Jeoffrey

Healer Girl is a show that takes the expression "music heals" quite literally. Personally, I found Healer Girl to be an enjoyable series filled with music, singing, and vibrant visuals. My only regret is that the writers didn't make it even more musical, as the musical scenes and accompanying singing were likely the highlights of the entire series for me. Despite not being a fan of musicals and singing in general, the musical aspect of the show just worked for me. I appreciated the overall tone, energy, and atmosphere of the series. I also liked the protagonists and their determination, as well as their struggles. While watching, I could genuinely believe that music had the power to heal or at least provide some temporary solace. 7/10

It's a fun and silly show. Some of its aspects worked out great, others didn’t. It's a weird mishmash of all kinds of things, and there are certain rules that the series often fails to follow or simply forgets. The society is portrayed as a matriarchy, with women supposedly holding the main power, but besides initial conflicts with the stepmother and occasional heroic tea parties, I never got the impression that the position of women was even remotely dominant, quite the other way round. So, it's a pointless premise that is not fully utilized and hardly works at all. The handling of social status and nobility is also quite odd. Another thing that drove me nuts about the series was the constant repetition of "I'm just a mob character..." especially when the main protagonist doesn't act accordingly and then wonders why everything gets so complicated. It's satisfying to see Luxion give him a hard time in the final episode. However, the rewards given to the main character don't feel satisfying. It’s as if someone is throwing them at him against his will. I know it’s the creative intention and it's supposed to be funny, but it works maybe the first time, and then it becomes irritating (just like the hero saying that he's just a mob character again...). And now for the positives. The best thing about the series is the main protagonist, who is rotten and sarcastic, but ultimately still a good guy. He's one of those who understand that before you hit someone, you need to defeat them verbally. I really grew fond of Leon, and I enjoyed almost every interaction he had with everyone else: He had the best chemistry with Luxion, so it’s obvious who the ideal waifu for the main character is! The other characters are also well-portrayed. There are plenty of reasons not to like the prince and his entourage and to root for the hero instead, however, even they gradually reveal some good qualities that made me appreciate them, too. Similarly, the main female characters are sometimes strong, and sometimes tragic, but always relatable and likable. The story is a confusing journey of an involuntary hero, which, thanks to his knowledge of the game, isn't too dramatic or thrilling. It’s fun to watch the hero outsmart everyone, though. It didn't get boring for me even after twelve episodes. 6.4/10.

Dance Dance Danseur didn't have it easy with me because ballet isn't exactly a topic that I find interesting. About twenty years ago, I saw Swan Lake at the National Theatre, and although it was a decent performance, it didn't really resonate with me. Right from the trailers, I was annoyed by the character design, which reminded me of another poorly executed dance anime, Welcome to the Ballroom. It was those unnaturally long necks and limbs again, which just didn't look right. Then came the first episode, and I was really impressed by a particular dance performance. I found something to like about the series and a reason to keep watching. Simply put, the depiction of ballet itself, the way every movement is captured, how the emotions are expressed through it, and how wonderfully it is accompanied by music, visuals, and colors, is outstanding. Unlike in Ballroom, there is a lot of actual dancing here, and the series manages to sell ballet even to those who aren’t interested in it by making it look truly magnificent and enchanting. Unfortunately, there were other things besides the long necks that didn't sit well with me, that is, the characters and the story. The romantic triangle and the way it was resolved didn't appeal to me. I still don't quite understand Miyako’s take on this. Luo was a particularly unlikable character. The series did a good job of explaining his motivation, past, and everything that influenced him, but I still couldn't find a way to like him. I could understand him, even pity him, I just couldn't like him. What I admired about Junpei was his enthusiasm and the way he put emotions into everything, however, sometimes he seemed like a loud and almost annoying hero from an average sports anime or shōnen, so it took me a while to relate to him. There were several moments in the story when I didn't quite understand the characters’ decisions. I knew what the authors were aiming for, but I couldn't personally agree with them. On the other hand, I'm sure there will be many people who won't have a problem with this and who will see themselves in the characters. For me, Dance Dance Danseur is definitely an above-average anime, better than Welcome to the Ballroom. It's a great advertisement for ballet, but still, due to the issues I mentioned, it won't get more than 6.3/10 from me.

This series wasted its potential by not being able to sell me on any of its interesting themes. There are plenty of excellent and original ideas, but the way they are handled is either boring or silly. Plus, you can tell what one of the major plot twists will be right from the first few episodes. The show also doesn’t do a very good job of building an atmosphere. There must be something seriously wrong when the finale feels like a poorly-written subplot. The series is based on a yuri novel, so there should be some romance, but not even that works. The chemistry between the main characters feels incredibly weak. I found only two of the main characters somewhat likable (Menou and the princess), while the other two (Akari and Momo) mostly got on my nerves. Momo in particular was often downright annoying. I liked the animation, except for the CGI caterpillar in the last two episodes. When I first saw it, I had to laugh at how bad it looked. Overall, I didn't enjoy watching this series very much. I could think of several things that could have been done with the story from a screenwriting perspective. The way it was actually handled wasn’t interesting enough for me. The show still has the potential to be good, but I don’t think I’ll be watching another season. 4.4/10

This is not a show for everyone. Personally, I would describe it as a romantic comedy for laid-back individuals with a rich imagination and a unique sense of humor. Aharen didn't have it easy from the beginning. At first glance, the story seemed very similar to Komi-san, whose second season is airing at the same time. Even before it started, I heard people say, "Why should I watch this when Komi is airing this season?" Those who watched a few initial episodes had a tendency to compare the two and found Aharen to be weaker in all aspects. Interestingly, I felt the opposite way for the first three episodes and enjoyed Aharen slightly more. I appreciated that the series clearly focused on the main couple and the development of their relationship. While there was the theme of a socially awkward girl looking to make friends, it didn't mean she needed a hundred of them, so there was no need to stuff each episode with more and more new characters that would ultimately turn out to be just shallow filler (that's how the first few episodes of the second season of Komi felt to me). Instead, there were fun interactions between the main characters and the relationship between them was charmingly cute and sometimes funny. Unfortunately, what quickly became repetitive and started annoying me was the humor which turned this into a rather mediocre show. Asato Mizu didn't convince me with her Denki-Gai, so I didn't give it much of a chance back then. Her style of humor didn't resonate with me, and the same started happening here. I have an issue with the concept itself, which is incredibly repetitive. The exact same thing was repeated four times in one episode (the main couple competing against each other) without much creative invention. I guess it was supposed to be funny how the main character interpreted the behavior of his female counterpart, but it felt so improbable and silly sometimes that I couldn’t understand how such thoughts even occurred to him. Aharen didn’t seem all that incomprehensible; it’s just that Raido’s imagination was much too wild. Sometimes the explanation turned out to be pathetically trivial, and I was wondering if it was even necessary. Other times, it was just as insane as Raido's fantasies, and then it either hit the mark, and I enjoyed it, or it was a complete shot in the dark that ruined everything for me. Similarly, the repetition of the joke with the female teacher who physically can't handle intensely romantic moments soon grew tiresome. So how did I end up giving it an above-average rating when the essential aspect of the series didn’t work for me? Simply put, the show made up for it with another aspect: romance. I loved how naturally everything developed, and I found it endearing. The romance made me genuinely enjoy the last few episodes, which tipped the imaginary scales in favor of this series. 6.5/10

The second season brings solutions to several important scientific problems and provides answers to some troubling questions. It delves into a few earlier topics and introduces new issues that need to be addressed because scientific research never ends, and life tends to complicate things. The answers to burning questions like "Who/what determines if we are in love?" are trivially simple and immediately clear to an average person, but the scientific team has to find a way to answer them through a complex and intricate path because, in the world of science, there are no claims without precise evidence and studies. It was a peculiar journey that was quite entertaining and introduced new quirky characters. Besides romantic adventures, it also tackled the concept of what is considered normal. An interesting theme, albeit with a fairly obvious and logical answer again. What didn’t appeal to me was the weird fan service at times or a few moments that might have seemed logical but were a bit silly and not in a humorous way. The season finale was also quite weird, and I'm not entirely convinced if it fit into the overall concept and tone of the series. Then again, I liked the message that the truly dangerous lunatics don't usually have the word "Damaged" tattooed on their foreheads, so you won't recognize them right away. What else worked? Romance, humor, characters... The positive aspects outweighed the negatives for me, so after a thorough analysis, my verdict is: 7/10.

Paripi Kómei is by far the biggest surprise of the Spring 2022 anime season, and I almost feel like the creators used several well-established strategies to ensure its success. What do I mean by that? For example, they released the first episode as the very first anime of the spring, at a time when there was no other new show to watch, so even people who might not have initially been interested in the series gave it a go. Another successful move was the choice of the opening theme song. Since it's a music anime, the music is important, and the opening is probably the first thing you notice. And someone in the creative team obviously thought that the unknown disco song they heard on vacation in Hungary could be a perfect fit for this series. By deciding to cover this song, they created the best anime opening of the entire spring season, which caught almost everyone’s attention, and created a lot of buzz. It was quite amusing to see how this song made its way through the internet and accumulated around ten million views across various channels within three weeks (it has almost tripled that since then). The number of viewers also went up, as the show managed to maintain people’s attention thanks to its qualities. But it's not just the opening that was great; the singer who lent her voice to Eiko was also excellent. Her first song in the opening episode had a similar effect on me as it did on the famous Kongming. I really liked her voice, and Kuroneko showed that she can sing very well in English too (which is an achievement in itself because you know how it is with English in anime). It wouldn't be a good anime without compelling characters and a good story, and this series has both. Kongming is an incredibly charismatic protagonist—intelligent, kind, simply put, a likable character. Eiko is also great, and her character truly matures as a person during the series, finding confidence and purpose, and the whole journey is beautifully portrayed. Kongming shows us how character development should be done. It’s nice to watch the characters realize things and find answers to their questions on their own. With just a little, but well-thought-out, help from our strategist. Even Kabetaijin, Nanami, and many others have their great moments and storylines, and everything is presented in an incredibly charming and human way. The individual strategies also worked, although I sometimes questioned their morality, but so did the authors, and Kongming always managed to smoothly maneuver through it all without his reputation suffering a blow. The emotions and atmosphere are also excellent — it is often suspenseful, other times pleasantly satisfying, and mostly just plain enjoyable to watch. The animation is also quite well handled. There is great work with color and effects, and lights are used very well to enhance the impression of a musical performance. Paripi Kómei deserves its success, just as its main characters deserve it on their journey. The creative team really seem to know what they're doing. If Spy x Family wasn't airing in the spring season, this would unquestionably be the anime of the season for me (excluding sequels). This way, it's "only" a 9/10 and I hope there will be another season soon.

One book is finished, it's time to start writing another one... Let me start my review from the end. The third season finale is amazing; it is wonderfully emotional and bittersweet, and most of the storylines are logically and satisfyingly concluded. I truly enjoyed this episode today. However, the rest of the series didn't have the same impact on me. At times, it all felt rushed, and the charming and creative lightness that permeated the first season was no longer there. New inventions were introduced, and the creative process, production, and the problems connected with it were just a few of the many things that the show dealt with. Sometimes the series seemed to be too much all over the place given the number of episodes. Nevertheless, it all held together, and everything was easy to follow, with each theme receiving enough attention. Thus, even in the midst of all the intrigue of the local nobility, problems within the church, business problems, and occasional inventions (and the resulting consequences for the society), there was still room for a decent story with a good atmosphere. There were moments when I feared for the heroine and her loved ones. It was a well-written story, and I often had to admire Main; there was a lot she had to deal with on her journey. There’s no need to go into much detail about the character development in the third season. The characters work exactly as they should (you will love some of them, hate some of them, but none of them will leave you indifferent). I liked the animation and music as well. The third season gets a shining 8/10 from me and I’m eagerly awaiting the next adventure of this lovable bookworm.

This is a very well-produced drama regarding both the atmosphere and narrative, plus it has well-developed characters. Aside from one minor reference that is rather dull and smacks of too much fan service (in the form of one rather feeble episode), it creates a decent thoughtful atmosphere, which is interesting for someone like me. I have to say that the characters are the best thing about this show. I have not seen characters this interesting in a long time, and finding out more about the main male protagonist is more intriguing to me than, say, the mystery of what is hidden in Eren Yeager's basement. I find Ayanokouji an incredibly likable character in general. It seems like it has been an awfully long time since I have looked up to a male anime protagonist with such interest, fascination, and quiet admiration. Well, if I also mention the collection of attractive girls and women, where the female teacher of Class D is just as engaging as the main male protagonist (and I thought she was pretty hot too). The other ladies also teased my intellect, so in that respect, this production gets a full 10/10 for its characters. As far as the narrative and atmosphere are concerned, the narrative unfolds slowly and is sometimes surprising. At other times it only lightly hints at some of its trump cards; however, the anime’s authors always create a real climax in each episode that works out well. This means that every conclusion of any episode is suitably dramatic and again makes the viewer hungry for more. Plus, the very ending (of what I hope is the first season) created an incredible appetite for future episodes and reaffirmed how much I enjoy and care about the main male protagonist. So, in a rush of euphoria from the last episode, I am going to raise the overall rating to the maximum and start hoping that more episodes will be forthcoming and that all the mystery, logic, and deliberation are not going to disappear from this anime series in the future. 9/10.

Urawa no Usagi-chan is an original anime TV series aimed to promote Urawa in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It features some ordinary tales about the high school days of eight extraordinary girls. I thought it was a simple and peaceful if slightly crazy slice-of-life anime series in places where nothing much happens. The running time of each episode also makes it impossible to get really into it as an immersive experience because before I could feel charmed by it, it was over. However, it is an adorable show, and it made me laugh a bit, so I am going to award this show two stars because even though it is quite enjoyable to watch, it did not do much for me.