Jeoffrey

Just when it was getting interesting, it was over... On the other hand, considering that the beginning of the second season just did not grab my interest at all and I had to force myself to watch the other episodes at some point... On the whole, I did not find the first few episodes all that interesting, and I was wondering after the first season (that was just a low-rent imitation of Natsume's Book of Friends) when did this show turn into a shoujo anime series. In addition to that, I also wondered why there were so many new bishounen characters all of a sudden, and if the "Enforcer" and "Justice" (some people translated it as "Judge") are somehow important to the plot, and also where the whole plot was heading during the first few episodes. I just could not enjoy the show as the endearing storyline about helping demons and the pleasant feelings you get after performing a good deed or hearing a good short story completely disappeared during the first couple of episodes. So then I felt like I was stuck watching some weird drama forced to figure out things that I simply did not find interesting. About halfway through the season, though, there is a change, and there are some episodes where those initial things I liked so much about the show, like say, the things I thought were good about the aforementioned Natsume (even though the quality is still low-rent) come through again. Then there was a pleasant surprise when the anime’s creators introduced a new storyline about the Ashiya family and I was finally hooked. There may be something that resembles the "mystery surrounding Natsume Reiko" a bit, however, the execution is solid and the character Ashiya Sakae seems quite interesting. I can pretty easily guess where this narrative is heading now even though it does not seem that bad at all, and so even if I am just awarding the same rating as I did in the first season, I am now even a little (but really only a little) looking forward to future episodes. 5.5/10.

Personally speaking, I would rate this show as a slightly above average and enjoyable anime series with really good narratives and interesting characters. I thought the best character was obviously the main female protagonist Boogiepop. I really liked her, especially her monologues, because of the way her character was narrating - the style and also the tone of her voice. In other words, when Boogiepop was speaking, it was very pleasant to listen to and I could fully understand most of what I was listening to. There was a lot of philosophizing and discussion, and I cannot say it bothered me that much, both in terms of the amount of dialogue and the content, in fact, it was quite the opposite. The show was often interesting and the dialogue, like each of the narratives and the way they were interconnected, was quite carefully thought out. The action scenes, although rather sparse, had some momentum. It also had an atmosphere, so that there was suspense at times, which meant I found myself intrigued by what was going to happen next. The suspense while not perhaps extremely intense, although it was enough to stop me from getting bored... 6.9/10.

There are some hidden gems that only a few people discover because they are hidden behind rather poor graphics that put a lot of people off. Therefore, there will always be those reviewers who, after watching one episode, are just going to give up on such productions and give them terrible ratings. Kemono Friends was supposedly one such anime series, and I know at least a few people who tried to convince me of that at the last traditional autumn festival of Japanese culture, Akicon... They failed! After the first episode of Kemono Friends, I still stand by the fact that because of some of the obviously bad aspects of the show I had no desire to get into it at all. However, I am now giving it a hard pass, despite the fact that the message of the show was supposed to be absolutely brilliant, and it has become a cult to some extent, and I am probably never going to give it a second chance... Now, this anime series, Kemurikusa, comes from the same director and lead writer (Tatsuki Omoto), and this time I can say that this is one of those aforementioned gems that most people will probably pass over because the animation looks quite poor. Plus, a lot of people are going to be put off because of the way some of the characters are designed, and things like the way they speak - just the fact that the whole thing can look and sound very strange. However, do not be fooled and follow them, because I found that it had an intriguing and unforgettable mysterious atmosphere from the first episode and so I decided to continue watching it despite the fact that it was perhaps not the best show out there. The secrets and mysteries concerning what is really going on, who is who, the interesting twists, and incredible originality become more and more apparent as it goes on (they gave me a much better impression of the show), and I was thinking it was really getting more interesting. Again, things were resolved in quite an original way, which I think peaks in the brilliant penultimate part (and that has an absolutely amazing final scene, where the narrative very magically transitions into the ending and everything makes sense), and it all finishes with quite an acceptable conclusion during the last scene. (Although in my opinion the over-the-top action in the final fight scene was not that necessary, and due to the poor animation, I felt it rather spoiled the impression of the show = it could have had less action and been more emotional.) This gives me a complete overall impression of the show, provides the last answer we were waiting for and leaves the audience with some food for thought. You get a really good overall picture of what and how everything happened... The narrative itself is very good (or rather excellent), and the atmosphere, which is helped a lot by the post-apocalyptic setting and the mystery surrounding all the weird robobugs and fog and what the hell is Kemurikusa anyway. This makes it a nice experience if you keep your mind open and keep your mind focused on the things you are watching. The animation may be quite poor, however, I quite liked the soundtrack and not only the openings and endings, but it is also enjoyable even throughout the whole season. Therefore, apart from one big weakness (the animation), which I cannot get over, pure enthusiasm prevails and I really thought it was a hidden treasure among the winter releases and that is why I am going to award it a strong four stars - 8.2/10.

This show gave me my regular dose of cuteness for the winter, and I loved this anime series from the opening to the ending, as well as the vast majority of the characters. In my opinion, they are so nicely put together and each little girl is charming in her own cute way, plus there is the protagonist Miyako who is fighting her own social anxiety, and who I just could not help but root for during certain moments. Sure, I could once again argue about this anime series being too concerned with an unhealthy obsession for little girls, and how I really do not find that at all appropriate by my standards either, although I am not going to. It did not ruin my impression of this show, and Hana was really so cute (she is my favorite character) that I actually kind of get Miyako. So, for me, the overriding part of the enjoyment of this show, in general, is the gushing over the cuteness of the girls, and I was touched by the beautiful conclusion when I enjoyed the performance of the school play, with all the songs. It went beyond my expectations, I was really satisfied with the main female protagonist and the progress she made fighting her anxiety issues, and well, I am going to remember some of the funny scenes. So actually I am really satisfied with this show. 8/10.

Occasionally this is a rather entertaining show which is based on a lot of absurd situations and inventions. There is also the fact that the girl is trying hard to impress the boy, who could not really care, and if it happens to work out, everything turns against the girl. The first part of the season (the absurd part) has something to it, if you can get past the very strong emphasis on various perversions (in other words, if you are not put off by the first episode and the idea of drinking filtered urine - you are going to be OK with the rest of the season...). There are a lot of unexpected things, total bullshit and ideas that could have only come from the minds of Japanese anime creators, with the caveat that every now and then something is going to be of some interest. The second part (with the romantic overtones) is nothing new, and there have been a few boys who are so "oblivious to it all" in the anime world, however, in this show it is occasionally amusing and Tanaka rocks the house at times, and Ueno is occasionally cute. 5.8/10.

There are three different stories where the only connection seems to be the idea or perhaps the vision of "modest (or rather ordinary) heroism". Anyway, I am not very good at judging everything as a whole, so I will break down each story separately. The first is Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s story about the crab siblings. There were two things that I was blown away by, that captivated and enchanted me - the animation and the soundtrack. Both aspects were really very good and watching some of the scenes where water was the main character, I questioned whether I was actually watching an animated movie - because it felt so incredibly real at times, and so incredibly pretty when combined with the animated characters! If this is the direction animation is going to take, I am going to be really happy if they are going to have such realistic landscapes and water in other movies and anime series. The narrative was not bad at all and the message of heroism came across clearly. It showed off Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s flair for the slightly mystical and magical, and I am awarding the first story 7/10. Then there was the second part from Yoshiyuki Momose about a boy and his mother's struggle with food intolerance. It is an unpretentious subject that was very close to my heart for some reasons, all quite nicely presented with the main idea revealed as the title of this movie, and it deserves a decent 6/10. The last story is from Akihiko Yamashita and is about the woes of an invisible man. This story appealed to me probably the least, the supernatural dimension did not pull me in, and I could not really relate to the main male protagonist. So, during key scenes, I could not understand where this story's strength lay. I am therefore only awarding it 4/10. If we average all these ratings, we are at something like 5.6/10.

I preferred the second season of Mob Psycho 100 to the first as I just enjoyed it more. I immediately liked the first episode of this second season, which I found a bit deeper and more sophisticated than anything I had previously seen (in the first season). I found its short story very interesting. I also liked the character development, the fact that at some point the main male protagonist Mob was able to stand up to his "master", and his character finally started to come through more intensely as he was rather flat in the first season compared to this. Similarly, Reigen was increasingly more likable in this season. In addition to all that, I also enjoyed the ending and the final fight scene, although there was too much talking for my taste. However, it was also suspenseful in certain moments and the graphics were especially quite interesting. So, I do not feel disappointed and I am awarding this 6.7/10.

Endro! is a cute, funny, and nice relaxing series, which is going to be especially appreciated by all fans of animated girls and cute things, so for me, it is ideal. I found it entertaining and I was pleasantly touched by the ending. I, therefore, ended up with that goofy smile I have when watching this kind of anime series. I liked most of the episodes, I liked the characters and I literally fell in love with Mao. In conclusion, I found this group of characters really enjoyable, though there were moments where I thought it was terrible rubbish, and I would rather completely forget episodes like the ninth one, mainly because of how little the concept of magic cards caught my attention. 7.5/10.

This show is sort of like Barakamon with a cat, which has additionally borrowed the main gimmick from the Look Who's Talking movie franchise (the feature-length movies from the 1990s starring John Travolta). Simply put, it is an incredibly adorable, likable anime series about how a book author who has a lot of problems comes out of his shell through an encounter with a furry animal and realizes that staying on your own all the time is not right for a social being, which both humans and cats are. Or perhaps it was about a suspicious stray cat who, through an encounter with a strange man learns how to trust again... This is an enjoyable and entertaining show, helped a lot by the alternation of perspective between the two main protagonists. As far as the emotional aspect is concerned, I thought they handled everything perfectly. In the beginning I had the feeling that everything was pleasantly warm and funny, and most importantly that they did not try to force things to any extreme emotionally, or milk it for all it was worth, which I welcomed and enjoyed immensely. The real drama came at the very end, however, considering the fact that I ended up with a huge smile on my face, it obviously worked for me - in other words, I have nothing to complain about. I like cats (even though I am allergic to them), and it was the anime series I was looking forward to the most out of the whole of the winter releases (and the one that gets full marks from me). 9.3/10.

"Let us go to find the second most venomous snake in the world; my wife said she saw it in our garage!" Someone else may be referred to as the "snake master", however, what the "crocodile hunter" is doing with snakes is flawless. Perhaps every one of the top ten most venomous snakes will be caught, grabbed by the tail, and dramatically lifted into the air, although Steve knows exactly what he is doing, as he can lift two snakes into the air and perform with them at once. In the documentary, Steve says that he does not like people who are afraid of snakes, and he demonstrates that by showing just how much he is not afraid of them in the slightest. Of course, you can enjoy the documentary even though it is so dramatic your eyes pop out of your head, and of course, you will feel like your knowledge in the field of science increased because of the fact this documentary is so informative in such an interesting way. I enjoyed it - 9/10.