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May 27, 2024
THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
Mashle was a pleasant surprise in a rather weak year of anime for me personally. The comedy was on point, the parody aspect was something fresh and the music was unique and exciting. But comedy anime can definitely fall of over time when certain jokes get overused. Is it the same with Mashle?
Story – 7/10
This season changed a lot of the story structure from season 1. While the first season was very episodic and mostly served to introduce the world, the school and the most important characters, culminating in the Magia Lupus arc. This season switched things up and changed the
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structure to a more fast-paced, serialized storyline. The scope and scale of the story gets bigger and bigger during this season and we get our first look at the highest possible power ceilings in the world of Mashle. Saying all this, this is still a very basic, shounen storyline that follows all the known shounen trademarks. This season, it is the famous tournament arc that gets tackled, and it was a lot of fun. The comedy aspect is still the shows biggest plus. Everything just works together so well. The character dynamics are being explored more and more, which is exacerbated by the introduction of a lot of side-characters and villains that have great comedy potential. The timing of the jokes and the whole concept of Mash, trying to solve every problem head on without the use of magic is just fantastic.
The manga of this show has ended after only 162 chapters so I hope we get a full adaption of this story, which would probably only need two or maybe three seasons to wrap everything up.
Art – 8/10
A-1 Pictures is always a pleasure and this season of Mashle is another step-up for the studio. I think they ether raised the budget or the insane fights this season just lended themselves to bring the most out of the animators, but I liked the animation here more than in season one. The character designs are fantastic as well, every new character that is introduced looks fantastic and unique. What I really enjoyed is the visualization of the different magical powers. Of course, the author clearly took some inspiration from stuff like “Naruto” or “Black Clover” but it just looks too cool for me to ignore. The show as a whole has yet to have the one, big “wow” moment in terms of animation, but it also never disappointed in any fight.
Sound – 9/10
My god, this season just hit it out of the park with the sound. First of, we have another huge contender for opening of the season. There is a reason why every corner of the internet seems to have been flooded with Mash´s iconic moves, and the song itself works so well and fits the weird genre mix of the show perfectly. The BGM is also fantastic, the use of rap in combination with EDM is just a blast. The sound-design is also a huge plus, especially in combiantion with the amazing comedic timing. The ED song comes with amazing visuals and a very cool theme, the song also goes hard. One of the most unique shounen soundtracks off all time in my opinion.
Characters – 8/10
Like with a lot of people that I saw online, i´m liking Mash as a main character more and more. He never breaks out of character, his absolute deadpan seriousness and absolutely hilarious lake of common sense is a great mix that I never knew I needed in my life. The side characters are also a nice step-up from season two. Of course Margrete Macaron is the huge standout this season and gets a lot of screen time. But the one who surprised me the most was actually Wahlberg. His complex relationship with the main antagonist, Innocent Zero was explored really well this season and gave everything that happens between them a strong emotional foundation. The other side character are enjoyable too, some standouts are Finn, Rayne and Orter Madl.
Enjoyment – 8/10
Like season one, this is a perfect show to watch when you just want a fun, entertaining ride. You can put this on any time of the day and have a pleasant experience. Seasons 3 was already announced, so more of this magical story is coming to us in the future. I think this season edges out the first season and improved in multiple categories. If you like shounen, this is a must-watch.
- Marco_Yooo
FINAL SCORE - 8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 25, 2024
THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
After two years, i finally got around to watch the second Sword Art Online Progressive movie, „Scherzo of deep night“. The progressive series is a fantastic retelling of the aincrad arc and the first movie was a pleasant return to SAOs most popular setting. But does this movie hold up in the same way the first one does?
Story – 7/10
The story in this movie is a lot weaker than in the first one. The plot skips a few floors, which in itself is not really an issue, but the main plot-line is not really all that interesting, it is just a
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standard boss-fight quest. It is fairly predictable what happens in the end, but the saving grace here is the pacing. The movie never has any downtime there is always a fight or an important piece of dialogue happening to keep the viewers attention. I really like the final fight in this one. This is not your usual loud and hectic anime fight but instead a very strategic one, where finding the opponents weakness is the goal of our main characters, more so than just being stronger or better equipped. The ending really surprised, because it contained a highly intense fight-scene that absolutely came out of nowhere, definitely a hint at later seasons. I am really eager to see what the progressive series will grow into.
Art – 8/10
The animation is a direct continuation of everything the series did with the first movie. Aincrad in itself is just a fantastic setting for a show like this. The floor on which this movie takes place is another wonderful example for that. Great lighting, cool architecture and the show really gives you time to just soak up the scale of the world. The fight scenes are a standout. Great, fluid animation, fantastic effects and actually amazing usage of the ever so dreaded 3D-CGI enemies. This movie is a great benchmark for future fantasy and isekai shows. However, just like in the first film, this movie lacked that one scene that really evoke that “wow” effect in the viewer, unlike the first movie of the franchise, “Ordinal scale”. I think the source material just does not really lend itself to something like that, because the progressive series is inherently meant to be a more smaller scale, slower paced version of the original.
Sound – 9/10
The soundtrack in this one really took me by surprise. Really great stuff here! The BGM is fantastic and unique, perfectly conveying the feel of the desert biome which this movie is set in. The sound design in SAO was always top notch and this movie is no exception. Every sword-skill in this movie is absolute candy for the ears. The vocal tracks are all outstanding. Yuki Kajiura always brings her A-Game to these shows and I really appreciate that.
Characters – 7/10
One of the biggest changes between progressive and the original is the change in main character. Instead of the dark, edgy, girl-magnet Kirito, Asuna takes up the role of the main heroine, just like she did in the original during the “Mothers Rosario” arc. This is a very welcoming change and gives us a whole other perspective on the events of the story. Asuna is a great lead, and her relationship with Kirito is slowly getting built up step for step in this movie. Kirito is just… Kirito, nothing much to say here. The villains are...interesting, but there hasn´t been a lot of development to them, as this movie consists mostly of build-up to their character arcs that will certainly be explored in later movies (If we get more!). The side characters are mostly forgettable, although we do get some cameos (Because of spoiler reasons, I won´t say who it is) from the original series.
Enjoyment – 8/10
This was a very entertaining 90 minute ride, although I have to say that I prefer the first movie over this one. I think the progressive series has a lot of potential and I really want more movies, other wise I might have to check out the original novel series myself. If you liked SAO, especially the aincrad arc, this is a must watch.
- Marco_Yooo
FINAL SCORE - 8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 24, 2024
THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
After the massive boom in popularity of anime in the west, a new faction of anime fans became more and more vocal in the anime discourse:. A kind of “elite” group of anime fans reject everything popular and mainstream and focus on a very small number of shows that have a more niché and artistic vibe, with some great examples being “Serial Experiments Lain”, “Gunbuster” or “FLCL”. “The Tatami Galaxy” has always been held as one of the most beloved show in this category and I went into it with the perfect elite mindset. But is this show like what everyone
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says?
Story – 9/10
The story in this show is fractured and each episodes is essentially a retelling of the same events back to back, but every episodes stands out and leads our main protagonist on a different timeline of his life in university, a different club, different hobbies, different friends. As the show goes on, you will notice some patterns that stay the same in every single timeline, and you will get a feel for the way the story is structured. At the end of every episode, the time stops and rewinds back to the start of the first semester. The main appeal of the show besides the plot itself is the incredible writing. This is very similar to the “Monogatari Series” when it comes to the dialogue, but the difference is the pacing. This show goes by extremely fast and rarely gives you time to process, and I mean that as a good thing. But to be honest, I think this story has an extremely wide appeal to a lot of people. Everyone made mistakes in the past and wishes to go back to correct some of them. All these different timelines, decisions and visual metaphors all conclude in the final two episodes which take our protagonist on a very metaphorical and psychological journey through his life and presents his life choices to him in a highly interesting way. In my opinion, this is one of the most impressive, deep and experimental endings to an anime ever and the show very openly refers to it´s message. The message in itself is actually very straightforward and highly relatable and you notice that the answer to everything the protagonist is looking for was right before his eyes the whole time. I was thoroughly impressed by this ending. Very cool stuff.
Art – 9/10
The art style is probably one of the main reasons why this show is so memorable and it is very hard to explain to someone who has never seen it themselves. The character designs are very sketchy and simple on the first look, but the whole show is just jam packed with interesting scene transitions, creative background art, amazing colour-pallets and so much attention to detail. The show also seamlessly integrates rough sketches as well as real-life camera footage into different shots to maximize the effect of every scene. I have to admit though that I can understands that this is probably a bit too much for a lot of people and I can understand if something “artsy” like this is not your thing.
Sound – 8/10
Asian Kung-fu generation has blessed us with a lot of good anime openings (“Naruto”, “Erased”, etc.) and the opening to this show is following the trend. A fantastic and memorable J-Rock song that evokes a certain feeling of nostalgia in the viewer. The visuals are actually a massive spoiler for the end of the show (and so is the name “Tatami Galaxy”!) but you won´t notice it on the first watch because the messaging is so genius. The ending is often overlooked but it ends every episode perfectly. The OST itself was very calm, and many scenes had no music at all, very different to the “Monogatari series”.
Characters – 9/10
Amazing characters here. Our main character (who is just being referred to as “Watashi”) truly goes on a big self-exploration journey here. The way he acts in the finale is absolutely heartbreaking and really makes you think about your own life-choices. I absolutely loved his development, maybe one of the most interesting and relatable main characters I saw in a very long time. The side characters also carry the show so hard. Everyone has time to shine, everyone has crazy quirks and memorable storylines. Ozu is of course a highlight. He steals every scene he is in with his voice alone.
Enjoyment – 9/10
This was one of the most unique and interesting anime experiences ever. But I never thought that it was too complicated or too weird for a wider audience to enjoy. I actually think that everyone who is going to university or is about to needs to watch this show. Especially if you like stuff like “Monogatari Series” and are a fan of time-travel stories.
- Marco_Yooo
FINAL SCORE - 9/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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May 18, 2024
THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
If we are talking Mecha, there are a certain number of shows that still serve as the main inspiration for future shows of the genre. “Macross” is a show that has had a massive cultural impact both in the anime industry as well as japan itself. It´s refreshing mix of mecha and music cemented it as one of the most influential anime franchises ever, but how well does it hold up today in 2024?
Story – 8/10
The story is fairly straightforward. What sets this show apart from other shows of the genre is it´s pacifistic approach to conflict which was a new
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thing at the time, especially if you look at how war was treated in shows like “Mobile Suit Gundam”. The war itself functions merely as a vessel to contain the more personal, small-scale stories between our main characters. Most of the show is episodic in nature, but a lot of the episodes push the main plot forward from time to time.
The love triangle aspect was done pretty well but the main story was the thing that kept me coming back. The villains in this show, the Zentradi, have a very interesting twist to them, their way of thinking and their understanding of the purpose of life itself is completely different from us humans, making them a highly unique group of villains that are just a blast to watch.
The show itself is split into two main story arcs, one from episode 1-27 and one from episode 28-36 with the first one being the main story and the second one serving as a kind of aftermath or extended epilogue. I heard a lot of criticism online about this structure but I actually kind of dig it. A lot of the most engaging pieces of the lore was kept up until the final few episodes so the story never ran out of steam. I also think the story of the characters gets rounded out a bit more nicely at the end. A lot of shows just kind of end after the final battle and then speed-run trough the ending, but Macross does not commit the same mistake. Other than that, although it definitely shows it´s age with the slow pacing, it has everything you could want: exciting space battles, mechs and a great space opera story that lands it´s ending.
Art – 7/10
The art in this shows is a double-edged sword. I absolutely adore the art style itself. The backgrounds are amazing, the space battles, although reusing a lot of scenes multiple times, look fantastic, the outfits are stylish and the whole 80s anime aesthetic really shines trough.
However, I hate to say it, but this is probably one of the most inconsistent pieces of animation ever. There are some episodes later on in the series that genuinely look like someone just used paint.net to draw the characters. The eyes are off-center, the movement is incredibly wanky and the whole thing looks just...really bad. The worst part about that is that those underwhelming episodes are sprinkled in in an absolutely random order and really take you out of the experience from one episode to another. There had to have been some budgetary problems that explain this inconsistency and it´s a shame because this show really had the potential to outdo some of the mecha that come out today with it´s animation quality at it´s peak.
Sound – 10/10
This is review #78 and for the first time ever, a show reached the highest possible rating in this category. This is by far the best anime soundtrack that I have ever witnessed. The use of pop-music goes together so well with the space opera setting, it´s criminal: Every single vocal track sung by our female lead Lynn Minmay is an absolute banger. The tracks cover pretty much every emotion, they can be funny, loving and light-hearted but also slow and sombre. “My boyfriend is a pilot”, “Zero-G love” or my personal favourite “Silver Moon, Red Moon” have been on repeat on my headphones for a veeery long time now. But even outside of the performances, the BGM itself is also fantastic. The Zentradi theme is an absolute banger, and the different tunes that play during the fight-scenes get stuck in your head really fast. Of course, we also have to talk about the insanely catchy 80s style opening, which I never skipped. This show really outdid this category and has my personal favourite anime soundtrack of all time.
Characters – 8/10
The show mostly centres around our main love triangle. Hikaru, our male lead, is a very likeable and honest protagonist. He is a bit on the dumber side though, so if you can´t watch someone being an absolute idiot in front of women, then maybe Hikaru won´t win you over. Our two female leads are a bit more interesting. Lynn Minmay our ditzy, feminine idol is by far the most popular character of the show. Most of her development comes in the last few episodes, and those really push her character to be more than just a cute singer. Our second heroine, Misa Hayase, is the more compelling character in my opinion. She has a much more grounded character arc, which is a nice change of pace from the grand nature of the shows main story. The love triangle itself however gets resolved in a very...interesting way (no spoilers here).
Other than that, we have some great memorable side characters too. On the Zentradi side, Britai and Exsedol are the standouts. On the S.D.F Macross itself, both captain Global and Max were among my favourites.
Enjoyment – 8/10
This was a very consistently enjoyable show. The love triangle is great and the main story holds everything together and keeps you coming back again and again. The pacing is very slow though and the animation incredibly inconsistent. If you are not a fan of these kind of old-school shows, this won´t change your mind. But if you like stuff like “Gunbuster” or “Mobile Suit Gundam”, definitely give this show a watch!
- Marco_Yooo
FINAL SCORE - 8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 13, 2024
THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
There has been a trend in the anime industry in the last few years, especially post-pandemic. There is just more and more anime coming out then ever before. Every single season is absolutely packed with a giant flood of (mostly mediocre) shows. Naturally, some shows will fall under the radar and “Tomodachi Game” was one of them for me.
Story – 7/10
This is a classic death game anime, a genre that has been absolutely milked to death in the 2010s, with a lot of infamous examples that range from incredible (“Danganronpa”) to...what did I just watch? (“Euphoria”). Tomodachi Game is somewhere
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in the middle. The show does not spend any time on trying to explain how the death game comes to be in the first place and rushes right into the plot. Every single game in the show has a certain set of rules to it. Especially the tag-game is really interesting and was probably my favourite arc. The mind games get pretty intense in this one, and the show is trying everything it can to stay realistic. I had a lot of fun with the death game itself and thought the resolutions were really well thought out. This is a very dialogue heavy show with little to no action and slow pacing, but it still manages to build up excitement arc for arc.
However, the big problem I have with the show is the whole story structure itself. I won´t go into spoilers, but the final episode and everything that happens before felt extremely random. The story seems to have no idea where it wants to go next and I seriously hope it won´t turn into a convoluted mess later on.
Art – 6/10
The animation itself is pretty solid. There isn´t much action here, so the screenplay itself is very laid back. There are instances where the art changes a little bit, especially during some of the more dramatic scenes, but other than that, there is not much to say here. The character designs are pretty boring and clearly inspired by other anime of the genre (Our main protagonist literally feels like a mix of Kirito from “Sword Art Online” and Light Yagami from “Death Note”).
Sound – 7/10
The opening is pretty good, but I thought the ending was better. The show reuses a lot of tracks during the dialogue scenes which can be a turn off to some people. I liked the way the show builds tension with the music, utilizing a very deep bass synthesizer. Other than that, there is not much to say in this category
Characters – 8/10
My god, it has been quite sometime since we got a black-haired, genius, edgelord protagonist and I am absolutely here for it. He fulfils every single cliché of the trope and is, like most of his clones, absolutely insane. But even I have to say that his deductions and mind games were really interesting and he managed to trick the audience a lot of the time. There is also an ongoing mystery about his past, that I am eager to find out more about.
The other characters are mostly fine. A lot of them where extremely cliché and even those that are a bit more interesting where written in a very inconsistent way (Looking at you, Tenji!).
Also, because the death game starts in episode one, there is not much time to explore the relationship of these characters beforehand. It is actually quite hard to believe they were actual friends considering what happens later on in the show,
Enjoyment – 9/10
I binged this show very quickly on a long train ride. This has some extremely high entertainment value, but the plot and characters themselves are pretty weak. I will watch the second season (if there will be one, let´s hope for it!). This is a great show for anyone who likes stuff like “Danganronpa”. If you can´t turn off your suspension of disbelief, maybe skip this one.
- Marco_Yooo
FINAL SCORE - 7/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 10, 2024
THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
On my way back into anime I decided it would be time to come back to my favourite genre, which has always been mecha. Infinite Stratos is the premier mecha anime of the year 2011 and it´s combination of mecha, comedy and fan service looked like something that would suit me, so I gave the first season a go.
Story – 5/10
My god, what an absolute car crash this plot is. Imagine every single high school cliche packed into a single school. This show has it all: Insane fan service, beach episodes, our main character literally has to share a dorm with
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like 1000 Girls at this school. The sci-fi mecha aspect was clearly not the main focus of this show. This is more like a ecchi, harem comedy set in a school WITH mechs in it. There has been absolutely zero plot progression so far. There are fights, but besides the final fight in episode 11/12, they all lack a certain emotional weight. The comedy is, to be fair, pretty funny and I just really like the world, but you can´t deny that all the sci-fi and mecha concepts are just a facade to carry the comedy and fan service aspect. I have absolutely zero issues with something like that but even a veeery simple story would have worked to carry this setting instead of the lacklustre mess we got.
Art – 8/10
Well, this is maybe the shows biggest strength. This came out in 2011 and still looks good. I mean, reeeeally good. The camerawork is great during the fight scenes and I personally like the mech designs a lot. The characters all look fantastic and different (except the male ones, of course) and the movement is really crisp and fluent.
For the mechs, they decided to go for a kind of 50/50 approach, and constantly switch between 2D and 3D which can look horrifyingly bad if done wrong. This show however managed to nail this aspect. I still prefer 2D mechs over everything else, but I think this approach also has it´s merits.
Sound – 8/10
The OP of this show is amazing with great visuals and a fantastic song that fits the atmosphere of the world perfectly. However, the main thing that I would like to talk about for this category is the ED. My god, they did not have to go that hard. This is an instant hood classic. All of the female voice actors came together and created one of the catchiest anime endings ever. This actually could have inspired later ecchi shows like “Highschool DxD” to do the same. The voice actors even toured Japan and sang the ED in front of live audiences. Fantastic stuff here.
Characters – 7/10
Well, this is a typical harem setup of characters. Our main character is just absolutely dreadful. No personality, dense and clearly of the overthinking type. The female characters were a little bit better. This show is set in an international boarding school, so every girl has a different national background. We have a Japanese, British, French, Chinese and a German girl here, all with different mechs, looks and personalities. The quality of depth in their characters is inconsistent, but they are all likeable and fun to watch. If the main character wasn´t such an irredeemable idiot, there would actually be a lot of potential here, but I cannot give this category a higher score at the moment
Enjoyment – 7/10
Well, I have to admit that I like these kinds of trashy comedies from time to time and this is just another big entry in the gerne. Although the story is a mess and I hate the main character, I will absolutely watch season two. This is just great entertainment, something to watch during lunch or in the subway on the way to university. If you like shows like “Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry”, “Highschool DxD” or “The Irregular of Magic Highschool”, this show is for you.
- Marco_Yooo
FINAL SCORE - 7/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 7, 2024
THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
If you talk about classic Shounen-Jump Manga, a lot of fighting-shounen come to mind: “Dragon Ball”, “Naruto”, “Bleach” and, of course, the legendary “One Piece”. But in it´s long runtime, the magazine has always pushed different types of stories to be published. “shounen” is just an audience, not a genre, and “Hikaru no Go” is one of them.
Story – 9/10
The ancient Chinese board game “Go” has always been pretty popular in east asia, especially in China, Japan and South Korea. In the west however, there hasn´t really been a big boom in terms of popularity. This may be because the
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game is arguably much more complex than something like chess and the bar of entry is much higher. Even in Japan, it is mostly seen as a game for old men.
Hikaru, our main character, enters this world as a complete beginner and has to learn the basics, just like the reader. Slowly, the manga sets up character after character and introduces the reader to the complex structure of the Go world. Everything follows the classic sports anime formula: tournaments, training arcs and a big emphasis on character development. Seeing our main character slowly climb the stairs of the go world, from absolute beginner to professional should not be as intense and interesting as it is. Most of that excitement comes from the matches themselves.
They are highly intense and enjoyable and involve a lot of mindgames and overthinking. The author, Yumi Hotta is also not afraid to make our main character lose a lot of the time, only for him to come back stronger. This manga also deals with a lot of the pressure that comes with being a professional player. Every story arc perfectly flows in the next one, creating a highly addicting experience.
Honestly, this story is pretty much flawless and in terms of pacing and variety even better than some of my favourite sports manga ever, “Slam Dunk” and “Haikyuu”. So why is it not a 10/10?
Well, Hikaru no Go is infamous for having one of the worst endings in Shounen-Jump history and I can see where the disappointment came from. Right after one of the best and most thrilling tournaments, which showed amazing build-up potential for future arcs, the manga just...ends. Very abruptly too. I usually don´t weigh an ending as hard in the ratings if it is just okay, but this is just bad.
Art – 8/10
The art of this manga was provided by Takeshi Obata (“Death Note”, “Bakuman”) and the similarities between this and some of his other manga is glaring. His art style is just an absolute blast. Everyone looks distinct and the different expressions perfectly convey the tension during matches. What I also noticed is the different clothing styles. A lot of authors don´t put to much thought into something like fashion, but Obata mostly uses it to show a characters development, with Hikaru being the most prominent example.
While the start of this manga is more slice-of-life heavy, the art style was very simplified at the start, and you can see maybe a little bit of inexperience in the panelling. But as the manga went on and Obata found his style more and more, the art just got better and better up until the final chapters, where the character-designs veeery closely resemble his next big manga, “Death Note”.
Characters – 9/10
What separates this manga from something like “Slam Dunk” is the insane variety in the types of characters. This manga not only deals with teenagers, it also puts a lot of emphasis on the older pros and the other leading figures in the Go world.
Hikaru has certainly become one of my favourite main characters ever. The insane amount of growth between his humble beginnings as a complete scrub and his professional career at the end is very inspiring. His eternal rival, Akira Touya serves as the perfect motivation for him to improve and get better to finally beat him in a match. Another character we have to talk about is Fujiwara no Sai. What I like about him and his story is that, yes, it has supernatural elements, but the themes that the manga tackles with his character are very down-to-earth and relatable. His circumstances are a big part of what makes this story so unique and different.
Enjoyment – 10/10
This is one of the most fast-paced, intense and engaging manga I have ever read. I can safely recommend this manga to everyone. Even if you never heard of Go, or think it looks “boring” and “uneventful” I dare you to read this. This is what you have in mind if you think about the word “page-turner”.
- Marco_Yooo
FINAL SCORE - 9/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 30, 2024
THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
Naoki Urasawa has been one of the most renowned mangaka of the last century, continuing his success into the modern era. His works however, always seemed pretty difficult to adapt, mostly because of their lengthy storytelling that doesn´t really lend itself for seasonal airing. Pluto is the first Urasawa adaption since “Monster” back in 2007 and has been in the works for multiple years. Will this be the first in a new series of remakes?
Story – 9/10
First off, this is a retelling of the classic manga “Astro Boy”, but it deviates a lot from the source material, so much, that you
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could say it is it´s completely own thing. There are characters and themes that Urasawa took from the original, but the genre has shifted quite a lot.
Instead of the mild entertainment for the whole family that the old series provided, “Pluto” is a very dense and mature series, that can get pretty dark during most of it´s story. In a world where humans and robots live together, the show takes some highly unique approaches in terms of storytelling. Even though this setting has been explored many times before, not only in anime, but in movies, TV-shows and video games too. But although this series is based on an older manga, the way it explores these different themes seems very new and refreshing. The show runs for 8 episodes, but unlike most modern anime, every episodes spans for over an hour. This has probably been done trying to include big chunks of Urasawas massive story arcs in as few episodes as possible, otherwise they could not have adapted the whole manga in a single season.
The pacing is extremely slow, but never to a point where I felt the show dragged, which tends to be a problem with a lot of older shows. Every episode brings something new to the table, and moves the story forward in classic Urasawa fashion. Every time the show answers some of it´s questions, new ones arise, keeping you on the edge of your seat until everything gets wrapped up nicely in the end: an effective mix of the genres thriller, psychological, mystery and sci-fi. The scale of every decision is massive, the action is thrilling and the different character interactions are an absolute joy to watch. This has certainly been one of the shows that deviate the most from the classic seasonal anime formula, but that only makes it more interesting.
Art – 9/10
After many years of planning, an unsatisfactory pilot and multiple reworks, Pluto finally released in last years winter season, and received widespread critical acclaim, expecially for it´s unusually high animation quality. The series was produced by the famous Masao Maruyama, founder of studio MAPPA (“Chainsaw Man”,“Jujutsu Kaisen”) who founded his very own animation studio, M2. He stated in multiple interviews that adapting Pluto was his dream for a very long time and he will do anything he can to get the project done, even though the production will face a lot of problems.
The final product however does, in my opinion, absolutely delivers in every aspect. Not only is every episode the length of a movie, they also feel like ones. The main reason for that is the absolutely spectacular effects animation. This show has a very distinct style to it while also closely sticking to the original manga. The movement is fluid, the backgrounds are highly detailed and every character has a wide range of expressions making everyone feel alive. The dark tone of the story perfectly gets reflected in the shows gloomy art style. This is a perfect example of how to adapt a classic manga to fit the modern anime landscape. This really opens the door for more older anime receiving remakes (20th Century Boys….!).
Sound – 8/10
This is where the shows plays the most upon the foundation of it´s classic roots. The soundtrack is clearly old-school, with a lot of classic piano and saxophone tracks. The sound design (I have to emphasize again that this is one of the most underrated aspects of anime productions) is crisp and clear.
The sound-effects also give the show it´s own unique identity. This show does sadly not have an opening, but to be honest, I don´t think it needs one, especially not some 24/7 J-Pop Song. Other than that, there is not much to say here, very solid stuff overall.
Characters – 10/10
This is probably the shows biggest strength. In my opinion, a lot of anime clearly struggle when it comes to this category, probably because a lot of them tend to rush through as many plot-points as possible, leaving a lot of possible character development in the dust. The last show I gave 10 points in this category was the third season of “Kaguya-Sama” back in the 2022 summer season.
Pluto absolutely destroyed this category. Every single character in this show is highly memorable, interesting and well developed:
First of, I have to say that the lack of a true protagonist is actually one of the series biggest strengths. The narrative constantly switches between different characters, giving everyone a chance to shine. Some characters only appear in like half an episode and quickly turned into fan favourites. The heart-warming relationship between Duncan and North#2, the mystery around Pluto's past, the crazy but relatable villains, everything gets fully fleshed out. My favourite characters are definitely Gesicht, Atom and professor Ochanomizu. Even side characters like Brau-1589 have massive screen presence in the little scenes that they are in.
If you ever need an example of a great cast in modern anime, this is the one. This is one of the clearest 10/10 I have ever given.
Enjoyment – 9/10
This was a blast to watch. Every episode was better than the last and although the finale was just solid and nothing outstanding, the show delivered everything it promised to.
- Marco_Yooo
FINAL SCORE - 9/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 22, 2024
THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
I was browsing through Amazon Prime Video, looking for something interesting to watch when I came across “Hello World”. I was immediately hooked on the premise. I can´t remember when I last watched an original sci-fi anime movie.
Story – 8/10
The premise of this show is extremely interesting. Set in the near future in Kyoto (Thank god not Tokyo again), this anime has some very cool ideas of how technology will be used in coming years, with the main focus being mapping and simulating our world through surveillance. Over the course of the movie, more and more layers are added to the
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multiverse plotline.
Hello World is separated into two story-parts. There is a huge plot-twist in the middle of the movie that splits it into a funny, light-hearted romantic comedy with sci-fi elements and a dark, twisted Christopher Nolan-esk action drama.
Now, while I don´t think any of the concepts and twists in this movie are 100% original, the story itself works really well and the plot-twists are unexpected and sudden. The pacing is also really good. The last third of the movie gets a bit convoluted but not to a point where it harms the experience.
Another thing that I would like to add here is that there is actually a post-credit scene that really surprised me as it delivers a key plot-point that wasn´t explained earlier.
Definitely wait for the credits to finish!
Art – 8/10
This is a fully 3D animated show and I have good news for you.
In the last decade, fully CGI animated shows always struggled to exactly replicate the humanoid figure. Even the fantastic “Knights of Sidonia” , while having insane mechdesigns and fight-scenes, gets weighed down by it´s clunky and unrealistic character models.
This is the first CG anime where that is not an issue. The character models look almost exactly like if they were hand-drawn. This is a major step for the anime industry.
Other than that, there are some REALLY trippy scenes in this movie that are animated fantastically. However, I don´t think anything done in this movie couldn´t have been done by traditional animation, which is why I can´t really go higher with the score in this category.
Sound – 7/10
The BGM is solid and very charming, especially in the first half. I think the directors took some inspiration from Makoto Shinkais works, especially “Your Name” and “Weathering with you” here. There are multiple montages and vocal tracks seemingly implemented in the movie. Again, the change between the comedic first and the dramatic second half becomes apparent in the OST.
Characters – 7/10
There are actually just 4/5 characters in this movie. The cast is really small, which, in my opinion, helps the movie a lot. Our main character, Naomi, is your average anime protagonist, but as the story progresses it actually makes him extremely interesting and relatable. What I mean with that is the very...interesting(!) relationship between him and our main “villain”. Please go into this movie as blind as possible as to not get spoiled. I guarantee you that you will be surprised.
Other than that, there is not much to be said here. Our female heroine Ruri is pretty unique especially at the start, but her development gets sidelined in the final arc.
Enjoyment – 8/10
This was a nice, interesting take on the sci-fi genre. It is always refreshing to watch new-gen anime movies that tell stand-alone stories and don´t belong to an established franchise. If you like sci-fi, drama and romance this is a movie for you, although I think this film can truly be enjoyed by everyone, especially believers of 3D-Animation!
- Marco_Yooo
FINAL SCORE - 8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 14, 2024
THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
I took a very long break from watching anime this winter and haven´t seen any of the shows that aired this season weekly. However, when I saw that “Classroom of the Elite” finished it´s third season, I thought it might be time to come out of hybernation to review the newest entry of the fan-favorite series!
Story – 8
The story continues exactly where it left of in season 2. The vines are still amazing, as this is one of the few anime set in high-school that actually do something with the setting, giving it an interesting twist. Like the rest of the
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series, this season is split into little mini-arcs that usually span around 2 to 3 episodes at a time and focus on one specific character. The mindgames here are intense as always. The show really found it´s tone over the time. I still love how seriously this show takes itself. The interactions between the characters are a blast.
Again, the author finds clever ways to test the different classes in multiple ways. The amount of mind games, planning and rivalry between the classes is at an all-time high and you really feel the tension during the tests. Even simple concepts can split a class in half or give another class an advantage over the other.
They really nailed the pacing with this season, there is no filler, no pool episode and no unnecessary fan service that gets in the way of the plot. Although I feel that a lot has been cut from the original Light Novel, the show itself still makes enough sense for anime only-viewers to enjoy.
Art – 7
This is the only aspect where this show disappoints a little bit. If this was done by a studio that focuses on high school settings, (Like Kyoto Animation for example) things would be different, but as it is, the quality of the animation itself is just about industry standard. Characters are rather stiff and the camera is positioned in the same three angles. The only thing the show does really well is the backgrounds. They are beautifully drawn and colorful. I really wish the show would get a little upgrade in this department to really elevate the high school aesthetic to the next level, like “Hyouka” or “Love is War”.
Sound – 7
The Opening is pretty good but in my opinion the weakest one the series has had so far. The ED is amazing, just like season 2. This really is one of the shows where the ED has an edge over the OP which is pretty rare but can happen sometimes (“Code Geass”, “Hunter x Hunter” or “Lucky Star” are other examples…). The BGM is solid and works well, carefully building tension with it´s use of deep bass. Nothing extraordinary here, just solid stuff.
Characters – 8
Probably the shows strongest category. The characters just get better and better the more time you spend with them. The pool of characters that play an important part in the story is huge and varied. Every class has it´s popular figures and by the time of season three, all leaders have made big decisions to keep moving forward with their respective class.
Ayanokoji is still the star of the show. If you have read my reviews for season 1 and 2, you mayber remember that I used to compare him to Oreki from “Hyouka” even going so far as to say he is a ripoff. But after seeing more and more of him I decided to step back from that statement. This season really digs deep into his past, his backstory and, most importantly, his motivations.
The one that really surprised me this season is Ichinose. Her arc was one of the most enjoyable parts of this season, and there was some really interesting(!) setup being done which could indicate future development on her side.
Everyone is just a blast on screen, even characters that I found to be annoying like Koenji really found their unique place in the story and I am eager to see how everyone develops further into the story.
Enjoyment – 8
This was a nice return to form for me as an anime fan and I now consider myself a true fan of this series. Let´s hope we will see season 4 sooner than later!
- Marco_Yooo
FINAL SCORE - 8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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