Magia Record Season 3: Dawn of a Shallow Dream Review

Posted on February 19, 2024 by dreager1

All right it’s time for the end to the Magia Record saga! Season 2 was top tier elite and could easily hold its own with even the main title. I was super impressed and the big question was if season 3 could match it. Well, the season is a lot shorter so season 2’s definitely got the win but it’s still an elite ending. I will just say the way that the old characters were written out was extremely lazy. Did they not realize that more enemies were still around? Leaving just felt odd and it’s the only reason the villains last as long as they did.

So Iroha has to continue going to the enemy base to put a stop to the evil magical girls once and for all. She has to rescue her friends and find out why they went down such a dark path. Along the way we finally see the villains motivation for why they are doing this in the first place and the first episode is a good way of seeing things from their point of view. With any villain that is the make or break point. Will the backstory make you feel sympathetic or will it just be forced and you’re laughing all the way?

With a title as good as Magia Record it’s not surprising that the backstory is pretty good though. Touka is probably the most sympathetic because she was kept in the dark the whole time on exactly what was going on. Her memories weren’t complete and so she was fighting to save the day but without knowing the risks and a certain important figure regarding who the witch was. Ultimately I do think she would have chosen to keep fighting though so Nemu definitely should have confided in her. Touka is super forgiving so it works out but that could have definitely been a friendship ender.

Nemu is a little full of herself which holds her back next to the other villains. At the end of the day as the big mastermind I have to put most of this on her. She may be trying to save everyone in the end by stopping the cycle of witches but after a point when you’re murdering so many people, you’re just not being the hero you thought you were. I get the argument of slaughtering a few hundred to save untold billions because in a logical sense it makes sense but it’s hard to ever get behind that idea even if you were to think it had a 100% success rate.

Because I should say right now that I still think the plan was going to fail. The whole plan revolves around using their super witch to defeat Walpurgisnacht but the problem with this? It never looks like it even has a shot of pulling that off. Walpurgisnacht is known as the ultimate witch with unlimited power for good reason. It took Homura hundreds and hundreds of tries to even get close at beating it and even then she wasn’t ready to deal with this threat in the end. This witch may be strong as well but the heroes are able to land some damage so I don’t think it is durable enough to survive the onslaught or powerful enough to really resist. No matter how you slice it Walpurgisnacht is not going to lose to any other witch no matter how powered up it gets.

So with the plan being a bust, it means that the villains really don’t have a leg to stand on for their defense. They should have found another way or brought Iroha into the fold earlier to try and help. That way she could have talked them out of it. So the whole story is pretty emotional here as they go for a good redemption arc and how these girls were trying to help make things better but in the end they made things so much tougher on everyone that it just isn’t good enough as an excuse.

One character you do feel bad for is Kuroe though. She was mainly roped into situations that were just too big for her. She does deserve a level of blame for choosing the villains over the heroes but even when she was ready to come back, her inner darkness was too powerful by that point. For a while there she was really a villain completely against her will so I’ll naturally be a lot more sympathetic to her plight at that point.

Of course this season only has 4 episodes so with using a full one on the villains, we have to hit the ground running on the others. The whole season is like one big climax though so it works out well. The animation is still absolutely stellar here and we get some pretty cool combo attacks. It will be cool if they can keep this unity feature in for the main series as well. I always like the idea of merging energy into a big super attack. Also with the animation budget as high as it is, the new characters even feel stronger than the old ones at times.

By the end of the series I don’t feel like it really addressed why the new characters are able to use their witch hybrid forms the way that they do though. This still feels like a new concept that just wasn’t a thing the first time around. I can write it off as this timeline being slightly different so it’s possible but it’s a bit weak. So retroactively if you have Homura and friends using witch moves in the next movie/season that could change things but for now it’s a bit odd. Still makes for really great fights though.

It’s a bit lazy that season 3 doesn’t have its own opening though. It makes this really feel more like season 2.5. Even if it was a low budget, rushed last second kind of opening I would have liked to have had something new here. It would have helped the season stand out more. I think the best way to look at this one is like a movie to be honest since it really fits in with the runtime that way. Of course the fact that it’s basically all nonstop action is part of why the series tracks so high. Opening aside, I did enjoy the soundtrack a lot. A lot of very grand themes are playing the whole time.

One last thing I’d say is the third season is short enough where a lot of characters don’t get a big role this time around. Yachiyo for example has been a huge character throughout the series but takes a big step back to Iroha this time around. She does help a lot during the climax in one of those cool combo attacks I was talking about but for the most part isn’t a focus this time. As for the rest of the friend group, you can really forget about them. They help a bit in the background here and there but that’s about it. I’d say it’s a good idea though given the length. if the season was longer then I would want them around but with 4 episodes you get that not everything can happen at once. You do get to see them try to stall the final witch so that’s enough of a role.

I would have liked my favorite villain to have done more. I still remember her having that amazing cliffhanger in season 1 were she revealed that the plan was to fight Walpurgisnacht and she has an interesting ability where she can use paint to create huge barriers and amp up the villains but she doesn’t get a true 1 v 1 fight the way that most of the other characters did. I feel like she would probably end up being one of the top fighters but we never got to really see that for sure.

While you could be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of info drops and characters running around here, it is impressive how the show ties everything together. Don’t forget that the show started off as part mystery on why nobody remembers Iroha’s little sister who used to be in the hospital with the other girls who turned evil. The natural assumption is that she was the price for one of the magical girls since there is always a cost that you have to pay but then you need to figure out who would have made that the cost. This season finally wraps up that mystery along with the mini Kyubei.

The very ending I would say is still a bit ambiguous on where this takes place in the timeline though. Of course you know my theory from the start is that this is a failed timeline, one of many where Homura could not save Madoka and so it doesn’t exist anymore. I still stand by that one but it would have been nice if the show had went into this with a bit more detail. Whether as a yes or a no I’d have been curious there.

Overall, This was a great end to the Magia Record series. I’m ready for the main cast to return but these characters really held their own rather well. I was impressed at how high quality the title was all the way back from season 2 and season 3 really kept up the momentum all the way. I would highly recommend checking this show out. You probably want to at least watch season 2 for context though. The quality writing and messages work well even without context but you won’t get the full impact. You wouldn’t have seen the struggles they all went through after all. This is Madoka of course so there is plenty of tragedy just in this season of course. The heroes can never catch a break.

Overall 9/10

Spy X Family Season 2 Review

Posted on February 18, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for a pretty fun set of adventures with the Forger family. Season 2 adapts what I consider to still be the best arc in the manga so it’s going to be hard to beat this one. For the most part I would say the season is fairly low stakes aside from that adventure but it’s a really hype one to throw into the season. In general we don’t get to see as much of Yor at her job compared to Loid so it’s fun to see some action there. The show goes by really quickly at 12 episodes long.

Since most of the episodes are one shots, I’ll just go through them as I review the season. Real quick in case you don’t know the basic story of the show, here’s a recap. Loid is a professional spy with no equal and Yor is the world’s greatest assassin. Loid’s latest mission is to get closer to the Desmond family and find out what they are up to and for that reason he needed a family with a kid to infiltrate the school. So he adopted a kid named Anya (Who can secretly read minds) and married Yor (Who found this marriage to be convenient as her cover as well). They even got a dog (Who can see the future) and as they all live together they’ve quickly become a real family although Loid and Yor can be hesitant to admit this even in their thoughts.

You can see how this will play out on a large scale so for now the fun is in seeing how long they can keep the pretenses up before one of them gives away the secret. The first episode has Yor getting poisoned after one of her missions and so she’s working through it but the problem is that Loid’s taking her on a date to get her spirits up. Now she has to try and get through this adventure without him suspecting anything but since she can’t even sit, it won’t be easy. When you stop and think about it, most dates involve sitting at some point whether it be for watching a movie or eating. So as you can bet there are a lot of shenanigans going on here.

It’s a fun way to start the season off and you get to have a lot of Loid and Yor interactions which is always nice. It underscores how difficult it is to live this double life as well. It would be easy if they knew each other’s secrets after all and until the secret is revealed eventually in a last season or something, these misunderstandings will just continue to occur. Anya even gets to contribute a little here so she wasn’t left out of the premiere or anything like that.

The second episode is a bit on the weaker side and as you will quickly notice, the best episodes are the ones about Loid and Yor or at least one of them. When it’s about the side characters then it doesn’t stand quite as tall. This episode has two main segments. One is about poor Bond (The dog) seeing a future where Yor’s cooking takes him down so he has to find Loid and fast. Along the way he gets to help out on a mission which is fun enough but I feel like the dynamic with Bond can’t have as much variety almost by definition since he can’t talk. The other half is about Damian who has been working too hard. To take his mind off of studying, he is taken to the lake to fish and get to act like a kid for once.

Damian’s not awful or anything but you don’t really care much about these kids so the whole time you’re just waiting for one of the main characters to return. At least for me that’s my primary thought the whole time because they’re the ones who really get the plot going. The first segment with Bond had some action though so I’ll give it some props there. In general the show does a good job of moving quickly and the technical aspects like animation are always solid so it goes by quickly enough. Side characters are just side characters for a reason.

In episode 3 we get a Yuri segment which is always fun. We get to see him taking down a spy who was smuggling photos. The guy is very good at his job and while he is way too obsessed with Yor, he definitely cares about family a lot. That theme naturally ties into the case as well. There are also two mini segments involving Anya but those are on the weaker side. Anya oversleeps and then she gets the wrong message from the Bondman show. Actually, saying it’s the wrong message isn’t quite accurate, I’d say the show itself is just a bit busted. Yor definitely carried this episode.

In episode 4 we get to see Franky being desperate and making a fool of himself as always. Look, if you’re only extra nice to someone because you’re hoping to ask her out then you shouldn’t bother. That’s not being authentic in the slightest and so you’re rooting for Franky to fail. The other segment was a bit more fun with the kids fighting over snacks. We get to see Damian trying to be a nice guy in the end. Despite the tough talk, he does let Anya win when it counts so that speaks well to his character. Franky brings this one down but the first short is solid so it’s still able to tread water.

Episodes 5-9 are about the Yor arc and from the size alone you can tell that this is the big one. Yor is given a top priority mission to protect a lady and her baby while on a cruise. She needs to get her safely off the ship near the end of the voyage but the problem is that the information leaked an the cruise is packed with assassins of varying skill levels. Additionally, Anya actually won a raffle to the ship so she and Loid are going to be aboard. Yor’s cover involves a business deal so they can technically see her but she can’t afford to get distracted and if they see her fighting then it can be all over. Will she be able to save the day?

There are a lot of reasons why this arc is so good. For starters we’re back to the high stakes here. Each of these assassins are actively trying to murder her. This is not fun and games and we see how she mercilessly takes care of them as well. We usually see the more clumsy/happy side of Yor but she’s all business when it comes time for the fights. It’s also not a walk in the park and the various assassins get to really show off their techniques. This feels like a battle Shonen for a while there and the animation did good here. I liked the effects for the electricity and in general all of the hand to hand moves were good.

Since we had several episodes to the arc, there’s time for some good cliffhangers as well. As always Loid and Anya do get a bit of a role so they aren’t totally written out. Loid gets to diffuse some bombs and Anya helps with one of the weapons but for the most part this is Yor’s show and that’s good. Up until this point Loid has had his share of action and Anya is always around but this is the first full mission we’ve had for Yor. I hope we get more of them someday but I will be satisfied with this for now. It absolutely elevates season 2 as a whole and has a ton of replay value.

After that episode 10 is partially an epilogue of sorts as the family finally reunites and Anya gets to brag about the trip a whole lot. Leave it to Anya to get herself into trouble since nobody’s gonna believe that. I’ll cut her some slack since she is a kid and I could absolutely see a kid doing that…but it’s why she can’t really keep up with Loid and Yor yet. Once they all know each other’s secrets, hopefully they can teach her how to fight and be more ready in the field. It’s a low key episode but one that puts on the finishing touches to the arc rather well.

Episode 11 is really about how charming Loid is and how the ladies can’t stay away from him. The first half is about how Becky has a secret crush on him. It’s too bad because she’s otherwise a high quality character but I guess everyone has their weakness. Obviously she’s just a little kid so the whole thing is more of a joke to the other characters. Yor is nice about it and Loid does his best to just excuse himself. I assume this will be a very rare kind of running gag as Becky should get over him quickly. The second half is about Fiona who is still trying for Loid and she’s way more desperate since she’s a full adult pining after someone who is married. You know how I feel about rebounds so I can’t root for her in the slightest.

She just needs to focus on her missions and stop trying to sabotage Loid. If she has a crush on him that’s fine as long as she tries to get over him but she’s gotta keep that to herself. You just can’t let anyone find out and you gotta bury those feelings. When you try to fight for someone who’s already taken…well that’s just sad. The episode is entertaining enough but not the most exciting to be honest. I wouldn’t want Becky or Fiona to be main characters for too many segments.

Finally we end the season with a Bond adventure which was an odd pick. I feel like this didn’t make a whole lot of sense for the final episode. Basically Loid tries to train him some more but different events keep happening where Bond has to save someone to avert a bad future. The problem? By averting the future, it never happened so to Loid it just looks like Bond is going crazy. That’s definitely the worst part about seeing the future since you can’t really prove it or anything. Still, props to Bond for trying his best and hanging in there the whole time. By the end he does perform a rescue good enough that Loid does notice it.

So it’s a wholesome episode but I would have picked a story that focuses on all 3 of the characters a bit more. Well, either way that wraps up season 2 and it was a fun set of adventures. 12 episode titles like this sure do fly by very quickly. The Yor saga carries the season but even without it, this would still be a quality slice of life title. The Yor saga just adds on the action genre which to me is always important and stacks the deck against season 3 because it’ll be tough to top this one now.

As mentioned earlier, the animation is definitely solid here. It’s all very streamlined and while the animators don’t get to show off too often, it’s clear that a lot of hard work went into this one. The soundtrack isn’t as memorable though. The opening song is fairly catchy though and special shoutout to the opening’s animation because it really went crazy there. I like how fast everything was moving and nowadays there are enough openings of people just stretching or jumping up and down that getting so much full movement is really appreciated. I’m betting the frames in that opening are about as much as the average episode with how much was going on.

Part of what makes the show work is that the character cast is good. A slice of life is only as good as the characters and their interactions after all right? Loid and Yor are solid as I mentioned. They’re both hard workers and they really care about their family and being nice people in general. Anya may be immature but she still tries and has some entertaining moments. Franky and Bond admittedly don’t help much but the characters can’t all be winners. Yuri is entertaining and adds some danger to the group dynamic while Becky is the only kid who actually seems mature and loyal in the kids group. Damian may be nice when it counts but he’s still not someone who helps you out in the day to day. The cast is actually rather large when you think about it.

Overall, Spy X Family continues strong with season 2. As a whole I think I’d give the edge to season 1 for more consistently high quality stories but none of them individually touch the Yor boat fights. I really hope the series goes down the action route more in the future because it’s clear that there is a ton of potential there. The main characters can all fight after all so the natural outcome should be to get these battles in there right? Maybe make it so that the Desmond family has a ton of powerful bodyguards on retainer or something. Either way this is a solid show that I can recommend to everyone as a safe product for fans of slice of life or action.

Overall 7/10

The Orbital Children Review

Posted on February 6, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time to look at a quick miniseries. This one originally came out as movies but on Netflix it’s a full TV show so that’s how we’re gonna approach this one. Sci-fi titles are always pretty fun so I was ready for a good time here. The characters are mainly all kids here and it’s played more realistic so don’t expect massive fight scenes or anything but it’s solid enough. The kids are more bearable than I’ve seen them be in other titles so that worked out well enough for me.

In the future space travel has become more normal. In fact it’s so normal that there was a whole generation of people who was born in outer space and are used to living up in a spaceship their whole life. Touya is one of these people and he is one of the last kids like this. The governments of the world have vowed to bring everyone back to Earth because the experiments didn’t work very well. The chips that were planted inside of the kids to allow them to survive have backfired which is why most of them are dead. Touya and another girl in space will be dead soon if nothing changes.

Partially because of this, Touya holds a lot of resentment and doesn’t want to go to Earth. He has become an internet sensation for how rude he is and how fascinated people are at his lifestyle. The guy is a top tier hacker and people enjoy watching him but at the same time this is a big cost to the governments who basically have to keep a lot of systems and supplies ongoing to space basically for a handful of people. One day another tour group of kids is sent up to the space station to talk with Touya and the staff but they are all rocked by space debris. The systems are going offline and the heroes are effectively trapped in space. Can they find a way to get this ship back to Earth? Also…there is a terrorist among the group.

There’s a lot going on here and some may describe the plot slightly differently but I’d say this is effectively what’s going on here. The show is still more of a slice of life than a drama to me even with the stakes though. While the danger ramps up as the show goes on, a good chunk of it is really about the kids talking and gradually getting to understand each other. Touya really wasn’t giving any of them a fair shake at all for a while there but when you’re all trapped in a life or death situation it really gives you a chance to talk things out.

The animation’s good although it’s not great or anything. This isn’t really the kind of show that is trying to show off its animation anyway though so that makes sense. You’re just getting a chance to see the characters interact and some nice space backgrounds. There is one fight between two of the A.I.s that was pretty fun though as they were zooming around the place. It’s the closest thing we get to a big fight scene here. There is one lady who has a gun but you’re not really expecting her to shoot a bunch of kids right? That could have gotten dark quickly but it is the biggest moment of plot armor in the series. There’s no way she should have lost at that point to be honest. The show does excel on its big still shots showing off the different colors and tech though. I do think they went all out there.

There’s not much in the way of fanservice or violence here so I would say it’s a pretty safe series overall. It feels like a title that would be very accessible even to someone who doesn’t watch a lot of anime since the themes are pretty general and it’s not diving too hard into the sci-fi terms. There is some explaining on the microchips and all but it’s nothing too complicated that would throw you for a loop.

As the main character Touya is a solid figure who is able to hold the show. His rudeness helps to set him apart from the other characters and his hacking skills are legitimate. Without him the others would have definitely been dead many times. I also think that his goal makes a whole lot of sense even though it was risky. Basically he wants to revive the ultimate A.I. that went crazy and got taken offline a while back. The reason for it is that the implants that were put into the kids were so advanced that humanity doesn’t know how to fix them. They were created by the A.I. and of course only that A.I. would have a chance at knowing what to do about them.

The risk though is that the A.I. could end the planet or do something drastic. It was operating on levels that humanity could barely even understand which is why they had to pull the plug. Part of the debate though is that the A.I.”failed” in a sense with the implants. Yes it extended the kids’ lives since they would have already been long dead anyway but even if you brought the A.I. back, would it do any better this time? It’s really all a toss up, a gamble if you will. For most people the gamble is absolutely not worth it since if you succeed you only have a chance to save two lives while you put humanity at stake. Touya’s best friend Konoha is the other kid who is dying though so he can’t stop.

I was with Team Touya all the way. Meanwhile Konoha is a nice enough character. She certainly doesn’t want to die but isn’t really fighting as hard as Touya. She’s taking more of a “What will be, will be” approach of just waiting. It’s not a task that just anyone could do though so it’s not like she has a whole lot of say on this. Then there is Taiyo who is sort of like a rival to Touya. This guy is also a hacker but he works for the law and so he does everything legally. This puts him at odds with Touya who is expressly doing illegal things the whole time. My main problem with Taiyo is his priorities.

Even when everyone is danger or the heroes are plummeting to their doom, he insists on arresting Touya. This guy is just way too obsessed and it takes him a really long time to realize that. By the end he’s okay but the guy was a thorn in the heroes’ side for a while. Mina is another online sensation but not on the level of Touya. She has a lot of fun with her streams but has the most annoying catchphrase in the series by far. She starts all of her streams by saying her name 3-4 times and it just feels like an eternity even though it’s only a second or two. She’s really a decent character otherwise but that gimmick alone really hurts her quite a bit.

Hiroshi is one of the youngest kids here and so the guy feels out of his depth the whole time. Being smart is technically his thing but at the same time it just doesn’t come in handy as often as you would expect. Touya and Taiyo are the hackers here so that doesn’t leave as much room for general intelligence. Then we have Nasa who has the biggest role out of all of the adults. She’s easily one of the standout characters here the whole time. She is very dedicated to her goals and puts up with a whole lot.

I’d argue that she is one of the most tragic characters in the series with how much she had to sacrifice to be here. Ultimately she seems like a good person who just disagrees with the others. Of course by the end of this you may feel that is giving her a bit too much credit but I feel like she earns it. From her position, the actions make a lot of sense and you could tell that she cares about everyone.

There are a few other supporting characters in here like the other adults but for the most part they’re just helpless the whole time. Nasa could handle herself well but the other adults would have to just give advice and hope for the best. The kids really outshined them here. There’s a quirky old guy in an alien bunny type suit who helps out a bit but I feel like he barely even needed to be in the show. The A.I.’s owned by the two hackers were pretty fun though.

I would have liked to have seen more footage of the people on Earth talking things over though. Like the budget of having to keep Touya alive with the space station. It sounds like for once the government wasn’t corrupt here as they were helping out a whole lot so it’d be nice to get some screen time of that. I’d also have enjoyed a flashback with the super A.I. It’s a massive plot point after all but we technically don’t get to see a whole lot of it. The poem it left as a cryptic riddle is also a fun plot point but one that is really left up to a lot of interpretation. In the series different groups have different ideas on it and that makes sense. With something so vague you can interpret it in 100 different ways so whichever way fits your goals the most is the one that will win. Because we follow the kids we don’t focus on the thriller aspects quite as much but there is a lot going on in the background.

Overall, The Orbital Children is a fun miniseries. It’s not going to be terribly exciting even with the occasional explosion because it’s not really going for that vibe. I’d still say it’s more about the character development or a type of coming of age story. Either way it should keep you engaged all the way through even if there may not be a ton of replay value this time around. You could probably make a sequel if you wanted to but this is the kind of story with no real loose ends so it would be a sequel just to have one. I don’t really have a problem with that though.

Overall 6/10

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Review

Posted on January 30, 2024 by dreager1

All right it’s time to talk about the legendary Shibuya arc! Well this season covers more than just that but it is the big deal that people had been hyping up for years. You’ll have seen people throwing around the case that it is the best are in Shonen Jump history. That’s pretty bold words and Hueco Mundo would have a word with that but the arc was absolutely epic and the anime does it full justice. This is a season 2 that does end up defeating the first and I dare say that it is the absolute peak of Kaisen. Unless a certain fight ends up being a movie, I don’t see any single product beating season 2. This had too many highlights.

The show is really split up into two arcs. You have the Hidden Inventory saga which deals with Gojo’s past and then the Shibuya saga. I’ll talk about each one. The first arc is fairly short. Gojo and Geto are tasked with protecting a young girl because she is destined to be the vessel for Tengen. This does mean that she will ultimately lose her sense of self and so the heroes are reluctant about this mission. Additionally, assassins from various groups around the world are intent on taking her life. Usually there would be nothing to worry about with Gojo on the case, but the world’s most dangerous man, Toji is also around.

This was a pretty fun way to start the show. Fun may be an interesting term because the arc has quite the dark end but before that you could say that in a lot of ways it’s the most cheerful that the show will ever get. You actually see the characters having fun at the beach, playing basketball and just having a good time. It can’t last of course but it was a fun change of pace. Right away the show is able to show off the animation although I’ll get into that more later on. It’s just a really fun arc with some good fights in it. It’s got a good amount of replay value as well.

Then we jump into Shibuya and in a lot of ways you could say that the arc is just a bunch of nonstop fights. Right away you have Yuji thrown into multiple encounters and of course Gojo is dealing out some damage. Basically every relevant character in the series up until this point gets some kind of fight and it’s the big culmination of everything the show was setting up. In some ways it feels like a final arc and we just got it early. Due to how Jujutsu Kaisen is, you also don’t necessarily know which characters are safe and which aren’t which definitely amps up the danger. I’d argue that there are a number of fights here where you really don’t know who will win.

The anime also extends some fights like Mahoraga vs Sukuna which was an excellent move. I’ll always approve of making a fight longer, particularly when it’s two strong fighters going at it. It makes absolute sense that this would be a really long fight. Now’s a good time to talk about the animation in general, it is absolutely top tier. Some of Mappa’s finest work and it will hang in there with any other top tier anime title. Yuji vs Choso and Sukuna vs Mahoraga are my two personal favorite fights in terms of animation but Gojo vs Toji and Yuji vs Mahito are right under those.

Few anime can boast of having 1 fight of this caliber, let alone 4. I still enjoy season 1’s animation a whole lot and haven’t turned on it like many, but I will acknowledge that season 2 definitely wins. 1 I would say had the better artstyle but in pure animation this just can’t be stopped. When it clicks, it really ends up clicking. Gojo’s abilities really shine here and a fancy fight like Jogo vs Sukuna couldn’t stand out in quite the same way without all of the bright animations. It just wouldn’t be as hype and this arc deserved all of the hype that it could get.

The soundtrack is also top tier and in this area it does obliterate season 1. Again the first season had a great ost but this one is top 10 of all time good. It’s up there with Digimon Data Squad and Yugioh GX. There are so many different battle themes, remixes, epic themes, etc. The ost is so large and there are so many different battle themes within it. That’s the most impressive part for me because plenty of shows have a big ost but many fill it with slice of life themes and such while this one is mainly all action.

The show keeps up the nonstop action at all times and the plot is super engaging. Kaisen has really earned its reputation of being around the top. I’d also like to note that it is still really good about avoiding fanservice as well. I won’t say that it’s nonexistent, but it’s borderline nonexistent. It doesn’t fall into that trap and the writing is all on point. So this is solid on all areas. Now with this much intensity you can probably imagine that there are some slight issues.

We get a metaphor type scene where we see Wolves chasing a rabbit and it ends up breaking its foot while the others are about to get eaten. It’s 100% unnecessary and while it is fairly tame animal violence next to other titles, it’s a tad bit annoying. The show doesn’t hold back with the violence either. Most of it is in a full combat context so it doesn’t really matter much. In the fights I’d say it doesn’t go too far but when the civilians get roped in it can be a bit much. Get ready for tons and tons and tons of civilian deaths which all tend to be rather brutal. They seriously could not catch a break here. It’s part of the villains’ plan to be sure but you should expect a lot of violence here. Not enough where we enter Attack on Titan level or anything but enough for it to be fairly noticeable.

I had a slight power levels issue on the occasional fight that wasn’t given a big budget. Most noticeably in Nobara’s fight against one of the weakest villains in the series. The anime didn’t do a good job of making me believe that she would have any trouble here. She was just moving so slow that it didn’t make sense and came across like a rookie. I would blame this more on the animation than the writing because if you just had her move quicker or the villain attack faster then it wouldn’t be a problem. It’s a rare instance though.

Okay now let talk about the characters. First off is Yuji who is certainly put through the wringer here. He isn’t always able to stay strong among the events going on here but I give him credit for fighting through as much of it as possible. Things really don’t go his way and he is always put in impossible situation. The guy’s toughness keeps him going in fights but he is often outmatched. He has to go up against guys like Choso and Geto here who are considerably out of his league. Even Mahito would have been way too much for him one on one. Yuji is painfully aware of the fact that he’s not the strongest but he still goes out there and fights.

He may not stand out as much as some other leads but overall I do think he is a very good character. The final scene of the show implies that he’s got a new power depending how you interpret it but either way he’s going to need a whole lot for the next arc. His rival Megumi’s role may be a bit smaller but he still gets his share of fights. I really liked his team up with Yuji against the old man. It’s an underrated fight and it’s always great to see the duo team up. In most Shonens you have to savor the moment because the lead and rival won’t team up often. It’s also a fun fight because you don’t necessarily know who will win. The villain could claim victory since it’s not the most important fight after all.

Megumi does look good the whole time though and is willing to sacrifice himself to win. That always takes a lot of guts. Nobara absolutely gets the short end of the stick here though. She talks a whole lot of smack and does her best to contribute but the show presents her as being massively weaker than the main two to the point where she is an active hinderance at times. She lets her guard down and can’t react to the situation very quickly. I give her points for effort and I always like her personality but this was really not a great season for her.

Nanami meanwhile has a small role but really makes the most of it. He really is portrayed as a really mature fighter the whole time. He knows his limits and makes the most of his abilities to deal damage. It’s like someone with a skill level of 70 but using it to the max vs someone with 100 who keeps fluctuating. The fact that he was able to tank some attacks from Dagon was impressive and he did beat his share of monsters. I’ll always enjoy Nanami as a character, he’s a fun mentor.

Mei Mei and Ui Ui are more on the annoying side. The less said about them the better. They make for a good duo and can fight but never seem to contribute all that much. The last scene absolutely kills them as characters though. There’s an obvious angle that makes them look bad but also just running off is the worst. It means they have no internal fortitude and I wouldn’t trust them at all to have my back. The series has always been presented as a hyper realistic one and yeah you can picture that some people would do this. Doesn’t make them any more sympathetic or likable though.

Maki’s role isn’t particularly big here and like Nobara she doesn’t look great. She basically spends the season being outshadowed by everyone and not really being able to do much of anything. She desperately needs a power up. Outside of Todo, this was basically the fate of every sorcerer from the rival school as well. When Mechamaru was saying how they had almost no shot of surviving, you absolutely believe him because they’re so weak. Mechamaru at least looks powerful. Does he look good? No, because I lost a ton of respect for him based on something he does near the beginning of the season. Way I see it you can’t really come back from that. So I appreciate his power but I don’t like the guy. I’d also argue that he didn’t play the situation very smart at all. He put himself in a position where there was no way he could ever come out on top.

Then we have Riko from the early arc and she’s a good character. She risks a lot in the adventure and ultimately steals herself for what is to come. She should value her life more if you ask me but I understand that she wants to do what she feels is right. So I disagree with her choices but I wouldn’t lose respect for that. Would be nice if she could fight though.

Finally we have Gojo. The strongest sorcerer in history and he lives up to the title here. Every scene with him is the guy either unlocking a new power, or applying a new use to an existing one. It takes everything the villains have to try and create an opening even for a fraction of a second. I would argue that Gojo’s only mistake here is playing with his food. He tends to take too long to take decisive action even though narratively he does move right away. To an extent when you deal with a character this powerful, there will never be a way to resolve things in a way that doesn’t have some power level issues.

So I can see why you would want to get him out of the way because every second he is on screen is another second where the heroes have such a massive edge over the villains that you wonder how they could ever hope to make a comeback. He’s just way too powerful in every sense of the word. He is an awesome character even minus that though. Easily the best in the series and nobody’s ever passing him. He has a lot of style and is also a very practical character. If he needs to destroy his opponent to win then he will do just that. He mainly avoids it but when the stakes are high enough what can you do right?

All right, time for the villains. First just a quick shoutout to the Grasshopper. I really liked him as a villain, he may not be the most powerful villain but he has personality. He’s an example of a throwaway villain done right because he is immediately memorable and I really enjoyed the fight. That guy could actually fight. Compare him to someone like Haruta who has more screen time but is just really annoying. His whole gimmick is that he only goes after fighters who can’t fight back. That’s pretty lame even for a villain. Maybe if he was funny or something but nah you’re just waiting for him to get taken out the whole time.

Hanami is an interesting fighter because you remember her being so OP in season 1 and here she can’t do anything. It effectively shows the gap in power between fighting someone like Gojo or Yuji. In general I like how vast the power level fluctuations are here because it does show how without Gojo around, Jujutsu Society would have fallen immediately back in the day. So no shade to Hanami, but she literally wasn’t built for this kind of fight.

Then we have Dagon who has always been in the background but never got to fight before. After all of the hype, he does look good but isn’t as impressive as some of the others. He gains confidence in his true form which is good because in his intro form he’s nervous all of the time which loses some points. As a villain you always want to be as confident as possible.

The rest of the villains are all pretty high tier. First up is Choso. The guy hits way above his weight class and has a tremendous fight with Yuji. He’s fighting for his dead brothers from season 1 which is a powerful motivation. He may be evil but it gives him some sympathy points and you can get why he is fighting so hard. In that fight he had more to fight for than Yuji in terms of drive which really helped him out. Then he also gets an extended fight near the end of the season. His powers are very versatile and he’s just a lot of fun. I gained quite a bit of respect for him here and he ends up stealing the show.

Then of course there is Mahito who in a lot of ways feels like the main villain. He has the most to do with Yuji at the very least as the two absolutely hate each other’s guts. They have a lot of the best parallels here as they are each other’s complete opposites. The fights are always a lot of fun too since if he touches you even once it can be a fatal blow. You may wonder how he is never able to land any hits but the fights are very creative. I would even say the animators are at their most creative with him whether it’s showing how he can immediately turn someone into a sword and fight or how he reacts to instant teleportation.

His fights with Yuji are really a blast. It’s really one big fight that is broken up into parts you could say but each one is really excellent. I would say he may be the most interesting villain even if he’s not my favorite one. See, my favorite is Toji. He’s an ordinary human and yet he is able to go up against these gods and demons. In part that’s because of his heavenly pact which increases all of his abilities and in part it’s just because he is Toji. The guy has a ton of prep time and hand to hand abilities. He’s sort of like if Batman was evil. Any scene with the guy is incredibly hype.

Make no mistake, no matter what his last scene wants you to think, the guy is pure evil. He’s absolutely willing to murder anyone and I’m not going to let that slide. He’s a complete villain and in that role he is absolutely perfect. Then you have Jogo who is also a really good villain. He is noticeably scared of Sukuna which loses him some points. Yeah most people are scared of him but you have to hold your ground you know? The guy is always getting disrespected too which is the bad luck of fighting Gojo and Sukuna. So he’s pretty good and a great fighter but not as solid as some of the others.

Then you have the big man himself, Sukuna. As always the guy is really full of himself but he has the power to back it up so what are you going to do right? I like his confident demeanor, the guy even grabs some soda in the middle of a fight. He doesn’t accept any disrespect and even further, he demands absolute respect. Without it, he’s going to blow up anyone in his way. He likes having fun at his victim’s expense and the guy seems absolutely untouchable right now. A fight with Gojo would have been really awesome here.

Needless to say if you’re a Sukuna fan then there is a whole lot to enjoy. He gets multiple fights and shows why everyone should be scared of him. I also have to bring up Mahoraga because he has one of the best intros for any character in the season and also possibly has the best episode here. His fight is really a blast all the way through and also just starts so quickly. You wonder how anyone could have ever managed to tame the guy in a previous incarnation because he’s so unbelievably strong. This may be the only series I can think of where a summon is easily in the top 3 strongest in the verse. At least by the time this series ends I would say that is true.

Then we have Geto who gets a lot of screen time here between the first and second parts. It’s interesting to see him as more of a hero in the original parts. After going through what he did, it’s easy to see why he would turn though. I think the trickiest thing about a hyper realistic series where even a lot of heroes are corrupt is that it makes it much easier to imagine why someone would turn evil. Geto definitely went over the cliff but you can see why he would. Even Gojo contemplated just becoming a mass murderer on a whim.

Nobody would miss the guys he would have taken out but that’s not really the point anyway. At that point it becomes a question of when do you stop. Geto certainly made his choice there and actually has an answer, but the line that he has drawn is a rather large one. In terms of power set, I don’t find him super impressive yet though. He relies on summons with tons of monsters but none of them seem that crazy yet. Powerful to be sure and he could clear most fighters but you also don’t see him defeating the combo of Yuji and Todo or hanging with someone like Mahito. Based on his confidence you have to assume that he could but I need to see more out of him.

Oh yeah there’s one more hero in Todo. That guy is a lot of fun as always. He really inspires confidence in the allies around him and his Boogie-Woogie technique is so good. There are tons of applications for it and the opponent is forced to respect this as an attack option at all times. It’s part of what makes him such a dangerous character but he can also fight well in hand to hand. He sort of appears out of nowhere here and vanishes just as quickly but the role is really great. There are a few more characters like Panda and the ice girl at the end but this covers most of the main ones. Watch the season to see them all!

The ending also sets up the next season nicely. If I have a minor nitpick, it’s that the final episode does drag on a tad. I think they overplayed their cards of setting up how empty everything is. I would have cut those scenes a bit and also played the Yuji scene early. I’d absolutely end with the big guest star character. Why would you not make that the final scene? I don’t really get it because on a hype level that has to be the most hype moment without anything even being a close second. Like I said though, pretty minor stuff because I’m hyped regardless! That kid wasn’t very smart about walking towards an obvious monster though…

Overall, Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 lived up to the hype in every way. I would absolutely recommend checking it out when you have a chance. It’s a top tier anime that can compete with anything. It’s the full package with great themes, animation, fights, and characters. The story is great too and there are some solid twists as well. I hope that third season comes sooner than later because I definitely need this to continue!

Overall 9/10

Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation Review

Posted on January 23, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time to look at the Monster special/mini movie that came out recently. You know when they first announced this project I figured it’d be at least an hour or longer but I guess that would have not really made sense since this was based on a one shot. At the very least they would have had to add a lot of extra scenes. Maybe if they included the full fight in the after credits scene instead of just the ending but for people just trying to watch this as a stand alone it probably would have been a really odd way to end this.

The story starts with Ryuma showing up to a village in a state of near starvation. He hasn’t eaten in days and so Flare (I feel like her name was a little different when I saw the film but this works well enough), a nice person lets him eat a bunch for free. He considers himself to be in her debt now although he has a funny way of showing it considering that he starts a big fight in the bar. This happens because the world’s strongest swordsman, Shirano ends up bumping his sword into Ryuma’s. It should have just been a simple accident that they both laugh at and walk away from but Ryuma takes this kind of thing personal.

The same thing happens with someone else a few minutes later, but this time it is a villain named D.R. who pretends that he has been stabbed by Ryuma and uses the legendary dragon horn to summon a dragon to destroy the village. Now the whole village is mad at Ryuma but also just depressed because they are all going to die. Shirano vows to stay and fight the dragon but Ryuma knows that it isn’t his fault and just figures everyone should run off and live. Is this really the right move though? And why did this villain randomly summon a dragon like this? Something’s not right.

The special’s length is basically around 1 normal episode so things have to move pretty quickly. That includes the main plot twist here although it’s one that you will absolutely see a mile away. This is a fairly conventional story about a heroic figure slaying the giant dragon and so the plot around it is pretty much what you would expect. I’m guessing back in the day when submitting the oneshot to the magazine, the writer probably wanted to go with a safe story to start off with. It makes sense and the movie is a very faithful adaption. In a world of subversions and complex plots though, it works well enough.

My main complaint would be that I wish we got more action though. There is only one real action scene here with the dragon and it’s a short one. Yes there is a sword “duel” but that only lasts for a single move and is very fast. It does have the best action sequence by far though. I tend to like when an animation quickly switches to black and white for dramatic effect although you don’t want to overuse it. For example we get another black and white flash against the dragon but that one was really underwhelming in comparison. I would say the animation here is reasonably good but definitely not great or excellent like you would expect from a special. One Piece itself destroys this with many episodes in Wano.

As for the soundtrack, it’s pretty uneventful. Nothing to write home about so you’ll be forgetting the tunes pretty fast. As a main character Ryuma is okay but I wasn’t actually a big fan of his. The guy is super irresponsible, I still can’t believe that he broke a statue in Flare’s restaurant for practically no reason. I get that the sword is important to him but then you confront the guy outside. You don’t pick a fight where you can hurt innocent civilians. It’s also worth noting that Ryuma clearly went for a headshot against Shirano. So he was going to murder a guy for lightly bumping into his sword? Even after the guy apologized?

It’s hard to just overlook that. Particularly as it isn’t really played off as a bad thing either. It’s more of a comedic moment because Shirano had the skills to stop the attack and defeat Ryuma instantly but otherwise it could have been bad. This does also raise a power scaling issue later on. I mean a good rage mode easily answers that question but it’s why we should have had more of a fight later on.

I also think the climax raises some questions on exactly how the scheme worked. It seems to me like the dragon whistle actually works really well because the dragon never tried to attack them. So if you have a dragon working for you, then you can just blow villages up all the time. Why even bother with elaborate traps and schemes? It just seems unnecessary. There could be world building reasons around that like not wanting to attract attention but it seemed like the villain would make things harder on himself here.

D.R. is a fairly underwhelming villain. The guy can’t fight and isn’t too strong so he’s the kind of guy who really just hides in the back and hopes that things will work out. Flare is a decent heroine but a little too gullible. The fact that she was so quick to turn on Ryuma with no evidence was annoying. I get that it was traumatic but she really has no reason to jump in with the mob there. As you can tell I was not a big fan of the cast overall. Shirano would be the strongest character here by default. He may not go out very well but the guy is interesting all the way through and does help to enhance the special. With a better ending he would have fared even better.

Overall, Monsters is a fun special but I don’t see there being a lot of replay value. There just isn’t a reason to watch it for a second time. The best moment is a quick scene that plays after the credits though. I’ve actually watched that one a few times now. It’s got a lot of replay value but you could Youtube that instead of watching the whole thing again. The connection to a certain franchise is one of those open secrets where everybody basically knows about it, but I won’t spoil that in case you don’t know. If they could have hidden the connection more then the scene would really hit extra hard but then you lose out on some of the marketing angles so it’s a double edged sword. Regardless I do think this is worth a watch, particularly with how short it is.

Overall 6//10

The Girl from the Other Side Review

Posted on January 21, 2024 by dreager1

Usually there’s a bit more to the title but it seems like most sites cut that intro part out so I’ll keep it direct too. At this point it’s been a while since I finished the manga but it still feels pretty recent. The movie does a good job of capturing the spirit of the series and the key parts from early on. The only thing I was expecting them to include that they didn’t was an old lady that shows up early on but I don’t think it was a bad idea to keep her out. This way you focus more on the two main characters.

The film starts with a bunch of shady soldiers seemingly on the lookout for some kind of monster. After they leave, one of these monsters arrives and finds a little girl named Shiva. She seems to have been completely abandoned and he decides to raise her, at least until he can find a safe way to get her back to humanity. We never find out his name here so I will refer to him as Teacher which is what Shiva calls him. Teacher’s situation is unique in that he cannot make any kind of contact with a human or else he will spread a plague that will destroy them.

The state of the world is such where once you make contact with a monster, you contract a disease and become a monster as well before you die. So the villages are very strictly quarantined and any monsters are hunted on sight. Monsters like Teacher no longer feel anything and they also can’t sleep anymore so they are constantly awake and alert. Fortunately for Teacher he seems to be able to exist indefinitely with his mind intact instead of eventually going insane and dying. So that’s very fortunate but he has complete memory loss of his human life. The film is mainly about his dynamic with Shiva as he has to decide what the best thing is for her. Continuing to live with him or being with the humans.

On one hand the humans seem like a good pick since they will really know how to take care of her, but on the other hand almost all of the humans we see are corrupt, sinister, or panic at the drop of a hat. Teacher may not be the best at the domestic life but he has given Shiva a roof over her head and can actually cook. Me personally? I’d stick with the monster who was looking out for me as opposed to taking my chances with a bunch of stranger. I know that the humans could maybe find out if I have family or not but considering that Shiva was ditched in the middle of nowhere…I wouldn’t like my odds banking on that.

I give Shiva a lot of credit overall because she doesn’t panic or act the way most kids in these things tend to be. She’s not immature or anything like that and doesn’t hold Teacher back. While the situation isn’t the most comfortable, Shiva never complains or makes things harder on him. She’s very supportive at all times and looks out for his emotional wellbeing as well. Shiva does her best at all times and is the kind of character who sees the bright side of things. It’s exactly what makes her such a great character. You know that she would be easy to get along with.

Meanwhile I’ve already talked a lot about Teacher so if it’s not obvious, I thought he was a great character as well. He’s also trying his best. It’s why the dynamic works here because he clearly has no experience raising a kid and so he is learning as he goes. Meanwhile Shiva does her best to be useful as well like we see her doing the chores and helping him out so it’s a real team effort. It’s a really wholesome vibe in what is otherwise a pretty dreary world. At all times you are well aware of how messed up the world is but the movie focuses on these characters which is why the whole thing is so wholesome.

Now there is some danger here like when one of the soldiers pops up and also with the other monsters getting closer. There is definitely tension here and you aren’t really sure how things will play out the whole time. You’re fairly confident in Teacher being able to handle himself but if he’s attacked by a lot of monsters then it’s game over. Not being able to sleep is a massive plus since he can always keep watch but at the same time it is rough having to live while basically looking over your shoulder the whole time. Nobody wants to live like that but it seems like there are enemies at all sides.

The ending taps into the anime-ness of this adventure as we start talking about souls and things get trippy. Anime-ness might not be a real word but you’ll get what I mean when you see the climax. I will say that Teacher almost made a big mistake since the ending involves taking a ton of risks but it all works out which is the important thing. You get the feeling that there is a lot of world building left to be explored when the film ends and that makes sense since this is really an intro to the series.

It’s an effective one because it tells you exactly how the series would play out. It does get a bit more dialogue heavy with more characters in the manga but the overall tone and themes are pretty similar. I would just say it ends up getting darker and darker as the series approaches the ending. For the most part this title adapts most of the best parts either way. The animation techniques for this one is also interesting. Characters are constantly flickering like a 30s animation.

It intentionally is going for a very old look. Maybe like an Aesop’s Fables or something like that. It does work for the tone and mood that the movie is going for but if I’m being 100% here…I would still take some shinier looking animation. It succeeds in looking old but of course that means it’s not looking quite as sharp as it should. Intentional or not, I do think you should always try to look as good as possible. The soundtrack is also more subdued to keep with the tone. Again, understandable but a solid rock theme would have been nice.

Overall, This is a pretty strong story. On the technical side it’s really not all that impressive but the actual story is good and I enjoyed the characters. It’s one of those stories that is very simple but very emotional and executes at a high level the whole time. I can safely recommend it to anyone as a result. It’s easy to understand and I found it to be engaging. It’s fairly short after all so no time to drag on or anything like that. It’ll be nice if they ever adapt the rest of the series.

Overall 7/10

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Visions of Coleus Review

Posted on January 21, 2024 by dreager1

The Slime series always has a fairly tough balancing act to follow. On one hand it needs to provide you with a lot of action and hype but on the other hand Rimuru has already surpassed almost every character in the verse so it can be tough to have a satisfying opponent. Ultimately this spinoff adventure just rolls with it. Nobody is ever actually a threat to Rimuru and at no point are you really worried about the side characters so it just ends up being a fun side adventure that is pretty much stress free. I’d say it ends up working out pretty well though. The series really excels in this niche.

The adventure starts off with Rimuru being sent on a mission to go and resolve a dispute between two princes that is threatening to tear the country asunder. He doesn’t really care about this mission all that much but is ultimately talked into it. Basically each prince thinks that the other is acting unreasonably and Princess Zenobia has ended up being poisoned. There are suspects on both sides and the King seems to have lost all reason so he won’t be any help here. The whole situation is more than a little fishy so Rimuru will need to play detective. Curing Zenobia is the easy part but finding out who is the true culprit could be slightly more difficult. Can he find this out in time to keep the country from fighting?

Well if he was only a detective then it might be a little tough but he’s so powerful that he basically cheats. At one point he has his minions just fight off one of the prince’s advancing forces to buy a little time. For a split second it seems like his fighters are having a bit of trouble so I was glad that it turned out that they were holding back. I’m cool with humans matching them in terms of pure swordplay but in overall ability? Nah that would have been a stretch.

Not to say that there are no powerful villains here though. We do have some vampires/demons running around whose abilities are the real deal. While Rimuru would still deal with them quickly enough, it makes sense that the minions could have a tough time. In the end Rimuru looks pretty good here. He can be a bit hit or miss for me as I liked him a lot in season 2 but not as much in season 1. It’s safe to say that he has come a long way as the series went on and by this point he’s a consistently likable character.

The film couldn’t resist the urge to throw in some more original characters though so one of his allies here is a guy named Paolo. Paolo is super weak but means well. The guy is genuine in wanting to use his skills and I guess comparing him to Rimuru isn’t fair but it would be nice if the guy thought about things more before jumping into action. The series does spare some time to have Rimuru give him advice which helps out in the end. It was a pretty nice little bit of character development and it’s always nice when a film/miniseries can squeeze in a stand alone character arc like this.

The highlight of the special is definitely the quick fight between two demon lords who still haven’t done much in the present. As soon as the issue of vampires came up you could bet that this fight was going to be coming sooner than later. At least with one of them, the other demon lord strikes me as more of a troll who just likes to cause a scene. It does add even more connections to the big budget movie though. They share so many plot elements that it feels like they just wanted to do the same adventure twice. Hey that’s cool with me of course but then Diablo should have gotten a fight here again too. The guy earned it.

Rimuru’s disguise is also one of the best that I’ve seen for a lead in terms of being able to trick everyone so it’s ironic that it basically doesn’t work from the start. The one time a disguise can be perfect because the main character is a shape shifter is ruined because one of the characters can see souls. Ah well, I guess that kind of thing just happens.

Zenobia was a pretty good princess all things considered. She had plans of her own and did a good job of not cracking under pressure. She took some fairly massive risks like letting the villains drug her as she pretended to be asleep but the fact that she had actual abilities was cool. The two princes also weren’t bad. I don’t think you will remember them a whole lot after a while though because they’re a bit generic. One was tempted by the dark side and the other is your classic tough guy.

As this special is part mystery you can expect quite a few plot twists though and those work out well. It should go without saying that the animation is pretty good here. There isn’t as much time for the animators to flex here but the brief fights that we do get are good. The characters are always on model and the special effects are on point. The soundtrack is pretty good but mainly just stuff from the TV show. I guess they wouldn’t want to make a whole new ost for something short like this.

Overall, Basically you will definitely enjoy this title if you already like the Slime series. If you are new to the franchise this would definitely be quite the way to start it. It’s stand alone enough where you’ll understand all the main story beats and the rest you can pick up from context clues. Like I said it’s fairly low stakes and just a good chance to see the characters solving a problem and having fun. It works as more background as we see Rimuru develop into a solid king that everyone respects. So that’s fun and it’s always cool to see everyone’s reaction when they find out what a big shot the guy is. Rimuru is certainly unassuming all the time. I’m definitely ready for season 3 to come out already with more adventures for the gang. Whether they are serious action adventures or just a quick breather like this one, they’re always fun.

Overall 7/10

Cardfight will+Dress Season 3 Review

Posted on January 15, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for another big Cardfight adventure and as always you can bet on a lot of awesome things happening here. I can never hide my surprise at how this series really did a full 180 and ended up being such a spectacular part of the franchise. It just goes to show that you can never count any title out. This one already has a lot of set up from the previous season so we’re able to just jump right into the battles with the Uniformers. My guy Tohya doesn’t get to do much this time but at least he does have one big fight.

The show starts with Yu-Yu and pals still wondering what exactly they should do about this. Yu-Yu doesn’t agree with the Uniformers method of having everyone fight with the same style but strictly speaking they are not doing anything illegal. Yeah they are pressuring players into using their style but they aren’t even blackmailing or beating anyone up. The only slight case you could make is that they’re using some kind of brainwashing that takes place after a win but it’s a bit of a stretch and I don’t know how you would go about proving it. The show never really goes this avenue either even though to me it did feel like brainwashing. In the end the only thing to really do is defeat these guys in a cardfight and prove that Uniformers aren’t the only way to victory.

Right in the first episode we have Yu-Yu dueling to try and prove that point. His skill level definitely seems to vary at times though. Sometime he is one of the most powerful duelists in the world who won’t lose to anyone and then other times he just seems to be generally powerful but not a top tier. This continues in this season but for the most part I’ll say that he looks good. Whenever he loses you’ll wince a bit but with cardfights there are a lot of variables in place. Sometimes it’s just a matter of getting the wrong cards or the opponent’s deck is a hard counter.

I appreciate Yu-Yu putting on his game face and making the case against the Uniformers but I think just about any other character would have been able to make a more compelling argument. Ultimately we’re many seasons in but Yu-Yu just isn’t one of my favorite characters. I don’t think he ended up growing into a really confident player the way that Aichi and Chrono did.

Jinki actually loses some points in this season. I still think he had one of the best intros in the series where he shows up to announce a massive tournament and has an air of mystery about him. He was one of the all time big threats after all and the head of the villain organization. Well, as the story goes on he becomes more of a puppet and one who isn’t able to fight back against the true threat. He comes across as a little wishywashy in not understanding the big picture the whole time. Since nobody really ends up taking his side, it just makes him look that much worse.

Then we have Haruka get a fairly decent role. In fact I’m pretty sure she duels more than Tohya in this series which is crazy. You’d figure that her character arc was complete but after she is dominated by a Uniformer she ends up joining them. Once again this is why it feels like mind control to me because her character just does a 180 there. By the end she gives some reasons for why she would help out but I just didn’t really buy it. It did make for some tense duels though and I liked this whole season as a tribute to Link Joker. The season wasn’t kind to Haruka though.

I’d also say that Mirei isn’t quite as impressive as she once was. She went from being a final boss to just one of the crew now and she doesn’t win as often. I would have liked her to have had some rage in avenging Haruka and taking everyone out. She deserves some good revenge after all of that right? It’s good to take the high road sometime but not all of the time. Still, she did get a good win at one point so that was good.

Zakusa gets a decent amount of hype here but he’s one of those characters I can’t take seriously. Like with the others you could argue that he’s just being mind controlled for most of the series but even so he just went down too easily. The guy seemed to have some plans but in the end he didn’t do anything outside of the duels. I just don’t think this character will ever click for me.

As a result of his getting a bigger role, Tomari gets to appear more too which is a decent trade off though. She’s always fun although Tomari is also a character that I feel isn’t in the upper echelon of fighters so I’m a bit skeptical of her hanging with the crew here. I guess the best argument you could make is that she really knows the deck of her opponent so it gives her a better chance of winning.

One of the villains that I could take seriously was Halona. From the start she was a fun character and someone who does believe in the cause. Her backstory ties into this so she has a much better resolve than most of the cast. I was rooting for her in both of her fights with Urara and Megumi. I just think she is the much better fighter and she’s really earned the win with the amount of work that she has put in. None of the other characters can even come close to matching her beat for beat. It’s just not happening. I hope we get to see more of her in future seasons.

As for Urara, I wouldn’t say she looks great in this season. She may be back with the heroes but it doesn’t feel like her skills have grown all that much. She’s also very timid which like Yu-Yu, doesn’t work out so well. I’d like her to get a bit bolder and really defend her deck choices more. Now that is something that would make her really stand out in all of the best ways. I can see her improving eventually but it’ll take some time.

Things are also tough for Megumi as she seems to lose a lot of duels but at the same time she’s always trying. Her confidence may be unfounded to a degree, but she’s not giving up and to me that’s just as important. I prefer her to Urara for that reason. Hopefully at some point Megumi gets more of a true power up since I’d like to see her get some more wins. I’d argue that she has trained so much that she deserves the spotlight more.

Instead it always goes back to Danji being the best and showing everyone up. Hey, he is a prodigy for good reason of course but it’s time to let someone else take the center stage. His duel with Megumi is fun but the guy is not someone you would want as an ally. He helps when he feels like it, which isn’t very often and that’s about it. You want an ally who is loyal and dependable, someone who will step up to defend the world right? Well that’s definitely not this guy, not even close! He’s got to be one of the most unreliable/irresponsible heroes that I’ve ever seen. He’s fun but the show doesn’t put as much spotlight on how much he’s letting everyone down as it should.

Then we have the rivalry with Raika and Sophia that keeps on going. Sophia is an extremely entertaining character with the way she’s constantly mocking Tohya and comparing him to a dog. She’s such an excellent antagonist but unfortunately she does not stick the landing. The show decides to completely change her character by the end which is part of her development but it’s not satisfying at all. It unfortunately means that she won’t be as fun when she returns.

This is also another matchup where the hero just doesn’t feel as strong as the villain so Raika’s match feels rather cheesy. I still like Raika as a solid rival who may not be Tohya level but can fight well. He just hasn’t had any real significant power ups which causes him to lag behind the other characters. He needs something and he needs it fast or he really will be doomed to stay in the back. He still has one of the best themes in the series though.

Then we have Tohya. Like I said he gets a very small role with only one real duel against Masanori. It’s hard to get as invested in this one since he’s been stronger than Masanori from the jump. Still, it’s a chance to see him in action so I can’t complain too much. His fiery fightstyle is still a lot of fun to watch and he really holds nothing back. I hope he will be brought back at some point in the future when a new threat is on the horizon.

Meanwhile I really hope Masanori stays gone this time. He manages to show up in every season somehow and yet there just isn’t any real point to his character. He just loses and loses and loses some more while trying to gaslight everyone into thinking that it’s part of his plan. It’s not a very convincing argument when you very rarely win. His only big win here is against a character who is so weak that it really can’t be used as hype.

Finally you have the AI who is trying to make the world a better place. It makes for a pretty interesting villain as it naturally takes everything literal and it goes from trying to make the world a better place into taking almost everyone down in order to achieve that reality. It’s not exactly the most complex villain but I always enjoy having a robotic type villain like this. In theory such a program would be amazing at Cardfight so it also makes sense why the heroes are having such a tough time.

As always the climax is really a blast here. It continues the energy from the rest of the season and never lets up. I think it was a smart move to have all of the heroes have a big rival from the villains group. It meant that each duel was really personal the whole time. We probably could have used a little time for power ups for the heroes to be honest but in the end it still works out well enough. Each duel is impressive both visually and narratively which is the most important part.

As always the animation is pretty solid here. I still wouldn’t call this one of the top tier productions or anything like that but it is consistent and looks sharp the whole time. You can’t really ask for much more than that. The soundtrack is also really good which is just as key. There are less of the big insert songs here compared to previous seasons but the soundtrack is still very balanced.

It’s pretty rare to get a season that’s basically just one long series of battles but this isn’t even the first time that Cardfight has pulled this off. It’s why it is definitely one of the best franchises out there. Few titles are doing it the way that Cardfight is. The stakes may not seem quite as high as in some of the other seasons since as I mentioned, the Uniformers aren’t doing anything illegal or trying to destroy the world. However, a battle of ideals is always a pretty fun reason to battle as well.

Overall, Cardfight is definitely in good hands. It looks like the next season is going to reset the main character group again so I look forward to seeing how the next group handles things. Most likely that means the season won’t be able to top this one as usually the first season with a new lead takes a while to develop all of the characters. It’s a long term investment where you sacrifice the first season to set up a lot of awesome sequels. That said, as long as the sacrifice isn’t too drastic then it is absolutely worth it all the way. This season in particular might be a little harder to get into compared to older ones since it’s a direct sequel and all but if you enjoy action then you should definitely check it out.

Overall 8/10

Noein: To Your Other Self Review

Posted on January 15, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for a sci-fi title dealing with the multiverse so you know that a lot is going on here. It balances out the mystery pretty well. It actually handles the cast well since initially you might be worried that the kids will end up being annoying but there is always some kind of big event happening in each episode. So the plot moves and the main heroine barely even feels like a kid next to the others. She always saw the big picture from the start and this ends up being a pretty interesting watch.

The series starts off by introducing us to Haruka who at first glance is just your average girl trying to live her best life. Her best friend Yu has been having a tough time at home lately with his very strict mother and so he’s decided to run away. Haruka tries to lift his spirits and says she will run away with him but you get the feeling she’s also hoping to talk him out of it. They had made a promise a long time ago that if they ever ran away it would be together though. Then a portal opens up and a mysterious being in a black cloak appears. His name is Karasu and he wants Haruka to come with him.

There’s a lot of mystery in the beginning and unraveling the mysteries is part of the fun so I’ll keep this fairly vague. To just add a little more context though, the show deals with the idea of a multiverse. This planet and Haruka’s life is just one reality out of many. The characters also have to wonder if anything is truly real. Is something real because you can observe and feel it? It’s possible that life itself is an illusion and so they aren’t sure if anything really matter. For now most of the characters have to assume that this is real though and so Haruka is an important figure in the middle of all of this. Different characters need her in order to stabilize their timelines and make it the real one. Haruka doesn’t want to go anywhere but she also doesn’t want to hurt anyone and so it’s a tough balancing act.

The show goes into some of those philosophical discussions that don’t really have an end point because they become circular very quickly. For example the conversation about if anything is real. It’s interesting in the abstract but you can’t prove a negative so after a point what can you really say about it? For example lets say none of us are real and we’re all the figment of someone’s imagination. Well in that case…it shouldn’t affect how you live because everything will be over when you imagine that you’ve died anyway right? Even if there are infinite other versions of you, you can’t do anything about that so you just have to live your life as you always have. Just something that’s always good to keep in mind.

The show goes with the theory of tons of possible futures depending on the present which is definitely the way I prefer it. Even if your future is mapped out, nobody can possibly know how it will play out. If they did, then the future would automatically change with that new knowledge. Lets say someone predicted that too, well it’s a never ending chase sort of like the chicken and the egg. Just like I go with the chicken in that scenario there, I’d say that there is a future that will happen out of the infinite amount but it doesn’t become real until it hits the present which is why destiny is a fairly pointless concept.

The characters try to confuse Haruka with all of these concepts but of course you have to remember that they all have a stake in this so they aren’t the best possible sources. One of the most interesting concepts though was in how Haruka is sort of like a way point. For example, lets say there are 3 different future events, one where a bullet hits her friend, one where it misses her friend, and one where the bullet is never fired. The version that Haruka sees will become the “real” one as it then becomes a solidified point in time. She seems to have the power to choose which path will become the real one and the others will fade away like they never happened.

It’s a pretty cool power but also a high stakes one since it’s hard to know what she will see in advance. She can try to actively forget something and imagine something else but that seems tough. There’s one instance in the show where she is told not to look at someone who is dead because as long as she hasn’t seen it herself, it’s possible that the event can be overwritten with one where he is alive. It’s a very interesting way to weaponize the ability. I do enjoy theory crafting like this which is one of the show’s strengths. See this is how you handle hypotheticals, Godzilla Singular Point could learn some valuable lessons from this.

Back to the characters though, Haruka is a great lead. She doesn’t panic the way that most of the other characters do and in that way she keeps everyone on track. She tends to internalize all of her problems which obviously isn’t healthy but it shows how selfless she is. I think the heroes would be completely lose without her even if Haruka didn’t have any abilities. Haruka just gives them all a lot of inner peace. Also I really enjoyed her unique design. Her eyes are sort of like a cat’s eyes or some kind of half moon. It’s hard to describe but made for a very memorable design.

She’s the only one with this attribute which makes her stand out even more. It’s why for a while there I was expecting some kind of a twist where she’s a demon or supernatural entity or something. That’s not exactly the direction the show goes in though but it had me guessing. Then you have the main guy in Yu who starts off rather bratty the whole time. He whines a whole lot and has trouble saying what he means so he often ends up being rather rude to Haruka.

It’s lucky that she’s so mature and patient with him all of the time because I probably would have just ditched him after a while. Yu wants to be the one to protect Haruka because he likes her but tends to get shown up at every turn by Karasu. It’s just hard for this to not be the inevitable outcome as it is because Karasu is older, more powerful, and has actual powers. How do you possibly compete with that? By the end of the series Yu finally starts to realize that protecting Haruka is the important part and that it doesn’t have to be him. It’s a character arc that feels like an eternity to materialize but better than never.

I do respect the effort he puts in though and he ends up being an entertaining character. Probably not a friend you would want to have in real life, but as a character he’s not bad. He did try to defend Haruka from otherworldly fighters with a small switch blade so he gets points for courage. That’s something the other kids lack and why they are very weak characters.

You have Miho who is really interested in the supernatural but feels very annoying the whole time. In a lot of ways she is the most immature and despite being in a situation with actual crazy stuff going on, she doesn’t seem to take it all very seriously. I think she is trying her best but she’s just too young to get what’s going on. I was always ready for her scenes to end. Then you have Isami whose role never got as big as I would have expected. He’s better than Miho but I still didn’t care for him. He just doesn’t really contribute and his main memorable trait is that he has a crush on the teacher. Not exactly the thing you want to be remembered for.

The same goes for Ai who is another one of the friends hanging out but doesn’t do much. She likes Isami but can’t bring herself to tell him. There just isn’t much time for the romance among the side characters in this show so nothing much happens with that. Another character without much to do is Haruka’s mother Asuka. She gets drunk a lot but that’s really it. She isn’t able to help in any of the battles and is often completely oblivious of what’s going on. That may not be entirely her fault but it just doesn’t do her any favors as a character.

She ends up dragging down Yu’s mother Miyuki with her as well. I enjoyed Miyuki as an antagonist who was really pressuring Yu the whole time but as a hero she’s just not as interesting. The character arc went rather fast as well. Then you have Takuya who was Haruka’s father but he doesn’t do much either. You’d expect a lot out of him since he’s involved with the government group looking into the multiverse but mainly he just tries to plead his case without doing much about anything. The guy just feels very weak the whole time. I think he also could have explained things better to Asuka to get her to actually help out a bit.

Ryoko and Kyoji are the two main researchers trying to find out about the multiverse. I should say that’s Ryoko’s job. Kyoji is mainly just tagging along and helping her out but he doesn’t tend to understand any of this. In fact I would say he’s just here to give the story a way to throw some exposition at us. He always asks Ryoko to explain things so she talks more about the multiverse, the current theories on it, etc. They’re both good characters though. I liked that Ryoko actually understood what was going on and Kyoji’s just a nice guy. He seems like a really loyal ally to have who will risk his life even when he’s outmatched.

Seeing him take out a gun and try to seriously threaten the future beings who have laser blasts and super speed was also pretty funny. You can’t say that the guy didn’t at least try his best to help out at least. Now we get to the future beings. First up is Tobi who isn’t really much of a fighter but she helps out a lot on the tech side. She was easily the most reasonable member of the group who would always try to talk things out. It’s a shame that she couldn’t fight more though.

Does being a strategic genius always have to mean that you can’t fight? She ended up being one of the most likable characters in the group though so I suppose it all worked out well enough. Then you have Atori who was easily the most insane member of the group but practically got lobotomized which affects his personality for the rest of the show. He was extremely annoying as a hero so I kept waiting for him to turn evil again. The guy’s power is the real deal and he gave us one of the best early fights in the series. Atori absolutely enhances the show so he performed well in the role and he even does do some things in the climax.

Makoto barely has a reason to be in the story to be honest. Half of the time you even forget about the whole government angle here but I suppose in some ways this whole situation wouldn’t be happening without this. So fine the guy is necessary but he’s basically your average corporate villain. The guy doesn’t care about the future and can’t really fight but he has a gun and isn’t afraid to use it. I was shocked at how many shots he got off before the heroes ever did anything about it. There can be something amusing about this kind of cheesy villain but he really gets overshadowed.

Kosagi tends to be a very annoying character. She’s way too emotional and can never act logically. Unlike the other heroes and villains in the series, she never had any kind of grand master plan. I would say she doesn’t really end on a high note either and the final nail in the coffin is that she isn’t even very powerful. So mix all of that together and she’s not all that solid. The same is true for Kuina. Another really emotional guy who doesn’t take anything well and as a result makes all of the wrong decisions. I can respect a good villain who is fighting for someone who is even just evil to be evil but when you’re a villain for petty reasons then there is absolutely no hope for you.

Karasu naturally has a rather huge role in the story. He shows up early and remains a central figure in the whole adventure. He is easily the best fighter and is super durable. The guy goes through a lot to protect Noein and often goes against the council. I appreciated his loyalty and the guy just has a very cool demeanor to him. He reminds me a lot of Archer from Fate. Karasu could certainly stand to talk to the characters more and actually explain what’s going on but without him they would have certainly been doomed. You definitely can’t underestimate just how crucial he was. I also tended to enjoy any scene of him bashing Yu and rubbing in his face the difference in their abilities.

Now we can talk about Noein, the best villain in the show. This guy always had such confidence when he would appear and I really liked his design as well. When he came out with the Ray-Man spin move to knock out the characters that was brilliant. On the whole he’s more of a strategist than a fighter though. Sure, Noein can fight but he tends to break his opponents down mentally instead. He was easily my favorite character in the show. Yes, he does get just a little bit whiny at the very end of the series so he doesn’t stick the landing but for every other episode he looked great. This guy always delivers with the mystery and does a lot to help support the show’s creepy atmosphere. It would really not be the same without him. You get the feeling he probably could have ended the series rather early if he didn’t take so long to make his move.

While all of the theory crafting and concepts are a blast to engage with, I would say the show probably has less replay value than other titles as a result. This is a bit of a slow burn where you often do have a major development in each episode but they tend to be twists of sorts. So if you rewatch the show I imagine it will feel rather slow paced without a whole lot of plot progression at times. It’s similar to a mystery where it often won’t hit the same way the second time although there are some exceptions to that.

When the fight scenes occur they do tend to be a lot of fun though. I like the very exaggerated animation techniques they use for the clashes. Characters really go off model and stretch to oblivion while firing off their energy blasts. The movement is fast and the animation is pretty good there in general. I think it sort of helps to masque that this doesn’t feel like a very high budget show. It works well with the creepy atmosphere of the title in general though.

Then you have the soundtrack which actually is pretty great. There are a lot of solid battle themes and general enemy tunes here. It gives the show a very grand feeling to it and you will be remembering the tunes very well by the end. It’s not the largest OST but when your tracks are really solid then that’s all that really matters. Quality over quantity as they say.

Overall, Noein is one of those shows I had never heard of before but it definitely ended up being pretty good. The crazy plot really worked out nicely and made it so I didn’t even have to worry about the annoying kids. Haruka and Yu were really good of course but I never really got on board with the other 3 kids who just felt out of their league the whole time. If anything I think the show could have probably kept on going a little while longer with some of the plots but the abrupt ending is likely intentional. It’s not exactly the end of everything but it’s the end of what we’ll see. So if you see this show around you should definitely check it out. It has that kind of retro aesthetic that you just don’t see anymore.

Overall 7/10

Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto Review

Posted on December 15, 2023 by dreager1

It’s time for an anime that is fairly bonkers and definitely in a good way. This show takes the idea of the perfect student and dials it up to 11. Sakamoto can do no wrong and he makes for a very solid main character. You will probably find yourself identifying with his character and basically going “That’s me for real” the whole time. That’s how moving he is. Yeah the show definitely goes by pretty quickly as a result and each episode has something crazy going on.

For the most part each episode is fairly stand alone but there is a true continuity the whole way through. Past events will be referenced and some episodes do continue. The basic premise though is that there is a student named Sakamoto who is basically perfect. Everyone loves this guy, he aces every kind of class and challenge that gets put in his path. The guy is super agile, powerful, and knowledgeable. Yet the guy has a good amount of humility and will always help others out. The school can use someone like Sakamoto because there are a lot of bullies here and so without him the place would fall into anarchy. Can he make the school a better place or does he have a secret flaw?

The opening song is pretty catchy for the series. It really grabs you and stays fairly memorable. The show itself has a pretty good ost as well with some nice variety in there. I’m not saying it’s the next Naruto of course but yeah this is high quality stuff all the way. The animation is also solid although it’s not a stand out. For a show like this that’s part comedy I imagine they didn’t break the bank in terms of the animation quality. So it looks pretty good but it’s not the top of the line stuff. You wouldn’t likely see it in any best animated moments kind of thread.

Where the show excels is with the humor and writing which is bound to get a few laughs out of you. The situations can just be so out there and absurd that you can’t help but grin a little. You always know that Sakamoto will get some characters out of trouble and it’s just about seeing how he will do it. Sometimes he will do it himself like pretending to be possessed and other times he will manipulate the students into doing the right thing. That’s why Sakamoto is a secret mastermind, he’s always a few steps ahead of the competition.

He has to be up there as one of the best characters in the series and that would probably be true for most people. Even if you don’t tend to like the perfect character trope, Sakamoto is very aware of this and so the show has a lot of fun with it. As a result this portrayal works really well. Sakamoto just makes the world a better place and I only have one negative for his character which is that sometimes he goes too far in sandbagging. Like there’s one episode where he gets blackmailed into buying some sketchy DVDs and another where he ends up being the servant of one of the bullies.

Yes, at no point is he in any serious danger and you know he’s just playing along for fun but it’s still not the best look for the guy. Personally if you ask me, I’d just like to see him stand up for himself there and show them up even if it’s in a subtle way. I’d say he tends to be more passive aggressive in how he handles these moments by being a bit too useful and that’s the gag in those moments but eh…that’s the only time I’m not super impressed with him. His positive moments heavily outweigh the negative ones though which is why he’s still a great character. He’s always got a plan and does his best to stay on top.

His friend Kubota is more of a sad character who gets picked on and isn’t strong enough to fight back. That’s a tough predicament to be in for sure so you do feel bad about that. His role in the show is a lot smaller than I would have guessed though as he doesn’t do much after the initial episodes. He has a running gag about his hair changing a lot but that’s about it. Honestly you forget him as soon as he leaves the screen so we didn’t need more screentime anyway.

Atsushi is one of the main bullies in the show and he gets a big role. Unfortunately he does tend to be one of the more annoying character and takes way more Ls than Ws. This guy gets shown up early and turns over a new leaf but he has very weak willpower which means that he backslides very often. You may think that you can count on him after a point but unfortunately that just isn’t the case. He looks really bad in the climax of the series where he completely loses his mind and the main problem is that it’s due to him being tricked. Now granted he would have looked bad no matter what his excuse was but getting tricked makes it sting extra hard.

The guy just didn’t get consistently better and falling backwards like that is a quick way for me to lose respect for the character. At least the same thing didn’t happen to his two friends but they couldn’t stop him anyway so it didn’t help much. Then you have Sera who likes being the center of attention but of course he can’t compete with Sakamoto. That leads to a lot of jealousy and petty moments for the guy. Unlike Atsushi though, he actually has a consistent character arc and ends up becoming a better person after he is humbled the first time. He has a very unfortunate reoccurring gag about stripping though which does hurt his character. It’s more sad than funny most of the time and you feel bad for him because initially he had such great aspirations for himself. Now he is doomed to just be the comic relief.

Aina is a fun character even if she doesn’t have time to do too much. Basically she likes Sakamoto and aims to seduce him but she finds that it’s not so easy because the guy is always extremely focused. He overpowers all of her techniques and she also has to deal with a lot of people meddling in her affairs. The fight over the Ouija board was a really entertaining moment though and one of the better parts in the series. Talk about high takes, you really had to be careful what answer Aina forced on the group. If the series were longer I imagine she would have had more full episodes but the series is pretty short and mainly each character had to get their moment to shine so there wasn’t much time for general chats.

Megumi is more of a timid character in comparison. While Aina directly goes to Sakamoto to try and get him, Megumi is content to hide and try to take pictures of him in secret. You have to give her points for effort there but ultimately as a character she’s not great. I just tend to prefer the bolder characters and so she’s not going to stack up like that. Even a minor character like Kakuta leaves more of an impact because the gag of him trying to get Sakamoto to be one second late to penalize him is a fun one. The guy just is never able to pull this off.

Shigemi is one of the worst characters here. Her gag is that even though she is the mother of Sakamoto’s friend, she falls for him. His natural charms are simply too powerful and while we all know and understand the gag, it doesn’t make her any less annoying. You’re still shaking your head when she shows up. She only gets one full episode to herself but yeah it’s a bit rough. I think the gag was overplayed right out of the gate.

Maruyama was a more entertaining character and that’s considering the fact that he ended up being more annoying at times because of how that was the episode where Sakamoto was working for him the whole time which was hard to watch. Still, the gag of being scared because of how talented Sakamoto was at least worked a lot better as a gag and could hold up its own episode there. The episode being solid is always the important part. Like i wasn’t a big fan of any of the kids but their episode about not crossing the line was still fun. It showed that Sakamoto would make time even to hang out with some kids.

Then we have Hayabusa who is another great character that you could rank near the top. He may be the head honcho of the bullies but he seems like a standup guy. He has a solid honor code and lets his people do whatever they want. He seems to just want to have a good time and for nobody to get seriously hurt. He even sticks up for Sakamoto when the going gets tough. This guy is the real deal and definitely someone that you want on your side. His episode where he tries to survive a fancy restaurant experience was also a very noble one.

Trust me that’s a rough spot because a lot of that fancy food doesn’t even taste good. He did it all to support his father which was really nice of him. Now at the end of the day you should stick up for yourself and make sure not to get yourself into a jam like that but his heart was in the right place. He did want to make things better all around so it’s hard to fault him for that.

Finally we have Fukase who is the big villain here. The head honcho, the big cheese. He does a good job of ending the season off with a bang. Now this is one plot where I wasn’t crazy about the resolution though because I was just expecting more. The gag itself is funny to an extent but the fast redemption arc just didn’t feel earned. This guy caused a whole lot of trouble after all and while it’s great that he will be a better person now, I wanted more of a true fight. This guy felt like he could be on Sakamoto’s level with all of the tough talk so I just needed to see that in action.

In the end he was more of a strategic fighter which is cool too but seeing someone give Sakamoto a run for his money would have been fun. Maybe next time I suppose. The ending itself was still pretty fun as an emotional climax and a solid name drop. I was thinking it would have been cool to have seen Sakamoto join a new school or something. My theory was that he was like an alien or something sent to make the school a better place. I found out about a darker theory after finishing the show which makes a lot of sense though in which case you can see why they went with this ending.

Overall, This was a really fun show. It’s a full on comedy title that really makes use of the absurd humor style. It can sometimes be tough for a show to get going right away with the humor but this one pulled it off. It was important to start fast too considering that it’s not like this one has 50 episodes to burn. A lot of comedy titles need a second genre to work as well but this one just went all in and it turned out well. I’d say the replay value is fairly strong as well since there are so many gags per episode. Throw in a solid main character and a pretty decent cast overall and you’re set. Outside of the episode with the Mom chasing Sakamoto, all of the other episodes were pretty solid as well. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a good time. Even if you’re not typically a comedy fan, I’d say to give this one a chance because it’s very accessible.

Overall 7/10

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