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

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?

YOU BET YOUR BEHIND IT WILL BE!!!

Hehe. She loves me.

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

BEST OPENING

YOASOBI – Kaibutsu – BEASTARS – Season 2

Because… Ali made a wonderful opening for the first season with «WILD SIDE». The moment I listen the opening for season 2, I didn’t think twice… This song really deserved the best opening award.

Of course, Cry Baby from Tokyo Revengers is also fantastic, but… In my personal opinion, nothing can beat Beastars, except OddTaxi, by Skirt and PUNPEE.

Good luck. You two deserve to be the next Beastar.

BEST VOICE PERFORMANCE (JP)

FIRST VOTE Goes to… Natsuki Hanae, for Hiroshi Odokawa, from Oddtaxi.

I need to say this now. I am a huge fan of Natsuki Hanae, and in this 2021, this great seiyuu brought us some iconic roles, including Vanitas, from The Case Study of Vanitas, Tanjiro and Odokawa.

I adore Oddtaxi, is absolutely one of the best anime of 2021, and when I listen Odokawa, I couldn’t believe the seiyuu behind was Natsuki Hanae, and that proves how talented this actor is.

SECOND VOTE Goes to… Aoi Kuga, for Kumoko, from So I am A spider, So what?

The same happens with Natsuki Hanae. Even though her voice reminds of both Tanya Von Degurechaff and Azusa Aizawa, Aoi Kuga prints her own mark with Kumoko, perfectly mimicking the dynamism of the character and her personality every time Kumoko seems to break the fourth wall.

Of course, she can get a bit annoying sometimes, but that does not stop the character and heir voice actress for being so cool.

You are a Spider, So what? So we love you.

SPECIAL MENTION – BEST VOICE PERFORMANCE (Latin America)

VICTOR UGARTE as Shinji Ikari, from Neon Genesis Evangelion

In my personal opinion, from day one, and I mean as far as 1999… on one can beat Victor Ugarte as Shinji Ikari.

And I love Pepe Vilchis, but the sweet voice of Ugarte as Shinji (in both the original series and the films) is practically a milestone in Latin American anime community.

Don’t believe me? Check it by yourselves.

BEST SOUNDTRACK

FIRST VOTE goes to Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto, from 86: Eighty-Six

Wonderful, to say the least. Just like you would know from Hiroyuki Sawano.

I am a bit disappointed, because I believe that Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song deserved more nominations than the ones it got. However, I was expected its soundtrack to receive a nomination. So yeah.

My second vote goes to that beautiful A.I. that wants to make people happy with her singing.

BEST CHARACTER DESIGN

Baku Kinoshita and Hiromi Nakayama – ODDTAXI

I must say that every time I saw the characters of Oddtaxi, I was imagining myself as an animator, trying to make the design of each one of these characters, and how hard it should be. Furthermore, every one of these designs perfectly gives identity, making them more memorable.

It is a shame that I didn’t watch Ranking of Kings by the time the nominations were revealed, because I would divide my vote between both series.

Also, I consider to divide my vote between Oddtaxi and Wonder Egg Priority, but I didn’t take me too much time before going to Oddtaxi.

BEST ANIMATION

Studio Bind for Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation

This vote was a tough one, because I couldn’t decided between Demon Slayer: Mugen Train and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation. Moreover, this category produced me a bit of cringe, for one exterior reason.

Just like Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song, Mushoku Tensei deserved more nominations, being among the best freaking anime of 2021.

Particularly, because of the animation.

So yes. I finally vote Mushoku Tensei, because this fantastic isekai has a lot of competition, and we must support it, because the infamy Rudeus Greyrat inspire in some, this anime earned all its praise.

BEST DIRECTOR

Baku Kinoshita, for Oddtaxi.

Not just the animation, Oddtaxi has good storytelling, characters, great twists all over the episode, all blend together in one of the best anime of 2021.

And of course, someone had to be in charge of everything. So I voted for Baku Kinoshita for OddTaxi.

I also consider dividing my vote with Wonder Egg Priority, but then I thought that Oddtaxi has a deeper story.

So there you go.

CONCLUSION

And there you go. Part II finished.

Remember that this is only my own opinion. Everyone has the right to vote to whichever series they want. At the end of the day, the best will get the awards… I hope.

Stay tuned for the third and final part.

JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – SWORD ART ONLINE ALTERNATIVE – GUN GALE ONLINE – MY OWN IMPRESSIONS

Sword Art Online Alternative – Gun Gale online

Genre: Sci-fi, action, adventure

Studio: 3Hz

Hello my friends, welcome to another blog entry.

It is time to go back a bit in time, to the year of 2018; on that day, I saw one series that I enjoyed a lot, and that I wanted to talk about since that time. And to be honest, it is definitely one of the best entries of Sword Art Online I have ever seen, until the arrival of Alicization, to the point that I still affectedly remember it today.

Okay. I am talking about more like a nostalgic. I simply don’t know how to describe this frenzied feeling, but I will do my best in this entry.

With that said…

But before I continue with my entry, I must ask you the typical questions:

Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy?

If the answer is yes, then I am happy.

Now, let’s proceed with arming ourselves to one hell of a ride, with some hot bodysuit beauty. Right Pitohui?

This is Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online.

PREMISE

First and foremost, I must clarify that Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online is a spin-off of SAO, along with Sword Art Online Alternative: Clover’s Regret, which does not have an anime, but if I can read the light novels, I will do it with all joy as well.

Furthermore, the author of Alternative Gun Gale Online is not Reki Kawahara; instead, this story is written by Keiichi Sigsawa, and illustrated by Kouhaku Kuroboshi, pair that was behind one of the best anime based on a light novel ever created – Kino’s Journey: The Beautiful World.

Alternative Gun Gale Online takes place after the events of Fairy Dance Arc, where the VRMMORPGs come back into existence thanks to the Seed that Akihiko Kayaba gave to Kirito. We follow an university student, called Karen Kohiruimaki, from Obihiro, Hokkaido, who has always suffer a complex due to her height, and in order to face that problem, she is introduced to Gun Gale Online, where she creates a cute avatar, called Llenn, and little by little, becomes an expert marksman and a popular player. Shortly afterwards, Llenn enters a tournament, called Squad Jam, in which many squadrons fight for a price in a Battle Royale style. In the tournament, she meets a lot of friends who fight and become stronger.

Sword Art Online Alternative GGO was animated by Studio 3Hz, the same company behind Princess Principal, anime that I reviewed a year ago, and Flip Flappers, one of the most «interesting» magical girl anime I have ever seen.

Also, Sword Art Online Alternative GGO was released in 12 episodes, from April 8 to June 30, 2018, under the direction fo Masayuki Sayoi (Overly Cautious Hero, Noragami), and the music is composed by Starving Trancer. And as of November 22, 2021, Sigsawa and Kuroboshi have released 11 volumes, from 2014, always under the supervision of Kawahara himself.

Finally, the opening them – Ryusei, is performed by none other that Eir Aoi, who, as many fans would know, performed many of the best openings from Sword Art Online: Alicization.

STORY

Let’s just put it like this. In the very first episode, we got our main characters, Llenn and her partner M, in the middle of Squad Jam, who take their time to carefully analyse the enemy, their weapons and numbers, at the same time, the episode slowly establishes the setting, the conflict, what Llenn and M are thinking. In other words, Sword Art Online Alternative allows us to fully understand everything, and to put our characters in what clearly is a disadvantage, being absolutely out numbered and ill-equipped.

That is the first half.

And then, the second half gives a very awesome glimpse of Llenn, with her short height allowing her to be fast; having a clear expertise on her adorable pink FN P90.

And while Llenn attacks directly, M is the sniper, waiting coldly to the moment of shooting, ultimately both win the match. Meanwhile, Karen, in the real world, is praised and lauded.

Finally, episode 2 introduces us to Karen in the real world, how bad she feel about the height, her failed attempts to get into Alfheim Online and other VRMMORPGs, until she finds herself comfortable inside Gun Gale Online, creating her pink avatar, training hard, learning to handle the controls, improving, and showing the results of her training, befriending my favourite GGO character, even more than Sinon.

Ladies and gentlemen… PITOHUI

Believe me, the pacing and the rhythm of the first two episodes of Alternative Gun Gale Online are simply gorgeous, because we get familiar with everything, and somehow, we feel submerged, especially with the characters and the story. Also, the action scenes are simply spectacular. I admit, it, the animation is not as polished as in Sword Art Online: Alicization, or with 86: Eighty Six.

However, Studio 3Hz created some amazing worlds with the notorious contrasts between light and shadows, for both the real world and the virtual reality.

Moreover, I remember that some of the complains of the people who watched Sword Art Online was that Kirito was not well-written, that all the time he is a Gary Stu, and… I cannot say I disagree. In fact, that is one of the reasons of why I don’t like Fairy Dance Arc, but that will be for another moment.

With Karen that is not the case, she is surprisingly well-constructed, simple, but sharp enough, equal to Kino from Kino’s Journey. And I immediately noticed that Keiichi Sigsawa tends to develop his female protagonists in a more believable way, both mentally and physically, something that I indeed value a lot.

And after the first two episodes, you want to see more, because the other elements, the music, the animation, the characters, and the story goes in such a natural way, and in a pretty balanced, defined style, that you do not get bored. You get hooked with the story because of how it is presented as an anime, and then, when the action scenes come, you feel like hypnotised. Some are not that long, but they are exciting enough.

At this point, I won’t be surprised if many consider Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online their favourite entry of the franchise.

But what about the…

CHARACTERS

One thing is for sure – Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online has better characters than some of the story arc of the original story before Alicization.

Like I said, we got Llenn, M and Pitohui, who are absolutely badass and human in their own unique way, and don’t worry, because throughout the twelve episodes, we know more about all of them, and we grow to love them even more. They are awesome, yet flawed; they win, yet they also make mistakes, and they are forces to be reckon with, yet relatable enough.

Something I wish I could say about… THIS MESS.

Let’s admit it – Fairy Dance Arc is sh&t!

But they are not the only ones, we got Miyu Shinohara, a.k.a. Fukaziroh, Karen’s best friend, and the one who introduce the latter into the VRMMORPGs. And then, we got SHINC, a.k.a. Shintaisou Club, or the rhythmic gymnastics club.

Cute…

but deadly.

And during their episodes, we see that they have very good motivations. It is done by exposition, I tell you, but before that, you see them as a perfect squadron, and you get to understand SHINC better by the time you know their backgrounds.

Great characters indeed.

CONCLUSION

Without a doubt, Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online is one of the best entries of the SAO franchise, creating good characters, badass action scenes, and hilarious moments in some time, and I think it offers some quality that the other Sword Art Online stories previous to Alicization lacked, so I would be surprised if many fans consider this series the best of SAO. Personally, Alicization has better story and a bigger lore, but the anime of SAO that I enjoyed more, as a whole, is this one.

Trust me, go binge it through Crunchyroll. You will have a sweet, amazing surprise. ARRIBA GUN GALE ONLINE.

And now, since you can’t have enough of sweet, sexy Pitohui, here is come…

I mean, for you Pitohui, I will become full-fledged masochist.

JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – Princess Principal – My Own Impressions

PRINCESS PRINCIPAL

Genre: Action, Spy, Steampunk.

Studio: 3Hz and Actas

Hello my friends.

First and foremost, I want to give all of you… a Big Thank You, to everyone who has visited my blog.

2020 was a big 1K

As you can see from the picture, my blog finally was able to reach the 1000 views in 2020. To be honest, I never thought that would be possible. And many people will think that this number is very small, but for me… it is a really big thing. Because I never thought I will reach this number as of November 20, 2020.

And that… was done thanks to you. To every reader of this blog. You guys gave me a lot of support, as well as inspiration to continue writing. There are not enough words for me to thank you again for these 1000 views in my blog. Let’s see if 2021 gets even bigger. I know it is very soon, but I cannot express enough gratitude to my readers worldwide.

Thank you so much… and thank you.

But remember, please keep yourself safe, and use facemask. COVID-19 is still out there, and despite the vaccines have shown over 90% of efficacy, it is still our responsibility to look for our health.

Now, let’s go to Princess Principal.

PREMISE

Princess Principal takes place in an alternative version of the early 20th century, where the United Kingdom is now called Albion, and has become the world superpower due to a very powerful substance, called Cavorite, that allows Albion to revolutionise warfare and technology. But years ago, a new revolution took place, in which the royal family was almost overthrown. Nonetheless, the conflict provoked the division of Albion in two, the Commonwealth and the Kingdom.

The Commonwealth sends a young spy, called Ange, to replace Princess Charlotte in order to infiltrate in the royal family of the Kingdom. However Charlotte discovers the plan and makes an offer; allow herself to become a spy for the Commonwealth in exchange of having the path to become Queen.

Now Ange and Charlotte work together for the Commonwealth, in the midst of the conflict, and trying to pose as students of the Queen Mayfair’s School, along with another three girls; Dorothy. the beautiful driver and fellow spy; Beatrice, Charlotte’s best friend and aide; and Chise Todo, an exchange student from Saga, Japan.

Princess Principal was produced by Studio 3Hz (Flip Flappers, Sword Art Online: Alternative Gun Gale Online), in collaboration of studio Actas (Transformers: Armada; Girls Und Panzer). Released in 12 episodes, Princess Principal was released between July and September 2017, however it quickly has become in a very successful franchise, spawning a mobile game, Princess Principal; Game of Mission, and a series of films, starting from Princess Principal: Crown Handler, slated to be released in April, but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But two of the best elements is the story, written by Ichiro Okouchi (Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress), and the soundtrack, composed by the always renown Yuki Kajiura, whose work gets better and better with every episode.

My! My! Even Dorothy is surprised of this cool elements!

But how is the…

STORY

At the very first sight, Princess Principal might sound and look like a typical steampunk/magical girl anime, with great epic moments, and with a cinematography that resembles Saga of Tanya the Evil. And yes, that is in a way. However, with every new episode, the story takes its time to develop each of the characters; creating a very entertaining mixture between adventure and drama that gives a lot of identity to the series.

But that is not all.

Check these three pictures.

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• 

• 

Can you notice the different cinematography of all of them? They all show the afternoon, steampunk atmosphere, and glory of the society of Albion. Throughout the anime, each of these cinematographies offer a different feeling of the present situation, or the genre. of the story on that exact moment. For me, this offers a great variety because it shows the versatility of the story, mingling, like I said, drama with action with steampunk. I don’t think we got a lot of anime with this beautiful mix, not even Saga of Tanya the Evil. For me, Youji Senki is more about war, military and fantasy; with very few moments of drama.

Or… Fairy Gone?

I… will leave that for some other time.

Furthermore, this animation is really beautiful. Studio 3Hz has done a really good job. As a matter of fact, I won’t be surprised if many fans consider Studio 3Hz as a master in making cute girls look badass. Did that sound inappropriate? Well. Let me show you a still of the previous work of the studio.

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• 

• 

Flip Flappers and SAO: Alternative Gun Gale Online have really amazing protagonists, who manage to be cute and strong at the same time. Pretty cool to say the least!

Personally one of the elements of Princess Principal that I dislike is that, unlike Youjo Senki, is an original anime; in other words not based either on an anime or a light novel. Of course, this does not affect the quality of the anime. But for me, it is a shame, because I personally have gotten a really deep like toward light novels. And Princess Principal has everything to be based on one of the best light novels I could ever read.

And course, the soundtrack of Yuki Kajiura adds a lot of strength and feeling toward the tone of the story. Speaking of the soundtrack, The Other Side of the Wall, performed by Void_Chords and MARU, is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard.

My! My! Even Dorothy adds charm toward the song.

CHARACTERS

Like I said, the characters have an amazing design, and the more we see the episode, the more we learned about the characters. How they became who they are? Why are they on their respective sides? Which are their abilities?

At this point, many of you will find out that one of my favourite characters is Dorothy.

Beautiful, brave, intelligent, and compassionate

Also, despite her cold, stern personality, Ange is a very fascinating character. One that you will definitely will love. Like I said, Princess Principal combines many of the plot of each episode with some character development, and that’s why I recommend to see everything, from the beginning, so you will know our protagonists, and appreciate as for what they truly are.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Princess Principal is one of the best anime you can see. It has everything, action, drama, adventure, likeable characters, it’s own setting. In other words… It’s own identity. Luckily, Princess Principal is available at Amazon Video. Take your day… and binge this wonderful piece of work.

Now. That I have finally finished this entry. I must do an an announcement.

I AM RETIRING FROM BLOGGING. Yes!! I have chosen a new career path, and that is…

BEING A SPY.

I think these guys can train me.