Jeoffrey

I found most of the series interesting, but only to a certain extent. The story is fairly simple, almost run-of-the-mill, reminiscent of SW: A New Hope in a Waterworld-like setting, except for foam on the surface and the occasional tree sticking out of the water reaching all the way up to the sky. The characters aren't very complex, but I do find them likable, and I’m interested in their journey. The animation isn’t bad, despite being fully 3DCG. Polygon Pictures did a passable job – not excellent but not terrible either. I was quite intrigued by the world. Sadly, the designs of most of the animals aren't that great. They are imaginative enough but not visually stunning or terrifying and they didn’t evoke any emotional response in me. I’m just not that crazy about Kaina, it’s only slightly better than average. Still, I'm interested to see what happens next and how things continue in the upcoming movie. 5.5/10

Even after the final episode, I wasn't sure how to rate this show. It does have some undeniable qualities. It does a decent job of communicating its message and even evoked an emotional response in me, but I was far from blown away by it and couldn't fully immerse myself in it and have a good time. What I didn’t like was that the dialogue was dragging at times, and some of the ideas were quite weird and didn't really fit into the story. A vampire? Really? What didn’t make much sense to me was the motivation of the villain who wasn't really a villain as is often the case. I was rather annoyed by Al's whole storyline and its conclusion. Plus, for a twelve-episode series, it packs a bit too much for its own good. It tries to be a romance, an adventure, it tries to deal with social issues, intrigue, magical mysteries, and who knows what else, jumping from one to the other, none of it working 100% for me. But the positives outweigh all the negatives. There are two likable main characters whose mutual chemistry works pretty well, resulting in a great romance, as well as some cute moments. Both characters had a convincing development and they really needed each other for that. I got the message the show was trying to convey, was intrigued by some of the themes it chose to tackle, and got some pretty satisfying answers, albeit not very deep. Animation-wise, it was quite average, with occasional good moments. For example, the first fight between Anis and the monsters wasn't bad at all. At other times, it was obvious that Diomedéa Studio still has a lot to improve. The last fight wasn't very good and some of the effects in it (fireballs) were downright weak. Anyway, the “magical revolution of the reincarnated princess and the genius young lady” really started happening in the end, which made the ending quite satisfying (the series delivered what the title promised). Since I liked the ending, I'll give a higher rating and try to forget the weaker passages that weren’t as convincing... 6.6/10

I liked the original visual style. The story, although quite interesting, was kind of mediocre. It wasn’t emotionally powerful, just mildly engaging. Since this project is presented by Toho as "musical anime movies", I was quite surprised that the song itself played a minor role, more of a glorified background music. Available to watch here. 5.5/10

In Hikari no Ou, I was intrigued by the story but didn't care about the characters. With Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World, it's exactly the other way around. The series managed to sell me on the four cardinal heroes, gave each of them an interesting backstory that I found relatable, and made them all hit rock bottom from which the only way is up. It was like The Rising of the Shield Hero but with an emphasis on relationships. Unfortunately, the depiction of the characters’ transition from "I don't trust anyone" to "I might trust these guys" wasn’t very convincing. I felt that this important development happened too quickly, in an uninteresting and unnatural kind of way. Plus, the storyline about Kizuna and the literal bonds between characters just felt weird and didn't seem to fit in with the whole. Some aspects of the story felt problematic from the beginning and didn’t match the overall vibe. The Japanese idols started to make sense to me when the real setting of the story was revealed (what the world really was). However, the mathematics battle still seems like a silly idea to me. What I will remember about this anime in a few months is the fact that there was a witch who liked gambling, a priest who liked girls, a dragon girl who liked food, and an adventurer who simped for idols. I doubt that I will remember what Stepping Man’s story was about and what was actually going on in the episodes in general. I'm interested to see what's next in store for the main four characters, and how they will develop as personalities and as a team, but I can already imagine that it will be wrapped up in weird, boring, or dumb ballast again, making me think of wasted potential worth nothing more than an average rating... 5/10

The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague is a cute, slow-paced, naive romance, which was so boring at times that it almost put me to sleep. I should appreciate the fact that the story takes place in an office setting and centers around adults instead of high schoolers as is common in anime. It makes no difference, however, given the personalities of the main couple. It's the same kind of "puppy" romance about incredibly shy Japanese people full of blushing and unspoken things, moving at a snail's pace. There's absolutely no conflict, drama, or anything that would add a spark to the story, just everyone "wanting to be as cute as possible" the whole time. Humor plays only a secondary role, so don't expect this to be a hilarious comedy or anything like that. It’s meant to be a lovely story that will melt your heart, but even that works only about half of the time for me. The animation is adequate for the purpose, that is, it’s all in cute pastel colors and the creators managed to conjure up some really nice shots (frozen landscapes, sakura blossoms...). The score doesn’t feature any grandiose themes and makes do with light piano and violin, which are quite prominent in the right moments and nice to listen to. The romance itself was mediocre. Sometimes there was great chemistry and nice moments between the main couple, other times it didn't work for me at all, and sometimes it felt almost silly - unfortunately often at moments that were meant to be serious. Not even the supporting characters impressed me with their romantic lines. Especially Katori and Otonashi didn't make me feel anything at all. On the one hand, I don't want to be too harsh, it's supposed to be an enjoyable rom-com and it does fulfill the definition of "enjoyable", but beyond that, it's just a mediocre romance and a weak comedy that made me realize that a story about a relationship between two kuudere isn’t really my thing. But at least the main characters like cats, which I can relate to. 5.5/10

Not bad at all! Nana's Secret Garden is a pleasant short film with a great theme that is well-developed despite the short running time. I had no problem understanding what it was all about, and I was even moved by the ending a little. The animation is simple and likable, and the song is well-chosen. So, a nice 6 minutes. 7.5/10 (available to watch here)

Toho Animation will release 5 short animated music films on their YouTube channel over the following 5 days. Why are they doing this? Who knows, maybe they want to see if there’s potential for a larger format (movie/series), or maybe they want to give new creators a chance to get visibility. Anyway, so far it feels like reviewing an AMV at an anime festival, or an ordinary trailer. As for Tentai Kansoku, it didn't really impress me much. If this was a trailer for a movie, I'd expect it to be just another bland high school romance that I'd probably want to see but wouldn’t be excited about. There isn’t anything that would really grab my attention. It even impressed me a bit less than Loundraw's previous short Futari-bun no Shoumei. 5/10. Available to watch here.

Did you find Season 2 of Nagatoro better than the first season? Did you find it even better than the second season of Uzaki? Well, good for you, but my answer to both these questions is a clear No! The only thing that's improved and I feel like it’s going somewhere is the romantic line between the main couple. However, the intense focus on the developing relationship between Naoto and Hayase makes some of the original humor disappear. The interesting sexual tension and sparks from the first season are gone and all that's left is the verbal teasing, which is too much for my taste and often makes do with the word "kimoi". There’s more blushing, more panicking on both sides, as well as more mutual understanding and support. There’s less room for familiar supporting characters. New characters have been added, but (unlike Uzaki) they don't bring anything fresh or new. Anetoro only appears twice in passing, which isn't enough to make a lasting impression. Not even Sunomiya, who comes in for the last three episodes, gets an interesting story built around her. Both of them strike me as weaker copies of their relatives. I didn’t get to laugh much, and some of the jokes seemed rather stale (not even "Nagatoro smug faces" worked). All in all, the second season of Nagatoro is an okay romance for me, but a mediocre comedy at best, and I can't give it more than a 6/10.

After a fairly mediocre second season, and a downright substandard spin-off which almost made me drop the whole Danmachi thing, I didn’t think I would ever want to give this a five-star rating. But I do. Season four is the best I've seen of the Danmachi universe so far, and I especially enjoyed the second half about the survival in the Dungeon, the Juggernaut, and overcoming all the hardship. I looked forward to each new episode. This is what I had hoped for from the series and what I enjoyed in Season 1 and Season 3, i.e. discovering secrets hidden in the depths, the struggle for survival, interesting environments, a bit of drama, and the development of my favorite characters. This series is just my taste in terms of the protagonists. Most of the characters I didn’t like are gone, while those I’d grown fond of in the past seasons are the focus of the story. I enjoyed finding out about Ryuu's past, I enjoyed the found confidence and development of not only the main character but also Welf the blacksmith, Lili the supporter, and Mikoto the warrior. Haruhime and Aisha didn’t even get on my nerves this time. The drama, the suspense, and the emotions all worked for me. On the other hand, there are some compelling arguments against giving this season a five-star rating. It is clearly the top by Danmachi standards so far, but when I compare it to Made in Abyss, the ultimate fantasy series about suffering and discovering the splendor and horrors of an unexplored abyss, then suddenly every aspect of it fades in comparison, be it animation, sound, drama, suspense, interesting locations, story, characters, monsters... Even the interweaving of the past and present had a much more powerful effect on me in Made in Abyss. On the one hand, the show has its strong moments, thrilling fights, and interesting monsters, on the other hand, the CG floor boss (a two-headed water snake) is far from impressive. The critic in me screams that I have to be objective, in which case I shouldn’t give it five stars. The anime fan in me disagrees and vehemently tries to remind me of everything I enjoyed about it that is worthy of my appreciation. And then there's the skeptic in me who thinks that this is as good as it gets when it comes to Danmachi, and the next season will probably be about completely different characters (ones I don't like) and that I may never enjoy Danmachi like this again... 8.5/10

The second season of To Your Eternity was nice, but I enjoyed it slightly less than the previous season. This is probably due to the first half. It did bring some interesting ideas, such as the fact that society has to react to the existence of Fushi and his powers. While it was thought-provoking and interesting how the "Church of Bennett" or the group of self-proclaimed "Fushi's protectors" approached everything, but it failed to evoke an emotional response in me, and I didn't feel much suspense. It was probably also because Fushi's new powers were a little too strong for my taste. I didn’t fear for most of the characters, and I missed the strong dramatic moments I enjoyed in season one. It also took me a while to relate to the new characters, especially Bonchien and his companions from the Uralis Kingdom. There were moments when I found the series almost mediocre. Fortunately, the second half and the attack on Renril made up for it. I liked the new characters, especially Hairo, Kai, and Messar, who were properly fleshed out so I could understand them well and find something to like about them. I had also found my way to Bonchien by then, understanding most of his motivations and why he's actually cool, and even Eko seemed like a nice addition to this storyline. The second half had tension, it was full of strong scenes, intense battles, and emotional moments, such as the truly unexpected return of one of the characters. There were many interesting ideas and it all made sense to me. When I consider both halves of the series, my rating averages out to four stars. Credit is due to the creators for sticking to the same opening as in the first season. I also appreciate the well-chosen endings, the generally decent background music, and the very solid animation. I'm really curious to see what the next (already announced) season will be about. As for me, I’m more than satisfied with the ending of the second season as the conclusion of the whole series. I even think that the series has already explored everything in terms of "the meaning of humanity and society", but I might be wrong and I'm about to be pleasantly surprised.