Jeoffrey

Scalpelexis fairly quickly and very accurately summed up the basic skeleton of this whole anime series. On the one hand, we have some minor gamesmanship, where we get to know the rules and gameplay a little (although really only a little), and in the midst of it all, we have to deal with some of the minor and would-be major troubles of life. However, the main problem is that there is not much gameplay, and all those problems are not half as original, dramatic, or otherwise interesting as they should be. Plus, it is a typical anime series about a bunch of young girls with a basic premise, that everyone already knows all too well, that "friendship solves every problem". Also, the storylines are really fucking obvious and without any other, somehow successful crossover. Still, if you like relaxing, unpretentious anime with young girls, then this is easy to watch. There is nothing in the show that would make me angry or is that offensive, or which otherwise negatively affected me in any way, however, at the same time there is very little that caught my attention and stuck in my head. So in the end, I guess the only thing I am going to take away from this anime series is some advice, however, I could have probably come up with some advice too (like if you are making a game, you should give it to someone to play... ), a few general facts that would not be hard to find out though (like that a lot of games were created by someone simply changing or modifying the rules of an existing game), and maybe some general game strategy, though no, as far as new strategies and tricks go, I am going to have NO advantages here. If I also mention the uninspiring animation, the rather formulaic (albeit tolerable) characters, and the unexceptional soundtrack, then I end up with a poor average overall. 4.6/10.

Okay, this show finally convinced me that it deserves an above-average rating, even if it took me an incredibly long time to get used to the pacing and put up with all the humorous interludes, which at times spoiled the mood and atmosphere and were often in stark contrast to the serious stuff the anime series was aiming for. Anyway, it is true that you really do not see much of this kind of thing, and that even though the pace is slow and the development of the main protagonist is even slower it still manages to engage and make you think. There is an outsider, a man wrapped up in his own world, which slowly opens up to us and we are able to penetrate his world, which is depressing on the one hand, and, on the other hand, sometimes quite beautiful. Everything is explained mostly in allusions, you have to make a lot of assumptions and try to empathize with the characters. There are a lot of supporting characters and you can find out stuff about all of them, however, again these characters are introduced gradually and very slowly. All in all, it is a pretty deep, complex, and fairly well-crafted look into the life of one man dedicated to a sport that might not be everyone's cup of tea, and I imagine there will be many who give up after a few episodes. As for the style of animation, it is very distinctive and I cannot say I liked it. The soundtrack, however, was very good. So, on reflection, and given the fact that I eventually got to know the main protagonist and discovered some very interesting characters (like Shimada and Souya...) I am ending the first season with 7/10 and will continue watching more episodes in the fall of 2017.

If you are not familiar with the manga, this short OVA, which practically throws you somewhere far beyond the beginning of the story (which it briefly introduces you to) and only introduces the characters, does not really tell you much of anything. For fans of the original source material and participants in the fundraiser for this project (a short anime promo for the manga), it is a dream come true. I am in the former category, so this was my first encounter (I was intrigued by the content and the fact that it is a fantasy and comedy together). However, I did like the atmosphere of this OVA and I found some of the characters intriguing, while others I would have quite possibly found irritating over time. Even though the jokes were quite poor, it was still at least a little bit interesting, so it was not a complete waste of time. 4.7/10.

This anime series is really a monstrosity. In the beginning, it looks like a narrative based on Romeo and Juliet, however, it quickly turns into a feud between two clans with brutal slaughter, where someone dies in almost every episode. It also has an amazing atmosphere, heaps of violence, and a decent amount of rawness in places, which makes this a real gem among action-adventure anime series. Moreover, the whole narrative is superbly crafted, and so besides all the slaughter it can sometimes be surprising, with really interesting twists, and there are some pretty strong emotional scenes too. The characters are not extremely complicated, however, they are certainly well developed and you are bound to find a character you are going to like (I liked Gennosuke, Oboro, Koshirou, Hotarubi, Saemon...) and hate (I hated Tenzen, Jingorou, Shougen...). The ending is very emotional and entertaining... So if you like animated violence and epic action, then Basilisk is for you. 9/10.

Original review from 2015: Lina Inverse is definitely one of the best main female protagonists I have ever seen, and she is in one of the funniest fantasy anime series, along with a bunch of really unique supporting characters that complement her nicely. Compared to the movies and OVAs I have seen (because the plot of this anime series precedes them and I wanted to go through the narrative chronologically) I found this first season much more entertaining and the chemistry between the main characters was a bit better in my opinion. Nothing against Naga the Serpent, with "The Twins" and her terrifying laughter, however, Gourry, Zel, and Amelia (I could have done without Sylphiel) were far more diverse and interesting as supporting characters. Despite all that, I would not have minded if Naga had completed this elite group, perhaps instead of the aforementioned Sylphiel... Sure it has a few shortcomings and the humor can be slightly infantile at times and for some even a bit insane, however, that is kind of exactly the kind of entertainment I am into. So far, I am really satisfied with this anime series, and the only thing I am wondering about before I watch the next season is why I have not come across this anime series before? 9/10.

This is a very good shonen anime series with good animation and soundtrack, interesting characters, and a fairly straightforward plot. I really like the concept of the seven main protagonists being each of the seven deadly sins and even having the princess as the main female protagonist. This is because usually this genre actually portrays the main female protagonist as totally useless, however, in this show she is surprising and makes a decent effort to contribute something. I even liked Hawk who is a heroic talking pig. All in all, I have nothing to complain about, and in the final episodes, it gets to a stage where it is full of really epic fight scenes that even reach the levels of good old One Piece. So I have to say that I am incredibly hooked on The Seven Deadly Sins and I am going to start reading the manga series next week because I am incredibly interested in the continuation of this particular narrative. I think it is clear what the rating has to be - five stars (9.5/10).

At first glance, it looks like a short and cute yet foolish anime series about a girl and her robot sister. However, you should not let the opening credits fool you. When you take another look, it looks like a pretty sentimental and heartwarming show about a little girl coming to terms in a strange way with the loss of her little sister. However, attentive audiences will notice that from at least halfway through that something is really wrong with this too! The final twist reveals what it is really all about (i.e. all of the above and more) which I had managed to figure out, even though I am still not disappointed at all (that it was exactly as I suspected) and the ending was quite pleasing. 6.4/10.

This is a visually stunning movie. However, story-wise, it is a bit weak and too predictable. It was also quite charming, even though it certainly did not charm me as much as I would have liked, so I think 7/10 is about right. The ending itself was a bit disappointing and left me with only one thought "Why the hell did she wait so long?". Anyway, it was a very interesting and pleasant movie.

What can I say? Well, first of all, this is a very powerful movie! The movie’s makers have managed to portray emotions perfectly, and help the audience get really immersed in the whole of the movie. It is interesting how little it takes sometimes... For example, just that in one typical scene they actually skip the traditional dramatic slowdown and just serve up what happens as a punch in the audience’s face. At other times, the scenes can transition seamlessly from one mood to another, however, it is still done in such a way that it fits perfectly with the character's motivation and the logic of the moment. This sudden change of atmosphere again actually leaves a much stronger impression than if they had built up a sad and dramatic scene several minutes in advance…  In other words, everything works really well, and once again after a really long time, I had to hold back the tears and spend a good part of the movie going crazy with impatience regarding how it was all going to turn out. Just like the anime series, this movie is also very sophisticated and if the anime series reminded you of the best of the Monogatari anime series mixed with a twist like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, then definitely add some Steins;Gate here to finish up the cocktail! I think it still holds together and is still similarly great and I did not get bored for a minute. Sure, I could start looking for its various shortcomings, dealing with the paradoxes and analyzing the various aspects of all the phenomena in the movie, and whether I got it all right (it is not quite that straightforward after all). However, even that would not be able to overcome the intensity of the effect this movie had on me. The characters are excellent, the narrative is very strong, and the animation and soundtrack are also very good - I do not think I have anything else I need to say here - 9.7/10.

The third season was probably the most fun I have had so far. Part of the reason for that is all the beautiful and rich flora and fauna of Xadia - it was just obvious that someone had really gone to town designing this fantasy world. It is also due to the rather well-crafted and, for me, interesting final conflict, which I thoroughly enjoyed (Gandalf, are the eagles coming?!? No, those are...) and I am going to add points for the decent and entertaining romantic subplot, which, like the characters, I found very likable... Sure it was terribly clichéd in places, a lot of things were again predictable some episodes in advance, and the whole anime series is so inoffensive that I would hand it over to the PC Babies with a clear conscience. However, despite that, I surprisingly did not mind it at all! The fantasy genre, for me, has to have an enchanting atmosphere above all else - this show has that. The characters are still likable and fun, and they develop the way I imagined they would. The animation also gets a little better every season in my opinion. Keep it up! 8.4/10.