Jeoffrey

After a six year wait, it is finally time to review what someone is calling the "expletive-strewn The Irregular at Magic High School"... I scrolled through the reviews, watched a few episodes again to reacquaint myself with the show, and I am now once again sure enough that my feelings have not changed. My impressions of the show were again more or less summed up by my favorite reviewer, although he probably did not expect this. So, I am going to borrow and slightly modify some stuff from his review - the main protagonist is COOL, the spells are COOL, the graphics are COOL, however, the incest is NOT COOL, although then again there is no censorship of severed limbs... Who is this anime series aimed at? Well, at me! It was made for the guy who is bored of life, regularly gets stressed out at work, does not sleep well, and struggles with his problems even when he is asleep, analyzing them from different perspectives... Why? Because we are watching a COOL main male male protagonist who deals with all his problems with a cool head using his special powers that are, again, COOL. Heck, that is exactly what I want to be able to do, that is just what I want to be - steadfast, determined, rational, stoic, and when you throw in a believable idol from (not only) all the women - then we have a fairy-tale that I am going to enjoy. I am going to root for the main protagonist, I am going to be proud to be of the same species and gender as the main protagonist... Sure, it is largely about everyone underestimating the protagonist, and that he just waves his hand (with the help of an occasionally slightly flimsy screenplay) and kicks their asses. However, truth be told - this is the easiest and most effective way of gaining satisfaction that any story can offer, and unexpectedly it still works. Misanthropic pretentious arrogant pricks who think they are better than everyone else, and who constantly boast about how amazing they are, are disliked by almost everyone, and that feeling of natural justice, when they get what is coming to them - well that is always satisfying for the average person (because actually in reality, this never really happens). You can disagree with me and argue that there are better shows, better protagonists, better stories. Yes indeed, however, can you name any from the special academy fantasy genre?  Maybe the quite endearing Trinity Seven, but it came after The Irregular in Magic High School... or High school DxD, which is also a very controversial (and expletive-strewn) anime series for many... In other words, if you have seen as many terrible anime shows set in special academy in your life as I have (and are still watching more just because you just like the fantasy genre in general), then you have to consider this anime series above average, and if you have wasted your life with so many beta (to sigma or even omega) males that you are now embarrassed by the entire male species, then you should just love Tatsuya from The Irregular at Magic High School! I am even going so far as planning to watch The Irregular at Magic High School the Movie: The Girl Who Calls the Stars right after the second season in the fall of 2020, because I could not properly digest it yet as it does not follow the first season... I am also happy that I am not alone in this, and that the rating of this, for some, despicable piece of work, is always above seventy percent on other internet movie databases (IMDB, MAL, AL). This anime series is nothing really exceptional, it has obvious plot holes and overall does not always make sense, and there is the incest thing (sure, it makes sense that ninety-nine percent of the time it is not about a biological relative, however, there is still that "little brother" thing, which sounds weird in a sexual context...), on the other hand, it is a dynamic show, I find the main protagonist very endearing, the other characters are not irritating, the animation is more than decent, and even the story with its plot twists has me quite intrigued. Me like it! 7.5/10.

Even among the readers of manga series, the BLUE arc is a very unpopular part of Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma, and after watching this anime series I can understand a lot of their criticisms. The last season brings the whole anime series to a head, when the best chef in the school, who for a long time has been secretly honing his skills, is defeated. Peace and quiet return when an existential threat to the school is averted. So, what is next? A villain appears out of absolutely nowhere, has a pretty decent introduction to the show, and defeats the one person the main male protagonist could not defeat, which automatically puts him at the top of the food chain, and then they throw in a not-so-believable shadowy organization that threatens the direction of the global culinary industry is headed - they just needed to come up with a threat that seemed bigger than before. All of a sudden, the screenwriters throw Mr. Saiba's strange objective, which comes out of nowhere into the story to give it some emotional depth, and it falls a bit flat. Add the typical tournament arc, give the villain a completely ridiculous superpower, and make it all level up again. Then we add a "mama" drama, a bunch of weird characters from that mysterious organization who turn up only to disappear again and are forgettable characters that just seem to get in the way. Finally, the anime series which we thought was about Soma actually becomes a soap opera about the Nakiri family, with another very strange twist that gives one of the villain's motivations another, highly ridiculous, dimension. It is a real mess of a show that does not exactly hold together. It is perhaps the realization that while the Star Wars saga was a soap opera about the Skywalker clan, this is a soap opera about the Nakiri family and the character it is named after actually being our very own Han Solo, and this final season is actually the new trilogy from the Disney! It is a disappointing hodge-podge of a show where the screenwriters did not really know how to execute their myriad ideas. The whole anime series should have probably finished at the end of the previous season. Everything is sillier, more absurd, over the top, and the stakes are artificially driven higher although occasionally some bits are good. It is basically a load of leftovers from a delicious dinner that is still somehow edible and could still be enough for a lunch on the weekend even if it is certainly not going to be a spectacular gourmet experience... 6/10.

I have already written regarding my criticisms of The God of High School in this discussion threads and in my journal, however, for the record, I shall write this review. This anime series is ridiculously paced! It makes no sense and it is an atrocity to try and cram over one hundred chapters of a manga series into a thirteen-episode anime series, it is going to inevitably suffer from it. At first, I did not mind it so much, I figured it was just going along as it should and dismissed the criticisms from people who had read the original about how there was a lack of motivation for some of the supporting characters. Did I really need to know the philosophy behind the fight scenes? Did I really need to know the American wrestler’s back-story? If these characters did not have an important role further on in the story, then I could not have given a flying shit! However, it started to really irritate me, for example, that there are no training scenes. Characters suddenly started using new powerful abilities, and they explained how they got them either with one sentence along the lines of "Oh yeah, I can do that now", or there is an all-too-brief flashback where they showed how the character got it. What I thought was lacking though was a demonstration of how the characters came by their powers. I think that training scenes, as boring as they are, are meaningful precisely because they give the audience a chance to see character development and the acquisition of their new abilities, and that it does not just come out of nowhere. In the second half of the season, new important characters were introduced, and this is where the screenwriters realized they needed to give them some back-story and depth because you needed to understand where these opponents are coming from. It was a short anime series, however, it was enough for me to understand the characters and their relationships at least partially. Then after that the storytelling dismissed a lot of changes and explanations of some important facts with phrases like - "Well yeah, that is just how it is!" which was inadequate. There is a big plot twist in the last third of the season, and I felt it was like at the end of Mortal Kombat when the gates to another dimension opened and then some insane shit started happening which I struggled to follow (= Mortal Kombat: Annihilation). The explanations of what was actually going on were, as always, scant, in the form of a few sentences... I understood that the anime series draws a lot from Eastern mythology, I recognized the nine-tailed fox (I am familiar with Naruto), The Monkey King (because I had recently seen that character in one of the worst shows ever - The New Legends of Monkey), and many other characters more-than-familiar to me. On the other hand, I took everything with a pinch of salt, thinking I should have read the original to have been able to properly appreciate the clusterfuck that was going on. However, despite all that, what I admired throughout this anime series was how good the fight scenes were. MAPPA animation studio pulls off a hench flex with the opening, showing that they have no problem being able to produce characters with seamless fluid movements during long fight sequences. Sometimes something that resembles calligraphy was used effectively and looked pretty stylish. Of course, they then had to go and use CGI to help things along, which let it down and did not look that great. In general, I would say the fight scenes are the main thing that makes this anime series worth watching, despite the fact that three-quarters of the show is just a martial arts tournament (again, kind of like Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Street Fighter...). The portrayal of the main characters was pretty good considering they managed it in such a short space of time. I had no problem connecting with them, finding their camaraderie and how it came together quite believable, and I actually found the main trio quite endearing. So, what is The God of High School? It is a frantically paced and pretty action anime series, with a chaotic story that suffers from a lack of exposition. I enjoyed watching the fight scenes, even though on the whole the plot was really confusing so I do not really know if I want to see what happens next if it will continue at this frantic pace because I am still trying to digest what happened during this season (although I think I understand most of it now). 6.4/10.

This season introduces a few new interesting characters and the original characters are still just as great. I really looked forward to each new episode so I am certain of the rating I will award it. This highly enjoyable second season is just perfect in terms of suspense, plot, and characters. So I am perfectly satisfied and I am looking forward to July 2015…

I can agree that this anime series is a perfect example of the slice of life genre, and it is best watched when you need to relax on a horrible, rainy day, or maybe to chill out after a very hard day at work. I think fans of this genre are going to really enjoy this show, getting carried away with the great endearing characters (I still cannot decide who I like more, Renge or Komari, as both of them are just amazing in my opinion), and the nice pleasantly peaceful atmosphere rounded off with adorable jokes. If you are not a fan of this genre, then you are probably not going to be able to watch it without your eyes possibly glazing over at times. However, I am lucky enough to be entertained and energized by this type of anime series, and so it more than adequately holds my attention. Plus, the cuteness of the show and the various jokes throughout the season make me smile from ear to ear. If you take into account my love of nature, it explains why I really enjoy the setting, the panoramas, and the contrast between city life and the tranquility of the countryside. I consider it a perfect experience - it fits me like the proverbial hand in glove... 9.5/10.

The second season of No Guns Life has a much more linear storyline. It is no longer about solving various seemingly unrelated cases, but rather follows a main plotline, which I like to call "The Ballad of Free Will". The ambiance of the show and some of the characters in particular are still quite charming, however, it still feels like there is something missing. For some reason it is just not as engaging as it could be, I did not find it very engaging and had no real interest in what happened next. I mean I was a bit interested in it (it just does not rock my world...). Sure, if there was a third season, I would watch it because I was intrigued by the line "Now I see how big the monster I have to face is", although if there is not I am not really going to care. The second season is probably no worse than the first, yet my interest in this anime series is slowly waning (which is a bit disappointing). 6.5/10.

I like Hachiman, he is probably the character I identify with the most in this anime series (I often have a similarly deadpan outlook). He is a deep thinker, cynical and sarcastic, yet he shoots straight from the hip. Because of how deeply he thinks about everything, it is difficult for him to take a straightforward approach to things because he has to work it all out first. He is also aware of a lot of what is going on around him, so his definition of it all actually being about one love triangle made me very happy and I was quite amused. What I did not find so amusing though was the way the relationships were handled. Holy shit, the Japanese really went to town, it was all so long-winded... What could be sorted out with a few simple words was analyzed from a few different perspectives so you end up confused about what you think and feel like it is actually a complex and superhuman task and that sometimes words like "I love you" are actually completely inadequate to express what you feel. It may be right, however, if we made everything as complicated as Hachiman and co. we would never do anything for the rest of our lives, and probably in time humanity would simply die out because we would just be obsessively analyzing everything that happens to us instead of just trusting our instincts and going with the flow. Sure, you are probably going to be into this show if you are a deep thinker type of person, even though sometimes enough is just enough... There are not only philosophical and social issues being discussed, there are also emotional dramas tugging at the heart-strings, telling the audience that even the underdog girl is actually a straightforward and interesting person, and if we were the underdog, that would have its upsides and we should therefore feel some sort of sympathy for her. I think that the characters are really good and endearing, and truth be told I actually did not care how the love triangle was resolved in the end because I liked both of the girls involved (so I guess it all worked out in the end). To be perfectly honest here, I have had my mind made up about the best (and sexiest) female character in the entire anime series since the first season, who is obviously Shizuka Hiratsuka the teacher! Anyway, this season has now finished, the ending is actually relatively satisfying (just by figuring stuff out), although I think the decision not to give up even when your crush has a girlfriend is certainly a woman's prerogative, although it turns out to be the wrong decision in the long term. In other words, sometimes you have to draw a line under everything, burn your bridges and not keep reopening old wounds. Although I have said this many times before - what do I know about love? It was interesting, it definitely gave me some food for thought, and in addition, it was also challenging, at least to sort out the relationships after all the drawn-out drama. Oh, and there was also some stuff about organizing graduation balls too... 7/10.

I have often heard that Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! is a very controversial anime series. People were up in arms about Uzaki appearing in an advertisement campaign for the Japanese Red Cross. However, is there anything really controversial about an anime series that simply delivers exactly what it promises in its title, which is that Uzaki wants to hang out and play? Because of the over-sexualization of the main female protagonist? So are you trying to tell me that there is no such thing as petite girls with large breasts, or that there is something wrong with them? Sure, this is an ecchi anime series, and a lot of the male audience’s attention is drawn to the “story” (plot) which lured the audience in question in with the new slogan, “Sugoi Dekai” (“So Big” or “Super Huge”), even though it is primarily a story about two different characters and their amusing interactions. In fact, it is the two main protagonists who pull everything off, the rest of the characters act more like wallpaper, just spectators enjoying the show. There is some ecchi here and there, and sometimes it seems to be a bit overkill, although there were two boobie grabs that made me laugh (in VR and Melons on the Beach) and note that the last time I laughed at a boobie grab was about five years ago! In the end, I guess it all depends on whether you like Uzaki being so energetic, amusing, and crazy, which I personally love, although if I were in Sakurai's shoes, I might not always be comfortable with her dogged persistence. I also once knew a girl who wanted to go out with me and was texting me thirty times a day even though I answered her less than a third of the time, which was definitely not half as fun as this anime series makes it out to be. However, in that case, it was mostly due to Jeoffrey’s lack of interest... This show seems to be largely based on classic misunderstandings between Japanese people, and so therefore a lot of the comedy is about someone misinterpreting something and getting it all wrong, and to be honest, it is not always that funny. I would level another criticism at the animation, I think the characters are OK, despite the fact I never really liked the use of 3D for the backgrounds (such as with the cars), although I understand it makes the show cheaper of faster to produce and it does not affect the characters and their interactions which is the focal point. So what did I like about this show? I liked the important stuff - the chemistry between the two main protagonists (I watched one episode eating a bowl of rice), however, I have some quibbles about the rest. The second season has already been confirmed and I am going to watch it if I have time. I am awarding the first season something around 6.3/10.

I can see why the reviewer Scalpelexis likes The Millionaire Detective Balance: Unlimited and he was right, it is quite stylish and entertaining. A lot of this is down to the charisma and demeanor of the smooth, cool main male protagonist who has a technological arsenal that could rival James Bond, and who has a similar superpower to Batman's - he is extremely rich. I also liked the fact that I could watch the season in two halves, as the first half has a display of wealth showing it can get you almost anything and there is some larking around. The second half of the season is a convoluted case full of quite interesting and sometimes unexpected twists which means it does not become samey. I also appreciate that the characters are not stereotypical, and it is not that classic buddy cop thing where you use two different characters to bounce off each other resulting in their relationship helping them grow and changing them as people. Although these two characters do change a little, it is a natural process, so the character development (or transformation if you prefer) is more believable. Katou was not that impressive as Kambe's partner, he struck me as the straight-laced nice-guy detective who is a decent counterpart to the other main protagonist. That should have made sense, although I thought he was just unremarkable, a weaker link - and he was not that entertaining. I was not able to suspend my disbelief and just lose myself in the hilarious absurdity (which I have had absolutely no problems doing with other shows). For example, how the hell do you get from England to Japan in eighteen minutes, or how do you get a band from its gig onto a train full of pensioners in just a few minutes? Well, the paradoxes of time and distance are only the tip of the iceberg! I should not have to deal with that on a TV show, I know such paradoxes exist in other productions like the Bond movies, etc., however, in this show I thought there were just too many... When I look at it and think about how much I enjoyed it, I think that an above-average rating is quite fair really, the important points work for me and the things that bother me are basically secondary. When compared to the shows I have awarded 7/10 to recently, I decided on a fraction less. 6.5/10.

Deca-Dence is an adventurous anime series that tries to combine several interesting themes and ideas, yet ultimately fails by trying to do too much. It means that it does not go too deeply into any of the subject matter, and truth be told, I thought that even some of the basic elements did not really work very well. The beginning was pretty good, because the setting was really intriguing, and the moment when the moving fortress defeats the giant creature (a Gadoll) looked really cool. The twist at the end of the second episode got my attention. It was quite original and I was waiting to see if this added dimension would help or bury the show. I had my doubts and some reservations, such as the visual presentation of the robots and their world because they did not seem to quite fit in. What I did like was the way the relationships between the main characters gradually developed and the fact that the promo text’s assertion that the anime series would “shake up the whole world” was so true. However, can I say that it was an emotional rollercoaster ride? Well, not for me, I do not know about you. I watched most of this season with mild fascination, I accepted a lot of things going on and I was like, OK, however, I did not really get into it too much, it was not an immersive experience for me. Similarly, I did not feel much affinity with the characters, as likable as some of them were, I did not care about them, their problems did not really affect me... So, you would say that an anime series with such an interesting combination of different subject matter must be at least the kind of production that makes you think? Not really. In my opinion, this anime series has no sort of deeper insight, it almost has a very black and white view, and some of the moral and social dilemmas are admittedly far-fetched, yet not really explored from differing viewpoints. What is this show then? It is a show with some rather unfortunately under-developed albeit interesting ideas, without which it would actually be just a really mediocre show. However, it did not really bother or bore me and the attempt at some originality was appreciated, so I shall award it 6/10.