Super Dimension Fortress Macross
Date: 2020-01-10
I don't know, it just doesn't work good enough for what I expected from a space anime. The plot is fairly simple and isn't bizarre enough. The visuals are kinda fucked up and the music, despite being really good (especially the opening theme), is overall repetitive, but I guess they had some budget and/or time problems with that.
Princess Mononoke
Date: 2020-02-25
This was the time when I decided to watch an anime dubbed. The dub was kinda awkward at first, but overall pretty good. The anime itself, though. Good fucking lord, it's incredible. I can't say much about the plot (and I'm also not the biggest fan of fantasy), except it works, but the music and especially the visuals are much better than I could've ever expected, and they absolutely blew up my mind.
- Caused post-anime depression syndrome
Serial Experiments Lain
Date: 2020-04-25
I didn't understand shit, but it was amazing. The plot does quite a good job at fucking my mind, comparable to Neon Genesis Evangelion. The minimalist soundtrack fits the anime pretty well, and the repetitive elements do work. The visuals really confused me - they are pretty good, but some non-UI foreground elements were computer-reanimated and not blended absolutely perfectly, and it made me constantly think about what elements are traditionally animated and what aren't for quite some time.
Spirited Away
Date: 2020-07-27
The only thing I can say about it is that it looks impressively good for a computer-animated movie. The plot of the whole thing is mainly based on Japanese folklore, so I once again didn't understand shit. Overall, it wasn't as interesting to watch as I expected, but cool nevertheless.
The End of Evangelion
Date: 2020-07-28
Even what the fucker.
Ghost in the Shell
Date: 2020-08-04
The movie explores the topic of what counts as a human in an AI-filled world, which is the exact topic I was thinking about when watching Blade Runner, and I'm happy about that. Other than that, the movie is wonderfully drawn and has a pretty atmospheric soundtrack. It also opens a great opportunity for sequels, which I'll probably watch.
Your Name
Date: 2020-08-09
Even though this is a romance anime, this is the one I get behind. It doesn't contain any cringy bullshit, only pure emotion-inducing material. This movie, I've gotta tell you, brought me the closest to crying because of watching something in my entire life, and I'm so glad that I actually decided to watch it. The other good thing about it is that it looks fucking incredible despite being 100% digitally-made. It still misses something, but I'd gladly eat visuals like this, were they somewhere else.
- Caused post-anime depression syndrome
Perfect Blue
Date: 2020-08-20
It was terrifying, and the ending left me with more questions than I expected. Overall, it's pretty well-made, and I appreciate the topic of idol industry it's based on.
Gurren Lagann
Date: 2020-08-29
This show is by far the wildest and the most epic piece of art I've ever witnessed. The shit that was happening on my screen was so powerful, I was barely able to keep up with it. I'm so impressed.
- Caused post-anime depression syndrome
- Favorite character: Kamina
Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yohko
Date: 2021-02-22
This anime is a very interesting case because of its plot, which is usually not the most important thing I care about. The whole movie takes only 70 minutes but manages to tell a lot of things and does it in a very interesting way. Compare this to First of the North Star, for example, which is longer than Your Name but tells you jack shit. To pull off this kind of thing, the anime has a very, and I mean very, self-contained story, which I'm usually a fan of. Not a lot of background information is given about the world, but the one that is still manages to kind of impress you. The story itself is sort of interesting but not crazy enough for my tastes. Apart from the story, the film was also pretty good - the visuals are neat and the music isn't annoying. Overall, a pretty good watch.
One Punch Man
Date: 2021-03-02
Overall, it was not a bad show. The idea to make a show about a literal undefeatable hero that destroys everyone with a single punch sounds risky to me, but the way it was implemented here is pretty good. The whole thing is pretty epic, but it's quite far from the most epic thing I've seen. One problem is that I feel like it lacks soul behind it, and I'm not sure how to describe it.
The "guy does good things but doesn't get credited for it" trope here needs a separate mention. I understand that it's essential to the whole show and that without it wouldn't work, but I just can't stand it. It makes me actually feel something, which is a good thing, but at the same time it makes me hate watching it. The show just treats you like a complete fucking idiot that can believe something like it. I mean come on, even crowds in real life are not that stupid.
What I'm now afraid of is watching the sequel. The whole thing is pretty self contained, and I feel like continuing this story is nearly impossible to do properly. Well, we'll see.
One Punch Man, Season 2
Date: 2021-03-14
So as I mentioned in the original series' review, its story was pretty self-contained, so I was afraid of them fucking up the whole thing as a continuation of the first season. Luckily, it didn't happen, but unfortunately, they managed to fuck up almost everything else. The one thing that I do like about this season is that the "actual hero doesn't get noticed" trope is not as prevalent here, so it finally feels like the show isn't treating you like an idiot. While not as epic, the story here is not actually bad, especially considering it's a sequel, but the way it's presented is not as good as before. The main character has far less screentime, and the whole thing is much more stretched. This is additionally fueled by not quite the best visuals. Maybe they had problems with the finances, but how the hell could that ever happen for one of the biggest superhero franchises in the world? And if all of that wasn't enough, the whole fucking season ends on a cliffhanger. So overall, I'm disappointed. It's not really bad per se but I really expected something epic that would only improve on the original and not make it more bland.
Mars of Destruction
Date: 2021-04-14
This is a very interesting art piece because it's on the very edge of not being classified as an anime at all. It tells absolutely no story, and is completely tasteless when it comes to the visuals and the music. Watching it leaves you with a surreal feeling like someone hacked your brain or removed a very important part of it. In other words, it's on the same level as a story written by a 5-year-old and made into a real thing by professionals or a movie generated completely by an AI.
A Silent Voice
Date: 2021-04-22
It's a well-made good-looking anime, but there's just one little problem - it just doesn't kick in for me. The only moment that made me actually feel anything was that one near the end, and for the rest of the movie the only things I was experiencing were cringe and confusion for the actions of the characters. The main problem with this film is that the whole thing is just too complicated. My small brain just doesn't work well with a lot of detail, and while it's usually not a problem with other films because of their presentation and simple plot skeleton, here everything depends on understanding how human communication works, so I really don't understand shit. It's certainly not a fault of the movie itself, but I just can't say it works for me.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Date: 2021-05-21
This movie is a pretty accurate depiction of what a high school girl would do if she gained time travel abilities, which can clearly be seen by the extremely small number of killed baby Hitlers. In other words, quoting one of the characters, she's a fucking idiot. While it was a bit cringy, watching her constantly fuck up wasn't too bad. The movie itself at the same time, also gets a passing grade form me. I can't say much about the music, but the visuals are alright. While the foregrounds are pretty cheesy, which can probably be justified by the year the film was released, the backgrounds do look wonderful. Overall, I'd say the anime looks a bit cheap but still gets the job done.
Metropolis (2001)
Date: 2021-06-17
Right off the bat, this is the kind of anime I wasn't sure whether to watch subbed or dubbed. After switching back and forward several times, I decided to choose the dub, and I wasn't disappointed. The voice actors sound pretty natural and fit the mood of the whole thing. The movie itself meanwhile is quite a remarkable cyberpunk specimen. One of the first thing you notice when watching it is the unique art style, which reminds me of Disney. You may think it's not the best choice for something serious, but oh boy, it fits. Specifically, it creates a very nice early 20s century atmosphere mixed with elements of contemporary sci-fi, which I like. Though to be fair, the active use of CGI could partially ruin that experience, but for me it's completely justified considering when the movie came and how dependent on it the action is. Another thing that also fits is the music. In contrast to other cyberpunk films, this one doesn't use creepy world and electronic music, however it does use jazz. Yes, actual American jazz with saxophones and black people singing. It can't be overestimated how good it fits the aforementioned visuals and the atmosphere overall. For example, it makes the ending of the whole movie, coupled with great action, unforgettable. Story-wise the movie is also great. I couldn't quite make out who are the villains and who are the good guys, but what I can tell you is that the film actually made me feel some emotions, so it gets kudos from me for that.
Paprika (2006)
Date: 2021-07-01
Here we go, another anime I watched dubbed. While the dub did sound a bit like it was from an English test for fifth-graders, it was tolerable overall. I think I'll continue watching anime dubbed as long as I'm watching a movie and not TV series. In any case, the film itself isn't too bad. While the execution overall feels pretty average with not too interesting visuals and music, I did manage to feel a couple of emotions. The plot isn't anything special, and most of the movie is a bit boring, but it does manage to hit in a couple of places. In particular, I quite like the ending where the line between the dreams and the reality gets blurred, which creates a nice atmosphere.
Kiki's Delivery Service
Date: 2021-08-25
So this movie has a plot made out of thin air. There's basically no conflict and no resolution, just some events that happen to the main character. And the events themselves are pretty mundane and far away from being epic. However, despite all of that, I can't say it's bad. This anime is really cute and chill, but at the same time it manages not to be boring, which makes it quite watchable. It has some pretty nice music and visuals that create an amazing atmosphere. Even though basically nothing happens in this film, I'd still say it's a great piece of entertainment with a lot of casual rewatching potential.
Alice in Cyberland
Date: 2021-10-25
This anime really hacked into my mainframe and disabled my algorithms. It must be a Unix system. So yeah, you get the idea. This anime is low effort and ridiculous. In only one episode, it manages to cramp as much hacker stereotypes as possible while being so cringy that it's laughable. And that's why I love it. It's not unwatchable as Mars of Destruction but is still noticeably bad, which makes it a unique watch. It's akin to Neil Breen movies. In fact, this movie is so good that I couldn't even find the second episode. That really says something.
FLCL
Date: 2021-11-06
At first, I was disappointed. It looked like another mediocre anime. It was confusing and unusual in an uncomfortable way. The visuals seemed too depressive for my liking, and the guitar music was not of my favorite flavor. I thought I was going to drop it. But then it fucking hit me like a concrete slab. It made me witness incredible action and humor that perfectly blended in with the weird atmosphere. And not only that, it actually made me feel a couple of emotions. That means Gainax didn't let me down once again. Just like in the case of Gunbuster, I had to wait a bit for the shit to hit the fan.
Also boner robots.
A Whisker Away
Date: 2021-12-02
Sigh. Well, what do you know, this anime is a really unique case, isn't it? So for this unique event, I'm gonna split the review into halves for each half of the movie. Ready? Here we go.
First half: This half of the movie is legit the fucking worst anime I've ever seen in my entire life. However, on the other hand it's also not a bad anime. So let's get the good things about it out of the way first: it looks pretty good, which is expected from an anime movie, it sounds alright, and the plot is pretty good. What is then wrong with it, you might ask? Well, it's completely incompatible with me, making the whole thing unbearable to watch. During this first half of the movie, I experienced an indescribable amount of cringe. I bet I haven't cringed as much during the whole month and while watching all of other documented live action movies and anime combined. It really was that bad. The culprit here is, again, the main character. She's just as stupid as Makoto from The Girl Who Leapt Through time, as emotionally unstable as Noriko from Gunbuster, and more cringeworthy than both me and my cringiest groupmate combined. My brain just couldn't comprehend her actions.
Second half: Generic romance. Watchable, makes you feel a couple of emotions, but boring and unremarkable. Still better than the first half.
Sorry, I'm never rewatching this again.
Promare
Date: 2022-01-20
Holy shit, they not only made Kamina more gay but also managed to make CGI not look like shit while not being Disney. What a fucking miracle!
In any case, this anime ticks most of the boxes on my anime requirement list:
- Simple and easy to understand plot and characters ✅
- Sci-fi bullshit ✅
- Over the top action ✅
- Extremely evil villains ✅
- Explosions every 6 seconds ✅
However, if this movie:
- Was traditionally animated
- Had even more banger music
- Had balls to make a spicier ending
- Gave me a panic attack while watching it
It'd be even better.
EX-ARM
Date: 2022-01-31
I had a bigger animation and writing budget while watching this show than it had while being made.
I hate to once again compare something to Neil Breen, but this time the comparison is needed. This anime legitimately looks like something Neil Breen would make if he was into action anime. Even though the whole thing doesn't feel epic, it isn't quite as boring as his movies, but it has exactly the same level of awkwardness. The main things that fuel this are the baffling decision to mix poorly done CGI and hand-drawn animation for the foreground elements, incoherent pacing mixed with the scenes being extremely uncomfortable to watch, and of course, random sci-fi bullshit terminology that, for some reason, manages not to work. Overall, I can say that this show isn't fun but is quite laughable to watch.
The only thing I sort of like about this show is the ending. Don't get me wrong, cinematically, it sucks, but I appreciate that they had balls to pull it off. During the rest of the anime, however, they didn't have as much balls. Unfortunately.
Darling In The Franxx
Date: 2022-02-18
Well, this time I actually prepared for writing a review. In fact, I even took notes while watching the anime. So now I can just write one paragraph about the good parts and one paragraph about the bad parts. How does that sound?
Good parts: First of all, let's address the elephant in the room. The second half of the show, and especially the ending, is a masterpiece. It actually made me feel actual emotions. It couldn't quite make me cry, but it was still impressive. Not Your Name level impressive, but impressive nonetheless. Overall, I'd say the worldbuilding in this anime is pretty nice. It steals from both Gurren Lagann and Neon Genesis Evangelion, which is a good thing. The atmosphere of the anime is also pretty nice. It's quite immersive and works quite well in the sci-fi context. As a cherry on the cake, the visuals, while being a bit soulless, are not that bad. In other words, it's like the rest of non-shitty modern anime. You get the idea.
Bad parts: Compared to the incredible second half, the first half of the show is horrendous. I know it's not supposed to be action all the time, but you know, Gurren Lagann and even Neon Genesis Evangelion somehow managed to do better. The main problem I have with this part is that it's just not epic. This may have something to do with the anime having relatively uninspiring, though well-drawn, action. Additionally, the anime is too fucking drawn out. What they put in 24 episodes could as well be 12, and it'd be twice as good. One of the things this problem manifests itself in is too much romance. Like seriously, this is some Macross level bullshit if not worse. At times, I felt like I was watching a slice of life and not a mecha show.
Overall, I can say that this anime is pretty good. I expected it to be a shitty Diebuster rip off but got a pretty decent Gurren Evangelion rip off, which I can't complain about.
- Caused post-anime depression syndrome
- Favorite episode: 13
P.S. I'm no longer calling anyone "darling" in my life after watching this show.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean
Date: 2023-04-15
Good things:
- The most interesting plot so far.
- My favorite character art style so far.
- Pretty damn original characters.
- Excellent conclusion.
Bad things:
- Incoherent release schedule that made the watching experience awkward.
- Crappy animation, even by JoJo's standards, that nearly made me give up on watching it.
- Lackluster soundtrack.
Someone certainly fucked up.