Anime Review: Zombieland Saga, Yagate Kimi ni Naru, SSSS.Gridman & Release the Spyce (Fall 2018)

This four shows were good entertainment but nothing that I would be recommending to anyone. It serves the purpose of a Seasonal Anime. 

Zombieland Saga is a show about a group of dead idol girls as they try to find their place in the living world. There were some cool moments and the only main protagonist is the same voice actor of Stein's Gate mad scientist and its no doubt one of the main reasons to watch the show if not the main. The idol part, there were some good musics but as far as the plot goes - well it goes nowhere. As I said it's just a show of coming to terms they were dead and still want/have to be idols. 6/10 

Studio Mappa

Genre Music, Comedy & Supernatural 

Rate on MAL - 7.78

Yagate Kimi ni Naru it's the Shoujo Ai of the season. A girl loves another while the "another" does not - and it's a journey of self discovery and one that made me cringe a couple of times. It seems you are not born a gay or lesbian but "turn" into one. Lets look at our main character. She's got no indication she is into girls but then you've got this hot chick unto you and after several advances and kisses and such she finally realizes... well I might be gay. Nevertheless it's a good anime with two interesting main characters. Great artwork and animation and okay plot. Another anime I wouldn't suggest to anyone. 7/10 

Studio TROYCA

Genre School & Shoujo Ai

Rate on MAL - 7.99

SSSS Gridman it's the new tale by Trigger and it's a bit of a failure in my opinion. This is a remake (if you want) Of a live action tv series with the same name. I've not watch it btw.... Nevertheless in this tale we follow three friends who fight different kaiju (mecha like beings) each episode. After the battle only the three of them remember the Kaiju and the destruction it made. You've also have goddess like girl who "makes" the Kaiju. Then after a couple of episodes it turn waywired with virtual reality stuff. Being trigger show it has a very distinctive feel and I enjoy it - but then again it's another show that nobody will remember in a couple of months. 6/10

Studio Trigger

Genre Action, Sci-Fi, Mecha

Rate on MAL - 7.50

Release the Spyce it's the girl show where five/six girls are turn into techno-ninjas and fight evil organizations while doing some kind of drug "aka" Spyce. It's also a coming of age of one of the girls as she learns how to fight. It's that show that features almost no man (unless they are evil doers) and girls almost lesbian but not that quite. It has a lot of action and cuteness... Nothing worth remembering about. 5/10

Studio Lay-duce

Genre Action, School

Rate on MaL 7.05

Anime Review: Tachibanakan Triangle, Alice or Alice, Omae wa Mada, Amai Choupatsu, Dorei-ku, Lady Spo (Spring 2018)

Last Season (Spring) was not that bad comparing with other seasons before. Some shows were pure crap but some really stand out. Well lets talk about the bad shall we?

First of all Amai Choupatsu our disguised hentai of the season. I can see that kind of prison appear. I mean, a lot of guys would go voluntarily to prison no? Crappy plot and characters. Animation? Perfect! You know what I mean... eheh
Magic Bus - Ecchi, Josei


Dorei-Ku the Animation - What a bunch of crap. So basically you've got this things you put in your mouth and if you win anything against any person (or not) having that same device you basically control them. It could have been good? Nope. Crappy.
TNK - Psychological, Drama

Omae wa Mada Gunma wo Shiranai is a anime about Gunma Perfecture. A show with 5m episode where basically you've got a stupid plot about Gunma hating foreigners (don't know if it's true or not) and then 30 seconds of really people talking about Gunma. Entertainting but pretty much a dead anime.
Asahi Production - Comedy, School

LadySpo gets the point of being the worst anime in 2018. There's a reason why the rating in Mal is 3.95. In this case I say that's too much... sports with sci-fy but boring, so pretty much boring about EVERYTHING.

Alice or Alice: Siscon Niisan to Futago no Imouto is our show about FBI coming to arrest you if you watch the complete season. Basically you've got this two child (well developed I might say) and our main protagonist who basically is being seduced by them. Oh my god...  Thank the gods I don't live in USA.
EMT² - Seinen, Slice of Life

Tachibanakan Triangle is a show about young female teens having their go in their sexuality. Every season has one Shoujo Ai and this was it. Good animation, after all ECCHI but pretty much everything else is crap.
Creators in the Park - Comedy, Shoujo Ai

Some shows I didn't see past two or three eps.

Saredo Tsumibito wa Ryuu to Odoru
Juushinki Pandora
Cutie Honey Universe
Caligula
Shiyan Pin Jiating
Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi
Devils Line
Last Period: Owarinaki Rasen no Monogatari
Nil Admirari no Tenbin
Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori (the only one I am tempted to try again...)

Anime Review: Itsudatte Bokura no Koi wa 10 Centi Datta & Two Movies

Well this is a review about three anime but they are all interconnected althought I didn't watch them in the releasing order.

You've got Itsudatte Bokura no Koi wa 10 Centi Datta (Our love has always been 10 centimeters apart) with 6 episodes of 25m each and focus on Miou & Haruki. Then you have Zutto Mae kara Suki deshita.: Kokuhaku Jikkou Iinkai (HoneyWorks: I've Liked You Since Long Ago) is a movie with 1h that focus on Natsuki & Setoguchi (There is also an interesting small anime called Zutto Mae kara Suki deshita.: Kokuhaku Jikkou Iinkai - Kinyoubi no Ohayou) and the last one is Suki ni Naru Sono Shunkan wo.: Kokuhaku Jikkou Iinkai (Honeyworks: The Moment You Fall in Love) follows Hina, Kotarou, and Koyuki.

This show was made by two companies (Qualia Animation & Layduce) and both these shows are on their top rating with ratings above 8 so that's a good sign for a romance. That's the reason I start watching it and I was really impressed with it.

I know there is a connection between these anime and the band HoneyWork.

Now about the anime.. a LOT of characters. I will put here a really interesting jpg with all the characters and their connections (love or not). It's very mature and nothing cliche like other anime out there (including Just Because or Tamako Market or others I've seen).

Under 4h all stories connected it was very interesting and really worth watching. Overall I would give 8 stars without any doubt. BUT I must point out if you watch only the movies you will not enjoy it that much because  there was almost no time for one to build an attachment to the main characters and feel anything for anyone.

This is how school romance anime should be. I hope to see more about other characters maybe? 

About the art? It's great. Since it was not a full length anime they focus a lot on animation and art style. Now lets start about those music. Damn good. They were all made by the same company (HoneyWorks) and they tell love stories... This is a excellent romance story. There is no ecchi in it and the characters are all very different.

One interesting thought is that althought one of the stories they love one another but can't really tell the other, while in the other story (movie) it's about unrequited love while the third one is about love conquering all barriers and about what's more important (love or career) and about priorities... 

Anime Review: Teekyuu Season 1 to 9 + Takamiya Nasuno Desu!

With 9 seasons and each one with 12 episodes this anime has been around from some time ALTHOUGH  each episode is only 3 minutes long so there's that.

What's this about? Well Teekyuu means Tennis and this is about a Tennis Club girls but the only thing this is not it's an anime about Tennis Club, at all.

Basically this is a show about the antics about four girls Marimo (super-perverted girl), Kanae (physics-law defying girl) , Nasuno (super insanely rich) & Yuri (the normal one). Each one is as different as the other but when they are together stuff happens.


Each episode is individual, there is no connection between them and even if it's only 3 minutes long they have more monologues than most 25m anime. They spitfire entire sentences in 2x velocity of normal beings. At times it's hard just to follow what they are saying. My god. It's an adventure every single episode.

Will not win any kind of awards BUT, as you know there are a lot of 3 to 5m long anime. This one is in top 5 to me and to must lists I've seen in the internet. It's very complex since although it's wacky fun and absurd it never repeats the jokes.

There is also a spin off focus on Nasuno for some reason. She is not the most famous of the series BUT If I had to wonder, I would say it's because she is insanely rich and bought the artists to make a 12 episode show based on her. If you seen Teekyuu is basically the same (the other girls also appear on it). It's called Takamiya Nasuno Desu!

My recommendation? Go watch an episode (the first one if you want). Either you enjoy the premises or don't bother - it's all the same.

Anime Review: Gakuen Babysitters (Winter 2018)

Gakuen Babysitters really resonate with me. Being a father of a 2 year old child I enjoy a lot of this show ALTHOUGH this is not a true realistic view of parenting - at all....

From the babysitter who sleeps while taking care of children, to let them wander alone in a school to other neglectic matters not that important here.

This show, a pure slice-of-life / comedy, is a show about brotherly love that must cope with the death of their parents. This is why normal in anime losing parents and dealing with it (normally quite easy).  This way the first couple of episodes we get to see both Kotarou (the young boy) & Ryuuichi (the older one) dealing with that loss and trying to live by it. By the sixth or seventh episode that was over and almost it neither that subject come into play.

As the episodes pogress we get to know Morinomiya (a older woman who adopt them) and Saikawa (her butler?). We also get to know Hayato who befriends Ryuuichi althought he is a bit anti-social kind of guy but has a brother in the Babysitter club called Taka.

Taka is the complete oposite of Kotarou. Taka is always running and smashing things while Kotarou is almost a statue. Probably or not, its interesting that Hayato punish his brother by hitting him in the head while Ryuuichi is more gentle and never resorting to violence. 

One thing that really interest me was the children. First I thought they were mis-characterize. They talk a lot (althought small sentences) but also were very considerative (it's a word?) and with great awareness. One of the girls deduce Maria Inomata (our Tsundere) hated Ryuuichi but later understands that after he loves/likes him. I don't think a child of 3 has that capacity. But mine is not 3 years old yet....

Lets be real... children are smart but... my wife is blind and she has a guide dog. He don't understand that she is blind yet. He cannot phantom that BUT we teach him that the dog we have (Quickie) helps her. On what he do he does not know or why. From time to time he says "a mãe tem doidoi nos olhos - o Quickie ajuda" - roughly translated - "Mommy has a owie in her eyes - Quickie helps" but that's about it... sometimes when she goes against something and hurts himself he calls the dog to help her. They are funny...

So when Kotarou went great length in episode 8 to grab a lemon because he thought Ryuuchi was feeling sick (cold) because Ryuuichi demonstrated a lot of pressure on what to answer to a girl who said she loved him - I laugh out loud...

This show is not to everybody. Maybe people with young kids or people with young brother they have to take care off (episode 9) shows Hayato and Ryuuichi talk about that pressure and that difficult their lives in some ways I really resonate with it. Hayato says that he don't care about what his brother Taka broke but he knows he was being malicious and even asking for forgiving he knew he didn't meant it - that's so true man! But they are not malicious - they are kids and have to learn.. It takes time. I have great control on my stuff being a avid reader and with thousands books at home and boardgames but one time he scribble on one of my books but whose fault was that? his? It's mine. It's a kid... he doesn't understand value of things or why he can write on a blank page but not in a 40$ book. They are kids and we are the adults... so Youko (the old woman) teaches the boy and it was funny. I had the same thought. Gonna try sometime :D

As Kotorou says "Little boys do grow up..."

Really loving anime. Slice of Life, Drama, Comedy & a bit of Romance (not that much).

I say again. Slice of Life were great this season. It's a shame next season there aren't that many...

Anime Review: Ito Junji: Collection (Winter 2018)

What a disappointing show - it's going to be a small review. I really had high hopes from this one but they felt apart after watching a couple of episodes. Most of them are bad! But before all, bear in mind that I never read the manga so I can't judge or compare to it.

Basically this is a compilation of short stories, some of them are connected among themselves - I think they are all part from the same world.

Each story tries to dive into the aspect of mundane and facing the unknown. Unfortunately most of the stories are not that frightful but disgusting lol Sorry :D That grease story almost made me throw up because stupidly I was eating haha.

But overall I think it's better (way better) than Yami Shibai or Sekai no Yami Zukan.

I am sorry I can't say much because the problem with the show each story is over simplistic but it drag on. I think because it was made before as a manga (and from what I heard each story had only some panels) and maybe a 10/12m episode was a bit too much? Who knows... It's pretty hard to make horror anime - can't put my finger on why but there aren't that many with high scores besides Higurashi and a couple others but they are more psychological horror than anything else.... 

How btw why mixing horror with comedy beats me and a couple stories add it...

Sorry for the small bad review but unfortunally there isn't much to tell.... Watch one episode then decide if it for you. Animation is quite different, pretty much dark colours (look at the cover).

5/10

Anime Review: 25-sai no Joshikousei (Winter 2018)

The three animes (one for each season) that has some hentai ecchi elements... 

This will be a short review. This anime is that one anime that exist every season where they try a little further to cross the line between ecchi and pure sex hentai. Which in this case is the latter. This is hentai but with a plot. I've watch hentai with more plot. This is borderline rape! For ten people who watch it probably half are going to say that. Is there a plot? Is it interesting? No and no. Watch it for the hentai. It's good! Sorry can't say that much more...

You want the plot?

For some reason, stupid one, a girl of 25 impersonates a high school teen and from day one she is raped  have sex with some school male-nurse. There are other characters which are meaningless and it's about sex. Watch it. 4m per show X 12 episodes and you've got yourself a 48m. Please don't watch near other people... Sex or so each episode. 

The company Lilix is almost unknown so.. don't expect anything great. Animation in itself is great - the oppai really moves. Probably 30% of the budget went there :D

Anime Review: Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san (Winter 2018)

Lets talk about one of the animes of the season. Not just for me but to the community in general. After all it has a rating in Mal of 7.92 (at the time of my writing) and you ask me why is that?

Well, Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san is a story about love. What?? You ask. It is. It's a story about love in middle school and most of us don't remember our early years of middle school and can't phantom to remember if we felt love OR how we express it. One thing I know for sure - after all I am 37 now so...

Boys usually tend to pick on girls they love or at least care (or lust?) about. We tease and tease - that's the way young teens mind work. And thus enter these series BUT it's not they boy teasing the girl but instead the girl teasing the boy and at the same time understanding that both love one another but they really can't express.

She seems more mature giving hints that she likes him but he is a boy and thus become timid and screws up - while she teases some more. We never know what she really feels until the last episode.

I am not going into much spoilers (If we can call it that because from the start we know what this show is all about) but even if you have no interest in romance you will enjoy seeing Nishikata losing again and again against Takagi who is a mastermind in Nishikata psychic.




The 12 episodes follow the lives of these two young teens and each episode is divided in several segments (where Takagi-San teases Nishikata or Nishikata plots to tease Takagi-san). In most episodes we also see small 3/4m segments with three of his collegues and their interactions (Mina, Yukari & Sanae).

For those who do not know (I didn't) this anime is based on two manga. The main manga is obvisouly Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san  and the small three girls manga is called Ashita wa Doyoubi.

The Art and animation is very simple but works very nicely in this kind of anime. Takagi-san and Nishikata expressions are priceless. The sound and voice acting is great as well. No qualms. Not gaining an award but they do their job.

Talking about the show, you ask me, isn't a bit repetitive formula? No! There is a charm with each episode and never gets dull. With so much stuff going on on bullying you might ask but I will say - no. It's never bullying. They tease one another although Nishikata sucks on teasing her back after all she gain pretty easily read his expressions and mind.


Btw, in terms of character development it's one of those shows we see a main character (Nishikata) really develp throughout the anime since we follow him most of the time. 

It's not an anime to watch in one go lest will be boring no doubt. It was made to watch a single episode between more serious anime. It's an anime to watch before sleeping OR in my opinion they should have made it a 5/6m anime but instead of 12 episodes they could have made 52 or something like that. That would be very interesting!

Well, to me, it was a very interesting show to watch throughout the season and I didn't let accumulate 3 or 4 episodes and watch it in one go like most shows.

Spoilers Alert 
There is also a Manga about Takagi-San and her adventurous with Nishikiata and their daughter. Funny as well. Hope someday it will be put on anime like this one.

Btw, this show is a lot alike Tonari-no Seiki-Kun minus the romance part and in this show there isn't a tease per se... 

Anime Review: Citrus (WINTER 2018)

Citrus is a show that initially led me to be believe it could be something more than Shoujo Ai but it was not. As each episode progress I became nauseous of Mei Aihara because I couldn't understand why the hell everyone was so interested in her. She is like some bread without salt...

This story is about a young girl Yuzu Aihara moving from her current house because her mother is getting married and starting at her new all-girl school where her step-sister Mei Aihara goes. And there comes trouble. Her step sister is a “perfect” girl, a student council with her life all plan out. In the other hand Yuzu is a Gyaru which clashes a lot with the rules of the school.
In terms of romance, Yuzu never felt love and Mei in the other hand had one loveless romance and the first time she meets Yuzu kisses her saying that it seemed she needed. Well Yuzu learns that she is a lesbian and that's a wrap. 

Plenty of girls trying to fool her around, first Himeko the vice-principal of student council which seems to have feelings for Mei); Matsuri Mizusawa who extorts money from men and now wants to have some fun with Yuzu and Mei (but at the same time teaches her both about feelings) and then in the last 3 or 4 episodes come Sara & Nina Tachibana from another school. One suddenly develops some love interest with Mei and it's the last step to Yuzu to realize what she must do....

Overall there are some interesting points in the anime BUT mostly in art and animation. Well and the music. Everything else is quite bland and we've seen it all. Nothing new. Safe-sex anime with a little lip kisses and other moments where you could say it touches sexual harassment...

It's not an anime I would personally suggest to anyone. There are better Shoujo-Ai animes out there...

Story (Plot)  3  
Art / Animation         6
Sound   7
World Building  3
Character Building 3
Enjoyment  5
Overall     4

Anime Review: Sakigake!! Cromartie Koukou (Fall 2003)

Sakigake!! Cromartie Koukou is a comedy/school anime that unfortunately in the end fails to delivery. I watched after watching Detroit Metal City and was one of the suggested so I jumped right in. 

I must say I enjoy it but after some episodes it was always the same jokes and situations which bored me a bit. There is timeline and the characters evolved a bit and even if the beginning they say it has a main character by the end of 26 episode I can hardly say he is in half the show. Or at least is part was minor in some of the stories.

There are some interesting stuff and it remind me a bit of Gatos Fedorento (a comedy show here in Portugal).

Cool to watch but not that cool that I would advise to anyone. In the same vein I would advice Detroit Metal City or the best known within this comedy niche - Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan.

Freddie, the gorilla, the robot, the aliens, horses - that is only the normal day at Cromartie School

Anime Review: Cyclops Shoujo Saipuu (Winter 2013)

I am going to make four connected reviews...

I recently watched some smaller time-wise animes like and three of those are very similar Onii-chan love!
Danchigai, Oneechan ga Kita, Sup

er Seisyun Brothers and Cyclops Shoujo Saipuu.

This show tells us a tale of Fuuka where she looks like a high school girl but she is a middle school. She has older brother who promise to marry her and now she wants it. Full of ecchi situations and we see Hikaru grow into her and in later episodes to fantasize about her. If you enjoy ecchi then please grab a popcorn sack (or some tissue) and go for it - 30m of ecchi situations. BUT Bear in mind she is in middle school... not high school.

Don't know who the publisher was (neither on wikipedia, MAL or other websites... strange no?)

ANIME REVIEW: My Marriage Partner is My Student, a Cocky Troublemaker (Fall 2017)

Omiai Aite wa Oshiego, Tsuyoki na, Mondaiji was made by Seven and has a rating of 5.51

My review of this one is fairly simple - It's hentai and not Romance, Ecchi, School, Josei!

It' s good. The story? Yeah there isn't any. A guy likes his teacher who is dating his brother. But he likes her so much he conquest her and BANG!

ANIME REVIEW: Evil or Live & Ousama Game (Fall 2017)

There are a lot of similarities between these two animes....

After watching the first episode - this should be my reaction! (BTW, if you are committing a suicide why cover yourself so you don't have glasses on your head?? That's a bit strange no?)

Both were a pain to watch but I stick with them no matter until the end.

First Ousama Game: The Animation - this anime is set in a world where a new student appears in a class and right afterward all the class receives an message telling them that they have to follow the rules or else they will be punished - aka death. Much of the guys and gals don't believe and a lot died in the first couple of days. Then they start believing...

All I wanted as my first kiss - her puke....

The premise was good BUT as the movie progress it starts being awful - everything the characters do is awful and I start wishing them all dead. The animation is not that good but after some 6/7 episodes it turn to shit with lip de-synchronized; things appearing or disappearing as the screen changes a bit.

Then the characters are really bad portrayed. From our main character to some generic colleagues of them. I remember writing after each episode in the TVShowTime...

People being burn for 5m and nothing whatsoever happening to them

People cutting limbs and hands and such but never fainting for blood loss AND most importantly - there are no other characters besides the students! Nada. No teacher, no parents, no medic (when they went to a hospital), no people in the streets, no cars - Nothing. It's like they live in a ghost town.

She is like a detective or something like that...

What this company (Seven) try to do was a compilation of two seasons worth of potential into one (thank the gods because I was not in the mind to watch a second season) using flashbacks. 

(NOTE - THERE IS A SECOND SEASON COMING!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!!!)

Some bad things - all female characters are sexualized (of course), every death is absurd and over the top - sometimes I laughed....; no common sense (characters have several memory loss - but only to those characters who acted psychotic 2 minutes before) and nonsensical plot please. In a way it reminded me of Another (I also watched it) but done very bad. I could never suggest this anime to anyone Unless it's a masochist. 

But it looked so good....

Evil or Live is anime that greatly interest me but the characters and animation made me cringe each time. The walking of the characters, the voice acting not matching the mouth, the action scenes were really bad where you could see frame shifts - it's like they skip pages... they made a lot of shortcuts in the animation and used a lot of backgrounds and put characters that Yami-Shibai would felt better...

The characters themselves are bland and in the end ep



isodes I think something went amiss and we don't even know why or what things unfold - and the ending? Oh my god - shitty ending. 

Overall could have been better with themes of internet addiction; corruption, abuse, drug trafficking and so on.

At least there were ... "these" do feast upon...

The plot? Well basically a boy is sent to a correction facility (aka school) for people addicted to Internet. There he must endure some acts of cruelty that some prisons do not do. The main character is not backing down and wants to expose that façade. In the way he finds his long-lost childhood crush and a boy who rules the school from the shadows. 

Crappy anime - Single post. Both get 3 points from me.

Evil or Live (What the heck is this title supposed to be?) has a rating of 5.97 in MAL and was made by  Haoliners Animation League (This company has some crappy shows and most don't achieve a grade of 7) - To Be Hero probably is the best show from them. 

Ousama Game The Animation has a rating of 5.14 in MAL and was made by Seven best know from some Hentai or Ecchi anime (With nudity) - this one had none  but some girls had some pretty big breasts... anatomically back breaking (Sorry for the pun)

ANIME REVIEW: Toradora vs Just Because vs Tsuki Ga Kirei (2017)

When we watch an anime with a similar genre of another we previously watch we make connections and draw our own conclusions on each one is best and why it is. I am now talking about Romance in anime.

Toradora

I've watch Orange (Telecom Animation Film) in September of 2016 although I will not draw any comparisons with this ones and you will understand why. They same happens with Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend and Ano Natsu de Matteru  (Waiting in the Summer) (Although this one is due to it's sci-fi moments but it's very similar with those three in the Subject).

I made a review on Fuuka and I could put here on VS but I won't.

Kuzu no Honkai (Scum's Wish) is more mature so I won't put here to compare

What I am comparing you ask? Romance Anime where since the beginning  you know is going to happen. Tsuki Ga Kirei you know Akane Mizuno is going to be with Kotarou Azumi and Chinatsu is going to get dumped. People who rooted for Chinatsu knew they were going to suffer.

In Just because it's not that easy although the several pictures that made us aware the anime is going to happen are about Mio Natsume & Eita Izumi and any other character is going to be very sad. 

In Toradora is not that easy. Both Taiga Aisaka & Ryuuji Takasu love different people but from the first couple episodes (this one had 25 while the others had 12/13) you know that ship is going to happen.  

In Tsuki Ga Kirei is about the journey of two youngsters discovering themselves and trying to cope with school while trying to work things out. They start dating early on and we get to see that relation grow. I love how they do it and the anime didn't focus so much on conversations - the best moments where silent ones. The Line messages and so on. It was a pure joy of a anime and one of my favorite this year (top 3 no  doubt). It's on my top 10 on MAL. It's a show about simplicity and love discovery. Both characters work and try to make it work.

Although my only criticism is that this is a love like that one you wished but will never happen. Perfect love. You probably will connect more to both contenders than this two characters. One has the same qualities and hobbies and finally asks her out just to be turn down (because he does not know she loved another) and the other a girl who tries even as she knows that she will be turn down (a closure as she tells us). 

Just Because (Who are the center boy and girl)

Just Because it's set on 2 months or so of school and about the returning of Izumi to his old school where Mio (his crush) still lives and studies. He tries to understand his feeling towards her AND towards Komiya. One thing that this anime failed (in my humble opinion) is that it made us hate Natsume - Natsume liked Souma who in turned love Morikawa. Izumi saw Natsume declare herself to Souma and being turned down. With the appearance of Izumi Natsume feelings towards him appear. BUT she is totally underdeveloped - she does nothing and still gets the boy Whereas Komiya talks to Izumi, takes pictures of him, they went to see alone things, she declares to him, she makes him a yearbook and still Izumi turns her down. It's not that strange that on MAL and some forums they criticize their ending - Komiya crying alone in the end was heartbreaking moment. I was on team Komiya because she was funny and she really loved Izumi going great lengths to demonstrate that where Natsume did nothing at all - just moaning dragging her silly feet. Until the 11 episode I had great expectations and my rating was 9/10. But that finale is stupid. Throughout the last 6/7 episodes Izumi and Natsume both say they are going to conffess right before going to university then when we know they both love one another they "show" us in anti-climatic line messages... That's like making a great dish to your family, hours on it, being on the table with all people salivating and then throwing to the garbage and asking if they want to go Macdonalds and saying "Hey it's still food no?"

Toradora is a bit different from the previous ones. From the beginning there is a complex relationship between those two characters who join together to get the girl/boy they want. As the show progress we learn and start to get hints that probably what they are looking for is not the other two people but one another. It's very simple and not that much to talk but it's one of the best anime (romance or not) I've watch. Taiga is the personification of Tsundere and Ryuuji of love. I'ts magical.

Tsuki Ga Kirei

On MAL Toradora has a rating of 8,41 (Ranked 159) and 513K Voters (but has more 8/9 years that the next two)  

Just Because 7.55 (but I bet it's going down) (Ranked 1462) and 11K voters (don't forget it's this season anime)

Tsuki Ga Kirei  8.36 (Ranked 190) with 58K voters

Conclusion

Toradora has great characters and it's a more fast pace love story where everyone can get another. You can ship in three ways but only one will win. It's one of those instances where you get to have a "team".

Tsuki Ga Kirei plot wise is more simple - there isn't. But it's more focus on the discovery of what it means to be in love and how to overcome some obstacles. 

Just Because is a show that has a great setting, love the art, love the five characters and made my choice of how to ship them - but I cannot accept the creators went the easy way  on the finale (although more probable and predictable).

In my voting system both Toradora and Tsuki Ga Kirei get 10 while Just Because I could vote between 7 or 8.

Anime Review: Gamers! (Summer 2017)

Gamers! is another anime that heavily focus on comedy and misunderstanding. Each episode we follow Keita Amano and his new friends Tasuku and his girlfriend Aguri plus Chiaki & Tendou.

Tendou is the most beautiful girl in the school and surprisingly  asks Keita to be part of a Gamers Club but Keita refuses because he doesn't like to play games against other players. He enjoys coop games. Tendou who was never refused by anyone in her life immediately falls for him but he is  not what you can call a people's person. Meanwhile Tasuku wants to help Keita get Tendou forms a group to talk about games and invites Chiaki who immediately dislikes Keita because some stupid game argument.

Meanwhile Tendou and Keita starts dating and Chiaki discovers Keita is her mobile game partner and producer of the game he enjoys. 

From this moment on it's misunderstanding behind misunderstanding that got a little boring I may say. This anime could have been made into a 6/7 episode series. This series could have been better and because it drag on and on I watch the last episodes just hoping it to be over and to know who would he get (Well he had Tendou so you know...)

I can honestly say it's another otaku oriented high school students who enjoy playing video games with a hint of romance inbetween. Don't forget moe and harem...

Amano, our main characters don't understand love period. He think that life happens like visual novels Japanese people enjoy. Uehara points his wrong way. This anime, although probably not meant to do that, it's a criticism on the Otaku way of life presuming that they prefer their 2D world and romance in spite of 3D. This is highly offensive in my opinion. I consider myself an Otaku although I work, have a wife and a child.

What I wanted to say I enjoy the anime BUT I felt a bit offensive about it - although the comedy behind it was good. As I said previously they overused the same situation over and over and over. This anime could have been shortened to 6/7 episodes.

7 Stars 

Anime Review: Koi to Uso (Love and Lies) (Summer 2017)

o From: LIDENFILMS
o Theme: Drama, Romance, School

The connection with Kuzu no Honkai is unmistakable (until you watch the show…)  Basically at 16yo each boy and girl receives a communication from the Government telling them who they will be married to. Yukari loves Misaki and in the same day he confesses to her he receives a letter telling him that he is to be married to Lilina (Ririna). 

In the beginning in felt like it would be one of my top five but the ending made me drop the rating of the show. Each episode we get to know a little better of our three main characters plus Nisaka. I might say that our main character is the worst of them all. 
Basically each episode was about Nejima and his feelings towards both girls and them to him – plus Nisaka (who probably was guy – it was hinted that he kissed Nejima while he was asleep).

Each episode it drag on endlessly and our main character was really a pain in the ass never deciding what do to. I think the problem, of them was the writing…  Mainly Nejima WHAT THE HECK DID THE GIRLS LIKE ABOUT HIM? The interesting part was to understand who Nejima would choose but alas that’s the problem and spoiler alert…

But before that – let me talk about #TeamRirina and #TeamMisaki. They are both perfect examples of clichés – one is a light tsundere and the other is that girl who loved him from childhood. Both characters are masochists and both are idiots.

Now about the main problems – First is that immature of our main characters – they don’t even know how to kiss or even intercourse and they are both 16 after watching a porn movie (made by the government)  And the ending- He didn’t fucking chose anyone. After 12 episodes he didn’t chose anyone and it’s hinted that he kept the two girls. 

In the end, like someone said it’s a “Run-of-the-mill-over dramatized-romance-love-triangle-rectangle-harem-cocktease” – and damn it’s true…. I enjoy the premise that – what to do when your country has low birth rate and even more inexperienced sex people? You make laws to combat that?   But then they didn’t explore anything…

Where's the lies as in the title??

Ending (No Spoilers): Somewhat open ending (read the review) that leave room to a second season BUT I bet it won't have.

Story (Plot) 7(begin) 4 (End)
Art / Animation   8
Sound   5
World Building 5
Character Building 6
Enjoyment 6(begin) 3(End)
Overall   7(begin) 4 (End)

Anime Review: Quanzhi Fashi (Full-Time Magister) (Fall 2016)

This anime came out of the blue. I was trying to get QuanZhi Gao Shou (Full-Time Expert, The King's Avatar) and I found this anime. I was very intrigued since both had the word Quanzhi (which means it seems full-time) and both were Chinese. So I start watching and four days later I had finish it.  I would have watched it sooner BUT it’s the end of the season and a lot of animes to be watch.

This anime is totally different from Quanzhi gao shou. One deals with online gamers and this one deals with magicians.  Full Time Expert was made by G. CMay Animation & Film and Full Time Magister (Shanghai Foch Film Culture Investment). Both with good ratings on MAL - Expert with 8.20 and Magister 7.76

In this world, people awake magic powers that come from various elements. Each person has one power and the High School basically teach these youngsters to learn more about magic. 
What’s interesting is our MC Fan Mo who three months before awoke into a different world he lived. In this world magic exists – This unfortunally is never really dwelt upon. It seems everything happened as in the world who had no magic except that. 

Well I am getting side-tracked – before the awakening, our MC had done some things that make his papa in a bad position. Supposedlly he escape with a girl because she wanted ask him – unfortunally her father thinks he kidnap with intentions of elope with her.

After the awakening he enters the high school, his father had to sell his house,  and he awakes a fire elemental – he also awoke a lightning elemental but hides from everyone else, only showing it to a girl who is in a wheelchair after saving her (we never learn very much about who she is – supposedly is his adopted sister?).

The twelve episodes we learn more and more about how the magic works – first the awakening, then the 7 stars – then learning a level 1 skill then the 2 and finally the 3 skill. They also say it’s pretty hard to cast spells but only after a couple of months Mo Fan and the main rival both are level 1.
Meanwhile, they are tested on their skills and Mo Fan gets into fight with the father of the girl he saved insulting him. He then makes him duel his adopted son and considerably the best mage in school. As the episodes flow we learn more about his motifs and motivations and evolution of dual wielding culminating in a final battle where he shows everyone he can dual wield the two most powerful elementals. 

In this series, only our MC gets enough time to evolve. Most other characters are just what they are Secondary Characters.  To me that’s okay because with 15/18 minute episode and with 3 year span there isn’t enough time to dwelt on other characters – which also can lead to discontent to some people BUT this MC is quite good.

About the art and animation…. Well I watch a 480p version so it might be because of that but it’s not that interesting animation/cgi. Some characters look alike (even the air) and most girls have also the same body… configuration. There is a teacher with big boobs than we see them bounce (probably the only fan-service available). The fighting scenes are not that great in terms of fluid motion. 
The sound is there – basically. The characters all have the same timbre of voice BUT probably that’s because they are Chinese and not Japanese which I am used and can hear the different between them.
The music is ok. Nothing interesting… unless you can count on the music from rocky. 
In some episodes, we also have some glimpses of something akin comedy. But not overdo.

Story 6/10
World Building 7/10
Character Building 6/10
Animation/Art 4/10
Sound 4/10
Enjoyment 7/10 
Overall 7/10

Overall I enjoy the series and I am eagerly waiting a second season. I only hope they expand more our MC and the side characters. I also hope to learn about the world around them.

Anime Review: Kabukibu! (Spring 2017)

First of all I am going to say two things in confidence. I already had seen some kabuki in some Japanese movie but didn’t knew the name of “kabuki”. The other thing I wanna say it’s a bit of shameful… when I watch the first two or three episodes I didn’t enjoy it. I thought of giving up.  But I didn’t want to give it up because it dealt with something that that is Japanese history and very particular to them so I made an effort and watched a couple more episodes then stopped. Now at the last end of the month of June I thought – what a heck I am going to finish it off and as I watched I start to enjoy and a feeling of nostalgia and serenity passe

d through me and I watched the last four episodes in one sitting.

What’s this about? Well, as Hinako Note is a dummy guide to theatre Kabuki-bu is a dummy guide to Kabuki; a classical Japanese dance-drama (theatre) – very famous in the old days but since then fell in disuse. Of course there are companies and people who do it but for what I learn with this anime, the people who make them, are usually families that do it for generations like the Circus.

There isn’t much of plot, basically it’s a young boy who watched Kabuki with his grandfather and wanted to make his own school clube and there he meets several people that join him making that dream come true.

There is plenty of comedy on this anime but not over-done as to change our concentration from the making of kabuki to a humor anime.

Since the plot is overly simple, the shows focus on the characters. There are half-dozen of them and all of them are important to the success. In no way Kurogo comes out as a savior or something like that. The backstories of the characters are interesting, but probably reduced to a couple of them. There is some gay character and someone who wanted to be a rockstar and even one boy from Kabuki families that thinks that he is better than everyone else. Oh, there is also a very popular girl who Kurogo convinces her to make Kabuki – supposedly Kabuki is male only club…

About the Art/Sound – Ah… the actors here had to learn about Kabuki because the way they talk is way different than “normal” theatre or so. I really enjoy how they do it.

Story 4/10
World Bulding 7/10
Character Bulding 6/10
Animation/Art 6/10
Sound 8/10
Enjoyment 6/10

Overall 7/10