Unico in the Island of Magic Review

Posted on September 14, 2025 by dreager1

Unico has returned for some more hype. At this point you know the drill with the character and this one isn’t really trying to change up the formula. Unico is brought to a new land where he has to solve some problems and once again awaken his ultimate form. The movie does give us better animation and strong effects this time though so I definitely appreciate that. It’s what I would consider to be a pretty low key movie but one that does have some good action.

The movie starts with Unico being dumped into an island that is about to be under attack by a mad wizard. This guy is turning everyone into toys and Unico barely manages to escape him. It turns out that his sister is a girl named Sheri who has been waiting for him to come back home but something changed him. The wizard Tolby now works for a real demonic spellcastor named Kuruku. This guy has abilities that can barely even be comprehended and so he is always causing mayhem. Can Unico and Sheri put an end to this?

First thing I have to give the film credit for are the designs. Kuruku actually looks rather frightening for a kids film. He is constantly changing shapes and dashing through the air. His energy blasts have the potential to take out any opponent in an instant because of how his matter manipulation works. He is also not someone that can really be reasoned with because he doesn’t care at all about humans. There is no heart to be swayed and so Unico must adopt more violent methods with this guy. It made for a really good climax.

Unfortunately, Tolby looks pretty bad in comparison. He has a more convoluted plan about working for Kuruku and turning everyone into toys so he could learn how to turn them all back. The plan doesn’t really make any sense as it relies on a whole lot of things that just aren’t likely to happen. Tolby should have been teaming up with the heroes from the start in order to stop him. You’ll have a lot of questions on exactly how they met and how Tolby went down this path so quickly but even to the end he just doesn’t do a good job of seeing the big picture.

Tolby is also not particularly good at aiming and so he tends to lose in each of his fights. I did really like the character design though. It really stands out and he definitely looks fancy in that outfit. As a character he really needed more work. He gets a sidekick cat for most of the movie who can be fun though. This cat likes listening to his music and is also a scaredy cat so he will change sides at the drop of a hat. Not someone that you can depend on at all. I was expecting him to turn out to be super heroic by the end but his character doesn’t really change much. I guess Unico can’t win everyone over.

As for Unico, he doesn’t look very good for most of the film but that is to be expected when there is constant amnesia. No matter how much Unico may improve in one adventure, all of the character development is removed by the next. So as a result Unico always has the same character arc of learning how to use his powers and gaining more confidence. That happens here as well and it’s just a really tough road to get to that point. If anything, Unico showing off crazy levels of power at the end can be annoying because then you feel like he should have been doing that the whole time. So in a way it just flips the situation.

The film is definitely aimed a bit younger so at times it might feel a little bit boring. Also every character is constantly yelling, it’s a very loud film. I know some people accuse shows like Black Clover of having a bunch of that, but this movie tops that with ease. Trust me, it can get a little grating after a while and things really have to be spelled out for you. It’s why I was glad that we did have some action scenes later on since those really helped to make the whole film feel more like an event. The film was really not scared to have some scary imagery with the fights as well.

There’s one toy that goes around chomping anyone in its path and actually comes across as real intimidating. Kuruku naturally fits that bill as well and so that is something that does set it aside from the average kid’s adventure. Also as far as kids go, I guess Sheri wasn’t bad. She was rather proactive and kept on going on her quest to save the day. Even being willing to leave Unico behind so that he wouldn’t be in danger. It didn’t work but it’s the thought that counts. We also have a cat who’s related to the Sphinx to help out but she didn’t actually do much. You were waiting for her big moment the whole film and it never came. I liked her enthusiasm as she was always ready to fight but that’s about all that I can say for her.

Overall, If you’ve seen other Unico films then you know what to expect with this one. It’s got more danger than the others but at its core this is a film about friendship and how Unico helps to restore the bonds between people. Unico is someone who is always ready to help out but takes a whole lot of pushing in order to actually begin fighting. The film may not be long but it can feel long as the dialogue isn’t always super interesting so how much you enjoy the film may actually come down to the animation and fights. If that ends up being the case, I dare say that you’ll be in fine hands. The animation has aged really well and just the novelty from that can really help to boost this one up. I’d recommend it if you’re up for a nice story about a little unicorn.

Overall 6/10

Mary and the Witch’s Flower Review

Posted on August 27, 2025 by dreager1

There’s definitely always something charming about the anime films that have a very British flavor to them. The accents work really well and also help to really achieve the slice of life effect before the fantasy notes really take over. It’s why tiles like Professor Layton are a lot of fun. This ends up being a pretty fun anime film all around. The opening action scene may set your hopes a bit high on the kinds of intense fight scenes you might be looking for but at the same time I’ll still take that over not having any.

The movie starts off with a daring chase as a girl is evading several different monsters while flying on her broom. It turns out that Witches are quite real but dodging forever isn’t quite an option and ultimately her broom ends up getting lost among the vegetation that grows in the land. Many years later, we cut to a girl named Mary who doesn’t really have any friends. She’s rather bored and doesn’t have much to do but she befriends two cats. Their owner Peter is a boy that she doesn’t get along with much at all but at least it’s someone to talk to. Things really change when she finds the broom which takes her to a witch’s school in the clouds. She is even told that one of the cats is her familiar. This is a lot to take in all at once but perhaps now she can make a lot of friends. This school for witches has to be a safe place….right?

If I had an issue here it would be that the school doesn’t get quite as much screentime as you would have expected. I suppose with the plot going the way that it did there may not have been a whole lot of room for it, but I do think there would have been a whole lot of potential there. If this was a series rather than a movie, you could have really done a slow build up here as you unveil more and more characters. Of course this does mean that the film has pretty good pacing so I can roll with that.

The two villains really don’t waste much time at all once they meet Mary. They can barely hold themselves back right from the start here and perhaps that would have been the more effective move for them. This is one of those films where it does feel like the villains technically hold all of the cards. They have a whole army of water type monsters and a lot of high tech gadgets in place. On the hero’s side…well there isn’t much of a hero side to be honest. There wouldn’t be much to stop the villains from just taking over the world if they wanted to do that. Fortunately for the heroes they don’t. Crazy experiments and crimes against humanity are things they are okay with but they technically don’t see themselves as evil overlords or anything like that. Even if…they are pretty evil when you think about it.

For that reason, I do think they should have given Mary some more abilities in this film. Even good ole Peter who stays strong and never gives up is a bit underpowered here. It’s not like he can last more than a second against the villains after all and just talking tough isn’t going to get you very far. It’s something that films with child protagonists sometimes run up against. There is only so much that a kid can do here. That’s why you’ll miss the heroine from the opening scene since you could tell that she was combat ready from the start. We do get a twist about who this is, but it doesn’t really get the big moment that it deserves.

The animation is pretty solid here. The colors are sharp and the opening action scene we got was really solid. There are more chases later on and they’re good as well. In general it’s not like there are a ton of moments for the film to really show off the animation so you savor the moments when they come. As for the soundtrack, more on the forgettable side. That’s actually been a concerning trend in some of the recent films that I’ve seen so I’m hoping that trend will be ending soon. I think a good soundtrack can always elevate a film.

Mary works as a solid heroine throughout the film since she has good charisma and can stand up for herself. She’s a very responsible person as well like when she makes a delivery to Peter even though she can’t stand the guy. Mary will always do the right thing even when it’s hard. Then we have Peter who can sometimes be unnecessarily rude to Mary. Constantly comparing her to a monkey is something that would upset anyone after all. Peter seems like a good guy deep down but almost can’t seem to help himself with the insults here. It’s like he takes a look at Mary and wants to start some trouble.

He still helps her out a lot when the going gets tough though so I give him credit there. As for the villains, Madam and Dee weren’t bad but I doubt you’ll be thinking about them for very long. Dee is your average mad scientist type who has a lot of powerful inventions and should have taken over the world by now but probably overthinks everything. Then you have Madam who feels like the actual brains of the operation. She’s fairly solid and has gotten through life rather well without people immediately suspecting what she is doing. That takes a solid amount of acting/bluffing.

Overall, This was a pretty good film. To an extent it does feel like a lot of meat was left on the bone though. We don’t get to know as much about the witches as I would have liked since the lore was really well setup for more future events. The ending also isn’t the best and limits the potential for sequels although you could probably write around that. That being said, the movie’s story is still really interesting and I had a fun time with it. I’d definitely recommend checking it out if you like magic mixing in with slice of life. It’s not trying to be the next big end of the world plot but more about finding yourself and knowing how to react when your world is really thrown open to all kinds of twists. Doesn’t everyone dream about helping to save the world and being the chosen one every now and again? If they made a full anime off of this, I think it would do rather well.

Overall 7/10

Unico: Black Cloud and White Feather Review

Posted on August 18, 2025 by dreager1

It’s time for an anime pilot that I was really not familiar with at all. Unico is a franchise that I really knew nothing about so it’s always fun to stumble upon a hidden gem like this. It’s a fun film at least with a story that could lend itself to a lot of different events. Don’t expect it to be the next big action blockbuster or anything like that but it is pretty good fun.

The story revolves around a mysterious being known as Unico. He is no ordinary animal, he has the ability to materialize things out of nothing. Unfortunately he is also cursed and must always be removed from being around any humans. He must be alone at all times and must try to push past this. Unfortunately he isn’t always fully aware of what’s going on which makes it a bit harder to stop the curse which is enforced by a goddess who goes around chasing him.

It’s clear that there is a lot of lore going on here in the background but for now we don’t get to see too much of it. This is definitely like a little taser to get you interested in the series. The main plot here is that there is a land where pollution envelops everyone and poisons the people until they die. They have tried to rise up but the central company controlling the pollution is far too powerful. Unico is really the only hope that they have and he must hurry or a little girl will be the next one to die.

With this kind of story my biggest issue is naturally going to be how the town is just sitting there and allowing this to happen. Once you’re at the point where people are dying en masse due to pollution and the government/corporate won’t stop it, then you have to do something about it. You must become a vigilante and do what you can to destroy the facilities because otherwise you’re just going to die without a fight. If Unico hadn’t showed up, that is exactly what would have happened.

The characters are far too passive here. The little girl was nice since she was trying to help out Unico at least. I also won’t blame her for much of anything because ultimately it’s not like she could do much about the situation. She could barely move. Meanwhile the local mouse was nice since he fed Unico even though he was really hungry. The rest of the animals tended to be pretty fierce outside like the hawk that nearly finished Unico off in the intro.

Ideally Unico will be able to master his powers better as the series were to go on and by the end would manage to get some happiness. That will probably mean confronting the gods at some point and I’ll also be curious to learn more about this. In the intro he was best friends with a girl before the evil goddess got him and began the tricks but why did nobody stop her? It seems like the greek gods of old who were always corrupt and annoying so it could be that they were all just evil or apathetic at worst but Unico will hopefully get some backup. On his own he just seems a bit too inexperienced to actually be ready to defeat the system.

In a way the lore might have been too good as you’re almost more interested in seeing the gods and what’s going up there than in the actual story about Unico helping people out. They are almost two completely different genres with the contrast between the two. Meanwhile the animation is solid. It has a good artstyle that ensures this adventure never gets too dated. You can tell that it is an older animation of course but it never looks bad. The ost doesn’t age quite as well with the songs though. They’re a bit on the cheesy side and not super catchy although I wouldn’t call them bad or anything like that.

Overall, This was a fun story. At the end of the day it’s basically the length of an episode so as you can imagine it does end pretty quickly. It’s enough time to solve the main story while leaving a lot of room for the next adventure. If this sounds interesting to you then you should check it out. It’s a fairly original premise and doesn’t drag on or anything like that. At the same time I do think it would need a bit more of a hook to really rise up and break to the next level. Maybe having a supporting character who tries to get Unico his memories back but is constantly fighting the gods. That would be a good subplot but perhaps a bit too intense for the tone that this one is going for.

Overall 6/10

Magilumiere Co. Ltd. Review

Posted on July 20, 2025 by dreager1

It’s time for a magical girl series that is using a very scientific approach to the whole thing. It’s definitely a unique way to present the series but in this case a traditional approach probably would have worked better. It was interesting but you know how that word can sometimes be used negatively? That’s how it felt with this one at times where it was an interesting approach but probably should have just gone with a standard one. Still, I would say it was still a good series and it’s one that does flow better if you marathon it. The characters just weren’t given enough room to really get out there and take over.

The series follows a girl named Kana who has been job hunting for a long time. It’s really hard to enter the magical girl business even though she has a fairly strong resume. Well, one day she meets a girl named Hitomi who works for a small startup company. They don’t have a whole lot of frills or resources but they are willing to give her a chance. Kana agrees and now she has joined the quirkiest group out there. In fact Hitomi is the only magical girl there and the group is very small in general. Can Kana learn what it truly means to be a magical girl and save the day?

So I mentioned a scientific approach before, let me explain what I mean by that. So in this universe, magical girls fight using computer algorithms that launch the spells and outfits. Think of it like a robotic suit I guess even if that’s not a full 1-1 comparison. So you will be out in the field as a magical girl and then your computer partner sends you the script to activate a spell. Your wand will have some pre set spells as well but they won’t always work on the opponent so that’s where the adjustments come in. There are many magical girl companies across Japan and the whole thing is very organized.

When a situation occurs, the town or company will call the nearest agency and request aid. If the situation is too big for the nearest agency, then they will ask for additional reinforcements. Naturally Kana’s group doesn’t get many calls since they don’t have the professional relationships in place yet. Additionally, they are seen as rather radical in their approach. They go for safer magics and use precision attacks rather than big blasts. This helps to reduce collateral damage but also means that the whole fight can take much longer. The lack of firepower also means that everyone has to play their roles really well or someone will get hurt. It’s easy to see why not everyone is in a rush to hire these guys.

The series even explains why only girls can transform, it’s a genetic thing. Now one guy in the series does try to challenge this and pays a heavy price. It makes for a very interesting subplot though because he actually has some good points but quickly begins to get way too desperate and unhinged to the point where he wiped away all of the good points in an instant. I guess if humanity is in a last ditch battle for survival, at least we know that this would be an option.

The series ends with a lot of interesting plot threads that could be pursued in a sequel. They still have not found a way to prevent monsters from materializing in the real world. Additionally the magical boy program is clearly possible, now they just need to find a way to do it safely. Then you also have the new style of magic that Kana’s team uses and if that can be leveraged across the world, it would make everything safer. The series ends on a very optimistic level which works nicely. You know that the planet is in good hands since there aren’t any big more threats around. They wrapped up all of the huge plots even if some parts are a bit rushed like a wedding that shows up out of the blue.

The romance is intentionally rushed as part of the gag. In a sense that doesn’t make it inherently bad, but I tend to prefer much longer development times for a huge decision like that. Maybe I didn’t mind as much in this case because it was presented as a gag. The series only has one real romance that is set up for a bit and moves slowly. Otherwise the series doesn’t have a whole lot of time for that. It’s a reasonable length at 17 volumes but the series also has to move quickly with all of the monsters so the character work has to take a back seat.

In my mind the series has two main weaknesses. The first is the character roster. Even by the end I thought they were fairly weak. There are some decent characters here, but I would say there was only one great character. The rest ranged from decent to okay. You don’t really get absorbed into their predicaments and hype scenes as much as you would if they had been super likable characters. Likewise, 90% of the villains are mindless monsters that are meant to be throwaways. The only actual big villain leaves a big impact but I wouldn’t say he was particularly likable either.

The other weakness is the very scientific approach to the magic. Like I mentioned before, it’s just a bit too structured. It sort of takes the “magic” our of the actual concept. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as I like a good sci-fi but it ends up being portrayed so realistically that it ends up being boring. It’s the heroes typing in code which launches the spell and it’s hard to make that look super hype. The series needed more action scenes I’d say. With changes to these two elements the series would have jumped up into the next tier, I feel rather confidently about that.

All right so lets talk about the characters now. First up is Kana who is a bit on the softspoken side. When the series starts, she doesn’t have a lot of information on the magical girl process but is eager to learn. She is always very determined and quickly begins to study on all of this. As the series goes on she begins to gain more and more confidence. It’s a solid character arc and what she lacks in overall power, she makes up for in leadership. She can really be relied upon by the end of the series and her perseverance really paid off.

Her partner Hitomi is the headstrong member of the group but she still feels rather sanitized next to the average character in this archetype. What I mean by that is she is plenty strong and talks tough but it all feels rather corporate. She isn’t actually breaking a bunch of rules or being over the top reckless. It feels like they could have done a whole lot more with her character and then by the end when she is ready to move on, it’s a bit too fast. She was still fun to have around but the character was held back way too much.

Kouji is the captain of the group and likes to dress up as a magical girl as his quirk. He’s a good engineer and can deliver code in a pinch. It feels like he could have been doing a whole lot more during the series though. The guy is presented as a genius and yet he rarely takes to the helm except during the climax. We end up learning a lot about his sad past later on which adds another dimension to the character. The events certainly changed him. He’s fun enough but I would have liked him to have taken a less passive approach.

Kaede is an interesting character as he will take you through an emotional roller coaster throughout the series. You never really know what is going on in his head and he gets to be very important to the plot later on. I give him credit for easily being the most interesting character in the series and he had one of the best non action plots throughout the title. He’s super memorable so I appreciated that and he showed that you could have a big impact even without powers.

Kazuo is okay but has the least impact among the main characters. He’s the computer guy and tends to be super oblivious to anything. He takes his job very seriously which is definitely not a bad thing but he doesn’t have a whole lot of personality beyond that. I would have definitely liked for him to have been doing more and maybe get some big drama plot to put him near the front.

Mei is the best character in the series. She’s the top worker at AST, the big rival company in the series. She likes to fight in a very emotionless way as she performs the optimal action at any time. Naturally the optimal route can sometimes feel a bit harsh to the more emotional characters in the series. It’s also not going to win her any friends but she’s the top in her field for a reason. As the series goes on she begins to open p more and this was a solid character arc.

Additionally I liked AST as a rival. It’s not as if they were bad people or anything. They just really saw this as a business and feel that going by the book is the best way to protect everyone. It’s also hard to disagree with that at times. Their results speak for themselves and the series resists the urge to suddenly make them look really corrupt. Throughout the series this makes for a good rivalry all the way. I would also say their president Kei is better than the main group’s.

Kei is always involved with the business and operations. He makes sure that nothing goes wrong and puts in all the extra effort that is needed. Take him away from the group at any time and things would definitely not be going as well. He’s the leader for a reason and I liked seeing his expertise. He doesn’t just show up in the climax of the series, his impact is always felt. An adult who was also portrayed well as Kenji. He’s the father of one of the main characters and they’ve always had a hard time connecting. Not because he’s a bad guy or anything but he’s just not good at communication and they ended up always being at odds. He does make his share of mistakes in the series but they are never in a nefarious way. I appreciated that.

Sho is one of the big villains in the series and he does well in the role. I would say he just starts to crack a little too much near the end. I was hoping he would handle himself with a bit more dignity than how he was presented. Give him some more hype moments and let him stick to his ideals right to the end. Instead, you just can’t take him seriously by the end no matter how powerful he got. The flashback did a good job of making sure you disliked him because of how evil he was and the main story needed to follow up on that. His final form looked cool though.

Hibiki joins up a bit later as another computer whiz and he was a good character. His expertise definitely helped quite a bit and he also left much more of an impact than the other guy. The fact that he even had a bit of a romance with Sakae also helped him be more memorable. Both characters were definitely fun enough and the main characters could always use more recruits. As the series drew to a close, the group was definitely a lot bigger than they used to be but still small overall.

Alice is a big character in the flashback. She was really nice but definitely to the point of being naive. The fact that she didn’t tell her best friends about what was going on was definitely a crucial mistake and one that really ended up costing her. It felt a bit forced because I don’t see why she wouldn’t have said anything sooner. It really put her in a bad spot all the way. So she was good but definitely ended up causing a lot of damage by dropping her guard.

Akane ends up being a main character by the end. She is a solid new recruit who is very outspoken. So in some ways she’s like the lead in that she is a rookie but starts out of the gate with a lot more confidence which I appreciate. Confidence is always a great trait for any character after all. Then we have Iroha who is more of the scientist type but also very confident and outspoken. They were good members of the team and I wish they could have appeared more or gotten more big solo moments to build up their hype.

As far as the artwork goes, the series looks okay but not great. The art can make you read a bit slowly with how detailed it gets. During action scenes it won’t always look clear and some of the characters can look too similar. So the art isn’t bad but it’s definitely lower than other titles that you may have been used to by this time. It’s not going to be the aspect that enhances the manga so you will be reading for the writing and story.

Overall, This is a good series. I do think the series could have ended up being better than it was but in the end it was good enough. I had a good time with the battles and it is also memorable enough that I won’t be forgetting it. The art wasn’t the strongest that I’ve seen but in the end I can still say that I was satisfied here. It’s not every day that we get a magical girl series after all so you really want to enjoy them while you can. Now the new one on the block is Dandelion so we’ll see how long that one lasts. In the meantime if you have not read through this series yet, you should do that. It was certainly well written and is enjoyable.

Overall 6/10

Houdini

Posted on May 27, 2025 by dreager1

Just about everyone has heard of Houdini at some point or another. The guy was a true master of his craft and an escape artist the likes of which we probably won’t see again. How much of it was pure skill and how much of it was the audience not paying attention? The exact amounts are going to be difficult to quantify but without a doubt he had serious skills in order to pull off his achievements without people ever totally figuring them out. The movie does a good job capturing a lot of his big exploits.

The film starts off with showing us how versatile Houdini was as he performed many different tricks and roles. The guy then notices a lady that he falls in love with named Bess. They quickly get married and so now she can be his assistant as he becomes a full fledged magician. Unfortunately this is where their battles begin to occur because he is really into magic to the point where it is taking over his life. It’s a long job that doesn’t really end and has no retirement plan while she wants to be having some fun too. He tries normal 9-5 jobs like working at a factory but he just isn’t able to resist the allure of going back into the magic tricks and being an escape artist. Somehow there must be a way to make it all work…right?

Now I would say the romance happened way too quickly and didn’t feel all that realistic but since this is based on true events I can cut the film some slack. Provided that this is how things happened in real life of course but I guess I’ll have to assume that this is the case. It does make sense that they would have a lot of fights though since it’s not like they knew each other for a super long time. In general you tend to be on Bess’ side though. There are several times in the film where they make a deal and then Houdini backs out of it because the crowd riles him up.

Those are moments where he definitely looks bad. I do think Bess was rather hard on him and quick with the ultimatums but once Houdini agrees to them, that’s all there is to it. He should have thought about that more instead of agreeing if he was going to back out. Ultimately the back outs never tend to work out in his favor either. He was just too ambitious and trying to do the impossible. Houdini’s ego was too great to let him refuse a challenge but some things really are impossible to escape from.

The movie has a fun style of humor though and is always moving at a good pace. The writing is on point and the characters are all fun. At its core this is a fun slice of life type film and that’s where the film is at its strongest. You get some good banter between the characters and it’s always fun to see people trying to goad Houdini on into making a big mistake. Some story beats might feel a bit repetitive because of how the film is quickly moving through the years of his life (Breaking a promise to his wife and then regretting it) but for the most part the film keeps moving forward.

The retirement felt the most random for a bit there but at least once he figured out the trick to it, Houdini was able to get over that. Otherwise it would have been pretty crazy for a magician/escape artist to fall for your average spirit medium nonsense. I know he was desperate but that’s definitely not the right place to be turning to.

His partner ended up being a solid character as well even if he arrived rather late into the film. I figured he might be an antagonist or something but then remembered what I was watching and that would have probably been a touch too dramatic. It’s certainly possible to have a saboteur on board or something but it just felt unlikely. Regardless, the film serves as a big reminder on why you would never catch me in one of these magic trick acts. All it takes is a single mistake, a single miscommunication and you could be in real trouble. Even something like the magic saw act. Often times they are using real tools here.

I know the box is made so that you won’t get cut but what if the magician makes a mistake or just decides to have a go at you anyway? From that point on you are already completely helpless and that’s the part that I don’t like. There is just no escape at that point and that’s the problem. I probably wouldn’t even attend a magic show because to me I don’t really see the entertainment in it. Perhaps one that is more of a visual experience like the big shows in “Now You See Me” but otherwise I’d definitely tend to skip all of that. Now if you paid me to be one of those hecklers then I think I would have a rather good time in that role. Heh, yeah now that would be a pretty good time all around.

Overall, Houdini is a pretty good movie. It is a fun ride the whole time which is the important thing even while it does allow some time for the more emotional/serious moments. If you aren’t too familiar with the guy then this is a good way to learn about him and have a fun time too. The tricks are fun to watch and you can try to imagine what the tricks were to escaping them. I always tend to suspect that there is a big trick on the back-end of this but from that point on it is up to your imagination to fill in the blanks on its own. Not an easy task but it gives you something to think about. Being an escape artist or a magician are careers that would definitely not be up my alley but they are fun to watch.

The Shaggy Dog (1959) Review

Posted on March 16, 2025 by dreager1

It’s time for a retro dog film with a good amount of fun cheer to it. The Shaggy Dog is one of those titles that moves at a quick pace and delivers on a fun premise. It even randomly throws in a big climax with high stakes and I hadn’t been expecting that. It’s a very retro experience that knows how to have a good time even if the cast themselves are a bit on the weaker side. Lets just say there aren’t a lot of likable characters here.

The movie starts off with Wilby messing up on another one of his inventions. He’s a kid genius but it does take him a lot of trial and error to get where he wants to go and often his father, Wilson has to clean up after him. Wilson is a nice guy overall except that he can’t stand dogs and even has a PTSD type allergy to them. He intends to shoot them all if they ever get into his house. Well one day they get a rich next door neighbor named Francesca who has a big dog and now this could be trouble. Wilby and his friend Buzz both like her and after a fateful trip to the museum, Wilby ends up with an amulet that turns him into a copy of her dog. How will he end this curse?

The way the magic works is also a little unique here. Ordinarily you would expect the human and dog to change places or something but that’s actually not what happens here. Instead the dog just vanishes from existence temporarily while Wilby slowly transforms into a lookalike. The transformation lasts a while until he turns back but it is difficult to predict when this will happen and for how long. So it’s definitely inconvenient for Wilby and even dangerous since of course Wilson will be shooting on sight.

Of course as a dog, most people don’t pay attention to Wilby which gives him a chance to hear some villainous secrets. So I enjoyed the whole gimmick here as the scenes were pretty fun. Wilby really got to show just how helpful it can be to turn into a dog. I do think he could have done a much better job of convincing everyone that he was actually Wilby though since the film didn’t really place any limitations on him. Wilby can still walk around and talk in human language so automatically you figure it shouldn’t be too hard. Wilby doesn’t try this much until the very end though.

As a character Wilby is okay but definitely a bit of a pushover. He gets taken advantage of by Buzz and is also easy to trick. The museum trip didn’t go well because he let his guard down too quickly and then even in the climax he’s put in the same boat as Buzz instead of being one step ahead. I don’t see the dynamic ever getting a whole lot better for him. Wilby needs to just focus on his inventions and hopefully make a real game changer at some point.

Meanwhile for Buzz, the guy is no real friend. He is always quick to blame Wilby when the lead isn’t around and quickly goes from girl to girl. Buzz is certainly not a serious character and so you really aren’t rooting for the guy. You hope that the girls will know better around him but until they figure out what’s up, it was up to Wilby to mess up the guy’s plans while in his disguise as a dog.

As for Wilson, he was a little too extreme in how he was actually shooting at the dog. Even ignoring the body swap, that means he was willingly shooting at his neighbor’s dog just for getting into the house. It’s just such an extreme response and makes him look really bad. Throughout the film Wilson is always proving himself to be the kind of guy who jumps to conclusions and then at the end he is basically just basking in the glory of something that he only played a small part in.

It all works well enough for some laughs but it doesn’t make the character super likable. Even Francesca looks pretty bad as she is quick to be tricked by Buzz and then even starts to go after Wilby just to make another girl jealous. The fact that she gave away her dog in the end was also absolutely crazy after everything he did for her. A really bizarre way for the film to end if you ask me.

Still, the important thing is that the film is fun like I said. The writing is on point with a really solid script all the way through. The retro writing style really works well for this movie and the pacing is good. I may not say that it’s laugh out loud levels of being funny but it didn’t really have any issues either. The movie never drags and it has plenty of replay value. I also enjoyed the sub plot with the one cop who was going crazy after seeing the dog so many times and then how the government shut down Wilson on suspicion of being a traitor. That was a pretty fun battle even if Wilby’s younger brother sold the dad out there.

Overall, The Shaggy Dog is a pretty good movie. I like the concept of turning into a dog as there are a lot of fun gags you can do with that. Clearly the industry thought so too since this wouldn’t be the last Shaggy Dog film. This may not be the kind of film that you walk away from every year to point out how awesome it was but it is something you could watch at any time. The intense climax also helps with the replay value. I’ll be curious to see if the newer films can really match this one and if they can’t, hopefully they will at least be close.

Overall 7/10

Granblue Fantasy: The Animation Season 2 Review

Posted on November 16, 2024 by dreager1

Granblue has returned with the next season. It definitely goes by very quickly and makes for a good continuation. It does feel perhaps a bit aimless compared to season 1 at times even though we do have plot progression. That might be because in season 1 we picked up the main cast and got everyone’s mini arc while this one is mainly about learning more on the villains. Still good stuff, but I am ready for the heroes to make some proper headway against the government and learn more about what is going on in the background.

The story follows Gran and his friends as they seek to arrive at Estalucia, the land of the gods. Gran’s father should be at the end of this journey and in the meantime he is helping Lyria capture all of the gods so they stop causing a bunch of trouble. In the meantime the empire continues their attempts to recapture Lyria for their own nefarious purposes. These villains cannot be trusted, perhaps it is time for the heroes to take them down once and for all!

The first arc has the characters land on an island where Katalina is quite well known. The leader, Vira seems to hold her in particularly high regards. At first glance it seems like a fine place except it turns out that Katalina will have to stay on this island and leave the crew in order for them to be able to leave safely. Gran rejects this proposal and so the crew have to do battle with the government once more while also taking on Vira. As always you can’t really trust old friends in this kind of thing because over the years they tend to get corrupt and really join the other side.

It’s not a great look for Katalina though. I never really care for the “Heroic sacrifice” play in this kind of situation because it’s not necessary. She should have talked it over with Gran and the others right off the bat. Not doing so just implies that she doesn’t think they have what it takes. In this case she also had some feelings of guilt but at the end of the day all this means is that she would have completely abandoned her duties which is not cool. She did make an oath to protect Lyria after all and you can’t just stop that midway.

The fight with Vira is pretty fun though. Vira makes for a good villain and one of the stronger combatants that the heroes had to go up against. it would be nice to see her return at some point, maybe for a climax coming up. Would feel like a waste if she just never got to return although granted, if we don’t get another season then in a way that’s the fate of every character.

The second arc of the series is a lot shorter or it felt shorter at least. The heroes head to the next island where everybody is a zombie. That’s a bit strange and also rather unnerving right? Why did they die? What I liked about this mini arc is it felt like Grablue was finally trying something a bit different. This is an adventure show after all but a lot of the islands felt very similar. This one was really different even when it comes down to the tone. So that was impressive and while the villain was a bit of a generic scientist, he was still fairly strong. So this was a pretty fun pit stop on the way to the final arc of the season. It’s another case where they should have tried summoning Bahamut earlier but more on that later.

Finally we get back to what I would call the main plot. The heroes arrive on the next island where the government shows up again in full force. Gran finally has to take on the Black Knight while Lyria is faced off against her own shadow version. It’s pretty fun even if Gran feels completely out of his depth here. We also learn a bit more about his father like the fact that his moniker is the god killer. (Well it might have been Astral Killer or the equivalent of what they call the gods, but same effect) Then the Black Knight may actually have some ties to one of Gran’s members. These mysteries are clear set up for the future and the season itself has a massive cliffhanger with a trial about to start. I’d definitely be eager to see what happens there.

It was a good way to end off the season because that was probably the most action packed episode of the season. While the Black Knight did crush Gran, it was still cool to see them go at it after all this time. I’m not sure I buy what happens to the Black Knight at the end but it could still be part of some kind of a plan so I can’t judge too much just yet. There are still a whole lot of missing pieces to the puzzle.

Like last time, there is a bonus episode at the end. In fact this time there were two! The first one is about Djeeta and her group exploring a dungeon and it was fun to get a proper dungeon crawling episode. I’m not sure I’d want that for a whole arc or anything but for an episode it worked out well enough. I actually like her group more than Gran’s to be honest. It’s a solid stand alone episode with good action throughout so I definitely had no complaints there.

The second episode has two segments. The first one is about Gran wrestling one of the giant monsters and that was a fun one. He got to show off his determination and just how hard he can train when the stakes are high. I’s amusing in part because of how absurd the whole thing is. Then we have Djeeta and friends going to school in a made up alternate universe. A fun enough short. It would probably overstay its welcome if it went on for a whole cour but it can be nice to see familiar characters in brand new settings.

Okay, now lets talk a bit deeper about the show and some of the things that are holding it back somewhat. The first is the animation. I do have to say that it doesn’t look all that great. I would even say slightly below average. The colors aren’t strong and there isn’t always a lot of movement. We get the occasional fight scene but that’s about it. Stronger animation even for just the movement and all would really go a long way. Without it, the series just doesn’t have anything backing up the story.

Likewise, the soundtrack isn’t particularly good. I’m not going to say that it’s bad or anything because it’s not but none of the tunes stand out. The opening theme song is really uninspired as well. You’d almost think it’s all free domain type music and it doesn’t help the show break out of its shell. That is the core of the issues after all, which is that the show feels like a nameless fantasy title. Not the kind of story you will remember all that well even a few years from now.

The show needs a stronger hook. The main cast is okay but not all that interesting. The plot is fine but you don’t tend to make much progress on it at all. It feels like a classic mobile game plot in that sense with the carrot being dangled at the end without any sense of the progress you are making. The show just needs to do something because it all feels a bit too ordinary. I would also say the power levels feel off and in part it’s because the heroes never seem to get any stronger.

They have Bahamut and a bunch of other summons at this point. I would say that it’s about time they started using them. The fact that they don’t use Bahamut at times and get absolutely devastated tells you all that you need to know about this. Bahamut doesn’t get used throughout the whole season and Lyria only tries to use him once. That’s just not mart and in general these bad decisions are the only reason that the fights tend to be close. If Gran was allowed to use his energy moves then perhaps he would have beaten the Black Knight.

Gran’s also a bit of a cardboard cutout character. He doesn’t have a whole lot of personality to him at all. People tend to hit the Isekai leads with this critique, but I dare say he deserves it over most of those. It’s hard to really say what his personality is beyond being there to do the right thing. I would also like Lyria to show a bit more agency. She has had her quick moments where she has to confront her fears and step in to help but it is always a bit of a last resort.

Io doesn’t get much to do here but at least she has one key moment during the haunted village. Rackam’s role is also a bit on the small side here but at least as the driver he is always helpful. Rosetta is almost like a running gag where she shows up to help in just about every arc and then runs off. At this point she may as well just become a main character. Eugen has his big secret coming up but still feels redundant to the party as a whole since Rackam already has the guns angle.

On the villain’s side, I do like the Black Knight. She definitely earns her keep and always keeps things interesting. The rest of them though? Drang and Sturm are trying for a Team Rocket angle but it doesn’t really work. They really just have one gag that they repeat over and over again in the hopes that it will get funnier but it never really does. You’re just left shaking your head the whole time as a result. Finally we have Orchis who doesn’t have much of a character yet although they’re clearly setting her up for a big role. She certainly did way more here than in season 1 so I appreciate that. She will be a good foil to Lyria for now although eventually I do expect her to be one of the heroes eventually.

That seemed like a pretty negative stretch for the series but on the whole it’s just that there is a lot of potential here that is not being maximized because the series is trying to really stretch things out. The world building isn’t quite big enough to pull that off. If it could just focus on the actual story a bit more and the characters getting some action then it could really hit the next level. We absolutely should get more action at this point as we presumably get closer to the final island.

On a small note, it does seem like a crazy coincidence how the heroes bump into all of the same characters on every island. This is a pretty big world after all so the title may want to dial that down a bit. It comes off as a bit forced at times. The series has a massive cast in the games so it’s time to let other characters have their fun and maybe even switch up the main crew a bit. I think that would be a pretty interesting idea. The season at least tried that by adding two main characters which I appreciate. First is the character who is actually one of those god deities and then you have the girl from the supernatural arc, Ferry. So we need to keep doing that but with more of the pure fighters like the cool thunder guy from the season 1 climax.

In general this season was going for a more low key type of ending I would say. Sure, we did have the big fight with the Black Knight but it would have been really nice to have had an all star ensemble like in season 1. That was a whole lot of fun after all, especially since you usually don’t see that until a later season. Perhaps that set the bar too high for this season but there are so many characters that you can definitely do it again for season 3.

Overall, Granblue Fantasy is a perfectly serviceable show. I would say it’s a very safe watch and feels like a standard anime. If you wanted to recommend a title to someone who is not familiar with anime then this would be a pretty good option. It introduces you to basic anime concepts, doesn’t really have any fanservice or weird anime elements, and is about a hero and his party as they save the world. It’s a very innocent anime that is just trying to do the right thing and takes you from place to place. The episodic nature of the arcs can also keep it from being too overwhelming.

Overall 7/10

Wistoria: Wand and Sword Review

Posted on November 9, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time to look at a magic anime that got pretty big real fast. Wistoria is one of those shows that took the world by storm to the point where one person even said you could toss all other anime in the trash. That’s how good Wistoria was. I can say that it lived up to the hype and I would consider it to be a great anime. I’m definitely looking forward to the next seasons and in the meantime I encourage everyone to check it out. It really got the right amount of action and story.

In this world, most people have some level of magical ability. The best of the best rise through the ranks quickly and if you don’t have magic then you are in trouble. At all times there is a cabal of 5-6 master sorcerers who hold up the sky with their magic as it would crash otherwise and bring about the end of everything. Will’s best friend Colette was one of these super geniuses and so they are never able to see each other anymore. Will figures the only way to solve this issue will be if he can improve his skills and ascend to the top of the wizard tower. There’s just one problem, Will has absolutely no magical talents!

Now you might be thinking, where have I heard this before? Mashle, Black Clover, etc. Well that’s not a problem since both of those shows were excellent and this one really keeps up the streak. The high end production values really serve as a great backdrop but at its core the series is succeeding because of the strong cast of characters and story. I would say that it sucks you in right from the first episode. Will’s goal to be able to hang out with his best friend is a solid one and makes things sympathetic right from the start.

Additionally, Will still has a lot of physical talent so it’s not like he’s been slacking off or anything. He has a sword and is able to handle most dungeons on his own. He has the abilities to take on most of the highest ranking students in the school. The only reason his grades lag behind a lot is because the whole school is set up on the basis of magic. So the tests are focused on this in ways where his strength can’t compensate. So Will has to really take down as many monsters as possible in order to prove himself.

Naturally the series has a ton of discrimination which is a staple of any fantasy setting. People can’t stand Will because of the fact that he has no magical powers. They say he shouldn’t be here and the usual stuff. The main teacher tries to crush Will in one of the first episodes and with a few exceptions, all of the students enjoy messing with him as well. Will doesn’t really pay them any mind though and it takes a whole lot of insults and threats of violence to really get him moving. Of course once that point comes up, then he is ready to go to town on them.

I’d say we have 2 main arcs here, the opening tournament and then the dungeon crawl. The tournament comes rather early here so in a way you could say this is how we are really introduced to the characters. Guys like Julius and Sion had already appeared but this is where we got to the heart of their character development. It’s definitely a really fun tournament even if it is short and I like that Will is shown to be very competent and strong from the start. He doesn’t have to find his own way of fighting or anything like that. He just puts all of his skills to the test and goes in swords blazing. The amount of time he is an underdog in the series is extremely short so we get to skip the intro phase in a way and get right to the meat of things.

The peak of the series is in the dungeon crawl though as we get to see Will join the elite team. It’s the best of the best as everyone goes all out to prove themselves. Again, it’s an arc that you would expect to see much later in the series as Will has to reluctantly team up with all of the big rivals and new characters right from the jump. The fast pacing is just a lot of fun because it’s like you are speed running the whole series. You wouldn’t see this from many titles and it’s part of how Wistoria stands out. No worries though, the power ceiling for the series is quite high as there are many other characters to be introduced who are even stronger than the elites.

Like I mentioned before, the animation is really good here. There are a ton of great fight scenes and cuts throughout the series. The different magic spells all look really good and you can feel the power behind each swing. The colors are very vibrant and so this is definitely an anime you can point to when talking about high budget titles. Meanwhile the soundtrack is also good. The theme song is catchy and there are a number of solid tracks. It may not be an absolute home run hit that you talk about for hours and hours but it definitely pulls off its job pretty well.

Now lets get into the characters. First up is Will and he’s a pretty solid main character. The guy is trying hard to achieve his dreams and that’s always good. It’s more of a voice direction thing but I will just say that his voice can be annoying though. It always sounds like he’s close to laughing which ends up feeling condescending to an extent. It’s something I’ve never seen happen to a character before so hopefully it’s cleaned up a little bit for season 2. It’s not technically his personality or anything though so I wouldn’t dock his character any points for that or anything like that. I was surprised that he wasn’t going to initially enter the tournament though. It feels like he underestimates his own abilities quite a bit.

Considering that he doesn’t exactly have unlimited time to reach his best friend, you’d think that he would do every single event in order to climb up. It was the one moment that felt almost out of character for him. Still, the guy stands up to bullies and is always beating up on the villains so how could you not like the guy right?

Then we have the main heroine Colette who is pretty fun. She’s easy to feel bad for because she often tries to get close to Will but trolls stop her from really making it. She’s a strong fighter in her own right as well even if she doesn’t always run to the battlefield. If we ever get more of an arc that is focused on her then I think we’ll see more of that. She was able to beat a Julius clone and did it rather easily after all. I like that she always defends Will and is a sand up character so she is one of the better heroines.

The first rival is Sion and I’d say he is another character that the show did a really good job with. He has fire abilities which is always a must for a rival and the guy has a big ego. He is always running in to cause chaos and deal out a bunch of damage. The guy starts out as a petty bully but we quickly get a whole lot of development for him. I would say that it is all handled really well too. The guy speaks his mind and isn’t afraid to lose a fight if it means getting what he wants. I’d say he has more depth than your average bully and I already see him becoming one of the best characters in the series.

Julius is the first serious villain. He’s rather insane and while he quickly starts to become a better person, you can’t forget that he nearly did try to skewer Will. It’ll take a little longer to take him seriously as a good guy but the guy’s strength is definitely the real deal. He is one of the strongest in the school among the students so even with the others beginning to catch up, I imagine he will stay relevant for a long while.

He will always be in the shadow of Elfaria when it comes to ice users though. She is so far ahead of him that it’s scary. Apparently her skills as a toddler were enough to really be on his level which has to feel like crazy disrespect. She seems like someone who is rather aloof and doesn’t care about much. Still, she is supportive of Will and that’s the only time she shows her more emotional side. I would say that she is already more fun than Colette as a heroine despite how good the other character is. I look forward to finally seeing Elfaria fight at some point.

Wignall is another one of the geniuses in the school but his stocks definitely plummet as the series goes on. The guy is still tough to be sure but I would say he has way more weaknesses than the others. His illusion skills just never feel like they will be as handy as the more classic elements like fire and ice. Those can be used in basically every scenario after all while illusions always have so many rules and limitations. It’s really not a fair competition when you look at it like that. I think he could start to rebound for the next season but for now I’m not all that impressed.

Lihanna is one of the elites who actually lives up to her rep and looks really good. Her lightning fast combat skill is a fun one to watch and so most monsters will get absolutely shredded as soon as the fight starts. If anything, I just wish we could have seen her fight more. For the most part her final action scenes were off screen but we know that she did put in a good fight and lasted for a while. She trusts her gut instincts which is always important and of course she had enough skills to get a top rank in the first place. I look forward to seeing more of her soon.

Rosti is Will’s roommate and he likes messing with Colette. Well, not sure if I should say “messing with” to be honest since he does seem to actually be really possessive. Still, I felt bad for Colette the whole time so I’m waiting for her to take the gloves off and beat him up. For now Rosti is more of a supportive fighter and so I wouldn’t expect any fight scenes. That really does limit his potential a whole lot as well. He is unlikely to become one of the better characters without some massive changes.

Workner is a character I can’t take seriously just yet. He is on Will’s side and defends the kid but at the end of the day he isn’t actually defending him from any of the villains or those who would beat him up. So he’s not much of a friend in the end now is he? I want to see him actually fight and stand up for Will more. Right now it’s just not enough and if anything he doesn’t even believe in Will enough. Sometimes he trusts him to win and sometimes he just doesn’t. I prefer Edward as a character because at least that guy is actually very direct. He just wants Will out of the school no matter what and will do whatever he can in order to achieve this.

Edward is a total villain, there’s no way around that. He’s just a fun villain though so it’s easy to root against him. I’m sure he’ll come around eventually though. For now we haven’t seen many of the actual villains but two do appear in the climax. They already look quite powerful as they decimated a bunch of the teachers so I look forward to how that plays out. They have great designs and superb abilities so I have really high hopes. The monster fights are cool and all but I am definitely ready to be fighting some fellow humanoids here. It’s just a completely different game at that point.

We also briefly see the top tier heroes who were out on the expedition. For now it’s hard to say much about them until the next season occurs. I already like the kid though, he seems like another non magic user which is always a really good sign. You now the guy is going to be ultra powerful. He reminds me of Meliodas from Seven Deadly Sins but without any of the obvious downsides. We also have to see how Elfaria’s teammates fare since they all are naturally getting a ton of hype. There was definitely a whole lot that got set up here so this could end up being a really long running series.

Overall, Wistoria is a great title and I would definitely recommend checking it out. Hopefully the next season comes out sooner than later. Whether you are here for the big action scenes or the strong character interactions, you should be in for a good time. It’s a title that is easy to get into and you can never have too many titles like this. The commoner rising above the status quo and showing that magic isn’t completely necessary is great. Even in video games I always prefer to be a fast swordsman than more of a slow fighter who relies on magic.

Overall 8/10

Haridama Magic Cram School Review

Posted on November 2, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for a magic manga that sure ended fast. Oneshots are always interesting to read through and then see afterwards if it could have worked as a long ongoing. In this title’s case, it might have been for the best that it ended. It does seem like there is more they could have done but the premise/battle system itself seems like it really limits the series. It’s an interesting angle to choose but at the same time you would have to either throw out a lot of the concepts early on or find a convenient way around them.

The series introduces us to a world of magic where people train in the ways of sorcery. The main character is named Kokuyo and unfortunately he is unable to use magic easily. He has to have a stone with him at all times to use even the most basic of spells. As a result he tends to act out a lot and doesn’t take things seriously. He’s starting off with a disadvantage so why even bother getting past it right? Well another student named Harika isn’t a complete quitter and so she has actually developed some pretty good skills herself. She is ready for the big exam coming up and now Kokuyo has to try hard because he doesn’t want to lose to her. Will he be able to clear this exam or is it all over?

So lets talk about this power system real quick. Everyone has Yin and Yang energy. Aside from the main two, most people can use these energies but only one at a time. So you want to team up with others or just be ready for very long fights. You can use a stone to help you but that seems to be something for the commoners. Kokuyo has a sword which is cool and I think more people should use one since it can actually injure the monsters. Well, by the end of the series it seems like the main two might actually be prodigies who can use both types of energy when they are together. I assume this would be happening a lot going forward. So what are my problems with this?

The whole Yin vs Yang energy is something that has been done better in many other settings. The fact that you have to keep alternating looks super annoying. My main evidence is how even the teachers were taking some time to beat a basic monster. It feels like the power ceiling would be quite low in this series. Kokuyo and Harika may be able to break through that but then you will have everyone wondering why people in universe aren’t more familiar with sharing energy. Why are these two so special?

With a long enough series you can go into that or have people admit they were holding back. Either way that’s just something that is a lot cleaner to fix on the front-end than doing so retroactively. I am judging a whole lot from one volume so I acknowledge that it is possible the author could have won me over with some more time. That just wasn’t the case as this is a one shot so you don’t always get the second chance like that.

As for the characters, the cast was fairly small for now. You have the teacher Sekiei who is always panicking and making a big deal out of everything. He’s okay but not a very interesting kind of character. You know he can fight but that’s about it and I have doubts on just how well he can battle. I wasn’t buying his hype. We have Nekome who is a fairly good student that doesn’t like Kokuyo at all. It doesn’t help that he likes Harika and has to really do a lot to get her attention at all.

It’s a weak romance at best though. If Nekome really liked Harika, you’d think he would be a lot nicer than he is. He’s still big on making fun of Kokuyo for needing the orb when the same is true for her so naturally that gets him into some real trouble there. I was glad to have a rival character of sorts though, that always does a lot to make things interesting and pick up the pacing. Now the battles are automatically more personal by a fairly high degree.

I ended up liking Harika quite a bit more than Kokuyo. Like I mentioned earlier, she didn’t use her circumstances as an excuse. Instead she jumped right into the action and that’s absolutely what you want to see from a character. She just kept on training and fighting to the point where she cold hold her own and pull off any of the normal foes. It’ll probably still take a whole ton of effort to ever be one of the strongest but at least she has not given up on that ambition.

So while I may not be thrilled at some of the rules of the verse, the series was off to a good start here. You had action, a reasonably solid main duo once the main guy starts to shape up and of course you can do a lot with magic. Just keep on throwing in more monsters and you could last for a whole while on that. No ready to jump straight into the big action arc too soon after all, have some good training arcs to build things up and the school setting can be really fun. Just look at Black Clover or Wistoria. There is always an audience for this if it’s executed well.

Meanwhile the art is good. I won’t say that it’s great yet but it is easy to follow along and the character designs are good. The fights we get are fun as well so I definitely don’t have any problems on that front. At least I know if it were to transition into a complete action title played 100% seriously, the art would be ready for it.

Overall, Haridama is a manga that has a very simple/traditional plot and just covers it up with some unique layers. If this became an ongoing I would completely ditch the yin and yang stuff though. You could still have the main two need stones to use magic but in this case it would be more classic. Without the stone they can’t use any magic which is why everyone makes fun of them. Just like that, you’ve got yourself a pretty reasonable series. As a proof of concept, it was fun to check this out and I would recommend reading through it. Again, part of the fun is sort of analyzing why a series didn’t hit big or if it made sense to be a oneshot. In this case it did make sense being a oneshot as it did have some threads to iron out.

Overall 6/10

Little Witch Academia Review

Posted on February 28, 2024 by dreager1

All right, it’s time to talk about a very wholesome slice of life title. Yeah you could probably throw some other genres into this one but that’s what I think of when talking about this show. It’s got magic, fantasy, and spells but for the most part it’s about the girls living their day to day lives and having a lot of fun. It’s a very pleasant show and one where I do think the animation is part of what helps it turn up to the next level. They had a lot of fun going crazy here.

The show starts off with Akko getting ready to start her first day at magic school! As a kid she always looked up to Shining Chariot and so now this is her chance to follow in the legend’s footsteps. The only problem is that Akko has a very low aptitude for magic. No matter how often she trains, she has trouble performing even the most basic of spells. Throughout the show she has to try and keep her confidence up while watching everyone else easily excel. Fortunately she makes two friends in Lotte and Sucy and even gets a rival in the prodigy Amanda. Along the way Akko may even have to save the world…or at least the school.

So yeah this is one of those shows that can be fairly episodic for most of the run but there are ongoing plots in the background. One of them for example is that their teacher Ursula is a bit mysterious. As the viewer you find out that she is Shining Chariot almost immediately but the characters don’t know that. Part of the mystery is why did she retire in the first place and then additionally, why not just tell everyone?

The only tricky thing with a plot like this is you are always looking forward to it getting more screentime. You want to see what happens with Shining Chariot but typically the show only gives you some breadcrumbs. It’s not until deep in the second half of the show that you get to see her having more action. Even by the end of the series, my favorite episode was easily when she infiltrates the villain, Croix’s base. We get to see why she was the top witch as she’s jumping past enemies and using a lot of crazy acrobatics.

In Chariot mode her eyes and hair even change color. It definitely makes for a perfect disguise in that way since nobody should reasonably be able to figure out her secret. If she’s stressed then her eyes change color though so she has to watch out for that. She’s definitely one of my favorite characters even if her inaction can be a bit annoying at times. She should have told everyone about Croix right away. I know in general she wants to be a nice person and doesn’t want to jump the gun but once lives are at stake then you really have to make a move.

Again this isn’t typically an action series but it certainly happens at times. You have dragons and then near the end you have Croix and her machines. The machines are pretty fun and definitely have a whole lot of uses to them. Croix is also a fun villain. Naturally she does have a backstory and everything but the show committed to her being an antagonist a lot more than I figured. For part of the show I was expecting it to all be some kind of massive misunderstanding. Sure, we find out her reasons for doing all of this but she was actually causing damage and could have easily murdered Chariot and Akko at different points. Croix was really resolute in her goal for most of the run so she worked really well as a villain.

Before I talked about the animation and part of why it’s so good is because of how fast it is. You really feel the speed going by when Akko gets her magic staff and zooms through at super speed. Shining Chariot gets some good animation whenever she shows up and all the action scenes are great. The animation goes one step further though and is also very expressive during normal scenes. I think what caught my eye the most were the facial expressions. Akko always has different funny faces going on when she is frustrated, excited, bored, etc.

It’s the kind of show you could watch on mute and you could always tell what her mood is. I dare say she may have had the best facial expressions I’ve seen in anime. It really helps to play up the humor. For example with standard animation this may have been more of a 6 but it gives the show an extra boost because it’s always just a lot of fun. Now at times the show almost feels like it has some fanservice with how short the costumes are and how the animation is so high budget that the wind is constantly blowing as they’re jumping around but I feel like the show was just careful enough to never go too far there.

There may be a little fanservice here and there but for the most part I really do think the show isn’t going for that. It’s more just showing off the special effects than anything and there’s no perv characters or anything running around. If anything this is a very safe all ages kind of show and it’s even got some nice morals throughout. It’s not a literal “Dear Celestia, today I learned…” but usually there’s something about never giving up, trusting your friends, learning that others have their own problems, etc. So in that way it can almost feel part educational. I think this would have fit right in as a Saturday morning cartoon.

In terms of world building I think the show isn’t always perfect though. It’s always fairly ambiguous just how much the average human knows about the witches. On one hand they have to get investors for the school so the rich people kind of know about it but some seem to think it’s all just a big hoax/scam. That would be fine if the witches weren’t right there but it’s extremely easy to prove that witchcraft is real. I’d have preferred either they went the X-Men route and just pretended to be a normal school, or that everyone just knows about them and they’re cool with it. I feel like the show sort of goes in the latter direction but it’s just not as clear as you would expect.

In terms of the soundtrack, it’s not nearly as memorable as the animation. I’d say it sounds okay. I’m not a big fan of either opening but they work well enough. If the show was more action based then this would be more of a problem but for a slice of life the music isn’t something you focus on as much. As long as it isn’t downright bad then we’re always still in business. Now lets start talking about some of the characters. I wouldn’t say the show’s cast is all that big to be honest. There are a lot of one shot characters and also a bunch of mild supporting characters but for the most part the core cast is never big.

Akko is the main character and she’s a fun heroine. The storyline of the main character not being able to use magic or whatever power is normal in the setting isn’t anything new, but she doesn’t really get a cop out for it. Usually in titles like this, the main character secretly gets the strongest power (Magical Index), secretly always had powers, (Mashle) or gets a power that is just labeled differently. (Black Clover) Notice the cop out here, they can all actually fight. In this case, Akko can use magic to a small degree, she’s just not good at it. She will continue to improve over time but she’s not secretly the most powerful or anything.

At best she gets little glimpses of what a mage would be like by getting a special wand that works for everyone briefly and also with the magic broom. Neither of these are permanent power ups though so she still has to work hard every day. We also get an actual story reason for why it’s so difficult for her and it’s a pretty emotional twist. It really changes the whole dynamic of the show and also isn’t waved away by the end. If we ever got more seasons I’d be curious on what happens next. Akko may get sad at times but for the most part she never stays feeling sorry for herself for very long though.

One of her best friends is Lotte who is more of a brainy type of character. You can sometimes guess a character’s personality and strengths right from the design and this is one of those cases. There’s nothing wrong with Lotte but she’s never one of the more interesting characters. She tends to be fairly quiet and isn’t super ambitious so there just isn’t a lot you can really do with that character in the dynamic. She does have a plotline involving a book series that she enjoys though and that appears several times.

Then there is Sucy and I never became a fan of hers. My main problem is that she’s a little too drastic in her opening appearances. She nearly gets Akko murdered to which she is not apologetic and then tests her poisons and plants on her. She’s not the kind of friend you would want to have. Not only does Sucy always cause a lot of trouble but it’s the lethal kind. You want a friend who might pull some pranks or something on you but would never go quite so far. That’s where you have to put your foot down because it’s gone above the line.

Diana is one of the standout characters here though. She’s the classic genius/prodigy type of character so you know that she has absolute confidence. She’s rich as well which is an added bonus and is always outperforming Akko. By all accounts they shouldn’t even be rivals but Amanda doesn’t really dissuade Akko from this and just focuses on her own techniques. Part of what I like about Amanda is we see many times just how hard she trains and studies. As she tells Akko, she’s not the best because she’s just that talented, it’s because she trains the hardest.

I think more times than not this is true. The people exceling and doing a terrific job have actually put the work in. No matter how much of a prodigy you are, if you never train then you won’t go anywhere. I think it helps Akko see things in a different light and in general Diana is also just a very responsible person. While she has her banter with Akko, Diana never says anything particularly hurtful or ever tries to get in the lead’s way. She’s really a good role model all the way through.

There are a bunch of other classmates around. Some have big roles and some are more on the small side. The one I would mainly say is big enough to get a write up would be Amanda. She shows up a bit later in the show and is like a second rival. She’s super competitive and talks a good game. I thought she added a lot to the dynamic so I was glad to see her around. It’s always good to have another character with a ton of confidence to really shake things up.

For example we already have plenty of quiet characters like Constanze. She’s a genius and great at her craft but she’s not exactly the outgoing type. Nothing wrong with that but it does mean that she won’t tend to be quite as interesting. It’s always nice to see Akko gradually get to all of the characters and break the shells around them though. Also there is one human with a fairly big role and his name is Andrew. He’s the son of one of the biggest investors in the show and he always grew up being told that the witches were scams and not to take them seriously. After meeting Akko he learns the truth and also starts to slowly stand up for himself. So he has a good character arc here and has a lot more confidence than he used to.

The guy was never super timid or anything like that but he did have a tough time talking back to his father. He would just defer to the guy but now he can make his own decisions so that’s always a good thing. In a show like this you can probably imagine that there is some shipping going on, but for the most part this is avoided. I think that’s a good thing since this should just be a show more about having fun. The romantic drama can certainly wait and take a backseat for now. Finding the different inscriptions for the staff is already enough of an active plot to keep you super invested while still having a good time.

Overall, Little Witch Academia is a pretty fun show. It’s a fairly low stakes adventure for most of its run but will dial up the tension from time to time. There’s a lot of fun moments here and some quality characters to follow for the whole duration. You’ll have a good time for the entire run. At most you might just wish there were a few more action scenes for Shining Chariot to show off her skills. Even past her prime and without using her powers she is a complete threat in combat so you wish you could see her in her prime. A prequel starring her as the main character would be great someday! In the meantime I would definitely recommend this show if you’re looking for a solid feel good title.

Overall 7/10

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