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Anime Review

JoJo: Stardust Crusaders Spoiler-Free Review

Japanese Title: JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 3: Stardust Crusaders
Year: 2014
Episodes: 48
Studios: Gonzo
Adaptation: JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 3: Stardust Crusaders
Genres: Action, Adventure, Supernatural, Drama, Shounen

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders

An absolutely amazing, action packed, and highly well written addition to the JoJo franchise.

Review

If you thought Dio Brando was dead, think again. He’s awakened from his hundred year hiatus and, with a new body. Surprise, surprise, Dio has successfully transplanted his head onto the body of Jonathan, and along with it, awakened an ability known as “Stand”. Because of this, those carrying the blood of the Joestars have also “awakened” this ability. Unfortunately for Joutarou Kuujou, his mother cannot handle the power of her stand and will soon die because of it. Joutarou, along with his grandfather Joseph must form the ultimate team to defeat Dio before it’s too late.

With the introduction of Stands, it brought a whole new dynamic to the standard and sometimes mundane Hamon fights we saw in the previous two parts. Initially, I didn’t like it. I thought the concept of two men punching each other with their own two fists sounded far manlier than using these new Stand abilities where the user does nothing but literally stand on one spot the entire fight. Oh, how I was severely and utterly mistaken. These stands not only brought a whole new dynamic into the action, but also allowed for some amazing strategy and unpredictability to the new up and coming fights. It just feels so damn unique, original and refreshing.

You will find that this part is completely action packed, with far bigger and grander casts and personalities. “How will Joutarou get out of this situation?”, “How the hell are they going to beat this Stand?”, “How does this Stand work?”, and “Can this Stand counter that Stand?” are the questions you’re going to be asking yourself every episode. The costume designs and art style also took a massive step up with Joutarou’s iconic school uniform many other memorable outfits and hairstyles. The series is also undeniably hilarious with Joutarou’s iconic catch phrase “Yare Yare Daze” and Polnareff’s hilarious goofy and naive personality. Hard-hitting emotional moments feel very earned because the series manages to build such intricate relationships through the majority of the runtime. There are a lot of things this part does right and one thing it doesn’t do is disappoint.

I rate this anime 10/10.

Recommendations: If you enjoyed this anime, I highly recommend watching Hunter x Hunter. Both series feature fights that rely heavily on tactics and power dynamics.

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Anime Review

Rosario + Vampire Spoiler-Free Review

Japanese Title: Rosario to Vampire
Year: 2008
Episodes: 13
Studios: Gonzo
Adaptation: Rosario to Vampire
Genres: Harem, Comedy, Romance, Ecchi, Vampire, Fantasy, School, Shounen

Awesome unique ecchi-harem anime with a likable protagonist and beautiful girls.

Review

Tsukune Aono is a human that has unknowingly been enrolled into a school for monsters. On his way to the school, he runs into Moka Akashiya, a new student who also happens to be a vampire. From their chance encounter, they instantly have an attraction and become great friends, and so their interesting monster-human relationship begins.

This is a classic. Maybe it’s my nostalgia talking but I absolutely adore this anime. The first time I watched it was more than 8 years ago. I loved everything about this anime and on a rewatch, I still do. The unique premise, the beautiful art style and oh those beautiful panty shots. Fan service in this anime is just so, good. These girls are simply beautiful to say the least; Moka’s transformation into a true vampire makes her body more voluptuous, and she becomes so. Damn. Sexy; probably one of the most attractive girl I’ve ever seen in anime. If you’re looking for a solid ecchi-harem anime, it really doesn’t get any better than this.

But if you’re looking for something groundbreaking and innovative, you’re looking at the wrong genre. I don’t go into this style of anime with high expectations and you shouldn’t either. The artists in this genre aren’t trying to appeal to the mainstream audience and instead, just attempt to create a light-hearted feel-good story. The series will always be subject to hate and that’s just the nature of being in this specific genre. To me, as long as the fan service is top-notch and the character’s are likable, I’m happy, which is exactly what this anime delivers.

I rate this anime 8/10.

Recommendations: If you enjoyed this anime for the fan-service, consider watching Demon King Daimao. They have quality up-skirt shots and a pretty solid story.

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Anime Review

Plunderer Spoiler-Free Review

Japanese Title: Plunderer
Year: 2020
Episodes: 24
Studios: A-1 Pictures
Adaptation: Plunderer
Genres: Action, Ecchi, Fantasy, Shounen

Go-to for your average action anime series to enjoy some good fanservice.

Review

In the world of Plunderer, everyone has a count somewhere in their body that increases or decreases depending on something unique to each person. Hina, our protagonist, is told by her mother to find one of the Aces when she is dragged into the “Abyss” (something that happens when a person’s count reaches 0). Aces are the supposed ultimate heros from a war that took place roughly 300 years ago. After her mother’s presumed demise, Hina goes on a long journey looking for one of the Aces who are identifiable by a white star next to their count.

I can’t find many things to say about this anime. It’s mediocre at best. Some story arcs feel rushed making it difficult to become invested in the scenes or connect with newly introduced characters. Most characters are lacklustre, some more annoying than I care to admit and overall pretty generic. The comedic moments consists of mostly molesting and groping women which were a little funny early on I admit, but at certain times, it feels too repetitive and even a little creepy. However, at the end of the day, it’s just anime. On a good note, there are some interesting battle moments and the animation overall is pretty good. The ecchi scenes are also great, consisting of many thigh shots but unfortunately no up-skirts shots, despite how much it’s teased; which I was pretty sad about.

If you’re watching this anime, I’d suggest not to take it too seriously and just enjoy the fanservice for what it is because some episodes are actually pretty creative. The author is able to execute Slice-of-Life aspects of the series quite well. If the fan service were slightly less disappointing, I could rate it higher.

I rate this anime 6/10.

Recommendations: If you enjoyed this anime, consider watching The Seven Deadly Sins. They have roughly a similar premise of girl in search for a powerful man.

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Anime Review

Eromanga Sensei Spoiler-Free Review

Japanese Title: Eromanga-sensei
Year: 2017
Episodes: 12
Studios: A-1 Pictures
Adaptation: Eromanga-sensei
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Ecchi

A pretty solid anime if you can get past its unusual premise.

Review

Two siblings, Sagiri and Masamune Izumi have passions for creating erotic Manga. Unbeknownst to either of them, Sagiri (Eromanga-sensei) has been the artist for Masamune’s novels this whole time. They just haven’t realise it yet because she is your typical hikikomori (shut-in) who hasn’t shown her face to Masamune for more than a year of living together. Their bizarre adventure begins when Masamune discovers Eromanga-sensei’s identity.

I can’t understand the demographic for this anime. It’s almost like the authors themselves didn’t know their target audience. The protagonists are literally middle school children creating erotic manga which is such a ridiculous premise for adults to entertain; and the scenes are far too provocative for children. Sure you can make an argument that it’s geared towards teenagers but then again, the plot itself is already too niche. It’s difficult appealing to anybody when your story fetishizes incestual relationships and sexualises young girls. However, given the context, the premise isn’t actually all that abnormal. The siblings have spent a mere one year living together and aren’t blood related, so their attraction is understandable.

The series is also very self-aware and overall quite wholesome. Sure there are some questionable scenes but characters don’t act or behave in a creepy way, and, looking past the surface level, you can genuinely find some clear substance in the story. The art style also very pleasant and colourful.

I rate this anime 7/10.

Recommendations: If you enjoyed this anime, consider watching OreImo. It’s made by the same author and also has a similar premise.

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Anime Review

Chivalry of a Failed Knight Spoiler-Free Review

Japanese Title: Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry
Year: 2015
Episodes: 12
Studios: SILVER LINK., Nexus
Adaptation: Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry
Genre: Action, Romance, Ecchi, Fantasy, School

Chivalry of a Failed Knight Review

Great anime with likable and attractive characters and a solid storyline.

Review

Ikki Kurogane was born in a clan of prestigious Mage-Knights known to produce powerful Blazers (humans born with magic). Despite this, he has no talent in magic which has led to him being subject to years of prejudice and discrimination. Ikki wants to prove that he can become powerful in a world where others believe him to be the weakest.

I was put off from the magical high school harem genre for a long time because of the countless cheap replicas with soulless, generic storylines and incredibly annoying and unlikable character personality traits however, Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry managed to draw me in. There are characters here, and likable ones at that too. No more of the violent bitchy characters who add nothing of value to the story other than to be used for repetitive gags such as misunderstanding common sense situations and abusing the protagonist. God I can’t even begin to explain how frustrating that is. The series manages to create authentic characters with at least some level of intelligence that are able to depict actual human beings. They have goals and aspirations you want to root for and flaws that make them relatable and vulnerable. It does nothing to make itself stand out and revolutionary but instead, simply just tells a great, solid story which is something worthy of praise in itself.

The fan service is exciting and erotic, assisted by some very attractive girls with sexy and provocative outfits, but in no way does it ever supersede or distract you from the storyline. It finds its own time to shine and is timed perfectly.

Recommendations: If you enjoyed this anime series, consider watching “The Irregular at Magic High School” where both protagonists are unjustly assumed to be the weakest.

I rate this anime 7/10.

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Anime Review

Tokyo Revengers Spoiler-Free Review

Japanese Title: Tokyo Revengers
Year: 2021
Episodes: 13
Studios: LIDENFILMS
Adaptation: Tokyo卍Revengers
Genre: Action, Drama, School, Shounen, Supernatural

Tokyo Revengers Review

I really liked Tokyo Avengers. It has many interesting and likable characters and an intriguing premise with many twists and turns.

Review

Takemichi Hanagaki is a man living with regret from the choices he made as a teenager. During one of his many mundane and uneventful days, someone attempts to murder Takemichi by pushing him onto the rail tracks. Moments before the train hits him, Takemichi flashes back to a fond memory of his ex-girlfriend and suddenly wakes up as a middle school student. He later realises that he has the ability to time-travel into the past which gives him the opportunity to right his past mistakes.

Generally I don’t like time travel in tv shows and movie allowing the user to fix past mistakes as I am a believer of “everything happens for a reason”, but Tokyo Revengers is an exception because it uses the ability as a tool for the greater good. The anime does an excellent job of defining characters through their actions and the relationships they develop. Character arcs are perfectly laid out and get a satisfying pay-off that feels genuine. Their motivations and reasons make sense given their context which are explored thoroughly through dialogue and history. Moments where the protagonist manages to rise up to the occasion are very hard-hitting and emotional and his growth as a character is what makes this series very special to me. There are also plenty mystery packed in every episode to keep the story thrilling and interesting.

Recommendations: If you enjoyed Tokyo Revengers, consider watching Boku dake ga Inai Machi (ERASED) which is an anime with a similar premise of re-writing history.

I rate this anime 8/10.