Jeoffrey

I originally thought WWW.Working!! was going to be a fully-fledged fourth season of the anime series Wagnaria!!, which I dropped after one episode a while back because I did not find it very interesting. Well, basically, if I understand correctly, WWW.Working!! is set in a Wagnaria restaurant and follows a different group of characters. Plus, I cannot help but be intrigued this time around, although I am not going to last more than one episode this time around either. There is too much unnecessary chibi for my taste, and if I do not laugh even once watching a “comedy” that is supposed to have completely wacky characters, then it is probably not for me. I do not think it will be a total flop, and I would even say it will have its fans, but I am not going to be there, as I have been in years past with other works from the Working!! franchise. Dropped after the first episode and I am not rating it.

Obviously, the Time Bokan universe is intertwined with the Yatterman universe because the bad guys in this show are just a copy of the Doronbo gang. Plus, even the concept is very similar to what I saw in the 2008 Yatterman anime series. Sure, this show is a weird freak show, an assortment of mecha, talking creatures, weird jokes, rewriting history, and lots of other strange things. However, Yatterman was all about that too. OK, so then I cannot find a reason to watch this anime series in particular. This is especially true when I find the characters so much worse than those in Yatterman, and even the attempts at wit did not make me laugh during the first episode. I might have even given it a chance if it had had an interesting storyline, like Yatterman Night from 2015. However, this show is just some crazy fooling around with history in typical Japanese style, and honestly, I have basically had enough of that, once was enough. Dropped after the first episode and I am not rating it.

Where to start? I thought the soundtrack was good. I liked some songs much more than those in the previous movie, My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games, and I liked them as much as those in the first two movies. The characters are still fine, and I have got used to their likenesses as well, although I found the pacing and narrative weaker this time around. The pacing was really slow, the narrative was too simple and was not all that gripping, and the storyline was almost devoid of any suspense. Plus, the problems of the teenage female protagonists and all the love story elements kind of bored me. All in all, the impression I got is still good; however, once again, it was not quite right, so once again, only four stars - 7/10.

A feature-length movie with Final Fantasy (FF) in the title is practically always an event. While it is almost always a marketing ploy to draw attention to the role-playing video game franchise, it is also always a beautiful demonstration of how the quality of "made in Japan" CGI animation has improved. Simply put, if you have a decent budget and experience in making computer games, then the result is almost always at least watchable. The main problem with both of the previous movies, and what I am always kind of afraid of with FF movies, is the main narrative. Either it is basically about nothing, like Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was, or the plot is so closely tied to the role-playing video game that the uninitiated viewer will find it hard to get into it (Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children). Here we basically have an introduction to the new role-playing video game that is coming out, even though the movie also has quite a bit of room for its own narrative because the main male protagonist is not the main character from the upcoming role-playing video game. Well, it is not all bad; there are battles, there is politics, and it has got some atmosphere. The characters are not bad and are very well dubbed (I have seen the English version). I did wonder for a while during the first battle sequence if I was watching the new Starship Troopers movie, although I liked the final clash and the circumstances leading up to it. Frankly speaking, the new FF movie ends rather well, translated into numbers - 7.7/10.

This movie basically works well as a children's tale about how even natural enemies can become friends. There is a pretty charming and simple narrative that a little rugrat could find interesting. For me, as a thirty-something adult, it was still quite enjoyable, even though at the same time it seemed terribly over-the-top, naive, and strange. I was rolling my eyes at times during some of the really extremely sweet moments. The two main protagonists were fine, even though I found their intense relationship and the incredible strength of their friendship just felt too unbelievable. In the end, instead of a feeling of satisfaction, the only thought that ran through my head was how Czech singer Martha Kubisova's song "There Must Be Paradise Somewhere" would have suited the credits. In other words, this was so overly sweet in places that it built a defensive reaction in my body in the form of cynicism, which has not happened to me in a long time when watching cute anime movies, and somehow, I cannot bring myself to award this more than 5/10.

Unico in the Island of Magic is much weaker than the first movie. There were not as many dark parts and atmosphere that I enjoyed in the first movie, plus, even though it was quite interesting, the narrative was way too predictable. Although the characters were quite endearing, the soundtrack and animation were not as impressive as before. In addition, I do not have any strong feelings about the main villain. In my opinion, the second Unico movie is "just" an average fairy tale this time. 5.2/10.

The Fantastic Adventures of Unico is basically a pretty well-made children's movie, even though it is also deliciously dark. I enjoyed the animation and the soundtrack, including Katy's Cat Song and others. The characters were quite endearing; the atmosphere was a success. It did not leave me feeling that I had watched anything unique, although it is definitely a very good movie. 8/10.

After a few minutes, I found this intriguing, and practically from the moment I saw the way the parcels were delivered, I got the impression that I was looking at something imaginative. This work reminded me that when these gentlemen from Wit Studio are not ripping off their own successful concepts and repeating themselves, they can quite successfully create pieces that are not just another "Attack on Seraph of the Iron Fortress," and that this should be the way I think they should go. In other words, Wit Studio has produced some quality work. Unlike my colleagues, I have been doing a bit of research on the further development of this one. Just for the record, I would like to take the liberty of stating that this is a three-part OVA that acts as a prequel to the manga of the same name and that the second part should be in theaters in February and on DVD on March 10, 2017. Still, the third one will be released on DVD in exactly one year. Personally, this is worth a high rating because it is really great as a first installment. 9/10.

Although it may not look like it if you read some of my reviews, I do actually like Makoto Shinkai's work very much. The man can produce a really great, enjoyable, poetic, and deep performance that a lot of people thoroughly enjoy. The only thing I had a bit of a problem with until today, and probably the main reason I could not give some of his works a full rating, was simply the ending. I always expected something that never came with most of them, and the conclusion never worked out as I had imagined. Moreover, the way Makoto usually concluded his work rather disappointed me, which made my feelings of having watched something great go down the drain. Well, now he has finally overcome that problem. Makoto has finally delivered a conclusion that enhanced my experience and therefore simply deserves five stars from me. The animation, soundtrack, and characters are once again excellent, and even the way Makoto plays with time and consciousness makes this a very original and interesting movie. I have nothing to complain about; it was truly beautiful, pleasant, and poetic. 9.5/10.

Unlike the OVA, the anime series was too drawn out initially. I was expecting intense and comedic action right from the start; however, it took too long before I felt absorbed for my liking. The characters were fine, and it has a more sophisticated narrative than the OVA. However, I devoured the OVA; it was an excellent action-packed one-off. However, I watched the anime series on and off for over a week. Plus, the over-the-top emotionally charged moments (which I, unfortunately, did not find one-hundred percent convincing) were too much for my taste. The conclusion of the OVA was probably the only time I thought that what the anime’s writers did was over-the-top. In this anime series, it was much more frequent. I do not wish to say that the anime series is worse than the OVA, it just did not get to me as much, and that is why I am only awarding this show three stars, which is still good, though! 6.2/10.