Jeoffrey

Reincarnated as a Sword had me hooked on its interesting premise even before the first episode came out. The story about a guy who is transported to another world to become a sword stuck in a rock in the middle of nowhere sounded intriguing to me, and I was curious to see what the writers would come up with. I was truly annoyed with the first episode, so much so that I even considered dropping the show, because the premise didn’t seem to be handled well in the opening episode. SPOILER: What I mean by that is that the sword immediately started levitating and slashing all the enemies in the vicinity, becoming an increasingly powerful object. What's wrong with that? First of all, it gives you the idea that such a flying sword doesn't really need anyone, so the whole encounter with the female protagonist feels almost pointless. It’s like creating a plot for the sake of a plot. If the first episode had made it clear to the viewer that a sword stuck in a rock is useless on its own unless someone pulls it out and starts using it, I would have immediately liked it better. It would have made more sense, and Fran wouldn't have seemed almost redundant at first. END OF SPOILER. However, Reincarnated as a Sword is also a series that, despite the bad first impression (and the pile of clichés that followed), gradually started to win me over, until it actually became a nice enjoyable show that doesn’t make you think too hard, but you’re happy just watching the main character set off on her adventures and seeing how the story develops. What’s the show’s secret? Most importantly, Fran is a sweet and curious girl who enjoys adventures and loves fighting, and her enthusiasm will make you start enjoying the story, too. You will want to discover new places and find out how the heroes will deal with the next dangerous situation. Above all, you will simply root for Fran and her sword. Sure, the writers have chosen a very simple origin, which makes the viewer feel a lot of pity and sympathy for Fran at the beginning. It's a bit cheap, but it does work and helps you to quickly relate to the heroine. But it's not just Fran who's very likable here. The sword is actually well-portrayed, too. He becomes a kind and wise mentor and partner, almost a father figure to the protagonist, and their mutual chemistry is just really sweet. I was glad that there was almost zero fanservice, which wouldn't really fit here. What I also liked were the decent dungeons and the simple yet functional world. The series got me interested in the end, despite the fact that apart from the main couple there was only one interesting character for me, which was Amanda (unfortunately, I didn’t think much of the rest of the cast). I did have fun in the end. I'll be glad if there is another season in the future (the ending feels that way) and I'll definitely watch it, so I’m willing to give the series a 4*, even if it's the weakest 4* I can possibly imagine. 6.5/10

The weakest season of the series so far. Apart from various parodies of Pokémon, Yu-gi-oh! and even Shokugeki no Souma, not much else was interesting or extra funny about it. The new villain was weak and unimpressive as a character, and the final plot was also much weaker and less dramatic than what I’ve come to expect of this series. The main character had fewer OP moments, his iconic theme song was only rarely played, and considering what the finale was actually about, I'm neither excited nor amused. In fact, I'm even taking Froggy's side. The only thing worthy of praise was the opening. I have mixed feelings about the rest. While it wasn't an outright flop, I don't think this season deserves more than a 5.5/10.

The biggest issue I have with this anime is the pacing which isn’t doing the series any favors. The writers decided to take what could normally be spread out into three seasons and crammed it into twelve episodes. Everything just flies by at breakneck speed. A lot of things simply happen, without the story building up to it properly, and a lot of surprising twists are just announced in a matter-of-fact way, or they happen in a rush, and the viewer is left to make sense of it all. Even if you are able to keep up with the story and understand everything, it's all a bit confusing and accelerated, the surprises don't really work, negatively affecting the atmosphere, which is quite a shame. The final episode is a case in point. A lot of things happen at the same time, various revelations are made (in one or two brief sentences) and everything gets very quickly resolved. The story still makes sense, the likable characters might make you enjoy it, and the ending might even move you, but the experience can be compared to that of eating fast food that you won’t remember in a few weeks. It really is a shame because the main couple is fantastic. Aileen is a charming, smart, and proactive heroine who is the driving force of the story, so it's not hard to quickly grow to like her and root for her. Claude is very charismatic and affects the story in interesting ways, too. Plus, when the couple have great chemistry, it actually makes for a pretty decent and enjoyable romance that’s fun to watch. It was the main reason I watched the series in the first place. The rest are just minor characters, but still likable, and I even have some favorites among them that I would have liked to know more about, but there was just no space for that. The musical direction wasn't bad, and especially in the last episode you can really feel the effort to elevate the overall impression and enhance the important scenes. The animation is rather mediocre. The characters and some of the backgrounds are good, but the CGI vehicles look pretty awful. If the creators had stretched the story out a bit, developed the plot more, and given more screen time to the main couple who carried the whole show, or maybe fleshed out some of the supporting characters, it could have been worth a 4*. This way, it's a kind of extract of the essentials, which does work in terms of a narrative, but the story isn’t as powerful and intriguing as it could have been... 6.3/10

Let me start with something that probably won't be of much interest to anyone else, but I need to make it clear. Dragon Age: Origins is my all-time favorite game, which I've played 17 times to this day. Considering that it takes about 30-35 hours to finish excluding the data disks (with the data disks some extra 3-5 hours), it’s actually quite an achievement (or at least a lot of time spent). I’ve played the Dragon Age: Awakening DLC four times (the story is weaker), Dragon Age II only twice (I don't like what they did with the combat system and how they recycled locations), and Dragon Age: Inquisition three times (it's my second favorite game of the series, but it's really long, so I have two more unfinished games). As a whole, I love this game series as much as I love The Witcher, The Elders Scrolls, or Mass Effect, so I’m not going to miss anything that comes out of this world. I'm simply a damn fanboy and loremaster, which means that I’ve probably enjoyed this series a bit more than those who have never heard of Dragon Age, for whom this might be just a mediocre fantasy with a pretty good story, interesting characters, and mediocre animation with some obvious flaws, especially in the use of CGI on some of the monsters (the dragon) and during some fights, especially the ones where magic is used. What I appreciated is that I instantly recognized many of the creatures. Except for the corpses (who look like weird shadow goblins for some reason), the creators have kept the original visuals. I also recognized a lot of the spells used, and I appreciated the glimpse into Tevinter and its problems, which I’m pretty familiar with. Hopefully, in the next installment of the game series, I'll go there to sort things out myself... I also immediately recognized the origin of most of the characters, their race, and their class. Aside from a few minor details, I was very pleased with how they were portrayed, and I liked the wide range of characters that were assembled here. I also liked the theme of slavery and free will. After all, I've been through a lot as a city elf in DA:O myself, so I was no stranger to it, and it resonated with me. I also couldn't have been surprised about the fact that girls can be into girls and boys can like boys, which has always been the standard in BioWare games. It’s not necessarily about representing minorities, but more about the developers simply wanting to give you as many different options as possible, so that everyone can enjoy the games, and experience the variety - which is the point of RPGs. The series presents this in a completely normal and natural way, the relationships make sense, it's explained or shown how they came to be, and I was able to root for them. Most of the characters were likable or at least intrigued me in some way. Their motivations were clearly explained even in the relatively small space of six episodes, and I had no problem understanding them. The story started off as quite straightforward and fast-paced but managed to surprise me with some of its twists and turns at the end. All in all - if you don't know the games and decide to give it a shot, you probably won't be disappointed (it's at least a slightly above-average fantasy). If you do know the games, you'll probably enjoy it as much as I did, and despite some of the flaws, you might even end up giving it an 8/10 wondering if there's going to be another season (the door has been left wide open) or if any part of the story will be reflected in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.

There is probably only one other TV series about Vikings I have enjoyed as much as this. Most of the things I would like to write have already been said in other reviews,  so I will be briefl - I thought it was visually captivating, with a perfect soundtrack, a very interesting narrative (even in parts when there does not seem to be much going on) and excellent action scenes. In terms of the psychological makeup of the characters, I found them to be pretty decent. My favorite characters were: Askeladd, Thors, and Thorkell - in that order. 9/10.

I liked Tokyo Revengers, it is set in an interesting world, has a good concept, even if it is just another variation on "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" again, and likable characters. It also successfully shows which things in life are worth fighting for, and the reasons why you should never run away from a fight, even though you might not have any chance of winning. After all, Takemichi is not the strongest or smartest character in this anime series, he just has a certain way of bringing about change, and his likable stubbornness and occasional belief that you can break through walls with your head earned my admiration. There are two things I cannot quite figure out which do perhaps annoy me a little though. First, censorship: I find it silly to censor certain symbols that can represent a certain thing just because it was misused in the past and added another meaning to it. Talking of swastikas, I think it is wrong to confuse two different things and make a symbol taboo just because a bunch of crazy bastards once appropriated it, especially when its original meaning was so completely different and is also used for completely different reasons in this anime series. In truth, I have never even understood some countries’ censorship of swastikas in the game Doom, where they were used for their Nazi connections, however, just occasionally and logically in context, having a rightful place in the game. I think that this global effort to avoid pissing people off and be as politically correct as possible is really over the top and also stupid sometimes. The second thing is how this show presents time travel itself. If I go into the past and change something in it, and it changes my future, then if I go back to the future, I should be affected there too, right? Here it works in too much of a straightforward way, the protagonist goes back to the past, changes something, comes back, and has no idea what the consequences of those changes were. His present self is completely psychologically unaffected by it. On the one hand, this gives this anime series a certain air of mystery, where no one, including the main protagonist, has any idea of what things are going to be like back in the present; on the other hand, I just cannot seem to bring myself to be truly immersed in, and to fully trust such a concept of time travel. What I find equally strange is how Naoto (mis)perceives these changes. If I wanted to go into more depth, then I would probably get into the details, and would notice some of those paradoxes (if I can figure out the reason for me going back, which then never actually occurs in the past, then has the actual journey into the past ever happened?) Of course, what I know about time travel could be written on my fingernail. Despite that, Tokyo Revengers is a good emotional drama series that is worth watching and I have no problem in awarding this eight out of ten and I am looking forward to the second season because irreversible fate is irreversible fate!

If I had to sum The Fruit of Evolution up in just a few words, this show is a bunch of crap! However, at least in the beginning, I found it to be quite entertaining and an original piece of crap. At least there were some good ideas that made sense, and it worked for a while during the first few episodes. I even found the whole gorilla love story quite amusing. However, by the time Seiichi and Saria leave the forest, it just became a total bore-fest full of tropes with an attempt at being a bigger and bigger bunch of crap in each successive episode. Likewise, the leveling up and getting new powers and abilities go horribly wrong very quickly; and that does not make any sense. The main male protagonist gains new powers and abilities exactly as needed and in a style that feels like they are literally being thrown at him. It is also the same way with the harem. Saria was pretty OK, Artoria too. However, it started to be exactly the same as the powers and abilities. Even the waifu seem to be literally just constantly thrown at the main male protagonist by the screenwriters, and it just all seemed very stupid after that. In addition, Seiichi is constantly thinking out loud about everything, with voice actor Hiro Shimono in the role, and you immediately realize that Seiichi is just another version of Zenitsu Agatsuma and so your ears start bleeding. Funny crap becomes plain tedious crap and then some insane crap that you are merely watching just because you are wondering how much more crap they are going to throw at you. On the other hand, you cannot deny the show knows it is crap, so it does not take itself super seriously and just tries to make up more and more crap to keep you entertained, although it does not exactly succeed in doing so. If the screenwriters, instead of dishing out the same old tropes, had written a good screenplay that set about breaking the tropes down (which they did, at least for a few moments in the beginning), this could have been a great show full of parodies. However, as it is - this is just crap! I do not know if I would want to watch any more episodes myself. I am not sure if I care if the narrative even has a well-thought-out coherent backstory with the demon king because I rather expected it to end up being just another washout. I am not sure I want to see what happens when Seiichi and his ensemble meet the rest of his boring schoolmates anyway. I rather think I have had enough. 4/10.

I am trying to work out what I thought was good in anime season Summer 2020, get it straight in my head, and the naughty, mischievous little boy in me who gets off on causing a stir just screams that this anime series was fantastic! If I had to live in a fantasy world, until recently I would have liked to have been reincarnated as Momonga from Overlord (because I have a thing for bad guys, especially if they are a badass, powerful, two-meter-tall skeleton who is a strategic genius with his own harem, that would be pretty damn cool). After saying that, however, at the moment I think I would rather be Anos Voldigoad throwing out cruel lines like "Did you really think that would work?", making even a tsundere girl act all cute in my presence, having my own fan club that writes songs about me, and being so powerful that no one and nothing can bring me down - that is next-level overpower fantasy. I have seen a lot of anime series with strong protagonists and none of them were this funny and stupid at the same time. It has been a long time since I have laughed at something like this and found it all so damn cool at the same time. Anos Voldigoad makes everything look easy, he has fangirls singing his praises which are ringing in his ears whilst promoting a message of peace more effectively than the entire Hippie movement. He is cruel although he is also fair, and his punishments are severe yet appropriate. Anos is the manifestation of a resolute, stalwart, and perfect male protagonist with an easy-going personality who takes everything in his stride, he is an over-the-top character who does not come across as foolish, plus he is also a man who knows how to treat women. Plus, I have not seen so much potential for memes in such a peculiar cringe-fest anime series in a long time either. I love originality and there is plenty of it in this show, it is a collection of dreams-come-true based on other clichéd fantasy anime tropes where I wondered what a really good main protagonist would do in that situation. This show very much revolves around the main protagonist and the other characters only get a chance to shine when he allows it. The only one who rivals him is Lay, who, over only a few episodes, is involved in a romantic storyline that is better than the entirety of The Twilight Saga. The fights between Anos and Lay seem to have a real spark, and there are some very awkward moments between them (so it is a bit of a bromance, too). The action had momentum to it, which I liked too. This was a real treat for me - every Saturday, as soon as a new episode came out, I was on it, and I usually felt well-entertained and full of anticipation for what they had in store next. I was afraid that they would not be able to maintain that level of craziness, and that it would fall into the typical tropes, that Anos would not be able to pull it off even with his charisma - however, it was OK, and every episode had something to make my jaw drop and I would be in awe, because of how over-the-top, stupid, or on the contrary how brilliant it was. On the other hand, there is the cool rational voice in my head that says I cannot award this show five stars and put it up there with the best shows I have ever seen because after all, it was a load of over-the-top bullshit. So my two different personalities agreed to a compromise, and I am going to award it the strongest four stars I know and talk about it wherever I can and with whoever I can, and maybe one day I am going to find someone who was as blown away by it as I was. However, when all is said and done, the ratings on other databases give me hope that I am not going mad, that maybe my tastes are not that weird, and that this was a really cool anime series. One day I am going to come back, full of confidence with the words "I hope you did not think anything was going to stop me", and I might increase the rating I awarded (at least if I watch it again sometime soon). Absolutely ridiculous 8.4/10.

What I like most about In/Spectre is that it does not follow in the footsteps of typical supernatural whodunnits about someone attempting to solve a mystery. No, this is not about solving the mystery itself, it is more about the different interpretations. In the last episode, there is something about how powerful the human mind is, and how it can create countless different scenarios for almost everything, and this is what really fascinated me. The main female protagonist is able to describe different plausible versions of what could have happened, and at the same time gradually break down what you believe, until she can actually convince you that the sky is not blue, and water is not wet… The way she does it is really very verbose and so fans of action-packed shows are probably not going to like this. However, if you like to think about stuff, speculate, or at least enjoy looking at things from multiple perspectives, then you are going to really enjoy it and be blown away. Add to that the fact that the supernatural aspect of the show works, the main characters have the right chemistry (yes, it reminded me of Gosick), plus this anime series is interesting even when there is no supernatural mystery being solved, which makes it a superior immersive experience even for discerning audiences and an altogether smart and interesting show. 7.5/10

This is such a pretty run-of-the-mill relaxing anime series about a young boy who completes various tasks with calmness, a smile and an army of Slimes. Worried about dangerous monsters in the neighborhood, or maybe just ground in grime on your new clothes? Well, Ryoma can sort anything out for you! You might just find the complete peace and quiet relaxing as there is no unnecessary drama. However, if you look and focus on the quality of the animation you might notice that it is not that great, and for example, the motion of the horse-drawn carriage looks very peculiar. You might also wonder if the entire isekai premise of a man who is almost forty years old inhabiting the body of a little boy is completely underutilized, unnecessary, and almost non-existent after a while. The main male protagonist does not act like a man in his prime and uses his knowledge and experience only sporadically. In other words, if the isekai element had been left out and the screenwriters had just used the premise of a young boy chosen at random and blessed by the gods, then almost nothing would have changed. Anyway, the point of this anime series is not the story or the lack of suspense, and it is way too early for romance - it is merely a show to pass the time and enjoy a nice Sunday nap to. Nothing more, nothing less, I am not going to remember it in a month, however, for now, it has served its purpose. 5/10.