Jeoffrey

I enjoyed the beginning of this season quite a lot. There is a great setting and several interesting characters. I really enjoyed the first two episodes especially, and at one point, I expected everything to turn into a revenge-type narrative worthy of John Wick. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and I experienced my first disappointment, which was compounded by finding out that this anime series would consist of several stand-alone episodes instead of one continuous coherent narrative and also that it would revolve a lot around the game of baseball. Sure, using baseball to draw parallels between friendship and other things around it could be cool. However, in this show, it just did not fit with the concept of assassins somehow. Likewise, I was expecting a gritty, gory, and astounding spectacle, and instead, it was more of a buddy action crime drama anime series where some of the sequences were pretty good, and others not so much. I was also quite annoyed by how Lin kept getting into trouble, and then his companion Banba had to get him out of it. It was such a weird parallel to rescuing a damsel in distress. Overall, it was not that bad; it was just not what I wanted it to be. Also, even for what it was, it still was not as good as it could have been. Otherwise, it could have been something like my favorite movie, The Last Boy Scout. Still, it is a pretty likable and, at times, an interesting piece of work. 6.4/10.

After the Rain is a pleasant, easy-going show with a lovely romantic setting and genuine problems facing most of the rather friendly characters, and I have to say this show was always enjoyable and refreshing. I really like the main two protagonists as a couple, and I enjoy their romantic and (equally interesting) personal adventures. Plus, in addition to the main two protagonists, another rather sweet couple is slowly coming through. Their occasional interactions were as enjoyable as those between the main two protagonists. I found this show to be a really well-produced piece of work. 8.2/10.

This show has the same fundamental problem as the smartphone anime series already mentioned by Scalpelexis. The main male protagonist, Satou Pendragon, is overpowered, has incredible abilities, and solves everything far too quickly. Unlike "smartphone," though, it explains his status and where he picked it all up in a much better way. However, let us be honest, it is done in the classic "online video game logic" way that gamers might like. For example, the fact that he solves some things using in-game aspects like the unlimited number of valuable items seems quite funny. Even though the funniest thing is all the titles the main male protagonist gets - I wonder if he got some for, say, wiping his ass after doing a big poop. Otherwise, like the smartphone show, it is a harem anime series with a lot of fan service. However, I personally thought Satou Pendragon himself was really way different. In the end, this is the reason I do not mind this anime series. Satou is a pretty laid-back character who does not want to stand out in any way, even though because of his abilities and personality things just kind of happen around him. Satou is also not shy of women, he has a positive attitude towards them, and he has firm principles about who he will go with and how far he will go. OK, his principles are pretty strange, and not everyone will like them; however, in other words, this is a main male protagonist who is not going to fall apart at the mere sight of a girl. Satou treats his harem with respect; he is aware of what he is in charge of. I also found the rest of the characters quite endearing; they are not the typical sort of group of screaming hysterical girlies trying to impress the master, who could not care less about them. Sure, most of them are formulaic harem characters, but despite that, I found this cocktail quite decently mixed, and some of the girls are even cute. So I thought this anime series was not that bad in the end, even though it is clear that it is not absolutely amazing either - 5/10 in my book.

I found this Final Arc worked as a fitting conclusion to the ReLife anime series. It was much more heartfelt and emotional than the original anime series (it was in fact also much more intense because there was little room for an ending, in my opinion). Plus, because of the way it affected me, I cannot say it was simply an average show. The conclusion is a pleasant watch for all the romantic souls out there. There is a bit of psychology, and everything all revolves around the one logical problem that must have occurred in the ReLife experiment. Even so, we have to admit that the conclusion was predictable and I would say almost obligatory after all that happened in the anime series, even though this Final Arc still manages to be moving and delight weaker individuals. 7/10.

I was not expecting the MadHouse animation studio to let me down, and they, of course, did not. I got a pleasant, sweet, and adventurous journey that felt quite realistic actually. I got an entertaining and occasionally dramatic anime series (the penultimate episode and its depth challenges even Violet Evergarden), with real emotions and friendship. Sure, people could criticize it for its naivety; however, the naivety did not bother me at all. In fact, I would go as far as to say it helped me to really relax. This anime series is accompanied by a pleasant and really well-produced soundtrack and features excellent animation. For example, the Antarctic locations look really beautiful. All in all, this is a really well-produced adventure, and our journey is accompanied by four amiable girls and two very attractive women (plus a few other characters). I enjoyed them as much as the time I spent camping this season. Thus, the rating must be legitimately the same, and I am also going to say that this is one of the best anime series of the "winter 2018" releases. 8.4/10.

Considering how attractive the idea behind this show was, I was bored far too often. It is not extremely suspenseful, there is nothing really profound about it, and it is relatively slow and drawn out. We are trying to get to know the characters, the rules of the world it is set in, and most importantly, get out of here somehow (preferably with your life). However, nothing was interesting enough to keep my attention. To be completely honest, when they revealed the backstory of the bad guy, for example, it was almost really irritating. I am sorry, but I am joining the ranks of those who were not impressed by Kokkoku. In addition, the ending and how they resolved the whole Juri thing made me deduct a few more points from the rating of this anime series. 4.5/10.

This show is full of silly parodies, loads of comedy, and pure entertainment. Yes, the second season of Mr. Osomatsu offers it all. Though this time around, I was perhaps even more entertained. The anime's writers once again showed that nothing is sacred to them and that they can make weird, crazy, or even stupid fun out of just about anything. Moreover, this time they convinced me that they could do much more. Personally speaking, Gintama is the king of the comedy anime series, for example, because they can make a funny episode during which the main characters spend the entire episode sitting around and talking about where Gintama is now heading. Well, they did that in this show in a part of one episode as well. Gintama can also switch from comedy to a much more serious show and the anime's writers make it believable and moving. In this show, the episode that moved me the most was called "Iyami, Alone in the Wind." Gintama is sometimes an epic action-packed show with fantastic fight scenes. Okay, so there is only one king, in my opinion, although Mr. Osomatsu is well on his way to becoming "the second one". 8.5/10.

"Pedobear marched in like a lion" and brought with it several moments that, in connection with the nine-year-old girls, were so powerful that some critics in the comments section on various websites called for immediate intervention by the police or the FBI itself. However, Jeoffrey is not that prudish and did not find much inappropriate material in this anime series. Sure, there is some fan service, even though I do not think it is over the top. I did not think it crossed the line as much as, say, Eromanga Sensei. So I am going to put this controversial topic to one side and get on with the rest. It is not only full of incredibly cute girls, but the anime’s writers also attempt sports anime-style action. The game of Shogi is shown more often in this show than in, say, March Comes in Like a Lion, even though that one focuses more on characters, relationships, and ordinary life. This show can also be about everyday life sometimes; it is just much more about classic (read: clichéd) quirks, misunderstandings, and again, slight ecchi. Even this approach, as you can see, has no problem finding its fans, and I somehow cannot award it less than 6/10. The rating is thanks to all those cute girls (hell, it even has a tsundere-Loli).

Slow Start is a cute anime series with many likable characters and the classic concept of cute girls doing cute things. However, the overall impression suffers most because it came out in the same anime season (Winter 2018) as several others. Unlike shows about camping and Antarctica or shows like Mitsuboshi Colors, I could not really find anything that special about this show. In other words, Slow Start was at the bottom of the list of enjoyable shows I wanted to watch this anime season. On the other hand, it is a real shame because this anime series has some good qualities. It is easy on the eyes,  Kamuri is a Kawaii Over 9000, and the other characters are pretty interesting too. Still, I felt like I had not seen anything new. It reminded me of Yuru Yuri, Hinako Note, and other similar anime series, and this was all kind of mostly the same as those I had already seen. I am almost worried whether I have just had way too many cute girls; maybe just in this anime season. However, I am going to be fair. While I do not think Slow Start deserves any negative ratings because it is not so bad compared to the anime series I mentioned previously, I still have to evaluate my impression of watching it. It is just near the better average. Someday, when the year’s releases will be full of fighting shonen and special academies again, I am going to try and give this anime series another go, and perhaps I will enjoy it a bit more the second time around. 6.3/10.

School Babysitters is quite a relaxing anime series full of childish cuteness. Little Kotaro is an example of the ideal child that every parent would wish for - calm, understanding, quiet, loving (in other words, unrealistic). Similarly, the main male protagonist is an example of a conscientious teenager who loves his brother more than anything (because he is the last one left of his family), is understanding, and caring. All in all, it is such an unrealistically calm, sweet, and sometimes overly cute show that it is quite a pleasant anime series to relax to. However, I subconsciously realized that raising children is definitely not as much fun and peaceful as they are portraying here. The anime's creators occasionally show a few minor pitfalls connected with caring for young children. However, everything usually works out OK in too much of a kind of "rosy" way. As far as the humor goes, when some kids do something cute, it sometimes makes me crack a smile briefly. However, when some adult characters attempted to make jokes, it usually did not turn out very well. 5.5/10.