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Joahamyeon Ullineun (2019)
Great 1st season; Truly awful 2nd season
I won't go into detail why the first season is phenomenal, especially the firts half of it is amazing, but oh my god....I waited so so long for the 2nd season and it was a huge disaster. The direction it takes is nonsensical and it missed so many great chances. And as others have pointed out, no character is really likeable. I watched the last half of the 2nd season in 1.5x speed, just to not waste even more of my time. Honestly, just watch the first season and dream up your own ending.
Kuzu no honkai (2017)
Waste of time
This anime had an interesting start. The premise is fascinating and I was really looking forward into seeing how this would turn out. It all started going down hill when I realised that the teacher is a plain evil b*- , I think this anime tried too hard in being complex by giving the main characters mental issues which would then drive the plot. At first these issues where somewhat understandable, like i got why they acted in their irrational unhealthy way, but after a while it got too absurd. In the second half I completely lost track of what each character was telling themselves to justify their misery. At this point nothing made much sense anymore. There was no coherence and everything just seemed random and destructive. The characters got progressively unlikeable and the worst of all: Instead of the main characters finding happiness or love, it's the villain who in 2 episodes gets "redemption" and gets the happy ending. That to me was the last straw. Hated this, total waste of time.
It's truly a shame because the premise and the interaction were very interesting. Once the story started to focus on the villain, which was terribly written imo, it was over.
Banana Fish (2018)
Not for everyone
This anime left me with very conflicting feelings. It has many strong points, i.e delicate topics I've never seen covered in other animes, and a few, significant short-comings, which might be justifiable with the fact that the manga is rather old and very plot, instead of character, driven.
The plot development might be very unrealistic, but it does a good job at showing the harsh reality of how cruel this world can be. The main protagonist is surpassingly likeable, even though he is practically depicted as near-perfect (with a very very dark past). His character is very complex and well-written, and the character growth fairly well portrayed. You can't help to root for him..honestly he is probably the only reason I stuck with it until the end. But as mentioned, the story is mainly plot driven, which I think is a shame. With a character like Ash, there would have been so much more potential for further growth, in particular concerning his traumas, and I'd really loved to see that, but this is not that kind of anime sadly.
I watched this because I was looking for something similar to Yuri on Ice. Well, these 2 couldn't be farther apart, other than the same sex relationship they have nothing in common, at all. But even in regards to that, I felt like BF was lacking something. I prefer a little more romance, especially if the characters are so clearly meant for each other, but in BF the relationship between the 2 is very unclear. It's undoubtedly asexual in nature, understandably so regrading Ash's history, but personally I missed that whole aspect. I've read that this anime is very cherished by ace people, since they can identify with it, so maybe that's why I felt unsatisfied by the platonic nature of it all.
I've seen a lot of people mad about the ending. Quite frankly, I didn't mind them going their separate ways in this, yet I wish It would've been more hopeful. But even so, no matter whether Ash is dead or not, both would make sense. He deserved some happiness and peace; if he couldn't have that with his "friend", then maybe death is the only way to finally get that for someone like him.
I had a hard time rating this. The thing is, I'm not particularly glad I watched it but it's a great anime nonetheless. Personally, I'm not into mafia stories and constant shootings and gang conflicts aren't my thing, so my experience watching this was probably about 6/10. But that wouldn't do this anime any justice. With the right expectations, and the right preferences in plot story, this could blow you away. I think if you go into it without expecting any romance at all, are looking for sensitive topics being part of the plot and wish some action in your anime, this is a right fit. If you're looking for something like Yuri on Ice, something to cheer you up and a duo that's very shippable, this isn't it.
Doukyuusei (2016)
A precious experience
I was so hesitant at first to watch this, since I didn't like the style of animation and I'm getting tired of high school romances. Besides, I'm pretty new to the BL genre and I'm still nor really sure if that's my thing.
After the first 10 minutes, i considered to stop watching it since the plot seemed over exaggerated and rushed. Well, I'm so glad I stuck with it because in the following 50 minutes it completely redeemed itself. This anime does a truly wonderful job in showing the difficulties such a young romance may face, and in particular gives us insight into the characters inner thoughts and worries. Every decision they take seems completely reasonable, as such the conflicts that arise are realistic and justifiable. Even though this story only has 60 minutes to draw you in, I've seldomly been this emotionally attached to a relationship between 2 characters and I truly wish there was a sequel.
I don't think there's anything I could write that would do this anime justice and convey how good it is. Please just watch is, it's wonderful.
Given (2019)
Bad start, gets better
After having watched Yuri On Ice, I've been desperately looking for something similar to that masterpiece. Given is the closest thing I've been able to find.
I had to push trough the first couple of episodes since the main protagonist was difficult to relate to. He is annoyingly passive and very inept with his feelings. It wasn't until they explained a bit of his backstory that I started to understand why he was the way he was. I must say however, the "love" that supposedly blossoms between the 2, isn't portrayed that well in my opinion: other than the music lessons I really don't see why they'd fall in love with each other, like we never see them talk about something personal for example. This especially becomes clear when we get to see Sato's relationship with Yuki. I felt like, although we only got very few scenes between Yuki and Sato, their romance was much better explored and is something I'd have loved to see more of. It's a shame we don't get more information on Yuki's character or his death.
There's some character growth, nonetheless, both protagonists characters remained pretty flat; we know almost nothing about them. I'd even say we know more about some side characters, which is why I personally I found the side stories much more intriguing, I'm looking forward to seeing how the dynamic of the other two band members will develop.
I liked how natural they portrayed BL. Especially compared to other Shounen Ai, Given is more realistic and subtle, and it doesn't fall into many of the usual cliches. As almost always in these types of animes, it's very clear from the beginning who the uke/seme is, which is something that usually annoys me quite a bit, but here it's not too bad, especially if you look at the other pairs where the dynamic isn't as clear. All in all, I'd say it's one of the better BL animes I've seen so far.
No. 6 (2011)
Barely decent with a truly awful ending
The anime was ok, like a 5.5/10, but the ending destroys absolutely everything. Quite frankly, I'm not sure I even get what was happening in the last 2 episodes, it's very messy and nothing makes a whole lot of sense. The main driving force of this anime is the relationship between the two main protagonist and how it develops into something more than friendship, but at the end it goes more into the bigger picture of this universe which isn't well thought out has many many plot holes. Throughout the story there are multiple side stories that are picked up but never brought to any sort of conclusion or developed in some sort of meaningful way...no on the contrary, the questions just start piling up until you realize that HALF of the anime was a complete waste of your time with no meaning whatsoever... (spoilers ahead)
What was the point of that man interacting with Shions mother? They never achieve anything anyway and he ends up dying in the car like everyone else.... Why did his friend have to die, and why was it HER that was the chosen one..there seems to link between her and rat yet we never get an explanation on why....What was even the point of introducing the grandma of that girl? Why do we even follow her life at the other district if it mens literally nothing and she dies anyway? Also that baby at the end was supposed to give the dogkeepers character some sort of meaning, some substance...yet it ends back with Shion...like what? We never even get told what happens to those 2 side characters, they just disappear....and what was the point of giving Shion that usb stick if plays no role at all in the ending and he just destroys it. And above all: WHY ON EARTH DO RAT AND SHION PART WAYS....? I mean the anime did a halfway decent job in showing how they grew fond of each other, but for what if they leave each other the moment they are finally "free"...? So deeply unsatisfying.
This is honestly just a waste of time. Worse even, you'll not only end up disappointed, but also frustrated and bitter. Go watch Yuri on Ice, way way way better in every possible sense.
Kimi no suizô o tabetai (2018)
Alright
If I had watched this movie a year ago, I might have given it a higher score, but after watching A Silent Voice and Your Name I can't give it more than this.
Plotwise, it's very similar to Your Lie in April but with an older cast. I preferred YLIA more, but that might be because it's a series and you get more attached to the characters before they die. A focal point about these types of stories is the impact the main protagonist has on someone else, but with this movie, it fell short on that end in my opinion; we didn't get to see any of his changed, nor am I sure how exactly she influenced him in the first place.
In terms of romance, well obviously, this isn't a romantic story p, but I really liked how they portrayed the dynamic between the two. It was somewhat realistic and subtle.
My biggest issue might be with the characters. Sakura is the typical anime girl; super cheery and almost a bit annoying, and her agenda becomes clear after 10 minutes into the movie. Kyoko is beyond obnoxious; we are expected to accept that she is this awful because she is Sakura's best friend, yet A) her actions are completely unreasonable and B) we hardly get to see any interaction between the 2 to empathize with her and understand their friendship. Haruki on the other hand was extremely likable, he might have been the only reason why I enjoyed this movie. He seemed relatable, contrary to everyone and the progression of his feelings towards Sakura was well portrayed.
In terms of animation is was in a similar style to Your Name but slightly worse, i.e still pretty good. I can't say anything about the soundtrack.
This movie is meant to make you emotional, but to me it hardly did, especially compared to A Silent Voice, which had crying like a baby after a couple of minutes into it. This might be because Sakura didn't seem very realistic to me so I couldn't bring myself to care enough.
I'll give it props for 1) it's title and 2) for the interesting plot twist at the end.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad movie. The reason for the mediocre score is merely that no matter which aspect you like about this movie, I know at least one other anime movie that does it way better. And it's weaknesses, are just too bothersome.
Tokyo Ghoul: re (2018)
Awful
At first absolutely nothing made sense. I then later found out that apparently the previous 2nd season had nothing to do with the manga and for whatever reason they decided to continue the manga storyline with season 3, hence season 2 is not relevant to kanekis story AT ALL. Now, this is already a problem because season 2 was in my opinion way better than season 1, so the fact that it wouldn't continue there was very disappointing.
But alright, I continued watching. At first I thought his new persona of Heise was terrible, but I grew to tolerate him. Yet everyone around him? Terrible. First, almost no past characters plays ANY role for the 3rd season. Instead we get introduced to a dozen of new characters, most of which die almost instantly and the rest get a halfhearted or just plain bad background story. There were so many new names that whenever they discussed another character I had to go on google and search the characters name just to get what was going on. As for those characters that return from season 1&2, they either appear for a couple of minutes during a fight scene or their character arch goes to***.
I always disliked Touka, but not only did she do an 180 in the 3rd and 4th season (just a completely different person), but she got even more unlikeable. There were several side stories, such as Shuu's, but since most of those included newly introduced characters, I couldn't have cared less. You know how you usually have 1 storyline you're most interested in and everything else is a bit in the way? Well at some point I had to ask myself, what I was even waiting for. Ultimately, the only character I cared about was juuzou, and he hardly even appears. The most "interesting" characters, Arima and Seidou, weren't really explored any further and Arima got killed off too.
What I disliked the most is that the "dark" feeling of the second season almost completely disappeared; it honestly felt like a different anime altogether, a rather meaningless one without any complexity or emotional substance. The new motives where to seek "peace" between humans and ghouls and all of a sudden Kaneki is supposed to get a happy ending with Touka who's pregnant....? Truly awful.
Another big change in this season is that it's slightly more sexualised. That struck me as very strange, since that topic was hardly ever thematised it the first 2 seasons. The only thing I can give it props for is for making gender an interesting aspect, with two characters identifying with the opposite gender throughout the story until a certain point. I stopped watching somewhere in the 4th season because I honestly had to face the fact that the only reason I was watching was because I had watched the first three seasons. But the last thing I wanted to see was an even worse ending. And if all that wasn't bad enough, even the animation wasn't as good as the first 2 seasons.This is by far the worst sequel I have ever experienced.