Jeoffrey

Rimmer alone makes it impossible not to love this series…

As a kid, I loved this TV show, and it made me interested in the human body, and it made me want to become a doctor for a while. I recently watched a few episodes again and found that even as an adult it is still really enjoyable. 10/10.

I am not too keen on complaining about this anime series, which I think is based on a pretty nice idea about "saving the otaku community". It also contains references to a very well-known anime series (Neon Genesis Evangelion) plus even lesser-known anime series (Is the Order a Rabbit?, Rozen Maiden, The Ryuo's Work is Never Done! etc.) in every episode. After all, it gently reminds me of other anime series that I have watched before, and I enjoyed speculating about what would be the next anime series to be referenced when watching each episode. Unfortunately, however, that was about the only thing I enjoyed! There were a lot of cute little girls, although not one of them pulled at my heartstrings. It is not just that I am probably going to forget their names after a few weeks (I may well have already forgotten them in fact), it is rather that I am going to forget these girls altogether. Neither the style of how the various manga/anime series were redeemed by the girls, nor the concept of the antagonists in the form of variously developed "viruses", nor the "main villain" impressed me either. Plus, it was mostly the same old same old, probably like Ash's encounter with the Team Rocket in Pokémon and (here we go yet again...), let us be honest here, it just gets pretty boring over time... I have never forgotten the anime series (that I have previously seen) referenced in this anime series, however, yet "Pastel Memories" will probably fade from my mind over time, and so when I compare this anime series to those that were mentioned in it and realize that the moment I guessed what they had in store for today's episode, my interest to keep watching it waned rapidly, I have to award it only something like 4.3/10.

I love Bungo Stray Dogs anime series and I really enjoyed the first two seasons. Now, I am about to watch the third season, and so when I noticed thanks to one of my favorite reviewers that the movie, which I must have missed last year, was out now, I just did not hesitate to get a hold of it and put it on. However, well, in all honesty, I have to say it was disappointing. For the first hour or so I was kind of bored, even though the anime’s creators introduced me to the plot with a nice flashback scene and quite an interesting narrative involving the backstories of both of the main male protagonists. At times I had trouble following everything as it rushed by at full throttle, and my attention sometimes wandered elsewhere during this time. Was it the movie’s fault? To tell you the truth, I just do not know, perhaps it was my own fault and I had unreasonable expectations... However, I am sure that it was only in the last half hour when everything got going because there were some interesting fight scenes that caught my attention in terms of cool action sequences, the animation had some originality, plus I was glued to the screen and it reminded me of why I love this anime series. It also reminded me of the originality of the productions coming out of the Bones animation studio. However, by that time it was pretty much too late, so in general, I think it is just a little better than average - 6/10.

I was expecting there to be a second season, however, I would not have put money on it to have been released so quickly after the first one. Even so, it would seem they needed to try and satisfy the audience with more exciting scenes full of the supposedly suspenseful atmosphere around gambling and especially the orgasmic climaxes from the main female protagonist and some of the other characters. The show has its own hardcore aficionados, so they had to invent another new storyline to keep them interested, and they also added some new characters to keep things from getting stale. The show’s supposed suspense from compulsive psychotic addiction to gambling is therefore interspersed with some slightly erotic sex scenes, where touches are occasionally exchanged, and you can feel some sexual chemistry going on... There are a lot of seemingly vicious and premeditated games, even though their workarounds are always much too sophisticated. Somewhere behind all of that is the main narrative - and this concerns the competition in general, which is about as interesting as any show with an average "tournament arc". Somehow, I thought the first season really worked, and even though it still manages to hold my attention, the second season wears thin. Plus, since I can say I still did not find it boring, I am going to award the second season the poorest of three stars I know and have - 4.5/10.

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.