Fun fact, the manga this anime was based on was my introduction into the subgenre of shoujo/josei isekai. This was either the first or one of the first plots I discovered with this sort of concept and I fell in love. That's why when I heard it was going to be adapted into an anime I was super excited. In fact, when I saw that it was airing during finals week, I was super tempted to watch it and forget all about my obligations, but I refrained. Instead I watched lots of clips on Youtube that people were posting. Honestly, that was both a good and bad decision. Good because I didn't just binge watch all of the episodes that were currently out and sacrifice my grades. Bad because lots of those clips just featured the highlights of the episodes and since I've already read the manga which covers everything in the anime so far, nothing was super novel. It was really nice to see all of the characters brought to life.
Overall, it was a pretty good adaptation. It's definitely got that otome game, shoujo sparkle flair to it. And if you turn your brain off of all the cringy parts or the fact that some of the lines in the show are just so that everyone gets a line in a scene or just so that nothing is ambiguous, it's a really nice show. But some parts are a little bit too self-explanatory or it's just to give a certain character more screen time. Also, since they're otome game characters, their backstories pretty much follow the cookie cutter otome game character's background story and character so there's no real surprises. What I'm saying is that it was a really nice and cutesy show, but there was no real spice. And as I was watching, i realized that you know what? It's okay to not be super over the top and have all these crazy subplots going on. Especially since the whole concept itself of an otaku girl being reincarnated into a game as the villainess instead of the heroine is pretty unexpected. That paired with the fact that Katarina is seriously Disney princess material; she's super kind, hardworking, pretty, ditsy to a fault, loyal, courageous and almost any other naturally attractive quality, makes it enjoyable to watch in and of itself.
Also, I should mention I watched 9 episodes in one day and then finished it off in the next day. It was that addictive. Honestly speaking I think the first episode was the best, but I think it was the best just because I had been anticipating watching it for so long. It's like when you're super hungry so your food tastes extra good, not necessarily because the food itself is out of this world. This isn't to take away anything at all from the anime. The concept of it is amazing. It's great sometimes to take a step away from this world and escape for a little while; especially with the state of the world today. It was nice to take a break from job searching. It's getting kind of exhausting trying to sell myself.
Second favorite episode might be episode 6 which was all about summer break. LOL even though I complain so much about things not having a plot, somehow I really liked that episode. But they're all good in their own way of course. Just some wholesome show with an accidental reverse harem :')
Showing posts with label fantasy anime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fantasy anime. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Anime ATM 104 Akatsuki no Yona (Season 1)
WOW! Okay a little backstory, a while ago, and by a while ago I'm pretty sure like 2 or 3 years ago, S recommended that I watch Akatsuki no Yona. I was like "Oh yeah I'll get around to it eventually" but obviously I haven't did until now. And that was a mistake. Akatsuki no Yona is SO GOOD. I'm so happy I started it, even though I did so in the middle of quarantine and in the middle/tail end of midterms season, but it's alright. Also, I was inspired to start this because I saw some random anime account that posted a series of screenshots of Hak and...I fell in love. Haha. It's only kind of a joke.
It's been so long since I've watched an anime with plot. Okay I did watch Boku no Hero Academia. And yes that does have a plot. But there was something about the pacing of this anime that really gelled with me. Each arc was around 4-ish episodes and it felt really satisfying to see Yona grow and her cohort of fellow OP characters. I think that's what I've been doing wrong all along really. I kept relegating myself to just fluffy shoujo stuff thinking that that's what I really enjoy. But actually, having gone back to something with plot was so refreshing and I binged 9 episodes in one day. That's how good it was.
Anyways, this is a pretty old anime; it came out in 2014. So, there's probably lots of good reviews out there, but let me just glorify it further.
{Spoilers!}
A basic synopsis would be there's this princess named Yona in Kouka Kingdom that lives a really privileged and pampered life. She thinks her life is super great, she's about to turn 16 and her father is a great, if a little softhearted king, not believing in war or weapons. This anti-violence agenda irks some of the kingdom and leads to Yona's childhood friend Su-won leading a coup to murder Yona's father. The king dies and Yona was next, but she escaped with her bodyguard and other childhood friend Hak.
From then on, Hak and Yona end up as travelers around Kouka Kingdom under instruction by Ik-su, a priest who can communicate with God to find the four dragons from the creation myth of Kouka Kingdom. There's different arcs that follow their happening upon each of the dragons and the adventures that they have together. That's a super cheesy description, but in the most simple terms that's what happens.
I think what I found most engaging about the whole thing was the fact that the pacing was really nice. It was the right proportion of action happening while also character development and interpersonal relationship building. For example, when you think about Shinha and his sub-arc, there's a little bit of everything. You've got this little kid that just wants to make friends, but has been shunned because of rumors about his powers causing people to be paralyzed and then his mentor dies after becoming blind (oml when he put the bells on his mask so Ao would know where he was) there was a lot of heavy stuff going on there. But there was also this relationship built between him and Yona as the two are able to find support in one another as Yona is able to bring him into the light and Shinha offers her comfort and strength. In the same vein, all of the dragons in their own way lend their strength to Yona after realizing the benefits that it gives each of them and the bond that ties them altogether.
It was a nice touch too to have each of the dragons come from four incredibly different backgrounds. It gave diversity beyond just them having four different powers, but also delved deeper into how each dragon trait would be accepted by people and how each of their backstories led to them leading four different lives. Still they all converged and are on this shared quest with Yona and Hak.
It was really heartwarming as well to see how the group is growing in terms of numbers but also in terms of character development. It wasn't just an instant connection between them or Yona not doing anything to prove herself, there was a mix of everyone doing their part to better themselves.
I'm still not really sure how I feel about Su-won. I think from a purely political standpoint, he might be good for the kingdom. The sub-arc where he goes to the Earth Tribe and hypes up the Earth General was super smart. He bolstered the tribe's morale, strengthened its economy and inter-kingdom trade, and sized up the Earth General's willingness to side with him. Su-won is super clever which both I respect and am intimidated by.
However, just from the first season I feel like it could end up where the four dragons and Hak help Yona rule the kingdom as the ending shows a table with multiple chairs around it instead of a throne. I feel like that could indicate her success, but if she does succeed it'll be bittersweet. But of course it would also be revenge and justice for the late king that was killed for his anti-violence agenda. However, Yona's travels through the kingdom and different tribes is showing that the late king's policies were rather neglectful. There's many hard truths to swallow in the show and I think different people could have different takeaways, but regardless I think this show is wonderful.
Please don't put it off for years like me before watching it. I highly recommend it. I'm a fan of the characters, their growth, the story's pacing, and the weird sort of OP/ED music style between the first 12 episodes and the last 12. Go check out the anime if you haven't already to know what I'm talking about.
P.S. As you can see, I've run out of scheduled content really so I'll just be posting whenever I get the chance. Unfortunately, this blog is no longer my priority, but it is my hobby! So I'll keep updating it of course whenever I do finish something. Until then, take care!
It's been so long since I've watched an anime with plot. Okay I did watch Boku no Hero Academia. And yes that does have a plot. But there was something about the pacing of this anime that really gelled with me. Each arc was around 4-ish episodes and it felt really satisfying to see Yona grow and her cohort of fellow OP characters. I think that's what I've been doing wrong all along really. I kept relegating myself to just fluffy shoujo stuff thinking that that's what I really enjoy. But actually, having gone back to something with plot was so refreshing and I binged 9 episodes in one day. That's how good it was.
Anyways, this is a pretty old anime; it came out in 2014. So, there's probably lots of good reviews out there, but let me just glorify it further.
{Spoilers!}
A basic synopsis would be there's this princess named Yona in Kouka Kingdom that lives a really privileged and pampered life. She thinks her life is super great, she's about to turn 16 and her father is a great, if a little softhearted king, not believing in war or weapons. This anti-violence agenda irks some of the kingdom and leads to Yona's childhood friend Su-won leading a coup to murder Yona's father. The king dies and Yona was next, but she escaped with her bodyguard and other childhood friend Hak.
From then on, Hak and Yona end up as travelers around Kouka Kingdom under instruction by Ik-su, a priest who can communicate with God to find the four dragons from the creation myth of Kouka Kingdom. There's different arcs that follow their happening upon each of the dragons and the adventures that they have together. That's a super cheesy description, but in the most simple terms that's what happens.
I think what I found most engaging about the whole thing was the fact that the pacing was really nice. It was the right proportion of action happening while also character development and interpersonal relationship building. For example, when you think about Shinha and his sub-arc, there's a little bit of everything. You've got this little kid that just wants to make friends, but has been shunned because of rumors about his powers causing people to be paralyzed and then his mentor dies after becoming blind (oml when he put the bells on his mask so Ao would know where he was) there was a lot of heavy stuff going on there. But there was also this relationship built between him and Yona as the two are able to find support in one another as Yona is able to bring him into the light and Shinha offers her comfort and strength. In the same vein, all of the dragons in their own way lend their strength to Yona after realizing the benefits that it gives each of them and the bond that ties them altogether.
It was a nice touch too to have each of the dragons come from four incredibly different backgrounds. It gave diversity beyond just them having four different powers, but also delved deeper into how each dragon trait would be accepted by people and how each of their backstories led to them leading four different lives. Still they all converged and are on this shared quest with Yona and Hak.
It was really heartwarming as well to see how the group is growing in terms of numbers but also in terms of character development. It wasn't just an instant connection between them or Yona not doing anything to prove herself, there was a mix of everyone doing their part to better themselves.
I'm still not really sure how I feel about Su-won. I think from a purely political standpoint, he might be good for the kingdom. The sub-arc where he goes to the Earth Tribe and hypes up the Earth General was super smart. He bolstered the tribe's morale, strengthened its economy and inter-kingdom trade, and sized up the Earth General's willingness to side with him. Su-won is super clever which both I respect and am intimidated by.
However, just from the first season I feel like it could end up where the four dragons and Hak help Yona rule the kingdom as the ending shows a table with multiple chairs around it instead of a throne. I feel like that could indicate her success, but if she does succeed it'll be bittersweet. But of course it would also be revenge and justice for the late king that was killed for his anti-violence agenda. However, Yona's travels through the kingdom and different tribes is showing that the late king's policies were rather neglectful. There's many hard truths to swallow in the show and I think different people could have different takeaways, but regardless I think this show is wonderful.
Please don't put it off for years like me before watching it. I highly recommend it. I'm a fan of the characters, their growth, the story's pacing, and the weird sort of OP/ED music style between the first 12 episodes and the last 12. Go check out the anime if you haven't already to know what I'm talking about.
P.S. As you can see, I've run out of scheduled content really so I'll just be posting whenever I get the chance. Unfortunately, this blog is no longer my priority, but it is my hobby! So I'll keep updating it of course whenever I do finish something. Until then, take care!
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Anime ATM 103 Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll
It's Day ? of shelter-in-place and honestly I've been pretty busy with remote classes and other things to do around the house. No matter how much I clean, there's always more. And I've been baking a lot too which has been rewarding in its own way. I know for some people they're getting pretty antsy at home, but I think that this is fine. When I was brushing my teeth this morning I even thought that I could live on a space ship. Obviously that was just a fleeting thought and tremendously fantastical and mildly unrealistic due to my motion sickness, but it's kind of an amusing thought. Also, since I'm in two science fiction English Lit courses this quarter, I've had some time to think about the world that Violet Evergarden lives in a little bit more.
As we all know, I couldn't stop gushing about the first season. It was so beautiful and heart-wrenching and a roller coaster all around. The movie didn't disappoint; visually it was absolutely stunning. KyoAni did an amazing job with all of the transitions and dreamy time lapses, but you don't need me to tell you that, you already know it was breath-taking.
In terms of plot, it tells the story of Violet working as a Doll, but in this strange new capacity. She's been assigned to be the tutor of Isabella York, the daughter of one of the aristocracy for the 3 months before her debut. Originally Isabella is stand-offish and seems to not fit in with the other girls that go to her all-girls private academy. Don't worry, there's no cat-fighting or anything shallow like that going on. In fact all of the girls are really wholesome and lift one another up which we love. Violet ends up as her companion and confidante during these 3 months and they become close friends. It's left pretty open-ended, so you could argue that they were more like lovers than friends, but really I'll leave that up to your interpretation. Truly in my heart of hearts I'm hoping that Gilbert somehow miraculously returns and that Violet and Gilbert can live happily ever after, but I'm not sure if that'll ever happen. :(
At the end of the 3 months Isabella has become a "proper lady" for her debut. But, before Violet leaves, Isabella reveals her past as a commoner before, living with Taylor, a little girl she adopted as her own sister, who we've been getting glimpses of all along. And then we see precious baby Taylor getting the letter from Benedict.
Three years later we meet a little more grown up Taylor who's come to Violet's workplace to become a mail deliverer and deliver happiness to the public. It's very wholesome and a real bittersweet happily ever after in the way of Taylor and Isabella's "reunion" of sorts.
Oh, and Benedict appears a lot during the movie. I know I was talking to my friend E about the show and she really liked him haha.
The movie as a whole evokes a sense of longing and nostalgia for simpler times. I mean they write and deliver letters and the world seems to move a bit more slowly than nowadays. I know that this is just a romanticization and I should be glad for how much the world has advanced, but it seems really beautiful, the way that they live in the movie. The whole world is rebuilding and there's an air of revival with the war over and everyone building and progressing as Benedict notices during his mail route. And you can see obvious signs of progress with elevators, wide-spread electricity, the radio tower (that looks a lot like the Eiffel Tower?) and more cars, but it also seems rather different and exciting.
Overall, I think the movie is really beautiful. It's touching and there's an intimately human quality about it. All of the characters seems so comfy and familiar, especially if you watched the show. But, even if you haven't, I think that you can empathize a lot with each of the characters and appreciate the storytelling that makes it seem like you're walking in step with Taylor on her mail route or you're right there crying with Benedict as he delivers Taylor's letter. The movie lets you into an intimately human realm that you can empathize a lot with in a world that's somewhat familiar to ours that helps you to immerse yourself in the world KyoAni has brought to life.
As we all know, I couldn't stop gushing about the first season. It was so beautiful and heart-wrenching and a roller coaster all around. The movie didn't disappoint; visually it was absolutely stunning. KyoAni did an amazing job with all of the transitions and dreamy time lapses, but you don't need me to tell you that, you already know it was breath-taking.
In terms of plot, it tells the story of Violet working as a Doll, but in this strange new capacity. She's been assigned to be the tutor of Isabella York, the daughter of one of the aristocracy for the 3 months before her debut. Originally Isabella is stand-offish and seems to not fit in with the other girls that go to her all-girls private academy. Don't worry, there's no cat-fighting or anything shallow like that going on. In fact all of the girls are really wholesome and lift one another up which we love. Violet ends up as her companion and confidante during these 3 months and they become close friends. It's left pretty open-ended, so you could argue that they were more like lovers than friends, but really I'll leave that up to your interpretation. Truly in my heart of hearts I'm hoping that Gilbert somehow miraculously returns and that Violet and Gilbert can live happily ever after, but I'm not sure if that'll ever happen. :(
At the end of the 3 months Isabella has become a "proper lady" for her debut. But, before Violet leaves, Isabella reveals her past as a commoner before, living with Taylor, a little girl she adopted as her own sister, who we've been getting glimpses of all along. And then we see precious baby Taylor getting the letter from Benedict.
Three years later we meet a little more grown up Taylor who's come to Violet's workplace to become a mail deliverer and deliver happiness to the public. It's very wholesome and a real bittersweet happily ever after in the way of Taylor and Isabella's "reunion" of sorts.
Oh, and Benedict appears a lot during the movie. I know I was talking to my friend E about the show and she really liked him haha.
The movie as a whole evokes a sense of longing and nostalgia for simpler times. I mean they write and deliver letters and the world seems to move a bit more slowly than nowadays. I know that this is just a romanticization and I should be glad for how much the world has advanced, but it seems really beautiful, the way that they live in the movie. The whole world is rebuilding and there's an air of revival with the war over and everyone building and progressing as Benedict notices during his mail route. And you can see obvious signs of progress with elevators, wide-spread electricity, the radio tower (that looks a lot like the Eiffel Tower?) and more cars, but it also seems rather different and exciting.
Overall, I think the movie is really beautiful. It's touching and there's an intimately human quality about it. All of the characters seems so comfy and familiar, especially if you watched the show. But, even if you haven't, I think that you can empathize a lot with each of the characters and appreciate the storytelling that makes it seem like you're walking in step with Taylor on her mail route or you're right there crying with Benedict as he delivers Taylor's letter. The movie lets you into an intimately human realm that you can empathize a lot with in a world that's somewhat familiar to ours that helps you to immerse yourself in the world KyoAni has brought to life.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Anime ATM 97 ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka
Okay so funny story, last year around this time S and I hung out and we started watching this anime together. We got to episode 3, but I had to leave so we promised to hang out another time to finish it. A year passes and we always say that we'll finish it sometime. Finally, in a whole other country over, we finish the anime. The only problem is that for episodes 4 and 5 we were pretty confused because we (mostly me with my goldfish brain) had forgotten everything that had occurred up until that point.
It was refreshing to watch an anime with someone else instead of in my room at 3 am alone. There's a certain charm to be said about being able to predict plot twists and try to unpack the mystery with what clues we were given in discussions as we watched through the show. There were definitely a lot of moments where we were probably really annoying to S's roommate, but truly this is an underrated show.
I'm also really grateful to S for introducing me to this show. I definitely wouldn't have picked it out for myself because I wasn't a huge fan of the art or the little summary blurb that we found on MAL. And I'm not particularly keen about political shows either. But this show was surprising. It kept me guessing and wanting to watch more even as I was fighting sleep after a long day of sightseeing in Vancouver.
{Spoilers}
Alrighty, so this anime is definitely like a proverbial ball of tangled string that you have to unpack. There's a lot that's revealed later on that really takes your mind for a loop.
But basically the story takes place in a country that's made up of 13 states and each one has a different attribute. Like one of them looks like Hawaii, another one looks like Arizona, and yet another one is definitely modeled after Las Vegas. And it's pretty neat to travel to each of these regions individually. The world-building in this one is definitely underplayed by the plot, but it was a very nice detail that made it seem like a more authentic world even?
The actual plot follows the central governing place of this country which is the kingdom of Dowa. The whole place is ruled by a monarchy, but the current king is getting real old so the problem is do we let this 20-something kinda dumb kid rule? This is where our main man Jean Otus (yeah all of their names are pretty much weird) comes in. At first you're kind of confused like how does this guy tie into the whole plot? He's a pretty flippant dude who has a penchant for cigarettes which are a rare item in the story. He works as an inspector/auditor for ACCA which is the police force in this world. He goes around and audits each of the different sectors and he's ridiculously good at his job. Along the way though, things start to get weird. There's rumors floating around about a coupe. And you're not quite sure who to trust because at certain points it seems as though there're multiple coupes.
The plot continues to thicken when it's revealed that Jean and his sister are actually the children of Dowa kingdom's second princess who was disowned. So everyone sees Jean as a better fit for the throne than Schwan who's the 20-something year old prince. Poor Jean is thrown into the coupe plan as a seeming intermediary between the people of the different districts who want to see a new kind of leader and ACCA who fears being disbanded if Schwan takes the throne.
Obviously there's a lot more nuanced stuff going on, but I sincerely doubt I could succinctly give a suitable summary for all of the stuff that goes on. There's a whole lot of spying, a healthy amount of double-crossing, and of course some spicy plot twists.
In the end though, Schwan turned out to be an alright dude and everyone was okay with him being king. And it turned out the coupe was only because the corrupt dude Lilium wanted to take over the government and make his district super profitable. It all wrapped up very nicely if I do say so myself.
Someone I want to give a quick little blurb about though, besides my main man Jean is Nino. Literally this man's backstory episode was the single most iconic backstory I have ever witnessed. So, this guy is...how do I even describe his relationship? He works for the second princess's (Jean's mom) knight/aide Abend because his father was indebted to Abend. His father and his job was, once the princess was disowned, was to continue to survey the second princess and her family and report back with pictures and documents to the king and Abend. So Nino's whole life has been devoted to the royal family because of his father's tie. And it's honestly so sweet because at no point does it seem like there's any resentment from Nino towards his father for living this kind of life and kind of forcing him to live this life too. He's such a pure soul. And the best part was, when Jean entered high school, Nino's father thought it would be brilliant for Nino to go to high school too to get a closer interaction with Jean and such. The catch? Nino had already graduated high school. He was 25(!!!) and re-entering high school. Give this man a round of applause for his service.
Overall I think if you like mystery and a little bit of thinking this would be a good show to watch. There's also a lot of mention of bread if you're really into carbs like me. It had so many unexpected twists and turns. The character interactions are beautiful. Everything comes together in the end so nicely and it's really satisfying. There's honestly nothing more of this show I could ask for!
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Anime ATM 86 Amagi Brilliant Park
Currently I'm sitting in my sister's bed with my dog at my feet after a long day of work. I meant to write this blog right after I got off from work, but I ended up falling asleep due to exhaustion. Manual labor is pretty tiring after all.
I was recommended this anime by V who said, in short, that this was a trip. That day I had tried to watch the gambling anime that's on Netflix, but uhhhhh let's just say it was wild and I probably will never finish that anime.
{Spoilers, but it's more about the comedy than the plot so you kinda already know what's up}
I think something that's really important when watching an anime in terms of how much the story impacts you is how relatable and how much it resonates with you. For V I think this anime really stood out to him. He said the MC was unique because of his narcissistic nature and the way he wouldn't take crap from anyone. Perhaps because V had already pointed it out to me I didn't find these things to be as standout as they maybe would've been had I already not been aware of these unique qualities of his. Then again V also said that he read a comment that said that the MC's name was Kanie because he was actually Kanye or something else ridiculous and nonsensical *smh*.
In general the general plot of banding together people for a greater purpose was well executed. Kanie was enlisted partially against his will and partially through bribery with Latifa's croquettes into becoming Amagi Brilliant Park's new manager. The goal was to get 500,000 guests through those gates, a feat that seemed near impossible at the start of the show. However, with a lot of teamwork, collaboration, sacrifice, and ingenuity, they were able to pull it off and save the park. From this bare bones summary, the show doesn't seem like anything special, but some things that set this show apart are the characters themselves and the fact that most of the cast members of the park are ~magical~. They're from this place called Maple Land that runs on Animus which is like people's fun I guess? It's kinda like the Monsters Inc./University university that runs off children's screams/laughs which is kind of creepy when you think about it...
Anyways, the characters are all really unique. Like V said, Kanie is definitely unique in that he's a narcissist and very pragmatic.
Sento, V's personal favorite, is kind of like if you took Violet from Violet Evergarden and mixed her with the girl from Nichijou that keeps whipping out her gun to shoot that guy she likes. Sometimes it's hard for her to understand people's feelings but she tries her best, even though Macaron and Tiramie are often times waaaay too rated M for mature, and she's very trigger happy. It's hard for her to convey her emotions as well, but she's honestly best girl for wanting the best for the park and for Latifa.
As for Latifa, she was too perfect. Maybe it's just me, but I don't really like the frail, pure ohime-sama characters in general and since Latifa is the cookie cutter of that very description you can see why I don't prefer her character. Moffle, her uncle, on the other hand is great. He's a super cute mouse mascot, which makes me confused as to if he is blood related to Latifa or what, Maple Land lineage is wack, that sacrifices everything for Latifa and for Amagi Brilliant Park. What really got me going though was his backstory about Latifa's mom :(((( his true love. Something that makes Amagi Brilliant Park so iconic in terms of humor oftentimes is because of Tiramie and Macaron. They look like super cute characters like Moffle with their pink cat and sheep exteriors, but inside are perverted old men. This would've been a totally different show if they had super girly voices and acted like fairies like I had expected. Instead they were...very interesting.
Each of the episodes either showcased methods of how they improved the park to increase visitor count, or they were more filler episodes like when Kanie was too sick to go to school so Sento, Tiramie, Moffle, and Macaron each took turns impersonating him. In the way that Konosuba is a parody of "life in a new world" and Hinamatsuri is a parody of sci fi, Amagi Brilliant Park is a parody of the run of the mill show where people band together to save something (LOL I can't think of a more succinct way of putting it right now). Like the episode of how the fairies of Elementario had to bond in order to pass trials to shut down the castle's defenses through karaoke and DDR.
Or how in the last episode to make a PV, Sento and Tricen consulted everyone around the park on ways to improve the PV and make it more impactful and that PV turned into a viral sensation. That was actually the funniest episode. Kanie's reaction to Sento being so moved by this mish-mash PV was the best.
I was recommended this anime by V who said, in short, that this was a trip. That day I had tried to watch the gambling anime that's on Netflix, but uhhhhh let's just say it was wild and I probably will never finish that anime.
{Spoilers, but it's more about the comedy than the plot so you kinda already know what's up}
I think something that's really important when watching an anime in terms of how much the story impacts you is how relatable and how much it resonates with you. For V I think this anime really stood out to him. He said the MC was unique because of his narcissistic nature and the way he wouldn't take crap from anyone. Perhaps because V had already pointed it out to me I didn't find these things to be as standout as they maybe would've been had I already not been aware of these unique qualities of his. Then again V also said that he read a comment that said that the MC's name was Kanie because he was actually Kanye or something else ridiculous and nonsensical *smh*.
In general the general plot of banding together people for a greater purpose was well executed. Kanie was enlisted partially against his will and partially through bribery with Latifa's croquettes into becoming Amagi Brilliant Park's new manager. The goal was to get 500,000 guests through those gates, a feat that seemed near impossible at the start of the show. However, with a lot of teamwork, collaboration, sacrifice, and ingenuity, they were able to pull it off and save the park. From this bare bones summary, the show doesn't seem like anything special, but some things that set this show apart are the characters themselves and the fact that most of the cast members of the park are ~magical~. They're from this place called Maple Land that runs on Animus which is like people's fun I guess? It's kinda like the Monsters Inc./University university that runs off children's screams/laughs which is kind of creepy when you think about it...
Anyways, the characters are all really unique. Like V said, Kanie is definitely unique in that he's a narcissist and very pragmatic.
I didn't know where to insert this kinda random thought I had, but the ED reminded me of the ED for K with Neko sleeping. In the same way there's kind of a lot of fan service. Heh. You've been warned!
Each of the episodes either showcased methods of how they improved the park to increase visitor count, or they were more filler episodes like when Kanie was too sick to go to school so Sento, Tiramie, Moffle, and Macaron each took turns impersonating him. In the way that Konosuba is a parody of "life in a new world" and Hinamatsuri is a parody of sci fi, Amagi Brilliant Park is a parody of the run of the mill show where people band together to save something (LOL I can't think of a more succinct way of putting it right now). Like the episode of how the fairies of Elementario had to bond in order to pass trials to shut down the castle's defenses through karaoke and DDR.
Overall, I'm glad they were able to save the park. It was a show that was full of a lot of comedic twists and turns that were quite unexpected. You're sure to find a character you relate to and have a lot of fun laughing at everyone's antics and being relieved with them when they find out they've saved the park. It's honestly a pretty moving anime if you let yourself get swept away in this Amaburi world.
Also I should mention that KyoAni had a part in this and I love KyoAni. KyoAni has the Midas touch I swear.
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Anime ATM 81 Violet Evergarden
Okay I want to premise this by saying that there are probably bomb analysis and theory videos out there that do a better job than I could ever dream of doing, but this is for me.
{Spoilers}
It's been a while since I've watched such a heart wrenching anime. Sure every now and then I'll go on a tangent about how relatable an anime was because a lot of the times yeah there's relatable content, but this is just on a whole other level. Honestly I've been hyped about this being released as an anime since that first OST came out. You know the one that everyone, and I mean everyone, made covers of? Yeah that one. I've been hyped since then and that was years ago. The only thing stopping me from watching it was school and the fact that I wanted to binge it all. And let me tell you that my heart was not ready. This review is going to be all over the place and I don't really care.
Can we first just start off with how beautiful everything was? Kyoani really outdid themselves. All of the textures that you could just feel through the screen with those rich colors and just everything about it really. It was all so fluid and with everything you could just see how beautiful everything in this world is in contrast to the nastiness of war.
I'm not really into war films all that much. I think that the only thing war really brings out is a lot of technology, useless or not you decide, and a lot of suffering. I think Violet Evergarden really showcased part of what it's like living through war and having to build everything up after that. I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like in history class they focus a lot on the wars and all of the political stuff, the really macro view of everything, so much so that we kind of get desensitized to how devastating war is. Take for example the post office that Hodgins sets up. The reason he set that whole company up was because a lot of people still couldn't write but they needed some form of communication. One problem I kind of have with this whole postal communication thing is that they had advanced enough medicine to give Violet two prosthetic arms, but they didn't have anything else particularly advanced in the same way. Maybe my idea of medicine in the time period they are trying to portray is a bit remedial, but it just amazes me that they could build such advanced prosthetics, but still not be able to have a whole lot of other advances at the same time.
But continuing on with the building back of society after the war. Besides all of the infrastructure that everyone's working on like the transcontinental railroad to unite the northern and southern regions and everything everyone's doing in order to bring everything back to the status quo of business as usual, trying to recover from the war, you also see how broken everyone is. Everyone is touched in some way or the other by the war. Some of them have lost people they know, loved ones, or they've lost their homes or people just treat them differently. Like Hodgins said to Violet, everyone's burning. It's just so sad how terribly war strikes and even when it's over its impacts don't subside for a long time. Everyone is still left with the void left by things the war took from them.
And from all of this loss from the war come many different people. There are people that lost everything in the war and seek revenge, like the anti-peace factions. They lost everything and because of that they just wanted everyone else to suffer. And honestly since they went through all of that hardship, it's hard to blame them. Their lives must've looked so incredibly bleak. Same to the people who lost their family members in the war. At the beginning of the series I despised Dietfried. I thought he was such an ass for "gifting" Gilbert with Violet as if she were just a tool. And afterwards he only treated her with scorn and never saw her as more than a dog. But when she protected him from the anti-peace faction and he was able to see how she was able to voice her emotions and he was able to finally see how human she really was and how much she really cared for Gilbert, seeing how he started to let go of his resentment for her was cathartic. It's really easy to pawn off the blame on someone else in order to cope with unwanted emotions, which was what Dietfried did for so long, but he was able to find it in his heart to see Violet as someone who loved Gilbert just as much as he did, as an equal instead of a lesser war dog. I think these transformations from how the war twisted people and how they overcame all the burns that the war left them with is a beautiful thing. Especially for the main protagonist Violet.
I'm sure a lot of people have already analyzed her and come up with most of the symbolic things that make Violet such an interesting person, but bear with me here. In the beginning of the show she was extremely militant. When there's flashbacks of when Dietfried originally gave her to Gilbert she was seen as almost a rabid animal that was supposed to be used for as long as it was useful and then thrown away. Obviously Gilbert saw her as more than that, but as it was her personality wasn't allowed to grow into anything more than an unfeeling war machine. This is symbolically shown consistently throughout the show with her biting the maids hand when Gilbert first brought her to his home and later on when she first took off the gloves that covered her hands with her teeth. This animalistic and wild nature of hers starts to diminish as the series goes on and she's able to start experiencing lots of different human emotions on her assignments as an auto memory doll. Her lack of knowledge about regular humans is also captured in the fact that her arms are made of metal. That paired with her originally placid expression give off the feeling of an inhuman android. However, though her arms make her different from the average person, they're also the symbol of the ultimate sacrifice. Because of her upbringing to be more of a war tool and less of a person she didn't have the capacity, whether we're talking about verbalization or even mental preparation, to have feelings for another human being. If she was taught anything along the lines of sympathy and mercy it wouldn't have been possible for her to kill anyone. Instead she was taught to be cold and unfeeling. And despite that constant demeanor of an unfeeling tool lies the innate nature that humans have within them to protect the ones she love. When Gilbert was dying on the stairs of the base and her arm just came off and she tried to drag him with her teeth I was close to tears. She didn't even know what the phrase "I love you" meant, but she was so wholeheartedly devoted to Gilbert that she never gave up on trying to save him. She was in so much excruciating pain, but her love for him overcame that. He was the first person to ever show her kindness and treat her as more than just a tool. He was the first person she probably ever loved. The devotion she had for him and their whole relationship, while strained and broken due to the premise of the war, was so utterly compelling.
And while at first Violet was unable to understand what the phrase "I love you" meant, she sought out the meaning of it as an auto memory doll and was able to understand human emotions through it. I felt personally that the episodes were a little rushed. If it was even 15 episodes I think a lot of other things could be explained such as where Dietfried found her, or give us a better flow than just a new letter writing request every time. While it lent itself for a quick paced show that always kept me engaged, I wouldn't have minded more time in each place to get to know people more and to see a more drawn out evolution of Violet. I understand that this was probably more of the highlights of how each letter changed Violet in some way and opened up her emotional capacity to feel, however at the same time I also feel as if something is missing. Like in episode 5 all of a sudden Dietfried comes out of nowhere and goes "how could you write letter that bring people together when you've murdered so many people?" and while yeah that's true, it was also a little out of left field. It's things like that which kind of caught me off guard and left me desiring a little bit more at times. But back to the main thought (I pretend like this is organized, but mostly this is just a rant lol).
Throughout all of Violet's letter writing assignments she's able to experience different faucets of the human experience that she missed out on as she was trained to just kill people. She learned many things such as the delicate nature of words and how to read people's actions, words and emotions as well as the beauty of the bonds in between people and the different kinds of love that they share. Throughout a lot of these letter writings, V and I both felt extremely moved to the point of tears. I think it just depends on what kind of person you and and your own personal experiences, but just a lot of parts moved me to tears. Especially episode 10. There's just something really personal that happened to me that makes me really sad when I think about people losing their parents. It's probably because I'm so close to my parents that I feel this way, but just the whole thing of even when their parent is gone, that they're still looking out for them is so indescribably sweet. Oh my god I'm tearing up right now thinking about that episode. There's just a lot of scenes in Violet Evergarden that I don't think can be fully experience through words. It can only be evoked through sight, the motion and facial expressions these people make. And it's things like this that really get to Violet and in some ways educate her in all the ways humans are so complex. Another episode that got to me was episode 5. I'm a sucker for a good romance story as you could probably already tell. There was just something about this, although thinking about it right now is kind of disturbing thinking about a 14 year old girl marrying a guy that's 10 years older, that's so endearing. Like the love letters they send each other at first are so flowery and poetic, and utterly fake, and then with Violet and Cattleya's intervention they start sending letters to each other that are so real. And the kingdom reading them also starts to get super invested in the letters and relates to them a lot more when they're written by real people instead of by a Doll. It's something so small, but at the same time it's so sweet thinking about that sort of thing. Like how neither of them were perfect, but they were happy together.
There are a million little subtleties that I could've brought up if I had just jotted them down when I had the idea, but I like the idea of writing things organically anyways rather than having it be very structured like a regular school essay. I've done enough of those to know that they get the point across better and you don't necessarily need to have a certain feeling in order to write them, blog posts are different in that you want them to be organized, but I'd rather have the feeling be there rather than it be necessarily easy to read. But maybe that's just me. I guess if I have any more subtleties I'd like to add on I could just add a postscript with the day I add upon this.
Overall I'd say that this was an amazing watch. I don't know if it was so impressive because I just love Kyoani so much, or because I have a secret love for historical fiction, or because I love people overcoming struggles in times of difficulty, or I just love watching humans fight for humanity, or I just haven't watched an anime with a plot in a while. Maybe it's a combination of all of these things. Maybe it's how it makes my soul feel. It makes me feel happy and fulfilled and full and satisfied and warm when I see those warm market lights with Gilbert buying Violet the brooch that looks like his eyes or seeing those scenery shots or the OP or the ED or just all of it as a whole. Heck I might even rewatch it it was so good and I never rewatch things. It was just so amazing and I think the next project was introduced at the last episode? I could be wrong. But I'm here for it if it does happen. I pray for better pacing though. Other than that it was so incredibly beautiful. I was plunged into that world. I became more heartfelt and emotionally awakened alongside Violet. I have nothing but endless good things to say.
Also you can stop scrolling now because I watched the series on Netflix and it doesn't let you take screenshots. Haha sorry I just really like good quality and since I've got a Netflix account, why not take advantage of it right? Anyways y'all probably already know how beautiful it is smh so many people make gif sets of it.
{Spoilers}
It's been a while since I've watched such a heart wrenching anime. Sure every now and then I'll go on a tangent about how relatable an anime was because a lot of the times yeah there's relatable content, but this is just on a whole other level. Honestly I've been hyped about this being released as an anime since that first OST came out. You know the one that everyone, and I mean everyone, made covers of? Yeah that one. I've been hyped since then and that was years ago. The only thing stopping me from watching it was school and the fact that I wanted to binge it all. And let me tell you that my heart was not ready. This review is going to be all over the place and I don't really care.
Can we first just start off with how beautiful everything was? Kyoani really outdid themselves. All of the textures that you could just feel through the screen with those rich colors and just everything about it really. It was all so fluid and with everything you could just see how beautiful everything in this world is in contrast to the nastiness of war.
I'm not really into war films all that much. I think that the only thing war really brings out is a lot of technology, useless or not you decide, and a lot of suffering. I think Violet Evergarden really showcased part of what it's like living through war and having to build everything up after that. I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like in history class they focus a lot on the wars and all of the political stuff, the really macro view of everything, so much so that we kind of get desensitized to how devastating war is. Take for example the post office that Hodgins sets up. The reason he set that whole company up was because a lot of people still couldn't write but they needed some form of communication. One problem I kind of have with this whole postal communication thing is that they had advanced enough medicine to give Violet two prosthetic arms, but they didn't have anything else particularly advanced in the same way. Maybe my idea of medicine in the time period they are trying to portray is a bit remedial, but it just amazes me that they could build such advanced prosthetics, but still not be able to have a whole lot of other advances at the same time.
But continuing on with the building back of society after the war. Besides all of the infrastructure that everyone's working on like the transcontinental railroad to unite the northern and southern regions and everything everyone's doing in order to bring everything back to the status quo of business as usual, trying to recover from the war, you also see how broken everyone is. Everyone is touched in some way or the other by the war. Some of them have lost people they know, loved ones, or they've lost their homes or people just treat them differently. Like Hodgins said to Violet, everyone's burning. It's just so sad how terribly war strikes and even when it's over its impacts don't subside for a long time. Everyone is still left with the void left by things the war took from them.
And from all of this loss from the war come many different people. There are people that lost everything in the war and seek revenge, like the anti-peace factions. They lost everything and because of that they just wanted everyone else to suffer. And honestly since they went through all of that hardship, it's hard to blame them. Their lives must've looked so incredibly bleak. Same to the people who lost their family members in the war. At the beginning of the series I despised Dietfried. I thought he was such an ass for "gifting" Gilbert with Violet as if she were just a tool. And afterwards he only treated her with scorn and never saw her as more than a dog. But when she protected him from the anti-peace faction and he was able to see how she was able to voice her emotions and he was able to finally see how human she really was and how much she really cared for Gilbert, seeing how he started to let go of his resentment for her was cathartic. It's really easy to pawn off the blame on someone else in order to cope with unwanted emotions, which was what Dietfried did for so long, but he was able to find it in his heart to see Violet as someone who loved Gilbert just as much as he did, as an equal instead of a lesser war dog. I think these transformations from how the war twisted people and how they overcame all the burns that the war left them with is a beautiful thing. Especially for the main protagonist Violet.
I'm sure a lot of people have already analyzed her and come up with most of the symbolic things that make Violet such an interesting person, but bear with me here. In the beginning of the show she was extremely militant. When there's flashbacks of when Dietfried originally gave her to Gilbert she was seen as almost a rabid animal that was supposed to be used for as long as it was useful and then thrown away. Obviously Gilbert saw her as more than that, but as it was her personality wasn't allowed to grow into anything more than an unfeeling war machine. This is symbolically shown consistently throughout the show with her biting the maids hand when Gilbert first brought her to his home and later on when she first took off the gloves that covered her hands with her teeth. This animalistic and wild nature of hers starts to diminish as the series goes on and she's able to start experiencing lots of different human emotions on her assignments as an auto memory doll. Her lack of knowledge about regular humans is also captured in the fact that her arms are made of metal. That paired with her originally placid expression give off the feeling of an inhuman android. However, though her arms make her different from the average person, they're also the symbol of the ultimate sacrifice. Because of her upbringing to be more of a war tool and less of a person she didn't have the capacity, whether we're talking about verbalization or even mental preparation, to have feelings for another human being. If she was taught anything along the lines of sympathy and mercy it wouldn't have been possible for her to kill anyone. Instead she was taught to be cold and unfeeling. And despite that constant demeanor of an unfeeling tool lies the innate nature that humans have within them to protect the ones she love. When Gilbert was dying on the stairs of the base and her arm just came off and she tried to drag him with her teeth I was close to tears. She didn't even know what the phrase "I love you" meant, but she was so wholeheartedly devoted to Gilbert that she never gave up on trying to save him. She was in so much excruciating pain, but her love for him overcame that. He was the first person to ever show her kindness and treat her as more than just a tool. He was the first person she probably ever loved. The devotion she had for him and their whole relationship, while strained and broken due to the premise of the war, was so utterly compelling.
And while at first Violet was unable to understand what the phrase "I love you" meant, she sought out the meaning of it as an auto memory doll and was able to understand human emotions through it. I felt personally that the episodes were a little rushed. If it was even 15 episodes I think a lot of other things could be explained such as where Dietfried found her, or give us a better flow than just a new letter writing request every time. While it lent itself for a quick paced show that always kept me engaged, I wouldn't have minded more time in each place to get to know people more and to see a more drawn out evolution of Violet. I understand that this was probably more of the highlights of how each letter changed Violet in some way and opened up her emotional capacity to feel, however at the same time I also feel as if something is missing. Like in episode 5 all of a sudden Dietfried comes out of nowhere and goes "how could you write letter that bring people together when you've murdered so many people?" and while yeah that's true, it was also a little out of left field. It's things like that which kind of caught me off guard and left me desiring a little bit more at times. But back to the main thought (I pretend like this is organized, but mostly this is just a rant lol).
Throughout all of Violet's letter writing assignments she's able to experience different faucets of the human experience that she missed out on as she was trained to just kill people. She learned many things such as the delicate nature of words and how to read people's actions, words and emotions as well as the beauty of the bonds in between people and the different kinds of love that they share. Throughout a lot of these letter writings, V and I both felt extremely moved to the point of tears. I think it just depends on what kind of person you and and your own personal experiences, but just a lot of parts moved me to tears. Especially episode 10. There's just something really personal that happened to me that makes me really sad when I think about people losing their parents. It's probably because I'm so close to my parents that I feel this way, but just the whole thing of even when their parent is gone, that they're still looking out for them is so indescribably sweet. Oh my god I'm tearing up right now thinking about that episode. There's just a lot of scenes in Violet Evergarden that I don't think can be fully experience through words. It can only be evoked through sight, the motion and facial expressions these people make. And it's things like this that really get to Violet and in some ways educate her in all the ways humans are so complex. Another episode that got to me was episode 5. I'm a sucker for a good romance story as you could probably already tell. There was just something about this, although thinking about it right now is kind of disturbing thinking about a 14 year old girl marrying a guy that's 10 years older, that's so endearing. Like the love letters they send each other at first are so flowery and poetic, and utterly fake, and then with Violet and Cattleya's intervention they start sending letters to each other that are so real. And the kingdom reading them also starts to get super invested in the letters and relates to them a lot more when they're written by real people instead of by a Doll. It's something so small, but at the same time it's so sweet thinking about that sort of thing. Like how neither of them were perfect, but they were happy together.
There are a million little subtleties that I could've brought up if I had just jotted them down when I had the idea, but I like the idea of writing things organically anyways rather than having it be very structured like a regular school essay. I've done enough of those to know that they get the point across better and you don't necessarily need to have a certain feeling in order to write them, blog posts are different in that you want them to be organized, but I'd rather have the feeling be there rather than it be necessarily easy to read. But maybe that's just me. I guess if I have any more subtleties I'd like to add on I could just add a postscript with the day I add upon this.
Overall I'd say that this was an amazing watch. I don't know if it was so impressive because I just love Kyoani so much, or because I have a secret love for historical fiction, or because I love people overcoming struggles in times of difficulty, or I just love watching humans fight for humanity, or I just haven't watched an anime with a plot in a while. Maybe it's a combination of all of these things. Maybe it's how it makes my soul feel. It makes me feel happy and fulfilled and full and satisfied and warm when I see those warm market lights with Gilbert buying Violet the brooch that looks like his eyes or seeing those scenery shots or the OP or the ED or just all of it as a whole. Heck I might even rewatch it it was so good and I never rewatch things. It was just so amazing and I think the next project was introduced at the last episode? I could be wrong. But I'm here for it if it does happen. I pray for better pacing though. Other than that it was so incredibly beautiful. I was plunged into that world. I became more heartfelt and emotionally awakened alongside Violet. I have nothing but endless good things to say.
Also you can stop scrolling now because I watched the series on Netflix and it doesn't let you take screenshots. Haha sorry I just really like good quality and since I've got a Netflix account, why not take advantage of it right? Anyways y'all probably already know how beautiful it is smh so many people make gif sets of it.
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Anime ATM 78 Little Witch Academia {Second Cour}
When I started this anime I thought I was in for your regular ol' slice of life/fantasy anime. I wasn't expecting such a heart-warming, chilling, absolutely enrapturing, purely enchanting show. I certainly wasn't expecting to find such a masterpiece in an anime that I hadn't given much thought to before. From the end of the first cour all the way up until now at the very end I was hooked. Honestly I almost abandoned sleep for this show, but I thought for the sake of the quality of the post I left the last 4 or so episodes for today (2/27) and oh boy am I glad I did.
{LOL you can skip the next paragraph if you hate when I give lectures}
One thing I have to side note and apologize for is the fact that I don't have any screenshots. I was watching it on Netflix. You might scoff and say "what kind of trash anime watcher watches things on Netflix?" or even say "wow, how lazy" and while I do understand your sentiment and I do harbor some guilt about the lack of visual stimulation in this post, I also believe that not having to stop three or four times every episode at least to get some screenshots greatly increased the amount I enjoyed this anime. I wasn't thinking about which scenes would look especially great as screenshots. I wasn't thinking about which subbed scenes would be great to add in for comedic effect. I could just watch in the moment and laugh and cry and just feel whenever I wanted to. I think that's what I've been lacking for a while now. I've just been thinking about the screenshots and not living right there and then and just letting myself be fully immersed in the show. I recommend you watch like that. I think the best way to enjoy anything is to just let yourself be swept away by it which sounds like something so simple, but it's also one of the most moving experiences you can have. My ballet teacher used to tell us that while we were in the studio that we shouldn't stress about things going on outside of the studio, that we should cast away all of our worries in order to dance the best that we could. Watching anime should be the same way.
{Spoilers}
By the first cour, almost everyone's character has become fleshed out. You learn who's who and all about their different quirks. So with the beginning of the second cour you get a sense of who people are, and while for some of them they stay the same like Lotte, Sucy, and Amanda, for characters like Diana, Professor Ursula, and for Akko they change and grow in some fundamental way. Seeing the complexities of each character and how Studio Trigger is able to characterize each one of them so subtly with wordless scenes and hidden motivations and pasts make them all the more convicting and fascinating. It's almost like watching real people with all of their different facets and flaws.
Take Diana for example. For a while now she's been the privileged ojou-sama. She's been the aristocratic know-it-all that no one really likes because of how perfect she is. However, we're able to learn a lot more about her through other people and how she interacts with them. In the episode 19 when it's revealed what Diana's home life is and then later on in the cour when it's revealed that she's just as big of a Shiny Chariot fan as Akko is, your heart melts. At the end of episode 19 when she expresses how grateful she is to Akko, her humanity is revealed and you can't help but feel sympathy for this girl that was held up to all of these Herculean expectations and how she was crushed and molded into this perfect person that the Cavendish family was supposed to be. And we as people that are all held up to expectations, of perfection like Diana, of familial obligations, of anything that life tosses at us really, resonate so strongly with her. She is first and foremost portrayed as a perfect person, but underneath she has her own convictions and desires the same as anyone else. I think the glimpses we get of Diana as a hard-working and driven individual is something beautiful. She's not perfect naturally, she's had to work for what she has and against extremely unfavorable circumstances to get where she is. The way that her character is portrayed is just wonderful, and if you didn't like her in the first cour, don't worry, I didn't really like her either. But now, now she's just amazing.
Honestly the second cour was where it was at with the deep and complex characters. Like Croix who showed up in the second cour as the new and super high tech professor that was here to revive magic with the help of science. Side note, for the first couple of episodes I kept thinking about the carbonated, overpriced bubble water brand Le Croix every time I heard her name. But that's besides the point. I think what struck me the most in a very subtle way was the fact that she eats instant noodles. Don't take this the wrong way. I don't just fixate on random things. Like her eating instant cup noodles seems like such a menial thing, but why would Studio Trigger put that in if it wasn't significant in some way? Like she's doing all of this high tech magic and she's dressed super cool, but underneath all of that she's just a normal girl. When there's flashbacks of when Croix and Chariot were students at Luna Nova, Croix is always depicted in casual clothes, wearing a hoodie and sneakers and similarly in flashbacks Chariot is depicted wearing her performing clothes. At some subconscious level you compare Chariot and Croix to one another and while one impresses you physically, the other leaves something to be desired. Croix is what I imagine in our world to be like a CS major or an engineering major, late nights in a sweatshirt working on a project and eating cup noodle. She seems so relatable and her lifestyle relates so much to a lot of college students I know that prioritize their academics and their projects over their health, that it's easy to find similarities between her and real life people. Also the disparity that occurs when she's working on her energy absorbing cubes versus her eating cup noodle is insane. Like I can't get over it. I don't think I'll ever be over it. Maybe it's a subliminal message about the evils of cup noodle. And beyond her value as a relatable character on a mannerisms level, I think everyone can relate to her when the Shiny Rod picks Chariot over her. I think we can all relate to the thoughts that we have when things don't go your way and someone else seems to be put on a pedestal. You feel kind of betrayed by the world and you might even feel like the other person didn't work as hard or wasn't as deserving of whatever you had desired. And that might bring you to do something extreme. Perhaps not as extreme as Croix, but still.
The most plot twist-ish, I mean obviously this is subjective, character was Professor Ursula, or should I say Chariot du Nord. She was such a good mentor to Akko this whole time, helping her find the words, waking up early to help her with her magic. On the surface without thinking about it, it just looks like she's helping Akko out of the goodness of her heart, when in fact she's doing it out of guilt. She unknowingly stole some of Akko's magic back when she didn't even know Akko, didn't know the consequences of harnessing people's magic. It's heartbreaking really to think about her initial motivations, however they're also so real and so human. Sometimes you love and care about someone not because you're a selfless person, but instead you do it out of guilt or duty. And while that isn't a love born out of purity, it can become a strong and stable sort of love that can be beautiful in its own way. When you think about how Chariot was put under so much pressure and her smile was smothered out by the expectations held by other people, not unlike Diana, all because she wanted to make the world happy, it makes your heart hurt thinking about how she caved under the pressure. But I think out of the mistakes that she made when she was young, she was able to grow into a dependable teacher that never gives up on her pupil. Shiny Chariot was Akko's hero, but Professor Ursula was her mentor. And while for some people their hero and mentor are the same, I think sometimes the mentor is the unsung hero of people's stories.
And the star of the show Akko. She's a piece of work. But it was certainly a pleasure following along with her bildungsroman, how she worked her way through the difficulties of becoming a witch and succeeded for the most part. Put bluntly she plowed her way through and through perseverance was able to make her dream of meeting Chariot come true. Along the way she was able to overcome some of her shortcomings like her inability to be patient or her bull-headed nature. But I think it was her shortcomings and clumsiness which made her so endearing. Without Akko certainly the show wouldn't have been as entertaining and it wouldn't have been quite so uplifting. Because of her, LWA was a star. There were so many ups and downs and even times where Akko's spark almost flickered out, but her happy-go-lucky attitude and iron horse work ethic pulled her through. Why does this sound like I'm signing her yearbook? I can't quite put into words how determined and beautiful Akko is. Maybe it's because I can't relate to how driven and brightly she shines. I guess you'll just have to watch yourself to really see. I was talking to V about when she found out that her childhood hero Chariot was actually Professor Ursula and how she had stolen her ability to fly. We were talking about her reaction to that unpleasant reality bomb and how I couldn't relate to that and how V thought she should've been angrier. I was thinking about that and I thought it was interesting. Like we both had watched the same episode, but his opinion as to how Akko should've acted was different to mine which shows how people see Akko differently and react differently to her. It's fascinating really how characters can impact people in a multitude of variations. Just food for thought haha...I don't really know where I was going with that.
But in any case thanks for sticking through to the end of this blog post. It probably wasn't that engaging or exciting, but I enjoy giving my two cents. If you haven't watched it already I highly recommend you watch LWA. The music and art style have a very light hearted and cute feeling. And it's overall a very inspirational watch. I feel like this kind of story is repeated over and over again, but you can't really get tired of it because we all need a reminder of how we should keep reaching higher and higher to achieve our dreams. Because the real magic is inside of you.
{LOL you can skip the next paragraph if you hate when I give lectures}
One thing I have to side note and apologize for is the fact that I don't have any screenshots. I was watching it on Netflix. You might scoff and say "what kind of trash anime watcher watches things on Netflix?" or even say "wow, how lazy" and while I do understand your sentiment and I do harbor some guilt about the lack of visual stimulation in this post, I also believe that not having to stop three or four times every episode at least to get some screenshots greatly increased the amount I enjoyed this anime. I wasn't thinking about which scenes would look especially great as screenshots. I wasn't thinking about which subbed scenes would be great to add in for comedic effect. I could just watch in the moment and laugh and cry and just feel whenever I wanted to. I think that's what I've been lacking for a while now. I've just been thinking about the screenshots and not living right there and then and just letting myself be fully immersed in the show. I recommend you watch like that. I think the best way to enjoy anything is to just let yourself be swept away by it which sounds like something so simple, but it's also one of the most moving experiences you can have. My ballet teacher used to tell us that while we were in the studio that we shouldn't stress about things going on outside of the studio, that we should cast away all of our worries in order to dance the best that we could. Watching anime should be the same way.
{Spoilers}
By the first cour, almost everyone's character has become fleshed out. You learn who's who and all about their different quirks. So with the beginning of the second cour you get a sense of who people are, and while for some of them they stay the same like Lotte, Sucy, and Amanda, for characters like Diana, Professor Ursula, and for Akko they change and grow in some fundamental way. Seeing the complexities of each character and how Studio Trigger is able to characterize each one of them so subtly with wordless scenes and hidden motivations and pasts make them all the more convicting and fascinating. It's almost like watching real people with all of their different facets and flaws.
Take Diana for example. For a while now she's been the privileged ojou-sama. She's been the aristocratic know-it-all that no one really likes because of how perfect she is. However, we're able to learn a lot more about her through other people and how she interacts with them. In the episode 19 when it's revealed what Diana's home life is and then later on in the cour when it's revealed that she's just as big of a Shiny Chariot fan as Akko is, your heart melts. At the end of episode 19 when she expresses how grateful she is to Akko, her humanity is revealed and you can't help but feel sympathy for this girl that was held up to all of these Herculean expectations and how she was crushed and molded into this perfect person that the Cavendish family was supposed to be. And we as people that are all held up to expectations, of perfection like Diana, of familial obligations, of anything that life tosses at us really, resonate so strongly with her. She is first and foremost portrayed as a perfect person, but underneath she has her own convictions and desires the same as anyone else. I think the glimpses we get of Diana as a hard-working and driven individual is something beautiful. She's not perfect naturally, she's had to work for what she has and against extremely unfavorable circumstances to get where she is. The way that her character is portrayed is just wonderful, and if you didn't like her in the first cour, don't worry, I didn't really like her either. But now, now she's just amazing.
Honestly the second cour was where it was at with the deep and complex characters. Like Croix who showed up in the second cour as the new and super high tech professor that was here to revive magic with the help of science. Side note, for the first couple of episodes I kept thinking about the carbonated, overpriced bubble water brand Le Croix every time I heard her name. But that's besides the point. I think what struck me the most in a very subtle way was the fact that she eats instant noodles. Don't take this the wrong way. I don't just fixate on random things. Like her eating instant cup noodles seems like such a menial thing, but why would Studio Trigger put that in if it wasn't significant in some way? Like she's doing all of this high tech magic and she's dressed super cool, but underneath all of that she's just a normal girl. When there's flashbacks of when Croix and Chariot were students at Luna Nova, Croix is always depicted in casual clothes, wearing a hoodie and sneakers and similarly in flashbacks Chariot is depicted wearing her performing clothes. At some subconscious level you compare Chariot and Croix to one another and while one impresses you physically, the other leaves something to be desired. Croix is what I imagine in our world to be like a CS major or an engineering major, late nights in a sweatshirt working on a project and eating cup noodle. She seems so relatable and her lifestyle relates so much to a lot of college students I know that prioritize their academics and their projects over their health, that it's easy to find similarities between her and real life people. Also the disparity that occurs when she's working on her energy absorbing cubes versus her eating cup noodle is insane. Like I can't get over it. I don't think I'll ever be over it. Maybe it's a subliminal message about the evils of cup noodle. And beyond her value as a relatable character on a mannerisms level, I think everyone can relate to her when the Shiny Rod picks Chariot over her. I think we can all relate to the thoughts that we have when things don't go your way and someone else seems to be put on a pedestal. You feel kind of betrayed by the world and you might even feel like the other person didn't work as hard or wasn't as deserving of whatever you had desired. And that might bring you to do something extreme. Perhaps not as extreme as Croix, but still.
The most plot twist-ish, I mean obviously this is subjective, character was Professor Ursula, or should I say Chariot du Nord. She was such a good mentor to Akko this whole time, helping her find the words, waking up early to help her with her magic. On the surface without thinking about it, it just looks like she's helping Akko out of the goodness of her heart, when in fact she's doing it out of guilt. She unknowingly stole some of Akko's magic back when she didn't even know Akko, didn't know the consequences of harnessing people's magic. It's heartbreaking really to think about her initial motivations, however they're also so real and so human. Sometimes you love and care about someone not because you're a selfless person, but instead you do it out of guilt or duty. And while that isn't a love born out of purity, it can become a strong and stable sort of love that can be beautiful in its own way. When you think about how Chariot was put under so much pressure and her smile was smothered out by the expectations held by other people, not unlike Diana, all because she wanted to make the world happy, it makes your heart hurt thinking about how she caved under the pressure. But I think out of the mistakes that she made when she was young, she was able to grow into a dependable teacher that never gives up on her pupil. Shiny Chariot was Akko's hero, but Professor Ursula was her mentor. And while for some people their hero and mentor are the same, I think sometimes the mentor is the unsung hero of people's stories.
And the star of the show Akko. She's a piece of work. But it was certainly a pleasure following along with her bildungsroman, how she worked her way through the difficulties of becoming a witch and succeeded for the most part. Put bluntly she plowed her way through and through perseverance was able to make her dream of meeting Chariot come true. Along the way she was able to overcome some of her shortcomings like her inability to be patient or her bull-headed nature. But I think it was her shortcomings and clumsiness which made her so endearing. Without Akko certainly the show wouldn't have been as entertaining and it wouldn't have been quite so uplifting. Because of her, LWA was a star. There were so many ups and downs and even times where Akko's spark almost flickered out, but her happy-go-lucky attitude and iron horse work ethic pulled her through. Why does this sound like I'm signing her yearbook? I can't quite put into words how determined and beautiful Akko is. Maybe it's because I can't relate to how driven and brightly she shines. I guess you'll just have to watch yourself to really see. I was talking to V about when she found out that her childhood hero Chariot was actually Professor Ursula and how she had stolen her ability to fly. We were talking about her reaction to that unpleasant reality bomb and how I couldn't relate to that and how V thought she should've been angrier. I was thinking about that and I thought it was interesting. Like we both had watched the same episode, but his opinion as to how Akko should've acted was different to mine which shows how people see Akko differently and react differently to her. It's fascinating really how characters can impact people in a multitude of variations. Just food for thought haha...I don't really know where I was going with that.
But in any case thanks for sticking through to the end of this blog post. It probably wasn't that engaging or exciting, but I enjoy giving my two cents. If you haven't watched it already I highly recommend you watch LWA. The music and art style have a very light hearted and cute feeling. And it's overall a very inspirational watch. I feel like this kind of story is repeated over and over again, but you can't really get tired of it because we all need a reminder of how we should keep reaching higher and higher to achieve our dreams. Because the real magic is inside of you.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Anime ATM 77 Little Witch Academia {First Cour}
So as I was buckling down to write the review for LWA, V informed me that the first "season" as denoted on Netflix was actually just the first cour. Then I proceeded to google said "cour" and learned that the first twelve episodes are in fact just the first half of the season. But since I had already mentally prepared to write the review, I will just give my thoughts on the first half first. Although it does make sense that the first 12 were just the first half of one season because honestly the last episode didn't seem like an end, it seemed like just a continuation. Why does Netflix have to be so complicated? In all seriousness I picked up this series in the beginning because of V. He said it replaced his current faves, or something like that I forgot the exact wording verbatim hehe, and I was shook. If V says its good enough to rewatch and he had such strong feelings about the cast I knew I had to watch it!
{Spoilers}
I think what makes this series so great is the amazing set of characters. They're all a little bit quirky, but at the same time you've seen those kinds of characters time and time again which makes them seem familiar. For example I see a lot of Yui from K-On in Akko. They're both a bit ditzy and not that into studying the traditional way, but when they've got their mind set on something they don't let anything get in their way. I think this familiar character gives a lot of people someone to connect to. Not everyone can be perfectly selfless and intelligent like Diana, but I think many people can resonate with Akko and her awkward but lovable self. Additionally I love how hardworking and unconventional Akko is. She's not from a witch family and while that's already a big disadvantage, all she can think about is how she wants to become like her idol Shiny Chariot. Personally I can't relate to wanting to be exactly like another person, but the idea of aspiring to become something greater than yourself is a beautiful thing. She's not afraid to break or bend the rules a little bit either. She doesn't let the fear of failure get in the way of her trying things. Episode 12 is a good example of this. Even though she was stuck with the grossest job for the festival, she wanted to do something to help the cursed spirit. It was a desire born of the unselfish desire to cheer up the spirit. And what's even more phenomenal about her character is that she still wants to go ahead with her plan when everyone else thinks she should just stick with the traditional way. Her radical mindset is both an inspiration to the characters in the show, but radical and world-shaking, rule-bending people should be embraced and nurtured in this world. I think that they should be the example we follow in order to change the world to be better. I think I see many parallels between myself and Lotte. She's definitely a fangirl and someone that blends into the background more than anything, but she has firm beliefs and always wants to support her friends. Another interesting character is Sucy. Her obsession with mushrooms is definitely creepy and you get that sort of occult, creepy witch vibe from her, but the episode of Akko in Sucyland really solidified how great of a character Sucy is. In the episode Akko walks through Sucyland and sees all the aspects of Sucy that she didn't normally see. I think that's some great insight into how a lot of these characters and the people around you seem kind of plain or one dimensional, but that's just on the surface. Beneath that is really interesting and surprising aspects of people. I think my personal favorite Sucy was the spit on the world Sucy. It was such an interesting Sucy. I'd definitely recommend that you watch even just for the characters. They seem really familiar, but at the same time it's these types of characters that I find are often extremely relatable and easy to connect to.
Another enjoyable aspect of this show is the different arcs. I briefly touched upon the Sucy episode which was already a masterpiece in and of itself. I like how each episode is kind of its own entity. It's got its own standalone quality that makes it a joy to watch. Another episode I really like is episode 7. It's the episode where midterms are coming around and Akko realizes that the fish that everyone is looking at in class is actually the teacher. Honestly V told me about this episode before I even started the show and without even seeing it I was so hyped. It was super ridiculous, but that was actually the best episode in terms of comedy. It was just a series of mildly unfortunate events that all together accumulated into this great episode. I can't even put into words how truly entertained I was by that episode so I'll just have to highly highly recommend that you watch at least that episode. Another episode that satisfied my hankering for shoujo was episode 10. It was super cute with more slightly unfortunate events consisting of a cupid bee and the Akko x Andrew ship sailing. But honestly the part that had me super ecstatic was when all the guys that were stung by the cupid bee and fell in love with Lotte brushed her off and she was super sad and then Frank came by and swooped in like the amazing and underrated secondary character he is. Honestly I'm so passionate about Lotte x Frank you don't even understand. The ships in this show are real and I'm very moved by them actually. You know when the characters are so cute and so precious that you just want the absolute best for them? My favorite pastime is to root for imaginary characters :').
One thing that almost slipped my mind about the universe of LWA is the role that witches play in this world. They're not revered anymore and magic is starting to fall out of favor in lieu of technology. The school is starting to run out of money which is the whole reason why they decided to accept Akko in the first place. But in fact Akko could be the second coming of the golden magical era. Perhaps she and Diana will band together in an effort to revive magic. One thing I'm worried about though is that if they do end up doing that, what if magic just becomes a parlor trick or something for entertainment? Why can't witches do magic without the sorcerer's stone anymore? It's definitely food for thought and I don't really know what to think. It could be due to the fact that I'm running on not that much sleep because I have zero self control, or because my analytical brain is being drowned out by my animal instinct to just feel distressed and drown in the stress that I brought upon myself. Who knows?
OMG and the episode with Lotte and Night Fall. The Twilight ripoff. LOOOL. Honestly I think if I was more observant then I would be able to see more references heh
And so that was my short little blurb on LWA first cour. I will be back with the full review probably in the next week, possibly two weeks. Overall I'm sure you can tell how absolutely precious this show was. I've got a lot more to say on characters like Diana and Chariot and the whole universe they're in, but I think I'll save that for when I've finished the whole thing. V says the Diana arc is really interesting and will give me a 180 on my opinion about her character and I can't wait. So instead of closing with my final remarks, I'll just say that this was a great start and it'll be bittersweet to finish. I'm not like V, I don't usually rewatch because there's so many things I've yet to watch. What can I say? I'm a novelty hunter.
Disclaimer: The screenshots you're about to see are from V and they seem lowkey blurry but I appreciate that he let me use them. TY V :)))))))))))))
{Spoilers}
I think what makes this series so great is the amazing set of characters. They're all a little bit quirky, but at the same time you've seen those kinds of characters time and time again which makes them seem familiar. For example I see a lot of Yui from K-On in Akko. They're both a bit ditzy and not that into studying the traditional way, but when they've got their mind set on something they don't let anything get in their way. I think this familiar character gives a lot of people someone to connect to. Not everyone can be perfectly selfless and intelligent like Diana, but I think many people can resonate with Akko and her awkward but lovable self. Additionally I love how hardworking and unconventional Akko is. She's not from a witch family and while that's already a big disadvantage, all she can think about is how she wants to become like her idol Shiny Chariot. Personally I can't relate to wanting to be exactly like another person, but the idea of aspiring to become something greater than yourself is a beautiful thing. She's not afraid to break or bend the rules a little bit either. She doesn't let the fear of failure get in the way of her trying things. Episode 12 is a good example of this. Even though she was stuck with the grossest job for the festival, she wanted to do something to help the cursed spirit. It was a desire born of the unselfish desire to cheer up the spirit. And what's even more phenomenal about her character is that she still wants to go ahead with her plan when everyone else thinks she should just stick with the traditional way. Her radical mindset is both an inspiration to the characters in the show, but radical and world-shaking, rule-bending people should be embraced and nurtured in this world. I think that they should be the example we follow in order to change the world to be better. I think I see many parallels between myself and Lotte. She's definitely a fangirl and someone that blends into the background more than anything, but she has firm beliefs and always wants to support her friends. Another interesting character is Sucy. Her obsession with mushrooms is definitely creepy and you get that sort of occult, creepy witch vibe from her, but the episode of Akko in Sucyland really solidified how great of a character Sucy is. In the episode Akko walks through Sucyland and sees all the aspects of Sucy that she didn't normally see. I think that's some great insight into how a lot of these characters and the people around you seem kind of plain or one dimensional, but that's just on the surface. Beneath that is really interesting and surprising aspects of people. I think my personal favorite Sucy was the spit on the world Sucy. It was such an interesting Sucy. I'd definitely recommend that you watch even just for the characters. They seem really familiar, but at the same time it's these types of characters that I find are often extremely relatable and easy to connect to.
Another enjoyable aspect of this show is the different arcs. I briefly touched upon the Sucy episode which was already a masterpiece in and of itself. I like how each episode is kind of its own entity. It's got its own standalone quality that makes it a joy to watch. Another episode I really like is episode 7. It's the episode where midterms are coming around and Akko realizes that the fish that everyone is looking at in class is actually the teacher. Honestly V told me about this episode before I even started the show and without even seeing it I was so hyped. It was super ridiculous, but that was actually the best episode in terms of comedy. It was just a series of mildly unfortunate events that all together accumulated into this great episode. I can't even put into words how truly entertained I was by that episode so I'll just have to highly highly recommend that you watch at least that episode. Another episode that satisfied my hankering for shoujo was episode 10. It was super cute with more slightly unfortunate events consisting of a cupid bee and the Akko x Andrew ship sailing. But honestly the part that had me super ecstatic was when all the guys that were stung by the cupid bee and fell in love with Lotte brushed her off and she was super sad and then Frank came by and swooped in like the amazing and underrated secondary character he is. Honestly I'm so passionate about Lotte x Frank you don't even understand. The ships in this show are real and I'm very moved by them actually. You know when the characters are so cute and so precious that you just want the absolute best for them? My favorite pastime is to root for imaginary characters :').
One thing that almost slipped my mind about the universe of LWA is the role that witches play in this world. They're not revered anymore and magic is starting to fall out of favor in lieu of technology. The school is starting to run out of money which is the whole reason why they decided to accept Akko in the first place. But in fact Akko could be the second coming of the golden magical era. Perhaps she and Diana will band together in an effort to revive magic. One thing I'm worried about though is that if they do end up doing that, what if magic just becomes a parlor trick or something for entertainment? Why can't witches do magic without the sorcerer's stone anymore? It's definitely food for thought and I don't really know what to think. It could be due to the fact that I'm running on not that much sleep because I have zero self control, or because my analytical brain is being drowned out by my animal instinct to just feel distressed and drown in the stress that I brought upon myself. Who knows?
OMG and the episode with Lotte and Night Fall. The Twilight ripoff. LOOOL. Honestly I think if I was more observant then I would be able to see more references heh
And so that was my short little blurb on LWA first cour. I will be back with the full review probably in the next week, possibly two weeks. Overall I'm sure you can tell how absolutely precious this show was. I've got a lot more to say on characters like Diana and Chariot and the whole universe they're in, but I think I'll save that for when I've finished the whole thing. V says the Diana arc is really interesting and will give me a 180 on my opinion about her character and I can't wait. So instead of closing with my final remarks, I'll just say that this was a great start and it'll be bittersweet to finish. I'm not like V, I don't usually rewatch because there's so many things I've yet to watch. What can I say? I'm a novelty hunter.
Disclaimer: The screenshots you're about to see are from V and they seem lowkey blurry but I appreciate that he let me use them. TY V :)))))))))))))
Wow it's me!
From the funniest episode in the series. The face of regret.
Haruhi Suzumiya is that you?
And this was the best shoujo episode. TY again V
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Anime ATM 74 Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! 2
I binged this in one day because I hate myself. Or maybe it's just because I have no self-control. Or maybe it's because it's a three day weekend before the quarter/death starts. Who really knows?
{Spoilers, maybe}
Honestly this season was just more of the same. There wasn't a lot of character development, if any development at all. It was just more jokes and unfortunate adventures driven by money. But then again this is a parody series on actual adventure anime, so it does serve its purpose. Anything I could say about season 2 is the same as season 1 so if you're curious about my opinion just check that one out.
One additional thing I'd like to note is that this series is definitely aimed towards the stereotypical male population. I think this demographic would disagree with me on how it was lacking in anything different than a continuation of the first season or how this is how a series like this should go, but in general I wasn't blown away by anything. There was a nice little story-like OP and a soothing ED again which I appreciated. There were different arcs and bosses, but overall it really was the same thing again.
And cults really scare me. If you've read the webtoon Lookism you'd understand.
Anyways, this is a good show to binge because the two seasons together are only 20 episodes, less than some shows are for an entire season. It's an incredibly light watch and really easy to digest. If you're looking for something funny and lowkey ecchi this is the show for you I guess? Ah, also it's not a harem anime like I originally thought it was going to be.
{Spoilers, maybe}
Honestly this season was just more of the same. There wasn't a lot of character development, if any development at all. It was just more jokes and unfortunate adventures driven by money. But then again this is a parody series on actual adventure anime, so it does serve its purpose. Anything I could say about season 2 is the same as season 1 so if you're curious about my opinion just check that one out.
One additional thing I'd like to note is that this series is definitely aimed towards the stereotypical male population. I think this demographic would disagree with me on how it was lacking in anything different than a continuation of the first season or how this is how a series like this should go, but in general I wasn't blown away by anything. There was a nice little story-like OP and a soothing ED again which I appreciated. There were different arcs and bosses, but overall it really was the same thing again.
And cults really scare me. If you've read the webtoon Lookism you'd understand.
Anyways, this is a good show to binge because the two seasons together are only 20 episodes, less than some shows are for an entire season. It's an incredibly light watch and really easy to digest. If you're looking for something funny and lowkey ecchi this is the show for you I guess? Ah, also it's not a harem anime like I originally thought it was going to be.
Star Wars?
Wow that's me during the winter. Bundled up and hidden away from my problems.
When all your friends haven't seen you in a while and are reminded again of how stupid you are :)
When you mess up once and everyone blames you for it :(
OMF his face when Aqua makes him tea
Also Yunyun is such a pure girl. Honestly all the crimson demons are my favorite with their ridiculous antics and weird names.
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Anime ATM 73 Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! (KonoSuba)
These past couple of days I've been eating, drinking, and binging with abandon. I've been eating a lot of candy, drinking a lot of water, and binging a lot of anime.
After finishing Blend S I was feeling a little empty inside and I asked V what I should watch next. His recommendations lately have been between KonoSuba and Gabriel Dropout. I've yet to watch Gabriel Dropout, but something about the 10 episode season of KonoSuba made it appealing. And so I binged it all. In one day. Healthy. I swear I'll start actually going to the gym sometime soon.
Note: I'm writing this at night after I went out to eat KBBQ with my friends, so I can't really think straight, but I like writing reviews right after I finish the series so all my thoughts on the series are still in my head. I'd rather pour it all out into one post rather than risk losing a part of my train of thought.
{Spoilers, I guess?}
First of all, this isn't your typical fantasy adventure anime. So don't expect it to be super serious and have all these arcs and super cool bosses. This is mostly about our unfortunate main character and his comedically sad life. Natsuki Subaru
*cough* I mean Kazuma is your average NEET and otaku.
Well he's normal until he dies and decides to take a goddess with him to a parallel world to defeat the demon king and save the world. Or something. It turns out that Aqua isn't the brightest and she's mostly the reason for Kazuma's suffering and their chronic debt. With Aqua the occasionally useful goddess, Megumin the good for one time use explosion arch wizard, Darkness the masochistic and clumsy knight, and Kazuma the average dude, they make up a pretty motley crew. Their dysfunctional dynamic makes it more interesting to watch because they're not given per-say a way to easily finish the game. Heck, they never even make it to the demon king in these 10 episodes.
This is more of a "just for fun and laughs" kind of anime rather than a serious adventure anime. Sure it has its moments like when Kazuma dies for the second time and almost leaves the parallel world for a nice life reincarnated in Japan, but instead decides to stay with all of them in the parallel world. That fond loyalty and the fact that sometimes they do really cool stuff like defeat one of the demon king's generals keeps it from completely being a gag anime, but let's be honest, it still kind of is a gag anime.
I wouldn't recommend you watch this in a public place. Without context a lot of parts, especially when Kazuma learns the steal skill or like any scene with Darkness is high risk. And definitely don't let anyone see you watching episode 9. That's NSFW.
Overall I'd say it's a pretty light watch. It's honestly like a slice of life comedy, just in an adventure format. So it's a pretty good transition series if you're looking to branch out into different genres. It's also very addicting because they all link together in this kind of series of unfortunate events as they keep getting money and accumulating debt. Ah and the ED really heals my soul. It's a really good ED. The OP is pretty good too, but the ED is very pure.
After finishing Blend S I was feeling a little empty inside and I asked V what I should watch next. His recommendations lately have been between KonoSuba and Gabriel Dropout. I've yet to watch Gabriel Dropout, but something about the 10 episode season of KonoSuba made it appealing. And so I binged it all. In one day. Healthy. I swear I'll start actually going to the gym sometime soon.
Note: I'm writing this at night after I went out to eat KBBQ with my friends, so I can't really think straight, but I like writing reviews right after I finish the series so all my thoughts on the series are still in my head. I'd rather pour it all out into one post rather than risk losing a part of my train of thought.
{Spoilers, I guess?}
First of all, this isn't your typical fantasy adventure anime. So don't expect it to be super serious and have all these arcs and super cool bosses. This is mostly about our unfortunate main character and his comedically sad life. Natsuki Subaru
This is more of a "just for fun and laughs" kind of anime rather than a serious adventure anime. Sure it has its moments like when Kazuma dies for the second time and almost leaves the parallel world for a nice life reincarnated in Japan, but instead decides to stay with all of them in the parallel world. That fond loyalty and the fact that sometimes they do really cool stuff like defeat one of the demon king's generals keeps it from completely being a gag anime, but let's be honest, it still kind of is a gag anime.
I wouldn't recommend you watch this in a public place. Without context a lot of parts, especially when Kazuma learns the steal skill or like any scene with Darkness is high risk. And definitely don't let anyone see you watching episode 9. That's NSFW.
Overall I'd say it's a pretty light watch. It's honestly like a slice of life comedy, just in an adventure format. So it's a pretty good transition series if you're looking to branch out into different genres. It's also very addicting because they all link together in this kind of series of unfortunate events as they keep getting money and accumulating debt. Ah and the ED really heals my soul. It's a really good ED. The OP is pretty good too, but the ED is very pure.
They've got some really nice spell sequences in here. They're really aesthetic. One day I think it'd be cool to learn how to make GIFs so I could show you in all their glory.
Is that a Chuunibyou reference? Like the eyepatch :o
The truth hurts too much Aqua T^T
His response to all his party members calling his name is so cute
I just love how this anime doesn't take itself too seriously. Like they could've made the end really dramatic and meaningful or something, but instead they put this epic battle sprinkled with sardonic humor. Like this deadpan humor killed me. It was just a really well executed anime overall and something I hadn't seen before. Maybe it's because I'm not too into RPGs or adventure type anime in general (like the classics I haven't even watched because there's just too many episodes and I'm overwhelmed by the sheer amount), but I thought this was a really original show and I can't wait to watch season 2!
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Anime ATM 65 Mob Psycho 100
My one regret is that I didn't start this sooner. I thought One Punch Man was the only thing I needed to watch in that animation style. I didn't want anymore. It's not pretty or cute, so I just put it off. But, it really is beautiful. Don't knock it till you try it.
Also I'm sick. I woke up for my 8 am class feeling like crap and then knocked out right after and had the most psychedelic and random dream. It was really wild. And I still feel like crap now, but more like a feverish little sickly turd that just wants to go home and drink soup. I love college. This is a good show to watch when you're sick because you're so invested in what's happening to them you forget about the pain you're feeling.
{Spoilers, probably}
So Shigeo looks like Saitama. With hair. The end. Just kidding!
Shigeo is one of the most powerful psychics, but because of his immense gift and his lack of training he finds himself shutting it away until something dramatic triggers his awakening. Then he decimates everything in sight. What's fascinating about Shigeo is how humble he is. He's incredibly kind and has a strong set of morals partially due to Reigen's BS (or is it BS?). This is contrasted by the corrupt nature of other psychics like Teru, until they get beat up by Shigeo because he's the best and just makes you further appreciate how Shigeo tries to conceal his powers and live a normal life like his brother. Speaking of his brother, poor Ritsu. I think a lot of people have inferiority complexes when it comes to their siblings which makes him relatable especially if you have siblings because you know the exact feels he experiences. That's why when he becomes mad with power it's almost understandable because of the position he was put in. I guess this turned into a paragraph about characters so let's just end it talking about the troll that is Reigen. He's the ultimate con artist, but somehow is a great, albeit accidental, mentor to Shigeo and truly is the protagonist of his life. He's arguably the most clever and grown up one of everyone in this show and acts as a crooked moral compass. He's not the best person ever, but somehow you can't help just acknowledging that he's a pretty good guy.
I think the whole concept behind Mob Psycho 100 is amazing. Everyone can relate to when you reach that breaking point of anger or sadness and just explode to vent that anger. If you can't relate you're just lying to yourself. And the way that Mob deals with those emotions is very real. There's no romanticist intention behind Mob's character; he's raw, he's flawed, he's got a chip on his shoulder, but still carries on to the best of his abilities to improve himself. Heck he thinks he's flawed because he's only got his psychic powers so he goes and joins the buffest club at school and studies hard so he can be smart and popular. You could say it's just naivety that makes him this way, that if he never met Reigen and just abused his power he could be "successful" to a certain extent, but he might just be innately good.
Let's give a moment of silence to appreciate the aesthetic of this show. It's got the One Punch Man vibes because it's written by the same guy, but it's got its own sort of thing going. I'd say it's kind of like neon lights in the dark. Like if you look at the evil demons like Dimple they've got this dark aura, but are themselves really brightly colored. Some good vibes there.
Overall if you think you don't need to watch this you thought wrong. It's a great show with great morals, great characters, great concept, and great aesthetic. It's an incredibly fun watch and I hope to God there's a season 2 because it's great. Shout out to my friend for recommending it to me all those times that it stuck in my head after 2 years to watch it. It was a good life decision.
Sorry if this review was wonky, my brain is addled from sickness.
Also I'm sick. I woke up for my 8 am class feeling like crap and then knocked out right after and had the most psychedelic and random dream. It was really wild. And I still feel like crap now, but more like a feverish little sickly turd that just wants to go home and drink soup. I love college. This is a good show to watch when you're sick because you're so invested in what's happening to them you forget about the pain you're feeling.
{Spoilers, probably}
So Shigeo looks like Saitama. With hair. The end. Just kidding!
Shigeo is one of the most powerful psychics, but because of his immense gift and his lack of training he finds himself shutting it away until something dramatic triggers his awakening. Then he decimates everything in sight. What's fascinating about Shigeo is how humble he is. He's incredibly kind and has a strong set of morals partially due to Reigen's BS (or is it BS?). This is contrasted by the corrupt nature of other psychics like Teru, until they get beat up by Shigeo because he's the best and just makes you further appreciate how Shigeo tries to conceal his powers and live a normal life like his brother. Speaking of his brother, poor Ritsu. I think a lot of people have inferiority complexes when it comes to their siblings which makes him relatable especially if you have siblings because you know the exact feels he experiences. That's why when he becomes mad with power it's almost understandable because of the position he was put in. I guess this turned into a paragraph about characters so let's just end it talking about the troll that is Reigen. He's the ultimate con artist, but somehow is a great, albeit accidental, mentor to Shigeo and truly is the protagonist of his life. He's arguably the most clever and grown up one of everyone in this show and acts as a crooked moral compass. He's not the best person ever, but somehow you can't help just acknowledging that he's a pretty good guy.
I think the whole concept behind Mob Psycho 100 is amazing. Everyone can relate to when you reach that breaking point of anger or sadness and just explode to vent that anger. If you can't relate you're just lying to yourself. And the way that Mob deals with those emotions is very real. There's no romanticist intention behind Mob's character; he's raw, he's flawed, he's got a chip on his shoulder, but still carries on to the best of his abilities to improve himself. Heck he thinks he's flawed because he's only got his psychic powers so he goes and joins the buffest club at school and studies hard so he can be smart and popular. You could say it's just naivety that makes him this way, that if he never met Reigen and just abused his power he could be "successful" to a certain extent, but he might just be innately good.
Let's give a moment of silence to appreciate the aesthetic of this show. It's got the One Punch Man vibes because it's written by the same guy, but it's got its own sort of thing going. I'd say it's kind of like neon lights in the dark. Like if you look at the evil demons like Dimple they've got this dark aura, but are themselves really brightly colored. Some good vibes there.
Overall if you think you don't need to watch this you thought wrong. It's a great show with great morals, great characters, great concept, and great aesthetic. It's an incredibly fun watch and I hope to God there's a season 2 because it's great. Shout out to my friend for recommending it to me all those times that it stuck in my head after 2 years to watch it. It was a good life decision.
Sorry if this review was wonky, my brain is addled from sickness.
Reinen is so casual and look at everyone else omg
Why was the idea of Seasoning City so funny to me? It's just so random
Ok so Seasoning City with like Miso, Black Vinegar and Bean Paste Middle Schools I guess are passable, but how do you explain these schoolgirl vegetables??
Best crossdressers
He's so pure
Arguably the best character
They're all just a bunch of overgrown kids which is funny, but sad because I can see that being me one day
If you take away anything from this show it should be this
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Anime ATM 59 K: Missing Kings
I've been a roll lately, checking off all the shows on my "to watch" list this summer, maybe because subconsciously I know that during the school year I'm going to have to hustle hard. Whatever it is I'm really enjoying watching all the shows I've been meaning to watch.
Fun fact is that I didn't actually watch this in the order you're supposed to because first you're supposed to watch K and then this movie and then K: Return of Kings. I just dived right into the second season because I didn't do enough research. Honestly though I wouldn't say that it's necessary to watch this movie in order to watch K: Return of Kings. They do a great introduction as always, so the only reason you'd need to watch it in order would be because you're a perfectionist or something. Otherwise watch at your own leisure whatever in whatever order. It's not like Fate/Stay Night where you have to watch it in a certain order or Star Wars where you can watch it chronologically or by production date or whatever.
{Spoilers}
I love the entire universe of K. I'm simply in love. Just visually the coloring that's added to so many of the scenes just adds this pop of wow that it wouldn't otherwise have. I'm all for a pop of color, but the melding of the colors that didn't scream something tacky like "Rainbow!" but instead something more harmonious because of the dark muted tones or light blending it together made it beautiful.
With the introduction of JUNGLE that's what I realized I missed because in season 2 it's like wow where'd this clan come from? All of the clans have their different dynamics. Like HOMRA is all about this gang-like mafia style (is that repetitive? Not sure). I mean their slogan "No blood. No bone. No ash." really says everything it needs to. They're intensely loyal and treat each other like family. Of course it's not as intimate as the Silver Clan which consists of 2 vassals and their King. That bond is tighter and seems more miscellaneous in a nice kitsch sort of way. And SCEPTER 2 is the actual coolest. Every time they unsheathe their swords for battle or when they're saluting someone it's just such an impact. It's a more business-like relationship between the members of the Blue Clan, but they all respect one another. Plus their section of the city is all blue which give such jivin' vibes. And then JUNGLE's dynamic is so different. It's not able building each other up per say, but more about building yourself up in a competitive setting. That's what makes it all the more unsettling.
This whole piece was very transitional. It was the search for Shiro for the Silver Clan and Shiro's decision to stop running away. It was the rise of the new Red King (Go Anna!) and the recollection of the Red Clan. It was the rising threat of the Green Clan and the introduction of its members. It was the rise in power and responsibility for the Blue King with the Gold King MIA aka dying.
I just have to add it in here that this movie is a definite advancement in Fushimi and Yata. Just had to say that because at the end when the Red and Blue Kings are talking and Yata's trying to say thanks to Fushimi for the intel his blush was so cute and if you try to deny it I will show you that clip on repeat.
Overall if you're a fan of K and everything about K you must've already watched this. If you're not so sure about the whole K fantasy world then just give it a chance. It's my favorite fantasy anime. It's the absolute best. There's so much loyalty, power, and just interrelations between characters that really make this a must-watch!!!!
Fun fact is that I didn't actually watch this in the order you're supposed to because first you're supposed to watch K and then this movie and then K: Return of Kings. I just dived right into the second season because I didn't do enough research. Honestly though I wouldn't say that it's necessary to watch this movie in order to watch K: Return of Kings. They do a great introduction as always, so the only reason you'd need to watch it in order would be because you're a perfectionist or something. Otherwise watch at your own leisure whatever in whatever order. It's not like Fate/Stay Night where you have to watch it in a certain order or Star Wars where you can watch it chronologically or by production date or whatever.
{Spoilers}
I love the entire universe of K. I'm simply in love. Just visually the coloring that's added to so many of the scenes just adds this pop of wow that it wouldn't otherwise have. I'm all for a pop of color, but the melding of the colors that didn't scream something tacky like "Rainbow!" but instead something more harmonious because of the dark muted tones or light blending it together made it beautiful.
With the introduction of JUNGLE that's what I realized I missed because in season 2 it's like wow where'd this clan come from? All of the clans have their different dynamics. Like HOMRA is all about this gang-like mafia style (is that repetitive? Not sure). I mean their slogan "No blood. No bone. No ash." really says everything it needs to. They're intensely loyal and treat each other like family. Of course it's not as intimate as the Silver Clan which consists of 2 vassals and their King. That bond is tighter and seems more miscellaneous in a nice kitsch sort of way. And SCEPTER 2 is the actual coolest. Every time they unsheathe their swords for battle or when they're saluting someone it's just such an impact. It's a more business-like relationship between the members of the Blue Clan, but they all respect one another. Plus their section of the city is all blue which give such jivin' vibes. And then JUNGLE's dynamic is so different. It's not able building each other up per say, but more about building yourself up in a competitive setting. That's what makes it all the more unsettling.
This whole piece was very transitional. It was the search for Shiro for the Silver Clan and Shiro's decision to stop running away. It was the rise of the new Red King (Go Anna!) and the recollection of the Red Clan. It was the rising threat of the Green Clan and the introduction of its members. It was the rise in power and responsibility for the Blue King with the Gold King MIA aka dying.
I just have to add it in here that this movie is a definite advancement in Fushimi and Yata. Just had to say that because at the end when the Red and Blue Kings are talking and Yata's trying to say thanks to Fushimi for the intel his blush was so cute and if you try to deny it I will show you that clip on repeat.
Overall if you're a fan of K and everything about K you must've already watched this. If you're not so sure about the whole K fantasy world then just give it a chance. It's my favorite fantasy anime. It's the absolute best. There's so much loyalty, power, and just interrelations between characters that really make this a must-watch!!!!
This made me sad because it was such a blast to the past and now Mikoto's gone forever
He's such an angsty boy smh but he's so pure too
Isn't this color just great? Yata's so cool. I love Yata.
Look at Kuroh with those sparkles though! Please validate his feelings
Ok 1. I love this translation and 2. People say Neko is just fanservice but she's actually really helpful so shush
CASUALLY fighting on the side of the building like how is this occurring?
yES
This made me happy thinking about these two swords side by side again even though it's not Mikoto's sword anymore, it's Anna's, but still. Mikoto x Reishi lives on
This was actually 4 seconds in, but it's so beautiful
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