Anime ATM 67 Dive!!

I've been in university for over a month now. It's kind of surreal thinking about how the first night I sobbed my eyes out and how it felt like I was the only one lost and alone. I'm still a little bit lonely and I'm still a little bit lost. But I have this feeling that it'll all work out. I think you just have to put all the effort you can into things and they'll reward you in some sort of way. Is that cheesy? Of course it is, but I think we all need some reassurance at times that it'll be alright, if not now then someday down the road.

On another note ~

My friend really hyped this anime up so I was expecting some Free/Haikyuu level sports anime camaraderie and pure boys ok? But maybe it's because my tastes in anime is changing, maybe it's because only sports team anime really gets me hyped, or maybe it's something else I can't entirely express yet.

{Spoilers?}

It starts off promising with Tomoki discovering diving through his hero, also love interest let's be honest here, Yoichi. They've got a nice analogy going on with the diving structure as a concrete dragon to be conquered. And then they've got the whole improvement through necessity to save MDC and to better themselves. It's pretty good, pretty standard. And then at the end when they've made it to the Olympics or are going off their separate ways it gives a nice transition to the second season. To be honest I doubt there'll be a second season. The water sport with cute guys niche has been filled and there wasn't a whole lot of hype around this.

You've got your standard characters. There's the cool boy prodigy Yoichi who's pretty cutthroat when it comes to being number one. But he's got this stupid side of him that's a result of him only ever focusing on diving. We get to see that for the one filler episode. And then you've got your wild angry boy Okitsu with Kagami from KnB's eyebrows kinda. He reminds me of Kagami too with his insistent, bullish nature and his body shape I think. His back injury was a minor plot twist; maybe it's because I wasn't super invested that I just thought it was kind of sad, but it wasn't that compelling. And then you've got the happy-go-lucky small boy Tomoki. He's the underdog among the three junior high boys, but he's special. Which predictably makes his friends Ryo and Reiji undergo some changes with the changing power/superiority dynamic among them. I'm happy Ryo found basketball and Reiji became more determined in his quiet way. And then you've got the new coach who brings a breath of fresh air to the club Coach Asaki who really rallies the troops.

As you can see it's pretty predictable. There's some funny moments. It just didn't do anything for me maybe because of the underlying competition between all of them because diving is a solitary sport. Maybe it was the added factor of not knowing much about swimming and having all of these numbers and such being thrown at me left and right without knowing any of what was happening made it hard to enjoy. It just fell flat for me.

Overall, if you like guys in speedos that are all scary ripped I think you'd like this. If you like predictable, cliche storylines (no shame, I enjoy a good show like that every once in a while) this is also for you. There's some good little bits and pieces, it just wasn't the best thing I've ever seen. LOL sorry if this Anime ATM was a bit flat, it's just this show wasn't bomb. I remember the days where I used to love every single show, now those days are fewer and far in between. *dramatic spotlight*

I was in it at the beginning for Chikuwa

What a pure boy :')

My friends @ me when I do something stupid

Me @ my friends when I go back home I bet heh

These character introductions were good though. I was thoroughly entertained during this portion.

Me trying to brush off any mistakes or bad karma or anything weird that I didn't mean for to happen

Bringing flowers for his special someone :3

Same.

Anime Ventilation 39 Haikyuu!!: Karasuno Koukou VS Shiratorizawa Gakuen Koukou

A lot of sleepless nights and sleepy days meant that I couldn't binge watch the whole 10 episodes in one go unfortunately. (っ- ‸ – ς)

{Spoilers, probably}

Ah, where do I even start? I think first off we have to just take a minute to truly enjoy the pacing. Extending one match, albeit with 5 sets, to a span of 10 episodes is no small feat. And somehow it still seemed short, crazy enough. So props to the creators for such sublime pacing.

Honestly speaking, I can't say I'm in this series for the volleyball. (Although I've learned a surprising amount about the sport by watching.) I'm in it for that character development, that drama, that suspense. And Haikyuu gives it all to me. It's truly a whirlwind of emotions because it's written in such a way that you don't really know if Karasuno will win or not. It's all about the buildup of the game and the way that the characters interact and play, their struggle against physical and mental barriers to success. That's what really gets me.

Seeing them grow and overcome diversity gives me life. The three senpais finally showing that random old guy that Karasuno can fly and become a powerhouse school in its own right was amazing.

Before...

...After

They've taken flight and it's truly a sight to behold

And can we just take a moment to give Tsukishima a standing ovation? His blocking was the actual MVP in this match.

I don't have a lot to say, mostly because the content of this was so solidly based upon tension and anticipation. So, instead I recommend you listen to the ED because, although at first it seems a bit weird, it's actually a really great song in its own right.

So overall, if you've already joined the Haikyuu hype then definitely  watch because they're just so precious. And if you haven't jumped on the bandwagon, what are you waiting for??? Join immediately! Join the Oikawa fanclub *cough* well either Oikawa or Nishinoya (I'm sorry if your opinions differ but this is just me. They're the best.)

Now, here's honestly the part I'm kind of ashamed of. I took so many screenshots. As in 24. Please don't judge what I do in my spare time okay? (JK you already know what I do in my spare time: this blog) o(〃＾▽＾〃)o

Everyone's squad goals if we're being honest with ourselves

They're so cute (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑

(An addition to when the whole team cheers for Tsukki)

While we're at it...why not just have a Tsukishima sequence :3

Look at Oikawa in glasses and try to tell me he's not cute

When Ryu isn't just a Shimizu-san obsessed weirdo :')

When Shimizu is supposed to be everyone's Shimizu LOL

When Ushijima is just mentally roasting poor Hinata 

Revenge is epic. And sweet.

When you realize that Ushijima is actually a pretty cool senpai

...except for the fact that his teammates all unanimously agree he's an idiot (*´艸`*)

I love how they're just stretching and talking about future plans on the floor so casually. It had to be immortalized. Possibly screensaver material (but without context it looks a little sketchy I have to say)

Time for a...Hinata sequence!

Basically: Get hyped for Nationals (?) in Season 4!!!

Also, I just realized this this morning, that Shiratorizawa is literally shiratori or white bird. Because before I was kind of questioning why Shiratorizawa was depicted as an eagle and Karasuno as crows, but now I sort of get it. Hope that was a new tidbit for someone out there. ヽ(*´∀`)ﾉﾞ

Anime Ventilation 31 High★Speed! Free! Starting Days

*takes a deep breath* I LOVE SPORTS ANIME! 

Sports anime got me feeling all sorts of ways. They're so motivational and this one holds a special place in my heart because Free! They're the cutest babies and most precious. Honestly a great introduction into sports anime.

{Spoilers}

It really hit the spot mostly because it was so nostalgic looking back and seeing all your favorite characters and reliving their finest moments while seeing younger versions of themselves starting to improve and grow into their legendary future selves. I mean, did you even see little Nagisa? So cute. Even the ones that didn't make as big of an impact in the main series like Kisumi really got to make an entrance here. Kisumi is precious. Even Rei who didn't start to swim until when the main series began was there! Seeing him at the library with Asahi was an amazing moment; when he was talking to Asahi about wishing there was a book on swimming too was a total foreshadowing for anyone who hasn't watched the main series yet. And when Asahi and Haru were trying on swimsuits? Remember when the exact same thing happened in the main series with Haru trying variations of the same trunks and Rei tried on that butterfly one piece? Nostalgic! Not only was this full of nostalgic moments, it was full of innocent fun like when the whole team slept over at Haru's house. Real friendship and team bonding.

Even if the only reason most people watch this is because of the Free! hype I still think this is a quality sports anime movie for sure. Because although it's kind of cliche and has the story we've all seen before, it's really quite inspirational seeing people overcome timeless problems. Seeing Makoto come to terms with the reasons why he's swimming instead of joining the basketball club because he wants to stay with Haru and likes to swim is reminiscent of times where you don't really know why you're doing what you're doing. Sometimes it's really hard trying to validate what you're doing and find that it's hard to acknowledge what you know and your own reasoning. Wow that got deep too quick. Anyways, ahem, also seeing Haru struggling to overcome his belief that his elementary school medley relay team was the best they could ever have was painful, especially if you watched the main series before. Seeing him overcome that and making the most out of his new team was inspiring. I'm sorry I kinda say the same things over and over again, but I think inspirational stories just really resonate with me, give me a reason to keep on going ya know? Heh, anyways the other two guys Asahi and Ikuya are great too. Asahi standing in front of the mirror telling himself he was a genius...and then slowly starting to doubt those words is really what we all face in life. No matter who you are, you can't be good at everything. There's always someone right ahead of you doing better and seemingly to do it with ease while you flounder just to keep up. The key thing to keep in mind in these situations is what Asahi discovered about Haru: we're all human. And Ikuya with the brother complex. JK, not in that sense! But seeing him always chasing after his brother, even going so far as to isolate himself at his SC and then copying Haru to try and reach his brother was, you guessed it, really ______. I think you can fill in the blank. I think I need to go refresh my vocabulary.

Overall, it was really great and KyoAni knows how to make an amazing anime.

If you haven't watched the movie yet and you're not totally sold by my crappy fangirling (I'm so sorry) then watch the trailer!

*sigh* the emphasis on Makoto and his reason for swimming was really touching

BTW the two senpai's pictured here are really cool. Like honestly super cool.

And I'm going to stop here because otherwise I would post wayyyyy too many pictures of each of them because they're honestly so cute.

Picture Sources: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cgM9VhPAUcc/maxresdefault.jpg, https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1k_6ugoKc60/maxresdefault.jpg, http://pm1.narvii.com/5936/efba5a9faab35354c73e37607e88a7de82ccf110_hq.jpg

Anime Ventilation 30 Yuri on Ice

{Spoilers}

I JUST FINISHED WATCHING YURI ON ICE AND IT WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING I'VE EVER SEEN!!!! You know those animes that once they get so much hype you don't enjoy them as much? Well not this one. This one broke Tumblr and it deserves at least this much. THIS WAS THE BEST THING. THIS GAVE ME STANDARDS. EVERYTHING ABOUT IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.

It has the classic rivalry of sports anime but the beauty of this is how, even though there’s such a high level of competition, each of them is so supportive. They’re all bloodthirsty and ready to fight for that gold medal but when it comes down to it all of their shows of sportsmanship are admirable. I think that’s one of the most poignant things about this series; when each of the skaters took the ice the rest would all shout ‘Davai!’ and even if they weren’t in the actual competitions they would watch online and cheer for their friends. I’m actually stupefied by how wonderful all of these babies are. They're all so driven to do their best, not only for themselves, but also for their countries and their fans. Seeing the devotion all of their fans give them and how the energy of the audience and the skater bounce off and magnify one another really embodies something truly beautiful about figure skating as a sport. Even though most sports anime are based on team effort and coming together as a team, I feel that Yuri on Ice really shows that even in individual sports there is a certain unmistakable camaraderie. I can’t even begin to formulate how beautiful all of this is. I can only repeat and stress upon the beauty of the entirety of the series.

Everything about this was great. It started off with this unconfident normal Japanese figure skater crying in the bathroom. And after that first episode you just can’t put it down. Seeing Yuri crying as he let the stress of the competition break his spirit really makes you root for him and hope for better things to come. When Victor watches Yuri’s recreation of his routine and flies out to Japan, that’s when things start to take off. And from there their relationship blossoms as they break down all the competition and difficulties in their way. It was truly a pleasure to see someone so unconfident, someone that resonates with every single person in this world that doesn’t feel like they are good enough rise to the occasion and steal the show. It speaks volumes on how anyone with enough drive and motivation can do anything they set their mind to. Yuri himself said he was just a dime-a-dozen Japanese figure skater, alluding to his lack of self-confidence, but through the journey of competing against all these skaters he thought were leagues above him...and him rising to the challenge show such a natural development of his self-confidence and self-discovery. I don’t think I can even convey the message that gives. Yuri is truly beautiful. Everything about his journey and the way it was developed and delivered was breathtaking.

And it wasn’t even him. This wasn’t a shoddy second-rate anime that only focuses on the main ship. Oh no, this was a true masterpiece, a work of art. You think I’m kidding and maybe if you’re a hardcore figure skating expert you might want to fight me. But on matters of storyline, emotional evocation, and characters this was absolutely amazing. Hands down the best anime of this season and maybe of this year in my opinion. (I don’t know why I say my opinion because literally my whole blog is my opinion. Heh.) If you list any character I can tell you why they’re precious. For example, JJ. At the beginning I thought JJ was a bit of a jerk. I mean any guy that skates to a song written for him about how he’s the best in the world ought to be. But honestly I think that the whole ‘King JJ’ was just a facade. In actuality he’s just like any of the other skaters; he’s driven to bring gold home to Canada and to do his absolute best. But even though he initially came off as someone that would dominate the Grand Prix, he’s not all powerful. He’s affected by the stress and acknowledges how good his competition is. I think there’s something beautifully fragile in figure skating that’s almost like each of them is chasing after one another. No one settles when they get the highest score; they’re all hungry to keep going and surprising the audience. (That’s why during JJ’s Grand Prix long program I was crying so hard.) Even the skaters that only showed up for a substantial amount of time for one or two episodes like Seung-gil were memorable. In most anime you see a side character, acknowledge their presence, and then they’re gone. Even though Seung-gil was emotionless for the most part, his part in the plot was really to show a skater’s pride. His emotionless demeanor was broken by the fact that he couldn’t reach the Grand Prix. Ah, we have to talk about the two cuties of the show: Phichit and Kenjirou. Before Kenjirou it’d be easy to get the impression that Yuri was a bit of a loser in the ice skating world. But seeing Kenjirou at the Japanese competition and seeing how much he looked up to Yuri really gave the impression that Yuri was indeed a force to be reckoned with, even if he himself didn’t see it yet. And Phichit! Him and his selfies are iconic. He’s the cutest of the bunch and seeing him so happy even though he didn’t even win a medal at the Grand Prix was so adorable. He tried his absolute best and was satisfied with the results...well for now. I hope to see all of them in Nationals and such. And his ice show dream is sooo adorable. Oh my goodness.

ALSO CAN WE JUST TAKE A MOMENT TO APPRECIATE YURIO? In his senior debut he totally kills it. There’s so much growth on his part. He goes from the Russian thug to the tsundere Russian fairy. Speaking about compassion, when he gave those tonkatsu piroshkis to Yuri after the competition to cheer him up...awhhhhh. He’s actually more beautiful than a lot of girls I know in all honesty (Him skating ‘On Love: Agape was always a killer. Almost as killer as Yuri skating On Love: Eros tbh.). And the most beautiful part is that he’s always looking to improve. He does the hardest moves and is constantly evolving his routine, but still feels threatened by the others. His striving for improvement is what really got him that well-deserved gold medal in the Grand Prix. Also his reaction when Otabek was like "So you wanna be friends?" and Yurio was like "No one's ever asked that before" was so precious.

I feel like I can’t even do Yuri and Viktor’s relationship justice. Like it’s actually so adorable. They went from fan-idol to student-coach to fiances in the span of 12 episodes. Like WHAT EVEN?! The creators of this show actually gave us everything. They gave us a romantic and super classy gay relationship. They gave us a super cute hug. A date. A kiss. Basically a marriage scene when they’re in front of the church in Barcelona exchanging rings. Even an ice skating duet!!!!! I can’t stress how much their relationship means to the world. It’s beautiful.

Sports animes really get to me; they hold a particular place in my heart, more cemented than any other genre if I’m being honest. But this one, this one was truly special; I already started crying at Episode 11. Okay not even the last episode. Episode 11!!! That’s when you know it’s good. That's when you know you have to drop all your priorities for this. It’s the best thing. Absolutely the best thing. I’m a mess. I’m still crying. I’m disgustingly sniffing and wiping my tears as I write this because this is how overwhelmed I am. 30 seconds into Yuri’s routine in Episode 12 I was gone. I was lost and I cried so hard I couldn’t see and I had to pause it to wipe away my tears with my shirt. I was so riveted I couldn’t even walk to the bathroom to get myself a tissue. And then by the end when Yuri got second place I couldn’t even be mad. It was so beautiful. All of them are beautiful cinnamon rolls that deserve everything. Absolutely everything. Give all of them a gold medal because they really really really really really deserve it. I cried for so long. Catharsis. Wow. Just wow. I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT SEASON. When I saw the “See you next level” I cried hard for a long time.

Wow.

Kenjirou is the representative of the fandom

The cutest skater ♡

THIS SELF CONFIDENCE OMG

This is the same but not. This is important. Look at him coming into his own.

A cute, precious baby looking for validation from his idol

I'm editing and posting this a day later. You think my wounds would heal. But I'm tearing up now.

I won't let you forget your promise.

I stopped here with pictures or else I never would've stopped. (#^^#)ゞ

Image Sources: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/images/encyc/A18191-2291224427.1469808485.jpg, http://lostinanime.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Yuri-on-Ice-06-18-1280x720.jpg, http://images2.itechpost.com/data/images/full/47811/yuri-on-ice-episode-7.jpg, http://cdn0.dailydot.com/uploaded/images/original/2016/12/23/victor12.png, https://media.tenor.co/images/e349fa852918b4e6345b04563b92f2ca/tenor.gif, http://lostinanime.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Yuri-on-Ice-05-4.jpg, http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/thumbnails/max500x500/cms/news/110204/nextlevel.png.jpg

Anime Review 9 Haikyuu! Season 2

Ah sports anime. The source of a lot of frustration and sorrow and joy and roller coaster emotions.

By the way, this is a really dumb side note, but I accidentally watched the last episode first because it was late. And when I had finished it and realized it was the last episode I had watched first I felt really betrayed by myself. Then when I watched the episodes in order I had forgotten that I had already watched the last episode so while I finished the series I had this weird sense of deja vu. Heh I'm so amused yet so disappointed in myself.

{Not Spoiler Free}

I gotta say that all these characters are my babies. They're all so precious and each overcome their own struggles in order to improve themselves. This alone is such a great message. Honestly these characters are so just down to earth and wholesome that you just can't help but love them. Props the creator because the characters are bomb.

Another important message was that even out of the most unexpected places, the strong can rise and beat all odds. I don't know. Maybe I'm just a sucker for underdog stories, but this was one of the best. It made me feel all the feels. I'm not even remotely interested in sports, but for some reason this really hooked me. Heh it was probably because that plot twist of an ending for the first season when Karasuno actually lost. I may or may not have almost dropped my phone in shock when I watched that part. But jeez that sweet sweet sensation when Karasuno rematched Aoba Josei and won!!!!! I was so hyped. I felt like my children had worked so hard and I couldn't have been more proud. It was a great moment for me.

Also can we just talk about Yachi?! She's the best Townsperson B ever. She's so humble and I love her. But I love basically all the characters so...

Something else that I really liked about this sports anime is how real it was. Okay I can't really speak from personal experience about the sports team thing, but the whole development of their skills seemed really believable. Each of the characters was so human. They all made mistakes with bad serves or horrible control, but they were able to work on it with an amazing amount of practice and dedication. None of the guys were godly, unlike other sports anime like Kuroko no Basket. I really liked the fact that like half the season was focused on each of them training to become better. The whole journey to improvement was super motivating as a viewer. It made me root for each of them even more. Honestly I was even excited for Oikawa when it was made more apparent that he wasn't naturally talented and had to work hard like everyone else. Not the same could be said for #1 jerkface Ushijima. Ugh that guy.

All of the conflicts in the season felt so real. All of their personal internal conflicts as well as their outer team vs team conflicts. In every single match as certain points I would hold my breath in anticipation because after how the first season ended I couldn't have any expectations or else I'd feel so betrayed.

Anyways, this anime is so worth the hype. Actually I was scarred by Free! into thinking that when I finished the series I would cry a river because of the nostalgia, but it ended at a really good, inspirational point that keeps me looking forward to season 3!!! Also I started this season in June but only finished it now because I kept pushing off finishing it in case that was it and I wouldn't get any more which would make me really sad.

I can't. They're too cute. So pure.

The most beautiful partnership

I'd sign a petition to see more Kenma tbh

YESSSSSSSS

Aren't they just too precious?