Jeoffrey

Despite all the releases in the Winter 2020 anime season, I have to tell myself at least once that enough is enough! This anime series features a generic main male protagonist with a lot of cheesy catchphrases who leaves a bad taste in my mouth. If I add to that all the boredom I experienced while watching this show and multiply it by all the not-so-funny weirdness, and add to it tonight’s episode with the penguin and animal ears then I finally ran out of patience. The conclusion is simple: enough is enough! This show is not amusing, it is simply stupid. I am not a fan of the main male protagonist at all. I find his new friend who has a succubus embryo incredibly irritating for some reason too, and I am not even going to talk about the reporter... It has been a long time since the characters in an anime series absolutely passed me by like this, so uninterested and irritating… The mechanics of the gameplay did not appeal to me either and so I missed that feeling of - yeah, I would like to play this. So, before the main male protagonist can shout "Vengeance is mine!" one more time with gusto and passion, I am just going to run as far away as possible and leave only my poor impression of the first four episodes. 3,2/10.

Let's talk about what's right and what's wrong. This anime series is an adaptation of the Japanese novel series written by Mado Nozaki, who, among other things, wrote the screenplay for the anime series Kado: The Right Answer, and this anime series is of the highest standard, just as interesting and full of philosophical insights. It starts off quite pleasantly and unobtrusively and then comes in the heavy atmosphere and suspense, the femme fatale who is portrayed in a way that sends chills down your spine, and the dramatic moments (in at least one scene) that almost make your blood run cold. The initial crime mystery narrative unfolds into a complex ethical and philosophical dilemma explored in-depth over two whole episodes, and it is all straightened out in a way that will leave a lot of you feeling like, what the hell did I just watch and is this really the end? In the end, I found it all makes quite a lot of sense, including the after-credits scene, which is a nice bonus, when I consider what the main male protagonist was like. I am quite surprised that maybe in my twisted brain I get why Zen did what he did, or maybe I just want it to make sense when it does not. Even so, I do still think there is some logic to it. It is hard to write about Babylon too much without any spoilers, so I am going to dispense with that and just state that I am actually quite comfortable with it that way. The moral overtones and intensity reminded me a bit of the movie Se7en, and it is definitely impossible not to mention the anime series Monster. What I did find irritating, however, was the fact that it got too philosophical towards the end and was too exhaustive and intense, so I had a bit of a problem keeping up with that stream of consciousness and all those ideas. At times there were holes in its logic and some situations were a bit exaggerated, so I did not find it very believable. Despite all that, in the end I was quite satisfied, in general, and thought it was a very well-executed drama even though I know a lot of people are not going to see it that way. 9/10.

I have to admit that when I tried to watch this anime series last year, the result was that I dropped it after about ten minutes because the feeling that struck me was the same as SonGokussj has stated - just one big NOPE. During the black-and-white intro, the sextuplets announce that they have come back to do a show for the people who practically know nothing about the original manga from the sixties, which was supposedly very popular in Japan. This was just very confusing, and when they topped it off by starting to churn out their "classic catchphrases", which I, logically, had never heard before and which, taken out of context, were completely unfunny, I just thought it was perhaps not the best way to attract new viewers. Furthermore, when even the main protagonists themselves seem to be aware of this, you wonder what you are watching. You also tend to question why the hell the anime’s producers are doing it at all, when they themselves know that this is just probably not going to work. The main reason I dropped it at the time, though, was the part that came after this injection of black-and-white ambivalence and nostalgia. Suddenly, you find yourself at a concert, and the sextuplets have a new image, a stylish and colorful look. In addition, they sing in a way that makes me feel like I am watching a concert by One Direction. Also, thanks to the subsequent part with the high school, which I found stupid and pretty off-putting, meant that Mr. Osomatsu was thrown into that imaginary trash can. A few months passed, and there was a very positive review praising it by Starletka, and I began to wonder whether I was wrong. I read the review and I was struck by the fact that it is supposedly very amusing, with a lot of references to other anime series, apparently already in the first episode. I started reminiscing, dusted myself off, and watched the first episode again. This time I was ready for what the opening had in store for me. Well, even the second time the intro was not the most pleasant ten minutes of my life, however, when I got further into it, suddenly everything started to fall apart, the sextuplets could not keep up their "new image" and the anime series took a completely different turn when within minutes the game was changing from one thing to another… and I really probably witnessed the most amount of references ever crammed into five minutes of one episode of an anime series. A positive thing I should probably mention about the show was the references to a well-known contemporary anime series, which almost every anime viewer (me included), would recognize. Apart from that, the ending was a bit awkward and a let-down, it was back to being black-and-white and was quite weird. However, when, at the end of the episode, the main protagonists apologized, and said something along the lines that hopefully it will be better from the next episode on, I was able to forgive them somewhat for their initial embarrassments... Whichever way I look at it, I do not think I have seen a more peculiar start to an anime series in a long time. Anyway, it really did get much better after the second episode, and the animation is pretty much the same quality as the original black-and-white anime series (only this time it is in color), however, it is still much better than having them be idols again (unfortunately, even this show is going to include that eventually...). Furthermore, I was very pleased that they managed to make fun of my first impressions in the second episode. At the same time, there are some really hilarious jokes from the second episode onwards, some are very cheesy, and some are very peculiar, just a real barrage of humor. The references even sometimes really took me by surprise, such as the reference to the anime Sushi Police (they refer to it in the skit as Pachinko Police), because I just did not expect the anime’s producers to throw in such obscure references to lesser-known shows. There was also a pretty hilarious skit referencing the movie Saw... I gradually managed to develop a relationship with the characters as well, and probably thought Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu were the most enjoyable to watch, as the two most prominent opposites. So in the end I think this is a pretty good show, and at times it is a lot of fun, at other times it is really peculiar, and sometimes it is quite puerile, but why not...7.5/10.

In the first half of this season, this show is mostly about the music and almost nothing else. There are no subplots, no complex relationships to deal with, no romantic storylines, and when there are, they are only very peripheral. However, in the second half of the season, it is as if the anime’s producers suddenly decided that it was time for a change, so they managed to shove a love triangle (or rather a love rectangle) into the narrative. They also put a ton of emotional, romantic, and other kinds of scenes into just a few episodes. This seemed to take the show’s attention away from the music for a while. While this change was quite unexpected, I personally found it made the show feel more human because as a musical philistine I am just not going to get too worked up over a narrative around what it is like to be in a band. Unfortunately, some of the storylines had a rather unsatisfactory outcome, and in the episodes after, the focus returned to music (and nothing but music) again, so there was just a flicker of emotion, like a summer breeze in the leaves and then it disappeared again... The animation is really nice, however, that is unsurprising really, since the Kyoto animation studio is behind it, and the show’s soundtrack is also pretty good, although I would have expected this aspect to have been a little better in case of a musical anime. Despite that, it is quite interesting to see how the band gradually improves over time. The finále is quite satisfying and on the whole the impression I got was pretty good. However, if I compare it to Nodame Cantabile, which I think is the perfect music anime series, Sound! Euphonium basically could not get near my imaginary "musical anime throne". So I think it is an inferior four stars, even though I would recommend it to aficionados of both music and musical anime. 7/10.

I feel thoroughly ambivalent after finishing this movie, which is an adaptation of a RPG game supposedly quite well-known in Japan. On the one hand, I feel like I watched a decent fantasy movie that had quite a bit of potential, and some interesting ideas going on. On the other hand, I feel like I watched something that at times was badly flawed, over-the-top, and quite stupid… At first, I found it quite interesting, since the idea of interconnected worlds and how they all work together definitely caught my attention. However, they then started throwing various surprising twists and turns at me, and I was just watching everything rolling my eyes and feeling slightly irritated at how poorly they managed to execute some of the scenes, which just did not make much sense. I could not understand any of the main protagonist’s behavior at one point and I thought that the way they find out where the main villain was hiding and discover who he actually was, was a completely stupid idea. In fact, I was really not impressed or pleased at all with the big reveal in the finále and the way they presented the situation between the two protagonists seemed questionable. There were actually many moments when I raised my eyebrows as they were just not believable, however, it is impossible to go into them without spoilers. What was missing? I think that perhaps it was lacking a longer and more elaborate exposition, and maybe they could have cut down on trying to shock as much as possible with the unexpected revelations, or just thinking everything through much better and then showing it on screen. As it was, even though it was interesting, it was too bizarre and failed... I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate. 4.5/10.

When I remember how spectacular the entire third season of the anime series was, I am actually shocked that it was not the end of the whole Haikyuu!! saga, just the end of one part regarding qualifiers for the national tournament... So, in my opinion, probably the best sports anime (of all time) is back and shows the results of the next part of the (Tokyo) qualifiers. Thanks to the fact that we are now quite familiar with the Nekoma High team from the original anime series, I did not find it as uninteresting as I expected. However, I am disappointed that I did not see some new powerful opponent to play against Karasuno, because the way they built up the atmosphere around the Shiratorizawa Academy in previous seasons of the anime series was awesome. Anyway, I also enjoyed this two-part OVA - it was really intense and emotionally charged, and even though I was not such a big fan of Nekoma High half as much as I was a fan of Karasuno, and I was not as glued to the screen eager to know how it was going to turn out, it was still a very good and definitely above average show. 7/10, and now onto the regular fourth season of the Haikyuu!! anime series.

The first two episodes of this season were released back in December 2019, including a short interview with the Japanese voice actors tagged onto the very end, and the first one had its official TV premiere today. Anyway, I watched both of them just in case to get a first impression. The idea with the numbers is great, I could not help but think of the movie In Time, as it has a similar certain sense of fated destiny too. However, in all honesty, that was probably the only thing that really caught my attention. I was not very impressed by the main female protagonist Hina, and I did not find the main male protagonist Licht any more appealing either. In the beginning, it felt like something that was quite cheesy, especially the sex jokes, such as also, for example, the special "Count" numbers placed in an extremely obvious way on the "interesting" parts of women’s bodies. That was just like a sleazy nod and a wink at its gentlemen audience, and I thought it was all very cringeworthy. It also reminded me of The Seven Deadly Sins, because the opening showing the search for a legendary warrior is quite similar. However, The Seven Deadly Sins had me captivated from the beginning with its playfulness - whereas this show was more tedious, cheesy, and lacking substance. Despite all that, the battles in the second episode save it a bit, it has some interesting scenes where Licht demonstrates his superhuman abilities and powers, and up until the final "air attack" I was even quite taking it in, as well as the ending of the second episode which hinted that there definitely was a lot more depth to the narrative, than it first appeared. However, on the whole, I did not find it engaged me in a way that made me keenly anticipate the next episode... or be curious about what would happen in the next installment... So that is the reason I am not going to watch any more of this show! Perhaps if I started reading some reviews about how groundbreaking this anime series is from someone whose judgment I trust, and they manage to talk me out of my present decision, I am going to review my opinion, however, at the moment, there is no chance. Dropped after the second episode and I am leaving it unrated.

So, I have managed to finish the first extended (forty-five minute) episode, and this action-packed installment hurtled past at such a frantic pace that perhaps only new fans of the new Star Wars movie would enjoy it. The main male protagonist just jumps straight into it with both feet at once, and insane things just happen at an insane pace. So, I felt like I was not really given any time to get to know the main male protagonist even a little bit in any kind of normal setting, which is why I could not relate to him. There was also no time to learn much about the rules of the game, although just the fact that it is awfully easy to get into tells me that there probably is not going to be an endgame anytime soon. In other words, there are probably going to be a lot of other players (they are going to be collecting points) and I somehow naively thought that it would have been better for the atmosphere if the number was somehow limited, so that there could be only one winner. I mean, I was not that impressed with the mysterious and supernatural atmosphere, it lacked suspense which did not help, and I was left feeling it was rather unsatisfactory. In all honesty, the action scenes and animation did not look very good either. It has a decent narrative, perhaps? Well, it does not seem to contain anything too complex, surprising, or even groundbreaking, in fact, it seems to me that even the new Mortal Kombat 11 videogame, released a few weeks ago, has more to offer in it's single player campaign... Now, how long will it be until the main male protagonist kills someone, when he is trapped in a game and makes vain attempts not to get into a fight between life and death, when survival is all that matters? If he can figure it out quickly, then it would be just another cheesy killing spree. However, in an ideal world, it could feature a lot of decent fight scenes (= better animation, no censorship and on the whole, more interesting, or at least smarter...). However, if he takes a really long time about it, then it is going to be just another long-winded ordeal with a naive male protagonist, and the only interesting thing is going to be how he can defeat his opponents without killing them (which could be interesting, and at the same time also pretty stupid). In just a nutshell, Jeoffrey did not find anything in the first episode to keep his interest and make him continue watching this show. Still, I know some of you will enjoy this one a lot because it is gory and there is violence and lots of action scenes... If I were only fifteen, or if I had wanted to passively enjoy some of the animated cartoon carnage instead of the aforementioned MK, then I might have continued, although a jaded gentleman like me no longer has time for that in 2020. I dropped it after the first episode and of course, it remains unrated.

What is it about? Rage of Bahamut: Genesis features a dragon, and a very fearsome one at that, and, who, in the show’s fantasy world, is sealed and guarded by members of the celestial race, the Angels. The problem, however, is that Amira who has the powers of a demon (she is a half-god, and half-demon) holds the key to unlocking the seal restraining the dragon and escapes with it. She then runs into Favaro, the main male protagonist, and then enlists his aid and so he helps her because he is sort of forced to. Favaro is a bounty hunter and have a rival Kaisar, who is also a bounty hunter. They are connected and divided by a past feud. Favaro and Amira try to escape the pursuit of the heavenly faction (Gods taken from Greek mythology + Angels) and their allies in the human world (e.g. the Orleans Knights under Jeanne D'arc), as well as the demons themselves and, of course, the aforementioned Kaisar, who is joined by the zombie Lolita-like character called Rita, but this is just the beginning... What do I think about it? As I have already written elsewhere, it is really chaotic, although it is also very interesting and I enjoyed watching it. The main male protagonist is quite unique in both his appearance and character traits, as are the other characters. The animation is really well-done, and I really enjoyed the soundtrack, whether the superb opening theme by SiM, or the music soundtracking the narrative all the way through, which is really epic in places and superbly complements the atmosphere of the show. I thought the narrative developed into a very interesting epic-heroic adventure, and even though I am not familiar with the original online card game from Cygames that the anime is inspired by, I had no problem keeping up with the plot and following the main narrative. In addition to that, in my opinion even the ending was also very well-executed… It certainly has its shortcomings, which I completelly turned a blind eye to, which may have been due to a certain subjective enthusiasm. For me is this show 9.5/10.

The Heroic Legend of Arslan is more or less exactly what I expected. Compared to the original 1991 adaptation, it has been dressed up in some fine new clothes and given more sophisticated characters. So, Daryun really is an incredible dude, and prince Arslan himself starts off as quite a wimp, which gives him more room to develop and grow as a person as the narrative develops. Narsus is even more of a bishounen, and Elam does not look quite as girlie anymore. Lord Silvermask appears to be much more frightening and is much more powerful, and then Gieve is a bit more of a pervert (although what do you expect from a bard but a propensity towards wine, women and songs?). Farangis is portrayed as a very curvaceous sexy individual... In other words, I like this adaptation of The Heroic Legend of Arslan much better than the original, and even though I knew where the narrative was heading I still really enjoyed it. 8/10.