Jeoffrey

I might have enjoyed the series more if I were familiar with the video game series. I would have understood the context better and it would have helped me to put together the whole picture. The series does a pretty good job of making me believe that its world is immense and full of all sorts of interesting characters, and this is just one of its many stories. It made me curious to find out more about all the fascinating secrets it had to offer. The storyline about Lavi and her quest to find out what it means to be a hero had a point and didn’t feel like a waste of time. I also grew quite fond of the main character, even though it took me a while. Unfortunately, the series failed to make the mecha stuff and magic compatible for me. Robot sentinels, automatons, and some bizarre magic on top of that - maybe I just didn't get it. Maybe everything works well together in the game, and it’s part of many awesome stories, but here it just seemed weird. I could do without certain silly parts of the story, such as a whole episode about looking for a hot spring, which did seem like a waste of time. Also, the series didn't sell me on more than half of the characters. There were so many of them who just came and went, and I had no idea who they were or if they were even important (such as a bunch of characters in one episode who just got together in a pub to reminisce about old times). Then again, I bet they were important characters or nice cameos for the players of the game. As for me, I can’t tell. Another thing I wasn't too thrilled about was the animation. It didn’t seem like anyone made any effort, and CG robots are just never going to be my cup of tea. All in all, for someone like me who’s unfamiliar with this universe, it’s pretty much an average series. 5/10

I wish I could give Giant Beasts of Ars an above-average rating. I was intrigued by the setting, liked most of the characters, and enjoyed learning about the various strange cultures on their planet. For a while, I even thought that there might be a cool plot around them thanks to all the "prototypes" (something along the lines of Chaika). I also wondered what was up with of all those animal "chapeaus" in the story. I started watching the series in a pleasant mood, expecting to get answers to a lot of questions, but when they were supposed to come, I just ended up confused. In the last two episodes, things seemed to happen for no reason. I felt as if I was missing crucial information, several times wondering "Why?" or "Where did this come from?". It was as if the writers suddenly went insane. They wanted to solve everything at once but didn’t bother to explain anything. They seemed to have suddenly realized they had run out of time and so they just threw in all their ideas and plot twists, leaving it up to you to figure things out. Or they thought you didn’t even need to understand it at all. I struggled to make sense of half of what was going on, and the other half was barely explained. "It’s just the way it is!" The last episode seemed like a load of bullshit to me. Another negative is that the animation was mediocre, or rather of erratic quality. The effects were decent one moment and jarring the next. As much as I'd like to give Giant Beasts of Ars an above-average rating, I just can't. 5/10

Minecraft Isekai running in sandbox mode where the monsters' aggression is set to low so you can turn them into pets. It’s set in a forest where someone forgot to turn off the machine that’s printing elves and also girls in general. There are like 50+ of them for one average farmer, but only two or three of them are memorable and easy to tell apart from the others. The best, most interesting, and most valid female character is Zabuton the spider. I have nothing against a harem, as long as it makes sense in the story. Here, for the sake of being family-friendly, the creators have replaced organized polygamy with simple monogamy, completely ruining several jokes from the manga (I flipped through it after having read a few comments below the videos to be objective). I’m sure many viewers will find the protagonist relatable as he's exactly the type who is surrounded by girls, but apparently only plays chess with them at night. When he does happen to conceive a child, you get the impression that it happened when Hiraku tapped a girl on the stomach with his All-Purpose Farming Tool, pronounced the word "baby", and that was it. Anyway, the tool is simply too powerful in my view. It can turn into almost anything at will, which is still okay, but the fact that you can just think of anything (a plant, a mushroom...) while using it and it will start growing on its own without any seeds seems exaggerated and weird. One house after another is built, but I didn't notice anything that would make the buildings hold together, so I guess one of the elves has mastered methods that we don't understand, or it's simply magic! The only good running joke is everyone being amazed at how much power Hiraku has unwittingly acquired... But that's not really what the series is about. I reckon the main reason why so many people like it is its relaxed, peaceful atmosphere, and the emphasis on building. In other words, if you like games where you build stuff, and you liked TenSura but you could do without all the "lame fights", this will be right up your alley. The series also has decent animation and music that intensifies the experience. If you are able to turn off your brain and tune into the right building vibe, you'll have a good time. If you like anime girls of all kinds and races and prefer quantity over quality, you'll be thrilled to bits. You might not, though (if you are familiar with the manga). The spider was enough for me, and I only managed to turn my brain off halfway. 6/10

The best of the Toho Animation Music Films Project. An excellent production by the WiT animation studio overseen by a very experienced director with a score by one of the finest composers of our time. The result is visually breathtaking and all the detail and the colors are magnificent (but what else should you expect from COLORs). The story is intriguing too. It leaves you guessing about what exactly is going on in the story, but it does successfully portray a decent range of emotions and drama in a minimal space, all accompanied by a well-fitting song, not to mention all the colors. I'd like to see this one as a feature film to know the whole story pieces of which captivated my attention. Available to watch here. 9/10.

I liked the setting, the main storyline, the treatment of the revenge theme, about half the characters, and the fact that the writers weren’t messing around. There were adult themes, gallons of blood, brutality... However, I struggled to believe some of the situations and scenes, and I found the episodes unbalanced. My impression fluctuated depending on how much I was immersed in any given part of the story. The final verdict was decided by the last episode, which had great action and brought everything to a satisfactory conclusion for me. I enjoyed the series as a whole, it made sense, and it worked for me emotionally when the authors were making an effort, so it’s 6.8/10.

There's a lot going on in the final episode. Everyone is fighting, characters are pouring their hearts out, one of them is even clumsily trying to break the fourth wall, and another one says "IT", so you actually get to hear the show’s title... I should be enjoying the climax of the whole story, there's so much happening, but my final impression is zero. The fights aren’t exciting, the dialogue is mind-numbingly boring, the touching scenes don't work, breaking the fourth wall doesn't seem witty and you barely even notice it. I have a hard time remembering why it all happened and what it was all about five minutes after the episode. The point I'm trying to make here, using the last episode as an example, is that The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World is a rather forgettable and dull anime that didn’t have anything I hadn't seen before and better. Plus, I often got the plot mixed up with the series about a reincarnated exorcist, which is also running this season. At least in the beginning, there was something I could distinguish the series by. The main character spoke in an extremely formal way, calling everyone "sir" and "miss". Plus, I was amused by how poorly written and clichéd the first villain was. His angry expressions were so hilariously dumb. But then the main character started speaking normally, Albert Alium stopped scowling and the series lost all its appeal for me. The humor, if any, was either not very funny, or stupid in that cringe way that reminded me of The Fruit of Evolution. The worst part was Rose’s training for the tournament, after which I had no idea how I was supposed to find the main character likable and take him seriously if he was acting like some sort of "masked" idiot. All the characters felt stereotypical to me. There’s really nothing original or interesting to say about them. Some, like Elisa (the second main character!), seemed completely irrelevant to the story. Plus, it wasn’t special even as far as animation is concerned. The fights were all cuts and a couple of effects. I can't tell you if the music had any effect on me as I barely noticed it. A boring, below-average show that didn’t impress me much but didn’t annoy me all that much either (I did make it to the end). 4/10

If you haven't seen the movie, don't read my review as it contains a couple of SPOILERS. A pretty decent continuation of the series. It probably won't be my favorite part of the story, but it has kept some of the show’s qualities and its overall nice vibe. The beginning was a little too slow for my taste. I was a little annoyed at how quickly Rimuru managed to solve all the problems once he showed up in Raja. I soon realized that this wasn't going to be the kind of story where I would need to worry about the main character or anyone around him. My assumption was confirmed by how the story progressed and especially the ending. The revival scene in particular had me laughing at how silly it was and how everyone had plot armor, even though the death of a character certainly wouldn’t have hurt the story. You’d even expect such a thing to happen based on the established fantasy clichés. I do like the world of TenSura, I've grown fond of practically all of its characters and I do believe that even though the main character has become incredibly overpowered, there are still threats and forces far more powerful and potent, nevertheless, the creators fail to make them apparent resulting in zero suspense. It just isn't the same as it used to be and it does have some unintentionally hilarious moments. The animation is very decent, the fights are smooth and dynamic, colorful, and generally fun to watch. The backgrounds aren’t exactly detailed (just like in the series), but it doesn't affect the color and vibe and you mostly don't even notice. There was one scene, though - the mine cart chase - where 8bit tried to get creative with the cinematography, and wanted to convey the frantic motion in which everything is happening. Unfortunately, I don’t think they did a very good job of it. As for the music, I thought it was aptly chosen, but only slightly above average and sometimes not very distinctive. Still, I'm glad to have had another glimpse into the world of TenSura. Plus, the film had quite a pleasant pace, it got me excited about the next season, and introduced at least one interesting new character (Violet) whom I want to know more about and will be happy to see join the ensemble. My final rating is 7.5/10.

An ordinary music video about a light romance set in a drama school, featuring some fairy tale motifs and a certain amount of symbolism (apple). It's simple, it's short. Since I like retro animation and rock music, which was combined here in a way that I enjoyed for those few minutes, I'm giving it a better rating than it probably objectively deserves. Available to watch here. 6.8/10

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

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