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 romance anime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label romance anime. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Anime ATM 107 Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku
This actually aired back in the day, but I didn't watch it because I was satisfied with the manga. But then I saw a really cute clip on IG of Hirotaka and Narumi and decided to watch it haha. The power of suggestion. After watching it, all I am is more bitter and still single. Oh well. But it definitely made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside while watching it.
I've definitely seen some really nice Youtube videos reviewing this anime and talking about how it portrays adult life and mature working adult people romance well. I can neither confirm nor deny this claim as I am a 20 year old child that passes as an adult on a good day. But what I can say is that it's not a super showy shoujo sparkles kind of romance. And it's not the kind of romance with lines that would be really cringy if someone were to say it to you in real life but is somehow passable in manga format. You know what I'm talking about. It falls in a happy place that feels realistic and genuine.
If you've ever wondered what your life might be like as an adult otaku, this show might be a glimpse into the future you's life. The show features different kinds of otaku: games, BL, and shoujo mainly. It focuses on four main coworkers that all secretly happen to be otaku. Well, it's not necessarily secret, just not a well-known fact. There's two main couples, and both are really really cute. The dynamics of Hanako and Kabakura's relationship is kinda like an old married couple in a way, but there's also an interesting gap dynamic going on with Hanako highkey wearing the pants in this relationship and Kabakura the shoujo otaku. While Narumi and Hirotaka kinda felt like the main couple to me, especially with the whole childhood friends thing going on, definitely don't forget about Hanako and Kabakura; they're really sweet.
It follows their daily lives as office workers during the day and otaku during nights and weekends. But it also shows them doing "normal people" kinds of things. LOL idk how else to say it. I definitely don't mean to box people into certain labels, but there's definitely a variety of dates and hangout activities they do, both otaku and non-otaku-centric. For example, they go to the amusement park on dates, but they also go to the summer Comiket and buy doujins together. That kind of thing. There's definitely lots of fun little side stories and just wholesome get-togethers and hangouts. They live the sort of ideal adult life I think a lot of us wish we will have in the future. Obviously it glamorizes work and adulting and everything like that, but I'm hopeful adult life is actually like that *wheeze*
Overall, it's a really sweet romcom slice of life to enjoy. It gives you something to aspire towards as you become an adult. It also might make you bittter that you don't have this super cute relationship, but hopefully watching this could satisfy that desire for human contact while we continue to shelter in place. It's just really really nice to watch all of these cute and fluffy moments and indulge in this life that's different from your own. Ah, I love escapism.
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 1, 2020
Anime ATM 102 Tsuki ga Kirei
Well, we can thank the corona virus for one thing. Since we're in social distancing/quarantine/self-isolation/shelter in place or whatever you want to call it, I've had a lot of free time this spring break. Of course since we're not going back to physical university and I've moved back home indefinitely, truly I've had a lot of time to contemplate whether or not I should keep posting on this blog. Because I schedule these to come out every week, actually I haven't been writing blog posts for somewhere over 3-ish months? That's a little scary isn't it? And actually I've been finishing some manga and webtoons that I've been following, but I never really wrote a blog post about them just because I felt like I had nothing really interesting or valuable to add to the conversation. However, I remembered recently that the reason I started this blog was more so for me to document what I watched and what my feelings were for myself. And so, I probably won't update this blog weekly, but rather just whenever I finish a series and I want to talk about it? Or we'll have to see. Maybe because of the corona virus I'll be really bored and just watch lots of stuff I want to blog about. Also, I'm grateful that we've come so far that most people have forgotten about this cringy blog. Phew.
Anyways, here we go with another Anime ATM!
{Spoilers, but it's just really fluffy romance so you know what'll happen approximately}
Okay so recollect your feelings and sentiments from middle school. You're awkward. You don't know what you're going to do with your future. You have big aspirations but don't know what to do with them. You're not quite mature enough to be considered a full-fledged teenager or young adult, but you're also not a baby.
Now, transport your middle school self to Japanese middle school with the same sentiments and you're in the middle of 2 love triangles. And that's Tsuki ga Kirei: The Synopsis. You're welcome.
Just kidding, in all seriousness I think it encapsulates what it means to grow up as an adolescent and not really know what you're doing. It's a really sweet romance between two unlikely middle school classmates and their awkward and mellow relationship. And then there's 2 love triangles with an unrequited love for each of them. Yikes.
So there's Akane who's this really shy and anxious middle schooler. She's on the track and field team because she really enjoys running. On the track she seems really cool and graceful, but off the track she's super anxious and easily embarrassed.
And then there's Kotarou. He's a soft-spoken, gentle kind of guy that's lost in his head a lot. He thinks in quotes from serious classical literature authors and sticks by what those teach him about life and love. He aspires to be like these authors and also writes serious literature for writing contests, although the results are often disappointing.
The two fall in love despite not having a whole lot in common. Or rather, Kotarou confesses to Akane out of the blue after exchanging a few words and having a few interactions. And then Akane agrees, but I can't remember if she ever said she liked him back. She just said that she wanted to talk to him more...which is close enough?
And their whole relationship highlights some of the troubles you have when you're in middle school and you don't want anyone to know you're dating so you keep it a secret, but also you can't really meet each other because you normally wouldn't have anything to do with one another but love is a funny thing. Also you're both middle school students so you can't go on legitimate dates because neither of you have money.
But despite all of this, the show is really endearing. I think it's pretty true to the realities that middle school romance has to come to terms with and it's overall really sweet.
The one thing I didn't really like was Akane's track friend Chinatsu. This girl was so pushy and insistent on confessing to Kotarou for closure even though she could tell it made Akane uncomfortable. And just the whole thing whenever she would interact with the two of them like in the amusement park episode, that was really bad. But also, I think if you were in a similar situation, you might have a different opinion and be able to empathize with Chinatsu. But even this was pretty realistic because if your friend does fall in love with the same guy, it's not always pretty. Thank goodness Akane was mature about it and didn't turn the whole show into a soap opera.
One kind of random thing I enjoyed about the show was all of the little short clips at the end of some of the episodes. They played after the ED and showed other characters and their little side stories which I found to be endearing.
I chose this anime as the first one to watch after a long time because it had a pretty high MAL rating. i will say that the scenery B-roll shots were beautiful and I enjoyed how they told a full story going from middle school romance and then at the very end showing through their LINE messages how they stayed together and ended up getting married, but I'm confused on how it got such a high score. I would say it's really cute and pretty realistic (idk though I'm no love expert so :) ) but I'm not sure I would recommend it just because I feel like there's more engaging romance stories out there? But I mean romance doesn't always have to be engaging, exciting, or a whirlwind romance. Some people prefer when it's more of a slow-burn which I totally get. In that case, I think that you would really enjoy it.
One other thing, if you do end up watching the anime, please keep an eye on Akane's drawstring knapsack. I swear in every episode it's a different size. But maybe I'm just crazy.
Okay, bye! Until next time~
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Anime ATM 100 Koi wa Ameagari no You ni
I do realize that there are many many many great anime out there that I have yet to experience. And I also acknowledge that if I don't really like an anime I can just drop it. I further acknowledge that my taste has become trash because I just watch whatever gets put in front of me. Now that we've addressed all of my various shortcomings in the world of anime, shall we discuss Koi wa Ameagari no You ni otherwise known as After the Rain?
{Spoilers}
In terms of atmosphere and setting the mood, the show is very successful. It's got this rainy day aesthetic where it's always almost about to rain, in the midst of raining, or just after the rain...as the title of the show would suggest. As a self-proclaimed pluviophile, I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of the show!
Alright, to start my short synopsis of the show, it would be something along the lines of: there's this girl named Tachibana that's a junior in high school who used to be on the track and field team until she experienced a horrible injury to her Achilles tendon. In despair over her injury, she finds refuge on a rainy day in a cafe/family diner where she encounters its middle aged manager that cheers her up with some cheap magic trick. From then on, she falls in love with the cafe's manager Kondou and works part time there in lieu of after school track activities. The story mainly follows these two and Tachibana's honestly taboo love for the manager who's deep in the middle ages of his life at 45. However, I think it went in a different direction than I was expecting. I was expecting the manager to be kind of reckless and accept Tachibana's love as some sort of honor like "oh I've still got it and I can date a high school girl even though this is blatant pedophilia." However, the show takes a twist on this expectation of mine and instead replaces it with this clumsy love that I can almost support. Tachibana herself is a little socially awkward, not being of many words but having a truly kind heart. The manager is kind of the same, a very sweet and soft-spoken guy that according to Nishida, another waitress at the diner, kind of stinks lol. He kind of gives off the vibes of a pushover that just lets everyone walk all over him. For the first part of the show, he stays as this confusing object of Tachibana's love, but even his backstory is explored. In the past he was a college student with big dreams of being a novelist, but life got in the way and he ended up divorced and the manager of a diner, too scared to write anymore and disappoint his younger self. When he encounters his old college friend Kujou who acts as a foil for his character, being almost everything that Kondou isn't.
By the end of it, I think the relationship between the two of them as well as everyone surrounding them pushed them to revitalize their dreams and chase after them. We left off at a bit of an ambiguous ending in terms of if Kondou and Tachibana ever get together, but it was a bittersweet kind of ending that I really didn't mind.
Overall, I would say it was visually very beautiful. It's the kind of anime that I see a lot of those people who make AMVs and compilation videos pulling from. In terms of actual content though, it was pretty slow and soft-spoken, if you could use human attributes to describe anime and not be weird lol. I'd say there's definitely a market for this kind of thing, especially if you're looking for some kind of age gap anime or some pseudo-romance type of thing. However, I wasn't absolutely blown away.
{Spoilers}
In terms of atmosphere and setting the mood, the show is very successful. It's got this rainy day aesthetic where it's always almost about to rain, in the midst of raining, or just after the rain...as the title of the show would suggest. As a self-proclaimed pluviophile, I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of the show!
Alright, to start my short synopsis of the show, it would be something along the lines of: there's this girl named Tachibana that's a junior in high school who used to be on the track and field team until she experienced a horrible injury to her Achilles tendon. In despair over her injury, she finds refuge on a rainy day in a cafe/family diner where she encounters its middle aged manager that cheers her up with some cheap magic trick. From then on, she falls in love with the cafe's manager Kondou and works part time there in lieu of after school track activities. The story mainly follows these two and Tachibana's honestly taboo love for the manager who's deep in the middle ages of his life at 45. However, I think it went in a different direction than I was expecting. I was expecting the manager to be kind of reckless and accept Tachibana's love as some sort of honor like "oh I've still got it and I can date a high school girl even though this is blatant pedophilia." However, the show takes a twist on this expectation of mine and instead replaces it with this clumsy love that I can almost support. Tachibana herself is a little socially awkward, not being of many words but having a truly kind heart. The manager is kind of the same, a very sweet and soft-spoken guy that according to Nishida, another waitress at the diner, kind of stinks lol. He kind of gives off the vibes of a pushover that just lets everyone walk all over him. For the first part of the show, he stays as this confusing object of Tachibana's love, but even his backstory is explored. In the past he was a college student with big dreams of being a novelist, but life got in the way and he ended up divorced and the manager of a diner, too scared to write anymore and disappoint his younger self. When he encounters his old college friend Kujou who acts as a foil for his character, being almost everything that Kondou isn't.
By the end of it, I think the relationship between the two of them as well as everyone surrounding them pushed them to revitalize their dreams and chase after them. We left off at a bit of an ambiguous ending in terms of if Kondou and Tachibana ever get together, but it was a bittersweet kind of ending that I really didn't mind.
Overall, I would say it was visually very beautiful. It's the kind of anime that I see a lot of those people who make AMVs and compilation videos pulling from. In terms of actual content though, it was pretty slow and soft-spoken, if you could use human attributes to describe anime and not be weird lol. I'd say there's definitely a market for this kind of thing, especially if you're looking for some kind of age gap anime or some pseudo-romance type of thing. However, I wasn't absolutely blown away.
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Anime ATM 95 Kaguya-sama: Love is War
I honestly have a hard time reviewing comedy anime. I think it's hard because the flow and jokes and such just aren't as funny or endearing as when you see them in context when you actually experience them when watching the anime. And I feel like me describing the gags and stuff is such a waste of time when you could actually just watch the anime yourself! So, we've cracked the code. We've solved the case. No need to do comedy anime reviews because you can just watch it yourself!
Are you still here?
Yeah, I know. I'll continue the review. It was a joke!
{Spoilers, but it's comedy with no plot to follow so you're good}
Man, this show was a real trip. It saved me when I was feeling pretty stressed about roommate issues and the looming finals ahead. But for me, when I watch comedy anime I really have to be in the mood for it. So, admittedly when I finished the anime I wasn't in the same mood. I was also watching most of this on my laptop and I didn't want my friends to see me take screenshots since it's been so long since I've blogged anime...that I don't have good screenshots to share with you all. I'm very sorry. But! More reason now for you to watch it.
I think in this anime there's something here for everyone. Honestly all of the characters are pretty socially awkward in a way, except Chika. Chika is a queen. If you've seen the Chika dance, you already understand what I'm saying, but if you haven't you need to stop reading this and go watch that instead. I remember when V was watching this anime he sent me the clip of the Chika dance and geeked out over how they made it. But he's right. It was well made.
Anyways, the main "story" or more like the background for all the jokes is encapsulated by the OP and the title of the anime itself with a theme of love being a battle. Kaguya is herself a well to do ojou-sama and VP of this prestigious school's school council. The president is a commoner named Shirogane. They both have a thing for each other, but are kind of socially awkward and stubborn so they don't want to be the one to confess/make the first move. It's scary to be rejected after all! So instead, they create elaborate schemes to get the other to fall in love with them and confess first with Kaguya making elaborate plans to nudge Shirogane into getting a cell phone or something ridiculous. There's no end of ridiculous scenarios to behold in this anime I'm telling you.
While all of this is going on and it's all good to stop here, the supporting characters honestly shine a lot. Like Chika! She's the secretary of the student council and she seems kind of like an brainless flat character at first. But she's kind of into the occult and she's really quirky and cute! But also oblivious. And we love her for that. Like when they all made summer plans together that Chika was really down for, but then she made family plans to go to the Tomato Festival in Spain instead?? Doesn't make any sense. Another similarly lovable character is Ishigami. He looks like a gloomy NEET, but he's pretty quirky and relatable as well. Every time he makes a social blunder and has to go home early is honestly a fat mood. (See what I mean? I can describe these things all I want, but it's not the same as just watching clips of the anime or it in its entirety! It'd be better in this case to review it in video format but...that's a lot of work) And lowkey best girl of the year award goes to Hayasaka. The episode where she wingmans for Kaguya when she has a cold. Or when Kaguya gets a Twitter to see what Shirogane's up to and keeps thinking she's breaking it because she's technologically challenged and keeps bothering Hayasaka in the bath. Truly iconic. A real heart of gold and limitless patience. Bless Hayasaka.
From this review you might think "What the heck did I just read? This was a waste of time and a piece of trash." And to that I would agree. I think that all of my reviews are easily described in a similar manner. And I don't know if the quality will ever change from this. And it's just hard to review comedy anime without clips of it. It's really hard to sell something for which you need visuals, audio, and good timing, you know? But I would definitely recommend this anime. All of the characters are likable. The jokes are funny. The pacing is on point. Watch it if you haven't already!
Are you still here?
Yeah, I know. I'll continue the review. It was a joke!
{Spoilers, but it's comedy with no plot to follow so you're good}
Man, this show was a real trip. It saved me when I was feeling pretty stressed about roommate issues and the looming finals ahead. But for me, when I watch comedy anime I really have to be in the mood for it. So, admittedly when I finished the anime I wasn't in the same mood. I was also watching most of this on my laptop and I didn't want my friends to see me take screenshots since it's been so long since I've blogged anime...that I don't have good screenshots to share with you all. I'm very sorry. But! More reason now for you to watch it.
I think in this anime there's something here for everyone. Honestly all of the characters are pretty socially awkward in a way, except Chika. Chika is a queen. If you've seen the Chika dance, you already understand what I'm saying, but if you haven't you need to stop reading this and go watch that instead. I remember when V was watching this anime he sent me the clip of the Chika dance and geeked out over how they made it. But he's right. It was well made.
Anyways, the main "story" or more like the background for all the jokes is encapsulated by the OP and the title of the anime itself with a theme of love being a battle. Kaguya is herself a well to do ojou-sama and VP of this prestigious school's school council. The president is a commoner named Shirogane. They both have a thing for each other, but are kind of socially awkward and stubborn so they don't want to be the one to confess/make the first move. It's scary to be rejected after all! So instead, they create elaborate schemes to get the other to fall in love with them and confess first with Kaguya making elaborate plans to nudge Shirogane into getting a cell phone or something ridiculous. There's no end of ridiculous scenarios to behold in this anime I'm telling you.
While all of this is going on and it's all good to stop here, the supporting characters honestly shine a lot. Like Chika! She's the secretary of the student council and she seems kind of like an brainless flat character at first. But she's kind of into the occult and she's really quirky and cute! But also oblivious. And we love her for that. Like when they all made summer plans together that Chika was really down for, but then she made family plans to go to the Tomato Festival in Spain instead?? Doesn't make any sense. Another similarly lovable character is Ishigami. He looks like a gloomy NEET, but he's pretty quirky and relatable as well. Every time he makes a social blunder and has to go home early is honestly a fat mood. (See what I mean? I can describe these things all I want, but it's not the same as just watching clips of the anime or it in its entirety! It'd be better in this case to review it in video format but...that's a lot of work) And lowkey best girl of the year award goes to Hayasaka. The episode where she wingmans for Kaguya when she has a cold. Or when Kaguya gets a Twitter to see what Shirogane's up to and keeps thinking she's breaking it because she's technologically challenged and keeps bothering Hayasaka in the bath. Truly iconic. A real heart of gold and limitless patience. Bless Hayasaka.
From this review you might think "What the heck did I just read? This was a waste of time and a piece of trash." And to that I would agree. I think that all of my reviews are easily described in a similar manner. And I don't know if the quality will ever change from this. And it's just hard to review comedy anime without clips of it. It's really hard to sell something for which you need visuals, audio, and good timing, you know? But I would definitely recommend this anime. All of the characters are likable. The jokes are funny. The pacing is on point. Watch it if you haven't already!
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Anime ATM 93 Darling in the FRANXX
*screams into the abyss* Ok friends, buckle up. This was a 24 episode anime with an actual plot (disregarding the possibility of it having been a good or bad one). That means there's a lot to unpack here...but I'm also lazy.
{Spoilers}
So this was on my to-watch list for a pretty long time. Honestly ever since it first aired. And at first it was getting a lot of attention what with Zero Two being best girl and things like that. But I honestly wasn't really convinced of the hype haha. What really got me intrigued was how people said that it was such a great anime with so much potential, but then fizzled out. Me, conscientiously knowing that I am easily influenced, tried not to take that to heart too much and to really develop my own opinion of the show.
For the first half I was so intrigued. I couldn't do homework. I couldn't move. I had to sit and watch. And so I spent the first half of the season glued to my desk as my workload piled up to the ceiling, enthralled. There were so many questions I had. What were these machines? Why did they call that monkey mask guy "Papa"? Where were their parents? What was this world? What's a klauxosaur? And so many more that I would pester V with as I watched. As with any anime with any sort of plot, these kinds of things are the stuff that are answered as the story unfolds. I was on the edge of my seat, waiting for the answers to all of these mysteries. And as I was given these tidbits I just became more and more enchanted by this really strange story. There's no other way to really describe this mecha, post-apocalyptic show that I haven't seen anything quite like.
The main premise is that there's a group of people known collectively as APE that rule the world without question. This world is Earth, but everyone lives inside these traveling mega cities called Plantations. Because these civilizations are powered by magma energy from the center of the Earth, klauxosaurs have risen from the depths of Earth in retaliation. And so there's this guy named Dr. Werner that invents these mecha called FRANXX that need to be operated by a male-female pair, modeled after the sexual reproductive organs of a flower. I don't really get the whole plant reference either, but just roll with it. And don't question the way that they pilot these mecha either please, it's definitely not meant for children this show. And then because so many of the older people have chosen immortality, they're unable to pilot the FRANXX because they've lost their reproductive functions. So they somehow grow tons of test tube children and inject them with a whole bunch of stuff and put them under tests so that they can pilot the FRANXX and protect the Plantations against the klauxosaurs. And what emerges from this is this really weird dichotomy that we definitely don't see in today's society. In the same way that we find child labor appalling, the thought of children fighting wars for us similarly raises this gut-wrenching feeling that probably comes from our instinctual desire to protect our children and our species. But here we see children fighting to protect the adults. It's this strange flip in roles that starts the ball rolling for a lot of interesting thoughts such as the role of adults as caretakers, and also looking at the main squad of children, Squad 13, how children can still form sympathy, emotions, compassion, and the plethora of other traits that make a person "human" without this mimicry of parents and adult role models that we all have.
And so, in short, the story follows a lot of what Squad 13 goes through and uses them as a frame of reference for how the war is going and all of the inner workings of this almost alien society. I'm getting pretty overwhelmed just thinking about all of the complexities and all of the interactions and all of the everything that goes on inside of the Plantation and what happened in the past to lead up to this, that to get a proper sense of it all I think we'd either have to sit down together for like 5+ hours to unpack absolutely everything we witnessed, or I'd have to make like a senior thesis on this show. I'm kinda down for the first option, but the latter I'll leave to some anime reviewing Youtube channel. I'm sure there's tons of videos out there.
I think one thing, setting aside the complexities of APE, that really struck me was the complex interactions between the characters. Take the relationship between Zero Two and Hiro. Looking back at their interactions as children, you can't help but root for their love. However, I think this is where some of the audience anger comes in because as time goes on, you start to see how unhealthy of a relationship they have. Not that I'm any sort of love expert or anything, but just looking at the ending and how they're together forever, like that's all and good. There's your fairy tale happily ever after, but with a twist. Because they're so reliant on each other that you can't see where one ends and the other begins, you know what I mean? In order to have a successful relationship you kind of need more of a dynamic of support rather than congealing through some alien technology and your minds into some kind of spiritual being together on a plane. I'm just saying, maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but looking at like Goro and Ichigo's relationship...it was a lot more healthy. Kinda. Not really. Uh, in short all of their relationships were kind of wack. Like if you look at Ikuno and her unrequited love for Ichigo. Or if you look at Ichigo's idolatry of Hiro since childhood and how that turned into love. Or if you look at how Kokoro chose Mitsuru (RIP his iconic hairstyle though) over her old partner. V and I had a short discussion towards the midpoint of the show on how wack all of these relationships are...and I don't even know how to form an opinion on all of this. I'm not really sure what sort of purpose all of these relationships served besides being a major point of drama and really upsetting me personally. Like all of those ships...yikes.
Another thing I found kind of interesting, (can you tell I'm kind of tired with dissecting human romantic relationships?) was the kind of commentary they gave about the environment. Maybe this is me reading too much into it as an environmental major, but something I really took away from this is humanity's destruction of Earth. The Earth was unable to sustain itself, turning into a desert with no way to harbor any life, because of humanity's incessant hunger for energy. And that led to them having to take extreme measures to protect humanity. This also points to humanity's folly, of retreating from problems rather than facing them head on. And how humanity was searching for the solution to immortality, rather than focusing on living fruitful, yet transient lives. I think we've all kind of contemplated whether living forever sounds like any fun, and I think from seeing Zorome's small arc where he encounters one of the adult's that've lived for who knows how long and how sad she was, how she didn't care about taste anymore, how her husband got joy through an experience machine. I think all of these things point to maybe how some of the beauty of humanity comes from the transient nature of our beings? That's just some more food for thought. I didn't mean for this to become super philosophical, and yet here we are.
In short, this was definitely an anime that gave me many thoughts on the story and also what the story was trying to tell me. Because it was so long, it was a lot of information to absorb and to process. At many points I actually unconsciously held my breath and clenched my hands because the show had me in the palm of its hand. There were just so many dimensions that were explored like humanity, the environment, interpersonal relationships, what it means to love someone, what kinds of things shaped these people into who they were. Anyone that watches this would have a different take on how things went down and whether this was a good show. I think it was good in the sense that it gave us a complete story, albeit a bit OP at some points. And there was so many good just moments created as well throughout. It was rushed at the end, and I think they really missed out on something special. Haha don't ask me how I think it should've ended because I'm not that creative, but I think the whole reincarnation thing and defeating the enemy (at least sorta) was a bit of a "here's your happy ending" and made you satisfied, but somehow...lacking something? Maybe I'm just asking for the impossible here...but I think this show started off with a lot of potential and so much mystery. I think it's worth the watch. Haha and not just because I'm sick of watching plotless anime to relieve my stress, but I genuinely think that it's a good thinking piece. I'm going to stop babbling now because I actually just word vomited all of my feels out just now...partly at least...and now I'm tired.
{Spoilers}
So this was on my to-watch list for a pretty long time. Honestly ever since it first aired. And at first it was getting a lot of attention what with Zero Two being best girl and things like that. But I honestly wasn't really convinced of the hype haha. What really got me intrigued was how people said that it was such a great anime with so much potential, but then fizzled out. Me, conscientiously knowing that I am easily influenced, tried not to take that to heart too much and to really develop my own opinion of the show.
For the first half I was so intrigued. I couldn't do homework. I couldn't move. I had to sit and watch. And so I spent the first half of the season glued to my desk as my workload piled up to the ceiling, enthralled. There were so many questions I had. What were these machines? Why did they call that monkey mask guy "Papa"? Where were their parents? What was this world? What's a klauxosaur? And so many more that I would pester V with as I watched. As with any anime with any sort of plot, these kinds of things are the stuff that are answered as the story unfolds. I was on the edge of my seat, waiting for the answers to all of these mysteries. And as I was given these tidbits I just became more and more enchanted by this really strange story. There's no other way to really describe this mecha, post-apocalyptic show that I haven't seen anything quite like.
The main premise is that there's a group of people known collectively as APE that rule the world without question. This world is Earth, but everyone lives inside these traveling mega cities called Plantations. Because these civilizations are powered by magma energy from the center of the Earth, klauxosaurs have risen from the depths of Earth in retaliation. And so there's this guy named Dr. Werner that invents these mecha called FRANXX that need to be operated by a male-female pair, modeled after the sexual reproductive organs of a flower. I don't really get the whole plant reference either, but just roll with it. And don't question the way that they pilot these mecha either please, it's definitely not meant for children this show. And then because so many of the older people have chosen immortality, they're unable to pilot the FRANXX because they've lost their reproductive functions. So they somehow grow tons of test tube children and inject them with a whole bunch of stuff and put them under tests so that they can pilot the FRANXX and protect the Plantations against the klauxosaurs. And what emerges from this is this really weird dichotomy that we definitely don't see in today's society. In the same way that we find child labor appalling, the thought of children fighting wars for us similarly raises this gut-wrenching feeling that probably comes from our instinctual desire to protect our children and our species. But here we see children fighting to protect the adults. It's this strange flip in roles that starts the ball rolling for a lot of interesting thoughts such as the role of adults as caretakers, and also looking at the main squad of children, Squad 13, how children can still form sympathy, emotions, compassion, and the plethora of other traits that make a person "human" without this mimicry of parents and adult role models that we all have.
And so, in short, the story follows a lot of what Squad 13 goes through and uses them as a frame of reference for how the war is going and all of the inner workings of this almost alien society. I'm getting pretty overwhelmed just thinking about all of the complexities and all of the interactions and all of the everything that goes on inside of the Plantation and what happened in the past to lead up to this, that to get a proper sense of it all I think we'd either have to sit down together for like 5+ hours to unpack absolutely everything we witnessed, or I'd have to make like a senior thesis on this show. I'm kinda down for the first option, but the latter I'll leave to some anime reviewing Youtube channel. I'm sure there's tons of videos out there.
I think one thing, setting aside the complexities of APE, that really struck me was the complex interactions between the characters. Take the relationship between Zero Two and Hiro. Looking back at their interactions as children, you can't help but root for their love. However, I think this is where some of the audience anger comes in because as time goes on, you start to see how unhealthy of a relationship they have. Not that I'm any sort of love expert or anything, but just looking at the ending and how they're together forever, like that's all and good. There's your fairy tale happily ever after, but with a twist. Because they're so reliant on each other that you can't see where one ends and the other begins, you know what I mean? In order to have a successful relationship you kind of need more of a dynamic of support rather than congealing through some alien technology and your minds into some kind of spiritual being together on a plane. I'm just saying, maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but looking at like Goro and Ichigo's relationship...it was a lot more healthy. Kinda. Not really. Uh, in short all of their relationships were kind of wack. Like if you look at Ikuno and her unrequited love for Ichigo. Or if you look at Ichigo's idolatry of Hiro since childhood and how that turned into love. Or if you look at how Kokoro chose Mitsuru (RIP his iconic hairstyle though) over her old partner. V and I had a short discussion towards the midpoint of the show on how wack all of these relationships are...and I don't even know how to form an opinion on all of this. I'm not really sure what sort of purpose all of these relationships served besides being a major point of drama and really upsetting me personally. Like all of those ships...yikes.
Another thing I found kind of interesting, (can you tell I'm kind of tired with dissecting human romantic relationships?) was the kind of commentary they gave about the environment. Maybe this is me reading too much into it as an environmental major, but something I really took away from this is humanity's destruction of Earth. The Earth was unable to sustain itself, turning into a desert with no way to harbor any life, because of humanity's incessant hunger for energy. And that led to them having to take extreme measures to protect humanity. This also points to humanity's folly, of retreating from problems rather than facing them head on. And how humanity was searching for the solution to immortality, rather than focusing on living fruitful, yet transient lives. I think we've all kind of contemplated whether living forever sounds like any fun, and I think from seeing Zorome's small arc where he encounters one of the adult's that've lived for who knows how long and how sad she was, how she didn't care about taste anymore, how her husband got joy through an experience machine. I think all of these things point to maybe how some of the beauty of humanity comes from the transient nature of our beings? That's just some more food for thought. I didn't mean for this to become super philosophical, and yet here we are.
In short, this was definitely an anime that gave me many thoughts on the story and also what the story was trying to tell me. Because it was so long, it was a lot of information to absorb and to process. At many points I actually unconsciously held my breath and clenched my hands because the show had me in the palm of its hand. There were just so many dimensions that were explored like humanity, the environment, interpersonal relationships, what it means to love someone, what kinds of things shaped these people into who they were. Anyone that watches this would have a different take on how things went down and whether this was a good show. I think it was good in the sense that it gave us a complete story, albeit a bit OP at some points. And there was so many good just moments created as well throughout. It was rushed at the end, and I think they really missed out on something special. Haha don't ask me how I think it should've ended because I'm not that creative, but I think the whole reincarnation thing and defeating the enemy (at least sorta) was a bit of a "here's your happy ending" and made you satisfied, but somehow...lacking something? Maybe I'm just asking for the impossible here...but I think this show started off with a lot of potential and so much mystery. I think it's worth the watch. Haha and not just because I'm sick of watching plotless anime to relieve my stress, but I genuinely think that it's a good thinking piece. I'm going to stop babbling now because I actually just word vomited all of my feels out just now...partly at least...and now I'm tired.
Exhibit 1 of how Ichigo is precious but frustrating (also her aesthetic and everyone's aesthetic in the first OP? forget about it I watched that thing through so many times because ugh the mood of it was so good??? actually the OP and ED every time were really solid and I really liked them)
Lowkeyyyy Goro was my favorite character plz dont @ me (his VA just really got me idk why and his character in general (i just really love the childhood friend and am always rooting for the underdog what can i say?))
Thought they were going to die so I started tearing up...
After this point I stopped taking screenshots because...I was just too enraptured by the story sorry (also because I watched the ending episodes in between my classes and just really wanted to enjoy)
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Anime ATM 92 Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai
My eyeballs feel like they're about to fall out of my head. I binged the whole season of this show with minimal regrets. Hehe such is the life when your first class of the day is at 6 at night~
{Spoilers}
Wow. So, like most of my shows nowadays, this was recommended to me by V. He was pretty spot on with this one. It's probably the best or one of the best shows that aired this past season. I mean wow just look at that MAL score; it was fire. I can definitely see why it was such a hit. It was like if you took Chuunibyou (the show, not the syndrome itself) and used a different syndrome, in this case Adolescence/Puberty Syndrome and made a whole show about it. It's got this fantasy-like quality to it and such an excellent plot and pacing to go along with it that you just can't help but be captivated. So many parts stand out as poignant that it was hard to stop and screenshot...which is why I won't add any screenshots to this post. While I did take some, I feel like no standalone shot could really exemplify parts of the show that truly captivated me.
The basic premise of this show was around Adolescence Syndrome in which the person (in these scenarios either middle school or high school) deal with some traumatic experience and try to escape from it in some sort of way. This show incorporated a physics (and vaguely scientific?) explanation of what was going on thanks to Futaba, but the last time I took physics (and really basic physics at that) was 3 years ago so I won't even try to comment on that. But it was also a very cathartic show at the center. It focused on the stories of different girls and how Sakuta was able to help them kind of solve those problems that they faced, as well as be a general support system.
I think it's hard to really put Sakuta's character into words. He's kind of your stereotypical rebel character in that he doesn't care about what other people at school think of him, but he's got a heart of gold underneath that which guides him to meddle with the affairs of others. He's definitely your problem-solving protagonist. On the surface he seems kind of flippant, with some of his jokes coming off as crass, but you can definitely tell that underneath that is someone who genuinely cares about others and kind of uses his jokes to break down the barriers between himself and others.
Each of the arcs of the show follows a different girl and a struggle that she's going through. It goes through things like the harsh consequences of bullying, how to deal with the harshness of reality and the consequences of events that are unfavorable towards you, the inferiority you feel towards being compared to someone else, and the hatred you can feel towards yourself because of society. A lot of it is definitely more so social commentary on how people will often just be a follower and read the atmosphere around them rather than to fight against it which is why Sakuta's character really shines here. From the get-go when Mai is disappearing, he fights against the flow because it's hurting someone near to him, going above and beyond to make sure she isn't forgotten. And I think it's this noble part of his character which is really the most charming and the reason why the show is so enjoyable to watch.
Inside of the show, there's a lot to unpack. Like Shoko who could or could not be a real person. Or reasons why Sakuta's chest wound came to be in a sympathetic reaction to Kaede being bullied and him not being able to do anything. Or the dynamic between Mai and her sister and the nuances of that. All of these expose different parts of what it is to be human and how people interact with one another and that's one of the beautiful things about anime, is that it really displays all of these different aspects of the human condition and in so many numerous ways that there's bound to be some anime or some character or some scenario that you could relate to.
Honestly, you should definitely watch this. The pace is perfect. There's such a diversity of characters and some topics that I haven't seen covered in these ways. And it's obviously all beautifully drawn. And the ED that changes with each arc omg. Don't be deterred because it has bunny girl senpai in the title. I know. It sounds super sus. When V brought it up I thought it was going to be pure ecchi and definitely not something I would recommend anyone to watch. But it's actually such a clickbait title. It's not super all about the ecchi bunny girl. It's way more than that and so you shouldn't feel deterred by the title. Inside this series you'll find a really lovable cast and a gripping story.
{Spoilers}
Wow. So, like most of my shows nowadays, this was recommended to me by V. He was pretty spot on with this one. It's probably the best or one of the best shows that aired this past season. I mean wow just look at that MAL score; it was fire. I can definitely see why it was such a hit. It was like if you took Chuunibyou (the show, not the syndrome itself) and used a different syndrome, in this case Adolescence/Puberty Syndrome and made a whole show about it. It's got this fantasy-like quality to it and such an excellent plot and pacing to go along with it that you just can't help but be captivated. So many parts stand out as poignant that it was hard to stop and screenshot...which is why I won't add any screenshots to this post. While I did take some, I feel like no standalone shot could really exemplify parts of the show that truly captivated me.
The basic premise of this show was around Adolescence Syndrome in which the person (in these scenarios either middle school or high school) deal with some traumatic experience and try to escape from it in some sort of way. This show incorporated a physics (and vaguely scientific?) explanation of what was going on thanks to Futaba, but the last time I took physics (and really basic physics at that) was 3 years ago so I won't even try to comment on that. But it was also a very cathartic show at the center. It focused on the stories of different girls and how Sakuta was able to help them kind of solve those problems that they faced, as well as be a general support system.
I think it's hard to really put Sakuta's character into words. He's kind of your stereotypical rebel character in that he doesn't care about what other people at school think of him, but he's got a heart of gold underneath that which guides him to meddle with the affairs of others. He's definitely your problem-solving protagonist. On the surface he seems kind of flippant, with some of his jokes coming off as crass, but you can definitely tell that underneath that is someone who genuinely cares about others and kind of uses his jokes to break down the barriers between himself and others.
Each of the arcs of the show follows a different girl and a struggle that she's going through. It goes through things like the harsh consequences of bullying, how to deal with the harshness of reality and the consequences of events that are unfavorable towards you, the inferiority you feel towards being compared to someone else, and the hatred you can feel towards yourself because of society. A lot of it is definitely more so social commentary on how people will often just be a follower and read the atmosphere around them rather than to fight against it which is why Sakuta's character really shines here. From the get-go when Mai is disappearing, he fights against the flow because it's hurting someone near to him, going above and beyond to make sure she isn't forgotten. And I think it's this noble part of his character which is really the most charming and the reason why the show is so enjoyable to watch.
Inside of the show, there's a lot to unpack. Like Shoko who could or could not be a real person. Or reasons why Sakuta's chest wound came to be in a sympathetic reaction to Kaede being bullied and him not being able to do anything. Or the dynamic between Mai and her sister and the nuances of that. All of these expose different parts of what it is to be human and how people interact with one another and that's one of the beautiful things about anime, is that it really displays all of these different aspects of the human condition and in so many numerous ways that there's bound to be some anime or some character or some scenario that you could relate to.
Honestly, you should definitely watch this. The pace is perfect. There's such a diversity of characters and some topics that I haven't seen covered in these ways. And it's obviously all beautifully drawn. And the ED that changes with each arc omg. Don't be deterred because it has bunny girl senpai in the title. I know. It sounds super sus. When V brought it up I thought it was going to be pure ecchi and definitely not something I would recommend anyone to watch. But it's actually such a clickbait title. It's not super all about the ecchi bunny girl. It's way more than that and so you shouldn't feel deterred by the title. Inside this series you'll find a really lovable cast and a gripping story.
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Anime ATM 91 Itsudatte Bokura no Koi wa 10 cm Datta
So we've moved back into the dorms and for some reason it feels more sad than when I first moved into these dorms for the year. Probably because I saw my family for such a long and uninterrupted period of time. That, plus the fact that I watched the Black Mirror movie made me both sad and scared at the same time. What better way to remedy this dual-negative feeling than to watch some shoujo?
{Spoilers, but not really because it's such a short shoujo series}
So first of all, this series is only 6 episodes with each episode being your standard 23 minutes. So that should already give you an idea of how easy it is to binge if you're like me hehe. And obviously you can't expect a whole lot in this 6 episodes, I mean you can only flesh out characters so much in this little amount of screen time, but what they do give you is pretty standard.
The basic story line goes something like this: there's a group of three boys in the Movie Club shooting their graduation film project and there's a group of three girls in the Art Club and there's mutual love between all three pairs. No love triangles here folks. All six of them are graduating soon. The story revolves mostly around one main couple: Haruki and Miou, our beautiful spring couple. As many high schoolers in shoujo are, these two are in mutual love, but are too awkward to realize. This story goes along with their gradual romantic relationship progression as well as an unexpected, but extremely foreshadowed twist. When Miou was small, she almost drowned in a river, only to be saved by someone. She can't remember who it was and she isn't allowed to meet him up until the last summer of high school. Delighted to finally meet this hero who saved her life, Miou ends up in front of the Serizawa family grave and meets the realization that the man who saved her was Haruki's older brother. This led to an immovable grief and guilt within Miou and she shut herself off from everyone. However, she is able to overcome this guilt through her friends' support and can finally face Haruki who was battling his own doubts as well.
I can't relate too much to this scenario, but if you're a younger sibling and you've got someone you really look up to, maybe this is something you're familiar with. You idolize your older sibling so much that you end up following what they do and end up cultivating a passion for something that questionable wasn't even of your own volition. Or that's how it'd be if you didn't get the whole story. And that's addressed in the series when prompted with the question "Why can't you have the same dream as your older sibling?" which is pretty valid. And I'll leave it at that because it's a solid stand-alone point.
But once these individual characters have overcome these personal hurdles, it's time to graduate high school and embark on future endeavors. There's nothing quite as liberating and saddening as graduating high school. The tracks have been lifted and you're free to blaze new trails for yourself (in a very American exceptionalism and buying into the whole idea of moving westward because of manifest destiny ya know). And that leaves Haruki off to pursue film in America and Miou with her dreams lying in Japan. The two separate and if it wasn't your traditional shoujo you would have doubts of if they would stay together beyond these high school years. Hehe, but it is your traditional shoujo so of course after actualizing their dreams, they reunited and lived happily ever after.
One thing I really enjoyed about the series was how serene it was. It had its ups and downs yes with the characters' emotions turning into a storm at some points, but those scenes where Miou and Haruki were sitting on the stairs and just sketching out ideas and illustrations side-by-side and other kind o mundane moments, there would be this serenity that would just be present in those moments. And it was really quite calming. I think as life gets more hectic, we tend to appreciate these moments more for their simplicity and presence rather than to be wowed by big things. Or maybe I'm just an old soul lol.
If you're looking for a short and sweet watch that isn't a waste of your time like other short series are, I think this could be a good fit. It's definitely a good fix for if you're craving that sweet shoujo feel and if you just want to reminisce on high school life and stuff like that. It's not anything super new or novel, but sometimes you just need that traditional shoujo stuff.
{Spoilers, but not really because it's such a short shoujo series}
So first of all, this series is only 6 episodes with each episode being your standard 23 minutes. So that should already give you an idea of how easy it is to binge if you're like me hehe. And obviously you can't expect a whole lot in this 6 episodes, I mean you can only flesh out characters so much in this little amount of screen time, but what they do give you is pretty standard.
The basic story line goes something like this: there's a group of three boys in the Movie Club shooting their graduation film project and there's a group of three girls in the Art Club and there's mutual love between all three pairs. No love triangles here folks. All six of them are graduating soon. The story revolves mostly around one main couple: Haruki and Miou, our beautiful spring couple. As many high schoolers in shoujo are, these two are in mutual love, but are too awkward to realize. This story goes along with their gradual romantic relationship progression as well as an unexpected, but extremely foreshadowed twist. When Miou was small, she almost drowned in a river, only to be saved by someone. She can't remember who it was and she isn't allowed to meet him up until the last summer of high school. Delighted to finally meet this hero who saved her life, Miou ends up in front of the Serizawa family grave and meets the realization that the man who saved her was Haruki's older brother. This led to an immovable grief and guilt within Miou and she shut herself off from everyone. However, she is able to overcome this guilt through her friends' support and can finally face Haruki who was battling his own doubts as well.
I can't relate too much to this scenario, but if you're a younger sibling and you've got someone you really look up to, maybe this is something you're familiar with. You idolize your older sibling so much that you end up following what they do and end up cultivating a passion for something that questionable wasn't even of your own volition. Or that's how it'd be if you didn't get the whole story. And that's addressed in the series when prompted with the question "Why can't you have the same dream as your older sibling?" which is pretty valid. And I'll leave it at that because it's a solid stand-alone point.
You know though, their sibling relationship was super cute.
But once these individual characters have overcome these personal hurdles, it's time to graduate high school and embark on future endeavors. There's nothing quite as liberating and saddening as graduating high school. The tracks have been lifted and you're free to blaze new trails for yourself (in a very American exceptionalism and buying into the whole idea of moving westward because of manifest destiny ya know). And that leaves Haruki off to pursue film in America and Miou with her dreams lying in Japan. The two separate and if it wasn't your traditional shoujo you would have doubts of if they would stay together beyond these high school years. Hehe, but it is your traditional shoujo so of course after actualizing their dreams, they reunited and lived happily ever after.
asdfghjkl; this scene really got me. It's full of their dreams that have nothing to do with one another except for that small corner. But is that one feeling going to last those 7 years they're apart?
One thing I really enjoyed about the series was how serene it was. It had its ups and downs yes with the characters' emotions turning into a storm at some points, but those scenes where Miou and Haruki were sitting on the stairs and just sketching out ideas and illustrations side-by-side and other kind o mundane moments, there would be this serenity that would just be present in those moments. And it was really quite calming. I think as life gets more hectic, we tend to appreciate these moments more for their simplicity and presence rather than to be wowed by big things. Or maybe I'm just an old soul lol.
If you're looking for a short and sweet watch that isn't a waste of your time like other short series are, I think this could be a good fit. It's definitely a good fix for if you're craving that sweet shoujo feel and if you just want to reminisce on high school life and stuff like that. It's not anything super new or novel, but sometimes you just need that traditional shoujo stuff.
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Anime ATM 90 Akkun to Kanojo
So I haven't been watching much anime recently. I guess that's probably due to the fact that I just study all day and then in my free time I usually do whatever. But because I seldom have huge chunks of time to binge all at once, I usually find myself turning towards Youtube videos for that 15 minutes of standalone entertainment than watching a compartment of a series.
That's why to get back into the swing of things I watched this anime. Each episode is suuuuuper short, at like 3 minutes long, with an OP but no ED (an OP you can skip though because I wasn't a huge fan) so it's easy to watch all in one sitting.
{Spoilers: Jokes on you there's no spoilers because there's exactly no plot}
So this anime centers around this couple: Nontan and Akkun. Akkun is a clear tsundere. He acts really mean to Nontan, while secretly wishing he could be nicer to her because she's his angel. In any other circumstance his stalker tendencies would be super creepy, but because this is such a slice of life anime he gets away with it. Bur if this were real life and your boyfriend/girlfriend/S.O. puts a secret mic on you and listens to you hum while trying to sleep and has pictures of you all over their wall please call 911. That's not healthy.
And then Nontan is kind of just your run of the mill airhead but strong-willed and super kind anime girl protagonist. You've seen her before and you'll see her again so there's nothing much to say besides that she's a very sweet girl and she and Akkun make a good couple.
Besides the main two, there are two other couples that the show kind of revolve around for some jokes that we've all seen before with the pairings of like the "otaku ikemen boy" and then Akkun's younger sister or the "cat girl" and then she falls in love with her teacher for honestly no real reason.
This is definitely a show you shouldn't take too seriously. It's super short. It's super fluffy. There's really not a whole lot going on, so if you have the time...I suggest honestly that you watch something else besides this anime. There's definitely many better and more fleshed out versions of this anime. Sure, it's kind of sweet and it's short, but I think your time would be better invested in watching something more fleshed out and hopefully fulfilling.
That's why to get back into the swing of things I watched this anime. Each episode is suuuuuper short, at like 3 minutes long, with an OP but no ED (an OP you can skip though because I wasn't a huge fan) so it's easy to watch all in one sitting.
{Spoilers: Jokes on you there's no spoilers because there's exactly no plot}
So this anime centers around this couple: Nontan and Akkun. Akkun is a clear tsundere. He acts really mean to Nontan, while secretly wishing he could be nicer to her because she's his angel. In any other circumstance his stalker tendencies would be super creepy, but because this is such a slice of life anime he gets away with it. Bur if this were real life and your boyfriend/girlfriend/S.O. puts a secret mic on you and listens to you hum while trying to sleep and has pictures of you all over their wall please call 911. That's not healthy.
I choked because this scene was funny, but seriously peep all those Nontan pictures on the wall. Yikes.
And then Nontan is kind of just your run of the mill airhead but strong-willed and super kind anime girl protagonist. You've seen her before and you'll see her again so there's nothing much to say besides that she's a very sweet girl and she and Akkun make a good couple.
Besides the main two, there are two other couples that the show kind of revolve around for some jokes that we've all seen before with the pairings of like the "otaku ikemen boy" and then Akkun's younger sister or the "cat girl" and then she falls in love with her teacher for honestly no real reason.
Ah this part was also funny. Above is Irie (cat-esque girl) after Sensei praises her
This is definitely a show you shouldn't take too seriously. It's super short. It's super fluffy. There's really not a whole lot going on, so if you have the time...I suggest honestly that you watch something else besides this anime. There's definitely many better and more fleshed out versions of this anime. Sure, it's kind of sweet and it's short, but I think your time would be better invested in watching something more fleshed out and hopefully fulfilling.
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Anime ATM 87 Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha
Yikes, so I'm out here with a viral throat infection that I don't even know how I got and I'm leaving back for college in 4 days wow I'm just loving life right now. Also this is as good a time to remind y'all that are out living in dorms or going to school with hekkin people to go and get your flu shot. You'll thank me later when all those other suckers are sick as heck and you're thriving.
{Spoilers}
So for some reason I had a tab for this anime open on my phone. I literally have no idea how I came across this anime, like actually no clue because my memory is so bad. It's got a little bit of a Fugiken Mononokean vibe to it with the portrayal of the celestial plain and how the gods are pretty relatable and human-like (a quality that I've seen in a lot of shows with kami in them, maybe it's just a portrayal of how they are in religious texts? I'm not too sure, but in any case it's a common thing) and it's also got a little bit of Kamisama Kiss, partially because of the fox character with the clumsy shy girl and also just that feel to it.
In terms of the actual quality of the anime, it wasn't the best in terms of plot. It was basically this average girl named Inari (lol I just keep thinking about the sushi inari every time) who was watched over by the fox goddess(?) named Uka. One day Inari saves a fox that turns out to be a familiar for Uka-sama and to repay Inari's kindness Uka gives her one wish. Inari's dumb and makes a bad, impulsive wish which ends up in Uka having to give Inari some of her divine power in order to right the wrong. Giving Inari this divine power comes with a lot of complications as every time Inari uses it to transform into someone else it makes Uka weaker to the point of almost disappearing. Overall it was just about Inari not knowing she was hurting Uka and Uka not wanting to live without Inari knowing her and becoming too attached to humans in general. They both had to learn their lesson the hard way with Uka almost disappearing in the end. Obviously everything had to end with a happily ever after, so that's what ended up happening and that in and of itself made it a quite boring watch. It's like you already knew almost what was going to happen. In the 10 episodes, nothing really spectacular happened. I mean, Inari found her love in Tanbabashi and Inari's friends were pretty cool, but it wasn't anything spectacular.
Of all of the things I noticed about the anime, was I actually really liked the ambiance in some scenes. The golden light, the autumn leaves, and the soothing background music was very transporting. However, that was probably one of the only things that I found appealing and note-worthy of the anime--was the ambiance and sceneries.
{Spoilers}
So for some reason I had a tab for this anime open on my phone. I literally have no idea how I came across this anime, like actually no clue because my memory is so bad. It's got a little bit of a Fugiken Mononokean vibe to it with the portrayal of the celestial plain and how the gods are pretty relatable and human-like (a quality that I've seen in a lot of shows with kami in them, maybe it's just a portrayal of how they are in religious texts? I'm not too sure, but in any case it's a common thing) and it's also got a little bit of Kamisama Kiss, partially because of the fox character with the clumsy shy girl and also just that feel to it.
In terms of the actual quality of the anime, it wasn't the best in terms of plot. It was basically this average girl named Inari (lol I just keep thinking about the sushi inari every time) who was watched over by the fox goddess(?) named Uka. One day Inari saves a fox that turns out to be a familiar for Uka-sama and to repay Inari's kindness Uka gives her one wish. Inari's dumb and makes a bad, impulsive wish which ends up in Uka having to give Inari some of her divine power in order to right the wrong. Giving Inari this divine power comes with a lot of complications as every time Inari uses it to transform into someone else it makes Uka weaker to the point of almost disappearing. Overall it was just about Inari not knowing she was hurting Uka and Uka not wanting to live without Inari knowing her and becoming too attached to humans in general. They both had to learn their lesson the hard way with Uka almost disappearing in the end. Obviously everything had to end with a happily ever after, so that's what ended up happening and that in and of itself made it a quite boring watch. It's like you already knew almost what was going to happen. In the 10 episodes, nothing really spectacular happened. I mean, Inari found her love in Tanbabashi and Inari's friends were pretty cool, but it wasn't anything spectacular.
Although, I do have to say that I loved Sumizome's loyalty to her friends and her gap moe
Of all of the things I noticed about the anime, was I actually really liked the ambiance in some scenes. The golden light, the autumn leaves, and the soothing background music was very transporting. However, that was probably one of the only things that I found appealing and note-worthy of the anime--was the ambiance and sceneries.
Overall, I can't say anything about this anime was spectacular. I wouldn't say there's any particular reason you should watch this anime besides for the ambiance and maybe if you're looking for a kami-sama kinda anime with cute girls and a questionably chuuni older brother.
Oh, and this is Kon. This is my favorite character in the anime. Although I'm not quite sure why there's a leaf on the tip of its tail?
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Anime ATM 84 Fireworks {Uchiage Hanabi, Shita kara Miru ka? Yoko kara Miru ka?}
In July I had my first experience seeing an anime movie on the big screen. It was a memorable Tuesday night, in the car with my two high school friends in the seats in front of me, just making it to watch the movie in time with one of my friend's cousin who happens to go to the same uni as me. It's truly a small world.
{Spoilers}
And in the darkened ambiance of the movie theater I witnessed a movie that was probably thought of by someone on LSD. LOL well maybe not quite that, but that's the only way I can really explain it.
The reason I say it was created under the influence of drugs was because it was like a weird mashup of different time travel anime that my friends and I have watched (I say this because afterwards we had a long-winded talk about anime and the movie and how it was Steins Gate-esque (I can't say how true that is because I haven't watched that particular anime yet, but that's what all the guys were saying lol)), Spirited Away (because of that ghost train on the ocean), Free! (because swimming), Nagi no Asukara (because the girl's hair was a similar color and it was in a rural beachy environment), and Disney (because of the weird Cinderella sequence in the middle). You could probably liken it to tons more anime, but the point was it was so eerily familiar, but at the same time such a strange experience that no one really knew how to feel about it. We all just walked out kind of shook. You know what I really like though, that got me interested in the anime? The song they used for publicity. That song really does something for me. But everything other than that just seemed so bizarre.
It was basically just a bunch of misunderstandings and regrets between the two main characters and time travel to make everything more wack. At every point that the MC thought something could've gone better and resulted in a more pleasing outcome he just created an entirely new world in which that "what if" scenario became reality. However, along the way he realized that he couldn't keep running from the reality of the situation because it never felt like winning even if the fake realms held a more favorable outcome. So at the very end when the two of them are swimming in the water and looking at these wack fireworks in the sky, or maybe in the sea who even knows what was really going on, and she asks what kind of world they'll end up in next...you're left hanging. There's no real closure. What was I supposed to learn from that? That something can be visually beautiful and make absolutely no sense otherwise? Yep. That you can't run away from reality? Yep life's already taught me that one plenty of times. That morally there were a lot of questionable things in this anime but they were kind of brushed over because it was from the guy's perspective? Yep. I wonder how this would've turned out if it were told from the girl's POV. I honestly think it would've been more interesting and a more interesting twist. It's like in Haruhi Suzumiya how it would've been more interesting to see Haruhi's POV rather than Kyon's, but we weren't exactly given options to choose from now were we? Alas, what we were handed is what we've got and what I got did not leave me satisfied. It was pretty and that song gets me feeling some type of way whenever I blast it in my car, but I didn't feel like I truly enjoyed watching it.
Also this is so random but I had a life crisis when they started talking about if fireworks were circular or flat from the side. And then it messed with my mind more when he made those different worlds in which sometimes they were circular and sometimes they were flat. I wonder if that was symbolic for something. Like the side character guys who made a bet on whether they were flat or round. What was the point?
Overall, it's a fun watch I guess if you like things that end up ridiculously fantastical and have a grand mashup of a lot of things. I'm sure if you really wanted to there's a lot of things in this movie that you could analyze and unpack, but if that's what you're here for...lol idk where you got the impression that I could provide that kind of quality content for you.
{LOL there's obviously no screenshots since I saw this in theaters sorry}
{Spoilers}
And in the darkened ambiance of the movie theater I witnessed a movie that was probably thought of by someone on LSD. LOL well maybe not quite that, but that's the only way I can really explain it.
The reason I say it was created under the influence of drugs was because it was like a weird mashup of different time travel anime that my friends and I have watched (I say this because afterwards we had a long-winded talk about anime and the movie and how it was Steins Gate-esque (I can't say how true that is because I haven't watched that particular anime yet, but that's what all the guys were saying lol)), Spirited Away (because of that ghost train on the ocean), Free! (because swimming), Nagi no Asukara (because the girl's hair was a similar color and it was in a rural beachy environment), and Disney (because of the weird Cinderella sequence in the middle). You could probably liken it to tons more anime, but the point was it was so eerily familiar, but at the same time such a strange experience that no one really knew how to feel about it. We all just walked out kind of shook. You know what I really like though, that got me interested in the anime? The song they used for publicity. That song really does something for me. But everything other than that just seemed so bizarre.
It was basically just a bunch of misunderstandings and regrets between the two main characters and time travel to make everything more wack. At every point that the MC thought something could've gone better and resulted in a more pleasing outcome he just created an entirely new world in which that "what if" scenario became reality. However, along the way he realized that he couldn't keep running from the reality of the situation because it never felt like winning even if the fake realms held a more favorable outcome. So at the very end when the two of them are swimming in the water and looking at these wack fireworks in the sky, or maybe in the sea who even knows what was really going on, and she asks what kind of world they'll end up in next...you're left hanging. There's no real closure. What was I supposed to learn from that? That something can be visually beautiful and make absolutely no sense otherwise? Yep. That you can't run away from reality? Yep life's already taught me that one plenty of times. That morally there were a lot of questionable things in this anime but they were kind of brushed over because it was from the guy's perspective? Yep. I wonder how this would've turned out if it were told from the girl's POV. I honestly think it would've been more interesting and a more interesting twist. It's like in Haruhi Suzumiya how it would've been more interesting to see Haruhi's POV rather than Kyon's, but we weren't exactly given options to choose from now were we? Alas, what we were handed is what we've got and what I got did not leave me satisfied. It was pretty and that song gets me feeling some type of way whenever I blast it in my car, but I didn't feel like I truly enjoyed watching it.
Also this is so random but I had a life crisis when they started talking about if fireworks were circular or flat from the side. And then it messed with my mind more when he made those different worlds in which sometimes they were circular and sometimes they were flat. I wonder if that was symbolic for something. Like the side character guys who made a bet on whether they were flat or round. What was the point?
Overall, it's a fun watch I guess if you like things that end up ridiculously fantastical and have a grand mashup of a lot of things. I'm sure if you really wanted to there's a lot of things in this movie that you could analyze and unpack, but if that's what you're here for...lol idk where you got the impression that I could provide that kind of quality content for you.
{LOL there's obviously no screenshots since I saw this in theaters sorry}
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Anime ATM 80 Karakai Jouzu no Takagi
If you look at any list of anyone's top 10 shoujo anime I've probably watched it. And so I asked V what fluffy anime he's watched recently in order to perhaps satiate my need for fluffy things. In the process of watching this I realized that as much as I like shoujo and slice of life, I've been avoiding shows with actual plot which is rather disappointing. So I'll probably watch something with actual substance one of these days. Who knows when though because school is becoming more of a chore T^T
{Once I finished writing this I realized how much it starts repeating when all I review is slice of life. RIP}
{LOL no spoilers bc slice of life}
This show is definitely a blend of Nichijou and Momofuri. It's got that playful and innocent nature that is most of Momofuri, while still having a toned down version of the eccentric nature of Nichijou. The show revolves around two groups of people in middle school. One of them is a boy and a girl, Nishikata and Takagi and the other is a trio of friends Sanae, Mina, and Yukari. Sanae, Mina and Yukari portray more of the traditional slice of life, comedy, and school life aspect of the show. They are often the comedy relief of the show and are often doing random things, mostly at Mina's expense. The three of them have a timeless quality that you can find steadfast through the genre.
The more interesting aspect of this show I found was the dynamic between Nishikata and Takagi. Takagi incessantly teases Nishikata in and out of class. At one part it gave me a little bit of Tonari no Seki kun vibes when Nishikata was making a jack-in-the-box to try and shock Takagi, only for it to backfire in his face quite literally. Takagi often takes advantage of how easy it is to read Nishikata and uses that as well as his short-sightedness to prank him. As someone older than these kids and seeing the antics of middle schoolers it's easy to see how Takagi is more mature and definitely likes Nishikata, whereas Nishikata doesn't really understand his feelings and instead focuses on trying to oust Takagi at her game of teasing him. That's basically the whole series. It's a beautiful thing really, to see their friendship grow and subtly progress throughout the show.
One thing I find funny is that usually they're in English class when all of this happens. And a bulk of the show actually happens before and after school with Nishikata and Takagi walking together. And it's also funny seeing the two sides of middle school life, the kind of romantic life with teasing the people you like and also the childish fun that you have with your friends. It's pretty nostalgic thinking back to those middle school days.
Overall, if you're looking for a fluffy 12 episode anime this is it. It's got a lot of doki-doki moments, as well as, ironically, a shoujo parody inside, which is pretty funny considering this definitely has shoujo vibes. Or perhaps it isn't shoujo since it's from Nishikata's perspective, but instead in a more general sense it's just romantic. It's also relatable and heartwarming all at once. Just listen to the OP and if you're anything like me you'll probably be hooked. Fingers crossed anyways that you enjoy~
I present to you: the Evolution of Takagi and Nishikata's Relationship (abridged)
{Once I finished writing this I realized how much it starts repeating when all I review is slice of life. RIP}
{LOL no spoilers bc slice of life}
This show is definitely a blend of Nichijou and Momofuri. It's got that playful and innocent nature that is most of Momofuri, while still having a toned down version of the eccentric nature of Nichijou. The show revolves around two groups of people in middle school. One of them is a boy and a girl, Nishikata and Takagi and the other is a trio of friends Sanae, Mina, and Yukari. Sanae, Mina and Yukari portray more of the traditional slice of life, comedy, and school life aspect of the show. They are often the comedy relief of the show and are often doing random things, mostly at Mina's expense. The three of them have a timeless quality that you can find steadfast through the genre.
The more interesting aspect of this show I found was the dynamic between Nishikata and Takagi. Takagi incessantly teases Nishikata in and out of class. At one part it gave me a little bit of Tonari no Seki kun vibes when Nishikata was making a jack-in-the-box to try and shock Takagi, only for it to backfire in his face quite literally. Takagi often takes advantage of how easy it is to read Nishikata and uses that as well as his short-sightedness to prank him. As someone older than these kids and seeing the antics of middle schoolers it's easy to see how Takagi is more mature and definitely likes Nishikata, whereas Nishikata doesn't really understand his feelings and instead focuses on trying to oust Takagi at her game of teasing him. That's basically the whole series. It's a beautiful thing really, to see their friendship grow and subtly progress throughout the show.
One thing I find funny is that usually they're in English class when all of this happens. And a bulk of the show actually happens before and after school with Nishikata and Takagi walking together. And it's also funny seeing the two sides of middle school life, the kind of romantic life with teasing the people you like and also the childish fun that you have with your friends. It's pretty nostalgic thinking back to those middle school days.
Overall, if you're looking for a fluffy 12 episode anime this is it. It's got a lot of doki-doki moments, as well as, ironically, a shoujo parody inside, which is pretty funny considering this definitely has shoujo vibes. Or perhaps it isn't shoujo since it's from Nishikata's perspective, but instead in a more general sense it's just romantic. It's also relatable and heartwarming all at once. Just listen to the OP and if you're anything like me you'll probably be hooked. Fingers crossed anyways that you enjoy~
Me thinking about everything I've ever wasted time on. Honestly Mina is me. She's the type of person to try something new and it usually turns of disgusting just for the experience. :( whenever I order a new drink it usually turns out disgusting and sad, but it was an interesting experience I can never get back, which in its own way is valuable as well (me trying to justify buying so many expensive drinks or clothing that I do not enjoy but like trying lol)
RIP when people catch you doing embarrassing things and commence teasing you about it for about two thirds of an eternity
Mina's pretty dramatic, but at the same time this is really relatable. I remember at the end of my summer break, as I was finishing packing for college I realized that summer break wasn't coming back, that even when I come back from college I'm just going to work and go to summer school in order to graduation, so it was a pretty sobering experience realizing that that was the end of basically my childhood. Not to be dramatic or anything, but in essence that's what happened. :( I miss being a kid.
I present to you: the Evolution of Takagi and Nishikata's Relationship (abridged)
It's kind of painful how clueless Nishikata is sometimes
I think it's cute how towards the end they started showing more of how Takagi felt. Because before we just had to sort of infer from the instinct that when a girl teases a guy at that age it's a good sign that she likes him, especially since she always talks to basically only him and knows him pretty darn well. But it's just super cute seeing her as well, that her heart is also racing and it's not just her playing with him, but also because she genuinely likes him as well.
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Anime ATM 75 Net-juu no Susume
This was the fourth installment I want to say of my binge before winter quarter started. I saw this on a list of upcoming anime a while back, but I always wait for the season to be over before I pick anything up because I like to binge it all at once. I find that when I binge I'm usually more passionate and involved rather than watching each individual episode and it getting lost in the everyday cycle that is mundane daily life. It's kind of ironic that I would describe life in such a seemingly negatively connoted way since I'm such a big fan of slice of life, but that's just life.
Mostly I just started this anime because it was only 10 episodes long and it seemed like a pretty cool concept. I haven't seen anything exactly like it, though I do feel that I've watched something similar to it at least. And I do like Comico things in general. I think the thing that comes most to mind is Momokuri which has a similarly cute feeling.
Say cheers to this last Anime ATM because I have a feeling I'm going to need to buckle down for a bit. Hope I can keep up the posts once a week though, if only for my own self-satisfaction.
{Spoilers}
Morioka Moriko was unsatisfied with her life. And though most people might stick with their job until they die just for the sake of stability, she decides to take the plunge and quit her job to become a NEET, but not just any NEET. She calls herself an elite NEET because she chose to live that kind of life. The story follows her online life as a super cute ikemen (is that an oxymoron? probably) named Hayashi who games with his guild the At Home Party or something like that. In particular the story revolves around Hayashi and Lily, his partner in game. It sounds pretty mundane and you kind of have to give it a few episodes to really get the feel for what kind of character Moriko is and what the story's going to be around, but it's really sweet once you get into it. As it's said in the anime, the online world is huge, but the real world is very small. Things take an interesting turn when Moriko starts to run into people she knows in game in the real world. And it only gets more interesting when Sakurai, Lily in game, starts to realize that Moriko is actually Hayashi, probably.
The first person Moriko meets is her local convenience store part-timer Fujimoto aka Kanbe, the guild master. And after that the real world just keeps getting smaller. Then she meets Sakurai who happens to be Lily, but doesn't actually find out about it until Sakurai connects all the dots and figures out who Moriko really is. All of these are just a series of coincidences that happen to line up in an extremely satisfying way. Honestly nothing like this would ever happen in real life, but there's something so satisfying about the way the two of them are able to reconnect from that first game as Harth and Yuki, to Lily and Hayashi, to Sakurai and Moriko. Seeing their relationship as true friends even over the internet grow strong and blossom gives me faith in humanity, or at least the MMO community.
Actually, all of the side characters were really precious. Like you didn't see them a lot, and a few of them you didn't even get to see what they looked like in reality, but you could still tell that they were really nice people. Especially Lilac. asdfghjkl; I honestly want to read the manga just for some more Lilac. Also Himeralda and Poko's relationship too.
What was so addicting about watching this anime was how they kept teasing you with Sakurai and Moriko almost getting together all the time, but being driven apart by misunderstandings and awkwardness. Something about all the misunderstandings and their individual awkwardness made it a heartwarming show full of purity and relatable value. The whole mistaken/hidden identity trope and the way it taunts you with the two almost revealing the other's identity really gets me every time actually.
The cherry on top was the socially awkward aspect between Moriko and Sakurai. The two of them together are just absolute cinnamon rolls that need to be protected because their characters are like everyone that has social anxiety or is just introverted in general. You see everything as kind of an attack on you and you see every single situation as something that needs to be overanalyzed.
In the end I think it's really sweet that Moriko realizes that she can't keep living her life as a NEET, no matter how elite she is. It's kind of a sad realization to come to that the traditional way to be satisfied with your life is by abiding by societal expectations, but I think it's also a comfort to have that there are guidelines to follow and as long as you do so you're set.
Overall I'd say this is a really sweet and succinct show. It's got great characters, some nice romance, healthy relationships, and relatable characters. And the OP is super artsy in a way and the ED makes me smile ahhhh Moriko is actually me. Excuse my lack of originality or word choice, school takes a lot out of me. I don't know how some people balance like two part time jobs, 23 units of class, and manage to create comics, write books, apply for scholarships, and exercise. It's a lot.
Mostly I just started this anime because it was only 10 episodes long and it seemed like a pretty cool concept. I haven't seen anything exactly like it, though I do feel that I've watched something similar to it at least. And I do like Comico things in general. I think the thing that comes most to mind is Momokuri which has a similarly cute feeling.
Say cheers to this last Anime ATM because I have a feeling I'm going to need to buckle down for a bit. Hope I can keep up the posts once a week though, if only for my own self-satisfaction.
{Spoilers}
Morioka Moriko was unsatisfied with her life. And though most people might stick with their job until they die just for the sake of stability, she decides to take the plunge and quit her job to become a NEET, but not just any NEET. She calls herself an elite NEET because she chose to live that kind of life. The story follows her online life as a super cute ikemen (is that an oxymoron? probably) named Hayashi who games with his guild the At Home Party or something like that. In particular the story revolves around Hayashi and Lily, his partner in game. It sounds pretty mundane and you kind of have to give it a few episodes to really get the feel for what kind of character Moriko is and what the story's going to be around, but it's really sweet once you get into it. As it's said in the anime, the online world is huge, but the real world is very small. Things take an interesting turn when Moriko starts to run into people she knows in game in the real world. And it only gets more interesting when Sakurai, Lily in game, starts to realize that Moriko is actually Hayashi, probably.
The first person Moriko meets is her local convenience store part-timer Fujimoto aka Kanbe, the guild master. And after that the real world just keeps getting smaller. Then she meets Sakurai who happens to be Lily, but doesn't actually find out about it until Sakurai connects all the dots and figures out who Moriko really is. All of these are just a series of coincidences that happen to line up in an extremely satisfying way. Honestly nothing like this would ever happen in real life, but there's something so satisfying about the way the two of them are able to reconnect from that first game as Harth and Yuki, to Lily and Hayashi, to Sakurai and Moriko. Seeing their relationship as true friends even over the internet grow strong and blossom gives me faith in humanity, or at least the MMO community.
Actually, all of the side characters were really precious. Like you didn't see them a lot, and a few of them you didn't even get to see what they looked like in reality, but you could still tell that they were really nice people. Especially Lilac. asdfghjkl; I honestly want to read the manga just for some more Lilac. Also Himeralda and Poko's relationship too.
What was so addicting about watching this anime was how they kept teasing you with Sakurai and Moriko almost getting together all the time, but being driven apart by misunderstandings and awkwardness. Something about all the misunderstandings and their individual awkwardness made it a heartwarming show full of purity and relatable value. The whole mistaken/hidden identity trope and the way it taunts you with the two almost revealing the other's identity really gets me every time actually.
The cherry on top was the socially awkward aspect between Moriko and Sakurai. The two of them together are just absolute cinnamon rolls that need to be protected because their characters are like everyone that has social anxiety or is just introverted in general. You see everything as kind of an attack on you and you see every single situation as something that needs to be overanalyzed.
In the end I think it's really sweet that Moriko realizes that she can't keep living her life as a NEET, no matter how elite she is. It's kind of a sad realization to come to that the traditional way to be satisfied with your life is by abiding by societal expectations, but I think it's also a comfort to have that there are guidelines to follow and as long as you do so you're set.
Overall I'd say this is a really sweet and succinct show. It's got great characters, some nice romance, healthy relationships, and relatable characters. And the OP is super artsy in a way and the ED makes me smile ahhhh Moriko is actually me. Excuse my lack of originality or word choice, school takes a lot out of me. I don't know how some people balance like two part time jobs, 23 units of class, and manage to create comics, write books, apply for scholarships, and exercise. It's a lot.
Just look at Lily wearing the brooch Hayashi gave her on her cape T^T I love them as partners
Just both their poses are me looking at me actually
His face when he sees her in his clothes *screams* I love a good cliche like this ughhhh
They're so sweet I hope they get married and have an amazing life together playing MMOs forever like Poko and Himeralda asdfghjkl;
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Anime ATM 64 Tsure x dure Children
The manga's still going on, but I couldn't help but watch the anime once it was finished for the season. I just feel so completely wholesome and fulfilled after watching it. I know that probably sounds ridiculous, but there's just something so cute about the whole thing.
{There can't be spoilers if everything ends happily ever after with no plot twists and all your ships set sail right?}
Every episode is comprised of smaller episodes that follow the manga's format where every short chapter features one pair and whatever they're getting up to. It's not really organized in any other way besides that. I think that lends itself to being more engaging as you get a taste of the different dynamics between the different couples, but also makes it harder to form connections of fondness for them beyond a shallow level. But of course there's nothing wrong with that. Especially when all the couples are so cute. There's honestly no couple that I dislike. All of them have their problems and they're never portrayed like the perfect couple. They have problems with communication, with pressure about pacing, and overall just the discomfort that comes with having no experience. It's this portrayal of innocence that makes it so cute to watch, just witnessing their first springs and the different ways their romance unfolds. I don't want to get into the specifics of each couple because that completely ruins the point of you watching it since I don't give any explicit spoilers so I just think you should watch it and bathe yourself in the purity that is this show.
I can't say that it was the best quality anime in terms of like art or music budget. There was no ED, and the OP was alright, but this is understandable considering every episode is around 12 minutes anyways. The timing of the episodes is dangerous because it's so easy to just binge it all. Not like I did that...of course not. I'm a respectable, responsible college student. Ahaha okay don't follow my example, but it is an extremely easy watch. I was really in it just for the cute relationships. I had this stupid smile plastered on my face for most of those two or so hours. It was a good use of time I assure you.
Overall I definitely recommend you watch it. There's no stress. It's a happy time. It's so pure and there's so much awkwardness that just makes life seem like it's not that bad and you can keep going with your life. And there's guaranteed to be a character like you in there. It's got some good representation of different people in different types of relationships like the secretly jealous ones, the ones that go through a lot of misunderstands, ones with a bad sense of timing. And it's in perfect sync with how relationships nowadays are especially with smartphones and texting. Ya know, the hip and cool stuff. It's just really really really charming.
{There can't be spoilers if everything ends happily ever after with no plot twists and all your ships set sail right?}
Every episode is comprised of smaller episodes that follow the manga's format where every short chapter features one pair and whatever they're getting up to. It's not really organized in any other way besides that. I think that lends itself to being more engaging as you get a taste of the different dynamics between the different couples, but also makes it harder to form connections of fondness for them beyond a shallow level. But of course there's nothing wrong with that. Especially when all the couples are so cute. There's honestly no couple that I dislike. All of them have their problems and they're never portrayed like the perfect couple. They have problems with communication, with pressure about pacing, and overall just the discomfort that comes with having no experience. It's this portrayal of innocence that makes it so cute to watch, just witnessing their first springs and the different ways their romance unfolds. I don't want to get into the specifics of each couple because that completely ruins the point of you watching it since I don't give any explicit spoilers so I just think you should watch it and bathe yourself in the purity that is this show.
I can't say that it was the best quality anime in terms of like art or music budget. There was no ED, and the OP was alright, but this is understandable considering every episode is around 12 minutes anyways. The timing of the episodes is dangerous because it's so easy to just binge it all. Not like I did that...of course not. I'm a respectable, responsible college student. Ahaha okay don't follow my example, but it is an extremely easy watch. I was really in it just for the cute relationships. I had this stupid smile plastered on my face for most of those two or so hours. It was a good use of time I assure you.
Overall I definitely recommend you watch it. There's no stress. It's a happy time. It's so pure and there's so much awkwardness that just makes life seem like it's not that bad and you can keep going with your life. And there's guaranteed to be a character like you in there. It's got some good representation of different people in different types of relationships like the secretly jealous ones, the ones that go through a lot of misunderstands, ones with a bad sense of timing. And it's in perfect sync with how relationships nowadays are especially with smartphones and texting. Ya know, the hip and cool stuff. It's just really really really charming.
OMG look at his face so pure ugh
asdfghjkl; how could he just not know??
T^T friendship is so close yet so far from what she wanted
How does badger badger mushroom even relate??
Why did I relate so much to this sequence?
Relationship goals. TBH if I were to be in a relationship I'd want to have a dynamic like this.
His friend is such a savage, but at the same time the actual best wingman besides Yo-chan
HE'S SO CRINGE WORTHY BUT SO RIDICULOUSLY FUNNY
This is gonna be me I swear
Me @ all my friends
Me when my friends tell me about awk occurrences (especially since we all started college at different places :') ok that actually made me really sad Imma shut up now)
Why are you still here? Go watch it!
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