I probably should have started my rewatch of Bleach a lot sooner. I wanted to include all of the fillers in my rewatch as well to make sure I see all of it again before the new season starts in October. Unfortunately, there are only about three months left, which means I have to consistently watch four episodes a day. On top of weekly anime and other shows I’m following, this is going to be a challenge. Nonetheless, it’s a challenge I am up for. So starting with this post, let’s take our time to talk about the Bleach anime, and why it was once part of the illustrious big three, before seemingly falling to the wayside completely.
Let me start off by talking about when and how I first encountered Bleach. It’s a story in two parts, really. I remember back in early high school, when I would visit a friend of mine once. She invited me over with some other friends to play Guitar Hero. On display in her living room was a figure and a few drawings of some cool looking cartoon characters. Mind you, this was long before I ever knew what anime was. I thought it was cartoons for goth kids. With Bleach I suppose that is not completely inaccurate, but I learned later that there was much more to it. When one of my best friends recommended me to watch One Piece, I did so very rapidly and when I finished all of that show, at least what was out at the time, I needed something else to watch. This is when I came across a familiar name; Bleach. I vividly remember that my parents went on holiday that year and my brother went with them. I didn’t like going on holiday back then, because I am very autistic and young me didn’t know how to cope with that. Instead I dragged my entire computer setup to the living room for two weeks and played games and watched anime. This is where I first watched the initial episodes of Bleach.
Inject this nostalgia straight into my veins. Look at that aspect ratio. It was a simpler time.
Bleach is an anime that aired from 2004 till 2012 and was animated by studio Pierrot. It is based on the manga of the same name by Tite Kubo, which ran in Shonen Jump from 2001 till 2006. It tells the story of Kurosaki Ichigo, a high school student who is turned into a substitute soul reaper. Together with actual Soul Reaper Kuchiki Rukia he goes out and defeats hollows which are like corrupted soul monsters. As the story moves on, he ends up butting heads with the powerful soul society. The early arcs are often described as teenagers rebelling against a system that feels oppressive and unfair. A message that holds true to this day. One of the unfortunate truths about Bleach is that towards the tail end of the manga it drastically lost popularity. As a result of this, the final arc felt extremely rushed and wasn’t very good. I’ve heard a rumor (emphasis on it being a rumor) that there might be some adjustments to the story in the anime, which could possibly improve the rushed story which has me excited for it.
I will be watching the new season of Bleach every single week once it’s here, and to get everyone else up to speed I will summarize and review the different arcs in the anime. I might include the filler arcs in this as well, depending on how quickly I can make my way through the story. I hope you’ll join me here for future posts as well and perhaps watch along with me. Because for all its flaws and problems, Bleach is an extremely memorable show with some fantastic characters, fights and music that I will always hold dear as an adrenaline inducing action show that brightened my day whenever I watched it. I hope you’re as excited for this as I am.
Whenever I do (quick) reviews I tend to exclude sequels. Mainly because most people have either chosen to watch or not watch the original of the series. This time around I had an opinion on three sequels this season that I wanted to get out, so I figured I’d combine them. I’ll try and avoid major spoilers for all of the titles involved but I will have to talk about some things to convey my opinion. These reviews are of the series so far and if I think they’re worth watching. Now without further ado, let’s get to it.
Kaguya-sama: Love is war – Ultra Romantic
The third season of Kaguya-sama feels very similar to the first two seasons, which is good or bad depending on how much you liked the first two seasons. A quick anecdote about myself. I watched early Kaguya-sama right after I got rejected by a girl. I wasn’t very good about dealing with that situation and felt very sad at the time. At that time, watching this convoluted romantic comedy was extremely painful so I dropped it early on. When season 2 was announced I gave the anime another chance and found the first season to be pretty decent. I was in a different headspace at that point so it was fine then. This isn’t particularly relevant to anyone, but I just felt like sharing it.
I know that this image says nothing about the show per se, but it’s a nice shot and has no spoilers. It’s from the ending, which is very good as always.
Kaguya-sama tells the story of Shinomiya Kaguya and her fellow classmates and friends. She’s going to a very prestigious academy where most students come from affluent backgrounds. Kaguya has fallen for the school president, Shirogane Miyuki, who in turn has fallen for her. The story is set up around the thought that whoever confesses their feelings first loses the war. Hence the title. The characters spend three seasons dancing around each other in an attempt to not share their feelings while desperately wanting to share their feelings. Misunderstandings galore. What makes the show bearable for me are the characters of Fujiwara Chika and Ishigami Yu. The main cast isn’t really that interesting to me. It gives me a similar feeling to the TV show Friends. It’s fun for a little while, but eventually you realize everyone’s just being a terrible person. No one is particularly likable and I find myself not really rooting for anyone. Chika is mostly comic relief which is actually quite funny at times and Ishigami’s pessimism, although very extreme, does kind of resonate with me. I think my favorite character over all is Hayasaka, who serves as Kaguya’s maid and gets embroiled in a lot of her bullshittery.
The titular Kaguya. Her design is very well done and absolutely adorable, but half of the show I just can’t stand her as a character.
The show does end on a high note, and I did enjoy the final episode more than I expected. To be honest with you, I’d already written my review of it and had to go back to add this tidbit in. The final episode surprised me and it seemed unfair not to mention that. All in all, I’d say Kaguya-sama does what it wants to do extremely well and if you like season 1 you’ll like the sequel seasons just as much. It’s not my cup of tea per se but it’s good enough for me to keep watching it. If you want a solid romcom with interesting characters then you should give this one a watch. Also, the opening themes are certified bangers and extremely memorable.
Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part III
I first discovered Bookworm when a good friend of mine recommended interesting Isekai manga to me. The one I ended up picking up was bookworm and I read it for a little while before dropping it. The manga felt a bit slow. The anime on the other hand has a better pace going for it. Bookworm follows Myne, a young girl who has a dangerous sickness that only nobles can help cure. It’s more complicated than that, but let’s keep it simple. Being a bookworm in her past life, even going so far as to die when bookcases crushed her, she felt bad not being able to read books in this new world. So the young girl set out on a quest to make her own books in a world where they’re not readily available. Things unfortunately don’t quite go as easily as she would hope. Many things stand in Myne’s way. Luckily she quickly finds some allies along the way but when the people who wield a lot of power are the ones in your way, maybe things won’t go as you planned. Her childhood friend becomes a close ally and so does her father and a local merchant. Myne has taken over from the real Myne, so to speak, who died of her illness and then Myne’s soul from our world took over the body. Really sad when you look at it that way.
Myne is regularly casting strong prayer magic since she has such talent for it. I wonder if the story will eventually see her become her own person as opposed to a tool for the people around her. I think that would be a cool direction to go but I doubt it.
Still, Myne is determined to succeed in her quest to make books. I think what I really enjoy about Bookworm compared to other Isekai shows is that it’s really unique and that in a lot of situations the main character is fairly powerless. Not always, and when Myne is at her best it’s super satisfying to watch, but in many situations a small child is only going to be able to do so much. Myne is likable and the complicated political structure of the world she lives in is very interesting and well thought out. With this show I think it’s safe to say that it gets better as the seasons continue. The scale in season one is quite small but as things progress everything gets more intertwined and by the end of season three we’re at the center of a political mess that’s not easy to escape. The political aspect of this show really sells it for me so the fact that we keep seeing more of it is a definite boon for the series. If you like drama, isekai and politics this is the show for you. The artstyle and animation are not great in my opinion, but it’s not too distracting either. I think anyone who is at least curious after this description should give the show a watch.
The Rising of the shield hero 2nd season.
I was listening to the Trash Taste podcast on spotify while I was working the other day. The episode in question had a guest; Kevin Penkin. For those of you unfamiliar with him, he’s an Australian composer who is most famous for doing the soundtrack for Made in Abyss as well as Rising of the Shield Hero. Except I’d forgotten that he also did Shield Hero. So needless to say I went through some of the OST and it’s really good. Which is fortunate for my opinion on the show because the rest of it is not really good. Let’s dive into the third and final show for the day.
The rising of the Shield Hero follows Iwatani Naofumi, who is summoned to a fantasy world as the Shield Hero. One of four Cardinal heroes tasked with saving the world from waves, which are enemy invasions. Early on in the show, Naofumi gets betrayed by the princess of the kingdom and very quickly becomes alienated and ostracized by everyone. With a useless shield as his powerful weapon he quickly starts despairing. Fueled by anger, Naofumi decides that buying up slaves is his best plan to get stronger and thus he comes across Raphtalia, a young demi-human who becomes his first party member. He trains with her and she quickly becomes stronger and they develop a bond. They’re joined by several other female (see the pattern?) party members which includes an angelic bird lolicon character who is extremely annoying. The first season of Shield Hero isn’t even all that bad. I suppose in hindsight the signs were there already but back when I watched season one I didn’t think it was a bad show. I enjoyed the first half a lot and although the second half felt a bit more forced, I was excited for season 2 to start.
Yeah, it’s like that I guess. It’s one thing to have the slave owner try and moralize their actions as being one of the good ones (which is still a very false narrative) but to have people just say they want to be slaves is psychotic and bad writing in my opinion. If it were explored as a serious mental health issue on her end later it’d be different, but it’s not.
Then season 2 started and I realized very quickly that this wasn’t a good show. At least not the kind of show I enjoy. The characters weren’t particularly interesting to me and I realized that the show really struggles with figuring out if slavery is good or bad. I think the show thinks it’s good, which is really weird to watch unfold. It does that thing in anime that I hate, which is constantly taking characters away from the main party. It can be done well, like in One Piece’s Enies Lobby arc, but most of the time it just feels forced, annoying and is done to create tension knowing it’ll all end up alright. Shield Hero falls very flat on several points this season and at this point I think there’s just better Isekai shows out there. It’s hard to suggest the second season but I still think season 1 is worth a watch. Early Shield Hero was quite enjoyable and like I said early on, the soundtrack is very good.
I just wanted to highlight that this has to be the dumbest person I’ve ever seen in anime, it’s impressive how stupid this guy is.
And that’s all I have to say about that. I considered putting Komi-san in this review too, but now that I’ve gotten to this point the review is already super long and that just feels like overkill. Komi-san is really good, just go watch it. I already talked about it here. As always, this is my opinion, I know people like different things, so if you’re unsure watch the shows to see for yourself. Thanks for reading!
When looking for pictures to use for this review, I thought for a moment this was Lucy from Fairy Tail, but instead it’s Rebecca from Mashima’s current manga: Eden’s Zero. She has cat ears on so I decided to include it anyway.
When I first started watching anime as a teenager, and I mean watching anime while realizing what it was I was watching as opposed to seeing pokemon appear on television, there were a few shows I remember starting with. One of which was Nyan Koi, which my good friend (back then and to this day) recommended me to watch. When I was just getting into anime. It’s an anime about catgirls. He knew what he was doing. Another one was One Piece, the discussions of its weekly episodes by my classmates being the trigger for me asking what anime even really was. A third one is a little show by the name of Fairy Tail. Written by Hiro Mashima, who is also the author of both Rave Master, which I want to one day read, but haven’t yet, as well as Eden’s Zero which I’ve talked about a multitude of times on this blog. When I got into anime, Fairy Tail had released four episodes. Fairy Tail may not be an amazing manga. Its characters’ power levels may be all over the place and borderline offensive to the audience at times. Its fanservice was appealing to teenage me and grating to adult me. I’m not above fanservice, but it has to be done tastefully, which it’s not in Fairy Tail. Its story may not really go anywhere in the second half. But to this day I still feel a fondness for Fairy Tail. And that is why, today, we’ll take a look at Hiro Mashima’s second big manga and its accompanying anime.
I’m not even mad that Mashima reuses characters to an extent if they’re this vibrant and exciting.
Let’s make one thing very clear. Early Fairy Tail is some of the very best shonen in the business. It’s not edgy like Jujutsu Kaisen or Demon Slayer, nor is it well rounded like One Piece or Naruto. What Fairy Tail shines at is fun. When I review a show I like to put on music from the show, so as I’m writing this as well, the early openings are playing on my second monitor. In the comments I see people talking about how fun Fairy Tail is and I 100% agree with them. Natsu, Erza, Lucy, Gray, Wendy, Happy and everyone else at the Fairy Tail guild is so fun. I want to be in the Fairy Tail mage guild. I don’t want to be a Jujutsu sorcerer per se, I definitely don’t want to be Demon Slayer or have to deal with the bloody fights in Bleach’s society. But I would love to be a part of a guild like Fairy Tail. I think it’s the one story that nails the bond between friends even more than One Piece does. And that’s the highest of praise I can give anything. Fairy Tail is damn fun.
I mentioned earlier on that the story in Fairy Tail isn’t great. It often feels like Mashima had a plan for Fairy Tail, and once he started getting close to the end of his plan, which I assume the Tenroujima arc was, he panicked and started improvising. I could be very wrong on this, but everything up until the time-skip was great and then it just felt like it went downhill fast. The Wizard Tournament is an insult to power scaling and the final two villain groups are just not interesting at all. Eden’s Zero seems to be doing this better so far but I don’t feel like it’s as fun as Fairy Tail was.
So we’ve established that the story isn’t amazing, but the characters are a ton of fun. There’s two things I haven’t really talked about yet, and those are more production qualities than the original story; Animation and Sound.
The animation for Fairy Tail never stood out to me as particularly good. It wasn’t bad either, but I can’t really think of any of the fights looking impressive or good. I’m neutral on both animation and artstyle for this show.
What I’m not neutral about is the sound. Fairy Tail’s openings reflect the show amazingly. From it’s inquisitive first opening “Snow Fairy” by Funkist giving you that wanderlust that the show wants you to feel in its first arc to the celebratory “Fiesta” by +plus sounding in the end of their fight against the Oracion Seis to the hauntingly melancholic “Evidence” by DaisyXDaisy ringing in a new era of Fairy Tail where things slow down once again for our main cast.. You’ll notice I’m mainly talking about the early openings, since that’s the best part of the show. Although I think all of Fairy Tail is fun enough to watch, if I were to recommend it I’d stop at the Tenroujima arc personally, but that’s up to you all fine folk. But even more than the opening themes of the show, can we talk about the OST. Oh my word, the Fairy Tail OST is amazing. And I don’t mean that it’s above average. To this day it’s possibly my favorite OST out of any anime I’ve seen. Maybe second to Kekkai Sensen, but it’s definitely close. A quick google search tells me the music is done by Yasharu Takanashi who has an impressive resume. But why tell you about it when I can link you to the most iconic song in the show right here Give it a listen and let me know what you think.
The main crew of Fairy Tail. Looking at them here, I think Shiki, Rebecca and Weisz look different enough from them that I don’t feel like Edens Zero copies Fairy Tail too much.
In conclusion I think I have the following to say: Fairy Tail is very much an imperfect story. It’s got issues left and right and it slowly declines in quality as time goes on. It’s also one of the most nostalgic stories out there for me. It’s very near and dear to my heart and the first few arcs are some of the most fun I’ve ever had watching anime. Just stupid grin on your face levels of fun the entire time through. If you were to ask me if it’s a good anime I would say it’s not particularly good. If you asked me if I would recommend it I’d say it comes highly recommended. It embodies what I think shonen should strive to be. When life is tough and you get home tired, nothing beats watching a bunch of friends beat up some bad guys and everything ending up okay. If a show makes you desperately want to be a part of their world, then they’re doing things right. Thanks for reading.
There have been a lot of romantic comedy shows that follow a similar template lately. There’s a guy and a girl, and the girl almost always has a quirk of sorts that makes her unique. It’s a pretty simple concept that’s fairly popular. Uzaki-chan from Uzaki-chan wa asobitai is constantly teasing our main character, Nagatoro from Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san is flat out bullying her senpai, Aharen san from Aharen-san wa Hakarenai speaks at an extremely low volume and Komi from Komi-san can’t communicate has a communication disorder that makes it so she can’t speak and gets social anxiety.
Now I won’t argue that any of these shows is better than the others. I have my opinions on this, but I also feel like a lot of it depends on your personal preferences. I know that Nagatoro is very popular and well received but I couldn’t stand watching the show at all. I’ve also heard some reviewers say that Komi-san gets boring quickly which I would disagree with. But seeing as that’s the show we’re talking about today I figure that doesn’t come as a surprise to you.
It’s a very strange feeling to have, doing something perfectly normal but worrying that you somehow did something wrong.
Komi Shoko is a beautiful high school student that everyone looks up to. Her presence changes the entire atmosphere in a room. She’s so impressive that she doesn’t even have to speak up for people to understand what she’s trying to say. Well, it’s of course not as simple as it seems. Komi-san can’t speak because of her communication disorder. It’s kind of similar to a form of social anxiety which makes it so that she can’t speak at all and gets anxiety when spoken to. There are many disorders in this vein and it’s a different experience for every person, but I think for those of us who have struggled with social contacts in the past, Komi can be very relatable.
The story follows Tadano-kun, Komi’s classmate who is the first one to really figure out what Komi is struggling with. Komi really wants to make friends in high school, at least a hundred, and Tadano-kun is her first friend. Not only that, he’s completely committed to helping her make even more friends. They quickly add more people to the group which include the hyper social Najimi-kun, the sociopathic popular girl Yamai Ren and the masochistic girl Akari. From there on out their high school life continues and they start adding more and more people to their friend group. The school they’re a part of only allows interesting students, whatever that means. Most of the students we meet during this show are quirky at the least and insane at the most. There’s a guy who’s just a ninja, there’s a girl that wants to compete with everything and as the story progresses we also meet Katai-kun who is very intimidating looking even though he’s super shy on the inside and looks up to Komi as a paragon of social skills. Yeah, the show has it’s fair share of misunderstandings, but in my opinion it never gets overdone to the point where it becomes annoying.
The driving forces that make this anime shine, at least in my opinion, are the relationship that slowly develops between Tadano and Komi, as well as the depictions of the situations that Komi struggles with. I want to dive into one of the scenes the anime covered because as someone with social anxiety that one hit a little bit too close to home.
This is not okay, and you know it.
As many of you who read my blog regularly know, I’m autistic and social skills didn’t come naturally to me. I’d like to think I’m reasonable at them now, I’m teaching high school so I need to at least have the basics down right? In this particular scene, Komi is going to the library to pick up a book. She’s however unsure about the procedure for checking out the book and taking it with her. So instead she just kind of wanders around while thinking up a plan, unsuccessfully. I legitimately felt my heart sink during that scene, since I’ve been in the exact same situation when I was younger. Wandering around a place gathering up the courage to talk to someone or deal with a situation is one of the most relatable experiences I can think of when it comes to my social anxiety and I just feel like Komi-san nailed this feeling. I’d like to think the author themselves has experienced some form of this social anxiety because I’d find it very impressive for someone who’s never gone through these kinds of feelings to write something that feels so real and accurate.
There was no need to call me out like that, okay?
Unfortunately, not everything about this anime is great. I mentioned the sociopathic popular girl Yamai Ren earlier during the review. She’s very much obsessed with Komi and for me the character definitely crosses the line several times. To give an example, early on during the series she kidnaps Tadano to keep him away from Komi. There’s more she gets up to, but I just find her extremely creepy, annoying and it kind of takes away from the otherwise fun and relatable vibe that the show has going for it. Even though it deals with anxiety, I find it very calming to watch this show most of the time. If you’re like me and you have a history of social anxiety, I highly recommend Komi-san can’t communicate. With its second season being well underway and in my opinion going strong and being even better than the first season at times I think now is a good time to get into this series.
We all did, Tadano, we all did.
But let me know what you think in the comments down below. Maybe you don’t like Komi-san at all and find it very unrelatable, or maybe you even feel uncomfortable watching a story about a subject like this. I’m very curious to hear your opinions. And as always, thanks for reading.
Maybe 13 or 14 years ago I watched a video of a strange cartoon that I’d never seen before. The song Until the day I die by Story of the Year was blasting from my pc speakers, you know the built in ones that sounded like total crap but you were glad you had something, and the characters on screen were fighting and casting what seemed like magic. Back then I had no concept of what anime was, let alone Naruto. I didn’t even really understand what I’d stumbled across. This was still a year or two before I got into anime and when I still thought Pokemon was an american cartoon and so was Dragonball Z.
This wave of animations also introduced me to some louder musical genres. Before then I mainly listened to what was on the radio and a lot of hip hop/R&B. These videos were always accompanied by rock, metal or a genre adjacent to those two. For the next couple of years, especially after I started watching anime properly, I would often watch these AMVs or Anime Music Videos.
These AMVs were a big part in spreading anime to a broader audience. Obviously this was all fan content, but these videos got tons of views because they were just so damn cool. The subject of an AMV would often be a specific fight in an anime, like Ichigo vs. Grimmjow from Bleach or a ton of Naruto Vs. Sasuke. The really talented AMV makers would match up certain beats in the fight to the music so it would be even more satisfying to watch.
I’m often reminded about an AMV I watched about Luffy Vs. Hody from One Piece. This is in my opinion the weakest arc in One Piece, but the fight itself is pretty cool. So taking an arc and just bringing it down to a four minute video with a banger song behind it is a great way to still consume it.
Some people even went extra crazy and did some ridiculous things. Take for example Anime’s got Talent. It’s a three and a half minute compilation of a whole bunch of anime, just celebrating the entire genre. And all of this done to the background of it being Anime’s got talent? I wish I had half the creative bones the person who made this video had. It’s probably my favorite anime-related random video I’ve ever seen.
Why am I talking about it today? I guess it’s just nostalgia. It’s a time I’m severely missing. Coming home from school and watching AMVs for an hour or so before continuing watching One Piece for the rest of the day while solidly ignoring my homework. It was a celebration of the anime we all loved so much and brought people together when Anime wasn’t as big a phenomenon as it is in the west now. It’s obviously still growing, but I can’t help but look at the road traveled and see how much has changed. And I have to admit that I got into anime pretty late. I’ve heard people talk about bootlegging VHS tapes with bad translations as their only option. By the time I started watching anime at the very least streaming sites (you know, the definitely perfectly legal ones) were becoming more common and although there would be some stuff missing and a lot of incomplete catalogs compared to now, at least the big shows were decently available. And I think for a lot of people these AMVs were their first introduction to anime. And if not that, they were a big part of their consumption. So after reading this I urge everyone to go to youtube and search for some good AMVs, to celebrate the good old days of anime. Thanks for reading.
Whenever I’m in my room after dinner, playing games, writing, reading or doing something else, I’ll often go downstairs to get a coffee and chat with my dad for a bit. He’s sitting there alone most evenings, since my parents are divorced. Obviously he doesn’t mind, he’s got his snacks, his bejeweled knock-off games and most importantly, his soccer matches. Now he doesn’t only watch soccer. I’ve seen him watch many different sports from darts to volleyball to tennis and many more. But it is often soccer. I’m the polar opposite. I don’t really like watching sports that much and I think out of all the sports available, soccer is definitely one of the least interesting ones to me. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose. A while ago I tried watching the soccer anime Days and I just wasn’t impressed by it either. Until recently I figured I’d do perfectly well in life without ever watching another soccer anime. But this season sees the soccer focused anime Ao Ashi and after the latest episode I’m very happy about having picked it up. Let’s talk about the episode, what works so well about it and what it did to hit all the right emotional points in the story. Spoilers ahead for Ao Ashi episodes one through five, but none of the spoilers are anything major.
In case you haven’t seen anything about Ao Ashi yet, which is fair, it’s very good but I wouldn’t call it a standout anime by any means, let’s give a quick rundown of the show’s plot. Aoi Ashito (hence the name) is a young soccer player. He’s just having fun playing with his school friends. He’s very good but a pretty selfish player. Never seen that before in an anime, have we? He’s not a dick though, his teammates all like him, it’s just that his playstyle is very selfish. When a coach from a Tokyo youth team is in town by coincidence, he sees Aoi play and is impressed. He then invites the young lad to a tryout event where he spends the next episodes training and showing off his skills. His brother paid for the trip there since he’s from a poor family that does their best to provide but can’t afford trips like this. The episode starts from him reading his acceptance letter to the club.
I actually can’t believe how many emotions her face went through in this short scene, really enhanced the moment for me.
I don’t believe we know where Aoi’s dad is in the story, but his mom is the one raising him and she’s obviously very protective of her son and worries this will create distance. I feel like this is a logical reaction but there’s also definitely a sense of pride there. The episode begins with Hana being adorable. She’s made a meal plan for Aoi that she’s included in the letter that he was sent. His brother even comments on how thorough it is and how impressed he is with it. I love these dorky kids already, they just seem like great kids and that’s what I want from a show like this. Haikyuu gives me similar vibes, where the kids behave like actual dumb kids. I love kuroko no basket with all my heart but those kids take themselves way too seriously sometimes. Aoi and his brother talk a little bit with Hana about their mom, and she overhears part of the conversation, but pretends she didn’t. She hears Aoi confess that one of the reasons he wants to go pro is to make his mom’s life easier. I’m too emotional lately because just rewatching this scene is making me tear up again. His mom interrupts him before he says much more and then yells at Hana a bunch. Poor Hana. She still diligently answers any questions that Aoi’s mom has and at some point she drops the very important foreshadowing line.
Those bastards knew exactly what they were doing
It’s not a particularly new plot point, but it is a good one. His mom is too poor to buy him new cleats. He’s been bullied because of it and he’s definitely self conscious about it. It’s portrayed in the story that this question isn’t a big deal and Aoi certainly doesn’t notice it, but to the viewer it’s a great indication of what’s about to come their way. Aoi has other things in mind so we cut him some slack here. I do think that it’s very “anime” of his mom to completely avoid talking properly with her son. I’m not a parent, so maybe this is more realistic than I give it credit, but who knows. We cut to Aoi and his teacher informing his class that Aoi’s leaving for Tokyo. His class is shocked as he didn’t warn them at all and Aoi is pretending to be a big boy, like any kid moving to the big city would. He then says a quick goodbye to them and leaves for the station with his brother.
Obviously his friends wouldn’t just let him leave like that. I believe Ace of Diamond had a similar send off scene but it’s late right now and I don’t want to go back and check. Forgive me if I’m wrong. Sawamura was definitely a small town boy as well though. We quickly cut back to the teacher telling the soccer club boys to go follow him like any good teacher should. Some of his other friends join in and they all rush to the station to get there first. Somehow Ashito manages to stay strong through all of this and he takes pictures with all his friends before leaving on the train. Then his brother hands him a gift package from his mother which contains a letter and a box. He’s told to open it on the train to Tokyo. I love how he’s kind of worried because his mother is normally the very direct type. At least in his perception she is, most adults are more complicated (in some ways) than they seem to kids. It’s hard to see someone’s inner thoughts from the outside. He opens and reads the letter.
The letter is nice on its own and contains some cash. There’s an apology from his mother for not seeing him off and not properly talking to him. She admits to being selfish but aren’t we all? She’s working hard to pay for his life in Tokyo. Man I’m tearing up again, she’s giving him her savings to follow his dream. This is parenting done right, I love her so much. She also admits to overhearing Ashito’s conversation with Hana on the phone.
Stray strong, don’t cry.Pull yourself together, you’re a grown man, you’re not crying at this.nah, today is a crying kind of day, we’ll be adults tomorrow. (maybe)
I’m a sucker for well crafted emotional beats in a story. I wasn’t when I was younger, but at some point I unlocked the ability to empathize with fictional characters. It’s honestly still a mystery to me, I used to be so dead inside, what went wrong? Now whenever I watch a scene like this, especially when my own mood is already not amazing, I just cry my eyes out. But I love it so much. There’s a reason Arlong Park is still the best One Piece arc. Nothing makes me resonate more with a story than when it makes me cry. This could be for a sad moment, a happy moment, or even just a profound moment. The music, the scenery, the send-off from his teammates. Everything just works so well together as we watch Ashito leave his hometown. The letter is amazing and whoever wrote these scenes should be damn proud of themselves. And everyone who worked in adapting it so well should share in that pride. Maybe I’m overreacting, but in a season that has such amazing anime airing I think it’s important to also acknowledge the amazing moments taking place in the other shows this season. Ao Ashi gets full marks for this one.
After writing my 6 shows to look out for post, I realized that there has been some absolutely fantastic music lately in anime, and I just wanted to quickly highlight some of my favorites. So let’s do just that, in this little bonus post while I procrastinate editing once more.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by QUEENDOM (Ya Boy Kongmin)
To the surprise of absolutely no one, I’m starting off this list with a track that got me invested into watching a show that didn’t seem that interesting to me. And it paid off. The song gets me so hyped so quickly, and the animations for it are amazing as well. I love Eiko’s outfit when she’s laying on top of the car and dancing in front of ancient China. I couldn’t find any other songs by this artist yet, but this song has immediately been bookmarked, favorited, liked and added to every playlist I could possibly fit it into. The ending is solid too.
These screamo songs are often a hit or miss for me. I’m generally not a huge fan of the loud parts, but they do have the effect that the slower, softer parts of the song hit so much better. And when the chorus starts and I hear that soothing voice go If I lose it all, slip and fall I just melt. There’s so much raw emotion behind this song and it fits this season so well that it’s just beautiful.
This show was okay. I honestly already forgot it happened, but I enjoyed it while it was on. But having a song by supercell is just unfair. For those unfamiliar, they were heavily involved with Guilty Crown, an anime that (in my opinion) completely flopped but was still carried by a fantastic soundtrack. The music in that show is so damn good I’d recommend people to watch the show regardless of how awful it is. This song gets me hyped and the vocals sick. Great song!
Hadaka no Yuusha by Vaundy (Ousama Ranking)
This show was bound to end up on this list, it’s quickly become one of my favorite shows of all time. And every song used for this show was an absolute banger, but this one stands out as a masterpiece. I still get chills listening to it. I’ve already talked about it in other posts so I’m not going to waste your time too much, but I definitely wanted it added to this list.
Ano hi no Kotoba by Nao Touyama (Ascendance of a Bookworm 3rd season)
I have very mixed feelings about this show, even after three seasons. I like some parts of it, but other episodes I’m just really bored. But we’re not here to talk about the shows, we’re here to talk about the music. And I’m a massive sucker for great vocals. And Nao Touyama’s voice in this song is just so nice to listen to that it makes me feel at ease. And in times like these, that’s a feeling I very much appreciate. Watch the show if you like fun fantasy realms with magic and political intrigue or if you’re just really into books like Myne is. But definitely give the song a listen.
And there you go, five songs to add to your playlists. I’m working on my own Japanese Music playlist, and it’s so much fun to discover new artists. Spoiler alert, it’s going to have an unhealthy amount of songs from Aimer on there. I’ll eventually post it on this blog, but for now, this will have to do. Thanks for reading.
It’s that time of the season again. Spring is in the air. Okay, it may have rained here in the morning and I stayed in bed until it stopped. But that’s part of the spring experience, is it not? You know what’s also a part of the spring experience? A brand new season full of anime. With Ousama Ranking, Shaman King, Attack on Titan and Demon Slayer all in the past, what will be the new hotness? Will it be one of the sequels airing like Komi-san, Kaguya-Sama or Bookworm? Or will it be a new show? I don’t know, and I’m once again not watching everything that’s going on, but here’s six shows from this season that I think everyone should consider. Let’s dive in.
Deaimon
I recommend not messing with her.
This show reminds me of a show that used to be my favorite show for a while; Barakamon. It has the same slow vibes that I want out of a slice of life show like this. Nagomu gets a letter from his family saying that his father has been hospitalized. He comes back home from Tokyo to take over the family business but upon getting there finds that they have their eye on someone else. Instead he’s asked to help care for Itsuka, a young girl that’s working there. Itsuka has lost her mother and was abandoned by her father, so she has some serious baggage. The two get off on the wrong foot but Nagomu’s carefree personality helps him get along with almost anyone.
This all looks and sounds great, but I don’t have any clue what it actually tastes like. I don’t have enough money to buy Japanese Snacks, are you crazy? I can barely afford uni.
I don’t even have to watch this show in its entirety to tell you where it’s going. Nagomu is probably going to become more and more of a father figure for Itsuka as the two start getting along more. Both have a passion for sweets after all, so they have some common ground. I wouldn’t be surprised if her real father shows up somewhere during the season and we get some drama out of that. Even assuming that I know which direction this show is going to head, I’ll still gladly tag along for the ride because if I’m right this show will do everything I want it to do, and if I’m wrong it might surprise me in a good way. If you like drama and slice of life I recommend it. So far it feels similar to Barakamon, so if you like that you’ll like this.
Heroines run the show
That’s like 15 bucks an hour for a part-time job while still in high school?? I once made like 5 bucks an hour at that age and I thought I’d made it big in life. Then again, I didn’t last very long in that job because of panic attacks, but you can’t win them all.
I don’t know a lot about idols. I’ve watched an idol show here and there, but they were generally ones that didn’t focus on real world idols (Kageki Shoujo) or more fantastical (Revue Starlight). From what I’ve understood, LIPxLIP, the idols from this show, are actual idols? I’m way out of my depth when it comes to this stuff I’m afraid. But it seems like I don’t need to know too much about idols to watch this show. It follows Hiyori (not Hiyoko, get it right manager) who loves track and field, but needs money to stay afloat in Tokyo. While searching for a part time job she comes across the job of assistant manager for an idol duo. These two idols happen to be her classmates as well. The reason she got the job over all the other applicants? She doesn’t really care much about idols. She didn’t even know about LIPxLIP when she applied for the job, and the CEO and manager thought this would benefit her in the work. It wouldn’t work having someone who is constantly fangirling be in charge of helping these guys. Both idols have some personality issues and it’s up to Hiyori to help them overcome those, whether they like it or not. The story so far follows them through both school life and professional life and makes for great content. Hiyori is voiced by Inori Minase (Rem, Hestia, Jeanne from Vanitas), and she has the perfect voice for this character which really adds to the experience. We’ll talk more about perfect voice castings later on, but for now I can highly recommend this show if you like drama shows that give you that feelgood feeling.
Love after world domination
Who holds hands during a third date? That’s way too lewd. You tell him, Desumi!
It’s a tale as old as time, isn’t it? Romeo and Juliett. A forbidden love that cannot be. The red power ranger fell in love with the evil villain and now they’re secretly dating. Fudo is part of the Gelato Five, who are basically the power rangers. Desumi is the Reaper Princess of the villain organization Gekko. When the rest of their respective organizations are fighting, they try to slip out and find a quiet place to have a nice date. This show is just nice. That’s the best compliment I can give it. The jokes are pleasant, the characters are fun, the art is colorful and it’s just nice to sit down and watch them mess around trying not to get caught. From Desumi being lonely while her fellow villains interpret it as her being angry and they’re scared of her for it to Fudo planning the perfect date which includes going to the gym and eating a protein bar. They’re both massive dorks and perfect for each other and I’m a big fan of romance shows where the characters are actually dating. Too often do we spend 12 episodes on will they won’t they and then the show ends. Screw that noise, I want my romance shows to have actual romance in it, and this show gives me that. It’s not going to be up everyone’s alley, but personally I recommend it.
Aoashi
Do you like sports anime? Do you like soccer? If your answer to at least one of these two questions is “yes” then you should probably give this show a go. If your answer to both is no, then you should probably skip Aoashi. It’s a sports anime about soccer.
Optimistic kid? check. Kid with crazy hairstyle? check. Yup, I’m confident this is in fact a sports anime.
Ashita Aoi is from a small town but has a passion for soccer. He’s a very selfish player though, but he does at least have the skills to somewhat back up his bravado. And he’s not a bad kid. When the manager of a successful youth team comes across him, he’s invited to tryouts in Tokyo. This looks just like most other sports anime. There’s a team with quirky players, there will probably be senpais that are on their last season, the coaching staff looks to be at least a little bit insane and the rest is history. I don’t have much to say about this except that it’s got the basics down and has so far been enjoyable to watch.
Ya Boy Kongming (Paripi Koumei)
I’m inserting this one after I’d already finished the post because as of writing the rest of this, I hadn’t seen this show yet.
This man has more swagger in his hat than I have in my entire wardrobe. What an absolute legend.
I’ve seen too many Isekai shows lately. I love the genre, but I’m also deeply aware that a lot of them feel bland and uninteresting to me. From overpowered demon lords to underpowered boring characters, there’s a lot of bad things to say about the genre. But with Ya Boy Kongming I’m not even quite sure if this can be called an Isekai. Depends on how pedantic you want to be, I suppose, but it does follow a character who’s put into a world that’s completely strange and new to them. The show follows Kongming, a brilliant strategist from the Three Kingdoms era, who wanted to be reincarnated into a more peaceful time. Having his wish granted, he wakes up in modern day Shibuya, several decades younger and completely out of place. Well, it’s Halloween, so he actually fits in quite well. Kongming thinks he’s in hell for a short time, but pretty quickly figures out that he was just sent to the future. With his wit being by far his strongest asset, he decides to help out a young woman named Eiko, whose singing deeply touches him. How hard will it be to become a famous singer if your manager is one of history’s most brilliant strategists? We’ll find out.
Her design is amazing, I’m instantly in love. It’s also nice to have a show that follows characters that are a bit older as opposed to high school characters.
I, like others in my friend group, didn’t give this anime much attention when I first saw the synopsis. It looked uninteresting to me, and I’ve been getting bored of watching mediocre shows. What convinced me to eventually watch it anyway, was when I was sent the opening theme. It absolutely slaps. This eurobeat track with simplistic vocals just does the perfect job of getting you hyped. And to back up the opening theme is not only a great ending theme, but also a very good show in between the two. That’s right, although the premise sounds silly, I found myself hooked after one episode. This is why I should give more shows a shot. Some sound dumb but end up amazing after only one episode. As of writing this I’ve only seen the first three episodes of Ya Boy Kongming, but it’s already competing for best in season with Spy x Family. And speaking of Spy x Family;
Spy x Family
As I like to do, I’ve saved the best for last. Spy x Family has been on my radar for quite a while now. It was near the top of my list of new manga to buy, but I eventually decided against it since my backlog of books and novels is already too large. When I heard it was getting an anime I figured I’d at the very least watch it first before deciding if I then wanted to buy the manga. We’re three episodes in and I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on this story for so long.
Anya is in shock when she realizes tripping over a bucket does not really constitute as helping. It reminds me of an old theater show I saw when I was young where the premise was that one guy was there to help the other, but he just made things worse. Then after the first guy chased off the helper guy, he started feeling bad so he invited him back. Alright, I digress.
Spy x Family follows the Forger family. Their last name is Forger because they’re all using fake names. Pretty smooth right? Loid Forger is the very successful spy twilight. His newly acquired wife Yor Forger is the assassin known as the thorn princess. Their adopted daughter, Anya, is a telepath. Yor and Loid don’t know about each others’ professions nor do they know about Anya. The latter has figured everything out, but she’s a telepath so that’s cheating. The reason for this setup is to get Anya into a prestigious school and this way get closer to the target that Loid/Twilight is spying on. What makes this show for me so far is two things. First, Yor is voiced by Saori Hayami. She is my favorite voice actor and I love listening to her. She’s in tons of high profile shows and it’s always a joy.
Second, Anya is a very funny character. A telepathic child living with two dangerous individuals is a dynamic I didn’t know I wanted in my life but it works so well. She loves peanuts, is worried she’s going to be abandoned again and her shocked face is very funny. I can’t wait to see more of this family’s dynamic as the show continues and I’m definitely picking up the manga after this season ends. Give it a watch no matter what your anime preferences normally are, it’s that damn good.
An expression like that on a face like that with a voice like Saori Hayami’s? That’s just plain unfair.
And that’s a wrap. I’m watching a few more shows that aren’t sequels, but none of those are particularly good and I might end up dropping some. The sequels airing right now also don’t seem that amazing. I can’t even remember half of them without going to my tracker. I’m getting more and more picky when it comes to what anime I enjoy. I even wrote about rewatching shows recently and I’m going to start reviewing some older shows. I haven’t decided what to start with, but since Utawarerumono is getting another sequel this year I might revisit the first seasons of that. There are so many amazing shows already out that it feels sort of bad to watch mediocre shows just because they’re currently airing. Either way, it’s nice that there’s still new shows that can impress me each season and after Ousama Ranking and now Spy x Family I’m very excited for the future of anime. Thanks for reading and I hope you end up enjoying some of these recommendations!
My man’s about to unlock a whole range of emotions he’s supressed for the sake of his job. It’s a good thing he flipped because you should have seen Yor’s expression. That was way scarier.
It’s not often I watch an anime that completely transports me to another world. I used to get this feeling a lot more when I was younger. One Piece, Bleach, Naruto and even early Fairy Tail would make me feel like my worries are no longer an issue and let me just enjoy the world these characters are living in. It’s a fantastic feeling to have, and it’s the main reason why the fantasy genre will always be my favorite. I’ve recently started enjoying different shows a lot as well. Some of my favorite shows are now more dramatic and less fantastical. But that doesn’t mean the genre isn’t capable of making me feel things that no other genre can. And along came a little anime called Ousama Ranking. I knew nothing about this show, but on a whim I picked it up after the first three episodes had already aired, even though I initially dismissed it because the cover art looked too childish. Let’s talk about this masterpiece, shall we? This review contains spoilers for most of the anime!
By trying your hardest, Kage. I have an inkling that will work out well.
Title: Ousama Ranking (Ranking of Kings)
Year: 2021-2022
Episodes: 23
Studio: WIT Studio
When I see the name Wit Studio, I immediately think of the grittier shows they’ve done, like Attack on Titan and Vinland Saga. Looking into the studio a little bit more, they’ve also done The Ancient Magus Bride, which, although definitely very different, does have a similar vibe to it. What they do great is solid animation and making shows look really good by looking unique. I don’t think any of the aforementioned shows look generic or similar by any means, and neither does Ousama Ranking.
Art & Animation
As I already mentioned, this show looks a bit childish from the outset. The art makes it look like it’s made for children and this is definitely on purpose. Ousama Ranking is a Fairy Tale for sure, but it’s like the darker fairy tales that we didn’t quite see as kids. Behind the surface of this boy going on an adventure lies a dark secret and a web of conspiracies. But although the artstyle can be a bit deceiving, it definitely fits the show really well. It makes it feel special and transports you into the world. The animation is also very solid for the entire show. It didn’t stand out as spectacular if I’m honest, but I also never found myself being distracted by it. Where shows like Demon Slayer are enhanced by the animation quality, for most shows having solid animation is more than enough.
I think the specific artstlye used for this show really helped convey how ominous this scene was, especially when you later realize this rage might have been aimed at Domas instead of Bojji.
The music and the OST
The music. My god, the opening and ending themes for this show are absolutely fantastic. The first opening is done by King Gnu, who I’ve heard some songs by, but I’m not super familiar. Looking a bit into it, they’re a very prolific artist. The song itself sounds very unique and if you want to do yourself a favor, look up the music video for the song. It’s definitely a wild ride. I know I’ll be looking into their music more. The ending is heart wrenching and I don’t even understand what she’s singing about. Oz by Yama was immediately added to my playlist. And when I saw they changed openings halfway through I was only disappointed for a moment, since Vaundy is a name I recently became familiar with and the song for the second half of this anime is also fantastic. It’s almost breath stopping? I can’t really put it into words well, but the sound makes me just wait with my breath held. If not for SiM’s The Rumbling these would be my favorite songs coming out of this past season.
I love every opening and ending for this show, but Vaundy’s Hadaka no Yuusha, in combination with this shot of a young Miranjo gives me actual chills. It’s so damn good I can’t believe it exists. It makes me feel like creating art like this is the only real point to being alive. I’m being dramatic, I just love this show so damn much.
The Characters & The Story
Alright, enough of the side dishes, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this post, shall we? I really want to dig into this story a bit deeper than I did last week. There will be spoilers ahead of this, so be warned. If you haven’t watched the show at this point, what are you doing? It’s amazing!
Before writing this, I’ve looked at some of the negative reviews about this show. I wanted to know what the people who didn’t like it think. Sometimes this helps me get new perspectives. Sometimes, which is the case right now, this just affirms that I love a show despite its flaws. Ousama Ranking, to me, is a fairy tale. In a fairy tale I won’t get mad about characters getting redemption even if they might not deserve it. The real world is cruel enough, if it’s well written I’ll allow my escapism world to have as much redemption and happy endings as it needs. This brings me to looking at the characters. With this out of the way, let’s talk about the characters.
So precious, no wonder Kage ended up being such a good friend to Bojji.
Bojji as our main character is great. We don’t have enough disabled characters in fiction. I’m personally not deaf or mute, but I reckon it’d be great for people who are to have a character in fiction that runs into similar problems. And for me it’s fascinating to try and walk in that character’s shoes. His partner in (not) crime, Kage, is a great fit. He’s such a dork even though he thinks he’s so much cooler than everyone around him. Both their backstories are heartbreaking as a good backstory should be. Watching Kage’s mother strung up from that spear broke my heart and then all the shit he had to endure to finally find a friend like Bojji? By episode 3 this show has made me cry more than half the anime I watched last year combined did. Following them through 23 episodes as they slowly get embroiled in this grand conspiracy around them and watching Bojji become strong is such a joy. In a lot of shows, the side characters make a show great, and though the side characters in this show are fantastic, the main characters steal the show. Bojji’s training with Despa, Kage’s working with Bebin to protect Bojji, and eventually them helping save the kingdom from its doom is great.
This guy is such a good guy. That is all.
The four strongest are arguably my least favorite characters out of the ones that get a lot of screentime. Bebin’s snake is more interesting than all of them combined and I actively dislike Domas. But his lovable sidekick, Hokuro, being one of the first people to properly believe in Bojji is so damn good that I can almost forgive Domas for being a backstabbing piece of work. Almost. Dorsche is probably the coolest of the four, surviving fights on pure grit and will. His duty to protect Hilling is so strong that it’s admirable. And Hilling. The evil queen Hilling who wants to make her own son king instead of Bojji. The evil stepmother who ended up being such a good person that I’m tearing up just thinking back to her healing people with potions hidden under her clothes. Just like Kage, she’s such a big dork and I am absolutely in love with her. It turns out she does care about Bojji, and has tried so hard to make this clear to him. She’s gotten caught up in all this drama unawares, and once she starts putting the pieces together she’s not the high and mighty queen anymore, she’s a powerful woman who will do what’s right and be on the frontlines to protect her family. She’s easily my favorite character in this show and she steals every scene she’s in.
This entire flashback to Bojji’s youth and the following fight between Dorsche and the hellhounds has to be one of my favorite moments in the show.
When the show gets towards its final conclusion we get more information revealed about Miranjo. We find out she had a very sad backstory. The way her village and her family were treated is horrendous and it does explain her baggage. Her behavior afterwards is still unacceptable of course, but we gain a bit more understanding of why she is the way she is. She found one thing that made her happy and didn’t want to lose it. And she would do everything in her power to keep Bosse close to her. I would have liked to see more closure on Despa, Vespa and Ouken’s arc. I would assume this gets handled in the source material at some point, which makes me wonder if there’s material for a second season. Bojji leaving in the end to journey with Kage is the only good ending we could expect.
Ouken is so creepy throughout this show, and it’s such a stark contrast to the loving, caring guy we see in the flashbacks. Really wish we got more of the three brothers.
Final Thoughts
I don’t think this show is perfect. There’s many things that could be done better. The animation quality during the fights could be better. The characters having two sides to them does get overplayed quite a bit. I also didn’t like the character of Bosse at all. He felt very much like a plot device who was overly difficult and vague just because the story required it. Having said all of that, I did enjoy every episode of this show tremendously to the point that this is a top 10 show for me without a doubt. The characters are all super interesting and the main duo is an absolute joy to watch. The music and animation are all of great quality and I love the fairy tale story that it presents to us. It’s different enough from the seasonal isekai shows. I watch too many of them so that it sticks in your memory for longer. I highly recommend this show and give it a passing mark. Thanks for reading.
He’s a good guy, I swear. Kind of. It’s complicated.
I got into this show a few weeks after it started airing because initially the artstyle seemed a bit childish. What I didn’t realize is that this artstyle gives the anime a charm that you don’t really see in other shows that much. It both looks adorable yet believable at the same time. And it definitely looks unique. Let’s talk about what makes this show tick and why I believe you should watch it.
The boy and his friend
Let’s start with the story. Ousama Ranking follows Bojji, a young prince who doesn’t hear or speak and is made fun of for this reason. He lives in the palace with his father, his stepmother and his halfbrother. His father is unwell and one of the two boys is going to be the next king. Bojji is first in line by age, but not everyone is equally okay with the handicapped boy becoming their next king. Queen Hilling seems to prefer Daida, her own son, as the one to ascend the throne. She meets with the four great warriors protecting the kingdom and they get to an agreement.
While all this is happening, Bojji meets a member of the shadow clan named Kage. He’s a non-human character who seems to be young as well, just like Bojji. We’re never told Kage’s age, and it’s hard to guess, but he appears to be young and his backstory isn’t particularly long. What it is, is very good though. Three episodes into this show and I was completely emotionally invested. Kage and Bojji set out on a journey together with Domas, the master swordsman and Hokuro, a soldier. During this entire mess there’s a conspiracy brewing in the palace as well.
Look over there, it’s the plot progressing
The strength of Ousama Ranking lies in its characters and their dynamics. These are complicated people who feel very real in their convictions. They make mistakes, they hesitate, they pick the wrong side and come to regret it, or they pick the right side but this isn’t clear for a while. This makes trusting certain characters difficult and betrayals that much more convincing when they do happen. And underneath all of this are the workings of Miranjo, the girl in the mirror. What is she planning with Prince Daida? Mirror, mirror on the wall, are you the villain of them all? You’ll have to watch the show to find out.
Let’s give a quick talk about the production side of this show. I already mentioned that it has a unique style and it works so well for this kind of story. It gives it an almost fairytale aesthetic although this is one of those fairy tales that’s a little bit more for adults than for small children. The openings and endings of this show are also stellar. The music throughout just fits perfectly and the production is just superb.
Don’t make me cry all over again.
I don’t think there’s too much left for me to say about this show without diving into the story, which I will do in another post, except that it’s well done, has a very good ending, and leaves you wanting more. I loved every second of this show without a dull moment and I’m sad it’s over. I will definitely rewatch this show, probably very soon, and I highly recommend everyone else to give it a watch too. Join me next week for a deep dive into this show’s story and as always, thank you for reading!
Opal Kaharis 