ripple out, affecting entire systems in unpredictable ways. Because everyone starts somewhere. We see minor protests snowball into fully fledged cults. Mere journalists rise to prominence, only to realize they weren’t feeding people the truth but the lies they wanted to hear. Office workers doing anything to move up the ladder, even giving up on loved ones. The commentary on humanity was so dense, so cutting.

There were so many points in this where I was completely awe struck. One of the first is when we are finally shown the space ship. The whole first episode shows us how day to day life is for these teenagers, from their crushes, to the pains of school. While all of this was happening though, when people looked out, they seemed a little dejected. As if they were spacing out while focused on something in particular rather than a random direction. Then in the end, the show cuts to this jaw dropping scene of the city sized space ship casually floating in the sky. Really puts a nail in how the ship is like a weirdly shaped cloud in the sky for daily onlookers, but no one's forgotten the shadows it casts.

This really reminded me of Pluto in how on point the world building is. Merging sci-fi with the real world so seamlessly.

Honestly, I’d call this a must-watch show. It starts off feeling like an incredible slice of life and ends in a full-blown end of the world. I mean, what else do I even need to say?

Count me surprised. As someone who doesn't like romcoms this is a far cry from the romantic slush I was expecting. Hell, this is one of the best shows I've ever watched. Period. From the animation to the story, to its subtleties and to the comedy. It doesn't miss a beat.

--

Goddamn this is good. I'm still in ep 4 and I'm already crying. That reconciliation with the slow girl and the lit vice pres was so cathartic.

The only thing I'm afraid of is how the romance is being poised as one where protag-kun doesn't get any girl. I hope I'm wrong but that's how these types of shows always end up. Sometimes to their detriment.

I really like how down to earth these characters feel. They don't feel tropey or generic. They all have something going for them. I love all of em with all their little quirks. This show is just... fun. It makes you feel bubbly inside, even though you're just looking at loosing heroins. Essentially losers. Usually I look at them and feel repulsed. Thinking that they're wasting their chance. But here.. I feel a kind of solidarity. I'm not looking down on the characters for their flaws, I'm rooting for them to do better next time. Because they do. They don't seem to repeat the same mistakes, their lives don't seem to revolve in clearly defined arcs but in squiggly escapades with many nuances.

I realized this during the episode where a few characters go on a museum outing. It's designed as a subtle setup for protag kun and tomboy gal by grey haired guy. However, things take an unexpected turn when she accidentally confesses her love to grey hair, the person she really likes, in the heat of a minor argument. To the guy's surprise and to no one else's at that. In that moment, the show took a strikingly different approach. The animation captured every nuance of her emotions. That extra delay when you're processing with all your brain capacity about what to do next. Her eyes trembling under the weight of the sudden realization. All of that before she turns and runs, overwhelmed. The sheer detail in that scene made her feelings almost tangible, turning a simple cliched scenario into something much deeper and emotional.

Then there was the scene where protag-kun introduced Blue Hair as the newest member of the club. In the background, the club president could be seen quietly making his way to a locker, retrieving the carefully folded “New Member” origami crown, an almost ceremonial gesture. But just as he was about to present it, he overheard Blue Hair casually mentioning her interest in knitting, completely unaware of what the club was actually about. His expression froze. Without a word, he slowly returned the crown to its place, composed himself with a perfect poker face, made a flimsy excuse, and promptly left. Honestly, this was just sad. He was finally excited to see a new passionate member to only be presented with.... her.

--

When this began, I genuinely expected it to fizzle out. I assumed it would be one of those anti-harem shows where the guy doesn't get any girl. And in a way, I wasn’t wrong but I was looking at it completely wrong. This was never about romance in the traditional sense. That was never the point. This story is all about connections. It’s quite literally the friends we made along the way, the show. And I absolutely love that!

This movie is such a weird one to pin down in my head. It felt so simple, yet so dense. I could sum up the entire story in a paragraph, and it wouldn’t seem all that significant. But the way it’s presented, the framing, the way scenes bleed into each other, it’s just something else. The way protag chan, grieves outside that door, her mind sifting through countless possibilities, desperately searching for one where she doesn’t feel guilt. Then the scenes that follow. It’s all chef’s kiss.

My only issue was how fast the beginning flew by. I actually had to double-check that I didn’t accidentally skip a few scenes. So much happened so quickly that it felt a little disconnected. It’s such a stark contrast to how much breathing room the movie gives its important moments. Those scenes stretch out, settle in, and set the perfect tone. If only the rest of the film wasn’t a series of fast-forwarded events, I might’ve called this peak cinema.

Watched this with James during an anime marathon.

Rewatched ep 1 on 2025/05/25 (today's a nice sounding day) with James and Vik. Told vik it was a quick in and out 20 min episode. Little did he know hehehe.

Literally watched the whole series in one night with James.

I knew this was gonna be good, but goddamn, that was gooood. Especially that first episode. It was basically its own movie, and honestly, if the story ended right there, I would've been satisfied. After that though, I was super skeptical about how the rest of the show was gonna play out. Would I like it? Or would I not? Well, I'm really glad I did. It was amazing. Mainly because this wasn’t just about revenge or even the entertainment industry. At its core, this is a very character-focused story and that's totally my vibe. Definitely an instant classic.

One thing the show absolutely nailed was building up this aura around Ai Hoshino. Anytime she’s mentioned or shows up, she’s treated like this legendary figure. And when we actually get to see her developed across literally just a single (though pretty long) episode all that hype feels completely justified. She just has that thing in her that makes her feel special, like she exists on a whole different plane compared to everyone else. Even her animation feels distinct from the other characters, it’s crazy. So when people in the show say she’s on another level, we feel it too.

I started watching this after a whole month of not watching anything, which is pretty rare in this day and age. I took a little break to focus all of my free time on playing games on the new PC I built. When some games are like 20 hours long, it's very hard to fit anything else into my already tight schedule. Coming back to this treat of an anime after playing Alien Isolation has to be one of the best feelings ever.

Ever since I saw the first trailer for this, I knew I was gonna love it. The animation, the music, the vibe. It all culminated to give it that 'anime of the year' kind of vibe. And I don't mean this in the Oscars way where the movies are purposefully engineered to be award-winning. This just had a natural aura to it. On top of that, this seemed like the type of show that would make me cry. And oh boy, was I right, in less than two episodes no less. For as slowly paced a show as this is, which is why it feels like watching a show about the mundane life of an elf, my emotions were always running wild.

It's rare for me to appreciate an anime's dialogue as much as I appreciated the dialogue in this one. Every utterance had the nuance of a real human being, with enough depth that certain phrases stuck with me for the whole length of my watch. I have even repeated some lines at work, trying to see between the lines, trying to decipher the perspective of a millennia-year-old elf.

MadHouse knows exactly how to create a perfect show. I don't know how, but this formula is something else. What I'm experiencing with this is akin to Violet Evergarden. The emotions. The characters. Everything blends together beautifully.

I'm surprised I'm not finding even a single character annoying, which is surprising. Even in some of my favourite shows, there are characters that I just can't stand. Not this.

The first cour is what I would call a contemplative piece, where each episode made me think more from Frieren's perspective. And the second season is all about the application of that thought into an action scenario. Because let's be real, there's only so far you can go with only contemplation before it gets boring. So I believe the story progressed naturally into that state, though when the tone first switched it rubbed me the wrong way. This is mainly because I watched the whole first cour in one sitting, and then the second cour in another. The around four-day break between the two accentuated the dismay I was feeling.

This animation is god-tier and this anime is peak, no one can convince me otherwise.

I gotta say I went into this with no expectations at all. One because I'm not into reverse harems and two I don't like cute girls doing cute things. I don't hate them, I just find it boring. But this tho, is on another level. The production quality is on the fucking moon, that alone is a good reason to watch this. Other than that, the whole cast is lovable. It's like Hinamatsuri, if Hina was a high schooler.

Episode 11 was peak. The whole stalker arc is the reason why I even added this show into my planning on the first place. I saw a video of her when back on YouTube and being the degenerate I am fell for it. Watching the first dozen episodes I really doubted if I added the right show because it didn't have any signs of a stalker and then when the episode hit, it hit like a truck.

I need a sequel this very instant!

This is on the same level as some of the best isekai fantasies out there. Like Overlord, Slime and Isekai Ojisan. And the fucking climax fight. It was one of THE fights i've ever seen period. Its even better than the Fate fights, and I love those, especially the one from FGO Paladin Agateram. This is peak shonen right here. Can't wait for more.

When I first started watching, the show felt a little cheap. This made me appreciate the animation of Horimiya even more than I had when I was watching the show. It surprisingly had next to no visible CGI set pieces and low texture background items. Every set piece seemed as if it had effort put into it. In the non game world scenes of this, especially at the start, it was hard looking at the background because of how bad they were. Even the character art. This is entirely different to how I see the game world tho. I don't know if this was intentional of if the animators simply put all their effort into polishing the VR world, but everything like the texture quality got pushed down a bunch in the real world scenes.

Where the show shines is in the fights. Its not just the spot on animations. Its also the choreography and the fact that almost everything makes sense. The actions the characters make feel like they have a logical progression behind them. This is in start contrast to Slime's make out of thin air kind of battle system where you can't really expect anything. Here you can, and seeing our characters morph what you were expecting with their own flair makes it even better. Especially with the combos they create.

Lets not even talk about the Wazaemon battle. I think that's where the whole budget of the show went. The whole sequence looked fucking amazing. When he unleashed Clear Sky, i was giggling like a little kid at how good it looked. Fuck Artoria's Excalibur, this is sword slashes at its best.

This is one of those shows that I knew was going to be a banger even before I started the first episode, just like with Frieren and Edgerunners. What I didn't expect though was for my expectations to be blown away as much as it did. I felt so many emotions watching this. There were multiple times when I was visibly sweating, sitting at the edge of my seat watching the action. Which pretty much defines the show. Its a story with action at its center. I love it when shows just grab me and don't let me go, moving from one battle arc to the other with little to no downtime. This suits well with my watch habit of binging whole shows at once or in two parts.

Watching this was hype incarnate honestly. From the moment our guy became a Kaiju to that fucking meteoric punch, I loved all of it. Then there are the characters. I really liked Kikuo from the beginning then began to slowly like the other characters as well, they grew on me. Especially the photocopy Levi and the battle loli. Even the comedy landed almost every time. I was squeaking quite a few times.

There's something about the action that just hits right. Its not just the action in and of itself, its the setup, the execution, the payoff and the easing at the end. Each time we went on a cycle, it felt soo satisfying. It was like the Wezaemon arc from Shangri-la Frontier but a whole show with that level of hype. I'm an easy guy to please. Give me some characters I care about, likable and give me non stop action, I'll chuck it down like my chocolate almond milk.

And eh, yeah the OP and ED are just disappointing. The ED sounds like a copy paste pop song, which I know for a fact that I've heard somewhere else. They should've sampled something more creative. The ED... the song is pretty good but the animation man. The start of it is very creative, then it turns into a bunch of blobs that look meaningless. The soundtrack however, that was something else. Especially when we get to a fight scene, when the guitar riff comes on I knew I was in for a ride.

Having viewed the two prequel entries, I approached this with the same expectations I would attribute to a mindless isekai, which translates to rock bottom. I don't know if that's the reason or if there was a shift, but this truly took me aback. The story and worldbuilding, as always, was shit. The main characters, the pointy-haired kid whose I name don't even remember, and mashed potatoes were as poorly written as ever. However, the notable difference this time was the focus on the Knights of the Round Table. It felt like the entire movie belonged to them, relegating everyone else to the status of mundane side characters. Their characters were so well written, that I even connected with a few of them. I know, even I'm surprised!

What significantly altered my overall opinion of this movie was the final battle. They were a spectacle to watch. A mash of different experimental art styles together with rich character emotion made every single final battle a bliss to watch. The one that stood out however was the fight sequence between Agravain and Lancelot. The animation, the music, the falling pyramid in the background. From the setup to the conclusion, it stands out as the best fight sequence I've ever witnessed. Period. It executed the entire circle exceptionally well without unravelling. I've got nothing but praise for that level of execution.

This movie certainly knew how to make fight sequences work and how to mesh two or more together. During the final battle, multiple 1v1s were happening all around. The way the focus shifted from one fight to the other without making it seem forced was well done, to say the least.

This is the type of movie I would give anything to see in a theatre. This has that feeling to it. The feeling of being grand.

For a series of movies that have been underwhelming at most, this is what I expect from Fate. Good fights. And this movie was delivered. This is the first of this series that I'd say deserves to be a part of Fate.

I'm not usually one to like absurd shit, but when absurd shit is coupled with absurd action and an absurdly good story. Now that's a formula I can get behind.

Now, this is one god-tier anime. I suppose all it took was a few glasses of Gin & Tonic to give me the confidence to give this a try, but it sure was worth it. The alcohol helped me get used to all the weirdness, and the hype kept me hooked. This is the kind of show where, once you start, you can't really stop watching. Calling it wild is an understatement. This show to me felt like what would happen if you push the medium of anime to its absolute limits. I'm not talking about limits in the sense of say the animation quality or how realistic things are, but I mean how much you can push before the viewer feels detached from what they're seeing. Take for example how characters sometimes interact with their name tags, the text literally hangs around. Normally you'd be like, whaaa, but the execution is so well done, you don't even feel that in Kill la Kill.

When episode 12 rolled around, and we hit the first finale, I genuinely thought the anime couldn't do any better. Hell, I thought the show only had 12 episodes; that's how conclusive and good that finale felt. When the episodes went on, I assumed that the show would just burn itself out. Oh ho, wasn't I wrong? It reached even higher levels of hype and kept me invested throughout. It's like the show is so out of this world that nothing seems to feel out of place. Everything sort of clicked, as weird as everything was. It's like when you pile up a bunch of inconsistencies that, after a point, you can't even tell each one apart from the other. That's what the show felt to me. And I loved it.

I'm not usually a huge fan of the shounen whiny MCs. This is why I couldn't handle Naruto. Those characters are so goddamn annoying. I'm not saying that Matoi wasn't annoying at times, but the show managed to do so much that the annoyance covered itself up. The transformation sequences, the power-ups, the fights, they all added up to so much that I couldn't help but be on the edge of my seat, eager to know what happens next. It's rare to find a show that makes you this pumped up for a fight scene. And to find a show where every damn episode makes you go like that is near impossible. I'm surprised Kill la Kill managed to do that without messing it up.

What dragged me into the show was how many things were happening all the time. The creativity of it all was mind-boggling. I imagine the writer going, if it can happen, I will wish it to happen. This is especially evident in Mako'd dialogue scenes. There's some random shit in every freaking frame in that. I can't imagine the animators came up with completely new designs just to show it for a split second. I can feel the effort that was put into this show. Though it's wild, everything feels calculated and in its rightful place. The abstractness doesn't feel abstract for abstract's sake. It's like the show is telling me that there's no point questioning why it happens because that's not the point. It's all about looking at the absurdity and having a great time with it.

Then there are the characters. I don't think I need to say much about them. The level of development each of the main characters received was extraordinary. And the show very much acknowledges the difference between a main character and some random NPC, rather than half-assign everyone, it selects a cast and goes with it. Take Mako and Gamagoori's relationship, for instance. Initially, it was coincidental, but as the two found themselves in completely random scenarios, as often happens in this show, Gamagoori slowly grew accustomed to having Mako around in those weird situations to the point where he developed feelings for her. Seeing this unfold over the entire span of the show, rather than a brief arc while everything else is happening, is incredibly satisfying. It's as if the subplots aren't overshadowed by the main plot, and the main plot isn't hindered by the subplots either. It makes the main plot even more sweeter.

There's also the sound mixing and the music. There's no denying the music is awesome. But what really caught my eye was the sound effects for all the action scenes. The sound didn't suspend my suspension of disbelief in the slightest. It merged well with what I was seeing. Unlike in say Reincarnated as a Slime or The Eminence in Shadow where there are a lot of fights going on, the sound is extremely mediocre at best. The sounds just don't match very well with the things that are happening, it feels dejected at times. As if the sound was given more oomph just to make it sound cool or larger than it is.

Wow, just wow. I have nothing more to say. I'm simply blown away. I literally watched through the whole 8 hours in one sitting for fucks sake.

This is what i expected from Vivy honestly. But in the end, i got it in the form of pluto. I'm glad i didn't continue with the manga, this is one hell of an adaptation.

This show captures how messy people can be in the most beautiful way.

There’s something about this show, man. It just hits that spot. I honestly didn’t expect it to hit as hard as it did. Maybe it’s the vibe. That slow, melancholic, and thoughtful attitude everyone carries. That one episode where it’s just everyone having a day off, going about their lives, giving us a glimpse into the mundanity of everyday life. Or those sunrises and sunsets scattered throughout, just sitting there, unbothered and beautiful. Or even the characters, all of whom I love equally.

There’s something in this show I just can’t quite explain. Maybe words just aren’t enough to capture the layers of emotion it holds. I cried a few times watching it. The pacing gives you space to sit with those feelings, to really let them sink in.

It was especially heartfelt when the gang finally visited Manato’s grave after taking down the goblins responsible. Watching each of them leave, one by one, with that quiet sadness and a sense of fulfillment in their hearts. I felt that too. That pain, mixed with just a tinge of hope.

Watched the dub

Except for the usual anime bullshit here and there like the, oh I'm looking in to the future mechanic, Log Horizon is a very solid show I'm going too look back for a long time to come. Its up there with shows like Tensura and Shangri-la. This felt a little like Overlord if its main character cared about people a little bit more. This is what I wished the overlord show was honestly. Because the Adventurers acknowledge that they're gamers. That's how they think. that's how they behave and that's how they see the world. To see the show actively use that to its advantage is amazing. Rather than seeing people who magically transformed their mind and mental fortitude to another world, we see gamers and nerds in their element.

What I loved most about the show is how I rarely hated its characters. At first I didn't really like some of the characters, especially the kids. But goddamn didn't the show develop them and made me like them. Near then end I was genuinely rooting for them.

I also like how almost always when there's something huge going down there's always two parallel stories going on. This makes it possible for both of them to have slowly paced moments because then the other one would serve as the contrasting point of view to make me not bored.

I started watching this when I was on a 14-hour flight and managed to devour 8 episodes in one go. I was tired and couldn't sleep, so what better option than this, honestly? I had to choose between the three Evangelion rebuild movies or this. Given how I was feeling, there was no way in hell I was watching the anime equivalent of a depression drug. I wanted something uplifting, and boy, did this show do the trick.

Kirei – that's the first thought that came to my mind right after finishing those initial 8 episodes during the flight. And that's precisely what stuck in my mind even after completing the entire series.

The romance in this show had a unique flavour to it. It didn't delve deep into a specific kink like that cosplay girlfriend anime, nor did it venture into the extremely bizarre territory like that mysterious girlfriend anime. Instead, it chose the more mature path, which was quite refreshing and I loved it. Typically, I despise the conflicts in romance anime; they often seem utterly foolish. Take Citrus, for example, even though I enjoyed that show for reasons I'd rather not discuss here, hehe, its conflicts were simply ridiculous. However, in this show, both the conflicts and their resolutions felt genuine and plausible. They didn't shatter my suspension of disbelief in the slightest. It was truly enjoyable to watch, and it felt comforting as if I wished to live and experience it myself. This mature quality struck me in a way that few shows have, and reminds of me Bloom Into You.

The show did have its peculiar moments tho, like that half-episode or so where Nakami and Magari were simply strolling around, discussing how things unfolded throughout the entire season, like a recap. I mean, seriously, why? I just watched the show; I didn't want it to backtrack! Except for that mishap, probably due to budgetary reasons, I really enjoyed the show.

It had the nuances of high school romance that made me hooked. Like the nuances of being a professional in Barakamon.

Amazing. A sincere 15/10. This is truly a carnival phantasm.

Honestly, I have to admit that I'm not familiar with a lot of the characters that this anime parodies. I haven't watched or read Tsukihime, and I know nothing about Fate Grand Order. And as for the cats that show up in every episode? I'm clueless. Despite all that, I have to say that watching this anime was an absolute delight.

The first episode was particularly outstanding. It not only gave me a clear idea of what the show was going to be about, but it also set the tone and expectations for the rest of the series. Type-moon really outdid themselves with that first episode. In fact, you don't even need the usual three-episode rule with this anime - if the first episode doesn't hook you, then nothing will. That's how well it established the show's themes and overall direction.

I have to admit, the silliness of it all caught me off-guard. Considering the original source material is filled with intense violence and emotional turmoil, turning it into a comedic parody seemed like an odd choice. But the show exceeded my expectations in every way. It didn't feel like it was parodying the original just for the sake of it - it had its own unique twists and turns that made it stand out. It never felt like it was mocking the original just for the sake of it. The writers put a lot of effort into creating an alternate version of the characters, building up their own comedic context and even going so far as to give them, Carnival Phantasm-centric character arcs.

You can really feel the passion that went into creating this show. It's experimental, it's humane, and it's incredibly creative. Though some source-based jokes went completely over my head, I still found myself thoroughly enjoying every episode. The level of effort put into the writing and character development was truly impressive, especially considering they could have just used the existing characters in a comedic context. Instead, they took the extra step and crafted their own unique version of these characters and it shows. I have a lot of respect for the effort that they put into this project, and it really paid off.

Watched the dub. Don't regret it to the least

Episodes 1-12 were perfect. Nothing more, nothing less. They had some of the best storytelling and writing I've seen. Yes, the animation lacked at times. But it did the job and it didn't feel like it was holding the story back. Each episode had something new to explore. Slowly building up the whole world and mysterious but lovable protag, Vash the Stampede.

Then came episode 13. A sort of recap story. It was... alright I suppose. Sometimes you had them in these old shows. And it wasn't like it was a complete recap. It had some new scenes and moments to spice things up too, like its ending.

Then the whole train crashed with episode 14. The only episode to not feature Vash in the front. It was just soo sooo weak. I couldn't even keep my wholehearted concentration on it. I hate not fully focusing on what I"m watching. I rarely let myself drift off. If I do drift off, and often, I would immediately consider what I was watching drop worthy. I really don't like to waste my time watching something I didn't enjoy or get a kick out of. But episode 14 just didn't fit right. Compared to the momentum the show had up until then. It didn't make sense. How could an episode be so, bland? The conflict didn't feel all that interesting. The characters weren't all that developed. It just didn't have enough to make me care about the situation. In the end, adding up to make the episode outright boring.

The same can partly be said about episode 15. Though, it wasn't bad per se like its predecessor. It didn't have the same quality as the rest. The writing felt sloppy and lazy. The dialogue wasn't witty at all. Hm. This is where I'm currently at so I wonder what direction the show will take going forward. I really hope it will go back to the previous formula.

Yea, it did go back!

So that's it huh. I can't believe I got to watch two absolute bangers back to back. First, it was the daily lives of high school boys and now Trigun. This show sure was something. It was perfect in its own way. Sure it had a ton of problems, like with the animation and the way certain characters were written. Plus a whole lot of pacing issues. The show sure does show its age now. But, I absolutely loved it. I loved the characters. I loved that gritty art style. I loved the comedy. This was soo good. At first, I was comparing this to Samurai Champloo. But god, this surpasses that by a long shot. If it weren't for the weird inconsistencies, Trigun would have definitely made it into my favourites.

All in all, this is so what I would call a Classic. Wouldn't hesitate if I ever got the feeling to rewatch it. This is the kind of epic that doesn't bore you no matter how many times you watch it.

I still can't believe I finished 26 episodes in two freaking sittings. Ahhhh, well, not that it wasn't worth it. This was an experience of a lifetime.

Ahhh I can't get this show out of my head. It was farrr better than what I was expecting and now I'm having trouble watching even a single episode from anything else cos this show's quality is above and beyond almost everything out there.
God, it's post Gintama all over again.

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It took only a single episode to know that this was my type of show. Iy had a similar feel to Edgerunners, one of my favourite shows, which heavily embraced a mature story with plenty of subtlety. Honestly, I never anticipated it to be as great as it turned out to be - all my expectations were surpassed. Like how I watch all of my shows, I only started this because the cover looked good and I remember reading the first manga chapter a few years ago. Even then, I stopped reading it because this was still releasing and it felt like it had hit gold. Now that I've watched the show, I'm pretty sure I'm never going to read the manga now, it looks that good!

Adjusting to the CGI took me a few episodes. I'm generally not a fan, but I'm open-minded if it's executed well. This CGI? I'm all in. It quickly blended in and I didn't even notice it after a while. though at first, I doubted if I would like the art style, it's grown on me and I now think it's one of the best things about the show. It looks beautiful.

Oftentimes, I find mystery shows to be boring because they often keep the mystery going for too long and I lose interest. This is why I've never watched more than three episodes of The Promised Neverland. Heavenly Delusions does a great job of balancing the mystery with good old action. The show never loses sight of its appeal, even when there's a big mystery going on in the background.

I think Heavenly Delusions did something really special with its approach to storytelling. Show don't tell. The show never spells out what's unfolding; even key plot points remain subtle. You have to connect the dots yourself. Its especially great when you're noticing a familiar name or world detail you've seen before or heard before and it finally clicks. Looking at you Hoshino.

Ngl, I fell apart into a crying mess in Hoshino and Dr Usami's episode. It was so well executed and it really hit me hard. It beautifully showcased the humanity within the show. It felt real. It didn't feel _anime-esque_. Because so many times shows fall into the trap of trying to say serious stories while still limiting themselves to the constraints of the anime formula. This is what made me furious with The Executioner and Her Way of Life. It tried telling a very real story but got tangled in the trappings of a clichéd isekai formula, a glaring inconsistency. If you're going to tell a serious story, you need to pull it through till the end. Heavenly Delusions aced that.

Humans are always nuanced. No one is completely good nor bad. Trying to put them into a neat box will always kill certain parts of a character leaving out only the most exaggerated. The homeless guy in the van was one of a kind character. Hell, even the king of hotels, this show is filled to the brim with so many characters that all have problems. the world doesn't just revolve around our two protagonists even if the story does.

There are only two OPs/EDs that have made me emotional. One is Edgerunner's ED, the other is Steins; Gate 0's ED. Now this. This show's OP was absolutely fantastic. The ethereal visuals, the lyrics and the vocals, everything just mixed together so well.

All in all, this was a one-of-a-kind show. I really hope they keep up this same quality thought out its next seasons.

This show is amazing. The comedy. The characters. They all hit just the right way. Every character has their own merit to stand on their own feet. Even the side ones. On top of that, the animation. Though the show uses so many generic tropes, it never feels redundant nor copy pastey. It adds its own flavour to everything which i really appreciate.

For as great as the show was, that was an unsatisfactory ending, wasn't it? God i hate cliffhangers.

Converted the note into a review cos it was too fucking long.

Here are a few comments I found under youtube videos for this to maximize the emotional damage.

Both Maine and David were strong enough to fight cyber psychosis and take one last look at the people they loved before their deaths.

ED--
Lucy walks the rest of the way home distraught after Falco drops her off, pauses to smoke to try and calm herself, breaks down screaming in the shower/tub, gets out and cries on the windowsill, can't run away from her pain of loss, then realizes David's dream for her to go to the moon.
This ending has so much more meaning to it after watching the finale.

Night City remembers people for how they died and not what they did before that.
It's safe to say David easily goes down as one of the most legendary cyberpunks in Night City. He battled MilTech, Arasaka, and it took Adam Smasher to finally put him down.
The best part? David died human.

I love how they had the intro being David’s absolute blast of a journey through night city with a pretty chaotic song and then the outro slows down with Lucy in the aftermath of everything that happened in the show. Sort of represents the viewer’s upbeat and happy feelings as the show starts to depression as the show ends. Phenomenal show

The more I think about the ending of this show the more depressed I get…I thought this ed was Lucy feeling lost and powerless seeing David slowly killing himself for others, but now I realize that it’s her absolutely depressed after his sacrifice…this show keeps finding ways to hurt me, man…

So true random person on the internet. So true.

That was.... interesting. I don't know why but this show felt like it was on the same level as NHK. A very grounded story said using abstract concepts. Although Sonny Boy is at the epitome of weirdness.

First of all, I adore this art style. That's the primary reason why I picked this show up in the first place.

The show felt like an anecdote to change. That people can change. Your change might not be recognized by anyone. It might not even be on anyone's radar. But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Because you're there to witness it. Even if the whole world's blind to it. You aren't. And thinking your witness isn't worth it isn't going to take you anywhere. There's nowhere to go if you run away. You can only run forward.

If you told me to summarize the show.

Things just happen.
We can't control the world. We're mere observers. We can only control the little path we make for ourselves. So hating ourselves and being numb towards the world isn't going to solve anything. It's only going to make you more miserable.

That last ep sure was something. Not many stories take that path. It wasn't a victory. It wasn't even a tie. It showed the crudeness of reality. That the world... doesn't really revolve around us. So what do we do facing that meaningless? Live so you don't regret it with the smile. What a last scene that was.

I think I'm in love. That was... AMAZING. From the animation to the music to the story. Exactly my type. And the ending too, it was hilarious.

Ahhhh, this is what I call a perfect first episode

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That hit wayyy too close to home. This is the second time I'm watching this first episode and I've laughed and cried both times. This time, I'm continuing further!

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This has to be one of the most mature shows I've ever watched. Most of the seinen stuff out there just feels a little bit too edgy to ever be taken as life advice. This right here feels real in just the right way.

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There's something about this show that resonates deeply within me, touching the very core of my being. Our protagonist, Handa, possesses a level of relatability that few characters across any medium have ever achieved. While many claim to find characters relatable, I often find myself disconnected from their experiences. Yet, Handa is different. His values, his conformity—they all mirror different facets of my own identity. Even his narcissistic tendencies strike a familiar chord within me, leaving me wondering if I'm one myself.

One aspect I've come to despise is the act of dreaming. And I don't mean the kind that occurs when your head rests on a pillow. I'm referring to the aspirations we hold for the future. I find it difficult to derive solace from envisioning a reality that does not yet exist or may never come to pass. The disparity between thinking about the future and being present is striking. The future, by nature, is laden with complexity. We continually yearn to transcend our current circumstances, forever fixated on what lies ahead. Our imaginations soar, contemplating the boundless potential of where we could be.

However, there is also a profound beauty in living in the present. While the future may appear enticing with its endless possibilities, there is a certain peace and contentment to be found in embracing the now. It is in those moments when we truly immerse ourselves in the present that we discover the depth of our existence. When I see someone joyfully engaged in the present, uninhibited by thoughts of what lies ahead, it has a profound influence on me. These instances, where spontaneity and genuine enjoyment take precedence over future aspirations, are the ones that truly matter.

Handa's final words to Naru, "When I see you having fun with no thought for anything else, it has an influence on me too. These are the moments that are important for me," encapsulate the essence of cherishing the present. In his journey, Handa may have battled with his own narcissism and grappled with the allure of a future filled with grand aspirations. However, in the end, he recognized the significance of living in the moment and finding happiness in the simple joys of life. It is a reminder that while dreams and aspirations can inspire us, it is the present experiences and connections that truly shape our existence. Handa's realization serves as a poignant reminder to embrace the present, for it is in these fleeting moments that we find true fulfilment.

With each episode's end, I was hit with a surge of emotions. They weren't exactly directed towards the show per se. More so towards myself. The show constantly reminded me of my childhood. In a way, the show took me on a nostalgia trip. The characters just felt so 'real'. The conflicts felt real. Character motivations felt real. Even the events themselves. Nothing felt forced or 'for the plot'.

Usually, I'm not one to watch completely down to earth shows. Most of the shows I enjoy usually have a hook to them. Take After the rain's portrayal of dreams and reality or Hibike's dive into perfectionism. I always have a knack for a bit of drama or an underlying conflict. Usagi however, did not have such a big hook in it. Yes, it did have quite a several conflicts, but they were more episodic than grandiose. Even then, I loved watching the show. Throughout runtime it made me think about my childhood a bit more. Even though my family always reminds me of it, for better or worse, I haven't really put any effort by my own accord to delve into my past.

When I was a kid. I used to be one tough nut. If the accounts of my family members are to be believed, which I sure do, I was arrogant through and through. So, they had a pretty hard time dealing with me. The scar that goes right through the centre of my right eyebrow is enough proof in and of itself. If anyone compared my lifestyle and attitudes now to my younger, cockier me, they'd certainly conclude that we're distinctly two people. This is why I found that I related a lot to Daikichi. Even though, the age gap I share with Daikichi is much much higher than that of Rin. This is also why I don't go into my past often. It's like looking at a different me. A me, that I'm not sure I know even. So, everything just feels foreign. Memory sure is an enigma. When a few go missing here and there but older more prevalent one's don't. Understanding how you came to be the person you are today turns into an absolute detective show.

Rewatched 2024/08/27

For the first time. I let my mom pick which anime she wanted to watch. All this time, I specifically picked and chose what to show her. This time tho, I just told her that there's this extremely popular Japanese anime studio named Studio Ghibli that makes Disneyesque movies (my only exp with them was cat returns, okay..). Then I showed her their Anilist page sorted by popularity and told her to choose one. And that's how we ended up with this.

The ending sequence of the movie is simply phenomenal. Well, the whole movie was phenomenal but that ending carried a lot more weight than some 12 ep anime's I've watched. I simply couldn't hold back my tears to it. In a way, it was like a photobook. You keep them to remind you of the people who are close to you. Or the people who 'were' close to you. Those minimal scenes of Setsuko just goofing around carried quite the punch. It was like a memory that isn't worth forgetting but one that will be forgotten nonetheless. This is a theme the movie reminded me a lot about. Even though how playful their life was. In the end. They were simply forgotten. That's why the scene in the opening sequence really struck me after I finished the movie. The station cleaner threw away that carton without a care in the world. Without knowing who's ash it contained. Without a single clue about the person, it belonged to. It still saddens me to even think about it. Man, that's so tragic.

This is why I couldn't help crying at the end. Even in the presence of mom. I couldn't hold back. I tried my very best to keep my composure to no avail. I gave up my attempt at keeping my pride intact and just let my emotions have control over me. They simply couldn't be bottled up. And like a balloon popping after blowing it up too much. I let it all out. My eyes kept watering and watering.

Honestly, I didn't expect this at all. There was a reason why I told my mom that Studio Ghibli's movies were Disneyesque. My only experience with them was with The Cat Returns. Grave of the Fireflies is a far cry to that. On top of that, when I first saw its release year. 1988. I was like: Awww, is this one of those old-timers? So, in a way. I was fully hoping to see a children's movie. In the end. My expectations were literally bombed into oblivion.

This was just the thing I needed. This evening I went to see that Chinese Marvel film. I don't even remember its name. I just called it the Xi Jinping movie. I was in all meanings of the word disappointed by it. The concepts themselves weren't bad. I really liked the 10 rings. I think it's cool. The way it's used for propulsion. The way it handles as a weapon. Everything. It was as interesting as Dr Strange's magic system. Which is my favourite part of the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, the movie was also inspired by Chinese fantasy. Which meant a lot of flying around as if Earth had the same gravity as the Moon, kinda scenes. If I hadn't gone to the cinema with a couple of friends. I wouldn't have been able to stand it at all. Plus the beers we smuggled in helped a lot too. I mean, we were the only ones at the cinema. Just nine people. Not a soul was there except for us. And the cinema has like 200+ seats. So, in a way, we owned the place. I bet they lost money just screening it to us. The electricity alone for the A/C and projector must cost a lot more than just nine tickets, right?

Anyways, coming home from that whole debacle. This was one hell of a watch. In a way, it shattered some preconceptions I held about Japan too. Until now, I thought Japan was a country where the people had an extreme sense of commune. I'm from a country where 'community' is considered a pinnacle of society. So, I know what it means to be extremely social. It's only now that I realise how mistaken I was. Japan didn't become the pacifist nation they are known for now through just social evolution alone. It's built on top of an extremely cruel and brutal past.

My mom told me about this article she had read just after finishing the movie. After the Second World War, a census had revealed that there were more than 125,000 orphans in the country. But all the orphanages in the country combined could only handle around 12,000 kids. Just let that sink in for a bit. The movie is truly a look into the reality of that discrepancy.

For some reason, it feels like I'm gonna forget this show faster than usual. Idk, it's just a feeling.

Usually when we're watching a piece of media. There's a certain structure we expect. A format that almost all modern media follow to be best of their abilities. First, there's the introductory stage. You get introduced to the cast and the world. There's some exposition sprinkled here and there. You're fed as much information as possible. Then there's the conflict loop. Which most of the time looks like something along the lines of;

Conflict buildup => High point => Payoff

First, there's a burning issue that has, is or will disrupt the natural state of things. Then the highpoint where the protag(s) actively involve themselves in that problem. Then end of the tunnel at the end. Now lay character development on top of this loop and you've got what we call character arcs. The characters may change for the better, or worse or even stay the same. The author may call the shots towards whichever side they fancied.

After all of that is the ending. The true ending or the grand payoff you could say. Or perhaps a rabbit hole if any sequels are planned. We're so used to seeing this formula in the content we watch that it's pretty much etched into the back of our minds. These days, we sort of expect shows to follow a loop like that. There might even be times when we're dissatisfied when shows do things that are way out of the box.

NHK is one like a black sheep. Most of the time it stuck to the formula. But there were times when it felt like the show was testing foreign waters. Trying to experiment. The ending sure was one of these. Unlike almost every show I've ever watched. The ending of NHK felt... real. Real as in; that's how it would've ended if the story took place for real. The ending wasn't tragic. Nor was it blooms and butterflies. It was in all senses of the word, neutral.

In the end, even after so many events, Sato as a character didn't change a lot. Just like real people, even if we experience unexpected or special events. They often change us but in really really small ways. Most often than not, we simply revert back to our old selves after the high runs out.

I'm happy the show didn't definitely tie a knot between our couple. Hell, it's an overstatement to even call them a couple. But that's how life is I guess. Nothing really happens the way you want it to. Things just flow. And sometimes it flows in directions you yourself are satisfied in and sometimes not. It's hard to predict anything. I think that's what the show was going for. Without going down that path, that emptiness you feel, won't be there, would it?

When I watched this, this show felt like it was calling me out. Like it was revealing things I knew but wasn't ready to accept. Life doesn't always work the way you want it to. Just like how our couple just lives on. Things don't happen out of anything and expecting others to do something for us isn't gonna lead us anywhere. If we want to move forward. That's on us.

This is why I honestly loved the show. It didn't try to feed us with a sense of satisfaction just because the show was coming to a close. It held on up until the very end. Never trying to shy away from what it was trying to say. This in all its glory managed to hit me hard. The show was depressing. Not in the usual tragic way though. It was more like; so that's how life is like huh, kind of depressions. Honestly, I'm surpri...
Sur....
Puru Puru Pururin.... Puru Puru...

I'm already feeling the edges of my mind slipping away...
It's only a matter of time... Till I... Till.. I... Puru Puru....

Wasn't that an experience. I'm truly thankful I kept on watching the show preceding this without dropping it. This movie right here is definitely worth the endless eight. With a runtime of almost 3 hours, I can't believe this managed to keep my attention. It didn't feel boring in the least. There was so much going on. The writing was awesome. The payout man, totally worth the long watch time.

This movie is like an extension to the first 6 eps of the show. Those episodes felt unique and not boring at all. The movie, as if taking inspiration from them, was the same. It had emotion. It made me care. It made me want to watch it. It took quite a bit of pressure from me to keep on watching the series. Thinking this is from the same show is simply astonishing.

I love how expressive the show manifested Kyon's internal conflict. I mean, from the beginning I knew what we were seeing werent flashbacks or anything but the personas of his mind.

When I thought, this couldn't get any better, episode 5 dropped... Then when I thought, an anime about kids doing funny stuff couldn't make me cry, episode 6 drops...

Oh man, have you ever stumbled upon a show that just hits differently? Something that's so perfect, it feels like it was made specifically for you. That's exactly how I feel about Hinamatsuri. I mean, I've always had a thing for comedy, but this show takes it to a whole new level. It's like the writers knew exactly what would tickle my funny bone.

But Hinamatsuri is more than just comedy gold. It's a rollercoaster of emotions that'll leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. And let's be real here, if a show can make me cry, it's an instant winner in my book. Hinamatsuri had me reaching for the tissues more times than I'd care to admit. But the thing is, it's not like those tearjerkers that leave you feeling like a hot mess for days. Looking at you Edgerunners. This show manages to pick you back up and give you a big ol' hug before the credits roll. It's like Gintama in that sense.

I don't know man, there's just something about Hinamatsuri that's so damn special. It's the perfect blend of comedy and heart, and it just hits all the right notes. So if you're looking for a show that'll make you laugh, cry, and feel all warm and fuzzy inside, Hinamatsuri is definitely the one to watch. Trust me, you won't regret it.

Guess this show is what pure masculinity looks like.

When I first saw that nudity tag in this. I was like; Well it is a diving show, so maybe diving shots? Man, wasn't I wrong? For better or worse, I'm so glad I was. This show's way better than I ever hoped it would be.

Hell, I added this to my planning list after seeing a clip of a scene where a dude got offered water then he lit a lighter next to it and it caught fire. It was absolutely hilarious and I simply couldn't pass it on. But I expected this to be more of a story based show with drama mixed in and comedy being a way to spice things up. But nooo. This show is pure comedy. Everything else was second. And I love it for that. It just felt unbound. Like, the creators just did what they felt like without holding much back. I really appreciate the lengths this show went to. I mean, naked drinking parties aren't really the norm, right?

Plus not to mention the fan service. Normally, I really don't like fan service. It just feels like it's there to calm the mood or something. As if it's there to just satisfy our lustful desires rather than progress with the story. I'm not saying Grand Blue doesn't do this. But damn they do it well. I don't mean well in an ecchi kind of well. I mean well in how deeply the fan service gets integrated with the comedy. There's never a service that goes without reason. The show always milks them out for a joke or even a meta commentary.

I'm just breathless. It's like this show was specifically made for my tastes. Yea the animation sorta sucked and the characters didn't have any depth. I mean you could simply explain each character in one line. And the funny thing is. The show literally did that when they introduced the characters. I love how it didn't try to complicate things. It just gave us some characters. Then told us their qualities and just threw their hands up. But who gives a crap about depth when you could define a character arc by how many pieces of cloth they're wearing at the end of it. Man this show's nostalgic.

Even I'm amazed school was this chaotic. Oh well, guess that's how it is when you put a bunch of guys in the same class for 7 years straight.

When I started watching this show. My mind was all over the place. I was wondering what the hell the show was even trying to do. From its hallucinogenic art style to its blazing fast dialogue. My senses were filled to the brim. Hell, from start to finish of the whole show's run time my fingers were always on the pause and rewind keys. I always had to go back or pause to really get what the characters were saying. Adding to that the almost never-ending exposition took me a while to get used to. For that though, I'm grateful. I'm happy that I continued to watch it till the end. This anime is like those experiences where at you don't really know why you're even there to begin with but you still don't leave.

Ever since I was a child. My parents have always told me one thing. Learn well and succeed in life. They showed me that the best way to achieve what they called happiness is through learning and having a good job. I being the naive child believed this without question. It was only when I entered my A/L that I began to see the inconsistencies with such hope. Like the unnamed protagonist. We all at one point in our life believe that life will be a rose-coloured garden. If it isn't today it will be tomorrow or the day after. Or maybe after I hit up on that dream job. Or when I finally have the funds to buy that car I've always wanted since I was a kid. We all hope that we'd be better off someday if we just have that one thing. It may be an object of material value. Or like our protagonist here. A raven-haired maiden as a lover.

However, when you end up not being able to achieve such a fate. You tend to fall into a deep void of dissatisfaction and depression. Starting to hate yourself for not being able to make what you hoped a reality. Even if that hope was unrealistic. You blame yourself. This soon spirals into an uncontrolled loop of regret. With you wishing you had just taken a different path. A different choice. This is what happens at the end of each episode of the series. He wished to go back in time and have done something differently. Everyone wishes this at some point. The ability to time travel. To clear a mistake. To redo an action that leads to regret in hopes of healing (haha, redo of healer).

This is where you have to think. Will changing past circumstances fix you? Will it really point you in another direction? Even if it takes you on a different path. Will that path is satisfying? This reminds me of this study I read about. It did an experiment with people who were of different levels when it came to economic stability and wealth. In it, there was this certain amount, after which, your emotional wellbeing and happiness didn't really increase even if the amount of wealth you had increased. Yes, having a low income is bad in all senses of it. We sort of have no choice, the world runs on money if we like it or not. But it really comes down to what you want in life, doesn't it?

Coming back to the plot. Say you do get what you wish for in life. Would you be happy then? Or will you still be unsatisfied? This is where the show really attracted me. Even if you do get something. Like, the countless lives Otaku Watashi finds himself breaking through. Even if you have a certain thing that others would only dream of, you won't really be happy unless you accept that a perfect life just doesn't exist. Trying to lead a perfect life is simply a disaster waiting to happen. It's more about your mindset. Expecting a perfect life only leaves you with dissatisfaction. It's like what egghead said to Underworld Watashi. Even if you can become the person who you dream of. To focus your gaze on that which is unrealistic and relying on possibilities of a person who you could have become simply leads you to unsatisfaction. Accepting who you are now and the life you have created for yourself is what matters to achieve what we would call satisfaction.

The anime really is about being happy with what you've got personified.

The line "There's nothing more boring than a successful love story" in the last episode really struck me. No matter, how much we look forward to one. When it's there. It really is boring. Without an opposite. It's basically nothing.

DO NOT READ THIS!! SHITTY GRAMMAR AND IDEOLOGY WARNING!! THIS IS ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE NEUROTIC BABBLINGS I DO

When it comes to hopes and dreams. It's really hard to accept the distance between possibility and impossibility. You wish for it to be in the realm of possibility. So that you can work hard and finally reach it. But not every dream can be attainable through effort. You may try your best but fail to reach it. You may invest countless hours of your time but in the end, it is time spent gaining the unattainable. Like Ouraborus infinitely looping to catch a tail that will forever be a step ahead. No matter how many steps forward you take. Giving up on a dream is okay. But living in regret for what you could not achieve. Even if it was unattainable from the start. People tend to blame themselves for what they cannot do.

It's hard to determine what's possible and what's not. Sometimes the difference between the two isn't something that can be seen through the naked eye. You need to experience it to find out. The even harder thing to figure out is the difference between a goal that you can achieve if you held on to it and goals that cannot be achieved no matter how long you hold on. A very fine line differentiates the two. But both require countless failures to be experienced to be identified.

When it comes to dreams in the realm of possibility. Should you influence another to follow such a dream as well? Looking back at a past failure they may feel a sense of fear. Making them defenceless in front of the walls that need to be claimed to make it a reality. It's really hard to decide if you should influence another person to climb such a path. Will it be the best for them? Could it be that they are happy the way they are? Will they forever regret not trying to fly even if their wings have been clipped? More importantly. How should you even look at it?

Say you're a sparrow who doesn't know how to fly. You tried very hard in the past to flap your wings as hard as possible to take flight. But to no avail. Should you keep trying? Should you keep flapping your wings until you emerge from the murky depths of the gravity that holds you? Or should you stay with the ground folk and get to know them? Accepting that flight is not for you. You may even enjoy having your feet be pulled by the forces beneath your feet that you may never conquer. Will you one day look up at the sky and regret the winds you could have flown with? You may never forget the day you decided to stay on the ground like a tattoo of regret. Etched into your skin to forever remind you of a string you never followed in the fabric of life. Or will you forget to look up at the sky? Growing more and more impassive of the hopes and dreams you used to harbour.

The show is about finding hope. Without hope. People take different parts to fill their place. Some like Tachibana try to fill it out with apathy while some like kondo tell themselves that this is for the better. No matter how try to down that void within. The regret still exists. Because losing hope isn't simply shit about losing a future. It's also about losing friends and anyone and anything that's connected to it. However, having a relenting hope it's detrimental too. Kondo's wife left him because he focused his attention more on it than on her. Simply having hope doesn't always cut it. Sometimes, those promises we make to ourselves push aside things we adore. But when it comes down to it. You've gotta put it straight. You need to decide which will make you happy more and wh device you will regret more.

Like how Bloom Into You made me think long and hard about the identity of a person or the multiple faucets of identity a person can have. After the rain made me think about what it means to have and lose hope

A classic you should never watch

I'm absolutely blown away by this show. With every passing ep, it continues to unravel its layers and becomes more, much much more than your average gore-filled shounen. I love how much the show cuts into its characters. The visual storytelling really reminds me of 86. But the difference here is that the steaks and the story don't feel overblown out of proportion. The conflicts feel so down to earth as if this was always the way it was going to turn out. What sets Gangsta apart is its unflinching portrayal of the struggles and the unsettling sense of normalization that can accompany such experiences. It's a show that skillfully captures the complex interplay between conflicts and their emotional aftermath.

On top of that, I love how much subtlety the show has. Like the slowly trickling memories of Worick and Nicolas, or the relationship between Nic and Nina. There are so many nuances and intricacies this conveys by showing rather than telling.

This is some monster levels of writing right here. Nothing less, and maybe even more.

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There's no denying that this show at times had pacing issues. When it felt stale it was like waiting for pork to finish cooking in the oven. It took ages. But even then, it didn't stop me from enjoying this. The staleness, though boring had its own charm. The show loved to take its sweet sweet time with the characters. Exploring each of their nuances thoroughly. This felt more like a character show than an action, even considering the number of fight scenes scattered all throughout it. I love this formula. This felt like it took all of the great things about Monster and Attack on Titan and mashed them together.

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Fuck...... I don't think I've been this angry at a show in a long long time.

This is one of the best shows I've ever watched. Even then, it's being left on the sidelines at a point like this. Literally at the middle of a fucking arc!

Ever since I started watching anime, especially the slice-of-life variant, I have felt a disconnect between what I was seeing and how I imagined the characters to be feeling. Why aren't they acting the way I know people would? Why do they seem like husks? Obviously, the budget is the culprit here; however, there are certain scenes, especially those conveying deep emotional messages, that require micro-expressions to fully feel what our characters are experiencing. This would make the emotions they feel all the more real. Liz is a movie that has mastered that intimacy. The entire film is shot extremely tightly, almost claustrophobically, which opens up a whole new world of character expressions. The sounds of everyday life added to the whole experience.

I'll be honest; I hated Hibike Euphonium. I was neither interested in orchestral music nor the relationships between the characters. It felt out of touch and... boring. However, Liz, though part of the same franchise, was not part of the same tree. It was entirely something else. After the whole buildup, when Mizore left the comforts of her cage, there was no dialogue to tell me what was going on, but the music itself made me shed a tear. The music conveyed the story, as beautiful as it was.

To me, this is the kind of production I've always wanted to see from an anime—portraying a perspective that feels more human and connected than anything I've ever seen before it. This is a visual, auditory and storytelling masterpiece.

This movie man... you know those kinds of media that change your outlook on things and leave you slightly changed at the end of it. Maquia is that kind of a movie for me.

When I was a 10-year-old kid, my dad went to the UK. He went there as a student in search of opportunities, much like the path I find myself on now in Canada. The cost of his pursuit, however, came at a steep price - all of our hard-earned savings.

As the months went on, it became painfully clear that my dad wasn't destined for fortune. During this time, my mom stopped working to dedicate herself to me. Though her cooking skills are like that of a 5-year-old, she didn't stop trying. Putting in so much effort and care only a mother could provide. Yet as the calendar pages turned, the money that my dad sent began to dwindle. Like a flickering flame fading into darkness, there were some months when it disappeared altogether. And with no savings to speak of, these were hard times.

I can still hear the hushed conversations between my mom and my absent father. She'd kindly ask me to step out of the room, but the walls themselves couldn't contain the echoes of her desperate pleas for help. Those were the times when life dealt us a difficult hand, but as a child, the weight of our struggles escaped my understanding. Blissful ignorance shielded me from the harsh reality we faced.

Back then, just like Ariel, I was just a naive kid; reluctant to attend school, quick to complain about our meals. Yet, in the middle of all that, my mom never told me to live with what I've got. She always let me do what I wanted, but I sensed she carried a heavy burden. Because of that, I always refrained from spending more than I needed to. Sometimes my school gave me a chit of paper with a fee written on it for some project they were doing. It might be to build a pool or even for a class trip. Even if I got scolded for not bringing it, I never took it home.

In the tapestry of life, my mom, like Maquia, wove a story of selflessness. She did everything within her power for her child, even if it meant sacrificing everything she had. And looking back at it now that I'm living independently, I can't help but admire that.

After reading 331096 (yeah 6 digits) I was utterly blown away by how much it alienated me. It was truly terrifying. It was a mixture of gore and psychological horror perfectly blending together to create quite a hard-hitting story in only 10 pages. Compared to other works of Amagappa Shoujogun, especially their Mountain of Amputee are focused on supernatural or physical horror. Not psychological. However, after finishing Atataki, I was yearning for something more. I wanted to find out the extent to which anime and manga could make me feel this way.

Compared to other mediums. Anime never felt serious enough to be considered psychological for me. Yes, there are shows like AOT with huge backstories and meaningful tragedies. But nothing ever gave me chills. This right here is where Perfect Blue shines the most. The movie felt real. The characters felt like real human beings. I sometimes miss this in anime. The medium is heavily influenced by highly saturated and over the top character tropes and archetypes. Because of this, you don't often see 'normal' people in them. This is why I love the art style of this show so much too. Reminiscent of Serial Experiments Lain, another show with a gorgeous art style, this show has this simple yet detailed aesthetic. You can understand a lot of the story just by looking at the background. I really appreciate the amount of thought that went into the little things. The little nuances.

For most of the run time. I was sitting at the edge of my seat with my mouth agape. My surprise was fueled by one, the incredible story. And two the cuts. How can I ever not mention the cuts? From the very beginning of the show, the transitions were simply awe-inspiring. Ever since I saw its first major transition. The one where Mima the idol snapped her head to the side on stage and we're inside of a grocery store with Mima the actress. I literally wound back and re-watched that scene three times at how awesome it was. But guess what? It was only the beginning. The movie is littered with extremely well-done cuts like that. If the cuts were purely aesthetic and without meaning I wouldn't be fussing over them this much either. They played a huge role in how we understood the story. In the later part of the movie, these cuts were the hallmark of Mima's degrading psyche. They intertwined with the plot itself. Making them more of a narrative element than a visual one.

After finishing the movie. I spent a good amount of time just pacing around my room. The ending left me in such a place that I just couldn't stop thinking. It's been a while since I've seen such a piece of media that pushed my mind into as big of a clusterfuck as this. It also reminded me a lot about another psychological thriller I love. Christopher Nolan's Memento. Man, that was a good movie. Took me two watched to get it down properly. I didn't even wait a single second after my first viewing to get right back in. I went into that movie during lunch and came out at dinner after two whole watch throughs. And it did not disappoint. I feel Perfect Blue is very similar in that regard. Both of these movies were primarily powered by their focal points. Memento with our amnesic protag and here our mentally degrading protag. Both showed the viewer what the main character saw. Not what really happened. And I gotta say. I can't help but praise this perspective choice. It was like we were literally in the shoes of our character. It didn't matter if things really happened or not. What mattered was how our main character changed through the way she perceived the world. Which we get to see from the front row.

Honestly, I really loved Perfect Blue. In a way, it made me feel how it was like for someone suffering from issues like the characters we saw. Because they felt like real human beings. Unlike flushed out characters in other shows, I felt I could connect with the characters here on a level far more than those on most traditional shows. All in all. This is one of the best psychological thrillers I've ever seen, no doubt about it. From it's aesthetic to it's characters. The movies is beautiful stylistically and plot-wise.

Episode 10
Goddamn that's a 10/10 episode. It had the perfect blend of comedy and emotional damage. Compared to the first two three episodes the whole series seems to have slowed down. It now gives more space for the slower moments. Letting it take a deep breath and let it all out before moving to the next. With that the pacing issues have completely vanished. You don't see that often; a show improving as it goes on rather than getting messier.

Ohhh Yuki, i feel you.

The story of the original Steins;Gate was awesome but when it came to my overall satisfaction of the series, it lacked a bit. It may have been it's old anime style and it's somewhat dated look. But in the end, I expected to be more excited bu the show that I really was. With that mind set I started watching Steins; Gate 0 and immidiately noticed something. It's that I absolutely love it. The music was great. The animation was great. And most of all. It's certainly my time. Dark and gloomy. I always wondered, what type of stories I like. Or what's a common characteristic of my most rated and loved shows. It's through watching this that I understood that I fall over heels for tragedy that's done well. This story all in all is quite tragic. With Okabe unable to get over his fears and has gone through such devestation to make him even loose his mad scientist persona. Even then, the plot's complexity doesn't change and I love it. Yeah, I had to spend a couple of days just thinking about it to fully straighten myself with the whole world line scenarios but still. It was definitely worth it. This sequal truly put the Steins;Gate trilogy in my book as show's you'd love once you go in neck deep. Along side movies like inception and books like recursion.

On top of this. How can I not mention the animation of Okabe's Reading Steiner. I mean, I was completely blown away the first time I saw it. It's just so satisfying plus scary at the same time.

Watching the first Steins;Gate didn't exactly make a a believer of this world or it's characters. It was entertaining somewhat but that's it. It didn't leave a lasting impression on me. But this second season totally left a lasting impression while at the same time involving me deeply inside it's world and it's characters.

Watched the first 31 episodes starting 2020-10-13 then paused indefinitely.
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Ahhh brings back memories. I'm still awestruck at why I paused this in the first place. I really don't remember. It's as great as ever!
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GTO is wholesomeness personified. However, it's not wholesome for the reasons most shows are. It shows you by example, not shying away from some messy topics to show that there's always a light at the end of the tunnel.
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I think I see why I paused the show at ep 31. I really really don't like this arc. In a way, I hate it on a personal level. I don't hate the show itself. But the antagonist of it. In a way, you can take this as how good the show is at crafting the story to be this compelling. In another way, making it dreadful enough to leave me in a mood to not watch anymore isn't ideal either. I'm at a weird crossroads.
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I finally passed my pausing point. Heh. I'm glad I decided to push past it. GTO still manages to fascinate me in weird ways. If it was only the absurd comedy I would've called it a day. If it only made me cry once, I would've called it a day. But that's not just it is it? No matter how much I watch, it always hits me as hard as the first ep. The stories feel so original. It's how unique GTO's formula is that really drags me in. That comedic undertone while being so emotionally dense. It's like Gintama but if people had responsibilities with no easy solutions and deadly consequences for their actions. Onizuka is a weirdly silly character in a world that's trying its best to crush his light.

I once talked at length about a facet of this with a friend of mine who's looking into studying Architecture. At its core, he's completely committed to art. That's pretty much his solace in life. His passion. Sometimes he might even forget to eat when in the middle of making a sculpture. When you're deeply passionate, you start to wonder if you can continue it forever. This comes down to whether you can monetize your passion and whether there is a marked need for it.

However, no matter how much you love different forms of art and built environments. You will never be able to fully express your creativity in any realistic scenario. There are regulations you need to follow. There are a customer's needs. Even if you make a perfect design. When a client tells you to change it to fit the image in their head, you feel like everything's coming crashing down. As if the design is now impure.

This leads to the question. Is this how you should think of your passions? If using your skills in a corporate environment to satisfy market needs is going to limit your artistry, would it be better to fight against the current way of things and leave a mark your own way? Risking the fact that you might come to hate what you're doing if things go south. Or should you yourself adapt to the way the market works and simply go with the flow? This is quite a paradox in a way.

Onizuka is often forced into circumstances where he must choose between these two. Should he keep striving to be the best teacher possible? Push through all of the scandals, the students and the teachers in his way while keeping strong to his ideals of being GTO. Or should he adapt like how all of the other teachers have? Giving up on the students and prioritising his own well-being for the sake of his wellness.

If it isn't obvious already. Onizuka always chooses the GTO path. To go against what everyone says. To put a mark on the world, in his own way. Not giving a shit about what anyone else does to impede him. And he holds strong till the very end. Not wavering even when faced with the predicament of literally being forced to go fishing for a whole year and losing his status as a teacher because he didn't want to snitch on his student for a crime he didn't even commit.

Though the arc ended rather comically and positively. I'm surprised the show even attempted to tackle a question like this. You don't see paradoxes like this answered nor even discussed usually, considering how hard it is to not get it wrong big time. And with such a resolution too. I mean, it's Onizuka we're talking about here. Once he proclaims something. It might as well be etched in stone.
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There's just something to GTO's style of storytelling that's making me so emotional watching it. I can't seem to pinpoint what it is. In one way, it's making me really nostalgic; in another, watching the honest to god way these characters act is really satisfying.

I must say, ep9 is one of my favs of the whole show. It's the one where the trio struggle to go through a checkpoint and Mugen is sent out to deliver a head as punishment after getting caught. That episode embodied what I consider the essence of this story. A self contained story filled with drama with a hind of Champloo humor.

Ep 17 is really really good as well. Hell, it even had a special ED just for itself. What made it great was how it resolved the whole, the three of them don't match conflict. The start of the episode we saw the three of them going their seperate ways because mugen and fuu had a fallout. But man that ending was great. It's like you don't really need to have a full on logical reason to stay with another person. It can even be as simple as getting better food when with them.

It's been a while since I've watched a show whose characters didn't seem like naive children. I love this show's characters.

Rewatched 2025/03/23 ˅˅ from this rewatch ˅˅

One of the best pieces of media I’ve ever watched period. The fact that I can say that after a second viewing is a big deal for me. Usually, on repeat watches, I start to pick things apart with a more critical eye, but this movie? If anything, it hit even harder the second time. There’s just so much going for it.

On top of that, I think I love it even more now than I used to. I’m not sure why, but over the past couple of years, I’ve started noticing things about myself that don’t quite line up with the average person. I wouldn’t call it a disability, but I wouldn’t call it not a disability either. It’s just not something you can see. It’s like I know what I’m supposed to be doing, but I just… can’t. Like the hardware is there, but I don’t have the right software to run it properly. I used to get bullied in school a lot because I just didn't think and act like the rest of them. Though I've grown to keep up a near perfect facade now, this movie just hit different in how relatable it is.

This was my first long-form note. So please be kind. I don't want to edit/rewrite it.

On my first watching I didn't exactly understand what made this movie special. I honestly considered it to be somewhat overrated and with a personal score of 7, I let the movie go. Yes, it had some good visuals but, the story, more specifically the ending just didn't manage to skip a beat in my heart. But no matter how hard I tried to forget, the movie just resonated inside of me. Yearning for something that I didn't know I wanted. Like the characters of the movie, I felt as if I was searching for a piece of my heart that had been lost after my first encounter with this movie. So, I decided to watch yet again with my whole family. I went into this rewatch with only one goal in mind. And that was to regain that which was lost from me. Although, at the time I did not know what. In watching it, I understood what I failed to see the last time. This is when I was truly able to appreciate the visuals and the way the story is presented. This is why I think, this movie falls into the same category as interstellar. Like Kimi no na wa. On my first watching, I didn't give much if a damn about the characters of it. But it was on my second watching that I truly understood the uniqueness and beauty of that magnificent movie. Although I acted as if it was my first watching in from of my parents, even I was at awe to the number of minute but crucial and spectacular details I had missed on my first viewing. Like the location the second meteor landed was right on top of Mitsuha's family shrine, or the incredible cuts this movie has, or the breath taking scenery that's drawn, I'm looking at you, you autumn leaves on the way to the volcano. Not only was I impressed by the execution and design of this anime, but also by it's story. This time around unlike the first, I legit shed tears multiple time at runtime. And the last act, with both Mitsuha and Taki try to find themselves was very heartwarming. Even though I knew exactly what was going to happen next. It's these kind media, that I like the most. You get to understand it a little better the more you watch it. You won't feel like you've wasted your time because no matter how many times you watch it. It never fails to entertain you. This I believe is the essence of this movie. It's git a great sound track, it's git a great plot. And didn't I mention the character design. I mean, they look and feel fantastic. Plus the visuals are basically out of this world. Like blade runner, every scene of this movie can be made into a wallpaper, and you'd still be staring at it in awe. It's when all of these qualities mix together into one neat package that you can easily digest do you get entertained the most. This is why I love this movie. Because it manages to invoke feelings in me that I never thought I had. It is through watching it the second time, was I able to pinpoint what I truly missed after my first one.

1st rewatch 2021-09-29 to 2021-10-07 (Watched with mom)

Violet Evergarden is a masterpiece of tragedy and self-realization. Following the war survivor Violet, the story builds upon her journey of self-realization through the bonds she builds up and through the bonds she lost. We follow our main protagonist on a journey with love being the end of the tunnel. The twist is, Violet who was raised from childhood to only be a tool of war is unable to comprehend universal human feelings. Through this, we set out to explore the journey as she uncovers what 'I Love You' truly means.

When I first added this series to my wishlist. I knew one thing. That being the similarities it had to Your Lie in April. I wouldn't disagree. Both have very tragic plot lines. But personally, I liked the density and depth every episode of Violet managed to carry compared to the slow pacing of Your Lie in April. Each episode is a complete roller coaster. I'm honestly perplexed at how it managed to keep its composure while being as emotional as it is. I never felt as if the story was repeating itself. Not only this, the uniqueness of each episode was what made me shed a tear to each and every ep after the 6th. I didn't expect a plotline built only within the span of a single episode to hit me so hard. It managed to hit so close to home. At times I was left wondering what I'd do if I'm somehow the person being affected by the tragedies the story's characters are going through. It really made me empathise with many of the characters that appeared. Needless to say, some of them showed increasingly high levels of naiveness which irritated me. Like the astronomy student. But all in all, managing to make me care enough about a character to cry about them within a half-hour period is simply mindblowing. This is the first show I've watched that managed to pull it off.

Thinking of other aspects of the anime, such as its music and art style. I gotta say, I'm not disappointed. The music pretty much fueled the tears that I fought so hard to keep in. The OST is truly something that I would definitely listen to even if it were out of context the show. Evan Call really outdid himself. The art too is simply magnificent. The character design exactly fits my description of a perfect anime character. Like Bloom Into You's and Your Name's art styles, Kyoto Animation successfully managed to have a colour palette and an environment that truly made each shot a masterpiece.

Speaking of the main plotline of this story. I usually tend to avoid anything that goes close to the topic of war. Except for those rare exceptions, like the movie Darkest Hour. Following UK prime minister Winston Churchill through the tipping points of the second world war. Even with my obvious aversion to war-related media, this show truly captivated me beyond belief. Focusing on the way war affects people personally. Violet Evergarden focuses on the little things from a grand scale of things. Wars may be fought for a philosophical or political cause but when it comes down to the battlefield. It's real people who fight in it. With their own personalities, friends, family members, lovers, hobbies etc. It's this up close and personal perspective to war that violet strives to engrave into the viewer's mind. From the fire that burns Violet's (the character) conscience due to her hand in the war to the feelings of a soldier who's on his deathbed. The show goes up and beyond to show the effects of war from a personal level through its extravagant choice of characters. The story of the dying mother and her daughter was what teared me up the most. I'll probably never forget that.

In a way, the story is about letting go. Letting go of the past that haunts your dreams. Letting go of the hatred that divides and incentivises conflicts. Letting go of the pain you keep inside of you. In an age where instantaneous communication nor a medium to rant like the internet doesn't exist. Releasing pressure created inside of oneself is next to impossible if you isolate yourself. You may add distance because you're afraid of those around you or because you're afraid of what they would see in you. But the result is the same. No matter what the packaging is. Loneliness hits you no matter what you use to dilute it. A void of pain inside of you.

Sometimes the only way to release it is to simply write it out. Expressing one's own feelings publicly is a hard task that requires immense amounts of courage and trust. But the freedom of writing one's thoughts down on a piece of paper has the satisfaction of privacy and creativity. This is why Dolls exist. To help people express their feelings they might've never been able to put into words themselves.

All in all, I love this anime. I don't consider it anything but a masterpiece. The show truly resonated in me to a point I couldn't stop crying when it ended. It's a show that's tragic by design. I love it, but clearly in a way different to how I love shows like Bloom Into You and Konosuba. Its uniqueness extends to my love of it as well.

Rewatching 2025-04-04 to 2025-04-25

Simply the saddest thing I've watched in my life.

----- rewatch

Some scenes still remain just as uncomfortable to watch as they were the first time. They still land exactly as heavily as they always did tho, nothing's different about that.

You know what. Was I stupid when I first watched this? How did I not notice the way music is used in this show. Yes I knew it was good. I knew the tracks were amazing. And I also knew that the music made me cry many number of times. But why do I not remember how dramatic the music is in bringing out our character's emotions. I'm watching Emi's origin story at the start of ep9 right now and this whole scene is pure auditory overload. How the present her's piano track is playing in the background. How there's a subtle percussion and string harmony accompanying it. How there's drums to deepen each scene change. How the flashback emotions fluctuate the intensity of the piano track. How her thoughts of the past and future entangle with each other. WTF am I hearing and watching right now. If it were just a piano rendition it would've been good but not THIS.

This synchronization is peak cinema!

At this point, I should probably start counting the episodes that don’t end with me crying.

I was a fool to think that this show wouldn't be as hard hitting as it is. I thought I was just over hyping this. I thought it was just tear bait. Oh no no no. This is on a league of its own.

I agree, me from five years ago. This is indeed the saddest thing I've watched in my life. Nothing even comes close.

You know, when I watched this for the first time, I didn’t like the ending all that much. How could Kaori change so drastically, just like that? You don’t just get rid of your fears and anxieties overnight. There’s no way.

But now... having gone through something similar myself during those final months before I left my home country. I get it. I can say for a fact: you do change. You change in ways you never expect, just from knowing that this is your final stretch. And I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it must hit if you knew your life was actually ending. I think I’d become a different person entirely, completely unrecognizable from who I was before. Just like how Kaori changed.

I understand her now, at least a little. Her perspective. Her sadness. Her resolve, and at times, the lack of it.

Because since I last watched this, I ended up being in Arima’s shoes too. Watching my grandfather slowly get swallowed up by cancer. Losing more and more of himself, bit by bit. First, not being able to visit our house. Then, not leaving his own. Then... not even being able to leave his bed. It all happened so fast, looking back. And yet at the time, it felt like forever.

And it wasn’t just us preparing for the inevitable. It was them too.

Finally, the conclusion to me, James' and Vik's SAO watchthrough. I still can't believe Vik got dragged into this just because he was downstairs when James came to watch this and because he wanted to see how bad Gungale really was since he first watched it a while back. Honestly I doubt i could've watched this alone. Its dumb fun but the bad parts of SAO piss me off so much that its hard to watch. Watching this gives me the same vibes I got from rent a girlfriend. It dangles what could've been in front of you, then cuts the line right as you get all excited. Its infuriating.

This was alright. As expected, this is a far cry from the first part. This simply follows the formula handed down to it by that god awful S1 ending. It follows that logic all the way through. Which in essence is, shit happens don't worry about it logic. This made this season far funnier than any of the one's before it.

Gungale's worst parts were just sad to see. Like that mid point arc that I refuse to believe exists. I was almost asleep watching that. Alicization's bad parts I think are the initial season's ending where it turned from a good sword battle to how do i put it... mecha gundam art online? War of Underworld was peak until well, Asuna happened and then it became as mid as mid could be. This season simply follows suit. Its called Alicization but we didn't see Alice at all. I mean, how could she get any screen presence when the whole harem is here? They're more important right? Ugh.

If there's one thing I would commend this show for, its the action scenes and the animation. Now that's pretty much peak. The fights look gorgeous to look at, same goes for the choreography. When two characters start dueling it out and you notice the animation style change, you know you're in for one heck of a scene.

This was going soo well. Why did SHE have to make an appearance. Until she came up I was looking forward to what was happening. I really liked the characters till that point. Now its a little bit of bullshit. Until ep 10 or 11 when she appeared. This was the best SAO by a mile. Because it was all about Alice and she's an amazing character. Kirito is a vegetable as he should have been all along. Seeing how she was treated, seeing how the demon army was rallying. Seeing how she fought to protect the people she cared about. Finally going back to join the Integrity Knight mobilization too. The war was a nice addition. That was until Asuna literally appeared like a God... Of course I wouldn't care about what happens next because she's one of THOSE characters.

This was going so well. Why did SHE have to show up? I was really enjoying everything until she appeared. I liked the characters a lot up to that point. Honestly, this was the best SAO by far. It was all about Alice, and she’s an amazing character. Kirito being a vegetable was the best thing happened! Watching how Alice was treated, how the demon army rallied, and how she fought to protect the people she cared about, it all hit hard. Then seeing her return to join the Integrity Knights was such a strong moment. The war added a conflict to being everything together.

But then Asuna showed up like some kind of god. After that, I couldn’t bring myself to care much about what happened next. She’s just one of those characters. Then there was what was happening outside too. Where the American servers joined the Underworld. All of that felt far too exaggerated. As if the scope was being pulled back. Leaving what the show did well upto this point and focusing on something else entirely. As if it was all for naught. I'm just pissed off if I'm being honest. Not because this is a bad show, but because of the lost potential. If only it kept everything focused on Alice, keeping her as the main character. Not prioritizing the harem over everything else. This could've been such a good show....

I'm very confused about this one. It has good elements, like the way it handled Asuna's memory loss. I could feel the tragedy. Then the show gets to it's action part and it foregoes all of the previous development and resigns itself to bullshit logic to make the action as flashy and in Marvel's terms, as Endgamey as possible.

The ending broke whatever goodwill I had with this. I love how it looks and similar to Alicization, I enjoyed the lore. But that ending tho. It just doesn't hit right. Yuuna's father felt like a blank slate kind of villain. There's no explanation as to why the guy had to 'steal' memories rather than copy them. He didn't seem to have any future plans about what to do after brain frying thousands of people. The ending didn't seem all that together. It felt like a bunch of people brainstormed different ideas and just decided to include everything rather than sticking to what makes sense.

Not a big fan honestly. The comedy was good at the start but it got stale as the show went on. I doubt I'll watch the sequel.

Goddamit, I want some good anime to watch for once. I'm still burned by what happened to Alicization

This is much much better than SAO S2. Why did I have to go through that James! Why!!! It was soo painful. I'm not saying it was bad. It's was just mid. If it wasn't for James and Vik, I would not have been able to watch this. The three of us brought enough comedy into the show to make it really enjoyable.

All of this is considering that middle arc just doesn't exist. Gun girl was very interesting. I liked that because, well, guns. And you don't see that often. Then the second past was somewhat emotional. Not enough to make me cry but enough to make me care about it. Yea it felt, bleh sometimes but I liked what it tried to do. It was fun.

But all in all, it was hard to watch. A world's different to SAO alien isolation.

-----

SAO Alien Isolation is a good show. Honestly speaking, I enjoyed it. I liked the lore, I liked the new characters and I especially loved how for almost the whole final fight, the main villain is naked. That's peak degeneracy right there.

One of the main things that sets this apart from Gungirl is how Kirito isn't even the fucking main character for most of the show. The guy's messiah, jesus christ himself. So we know that when he comes on stage, dual hands his swords, no enemy is going to survive that clash. The guy simply has too much plot armor. So to see him taking a back seat for once was simply so satisfying to see. That isn't it, if the other characters were like say, Asuna or that god forsaken Yui, I couldn't have lasted this. The characters we got were fun and I cared about what happened to them. Especially Alice. I think she was my favourite of the whole bunch. She and Kirito's black extending baguette.

This looks amazing too. Though I got used to how Gungirl looked, it didn't sit right with me. It didn't have the fidelity I've grown to expect from anime of this caliber. The mid tier isekai route stuff. Maybe I've been watching one too many isekai from the boom its been going through the past half decade but seeing an isekai type of show with the looks it had felt out of place. So watching Alicization and A1's beautiful fight scenes were simply a treat for the eyes.

I can't believe I spent like in combination more than an hour just discussing anime mechanics with Vik. Like come on! This is SAO, the type of show that puts logical reasoning out the window for the vibes. How did I find myself questioning it as if I was discussing Elden Ring lore? I don't know, but what I do know is that the lore stands up on its own feet most of the time. I gotta applaud this for getting that right.

Some of the discussions we went through were about Armament Full Control Art and how that relates to System Call: Enhance Armament and System Call: Release Recollection. Vik was a bit confused about how all of these fit into the picture. I like to think of Control Art being the name of an ability that allows you to perform different skills, System Calls like enhance and release, by invoking them with the speech command. That makes the most sense and the show stuck to that. For the most part at least, looking at you ending.

Another thing we talked about quite extensively was the Cardinal System and about Quinella and how she fit into the whole picture along with her supposed twin. So before Quinella became the self proclaimed messiah, how dare she steal that title from Kirito, the Cardinal System handled all primary maintenance and self bug fixing processes of the Underworld. However, she took the primary directive of the Cardinal System and infused herself with it, allowing her to become the world's maintainer in a sort of fused state. At first we thought of this as roles and users in Linux. Cardinal user lost their admin role and Quinella gained it. This means that the cardinal system still exists but without the permissions and authorizations it had before, and this was the Librarian we meet. However the following explained more and our theory had to adapt. We found out that the Librarian isn't the Cardinal system somehow getting an animorphic body out of nowhere because it lost its role, rather its a literal copy of Quinella with admin privileges. So Quinella simply fused herself with the Cardinal System where at the end, both were just one being. Then because she was running out of hard disk space, she created a copy of herself. Probably thinking that afterwards, she can use that being as an external disk and trim the unimportant data from her memory storage. But when that plan severely backfired, she lost her backup and her storage was in the red. Hence why she spent most of her days simply sleeping.

Then there's the lore about all of the fluxlights and how they're trying to create bottom up artificial general intelligences. The way the story approaches and justifies this is amazing. Although the practicality gets a little out of sync with the events happening inside of the world. Kirito having to heal in a medicube with time exponentially slowed down, AIs going through many generations building cities and whole communities. A freaking religion forming because of some selfish desires of an early generation girl with some talents. The world building is really up there, even though the execution isn't on par with some of the bests out there.

SAO has a consistency issue. The good parts of it are very solid and enjoyable. Then there are it's bad parts. They're so bad that even categorizing them would be a sin. When I was watching this, I was wishing multiple times imagining what this would've been like if it had the same level of story consistency as Shangri La. It would've been amazing.

Was this worth sitting through Gungirl? Yep, it definitely was. I'd call this a mid-high tier show.

The LN was leagues beyond this ngl. Hell, this movie didn't even tell us why Ains gave neia that weird face mask thing. It was cos he found her eyes creepy. I mean, it does try to condense two whole books into one movie so understandable that a lot of content would have to be cut. I also don't like how we're missing Neia's perspective on everything. That alone is the reason why I love those two books, because of how twisted her outlook is and how it gets more and more twisted as we reached the climax.

Solid power fantasy isekai. Nothing ground breaking or amazing. Just a fun watch. The second season is ways beyond the first one. Even then, it did feel lacking at times. As if the story was missing something I couldn't put my finger on. This is why I feel that this is inferior to shows like, isekai uncle or slime.

This is… peak Bunny Girl. It brought me right back to how I felt watching the first movie. That excitement, that investment, and most of all, that contemplative vibe. It really makes you question the foundation on which you live your life. Especially the mother arc.

What I loved most is how, compared to the other arcs, this one is Sakuta’s syndrome. It’s his problem to solve, his journey to walk, and we get a front row seat to the experience.

I also appreciate how much more grounded this feels than the rest of the series. Not in the sense of realism. This is Bunny Girl we’re talking about, and the more absurd the syndrome, the better. But in how some problems don’t have quick, clean solutions. Sometimes, you just have to dive headfirst into the deep end, and either you drown trying or you live to tell the tale. Sakuta had to face this one head on. He couldn’t run, not even into another timeline. Running feels good in the moment, but the second you stop to rest, guilt never lets you drift off. It took that much for him to realize that, in this case, running wasn’t the answer.

It’s funny how he always jumps headfirst into solving everyone else’s problems but stumbles like crazy when it’s his own. Reminds me of the Kaede arc. He was a complete mess there too.

Watched this with James during an anime marathon.

Don't do me like that man... Don't leave me a crying mess. I know that's what I expected going in but at least gimme some time to prepare. All in all, great movie though there were some things that I found too much. Like the whole genki girl persona. I like her, but sometimes she's just a little bit too much.

I think I've had a taste for tragedy in my daily dispositions again. Maybe because of stress from work or the somewhat slight cracks I've been noticing in my mental health as of yet. That's nothing new, but the recent dives have been a little too erosive than normal.

I can't stop thinking about that girl. What would I do in her place? Curl up and cry all day? Or embrace the time I had left? The answer isn’t as black and white as the question. I remember when my grandpa was on his deathbed with cancer and how my family and I laughed watching soap operas in the same room. He was dying, but that didn’t mean we had to sulk the whole time. We were sad, but we were also grateful for the time we had with him. It’s a paradox, really.

It was alright. I wouldn’t call it groundbreaking or exceptional, but it was certainly entertaining. It felt like typical Makoto Shinkai. Now that I’ve seen four of his works. Suzume, Your Name, 5 Centimeters per Second, and now this. I have a clearer sense of the kind of story he’s trying to tell. His films are filled with these breathtaking visual moments, fleeting yet emotionally charged, where everything aligns so perfectly that you can’t help but be swept away. But once the credits roll, the cracks in his grand vision become more apparent. It’s a feeling I also had while watching Maboroshi. Its story was quite the handful yet unable to weave its elements into a cohesive whole. Similarly Shinkai's works let their fantasy and grandiosity supersede their narrative symmetry, leaving the story feeling slightly untethered. To great affect at times with movies like Your name, and not so great ones like this one.

Amazing worldbuilding, but it falls just a tad bit short. Everything seems a little underbaked. The characters, especially protag-kun, was generic af. I could see things coming a mile away. The story was pretty meh too, except for the world itself. Though when the bottom fell off at the end, that was peak. It was as peak as when the girl first fell down because a freaking pole broke - I laughed so hard at that, it was definitely 'you seeing this shit' material. But besides those moments, the story just wasn't... up there. Even the enemies felt bland, like they didn't have as much depth as I would've expected them to.

A treat for your eyes for sure. Can't say I completely get it tho. Honestly, I don't think I'd like to get it too. Because this felt like it was heavily leaning on an Evangelion. Still can't believe I'm using that word as a sort of genre defying term haha. I even called Dedede's ending an Eva-like. Anyways coming back to my point this show made its point intentionally obscure. Its like the type of show where you need to watch it multiple times to effectively get it. But even then, it felt like that's the point of the movie too. To show that that not everything is explainable through reason, especially things regarding nature.

The real defining factor of this show is its animation. Hell not even JJK S2 can come close to the fire moments this had. When it fired shots, this show fired planet destroying death beams. If it wasn't for the awful main character art I would've loved the art as a whole. The fact that it was intentional pisses me off even more. Because everyone that isn't the main cast doesn't have those baseball sized eyes coupled with eyelashes the size of fingers.

This season had some of the highest highs and some of the lowest lows from the show.

The arc where Shirou conquers the Abyssal Shaft is one of the best arcs ever. Hell, even Massachusetts' speech was out of this world. Plus the whole thing with Demicas too. It was amazing. Plus while all of this was happening on one side, there's the Akiba Murderers everyone else was dealing with. It was tension maximized. It was amazing.

Then there's that final arc in the season, capturing the radio tower. Bro that just felt soo fucking rushed. It didn't feel right at all. Its like everything happened out of nowhere and the writer just decided to include it for including its sake.

I really liked the characters their relationships and the dialogue even though the show felt stale and formulaic at times. I just wish it had done a little bit more to create its own print rather than following others before it.

Peak Shangri la. Now to wait until season 3. This is gonna be painful.

I would've appreciated at least one big cathartic fight like the wezaemon fight, but this whole season felt like ground working. A sort of connecting chapter between two large battles. So I'm not really complaining because it did a lot. I really liked how we explored more games rather than just Shangri La this time. It was refreshing to see.

Nah, they can't be even more cringe than they already are. This is low tier trash anime ahhh. I expected soo much more. I've been betrayed. The animation's so bad too.... If at least that was good, I would've been able to forgive this, not noo, it couldn't get any better than this.

The comedy hits sometimes tho so you could call that a plus point.

What I really hate about the show.. No ONE of the things I hate is the camera work. I always find myself yearning for a different perspective from what the scenes frame. Just a single perspective more. Sometimes I just want to yank that camera and point it a little to the side. Then I'd get to build the world in my mind, to know what its like outside the sphere of influence of our primary cast. There's abysmal world building. I hate that.

the characters say and do things that are just... very typical and tropie. I want them to show off their unique personalities a little more. Plus it just feels like they are making things up as they go just to progress the plot. The progression doesn't feel natural. Especially that scene where the two confess their feeling to each other. Like, come on! It just came out of nowhere from the guy's point of view.

i think i like arc 2 just a little bit. It still suffers from the same issues as before but the comedy seemed to land more than the last one. Plus I like what they did with the new girl. With her backstory and all. The way they showed it. That was creative and interesting. I just wish the whole show had that level of thought put into it.

WTF, why is ep 12 so peak. Did they put all their writing prowess into that one ep

A very nice show. For an anime that tries to be chill, it covered quite a few adult themes, I loved that. This reminded me a lot of ReLife. This doesn't hit the same cathartic notes as that, but it does do a good job of fleshing out all the story points. It just feels like there's been a lot of cut content tho. Like, I can feel some parts missing, unfinished. I don't know if a sequel would make sense since the primary conflict is resolved, but there are some knots that haven't been tied up.

As much of a power fantasy as it's prequel. But with a little less charm.

I didn't get the same hype I got from the first season. Maybe it’s because I've been watching anime for so long that the usual isekai tropes don’t hit like they used to. I have to admit, I’m a little disappointed.

I'm not denying that the show didn't give me what I wanted. A power fantasy to turn my brain off. But even with that level of suspension of disbelief, this was a little difficult to sit through, with so many plot points just happening for the sake of moving the story forward, or all the things the story pulls out of its ass to keep the flow going. It's hard to take this show seriously at all.

You see, the first season although it was as bonkers as this one, made it seem like satire. As if it was making fun of the whole power fantasy isekai genre. Then you've got this season with it's oh so serious story, which had it's plus point
as small as they may be mind you, telling me to literally take it seriously and be invested.

Fuck nah, I say. You can't do a 360 like that. Especially after telling me that Gods are unkillable to then go ahead and kill them with the batshit crazy God Killing Sword Ultra Pro Max. This is too many layers of suspension that come crumbling down harder than the God's retirement plan the moment they realize they didn't read the fine print about the immortality deal. This is unacceptable.

Ngl I really liked where the show was going. It was like 4D chess with multiple parties with very different interests, where some collided and some aligned. This season pivoted somewhat towards that seat Overlord still holds reign over in the geopolitical scene. Though this is no where near that, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Nah, they can't be even more cringe than they already are. This is low tier trash anime ahhh. I expected soo much more. I've been betrayed. The animation's so bad too.... If at least that was good, I would've been able to forgive this, not noo, it couldn't get any better than this.

The comedy hits sometimes tho so you could call that a plus point.

What I really hate about the show.. No ONE of the things I hate is the camera work. I always find myself yearning for a different perspective from what the scenes frame. Just a single perspective more. Sometimes I just want to yank that camera and point it a little to the side. Then I'd get to build the world in my mind, to know what its like outside the sphere of influence of our primary cast. There's abysmal world building. I hate that.

WTF, why is ep 12 so peak. Did they put all their writing prowess into that one ep

Nah this ain't my type of show. I hate the competitions and I didn't vibe with most of the characters. Most of all, I didn't like how the main cast are as manipulative as they are and how the show is dramatizing it. I felt disgusted when they kept giving out justifications one on top of the other.

I haven't felt this repulsed by a show in a while. I didn't like this show in episode one and I still don't like it. If it wasn't for the great animation, I would've dropped it.

If there's anything I loved, it was Yuki in the first couple of episodes when she hung out at Masachika's place. I loved that homely vibe. After that it was one mind game to the other. I'm not saying it's bad, it just isn't for me.

I like what the show is trying to do but man is it so flat. If it wasn't for the amazingly choreographed fight scene, this would definitely be low tier anime. The worldbuildling is very generic, most of the characters seem as if they've literally been ripped out of some trashy isekai and the character conflicts? to hell with it, they might as well just come up with grudges on the fly. This isn't even a point of execution I think, the story just doesn't seem to have much thought put into it. Its not trying to be unique or anything for all I care.

Alright show. Not amazing, not bad. Had fun nonetheless. I wish it was a little bit more nuanced, but it is what it is. Would watch a sequel.

Why I added this to my planning...
https://media.dinil.dev/nVVab2A78Ted.jpeg
Why I started watching this... didn't even watch more than 2 minutes to be convinced
https://youtu.be/QKMKJfBFHD4?si=XJR7kOkJeVvdiNiQ

This is the anime equivalent of a shitpost.

I'd say this was better than the original show but it was still dragged down by the same problems. I couldn't really connect with it at any level. Still, I enjoyed it for what it was, escapism. I sure needed it today of all days...

Watching this is only making me appreciate Legend of the Galactic Heroes more and more in how clear and concisely it conveys complex military tactics to someone who doesn't even properly understand ranks. This on the other hand is far more confusing and seemingly convoluted. If you understand the basics of military strategy I think it would've been more clear, but alas, I am not.

I wonder if I should just start reading the novel...


A little bit disappointed if I'm being honest. I expected more.

Holy fuck kinda first EP was that. How is this show rated so low!? That's a 10/10 ep.

This show doesn't know how to capitalize on emotion. There are so many emotional things happening all around but it's just considered as background noise and not important. Like when the chief of the mountain village died, we didn't even know for a fact that the guy died. He just went down and the shows there acting as if it never happened. I mean, I understand if the show is trying to convey something like, people die so? now move on, kinda vibe. But come the fuck on. That's not what was portrayed.

A very interesting premise brought down by the execution. Same tale as The Executioner and Her Way of Life. There's a lot going on but the writers just didn't know how to capitalize on that. The world-building is fascinating, but the way each part of it interacts with each other is severely overlooked. The characters had a lot of development going for them, but only in the first two or three episodes, and then they stopped being developed at all, except for Kumi. What I'm trying to say is that this show did a lot of things right, especially in the fantasy department, while also doing a lot of things wrong. It feels as if they came up with the world first then the story. I hate how things just keep fucking happening out of nowhere just to keep the plot going. There's no natural sense of progression, everyone just goes wherever direction their head points to.

I'm just disappointed by the wasted potential. I suppose that's why people rated this so low. Not because it's bad, but because of how good it could've been. This had the potential to be another Trigun if it didn't fumble on the basics.

Good show. Really good show. Been a while since I've seen a good yuri. Guess I wasn't disappointed. This is a solid 6/10 in my books. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone but as a yuri fan, this gave me what i wanted.

The last time I took a long break from anime, it took me a little while to get back in. Mainly because my eyes weren't used to the low frame rate. Seems like the transition is pretty much seamless this time. Maybe because the last time I stopped, it was to focus more on TV shows and movies while this time it was for games. Still, two months is a while in my memory scale. So I'm glad I'm assimilating back in without issue.

This show suffers from the age-old plague of yeeting out most of the character's emotions. It doesn't show enough. When there's an emotional scene, there are certain ques you expect to see. A sombre look here, a voice crackling for a split second there, to even a little smile that only lasts for a frame or two that disappears in the next. People go through a wide variety of emotions in small spans of time, and showing them in anime is even harder. But there are shows out there that do achieve this. Like Frieren or Monster or even JJK to an extent. There's a reason why they're hailed as some of the best the medium has to offer. This, however, falls flat in this regard.

I suppose this is a matter of budget as well. If you've got a bunch of money, you can spend that on these very faint but intimate shots, that some people might very well not even notice. The anime that masters this in every sense is Liz and the Blue Bird. It's a fucking masterclass in showing not telling emotion. Sometimes the showing is about worldbuilding or letting us get a glimpse into where the story is going, and then there's this, where you get a close view of what the character is going through in real time. Not just their actions or the consequences of their actions, but their immediate reactions.

"This world really isn't fair, is it?"
As someone from a third-world country living in a first-world country, I feel you, girl, I feel you all too well. If you give up, there's nowhere to go but down. And considering how fragile your situation is, letting go for even a flash, cascades into total collapse. It's tough but you gotta keep the ball rolling. Now that's a nice message. Good on you show.

Goddamn, this show is much better than I thought it was originally. I still would've preferred it touched on the subjects it wants to touch with a little more, rawness rather than with extra thick elbow-level industrial-grade gloves, but it's doing something, which is much better than nothing at all.

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that I didn’t get shit about that ending. Like, I know what I’m looking at. I know how we got there. I just don’t get... why? Why is this how it ends? I just don’t get it. Is there something between the lines, or not?

Watching this felt like humanity was being called out. It exposed what makes us both great and shitty at the same time. It felt deeply in tune with how people would actually handle earth-shattering events. How we split into factions. How we create our own sense of justice—built on trauma, warped ideals, and fractured truths. And most of all, how people just... accept even the strangest, most occult things. Because there’s only so much we can give a crap about before we move on.

What I loved about the show, aside from that gorgeous, jaw-dropping world-ending sequence, was how it explored so many perspectives. It humanized the individual and showed how their choices ripple out, affecting entire systems in unpredictable ways. Because everyone starts somewhere. We see minor protests snowball into fully fledged cults. Mere journalists rise to prominence, only to realize they weren’t feeding people the truth but the lies they wanted to hear. Office workers doing anything to move up the ladder, even giving up on loved ones. The commentary on humanity was so dense, so cutting.

There were so many points in this where I was completely awe struck. One of the first is when we are finally shown the space ship. The whole first episode shows us how day to day life is for these teenagers, from their crushes, to the pains of school. While all of this was happening though, when people looked out, they seemed a little dejected. As if they were spacing out while focused on something in particular rather than a random direction. Then in the end, the show cuts to this jaw dropping scene of the city sized space ship casually floating in the sky. Really puts a nail in how the ship is like a weirdly shaped cloud in the sky for daily onlookers, but no one's forgotten the shadows it casts.

This really reminded me of Pluto in how on point the world building is. Merging sci-fi with the real world so seamlessly.

Honestly, I’d call this a must-watch show. It starts off feeling like an incredible slice of life and ends in a full-blown end of the world. I mean, what else do I even need to say?

Count me surprised. As someone who doesn't like romcoms this is a far cry from the romantic slush I was expecting. Hell, this is one of the best shows I've ever watched. Period. From the animation to the story, to its subtleties and to the comedy. It doesn't miss a beat.

--

Goddamn this is good. I'm still in ep 4 and I'm already crying. That reconciliation with the slow girl and the lit vice pres was so cathartic.

The only thing I'm afraid of is how the romance is being poised as one where protag-kun doesn't get any girl. I hope I'm wrong but that's how these types of shows always end up. Sometimes to their detriment.

I really like how down to earth these characters feel. They don't feel tropey or generic. They all have something going for them. I love all of em with all their little quirks. This show is just... fun. It makes you feel bubbly inside, even though you're just looking at loosing heroins. Essentially losers. Usually I look at them and feel repulsed. Thinking that they're wasting their chance. But here.. I feel a kind of solidarity. I'm not looking down on the characters for their flaws, I'm rooting for them to do better next time. Because they do. They don't seem to repeat the same mistakes, their lives don't seem to revolve in clearly defined arcs but in squiggly escapades with many nuances.

I realized this during the episode where a few characters go on a museum outing. It's designed as a subtle setup for protag kun and tomboy gal by grey haired guy. However, things take an unexpected turn when she accidentally confesses her love to grey hair, the person she really likes, in the heat of a minor argument. To the guy's surprise and to no one else's at that. In that moment, the show took a strikingly different approach. The animation captured every nuance of her emotions. That extra delay when you're processing with all your brain capacity about what to do next. Her eyes trembling under the weight of the sudden realization. All of that before she turns and runs, overwhelmed. The sheer detail in that scene made her feelings almost tangible, turning a simple cliched scenario into something much deeper and emotional.

Then there was the scene where protag-kun introduced Blue Hair as the newest member of the club. In the background, the club president could be seen quietly making his way to a locker, retrieving the carefully folded “New Member” origami crown, an almost ceremonial gesture. But just as he was about to present it, he overheard Blue Hair casually mentioning her interest in knitting, completely unaware of what the club was actually about. His expression froze. Without a word, he slowly returned the crown to its place, composed himself with a perfect poker face, made a flimsy excuse, and promptly left. Honestly, this was just sad. He was finally excited to see a new passionate member to only be presented with.... her.

--

When this began, I genuinely expected it to fizzle out. I assumed it would be one of those anti-harem shows where the guy doesn't get any girl. And in a way, I wasn’t wrong but I was looking at it completely wrong. This was never about romance in the traditional sense. That was never the point. This story is all about connections. It’s quite literally the friends we made along the way, the show. And I absolutely love that!

Its been so long since I've read the manga I've forgotten everything about this. That's a good mindset to start it off. But I have a feeling the anime won't end up as hard hitting as the manga tho, there are so many inner monologues and self reflections that are very hard to pull of in anything but a book or a manga. I'm hopeful.

It is a rare thing, indeed, to find a story that dances delicately between two intertwined emotions, each as distant from the other as the earth and the sky. One evokes a fragile sense of hope and longing; wishfulness. The other drapes a veil of melancholy over something tantalizingly close yet impossibly out of reach; wistfulness. Its a bittersweet ache that lingers long after an episode comes to a close. The Bartender, for as fantastical as it is, leaves me in a tear's break every time. It reminds me that life can never be as beautiful as a story or as consistent, but that it does have moments that you cherish for years to come.

I love the show, but something doesn't feel quite right. While it comes very close to greatness, it falls just short of its full potential. I genuinely enjoyed watching it, but I believed this story could have reached the heights of shows like Noragami or Kaiju No. 8. They masterfully blend compelling plots, memorable characters, and dazzling action with emotional storytelling.

The emotional part is where this series particularly stumbles. When I fall in love with a show, it's largely because of how much it makes me feel for its characters and the story as a whole. Despite having a solid cast, the characters here feel underdeveloped, as if their arcs were left incomplete. The same applies to the broader narrative. While the adaptation is well-executed and has its moments, the underlying story structure has fundamental issues that prevent it from achieving its full impact.

The pieces for excellence are all there, but they never quite come together to create something truly exceptional, unfortunately.

This movie is such a weird one to pin down in my head. It felt so simple, yet so dense. I could sum up the entire story in a paragraph, and it wouldn’t seem all that significant. But the way it’s presented, the framing, the way scenes bleed into each other, it’s just something else. The way protag chan, grieves outside that door, her mind sifting through countless possibilities, desperately searching for one where she doesn’t feel guilt. Then the scenes that follow. It’s all chef’s kiss.

My only issue was how fast the beginning flew by. I actually had to double-check that I didn’t accidentally skip a few scenes. So much happened so quickly that it felt a little disconnected. It’s such a stark contrast to how much breathing room the movie gives its important moments. Those scenes stretch out, settle in, and set the perfect tone. If only the rest of the film wasn’t a series of fast-forwarded events, I might’ve called this peak cinema.

Watched this with James during an anime marathon.

Watching this show really put me in the shoes of these girls. It felt as if I was going through the same struggles they were going through. When mahiru accepted that contract, i felt it. I felt the disgust and pain kano was going through. I felt the same way when conflicts finally resolved. They all felt cathartic. The way this shows me the pain and the struggle of the characters is impressive to say the least.

If there's anything amiss, I would say it's my interest in vtuber, idol, artist culture. I can feel that this show is great, but it didn't connect with me to the point I wanted to know more about the characters.

The journey of my attitude towards Monogatari as a whole is very similar to that of Garden of sinners. When I first dipped my toes into them, I recoiled. I couldn't go further than a single dip. I didn't dislike them because they were bad, unlike those shitty isekai's out there, I didn't like them for how brash they were. They were confusing, they didn't have a coherent and easy for follow narrative, and most of all, they demanded me to pay attention and piece the story together. To some, this kind of introduction works like wonders, to me, it was screaming boredom.

However, as time went on and I immersed myself more into the medium, I started seeing patterns. I noticed that even if a story is at first oblivious, there's always a point, if the story wills it to be so, the characters and the world starts making a coherent narrative that isn't as demanding as it originally was. Allowing you to enjoy the connections and the drama, rather than focusing all your energy into seeing past the translucent veneer wrapped thickly around the premise. Case in point the otherworldly disarray of the Fate universe.

After coming all the way to the final sequence I can say that Monogatari is not a show I like. It's not even close to WHAT I like or expect in an anime-the monotonous color scheme, the blatant disregard of normal storytelling. But it sure left an impression, one that'll stick with me for a very very long time.

Goddamn wasn't that something. I cried like a child more than once I'll tell you that. This still has the default no game no life vibe to it, especially with the somewhat shallow characters, but once you look past that this movie sure as hell did a lot. I might've even enjoyed it more than the fate movies, even the action.

This movie has all the outright obvious anime tropes and uses them to the max while taking them seriously. Normally I would've shrugged at this saying its consumer trash, but this has the production value to stick to those tropes and deliver a pretty good experience. I wouldn't call this a good movie per se, but it did give me the feels so it definitely isn't a bad one.

I'll say one thing. The climaxes of these mind games can be pretty damn satisfying. However, that's not where the problem lies for me. One thing is the art style. I just can't seem to get used to it. There's a reason why I didn't start this show for so long and it has all to do with how it looks. Beyond that, there's the characters. Well, let's just say that they remind me of a certain show where big booby women gamble with each other.

Rewatched ep 1 on 2025/05/25 (today's a nice sounding day) with James and Vik. Told vik it was a quick in and out 20 min episode. Little did he know hehehe.

Literally watched the whole series in one night with James.

I knew this was gonna be good, but goddamn, that was gooood. Especially that first episode. It was basically its own movie, and honestly, if the story ended right there, I would've been satisfied. After that though, I was super skeptical about how the rest of the show was gonna play out. Would I like it? Or would I not? Well, I'm really glad I did. It was amazing. Mainly because this wasn’t just about revenge or even the entertainment industry. At its core, this is a very character-focused story and that's totally my vibe. Definitely an instant classic.

One thing the show absolutely nailed was building up this aura around Ai Hoshino. Anytime she’s mentioned or shows up, she’s treated like this legendary figure. And when we actually get to see her developed across literally just a single (though pretty long) episode all that hype feels completely justified. She just has that thing in her that makes her feel special, like she exists on a whole different plane compared to everyone else. Even her animation feels distinct from the other characters, it’s crazy. So when people in the show say she’s on another level, we feel it too.

I started watching this after a whole month of not watching anything, which is pretty rare in this day and age. I took a little break to focus all of my free time on playing games on the new PC I built. When some games are like 20 hours long, it's very hard to fit anything else into my already tight schedule. Coming back to this treat of an anime after playing Alien Isolation has to be one of the best feelings ever.

Ever since I saw the first trailer for this, I knew I was gonna love it. The animation, the music, the vibe. It all culminated to give it that 'anime of the year' kind of vibe. And I don't mean this in the Oscars way where the movies are purposefully engineered to be award-winning. This just had a natural aura to it. On top of that, this seemed like the type of show that would make me cry. And oh boy, was I right, in less than two episodes no less. For as slowly paced a show as this is, which is why it feels like watching a show about the mundane life of an elf, my emotions were always running wild.

It's rare for me to appreciate an anime's dialogue as much as I appreciated the dialogue in this one. Every utterance had the nuance of a real human being, with enough depth that certain phrases stuck with me for the whole length of my watch. I have even repeated some lines at work, trying to see between the lines, trying to decipher the perspective of a millennia-year-old elf.

MadHouse knows exactly how to create a perfect show. I don't know how, but this formula is something else. What I'm experiencing with this is akin to Violet Evergarden. The emotions. The characters. Everything blends together beautifully.

I'm surprised I'm not finding even a single character annoying, which is surprising. Even in some of my favourite shows, there are characters that I just can't stand. Not this.

The first cour is what I would call a contemplative piece, where each episode made me think more from Frieren's perspective. And the second season is all about the application of that thought into an action scenario. Because let's be real, there's only so far you can go with only contemplation before it gets boring. So I believe the story progressed naturally into that state, though when the tone first switched it rubbed me the wrong way. This is mainly because I watched the whole first cour in one sitting, and then the second cour in another. The around four-day break between the two accentuated the dismay I was feeling.

This animation is god-tier and this anime is peak, no one can convince me otherwise.

I gotta say I went into this with no expectations at all. One because I'm not into reverse harems and two I don't like cute girls doing cute things. I don't hate them, I just find it boring. But this tho, is on another level. The production quality is on the fucking moon, that alone is a good reason to watch this. Other than that, the whole cast is lovable. It's like Hinamatsuri, if Hina was a high schooler.

Episode 11 was peak. The whole stalker arc is the reason why I even added this show into my planning on the first place. I saw a video of her when back on YouTube and being the degenerate I am fell for it. Watching the first dozen episodes I really doubted if I added the right show because it didn't have any signs of a stalker and then when the episode hit, it hit like a truck.

The theatre did not do this show good. The sounds were horrible. All in all, the finale was okay. It wasn't great, it wasn't bad, it was just, demon slayer. That's how I would rate it.

But the ending... Nezuko.... let's not talk about it. I just wish it didn't do what it did and I'll leave it at that.

I need a sequel this very instant!

This is on the same level as some of the best isekai fantasies out there. Like Overlord, Slime and Isekai Ojisan. And the fucking climax fight. It was one of THE fights i've ever seen period. Its even better than the Fate fights, and I love those, especially the one from FGO Paladin Agateram. This is peak shonen right here. Can't wait for more.

When I first started watching, the show felt a little cheap. This made me appreciate the animation of Horimiya even more than I had when I was watching the show. It surprisingly had next to no visible CGI set pieces and low texture background items. Every set piece seemed as if it had effort put into it. In the non game world scenes of this, especially at the start, it was hard looking at the background because of how bad they were. Even the character art. This is entirely different to how I see the game world tho. I don't know if this was intentional of if the animators simply put all their effort into polishing the VR world, but everything like the texture quality got pushed down a bunch in the real world scenes.

Where the show shines is in the fights. Its not just the spot on animations. Its also the choreography and the fact that almost everything makes sense. The actions the characters make feel like they have a logical progression behind them. This is in start contrast to Slime's make out of thin air kind of battle system where you can't really expect anything. Here you can, and seeing our characters morph what you were expecting with their own flair makes it even better. Especially with the combos they create.

Lets not even talk about the Wazaemon battle. I think that's where the whole budget of the show went. The whole sequence looked fucking amazing. When he unleashed Clear Sky, i was giggling like a little kid at how good it looked. Fuck Artoria's Excalibur, this is sword slashes at its best.

The story took a turn I never expected. Compared to that generic ass first season, this feels like a completely different story. I'm all in for that.

Now I see why so many people pleaded with me to watch it. This just kept getting better, never hitting the ceiling. Here's hoping the third season keeps it up, especially with the character work. In the first season, I didn't connect with a single character. Why? Because I didn't have a reason to care. They all seemed like black or white characters who existed only to further the plot. I don't know how, but the mangaka learned to write good characters after the first season's arcs. The Gojo arc starting this season alone made me more invested in the cast than the whole first season. And that was only a handful of episodes.

I'm not saying that it has given up its roots; I still feel alienated sometimes by the choices the story takes that feel awfully shonen-esque. But as a whole, I like it.

I hope I'm not the only one, but I hope Kugisaki stays dead. If she's revived, there better be a good reason or else I'm putting this in the same level as that Reincarnated as a Slime season that came up with random bullshit to bring back a character who was clearly dead for reasons that hurt the whole story more than not. But we all know she ain't gonna be dead for long...

Then there's that second OP, goddammit. That in itself is a masterpiece. Nothing less. The colors, the animation, the transitions, the foreshadowing. Everything is spot on. Near the end of the series, when I completely understood all the symbolism in the visuals, it made me appreciate it even more. If I were to critique, I would've asked for a better song because it far downplayed how epic the visuals were, but I'm just asking for too much at that point.

Damn, now thats a movie. This alone is better than the whole first season. This had a good story, an interesting protagonist and great looking fights to top it all off. I couldn't ask for more. I wouldn't call this the best of what's out there but this sure as hell comes up top when it comes to shonen.

For 30 minutes of two people just having a conversation to be this interesting, if it isn't Garden of Sinners, I don't know what story can pull this off. Maybe Frieren.

After watching the first two or so movies, I was pretty confused about what was going on. When I watched the first movie a few years ago before I even got into Fate in the first place, I didn't get ANYTHING. I was utterly clueless, scratching my head going WTF did I even watch? Was it me who was too stupid to not understand it or was it the movie? However, now having completed almost all of the Fate adaptations, I picked up on bits and pieces here and there like the mystic eyes and magus' but the general direction of the story nor what it was all about was lost to me. This made me sceptical about how it would progress.

This confusion didn't deter me from this tho. If I'm being honest, it made me want to know more. Though the overall story was confusing, there were so many elements of the initial movies that kept me hooked. The amazing fight scenes, the interesting characters and lo and behold Shiki herself. Looking back at all of the movies, now it all makes sense. When I started the first movie, I wasn't expecting it to be the starting piece of a whole storyline, I was expecting it to cover most of the loose ends because of the fact that it was a movie.

As much as I enjoy Fate, I never liked its storytelling. With the exception of Fate/Zero, I didn't really get invested in the well-being of its characters to the point I connected with them. It's an entirely different story from the Garden of Sinners. With its more character-driven, dark and nuanced approach to morality, it struck a chord that made Fate/Stay Night's storytelling feel surface-level.

As someone who's distinctly aversed to philosophical stories like Lain, I'm surprised I found myself thinking about the story on a much deeper level than, good fight, good show. I feel that this is because it didn't try to force it down our throats. Most of the heavy topics were simply things I picked up from what I was drip-fed, making it not feel forced and boring to boot. Hell, I literally watched two people have a 30-minute conversation about what it means to be a human without ever feeling distracted or bored. That's saying something.

One of the biggest highlights of the whole series of movies is how experimental they are. For one, how the chronological order doesn't match up with the release order. As much as I hated it in the beginning when things really did start making sense, it was satisfying to see why the story was shaped the way it was. The movies are ordered thematically. It's not just random. We're following the life of Shiki as we're putting the puzzle together piece by piece.

In the end, despite wishing the conclusion had a little bit more nuance, the journey leading up to the end is top-notch. The series did a good job of interweaving philosophical elements without pretentiousness and making it boring and that is what makes it so great.

It was great as always. Weirdly it felt that I related with Azaka at an uncomfortable level. Even though I'm an only child and cannot understand her feelings, I understand her perspective. It felt as if I were in her shoes, I would do the same. This might very well be the best-developed brother-loving character I've ever seen honestly. Because these types of characters are usually only found in third-rate isekai or fantasy shows, I'm surprised the story had enough of an identity to take the story seriously without breaking the whole tone set up by the previous movies. Garden of Sinners takes these very animesque tropes and gives life to them in a very serious and grounded tone that makes even an incest plot feel real.

This is one of those shows that I knew was going to be a banger even before I started the first episode, just like with Frieren and Edgerunners. What I didn't expect though was for my expectations to be blown away as much as it did. I felt so many emotions watching this. There were multiple times when I was visibly sweating, sitting at the edge of my seat watching the action. Which pretty much defines the show. Its a story with action at its center. I love it when shows just grab me and don't let me go, moving from one battle arc to the other with little to no downtime. This suits well with my watch habit of binging whole shows at once or in two parts.

Watching this was hype incarnate honestly. From the moment our guy became a Kaiju to that fucking meteoric punch, I loved all of it. Then there are the characters. I really liked Kikuo from the beginning then began to slowly like the other characters as well, they grew on me. Especially the photocopy Levi and the battle loli. Even the comedy landed almost every time. I was squeaking quite a few times.

There's something about the action that just hits right. Its not just the action in and of itself, its the setup, the execution, the payoff and the easing at the end. Each time we went on a cycle, it felt soo satisfying. It was like the Wezaemon arc from Shangri-la Frontier but a whole show with that level of hype. I'm an easy guy to please. Give me some characters I care about, likable and give me non stop action, I'll chuck it down like my chocolate almond milk.

And eh, yeah the OP and ED are just disappointing. The ED sounds like a copy paste pop song, which I know for a fact that I've heard somewhere else. They should've sampled something more creative. The ED... the song is pretty good but the animation man. The start of it is very creative, then it turns into a bunch of blobs that look meaningless. The soundtrack however, that was something else. Especially when we get to a fight scene, when the guitar riff comes on I knew I was in for a ride.

Okay, that was a good movie. A very very good movie. The best garden of sinners by a margin. It made sense. It had good characters. It made me care. It's what I wanted from this series. This felt like an amazing payoff to all the tidbits we collected in the past four movies. I think this is the only movie that I didn't feel like it dragged on. And this is the longest one so far at two hours too, so that's saying something.

This still had certain parts that could've been better, like the antagonists. They could've been a little more than just husks of whatever the fuck they were. This seems to be a running trend in the nasuverse. They aren't bad villains, but they feel so one-dimensional. As if they only believe in one perspective and disregard everything else. This is different to the antagonists of the previous couple of movies. Neither Fujino nor Kiriye were like this. Araya is just... bad.

Let's not forget the transitions. They made me go; OHHHH I see what you did there, multiple times. As they got more and more prominent as the show went on, it didn't feel like it was being overused. The cuts were a part of the story itself. Like memento. This felt very experimental and it paid off.

WTF, why does it feel like I get some of this? My time with the Fate series finally seems to be paying off. I seem to be able to understand some of this magus blubbery for once. So does that mean Tsukihime's protag has mystic eyes too... Maybe.

Hmm, this really makes me want to rewatch the three heaven's feels again. Those three sure were one of a kind. Right along with Fate/Zero, they're definitely my favs in all of Fate.

I'm starting to like these movies. I think I finally get what the title means. This movie finally brought the sinners part into the picture the title just... clicked. It went into perfect blue levels of grittiness with how uncensored it was. But the story just didn't have the depth to it, I would've liked to see. The story didn't have enough in it to deserve a one-hour viewing. A 20-minute short wouldn't have been any different. This seems to be a running trend with these movies. They have some great visuals and a good story, but they seem too stretched out with a lot of padding in the middle. I understand things being slow with chapter 2 because the whole tone wasn't one of action but of slow character development. But chapters 1 and now 3 don't work well as slow burners. They're not bad by any means, but I feel that they could've been much better.

Very interesting. The pacing of this is giving me some heavy liz and the blue bird vibes. There's a lot of emphasis given to each character's mundane day to day activities that feel so empty in other anime. Like sticking back the sticker of a half-eaten sandwich because you don't want to eat it anymore. Putting a bag down to drink some tea you've got in a flask. Very mandate scenes that most shows would've finished off in a second or two without a second thought. But not this. It took its time and to me, considering this is a mystery thriller, that added to the whole experience more than I thought it would. And I love that.

In conclusion, this shit is still confusing as fuck but satisfying as fuck too.

There's something about El-Melloi's music that just hits the right way. The ED of this is proof of it. It's the OST/OP tune turned into a song with lyrics and its just... chef's kiss. Usually adding lyrics to an already amazing instrumental just makes it worse but this made it so much better.

The story might be mid-tier but the music is top-tier as far as anything goes. One of the best OSTs in anime no doubt. If I'm gonna miss anything about this series. It's the music and gray.

That was not the type of show I was expecting from Fate. It was a lot more laid back and it overcame my biggest problem with the series itself; having shitty main characters. Waiver is one of the strongest characters of the whole series in this case.

Even then, the show felt quite a bit boring most of the time. The mysteries weren't as entertaining as I thought they would be. I think the best thing that came out of this show is Gray. She's awesome. Too bad we didn't get to see anything about her. I would love to see a show or a movie that's completely dedicated to her told from her perspective. Now that right there has potential.

Calling this meh would be an overstatement ಠ⁠︵⁠ಠ
There's nothing more disappointing than watching this after Babylonia.

I hated the two primary characters of Babilonia but I loved every other character. One of the show's strong points was its characters. Of all the Fate I've watched, only Zero is in the same league with the character writing as Babilonia. So going into this, I had quite a few expectations. But oh well, I flew too close to the sun I suppose. The story was messy, to say the least. Random shit happened all over the place. Like, that was the only constant throughout the whole show. It was just so disappointing to see the story crumble down like that.

Why does it feel like everyone except spiky hair and mashed potatoes is getting character development? Spiky is always like, I'll do it and potatoes is always like haaaaai. Can the two of you have any other personality traits than that for fucks sake? I mean, if every other character were as depthless as those two I would be satisfied calling this a shitty show but that isn't the case. The goddesses and even Gilgamesh are amazingly written characters filled with personality. then we have those two abominations. This just doesn't freaking add up.

Why does Fate always have this problem with its primary character? Here it's the pointy-haired kid. In Stay Night it was Shirou. Both of these guys share the same sense of bland idiotism of saying yes to everything. Just try harder, do better, blah, blah. It's always more talk while everyone else does the work. I can't stand these types of characters.

As much as I like this series, I just wish I got to see the whole picture. The story really has a lot of potential that feels underutilized. The worldbuilding alone is enough to house so much more, alas we get confusion-inducing shows like this. I wonder if I'd ever go down to the visual novels...

Having viewed the two prequel entries, I approached this with the same expectations I would attribute to a mindless isekai, which translates to rock bottom. I don't know if that's the reason or if there was a shift, but this truly took me aback. The story and worldbuilding, as always, was shit. The main characters, the pointy-haired kid whose I name don't even remember, and mashed potatoes were as poorly written as ever. However, the notable difference this time was the focus on the Knights of the Round Table. It felt like the entire movie belonged to them, relegating everyone else to the status of mundane side characters. Their characters were so well written, that I even connected with a few of them. I know, even I'm surprised!

What significantly altered my overall opinion of this movie was the final battle. They were a spectacle to watch. A mash of different experimental art styles together with rich character emotion made every single final battle a bliss to watch. The one that stood out however was the fight sequence between Agravain and Lancelot. The animation, the music, the falling pyramid in the background. From the setup to the conclusion, it stands out as the best fight sequence I've ever witnessed. Period. It executed the entire circle exceptionally well without unravelling. I've got nothing but praise for that level of execution.

This movie certainly knew how to make fight sequences work and how to mesh two or more together. During the final battle, multiple 1v1s were happening all around. The way the focus shifted from one fight to the other without making it seem forced was well done, to say the least.

This is the type of movie I would give anything to see in a theatre. This has that feeling to it. The feeling of being grand.

For a series of movies that have been underwhelming at most, this is what I expect from Fate. Good fights. And this movie was delivered. This is the first of this series that I'd say deserves to be a part of Fate.

Rant

Same old goblin slayer. You know, there's something about these fantasy shows that makes it so difficult to take them seriously. The reason why I can't take this seriously is the same reason why I couldn't take Re:Zero seriously. As much as it seemed cool, whenever there's some moe moe main character, my suspension of disbelief breaks like a hammer through a window. It's hard for me to take it seriously when I see stuff like that. Same thing with Goblin Slayer and the bring back to life using a virgin shit. Like come on! When you spread plot armour that thickly how am i supposed to imagine that these characters are really in danger? They all might as well die and the next episode will revive them.

This is what bumped me with Space Dandy too. Like they had that Zombie episode and the whole universe pretty much turned into zombies. Then the next episode is like, nah, that shit never happened. How am I supposed to believe that? Gimme at least a hint of an explanation. This is the type of storytelling that really bums me out. I'm not saying that it's bad, but it's just not for me. I want my stories to at least explain or consider the consequences. I want them to evolve use past sequences and build on top of them. Not act as if they don't exist.

This is the reason why I love Hinamatsuri so much. Usually, comedies just don't care about continuation. It makes sense considering how easy it is to write over-the-top gags that leave things in such a mess that it's hard to recover from it. But Hina, it takes a different approach. It takes the hard route. It uses those plot points to weave different ones, and this is where its emotional impact lies as well.

Not bad. Not bad indeed. This stands in the same tier as Slime, a notch below Hell's Paradise and a notch above Eminence in Shadow (anime, not the LN).

I still find the characters not particularly appealing, and the world seems like a standard copy-paste isekai adventure. It wasn't as deep as Overlord nor as light as the usual cookie-cutter ones. But the story was quite fun to watch unfold. Despite having watched GS multiple times through abridgements (about four or five of them), viewing this felt as if I were rewatching a show I had seen before, albeit narrated with a different story. It was a bit strange but entertaining.

I loved the show's music. The sound effects and songs, in particular, resonated well with the theme, and that OP is godly, though the song could've been better. Although the characters may have felt somewhat generic, they were not subpar in any way and were enjoyable to watch. Except for the god-awful Goblin Slayer character CGI, the visuals weren't anything to scoff at either.

All in all, it was a fun watch.

I'm truly impressed. This stands out as one of the best isekai I've ever watched, hands down. It's right up there with Uncle from Another World.

What sets this apart is the production quality. The visuals are stunning, they look remarkably similar to Heavenly Delusion. I even checked if they shared the same studio. Though they don't, they do share high-quality visuals. The characters are all visually striking, the fight scenes are impressive, and surprisingly, there are no CGI monstrosities, which surprised me. They're usually quite common in these shows. And, for heaven's sake, this is an isekai we're talking about here. How did an isekai achieve such high production quality?

Now, let's talk about the story. This is where the show truly shines. It avoids falling into the usual tropes and clichés with its characters. Yes, the main protagonist is a bit dense, but not to the extent of other isekai protagonists. In the end, he does get the girl, making it a win-win on all fronts. The minor plot points are also well-written. This show accomplished what I wished Hell's Paradise would do: introduce the characters by showcasing their daily lives, allowing us to explore who they are, and then finally bringing all the characters together to see how each one reacts in their own ways. No near-death life story bullshit.

This isn't to say that it doesn't feel like an isekai. It does. The story has all of the usual isekai elements in it, like heroes, demon lords yada yada—it doesn't transcend isekaidom. But what it does do is push forward the line of the existing formula using great writing and superb production values.

This show finally did the orbital canon well. By literally nuking the enemy with a freaking asteroid. That was extremely satisfying to watch. I love unhinged displays of carnage like that. Its absurd and fun.

I've been finishing far too many shows in one sitting lately. This one too...

I'm sick and this is my medicine.

For an Iyashikei, I'm pleasantly satisfied. I started this because I was sick and I wanted some mental peace didn't this give me peace.

Imma keep the next season for when i get sick again.

The action is so much better than the novel but the show character assassinated the prostitute. I cherished her portrayal in the novel, yet on screen, she only received a few seconds compared to the numerous pages dedicated to her in the book. I hate that.

This reminds me of Overlord all over again. When I decided to drop the Overlord anime, it wasn't due to the show's inherent quality. Having previously read the light novel, witnessing the lack of depth in the characters I admired just didn't sit well with me. It felt as if they were being diminished, and I didn't want to see them in that light.

The Eminence in Shadow show, at least, has some relatively good action scenes, so it's not too bad. However, the pacing is what truly bothers me. It feels excessively rushed. The emotional moments that resonated in the light novel seem nonexistent in the show. For instance, during the battle with the Blood Queen, the conflict between the Shadow Garden, Aurora, and the Queen is extraordinary in the book. It was infused with so much emotion. However, in the show, it devolved into a one-sided battle where the Queen effortlessly dominated. It didn't feel authentic.

The arcs after John Smith weren't as butchered as that one but they weren't necessarily better either.

While I appreciate the humour in this series, the absence of an overarching plot is something I can't live without it seems. It's a similar reason I couldn't bring myself to finish Nichijou. While I enjoyed individual episodes, the lack of a driving force left me demotivated to continue in between. No story beat or mystery is waiting for me on the next episode to pull me in to watch the next one.

Certainly, the show had its highlights. For instance, the episodes featuring the soul-transfer alien girl and the phantom ramen were particularly impactful. These moments stood out, but unfortunately, not every episode resonated with me in the same way.

Knockoff Legend of the Galactic Heroes :)

This is quite an interesting show, isn't it? While I thoroughly enjoyed certain aspects, like the action, some parts didn't resonate with me at all, like the story and the characters. I just can't swallow them, they're just so insufferable. I couldn't connect with a single one, and they seem to lack sufficient development. With only around five or six characters getting the spotlight on them; the rest feel like generic, disposable figures. Even the characters themselves seem to act as if everyone outside the main cast doesn't exist, making it difficult for me to care about them. This is a war we're looking at, the more I care about each person the more I want to root for our team, which did not happen with me in this case.

Because of the hyper-randomness of the show, I couldn't fall in love with the world-building either. Even then, there's no doubt that this is a terrific show. What held it back for me was how I didn't find the characters all that interesting. If there had been at least one character I could truly connect with, I would be singing an entirely different song.

I'm not usually one to like absurd shit, but when absurd shit is coupled with absurd action and an absurdly good story. Now that's a formula I can get behind.

Now, this is one god-tier anime. I suppose all it took was a few glasses of Gin & Tonic to give me the confidence to give this a try, but it sure was worth it. The alcohol helped me get used to all the weirdness, and the hype kept me hooked. This is the kind of show where, once you start, you can't really stop watching. Calling it wild is an understatement. This show to me felt like what would happen if you push the medium of anime to its absolute limits. I'm not talking about limits in the sense of say the animation quality or how realistic things are, but I mean how much you can push before the viewer feels detached from what they're seeing. Take for example how characters sometimes interact with their name tags, the text literally hangs around. Normally you'd be like, whaaa, but the execution is so well done, you don't even feel that in Kill la Kill.

When episode 12 rolled around, and we hit the first finale, I genuinely thought the anime couldn't do any better. Hell, I thought the show only had 12 episodes; that's how conclusive and good that finale felt. When the episodes went on, I assumed that the show would just burn itself out. Oh ho, wasn't I wrong? It reached even higher levels of hype and kept me invested throughout. It's like the show is so out of this world that nothing seems to feel out of place. Everything sort of clicked, as weird as everything was. It's like when you pile up a bunch of inconsistencies that, after a point, you can't even tell each one apart from the other. That's what the show felt to me. And I loved it.

I'm not usually a huge fan of the shounen whiny MCs. This is why I couldn't handle Naruto. Those characters are so goddamn annoying. I'm not saying that Matoi wasn't annoying at times, but the show managed to do so much that the annoyance covered itself up. The transformation sequences, the power-ups, the fights, they all added up to so much that I couldn't help but be on the edge of my seat, eager to know what happens next. It's rare to find a show that makes you this pumped up for a fight scene. And to find a show where every damn episode makes you go like that is near impossible. I'm surprised Kill la Kill managed to do that without messing it up.

What dragged me into the show was how many things were happening all the time. The creativity of it all was mind-boggling. I imagine the writer going, if it can happen, I will wish it to happen. This is especially evident in Mako'd dialogue scenes. There's some random shit in every freaking frame in that. I can't imagine the animators came up with completely new designs just to show it for a split second. I can feel the effort that was put into this show. Though it's wild, everything feels calculated and in its rightful place. The abstractness doesn't feel abstract for abstract's sake. It's like the show is telling me that there's no point questioning why it happens because that's not the point. It's all about looking at the absurdity and having a great time with it.

Then there are the characters. I don't think I need to say much about them. The level of development each of the main characters received was extraordinary. And the show very much acknowledges the difference between a main character and some random NPC, rather than half-assign everyone, it selects a cast and goes with it. Take Mako and Gamagoori's relationship, for instance. Initially, it was coincidental, but as the two found themselves in completely random scenarios, as often happens in this show, Gamagoori slowly grew accustomed to having Mako around in those weird situations to the point where he developed feelings for her. Seeing this unfold over the entire span of the show, rather than a brief arc while everything else is happening, is incredibly satisfying. It's as if the subplots aren't overshadowed by the main plot, and the main plot isn't hindered by the subplots either. It makes the main plot even more sweeter.

There's also the sound mixing and the music. There's no denying the music is awesome. But what really caught my eye was the sound effects for all the action scenes. The sound didn't suspend my suspension of disbelief in the slightest. It merged well with what I was seeing. Unlike in say Reincarnated as a Slime or The Eminence in Shadow where there are a lot of fights going on, the sound is extremely mediocre at best. The sounds just don't match very well with the things that are happening, it feels dejected at times. As if the sound was given more oomph just to make it sound cool or larger than it is.

Can't believe i finished this in one sitting.

Hell's Paradise is essentially Fate but with a few seinen elements sprinkled throughout.

The show had its shortcomings, and almost all of them were related to its power system. People getting powers out of nowhere, discovering new senses in mere hours after learning about them – it just felt off. Do they think we're stupid?

But that isn't what I enjoyed about the show. For me, it was the conflicts, specifically the dilemma of what it means to live, that most characters had to question at some point. I felt the show handled these inner conflicts well. The visual storytelling nicely matched the inner monologues.

Even then, the show could've handled the characters much better. For instance, instead of thrusting them straight into a death royale, it could've taken time to invest us in them by showing their day-to-day lives with a trickle of exposition and slight introductions to the power system. After that, it could drop the ball and let us see how everything adds up. Like how the first three seasons of AOT invested us in the characters before the impactful events of the final season. Developing characters right before they die is overused nowadays, but at least the development was good.

All in all, I quite enjoyed this. Though I'd categorize this in the same box as Reincarnated as a Slime and Fate. I really hoped this would have gone the Heavenly Delusions route, which is the impression I got from the first episode, but you can't always have everything, can you?"

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I have a feeling I'm gonna like this. Not that I didn't expect it. When I first read the first two chapters of this, I knew I was gonna love it. The reason why I stopped it was because of that and because this was still released. And you know how much I hate getting into unfinished manga. Now I'm sticking to that like glue, ain't ever want another devil is a part-timer happening again. Up until I caught up to its manga, it pretty much dominated my favourite manga list. After that, I read up on three new releases and the charm just left. I can't handle the pauses between releases I simply lose interest. If I'm consuming something, I need to consume it within a certain period before I lose interest. The same goes for people in my life, especially women. No matter how much i get invested, I simply lose interest in the long run and that never ends well. Okay that's quite a tangent, but you get my point.
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Surprisingly i seem to understand what the characters are thinking. Which is... new if I'm being honest. I don't know if that's because I've gotten good at it even a bit or if the characters of this show are just that shallow. I wonder.
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Not bad, this shit's good. Wayy better than i expected. I knew it would be good, but good in a Noragami way. Not to say that this is that far off, but its got some merit.

initial opinion? I wish I went with witch of mercury rather than this hahaha. Starting this right after AOT was such a bad idea. Ngl, its not too bad, the mind games are fun. But come on!!! Shit is just too... over the top for me.

The final season fucked up one of the core pillars that made AOT that one special anime, beyond everything else. Before, the story and the world-building felt completely justified, even the fantasy aspects, because causation begets consequence. However, the final season broke that. New plot elements were introduced far too many times without a proper long-term basis to them. There was no smooth buildup and no logical backup except "trust me, bro." The reason why I loved AOT so much in the beginning was because it made a point of not doing exactly that. Although it is pretty common in normal shows, I grew not to expect that from this. So I wouldn't say that this is a perfect final season, but it sure as hell was fun to watch.



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Many people complain that Hallucinogenia is a bad conclusion to the Titan mystery, but I personally think it could not be better.
First of all, it's not some made up bullshit but an actual worm we know nothing about - so it might as well be some supernatural creature that died without having a shot at turning someone into the first titan, and on some parallel universe, Attack on Titan could've actually happened. This makes it fit perfectly with the realistic and grounded nature of Attack on Titan's plot. If the solution to the mystery was magic or aliens, like many fans speculated, this would've been just lazy and unimaginative. This is perfect.
Secondly, hallucinogenia fits perfectly with how Titans actually work. Titan powers come from inside the nape/spine of the shifter and from a mysterious elecrical charge. So it's only fitting to Hallucinogenia, who literally looks like a severed human spine, through which our nerves run electrical impulses.
Thirdly, with Hallucinogenia we finally have an answer to what the world of the paths is and how are all Eldians connected. If Hallucinogenia attached itself to Ymir so it would be able to multiply, it only makes sense why Eldians all carry Founding Titans/Ymir's genes. Hallucinogenia multiplies like a sexually transmitted disease, its cells are spread out into every single Eldian from birth but are not awakened unless they are stimulated with a spinal fluid of a titan, or, in other words, already awakened Hallucinogenia cells. The reason why only 9 titan shifters are able to willingly control the state they are in, is because 3 daughters of Ymir did not merely inherited non awakened Hallucinogenia cells from birth, but actually ATE hallucinogenia worm itself which was attached to Ymir's spine. Later their children also ate their spines, because that's what king Fritz demanded, and so original Hallucinogenia worm, which is literally like a hive mother to all Eldians who possess its spread out cells, was spread evenly between 9 individuals, and is passed throughout generations by eating. The founding titan is simply the Eldian which possesses the biggest piece, or the head of Hallucinogenia. This is how Eren had it in its spine when he and Zeke made contact, it was there all along and in Griesha/royal family before that. And the hive mother Hallucinoenia - the founding titan is what connects all its cells and titan shifters, just like a bee hive mother is connected to all the bees. And when an Eldian dies, Hallucinogenia collects back its multiplied cells, and since they are situated in the spinal cord of a human, it collects conciousness and memories of those they belonged to. This is how Eldians end up together in the world of the paths, which is simply the nervous system of the original Hallucinogenia.

The ovas technically support the different timeline theory. Technically he says that this world, or potentially the timeloop exists because of Mikasas inability to accept erens death. Every single time weve seen the story "end" is a timeline where Eren dies and Mikasa griefs it and then a new universe happens. If the loop exists and the theory is true, then the anime only ending would be the hypothetical timeline where either Mikasa does accept the death of eren, or Eren doesnt die therefore the time doesnt reloop. It would be interesting to see if Ymir was the one attached to Mikasa because she also was stuck in a loop of being loyal to the royal bloods, so she was using her powers to try to give Mikasa, someone with the same attachment as her, an opportunity to live out her attachment or something like that.

Wow, just wow. I have nothing more to say. I'm simply blown away. I literally watched through the whole 8 hours in one sitting for fucks sake.

This is what i expected from Vivy honestly. But in the end, i got it in the form of pluto. I'm glad i didn't continue with the manga, this is one hell of an adaptation.

An amazing show, no doubt about it. It has its own style to it and that's something you don't see every day. And that last episode... This one sure knows how to pull your heartstrings. I didn't like this show at first because the visuals are very reminiscent of Monogatari, which I don't really like. But as the show went on, it really found its footing by adding its own comedy on top of the weird angles of the scenes.

This show captures how messy people can be in the most beautiful way.

There’s something about this show, man. It just hits that spot. I honestly didn’t expect it to hit as hard as it did. Maybe it’s the vibe. That slow, melancholic, and thoughtful attitude everyone carries. That one episode where it’s just everyone having a day off, going about their lives, giving us a glimpse into the mundanity of everyday life. Or those sunrises and sunsets scattered throughout, just sitting there, unbothered and beautiful. Or even the characters, all of whom I love equally.

There’s something in this show I just can’t quite explain. Maybe words just aren’t enough to capture the layers of emotion it holds. I cried a few times watching it. The pacing gives you space to sit with those feelings, to really let them sink in.

It was especially heartfelt when the gang finally visited Manato’s grave after taking down the goblins responsible. Watching each of them leave, one by one, with that quiet sadness and a sense of fulfillment in their hearts. I felt that too. That pain, mixed with just a tinge of hope.

Watched the dub

Except for the usual anime bullshit here and there like the, oh I'm looking in to the future mechanic, Log Horizon is a very solid show I'm going too look back for a long time to come. Its up there with shows like Tensura and Shangri-la. This felt a little like Overlord if its main character cared about people a little bit more. This is what I wished the overlord show was honestly. Because the Adventurers acknowledge that they're gamers. That's how they think. that's how they behave and that's how they see the world. To see the show actively use that to its advantage is amazing. Rather than seeing people who magically transformed their mind and mental fortitude to another world, we see gamers and nerds in their element.

What I loved most about the show is how I rarely hated its characters. At first I didn't really like some of the characters, especially the kids. But goddamn didn't the show develop them and made me like them. Near then end I was genuinely rooting for them.

I also like how almost always when there's something huge going down there's always two parallel stories going on. This makes it possible for both of them to have slowly paced moments because then the other one would serve as the contrasting point of view to make me not bored.

I'm personally not a fan of theatre. As someone who pretty much skipped as many literature classes as I possibly could, all I needed was to get it over with. When my school drama teacher invited me to join their club, I declined saying I didn't have time, when in reality I just hated it. I think that shit is overrated.

But this right here. This is fun. The fights choreographed with the music makes you feel the weight of the conflict. Though the singing does feel awkward at times, sometimes going into musicals territory, it doesn't break my suspension of belief.

The action scenes in this are so wild they put even Fate to shame. The angles. The lighting. The momentum. Everything adds up to fighting scenes that make you feel the weight of every slash and step. They're akin to movement shooters where even your body involuntarily moves with your character when trying to avoid blades or slashing your way through your opponents. I literally moved my body watching these scenes, they were that intimate.

A chill still runs down my spine whenever the whole screen turns red and I AM REMADE comes up. That sequence belongs in legends.

I wouldn't say I can't stand Megumin, but she's definitely my least favourite of the bunch. However, her presence does make this show fall short of the greater KonoSuba for me. From the very first episode, it always felt like the show was bending over backwards to act as a mouthpiece for the original show, as if it's desperately trying to say, "Hey, hey, look at me, I paved the way for everything you know and love." It's merely riding the wave without creating any ripples of its own.

As a standalone work, the show is decent. But considering its predecessor and how often this goes out of its way to reference it, that's not the viewpoint I look at this from. I take a more comedic perspective, and through it, the show immediately falls flat. Even though it wasn't terrible, it wasn't a good watch either. And I'd say the same about the dozen or so isekais I've watched whose plots I can't even recall. This is making me crave a rewatch of KonoSuba so much. While this might not reach those comedic heights, it certainly succeeds in highlighting just how exceptional KonoSuba is in contrast to this show's mediocrity.

The comedy elements don't land super hard, but it's not bad. That's pretty much how I'd summarize this show. It's not great, and it's not bad. Just mid.

What the hell! This is season 2 part 2 all over again but at a much higher scale of contradictions. I didn't expect Slime to go down this low tbh. It seems to be rewriting its own rules with every entry nowadays. Anything is possible now. There goes any steaks the story had and the value of any of the lives.

Asuka was right. Disgusting. It pretty much summarizes my whole experience. Nothing more, nothing less. Just disgusting.

Fictional stories often revolve around a protagonist embarking on a transformative journey, emerging from it in a different light. These are the tales we often crave – witnessing a person rise from nothing to become a world-saving warrior or a young girl grappling with her problems to evolve into a better version of herself. Such stories carry arcs that change our characters, offering a sense of closure.

Then there exist narratives like this movie, which begins on a dismal note and descends into an even more distressing position. The only other show that managed to scratch a similar itch was NHK, an amazing series where the protagonist doesn't end up with the girl because, well, that's life. Things must be earned, and miracles don't just land at our feet. This movie, though, was an entirely different beast. Upon finishing it, I couldn't help but feel awful. Why did it have to unfold in such a manner? Was this inevitable from the start? And finally, was Shiji always such a bitch?

Nevertheless, this movie is nothing short of amazing. It caught me between its threads, never letting go. While it featured heavy thematic flashbacks, inner monologues, and prolonged seemingly mundane dialogues, these elements never felt out of place. Perhaps it was because the initial series had perfectly set the tone, making it less surprising and more of an expected continuation.

What sets apart my experience with this film from the usual anime is that it didn't quite give me the typical vibes or even a sensation of anime being the very reason for my existence. It didn't even make me feel like it would significantly improve my life. To be honest, it was rather frustrating. And yet, that's precisely what makes this movie so great. While numerous shows frustrate me unintentionally, Evangelion did this intentionally to the highest degree possible.

So all in all, did I enjoy this movie? No, I did not. Wait it worth it? Fuck yeah, it was.

Watched it with my whole family

A very very conflicting movie. As someone coming from a country that was ravaged by civil war. That woman of war should have definitely been killed. Nothing more, nothing less. Humans don't change indefinitely, they always go back to their roots sometime or the other.

Those last two episodes felt like a fever dream. In a sense, I think they were. This whole series felt like a plead of pain tbh.

This was like a simulation that bundled a lot of people with varying degrees of mental problems and saw how they would react to an end-of-the-world typa scenario. I won't deny that it was boring at times. There's a reason why I held out for so long without watching this. I don't really like shows like this. With heavy monologues, diving deep into the human psyche etc. I really enjoyed what Eva was trying to be tho.

I started watching this when I was on a 14-hour flight and managed to devour 8 episodes in one go. I was tired and couldn't sleep, so what better option than this, honestly? I had to choose between the three Evangelion rebuild movies or this. Given how I was feeling, there was no way in hell I was watching the anime equivalent of a depression drug. I wanted something uplifting, and boy, did this show do the trick.

Kirei – that's the first thought that came to my mind right after finishing those initial 8 episodes during the flight. And that's precisely what stuck in my mind even after completing the entire series.

The romance in this show had a unique flavour to it. It didn't delve deep into a specific kink like that cosplay girlfriend anime, nor did it venture into the extremely bizarre territory like that mysterious girlfriend anime. Instead, it chose the more mature path, which was quite refreshing and I loved it. Typically, I despise the conflicts in romance anime; they often seem utterly foolish. Take Citrus, for example, even though I enjoyed that show for reasons I'd rather not discuss here, hehe, its conflicts were simply ridiculous. However, in this show, both the conflicts and their resolutions felt genuine and plausible. They didn't shatter my suspension of disbelief in the slightest. It was truly enjoyable to watch, and it felt comforting as if I wished to live and experience it myself. This mature quality struck me in a way that few shows have, and reminds of me Bloom Into You.

The show did have its peculiar moments tho, like that half-episode or so where Nakami and Magari were simply strolling around, discussing how things unfolded throughout the entire season, like a recap. I mean, seriously, why? I just watched the show; I didn't want it to backtrack! Except for that mishap, probably due to budgetary reasons, I really enjoyed the show.

It had the nuances of high school romance that made me hooked. Like the nuances of being a professional in Barakamon.

Amazing. A sincere 15/10. This is truly a carnival phantasm.

Honestly, I have to admit that I'm not familiar with a lot of the characters that this anime parodies. I haven't watched or read Tsukihime, and I know nothing about Fate Grand Order. And as for the cats that show up in every episode? I'm clueless. Despite all that, I have to say that watching this anime was an absolute delight.

The first episode was particularly outstanding. It not only gave me a clear idea of what the show was going to be about, but it also set the tone and expectations for the rest of the series. Type-moon really outdid themselves with that first episode. In fact, you don't even need the usual three-episode rule with this anime - if the first episode doesn't hook you, then nothing will. That's how well it established the show's themes and overall direction.

I have to admit, the silliness of it all caught me off-guard. Considering the original source material is filled with intense violence and emotional turmoil, turning it into a comedic parody seemed like an odd choice. But the show exceeded my expectations in every way. It didn't feel like it was parodying the original just for the sake of it - it had its own unique twists and turns that made it stand out. It never felt like it was mocking the original just for the sake of it. The writers put a lot of effort into creating an alternate version of the characters, building up their own comedic context and even going so far as to give them, Carnival Phantasm-centric character arcs.

You can really feel the passion that went into creating this show. It's experimental, it's humane, and it's incredibly creative. Though some source-based jokes went completely over my head, I still found myself thoroughly enjoying every episode. The level of effort put into the writing and character development was truly impressive, especially considering they could have just used the existing characters in a comedic context. Instead, they took the extra step and crafted their own unique version of these characters and it shows. I have a lot of respect for the effort that they put into this project, and it really paid off.

When I'm feeling blue or under the weather, I have a guilty pleasure of turning to some truly generic anime with names like "The World's Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat" - a title that pretty much sums up the entire vibe. Honestly, I can barely remember anything about it, except for the final battle scene which was surprisingly epic.

Picture this: a final battle scene between the protag and the main villain is about to begin. Before everything, our hero casually does a thing - he projects a metal surfboard into the air, because why not? The two engage in a frenzied fight blah blah blah... but just as things are looking dire for our main man, everything goes white. We're blinded by a flash of nothingness, and for a moment, it feels like the world has come to an end.

But it's not the end - it's one of the most epic moves I've ever seen. That metal surfboard, the size of a small car, was launched into orbit. And like a well-aimed ICBM, it came hurtling back down to Earth, crashing into the battlefield like an orbital cannon. The result? Total and utter destruction, as if a fucking nuke had just gone off.

It's moments like these that make you wonder what kind of crazy energy drink the writers were drinking. But hey, who cares when it's this entertaining? The show may have been a forgettable trashy isekai, but that finale was pure gold.

Imagine that scene, but instead of a fleeting moment, it lasts for an entire movie. That's what you get with Redline. This movie is pure adrenaline-fueled insanity, spread out over two hours of non-stop action.

You've got everything you could possibly want: cars with jet engines attached to them, orbital destruction lasers, and even unlimited energy nitrous. Yeah, you read that right - freaking infinite energy. And don't even get me started on the animation. It's like the artists just said "screw it" and went all out.

When the opening credits rolled and my eyes caught sight of that nitrous can, I erupted into a fit of childish giggles. In a world where even Hollywood blockbusters have ditched the good old blue liquid in favour of sci-fi technobabble, it was a refreshing sight to behold.

I haven't been this pumped for nitrous since the days when the Fast and Furious franchise was still worth watching - which let's be honest, feels like a lifetime ago. But here we are, ready to indulge in some good old-fashioned N2O action. Who needs flying cars or time-travelling DeLoreans when you can have a can of nitrous? It's like the cinematic equivalent of mac and cheese - it may not be the fanciest thing out there, but damn, it hits the spot.

You know, Redline is what Death Race should have been.

There's something so wrong with this show's voice acting and sound design. It just doesn't fit.

I switched to the English dub because I couldn't bear the voice acting of the Japanese version. I usually don't mind that kinda stuff but I just couldn't handle it. the English one isn't that bad but it isn't just the voice acting I've got a problem with. its the sound effects. like, they could've added a lot more depth but it just feels flat.

Enjoyable brain-off content with great music and god-tier EDs. That's about all the praise I can give before everything else starts falling off.

I honestly would've liked more drama. And the issues I mentioned lessened as the episodes went on, which was great. Though they didn't vanish entirely.

I loved the final sequence ngl. Seras was so badass. Especially when she single-handedly took down the blip. And her relationship with pip was good.

See this is the paradox of Hellsing. It's full of really cool action scenes but the connections in-between aren't strong enough to build up most of the characters.

HOLY FUCK. How did this go from Battle Royal to.... THIS

I think saying I'm blown away is the least I could do. I didn't expect any of what I've seen when I started watching this. I mean, come on. What would you honestly expect from a proxy battle of servants and masters for a freaking holy grail of all things other than action? But didn't it deliver?

Season 2 blows the first out of the water. It's like the first season is all about introducing the underlying conflict, basically the grail way. Then the second one just takes that context and the characters and flushes them out to the extreme. It was really well done.

This was better than what I was expecting honestly. Yea it's a trash anime. That's not up for debate. The unique twists to the usual fantasy tropes however are quite refreshing.

I still don't understand why my eyes decide to let the floodgates open for this thing's last ep. Like, the show is bad. It's obvious what's going to happen and even though there was quite a bit of depth given to all of the characters, it wasn't the good kind. So why did I get emotional? Hmmm must've been the fever I had while watching this.

That first episode may very well be one of those rare gems. A perfect blend of storytelling and execution with some very funny sequences. I'll have to rewatch this some other time to make sure tho. The number of times I got distracted watching this was not doing this show justice.

A few months later...
After rewatching the first ep, I can confidently say that it has aged like fine wine, it's as great as the first time. It took me a few minutes to readjust to the quirks of low frame rates in anime considering it's been over a month since I've last watched 'anything'. But soon those nuances faded into oblivion as the comedy took center stage.

This show falls into the category of love it or outright hate it, leaving little room for a middle ground. And I find myself on the side of adoration.

Getting back into the anime game with this series was one of the best decisions I've made. The relentless humour is precisely what I craved after weeks of not reading or watching anything. It was refreshing. It's not like I regret not consuming anything; I simply didn't feel the need for it. I had other things that gave me the same kicks. I think I'm slowly starting to understand my capacity. When I'm immersed in work, I struggle to enjoy watching or reading something, while I really enjoy socializing. Yet, when I'm at home, I love consuming stuff and I hate going out. It's a weird duality, to say the least.

An actual tournament arc? Is this for real?

The first six episodes of this series were an absolute delight. If it had sustained that level of quality, matching the brilliance of its debut episode, I have no doubt it would have become one of my favourites. Regrettably, the show took more of a comedy using generic shounen tropes path—races, cultural festival tournaments, battles with upperclassmen, and the like. Although amusing, it failed to maintain its originality for long. Nevertheless, it was still fun, which is a significant plus. One of the main drawbacks, however, lies in the underdevelopment of the characters. In the initial episodes, this was not an issue as we familiarized ourselves with their personalities and the whole cast. But as the series progressed, we yearned to witness their growth or, at the very least, some form of change. Instead, they remained largely unchanged, reverting to the same individuals we encountered at the beginning. Had this been an entirely absurdist comedy akin to 'Carnival Phantasm,' this lack of character development would have been inconsequential. Yet, this show aimed to explore life's challenges through comedy, occasionally adopting a slice-of-life tone. There were instances when this approach worked well, particularly during Takao and Roka's arc. However, those instances were few and far between.

That was a bit... hmm... anti-climactic. In more ways than one, I expected more from this. The music and the animation are through the roof, as always with Ghibli films. But the story just didn't get me. It was a bit boring, to be honest.

I watched this with my mom. And she pretty much shares the same opinion. The ending didn't have a punch to it.

I certainly get that Ghibli isn't for everyone. This isn't the first Ghibli film that missed its mark with me. Though like you, I do respect what they've done. The quality of the story, the characters, and even the freaking environment are really up there.

Mhm, this was definitely focused on Chihiro. I wonder if that kind of story isn't my type. My impressions of this were awfully similar to The Cat Returns too hmmm... food for thought.

This is far better than I expected. You could even say that I'm satisfied. Like most isekai, I started this because I was sick. I wanted to flush my pain away. And what better way to do that than to indulge myself in a brain-off power fantasy? I mean, this is still trash, but pretty top-tier trash at that. I got exactly what I asked for. A good harem. An overpowered MC trying his best to be cool. And last but not least, an incest plot. You know, you have to include that somewhere and I'm not disappointed by the execution.

Orbital canon is best character! 15/10

Watched the dub. Don't regret it to the least

Episodes 1-12 were perfect. Nothing more, nothing less. They had some of the best storytelling and writing I've seen. Yes, the animation lacked at times. But it did the job and it didn't feel like it was holding the story back. Each episode had something new to explore. Slowly building up the whole world and mysterious but lovable protag, Vash the Stampede.

Then came episode 13. A sort of recap story. It was... alright I suppose. Sometimes you had them in these old shows. And it wasn't like it was a complete recap. It had some new scenes and moments to spice things up too, like its ending.

Then the whole train crashed with episode 14. The only episode to not feature Vash in the front. It was just soo sooo weak. I couldn't even keep my wholehearted concentration on it. I hate not fully focusing on what I"m watching. I rarely let myself drift off. If I do drift off, and often, I would immediately consider what I was watching drop worthy. I really don't like to waste my time watching something I didn't enjoy or get a kick out of. But episode 14 just didn't fit right. Compared to the momentum the show had up until then. It didn't make sense. How could an episode be so, bland? The conflict didn't feel all that interesting. The characters weren't all that developed. It just didn't have enough to make me care about the situation. In the end, adding up to make the episode outright boring.

The same can partly be said about episode 15. Though, it wasn't bad per se like its predecessor. It didn't have the same quality as the rest. The writing felt sloppy and lazy. The dialogue wasn't witty at all. Hm. This is where I'm currently at so I wonder what direction the show will take going forward. I really hope it will go back to the previous formula.

Yea, it did go back!

So that's it huh. I can't believe I got to watch two absolute bangers back to back. First, it was the daily lives of high school boys and now Trigun. This show sure was something. It was perfect in its own way. Sure it had a ton of problems, like with the animation and the way certain characters were written. Plus a whole lot of pacing issues. The show sure does show its age now. But, I absolutely loved it. I loved the characters. I loved that gritty art style. I loved the comedy. This was soo good. At first, I was comparing this to Samurai Champloo. But god, this surpasses that by a long shot. If it weren't for the weird inconsistencies, Trigun would have definitely made it into my favourites.

All in all, this is so what I would call a Classic. Wouldn't hesitate if I ever got the feeling to rewatch it. This is the kind of epic that doesn't bore you no matter how many times you watch it.

I still can't believe I finished 26 episodes in two freaking sittings. Ahhhh, well, not that it wasn't worth it. This was an experience of a lifetime.

In other words. A show about the creation of the middle class. I suppose you could still call it a revolution

As a Yuri fan, this was better than nothing. But as an anime fan, hehe, calling this disappointing wouldn't be enough. It had a very strong start. The first couple of episodes were spot-on and fun. The more it went on however, the more it felt like the writers were just making shit up so they could keep the show going. The story was all over the place. And it was soo bad. This isn't like The Executioner anime, where it at least had a good premise with some great world-building. This one just sucks from the get-go. Don't even speak of the characters. They all felt like 5-year-olds playing Who's the King around a mini roundtable.

Ahhh I can't get this show out of my head. It was farrr better than what I was expecting and now I'm having trouble watching even a single episode from anything else cos this show's quality is above and beyond almost everything out there.
God, it's post Gintama all over again.

---
It took only a single episode to know that this was my type of show. Iy had a similar feel to Edgerunners, one of my favourite shows, which heavily embraced a mature story with plenty of subtlety. Honestly, I never anticipated it to be as great as it turned out to be - all my expectations were surpassed. Like how I watch all of my shows, I only started this because the cover looked good and I remember reading the first manga chapter a few years ago. Even then, I stopped reading it because this was still releasing and it felt like it had hit gold. Now that I've watched the show, I'm pretty sure I'm never going to read the manga now, it looks that good!

Adjusting to the CGI took me a few episodes. I'm generally not a fan, but I'm open-minded if it's executed well. This CGI? I'm all in. It quickly blended in and I didn't even notice it after a while. though at first, I doubted if I would like the art style, it's grown on me and I now think it's one of the best things about the show. It looks beautiful.

Oftentimes, I find mystery shows to be boring because they often keep the mystery going for too long and I lose interest. This is why I've never watched more than three episodes of The Promised Neverland. Heavenly Delusions does a great job of balancing the mystery with good old action. The show never loses sight of its appeal, even when there's a big mystery going on in the background.

I think Heavenly Delusions did something really special with its approach to storytelling. Show don't tell. The show never spells out what's unfolding; even key plot points remain subtle. You have to connect the dots yourself. Its especially great when you're noticing a familiar name or world detail you've seen before or heard before and it finally clicks. Looking at you Hoshino.

Ngl, I fell apart into a crying mess in Hoshino and Dr Usami's episode. It was so well executed and it really hit me hard. It beautifully showcased the humanity within the show. It felt real. It didn't feel _anime-esque_. Because so many times shows fall into the trap of trying to say serious stories while still limiting themselves to the constraints of the anime formula. This is what made me furious with The Executioner and Her Way of Life. It tried telling a very real story but got tangled in the trappings of a clichéd isekai formula, a glaring inconsistency. If you're going to tell a serious story, you need to pull it through till the end. Heavenly Delusions aced that.

Humans are always nuanced. No one is completely good nor bad. Trying to put them into a neat box will always kill certain parts of a character leaving out only the most exaggerated. The homeless guy in the van was one of a kind character. Hell, even the king of hotels, this show is filled to the brim with so many characters that all have problems. the world doesn't just revolve around our two protagonists even if the story does.

There are only two OPs/EDs that have made me emotional. One is Edgerunner's ED, the other is Steins; Gate 0's ED. Now this. This show's OP was absolutely fantastic. The ethereal visuals, the lyrics and the vocals, everything just mixed together so well.

All in all, this was a one-of-a-kind show. I really hope they keep up this same quality thought out its next seasons.

Definitely lived up to my expectations. Though they weren't that high up after seeing the LN's character art.

The Eminence in Shadow is literally hype incarnate. But with a weird twist that makes it work much much better than the other power fantasy isekai alternatives like Slime.

That's the end of Gintama huh. Wasn't that a journey. A four-month (123-day) long journey. I honestly have nothing to say about it now that it's over. It was simply an experience of a lifetime. I miss them already.

In a way, I expected the ending to be an all-out emotional drag race. What I got was a tour ride where the driver slowed down every time there was something to look at. Letting me take everything in for one last time. The movie knew exactly how I'd feel watching it. A sense of loss. A sad goodbye. Truth be told I'm weirdly satisfied. The ending was perfect.

That was an.... experience. I can safely say that I really enjoyed the movie. It really hit the spot, just like how Your Name did. There were some things that I found odd but in general, I enjoyed it.

First off, the relationship just felt... forced. Thats pretty much what kept this movie from getting right there into my favs. It's just I can't imagine a girl falling in love with a guy in the way that Suzume did here. It doesn't make any sense at all. I know they went through a whole journey from one edge of Japan the other but come on. They didn't even share a ton of intimate moments. Suzume going, I can't live without him doesn't feel coherent.

That's pretty much all the bad I can say about this. I pretty much loved everything else. The music was... god.

I'm top of that there are the transitions. As all of Shinkai's films, they were amazing. Especially the title opening screen. When Suzuke was trying to close the first door, when the music was ravaging and the tension was high, when they finally closed it, the music faded and out of nowhere the whole view collapsed into a thread and the iconic soundtrack started playing.

The first transition that displayed SUZUME was mindblowing. I literally watched that multiple times because i couldn't believe how smooth it was. An absolute godsend of a transition right there.

Can't believe this was my most anticipated movie of the whole year. I'm someone who doesn't really stick to movie releases. I rarely watch something on release. I wait a few months till the hype dies down and everyone forgets it. I like it that way. I did the same thing with this, but compared to any other show, I was struggling keep myself from watching this. I wanted to watch it.

All in all, this was a nice movie. It didn't leave me emotional enough to cry, but it did get a tear or two out of me. Which is a lot in this day and age.

I just realized. One of the huge perks of watching episodic shows like Gintama is you don't really have to remember the last episode to continue with the next. You don't have to worry about forgetting key plot points every time you start a watch session. Each Gintama arc is around 3-5eps long. I usually watch them in one go. Because of this, I haven't had to think about continuation in a while. Compared to back when I was watching more, sane, shows. You have a single story spread throughout 12-24 eps. Factor in how many watch sessions you split it into. That's a lot of things to remember extended throughout quite a number of days.

I actually started Gintama because there was a time when my watch times fell off of a cliff. I was not watching like 1-3 episodes per week. I wondered why. Then I figured I needed a good refreshment. So I went all in. Now, I'm watching more than I ever have. Period. I'm so glad I started this. It rekindled my love for anime and good storytelling.

There are rare times when I feel tired of watching Gintama. When I feel like I need to spice myself up a bit more. To break free from the same everyday.

Then, in the evening after I've finished everything for the day, I sit in front of my lap to watch my daily dose of Gintama. After I've finished, there's only one thing I feel...

__I hope this never ends__


Thinking about it. There's something seriously different about this season. It transformed Gintama from an anime that had comedy beats other shows could only dream of to an anime that had a tragedy that other shows could only dream of too. Even I didn't expect Gintama to head in this direction so well and be absurdly good at it too. I always knew Gintama would do great in a totally serious setting but I was not prepared for this. The buildup spans more than 200 episodes. The characters who I've gotten used to for more than 3 months. Everything led to where the story is now. God am I not impressed.

Even from the beginning. Gintama was a master of tone shifts. Bridging serious arcs and fluffy comedy episodes so cleanly. Now that there are consecutive serious arcs back to back. The show doesn't seem to be struggling at all. Its acing everything.

This looks like it fell right off of a shooting star.

I really like the show's subtle sense of humour. Its spread far apart but hits just right.

Wow, just wow. This was farrr better than I thought it would've been. Hell, I started this cos I wanted to calm down after edgerunners. What I got in return was a full freaking package! This has to be the best ecchi I've seen period. The art looked absolutely amazing. The characters looked absolutely amazing. The thirst traps were absolutely amazing. What more could I have even asked for???

This is the ideal horny anime! No doubts there. This show is literally what I went into hoping from my dress-up darling. It was such a disappointment.

I'm still ashamed to think that once upon a time, I passed off after reading around a dozen chapters of the manga thinking it was an ecchi without ecchi. Ohhh, young me. You knew nothing. Still, that's pretty much it tho. This show is an ecchi. Not much more.

What surprised me the most in a way is the dark turn the show took after ep 9 with the detective and all. I thought it was going to take the same route as the vampire meeting did back in episode 5 or something where our insomniac protag got confronted. That whole scene felt silly and not serious.

But the detective woman story sure took a deep dive. The show wasn't deep, not by any means. Still, it's interesting to see at least making the other characters do the thinking for our sort of braindead protag.

I loved the story!
It has the potential to be another Attack on Titan. Compared to your run-of-the-mill isekai, this has depth. It has complex dynamics at work and we get to see how that affects the world. The world-building is also top-notch. Even the initial scenes, I love how this started, with the character who we thought would be the protag getting brutally murdered out of nowhere. Now that's some chilling Game of Thrones S1 levels of storytelling right there.

What I'm trying to get at here is that this show has the depth to be a story that fans would literally make lore-filled wikis about. That's the kind of premise this show is built upon. This could have very well been the next Overlord or Mother of Learning in that sense.

What angers me the most is how the author goes so close to hitting the target through every story beat but reels back in before the climax. It's frustrating. I wouldn't have been this interested in this if it wasn't for the general path the story was going. It was perfect. But it all felt silly. Just like the Overlord anime, this got the animefication treatment, dumbing down the story. But in this case, there wasn't anything to dumb down, the source material itself was dumb.

However, the bane of this show is the writer. I'm not saying that they suck in terms of writing quality, but they just suck at building up a great idea into a vast universe. They don't have what it takes to take a great premise and build it up into a great story.

I can only imagine what this story could have been if the author had been willing to go all in and had the talent to do so. Imagine a story where Menou is forced to grapple with the moral implications of her job, not through cliche anime tropes, but through implications of the killings that she had done throughout her life. The show just tells us that she's killed people and ends it there, we don't feel that when she's with Akari. what we see is a conflicted person who doesn't even show the work ethic to be an executioner put in that role. Not at all what they're supposed to be. It's these kinds of conflicts and inconsistencies that kill the story.

That's the story that I wanted to see. But instead, we got what we got. A mediocre anime that could have been so much more.

This show is amazing. The comedy. The characters. They all hit just the right way. Every character has their own merit to stand on their own feet. Even the side ones. On top of that, the animation. Though the show uses so many generic tropes, it never feels redundant nor copy pastey. It adds its own flavour to everything which i really appreciate.

For as great as the show was, that was an unsatisfactory ending, wasn't it? God i hate cliffhangers.

What a first episode. I'm all in. Its right up there with D-Frag and Barakamon.

This feels like the saying, diamond in the rough personified. It's got some cliche tropes but its played so well i can't help but turn a blind eye and just go with it. The story and the characters flow so well. The chemistry is just.. chef's kiss.

Hm, how do I put it. I enjoyed it a lot, but I wouldn't call it a great show. I guess it worked because there was such good chemistry between the characters. The show did a lot of things well but nothing amazingly. But, I don't think it needed that either. It's a somewhat laidback slice of life with a trope thats very predictable. I don't feel like asking for more.

If it isn't obviously already, I'm very nuanced about this one. I don't feel like I connected with an individual thing but a series of smaller things that overall added up to be a great experience.

I'm really impressed. This is normally the kind of show I avoid. But it managed to keep me attached throughout. And it's fun too. Tho there are things I don't like, for one, the character's glowy-glowy animation, still, the story is pretty good. Especially when the visual effects go all out.

Is it me or is Gojou-Kun like an incarnation of a guy without any personality? He feels soo empty. Like, just look at him! He doesn't even have a freaking spine! Looking at him felt like I was looking at a helpless rabbit.

A typical time travel story told through the comforts of a 4.5 tatami room.

Typical tatami galaxy. Tho not as great as the original, this sure had its own weirdly fun story. I'm surprised I didn't have much trouble keeping track of the dialogue with this one. I had to keep a finger on the rewind button almost exclusively with the prequel.

Honestly, I expected more from this. I know that this is trying to give the impression of an alternate timeline from the original, but if it only had a little more originality.

Converted the note into a review cos it was too fucking long.

Here are a few comments I found under youtube videos for this to maximize the emotional damage.

Both Maine and David were strong enough to fight cyber psychosis and take one last look at the people they loved before their deaths.

ED--
Lucy walks the rest of the way home distraught after Falco drops her off, pauses to smoke to try and calm herself, breaks down screaming in the shower/tub, gets out and cries on the windowsill, can't run away from her pain of loss, then realizes David's dream for her to go to the moon.
This ending has so much more meaning to it after watching the finale.

Night City remembers people for how they died and not what they did before that.
It's safe to say David easily goes down as one of the most legendary cyberpunks in Night City. He battled MilTech, Arasaka, and it took Adam Smasher to finally put him down.
The best part? David died human.

I love how they had the intro being David’s absolute blast of a journey through night city with a pretty chaotic song and then the outro slows down with Lucy in the aftermath of everything that happened in the show. Sort of represents the viewer’s upbeat and happy feelings as the show starts to depression as the show ends. Phenomenal show

The more I think about the ending of this show the more depressed I get…I thought this ed was Lucy feeling lost and powerless seeing David slowly killing himself for others, but now I realize that it’s her absolutely depressed after his sacrifice…this show keeps finding ways to hurt me, man…

So true random person on the internet. So true.

If someone told me this was how Gintama ended. I would've no doubt believed them.

I almost started ep 266 before I remembered that Gintama had a couple of movies. Only found out about this while checking them out :P

The movie sure had a lot of pitfalls. The whole time travel plot was wild. That always happens when you introduce multiple timelines. Everything gets so jumbled up.

But in my eyes, they can certainly be justified by how much emotion this packed. It was an all-out ending. That's the message I felt from it. It wasn't meant to be logical. It was meant to be a send-off. Considering the author wrote this as an alternate ending. No wonder it felt so heavy.

In a sense, the show didn't explain anything. It was completely focused on the yorozuya. You know, all this time, when people mentioned yorozuya this and yorozuya that. I wondered why they were so attached to that word. It's just the three of these guys. Call them a gang or something. Now. I completely understand where they're coming from. This movie rewrote the word's meaning fundamentally.

Watching this movie felt different. I've been with these characters for close to four months already. That's far longer than I've associated with any other. The witcher series comes as a second. Though It took me only two months to finish all the books. Half of the time I've spent with Gintama.

I've grown so used to them and their antics. So watching all of the characters five years from what I'm used to. Was like how it is when you look at old pictures of yourself. Reminiscing about how it used to be and how it is now. Hell, Madao is literally an ojiisan now. Nothing comes even close to a portrayal like that!

And for those who ramble on whether this is canon or not;

Gintama is literally the show where they had an arc about characters reacting to a real-life popularity poll and then conspiring against each other to get higher numbers. With that many fourth wall breaks and characters reacting like they're everyday occurrences lead me to believe that canonicity in Gintama is as tangible as the day Madao becomes a functional part of society.

Woohoo, finally finished writing notes for both this movie, the last season and the season before that. Ever since I started watching Gintama. My note-taking rate went down sharply. It's not that I don't want to. It's that, I didn't have anything special to say. There's only so much you can praise before the praise becomes normality. This movie was a good refresher on that. It was a self-contained story and entry. Letting me write whatever the hell I pleased like back when I used to watch different shows that weren't Gintama. Man, I've been watching this show for a long time. No wonder why I'm so attached to it.

As much as I love binging shows. Man, it's tiring. I finished this in less than a single day. Before you come to any conclusions. No, it wasn't as easy as it sounds.

After a long while, I decided to watch anime during the day. I'm mostly a nocturnal anime enjoyer. Watching something before I head to sleep well past midnight. This time, I simply couldn't resist the urge. I finished the previous season of Gintama the night before and I didn't want to wait till nighttime to continue. Good thing I had this downloaded locally. My router would have cried if I hadn't.

The weather played a huge part in making the mood as well. It was pouring outside. It was still noon but the sun was nowhere to be seen. Creating a perfect mixture of laziness and comfort. Without knowing what to expect, I played the first episode.

When I shut the laptop down, it was after a good couple of hours and I was one episode away from finishing a whole new arc. It was the Kintama arc. Ngl, it was amazing. An all-out war in Kabuki! How is that not interesting? On top of that, just thinking about what went through the producer's mind when they decided to make one OP and two EDs just for the four-episode arc is mind-boggling. If they were low quality and bad it wouldn't have been that surprising. But they were absurdly good too.

Later that night at around 8, I felt my body craving more Gintama. Most of all, I wanted to see Kintama arc's finale. The reason why I stopped watching wasn't that I felt bored or tired. I was forced to take a call I couldn't ignore. Making sure to free myself from everything I had to do that night. I sat down and started watching.

After finishing the rest of the Kintama arc which was only a single episode. I expected the rest of the 13-episode season to be plain old Gintama with their usual antics. Well... like hell it did. Right after a full-on serious arc. We're given another.

After finishing the first episode of the Courtesan's arc. My resolve was set. I was dead set on finishing this arc too. I mean, the Yorozuya literally raiding the Shogunate's palace. WTF!!

If someone told me that I would live to see three absolute blasts of arcs back to back. I wouldn't have believed them. Gintama is great. But that's too demanding of a feat even for Sorachi. Guess who was wrong again? How in God's name am I supposed to stop watching when we're finally given an insight into the past of the Shimura family's dojo? I did not want to miss it! By then my resolve was clear as day. I was finishing the whole season then and there no matter what.

Still, as much as I enjoyed it. Watching that many episodes in a single day do take its toll. After I finished everything I felt soo tired. It felt as if I just came home from a good cycling session. My mind was exhausted.

In the end, totally set a new record. A whole season in a single day.

This season had a rough start. The visuals were absolutely fantastic. There's no doubt about that. But of all the 150 episodes I've watched. The first ten episodes of this were the worst. They honestly felt disappointing. It feels even weird to tell that. I mean, we're talking about Gintama here. How CAN it be bad? They were wayy too fast-paced for my liking. It was as if the story didn't know what to do, so it just ran as fast as it could. Most of the jokes went right over my head.

The main issue was that they sucked at buildup. Because the buildup sucked, the payoffs didn't work either. The payoffs themselves weren't bad. They were as Gintama as ever. But everything leading up to them was so so bad.

There were even a couple of episodes where it felt as if Gintama's charm had been broken. But it didn't take long for the show to pick itself back up. In the end, it took around 20 eps for the show to grow on me.

Sometimes you just gotta appreciate how much work has been put into Gintama. In Gintoki's scandal arc, the staff literally remade a whole scene in the OP to reflect a single 2ep arc. That's so much work for just two freaking episodes. The changes weren't even obvious. Anyone who didn't pay attention would easily miss it. I'm referring to Hasegawa's appearance on the OP because he's one of Gintoki's supposed partners on his night out drinking. Small details like this just make me love the show even more.

There are certainly some things different from the first season but they didn't veer too much off of the essence of Gintama. I'm more than three months in and I still love everything about this show.

Oh, and how could I forget...
Jugem Jugem Shit-Tossing of Shin-chan’s Two-Day-Old Underwear of Shinpachi’s Life Balmung Fezalion Issac Schneider 1/3 Pure Love 2/3 Hangnail Anxiety Betrayal Knows My Name Or Does It Really Ignore Calls Squid Dogfish Halibut Trout-Cod Dogfish... This Is A Different Dogfish, I’m Talking About The Dogfish Shark Kaluga Angler Ray Yuuteimiyaoukimukou Pepepepepepepepepepepepe Runny Diarrhea.

That was hmm... Okay? I guess.

Here in Sri Lanka, people don't really know anything about anime. Most people my age have never even heard of it. Hell, I didn't know much about it until a new came to our school who introduced me to it. So seeing a national TV channel broadcasting an anime is not just out of the ordinary. It was baffling. The main downside is it's dubbed. Sinhala dubs suck. Like big time. The voice actors here are bad at best. Okay, they don't have a best. The translators are even worse. They have no idea how to capture the emotion of a story. The voice actors have no idea how to relay that emotion either. So it's a total fuck up.

Even then, I wanted to watch Bubble because I was honestly amazed that the channel even considered showing an anime. I was excited.

As for the movie itself. Well... it sucked. It sucked big time. The plot wasn't too interesting. The logic was all over the place. The world-building was pretty much nonexistent, even considering this is one of those fantasy-setting stories. Exposition dumps were awful. And the characters. Oh, man. They were soo bad. It felt as if everyone except the two main characters were stupid for some reason. The show didn't do anything to flush the cast. They were just stepping stones.

There are so many shows and movies that try to do what this failed at but much much better. Take Vivy or Belle for example. They might not have been the best. But they were really enjoyable and didn't make me question the fundamental premise they were built upon. Here, I was always like.

A bubble... A bubble... Why?? How does that even make sense?? So people can get in but not out? What??

Behind all the soap and bubbles. This is what? A sports anime? Parkour? Oh well, as someone who hates media related to sports. This wasn't fun. Even the romance..... I'm disappointed.

If I were to compare this to Belle. At least that movie had a great closure and a great cast of characters I cared about. It did a good job. This... This! The characters felt like empty husks. They didn't feel real at all. The writing was just oh so bad.

I should not have watched this drunk. I knew I shouldn't have but I went along with it anyways. The whole runtime of this felt fast. When the movie ended, I was like "That's it!?". I literally laughed out loud at parts that were clearly meant to be emotional.

I understand where the movie is coming from however. There were a lot of pacing issues for me. If this would've been a series rather than a movie, this could've been another bunny girl senpai or your lie in April. This had elements that could've hit the same tones. But most of those drowned out because of how fast the movie was going. Most of the characters got sidelined and the main plot just didn't seem like it was happening. It felt as if the story was going around in circles rather than getting to the point. Because it didn't give me enough time to invest in the characters even though it had the whole length of a your name to do it.

Might read the LN.

This anime isn't good. It's low tier isekai trash. But there's one character that makes this top tier trash anime. The goddess Ristarte. She's pretty much the main character of this whole show. And she's funny AF. Most of the anime budget must've gone just to animated her comedic quips. And they always land. There's a lot of it too. I found myself laughing out loud at least once per episode. The comedy at times is Konosuba level. If it was this good consistently this could've been a really good show.

That's all the praise I can give honestly. Every other characters fell flat. Same case with the story.

Wasn't that something...

When I watched Bakemonogatari, my mind always converged on one single thing. Boredom. The show just didn't click with me. All the ecchi-like scenes. The girls. Everything felt out of place. More like the show wasn't made for me.

The story wasn't at all interesting. Yes, it had its strong parts, like the comedy. But it was in no way special. The story didn't captivate me. It didn't grab me. I wasn't invested in it or its characters. I did like the relationship between Araragi and Senjougahara, at least to a certain degree. But come on, she's a freaking psychopath. She scares me! How the hell am I supposed to root for a relationship like that? This block I have with connecting with the couple isn't really a fault of the show. It's more of an inability from my side based on my biases. Even if I can't really blame the show for it, this was the only thing I at least liked about the whole plot.

Then there are the characters. Ahhh, to me they felt like empty husks. Really, just husks. They didn't feel real at all. I think the story was trying so hard to be meta that it failed at everything else. I did appreciate the time when Senjougahara broke the fourth wall talking about voice actors. But that's about it. All those kanji just flying around wasn't at all entertaining. It was honestly boring. I'm not against the whole tell not show theme of Monogatari but come on, just spouting exposition without a story to tie them together is just a bunch of meaningless facts.

I was literally ready to call it quits right after I finished Bake. I hadn't watched a show this bad and I didn't want to experience any of it ever again either. If I hadn't been convinced so many times about how the show got wilder as it goes, I would've never watched Kizu.

Speaking of Kizu... This three-movie trilogy is comparable to some of the best titles I've ever watched. I'm not even exaggerating here. If you were to chart my enjoyment between Kizu and Bake it would be like day and night. Okay, it did have its fair share of fanfare. I mean, it had a lot of fanfare. But it's impossible to undermine everything else around it. Unlike Fate's UBW which does a lot of things right but nothing great. Kizu similarly does a lot of things and does them so well, that they're noticeable outright.

One of the most unique things about Kizu is its vibe. I'm really happy it didn't go down the weird abstract route of Bake nor the fantasy route of UBW. It was on a pedestal of its own. Especially with that godly soundtrack. I love the whole jazziness and the epicness it brings to the table. If you listened to the soundtrack in isolation without knowing anything about Kizu, you wouldn't even imagine it's what's played behind flying vampires fighting for body parts! It simply elevates everything even within each scene. The music makes the show feel more like a fight between morality and the rules governing ethics. As if it's a grand once-in-a-lifetime showdown.

If there's anything bad to say about the trio. It's their utilisation of CGI. Oh god wasn't it bad. When the show looks good it looks pretty good, not great but pretty good. But when it's bad, it's really really bad.

The fuck even was this... It's like a weird mixture of Samurai Champloo and Hellsing. But in the end, I was pretty disappointed.

Animation was one of the biggest problems for me. It was certainly unique, with its cel-shaded style and heavy use of shadows, but it just wasn't pleasing to the eye. The characters were often stiff and angular, and the action scenes were choppy and hard to follow. There were some action scenes where I didn't understand what was happening until all of the action ended.

The story was also a letdown. It was basically a revenge story, but it was so predictable and boring that I couldn't bring myself to care about the characters or their motivations. The ending was particularly unsatisfying, and it felt like the show was just wrapping things up without any real thought or care. The characters were the one saving grace of Afro Samurai. They were all interesting and somewhat cool with the sci-fi elements. The music was... well, music, I suppose. Definitely not something I would listen to again.

I think my biggest problem was with the execution. The concept was cool, with a mix of high-tech and traditional Japanese elements, but it just wasn't executed well. I never really felt connected to the story. Everything just didn't feel right, as if they all worked alone in their own echo chambers, but when put together, it just created an ugly mess.

If you asked me to summarize what I felt about this show. I would say something along the lines of...

Sometimes you might feel like you're dealt the worst cards in a pack. Even then, to think you can't enjoy the game without ever winning is foolish.

I've often felt like I've been at a disadvantage with everything. I have less than average memory skills. I've never had any sporting abilities. I used to be the guy who always got picked on at school. Nothing seemed to go my way. At least, that's what I wanted to believe.

There's this comfort in being sad. To be in a state of gloom has a certain satisfaction to it. I used to adore it. Like a poisonous fruit, you can't stop eating. Though I knew of the dangers, I envied the taste more. This love for being sad is like a self-sustaining loop. Like, ouroboros eating their own tail for eternity. I wanted to be sad for eternity. I wanted to feel something. If misery was what was available, I wanted to drown in it.

One of the most common thoughts I had back then was. "What would I feel if I got told I would die today?". In a way, I felt nothing about it. I didn't feel any ties at all to my family. I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere. It was as if I was a creature born to this world with no roots or relations to call home. Further, I 'wanted' to be like that. I didn't want anything to tie me down. I was scared of it. At the time, death looked to me like what candy would look like to a child.

Is it worth it? I would ask myself again and again. To not feel anything. Was it a worthy price to pay for the cards I was dealt? For most of my life, my answer would have been yes. It most definitely is worth not feeling anything when the alternative is misery. Who would want pain? But then again. If you numb yourself from the sadness you feel when you lose something. Would you not lose the joy you feel when you get it, in return.

It's not often that I watch the first entry of a show and then proceed to continue with it. There are so many shows I've simply started then left their sequels hanging. One reason is I don't want to get heartbroken after finding out there isn't any sequel after a cliffhanger. I detest it. The other is, that I'm simply not interested in continuing. Hell, I've got a whole list dedicated to shows like this. Then there are shows like 86. They've got action, they've got drama. There's even a taste of tragedy. With great animation to top it all off. This is the perfect combination for a brain off show that's extremely enjoyable. What more could I ask for? A coherent and realistic plot? Oh, be real. Brain off and coherent plots are mutually exclusive. It's extremely rare to find titles that master both. Any show that does both has to be a literal classic. Looking at you AOT.

I don't think I have enough fingers to count the number of things this season does better than the first. In the visual department, season 2 is literally a far cry from the first. Even though the art style of the first was pretty good its animation felt cheap. It had a lot, I mean a lot of crappy CGI shots. This season, however, not only was the art style improved, the animation was soo much better. Even though CGI shots aren't completely absent. I think the studio understood what they can do and what they can't do and then focused on the former.

Then there's the cinematography or whatever equivalent of it in animation. I've noticed that anime as a medium doesn't really give this side of the equation priority. Considering how hard it would be to draw in 3D this is quite understandable. 86 honestly aces this. Its camera positions and scene composition puts all others to shame. Hell, this could even hold straight in a one-on-one against Fate UBW for crying out loud. And you don't call that Unlimited Budget Works for no reason.

Now to the meat of what I thought was unique and great about 86. It's heavy, I mean really really heavy, use of a certain type of visual imagery. The abstract kind.

Rather than explaining a certain plot line or basically giving out exposition through conversations, the show tries to do it visually as much as possible. There are times when a scene conveys so much but not a single word is uttered. I've always found myself thinking about watching shows, what if they only *showed* rather than explicitly telling us. Let's face it. Listening to characters talking about outright obvious things is boring. 86 nails this. The show uses the fact that it's an anime and not bound to reality to the fullest degree. Most of the emotionally packed scenes are simply without dialogue. It's like we're on a journey. Rather than holding our hand at every step, we're only pointed towards our destination while leaving the rest for us to figure out.

Okay, I'm not gonna hide the fact that this show is at times.. dumb. That's just how it is. You're dealing with a dystopian world, aren't you? Plus this is sort of a shonen so you can't really expect deep characters. Still, for what it's worth. The show managed to do really good in so many different things than one. I'd say the main difference between Fate UBW and this is in storytelling. Fate was visually beautiful, just like 86. Fate's characters were memorable, just like 86. However, Fate's story was plain boring and didn't have a good depth or hook to it. 86 on the other hand has so much more going for it. Ahhh, I can't even wait for the next season.

Not bad. Not bad indeed. Quite the wholesome experience.

Let me first clear it out, I don't like musicals. I don't like musical movies and the same applies to anime. If however, the musical aspect is deeply intertwined with the story's drama like what Your Lie in April pulled off, I would be head over heels. But if there isn't a good story to back up the musical aspect, I simply lose interest. Reference; K-ON. I need an interesting overarching story to keep myself attached. Having good music on top of that is sort of like a bonus. Tbh, I find them repulsive because strip the musical aspect out and you don't really have a lot left. Kongming sure had a lot left.

This is exactly what Ya Boy Kongming was. A somewhat good story on top of some good tunes. I won't call the story great. It was okay at best and somewhat stagnant at worst. Or rather, the story wasn't really trying to be huge. Yes Eiko's dreams were grandiose personificated. But the story itself didn't take that and make it into a big deal. This is primarily fueled by how overpowered our boy Kongming is. That motherfucker can get you through anything. Tell him to find you a million dollars by 7 tonight and that son of a gun would do it. He's like a geine in a bottle. This didn't do well for the show's suspense and tension. Because once you know you always have a trump card up your sleeve. That struggle just vanishes.

This was an enjoyable show. The story had its lightheartedness that I didn't really vibe with. But it was fun and that's all I ask from this kind of show. Oh, and before I forget, that OP and Underworld slap hard.

That last episode was beautiful. It has to be one of the best I've seen in a long time. It even brought me to tears. The show took all of the relationships that the story had painstakingly crafted and just let them be themselves.

The show is still plagued by the major shortcomings of the manga, primarily how underdeveloped Shidehiko Hishigata is. This was the reason why I didn't like the manga's ending, and the anime is pretty much a carbon copy, so my thoughts persist. Near the end, he goes from being such a multifaceted character built up from episode 1 to one of those generic I want to destroy the world kinda antagonists in only two or three episodes.

What's great about Summertime Rendering is that's about the only terrible thing I can say about it. The opening and ending themes were sleeper hits. I didn't expect them to be as good as they were, especially the second opening. The first one felt more like it should have been the ending song, but whatever.

As I expected, I loved the character designs. The animation style was great, although I did dislike the rare glossy look it had. But it was few and far between to affect my experience by any margin. The speciality of Summertime's characters is that you can put them inside any dress, and you'll still be able to identify them, even if they're only a blip on your screen. For such a long story, it only has a few characters at the core of the story, and they are developed to the fullest. This is why it's so weird to see our primary antagonist, Shidehiko, turned into a flat, black-and-white villain. It's weird.

The story didn't have the punch I expected, mainly because I already knew what was going to happen. This is literally the first show I finished where I had already finished reading the manga. So obviously, I knew what would happen. Even though it's been, what, two years since I've read this, it never really left my mind. It's not like I minded, hell, this deserved to be in there.

Man that was great. The show felt a lot like Vivy. However this time, rather than resorting to tragedy built up on characters we didn't give a crap about. This focused on first familiarizing me with the whole cast before cutting them down. Okay, I know I sound a bit... Cold. But that's what it was. And I loved it. Killing off a character before us, the viewer doesn't get to know them, doesn't relate to them. Is a waste of a character if you ask me. 86 did a lot of character development. I mean a lot. Sometimes it was just the characters talking to each other. The show just felt, personal. Even though such a war was going on. The show instead focused on internal conflicts with the whole war as the backdrop. I really appreciate and enjoy.

The main reason I even picked this was because of Yusho Production's IAW abridged series. It ended half way so I wanted to know what happened after that. Now I really doubt if I needed to see what happened next :P

The show is just... bad. Its characters were as blank as my maths answer sheet. Its animation skipped so many steps, I wonder how I even crossed without falling. Its story missed so many points, that even I could have written it. Everything was bad about it. This show really isn't for me. The show was trying to do an isekai + moe thing. Thought, I'm not saying it's bad. It's just... boring. Nothing of importance happens. There's literally no drama. There's no struggle. There's basically no conflict. There's only the harem.

Rewatched on 2025-06-04 in one sitting with James and Vik

---

A truly binge-worthy show. That is as easy to forget as it is to watch.

This sure is a show to remember. Not for its story but for those damn visuals. Like, Akudama Drive before it, the main strong point of the show was its aesthetics. Personally, I liked Akidama more simply because of the neon colour palette and the breathtaking environment design but Fate took fight choreography to a whole other level. The good number of close combat fights give enough proof of that.

No matter how you look at it. The production quality of Fate is top-notch. It's hard to find a show that ticks so many boxes. The visuals were amazingly done. The fights were a treat to look at. The characters were pretty interesting. The mystery behind the grail was fun. Then there's the freaking music. What makes a good soundtrack isn't just the soundtrack itself. You can have a really good track but if it isn't mixed in well it just simply fades into irrelevance. Fate simply nailed that part. Though, the tracks aren't especially memorable. They were done extremely well. See this is a point I seem to be hitting no matter what I talk about. The show does so many things well. But it just doesn't seem to do anything superbly. The music was good and well done. But not something I'd listen to out of context. The characters were interesting but I doubt I'd ever find them relatable. The animations were superbly good but not enough to etch into my mind. Even the scenes damn it. The cuts and transitions of this show were better than anything I've ever seen. Even then... The show doesn't feel special. Like something is... missing.

I think this emptiness I feel about the show is a creation of my own. I simply find it incredibly difficult to take fantasy seriously. Unless I'm dealing with the so-called, hard fiction genre, it's almost impossible for me to connect with the characters deeply. It's just that I don't know enough about the world to believe in the fate of its characters. I don't know if the dead stay dead or if they supposedly come back to life in the next episode (looking at you archer). This uncertainty stops me from getting emotionally attached to any of the characters. Fate/stay night is a prime example of a really good show caught in the crossfire of this internal conflict.

The difference between Fate and the fantasy world of Mother of Learning is how much reinforcement is given to the logic of the world. Basically worldbuilding. MoL's magic system felt real. I knew the rules and limits of the world. I had a reassurance that it was impossible to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Like everything was built upon a solid foundation where every cause and consequence was clearly defined. If this is not the case like in Fate, it's hard for me to care when things just happen out of nowhere. You could say it's worth the plot twist. But to me, it totally isn't worth the sacrifice. I've already lost my suspension of disbelief.

No matter how empty I think the show is. There's no way I can refute the fact that I finished both UBW seasons each in under a single day. Even I'm surprised. This goes to show how good the show really is even if I can't connect with it.

That was.... interesting. I don't know why but this show felt like it was on the same level as NHK. A very grounded story said using abstract concepts. Although Sonny Boy is at the epitome of weirdness.

First of all, I adore this art style. That's the primary reason why I picked this show up in the first place.

The show felt like an anecdote to change. That people can change. Your change might not be recognized by anyone. It might not even be on anyone's radar. But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Because you're there to witness it. Even if the whole world's blind to it. You aren't. And thinking your witness isn't worth it isn't going to take you anywhere. There's nowhere to go if you run away. You can only run forward.

If you told me to summarize the show.

Things just happen.
We can't control the world. We're mere observers. We can only control the little path we make for ourselves. So hating ourselves and being numb towards the world isn't going to solve anything. It's only going to make you more miserable.

That last ep sure was something. Not many stories take that path. It wasn't a victory. It wasn't even a tie. It showed the crudeness of reality. That the world... doesn't really revolve around us. So what do we do facing that meaningless? Live so you don't regret it with the smile. What a last scene that was.

I think I'm in love. That was... AMAZING. From the animation to the music to the story. Exactly my type. And the ending too, it was hilarious.

Ahhhh, this is what I call a perfect first episode

-----

That hit wayyy too close to home. This is the second time I'm watching this first episode and I've laughed and cried both times. This time, I'm continuing further!

-----

This has to be one of the most mature shows I've ever watched. Most of the seinen stuff out there just feels a little bit too edgy to ever be taken as life advice. This right here feels real in just the right way.

-----

There's something about this show that resonates deeply within me, touching the very core of my being. Our protagonist, Handa, possesses a level of relatability that few characters across any medium have ever achieved. While many claim to find characters relatable, I often find myself disconnected from their experiences. Yet, Handa is different. His values, his conformity—they all mirror different facets of my own identity. Even his narcissistic tendencies strike a familiar chord within me, leaving me wondering if I'm one myself.

One aspect I've come to despise is the act of dreaming. And I don't mean the kind that occurs when your head rests on a pillow. I'm referring to the aspirations we hold for the future. I find it difficult to derive solace from envisioning a reality that does not yet exist or may never come to pass. The disparity between thinking about the future and being present is striking. The future, by nature, is laden with complexity. We continually yearn to transcend our current circumstances, forever fixated on what lies ahead. Our imaginations soar, contemplating the boundless potential of where we could be.

However, there is also a profound beauty in living in the present. While the future may appear enticing with its endless possibilities, there is a certain peace and contentment to be found in embracing the now. It is in those moments when we truly immerse ourselves in the present that we discover the depth of our existence. When I see someone joyfully engaged in the present, uninhibited by thoughts of what lies ahead, it has a profound influence on me. These instances, where spontaneity and genuine enjoyment take precedence over future aspirations, are the ones that truly matter.

Handa's final words to Naru, "When I see you having fun with no thought for anything else, it has an influence on me too. These are the moments that are important for me," encapsulate the essence of cherishing the present. In his journey, Handa may have battled with his own narcissism and grappled with the allure of a future filled with grand aspirations. However, in the end, he recognized the significance of living in the moment and finding happiness in the simple joys of life. It is a reminder that while dreams and aspirations can inspire us, it is the present experiences and connections that truly shape our existence. Handa's realization serves as a poignant reminder to embrace the present, for it is in these fleeting moments that we find true fulfilment.

With each episode's end, I was hit with a surge of emotions. They weren't exactly directed towards the show per se. More so towards myself. The show constantly reminded me of my childhood. In a way, the show took me on a nostalgia trip. The characters just felt so 'real'. The conflicts felt real. Character motivations felt real. Even the events themselves. Nothing felt forced or 'for the plot'.

Usually, I'm not one to watch completely down to earth shows. Most of the shows I enjoy usually have a hook to them. Take After the rain's portrayal of dreams and reality or Hibike's dive into perfectionism. I always have a knack for a bit of drama or an underlying conflict. Usagi however, did not have such a big hook in it. Yes, it did have quite a several conflicts, but they were more episodic than grandiose. Even then, I loved watching the show. Throughout runtime it made me think about my childhood a bit more. Even though my family always reminds me of it, for better or worse, I haven't really put any effort by my own accord to delve into my past.

When I was a kid. I used to be one tough nut. If the accounts of my family members are to be believed, which I sure do, I was arrogant through and through. So, they had a pretty hard time dealing with me. The scar that goes right through the centre of my right eyebrow is enough proof in and of itself. If anyone compared my lifestyle and attitudes now to my younger, cockier me, they'd certainly conclude that we're distinctly two people. This is why I found that I related a lot to Daikichi. Even though, the age gap I share with Daikichi is much much higher than that of Rin. This is also why I don't go into my past often. It's like looking at a different me. A me, that I'm not sure I know even. So, everything just feels foreign. Memory sure is an enigma. When a few go missing here and there but older more prevalent one's don't. Understanding how you came to be the person you are today turns into an absolute detective show.

This show wasn't good. I hated its main character. Huh, I don't even remember his name. That's how much I cared about that backless man. I don't know if I even want to call him a man. That's how angry seeing the guy makes me.

As for the show, it was... mostly stupid. I didn't watch this expecting logic. It's quite the contrary actually. I started this because I wanted some brain off show to simply... escape.

I'm not really sure if I'll watch the second season. There's only so much even crazy girls can do to cover for a plot as bland at this.

Rewatched 2024/08/27

For the first time. I let my mom pick which anime she wanted to watch. All this time, I specifically picked and chose what to show her. This time tho, I just told her that there's this extremely popular Japanese anime studio named Studio Ghibli that makes Disneyesque movies (my only exp with them was cat returns, okay..). Then I showed her their Anilist page sorted by popularity and told her to choose one. And that's how we ended up with this.

The ending sequence of the movie is simply phenomenal. Well, the whole movie was phenomenal but that ending carried a lot more weight than some 12 ep anime's I've watched. I simply couldn't hold back my tears to it. In a way, it was like a photobook. You keep them to remind you of the people who are close to you. Or the people who 'were' close to you. Those minimal scenes of Setsuko just goofing around carried quite the punch. It was like a memory that isn't worth forgetting but one that will be forgotten nonetheless. This is a theme the movie reminded me a lot about. Even though how playful their life was. In the end. They were simply forgotten. That's why the scene in the opening sequence really struck me after I finished the movie. The station cleaner threw away that carton without a care in the world. Without knowing who's ash it contained. Without a single clue about the person, it belonged to. It still saddens me to even think about it. Man, that's so tragic.

This is why I couldn't help crying at the end. Even in the presence of mom. I couldn't hold back. I tried my very best to keep my composure to no avail. I gave up my attempt at keeping my pride intact and just let my emotions have control over me. They simply couldn't be bottled up. And like a balloon popping after blowing it up too much. I let it all out. My eyes kept watering and watering.

Honestly, I didn't expect this at all. There was a reason why I told my mom that Studio Ghibli's movies were Disneyesque. My only experience with them was with The Cat Returns. Grave of the Fireflies is a far cry to that. On top of that, when I first saw its release year. 1988. I was like: Awww, is this one of those old-timers? So, in a way. I was fully hoping to see a children's movie. In the end. My expectations were literally bombed into oblivion.

This was just the thing I needed. This evening I went to see that Chinese Marvel film. I don't even remember its name. I just called it the Xi Jinping movie. I was in all meanings of the word disappointed by it. The concepts themselves weren't bad. I really liked the 10 rings. I think it's cool. The way it's used for propulsion. The way it handles as a weapon. Everything. It was as interesting as Dr Strange's magic system. Which is my favourite part of the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, the movie was also inspired by Chinese fantasy. Which meant a lot of flying around as if Earth had the same gravity as the Moon, kinda scenes. If I hadn't gone to the cinema with a couple of friends. I wouldn't have been able to stand it at all. Plus the beers we smuggled in helped a lot too. I mean, we were the only ones at the cinema. Just nine people. Not a soul was there except for us. And the cinema has like 200+ seats. So, in a way, we owned the place. I bet they lost money just screening it to us. The electricity alone for the A/C and projector must cost a lot more than just nine tickets, right?

Anyways, coming home from that whole debacle. This was one hell of a watch. In a way, it shattered some preconceptions I held about Japan too. Until now, I thought Japan was a country where the people had an extreme sense of commune. I'm from a country where 'community' is considered a pinnacle of society. So, I know what it means to be extremely social. It's only now that I realise how mistaken I was. Japan didn't become the pacifist nation they are known for now through just social evolution alone. It's built on top of an extremely cruel and brutal past.

My mom told me about this article she had read just after finishing the movie. After the Second World War, a census had revealed that there were more than 125,000 orphans in the country. But all the orphanages in the country combined could only handle around 12,000 kids. Just let that sink in for a bit. The movie is truly a look into the reality of that discrepancy.

A nice and sweet Disneyesque movie. It was a bit boring but that was to be expected. This isn't really aimed at me. But as an intro to Studio Ghibli. I'm impressed. It had quality. That I can't deny. It was well written as well. Though the plot didn't carry a lot of weight. I felt that it was made that way. The goal wasn't to be hard-hitting. Rather to be a chill movie. And chill movie it is.

This is unexpectedly good. It reminded me a lot about Noragami. This had the same vibes. One thing both managed to ace was at balancing comedy with a serious undertone. They're really good at keeping up steaks while being as comedic and free-flowing as possible. I was able to both laugh at its jokes and feel connected to its characters. This merger between being silly and serious is what made Overlord so bad. It tried to mix in extreme cruelty with a pinch of comedy. And that... undoubtedly failed. Overlord's plot points felt out of sync because of it.

For some reason, it feels like I'm gonna forget this show faster than usual. Idk, it's just a feeling.

Usually when we're watching a piece of media. There's a certain structure we expect. A format that almost all modern media follow to be best of their abilities. First, there's the introductory stage. You get introduced to the cast and the world. There's some exposition sprinkled here and there. You're fed as much information as possible. Then there's the conflict loop. Which most of the time looks like something along the lines of;

Conflict buildup => High point => Payoff

First, there's a burning issue that has, is or will disrupt the natural state of things. Then the highpoint where the protag(s) actively involve themselves in that problem. Then end of the tunnel at the end. Now lay character development on top of this loop and you've got what we call character arcs. The characters may change for the better, or worse or even stay the same. The author may call the shots towards whichever side they fancied.

After all of that is the ending. The true ending or the grand payoff you could say. Or perhaps a rabbit hole if any sequels are planned. We're so used to seeing this formula in the content we watch that it's pretty much etched into the back of our minds. These days, we sort of expect shows to follow a loop like that. There might even be times when we're dissatisfied when shows do things that are way out of the box.

NHK is one like a black sheep. Most of the time it stuck to the formula. But there were times when it felt like the show was testing foreign waters. Trying to experiment. The ending sure was one of these. Unlike almost every show I've ever watched. The ending of NHK felt... real. Real as in; that's how it would've ended if the story took place for real. The ending wasn't tragic. Nor was it blooms and butterflies. It was in all senses of the word, neutral.

In the end, even after so many events, Sato as a character didn't change a lot. Just like real people, even if we experience unexpected or special events. They often change us but in really really small ways. Most often than not, we simply revert back to our old selves after the high runs out.

I'm happy the show didn't definitely tie a knot between our couple. Hell, it's an overstatement to even call them a couple. But that's how life is I guess. Nothing really happens the way you want it to. Things just flow. And sometimes it flows in directions you yourself are satisfied in and sometimes not. It's hard to predict anything. I think that's what the show was going for. Without going down that path, that emptiness you feel, won't be there, would it?

When I watched this, this show felt like it was calling me out. Like it was revealing things I knew but wasn't ready to accept. Life doesn't always work the way you want it to. Just like how our couple just lives on. Things don't happen out of anything and expecting others to do something for us isn't gonna lead us anywhere. If we want to move forward. That's on us.

This is why I honestly loved the show. It didn't try to feed us with a sense of satisfaction just because the show was coming to a close. It held on up until the very end. Never trying to shy away from what it was trying to say. This in all its glory managed to hit me hard. The show was depressing. Not in the usual tragic way though. It was more like; so that's how life is like huh, kind of depressions. Honestly, I'm surpri...
Sur....
Puru Puru Pururin.... Puru Puru...

I'm already feeling the edges of my mind slipping away...
It's only a matter of time... Till I... Till.. I... Puru Puru....

What an ending. I think this was a perfect send off to a beautiful series. I'm simply satisfied. I don't even crave more violet. This just... aced it. I'm extremely thankful KyoAni didn't drag the series on till infinity. Sometimes, the best way to solidify a series is to end it. Violet Evergarden is a perfect example of that.

Wasn't that an experience. I'm truly thankful I kept on watching the show preceding this without dropping it. This movie right here is definitely worth the endless eight. With a runtime of almost 3 hours, I can't believe this managed to keep my attention. It didn't feel boring in the least. There was so much going on. The writing was awesome. The payout man, totally worth the long watch time.

This movie is like an extension to the first 6 eps of the show. Those episodes felt unique and not boring at all. The movie, as if taking inspiration from them, was the same. It had emotion. It made me care. It made me want to watch it. It took quite a bit of pressure from me to keep on watching the series. Thinking this is from the same show is simply astonishing.

I love how expressive the show manifested Kyon's internal conflict. I mean, from the beginning I knew what we were seeing werent flashbacks or anything but the personas of his mind.

Finally! After 10 months and 11 days of sitting idly, I finally built up the confidence to watch this. All this time, I just didn't feel like giving it a go. It wasn't because of a lack of interest either. It's more... of the opposite actually. I was afraid I won't be able to enjoy this to the fullest if I watched it right now. I was too excited to watch it. Thus a deep-rooted anxiety manifested inside of me. Now that I've watched it, I'm not surprised. I was right to think this wasn't your average movie. It made me cry twice. It's not like I shed tears for everything I watch, especially movies.

I found the anime through youtube. I saw a clip of a guy (Kousuke) who was in a hitting stance with a baseball bat in his hands. He was waiting for a ball to be thrown from the direction of the camera. Out of nowhere, a basketball entered the scene from the right and hits our guy. He's thrown to the ground by its impact.

From the very first moment, I saw that clip. I knew this was a must-watch. Especially because of the way the characters moved and the nuance the animation had. It just felt so... smooth to me. Most anime don't really go through the gritty process of animating the random movements humans make. We often randomly move our hands when we feel like it. We change the position we sit in every couple of minutes. Our movements aren't perfectly calculated. They're filled with chaos. This movie tries very hard to recreate those motions.

Most of the shows out there look too smooth to be human. I'm not saying it's in any way bad. On the contrary actually. I at times enjoy the graceful and efficient gestures and movements characters make in anime. It's something that's uniquely bound to this medium. You don't really see it anywhere else. However, I do appreciate shows that go the extra mile. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is such a movie, so I can't help but appreciate it.

I've got this allure for old anime characters. I'm not talking about the way they're written or the way they act. I'm referring to their character design. Their face, their body etc. Compared to modern anime characters. I just like the old style better. I'm not saying I like all of the old design types. For example, I hated the character designs of Haruhi. And that can be considered old... right? Relatively at least. What I'm talking about is the design this movie shares with shows like Lain. With oval-shaped faces and whatnot. I don't know how to explain it exactly okay... I'm not an artist. I just like it and I don't know why. Period.

This was such a hard show to watch. Took me a lot of strength to not drop it. There's no denying that this is a great anime, but its not for me.

This guy really reminds me of back when I used to struggle with depression and was going through my nihilistic phase of life. God, I hate those memories.

I'm not even sure if depression is the right word. The kind of feeling portrayed in this show and the kind I was going through wasn't some irrational behaviour. It was the logical conclusion of a perfectly sound train of thought. It was a sense of emptiness caused not by emotional feelings, but by self-reflection and extrospection.

"If things seem hopeless when you're alone then rely on someone. Otherwise, no one else will rely on you"
That hit me harder than I thought.

Every episode felt like it was telling something so deep but it flew right over my head. I just couldn't relate, not even a bit. I know I wanted to watch a slice-of-life but i bit off wayy more than i could chew with this one.

One thing I loved especially about it is how it handled memory. It was literally an integral part of the whole story. I haven't really seen many shows that went this deep into how memory literally shapes our reality and the way we see the world. It reminded me of memento. Man that was a good film.

Back when I was a kid. I had a keen interest in relativism. Okay, I didn't know shit about philosophy back then. But, I always asked myself if how I see the world is how others see the world as well.

What if the way I perceived emotions and my environment different to that of others? If yes, then how do I even explain what I feel to anyone other than myself? For example a question I had that made my head go numb back then was; How do you explain a headache? What if the feeling and intensity of pain felt by me isn't really how others feel it? Okay okay, I know those are pretty simple questions but hey, I was a kid.

As such, those primitive seedlings of relativism really facinated me. Watching the show reminded me of them again. It was nostalgic in a way. Mainly because I've stopped asking questions like that. For the most part at least. Because I'm less confused about it now compared to then. So in a way, I miss my childhood curiosity.

For as long as I've known about virtual reality and stuff. A huge fear of mine is if we could copy our brains to a digital format, would it be a copy of me and not me me. Like, it would mean that one me, the original, would have to die or be killed. While the other me, the copy, although it's identical to the original is still just a copy. In a way it scared me. It's that eerie vibe you get when you finally find out Hugh Jackman's trick behind his vanishing act in the prestige. This show even delves into that kind kind of stuff.

If I were to talk about the stuff that this show reminded me of its gonna take forever. I can't believe the writer managed to put this much in. I mean, yeah, that is one of the reasons why it's so confusing. It just fluds you brain. In a way I felt that the show sacrificed viewer reach and understanding ease in favour of philosophical ideas. I don't know if I wonna be happy about that or not. Like, I'm happy this show reminded me of so many things while I'm not happy that the show isn't what I'd categorize as entertainment. Because I'm not gonna lie, the show was boring and I didn't really enjoy it per se. I enjoyed the ideas it made me rethink and realize but not the show itself.

The first arc of the show was amazing. Spanning the first 6 eps. Its payoff especially was simply incredible. Unfortunately, the show never managed to reach those highs ever again, and that's disappointing.

Ohh the time loop arc... It was the literal definition of a soul-sucking experience. 8 straight eps of the same thing happening. Again and again and again. The same dialogue. The same actions. The same scenes. The only difference being the camera angles. It was pain. Okay, the first 2-3 eps. I appreciate how they showed it through different perspectives and camera angles. However, even if one aspect of it changed, doesn't mean it didn't stop other aspects from being less repetitive. So by around the 4th ep, it was boring as hell. It's like we were looking through the eyes of Yuki. Watching the same set of circumstances unfold again and again. This made me feel her pain, in a way. I was in the same position as she was. Trapped in a loop. No way to stop nor change it. Restricted to simply be an observer.

I liked the mystery island arc a wee bit. Especially its concluding episode. Would you believe it if I said I jumped around laughing in my room? Maybe not. The Ace Attorney references were one of a kind. That was classy. Really well done.

When it came to the mystery tho... It just wasn't strong. Someway or the other, from the beginning, I had a feeling the man of the mansion was faking it. Either because the butler didn't let Harumi check for his pulse or because it's related to our esper boy. An event like this occurring next to someone with such close ties to a certain 'organization', just didn't feel right to me.

Honestly, I expected more from the whole show. I wanted it to be like those first 6 eps. I wished for it honestly. Instead what I got was a delusionary girl whose absurd wishes came true. A true fantasy of a person who wants to be God. I don't enjoy watching selfish people. It was just... so hard at times. If I ever find myself to be in Mr Nice Guy's shoes. I'd be like, fuck it, let the world end. It's better to not exist than to live in a world where you're only but a slave to God.

1st rewatch 2021-10-09 (with mom)

That was... beautiful. Even though it's short. I mean extremely short. I couldn't stop crying after watching it. This honestly rivals the emotions I went through in the last eps of Violet Evergarden. That's how good this is. I love the characters as well. They're so, likable. And man, didn't I connect with the Gin and Hotaru. I can't believe, I just said the two names from the top of my head. Recently I've had a ton of trouble remembering character names. Being able to remember them in itself is proof of how good this thing is.

Truly one of the pieces of media I've ever watched. Period.

The plot is so simple. There isn't any spicy character development nor extravagant world building. Its focus is really specific, yet. I can't help but feel satisfied by it. Yes, i have a certain soft spot for romantic tragedy. But this movie. It managed to tick every box in my list.

It's characters are expressive. They aren't overly exaggerated. The scenes are wonderful. Loved the simple art style. And most of all. That ending man. From the start of the movie. I knew it'd somehow or the other lead to a tragic ending when Gin would be touched. But man, didn't it hit me hard. It's like. Endings don't have to be complex or surprising for me to be satisfied with it. It just has to have good closure. No matter how I look at it. I just can't. I can't find any possible way it could've been improved.

This is why I think the story is perfect. It's a bite sized package with the power to make you cry for half an hour straight.

Probably the first anime I finished in one sitting. I was hella depressed and I just put it on. Then stood back up only once the anime was over. What can I say. Slime is always slime. It's superbly epic and really enjoyable. My inner power fantasy was peaked all throughout the whole show.

When I thought, this couldn't get any better, episode 5 dropped... Then when I thought, an anime about kids doing funny stuff couldn't make me cry, episode 6 drops...

Oh man, have you ever stumbled upon a show that just hits differently? Something that's so perfect, it feels like it was made specifically for you. That's exactly how I feel about Hinamatsuri. I mean, I've always had a thing for comedy, but this show takes it to a whole new level. It's like the writers knew exactly what would tickle my funny bone.

But Hinamatsuri is more than just comedy gold. It's a rollercoaster of emotions that'll leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. And let's be real here, if a show can make me cry, it's an instant winner in my book. Hinamatsuri had me reaching for the tissues more times than I'd care to admit. But the thing is, it's not like those tearjerkers that leave you feeling like a hot mess for days. Looking at you Edgerunners. This show manages to pick you back up and give you a big ol' hug before the credits roll. It's like Gintama in that sense.

I don't know man, there's just something about Hinamatsuri that's so damn special. It's the perfect blend of comedy and heart, and it just hits all the right notes. So if you're looking for a show that'll make you laugh, cry, and feel all warm and fuzzy inside, Hinamatsuri is definitely the one to watch. Trust me, you won't regret it.

1st & 7th are good,
Loved the look of 3rd,
4th is da best,
Everything else is shit.

So the 4th ep. The difference it had compared to the others is in how atmospheric it felt to watch. It felt epic. And I love epic. From its music to its scenery. It all felt all so grand. That combined with intimate character development. Ahhh, that's exactly what makes my brain's taste buds run nuts.

Guess this show is what pure masculinity looks like.

When I first saw that nudity tag in this. I was like; Well it is a diving show, so maybe diving shots? Man, wasn't I wrong? For better or worse, I'm so glad I was. This show's way better than I ever hoped it would be.

Hell, I added this to my planning list after seeing a clip of a scene where a dude got offered water then he lit a lighter next to it and it caught fire. It was absolutely hilarious and I simply couldn't pass it on. But I expected this to be more of a story based show with drama mixed in and comedy being a way to spice things up. But nooo. This show is pure comedy. Everything else was second. And I love it for that. It just felt unbound. Like, the creators just did what they felt like without holding much back. I really appreciate the lengths this show went to. I mean, naked drinking parties aren't really the norm, right?

Plus not to mention the fan service. Normally, I really don't like fan service. It just feels like it's there to calm the mood or something. As if it's there to just satisfy our lustful desires rather than progress with the story. I'm not saying Grand Blue doesn't do this. But damn they do it well. I don't mean well in an ecchi kind of well. I mean well in how deeply the fan service gets integrated with the comedy. There's never a service that goes without reason. The show always milks them out for a joke or even a meta commentary.

I'm just breathless. It's like this show was specifically made for my tastes. Yea the animation sorta sucked and the characters didn't have any depth. I mean you could simply explain each character in one line. And the funny thing is. The show literally did that when they introduced the characters. I love how it didn't try to complicate things. It just gave us some characters. Then told us their qualities and just threw their hands up. But who gives a crap about depth when you could define a character arc by how many pieces of cloth they're wearing at the end of it. Man this show's nostalgic.

Even I'm amazed school was this chaotic. Oh well, guess that's how it is when you put a bunch of guys in the same class for 7 years straight.

It's been three months since I've watched an anime and wasn't this a good depute. Yeah it had it's, beauty and the beast -esque moments. But damn, that was good.




The movie really sucked at continuity. Sometimes things happened out of nowhere and I'm here scratching my head trying to piece together what the hell happened.

At around the one hour mark, I was like. Hm, good movie. It seems like a reimagined Disney movie doesn't it.

Then the two hour mark hits and I'm here sitting at the edge of my seat. I love what the movie was getting at. It was wayy more than a Disney knockoff. It's a story that can stand on it's own two feet.




Watching this reminded me of my parents. When I was a kid I used to love doing things in secret. It had a certain kick to it. I'm not talking about any mischievous stuff. Just plain old things, like starting to love a new sport. More often than not, I'd never tell my parent about it. It's not that I didn't trust them either. I simply didn't want them to worry too much about me.

As much as I tried to keep what I loved hidden. As time went on. I got to know that my parents knew nearly everything about my secret adventures. They pretend to not know just to let me enjoy my freedom.

With time I started to grow more and more confident in myself. I started to let my feelings and desires color the clothes I wore, rather than trying to hide them under a cloak. It's this kind of maturity Suzu went through when she decided to show her real self. Rather than hiding behind a mask. She exposed all her feelings.

Guess Suzu and I share some things in common huh. Except for the singing part. I suck at it.


After more than half a year after watching it I just found out that the main girl of Beauty and the Beast's name is Belle. Mind blown.

When I started watching this show. My mind was all over the place. I was wondering what the hell the show was even trying to do. From its hallucinogenic art style to its blazing fast dialogue. My senses were filled to the brim. Hell, from start to finish of the whole show's run time my fingers were always on the pause and rewind keys. I always had to go back or pause to really get what the characters were saying. Adding to that the almost never-ending exposition took me a while to get used to. For that though, I'm grateful. I'm happy that I continued to watch it till the end. This anime is like those experiences where at you don't really know why you're even there to begin with but you still don't leave.

Ever since I was a child. My parents have always told me one thing. Learn well and succeed in life. They showed me that the best way to achieve what they called happiness is through learning and having a good job. I being the naive child believed this without question. It was only when I entered my A/L that I began to see the inconsistencies with such hope. Like the unnamed protagonist. We all at one point in our life believe that life will be a rose-coloured garden. If it isn't today it will be tomorrow or the day after. Or maybe after I hit up on that dream job. Or when I finally have the funds to buy that car I've always wanted since I was a kid. We all hope that we'd be better off someday if we just have that one thing. It may be an object of material value. Or like our protagonist here. A raven-haired maiden as a lover.

However, when you end up not being able to achieve such a fate. You tend to fall into a deep void of dissatisfaction and depression. Starting to hate yourself for not being able to make what you hoped a reality. Even if that hope was unrealistic. You blame yourself. This soon spirals into an uncontrolled loop of regret. With you wishing you had just taken a different path. A different choice. This is what happens at the end of each episode of the series. He wished to go back in time and have done something differently. Everyone wishes this at some point. The ability to time travel. To clear a mistake. To redo an action that leads to regret in hopes of healing (haha, redo of healer).

This is where you have to think. Will changing past circumstances fix you? Will it really point you in another direction? Even if it takes you on a different path. Will that path is satisfying? This reminds me of this study I read about. It did an experiment with people who were of different levels when it came to economic stability and wealth. In it, there was this certain amount, after which, your emotional wellbeing and happiness didn't really increase even if the amount of wealth you had increased. Yes, having a low income is bad in all senses of it. We sort of have no choice, the world runs on money if we like it or not. But it really comes down to what you want in life, doesn't it?

Coming back to the plot. Say you do get what you wish for in life. Would you be happy then? Or will you still be unsatisfied? This is where the show really attracted me. Even if you do get something. Like, the countless lives Otaku Watashi finds himself breaking through. Even if you have a certain thing that others would only dream of, you won't really be happy unless you accept that a perfect life just doesn't exist. Trying to lead a perfect life is simply a disaster waiting to happen. It's more about your mindset. Expecting a perfect life only leaves you with dissatisfaction. It's like what egghead said to Underworld Watashi. Even if you can become the person who you dream of. To focus your gaze on that which is unrealistic and relying on possibilities of a person who you could have become simply leads you to unsatisfaction. Accepting who you are now and the life you have created for yourself is what matters to achieve what we would call satisfaction.

The anime really is about being happy with what you've got personified.

The line "There's nothing more boring than a successful love story" in the last episode really struck me. No matter, how much we look forward to one. When it's there. It really is boring. Without an opposite. It's basically nothing.

Rewatched with James on 2025-04-09

A very very interesting movie. I'm a little bit mixed about how I feel about it but i love it nonetheless.

More than anything, the premise completely caught me off guard. This movie is definitely up there with Your Name and Suzume in terms of how creatively the story unwraps. I mean, come on! An entire town perpetually trapped in an alternate dimension, who's construct is held together by smoke wolf gods coming out of a steel factory of all things!!

I went in expecting a freaking high school romance, not an urban fantasy with a world this fascinating.

My sour tones are the usual short comings that come with young love stories and fantasy plotlines that leave far too much in the viewers interpretation. There are so many questions that I have about what the hell is happening that, from an initial viewing, are seemingly never meant to be answered. Sometimes, the romance leans a bit too naive for my taste. But man, the emotional beats hit hard, they had my heart racing and my curiosity peaked in anticipation of what happens next all the time.

Then there's the freaking animation. Mappa sure pulled all the shots with this one. Every frame looks like a masterpiece, and the soundtrack blends perfectly. Even the ending theme? Absolute peak. I've already listened to that song more than 5 times consecutively since finishing the movie and I'm still not sick of it.

First started watching on 2021/07/06. Then got dammed into the eternal hell of the paused list.

Man, it's been so long since I've enjoyed watching an anime this much. Months to be exact. I knew from the first ep that this is going to be a favourite. And it didn't fall short. The comedy just hits right. What surprised me the most was the music. I didn't really notice it that much when I first watched half of this before pausing. They really put a ton of effort to make them work. Episode 6 by far had the best skits. Especially that emotional one. All in all, an absolute blast of a watch

Plus finished it in like one sitting! This show truly is something.

DO NOT READ THIS!! SHITTY GRAMMAR AND IDEOLOGY WARNING!! THIS IS ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE NEUROTIC BABBLINGS I DO

When it comes to hopes and dreams. It's really hard to accept the distance between possibility and impossibility. You wish for it to be in the realm of possibility. So that you can work hard and finally reach it. But not every dream can be attainable through effort. You may try your best but fail to reach it. You may invest countless hours of your time but in the end, it is time spent gaining the unattainable. Like Ouraborus infinitely looping to catch a tail that will forever be a step ahead. No matter how many steps forward you take. Giving up on a dream is okay. But living in regret for what you could not achieve. Even if it was unattainable from the start. People tend to blame themselves for what they cannot do.

It's hard to determine what's possible and what's not. Sometimes the difference between the two isn't something that can be seen through the naked eye. You need to experience it to find out. The even harder thing to figure out is the difference between a goal that you can achieve if you held on to it and goals that cannot be achieved no matter how long you hold on. A very fine line differentiates the two. But both require countless failures to be experienced to be identified.

When it comes to dreams in the realm of possibility. Should you influence another to follow such a dream as well? Looking back at a past failure they may feel a sense of fear. Making them defenceless in front of the walls that need to be claimed to make it a reality. It's really hard to decide if you should influence another person to climb such a path. Will it be the best for them? Could it be that they are happy the way they are? Will they forever regret not trying to fly even if their wings have been clipped? More importantly. How should you even look at it?

Say you're a sparrow who doesn't know how to fly. You tried very hard in the past to flap your wings as hard as possible to take flight. But to no avail. Should you keep trying? Should you keep flapping your wings until you emerge from the murky depths of the gravity that holds you? Or should you stay with the ground folk and get to know them? Accepting that flight is not for you. You may even enjoy having your feet be pulled by the forces beneath your feet that you may never conquer. Will you one day look up at the sky and regret the winds you could have flown with? You may never forget the day you decided to stay on the ground like a tattoo of regret. Etched into your skin to forever remind you of a string you never followed in the fabric of life. Or will you forget to look up at the sky? Growing more and more impassive of the hopes and dreams you used to harbour.

The show is about finding hope. Without hope. People take different parts to fill their place. Some like Tachibana try to fill it out with apathy while some like kondo tell themselves that this is for the better. No matter how try to down that void within. The regret still exists. Because losing hope isn't simply shit about losing a future. It's also about losing friends and anyone and anything that's connected to it. However, having a relenting hope it's detrimental too. Kondo's wife left him because he focused his attention more on it than on her. Simply having hope doesn't always cut it. Sometimes, those promises we make to ourselves push aside things we adore. But when it comes down to it. You've gotta put it straight. You need to decide which will make you happy more and wh device you will regret more.

Like how Bloom Into You made me think long and hard about the identity of a person or the multiple faucets of identity a person can have. After the rain made me think about what it means to have and lose hope

Not everyone is gifted with talents or wealth from birth. Some are, but most aren't. That's simply how the world is structured for better or worse. Then there's the ability to improve your skills. To spend immence amounts of time with a hope to one day escelate and become a better version of yourself. But sometimes, no matter how hard you try, or wish to try, you're simply capped by an invisible hand. A force you do not have control over but has boundless control over you. No matter how hard you try to break free. It keeps holding you without a care in the world nor a sweat in it's forehead.

Even if you spend your whole life trying to get better at something. There may always be someone who's better than you. Overlord really made me think about the difference between what we hope for and reality. It made me understand the disconnect people have when they do not have competition. A hope or confidence that hold on to you to let you know you're the best. Until you aren't. There's sometimes simply a barrier that cannot be overcome. In feeling this best thing you could ever hope to be. Is to be happy that you can at least be fit to be a nail clipper. This does not mean you cannot ever surpass or be better than those who are above you. But you simply are limited by unbenounced forces that force you to do way more to achieve the same fruit as another would with only a drop of sweat.

The anime resonated with me at an unexpectedly deep level. With my inherited memory disabilities. Seeing people around you do things you can't ever hope to do hurts ineffably. A profound sense of resentment and sadness engulphs you. With it's origin not being the fact that I'm not currently unable to recreate what another is doing but because there's a very high chance that I may very well never be able to do it. Knowing suck a limit exists is simply depressing. If the limits were higher than that of an average human, I wouldn've been satisfied. I'm satisfied with my athletic abilities, even though I'm what people call average. But when a limit is low enough to be noticable in the presence of the average Joe, the emotional impact is adamant. To be surrounded by people who consider what you are incapable of, as a mere simple feet that doesn't even need a spark of concentration. That indeed is a sight looked upon through tears.

Even though the anime through out most of it's runtime is very generic and formulaic isekai. Through the specific things it follows, I've found myself to be invested in it. Mainly because of the emotional and sentimental connection I've built up with it.

The show was awful. That I couldn't agree more. The animation was literally all over the place. In one scene the characters are extremely detailed and in another, they're comparable to stick figures. It looked as if the art director was popping a different kind of pill for each and every scene. Visual consistency simply didn't exist. Oh, then the plot. It was so full of plot holes. And then the world-building. Ah, and what about setup designing. There isn't a word in the language to describe how unreal and artificial the interiors and building architecture felt. I know the show was trying to go the sci-fi route but at least make it seem realistic. This is a show trying and failing to be 'high-concept'.

Vivy really made angry. It felt like it could've been so much more. If the story were thought of just a bit more. The set scenes thought of a little more. It could've very well have been the next Akudma Drive but with a better plot. Like hell, robots gaining consciousness. Tell me that isn't a buzz word in and of itself. It was as if the whole series' budget was spent on fight scenes and not the drama scene. To me, as a person who adored darma. The whole ordeal felt as if it was mocking me. You can't even compare the level of detail through out the world when robots are fighting each other to two characters just talking. You'd even take it for two whole different shows. I've only been this angry at a show once before. It was for the second season of Nisekoi. It wasn't a great series but it had some really good comedy. And to see it's story head the place it did in the second series from a slice of life harem to whatever the fuck it turned out to be really dissapointed me. I'm dissapointed at Vivy too in this sense. Hell, just look at all the machines the cube bot Matsumoto came up with. Don't tell me they don't look like crap. When it first made it. I was like, give a 5 year old only one type of lego and tell them to make a plane and that's what they'd make. It was that awful. I know I shouldn't put my expectations onto a show itself. Mainly because it's the work of it's directors and writers. They didn't make this for my sake. They made it for their own sakes. But... all in all I'm just angry.

Even then, I couldn't let the show go. It was like a lingering memory of a past tragedy in the corner of your mind. You always plead for them to disappear. But in the corner of your mind, you know you don't want it to disappear. Even its existence is comforting in its own way. As a remnant of a past, you've deviated from. A time of old you wish only to learn but never visit.

The show was beautiful. If only in its own way. Which I believe many would hate it for. For once, I'm in love with the imperfections of a show rather than the perfections. During the first couple of episodes, I was thinking that this was what it was to fail at Violet Evergarden. But the more I watched it. The more I saw it as its own entity. A show that wasn't foreshadowed by another that came before it.

Because of all its flaws. Vivy to me felt like a look into my past. Back when I first started watching anime. Where each and every scene felt thrilling to watch. You didn't care if what you were watching was good or bad. You didn't even know what good was. You just watched it for what it was. Not really expecting anything. Crappy show or not.

As bad as the show was, it managed to somehow make me feel... nostalgic. Like listening to a soundtrack from Minecraft. The show made me feel like I was lost. Like, I've changed. Not many people like change. Including me. Alas, change is certain. It happens every day and like a circle, its path always wanders from the imaginary straight line ahead.

Now that I've grown to identify what's good and what's bad. I've begun to prioritize shows based on what they appear to be before getting into them. Compared to when I first started off. I've found myself some bearings in the whole world of anime. If I were to look at Vivy from such a point of view, it's pure and utter garbage. However, putting technicality doesn't really describe what the show made me feel. Even in life, sometimes it's the unexpected and mundane things we remember the most from our past. And now, a show I never would've given a second glance at if I had known what I was going to see has managed to etch itself into my mind in ways I'm still having trouble processing.

A classic you should never watch

I'm absolutely blown away by this show. With every passing ep, it continues to unravel its layers and becomes more, much much more than your average gore-filled shounen. I love how much the show cuts into its characters. The visual storytelling really reminds me of 86. But the difference here is that the steaks and the story don't feel overblown out of proportion. The conflicts feel so down to earth as if this was always the way it was going to turn out. What sets Gangsta apart is its unflinching portrayal of the struggles and the unsettling sense of normalization that can accompany such experiences. It's a show that skillfully captures the complex interplay between conflicts and their emotional aftermath.

On top of that, I love how much subtlety the show has. Like the slowly trickling memories of Worick and Nicolas, or the relationship between Nic and Nina. There are so many nuances and intricacies this conveys by showing rather than telling.

This is some monster levels of writing right here. Nothing less, and maybe even more.

---

There's no denying that this show at times had pacing issues. When it felt stale it was like waiting for pork to finish cooking in the oven. It took ages. But even then, it didn't stop me from enjoying this. The staleness, though boring had its own charm. The show loved to take its sweet sweet time with the characters. Exploring each of their nuances thoroughly. This felt more like a character show than an action, even considering the number of fight scenes scattered all throughout it. I love this formula. This felt like it took all of the great things about Monster and Attack on Titan and mashed them together.

---

Fuck...... I don't think I've been this angry at a show in a long long time.

This is one of the best shows I've ever watched. Even then, it's being left on the sidelines at a point like this. Literally at the middle of a fucking arc!

Why does it feel like the story was intentionally made to be confusing? The plot was pretty simple. A ghost thing was killing people. The execution tho was a whole other beast. I'm not saying I liked it. Quite the contrary actually. I was just there my head blank after finishing it. It was okay but I didn't know shit about the world to really feel anything. Everything was just... happening. Like, we're just seeing a glimpse of a world that was turning with or without us.

----
Rewatch 2024/01/15

I didn't remember shit about this. I read my note about it and even then I was like, whaaaaa. They're so confusing that you forget everything about it.

Hm, watching this two years after watching this for the first time has really changed my opinion of this. It's like I'm used to the way the nasuverse works now. As Gigguk put it. Don't worry about it.

Just another casual anime. The start was nominal but the end lacked. In my opinion the climactic aura when Rimuru killed the Ork Lord never resurfaced in the last arc. The whole shenanigan with the kids just felt like filler. It just felt boring and cringy. It didn't even have any steaks. Rimuru leaving for a new city is awesome. But simply going around with a couple of kids that we don't give a crap about. That's simply crying of a lack of creativity. Again, this isn't exactly what I'd call a good anime. It's one of those that you watch when your not in the mood for something good. I consider this filler. Honestly. Except KonoSuba. I consider all of the isekai I've watched to date, filler.

However it must be noted. This show is really what got me through my gramp's funeral. Especially the morning after his passing. This show kept me company when I couldn't go to sleep at the wee hours of morning (3-6am). At that time I had already passed a whole 24 hours of sleeplessness (since 4am the day before). And to not be able to go to sleep even then is brutal. So, in a way, this is one of those unforgettable one's that you keep close to your heart forever.

Damn, I finished it in a single day. Did not expect it to be this entertaining. Or even addicting. This was really good. I mean, it's really good when it comes to an isekai. This season really packed the whole bunch. Unlike the last season. This didn't feel streched out at all. Each episode had something entertaining in it. This made sure I wasn't bored through out the whole runtime. I'm surprised honestly. I didn't expect slime to get this good. I'm hopeful for what it may bring to the table in the next season.

Like most isekai. This too has a ton of incoherent plot points. With deathless characters. Unnecessary mysteries that don't move the plot at all. Then mysteries that are kept mysteries for so long they don't even matter anymore. And so on. Though, I must say. It did have some... merit. Its merit doesn't lie in its world-building, side characters nor action scenes. It's in how our main character handles pain. It simply intrigues me how stupid the plot gets sometimes but how good the shield hero's rage is embodied in the show. Especially the shots where we get to see the inner monologue and internal conflict of our shield hero. The show simply aces in showing what's going on inside that head of his. It simply does a very good job at displaying internal conflicts in a non-cringy way.

Ever since I started watching anime, especially the slice-of-life variant, I have felt a disconnect between what I was seeing and how I imagined the characters to be feeling. Why aren't they acting the way I know people would? Why do they seem like husks? Obviously, the budget is the culprit here; however, there are certain scenes, especially those conveying deep emotional messages, that require micro-expressions to fully feel what our characters are experiencing. This would make the emotions they feel all the more real. Liz is a movie that has mastered that intimacy. The entire film is shot extremely tightly, almost claustrophobically, which opens up a whole new world of character expressions. The sounds of everyday life added to the whole experience.

I'll be honest; I hated Hibike Euphonium. I was neither interested in orchestral music nor the relationships between the characters. It felt out of touch and... boring. However, Liz, though part of the same franchise, was not part of the same tree. It was entirely something else. After the whole buildup, when Mizore left the comforts of her cage, there was no dialogue to tell me what was going on, but the music itself made me shed a tear. The music conveyed the story, as beautiful as it was.

To me, this is the kind of production I've always wanted to see from an anime—portraying a perspective that feels more human and connected than anything I've ever seen before it. This is a visual, auditory and storytelling masterpiece.

This movie man... you know those kinds of media that change your outlook on things and leave you slightly changed at the end of it. Maquia is that kind of a movie for me.

When I was a 10-year-old kid, my dad went to the UK. He went there as a student in search of opportunities, much like the path I find myself on now in Canada. The cost of his pursuit, however, came at a steep price - all of our hard-earned savings.

As the months went on, it became painfully clear that my dad wasn't destined for fortune. During this time, my mom stopped working to dedicate herself to me. Though her cooking skills are like that of a 5-year-old, she didn't stop trying. Putting in so much effort and care only a mother could provide. Yet as the calendar pages turned, the money that my dad sent began to dwindle. Like a flickering flame fading into darkness, there were some months when it disappeared altogether. And with no savings to speak of, these were hard times.

I can still hear the hushed conversations between my mom and my absent father. She'd kindly ask me to step out of the room, but the walls themselves couldn't contain the echoes of her desperate pleas for help. Those were the times when life dealt us a difficult hand, but as a child, the weight of our struggles escaped my understanding. Blissful ignorance shielded me from the harsh reality we faced.

Back then, just like Ariel, I was just a naive kid; reluctant to attend school, quick to complain about our meals. Yet, in the middle of all that, my mom never told me to live with what I've got. She always let me do what I wanted, but I sensed she carried a heavy burden. Because of that, I always refrained from spending more than I needed to. Sometimes my school gave me a chit of paper with a fee written on it for some project they were doing. It might be to build a pool or even for a class trip. Even if I got scolded for not bringing it, I never took it home.

In the tapestry of life, my mom, like Maquia, wove a story of selflessness. She did everything within her power for her child, even if it meant sacrificing everything she had. And looking back at it now that I'm living independently, I can't help but admire that.

Okay, gimme mystery plus a really good story to go with like in perfect blue and I'm hooked. But gimme a horror mystery with not much of a story... This happens. Yea the story had its interesting parts. Like how it criticizes Japanese culture in a satirical way. But I'm not watching this for a life lesson damn it. I want entertainment.

Not gonna lie. I enjoyed the first couple of episodes. I did notice the minute hints the show gave about its nature. I chose to ignore them. Thinking they were just the delusions of our characters. As if they were imaging it. While the show was trying to show what was going on inside the character's psyche.

I even enjoyed the detectives. They were a fun bunch to watch. The show started off with their perspective first so that was r eally helpful to understand the full picture. Or at least, what I thought was the full picture. It was only after the kid who tried to copy shounen bat was murdered, everything went downhill.

My suspicions were proven correct. This was a freaking supernatural show. Not a goddamn detective story. Not only was I taken aback. I was also disappointed. The show tried going all fantasy even without a cast for me to care about. I'm the type of guy who loves his character development and world building. Seeing the world of paranoia agent tho. I wasn't impressed. I was just confused. I just didn't know what to think about the show. I simply didn't care.

After reading 331096 (yeah 6 digits) I was utterly blown away by how much it alienated me. It was truly terrifying. It was a mixture of gore and psychological horror perfectly blending together to create quite a hard-hitting story in only 10 pages. Compared to other works of Amagappa Shoujogun, especially their Mountain of Amputee are focused on supernatural or physical horror. Not psychological. However, after finishing Atataki, I was yearning for something more. I wanted to find out the extent to which anime and manga could make me feel this way.

Compared to other mediums. Anime never felt serious enough to be considered psychological for me. Yes, there are shows like AOT with huge backstories and meaningful tragedies. But nothing ever gave me chills. This right here is where Perfect Blue shines the most. The movie felt real. The characters felt like real human beings. I sometimes miss this in anime. The medium is heavily influenced by highly saturated and over the top character tropes and archetypes. Because of this, you don't often see 'normal' people in them. This is why I love the art style of this show so much too. Reminiscent of Serial Experiments Lain, another show with a gorgeous art style, this show has this simple yet detailed aesthetic. You can understand a lot of the story just by looking at the background. I really appreciate the amount of thought that went into the little things. The little nuances.

For most of the run time. I was sitting at the edge of my seat with my mouth agape. My surprise was fueled by one, the incredible story. And two the cuts. How can I ever not mention the cuts? From the very beginning of the show, the transitions were simply awe-inspiring. Ever since I saw its first major transition. The one where Mima the idol snapped her head to the side on stage and we're inside of a grocery store with Mima the actress. I literally wound back and re-watched that scene three times at how awesome it was. But guess what? It was only the beginning. The movie is littered with extremely well-done cuts like that. If the cuts were purely aesthetic and without meaning I wouldn't be fussing over them this much either. They played a huge role in how we understood the story. In the later part of the movie, these cuts were the hallmark of Mima's degrading psyche. They intertwined with the plot itself. Making them more of a narrative element than a visual one.

After finishing the movie. I spent a good amount of time just pacing around my room. The ending left me in such a place that I just couldn't stop thinking. It's been a while since I've seen such a piece of media that pushed my mind into as big of a clusterfuck as this. It also reminded me a lot about another psychological thriller I love. Christopher Nolan's Memento. Man, that was a good movie. Took me two watched to get it down properly. I didn't even wait a single second after my first viewing to get right back in. I went into that movie during lunch and came out at dinner after two whole watch throughs. And it did not disappoint. I feel Perfect Blue is very similar in that regard. Both of these movies were primarily powered by their focal points. Memento with our amnesic protag and here our mentally degrading protag. Both showed the viewer what the main character saw. Not what really happened. And I gotta say. I can't help but praise this perspective choice. It was like we were literally in the shoes of our character. It didn't matter if things really happened or not. What mattered was how our main character changed through the way she perceived the world. Which we get to see from the front row.

Honestly, I really loved Perfect Blue. In a way, it made me feel how it was like for someone suffering from issues like the characters we saw. Because they felt like real human beings. Unlike flushed out characters in other shows, I felt I could connect with the characters here on a level far more than those on most traditional shows. All in all. This is one of the best psychological thrillers I've ever seen, no doubt about it. From it's aesthetic to it's characters. The movies is beautiful stylistically and plot-wise.

That was fun! The comedy sometimes went totally over my head. Nonetheless, the show was solid.

If the show had related to me just a bit more, I would've enjoyed this a lot. But it felt foreign most of the time.

These three women feel like the exact opposite of the trio from the daily lives of high school boys. Tho I don't relate to them as much as I did to those three. I'm really enjoying this. It feels cruel, in a good way.

Restarted on 2024/2/5 after dropping it. Originally started on 2021/1/9

A very not too good not too bad kinda show. The action is fun, but the story is pretty meh. This felt like a typical shounen honestly. If the story was as strong as everything else, I would've loved this one. But I definitely understand the hype, watching this literally feels cool and you feel it. Very similar to Gurren Lagaan. I'd say that this is a notch above Gurren and a few notches below Kill la Kill. Emphasis on all three being along the same spectrum.

For example take Yuuji's dilemma of considering humans as something that he might have to face against someday and by extension kill. The show never really good too deep into it. It didn't make me question the different perspectives because the show doesn't explore them. It only shows the very surface level justifications every character has made peace with. And Yuuji is always told to, not worry about it, one way or the other. The show plays it safe and that's not for the better

Episode 10
Goddamn that's a 10/10 episode. It had the perfect blend of comedy and emotional damage. Compared to the first two three episodes the whole series seems to have slowed down. It now gives more space for the slower moments. Letting it take a deep breath and let it all out before moving to the next. With that the pacing issues have completely vanished. You don't see that often; a show improving as it goes on rather than getting messier.

Ohhh Yuki, i feel you.

Haruka (SS 1-4 | SS+ 11-12 | SS+ OVA 6)
Kaoru (SS 5-8 | SS+ 7-8 | SS+ OVA 4)
Ai (SS 13-16 | SS+ 5-6 | SS+ OVA 3)
SS Sister OVA (Miya Arc)
SS+ 13 (Finale)

Future me. If you're ever gonna rewatch. The eps above are all you need. The rest is just.... meh.

As for personal favourites. Kaoru is best girl with Miya a close second followed by Ai. I loved Haruka but her finale really didn't leave me with much to like. It felt too generic. I honestly cringed at the ending. Kaoru's arc is really really good. Honestly, I related with her character at a deeper level than I would've wanted to and it was totally worth it. As for Ai... Her arc really knows how to stimulate a guy, if you know what I mean.

That finale tho. Fucking hell it was good. One of the best I've ever seen. Okay, I know hot spring eps are cliché. But this thing took it to a whole another level. The comedy was top notch. Plus building everything upon its predecessors and managing to even reference the show itself for comedic value and pulling it off. Now that's something I respect.

the show was quite the experience. Before I started the show I was somewhat... Numb to romance. It's like when you don't experience a certain feeling for so long, you even forget what it's like. After watching it. Ahhh it's all coming back to me. Feels good tho, it's been a while.

Ah ah, oh no oh no. Of all the characters of the show. Tsukasa is the one I'm genuinely scared of. No offence but she feels like a freaking psychopath. With an attitude to complement. I mean, I even lost count of how many times she slapped our poor boy. I'm getting nowhere near her thank you very much

Tonikawa is pretty damn wholesome. Probably the most wholesome anime I've ever seen. I mean it fits the bill exactly. With a man who's too scared or lacks the confidence to make big moves. A girl who's more mysterious than if life exists outside of Earth. And a plot that doesn't concern itself with anything other than the two main characters. However, what this show lacked was everything else. The plot wasn't coherent or had any real conflicts for viewers to be engrossed in. We still have no clue about the characters or their backstories other than nasa-kun. And all in all. There's honestly no reason to care about the whole cast other than the newlywed couple. But I still enjoyed it. Although, the blank plot and no real conflict-driven plot did bore me a bit. The excitement and behaviour of the couple really took me in.

The story of the original Steins;Gate was awesome but when it came to my overall satisfaction of the series, it lacked a bit. It may have been it's old anime style and it's somewhat dated look. But in the end, I expected to be more excited bu the show that I really was. With that mind set I started watching Steins; Gate 0 and immidiately noticed something. It's that I absolutely love it. The music was great. The animation was great. And most of all. It's certainly my time. Dark and gloomy. I always wondered, what type of stories I like. Or what's a common characteristic of my most rated and loved shows. It's through watching this that I understood that I fall over heels for tragedy that's done well. This story all in all is quite tragic. With Okabe unable to get over his fears and has gone through such devestation to make him even loose his mad scientist persona. Even then, the plot's complexity doesn't change and I love it. Yeah, I had to spend a couple of days just thinking about it to fully straighten myself with the whole world line scenarios but still. It was definitely worth it. This sequal truly put the Steins;Gate trilogy in my book as show's you'd love once you go in neck deep. Along side movies like inception and books like recursion.

On top of this. How can I not mention the animation of Okabe's Reading Steiner. I mean, I was completely blown away the first time I saw it. It's just so satisfying plus scary at the same time.

Watching the first Steins;Gate didn't exactly make a a believer of this world or it's characters. It was entertaining somewhat but that's it. It didn't leave a lasting impression on me. But this second season totally left a lasting impression while at the same time involving me deeply inside it's world and it's characters.

Coming from Steins; Gate. This movie is quite a disappointment. Although, I didn't enjoy the show as much as I hoped I would, the story and the characters still intrigued me. Where as the original show tries it's best to sum up it's complex plot while not forgetting it's characters. It tries it's best to rationalize everything that's going on in the world.

The first half of the movie was enjoyable. With Okabe's and Makise's relationship with the addition of the new déjà vu plot device. It was pretty interesting. But it's the final act that certainly left a bad impression on me. I mean take the couple of scenes for example. How the hell did Makise know where and when Okabe was going to reappear? How is Okabe in a world line that's empty of humans? If that world line is not inhabited, how does infrastructure exist? What about Okabe's first kiss being stolen by Makise. How did that manage to not shift world lines in a big way. Doesn't even simple changes result in big consequences with the butterfly effect. On top of that, the movie also shows us that Okabe remembers it. Would this memory not affect his relationship with Makise during the three weeks of summer in the alpha world line. How come that all of these are ignored.

It's these kinds of questions that really bugged me. It just broke my suspension of belief to a point that made me disgusts that last scene. And left me disappointed at the end of it all.

The first ep of The Millionaire detective is phenomenal. The OP is fantastic. The ED is fantastic. The music is fantastic. On top of all that, there's a guy wearing a full suit. How could I not get excited. This is exactly the type of vibe I dig. Watching it really reminded me of Lucifer. And why I somehow love shows with an asshole (sort of) hitting up a sleek and stylish suit. But as the show went on. It lost that touch I was looking for. It had the spark to be a much better show in my opinion. I would've loved if it had taken a more character oriented approach. By exploring the psychies of its two main protagonists by exploring how they'd act when placed in different circumstances. But for most of the show. The two of them aren't even with each other. On top of this, the Millionaire is seriously overpowered. Like, literally. How can you enjoy a show if you know that no matter what happens, they'd just use money to solve it in the end. That just made the whole plot boring for me. It felt like the characters were just pulling loose ends that just fall off and loose all its meaning with the slightest tug. I honestly feel disappointed, now having finished it. It had so much potential. Which it failed to exploit by following a very very obvious and uninteresting plot.

You know, there's a reason why I love Konosuba so much. It always manages to leave me breathless. With its over the top explosions, over the top antagonists etc. It never ceases to amaze. Bringing a tear of joy every time I watch.

And best of all. The fucking hand people. Kazuma's finger jiggle. It's the epitome of life itself. The cornerstone keeping the universe in balance. The force holding the world's evils at bay. Ahhh, I missed it in season 2

Honestly, I didn't expect an Isekai to be this enjoyable before except KonoSuba. First of all, I think the first problem is with me. I thought from the beginning that all Isekai are just shit. I mean, how many tropes are even in this show. A freaking demon lord. A freaking Hero. And the freaking demon generals. It's just soo ridiculous to a point that, it's soo enjoyable. This is far better than the last fantasy demon/hero anime I watched by a freaking long shot. The misfit of demon king academy, I feel really lacks in comparison to this show. I won't say that it's superb when it comes to story incompletenesses and just stupid stuff but. It's just entertaining to a point that I'd say, I loved watching it.

I mean, a devil working in a parody Mc Donalds trying his best to be the employee of the month. How could that not be funny? The guy is just trying soo hard to have a simple life on earth that people around him like Emilia are completely bewildered by his presense. I liked most parts of this show. From it's beginning to end. Even the end, it was very satisfying. Like, as a whole this show is full of satisfaction. It even feeds the power fantasy within me with minor scenes of immence power that just blow me away. And it doesnt even oversaturate the fantasy aspect to make be bored of it either. Plus I loved the characters also. Yea, at times their desicions were other worldly absurd but they were likable. I didn't hate them nor not enjoy seeing them. So all in all, good show.

There are many ways a show can go about hitting a chord in the jolly nerve. Some do it through pure originality. And some do it by using normal jokes in a wholly different and unfamiliar context to mix things up. Some use an excess amount of a certain character feature. Nisekoi is sort of like the latter. It's filled with an unbeknownst amount of goofyness and naivity in it's characters. Personally, I desipise this form of comedy. It most of the time feels like the writers were just too lazy to come up with something unique so they used a formula that works. Personally I don't even enjoy loose plots. One's that deviate so far from reality or a coherent structure to make the characters just ploys to keep the whole story going, even if the world building is a mess of a thing. Then there's the harem. I don't even want to talk about those.

Even then. I continued to watch Nisekoi nonetheless. You won't belive how glad I am at myself for pushing through. I don't regret it in the least. This honestly is new for me. Usually, I consider these type of shows to only be cringe worthy. Although, I try my best to steer off these kinds of shows. It's the plot of Nisekoi that simply kept me at it. Watching a harem develop one screwy at a time is probably the hardest thing in the world. A whole cast of girls chasing behind one main or vice-versa in essence always manages to get a chucle or a cringe out of me. This show is no exception. It really made me reflect on how much I hate romance harems and made me go through a whole mental deepdive of why that is. However, even though, the show is pretty much a harem extravaganza. When it was time to get serious. The show really got serious. Like in the arc where Raku went to work for Chitoge's mom, as absurd as it is when you look at it critically. The show really managed to make it emotional and not blow the whole thing up. It really was very very good character development. And I have to appreciate that.

Although the whole anime is littered with stupid plot points. Every now and then, you come across a scene that's superbly orchestrated. It's those rare moments where the anime really shined to me. The delicate but elegant ways it moved it's plot forward. Like how it handled the finale's Shakespearian drama. It's both damn funny and serious at the same time. It's scenes like that that made me enjoy the show. Even if I were just a yawn away for most of the plot.

I can't believe how much season 2 disgusted me. With... Aliens... Like what the actual fuck? The moment I saw those... those... hellions. I simply couldn't even look at the sequel again.

This was definitely unexpected. More than ever, this is one of the funniest things I've ever watched. Every episode had a serious comedic tone that made me laugh out loud at least once. So, to think that I'd enjoy an anime as silly and fantastic as this, also considering that Konosuba is my first full blown isekai, I'm surprised at how good this is. The expressions of these people and the jokes they make are just soo spot on. Yeah, there are things I find stupidly unlikable about this, like the over-sexualization of women. But the way this show utilizes that trait is superbly well done, at least most of the time. But overall I loved the show, and it seriously deserves the praise it gets. Unlike the first season which was a wee bit slow, this season really pumped everything up with the action, the world building, the comedy and the characters. In essence the whole main cast is in a sense deranged. They all are written to have a special characteristic flushed with such weirdness that makes anyone who watches the show crave to know what's going to unfold, as the gang encounter equally weird circumstances. Yes, they at times have no depth at all but gosh I enjoy those four. I mean, Kazuma's character traits themselves deserve a chuckel. Oh, that shut-in NEET.

Rewatched 2025/04/01


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This single movie managed to outperform the entire series that laid its foundation. The character depth, the drama, and the tense scenes this movie pack surprisingly unexpected. I came in hoping to watch a satisfying sequel to the series but got fed, a whole freaking experience. This movie is simply fantastic. Considering this starts with the series' end, I didn't expect it to contain much of a story, thinking it'd just be a cash grab to boost the series' revenue, but hell how wrong could I have been. The whole story was a freaking emotional rollercoaster. With very very depressing moments to very happy ones. All packed into this simple package of a movie. I mean, it managed to tear me up multiple times through it's run time. And that isn't even counting the first half of the movie, where I forced myself to be insensitive, thinking this would just be some shitty sequel to a somewhat nominal show. This is not to mention the ending. It was soo well crafted that, now I feel satisfied by the whole freaking show. It brought together all the drama that it's prequel built up and ended it so perfectly to a point where I doubt a sequel will ever be necessary for this story. All in all, this whole series including the movie was a very wild journey. After the first three episodes, I was very unsatisfied with this show exploring some shitty science plus metaphysical connection. Although in the end, it really did tie a beautiful knot with those loose strings scattered all about caotically.

Watched the first 31 episodes starting 2020-10-13 then paused indefinitely.
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Ahhh brings back memories. I'm still awestruck at why I paused this in the first place. I really don't remember. It's as great as ever!
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GTO is wholesomeness personified. However, it's not wholesome for the reasons most shows are. It shows you by example, not shying away from some messy topics to show that there's always a light at the end of the tunnel.
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I think I see why I paused the show at ep 31. I really really don't like this arc. In a way, I hate it on a personal level. I don't hate the show itself. But the antagonist of it. In a way, you can take this as how good the show is at crafting the story to be this compelling. In another way, making it dreadful enough to leave me in a mood to not watch anymore isn't ideal either. I'm at a weird crossroads.
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I finally passed my pausing point. Heh. I'm glad I decided to push past it. GTO still manages to fascinate me in weird ways. If it was only the absurd comedy I would've called it a day. If it only made me cry once, I would've called it a day. But that's not just it is it? No matter how much I watch, it always hits me as hard as the first ep. The stories feel so original. It's how unique GTO's formula is that really drags me in. That comedic undertone while being so emotionally dense. It's like Gintama but if people had responsibilities with no easy solutions and deadly consequences for their actions. Onizuka is a weirdly silly character in a world that's trying its best to crush his light.

I once talked at length about a facet of this with a friend of mine who's looking into studying Architecture. At its core, he's completely committed to art. That's pretty much his solace in life. His passion. Sometimes he might even forget to eat when in the middle of making a sculpture. When you're deeply passionate, you start to wonder if you can continue it forever. This comes down to whether you can monetize your passion and whether there is a marked need for it.

However, no matter how much you love different forms of art and built environments. You will never be able to fully express your creativity in any realistic scenario. There are regulations you need to follow. There are a customer's needs. Even if you make a perfect design. When a client tells you to change it to fit the image in their head, you feel like everything's coming crashing down. As if the design is now impure.

This leads to the question. Is this how you should think of your passions? If using your skills in a corporate environment to satisfy market needs is going to limit your artistry, would it be better to fight against the current way of things and leave a mark your own way? Risking the fact that you might come to hate what you're doing if things go south. Or should you yourself adapt to the way the market works and simply go with the flow? This is quite a paradox in a way.

Onizuka is often forced into circumstances where he must choose between these two. Should he keep striving to be the best teacher possible? Push through all of the scandals, the students and the teachers in his way while keeping strong to his ideals of being GTO. Or should he adapt like how all of the other teachers have? Giving up on the students and prioritising his own well-being for the sake of his wellness.

If it isn't obvious already. Onizuka always chooses the GTO path. To go against what everyone says. To put a mark on the world, in his own way. Not giving a shit about what anyone else does to impede him. And he holds strong till the very end. Not wavering even when faced with the predicament of literally being forced to go fishing for a whole year and losing his status as a teacher because he didn't want to snitch on his student for a crime he didn't even commit.

Though the arc ended rather comically and positively. I'm surprised the show even attempted to tackle a question like this. You don't see paradoxes like this answered nor even discussed usually, considering how hard it is to not get it wrong big time. And with such a resolution too. I mean, it's Onizuka we're talking about here. Once he proclaims something. It might as well be etched in stone.
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There's just something to GTO's style of storytelling that's making me so emotional watching it. I can't seem to pinpoint what it is. In one way, it's making me really nostalgic; in another, watching the honest to god way these characters act is really satisfying.

I must say, ep9 is one of my favs of the whole show. It's the one where the trio struggle to go through a checkpoint and Mugen is sent out to deliver a head as punishment after getting caught. That episode embodied what I consider the essence of this story. A self contained story filled with drama with a hind of Champloo humor.

Ep 17 is really really good as well. Hell, it even had a special ED just for itself. What made it great was how it resolved the whole, the three of them don't match conflict. The start of the episode we saw the three of them going their seperate ways because mugen and fuu had a fallout. But man that ending was great. It's like you don't really need to have a full on logical reason to stay with another person. It can even be as simple as getting better food when with them.

It's been a while since I've watched a show whose characters didn't seem like naive children. I love this show's characters.

Rewatched 2025/03/23 ˅˅ from this rewatch ˅˅

One of the best pieces of media I’ve ever watched period. The fact that I can say that after a second viewing is a big deal for me. Usually, on repeat watches, I start to pick things apart with a more critical eye, but this movie? If anything, it hit even harder the second time. There’s just so much going for it.

On top of that, I think I love it even more now than I used to. I’m not sure why, but over the past couple of years, I’ve started noticing things about myself that don’t quite line up with the average person. I wouldn’t call it a disability, but I wouldn’t call it not a disability either. It’s just not something you can see. It’s like I know what I’m supposed to be doing, but I just… can’t. Like the hardware is there, but I don’t have the right software to run it properly. I used to get bullied in school a lot because I just didn't think and act like the rest of them. Though I've grown to keep up a near perfect facade now, this movie just hit different in how relatable it is.

This was my first long-form note. So please be kind. I don't want to edit/rewrite it.

On my first watching I didn't exactly understand what made this movie special. I honestly considered it to be somewhat overrated and with a personal score of 7, I let the movie go. Yes, it had some good visuals but, the story, more specifically the ending just didn't manage to skip a beat in my heart. But no matter how hard I tried to forget, the movie just resonated inside of me. Yearning for something that I didn't know I wanted. Like the characters of the movie, I felt as if I was searching for a piece of my heart that had been lost after my first encounter with this movie. So, I decided to watch yet again with my whole family. I went into this rewatch with only one goal in mind. And that was to regain that which was lost from me. Although, at the time I did not know what. In watching it, I understood what I failed to see the last time. This is when I was truly able to appreciate the visuals and the way the story is presented. This is why I think, this movie falls into the same category as interstellar. Like Kimi no na wa. On my first watching, I didn't give much if a damn about the characters of it. But it was on my second watching that I truly understood the uniqueness and beauty of that magnificent movie. Although I acted as if it was my first watching in from of my parents, even I was at awe to the number of minute but crucial and spectacular details I had missed on my first viewing. Like the location the second meteor landed was right on top of Mitsuha's family shrine, or the incredible cuts this movie has, or the breath taking scenery that's drawn, I'm looking at you, you autumn leaves on the way to the volcano. Not only was I impressed by the execution and design of this anime, but also by it's story. This time around unlike the first, I legit shed tears multiple time at runtime. And the last act, with both Mitsuha and Taki try to find themselves was very heartwarming. Even though I knew exactly what was going to happen next. It's these kind media, that I like the most. You get to understand it a little better the more you watch it. You won't feel like you've wasted your time because no matter how many times you watch it. It never fails to entertain you. This I believe is the essence of this movie. It's git a great sound track, it's git a great plot. And didn't I mention the character design. I mean, they look and feel fantastic. Plus the visuals are basically out of this world. Like blade runner, every scene of this movie can be made into a wallpaper, and you'd still be staring at it in awe. It's when all of these qualities mix together into one neat package that you can easily digest do you get entertained the most. This is why I love this movie. Because it manages to invoke feelings in me that I never thought I had. It is through watching it the second time, was I able to pinpoint what I truly missed after my first one.

Probably the worst anime I've ever finished. I still can't believe I didn't drop this. It's like, I hoped it'd get better. I hoped the main character would build up some confidence. Oh well... what a dissapointment.

This is far better than the first season. The first lacked a bit on its plot cos a lot of it just seemed to repeat as if everything was a freaking filler. Now this had a ton of variety and it really flushed the characters out. With it I was able to fully immerce my self in the world and understand the characters. Unlike the first season the jokes here are really good. I mean, I haven't had this much fun watching a show in quite a while. Not only was this funny it also took stuff seriously too. The drama was very well done. And the character conflicts too felt quite genuine. Even though the characters had a hard time grasping if their actions and intentions were genuine or not, I certainly had a genuinely fantastic experience with this.

I have mixed feelings about Kaguya-sama. Watching it then, I can't say I enjoyed it emmencely. But when it comes to originality. This simply blew me away. From it's very very enjoyable narrator to it's varying cast of character. The anime is a cesspool of originality for me. It's hard to find a comedy that doesn't reuse old techniques to crack a joke or simply copy and paste some slapstick joke with a different context. This however, manages to remain unique from start to end. That by itself is worth a praise.

Something I love about Kaguya-sama is how perfectly it mashes serious tones with very very comedic tones. At times it's seriously goofing around while in the next scene it's questioning if their ego is displeasing to others. Especially the ending ep. The anime does a very good job at constantly shifting between two modes of progressing the plot seamlessly. On one hand using well thought out jokes and on the other doing serious character development through thoughtfullness.

Though I enjoyed it very much. I wasn't able to attatch myself to the characters. It feels to me that the anime gave me every reason to make a connection with it's cast but... I simply couldn't. I still don't really understand why exactly I feel this way. I believe the sky hight expectations I had coming into the show had a pretty big say in it. When you go into a show with atmospheric expectations. You tend to loose what the show is really about. This is very common in games. The hype the marketing department of a gaming publisher pushes out sometimes blows the actual proportions of the game into the stratosphere. This makes a huge about how you feel about the game within the first couple of hours of play time. Even if the game is good. You compare it to the expectations you have. If your expectations were higher than what you got from it, you'd feel dissapointed. Sometimes even blidniding you from the beauty of an experience right in front of you.

Even then, hype or expectations aren't something that can be stopped nor banished. Best way to cope is to convince yourself to enjoy what it is you get. Not what it is you expect. If I had been successful at it, I'm sure I would've enjoyed the anime more than how much I did in the end.

1st rewatch 2021-09-29 to 2021-10-07 (Watched with mom)

Violet Evergarden is a masterpiece of tragedy and self-realization. Following the war survivor Violet, the story builds upon her journey of self-realization through the bonds she builds up and through the bonds she lost. We follow our main protagonist on a journey with love being the end of the tunnel. The twist is, Violet who was raised from childhood to only be a tool of war is unable to comprehend universal human feelings. Through this, we set out to explore the journey as she uncovers what 'I Love You' truly means.

When I first added this series to my wishlist. I knew one thing. That being the similarities it had to Your Lie in April. I wouldn't disagree. Both have very tragic plot lines. But personally, I liked the density and depth every episode of Violet managed to carry compared to the slow pacing of Your Lie in April. Each episode is a complete roller coaster. I'm honestly perplexed at how it managed to keep its composure while being as emotional as it is. I never felt as if the story was repeating itself. Not only this, the uniqueness of each episode was what made me shed a tear to each and every ep after the 6th. I didn't expect a plotline built only within the span of a single episode to hit me so hard. It managed to hit so close to home. At times I was left wondering what I'd do if I'm somehow the person being affected by the tragedies the story's characters are going through. It really made me empathise with many of the characters that appeared. Needless to say, some of them showed increasingly high levels of naiveness which irritated me. Like the astronomy student. But all in all, managing to make me care enough about a character to cry about them within a half-hour period is simply mindblowing. This is the first show I've watched that managed to pull it off.

Thinking of other aspects of the anime, such as its music and art style. I gotta say, I'm not disappointed. The music pretty much fueled the tears that I fought so hard to keep in. The OST is truly something that I would definitely listen to even if it were out of context the show. Evan Call really outdid himself. The art too is simply magnificent. The character design exactly fits my description of a perfect anime character. Like Bloom Into You's and Your Name's art styles, Kyoto Animation successfully managed to have a colour palette and an environment that truly made each shot a masterpiece.

Speaking of the main plotline of this story. I usually tend to avoid anything that goes close to the topic of war. Except for those rare exceptions, like the movie Darkest Hour. Following UK prime minister Winston Churchill through the tipping points of the second world war. Even with my obvious aversion to war-related media, this show truly captivated me beyond belief. Focusing on the way war affects people personally. Violet Evergarden focuses on the little things from a grand scale of things. Wars may be fought for a philosophical or political cause but when it comes down to the battlefield. It's real people who fight in it. With their own personalities, friends, family members, lovers, hobbies etc. It's this up close and personal perspective to war that violet strives to engrave into the viewer's mind. From the fire that burns Violet's (the character) conscience due to her hand in the war to the feelings of a soldier who's on his deathbed. The show goes up and beyond to show the effects of war from a personal level through its extravagant choice of characters. The story of the dying mother and her daughter was what teared me up the most. I'll probably never forget that.

In a way, the story is about letting go. Letting go of the past that haunts your dreams. Letting go of the hatred that divides and incentivises conflicts. Letting go of the pain you keep inside of you. In an age where instantaneous communication nor a medium to rant like the internet doesn't exist. Releasing pressure created inside of oneself is next to impossible if you isolate yourself. You may add distance because you're afraid of those around you or because you're afraid of what they would see in you. But the result is the same. No matter what the packaging is. Loneliness hits you no matter what you use to dilute it. A void of pain inside of you.

Sometimes the only way to release it is to simply write it out. Expressing one's own feelings publicly is a hard task that requires immense amounts of courage and trust. But the freedom of writing one's thoughts down on a piece of paper has the satisfaction of privacy and creativity. This is why Dolls exist. To help people express their feelings they might've never been able to put into words themselves.

All in all, I love this anime. I don't consider it anything but a masterpiece. The show truly resonated in me to a point I couldn't stop crying when it ended. It's a show that's tragic by design. I love it, but clearly in a way different to how I love shows like Bloom Into You and Konosuba. Its uniqueness extends to my love of it as well.

Wholesome and enjoyable but... I just couldn't feel it you know. I just seemed empty watching it. Yea, it made me question the difficulties of the second mile of a relationship after it has bloomed and, after both the parties have understood exactly how they feel about each other. Even then, this just felt boring. During the whole run time. I was like, "Huh, interesting, wait... why should I care about this, again?". Failing to find a reason to care, I think is why this anime felt bland.

But, I gotta say. It looked fantastic. Even though you see where they cut corners with the static drawings, which were basically everywhere, the whole art just felt alive and didn't FEEL static at all.

I must say, this show just got me in the last half. I basically downloaded this show to have a good fap but the more I watched the more it blew my mind, honestly. When watching the first 4-5 eps I was utterly surprised at the topics this show portrayed and the characters it had. Like, what the fuck, women who freaking feed on jealousy. I mean, the characters were surprisingly foreign to me. The way these people thought is just mind-blowingly cruel. My reaction after watching the first half was in a way *distinct screeching*.

Then again, that's the first half. Then came the second half. And a show I previously considered to be fap-media and a hella creepy show turned out to be a well-realized drama about people going through their first love. Letting go of it. And how lonely, people really feel. I mean, I literally shed a few tears when this show ended. That's how much I got invested in it. This really is a surprise for me, considering it's both got very good ecchi scenes and has some deep characters AND has a great plot.

Now this shit's weird. I mean really weird. The characters were somewhat blank slates and the plot at times seemed very boring. but this was somewhat entertaining. I mean a sort of psycho as first gal killing monsters inside of another monster who's a freaking costume. I mean that's awesome. But I gotta say. I could've enjoyed this way more if it had just thought about the characters more. THe show doesn't go deep into their motivations and feelings. It just comes up with stuff and goes with it. So the relationship between Clair and Shuuichi could've been done way better. But in the end, it is a, very very silly show.

Rewatching 2025-04-04 to 2025-04-25

Simply the saddest thing I've watched in my life.

----- rewatch

Some scenes still remain just as uncomfortable to watch as they were the first time. They still land exactly as heavily as they always did tho, nothing's different about that.

You know what. Was I stupid when I first watched this? How did I not notice the way music is used in this show. Yes I knew it was good. I knew the tracks were amazing. And I also knew that the music made me cry many number of times. But why do I not remember how dramatic the music is in bringing out our character's emotions. I'm watching Emi's origin story at the start of ep9 right now and this whole scene is pure auditory overload. How the present her's piano track is playing in the background. How there's a subtle percussion and string harmony accompanying it. How there's drums to deepen each scene change. How the flashback emotions fluctuate the intensity of the piano track. How her thoughts of the past and future entangle with each other. WTF am I hearing and watching right now. If it were just a piano rendition it would've been good but not THIS.

This synchronization is peak cinema!

At this point, I should probably start counting the episodes that don’t end with me crying.

I was a fool to think that this show wouldn't be as hard hitting as it is. I thought I was just over hyping this. I thought it was just tear bait. Oh no no no. This is on a league of its own.

I agree, me from five years ago. This is indeed the saddest thing I've watched in my life. Nothing even comes close.

You know, when I watched this for the first time, I didn’t like the ending all that much. How could Kaori change so drastically, just like that? You don’t just get rid of your fears and anxieties overnight. There’s no way.

But now... having gone through something similar myself during those final months before I left my home country. I get it. I can say for a fact: you do change. You change in ways you never expect, just from knowing that this is your final stretch. And I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it must hit if you knew your life was actually ending. I think I’d become a different person entirely, completely unrecognizable from who I was before. Just like how Kaori changed.

I understand her now, at least a little. Her perspective. Her sadness. Her resolve, and at times, the lack of it.

Because since I last watched this, I ended up being in Arima’s shoes too. Watching my grandfather slowly get swallowed up by cancer. Losing more and more of himself, bit by bit. First, not being able to visit our house. Then, not leaving his own. Then... not even being able to leave his bed. It all happened so fast, looking back. And yet at the time, it felt like forever.

And it wasn’t just us preparing for the inevitable. It was them too.

I still don't really understand why I enjoyed this as much as I did.

Citrus was my first Yuri. Not only that, but it was also my first exposure to Ecchi anime. It's revolutionary in a way. This was literally my intro to Yuri. Now, yuri is a cornerstone of my life. I really didn't care much about two girls mingling with each other until I saw this. In a way. It opened my eyes to a whole new world. And I'm in love with this new landscape.

Citrus was also the third anime I ever watched. Right after AOT of course. Even though the show has its.. sexually active scenes and hot lesbian mingling. I didn't really drool much at it. Yeah, at first, when I was watching the first couple of ep's I did droop for them. But little by little. I grew an attachment to the two protagonists. Honestly, I rooted for their ship to sail in calm waters.

It may have been my lack of exposure to the medium that made me think so highly of the anime. I'm human as well you know, I've got my biases. Even then, I loved the show unconditionally. From its eerie rape like scene to that WTF parasite character. It all just fit into place within my mind.

Found it through a kissing clip compilation on the hub back in 2020-08-21. Don't think posting that link here is appropriate so just go with your imagination.