Anime _MEGA's Anime Reviews

[_MEGA]

Shakugan no Shana

MAL Link

The world has become a slaughtering ground for the Crimson Denizens, mysterious beings from a parallel universe who thrive on the life energy of humans. These merciless murderers only leave behind scant remainders of souls called "Torches," which are mere residues that will eventually be destroyed, along with the very fact of the victims' existence from the minds of the living. In an ambitious endeavor to put an end to this invisible, hungry massacre, warriors called Flame Hazes relentlessly fight these monsters.

One fateful day, Yuuji Sakai ceases to be a regular high schooler—he becomes trapped in a crevice of time and is suddenly attacked by a Denizen. Coming to his rescue just in the nick of time is a nameless hunter who seems no different from an ordinary young girl except for her blazing eyes and burning crimson hair. However, before Yuuji can learn anything more about his situation, he discovers that he has already been reduced to a Torch—merely a scrap of memory waiting to be extinguished.

Source: MAL

I'll be honest up front, this is my personal favorite anime of all time based 100% on pure enjoyment factor. Nevertheless, I do honestly think this was a good show. What first attracted me to the show was the premise itself. When I saw "Crimson Denizens", I was intrigued as I had not really see or heard of anything similar at the time. Also, the concept of people becoming "torches" and losing their existence was a very neat concept to a young me and I thought I'd give it a try.

As for the characters themselves, I loved them. I'm not normally a fan of love triangles, but the Shana/Yuji/Kazumi triangle was enjoyable to watch and not too cringey. It actually got me to dislike Kazumi not as a character, because of how she was interacting with those around her. Her intervention not only played a role in the primary love triangle, but also the relationships of the side characters as well. Speaking of side characters, they actually felt important as well. As the series goes on (maybe I'll review season 2 & 3 separately), we learn more and more about the involvement of these side characters in the world. Most of the characters in the story feel like they have purpose and, to me, it makes the world feel lively.

Story and characters aside, you can't ignore the music of this show. The openings and endings are all nice and enjoyable, but I want to highlight the first ending, Yowake Umare Kuru Shoujo preformed by Yoko Takahashi. I feel this song truly captures the essence of Shana as a character and the first half of the season extremely well. If you ever get a chance to find the OST for the first season, I highly suggest taking a listen. The battle scenes are intense and exciting, the casual moonlight scenes (these are important story wise as well) are so relaxing and it all blends very well together.

I tried my best to eliminate all bias when writing this review, and it really was hard. I actually had it to 9/10 at first, but taking a step back I do feel comfortable giving this an 8/10 and I find it to be very fair. This show truly is one of the greats within this genre and I highly suggest taking a look at it!

7/10

 

[Aniston]

Definitely review Grave of the Fireflies, 5 Centimeters Per Second, Ghost in The Shell in the future -- even if you've already seen them. I'd love to see what you think of them, especially the second and third movies.

 

[_MEGA]

Definitely review Grave of the Fireflies, 5 Centimeters Per Second, Ghost in The Shell in the future -- even if you've already seen them. I'd love to see what you think of them, especially the second and third movies.

I've seen all of them. I'll add those to the list and get around to them eventually?.

 

[_MEGA]

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei

MAL Link

In the dawn of the 21st century, magic, long thought to be folklore and fairy tales, has become a systematized technology and is taught as a technical skill. In First High School, the institution for magicians, students are segregated into two groups based on their entrance exam scores: "Blooms," those who receive high scores, are assigned to the First Course, while "Weeds" are reserve students assigned to the Second Course.

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei follows the siblings, Tatsuya and Miyuki Shiba, who are enrolled in First High School. Upon taking the exam, the prodigious Miyuki is placed in the First Course, while Tatsuya is relegated to the Second Course. Though his practical test scores and status as a "Weed" show him to be magically inept, he possesses extraordinary technical knowledge, physical combat capabilities, and unique magic techniques—making Tatsuya the irregular at a magical high school.

Source: MAL

Although the plot is rather a generic setting we've seen countless times before, there was something a bit different from the get-go with this school battle fantasy harem magical life. That is an interesting and rather well developed main character who actually continues to grow during the show, or at least during part of it. Tatsuya (onii-sama), who is the main male protagonist, may have the lowest practical test scores, but his true potential lies in his knowledge and application. He quickly establishes himself as someone with amazing capabilities, but yet is composed and not out to claim glory. Even our female protagonist Miyuki can't get enough of her onii-sama!

As the story continues to progress, we start to learn more about the two siblings and their relationship with their family. Which, was rather stale and a bit generic for this setting. The main development happening for onii-sama is actually leading up to the multi-school competition. Good old onii-sama goes from being seen as the worst student in the school to one who can be relied upon and achieve great accomplishments.

Most of the other characters were rather bland and underdeveloped. Something of them may have some minor developments here and there, but they are not so much for themselves, but more for Tatsuya to grow. Even the story begins to fall out halfway through the series and gets a even a bit confusing near the end. I would say it was still fun enough to watch, but the transition from arc to arc was choppy. Almost as if they were on a time constriction.

But hey, for what it is, not really a bad show. Slightly better than average. In fact, if you are just getting into anime, this is probably a really good show to start with to help expand your viewing collection. I will admit, the initial introductions and character interactions are fun to start, but it just lacks some development all around which makes it rather bland towards the end.

6/10

 

[LeviTheDegu]

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei

MAL Link
​

Source: MAL

Although the plot is rather a generic setting we've seen countless times before, there was something a bit different from the get-go with this school battle fantasy harem magical life. That is an interesting and rather well developed main character who actually continues to grow during the show, or at least during part of it. Tatsuya (onii-sama), who is the main male protagonist, may have the lowest practical test scores, but his true potential lies in his knowledge and application. He quickly establishes himself as someone with amazing capabilities, but yet is composed and not out to claim glory. Even our female protagonist Miyuki can't get enough of her onii-sama!

As the story continues to progress, we start to learn more about the two siblings and their relationship with their family. Which, was rather stale and a bit generic for this setting. The main development happening for onii-sama is actually leading up to the multi-school competition. Good old onii-sama goes from being seen as the worst student in the school to one who can be relied upon and achieve great accomplishments.

Most of the other characters were rather bland and underdeveloped. Something of them may have some minor developments here and there, but they are not so much for themselves, but more for Tatsuya to grow. Even the story begins to fall out halfway through the series and gets a even a bit confusing near the end. I would say it was still fun enough to watch, but the transition from arc to arc was choppy. Almost as if they were on a time constriction.

But hey, for what it is, not really a bad show. Slightly better than average. In fact, if you are just getting into anime, this is probably a really good show to start with to help expand your viewing collection. I will admit, the initial introductions and character interactions are fun to start, but it just lacks some development all around which makes it rather bland towards the end.

6/10

T.T one of my top 10 gets rated so low

you should review Hai to Gensou no Grimgar (grimgar of fantasy and ash)

 

[_MEGA]

T.T one of my top 10 gets rated so low

you should review Hai to Gensou no Grimgar (grimgar of fantasy and ash)

6/10 isn't low. Low is like, 2 or 3. It's slightly above average! I'll add Grimgar to the list and get to it eventually

 

[_MEGA]

Arve Rezzle: Kikaijikake no Yousei-tachi

MAL Link

A cyber battle sci-fi. In 2022, the technology of quantum computing has greatly advanced and many people have transferred their mind into cyber space.

Remu's sister, Shiki, skipped grades and entered a high school in the academic city "Okinotori-island Mega Float City (OMFC)" when she was 14. One day, Shiki confessed to her brother via Skype that she was talking to him directly from the cyber space and that her real body had been kept in a water tank filled with a culture medium. It's called "body pool" and Shiki connected to the network by nanomachines implanted in her brain.

Remu was surprised but he accepted her decision until an accident called "Early Rupture" happened. The network server got overloaded and users' minds were lost in cyber space leaving soulless living bodies in the body pools. In order to bring Shiki's mind back, Remu visits her apartment in OMFC and there meets Shiki escaped from the hospital. But the girl tells him that she is not Shiki and she happened to have taken over Shiki's body.

When Remu tries to figure out the situation, a violent attack strikes the apartment.

Source: MAL

What initially caught my attention with this movie was the plot and the genre. As a fan of sci-fi in general, I figured this would be right up my alley. That tied in with some alien-like sounding intervention sounded really cool. However, I got something rather unexpected and pretty disappointing.

This movie was rather poor all around. I suppose it's more of a short film only lasting about 25 minutes or so, but it was still very underwhelming. The characters were rather bland and boring which I wasn't too concerned about considering they only had 25 minutes to create these characters, but it's just another flaw. Nothing wrong with having characters created quickly as long as they are still dynamic enough to be interesting. Personally, I actually really like seeing these brother-sister like dynamics in a setting such as this. I find it opens a lot of potential story wise and with character development, but that chance appears to have been missed to me.

Aside from my dislike of the characters, the story, or lack thereof, was not that great either. It really felt like they were trying to force so much content into so little time. With only 25 minutes, the plot was really jumping all over the place and too many things were going on at once that seemed to have little or no context surrounding them. Even the world itself showed a lot of neat futuristic technology, but compared to what was actually used throughout the short film felt unimpressive. Granted, it was only 25 minutes, but I don't think it is something I would plan on revisiting....

2/10

 

[Cody]

Have you watched Ajin on Netflix?

 

[_MEGA]

Have you watched Ajin on Netflix?

Not on Netflix, but I have seen it. I'll look into writing one for Ajin. I know there's a second season that will start airing soon. So maybe I'll get it out before then.

 

[Samurai_TwoSeven]

Definitely review Grave of the Fireflies, 5 Centimeters Per Second, Ghost in The Shell in the future -- even if you've already seen them. I'd love to see what you think of them, especially the second and third movies.

Crap, Grave of the Fireflies made me cry. And I'm emotionally broken

 

[_MEGA]

Fruits Basket

MAL Link

After the accident in which she lost her mother, 16-year-old Tooru moves in with her grandfather, but due to his home being renovated, is unable to continue living with him. Claiming she will find someone to stay with but also fearing the criticism of her family and not wanting to burden any of her friends, Tooru resorts to secretly living on her own in a tent in the woods.

One night on her way back from work, she finds her tent buried underneath a landslide. Yuki Souma, the "prince" of her school, and his cousin Shigure Souma, a famous author, stumble across Tooru's situation and invite her to stay with them until her grandfather’s home renovations are complete.

Upon arriving at the Souma house, Tooru discovers their secret: if a Souma is hugged by someone of the opposite gender, they temporarily transform into one of the animals of the zodiac! However, this strange phenomenon is no laughing matter; rather, it is a terrible curse that holds a dark history. As she continues her journey, meeting more members of the zodiac family, will Tooru's kindhearted yet resilient nature be enough to prepare her for what lies behind the Souma household's doors?

Source: MAL

I'll just get right into this one. Don't let labels fool you, despite the main target audience being females, I think everyone can enjoy this show. It's just so simple, sweet, and heart harming. Not a bad combination if you ask me. I'm sure if you read the description, you'd be thinking Tooru is devastated living in the woods on her on, but that's not really in the case. However, everything changes when she starts to live in the Souma household.

What really brings this show to life for me is the up lifting comedy. Just the premise, being hugged by someone of the opposite gender turns you into an animal? That is just fun in and of itself. Sadly, outside of the main cast of Tooru, Shigure, Yuki, and Kyou, most of the characters are average at best. Only a couple are rather interesting. But the interaction and love triangle that develops is too fun to pass up.

Anyway, as the story progresses Tooru starts to learn more and more about the Souma family, and especially Yuki, Shigure, and Kyou. Between their life at school and at home, everything does seem to be going well. However, something I feel that separates this from other shows in the genre is there is an antagonist of sorts. In fact, Akito, the god of the zodiac has information regarding the curse that transforms the Souma family into animals. Determine to help those she has come to care about, Tooru engages in our lovely drama filled romance slice of life show.

7.5/10

 

[_MEGA]

Isshuukan Friends.

MAL Link

Sixteen-year-old Yuuki Hase finally finds the courage to speak to his crush and ask her if she wants to become friends. The object of his affection, Kaori Fujimiya, is a quiet and reserved girl who cuts herself off from everyone and does not spare him the same blunt rejection she gives everybody else.

Some time after, Yuuki finds her eating lunch on the roof where she secludes herself during break. He decides to start meeting with Kaori every day in the hopes of beginning to understand her better. The more time they spend together, the more she begins to open up to him. However, nearing the end of the week, she starts to push him away once more. It is then revealed to him the reason for Kaori's cold front: at the end of the week, her memories of those close to her, excluding her family, are forgotten, as they are reset every Monday. The result of an accident in middle school, the once popular and kind Kaori is now unable to make friends in fear of hurting the people dear to her.

Determined to become more than just one week friends, Yuuki asks her the exact same question each Monday: "Would you like to be friends?" Because he knows that deep down, Kaori wishes for that more than anything.

Source: MAL

Isshuukan Friends. is probably one of the cutest shows I've seen in the past few years. All of the characters are just so normal to me, it's actually rather interesting. Similar to Minami-ke, these are types of shows that I feel stand out in the slice of life genre. You don't need any or anything fancy, just some normal people doing normal people things.

The story mainly revolves around Yuuki Hase and Kaori Fujimiya. Yuuki has a bit of a crush on Kaori, but she is always alone and doesn't seem to talk to anyone. After numerous attempts to get to know her, he finally learns her secret. She is suffering from a trauma that causes her to forget those she considers friend every Monday. When Yuuki first learns of this, he is determined to help her not only make memories, but hold on to them.

The show is 12 episodes of exactly that. Yuuki and Kaori growing to be closer and closer friends over time. They start to come up with ways to help Kaori remember her time of the previous week. Quickly Kaori's group of friends expands from just Yuuki to include some others and they all seem to mesh very well together. In fact, two of the side characters (Shougo and Saki) just compliment each other so well. It does give this group of friends a very "real" feeling to it I guess you could say. Also, Kaori is adorable.

7/10

 

[Shiznoe]

Can you review Naruto?

 

[_MEGA]

Can you review Naruto?

I could, but I probably won't. Most likely I'm going to avoid those main stream and long titles. Simple because of the length, there are some arcs that are fantastic while others are sub par, so saying, as an example, "episodes 25-32 are good, but 33-37 is filler and just bad" is weird to me. I might touch mainstream titles like Cowboy Bebop, Black Lagoon, Monogatari series, etc.

 

[Simon]

I could, but I probably won't. Most likely I'm going to avoid those main stream and long titles. Simple because of the length, there are some arcs that are fantastic while others are sub par, so saying, as an example, "episodes 25-32 are good, but 33-37 is filler and just bad" is weird to me. I might touch mainstream titles like Cowboy Bebop, Black Lagoon, Monogatari series, etc.

Black Lagoon would be cool, one of my favourites!

 

[_MEGA]

Black Lagoon would be cool, one of my favourites!

Maybe I'll get to that one sooner rather than later. It is also a personal favorite of mine. Although for the sake of a fair review, as it has been a bit of time, I might rewatch it. Although, because the summer season is fresh in my head, I might mass produce some of those reviews.

Also, in the soon? I do plan on posting the 2 anime works that I have see thus far that I felt truly deserved a 10/10.

 

[_MEGA]

Shinsekai Yori

MAL Link

Following a sudden outbreak of psychokinesis in 0.1% of the population, a rapid transformation swept the world. The godlike ability to manipulate matter remotely turned many power wielders to violence, inciting a long period of upheaval. Finally, after a chaotic era shaped by the rise and fall of oppressive regimes, the psychic humans were able to achieve a fragile peace by isolating their society, creating a new world bound by complex rules.

In the town of Kamisu 66, 12-year-old Saki Watanabe has just awakened to her powers and is relieved to rejoin her friends—the mischievous Satoru Asahina, the shy Mamoru Itou, the cheerful Maria Akizuki, and Shun Aonuma, a mysterious boy whom Saki admires—at Sage Academy, a special school for psychics. However, unease looms as Saki begins to question the fate of those unable to awaken to their powers, and the children begin to get involved with secretive matters such as the rumored Tainted Cats said to abduct children.

Shinsekai yori tells the unique coming-of-age story of Saki and her friends as they journey to grow into their roles in the supposed utopia. Accepting these roles, however, might not come easy when faced with the dark and shocking truths of society, and the impending havoc born from the new world

Source: MAL

Shinsekai Yori takes place in, what I call, a utopian dystopia. The story starts off with some backstory of the world and how it came to its current state. It's actual a very interesting development and gets pretty intense. As the psychokinesis users rise to dominance, a new society is created around this new lifestyle.

Years later, that's where the story starts for our characters. This story is actually split in three different time periods of the main characters. Childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The childhood and adolescence arcs are mainly used as coming of age stories for the characters. The childhood arc focuses on the curiosity of the children and their time on a school field trip. During this time, they are separated a bit from their group and are lost in the woods. This is where the story begins to unfold and the world, that once seemed so simple and small, begins to grow.

During the adolescence phase, the children are continuing their education back at school. They are starting to experience many different feelings such as love, jealously, anger, and so on. We also start to learn, through the characters, more about the true nature of this world. The characters themselves have been growing up and we too have been developing our knowledge of the world with them.

The final main phase of the story focuses on their adulthood. This is where the world is almost collapsing in on itself, metaphorically speaking of course. Without spoiling too much, we learn what happened to the humanity and the world to reach this state, as the dystopia element is more apparent than before.

Well, that's the story. I would highly suggest watching this when you aren't half asleep because there are so many elements to it that are important later on. The characters themselves are fantastic and very well written. The characters, who start of as innocent children, continue to grow and learn more about the world. And we learn with them which I though was an exciting development.

The voice acting as well, especially for Saki, Shun, and Satoru was phenomenal. There was one seen especially during their adolescence phase that I thought was voiced beautifully and really captured the intensity of the situation. You can really hear the emotions within their voice. Speaking of capturing the intensity, the music and scenery as well was great.

This anime does deal with a lot of topics, some that might make some uncomfortable, but it does it with the utmost care. I wish I could go into more detail, but that would only lead me to spoiling the show as it does need some context to explain. So, I will just end the official review here.

Also, as I had mentioned, this anime does contain some topics and themes that might make people uncomfortable. Nevertheless, I do really think it is at least worth giving a try. This is one of 2 pieces of anime that I personally feel deserve a 10/10. I'll be doing the other review very soon, so if this isn't your type, maybe the next one will be!

10/10

 

[_MEGA]

Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki

MAL Link

Hana, a hard-working college student, falls in love with a mysterious man who attends one of her classes though he is not an actual student. As it turns out, he is not truly human either. On a full moon night, he transforms, revealing that he is the last werewolf alive. Despite this, Hana's love remains strong, and the two ultimately decide to start a family.

Hana gives birth to two healthy children—Ame, born during rainfall, and Yuki, born during snowfall—both possessing the ability to turn into wolves, a trait inherited from their father. All too soon, however, the sudden death of her lover devastates Hana's life, leaving her to raise a peculiar family completely on her own. The stress of raising her wild-natured children in a densely populated city, all while keeping their identity a secret, culminates in a decision to move to the countryside, where she hopes Ame and Yuki can live a life free from the judgments of society. Wolf Children is the heartwarming story about the challenges of being a single mother in an unforgiving modern world.

Source: MAL

Ookami Kodomo, I think, is a truly beautiful and moving movie. The story focuses on Hana, a girl who meets Ookami, a man attending the same class as her. Curious about this mysterious guest, she decides to try and learn more about him. As their relationship develops, so does their love. As mentioned in the main description, it is revealed to Hana that Ookami is, in fact, a werewolf. This is a trait passed onto their children. After the death of Ookami, the story focuses on Hana's transition into the life of a single mother and protecting her children.

After her husband's death, Hana decides it would be better to move to a less populated area where the secret of her family could not be easily exposed. Although Ame is rather reserved about showing his wolf form, due to him not being comfortable in it, Yuki loves to run around as a wolf. Their relationships with their mother and classmates slowly seems to reverse this as Yuki decides she wants to be more like a normal human girl and Ame begins to prefer his wolf side.

Story aside, I want to take a moment and talk about the art. I don't normally touch on it, but I really felt this was such a large factor in my enjoyment. With the art, it definitely feels and appears to be an older style. Generally speaking, on average, it's just more simple. I feel that the simplicity of the art really enhanced the beauty of the world that was created around the characters. As majestic mountains and open fields are, the simple approached really seemed to fit this movie. Just the story of a simple woman trying to lead a simple life with her children.

As it is a movie, I don't want to say too much so I can avoid spoiling the plot. However, as the previous series, this is the only other work I have, so far, given a 10/10 too. If you're in the mood for a nice heartwarming movie and have a couple of hours to spare, I highly suggest checking this one out.

10/10

 

[_MEGA]

White Album 2

MAL Link

Haruki Kitahara's light music club is on the verge of disbanding. At this rate, the third year's dream of performing at the school festival would never be realized. However, as his exhausted fingers drift through the chords of "White Album," the first song he would ever play, an angelic voice and mysterious piano begin harmonizing with his lonely guitar. It is a momentous performance that marks the beginning of everything for Haruki.

White Album 2 orchestrates Haruki's final semester with complex romance and exhilarating music, as the curtains of the stage he so desired begin to open...

Source: MAL

White Album 2 is another high school love triangle that we see in many shows these days. It is based on a visual novel of the same name, and is only related to the original White Album in name only. The two take place in the same universe with the song "White Album" being the only thing carrying over from the original.

As mentioned, a majority of the show takes place during Haruki's time as a third year student. In Japan, high school is 3 years as opposed to the 4 we often see in the West, so it is indeed his last year. Our three main characters and ingredients for the love triangle seem to be drawn to each other through their music, and that's where I think this show has its pull. Bringing the characters together through music as opposed to simply being friends or being introduced to each other by friends, I did enjoy that aspect of the beginning of the relationship.

I wouldn't say the story itself really stood out in any particular way, but there wasn't anything in the story that I felt put off by while watching. It was a very easy watch without having to worry about not being entertained each episode. As the show reaches its climax, the drama does begin to come in full swing which I enjoyed, as it added some spice to an otherwise rather bland story. I think the drama was brought in at the right time without being too overbearing to derail the entire story.

As for the characters, I'm rather glad most of the side characters were pushed to the side. It allowed for more time to get to know the three main characters so their actions would have more impact on us as viewers. I think the three played very well off of each other and, as far as a love triangle goes, I think the two girls were different enough but not quite polar opposites to make the story interesting. To give you an idea - for as much as I enjoy Yahari/Hamachi/Oregairu, I find that Yui and Yukino are too different of characters that it sort of feels odd to have them within the same love triangle.

Overall, a pretty solid show. Nothing really stood out as overly great to me, but I didn't feel that any part was really "bad" either. A bit above average for sure and definitely worth a watch if these types of shows are up your alley.

6.5/10

 

[Samurai_TwoSeven]

Have you reviewed any Ghibli flicks yet Mega? Those movies made up my childhood.