ThatAnimeSnob

Jun Maeda is a director who got a lot of praise for his work on datesim adaptations during the mid 2000s with Clannad being his crown achievement. After that he was stumbling from one failure to another, unwilling to admit he was not making good use of the amount of episodes he had available. Like a spoiled child he was constantly threatening to quit if people kept telling him he fell from grace. This anime is proof of that since it’s actually his worst work. Instead of learning from his mistakes and becoming better with time, he got worse to the point he created a trainwreck by the name The Day I... See full review

This anime begins with one of the laziest plot devices that can make any story to play out however the author feels like it at any moment. Whether it’s Code Geass or Attack on Titan, the moment mind control comes into play nobody has free will. They stop being characters and become puppets that behave however the plot wants them to behave. The author is the first who realized it and stopped trying to flesh them out. That is why the characters are all 1-dimensional archetypes, defined by a single gimmick which they repeat in an identical manner in every episode.

The premise is about the... See full review

Here’s a show that was quite popular when it began airing and is now mostly forgotten because of the ridiculous amount of fluff that comes out every season. It starts by establishing the eccentric waifus, and because it’s based on a light novel each one of the girls is defined by a cosplay fetish. One of them dresses like a playboy bunny; another one has a brother complex and dresses like a bear. And no, they don’t play it off as a cute joke, but as a sexual fetish. Like all light novels, half the things they say is sexual foreplay and the other half is lazy exposition. The characters are... See full review

The bankai show is back and everyone is happy with the bankai show being back. That is the only thing they are happy about since the bankai show has nothing to offer besides that. Here’s what you notice when you pay attention to something other than nostalgia and pretty colors.

Episode 1

The show begins with a wide and detailed view of Karakura Town. It seems like the animators really cared to make it feel alive until you notice how despite the movie-level artwork, Karakura Town is devoid of life. What a better way to care about the people in it than having the city being completely... See full review

1) THE DRAMABAIT

The story begins with trying to make you care about the protagonist because he has suffered a lot, lost everything, and is risking his life for peanuts. It would work too if it wasn’t all taken away in less than an episode. The anime does the typical emotional manipulation trick of wanting from you to root for the protagonist by victimizing him and then you are supposed to not realize you are still rooting for him even when he gets fully healed, gains magical superpowers, and becomes overpowered in less than an episode later. You are supposed to think he deserves it because he... See full review

A very out-there “anti-conformist punk” style movie that pokes fun at consumerism.

ART: I stepped on poop
- Very distinctive concept in artwork. Everything and everyone have a very humorous / creepy look that turns this feature into a memorable watch.
- The characters look like Saturday morning cartoons for kids but are in fact very sinister (part of the whole irony thing). The Diaper gang members look as sweet as the Smurfs, yet don’t think twice before chopping your head off and steal your wallet. The mayor of the city looks like a cute little girl but treats people... See full review

For starters this is filler and no matter how much they try to make it seem like it’s canon, it’s not since the events are never mentioned in the series, nor they fit somewhere in specific. That aside, the movie sticks out from the precious ones, all of which were also filler, by having several pop idol songs, all of which are cringe. They don’t fit in the setting of One Piece and they are mostly animated with CGI so they don’t even look good. But even as a standalone story it doesn’t make any sense since there’s too much going on without proper build up. Most of it... See full review

When The Devil is a Part-timer came out back in 2013 a lot of people loved it, mostly because they had never seen a reverse isekai before. It was otherwise nothing special, just another adaptation of a light novel and a 5/10 at best. For a decade many were constantly requesting another season, and were really excited when they finally heard it’s coming. No joke, they hyped the living hell out of this show before it came out. Then as soon as the first episode aired the entire community forgot its existence. How is that possible when they were so hyped up about it? It’s not because there were a... See full review

The initial response from the community regarding this show was nothing but praise and lots of 10s flying around. On the other hand my reaction to it was complete apathy since I was looking at the whole thing from a neutral perspective. Once you do that most shows are nothing special and Edgerunners is no exception. Let’s get this out of the way right away. The reasons so many people liked it are:

1) It did not suck like the videogame it was based on (the bar was set very low)
2) Anything by studio Trigger is always praised and is well animated (the studio’s fame played a part)
3)... See full review

The original RWBY was an anime-inspired western production that became a sensation among a lot of early Rooster Teeth fans. It lacked the polish but it was making it up with passion. Then the original creator died and those who carried on with the show made a huge clusterfuck that alienated most fans with its loose plot and lack of direction. The anime version of RWBY seemed to be a reboot at first. They remade the early episodes with a far higher budget and expanded certain events for fleshing out the characters and for introducing the world in a smoother way. On paper it was a remake that could surpass... See full review

Disclaimer: Most of what I wrote ended up being a comparison to the older version, since on its own the current Bastard is nothing special, just another action show in a sea of action shows. The 90s OVAs on the other hand were special. Not only they came out at a time when sakuga was rare in the medium, they also did the smart thing and trimmed the fat, leaving only the juiciest parts. There was a lot of crap in the source material that is simply not fun to read. The more faithful new adaptation carried over those bits, and as a result we got an average action schlock show that most will ignore or will be... See full review

The first season of the Shield Hero had a big impact in the community. Half of it was praising it for its bold take on an isekai protagonist who is wrongfully accused, and the other half was shiting on it for being full of cheap tactics for engaging the viewer through rage instead of quality writing. As the season kept going, more and more people were joining the dislike side as one by one everything that made the initial episodes good was being replaced with the same generic crap that plague all isekai and turned a once (supposed) subversion of the formula into yet another power fantasy. By the time the... See full review

The CGI animation, an attempt to save money since the studio knows a lot of people are going to watch it no matter how cheap it looks, is definitely going to be a turnoff for most who liked the far more polished look of the Broly film. It is not terrible but having to get used to that after 25 years of being 2D ain’t easy. And the animators knew that, since whenever there is a flashback to previous events, they keep it in 2D since they know people will be pissed if they saw nostalgic moments in a completely different style.

Anyways, assuming that is not a problem for you and you expect to see... See full review

The first season of Arifureta was outright bad, but it also had transcended to the realm of “so bad it’s good” territory. Just like movies like The Room, it was very enjoyable to see it as schlock that unironically tries to take itself seriously and fails at every step. The second season no longer has that appeal simply because it’s not so bad anymore. It’s actually better and that makes it worse.

You might be a bit confused here, so let me explain. The horrible script and animation have improved in the second season and now they are just bad. The edgy revengeporn is... See full review

Ranking of Kings was a standout in the roster of 2021 by looking like a European fairy tale. It also began as a typical underdog story about a weak prince nobody takes seriously trying to win his right to the throne, before becoming more elaborate by including themes such as psychological issues and political intrigue. Unfortunately it doesn’t do much from a point on and thus it never escapes the fairy tale vibe it began as. Most of the conflicts are resolved way too fast and in ways that insult your intelligence.

1) Selfish people and traitors will be changing their mind when they see the... See full review

This review covers both parts of 86.

The gist of the anime is given to you in the first episode. Children are sent to war while the rest of the republic is treating them like objects that don’t count as fatalities when they die. Themes such as propaganda and racism are strong, but their execution leaves a lot to be desired. The main reasons are summed up as followed.

1) Crappy CGI for the mechas. Far from the worst specimen and it’s mostly the silver enemy units that look dreadful, but still enough to drive away most people accustomed to pretty animation and good choreography. The... See full review

Since not much has changed since the first season in terms of characters and plot structure, I will instead give you a list of 10 things that made Demon Slayer the success it is. This is done after some chats I had with people who insisted Demon Slayer did not become such a success just because of the animation. Up to a point they were right, since if animation alone was enough then every well animated anime would be a success, something which is not true. So, here are those 10 reasons that made a show with such a by the numbers plot and cast to be such a hit.

1) Animation
With the first one... See full review

During its airing Sonny boy was hyped up as an anime unlike anything else out there. Because it’s an isekai and there was a great shortage on those, am I right? But this one was different, you see, because it wasn’t a power fantasy about otakus forming harems in a videogame. For some reason being so different to the point it becomes completely alien to the reasons people are watching something is supposed to be a good thing.

No, the actual reason they were hyping it was for thinking it’s deep and mature, and even then it was an overestimation of its presentation. The themes and... See full review

ISEKAI… NOT
The Faraway Paladin is one of those shows that don’t know what they want to be. It’s supposed to be an isekai, although that doesn’t play any part in the plot besides making a few vague references to our world. In essence the author threw it in there because isekai sell more than clear-cut fantasy stories. Oh, and also because it’s a cheap explanation for why the protagonist is overpowered. It’s not because he trained hard all his life, it’s because he’s an otaku loser from our world.

PACING? WHAT IS THAT?
The pacing is... See full review

The first cour of Mushoku Tensei was heavily focused on the coming of age aspect. There weren’t any big bads to fight or need for magical aids to stop them. It was enough to make most overlook the pervy side of the protagonist and to consider it the best isekai of all times. The second cour, however, no longer has that element and comes off more like an adventure, so the need for conveniences and magic nonsense increased tenfold for the sake of the main characters not dying every ten steps they make.

The plot keeps favoring the protagonist for no other reason than him being the protagonist... See full review

PROLOGUE
When the first episode of this anime aired, it was instantly labeled as a masterpiece for making everyone cry with how sad it was. Extra hype came in by mentioning the author being the same as in A Silent Voice. It used all the classic tricks of cryporn, such as a tragic backdrop story, an unfair death, and a blank in personality protagonist that looked like a cute doggie. It did its job perfectly for that one episode, and if it ended there it would be remembered positively.

PROBLEM #1: REPETITION
Unfortunately there were more episodes and more arcs, and in every arc the exact same... See full review

The Digimon franchise used to be a big thing in the early 2000s. Although on surface level it was just a proxy battle show that was only aiming to sell videogames to kids, it was also the perfect isekai. Despite being a trapped in a videogame story it didn’t have the bullshit of the 2010 isekai. It had a complete story, it wasn’t rushed, it was allocating screentime to all its main characters, and it wasn’t about forming a harem in a fantasy realm since the characters wanted to return home. They weren’t killed and removed from their world, just so they could permanently be having a... See full review

Dorohedoro is on paper a show I would love because it’s dark, violent, everyone is an anti-hero, and there are no schools. And, truly, if it was only those things I would love the hell out of it. Unfortunately, there is a lot of random nonsense coming along with those elements which end up making me not care.

Let’s start with the most obvious detractor. It’s in CGI, which mean 90% of everyone is not going to watch it because of the uncanny valley effect. It is far from awful, since very few things can be as bad as Ex-Arm, but let’s not pretend it’s going to be easy for... See full review

Oh no, I’m finally talking about an anime everyone who watched it says it’s amazing and yet I don’t like it much. I know this is not going to end well, but I’m doing it anyways.

The thing with Odd Taxi is that it’s not too much of something specific. You are not going to like it if you are in a mood for only comedy or only slice of life. It’s a holistic type of show, very good for what it’s doing as a whole, but not very good at attracting a big audience with what it’s about on a moment to moment basis. And I’m saying that because I had dropped... See full review

Tokyo Revengers is an average to bad anime that blew up in popularity by people with bad taste. And I’m going to tell you the reasons why.

1) Terrible protagonist
The biggest issue most people have with it is the terrible protagonist. He’s 26 years old and he still acts like a 10 year old crybaby. Call it arrested development all you like, excused by the harsh life he had, or that such people exist in real life therefore it’s realistic (Chibi). It’s still not going to make him a protagonist most people can get behind.

2) No development
Although there are lots of... See full review

Some time ago, when an anime called Gridman came out every sellout was hyping it as something worth checking out. Long pretentious essay videos were made about directing, cinematography, thriller-like atmosphere, and a very deep message at the finale. By the end of the season very few gave a damn, because the show was more preoccupied with zooming the camera on the girls’ thighs than telling a decent plot. Fast forward to Dynazenon, the second season, where nobody was hyping it. It lost most of its potential audience during the first season, and seeing how the pretentious sellouts couldn’t milk... See full review

I watched all 4 Rebuild movies and this is what I think of them. I am not going to over what I wrote about the series, so check out that one if you haven’t, since it’s more of a comparison than a standalone analysis.

So, the Rebuild movies are the remake of Neon Genesis, and are essentially how Hideaki Anno reevaluated his magnum opus 20 years later, when he was no longer that depressed and had left the shitfest that Gainax became by turning into another modern studio. As such it’s not going to be the arthouse piece it used to be nor a landmark in anime, since it’s a... See full review

I wasn’t planning to watch this movie, since I only bothered with a dozen episodes, a few clips, and didn’t like any of them. But then a friend of mine who is a huge fan and has been following Gintama religiously insisted on watching it together. I was going for Fast & Furious 9, but he said ‘that is a stupid movie of a franchise that overstayed its welcome’. Unlike this smart movie which is not part of a franchise that overstayed its welcome. I mean, if it’s the second best anime of all times according to MAL (at the time of posting this) and the Gintama entries take up... See full review

Back Arrow is a throwback to the times when anime were mostly mecha adventures and sci-fi without much of a concern when it came to plot or sociopolitical messages. It’s made specifically for people like me who don’t relate with highschools, moe, or isekai, and we just want to see some damn giant robot action goddammit! Me and an another old-school mecha fan were watching it weekly while it was airing and we had so much fun with it as a blast from the past. It had so many things going on besides the robots action; it included adventure, war epics amongst different civilizations, mystery, and... See full review

The spider isekai is another case of trying to subvert a few things, only to fail in the longrun because you focus on the wrong things. One twist the anime went for was about having two storylines developing independently while at the same time feeding off each other. In one story you had the main heroine getting reincarnated as a spider and having to survive in a very dangerous cave, and in the other story it was about her fellow students reincarnating as various people and monsters in the human world where they are given proper upbringing and military training. The antithesis of seeing the spider having... See full review