Scalpelexis

I was incredibly excited to see the reunited trio of Shinbo + NISIOISIN + Shaft! And the beautiful detectives did not disappoint in the least. Fans of Monogatari gasped in delight from the opening seconds, and the taunting thesis "You can't defend anything if you're dead" is as typical of Nisio as gyros is of the Greeks. Shinbo has returned to geometrically spare animation, except that Shaft has raised the bar even higher. The sets are gorgeous, the zooms into the eyes resonate the beauty of the stars, and I knew I was home. I'm curious to see what the reverse harem and the shifting of the role of narrator to a lady will do to me; Pretty Boy Detective Club more than resembles Shaft's attempt at Ouran (like Haruhi, Maaya Sakamoto voices the protagonist) and I'd pay gold for that perspective.

And I make it less than 1 cm closer to Shinkai every year, because I actually write reviews a few miles closer to Japan than most. Jokes aside, his fantasy-heavy screenwriting style has so far failed to light any kind of pleasant stirring within me, and yet the opening story got off to a good start. I like the motivational story of overcoming the boundaries of the unknown to achieve a desired goal, and the main couple do that with naive but dogged dedication. A person from the Western Hemisphere might be surprised by the ultimate indifference and modesty in expressing and showing feelings and emotions, but the endearing harmony in it warms the heart. Even though I understand the message of the other two stories, in the shadow of the previous work it’s hard to find the logic behind not only the behavior of the central couple, but the overall philosophical approach to the subject matter. Even though I believe the next 2/3 of the anime is about poetically mourning over humble fate and emotional perseverance, in my mind it inadvertently came off as a critique of impotence in the end. The script casually helps all this along by outright avoiding explanations of essential facts and never answering completely banal questions like: "Why didn’t they go by train again? Why didn't they call and just wrote?". While I don't think I'm jaded emotionally, I guess I'm too accustomed to and grounded by the endless batch of Japanese affected and elaborate untold love stories that more variations on this incomprehensible act of waiting for Godot won't pull me out of it. I did not get the feeling that this was the love of the century. I did not get the feeling that I was being given compelling reasons to feel sorry for the unfulfilled grandiosity or instead to nod appreciatively: "Yeah, that's just how life is!". The best element, as always is with Shinkai, are the beautiful images accompanied by either a tastefully chosen soundtrack or subtle Japanese pop. If there's one thing I appreciate about the tedious dragging, it's enjoying the audiovisuals, which are magnificent. But I'll never give 5 stars for that alone.

Story-wise utter nonsense, but here it was purely fan service for fans of the previous 2 seasons. We kind of got something of everything in the familiar main and supporting characters of Roanapur, and the minutes we’d been lacking of the local iron maiden Roberta were made up for. And honestly, it was nothing special. It's not that I wasn't looking forward to Roberta, because we already know from Season 1 that if anyone can stop Revy, it's this cleaning lady from Colombia. But they didn't need to make her an off-the-leash bulletproof monster with no direction, bouncing between a psych ward, an orphanage, and a minefield. Rock did give us a welcome "hardening" (er, I mean mentally), but the kiddies were already more than extraneous in such a shallow plot. A rambling, disjointed one-off action delight with a hefty dose of pills.

This "second salvo" came across like the proper afterparty of a ladies' night out somewhere in Thailand. A lot of them are drinking, most of them have a cigarette in their mouths at all times, and all of them have some kind of Colt on their hips... or in their armpits. I was surprised how much the male characters were faded to the background (except for the heavily sentimental Rock) and how the stories were "shortened" into 3 arcs, but most of the time I didn't complain because it was a blast. Season 2 is here to throw as many live targets as possible to those sharpened lilies Revy, Balalaika, and Eda, for them to empty their magazines at with the requisite swearing, clearing a path for the next scoundrels. One day it's a wide-eyed pair from Transylvania, then a hired gang of Jack the Rippers and Jason Voorheeses, and throw in some Yakuza. That's all we want or need. As long as it went along to the rhythm of endless hyperbole and moralizing light-hearted catchphrases, it was great, but by the end we got to the insanely overwrought philosophy lecture and no, darlings, you shouldn't have done that. Gin tried really hard, but the duo of good-looking Rock + wannabe gangster Yukio successfully bombed and destroyed everything that was good about the show with torpedo-like efficiency. Morons; after all, it must be obvious to everyone that Black Lagoon isn't even remotely built for this, and the whole mission statement rings as hollow in the finale as the Venezuelan treasury. Because of this, I am once again giving it a weak 4 stars. However, I would very much pray (preferably in that rip-off church) for the sadistic Balalaika and the eccentric Eda to join forces together in something, because Roanapur could never handle it.

I’m actually watching something from Trigger? An exceptional event, remember it well! And from the first few seconds, everything points to Trigger’s work as if it was made to order: round outlines with faded colors and a main character identical to all the previous ones from this studio. Michiru is exactly the same (only thankfully with less yelling) as Akko from LWA, i.e. a jigsaw puzzle put together from radioactively naive good-heartedness, incorrigible repetition of mistakes, and when you've got friends coming out of your ears it really takes more than one Tom to fail. BNA is a passable whodunit, wrapped in a very animalistic outfit with anti-racist undertones, tactfully pointing out that the physical exterior (as is characteristic of animal stories) is just a shell. The plot and script don't mess around: it's clear very early on who's on what side (slight doubts with the mayor; the "Croix-esque" minor villain is as subtle as a lighthouse), and this is where the strong two-dimensional treatment of almost all the characters hurts, throwing any attempt at a more complex story into the trash. I was bothered by the mithril-powered fence armor several of them had and the crutch of overcoming any obstacles is already more of a tank than a wheelchair in terms of imagery. This is by no means an exception with Trigger, though, because after all they specialize in straightforward anime with explosively over-the-top finales. By the time we get down to it, Michiru has to annoyingly hit his nose about 6 times and go through an unnecessary baseball digression that somehow didn't amuse me much. The final resolution in the last episodes is worth it though, and action buffs will enjoy the elaborate Trigger eradication craft, except that the punchline remained sort of lifeless. Why would anyone go back halfway when they currently have all the options? Artistically it's beautiful, the quality of the animation is almost always guaranteed with this studio, and I wouldn't have minded the more modern street-tuned soundtrack if the ED hadn't kept repeating in the middle of the episode. 3 stars

First of all, I will not excuse myself of the very important remark that I was induced to watch it by a virtual kabedon :-) My only currently more pleasant feelings are that I obviously haven't watched many similar curveballs, so only the two memorable ones come to mind: the main characters' relationship in Yosuga No Sora: In Solitude Where We Are Least Alone and the intro to the main stud's behavior in the style of the universally hated Makoto Ito from School Days. Honestly, as massively taboo as the topic of forbidden love between siblings is, I'm not such a robot that a more interesting exploration/narrative wouldn't pique some measure of curiosity. It's just that Boku wa imoto doesn't know the boundaries of decency, and for every serious moment, there are 10 unacceptable or cringe-worthy scenes, lest we get the impression that it's even meant to be serious. Once the main character (who looks like he must have flunked out of school like 3 times) tries to hurl obscenities towards his sister by not keeping his fly in check, is as indecisive as the most spoiled Kardashian at a handbag window, and then talks his way out of it worse than the most infamous politician, any decent attempts at evoking romance or touching you have passed without effect. The pair of stranded, notoriously deranged girls don't help matters and cry themselves a grumpy river. I nearly choked on the church scene with the angry angels, but it was the pun on CLOVER that sent me rolling barrels across the room in convulsions. The film can't get much done in the short time it takes, and it's as if the final scene on the express train symbolizes the style with which the filmmakers tackled the subject matter. The poor composers and animators could only bend over backward to add various shimmers and dramatic plucking of the violins to evoke a sweet atmosphere, all of which ends up having the exact opposite pathetic effect. It's easy to guess that I didn't get anything out of this expedition, and figuratively I'll be pissing myself thoroughly the next time I take a bath, lest some memory make me do an extra painful somersault out of nowhere.

A little parkour fairy. Indeed, in the anime production, this project is confusingly peppered with the biggest names: Tetsurō Araki, the lauded director of Attack on Titan. Gen Urobuchi, the man behind the excellent scripts Fate/Zero, Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Psycho-Pass. Hiroyuki Sawano, one of the most famous composers of anime music in recent years. The dubbers include such stars as Yūki Kaji or Mamoru Miyano, all under the aegis of one of my favorite studios, WIT. The opening immersion and bouncing around in a world sketched out by a giant bubble blower is an incredibly effective audiovisual spectacle; the opulent focus on the watery state is the centerpiece of this animated Tokyo, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if you assume this is another Shinkai, since it's similar in quite a few aspects to his recent Weathering with You. You can see the WIT style above all in the composition of the background against the static images of faces, with the accentuated play of lighting effects frequently found in Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song. You can't help but enjoy the camera frenzy during the competitions, its endless wrapping around all the athletes' axes. The parkour action sequences are beautifully animated, and the only thing that slightly snapped me out of my reverie was the script's confusion over whether to use the classic run or the ridiculously inappropriate "Naruto run" (Like why even? Surely you don't wear a suit to a ball so you can ultimately put boots on?). And speaking of the script, it was only a slight hint of a bigger noise. I have no idea if Urobuchi slightly flubbed it, it was heavily cut, or if there were other external interfering factors: The inspiration from Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" is beaten into our heads every few minutes, but that shouldn't be allowed to create a fantasy world that is unfinished compared to the original tale and filled with unknown rules, or to churn out a bundle of characters with no backstory and no deeper characterization, and then try to retroactively wrap it in a romantic gift package meant to tug at more sensitive heartstrings. The romance between the fairy and the prince follows the aforementioned pattern and is created with gestures rather than words, but is nothing more than a bland shortcut. The main "wingman" of the script, the visuals, tries to convince the audience of their existing proximity, diligently selling one magical scene after another, but without meaningful actions and chemistry between the lead couple together, it's just a hollow picture, literally an advertisement for silence. The implausibility of the plot seems to be sadly symbolized by the author’s reluctance to have the surrounding characters question or even ponder the supernatural elements surrounding our fairy, or the strange ignorance of her origins. The emotional impact of the last dramatic minutes was thus, for me, like the grand headline of a weak tabloid. As Jeoffrey wrote, it wouldn't have hurt at all to have less action and instead more very fragile bubbly relationships for more touching animation, to put it ironically. It's a waste, a very nice looking waste, and a burst bubble. 3 stars

[Season 1] From the names of the characters, it looks at first glance like a writer's duel, which, even though on screen, only one character has anything to do with writing and they're certainly not fighting with pen in hand. A rather sympathetic and less serious mix of Durarara!!, where our gang (reminiscent of the gang from Akame ga Kill!) serves as the unofficial protectors of the city from the vicious Port Mafia: They tease each other for odd purposes, and when they're not doing that, they're showing off playing practical jokes on their colleagues. The most central plot point is the episodic solving of minor detective cases by characters who have very strong (and, it should be noted, quite original) supernatural abilities, and that, ladies and gentlemen, fits together like a hairdryer with a bubble bath. The plot then has to disqualify the 2 main characters, in an obvious, uncompromising, and unfortunate detour, because one of them can solve every case in 30 seconds (but just doesn't want to on purpose) and the other one can turn off all superpowers (and so is therefore somewhere in the background for strange reasons). Otherwise, there would be nothing to watch, right? Even so, the rules of the game are very convoluted and non-specific, with random things happening on the field until it’s laughable. Yeah, it's entertaining pretty often, thankfully. The fights are solid with handsome visuals, and even comedically it's decent: Each character has a deranged quality to the character that is continuously referenced, even if it's overdone in places (Dazai). Unfortunately, the messiness and indecisiveness of the story, the not knowing how to mix drama and fun, slows down the action terribly, and right when something is finally about to happen, the first season ends. For being only very fleetingly introduced to the good guys, and knowing only cursory information about the bad guys, the arrival of a 3rd entity felt premature and certainly not welcome. It's kind of a more shōnen-esque Durarara!! devoid of intelligent story and direction, but it's no catastrophe. A better 3 stars

10% locusts, 15% (I'd ideally say 4% but that wouldn't reflect reality) a mix of a guy, lipstick, skirt, and a bullet, 22% gun fencing, 31% wilted romance, 8% Arabs, 11% pathos, and 3% better action. Netflix stubbornly believes there's a future in CGI anime, and even after the failed Revisions it's still acting like an unteachable kid. The fact is that the subject matter/material used is selflessly similar to its aforementioned predecessor: apocalypse-plagued humanity is more likely to solve problems a the level of soap opera relationships, and all the insectoid CGI underbrush is just the gravy that serves as the bone of contention for a dysfunctional family. For we must eventually arrive at a final philosophy and explanation that all actions, even the strangest, most illogical and tragic, are based on the paradoxically altruistic "Go for what you believe in," which instantly turns arch-enemies into the best of partners despite a horrific and nearly insurmountable shared past. Sadly, we never learn where the contagion came from, how one gets it (it was always someone who needed getting rid of who conveniently became infected), or if Shaun the Sheep is there; in short, we only enjoy a bare minimum of the worldbuilding. The first few episodes are pointless, and the anime reaches its strongest etudes halfway through, when the first revelations come and the characters are forced to take definitive action. Because of this, I most clearly tolerate the main character Kidow (The Exterminator? Seriously, there's no better translation?), who rather dryly runs like clockwork, sticking to his tracks and not making a big deal out of anything. The ending is a steep drop into the maw, though, because by around episode 9 it's de facto done, and so an incredibly drawn-out emotional ordeal with negative effects ensues. Surprisingly, it didn't move me an inch. As I mentioned at the beginning, my indifference had its initial origins in the ever-present ridiculous shoving of the main duo towards each other, whether by deliberate set-ups or the comments of those around them. Once or twice, sure, but then I would have liked some natural progression instead of forcefully fighting it out through the non-existent chemistry of kid and killer. Conclusion? If you're an entomologist, you'll be disappointed. If you're into action, likewise, and if you're into romance, absolutely. I'd recommend this to fans of CGI anime; I would have preferred Netflix had stretched its sails elsewhere. 2 stars.

For me it was better than the first season. We received a decent sketch of what could be called a "story". Instead of the overblown action with no backing from season 1, we turned it inside out and pondered, pondered, explained, wove webs, whispered, and dusted off the books. This wouldn't have compromised my enjoyment and reason if it hadn't taken too long and if they hadn’t needed to "savor" the tedium of Alucard and Belmont's childish horseplay and Dracula's tormented anguish racked by indecision, whether they wanted to or not. It all fits together and makes sense, I’m not saying it doesn't, but from episode 2 onwards I felt like I knew exactly how it was going to play out and what was going to happen. The foreshadowing in place culminates in an excellent, action-packed penultimate episode, realizing our wet dreams and fulfilling our longed-for expectations. The fight scenes in Castlevania are TOP: The choreography is extremely creative, the script is brimming with ideas on how to use the heroes' and villains' abilities, and it's all wrapped up in exclusive graphics. The impression is slightly dragged down by the unnecessary last episode, where I was asking myself questions like: "What? Another season? But it’s over, Isn’t it?". I really liked the main trio, led by the pleasantly likable Sypha and the less sleepy Belmont compared to the first one. Overall, it's not that glorious, with good passages interspersed with bad, less action than we'd like, and too much yawning even for the prime minister. "Why can't I talk to him?" "Because you've never met anything you didn't immediately kill, fuck, or make a boat out of."