Jeoffrey

I can’t make up my mind whether I liked the last season of DOTA. The resolution of the whole story that was spread out over the previous two seasons came after just two episodes, and the rest was just this weird study of a tragic man's struggle against fate. After the second episode, I asked myself "What’s left to say now?" and I'm still not sure if I'm satisfied with the answer I got. Was it necessary? Well, maybe. At least considering one of the characters, it does make some sort of sense, and it adds one more important message about the meaning of life and the nature of an ideal world, which I don't think is a bad thing. Was it fun to watch? Not really, only at certain moments. I still think it was a very good fantasy, but this final part didn't blow me away as much as the rest of the series. It didn’t feel like something significant was happening like in the previous seasons. Instead of a satisfying ending to an epic heroic saga, it was more of a relationship/family drama. Plus, I saw the ending coming a mile away. It was still good, but I didn't particularly enjoy it. Animation-wise a great show, content-wise it's weaker for me. 6/10

If you have seen both seasons of Kakegurui, the spin-off prequel probably doesn't bring anything new or surprising. All I can do is compare it with the original series. The biggest difference is that, compared to Kakegurui, Twin is a little less intense and over the top - simply put, there are fewer of those orgasmic gamer moments. This is pretty bad news for the fans who watch the series mainly to see the girls excited after a just-won gamble, experiencing bliss which is comparable to peak sexual satisfaction. But don't despair, there are still powerful moments, some characters are just as wacky as the ones in Kakegurui, and there are even some sparks. I actually consider it a good thing that the show takes it down a notch. It's better, and I don't feel uncomfortable watching it with my window open while my neighbors are sitting outside. Mary Saotome isn't quite as crazy about the games as Yumeko yet, and I find her more likable as a character so far. I’m saying so far because every prequel has one major flaw. You know exactly how it's going to turn out in the end and how the characters are going to end up, which often detracts from the intensity of the experience. What's missing here is suspense. You know the ending in advance, so the only thing you can enjoy is the journey. Twin hasn't been very imaginative in this regard so far as it only repeats an identical pattern about three times over the course of six episodes, which could be summed up using my favorite line "I know that you know". Even though the individual mind games are quite entertaining, when you think about the process and outcome, it's identical every time. The animation is nice, and the music is rather average. But, overall, this isn't one of those pointless prequels for me. The character of Mary keeps me intrigued and I want to find out more about her. It's played out in a way that makes me curious to see where it will all go wrong and what will happen to some of the side characters. I’m giving it an average rating, and I'll watch the next episodes. 5/10

Considering the interesting concept, perhaps the biggest surprise about Shikimori is that it's just a completely ordinary, slightly naive, and mediocre puppy romance. It could have been interesting. It sounds fun to switch the traditional, clichéd roles from romance series, with her being the cool, tough heroine and him being the sensitive boy in trouble who needs rescuing now and then, but it doesn't work particularly well. It turns out that the repetition of situations where the prince rescues the princess from danger can be just as boring, even when the prince is a girl, and the princess is a guy. The roles don't matter, you get tired of them the same way over time. Plus, this series has a similar problem to Tonikawa, the whole thing is so ordinary and naive, and nothing is really going on except for a slow development of the main couple's relationship. It’s nice as a relaxing watch, but there’s no depth or drama, it just puts you to sleep. There's no tension, you don't worry for a second about the characters' relationship, and any potential threat to it is resolved in two episodes in a rather breezy way. The romance works quite well, and it is quite cute. But I still feel it was Kamiya who had the most interesting storyline with the main character, even though it fell flat. Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie is only a slightly above-average series for me. I could definitely watch more episodes, but it's also likely that I won't remember it in a month. 5.9/10

Chinese "anime" tends to draw inspiration from many sources, and you can really tell in The Last Summoner. It's a hilarious hodgepodge of various ideas, which somehow manage to hold together. There are references to various Japanese anime, as well as American shows (not just animated) that are easy to spot and will make you smile. There is a good balance between moments where the show makes fun of everything, including itself, and moments where things get serious. The characters aren't bad, the animation is okay, and the music is pretty decent too. The story is a bit disconnected, and the narrative style could do with more grace and consistency. On the other hand, it did keep me entertained and curious to find out what would happen next. It may not be the best Chinese animated series I've seen this year, but it's still actually a pretty cool show I’d love to see in the next season. 6/10

Cute girls doing cute things, Naruto style this time. Plus, the professional ninja Takagi…I mean Tsubaki, gets horny and that’s about all there is. I guess I was expecting better from Soichiro Yamamoto than this likable nothing with nice animation and music. I guess it's missing a guy. I imagine that some romance, which the author is quite good at, would have definitely benefited this show. As it is, it's just a fast-paced, passable show that is occasionally cute and occasionally funny, both of which less than I would have liked. The jokes are often simple, sometimes too repetitive (especially the ones about men), and I smiled about once per episode, which is not enough for me. I'm not sure if Tsubaki will see another season, and I'm only interested in it if there's a real confrontation with a man that leads somewhere. As it is, it's an unconvincing 5.6/10. Hopefully, Yamamoto's next work, which is coming out now, will be better.

Onipan! is an undemanding, likable, and playful kids’ show. I wasn’t originally planning on watching it. I didn't like the Saiki-style episodes and I didn’t find the premise of Oni girls and their magical underwear very appealing. But then I saw parts of the first segment online, where WIT studio shows off how well and dynamically they can animate movement. Like Saiki, the series also comes in a version with longer episodes which I found more bearable. I don't regret the time spent watching this series. As I said, it's a nice show for kids with some interesting themes, colorful animation albeit lacking in detail (which isn't so important, it's a kids’ show after all), simple humor, and likable characters. At the beginning, you can tell that the three main voice actresses got their first role here and it took them a while to get the hang of it, but things gradually get better. The stories were hit or miss for me. Some were enjoyable (Momo's performance, helping out in the shopping street, etc.), while others were an ordeal to watch (most of the idol-themed episodes). All in all, it was a relaxing, slightly above-average show. 5.7/10

Watching this sequel to Grimoire of Zero, I can't help feeling like when I read what the stage play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” was about. The original series was a fun fantasy that had some interesting and original aspects, but this sequel is all kinds of wrong. The main character is a completely generic-looking kid with no emotions, whose past makes about as much sense to me as the origin of a certain Delphi in the Harry Potter stage play I mentioned earlier. Plus, there's a lack of tension all the way through. Building up the atmosphere by trying to scare the guys around the main character using already familiar characters simply doesn't work. The final confrontation with the main threat is a reach and it ends in a silly way. What also doesn’t work for me is how quickly and easily everyone can change. Even though Tyrant is probably the best new character in the entire series, his storyline still feels weird. What creeps me out a little is that SPOILER the main character French kisses his own auntie END OF SPOILER. The romantic subplots are quite peculiar in general. Tyrant is the one who has the most normal and acceptable romantic storyline. When the series isn't dealing with trials whose outcomes you know in advance, it's just depicting boring village life and trying to develop the characters, which doesn't really work when the protagonist is empty-headed... Okay, let's focus on the positives for a change. The series isn't afraid to show blood, there's plenty of it, as well as severed limbs. It doesn't have the desired effect in the end, because everything is fixed by magic, but at least it's something. It's also nice to see the old familiar characters from Grimoire of Zero, though I'd rather get a direct sequel and see the whole protracted war and how they got to where they are now. Still, the scenes with the familiar characters are much better than those with the new ones, which just goes to show how little I cared about their story. For me, this is just a pointless and disappointing sequel to something I enjoyed, which makes me all the more annoyed by it... 3/10

The second season of Machikado Mazoku is as chatty, hilarious, cute, and imaginative as the first one. I simply love the energy, and the way everything works really well in a silly way. I like how originally it plays with the whole maho shojo subgenre not just in terms of the story but also in terms of the relationships and character dynamics. The second season is even better than the first one as it starts to tackle more serious problems and issues from season one. The show does it in a sweet and goofy way, which makes for powerful, enjoyable, interesting, and touching moments (Shamiko's back story, Ugallu...) that add even more juice and a bit of depth to the story (you can feel the significance of certain moments). The only thing that I wasn’t crazy about were two new characters (Lico and Tapir) that the heroine meets while looking for a part-time job. But even though they didn't appeal to me that much, they still made sense in the context of the series and were put to good use. The animation and music are still great. So - "Don't give up Shamika! If you keep it up, you're guaranteed to win next season...". 8.3/10

Season 2 of The Rising of the Shield Hero definitely isn’t as good as the first one. It's hardly a surprise when the best thing about the first season (Justice Porn) is no longer there, leaving only a mediocre fantasy. After resolving the first story arc and completing the hero's revenge, the writer seems to be at a loss about where to take the story next. The way the tortoise is introduced into the story feels kind of unnatural and forced. Instead of moving on with the story that clearly hasn't ended and has room for development, it is cut off in a weird way, and a completely different danger B is inserted to replace danger A, without any detailed or logical exposition. A tortoise has appeared, be afraid! Unsurprisingly, it doesn't work at all. The part with the tortoise has no tension, it's not scary, and it’s an odd build-up to the second half, in which we’re hastily transported to another place to deal with something else, which has almost no impact on the overall plot, and the second season ends more or less where it started. It almost makes it seem like season two was just a pointless filler poorly grafted onto the main storyline. That's the way I feel about it. It would have been okay if the side plot was at least good. The first half drags, and tries to tug at your heartstrings, but only ends up being boring. The second half tries to be dramatic but uses the cheapest means.  There are other worlds of other heroes (which isn't a spoiler because that’s been known since the end of the first season) but the show doesn't make me interested in the concept. So, what did I get in season two? A sexy tortoise, a moronic psychopathic villain, a new mascot of the series, some cheesy drama, the ever-so-lovable Raphtalia, and a finale with the qualities of a below-average OVA. This season really didn't do it for me. I hope the next one will be better... 4.4/10

I was never blown away by Kinmoza and it's certainly not a series that immediately comes to mind as "the best anime where cute girls do cute things", but I've spent two seasons with the protagonists already, so it makes sense that I should see how it all turns out. It isn't a bad conclusion to the series, but it's not half as powerful and emotional as I expected it to be. The movie is true to the original series. It has the same kind of simple humor and cuteness, which doesn’t have much of an effect on me here, though. In fact, it only made me smile a couple of times, and not even the ending evoked any intense emotions in me or made me feel like I had seen something memorable. Like the series, the movie isn’t something I’d recommend to my friends if they wanted to see a cute relaxing anime. It’s kind of sad that, after two seasons of Kinmozi, a movie and a special, the only thing that stuck in my mind is the Ayaya song... 5.8/10