JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS (EXPRESS) – THE GRIMOIRE OF ZERO – MY OWN IMPRESSIONS

The Grimoire of Zero

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure

Studio: White Fox.

Hello my friends. Welcome to another entry of my blog.

Well. It is time to conclude what I started with my previous review of The Dawn of the Witch, and I actually have little time because I must wake up early tomorrow. So, with said that, I bring you.

And I am going to ask quickly the same questions:

Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy?

If the answer is yes, then I am very happy.

Now. Time to put the with to rest.

This is The Grimoire of Zero.

PREMISE

For those who read my previous review of The dawn of the Witch, and for those who does not, The Grimoire of Zero (Zero kara Hajimeru Mahō no Sho, or ゼロから始める魔法の書) is basically a prequel of the events of the former, based on the elight novels written by Kakeru Kobashiri and illustrated by Yoshinori Shizuma, and piublished by Dengeki Bunko from February 2014 to December 2017. We follow the story of the Mercenary (Yes. That is his actual name), a half-man half-best warrior who is pursued day by day by both humans and witches, and he dreams to become a full human one day. One day, he has a fateful encounter with a young witch, called Zero, who makes a deal with him – That he helps her to find a book that she wrote years ago, called The Grimoire of Zero, and then she will turn him into a human.

With this deal done, both of them go on a journey in a world full of sorcery and magic, where they meet Albus, another young sorcerer that respects a very old witch, called Sorena.

As I mentioned before, The Grimoire of Zero was published for three years in a total of six volumes, and Kakeru Kobashiri immediately continued the story on The Dawn of the Witch. And the anime version was released between April 10 and June 26, of 2017, for a total of 12 episodes.

And from what I heard, the series is available in Amazon. Not pretty sure, but it is definitely worth checking out.

STORY

I must be Honest, When I was preparing my review of The Grimoire of Zero, I though that I will be repeating myself with my opinion of The Dawn of the Witch, but now, after reviving the memories of the episodes I watch, I have to say.

I really like The Grimoire of Zero!!!

In fact, I think it is was better than another favourite anime that was a withc on it. In case you didn’t figure out, that anime is…

WANDERING WITHC – THE JOURNEY OF ELAINA

What did you just say?

Of course, it is ridiculous to compare a series about travelling like Wandering Witch, with a full adventure fantasy like The Grimoire of Zero, but at this point, we all agree that the latter has a pretty decent world-building.

In episode one, we have a very good glimpse of what is this world, how the witches became part of this world, which are most of their powers, but, more importantly, it establishes pretty the plot, with the events of Zero and Mercenary perfectly going calmly and fitting with a tone that, without being dark, it is not too goofy either.

At least in my opinion.

No. Just like Kakeru Kobashiri does with The Dawn of the Witch, the author takes its time to gives the audience the enough information about what needs to be done throughout the story, all of that in two episodes; and while we watch the rest, there are moments of tension that never cease, graping us more and more. Of course that does not happen on the first episodes, but after those. And that is what made me enjoy The Grimoire of Zero over The Journey of Elaina, because it has a story I can get entertained and spent my time getting used to it.

While, with Elaina, is more about our protagonist going from one place to another and meeting people with some other secondary characters being present on an episodic fashion.

But what really surprised me is that The Grimoire of Zero is that its story quickly turns more about characters. What do I mean by this? That each of them have a very defined arc that makes them more compelling, and for me, that is something I enjoy more, rather than just seeing a specific protagonist going from one place to another and meeting new people.

I am not saying that this bad. But some development gives more credibility to the world and to the story, helping me to remember it more.

So yeah, it has good rhythm and pacing.

And the animation… My goodness!!! The animation.

White Fox studio needs no presentation, and again, with Steins: Gate and Re: Zero, I think it is fair to say that they establish a pretty sweet reputation.

So yeah, I am glad I rewatch The Grimoire of Zero, but now I see that it is more enjoyable than I thought.

CHARACTERS

With the characters I am not going into detail, but all of them are pretty well-defined and likeable enough. Of course, you might wondering at first… Who are these people? But believe me, after watching some episodes, you will find Zero and Mercenary pretty interesting.

But other three characters that I enjoyed were Albus, Holdem and Thirteen.

Trust me. Give them time watching The Grimoire of Zero, and these characters will be interesting for you too. I am not saying anything because I will ruin the surprise, and… I don’t have time.

CONCLUSION

To sum up, if you enjoy The Dawn of the Witch, I strongly recommend The Grimoire of Zero. Of course you will prefer to watch this one before go into its sequel, and these are series that… will awaken a certain magic on you.

Now… I apologize, because I am supposed to go to bed now, so, I hope you enjoy my excpress review.

Now… Time for a coma. Really Elaina?

YOU BET!!!

She is really upset of my review.

Have a great week!!!

JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – YURI ON ICE!! MY OWN IMPRESSIONS

Yuri!!! On Ice

Genre: Sports, skating, BL

Studio: MAPPA

Hello my friends. Welcome to another blog entry.

After finishing the day with a beautiful Girls Love story…

I fell more eager to start this day with a Boys Love story. And let me tell that is absolutely one of the greatest yaoi stories of history. Once more… the title says it all.

«Don’t stop us now, the moment of truth

We were born to make history.»

Yeah. We are.

But before I start, I must ask the same questions, I have to in order to start making history:

Are you guys ok? Feeling Healthy?

If the answer is yes, then I am happy.

And now… time to be born to make history. This is Yuri!!! on Ice.

PREMISE

Yuri!!! on Ice is an original anime series, produced by the always welcome Studio MAPPA, which aired between October and December 2016, in 12 episodes, directed by Sayo Yamamoto (the same director behind Lupin the Third: A woman Called Fujiko Mine). The choreography was in charge of former professional skater, Kenji Miyamoto.

23 year-old Yuri Katsuki is a very talented skater, but he is not precisely in the best moment of his career. After a lot of losses, including the Grand Prix Final, Yuri puts his career on hold and returns to his hometown in Hasetsu, Kyushu. Once there, Yuri decides to skate and perfectly imitates the beautiful routine of his idol, Russian skater Viktor Nikiforov. Unbeknownst to Yuri, his performance is recorded and becomes viral, something that indeed catches Viktor’s attention. Viktor moves to Hasetsu and catches Yuri, making himself the latter’s coach.

However, 15-year-old skating prodigy Yuri Plisetsky, discovers Viktor’s decision, travels Hasetsu and confronts him and Yuri. Now both Yuri K. and Yuri P. compete in a beautiful sets of skating matches, full of wonderful choreographies, always under the watch of Viktor.

Immediately after its released, Yuri!!! on Ice became a phenomenon, being praised by critics and professional skaters, being called as one of the best anime of 2016; while both Yuri and Viktor becoming a very renown iconic of LGBT anime, among other beautiful yaoi couples like:

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• 

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Eiji and Ash; Ryoma and Izumi, and practically every couple from Given.

The opening song, History Maker, performed by Dean Fujioka, is definitely one of the best songs I have ever heard.

Furthermore, the success of Yuri!!! on Ice was so big, that in the 1st edition of the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, the series won seven awards (Anime of the Year, Best Boy, Best Opening, Best Ending, Best Animation, Best Couple, and Most Heartwarming Scene), becoming the most awarded anime of the Crunchyroll Awards, along with My Hero Academia, season 2 (with seven awards as well).

Currently, Studio MAPPA is animated a sequel movie, called Yuri on Ice The Movie: Ice Adolescence, originally scheduled to be released in 2019, but delayed constantly. (And No. the COVID-19 apparently has nothing to do with it).

Before I move forward, I will share with you a link of Dean Fujioka’s History Maker, with lyrics.

STORY

Before I continue, let me share a personal anecodte.

Back in 2017, I heard about this anime, which I heard it was a marvel, and a sensation, some even called it a beautiful masterpiece. Naturally, that anime was Yuri!!! on Ice. Everyone kept saying Yuri!!! on Ice this, Yuri!!! on Ice that. It was all over my ears. Then I said… «Give me a break. This should be some overrated trend.» You know, sometimes when people calls a movie, a tv series or a cartoon a masterpiece, only to find out it is indeed overrated and this only merit is to divide fans.

Anyone?? What a weird 2017

Then I changed my mind and thought it was the history of a singer with blueish appearance, whose singing comes across the universe.

Anyone?

The point is that I decided to watch the first episodes of Yuri!!! on Ice, and… it was nothing like I saw before. An anime of a young skater that meets a really handsome man, they start a nice friendship and participate in many skating events, with really beautiful choreographies. I might be outdated, but by 2017, I didn’t remember seeing something similar. And it was worth it.

The animation is beautiful. It is MAPPA studio after all. What else can be expected? Similar to A-1 Pictures, we will get some wonderful animation. And the story is even better. Viktor starts being very harsh with Yuri, but patient, which becomes a beautiful love story; and then when the moments of skating are indeed a spectacle. Seriously, I don’t think you will find any choreographies like those in any other anime. The animation, the music, along with the movements combine together to make an audiovisual marvel that will always age well, especially for 2017.

But from my perspective, these dances make you feel as if you were in the audience… or in the Winter Olympics. A show that brings anyone to tears. (Didn’t happened to me, but the sensation in my heart always remains fresh).

Also, the story feels pretty natural. The bond that Yuri and Viktor create feels extremely genuine, and the energy brought by Yuri P. adds for a lot of comic relief that is really hilarious.

And every episode has the same atmosphere. Nothing gets boring, so you want to see what happens next.

At the end, you understand why Yuri!!! on Ice has become so popular. But that’s not all.

CHARACTERS

I think Yuri!!! on Ice proved that, if a story is wonderful, can be mostly because of its characters.

Like I said, Yuri and Viktor are a wonderful couple, and Yuri P, despite being a brat and a force to be reckon with, is still a pretty likeable character. All make a really chemistry, ready to bring action, passion and beauty, ideal from a sweet trio.

Extra praise from Junichi Suwabe, who brings an excellent performance from Viktor.

The rest of the cast, especially the skaters, are also pretty nice. What I really love is that they become from different countries (United States, Canadá, Switzerland, South Korea, Kazakhstan), which brings more realism and culture toward the skating competitions.

Case in point, we have Seung-gil Lee.

Notice the eyes, notice the skin colour, the hair, and the side of the face. It is a beautiful contrast, the series really worked hard to make this characters a unique design, especially in comparison to Yuri Katsuki. What I mean is that, while both are from Asia, they come from different countries (Yuri is from Japan, and Seung is from South Korea), and this makes the context of Yuri!!! on Ice richer more believable.

There are other characters that I wanted to have more development though, like with Yuko Nishigori and her family.

I do not know. Perhaps it is my viewpoint, but I got the feeling that she and her family could do more in the story. It is not a disaster, but it is something I wanted to point out.

Anyone, the characters are really good.

CONCLUSION

Indeed, Yuri!!! on Ice is one of the best BL anime you can ever see. But it is more than that. It is about overcoming your limitations, good sportsmanship, friendship, hope and, of course, love. The best part is that it doesn’t need swords, violence, blood to present good conflict. Everything, from the animation to the story, is well-crafted. It is not perfect, but a beautiful series to watch.

I wish I could tell more, but, at the end, it is better to watch than to describe.

And I want to finish this entry with the following statement…

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL BISEXUALITY DAY!!!

See you around.

#bisexualityday

YOU STILL OWN ME A BLOG ENTRY… AND MY MONEY!!

One day Henrietta… One day!!

JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – Interview with Monster Girls – My Own Impressions

Interview with Monster Girls

Genre: Comedy, Supernatural

Studio: A-1 Pictures

Hey guys. Welcome to another anime reviews.

I am still seeing a lot of new anime in which I can get a couple of «First Impressions» , but until then, I want to make sure that I write about beautiful, optimistic anime, especially in these complicated times of quarantine.

So now, I want to express my impressions of an anime that, after watching it twice, it offers an innocent, beautiful experience if you have to stay at home.

Now, having said that, I want to introduce you…

But before I continue writing my impressions, I must ask you guys the typical question:

Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy?

If the answer is yes, then I am very happy, and as I’ve repeating myself these days…

DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE COVID-19.

I insist that is a very dangerous virus, with unpredictable consequences.

And now, let’s got with Interview with Monster Girls.

PREMISE

Based on the manga written and illustrated by Petos, Interview with Monster Girls (Or Demi-chan wa Kataritai for its title in Japanese), takes place in a world resembling ours, except that some humans with mythological attributes co-exist with normal humans, this kind of humans are called «Demi» (Absolutely); and now, biology professor Tetsuo Takahashi, meets three demi students, and starts slowly knowing them with the hopes of having a better understanding of the demi-humans. These demis are Hikari, a vampire, Kyouko, a dullahan, and Yuki, a snow woman.

Finally, we got a fouth demi, the math teacher, Sakie Satou, a succubus who is always struggling not to… «awaken» some «scenes» especially from men (You know what I mean). From there, we got 13 episodes of comedic school life and, like many people would think, excluding myself, of course, are «cute girls doing cute things.»

Surprinsingly, I was investigating at some websites, including MyAnimeList.net, and I saw that the 13th episode, which would normally be an OVA, is labeled as ONA. I honestly don’t know why. Anyway, from my perspective, I will compare Interview with Monster Girls with Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, for in terms of genre, they are the same. Basically they are some fantasy characters, or characters that inspired in mythology, dealing with real life issues, and this is one of the type of anime that I called, for offers a new perspective.

Shall we say that a plus of speculative fiction. I don’t know if that applies here but… I mentioned it.

Anyway, Interview with Monster girls (I will call it Demi-chan from now on), is animated by A-1 Pictures, and the composer is Masaru Yokoyama, famous for composing…

YOUR LIE IN APRIL

Finally, since Demi-chan features a snow woman, shall we say this?

DOES A-1 PICTURES WANNA BUILD A SNOWMAN?

Ok! Ok! Sorry, I needed to get that reference out of my head. But this is the only time I will make jokes of Frozen...

I hope.

STORY

Ok. If there is anything I learn from reviewing Kobayashi-san some days ago, it is that is very hard to analyse the story without mentioning the characters, especially in comedy school anime, for the characters are the souls of the anime, so, what I will do is talk about the story of the characters.

Because Demi-chan is mostly a story about Kyouko, Hikari, Sakie and Yuki. Demi-chan deals of how these four characters deal with their identities, as Takanashi-sensei learns more about of them, realising that they are really special, wonderful people, like you and me. They have families, they have dreams, and they start opening little by little with Takanashi-sensei. And every episode develops the friendship between them in the most organic way possible. That means, every episode feels so natural; no rushes, no inconsistencies, no artificial storylines, no unbalanced pacing. This makes the story more reliable, and, despite being demi-humans, our main characters are pretty good at making us be in their positions.

In fact, I actually found myself enjoying most of the episodes because of that feeling.

For the most part, we find ourselves understanding the plot from episode one.

Also, the animation is superb. At this point, I believe that A-1 Pictures are the masters of animation and cinematography, having experience in many genres. There is no way for me to talking about anime without any special mentions to A-1 Pictures and the attention to detail that they employ, as well as the colour pacing.

I think A-1 Pictures is slowly taking anime industry, (Just kidding)

All these elements combined make for a really enjoyable experience about students with a fascinating insight. Like I said, Demi-chan is another lovely anime to binge, especially in these times. Definitely not the best production from A-1 Pictures, but something really special.

Or if you like fantasy anime, this offers something what you always want to analyse.

CHARACTERS

Furthermore, there is something as important as the story of our characters, and that is their personalities. And luckily Demi-Chan also remembers this pretty well, delivering us each character in how and who they are.

Hikari being the cheerful, playful vampire that likes to tease Takahashi-sensei, Kyouko as a shy dullahan who learns to improve her life with the help of Takahashi-sensei, who is a curious and very compassionate man despite his bulkiness, and Sakie who, as a succubus, has to prevent touching too many men in order to keep her aphrodisiac effect in check, which lead to many hilarious results and really memorable moments with Takahashi-sensei.

A face like that simply never lies.

But one of the characters that I really liked is Yuki, the snow woman. I think she got one of the best stories, and some of the most relatable developments of Demi-chan. In fact, I feel identified with her the most, because for many years, I thought I was weird, and I couldn’t accept myself as a person. You guys cannot imagine how many encounters with the school therapist I got.

So, I really end up loving her.

Furthermore, regarding Kyouko’s story, I think I learnt a lot from dullahan, and, as ludicrous as my following sentence sounds, seeing Kyouko made me sympathise with her and understand a bit of the daily problems that you face if you have to carry your head all the way around.

So Celty…

I think I am understanding you more.

Overall, Demi-chan characters are really sympathetic and likeable to a fault.

One more thing, did you know that the original seiyuu of Tetsuo Takahashi is Junichi Suwabe, the original voice of…

Eraser Head, from My Hero Academia.

A lot trivia for you, people.

CONCLUSION

To sum up, Interview with Monster Girls is a wonderful school with a beautiful perspective and a really entertaining story, and one of the best stories from 2017. No wonder why it was nominated as Best Slice of Life anime at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards that year, unfortunately it lost against Girls’ Last Tour.

Yet that one was a really good anime too.

So, go to Crunchyroll, and take a look, and me…

I am not that scared of Dracula anymore… he might be a demi-chan

JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – Made in Abyss – My Own Impressions

Made in Abyss

Genre: Adventure, Dark Fantasy, Science-fiction

Studio: Kinema Citrus

Hello guys.

I am feeling a bit inspired today, so, right now, I am going to do another anime that really liked from the very first time I watched it, especially because of all the impressions it left on me.

Now, with no more delays, I introduce you…

MADE IN ABYSS

But before I continue with my review, I must ask you the typical question, my friends; that one I do every day in this quarantine.

Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy and happy?

If the answer is yes, then that means I am happy too. And remember, whatever happens:

DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE COVID-19

I insist is a very dangerous virus with unpredictable consequences.

Now, let’s go with Made in Abyss.

PREMISE

Riko and Reg

Based on the manga written by Akihito Tsukushi and published by Takeshobo, Made in Abyss (メイドインアビス in Japanese characters), tells the story of Riko, a young orphan who lives in the village of Orth, located next to the Abyss, a gigantic, mysterious hole with no clear end, and that apparently harbours the remnants of a long gone civilisation. Riko dreams to become an explorer of the Abyss, called Cave Raiders, the most senior being the White Whistle.

One day, Riko meets a young boy called Reg, who has cybernetic implants reminiscent of that long gone civilisation, but with no memories of his past life. Shortly afterwards, Reg discovers a letter from her mother, Lyza, one of the legendary White Whistles, telling Riko that she will be waiting for her in the bottom of the Abyss.

Now, Riko and Reg embark themselves to the bottom of the Abyss in search of Lyza, being completely aware of its dangers and a lot of secrets that will definitely change their lives for the years to come.

The studio in charge of Made in Abyss is Kinema Citrus, the same studio that brought us The Rising of the Shield Hero; coincidentally, the composer is Kevin Penkin, also famous for the soundtrack of the latter, in fact, when you hear the soundtrack, you will soon really that is definitely the same person. And recently, Penkin composed the soundtrack of Tower of God.

As of March 23, 2020, Made in Abyss consisted in a season of 13 episodes, as well as two movies that are basically a retelling of the first season, and a movie that was released past January, called Made in Abyss, Dawn of the Deep Soul, sadly postponed in many countries due to coronavirus pandemic.

Interestingly enough, Made in Abyss was awarded Anime of the Year 2017 at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, as well as Best Score.

STORY

For the moment I saw the intro of Made in Abyss, along with the beautiful song, performed by Miyu Tomita and Mariya Ise (the voices of Riko and Reg respectively), I was certain that I will submerge myself in a beautiful adventure that will teach everything about a wonderful, yet mysterious and dangerous landscape. In fact, during the screenings at uni, I noticed they pass Made in Abyss during the time usually reserved for the more serious shows, like Girls’ Last Tour, Beastars or Demon Slayer, so I got a lot of curiosity about what exactly made this series be including on that time. Obviously I was not prepared for what I was getting into.

Because despite having cutesy-looking characters and the charm of a fairy tale, Made in Abyss is anything but generic. It is a story of kids facing some very rough situations, but psychologically and physically, while they also face a very creepy, supernatural environment with teases of children’s literature book. I know it is pretty random, but I saw it like that.

Let’s say less Gravity Falls and more Over the Garden Wall. And perhaps Little Nightmares, but more dialogue and colourful settings. Anyway. With every episode, we get to know more about the Abyss, the landscape, the bestiary, the environment, and the risks.

Because… yes. Getting into the Abyss is anything but hiking. The more you get into the Abyss, the more risks you got when it is about coming back to the surface, that is called the Strains of the Ascension. Pretty much is like going underwater; the pressure changes, and if you don’t de-pressurize, the results will be fatal.

Again, Back to Made in Abyss. The rules of this new environment are pretty solid and easy to understand, but something as marvellous as the Abyss itself, is the friendship between Riko and Reg, they not only help each other to survive, they also create a powerful bond that survives many trials throughout the story, and that is one of its strongest elements. And with the cinematography and animation from Kinema Citrus, the feeling of going into the Abyss is really strong.

There is something that called my attention, and it is…

Was Akihito Tsukushi influenced by Fumito Ueda?

I don’t know you guys, but I got the feeling that, because Reg looks very identical to Ico.

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Furthermore, some landscapes has that vibes from Shadow of the Colossus.

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Credits: creativeuncut.com

Perhaps it is only my own impression.

Overall. Made in Abyss has a beautiful, yet serious story that will always manage to surprise you.

CHARACTERS

Credits: Ho-Le-Dai

And of course… how could I forget about the characters.

Like I said before, it is mostly the friendship between Riko and Reg that starts moving the story, and it’s wonderful world of Abyss, then we got Nanachi and Mitty, and if you think that the episodes of Made in Abyss are not that dark, then you will see that these two will come to prove you wrong.

Then we have Lyza, Ozen…

In case you want nightmares…

Also, we have Marulk, Bondrewd, Wakuna, and many others who definitely enriches this beautiful world; and every you want to see can be found inside many of these characters. However, now that I mention Riko, Reg and Nanachi, I will tell you, that in order to comprehend the horror of the Abyss, you must stick to this character…

MITTY.

Of course, I will spoil anything, but Mitty has some of the best and tear-jerking moments. See it by yourself, but I warn you. It might be too much for you.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Made in Abyss is a really beautiful story, with great visuals and a fantastic world. It is series like this that will always make me love anime as a whole, and definitely one of the best animes of 2017.

I think is available at Crunchyroll, so go, take a look and experience the great mysteries and wonders of the Abyss.

Hm….

I wonder if we can get to the Abyss of our own planet. I haven’t thought about it since I read Journey to the Center of the Earth, by Jules Verne. Perhaps some day we will be blessed by many great discoveries of the center of the Earth.

But for know… let’s ask this guy about it.

Link to Ho-Le-Dai artwork.

https://www.deviantart.com/ho-le-dai

JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – Sweetness AND Lightning – First Impressions

Sweetness and Lightning

Studio: TMS/3XCUBE

Genre: Cooking, Slice of life

Hey guys.

Welcome to another anime review.

Today, I will be doing a series I really wanted to rewatch, and to talk about.

I want to bring you…

ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ANIME I HAVE EVER SEEN

But before I continue with my review, I am to make sure the most important thing.

Are you guys ok? Washing your hands? Maintaining social distancing?

If the answer is yes, then I am happy. And during these quarantine times, remember…

DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE CORONAVIRUS!!

Now, having said that, let’s continue with the review.

PREMISE

Based on the manga written by Gido Amagakure, Sweetness and Lightning (Amaama to Inazuma in Japanese) tells the story of Kohei Inuzuka (voiced by Yuichi Nakamura), a high school teacher who is now raising his daughter, Tsumugi (voiced by Rina Endo), especially after the death of his wife, six months before the start of my story. After an encounter with one of his students, Kotori Iida (voiced by Saori Hayami), Kohei is determined to learn cooking in order to give proper meals to Tsumugi.

Sweetness and Lightning consists on 12 episodes, released from July and September 2016, and it is available in Crunchyroll.

Before I continue, I want to mention that the original manga of Sweetness and Lightning was published between March 2013 and August 2018, and published by Kodansha.

STORY

Since Sweetness and Lightning is a slice-of-life anime, all of the stories involves Kohei trying to raise and connect with Tsumugi through cooking and very poignant father-daughter moments; while Kohei is always learning to cook a new recipe, with the many moments of the lifestyle of both father and daughter, at school, at home, with friends, and always trying to get the best out of every single experience.

Exactly what you expect from life itself.

But one of the best moments is during the moments in which Tsumugi uses her imagination to enjoy every moment, with her daddy and her friends. No big battles, no complex plots, no big antagonists… just your average life experiences when learning a new skill.

And that is one of the main pillars of Sweetness and Lightning. The simplicity of its characters, their experiences, and how they interact with each other. From my perspective, not many anime have their plot focusing in the relationship between a father and his daughter with such a nice pacing since Usagi Drop, and there are moments in which the story of Kohei deals with the loss of his wife, and how he tries to get over and be strong for the sake of Tsumugi.

And because of this, we have pretty touching between father and daughter.

SHARKS… SHARKS, SHARKS.

Despite this, Sweetness and Lightning always keep this feel-good feeling in every second, without forgetting about the comedic moments, from the rest of the characters, and especially from the innocence of Tsumugi.

And finally, we are invited to a really good look to Japanese cuisine. For me, that is a very interesting vision… how we noticed that cooking delicious food and sharing with your beloved ones is as sweet as the bond between father and daughter.

I guess that what I am trying to say is that, overall, the story is well supported by Kohei and Tsumugi. Yet it is also a story from the rest of the characters, Kotori, Shinobu, Yusuke, Megumi.

Speaking of which…

CHARACTERS

Finally, because the characters have simple personalities, and are very realistic, it is pretty easy for us to relate with them, especially with our protagonists. Kohei changing his cooking habits for the sake of his daughter, Tsumugi being a normal six-year-old child that gets excited every time her father is cooking something new; Kotori trying to improve her confidence in the kitchen and in life, and the rest of the characters being part of the adventures of Kohei, Tsumugi and Kotori.

I think this is the best way to put it in words.

Because, again, Sweetness and Lightning is definitely not an anime you should take seriously, it is a simple slice of life story. It is from sit back and enjoy, from the beginning to the end. But far from being a problem, this is a strength.

Why?

Because we can easily identify ourselves with Kohei, Tsumugi, Kotori and the other cast. They act like we do in normal life, when we get in touch with our family and our friends. And when you put a simple story with simple characters, the experience gets better and better.

At least from my perspective.

And I definitely learn that with Sweetness and Lightning. It is not a classic, but definitely something you can’t stop watching, something that, pretty much life our characters, will bring you some happiness in your face.

I hope I got the same feeling with Flying Witch and Yuru Camp.

CONCLUSION

Sweetness and Lightning was a beautiful experience that is worth watching. I recommend it to everyone. Regardless if you are usually a fan of shonen, shoujo, seinen, or everything. You always can get your own experience from it, and perhaps the story will encourage you to improve your cooking skills, or always try a new variety.

If that was the case here…

Then Mission Accomplished!!!

 

 

 

 

JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – Twin Star Exorcists – First Impressions

TWIN STAR EXORCISTS

Genre: Adventure, Romance, Supernatural, Dark Fantasy

Hey guys.

Welcome to another anime review.

And in this time, I want to talk about my first impressions of an anime that I was able to watch through Crunchyroll.

From the studio that brought us Naruto, Boruto, and Black Clover, we got…

But before I go on, I must ask you the typical question guys:

Are you ok? Having a good time? Feeling healthy?

If the answer is yes, then I am very happy.

Having said that, lets go and review Twin Star Exorcists:

PREMISE

Based on the manga written and illustrated by Yoshiaki Sukeno, and published by Shueisha, Twin Star Exorcists, or Sousei no Onmyouji (双星の陰陽師), tells the story of Rokuro Enmado, whose dream was to become the greatest exorcist in the world, but after a tragedy that costed him many of his dearest friends, Rokuro becomes distraught and leaves the profession with great bitterness. Now, two years later, and after an unexpected encounter with Benio Adashino, another exorcist prodigy from the east, he discovers his true destiny; being the father of the «Miko», or the ultimate exorcist that will destroy all the evil spirits, or Kegare, from the World.

And of course, Benio will be the mother. So both will become… Do I really need to say it?

You know, the very first thing that I got in mind when I saw these characters, was…

HI SCORE GIRL

Why? Simple, because they have so much in common. There is a talented, lazy and «meanie» prodigy, or a jerk with a heart of gold (Rokuro Enmado – Haruo Yaguchi), the adorkable rich girl who is a genius and has the archetypical Ojou (Princess) appearance, with the same hime cut (Akira Ono – Benio Adashino), and a blonde girl who is naive, yet a perfect love rival; in Hi-Score Girl, we got Koharu Hidaka, and in Twin Star Exorcists, we got:

MAYURA OTOMI

Kind of…

Sorry. I know this is not relevant, but I wanted to mention that. But is not my intention to pick on Twin Star Exorcists.

Benio… Would you forgive me?

I guess not.

Anyway…

STORY

As I mentioned before, Twin Star Exorcists is produced by Studio Pierrot, and it has four cours, for a total of 50 episodes, adapting, I think, the first eight chapters of the manga. (If I am mistaken, which I strongly believe I am, please let me know. Thanks Irina). And I am not going to lie, when I heard the Japanese voice of Rokuro, I immediately recognised him. He is Natsuki Hanae, one of the most popular seiyuu right now.

Do you know what other characters did Natsuki voiced?

Tanjiro Kamado

Kousei Arima

Meanwhile, Benio Adashino is voiced by Megumi Han, famous for…

Atsuko «Akko» Kagari

Gon Freecs

Moreover, Twin Star Exorcists is directed by Tomohisa Taguchi, and written by Naruhisa Arakawa, and the whole series has this wonderful animation that is trademark in Black Clover, Boruto, and Narut…. Naruto:Shippud…. The Last: Naruto the Movie!!! There you go.

Ok. I have never ever been a fan of Naruto, but I am becoming a fan of Black Clover (Believe it or Not!), and I have always commended Studio Pierrot because in animation, the staff usually does a pretty good job (except for Naruto), and when I read that, again, they were in charge of the production of this anime, my interest awakened. Thank Goodness I always have Crunchyroll with me. I am still watching the anime (Well, duh!), but I am really eager to see more about Twin Star Exorcists. On the other hand, I am a bit concerned about what the story will become, because I also noticed that some of this romance anime stories have some overused cliches, especially if both of the leads start disliking each other, including the «entering to the bath to see you naked» scene; the «awkward silence», the «oops!! I saw beneath your skirt» scene, and others. But at the end of the day, there is nothing wrong in using some cliches if the story has its own identity, so I believe I can definitely give Twin Star Exorcists some credit: furthermore, I think that the chemistry between Rokuro and Megumi is pretty solid, especially with amazing, experience seiyuu like Natsuki Hanae and Megumi Han.

So the story have a very good, solid start. Let’s see how it goes from here.

CHARACTERS

I got to admit that part of the charm of Rokuro and Benio is each of their background stories. Personally, I like it; but I am afraid some other fans might find them very unoriginal, especially if he see that Rokuro has a lot of similarities with Tanjiro Kamado and Atsuhi Nakajima from Bungou Stray Dogs, either because they are motivated to protect their beloved ones, or because either have a power that looks more like a curse. Again, That is not a big issue, but I can’t tell how other animegoers will react. I would say that, some will love them, others not so much.

Along with Rokuro, Mayura and Benio, we got another characters that look as promising as the already mentioned, including Shimon Ikaruga (voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch in English btw), Tenma Unomiya, Yuto Ijika, Arima Tsuchimikado (I loved that guy), and others.

Many of these didn’t appear on the first two episodes of the series, but they all look interesting, and I am sure all of them will empower Twin Star Exorcists already strong status as a shonen series on their own right.

We’ll see. For the record, I can’t wait to see the work in English done by both Bryce Papenbrook and Christine Marie Cabaneros.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Twin Star Exorcists might not be the ultimate shonen series, or the great Supernatural anime, but it is definitely one series that I will always recommend, especially if you are a fan of Studio Pierrot or any of their previous and current projects. For now, take my word, go to Crunchyroll (if you are a member), and have a good time with these interesting jewell.

For now, I’ll give myself a medal. Wanna know why?

BECAUSE I DIDN’T MENTION BLUE EXORCIST AT ALL!!!! YEAH!!!

Just one more favour. Studio Pierrot, Yuki Tabata…

PLEASE, BRING US MORE OF SALLY!!!