Anime
Attack on Titan ⚔️ 進撃の巨人
(Series Review)
We have sadly reached the conclusion of one the most revered manga turned anime’s in recent memory, Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan.
For almost a 100 years the people of Shiganshina District of Wall Maria have been protected by large cascading walls preventing the man-eating titans that roam outside from entering - until one day they do, and all hell breaks loose. This story follows a young man from Wall Maria named Eren Yeager, who vows to get revenge against the man-eating titans that murdered his mother, and freedom from a world that has kept his people prisoner for far too long.
The way Attack on Titan uses the idea of history repeating itself, and the cyclical nature of life is what makes it a damn near masterpiece.
From a lost history, to a found one, this world (like ours) continues to find ways to relive moments that have already happened, and finding inexcusable reasons for letting them happen again.
Like life, the journey to get to the end was more satisfying than the end itself because let’s face it - when it’s the end (death), it’s over, and who actually comes out feeling good.
This journey belongs to Eren, and it’s a complicated one.
From a wide-eyed kid wanting to explore the world and protect his loved ones, to a genocidal maniac who got stuck in a time loop until he found the right solution to solve the problem plaguing his people.
There’s no redemption story for him but his reasoning (though extremely rushed/glossed over) at the end provides some much needed comfort to those who felt his actions didn’t match the character we had always known him as.
I would’ve given this a 10/10 if it had an ending worthy of its lead up, but it never felt definitive and sure of itself leaving things feeling a bit too ambiguous. This may be a me problem. There’s the story that was told and the ending that I wanted, and they happen to conflict with one another.
The end felt like it was fighting between telling you to not let life just happen to you, but instead be an active participant in it even if we all have the same end how we get there can be dramatically different - for better, or for worse. Regardless of how I feel, I commend Hajime Isayama for giving us an end to his decade long creation, anime has a history of not completing stories - or ending it just to have it continue… I’m talking to you Boruto.
The beloved One Piece, Naruto, Bleach are still ongoing, and credit to them for being creative enough to continue the story this long but there comes a point where the peaks are great but if you continue to deny an end then how good can your story truly be?
Whether it be Kenny Ackerman and Levi’s relationship, Erens fathers backstory being riddled with tragedy, or the wildly imaginative world building in general - I’d put this up against any anime/live-action story when it comes to hype worthy plot points that leave you begging for more.
Just like when Harry Potter ended, I feel like a have a huge void to fill in my life because as messed as it may seem - I’m really going to miss the escapism this world provided. It’s a world that was so easy to get lost in, and I’m going to miss getting lost in it.
This story is a reminder that each day is a new page to the book of your life, we all know how our story ends but we get to write the lead up so “shinzou wo sasageyo” dedicate your heart to a life you can look back on and be proud of.
Enjoy!
9.3/10 🎥 🍿
Runtime: 20mins
Episodes: 90
Seasons: 6
Where: Crunchyroll
Attack on Titan Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer.
Attack on Titan Series Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer.
#Anime #Manga #ErenYeager #Mikasa #Levi #Review #MovieReview #Movie #AttackonTitan. #StudioMappa
One Piece 🏴☠️ East Blue Saga
This story follows Luffy D. Monkey, an aspiring pirate who sets out on a grand adventure to find the lost treasure left behind by the legendary pirate Gol D. Rogers.
Rogers death sparks the dawn of the great pirate era, kick starting the world to race towards the mysterious Grand Line waters with the hopes of finding the treasure known around the world as - the One Piece.
It took a while, but I finally understand why so many of you love this story.
As a fan of Shonen anime, I was surprised at how hard of a time I was having getting into something that seemed to have a unanimous approval rating.
I’m not sure if it was the kooky Devil Fruit power ups, the overly cartoonish villain designs, or the uninspired fighting choreography, but I just couldn’t find an entry point of interest to jump into.
That’s until we begin to understand the why of each character, through these beautifully crafted backstories that provide all the context I was missing to fully invest emotionally into what felt like random, but now heartfelt journey out to sea.
What I ended up falling in love with the most was the way the show pans in and out of shots, creating a wildly cinematic feel that matches perfectly with its magical score - giving this story the grand adventure feel it deserves.
The best Shonen anime is about resolve and testing your resolve through life’s endless lessons, that will push you to find out if you really want to do what you’ve set out to do - and this does just that.
I may not care much about Pirate based stories, the fighting style may be a bit too outlandish for my taste, but the ambition of this crew of pirates to take on risk to reach their dreams has me inspired and is giving me the Shonen high I’ve been missing from my life.
I’m still not sure how people have this ahead of Naruto, but I’m ready to continue my journey to find out if it is.
Enjoy!
6.95/10 🍿 🎥
Runtime: 20mins
Episodes: 61/1071
Where: Crunchyroll
One Piece Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer.
One Piece East Blue Saga Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer.
#Anime #Manga #アニメ #漫画 #日本 #Luffy #Zoro #Sanji #Nami #Shanks #Usopp #AnimeReview #MovieReview #Movie #Crunchyroll #OnePiece
Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arc
‘Persistence prevails, when all else fails.’
DemonSlayer: Swordsmith Village Arc reunites us with Tanjiro Kamado, who after the events of the Entertainment District, must venture out on a quest to have his sword repaired.
While he patiently awaits his new sword, he ends up crossing paths with another Demon Slayer and a member of the Hashira, who unbeknownst to them - will have to protect the Swordsmiths as two upper ranked demons prepare to set the town ablaze - in the name of Muzan Kibitsuji.
My gauge for a good Demon Slayer arc is based on how invested I get in the backstory of the Demon, and the progress Tanjiro’s character makes in combat.
The villains backstory was probably the weakest we’ve gotten. Normally, you can sympathize with the character but in this case it felt like uncontrolled evil, that you could possibly chalk up to bipolar disorder - which may be crediting the character with more depth than they deserve.
What I was really into was Tanjiro finally having to face a high-stake, life altering decision. His moral compass was in the right but his inability to act made for anxiety inducing suspense, in what I thought was one of the most emotionally impactful, climactic moments of the series.
Around that there was just too much filler for me to really connect with the season as a whole.
I’m saying that while still having to note that this arc gave us a hard-hitting 10/10 finale, with a twist that I’m glad came because I would’ve been a wreck if it didn’t.
This season was a mixed bag but there’s just something about that Shonen-anime high after a great episode (1/8/11), that keeps you coming back for more, & not having to hear Zenitsu whine all season didn’t hurt either.
Enjoy!
7.5/10
Runtime: 20mins
Episodes: 11
Season: 3
Where: Crunchyroll
#Anime #Manga #アニメ #漫画 #日本 #Japan #Tanjiro #Nezuko #Movie #MovieReview #SwordsmithVillage #Ufotable
To Me, The One Who Loved You & To Every You I Loved Before
(君を愛したひとりの僕へ) & (僕が愛したすべての君へ) 🫧
“In the infinite number of parallel worlds that exist, one of the happiest futures that this fantasy has led me to is the one that will be made into these films. Two films are being released simultaneously. They are made in a way that you can watch them from either side, and the order in which you watch the two films will greatly change the way you feel about them. I hope you will enjoy the choice you can only make once, which of the two films to see first.” - Yomoji Otono 📚
#ToMetheOneWhoLovedYou and #ToEveryYouILovedBefore follows Koyomi Takasaki and Kazune Takigawa as they shift through parallel worlds trying to find the one where they get their happily ever after - if that world even exists.
This idea is better in theory than it was in execution.
As the author mentions in the quote above, whichever order you watch these two movies in will dictate how you feel at the end of the story.
I felt that the romance wasn’t built up enough to guide the emotional beats of the movie, and though the idea behind the time travel was intriguing, they didn’t lay the groundwork well enough to make the transitions between worlds have the impact I’m sure was intended.
Saying all of that, I really appreciate the ambitious attempt to even try something like this.
They released these two films in theatre on the same day in Japan, and that risk would be too much of a gamble for most studios to even think of - let alone execute.
The time travel element is probably the only part of this movie I’ll remember. It reminded me of the dream walking in Doctor Stranger: Multiverse of Madness where Wanda would sleep just so she could be reunited with her kids.
In this even the subtle shift of anything could move push into an alternate reality that’s similar to the reality you were just in, but different enough that you feel you’re not where you belong.
Both of these movies end up playing like a day dream of the world you wish you were in, that becomes a tortured reality you settle in to and make peace with.
This is not something I’d go out of my way for, but if any of the above sounds interesting to you I’d instead recommend Steins Gate, or Orange.
Enjoy!
5.9/10 🎥 🍿
Runtime: 1hr40mins
Where: Crunchyroll
To Me, The One Who Loved You Anime Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer.
& To Every You I Loved Before Anime Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer.
#Movie #MovieReview #TimeTravel #Anime #AnimeReview #Animation #Tokyo #Crunchyroll #Japan #アニメ #漫画 #日本
Trigun: Stampede 🐎
トライガンスタンピード
“People are only able to live, because others die.”
Trigun Stampede follows Vash, a clumsy vagabond who travels through Nomans Land with the hope of protecting those around him from an evil that is set to eradicate the human race. Unfortunately for Vash, the evil at play is his twin brother - who has made the world believe Vash (aka the Human Typhoon) is the one leading the charge.
There’s just something about a villain with a god complex that always gets me.
At first glance it seems like Million Knives (aka Nai) is your prototypical villain, but the layers and points he makes end up being valid, even if his problem solving method is ethically flawed.
The way he acts upon the greater good of his plant race, a small marginalized group of hybrid-celestial beings, isn’t as simple as us vs them - but a reminder that the human race is essentially a virus that raids and pillages planets of all natural resource, until there is nothing left.
Within all that we also get introduced to one of the coolest anime characters in Nicholas D. Wolfwood, who’s backstory in episode 6 was one of my favourite episodes of anime this year.
None of those stories work without the phenomenal use of CG, that is the best use of the animation style I’ve seen to date, that is bolstered by a score that makes this intimate story feel like a space-western epic.
This is a prequel to the original Trigun series that came out in the 90s. It’s one I couldn’t get into when I tried watching it a few years back, but it’s story through Stampede that has become one of my favourites this year.
Episode 1 is everything great about this series, so you’ll know right away if it’s for you - or not.
Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Enjoy!
7.9/10 🎥 🍿
Runtime: 20mins
Episodes: 12
Seasons: 1
Where: Crunchyroll
Trigun Stampede Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer
#Trigun #VashtheStampede #MillionKnives #NicholasDWolfwood #Anime #AnimeReview #Animation #Tokyo #Crunchyroll #Japan #アニメ #漫画 #日本
Blue Lock ⚽️ ブルーロック
“The ego is sustained by power because it lives in fear.”
Blue Lock follows soccer player Yoichi Isagi, who after losing the city championship is invited to Japans controversial national team project, where the top youth soccer prospects across the country are locked into a facility - until the program head can create the perfect striker to lead Japan to victory.
No story has ever captured the psychological makeup of an athlete like this before. It was fascinating.
Watching as these young men are forced into playing out these Squid Game like situations (not murderous, but the consequences feel life or death) and have their hopes of playing for their countries national teams shattered, tragically illustrated how weak the foundation of our egos truly are.
A lot of these players were the best in their town, city, village - but stock pile all the top talent across the country and it’s hard to stand out like they did before.
The depths of the mind Blue Lock seeks to reconstruct, or build upon is humbled through a gruelling process of loneliness and isolation - that put these players willingness to put the self before the team - to the ultimate test.
I initially gave up on this a few times, because I’ve learned now that I just can’t do anime weekly unless it’s an intriguing premise that has me itching to find out what happens next - like the almighty Attack on Titan.
But once I picked this back up, I couldn’t turn away and binged my way through these players traumas, sacrifices and breakthroughs.
Watching as art imitates life during the World Cup, and seeing the Japan soccer team finally return to competitive form was such a cool parallel to the story in the show.
If you played sports at a decently competitive level you’ll appreciate the dispair that comes with knowing your opposition is better than you, but still trying to fabricate some sort hatred/energy to continue fighting on.
That alongside the continuous development of the self, like an instantaneous death to reincarnation of an even better levelled up version of yourself was just a treat to watch.
What Haikyuu does for underdog and the technical aspect of playing a sport, this does for the top dog and the mental approach.
The animation isn’t the best I’ve ever seen, a lot of it is exposition, but once you get locked in, like the players - you’ll begin to feel the tension and need to see it through to the next stage.
Enjoy!
8.2/10 🎥 🍿
Runtime: 20mins
Episodes: 24
Seasons: 1
Where: Crunchyroll
Blue Lock Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer
#Anime #AnimeReview #Animation #Soccer #Futbol #Crunchyroll #Japan #アニメ #漫画 #日本
Tokyo Revengers 🧧 東京卍リベンジャーズ
(Season 2)
“Insanity is doing the same thing, but expecting different results.”
Tokyo Revengers follows Takemichi Hanagaki as he travels through time to save his friends (and the love of his life) from the ongoing gang conflict in Tokyo, but he continues to return to the present to find nothing has changed - its just gotten worse.
I can’t get over how amazing the premise is while also feeling continuously letdown that it never reaches its potential.
We have a bunch of rival gangs, inner turmoil amongst the members, and the always fun time travel element - yet the consistently poor decision making makes it so tough to sit through as they continuously screw themselves over, more than the intended villain of the season.
But now I’m so invested/curious on what the right path is to get to the ultimate End Game scenario is, that I have to keep watching - even if I’m annoyed the entire time I’m watching it.
This show is at its best when Mikey and Dragon are the focal point of the story, which led to a much more enjoyable second half of the season.
It was the best storytelling and character development the series has given us, and another annoyingly great cliffhanger that will have me returning to figure out what the hell happened to our boy Mikey.
Enjoy!
6.95/10 🎥 🍿
Runtime: 20mins
Episodes: 26
Seasons: 2
Where: Disney Plus and Crunchyroll.
Tokyo Revengers Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer
#Anime #AnimeReview #Animation #Tokyo #Crunchyroll #Japan #アニメ #漫画 #日本
Maid Sama! 🧹
会長はメイド様!
Pushing you away, just to bring us closer together.
#MaidSama follows Misaki Ayuzawa, the high school student council president - who also happens to be a standout student, a star athlete - all while ruling the school with an iron first.
As she continues to set the standard for what the expectations should be (for this now co-ed school) a boy from Seika High finds out her darkest secret - she works at a maid cafe.
I was recommended this back in February when I was making my Top Romance movie list.
There’s a fine line anime walks when being a little too cute, that if crossed can make a series hard to get through. This had me going back and forth between asking myself why am I still watching this, to thinking “this is kind of nice…” 😅
For those wondering what’s wrong working as a maid or a cafe, it’s that in Japan this job is actually meant to be a place of work where people try be overly cute in frilly dresses as they are “commanded’ by the “lords” that enter there shop. So imagine having the respect of your school, through fear - just to have someone find out you work at a place where you submit to the customers coffee/food related desires.
I’ll never understand the appeal of a maid cafe (it’s a real thing), but somethings aren’t meant for everyone to understand.
The show is essentially a high school sit-com in the same vein as a Saiki K. but instead of passive aggression it was direct, and instead of psychic powers - you have maids.
But that’s all the backdrop to the push-pull dynamic between Misaki, and the high school heartthrob Takumi Usui.
The pseudo-relationship between the two is one that comes across as super dysfunctional, and barely existing - but admittedly builds up to an ending that breaks the emotional walls these two guarded themselves with - which was the love disguised as hate, that turned this into the romantic story I was expecting.
It was still a little too cute for me, and I felt like they should’ve dived into Usuis backstory a bit more but regardless, I get the appeal and why the handful of you that liked it, loved it.
Enjoy!
6.95/10 🎥 🍿
Runtime: 20mins
Episodes: 26
Seasons: 1
Maid Sama! Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer.
#Anime #Manga #アニメ #漫画 #日本 #AnimeReview #MovieReview #Movie
Studio Ghibli: Kiki’s Delivery Service
魔女の宅急便
The magic doesn’t make the witch, the witch makes the magic.
#KikisDeliveryService follows Kiki, a 13 year old witch who has come of age, now ready to set off into the world and begin her training. She quickly realizes it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, as her responsibilities pile up - the once vibrant, wide-eyed girl - works herself into exhaustion, losing the wonder and magic she came into the world with.
This movie is the perfect reminder/warning that you should never try to fast track your youth.
Kiki does what every teenager wants to do, which is take on the world and be treated like an adult doing so. What sucks is watching as this head in the clouds kid, with the best of intentions, gets humbled by the natural road blocks of life - that you just can’t plan for.
Leave it to Studio Ghibli to be able to capture this perfectly, through its detailed animation, and a score that will transport you to your earliest memory - having you feel every bit of nostalgia.
It’s hard not to compare Ghibli films, this one is fun for what it is but left a lot to be desired in regards to character growth, and allowing the relationships to play out more than they had the chance to.
Even so, every Ghibli movie ends up feeling worthy of your time, for the visual artistry displayed in every aspect of storytelling imaginable.
Enjoy!
6.95/10 🎥 🍿
Runtime: 1hr20mins
Where: Netflix & Studio Ghibli Week @ viff.org/series/studio-ghibli-forever/
Studio Ghili Kiki's Delivery Service Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer
#Anime #Manga #アニメ #漫画 #日本 #Japan #Movie #MovieReview #StudioGhibli #Ghibli #Animation
Demon Slayer: Kimestu no Yaiba To the Swordsmith Village
鬼滅の刃
The pendulum of power has shifted.
Demon Slayer to the Swordsmith Village reunites us with Tanjiro as he recovers from the aftermath of the Entertainment District arc.
But this movie is more about the demons, as one from the upper ranks has been defeated, and after 100 years of having the upper hand - Muzan fears the balance of power has begun to tilt the other way.
I still can’t get over how good this movie was.
It was a mix of having a lot of questions answered, with big plot developments on the horizon - and honestly watching anime in a packed theatre on a big screen just creates a different level of hype.
The movie is set up to show you the last two episodes of The Entertainment District arc, having its fight scenes ring through the theatre as the swords clash, and it’s emotional moments hit just as hard as it did during my first watch.
& the rest of the movie does less for the Hashira side of things, and more for Muzans crew of Demons - breaking down his thoughts, introducing us to each Demon, and allowing us to better understand the motivations of everyone involved.
All of that led to a moment that had me shook, with a character reveal I did not see coming.
I refrained from reading the manga so I can enjoy the story through the anime but after this my brain was spinning, and I’m just itching to know what happens next!
It’s always great to support the artists and mangaka that create these stories, but it’s not always easy to do so unless you buy the manga. I think they should really consider stacking like four episodes for limited theatre runs, which allows them to earn more revenue, and for us fans to get to enjoy it on the biggest screen possible.
The theatre experience is going to change soon because of how dominate streaming has been, so adapting little things like this and making it a communal experience could be a partnership that works both ways.
Just a random thought.
Other than that, you can find me impatiently counting down the days for season three.
Enjoy!
8.5/10 🎥 🍿
Runtime: 1hr55mins
Where: In Theatre
Demon Slayer: Kimestu no Yaiba ⚔️ To the Swordsmith Village Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer
鬼滅の刃
#Anime #Manga #アニメ #漫画 #日本 #Japan