Jeoffrey

I was wrong; this is not a typical ecchi anime series, where there is some innocent seduction and there is repeated unwanted falling onto people, touching, and shyness. That is not what this is about at all because this ecchi anime series delivers the ultimate tirade of double entendres and silly sex jokes with the firepower of a Russian AK-47 Kalashnikov automatic assault rifle. So instead of seeing the oft-repeated and tired situations you normally get from this genre, we get entirely new and unique tropes. Every scene is loaded with absurd double entendres and sexual innuendos. Even though these are by no means unintentional, they are pretty deliberate because the squad here is a bunch of those typical teenagers who talk about sex all the time (except for the main male protagonist, who is as always the usual innocent victim). They constantly need to make innuendos, and as it happens, the one who talks about it the most is not getting any sex. Plus, sex is discussed in every possible different way, with the latest sixth episode being absolutely perfect. There are the classic heterosexual jokes, and then because we are now in 2017 when everything just has to be politically correct, we also have allusions to yuri (girls’ love) and even yaoi (boys' love). This anime production is quite original and thus managed to keep me engaged (if not very entertained) for half of the season. The problem, though, is that it is not that original in its execution, and the same concept is used repeatedly. For example, a situation comes up with the main couple; the main female protagonist drops a few innuendos and turns each of the male protagonist's responses into a double entendre. It is then repeated, and another female protagonist appears. However, this time she is with the main couple and throws in a few innuendos on, say, the classic and popular topic for the Japanese, incest (or the main character's mom comes in and they make MILF jokes, etc.). Another female character appears, and she makes allusions to lesbianism, and finally, another male character appears, and he makes homoerotic allusions and gay jokes. Eventually, the situation somehow builds up and resolves with the main couple's mutual understanding of how much they love each other. Then suddenly, there is a new situation, and everything is, give or take, repeated yet again. When you notice this, you wait to see who is going to be put center stage and what note the jokes will be on for the next minute. It might even work if the jokes changed a bit, like at least the themes or whatever, however, they are all just a bunch of teenage sex references. I think sexual innuendo is fine if you are fifteen and even I still make those sorts of jokes occasionally. However, everyone realizes at some point that even repeating such jokes means they stop being funny after a certain time or age. So I dropped this after episode six, although I have to appreciate that this approach to the show, if they toned it down a bit, could have been another way to resurrect my interest in the ecchi genre. (I probably would have loved this show at the age of fifteen). 4/10.

The intermingling of dreams and reality can be fascinating (such as in Sucker Punch), and it partially works in this show. As long as the fantasy part works as a parallel to reality and complements the actual narrative, everything flows interestingly enough. Finding out that the main female protagonist’s father told her as much without her knowing was also quite touching. However, then comes the second half (or maybe the last third, I was not watching the time) of the season, and that is when it stopped working for me. From a certain point when reality seamlessly transitioned into fantasy and everything kind of weirdly came together, I thought it lost its charm. The supposedly epic and visually exciting but somehow completely vacuous conclusion convinced me that I do not want to give more than an average rating. 5/10.

This two-part OVA is once again very amusing and has all the other qualities of my favorite anime series. For someone who, like me, is a big fan of Tsukuyo, this OVA definitely could not turn out to be a disappointment. 10/10

It is very hard to describe what I have come across. Perhaps if I took the best of The Slayers anime series and added some of the qualities of Gintama, the king of anime parodies, and combined it all with some cocaine, ecstasy, and perhaps some other narcotics, I would get this. This is a wacky, energetic, crazy, raucous, and hilarious anime series. It is also incredibly over the top with some very stupid jokes, even though even those are really entertaining for my simple mind. This show is a breathtaking spectacle! 10/10.

Sometimes you need to watch a whole anime series to know that it is not for you. Sometimes, however, you only need to watch a few episodes, and in some cases, the first two minutes are enough. This is the latter case. I have never really shared the Japanese obsession for incestuous intimacy between siblings, and in this show, it was taken to extremes in a matter of minutes, and it made me uncomfortable. This show was so perverse and stupid that, in comparison, even Eromanga Sensei, reviled by some, seems like an excellent anime series. The fact that it was just in the main male protagonist’s imagination could not redeem it; there were probably too many such fantasies to come. I skimmed through the rest and saw a younger brother who supposedly would rather dress up as a female and a Lolita type who makes lewd advances to the main male protagonist and lustfully sniffs his underwear in secret. Unfortunately, I have never shared the Japanese obsession with used underwear, nor their fondness for boys who look like girls (It's a TRAP!). I mean, this does not offer me anything that was in my area of interest and fetishes. Instead, I feel like I am being pushed into watching things I am not really into, so I am out. Dropped after the first episode.

Stan Lee - the Animation. That is what I would call this strange collaboration between the Americans and Japanese, mixing together their different visual concepts regarding animation. The American style prevails on the whole, and only a few things show that the guys from the Land of the Rising Sun are half involved. So why Stan Lee? Well, this is because he was involved in practically everything, and his presence is felt almost throughout this anime series. By that, I do not just mean the fact that his voice-over introduces and ends practically every episode or the fact that there is a character in the anime series which is actually an animated version of Stan Lee because every production based on his work has to include a cameo by Stan Lee himself. It is more about the concept behind the characters and the idea of heroes in general, as Stan Lee sees it and has presented many times before. This makes it a very one-dimensional affair. However, everything is more comic book than manga and cartoon than anime, and the main protagonists are based more on the American idea of heroes. Even the Magical Girls that appear at the end do not have much in common with the enchantment of Japanese Magical Girls. They are more like something between Magical Girls and Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. So I think this show is more for fans of Stan Lee and his comic book heroes. For those who are looking for actual anime, I would recommend ignoring this and concentrating fully on My Hero Academia which features the Japanese version of superheroes. However, that is enough about what it is or is not. Now, a few words about how I liked it. The narrative was good with some cool twists, even though I did not find it particularly profound or highly compelling. At times, especially in the beginning, I found it a bit confusing, and at times it seemed somewhat unfinished, almost to the point of having too many plot holes. The characters reminded me of other well-known characters from other heroic universes. There is probably not a single one that I found fascinating, although X-on was quite likable. The animation is a bit strange. It is very dark and comic book-like with minimal details, and there probably was not a single scene where I found its beauty captivating. The soundtrack was OK, it was well suited to a show about superheroes. The action element is weak, and the fight scenes are rather boring. However, the conclusion itself is quite excellent, even if it is pretty typical for its genre. My overall impression is 4/10.

I do not think fans of the TV series will be disappointed in any way. This movie has got everything I love about the TV series and it has the requisite cinematic qualities as well. Sure, one could criticize that the storyline is a bit too "classic"; however, who cares when I got my dose of adventure and everything I expect from something with the MLP name on it? Plus, some of the scenes are very enchanting, the atmosphere is excellent, as is the emotional aspect most of the time (except for one scene near the end where you know exactly what is going to happen, so you do not feel scared at the right time). The soundtrack is impressive; the songs are catchy, and so in general, the soundtrack suits the movie, and I could definitely see myself putting it on just to put myself in a good mood. The jokes are more or less amusing, and I did not notice any that were outright stupid. The animation is colorful and quite beautiful. It did take me a while to get used to the combination of 2D and 3D; however, in the end, it is really very good to watch. The new characters are interesting and they work well, exactly right for the scenes as some are cool, and some are funny. The Storm King is also good as the villain. He maintains a balance of being scary, so he commands some respect and then is also quite amusing, ensuring that kids are not just going to be scared shitless of him. Of course, what would MLP be if we did not learn another valuable lesson about friendship? All in all, it is clear that the makers of this movie took their time with it, and everything is almost as great as I expected it to be, so strong enthusiasm prevails, and my rating is given accordingly. 9.3/10.

Nowadays, you have to be careful even when looking at your own smartphone because apparently, for some mysterious reason, it could transport you to a strange version of history where vampires and werewolves are in a war against each other. The world is full of colorful, supposedly sexy men in exotic costumes everywhere. In fact, it looks like a fair has arrived, or perhaps even a circus. For a girl, this could be perhaps an interesting idea and a tempting spectacle, full of the expected dramatic love story and fight scenes involving the main female protagonist. This is because her blood is supposedly unique, and only she can save this world full of beautiful boys, vampires who are not averse to daylight, and mysterious, charismatic werewolves. For some reason, Nobunaga looks much more like a vampire than anyone else although he is actually a werewolf. For the guys in the audience - these Vampires Sucks! And so the first battle scene is such a “massacre”  where the armies calmly disperse. I had to laugh at one of the main male protagonist’s reports about what a terrible fight it was while I had not seen even a single body on the field. This show has nothing to offer me, so dropped after the first episode, and I am going to leave the rating to those for whom this anime series is aimed at.

"No senpai, it is our fight" finally got a sequel, even though there are only eight episodes of OVA. Plus, these have been coming out kind of sporadically rather than regularly. However, this is still perhaps better than nothing. Otherwise, this season is still more/less the same old same old. At times I wondered if there was too much fan service in the original anime series, too (well, yes, there was), even though I still gave it a go and had no issues. My favorite subplot came up again at the very end (so there was at least one reason to finish each of the narratives), and it was, of course, the main thing I was looking forward to. Of the new characters, I think I was mainly interested in Kiriha Kisaki, I am probably going to forget the rest. It is quite a change that the characters did not really interest me that much this time. However, I can still remember Kojou Akatsuki, and that is enough to make me happy. I remember him because, in my opinion, he is one of those hilarious "harem lords". In the end, this show is still the same; I just was not that into it this time. 6/10.

Chronos Ruler strikes me as a kind of a light rip-off of D.Gray-man with slightly older and at the same time much more boring characters. Plus, it is a family saga about the Putins that surprisingly is not actually about the infamous "Russian Bear". With the first episode, I was reminded of D.Gray-man right away and thought that the beginning was pretty similar. The concept of the enemies was also identical. The only thing that I probably found surprising was the relationship between Viktor and Kiri. The rest of the narrative was very predictable for my taste and not very sophisticated compared to D.gray-man. For example, the Chronos organization seemed incredibly uninteresting. The rest is just a show full of the typical chatter about the importance of family in all sorts of absurd ways. Unfortunately, I have seen this many times already. Some of the fight scenes are lacking; they are just not epic, and the repetition of jokes about eating spaghetti through your nose and teasing that poor Kiri because he still doesn't have a woman (also a trope in a lot of other anime series) gets stupid really soon. So, Chronos Ruler was almost nothing new, and at times I even found it pretty boring. 4/10.