Deadjournal

This anime felt pretty mediocre to me, both in terms of story and visuals. Sure, animation quality isn’t as important as the narrative, but here the plot feels even cheaper than the art, it’s riddled with inconsistencies and plot holes that only the least demanding viewer could overlook. There are so many silly moments and logical gaps that I found myself instinctively facepalming more often than not. But considering the target audience, little girls, the creators clearly didn’t bother too much with such “unnecessary” things.

As for the characters, hardly anyone stood out. Maybe Nakago, but even he’s made entirely of clichés. Nuriko was somewhat interesting, but their abrupt shift from hatred (and even an attempt to drown Miaka in a swamp) to unconditional love and friendship with her was jarring and felt completely unearned. It was unnatural and lacked any believable justification.

And then there’s the ending. It’s awful. Not only is it overly drawn-out with way too many convoluted twists, but it’s also entirely predictable from the start. If the series had wrapped up around the midpoint of its final arc, it would have been far better than the agonizing mess we got in the last episode.
Final Score: 6/10

This anime will likely only appeal to fans of retro shows.

That said, Fushigi Yuugi had tremendous potential. The ancient China-inspired setting and the isekai genre are both concepts I really enjoy. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to what it could’ve been. Even so, I don’t regret watching it.

Overall, the performance isn’t even that bad, the animation is solid, especially when compared to To LOVE-Ru, which I watched right before this. But, as always with anime, there’s just too much idiocy packed into the story. It’s impossible to take this seriously, attempting to do so might induce mental nausea.

That said, the plot concept is intriguing: a cold-blooded pickup artist–Japanese high schooler who, almost every episode, “wins over” a new girl. Unfortunately, it comes off clumsy and downright stupid, sometimes intentionally, for comedic effect, and sometimes unintentionally, like in the arc with idol Kanon (that one had me figuratively throwing up rainbows).

As for the characters, the only one I liked was Elsie, a clumsy, adorable airhead. Sadly, she didn’t get her own arc, which is a shame. Here’s hoping she’ll get fully fleshed out in the second season (though I’m not rushing to watch it anytime soon).

Arc Ratings:

• Sports girl arc: 5/10


• Loli-brat arc: 7/10


• Idol arc (the longest, unfortunately): 3/10


• Library girl arc: 8/10

Final Score: 6/10

Also, this is the third or fourth anime in a row I’ve seen where a regular Japanese high schooler gets a girl literally dropped on him from the sky in the very first episode. What’s up with that? Is it some kind of divine message? Or, as they’d say on Russian TV, “Coincidence? I don’t think so.”

I finally powered through all 50+ episodes of Eureka Seven. Fair warning, there will be spoilers, so read at your own risk.

The first half of the series was enjoyable, with a lively pace despite the schizophrenic setting and plot (a hallmark of Bones productions). However, around the halfway point, right after Charles and Ray’s deaths, the show took a sharp turn. It shifted from an adventurous narrative into a run-of-the-mill teen romance wrapped in a completely deranged setting, seemingly cooked up by a screenwriter drowning in a triple dose of sake and self-loathing.

Character personalities abruptly changed, and the level of nonsensical absurdity skyrocketed. Maybe those who watched the series as it aired didn’t notice this as much, but binge-watching made these shifts glaringly obvious, leaving a rather unpleasant impression.

Take Holland, for example. In the first half, he was a selfish, immature jerk who’d beat up Renton, only to suddenly transform into a mature, kind, and caring mentor figure. Or Eureka, initially a classic kuudere with autistic vibes, she suddenly morphed into a generic and unremarkable character.

Anemone was my favorite character, but even she wasn’t spared. By episodes 48 or 49, she inexplicably stopped being the unhinged maniac and Dewey’s lackey she had been all series long. Out of nowhere, she started hating Dewey, fell in love with Dominic, and turned into a friendly "cute girl." At least they didn’t kill her off until the very end. Renton changed as well over the course of the series, but his development was far less abrupt compared to everyone else.

To be fair, you could try to connect these sudden changes to the plot if you really pay attention (for instance, Anemone’s transformation is linked to her stopping the use of certain substances). Still, the execution feels awkward and unnatural, leaving an unpleasant aftertaste. Don’t even get me started on how they squandered the individuality of the characters.

As for the ending, it’s pretty standard and predictable, nothing to evoke strong emotions really.

On the bright side, I really enjoyed the OST, even though it’s nothing particularly groundbreaking.

If I were to rate it:

First half: 8/10
Second half: 5/10

Final Score: 6.5/10.

The second season of Sora no Otoshimono turned out to be just as uninspired and dumb as the first. Most episodes are crammed with idiotic fanservice aimed at 13-to-16-year-old teenagers. Some episodes crank the absurdity up to ridiculous levels. That said, there are a few moments where the show tries to insert some meaning or plot, but the story is so poorly developed that you might as well say it’s nonexistent.

Here’s the gist of it: an ordinary Japanese high schooler has a "fall from the sky" moment, literally, as a well-endowed "angeloid" drops onto his head and immediately starts calling him "Master." Then comes a second angeloid, this time a loli. Then a third. Then yet another angeloid, an even younger loli, who initially wants to kill everyone on orders from the Big Bad but ends up "healed" by a good old-fashioned beating and turns into a cute and harmless character. The entire point of the story is to build the protagonist’s harem so they can churn out fanservice scenes. Same old, same old.

Now, let’s talk about the characters:

Tomoki: The protagonist, a perverted little creep who delights in inhaling the scent of women’s bathrooms and panties. Like many classic anime high schoolers, he lives alone in a huge house because his parents are conveniently "away somewhere far."
Sohara: Tomoki’s childhood friend, secretly in love with him. Completely unremarkable.
Ikaros: The main angeloid who calls Tomoki "Master." A stereotypical kuudere, nothing special.
Nymph: The second angeloid, a classic loli tsundere.
Chaos: A loli yandere who wants to kill the protagonist and her fellow "traitor angeloids" but ultimately mellows out.
Mikako: A character so obnoxious you just want to punch her.
Sugata: The sole voice of reason in this entire mess, the only character who doesn’t evoke disgust.
Minos: The main villain who gets barely any screen time.

And that’s pretty much it. This anime might appeal to unpicky fans of "cute girls" and fanservice. Judging by its MAL average rating (7.8/10), there are more than enough of those around.

I’ve known about this anime for a long time and had been wanting to watch it, but I kept putting it off. A few days ago, I finally decided to give it a go. Well, I wish I hadn’t. The first five episodes were fairly enjoyable, and I even considered giving it an 8/10. However, as I kept watching, my internal rating dropped with almost every episode, eventually hitting 5/10 by the end. And that’s a score I reserve for outright trash. Unfortunately, To LOVE-Ru turned out to be exactly that kind of “trash” on par with Cosprayers and other disasters from Studio M.O.E.

The final episode felt like some forgotten OVA from the 90s, a complete shit. But it’s not all bad. The character design is decent, and the protagonist, while being a classic soft-spoken and feminine "nice guy," is surprisingly non-irritating. I also liked Lala, though that’s mostly because I have a soft spot for chaotic, energetic genki characters. Everyone else fades into the background; none of the other characters left any impression. It takes a special kind of talent to create a 26-episode anime where not a single character gets properly developed.

I had high hopes for Mikan, the protagonist’s sister, but she barely appeared in the series, which was disappointing. Overall, it was one letdown after another. That said, I’ll still watch the sequels since the person responsible for this mess, who has apparently never created anything but garbage, wasn’t involved.

This anime had potential, and if a studio like Shaft or KyoAni had taken the reins, it could have turned out to be a solid title. Unfortunately, it ended up in the hands of someone who completely butchered it. Here’s hoping the sequels do better.