Jeoffrey

Even though the Yuru Camp girls have grown up, it hasn’t affected the atmosphere of the film. It's still got that nice feel, the characters have hardly changed at all, and the animation is still good (except for the CGI cars and motorbikes on the roads). The music nicely complements it, contributing to the overall delightful and relaxing experience. Plus, we get to experience camping from a fresh and original perspective. Instead of the usual "let's go camping" it's "let's build a campsite" this time. The interesting tips, instructions, and recipes that were a nice added value in the series are still part of it. On the other hand, it’s almost too long, and the theme didn’t draw me in as much as traditional camping and the experiences that go with it, so I didn't consider it a big deal when there was this one moment when things didn't go exactly according to plan for the girls. Still, I consider it an enjoyable two hours. I'm glad I got to learn more about the fates of my favorite protagonists, and I'm looking forward to the third season which has already been announced. 7.7/10

I'm of the opinion that if you want to have a truly comprehensive overview of something, you don’t only need to know the best but also the worst that there is to offer. After all, it's good to find out where the rock bottom is. Then you can say to yourself that the anime you've just watched is terrible, but it's still better than, say, Pupa or Vampire Holmes. Similarly, 3D animation has its Trolland (and now Foodfight!). So, when one of my favorite users rated this today and I found out that it’s supposed to be the worst 3D animation given the year of production and budget, I prepared myself for the worst and went for it. And it's really bad - a dumb, repulsive, and pathetic film that made me wonder where the 65 million dollars went. Certainly not into the animation, direction, or script. The only person who seemed to have made any effort was the guy in charge of the music, but even that couldn't save the abomination that was happening on screen.  Imagine a dumb B-movie detective story wrapped in the most amateurish animation you've ever seen. The movements of most of the characters and some of the objects (such as a plane) feel jarring and unnatural, the characters look artificial, and the creators couldn't even handle complete basics such as making the characters' eyes look at least somewhat lifelike. On top of that, the textures (grass, sidewalks) are terrible and look like something out of a retro game from the early 90s. The dialogue is a chapter unto itself, and its dullness certainly didn't help me follow what was going on. Even the humor is incredibly cheesy. I had a few laughs at how bad the whole thing was, but it only lasted me for the first few minutes. After that I just stared open-mouthed, wondering what the hell I was watching... 0/10

Book 3 gave the first part of the story a satisfying conclusion, so I was quite worried about what the next story would build on. When I saw in the trailer that there would be a 2-year time jump, and the series would have to deal with the pitfalls connected with the passage of time during which certain things occurred that the viewer didn’t have a chance to see, I got increasingly concerned about how the series would follow up on the story and whether it would maintain the good impression I have of it. Moreover, I wasn’t exactly thrilled by the fact that the writers decided to revive an already defeated villain (this is not a spoiler, it's in the trailer + the very first scene of the first episode...). After all, I still remember Palpatine in Star Wars and how lame it seemed. To be honest, the first two episodes or so really weren't that great. I had to get used to the new circumstances and some twists that had happened in the meantime. Luckily, everything was properly explained and described. In fact, not that much had happened and most things were just a logical consequence of the developments from the previous series. On the other hand, the humor didn’t really work for me at first. I seriously cringed at how corny some of the jokes and situations were. However, the writers somehow managed to keep me interested in the series, and things gradually started tangling up and the show was becoming more than good again. If there's one thing this series does well, it's creating an atmosphere, which makes you feel like something important is going on. It also does a great job of working with the characters, their motivations, and their problems, which are easily understandable, and you can empathize with most of the characters. Plus, no character is explicitly good or evil, they're just human (elves, dragons...) with their flaws, insecurities, and dreams, striving for what they think is right. As a starting point for the next part of the story, it eventually worked for me. Towards the end, I got to the point where I was literally devouring the episodes, and I would have loved to be able to watch the next season straight away... 7.5/10

Romantic Killer is quite a nice crazy romantic comedy, although... There's plenty of humor, but the jokes walk a fine line between funny and dumb, and I can't decide which prevails. Some of the ideas and the way the series pokes fun at classic romcom clichés are quite hilarious and entertaining. Then again, the series itself can't avoid many of the clichés, so it’s sometimes pleasantly surprising, while other times it’s incredibly transparent and a viewer familiar with Japanese anime will know exactly what's next to come. In the more serious passages, the writers explore a lot of interesting issues and handle them in a very satisfying way, so I enjoyed the finale quite a bit. However, some of the characters and their actions sometimes strike me as silly, and not exactly believable. The series also has romance, which is ever-present given the premise, but any actual romantic moments that would create tension or drive the story forward are few and far between. Sure, it’s intentional, and it makes sense, but it turns a romantic series into yet another advertisement for friendship, which is a bit disappointing. Almost every major character has a personality trait that makes me like them, but also something that managed to annoy me over time. The regular animation was rather mediocre, but I appreciate the variety of traditional comedic animation devices the writers used and the wide range of the main character's goofy expressions. I also liked the fact that the cheesy 3D CGI animation used for the imaginary dating game (which I noticed already in the trailer) was actually bad on purpose. So, Romantic Killer is quite a nice crazy romantic comedy, that I passed a day with, had some good laughs, and which even gave me some food for thought, but unfortunately it wasn't a strong enough experience for me to rate it a 4*. Anyway, whoever manages to have a shot each time  someone says "ikemen" including the ending and documents the whole thing, gets a bottle of their choice from me...6.4/10

My first completely unplanned glimpse into the world of Kamen Rider turned out pretty okay for me. Why unplanned? Because when I watched the first episode, I had absolutely no idea that Fuuto Tantei was set in the world of these superheroes. If I had known, I’d have probably skipped the series, which might have been a shame. Luckily, the writers managed to get me hooked by the very first episode by introducing interesting and distinctive characters. The moment I got to meet Shoutarou, who was instantly likable, I had a feeling that I would go on watching until the end. However, it wasn’t until Tokime appeared on the screen that I became confident about this series and knew that at least these two characters would make me enjoy it. And it really wasn't bad overall, though I didn't really enjoy all the fights with the Dopants. I wasn’t too interested in the concept of the Kamen Riders and how it all worked, and I was quite annoyed by how they kept loudly announcing the use of each new ability, suit activation, and whatnot. On the other hand, I got decent and interesting detective stories that had some good ideas and atmosphere (it had a cool vibe). In the end, the final plot about Shadow Fuuto really had something going for it. As I said, I’m quite happy with the series. There were things I found interesting about it which outweighed the things I didn't enjoy that much. If there is another season, I’ll watch it, if only to find out more about Tokime’s story. 6/10

Pantheon is a huge surprise to me. It was a series that I happened to stumble upon and watched the first episode without knowing anything about it, perhaps because I was intrigued by the poster. But the very first episode got me hooked and its mystery piqued my interest in what was to come. It doesn't feel spectacular at the beginning, one or two mysteries are hinted at, which was enough to keep me interested. The start is slow, but Pantheon just gets better and better with each new episode. The writers gradually lay their cards on the table, showing the themes they want to tackle and everything feels incredibly interesting, logical, and realistic. You believe most of the characters' motivations, you see how they come to various decisions, you understand them, and you start to relate to them, so it works on an emotional level because they’re just so human. It's a series that gradually develops, adds more interesting topics to think about, and provides various different answers to its questions, as well as enough space for the viewer to think about them. It's an intelligent show, and a quality sci-fi, and I have no problem believing the science on which it is based. Even the ending of the first season was handled well. The conclusion to some of the storylines was very satisfying and made me excited enough for the next season, which it’s clearly heading towards. When you factor in the decent animation and a pretty good soundtrack, the result is an amazing experience. 9/10

As a loose sequel to The Tatami Galaxy, Tatami Time Machine Blues certainly doesn't fall behind. The good old cast of characters is there again, the series has quite an interesting idea that it develops very well (instead of playing with different possibilities, it’s about time travel this time as the title suggests). The main idea, presented in the fifth episode, is also great and makes you think. It has those strange and original visuals which I like a lot, and the score (especially the opening and ending) is excellent. It's still quite heavy on dialogue, which is very fast, and you have to concentrate not to miss any important details, but that's what I was counting on, and it gives the series a nice kick of energy. Admittedly, I had mixed feelings about the fourth episode and the way it resolved the problem with a certain object which was at the center of the action and played a much more important role than the time machine itself. Even though I was told that everything was okay, I suspected that it wasn't and that things didn't work that way. Obviously, the authors knew that. They saw everything through until the end, closed the rest of the logical holes that I found, and revealed all the punchlines. The finale itself is a bit redundant in the story, but it ties it all back to the original concept of The Tatami Galaxy, so I was glad it was there. It's a good show, a bit shorter, so some of the characters don't get as much space, but it's still handled very well. 8/10

It’s a weird series. On one hand, it is a story about a young girl who comes to take care of an abandoned boy and a strange relationship starts to develop between them that is somewhere between building a family and a mediocre romance. On the other hand, it's basically a sort of The Duke of Death and His Maid shouta edition, without any of the supernatural stuff, where the most suspicious thing is the fact that an eighteen-year-old girl is flirting with a boy who's around twelve, and I wonder if anyone other than just the FBI should be interested. Even the jokes are built around the girl occasionally saying something ambiguous, to which she gets an honest response of an innocent child, which is at the same time worthy of an above-average Casanova who can make any girl blush. Then there’s the main character's strange friend, who at twelve has obviously read her mother's entire collection of romance novels, and sees what the viewer can also figure out, but what the boy is clueless about. In short, the whole thing is much more complicated and ambiguous, the characters themselves realize this and come to a fairly logical conclusion - let's see what actually happens in the end. Fortunately, it works quite well as a comedy, and emotionally it is also quite endearing when the relationship between the main couple is forming and developing. In the end, I consider it a passable comedy full of various double entendres, but one that I didn’t enjoy as much as the already mentioned Duke of Death. What didn’t help it much was the not-so-funny opening, in which the main character thinks everything is suspicious, including total bullshit. It made me want to drink a shot each time I heard him say "Ayashii". What kept me watching was the question "Why did the maid come to the mansion?" to which I eventually got a logical and agreeable answer which improved my final impression to 5.5/10.

The beginning of the second season was an unpleasant surprise for me. If people were complaining that the first season pushed the importance of buddies a little too hard, the second season went completely overboard in that regard. It's all about buddies, everyone has a partner, and everyone has some supposedly terrible problem at the beginning. This makes the first half feel like relationship counseling and a never-ending build-up of each pair of characters. What kept me watching were the hints that something big was about to happen and also the brothers Fugan and Mugan. With each new episode, I was secretly hoping for these two to finally get to the city so that things could really get going. I understand the importance of building up the characters’ relationships. It does pay off in the finale as it makes their chemistry more convincing, but there were too many build-up episodes in a row and they mostly felt the same (someone has a problem and goes to the main characters who try to help, but the character in question and his buddy manage to work it out themselves in the end). Fortunately, the final confrontation with the brothers was truly epic, the fights were nice, and all that building up of the individual superhero pairs eventually didn't go to waste. The first half of the second season seemed like a slightly above-average series, which I quite enjoyed. The second half, however, really stepped up the game, benefiting from everything that the first half had built up, tying up some loose ends, and starting the biggest adventure and most complex threat the heroes have had to face. And it worked, although it was constantly repeated how important trust is and that you can achieve anything with a partner, and those who don’t have friends end up as tragic antagonists. There were also moments of gloomy atmosphere, drama, and sometimes almost hopelessness, and great moments when the heroes get back on their feet and try to beat the odds. It’s full of heroic clichés, but they are well delivered and serve their purpose. The ending was satisfying in most respects. It was suspenseful, sometimes quite surprising (like what Mission A is). The only thing that didn't sit well with me was Lunatic’s storyline, I expected more from it. The animation was decent, even the use of CGI on the superhero costumes looked pretty cool. Despite a few reservations and an unimpressive beginning, I actually ended up enjoying the second season and I’m giving it a 7/10.

What I liked most about the series was the whole concept of Hero TV. It was entertaining and well thought out, including the sponsor companies, commercials, scoring, etc. The writers turned superheroes into a functioning show business, and I found it creative, funny, yet believable. Plus, the central pair of characters, Tiger and Bunny, were likable and had great chemistry, like Riggs and Murtaugh, and they each had their own interesting problem to deal with. I enjoyed the resolution of Barnaby's past and Kaburagi's future as much as I enjoyed them gradually getting to know each other and becoming buddies. What I also liked was Lunatic, a very interesting and well-portrayed character whose motivations and approach to justice actually made sense to me, but I could also see what was wrong with it. The show's message was also quite appealing, although it was sometimes pushed too hard and I felt like the subtitle could have been "Friendship is Magic", but it didn’t bother me all that much. Tiger & Bunny was a great show which I have been reminded of a couple of times since (for example when watching The Boys, by which I mean the commercials and medialization of superheroes, there were no other similarities otherwise), and I was glad to see that the show got a second season after more than a decade. 7.8/10