konomikasahara – Jainituos Presents

Hello my friends.

It is time for post the third and final part for my choices of Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2021.

BEST COMBAT

Yuji Itadori & Aoi Todo vs. Hanami from Jujutsu Kaisen

There are two reasons for this vote.

The first one is that I haven’t watched the other battles (I am not living if I refuse to watch Attack on Titan: The Final Season, part 1), except from Elma vs. Tohru, from Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S, but I consider this one, from Jujutsu Kaisen, more impressive, especially because of all the hard work and effort put by Studio MAPPA.

The second reason is that, as I previously mentioned on one of my blogs, Jujutsu Kaisen indeed exceeded my expectations, especially during the choreography and the battles, in fact watching Megumi and Maki doing their combo on episode 19 was awesome!!!

So there you go. This year, Jujutsu Kaisen enchanted me again.

BEST ANTAGONIST

First vote goes to… Tomura Shigaraki, from My Hero Academia season 5

I am starting to believe that Tomura Shigaraki is this close to becoming one of the greatest antagonists of all the shonen genre, along with Orochimaru, Cell and Frieza. Every time I watch Tomura, I am more convinced that he is indeed the true successor of All For One.

And the part when Tomura’s past is revealed is really heartbreaking and disturbing at the same time. Finally, Shigaraki is one of my favourite characters of My Hero Academia, and one of the best antagonists (along with Dabi, Himiko Toga and Stain)

You got my vote.

Second vote goes to… ECHIDNA, from Re: Zero – season 2.

Just like before, Echidna has that sense of mystery, beauty and unpredictability that makes her charming. She is like some kind of Anti-Emilia, and a very popular character in my personal opinion.

And… Re: Zero is one of the best isekai of all time. So I had to give Echidna my support. And… I will finally be able to have some of her «special» tea.

BEST PROTAGONIST

Odokawa, from OddTaxi.

Of all the nominees, I think Odokawa is indeed the best, because of his calm personality, his wits, his mysterious and tragic past, and the work done by Natsuki Hanae.

And I really wanted to divide my vote between Odokawa and Ai Ohto, but at the end, I consider that Odokawa was better constructed and had a better story. It is not like I don’t like Ai Ohto.

Now… I am starting to regret not voting for her too.

And the others… I barely know about them, and since I haven’t watched Attack on Titan: The Final Season – Part I, I thought not to lie. And Bojji… I must watch Ranking of Kings.

BEST GIRL

First vote goes to… Vladilena «Lena» Milizé, from 86: Eighty-Six

Indeed, Lena is one of the best female leads of all 2021. She is an intelligent, resourceful, caring, compassive Handler of the Republic of San Magnolia, ascended to Major at a young age.

All the time she is taking the initiative, not being afraid of questioning the supremacist ideology of San Magnolia for the safety of the Spearhead Squadron, and trust me, she gets better on the upcoming volumes (I hope 86: Eighty-Six gets a second season).

Lena is like Relena Peacecraft, from Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, or Kudelia Aina Bernstein from Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.

One of my favourite heroines.

Second votes goes to… Shouko Komi from Komi-San Can’t Communicate

As I said in my review of Komi-san Can’t Communicate, Shouko Komi is the heroine that I relate the most, because I suffer from anxiety, and despite Komi-san’s problem is much worse, I understand how she feels. How hard is her life because of that.

And her chemistry with Tadano-kun, her antics with Najimi, and her cool personality, and funny misunderstandings makes her so memorable. So I must vote for her, if not… I rather go to jail.

Lena and Komi-san – Two of my Top Waifu of 2021.

BEST BOY

Izumi Miyamura, from Horimiya

Ok. I also voted for Hiroshi Odokawa, but I already said what I had to say about him. And I will avoid being repetitive.

But Izumi Miyamura is a really well-constructed character, he is a reserved student that keep mostly from himself, but beneath that exterior, he is full of piercings and tattoos that goes against everything related the first impression.

And both his character development and his relationship with Hori-san is full of chemistry and cuteness that probably does not make it original enough, but it definitely makes them entertaining and memorable.

It is a shame that I haven’t watched Ranking of Kings, because I will definitely voted for Bojji (I have that homework).

ANIME OF THE YEAR…

GOES TO…

What can I say?

A good plot, solid social commentary, memorable characters, splendid animation from A-1 Pictures, and a great story about war, discrimination and child soldiers. An anime that took risks.

And yes… I am fully aware that either Attack on Titan: The Final Season or Jujutsu Kaisen – second cour will get the award, but 86: Eighty-Six really hooked in a way that it has no words, and I find myself every time reading the light novels and searching about the characters on Wikipedia.

Just like Mobile Suit Gundam Wing and Iron-Blooded Orphans before, 86: Eighty-Six will remain with me and I will mentioned it a lot… at least until I fully watched Attack on Titan: The Final Season.

CONCLUSION

And there you go!!!!

My personal choices for the Crunchyroll Anime Awards. Another year, another group of blogs.

Some will agree with me, some will definitely have different opinions. But what is true is that 2021 gave us a lot of awesome anime, and the favourite, the ones that most of the fans love will be awarded.

I am as excited as you are, especially because i finished the tradition of giving my favourite for the awards on time.

Let’s hope for the best.

And… you know what Henrietta said to me? If Lena does not get the award, it will be my fault.

Right Henrietta?

Hehe. She loves me.

Iwakakeru – Sports Climbing Girls

Genre: Sports

Studio: Blade

Hello my friends.

Welcome to another anime reviews.

Today I bring a small piece of work that brought my attention, and I decided to watch straight away, especially since summer is coming (In Australia, of course). With that said, I bring you…

But before that, I must do a VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT.

I want… to thank every single reader I got on this 2020. As of October 17, my blog has reached over 800 views for the year. I know that for many people this might not sound like a big deal, but for me… It is very important and very special, especially because I never thought my blog would grow this much. You… made it possible. My beloved readers all over the world, including Irina, Danael, Aiya, and Anketsu. All of you gave me a lot of happiness as I am trying to be as professional and honest with my entries as I can.

I wish I could give some economical pledges in exchange, because you deserve it. Perhaps I will open a Patreon account, and give some rewards.

Now. My target is to reach 1000 views for 2020. And I will obtain them with your support. Again, thanks again for your help. Thank you again.

And if you feel healthy, then I am happy.

Now, let’s go with Iwakakeru – Sport Climbing Girls.

PREMISE

Based on the manga written by Ryudei Ishizara, and published by Cygames, Iwakakeru – Sports Climbing Girls (Or Iwa-kakeru – Climbing Girls), tells the story of Konomi Kasahara, a first-year of the Hanamiya All-Girls School; a former gaming champion, Konomi is looking for a club to join in her new school. Then she finds a climbing wall and feels eager to try it despite the protest of fellow first-year student, Jun Uehara. This lead Konomi to join the Climbing Club and face amazing puzzle-like walls.

Throughout the anime, Konomi also befriends senior Climbing Club members, Sayo Yotsuba and Nonoka Sugiura. As of October 17, two episodes have been released. Iwakakeru is directed by Tetsuro Amino, famous for directing many adaptations of Macross, and recently Rainbow Days.

It is important to mention that Cygames also adapted another popular sport franchise.

So it was a matter of time before Cygames would release an anime about Climbing Sports. Personally, there is nothing to be surprised about, because during the last years, we have seen what I called A New Golden Age of Sports Anime, including Free!, Kuroro’s Basket, Hanebado!, Chihayafaru, How Heavy Are the Dumbbells you Lift?, and of course, the one that has become the king of sports anime now, and that is…

Trust me that I want to see Haikyu!! one day, but for now, I am going to focus in this new addition of the «Golden Age». Perhaps I am overreacting with the Golden Age thing, but I can assure you that Iwakakeru will not leave anyone indifferent.

STORY

Despite being two episodes, I got to say that, so far, Iwakakeru has left a very good impression on me. It starts presenting itself in a similar way to How Heavy are the Dumbbells you lift?, that is, presenting our normal main protagonist in search of an activity that helps her to overcome an obstacle, in the case of Hibiki Sakura, her weight, and for Konomi, is her addiction to video games. Then both meeting their respective new best friend, for Hibiki is Akemi Soryuin, and for Konomi, is Jun Uehara. And after a couple of competitions in the gym and in the climbing walls, our characters establish a powerful friendship that will lead them to go through many adventures and challenges that will turn the adrenaline on for all of us.

And in the second episode, Konomi meets some of the rivals she will face. And as a proof of how tough things will get, I will show you one of her new rivals.

Just kidding!!! But yeah. It is a small evidence of what will come.

I must be honest. The first thing I thought when I saw the trailer of Iwakakeru, is that it will be some kind of Keijo!!!!!!, but with climbing sports; because there are some shots that many animegoers might consider as fanservice. But luckily, that is not the case. Instead, we have a very interesting story. It might not have the same excitement is Haikyuu!!, but definitely it is worth to check.

Also, I am a very big sports fan (Well… I come from Colombia), including cycling, tennis, volleyball, track and field, swimming, and I played soccer in my childhood. So every time I see a sports anime, it feels beautifully refreshing, because you get this emotion and excitement of athletes giving their best and sharing with you the same feelings, the speed, the endurance, the wind. Everything. During my childhood, that is what I felt with Captain Tsubasa and Slam Dunk. And that hasn’t changed.

Even Sword Art Online: Alternative Gun Gale Online awoke that same excitement for sports.

I have faith that the upcoming episodes.

Furthermore, the animation is pretty wonderful, and sometimes the colour palette gives the same vibe that you find in other Cygames anime, such as Uma Musume and Princess Connect – Re:Dive. And Studio Blade… well, it is the first time I have heard from them, but I think they got a lot of potential.

For now… nothing else to add.

CHARACTERS

I think that talking about the characters will be a bit difficult. Ok! Don’t get me wrong! Despite the feeling of waifus or fanservice that many animegoers can get, the characters have shown us a lot of identity, in both terms of design and backstory. Nonetheless, my two favourites were Konomi and Jun. I forgot to talk about the latter.

But, the second episode introduces Jun as extremely passionate about Climbing sports. Just look at her here.

Can you see the amazing happiness of her characters? The excitement? All these wonderful feelings that many of us have when we do that something we love the most. An opportunity unlike any other. Definitely Iwakakeru did a good job representing those emotions with Jun and Konomi.

But another great part of episode 2 is the way it introduces some of the rivals

CONCLUSION

Iwakakeru – Sports Climbing Girls comes a very nice addition for this final quarter of 2020 lineup, I am again looking forward to see the rest of the series, and if you are a really fan of sports, you will probably enjoy it.

I did. And I think that is what inspired Kaguya, Ruka and Uzaki-chan to do Rock Climbing.

Well… what are you waiting for? Go binge Iwakakeru – Rock Climbing Girls. And no excuses.

Categoría: konomikasahara

I FINALLY CASTED MY VOTES FOR THE CRUNCHYROLL ANIME AWARDS 2021 – PART III

JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – Iwakakeru – Sports Climbing Girls – First Own Impressions