'March Comes in Like a Lion' Marches Into My Heart (Review)

3-gatsu no Lion (March Comes in Like a Lion)

Studio: Shaft
Producer: Aniplex, Dentsu, NHK,Hakusensha, Asmik Ace Entertainment,Toy's Factory
Genre: Slice of Life, Drama, Seinen, Game
Episodes: 22
Episode Length: 25 minutes

Having reached professional status in middle school, Rei Kiriyama is one of the few elite in the world of shogi. Due to this, he faces an enormous amount of pressure, both from the shogi community and his adoptive family. Seeking independence from his tense home life, he moves into an apartment in Tokyo. As a 17-year-old living on his own, Rei tends to take poor care of himself, and his reclusive personality ostracizes him from his peers in school and at the shogi hall.

However, not long after his arrival in Tokyo, Rei meets Akari, Hinata, and Momo Kawamoto, a trio of sisters living with their grandfather who owns a traditional wagashi shop. Akari, the oldest of the three girls, is determined to combat Rei's loneliness and poorly sustained lifestyle with motherly hospitality. The Kawamoto sisters, coping with past tragedies, also share with Rei a unique familial bond that he has lacked for most of his life. As he struggles to maintain himself physically and mentally through his shogi career, Rei must learn how to interact with others and understand his own complex emotions.

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NOTE: To be taken to the original picture, click on the picture. Credit goes to the original creator(s).

March Comes in Like a Lion was an anime that took me by surprise. I watched the first episode when I had time but couldn't watch another. So, months later, I finally got to finish this anime. The animation and the darkness of the first episode made me love this anime, but, as I watched the show progress, the darkness faded away to light, and the animation just got better and better. Even though the original reasons why I loved this anime might not have remained, this anime is still quite amazing.

The one thing I can say about this anime is that it is character focused. And animes should be. Without good characters, even the best plot can't save that anime. 

But I adored each and every character I met. With the exception of Masamune Gotou, but that's because he's an abusive little -insert expletive here-. I even loved Kyouko Kouda, and she was a little bossy and annoying. 

The main character Rei Kiriyama was broken and sad. He had lost his parents and sister a long time ago, but their deaths still haunted him. He played shogi for his father, not necessarily for himself until recently. Furthermore, he experienced terrible suffering because of his skills in shogi and what that did to his adopted brother Ayumu Kouda and sister Kyouko. I related to his loneliness and isolation. The last episode showcases his isolation in a flashback to his childhood. Rei reminisced about having an empty seat next to him (Implying a lack of friendship and even the presence of hatred) when he was on a school trip. He had to find a place to eat lunch alone. While I don't eat lunch alone, I don't necessarily have the same close friendships as one may think. 

I understand his loneliness. After all, two lonely souls only have each other.

While he didn't change dramatically, (He even says that he didn't change in the last episode) I could tell that something had changed. The first half of the series is spent in his head. I swear most of the dialogue I heard was monolog. It was depressing but put things in perspective. Rei was alone. He had no one to talk to but himself. And that fact forced him into this fortress of solitude (Haha.) This made the scenes with the Kawamoto family brighter. 

But the second half highlighted a change. He had people to talk to. He had friends and rivals. He no longer spent time monologuing in his head. He talked to people.

AH. I loved the Kawamoto family. They were so adorable. Momo Kawamoto was an adorable fluffball. I just wanted to hug her. Hina Kawamoto was bright and loveable as well. But Akari Kawamoto might be my favorite. She was a family person, someone who loved helping her sisters out. She could have left them; she was an adult after all, but she stayed and helped. I'm a sucker for family stories because they're sometimes better than cliche romance stories. And Akari understood things. She was wise. 

I just wish we saw more of them. They were definitely a major part of why I loved this anime, but they faded away in the second half. I can't explain why except because of the emphasis on the Lion King Tournament. 

Plus, the cats could talk. Their food-obsessed commentary kept my spirits up.

My favorite character, next to the entire Kawamoto family, was Kai Shimada. Most of the second half of the anime was spent with him and Kiriyama's burgeoning friendship. I loved seeing this high-ranked player in his natural element, talking to his family and friends. Something I noticed about Kai was that he loved shogi and his family. He was a strong character. Even in the face of defeat, even when struggling through pain, he smiled. I respected that. 

The art was gorgeous. I adored this one scene in the first episode. It was meaningful and symbolic. I loved it. This anime is full of scenes like that. There is also the recurring theme of water. Just amazing. And the background art was gorgeous as well. 

My only complaint is a major one: there was a dire lack of plot. Sure, the anime started out with Rei's tournaments, but the anime didn't really come off as a competition anime. It was more of a development anime, and, even so, it wasn't that much of a development anime either. You could take it episode by episode, but then Rei's little character development is lost. You could say it was all for the Lion King Tournament, but that is only half of the anime. I'm still confused as to how I should explain this anime. Is it episodic in nature? Or does it have an overarching arc?

But I have high hopes. The last episode is full of hints about a season two. There is the shogi-science club and Rei joining his friends at a shogi table. There is Shimada's determination to win a Master title in episode 21. There is Rei and Souya's possibly similar personalities. There are many hints to a plot in a season two, and I would watch that because I would be able to see Rei grow more as a person.

Have you seen this anime? What are your thoughts? Comment below!

I Have No Crush on 'Nijiro Days' (Review)

Nijiro Days (Rainbow Days)

Studio: Production Reed
Producer: YTV, Tokuma Japan,Daiichikosho, Shueisha
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life, Romance, Shoujo
Episodes: 24
Episode Length: 13 minutes

Nijiiro Days follows the colorful lives and romantic relationships of four high school boys—Natsuki Hashiba, a dreamer with delusions of love; Tomoya Matsunaga, a narcissistic playboy who has multiple girlfriends; Keiichi Katakura, a kinky sadist who always carries a whip; and Tsuyoshi Naoe, an otaku who has a cosplaying girlfriend.

When his girlfriend unceremoniously dumps him on Christmas Eve, Natsuki breaks down in tears in the middle of the street and is offered tissues by a girl in a Santa Claus suit. He instantly falls in love with this girl, Anna Kobayakawa, who fortunately attends the same school as him. Natsuki's pursuit of Anna should have been simple and uneventful; however, much to his dismay, his nosy friends constantly meddle in his relationship, as they strive to succeed in their own endeavors of love.

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Nijiro Days is as fulfilling as watching someone else eat delicious cake. It's taunting you with something amazing, something that you could have. But ultimately you're let down.

This anime had so many problems. I can't help but get angry because of it. On the surface, it's a quick, fluffy romance anime with male leads instead of female ones. This is a unique twist on the shoujo romance genre, but this twist is wasted on Nijiro Days. This is no better than a boring shoujo with female leads.

My major problem with the series is the characters. They are a lackluster, meaningless cast, and I felt no attachment to any of them, even though I've gone through the hardships of crushes and unrequited love before.

Let's go down the list of couples, analyzing each.

The Main Couple is Bland Anna Kobayakawa and Typical Shoujo Girl Natsuki Hashiba. 

Anna is a typical Mary Sue. She doesn't figure out her feelings for Natsuki until the last moment. She has little to no emotions; one of the four main characters even mentions her emotionless face. I rarely got to see her smile. I can deal with detached characters, but she really was empty. Her character had no depth. She was nice but in the way that everyone is nice. She works at a karaoke place. Other than that, I can't tell you a single one of her likes or traits. She was a boring character; that's it.

And Natsuki...sigh. He had real potential, you know? He could have been a heart-on-your-sleeve, comedic relief, lovable guy. What we got was less than average. He was more like the typical shoujo manga girl. As if the creators wanted to make him relatable to the females in the audience. I've met guys who have unrequited crushes on girls. They don't act like that. They're defensive at times and make jokes. Natsuki ended up being more of a squealing typical shoujo character. I liked that the main characters were guys crushing on girls; I thought that had real promise, but Natsuki ended up way too stereotypical for me to care about him.

And the romance between the two is innocent and kinda cute, but Anna takes way too many hints and throws them out of the window. It took way too long for the main romance to even become a thing in her eyes. Way too long.

Then we have the couple with the next most screen time: Tsun-Girl and Creep-Boy. 

Tsun-Girl, or Mari Tsutsui is way too much tsun and not enough -dere. I've seen many tsundere characters done right (Toradora's Taiga and Maid Sama's Misaki come to mind first), and Mari is a perfect example of how to do a tsundere wrong. The most glaring thing about her is that she is annoying and bratty. Most of her lines are screaming "Annnaaaaa" loudly into my ear, and the ear of her surrounding classmates, and while having a loud, mildly dependent character is fine for a tsundere, Mari never gets any development. She is, forever and always, the Tsun-Girl. Most tsunderes have a redeeming moment. Something that makes you realize "Ah, they aren't so bad after all." Mari almost had that, but that scene didn't follow through, and she didn't change because of that scene. She was a static character, even though she had the chance to change. Plus, there is no explanation for why she hates men. Oh, sure, her brother moved away. How did that affect her? She's an angry teenager for absolutely no reason. There is no backstory to her; there is no reason why. 

And Creep-Boy, or Tomoya (That's his first name?? It's never mentioned) Matsunaga is a playboy. But he's really not a playboy. Nijiro Days might try to trick you into thinking that he is with a few scenes of girls fawning over him, but he really isn't. When he meets Mari, he's smitten, even if he acts like he isn't. But there's not meaning for him liking her. She hates him with a fiery passion, and not in the tsundere way. He says she's cute, but what does that mean? He even talks to her and gets to know her a bit, but he can't rustle up a reason for why he likes her? Then maybe it's not meant to be.

Sigh. The best couple had barely any screentime. 

I'm talking about Otaku One and Otaku Two: Yukiko Asai and Tsuyoshi Naoe. Wow. These guys seem very incompatible: Yukiko (Or Yukirin as she is known by the entire cast) is cute, bubbly, and loud, and Tsuyoshi is quiet and brooding. They are both otakus, which seems to be why they bonded. 

While most of the couples are off trying to realize their feelings for one another, Yukiko and Tsuyoshi are sitting in someone's room playing video games or out at a concert or cosplaying. 

They're the perfect example of opposites attract, personality-wise. I like how Tsuyoshi is very subtle in his romancing efforts. He doesn't seem like he's trying too hard, but we know he cares.

These two are barely seen, though, and they get little to no development. Their relationship, while more interesting than the other ones, doesn't change with the seasons, as most relationships do.

Last but not least, Sadist Keiichi Katakura and Fangirl Nozomi Matsunaga.

Keiichi showed a lot of promise, much like Natsuki. But he wasn't developed at all. I wanted to know more about him. Why was he sadist? Where did he learn these things? I wanted to see his dark side, and Nozomi was perfectly able to be introduced to Keiichi's dark side. He even showed it to her once. But, alas, he is boring too much he has no screentime, except maybe as a cheerleader to the Main Couple's adventures.

Nozomi was a fangirl. Obsessed because of, what I'm assuming is, his princely looks. Thanks, we're putting great ideas into the future generations. But that really is all I know about her. She likes Keiichi, is his fangirl, and is Tomoya's little sister. I wish she had more development, more character. But, again, she's just one half of a barely-seen couple.

These two were the last couple to be introduced, so that makes sense. But I start questioning why there were four main characters to begin with. The last two couples to be introduced would have little screen time because they're deemed 'not important enough'. We could have seen an interesting S&M dynamic, but, no, we were shown innocent first love, as if we haven't seen that time and time again.

I'll quickly touch upon the character designs because I am angry about that as well. But what I say will have as much effort as the characters had interesting character designs.

They were not interesting.

Long story: they were bland. Boring, stereotypical anime characters. We had cotton-candy pink (Red?) hair and blue and cream school uniforms. Nothing new. On YouTube, someone commented that the main characters (Especially Natsuki, Tomoya, and Tsuyoshi) looked like Free! Iwatobi Swim Club members. At least with Free!, we get mildly BL elements. Nijiro Days doesn't even give us that.

The plot itself is unfulfilling as well. There aren't many 'events' even though lots of time of passing. (The whole anime covers slightly over a year of these characters' lives.) We have a school festival, Christmas, and, of course, the requisite Beach Episode. (Admittedly, there are some amazing Beach Episodes, but this one doesn't work out because of the character interactions and lack of comedy that typical Beach Episodes contain.) Nothing new.

If I had one positive thing to say about this anime, it would be the complex, possibly yuri relationship between Anna and Mari. Yes, Mari the man hater is in love with Anna. I thought this was interesting. I wondered about what type of love she meant for the longest time, but she basically confirmed it during the one of the hot spring episodes. But, again, it's never developed, so I'm left struggling to find anything good about this anime.

Overall, there are better romantic comedy animes to watch. I already mentioned a few with tsunderes. If you want to see a playboy character like Tomoya done well, Maid Sama works too. If you want to see innocent love like what was supposed to be between Anna and Natsuki, Snow White with the Red Hair is good, or if you're in it for the long haul, Aoharu x Machinegun is a great anime where two characters like each other and never figure it out (Read the manga, though. Masamune takes forever to figure it out.) If you want a romantic comedy, Clannad is amazing, albeit a tad sad. Want male main characters? Daily Lives of High School Boys has a great male cast and is hilarious. There are so many amazing animes that better than this one. Just ask for a recommendation. I have plenty. 

This is Literally About Clothes: 'Kill la Kill' Review

Kill la Kill

Studio: Trigger
Producer: Aniplex, Dentsu,Kadokawa Shoten, Mainichi Broadcasting System, Movic, Ultra Super Pictures, Lucent Pictures Entertainment
Genre: Action, Comedy, School, Superpower
Episodes: 24
Episode Length: 24 minutes per episode

After the murder of her father, Ryuuko Matoi has been wandering the land in search of his killer. Following her only lead—the missing half of his invention, the Scissor Blade—she arrives at the prestigious Honnouji Academy, a high school unlike any other. The academy is ruled by the imposing and cold-hearted student council president Satsuki Kiryuuin alongside her powerful underlings, the Elite Four. In the school's brutally competitive hierarchy, Satsuki bestows upon those at the top special clothes called "Goku Uniforms," which grant the wearer unique superhuman abilities. 

Thoroughly beaten in a fight against one of the students in uniform, Ryuuko retreats to her razed home where she stumbles across Senketsu, a rare and sentient "Kamui," or God Clothes. After coming into contact with Ryuuko's blood, Senketsu awakens, latching onto her and providing her with immense power. Now, armed with Senketsu and the Scissor Blade, Ryuuko makes a stand against the Elite Four, hoping to reach Satsuki and uncover the culprit behind her father's murder once and for all. 

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I've wondered why I haven't watched many animes. 'Magi: Labyrinth of Magic' and 'Your Lie in April'. After watching this anime, I want to buy all the 'Kill la Kill' merch. Including the Ryuuko Nendoroid (Who is ADORABLE.) And maybe the Mako one. Hm...

Trigger is such a fantastic studio. They did 'Kiznaiver' from the spring 2016 season. Their art style is amazing. I love it. The characters look dynamic. Everything about them is important. (Ehem, remember the ball-in-mouth on Gamagoori's original uniform? Yeah, that. There's a reason for it. You'll find out later.) The animation is fast-paced but amazing. I completely adore it.

The OPs for this anime kill my heart. Get it? Get it? But they're amazing. I truly love them. The second one starts out slow, but it speeds up. I hum it often. The first one is great too! The images in the background truly do suit the anime and what happens within that part of the anime. It works.
Check out the first OP here.

Every second of this anime is dedicated to action. We're thrown into fights and yelling and slashing immediately. There is no time for stopping. I love this. We have no beach scenes or lulls in the story. (It's not the long 8 episode randomness of 'The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'. THAT was useless after episode 2 or so.) Everything IS action. This is how a story should be. No lulls. No stops. Nothing of that sort. Just story.
Because of this, though, the pacing is insane(ly amazing.) You don't get time to breathe or process what you're seeing. It's mostly positives, but because of this fact, I'm happy I didn't binge watch it all the way through. I'd be breathless if I did.

The characters are fabulous. Ryuuko is the badass I love. Mako is the energetic best friend. And Senketsu is a GARMENT, but he has more personality than some other anime characters (Insert any otome game turned anime character ever. I'm looking at you 'Brothers Conflict'. YOU.)
Ryuuko is desperate. And badass. She loves with her entire heart. Seeing her defend her friends is amazing. She's someone to admire. She's dedicated and fierce. Definitely in competition for best girl (Watch out, Rem.)
Mako is so cute. I love her randomness. And when she gets her spotlight? Adorable. (In case you're wondering, though, her hand motions match up to the Japanese, not the English.) She's lovable and crazy loyal. I love it. Plus, her Two-Star Uniform is BADASS.

You know that I hate ecchi? Well, I hate ecchi. I might never have said it before, but I do. But this anime does it well. (Much like 'Food Wars'. Which does ecchi pretty well.) We're not overloaded with boobs and butts. Instead, the uniforms are skimpy but for a reason. (It takes some time to understand why. They'll explain it, though.) We aren't forced to see ecchi. Rather, the ecchi is part of the story. It's part of the world. And that makes it tolerable, if not amazing, on its own.

There is only one problem about this anime.
It is literally about clothes.
You have to wrap your mind around that. It's a super amazing anime...about clothes. That's something that doesn't make much sense to me, but once you remind me of Senketsu and Ryuuko's relationship, I forgive you. Because those two are OTP. (Well...Gamagoori and Mako are OTP. Senketsu and Ryuuko are second OTP.)

There is Always Hope: 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' Review

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica (Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Magical Girl Madoka Magica)

Studio: Shaft
Producer: Aniplex, Mainichi Broadcasting System, Movic, Nitroplus,Madoka Partners, Houbunsha
Genre: Drama, Magic, Psychological, Thriller
Episodes: 12
Episode Length: 24 minutes per episode

Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki are regular middle school girls with regular lives, but all that changes when they encounter Kyuubey, a cat-like magical familiar, and Homura Akemi, the new transfer student.

Kyuubey offers them a proposition: he will grant one of their wishes and in exchange, they will each become a magical girl, gaining enough power to fulfill their dreams. However Homura, a magical girl herself, urges them not to accept the offer since everything is not what it seems.

A story of hope, despair, and friendship, Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica deals with the difficulties of being a magical girl and the price one has to pay to make a dream come true.

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Magical girls are typically seen as moe characters who flounce around and say things like 'Bippity boppity boo'. 

That's what I expected when I started this anime, but I was completely wrong.

This anime is decidedly dark. There is no hiding it. I was stunned by  how dark it was. From the figures and the hints I had seen, this was a cute show. Here's the truth: it's not. 

Sayaka hates her human body after becoming a magical girl. Mami is lost and alone. Kyoko is greedy. They suffer from pain and loss. When I first saw hints of that darkness, I was shocked. These girls suffer more than most. Additionally, they take on others' suffering. All because they're magical girls.
Despair and hope are common ideas in this anime. Without despair, there is no hope. And vice versa. It's a sad fact of life. When one gains, another loses. It's different to see this played out in an anime. Even more so since this is a 'cute' anime. This yin-yang conflict is played out well, though. You root for their hope and feel defeated when they despair.

Hope and despair clash in the battles against the witches. The barriers the girls and witches fight in are of a completely different art style. 

Think scrapbooking (Cutouts against backgrounds) and you'll be sorta-near what the barriers look like. The witches themselves look garish. They move jerkily. Everything seems so surreal when inside a barrier. It gives you the feeling of wrongness and juxtaposition. It made my skin crawl when we first entered a barrier. I thought we had accidentally entered a person on acid's mind. It's jarring.
But the jarring effect of the barriers works. It shows the magical girls are beacons of hope (And reasonable art designs) in a world of despair (And sketchy-looking characters.) The art style of the barriers conflicts with the conventional idea of 'anime art' and makes for a truly unique experience.

All these girls have hidden depths. They aren't two-dimensional. Madoka even more so. She's one of the most real characters in anime. She didn't immediately say yes to Kyubey. Much like Naho in Orange (Another character I praise for her realism), Madoka is scared. She's downright frightened. And I can't judge her for that. I probably wouldn't say yes. I'd be too scared to lose my life. And that's what makes her and the other magical girls strong. They do risk their lives to protect others. And her decision in the end...it was powerful. She chose to do something that no one else would, that other people might be afraid of. Madoka is strong. Unbelievably so. And I enjoyed watching her actions the entire show. Even if she was a bit weepy.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica surprised me. In every way possible. It's dark but intriguing. The art style is pretty amazing, but it gets better in the barriers. Madoka and Sayaka and Mami and all the girls are real. I'd love to be Madoka's friend.

Kamis, Kitsunes, Tengus, Oh My!: 'Kamisama Kiss' Review

Kamisama Hajimemashita (Kamisama Kiss)

Studio: TMS Entertainment
Producer: TV Tokyo, Dentsu, Sotsu,Pony Canyon, Hakusensha, DAX Production
Genre: Comedy, Demons, Fantasy, Romance, Shoujo, Supernatural
Episodes: 13
Episode Length: 24 minutes per episode

Nanami Momozono dreams of living a normal life, just like any other average high school girl. Instead, she must cope with the fact that her deadbeat father accumulated a bunch of gambling debts and abandoned her. And since she can't afford to pay the rent, she's now homeless. Despite this unfortunate turn of events, Nanami still maintains a kind heart.

One day in the park, she saves a poor man from a vicious attack, and in a perfect example of how good deeds are rewarded, the man thanks her by giving her his home. The offer sounds suspicious, but beggars can't be choosers. When Nanami arrives at the man's home, however, she discovers it isn't a house at all. It's a shrine. She learns that the man she saved was actually a god and that by giving her his home, she has now assumed his godhood and all of the duties that go along with it.

The role seems daunting but it turns out that the previous god had a familiar named Tomoe. A powerful and skilled fox demon, Tomoe should be able to help Nanami transition into her new role as a deity... if the two of them don't kill each other first, that is. Kamisama Hajimemashita follows Nanami's life as a human god, her quest to win Tomoe's trust, and the romantic feelings she develops for him along the way.

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For me, Kamisama Kiss is Noragami (The gods part) + Fruits Basket (The kind main girl part) + Inu x Boku SS (The protector of main girl part.)

Admittedly, I like all of those animes (Except maybe Fruits Basket. That's just okay.) I didn't expect this anime to combine some of the best elements from those animes into one. And it's not the best or the worst.

Nanami was a great character. Typically, I don't like the sweet, kind characters because they're Plain Janes (or Mary Sues. Same idea.) They're boring, to say the least. It's hard to do a kind character justice because everyone sees them as someone to assist. That's why they're TERRIBLE main characters. But Nanami has pizazz. She was feisty and fierce. I loved that. She could sass someone into submission, but she truly cared for people. We need more Nanamis in the world. People who truly care for others. It's refreshing. 

(Just saying, but another good example of this character type done well is in Tohru from Fruits Basket. She too is very kind, but this makes her likable and a good ally for the Sohma family.)

When you introduce two people who are supposed to fall for each other, there is some drive within me that screams 'KISS NOW'. I'll definitely root for you (With a few grumbles) if you're meant to be together. (Typically, though, my favorite ships are non-canon.) Canon ships are the easiest to root for because the creator makes them that way. It's instinctual for me to root for a canon ship.

But Tomoe and Nanami weren't too bad to root for to begin with. I knew that this shoujo anime would follow a romantic subplot, but that's the kicker. The romance IS a subplot. It's not essential to the anime. We could have the two stay as friends, and things would be fine. (Most people would jump in here and claim "But it'd be awkward!" I defy you and ask a single question: "Can a guy and girl be friends without having feelings for each other?" The answer is a resolute yes. So no, you're wrong in this case. It won't be awkward unless you MAKE it awkward. Wrenisms.)

These two had this cute, little chemistry going on. The romance seems uncalled for in the beginning, but you truly see how much they care for each other. If you show me that they truly have feelings for each other, then I'll ship it a little bit. 

Also, on a sidenote, chibi Tomoe is adorable. Seriously.

While I like Nanami, Tomoe is another story. To me, he's a prick who shuts everyone out. People will cry, "BUT HE'S SOO HOT." I deny that too. Brooding boys can be cute. But they can't be pricks. Tomoe was REALLY toeing the Prick Line. (That line divides the pricks of the world from the nice people. Or mildly nice people in my case. Haha.) 

I know that I didn't like him as much was because there was a lack of backstory. We had TWO trips to the past, but we didn't learn a lot about Tomoe. 

I can sum up the knowledge in two statements. A) He used to date a cute human girl and B) He used to kill people. But that's all. We don't learn about WHY he killed people or anything like that. We don't even learn how he met Mikage one of the unseen forces that drives this anime! 

(Again, let me refer to Fruits Basket. That anime did the Brooding Badass character pretty well. Kyo isn't the most lovable character, but you begin to love him as you learn his...wait for it...BACKSTORY. Backstory is KEY for any character. It builds them up, and it drives them forwards.) 

Perhaps, in season two, we learn more about his past. But I'm kinda done with this anime...

And the plot, which is a driving force for ANY anime, felt odd. It felt disjointed at times. Sure, I loved seeing Nanami's love for Tomoe when she went into the past to get the eye, but I didn't see much relevance to her being a god and all. This anime is very episodic. I typically can swallow episodic animes, but this felt weird. The episodes seemed scattered. Some were about Nanami as a god and others as bonding moments between the couple. It didn't feel normal. I didn't like it. 

Verdict:

Would kiss again. Maybe.

'Attack on Titan' Copycat? Not Really: 'Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress' Review

Koutetsujou no Kabaneri (Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress)

Studio: Wit Studio
Producer: Aniplex, Dentsu, Fuji TV,Kyoraku Industrial Holdings, Kansai Telecasting Corporation
Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Episodes: 12
Episode Length: 22 minutes per episode

As the world is in the middle of an industrial revolution, a monster appears that cannot be defeated unless its heart, which is protected by a layer of iron, is pierced. By infecting humans with its bite, the monster can create aggressive and undead creatures known as Kabane. On the island Hinomoto, located in the far east, people have built stations to shelter themselves from these creatures. People access the station, as well as transport wares between them, with the help of a locomotive running on steam, called Hayajiro. Ikoma, a boy who lives in the Aragane station and helps to build Hayajiro, creates his own weapon called Tsuranukizutsu in order to defeat the creatures. One day, as he waits for an opportunity to use his weapon, he meets a girl named Mumei, who is excused from the mandatory Kabane inspection. During the night, Ikoma meets Mumei again as he sees Hayajiro going out of control. The staff on the locomotive has turned into the creatures. The station, now under attack by Kabane, is the opportunity Ikoma has been looking for.

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Many people called 'Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress' a copy of 'Attack on Titan'. But I disagree. Sure, there are elements that seem similar, but nothing is outright copied. It's a different anime with a different story. 

My favorite part of this anime had to be the main characters. 

Ikoma was this complex character, and I absolutely adored him. He was caring and kind, but he also had a troubled past. I wanted to know more about him. He was admirable for all the things he did. He risked his life for these people. He risked his humanity for them. 

Something I felt was a bit lacking was his motivations. His backstory was great, but I felt like it didn't explain why he became a Kabaneri. Was it his will to live? Was it his want to continue his research? It's never really explained, and I wanted to know why. 

Mumei was the best. She was all sweet and innocent until she whipped out her gun and turned you into a slice of swiss cheese. I loved how badass she was. But she still kept this air of innocence which made me love her even more. Through all that she's been through, you forget she's just a kid until she flashes you a sweet smile. It really shows what this world's kids have to go through on a daily basis. Even if Mumei is a bit of an exception.

She was this intricate character who went through a lot. She had an awful experience in her childhood with people wanting her to be killed, and she really saw Biba as her savior. It's something I find interesting. She loved Biba to death, and him being the opposite of sunshine and rainbows threw her for a loop. At times, the people you can trust aren't trustworthy at all. And Mumei really shows a good example of this.

I want to touch upon the supposed 'villain' of this anime for a second. Biba is also very interesting. I felt like his motivations fell a bit flat. He really seems like an antihero to me. Sure, he unleashed hell onto lots of different places, but I felt like he did it from a good place. He was all for lots of bad things, but I felt like his motivations were good. If we had more information about Biba, I might understand him better. He just didn't seem like an obvious villain to me.

I'm a huge fan of animes/books/anything that picks up the issue of human versus -insert monster here-. This anime does a great job of showing the human versus Kabane problem. Most people would turn on the Kabaneri because of the tiny portion of the Kabane in them. The Kabane terrify everyone, and they would do anything to get away from them. But Ikoma and Mumei are different. They're more human than the humans expect, and they do want to protect their loved ones. The Kabaneri can be more human than Kabane, and it's something the humans have to come to terms with. It's this struggle that is really interesting in this anime.

This is the best one I could find...

The OP was gorgeous. It's by EGOIST one of my favorite Japanese bands out there. They did the soundtrack. (OST) to 'Guilty Crown' which has the BEST OST ever. I love the OP to death. It's something I'd play on repeat forever and ever.

It's a beautiful song, and it really works with the anime. Especially the line about fighting for your friends. That's so true for Ikoma. He would die for his friends. And he almost does. Many, many times. 

On the other hand, though, the story was a huge problem for me. It felt way too drawn out. We had multiple scenes of Ikoma and Mumei fighting Kabane. Not that I don't love the animation, but I felt like the Biba arc could have come in earlier. The action truly comes from that arc and not mindlessly fighting Kabane. 

But the worst of all? The ending. I couldn't believe it. For a good second, I thought a certain important someone would die. That would have been interesting. Not every anime has to have a happy ending. Anyways, if he had died, then certain people could have had a sequel where they deal with their grief and try to figure out what happens next. The last episode felt rushed and abrupt. I couldn't believe it was the last episode. So many things that could have gone right were totally wrong.

Again, not everything has to have a happy ending.

Verdict:

If you like lots of action scenes and little story, this is for you.

Who is Bad? Who is Good? 'Tokyo Ghoul Root A' Review

Tokyo Ghoul Root A

Studio: Studio Pierrot
Producer: None (As stated by MAL)
Genre: Action, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Psychological, Seinen, Supernatural
Episodes: 12
Episode Length: 24 minutes per episode

In Tokyo Ghoul √A, monsters live among humans, looking like them while craving their flesh. That is the world Ken Kaneki has struggled to navigate ever since a first date went horrifically awry and transformed him into a half-human, half-ghoul. For months, he has fought against his new cannibalistic hunger and violent tendencies. But after being captured and tortured by a sadistic ghoul, Kaneki has accepted his darker half as his only means for survival.

His choice could not be more timely. Tokyo has become a battleground between humans and ghouls. The CCG, a government agency created to deal with the perceived ghoul threat, has ramped up its efforts to eradicate the inhuman monsters. In response, the terrorist ghoul organization, Aogiri Tree, has made destroying the CCG its priority. And throughout it all, the ghouls who frequent the coffee shop Anteiku merely want to live a peaceful life. But Kaneki, who worked at Anteiku while he attempted to reconcile his human and ghoul halves, makes a shocking decision: he joins Aogiri Tree. Even as his choice sends shockwaves through his newfound friends, many more questions are raised. What is Aogiri Tree's true purpose? Will the CCG triumph over the ghouls? And has Kaneki truly betrayed his friends and everything that Anteiku stands for?

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It's been a while since I saw 'Tokyo Ghoul'. But I loved it. It was the amazing story of human versus ghoul. You felt for the ghouls as you saw their society. That anime truly embodied the idea of good guys being bad and bad guys being good. Just because you're a human doesn't mean you're good. Just because you're a ghoul doesn't mean you're bad.
This was the thing that drove the anime forwards. Many people loved that. And I did too.
But that doesn't mean the anime continued this theme. Season two was more about loss and grief. With lots of action scenes.

Something that I loved about this season was the multiple perspectives. We saw the nice ghouls the Anteiku group, the evil ghouls Aogiri, the good humans, and the bad humans. It's not a show about a clean and even divide between good and evil. Touka killed, but she was 'good'. Amon was righteous, but he attacked harshly. Even Juuzou who seemed like this crazy killing machine had a heartfelt backstory.
This anime showed us that there is always a good and evil force. It changes from person to person. Perspective changes how things are seen. As the saying goes, history is written by the victor.

Because of the different perspectives, you saw the truth. The truth is that everyone will die. You have to accept this and move on. But coping with your grief is okay. This anime, both seasons, had high body counts. People died left and right.
But the living had to deal with that. It's something to have to take as fact. There is no magical healing potion. There is only death. (Dark but true.)
I honestly think that if there was a third season, it would be great to see their coping mechanisms. I know that if we followed the manga, we'd have a massive time skip (Thanks, Google.) But wouldn't it be cool to see a ghoul's burial service?

The second half of the anime was very action-y. I quite liked the raid at the end. It was tension-filled, and we finally got to see the two employees of Anteiku fight. I never knew they were important ghouls. It was this amazing arc, and I really loved seeing the different fights.
I love action scenes a lot. So it was exciting to see this.

I really didn't like the lack of Kaneki. It was because of the multiple perspectives. I didn't mind seeing Akira and Amon and Juuzou, but I would have preferred Kaneki's perspective more. He was the star of the last season. Why couldn't there have been more about him? He wanted to get stronger and protect the group at Anteiku. I wanted to know more about that. What did he do? I have unresolved questions.

Even though the second half of the plot was interesting, but the first half was tiresome. There were a lot of raids. The CCG and Aogiri really danced around each other. The conflict wasn't anything special. Kaneki wasn't really seen. I was annoyed at his elusiveness. And while the CCG was given depth, I felt like there wasn't a lot of characterization in general. I was tired of this back and forth.

Verdict:
This anime wasn't as amazing as the first season. But I do quite like it. As always, the message is amazing, and the action sequences are fabulous. Not too bad as a sequel for the 'Tokyo Ghoul'. But it could have been much better.