Jeoffrey

Kantai Collection is probably the most contradictory show of the winter's releases, in my opinion. I still do not know what to think about it, and the concept of girls who are not girls but warships took me quite a while to get used to. And so I was in different states of wanting to drop it after the first episode, after the second, I started to like it quite a bit, and after the third, I was again on the fence about what to expect next. Sometimes I found it very weird, sometimes cute, sometimes it managed to surprise me, and most of all, it kept me confused about what I thought of the girls. Sometimes it is about the common everyday concerns of young girls, and at another time, they are fighting like warships. Plus, they never die, they sink, never get injured, but get damaged, and if they get repaired, it takes some time unless there is a "repair bucket" that acts as a source of auto-repair. I was curious to see how the concept of their mutual love would develop because sometimes it feels a little like Yuri, and other times they talk about sister ships. So this is very weird, and it even made me watch a few gameplays from the original free-to-play web browser game, hoping to understand it. I managed to figure out a few things. In principle, someone who has played the game knows this could be a cool anime series. The Admiral (the player in the game) is regularly featured in the anime series, even though his visual appearance is hidden. So it gives the game player a better chance to relate to the anime series. Plus, there are a lot of hints and connections that I might not have understood without seeing the game (the "repair bucket," for example). Anyway, it awakened my interest because I had not played the game. In my opinion, the animation is very good, as is the soundtrack, plus the characters are quite intriguing. I thought this show was quite watchable, it was quite interesting and very special, so I am awarding it a better three stars.

I had very high expectations for this anime series because of the fact that Yoshitoki Oima was the manga artist who wrote this anime series, and well, it did not let me down. In my opinion, she wrote one of the best anime movies of the last five years, and A Silent Voice is the movie that probably had the most impact on me emotionally in recent years. Once again, this show has an interesting subject matter, which, this time, is about life rather than simply living, and which cleverly combines all sorts of themes, such as evolution, adolescence, predestination, prejudice, and loneliness, among other things. The show is really about relationships, so there are a lot of feelings, drama, and sometimes there is some action. This anime series also has a huge advantage in that the main male protagonist starts off as "Tabula rasa", so the audience can really enjoy the development and evolution of his character. In addition to this, there are a lot of friendly characters, very good animation, and a wonderful soundtrack that work together to deliver a truly magnificent experience. I enjoyed most of the episodes and really liked the characters like March, Parona, Pioran, and Gugu. I also liked the main character Fushi, and in particular the mysterious man in black, who guided me through the narrative. The concept is good and well-executed, it has an interesting subject matter, plus a bit of mystery - in my opinion this anime series really hit the spot. On the other hand, I wonder if I could not have expected more from it. I found the anime series moving, and it touched me emotionally, although I am not sure whether it was such a powerful experience for me to remember it in five years’ time. At times I felt like it was forcing its vision too excessively, and sometimes I found it too predictable, mostly in terms of the huge and sad twists, which is why they probably did not have as strong an impact as they should have. My feelings about this anime series are somewhere between a weak five stars and a very strong four stars - 8.5/10.

Love is hard for otaku (this is a slightly different anime series, however, it still fits). This is especially true when your girlfriend is a very attractive normie girl, so no one and not even you understand what she is doing with you and why she is with you at all. However, love is about being together, getting to know each other, and just sticking together through thick and thin. I understand that the main male protagonist has a hard time. I understand the confrontation of two worlds that the anime's authors present us with here. In my opinion, though, it is a bit too over the top and dramatic. I also understand the relatively good reviews because this show has some kind of quality. The narrative is moving and touching and manages to stir up your emotions. Admittedly, some of the storylines are kind of those typical romantic comedy tropes. However, I can live with them without any real issues. (There was only one instance where I had a problem; during the last episode of the first season, there was the line "we are not related by blood...". That was when I wanted to facepalm when I heard those words). Those situations where someone likes someone else, and then someone else likes them, and then someone else likes them back kind of seems realistic as they are just a part of normal life. Everyone eventually finds himself in a similar love triangle or other tangled mess. The characters are not flat. Each character has its positive aspects, and each is tragic in some way, or more commonly, has its shortcomings. I could not relate to everyone; some I was not too impressed with. Once again, it reminded me that I do not enjoy watching delicate boys (Itou). However, that is a matter of preference. The soundtrack is not that bad either and perhaps the opening really suits the romantic atmosphere. However, I cannot bring myself to say that I found it extremely entertaining somehow. It is not that I do not think love stories are not for me. I have seen a few of them, and sometimes I can be pretty sensitive and can enjoy a good romantic comedy. However, in other words, I did not find this show moving, even though I noticed some excellent moments. The manga has already been completely translated, and there is still enough material for at least one more season of the same length. At least this show is still probably better than this year's other spring romantic comedy, Tada Never Falls in Love. 6/10.

This show was suggested to me as a top tip I received after hitting the jackpot with Gurren Lagann, so I had high expectations for this one. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with this anime series. I was expecting something more amusing. However, I only got moments where I raised a slight smile, which was rare. I was expecting some action-packed scenes, and there is truly quite a lot of them, although they did not feel very tense to me. As far as the love story is concerned, yes, I did register it, even though once again, I could not feel any strong sparks to keep me interested. Furthermore, even after eleven episodes, I still could not get on with the main male protagonists even though it was noticeable that they were slowly evolving and developing. However, this did not grab me either, and none of the supporting characters appealed to me either. If I add to that the mecha carnage, which, unlike Gurren Lagann, I did not find very engaging, my overall impression is simply that this is a below-average show. So dropped it right in the middle 4/10.

Even though I know that this anime series does not warrant five stars, I still think this is a truly groundbreaking and unforgettable show. I will never find any character as tragic and unbearable as Orihime, and I will never idolize any anime girl as much as I do Rukia. Plus, I loved the action-packed scenes and what I thought were great fight scenes; I even liked the narrative (main plotline) a lot. As for the fillers, sometimes those annoyed me (like when they "downgraded" the zanpakuto and the poor Shinigami had to catch them to avoid being destroyed by the Seireitei), although sometimes they were fun (Karakura-Raizer). Apart from the characters mentioned above that made me the most emotional, I also grew incredibly fond of Kenpachi Zaraki, Gin Ichimaru, Toshiro Hitsugaya, Kisuke Urahara, and many others. In other words, this was my first true anime love, and even though it is not perfect in many ways, it was still the first one, and it is one you will never forget.

While watching this movie, I kept feeling like a small child whose grandma is telling him a story in a weary voice. The story wasn't exactly bad. There was food for thought and plenty of Japanese folklore, but the overall presentation wasn't half as interesting as I would have liked. It failed to draw me in. In fact, it did the opposite and my attention kept drifting away. The atmosphere and the way the story was narrated felt very drawn out and lacked a spark to it. Not even the most interesting moments were powerful. I wasn't bored, I just didn't feel much of anything. As I said, it's not a bad movie, it has some good moments and strong themes, but it fails to work with them in an engaging way. Many things are touched upon, but everything is kind of flat, like when someone just recites to you what's going on but doesn't change the tone and color of their voice, resulting in a lack of atmosphere. The music doesn't help much, and the animation doesn't seem to have much charm either, except when Kiwa is telling a story and the drawing style suddenly changes. These passages are surprisingly more colorful and better than the rest of the movie. What saves it from slipping into mediocrity is the ending, which I quite liked. 6/10

A decent adaptation of the video game that does a good job of sticking to the game’s premise (at least from what I remember of the Tekken series) and has some visually enticing fights. It would have been better if it was longer in order to flesh out the story more and deal with the supporting characters’ motivations in greater detail. In short, if the writer had been given 2-4 more episodes, it would have made for a more intriguing and powerful show in every way. As it is, it only deserves a 6/10.

Probably the strongest addition to the Aria (the Origination) series so far. I enjoyed it more than all the previous ones. It may be due to my current state of mind, but it moved me and melted my heart more than Avvenire or Crepuscolo. I obviously needed something to cheer me up today, but that’s not the only reason. All that Aria has going for it ever since the beginning (Aria the Animation) is still there. This includes a beautiful setting, and a wonderfully relaxing and atmospheric score dominated by piano, guitar, and the occasional flute. However, this part of the story centered around the characters that I loved most. At the very least, Akira and Aika are in my Top 3. I was more interested in their story than the story of Alice, Athena, and Anja from Crepuscolo, and it emotionally affected me more. Also, everything fit together nicely, and it was heartfelt. I prefer this hour-long format to the three 20-minute OVAs that was Avvenire. It does tug at your heartstrings but it’s full of beautifully human emotions, nostalgia, symbolism... There were moments when I even chuckled a little. Kozue Amano still knows how and when to make me laugh, as well as how to make me feel good and keep me interested, even during moments when many people will just stare and wonder why nothing much is happening. I wasn't bored for a second and had a great time. The characters didn’t give as many hilariously significant looks this time (probably a lesson learned from Amanchu, where they were slightly over-the-top).

A pleasant surprise. The story was captivating, all the characters were likable, the animation and music were good, and the show managed to sell me on the joy of flying. It had a nice vibe and it felt quite realistic at the same time. Some of the situations and jokes made me laugh, and even the more dramatic passages were excellent. The first family drama with the sister kept me interested, I felt good about how everything was handled, and I even liked the conclusion. The second drama, which came at the very end, was also quite interesting at first, but the way it was resolved in the finale felt a bit over the top and half-baked. If it had been concluded differently, perhaps in a bittersweet and symbolic way to which it was heading at a certain point, instead of a happy ending, it would have been more powerful. Still, I enjoyed the film, and I was surprised at how much it encompassed. I felt as if I was missing certain bits and pieces that would act as connecting links between the plot shifts (sometimes almost leaps) but there were strong moments that held the narrative together nicely. 7.5/10

I was expecting this to be much funnier. I thought there would be a lot of moments and situations that I could relate to. I was also looking forward to Aoi Yūki’s amazing voice acting performance. On all counts, I'm more or less disappointed. 3/10