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About me:
I think a quote that speaks to me, my experience with anime and the internet in general is Shakespears famous verse in Hamlet: “Brevity is the soul of wits”, which basically means “don’t waste my time”. I like shows more that are shorter (from 10-26 episodes), I actually prefer movies (because they are shorter, more compact and normally have higher production value) and I try to write my reviews on point and not waste too much time. If you think I ever did babble on too much in one of my reviews, excusez-moi, that was not my intention.
Also: don’t take the tags in my anime list too seriously, I guess they are supposed to be a bit funny and since they are quite old they may not reflect the current view I hold.
I would say 50% subjectiv 50% objectiv, but ofc enjoyment plays a big factor into my rating as well, which means when the overall enjoyment of the show is very low I will give the show a very bad score, even though I might find some of the shows aspect to be nice.
Subjective things are: setting, artstyle, soundtrack, character likeability, story etc
Objectiv things are: Plotholes (contradictions), originality (or if something is cliché), convinience of storytelling, realism and logic of story and characters; so overall efford made in writing the story plus efford in the arstyle and soundtrack.
Though subjective and objective goes hand in hand. I mean, score itself is about preferences, so it is by all means subjective, but people tend to judge things better with certain measurable quailities. Can you call these qualities objectively good or is it just the subjective agreement of the majority? But then again, isnt our subjective opinion formed by our life experiences so determined objectively by our suroundings? So maybe everyones opinion is objective and there is no subjective opinion? As you can see defining these kinds of things is quite tricky and very open to ones own interpretation. Thats why setting a fixed set of rules for judging a show seems quite naive for me. The way i think it, I try to judge shows in a way that i like objective efford more than lazyness, in all aspects of a show, which would probably be the reasonable approach, or do you disagree?
the scores:
1-4.... shit
5.... already kinda recommended
everything above 5 has at least something to it
Nowadays I try to model my ratings after a bell curve which is basically the ideal rating system. However, some of my ratings are a bit old and I dont feel like going over everything. Normally with a rating system from 1-10 a 5.5 as a mean score would be ideal, but I also drop a lot of shows and then rate them which screws my rating system a litte. And I also think it would be a little unfair to rerate all my shows without watching them again.
I like anime a lot more that try to include deeper messages or philosophical questions. Very good examples for that would be "Casshern Sins" and the first "Ghost in the Shell" movie. A deeper message inside a story is something I would recommend ANY storyteller since it makes the audience care about the story more, especially when they can connect to the idea. Ofc you could say that every show has a deeper message, or at least every show can be interpreted in a way to have a deeper message. So ofc it is important that this deeper message appeals to me for me to like it and wont like a show because it has, for example the message that friendship can overcome any problem (looking at you shounen genre). I think it is probably hard to define what kind of messages appeal to me, but I tend to like shows that deal with consequences a lot and like bad or bittersweet endings in shows more than good ones. I also like many horror aspects, especially the nihilistic ones, such as the cosmic horror, dealing to some extent with the irrelevancy of the human existence.
A second thing I really like to see in anime is the psychological aspect of characters. A very good example for this is Evangelium with Shinji and Ping Pong the animation (where they even added some very well done character development). All this makes the character way more likeable. When they show weaknesses, regrets, motivation, emotions.. all this makes them more realistic and more relatable to me. The exact opposite are the most character used in the shounen genre or the slice of life genre, which mostly consist of clichés. The thing that mostly bothers me about them is the fact that characters in those shows (and in most anime in general) don't feel like real people, or people who would act if they were in the situation they are. That is the main reason why I drop anime so fast, because they are often alienating me.
I appretiate music and good artstyle a lot, but good music and good arstyle is very rare. High quality is especially rare in anime. The anime with one of the best artstyle there is, is for example Redline, with incredible detailed background and characterdesign (everything is very well drawn anyways) and very fluid animation. Redline is also a good example for action movie without much deeper meaning which i can enjoy as well. That is also connected to the music it plays. Why I think the music and soundtrack are very important is a lot written in my blog (there are also many interesting things what I think about certain things written)
Other than that, I also enjoy some comedy or romance from time to time, especially when they have very well written character (Like "Kaguyasama", "Paradise Kiss" or "Vision of Escaflown"). So that's basically it, if anything is unclear, just ask. :)
If you are interested in good anime soundtrack (or movie soundtrack) i can recommend you many more. And if you have any soundtracks (if movie or tv-series, anime, or whatever) you like feel free to recommend it to me, I'm gonna listen to it. :)
Thoughts about some of my recently finished/ dropped /rewatched anime:
FINISHED Fujimoto_Tatsuki_17-26 , Score: 6/10
My ranking is:
1. A Couple Clucking Chickens Were Still Kickin' in the Schoolyard
2. Sisters
3. Nayuta of the Prophecy
4. Sasaki Stopped a Bullet
and then the rest. These 4 were interesting, while the other 4 were rather uninteresting. Overall it feels like too many were centered around romance, imo, and not very interesting, or good, romance.. that's why I put the less romancy ones at the top. These short movies, compared to the one I watched in November (baan), feel way more complete and able to tell a full story by themselves. They all have nice artstyle (although some look a bit generic) and wacky idea (although some are a bit more grounded). I actually think that the most wacky one was the "A Couple Clucking Chickens Were Still Kickin' in the Schoolyard", which is why it sticked out a bit and made me like it more. Otherwise I would have maybe preferred Sisters, but because there were some many romancey, relationship shows it reduced its impact.
FINISHED Bâan , Score: 6/10
Ok short movie. Suffers from being too short. The concept is good and would have made an interesting feature length movie. Characters were ok (ofc not very fleshed out). The feeling of getting home (which the creator mentioned in his making off video), was not really achieved because so little time was spend and no growth or conflict was had with the female character. The auntie character was kinda unecessary and should have maybe been replaced with the mother of the male lead (she was kinda forgotten towards the end of the movie). I liked the artstyle and soundtrack and the twist that the male lead is the father of the female one. What I found a bit weird is that it mixes the futuristic start (which was very rushed) with later current day astetics... a bit confusing. The thing I probably like the most is this theme of people from urban areas wanting to be in a rural environemnt and vise versa (not sure if it was intendet by the creator)... but ofc it was not fleshed out at all.
FINISHEDSomali to Mori no Kamisama , Score: 6/10
Like the beginning and the calm atmosphere. The episode with the harpy and the one with the witches are probably the best. a bit disspointing that they didnt reuse those characters but opted to go with the two demon guys (which i found to be not so interesting). Ending was a bit of a let down. They should have really made the golem die at the end and Somali has to move on.... its too cooky cutter.. (also the whole shooting laser stuff was a bit excessive)
FINISHED Dandadan S2 , Score: 5/10
Fine. Not as good as S1, although the ending was a bit more conclusive, it still ends with a cliffhanger. Less comedy overall I feel like and more of a cohesive story... but a shonen one after all
REWATCHEDElfen Lied , Score: 6/10
Maybe my impression of it went a bit down. I am still torn between 6/7 but decided for 6 this time. I think the show has a very good opening. Very brutal with good mystery build up. The ending also has its moments, such as when the prof died with his daughter (although him pointing the gun at her before was completely unnecessary and ruined the tone a bit). But I think in general the ending is a bit letdown. The main character is so passive, not much is happening at the end, the evil boss is still alive... probably trying for the Dicloni to take over the world. In fact it would have been a nice ending if they showed the Decloni slowly eradicating the human race as a next step of the evolution (at least would have been unique). In fact the love triangle with the cousin was also completely unnecessary (and morally questionable). For a show that shows so much nudity I was also a bit surprised no sex scene is at least hinted at as well. Also its pretty weird that the company with all their experiments they did, did not develop a working weapon against the dicloni (maybe a laser gun or a very fast shooting bullet). In fact the company only makes sense if you believe their boss actively sabotages the whole operation and wants the dicloni to take over the world. And even still, always sending people with weapons they know are useless against decloni to hunt them is utter ridiculous.
FINISHED Takopi's Original Sin , Score: 4/10
Has some good parts but mostly bad. Since its only 6 episodes and each of them is so different I will go through them one by one.
Ep.1: Was fine. I am not a big fan of anime focused on bullying, since its so overdone and mostly overdramaticed (in my opinion, I don't know if in Japan bullying is so extreme to bring people to suicide). What was nice was that the bullying part was only implied but not specifically shown. Also showing that the bully has some problems at home and a reason for her action was unique i would say.
Ep.2: Showing the actual bullying.... kinda boring episode
Ep.3: After killing the blond bullie kid, it was fun that everyone was happy and playing (unique again, but maybe morally questionable message).
Ep.4: Has the best scene in the anime and the only reason its worth remembering: the scene were Azuma gets home with the low score and his mother tells him that she doesnt care about him anymore. I love the transition from the deliciously looking pie to the disgusting one.. One thing I really would have liked to see is that Azuma finds out his brother was cheating his test scores all the time.. but the show didnt go into that direction. If it did Azuma would have realized he was competing against the impossible and would have to face the dilemma of cheating as well, to gain his mothers affection. They way they did it, with his brother telling him that "the pie isnt that great anyways", feels a bit hollow... since the pie represents the affection of the mother... it doesn't matter if its not good (unless he wants to say the affection of his mother is not that great, which I would find weird).
Ep.5: From here the show deteriorates. Instead of focusing on this timeline, they switch at the end and have some stupid asspull ending (like in so many shows) . If you see all the different timelines as different parallel universes its also kind of a asshole decision of takopi to leave shizuka in this one timeline, where she has nothing left other than Takopi.
Ep.6: I dont know whats going on. I dont really get the message of the show. (or maybe it doesnt have one).
FINISHED The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 , Score: 7/10
Some parts I like more than S1, some I find worse. I like that the story in the last half is cohesive and feels concluded, even though they will probably milk the "monster of the week" cash cow for a lot longer (and I would probably watch it since I like the format). The show reminds me a lot of detective conan, but unlike detective conan, the solutions to the mystery doesnt feel pulled out of the writers asshole, but made some logical sense and can be even worked out a bit beforehand. The ending at first felt bold and brutal, but then they basically saved all the good characters and just killed the 1-dimensional villains... so a big letdown.
I am a bit torn with this one. I love the sound track and the build up. The characters and artstyle are a bit wacky but have their charm. The ending I found a bit weird how little the vampires fought back. They could have also used more weapons (like the police officer), acted more in groups, used their ability to see in the dark as advantage. Overall the ending is more of a big allegory than to make any logical sense. Its wants to show what we are all capable off, when pushed right. And i loved the sudden change in tone from the depressing episodes before the purge to the later ones. You almost feel some pity for the shiki, especially the ones that didnt do anything bad (like the green haird nurse and the tiny grandmother). It reminded me a lot of the book from Christopher Browning "Ordinary men", where normal people become killing machines (during WW2), just through peer pressure and incremently pushing the boundaries of what is morally acceptable. Ofc the book did it better (since its a masterpiece). Seeing the vampires being so disjointed reminded me more of wild animals and maybe the anime wants to show the cruelty of humanity against animals (with the vampires being representative for animals), but I am not sure. I think the two special episodes where probably the best, with the stories of the two blue haired woman. Allthough the crazy one that burned the village down should have been more present in earlier episodes. Her whole story ark felt shoe-horned in as fuck.
FINISHEDDead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction , Score: 5/10
A bit of a weird one. Started of interesting, but became more and more dull. The whole stroy progression felt like everyone is a teenager.. and not a smart one. From the goverment, the aliens and many of the side characters. Only the main characters felt a bit mature (even though they are the teenagers). It felt like a dumbed down version of District 9. The ending was also a let down with the shitty parallel universe scape goat instead of actually showing what will happen to the characters. Some characters I liked though. Episode 0 was kinda weird... for one it doesnt fit as the beginning and it kinda made it seem like the anime will focus more on the post-apocolyptic part, which maybe it should have and maybe the manga did.
FINISHED365 Days to the Wedding , Score: 6/10
Average. I like the setting of the workspace and also like the characters to some extend. Some moments are sweet, but others are cringe, and others are boring. Rika is cute though. Kinda reminds me abit of Wotaru, but with more characters (which is a positive) and less about otaku culture... also better.
FINISHEDDandadan , Score: 6/10
Ep 1 was probably the best and most funny one (especially the aliens), its to some extend very typical to another very wakey, the characters are ok and I somewhat like the romance, the cliffhanger ending was dissapointing. Some of the jokes I think only work one time. Like the Jin guy, it was quite funny how over the top he is... but the joke gets a bit annoying over time.
FINISHEDMy Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU , Score: 2/10
quite uninteresting, typical highschool garbage, I think it would need more romance to make it more interesting, you can see it building up but it goes way too slow. I can see some potentials in the characters, but also a lot of clichee stuff. Had they focused on the unique aspects it would have been better and the ending was boring and unfullfilling. The whole school festival part lost me completely (was skipping through episodes at that part).
DROPPED (after 9 ep) Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! , Score: 1/10
Clichee story with uninteresting character. All character interactions are all cringe and boring.
FINISHEDNana , Score: 6/10
I am a bit conflicted on the show. I found the beginning to be a bit hard to get into, but I liked the story progression and was interested in the characters more and more (not all of them though). Some parts still felt a bit boring however and my general interest in it wasnt too high (which is why i watched it with 1.5x times speed mostly, sometimes even in the background). The ending felt mature and fresh, but also confusion and unfinished. The whole show is more about the characters than about the music, some of them I liked others I find lacking. Nana (Hachikos) relationship with Takumi was one of the confusion, maybe even strange parts. Like the show definitly tried to portrait it in a realsistic light with Hachiko fully realizing she is just one of many girls he has and knowing what kind of type he is. Then later it becomes more like a fairy tale story of the bad womanizer being a dream boy (to some extent), with the reality of their relationship probably getting worse kinda looming in the background. But then the anime ends without any resolution. Maybe its resolved better in the manga, dont know. Similarly the relationship of the other Nana with Ren and Yasushi also is quite open ended with her realizing that Ren is probably not the right one for her and Yasushi being maybe a better choice. However Yasushi having a stronger bond with Ren than he has with her makes everything more complicated. In both cases it feels more like the woman just accepted their fate despite knowing that they might not be happy in their situation. And instead of any change they just keep going with the flow and what makes them happy in the moment. Probably not the take home message I prefer in a show, but sure something unique and maybe realistic to some extent.
Other than that I didn’t really care about the Shinichi/ Layla relationship… that one also didn’t have any resolution. It also would have been nice to see Nobuo relationship with Miu grow.
I don’t know if it is because the manga isn’t finished or because Nana is not that kind of story, but I probably prefer a romance to have a clear resolution at the end, with them either being together or walking their separate ways. The reason I watch Nana was because a few weeks ago I stumbled on Paradise Kiss (Also a manga from Yazawa Ai with an anime adaptation also from Madhouse… don’t know if you have seen it). I ended up really liking Paradise Kiss a lot, especially because I find all the characters so likeable (I guess in most romance shows the likeability of the characters is the most important thing). I also like the artstyle more than in Nana, which has one that I needed to get used to.In both shows I like the music. Nana could have focused more on the music aspect, but it really didn’t and had a bigger focus on the characters. Over the duration of 47 episodes a larger number of songs would have maybe been nice, but overall they few we got were good.
DROPPED (after 1 episodes) Ao no Hako , Score: 2/10
Quite uninteresting setting. I dont know if its the highschool aspect of it or the characters but this feels so clichee and boring. I mean I watched a bunch of romance anime, some also show highschools, but I guess most of them focus on activities outside school. Anyways dont feel like continue with this one, even though im in a mood for some romance, so that tells me that it is probably not worth watching this one. Art is sometimes nice, but the cgi used for the background is quite distracking and garbage. Music is also pretty generic.
FINISHEDAfter the rain , Score: 6/10
Liked the artstle and the concept is interesting. The characters feel pretty real and the anime treads the concept somewhat seriously. However would have wished for more at the end, because it ended somewhat abruptly and unfullfillingly. With that I mean more development in both the MCs recovering process and maybe even in their relationship. In fact their romance was quite forgotten in the later episodes. I also found funny that the premise was, that the manager is this uninteresting middle aged man and she still falls in love with him.... but then later they give him an interesting and unique backstory, which kinda goes against the premise. Sure it makes it a bit more believable and interesting to watch.
FINISHEDParadise Kiss , Score: 9/10
For me Paradise Kiss was such a hidden gem. I almost cant believe I have never heard about it before. I mean I am not the biggest watcher of josei, but almost everytime I do watch one I enjoy it. Should really watch more of them.^^
It has so relatables and realistic character, is sometimes really funny, and has a quite unique and interesting story (basically revolving around the characters). This is the romance I have been looking for. I love it. The MC is quite complex and feels realistic. Her contradictory stands towards her mother, with kinda hating her but at the same time needing her praise was very interesting. Also the moment she came home to talk to her mother about the modelling was such a touching moment. I feel like every character in Paradise Kiss has a lot of depth to them. Like even George, who has this chauvinistic attitude, show that he cares about his friends and loves Yukari, even though he ultimately views is carrier more important than his relationship, but he also thinks other people should act in that way with accepting that Yukari chooses her modeling carrier over him. I also get the feeling that a lot of the chauvinistic things he says are more of a joke than his true thoughts and maybe he puts up some façade, although there is definitely some influence he got from his father. I kinda like the ending of the anime more than of the manga. While in the manga yukari gets together with hiro, in the anime her fiancé at the end feels so intentionally cut out to show that he is some unknown person. While I was wishing during the watch that yukari ends up with hiro, this bittersweet kind of ending is much more impactful in my opinion, because it feels more realistic and hits closer to home.
FINISHEDSing "Yesterday" for Me , Score: 2/10
The story overall was fine but, oh boy, that ending must have been one of the worst endings I have ever seen. This is almost FMA brotherhood level of bad ending. The MC all of the sudden fell in love with the highschool raven girl was just utter ridicoulus. The whole season there was no connection, no chemistry between them. It was almost like the MC just was too much of a nice guy to tell her to fuck off, and he just wanted to get together with his crush. Imo the raven chick should have come together with the photographer who confessed to her. The show just wanted to be contrarian for the sake of it.
FINISHED Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway, Score: 5/10
The premise is interesting and it started quite good, but I think the story deteriorated more and more. I found it especially silly that they made almost all female side character fall in love with the main guy, especially the girl who dumped him. That inclusion into the story was just idiotic. They should have maybe only focused on the highschool girl and the rookie office worker. The ending was at least samewhat nice (from a moral perspective), maybe a bit drawn out. Also the highschool girl constantly asking for sex just to show how much of a good guy the MC is was kinda overdone.
FINISHED Uzumaki, Score: 6/10
I dont really understand the low rating. Especially the first episode was pretty good, maybe on par with the manga (some parts look better in the manga, like the father being twisted into a spiral, but the girl with the spiral face is in my opinion better animated than a still image). I havent finished the manga so I dont know if they cut some important part out, but the story of the anime seemed pretty cohesive without any wholes. Overall I also dont get why people think that the Uzumaki manga is one of the best horror mangas. Its creepy and disgusting and all, but lacks any deeper message for what I can tell or any interestingly written story or characters.Its basically an ok story with a lot of gore, so mostly body horror. I guess its not my favourite type of horror. Still worth a watch though.
REWATCHED Mushishi, Score: 10/10
The rewatch made me realize how good this show is. Its a episodic show with each episode being a different topic, but each and everyone of them was interesting. Some of them very tragic and thought provoking. Its very hard to pick a favourite episode, but I like the tragic ones more. Like the one where the woman used the white bamboo to give birth to a baby which is then half human and half mushi might be one of my favourite, or the one where the man on the beach cant let go of his wife who was lost in the fog. Or the one where the woman who was blind started to see the future and past and wished she was blind again. All just so good. For the second time I watched the english dub and I like Ginkos voice a lot more... he is too emotionless in japanese. I also rewrote my review about it which I made 10 years ago... so read that if you want to know more
Regarding season 2. Part 1 was not as good as S1 since most of the episode didnt have the same level of tragedy and impact for me. S2 part 2 on the other hand had some real banger episodes. The one with the time loop, the one with the shadows swaping people, the one where the boy turns into water, the thunder boy episode and the last one with the big tree are all really good.
REWATCHED Samurai Champloo, Score: 8/10
Opinion didnt change too much. Still like it. It is mostly goofy but has some nice emotional moments. I think I started to dislike Mugen and Fu more. Only Jin is a really likeable character to the 3.
FINISHED Yuru Camp, Score: 8/10
Very nice and realxing anime about camping. Really makes you want to go camping, especally around Mt Fuji. Its quite realistic and wants to teach a lot. The characters are all likeable. ED song was very nice (especially the one of season 2).
The movie I didnt like too much. It didnt focus so much on camping and more about building and it had situations in which threads and stakes were introduced... really dont need that in my laid back relaxing anime.
FINISHED Sousou no Frieren , Score: 8/10
Nice fantasy anime, the beginning was probably the best part. There were some annoyances already, like the constant belittleing of Heiter by Frieren, but overall the start felt refreshing. It added more and more action, which was a bit unecessary and it was obviously just done to make the show more appealing to a younger, shounen liking fanbase. The mage arc at the end took the cake with how much mindless action it put into the show, but at least it ended on a good note. Characterwise I like Frieren. Fern was ok at the start but became more and more annoying.. especially her interaction with Stark are the worst parts of the show (its like a highschool rom/com... and not the good kind). From the original party I only dislike Himmel, he just felt like the typical shounen protagonist and not very interesting.
The german names are very weird (and also funny) to say the least. Hearing names like Denken, Laufen, Übel and Lernen is just so unfitting for a show to be taken serious, but the show had lots of comedy so it just made it more light hearted.
FINISHED The Apothecary Diaries , Score: 7/10
Felt unique and interesting, especially Maomaos character. Maybe a bit repetative and its also kinda weird how Maomao is so much smarter than everyone else. So i cant take it too serious, but for a light hearted relaxing experience it was nice.
REWATCH The vision of Escaflowne , Score: 10/10
Basically the epidomy of fantasy and its an isekai too.. lets you think about how much this genre has been dragged into gutter with all the garbage videogame shit. That a masterpiece like Escaflowne has a mean score of 7.67 while the human waste that is Re:Zero is above 8 is the best prove that democracy doesnt work and most people are just mindless sheep consuming trash without the slightest hint of critiqual thinking. Its a shame.
To watch Escaflowne was very refreshing.. you have actually believeable character for a change, a well thought through world, good romance (very rare for anime), interesting villains and villain-main character dynamics and one of the best OSTs in anime making every emotional scene that much more gripping and the action scenes that much more exciting. My favourite part is probably when Duke Freid died and he remembered his dying wifes last word... hits very hard. The part when Van kills all of Dilandaus men was also very nice (first time the song "Eclipse" was played). I have to say though that I usually watch the german dub, because it is by far superior to the japanese (the english is an insult, with hitomis voice actress being an emotionless brick).. I made a blog about the difference between the japanese and german dub and why the german one is better.
FINISHED Mushoko Tensei , Score: 6/10
Nice isekai anime, like the worldbuilding and the progression. The MC being a pathetic loser reincarnated is a little weird and wishfullfillment. The fanservice and sex references were a bit much as well. Part 2 had some nice episodes (like the Roxy visiting her home town) but also some stinkers. Season 2 was not so good, the whole a acadamy arc is like a highschool romance and the MC gets more stupid by the episode.
FINISHED Sakamoto , Score: 6/10
Over the top comedy anime with some nice moments. A bit repetitive maybe but overall a nice watch.
FINISHED Yurikuma Arashi , Score: 3/10
I remember starting it back when it came out in 2015 but never makeing it past ep.3, because the story is weird as hell and the fan service is borderline softporn. Finished it now with 2x speed and was exactly that: weird shit happening with lesbian soft porn sprinkled in. Artstyle is nice though, especially some of the industrial background shots.
FINISHED Re:Zero , Score: 2/10
One of the most unlikeable main characters, he is both pathetic and arrogant at the same time. The show is basically a harem with him as the center and like 90% of all scenes have him in it with dialog. It has a bunch of cute waifu characters though. Got one for every taste. And the action somewhat distracts from these god aweful characters. Maybe I missed the part where this whole show is suppost to be a comedy, with the dimwitted jackass surrounded by a bunch of cute waifus, a little bit like Konosuba. But unlike Konosuba there are no jokes in Re:Zero and Konosubas MC is at least somewhat capable. At least you see the MC of Re:Zero die a lot and scream in aggony, that part was nice.
FINISHED Baki 2018 , Score: 4/10
Pretty much an unintended comedy. Everything is so stupid and over the top that is somewhat funny again, but other than that its quite repetative and drags out too long. A positive side note it is unpredictability and leaving the typical shounen formular of the MC beating the bad guy.. but I guess only for this season, not sure about the rest
FINISHED Spy X Family Season 2 , Score: 6/10
A bit better than season 1, especially the cruise ship part was nice. Basically evertime the focus is on Yor its nice, and everytime the focus is on the school its boring. Yor is just the most funny and interesting character. Anja also sometimes has her moments.
FINISHED Kaguya sama: Love Is war Season 1 , Score: 9/10
Hilarious comedy anime. The dynamic between Kaguya and Miyuki is unrivalled, especially their imaginations of each other are priceless. Kaguya with her inner monologues is one of the best characters I have ever seen, but Miyuki comes right after her. But Kaguyas evil stare is just so funny. The side casts are also quite nice, especially Ishigami was great in that season. Personally I prefer the English dub, because they added a ton of new really good jokes and almost all deliveries of the jokes are better, but the Japanese dub also has its moments, especially Kaguyas cuter moments are maybe nicer in Japanese, while her more evil moments are definitely better in English. Fujiwara was probably the only part I didnt fully like about S1. She has her good moments and servers her purpose of being the setup to a joke (especially the boob jokes) but the moments focusing on her are rather uninteresting and unfunny (like the ramen part in episode 11 was a bit cringy).
FINISHEDKaguya sama Love is war Season 2, Score: 7/10
Not as good as season 1. The newly introduced side character Miko IIno is neither interesting nor funny. Ishigami became more and more bland and the focus on Hayasaka was also unnecessary (if she was just an unimportant side kick to Kaguya as in S1 it would have been way better). The only really good part was more of Miyukis father (who is even better than in season 1) and the shoujo episode. It overall became less comedic and more romantic, especially Kaguya lost a bit of her edge and became more of a romantic in this season. I know its supposed to be her character development to become more normal, but as a character she is very interesting unique and funny in S1, making her more of a normal romantic lessens her as a character.
FINISHEDKaguya sama Love is war season 3, Score: 6/10
It became even more bland than season 1 and 2. Focused more about romance, less about comedy, and it’s a pretty generic kind of romance. The ending was pretty drawn out and could be a lot faster
REWATCHED Another, new Score: 6/10
Found the mystery build up nice. All the puppet shots were a bit annoying, also the beach episode was a bit unnecessary and so was the dance scene, so it sometimes ruined the atmosphere it build up. Maybe I wasn’t in the mood for horror since I watched a lot of comedies recently, but couldn’t really get into it anymore. I remember liking this show a lot back when it came out but now it was a bit of a let-down.
FINISHEDLiz and the blue bird, Score: 2/10
One of the most boring movies I have ever seen. I am not sure if you are required to watch Hibike euphonium before that, because the movie didn’t make any effort of making the characters interesting or likeable.
FINISHEDSpy x Family, Score: 5/10
The show is ok. I actually have not that much to say about it and I think most of the conversations online revolve around that Anja is so cute. I found her ok cute, Yor was probably cuter. Since there are a lot of comedy elements in the show with character being batshit stupid, and the whole premise being so silly its hard to see it anything but a comedy, but for that they included too little funny elements in my opinion.
FINISHEDKonosuba, Score: 6/10
Nice comedy, gets better the further it goes. A bit too much fanservice maybe. Season 2 was a bit better with the hotspring town and the crazy aqua followers.
DROPPED (after 6 ep) Nichijou, Score: 1/10
The show tried so hard to be funny that it made it so unfunny. I think I didn’t even giggle a single time I watched the first 6 episodes. It deserves a 1 even though the artstyle is nice, because it fails so hard in its main objective, being a comedy. This is the most unfunny thing I have seen in a long time. The thing is I am watching a lot of comedies recently, so I cannot give it the excuse that I am not in the mood for comedy.
REWATCHED In this corner of the world, new score: 10/10
Wrote a review about it now, also a discussion entry with my new thoughts about this movie
REWATCHED Koe no Katachi, new Score: 5/10
Them including suicide twice felt a bit overdone and creativly bankrupt. If it at least had some lasting consequences from the fall, but no .... Ending was pretty unfullfilling as well since they didnt get together and it only revolved around him now "being able to look people in the eyes"... i dont know but he was doing that with his 5-6 friends for the largest part of the movie anyways. I dont get what people see in this movie.
FINISHEDMy happy marriage, Score 3/10
This is so bland my face melts when I watched it. Every character is so zero-dimensional, they create a time rift. The main character constantly feels sorry for herself, the evil sister and step mothers only existence revolves around hating her out of jealousy. The only conversation topic they have is how much they hate the MC… I mean wtf? Even Cinderella made they it more believable (probably, cant remember).
FINISHEDWotaku, Score: 4/10
Its nice and all (especially since its not a high school comedy), but since it only revolves around otaku culture and doesn’t develop the characters all too much it became a bit boring towards the end (and it only has 10 episodes)… it only as like 4 real characters anyways, so it doesn’t go anywhere.
FINISHEDThe 100 Girlfriends who really love you, Score: 3/10
Beginning was a little funny, but it became a bit repetitive and boring from the middle. There was not much thought put into the comedy and they just resulted into a ton of ecchi jokes and clichees.
FINISHEDNon non biyori Season 3, Score: 7/10
Pretty similar to S1 and S2, just with improved visuals. I like the first two episodes the most with the frog moment with Renge and in episode two the train moment of Hotaru.
FINISHEDPluto, Score: 7/10
Nice. Monster is better. The whole connection to astroboy I didnt like.
One rule for my comment section: If your comment takes too much space (by being too long or by attached pics or videos), put a spoiler button over it to make the comment shorter. If you do not follow this rule and I find your comment to be redundant I will delete it without warning.
i read your HxH review and everything other than the last arc being horribly paced and just overall not done good(which i agree upon) nothing else made sense to me, maybe from my perspective (as a fan) its a very 'i will not accept a negative review' kinda thing. dont get me wrong im not hating, in my opinion no piece of media can ever be liked by everyone and thats fine. im just tryna understand your pov so if you'd mind telling me in a brief and direct way maybe i'd start seeing it in a different way too (or still be stubborn and biased towards a shonen anime i watched at the age of 13)
I didnt mean to say that flashy fights are only for children and that adults cant enjoy at all, anyone at any age can enjoy flashy fights especially with stuff for an example like Dragon ball even when my dad walked in to my room years ago watching Dragon ball Super, he was mimicking the punches from the screen too lol. Even i do rewatch sometimes fights.
What i meant to say is in terms of context, especially when your a lot younger where context dosent matter as much and you can pretty much watch anything randomly regardless of series or movies or shows at a random timestamp as long somethings happening. I know people and a lot of people do not need context/watch from release order to enjoy stuff for an example, me and my friends wanted to rewatch the Dark Knight Rises movie because of Bane and there were funny lines/people trying to be Bane on youtube and harrasing people in public, despite its the last movie in the triology and they have forgotten a lot of stuff beforehand anyways.
Sadly i often times cant enjoy watching after skipping stuff beforehand, i could have done that when i was young but not anymore. Maybe its a blessing or a curse, who knows.
Tho i would admit that shit did help me once and that was with finding love for the anime Initial D cuz i watched it on youtube and after 3rd or so episode on Season 1, and afterwards i somehow watched Season 2 entirely by mistake but it made me way more hooked so i rewatched it all again and i was still as interested as when i first time watched it and i have rewatched Initial D entirely few times since.
A show wont really generate or bring interest people when you skip everything and only see the final arc regardless of what it is or how good it is lol, well unless you are 6 years old where only thing that matters is cool and flashy stuff so you could show them some cool fights. About philosophical stuff its just that i have seen a lot of people like that where they judge a series by how many philosophers are quoted and consider the series ''horribly written'' because of it.
But yea i did get that for a series like Grand blue, a college comedy which is about a club that consists of severe alcoholism and diving, pushes a narrative how its important to always try out new stuff and that if you only stick with what you already know, you won't get anywhere. The series dosent even try to be a deeply written series its just hilarious and fun af, thats why its in my personal top 2 animangas ^
You dropped og bleach and went straight to the final tybw arc lol, what did you expect. Also i really dont understand the whole ''deep and philosophical questions'' part because i dont think force spoonfeeding you with buzzwords correlates to a better written story, Idk whats the obssession with that on forums like MAL or most anime forums in general, for me personally a good written show comes out by ''itself'' and dosent force it, and should be simple enough for you to enjoy the series braindead but complex/deep enough you can study it endlessly aswell reading hours of analysis, ngl it does look like you obssess too much to the point you overlook and so you rate the majority of shows under a 5/10. But who knows maybe im the dumb and r*tarded one
I just would have liked to know your opinion about the last HxH arc but I understand that you have no interest whatsoever, I apologize if I made you feel pressured or anything like that.
I really am sorry.
I'm watching Dandadan too it's a good anime, I seem to remember you were watching Nana, is it a good anime for you?
I read your comment but I realized that I was wrong about some things and others I didn't explain well.
As for Gon and his maturity, I think I was wrong in saying that word and not explaining myself well, it would really be his “lack of maturity” because he is practically just a 13 year old boy. Well, as he started out as a child focused only on meeting his father and throughout the anime he faces various situations that challenge him to grow emotionally. While you are right that Gon has always cared for his friends, the complexity lies in the way he deals with his goals and his relentless pursuit of the title of the hunter, I think it is essential to his identity. However, as soon as he makes the decision to focus on helping his friends he shows that he is maturing (even if only a little) in a way that transcends his selfish desires (to meet his father and be a hunter), this change in motivation could be seen as a sign of emotional growth: < Gon begins to recognize the importance of his bonds with others, not just in his personal ambition. >
And the anime places less emphasis on Gon “becoming” something different than on how his values, though still immature, are evolving as he interacts with others. Friendship, sacrifice, and loyalty are the values that Gon embraces, and that is a form of growth. It's not that the protagonist changes drastically, but that his priorities broaden and become more nuanced as his journey progresses.
Well the mafia and the assassins, I understand what you mean by referring to the lack of a direct explanation about his unfamiliarity with the Nen. But I think this is a deliberate choice by Togashi to highlight the complexity of the world building. The fact that the mafia, despite their power and influence, know nothing about the Nen emphasizes how vast and intricate the HxH universe is. It also speaks to how even the most dominant forces in the world can be blind to certain facets of reality, showing how knowledge and power are not always synonymous. So this lack of compression about the Nen creates a tension that makes the Nen system all the more intriguing and emphasizes how knowledge itself is a form of power.
And similarly, the concept of assassins morphing into something more morally complex rather than simply being traditional killers is a theme that runs throughout the anime. By showing that not all assassins are ruthless killers and that some have their own codes or moral dilemmas, the anime presents a more nuanced view of what it means to be an assassin, which enriches the characters and the story. It's not about breaking expectations for the sake of it, but exploring how different individuals view morality and their own roles in society.
The money arc, about gambling and the lack of understanding about how certainty in gambling that leads to exponential growth of money, well Gon and Killua may be brilliant in many ways besides Kurapika and Leorio who are adults, but Gon and Killua are still just kids and are inexperienced in the world of business and strategy for adults. But I think their lack of understanding about gaming is a subtle way of highlighting their naivety and this leads to further development as they learn more about the intricacies of the world they are entering. (Though I agree with what you mentioned about this).
I think the subversion of expectations in HxH, I think, is not just about surprising for the sake of surprising, but about creating a more thoughtful and layered narrative. The anime's willingness to break with traditional narrative conventions allows it to explore deep emotional and philosophical themes, which is part of what makes it so appealing to many viewers. I understand that for some this may be frustrating if they are expecting a more straightforward and traditional shounen story.
In addition the meaning of being a “hunter,” the anime not only subverts the traditional concept of what it means, but also questions the world in which these characters live. Instead of offering a simple and predictable path it presents us with moral dilemmas, complex characters and situations where things are not what they seem, it is not about doing things differently just to surprise, it is about giving a new expectation of what it means to be a “hunter” and how those ideals can transform as the characters face more stark realities. For example: < The nen system is not only a tool to face enemies, but it is related to emotions, desires and the very nature of people. >
And another example related to the nen would be: < When Gon was so angry and felt so much hatred for Neferpitou (Chimera ant that killed Kite), Gon's nen aura increased more and more, because Gon practically sacrificed all his aura through his body and killed Neferpitou, and after this Gon almost died but Killua asked Alluka (Killua's Sister) to save Gon so he wouldn't die, he survived but as a consequence of this Gon was left without nen. >
I can understand your point that the characters didn't change nor did their personality, related to character development your observation about Gon is valid, when you say that his personality doesn't change after Kite's death, but I think that's part of the depth of HxH and its approach towards personal evolution, not every change has to be monumental nor instantaneous. HxH characters don't follow the linear growth pattern that typical shounen characters have but that doesn't mean there is no development.
For example, Gon does undergo a significant change when he faces his own darkness in the Chimera Ant arc, the way he confronts his own limits, sacrificing his well-being for a goal, shows a kind of evolution that is not necessarily obvious or explicit. And so it is with Killua, who demonstrates a great deal of internal progress related to the struggle between his desires for freedom and the expectations of his family. Killua doesn't have a sudden transformation, but a maturity that slowly develops throughout the anime.
HxH does not always seek to give a resolution to character arcs in the traditional way. Often more complex characters and their stories are not resolved in a clear or finalized way, which can leave a sense of stagnation. However, this does not mean that there is no growth, but rather that the anime offers a more nuanced and realistic view of the maturation process, where characters do not always change completely, but evolve at their own pace.
You are right when you say that HxH is very far from the typical and it also chooses random elements so that it looks different in relation to shounen anime.
I agree on what you say about the chimera ants arc, although for all HxH fans that's the best one, from my point of view it's good but not that good I just enjoyed the fights although the design of the ants seemed a bit strange and exaggerated at the first moment I saw them. In HxH there are many things that are unresolved and have no explanation “Where do the chimera ants come from?”, “What are they?” Among so many other questions that are without an answer, many say they come from the “Dark Continent” (It's the last arc in the manga that is just developing) but it's just a theory.
I would really like to know your opinion about what you think about the Dark Continent arc, if you think it's good or something, although I doubt you want to know anything about it because you don't like HxH. https://youtu.be/KRFm1ajmiGc?si=OAZg4kUrw58dAkM2 (It's a video about a summary of Dark Continent)
Well I respect your opinion about the anime, and I'm sorry if I write too much.
I took my time reading your review of HxH and this is what I think about it.
Although the animation quality of the anime that already depends on the tastes of each person, regarding the pace of the anime I can accept that at the beginning it is quite slow, but each arc leads to the development of each of the characters and their world.
In the first arc Gon's motivation is mainly to become a hunter and find his father Ging, as he follows in his footsteps, although you are right when you say that Gon's motivations change but this shows the development of his maturity, plus he faces several situations that put him in approval, Gon's motivations do not disappear but evolve as he faces great challenges and his perspective of seeing the world changes.
Assassins are not only stealthy characters who kill without being seen, but they have physical abilities that allow them to survive big situations, which gives them a different representation to the typical “assassin” figure. In the mafia is depicted more as a group of people with power and resources, but also with flaws, the anime tries to show us that if you have a lot of money or influence you are not invincible or perfect, which adds complexity to the narrative.
The arc related to money (Greed Island), serves a purpose within the story, it was a means for Gon and Killua to advance in the search for information about his father. Although it is not such a “serious” arc, but it serves in some way as an important contribution. It is true that some of the situations in Hunter x Hunter can be compelling but the anime uses them in a thoughtful way, the author uses plot twists and random elements to emphasize the unpredictable nature of the world the characters live in, the “coincidences” can be there to emphasize the unpredictability and chaos of the characters' adventures.
The video game arc may not be there to be an extra part of the plot, because there things like control, survival and even human emotions in the face of extreme situations were explored there and the fact that Gon goes into a video game that seems to make no sense but can be seen as a way for him to highlight his lack of understanding of the gravity of the situation, which also makes it a point of reflection on his own personal growth.
I can also consider that some arcs do not have an immediate impact on the main story, it is important to recognize that Hunter x Hunter has a more complex narrative structure, as it is obvious, where each arc is designed to build the development of the characters and their evolution, as I said at the beginning. You can't expect each arc to come to an end, that the anime explores themes such as aspects of life, morals and relationships. Even I know that some arcs can be more boring than others, but the anime has been acclaimed for its psychological depth and the way it defies the expectations of the shounen genre, for as the story progresses, the characters and plot become more complex, leading to a narrative that is neither predictable nor linear. It's natural for a long and multifaceted story like this to have lulls or arcs that don't focus on the main mission, but that also gives it room to explore other themes.
Regarding the scale of power and character abilities, it is true that Hunter x Hunter plays a narrative in which the characters' abilities are not always presented in a linear fashion, but this does not mean that the anime lacks structure or hierarchy, rather than following a simple scale of power where the strongest characters are clearly defined from the start. Togashi, the manga's creator, opts for a more flexible and dynamic approach. The characters' abilities are strongly influenced by strategy, intelligence and circumstances, which makes the story focus more on the evolution and growth of the characters than on a rigid power scheme.
A clear example would be when: < Gon and Killua start as relatively weak children compared to the other hunters, but as they progress their skills develop and show that strength is not always defined only by physical level. >
Well as I mentioned above the creator (Togashi) uses plot twists and random elements, this “randomness” you mention could be interpreted more as a narrative approach where abilities develop organically depending on the context of each situation, rather than being determined by a rigid system of power.
The Chimera Ant arc, well the vast majority of Hunter x Hunter fans love this arc and many of the people consider this to be one of the best and deepest in the series, as it introduces moral dilemmas and explorations on humanity and sacrifice, and an intense evolution of the characters, such as the case of Gon. Admittedly, from this point on, the anime takes on a more somber and reflective tone, which may not be what some expect from an action anime, but this is one of the criticisms the anime has given, as it defies conventional expectations of what an adventure anime was meant to be.
The transition to a more philosophical and moral approach in Chimera Arc also has to do with the idea that the world of Hunter x Hunter is complex and that characters cannot always be classified as simply good or evil, weak or strong. The anime focuses on exploring the motivations, decisions and consequences of each character in context.
The design of the chimera ants is not “stupid”, as it is a reflection of the contrast of the brutal nature of the ants and their anthropomorphic characteristics, the idea of characters like the penguin and the pink panda being with the ants is not a contradiction, but a way to show how absurd and unexpected the development of a being can be, well and the scale of power as I said before, does not always follow a simple logic, the abilities can evolve quickly and be more unpredictable than other works of the same genre. Ants were created to be a great threat, and the way their strength develops is well explained within the context of their world.
The last arc (13th President Election Arc) I accept that it is somewhat boring and slow because for me it was.
Hunter x Hunter is not similar to Naruto would be that Naruto copied or was inspired the hunter exam (HxH) as chunin exam (Naruto), and Sasuke with red eyes and his clan killed being the last member, as Kurapika.
Well as a HxH fan I'm not angry with your review, in some points you were right but in others you were wrong, but we all have different tastes and we can say what we want.
Man, not gonna lie, I wasn't going to comment at all on your account but DAMN, you have almost no sense in good anime. First of all, you rated both Your Name and A Silent Voice a 5 out of 10, which I would never have thought anyone could rate then that low. Second is rating Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works seasons 1 and 2 as a two out of ten. Thirdly, honestly, I think your just really harsh when you rate things. (aot is shit, agreed)
@steemiy
I am flattered I am so important to you, that you created this account just for me. Also some parts of your comment read so AI generated, with these generic excuses as if I read them from a fanwiki, so I wont even argue with them since they are mostly self-interpretation BS without concrete examples. I mean what is the point of saying my opinion is subjective and some people might disagree? You don’t seem to know what a review is buddy…It details what I think about the show and if someone should watch it or not, which in the case of HxH you shouldn’t, because it’s a garbage show.
All Comments (771) Comments
What i meant to say is in terms of context, especially when your a lot younger where context dosent matter as much and you can pretty much watch anything randomly regardless of series or movies or shows at a random timestamp as long somethings happening. I know people and a lot of people do not need context/watch from release order to enjoy stuff for an example, me and my friends wanted to rewatch the Dark Knight Rises movie because of Bane and there were funny lines/people trying to be Bane on youtube and harrasing people in public, despite its the last movie in the triology and they have forgotten a lot of stuff beforehand anyways.
Sadly i often times cant enjoy watching after skipping stuff beforehand, i could have done that when i was young but not anymore. Maybe its a blessing or a curse, who knows.
Tho i would admit that shit did help me once and that was with finding love for the anime Initial D cuz i watched it on youtube and after 3rd or so episode on Season 1, and afterwards i somehow watched Season 2 entirely by mistake but it made me way more hooked so i rewatched it all again and i was still as interested as when i first time watched it and i have rewatched Initial D entirely few times since.
But yea i did get that for a series like Grand blue, a college comedy which is about a club that consists of severe alcoholism and diving, pushes a narrative how its important to always try out new stuff and that if you only stick with what you already know, you won't get anywhere. The series dosent even try to be a deeply written series its just hilarious and fun af, thats why its in my personal top 2 animangas ^
watch the following https://youtu.be/KxJlwurG8uI?si=X3AHfdpwZCIjv9K8 season 1
and https://youtu.be/-yWUkGl5cgg?si=vfYmRe7s8ppzmGyK season 2
I really am sorry.
I'm watching Dandadan too it's a good anime, I seem to remember you were watching Nana, is it a good anime for you?
I think so too, it was nice talking to you too.
As for Gon and his maturity, I think I was wrong in saying that word and not explaining myself well, it would really be his “lack of maturity” because he is practically just a 13 year old boy. Well, as he started out as a child focused only on meeting his father and throughout the anime he faces various situations that challenge him to grow emotionally. While you are right that Gon has always cared for his friends, the complexity lies in the way he deals with his goals and his relentless pursuit of the title of the hunter, I think it is essential to his identity. However, as soon as he makes the decision to focus on helping his friends he shows that he is maturing (even if only a little) in a way that transcends his selfish desires (to meet his father and be a hunter), this change in motivation could be seen as a sign of emotional growth: < Gon begins to recognize the importance of his bonds with others, not just in his personal ambition. >
And the anime places less emphasis on Gon “becoming” something different than on how his values, though still immature, are evolving as he interacts with others. Friendship, sacrifice, and loyalty are the values that Gon embraces, and that is a form of growth. It's not that the protagonist changes drastically, but that his priorities broaden and become more nuanced as his journey progresses.
Well the mafia and the assassins, I understand what you mean by referring to the lack of a direct explanation about his unfamiliarity with the Nen. But I think this is a deliberate choice by Togashi to highlight the complexity of the world building. The fact that the mafia, despite their power and influence, know nothing about the Nen emphasizes how vast and intricate the HxH universe is. It also speaks to how even the most dominant forces in the world can be blind to certain facets of reality, showing how knowledge and power are not always synonymous. So this lack of compression about the Nen creates a tension that makes the Nen system all the more intriguing and emphasizes how knowledge itself is a form of power.
And similarly, the concept of assassins morphing into something more morally complex rather than simply being traditional killers is a theme that runs throughout the anime. By showing that not all assassins are ruthless killers and that some have their own codes or moral dilemmas, the anime presents a more nuanced view of what it means to be an assassin, which enriches the characters and the story. It's not about breaking expectations for the sake of it, but exploring how different individuals view morality and their own roles in society.
The money arc, about gambling and the lack of understanding about how certainty in gambling that leads to exponential growth of money, well Gon and Killua may be brilliant in many ways besides Kurapika and Leorio who are adults, but Gon and Killua are still just kids and are inexperienced in the world of business and strategy for adults. But I think their lack of understanding about gaming is a subtle way of highlighting their naivety and this leads to further development as they learn more about the intricacies of the world they are entering. (Though I agree with what you mentioned about this).
I think the subversion of expectations in HxH, I think, is not just about surprising for the sake of surprising, but about creating a more thoughtful and layered narrative. The anime's willingness to break with traditional narrative conventions allows it to explore deep emotional and philosophical themes, which is part of what makes it so appealing to many viewers. I understand that for some this may be frustrating if they are expecting a more straightforward and traditional shounen story.
In addition the meaning of being a “hunter,” the anime not only subverts the traditional concept of what it means, but also questions the world in which these characters live. Instead of offering a simple and predictable path it presents us with moral dilemmas, complex characters and situations where things are not what they seem, it is not about doing things differently just to surprise, it is about giving a new expectation of what it means to be a “hunter” and how those ideals can transform as the characters face more stark realities. For example: < The nen system is not only a tool to face enemies, but it is related to emotions, desires and the very nature of people. >
And another example related to the nen would be: < When Gon was so angry and felt so much hatred for Neferpitou (Chimera ant that killed Kite), Gon's nen aura increased more and more, because Gon practically sacrificed all his aura through his body and killed Neferpitou, and after this Gon almost died but Killua asked Alluka (Killua's Sister) to save Gon so he wouldn't die, he survived but as a consequence of this Gon was left without nen. >
I can understand your point that the characters didn't change nor did their personality, related to character development your observation about Gon is valid, when you say that his personality doesn't change after Kite's death, but I think that's part of the depth of HxH and its approach towards personal evolution, not every change has to be monumental nor instantaneous. HxH characters don't follow the linear growth pattern that typical shounen characters have but that doesn't mean there is no development.
For example, Gon does undergo a significant change when he faces his own darkness in the Chimera Ant arc, the way he confronts his own limits, sacrificing his well-being for a goal, shows a kind of evolution that is not necessarily obvious or explicit. And so it is with Killua, who demonstrates a great deal of internal progress related to the struggle between his desires for freedom and the expectations of his family. Killua doesn't have a sudden transformation, but a maturity that slowly develops throughout the anime.
HxH does not always seek to give a resolution to character arcs in the traditional way. Often more complex characters and their stories are not resolved in a clear or finalized way, which can leave a sense of stagnation. However, this does not mean that there is no growth, but rather that the anime offers a more nuanced and realistic view of the maturation process, where characters do not always change completely, but evolve at their own pace.
You are right when you say that HxH is very far from the typical and it also chooses random elements so that it looks different in relation to shounen anime.
I agree on what you say about the chimera ants arc, although for all HxH fans that's the best one, from my point of view it's good but not that good I just enjoyed the fights although the design of the ants seemed a bit strange and exaggerated at the first moment I saw them. In HxH there are many things that are unresolved and have no explanation “Where do the chimera ants come from?”, “What are they?” Among so many other questions that are without an answer, many say they come from the “Dark Continent” (It's the last arc in the manga that is just developing) but it's just a theory.
I would really like to know your opinion about what you think about the Dark Continent arc, if you think it's good or something, although I doubt you want to know anything about it because you don't like HxH. https://youtu.be/KRFm1ajmiGc?si=OAZg4kUrw58dAkM2 (It's a video about a summary of Dark Continent)
Well I respect your opinion about the anime, and I'm sorry if I write too much.
Although the animation quality of the anime that already depends on the tastes of each person, regarding the pace of the anime I can accept that at the beginning it is quite slow, but each arc leads to the development of each of the characters and their world.
In the first arc Gon's motivation is mainly to become a hunter and find his father Ging, as he follows in his footsteps, although you are right when you say that Gon's motivations change but this shows the development of his maturity, plus he faces several situations that put him in approval, Gon's motivations do not disappear but evolve as he faces great challenges and his perspective of seeing the world changes.
Assassins are not only stealthy characters who kill without being seen, but they have physical abilities that allow them to survive big situations, which gives them a different representation to the typical “assassin” figure. In the mafia is depicted more as a group of people with power and resources, but also with flaws, the anime tries to show us that if you have a lot of money or influence you are not invincible or perfect, which adds complexity to the narrative.
The arc related to money (Greed Island), serves a purpose within the story, it was a means for Gon and Killua to advance in the search for information about his father. Although it is not such a “serious” arc, but it serves in some way as an important contribution. It is true that some of the situations in Hunter x Hunter can be compelling but the anime uses them in a thoughtful way, the author uses plot twists and random elements to emphasize the unpredictable nature of the world the characters live in, the “coincidences” can be there to emphasize the unpredictability and chaos of the characters' adventures.
The video game arc may not be there to be an extra part of the plot, because there things like control, survival and even human emotions in the face of extreme situations were explored there and the fact that Gon goes into a video game that seems to make no sense but can be seen as a way for him to highlight his lack of understanding of the gravity of the situation, which also makes it a point of reflection on his own personal growth.
I can also consider that some arcs do not have an immediate impact on the main story, it is important to recognize that Hunter x Hunter has a more complex narrative structure, as it is obvious, where each arc is designed to build the development of the characters and their evolution, as I said at the beginning. You can't expect each arc to come to an end, that the anime explores themes such as aspects of life, morals and relationships. Even I know that some arcs can be more boring than others, but the anime has been acclaimed for its psychological depth and the way it defies the expectations of the shounen genre, for as the story progresses, the characters and plot become more complex, leading to a narrative that is neither predictable nor linear. It's natural for a long and multifaceted story like this to have lulls or arcs that don't focus on the main mission, but that also gives it room to explore other themes.
Regarding the scale of power and character abilities, it is true that Hunter x Hunter plays a narrative in which the characters' abilities are not always presented in a linear fashion, but this does not mean that the anime lacks structure or hierarchy, rather than following a simple scale of power where the strongest characters are clearly defined from the start. Togashi, the manga's creator, opts for a more flexible and dynamic approach. The characters' abilities are strongly influenced by strategy, intelligence and circumstances, which makes the story focus more on the evolution and growth of the characters than on a rigid power scheme.
A clear example would be when: < Gon and Killua start as relatively weak children compared to the other hunters, but as they progress their skills develop and show that strength is not always defined only by physical level. >
Well as I mentioned above the creator (Togashi) uses plot twists and random elements, this “randomness” you mention could be interpreted more as a narrative approach where abilities develop organically depending on the context of each situation, rather than being determined by a rigid system of power.
The Chimera Ant arc, well the vast majority of Hunter x Hunter fans love this arc and many of the people consider this to be one of the best and deepest in the series, as it introduces moral dilemmas and explorations on humanity and sacrifice, and an intense evolution of the characters, such as the case of Gon. Admittedly, from this point on, the anime takes on a more somber and reflective tone, which may not be what some expect from an action anime, but this is one of the criticisms the anime has given, as it defies conventional expectations of what an adventure anime was meant to be.
The transition to a more philosophical and moral approach in Chimera Arc also has to do with the idea that the world of Hunter x Hunter is complex and that characters cannot always be classified as simply good or evil, weak or strong. The anime focuses on exploring the motivations, decisions and consequences of each character in context.
The design of the chimera ants is not “stupid”, as it is a reflection of the contrast of the brutal nature of the ants and their anthropomorphic characteristics, the idea of characters like the penguin and the pink panda being with the ants is not a contradiction, but a way to show how absurd and unexpected the development of a being can be, well and the scale of power as I said before, does not always follow a simple logic, the abilities can evolve quickly and be more unpredictable than other works of the same genre. Ants were created to be a great threat, and the way their strength develops is well explained within the context of their world.
The last arc (13th President Election Arc) I accept that it is somewhat boring and slow because for me it was.
Hunter x Hunter is not similar to Naruto would be that Naruto copied or was inspired the hunter exam (HxH) as chunin exam (Naruto), and Sasuke with red eyes and his clan killed being the last member, as Kurapika.
Well as a HxH fan I'm not angry with your review, in some points you were right but in others you were wrong, but we all have different tastes and we can say what we want.
Good review :)
I am flattered I am so important to you, that you created this account just for me. Also some parts of your comment read so AI generated, with these generic excuses as if I read them from a fanwiki, so I wont even argue with them since they are mostly self-interpretation BS without concrete examples. I mean what is the point of saying my opinion is subjective and some people might disagree? You don’t seem to know what a review is buddy…It details what I think about the show and if someone should watch it or not, which in the case of HxH you shouldn’t, because it’s a garbage show.