O Maidens in Your Savage Season Review

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My first impression after finishing this series was that the ending was rushed. There were certain characters and sub-plots that needed more time develop, but instead felt pushed to the side in order to give focus to a more bombastic and engaging climax. After said climax, an arbitrary time jump occurs to showcase the characters’ near futures but ignores the immediate falling action of the incident and repercussions for the people involved. The conclusion feels like a hastily tied together bow for a series that was, at the last minute, assured not to receive a second season. However, after looking into the manga, I found out the anime actually follows the source material quite accurately. This isn’t to say O Maidens in Your Savage Season: “the anime” is excused from critique of having a lackluster ending, as an adaptation shouldn’t necessarily be judge on the merits of how well it copied the original. I’m just merely pointing out that this was the original creator Mari Okada’s intention. And although I started this review at the end, and seem to have favored it rather poorly, there’s still a lot to enjoy in this funny, awkward, and earnest coming-of-age story.

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Anime of the Year / A GAMERS! Review (Part 2)

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These characters are fantastic, and their thoroughly conceived personalities and thought processes allow for such an otherwise common style of narrative to thrive. While Karen is truly responsible for setting the entire story into motion, the most pivotal character in GAMERS! has to be Tasuku. He is by far the most aligned with the general audience perspective, as he is able to pick up on almost every relationship development that doesn’t involve himself. His understanding of a given situation is often the most important of the entire cast’s, because it demonstrates the self-awareness of the creator. Continue reading

Anime of the Year / A GAMERS! Review (Part 1)

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It might not come as such as a surprise now that I’ve gushed on and on about best girl Chiaki, but GAMERS! is by far my favorite anime of the year. As a self-proclaimed connoisseur (and fervent lover) of anime rom coms, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that near the top of my annual list would be a member of the genre—had there been even a good one in the given year. Of course, just being a romantic comedy isn’t enough to earn such a prestigious award here at There Goes My Kokoro. When it comes to the densely populated crowd of high-school-slice-of-life-rom-coms, there are some clear indicators that separate the remarkable from the mundane. Those things, to me, are being able to show a deep understanding and love for generic conventions, and then going on to creatively utilize that knowledge and passion through avoidance, acknowledgement, and/or indulgence, ultimately giving birth to something original. Continue reading

A Made in Abyss Review

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I felt super late to the game when I first started watching this series in fall, and feel even more so now that I’ve finally gotten around to finishing it. From the beginning, I knew there was something different about this show, something that resonated with me in particular, because of who I am and what I have grown up with: Made in Abyss would be a fantastic video game—and was most likely initially conceived as such. I truly regret not jumping on this anime sooner, as I could’ve easily been one of the first to give it praise and explain how it would make for a fine gaming experience. Sadly, I missed out on that and was beaten to the punch by Geoff Thew, Professional Shitbag. He has a great video on “The Anime that Should Have Been a Video Game” on his YouTube Channel, Mother’s Basement, which I strongly recommend checking out if you care for more details on the matter. Continue reading

A Juni Taisen: Zodiac War Review

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While it is exciting to see an anime that comes from the same brilliant mind that brought us the Monogatari series, I must admit it was equal amounts disappointing to find out the studio adapting it wasn’t SHAFT. I guess I just figured that after Monogatari, NisiOisiN wouldn’t dare dream of having anyone else doing his adaptations from then on—though perhaps it is possible he may not have had a say in the matter. Regardless, with a writer like that, it mostly (if not entirely) falls on the studio staff for whether or not the animated series turns out well. Continue reading

A No Game No Life Zero Review

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I titled this a “review”, simply because I didn’t know what else to call it. Honestly, the film felt pretty convoluted, enough so that I don’t believe I developed a strong enough grasp of it—after one viewing—to give a more critical opinion. This movie is definitely something I want to watch again and again, and maybe even a fourth time. Until then, here are my thoughts after watching No Game No Life Zero. Continue reading

Little Witch Academia (TV Series) Review

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Simple and clean, is the way Little Witch Academia is making me feel, telling the story of Akko, a young girl who’s dream to become a witch leads her to the magical academy of Luna Nova. It is here where she will comically fail, time and time again, as Akko is severely disadvantaged due to the fact she doesn’t come from a magical family. She was only introduced to the magical world by the extravagant shows of Shiny Chariot, a famous witch entertainer driven by her desire of inspiring magic in all who watch her perform. Chariot is looked down upon by her fellow colleagues because of her career path, and one day she just disappears, leaving Akko with yet another dream: to find her…and return to her the Shiny Rod which she finds in a forest and uses to escape a giant chicken monster with breath that turns anything it touches to stone. No need to go into further detail, it’s just a thing that happens. Anyway, it’s made obvious who Shiny Chariot is to the audience from episode one (not directly but it’s easy to put together), making it feel a little too stretched out when all the characters find out where Chariot’s been after all this time, three fourths of the way through the series. Continue reading

A Saekano Flat Review (Season 2)

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Coming away from the second season of Saekano -How to Raise a Boring Gilfriend-, I felt something that I haven’t legitimately felt in a long time. Amplified by the uncertainty of a season 3 (because I was honestly a little surprised we got a season 2), the end of Saekano Flat left me with a joyful emptiness, the kind where the only bitterness I feel comes from the desire I have to see more. I have been so utterly enthralled by what Tomoya and his team have accomplished, and now I’m even more excited for the future holds given the change that has occurred (trying not to spoil it). Continue reading

A Flip Flappers Review

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This is a series that really had me going for a while. I knew almost nothing about Flip Flappers going in, and to my pleasant surprise, the show made me want to learn everything about it within a couple of episodes. It presented something that felt so fresh and original while also displaying an unspoken variation on that of which it was derived. Building off of magical girls in magical worlds, Flip Flappers reimagined what came before it with a heaping amount of playful ambiguity and managed to stay utterly engaging despite how thoroughly confounding the show probably would’ve looked to be on paper. Continue reading

A Sound! Euphonium 2 Review

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The first season of Sound! Euphonium was “utterly fantastic” (quoting myself from my review of season one). It took me by surprise and delivered something thoroughly thought provoking. Characters were handled flawlessly, hackneyed themes were dodged with grace, and not a moment of my time felt wasted as I embraced its concepts of what it means to be a part of something, and what it means to be special. It was undoubtedly a brilliant season, and unfortunately for KyoAni, the sequel would have to be held to those standards. So that begs the question: Did KyoAni reach or surpass the heights it set for itself with season one? Continue reading