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May 5, 2024
From the creative mind of Sunghoo Park, who is known for being the director of Jujutsu Kaisen’s first season, is a Toonami and Adult Swim original anime, Ninja Kamui. Basically, this anime is just John Wick but with sci-fi ninjas. When I first heard of this as it was coming out, I was intrigued, especially since there will be a John Wick anime in the near future, and since this was going to be Park’s first anime to be working on since Jujutsu Kaisen and Eiichiro Oda’s Monsters, I was bound to check it out.
I’ll admit, when the first episode Ninja Kamui dropped, I was
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completely blown away by the animation, and the premise alone had potential. The premiere is a great hook into this series, with the simplistic storyline of a former ninja leaving the organization he was meant to dedicate his life to in order to live a peaceful life and raise a family, only for said livelihood to be uprooted when the ghosts of his past come back to haunt him and kill his family as a form of punishment for abandoning his clan. This sets off the revenge storyline that is the main course of this show, so because of this, I wasn’t looking for anything deep or thought-provoking, and if anything, after seeing how brutal and well animated and choreographed the fights were in the first few episodes, I just wanted a simple and serviceable action plot with some cool fight sequences to keep me invested. However, as the show kept on going, the writing started to lose focus on what it wanted to be. What I mean by this is that there is so much screen time dedicated to boring, uninteresting, and unnecessary subplots surrounding things like environmentalism and politics which surrounds the main antagonists, AUZA, which to simplify things, is like if you took all of Elon Musk’s business ventures and mashed it up into one corporation.
As more episodes kept dropping weekly, the revenge storyline started to be more of an after-thought as everything related to AUZA started to take center stage, and, to put it bluntly, it sucks. However, there are sporadic moments throughout the season where the show does focus in on the ninja side of things, like what it really means to be a ninja, but all of these are underdeveloped because so much of the screen time needs to be allocated to boring multi-billion dollar corporation schlock, which would have been interesting if it wasn’t so bland and generic, and ninja mechs.
Yeah that’s another thing; I understand that this anime is called ‘Ninja Kamui,’ with the “Kamui” part focusing on the mech stuff, but this show really takes a nosedive in quality once the sci-fi ninja suits take the spotlight. I actually think the idea of ninjas in robotic suits fighting one another could have been really cool, but this show made me groan in annoyance every time I saw them on screen. Now don’t get me wrong, whenever there isn’t any CGI on-screen, the fight sequences are actually really well done. We get some very intense fight scenes whenever the ninjas are fighting each other out of their suits, but all of that praise is thrown out the window once the show starts shoving the mech suits down your throat. Not only are the designs for all of the suits complete garbage, they look horrible in fights, mainly because the show is forced to use 3D CGI to animate these monstrosities. All of the fights with these suits are very stiff and restrictive, which is in stark contrast to the non-CGI fights with very fluid movements. On top of that, there is so much screen time with these mech suits, so if you don’t like mediocre CGI fight scenes with basically robots, then this anime is not for you.
As for the characters, almost everyone in this anime is either one-dimensional, over-the-top edgy, or lifeless. The protagonist, Higan, is probably the most soulless main character I’ve seen in a story like this, which is not good considering how simple the plot is. You’d think that a main character who goes on a revenge quest would have some shred of personality, but all that Higan does throughout all thirteen episodes of this series is brood. That’s it. Whenever this show tries to pull off a moving character moment with either Higan or whoever he’s talking to, it falls so flat because there is barely anything to keep me invested in the main character or his journey to exact revenge for his family’s deaths. The side characters are extremely poorly written, and I did not care for any of them whenever something happened to them at all. 99% of the supporting cast, as well as the villains, are either weirdos who cuss and make sexual innuendos as a way to make their characters quirky, or just as lifeless as Higan. The antagonists (yes, there are two of them) are poorly written and have very little to no dynamic with the main characters which makes the fights between them almost meaningless. The secondary antagonist, Joseph, is a giant manchild who either tries to be a quirky billionaire asshole geek or makes a ton of unfunny sex jokes, and the main antagonist, Yamaji, is such a shallow villain to the point where I felt absolutely nothing when he died in the finale. I honestly couldn't care less about Higan completing his revenge quest since so much screen time was diverted away from building upon both the central storyline and the main villain. This show also had the audacity to try to pull a pseudo-redemption plotline with Zai, one of Higan’s former friends back when he was still in the clan, but it falls so flat because of how rushed and undeserved it was.
I feel like Sunghoo Park could direct a great original anime, but he definitely needs a proper team around him to fine tune everything this show tries to do. Now even though the majority of this review is just me shitting on this anime, it isn’t the worst thing ever. As a revenge storyline, it’s pretty generic, and there are occasionally some great animated scenes, but the writing really needs to be polished up on. This show tries to be super edgy by taking a page out of HBO’s Titan show by characters making sexual quips and cussing in every other line of dialogue. The story really needs to focus on one thing and stick to it and flesh out the most important aspects of the narrative regarding the main character and their revenge story. This is Park’s first original anime he directed, so hopefully he comes out with more bangers in the future.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Apr 28, 2024
If you're like me and love the Spy x Family show, then the Code White movie is just for you. Since this film is a side story to the main series, this Spy x Family: Code White can be enjoyed by really anyone, whether you've kept up with the anime/manga, or if you haven't been following Spy x Family. This movie does a quick overview of the current state of the Spy x Family story to keep both new viewers and fans alike fresh on what's happening with the Forgers.
The writing itself is very much streamlined with the show which is great if you've been
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itching for more wacky silly fun from Anya, Loid, and Yor. The slice of life elements of this movie do a pretty good job at entertaining us with the goofiness of the Forgers that fans of the show would be all so familiar with going into this film, while also laying out what makes these characters so loveable and enjoyable to follow for those who haven't seen the show before.
Since Code White is a movie, I assume that the budget given for this film is higher than your typical Spy x Family season, which is evident in a few scenes sprinkled throughout the movie. There are a moments sporadically placed throughout the runtime of the film where it really did seem like the animation team was allowed to go all out and deliver something really pleasing to watch, and something that they probably wouldn't have been able to do in the flagship show.
As fun as this movie was, there was a slight drawback that I had, that being the ending. I get that Spy x Family: Code White is meant to be a non-canon side story meant to please the appetite of fans of the show while also potentially drawing in new audiences, the story does feel a little bit... pointless. I'm not gonna spoil much, but there was a moment that does pass by very quickly that kind of made the entire journey a little bit meaningless. However, it's not enough to hold back the film since the whole point of this movie is to have the main three characters spend more time as a family. That is the core foundation of this series, and this movie is very much streamlined with that narrative.
Overall, Spy x Family: Code White is a fun movie that can be viewed and enjoyed by anyone. If you need something to feed your insatiable appetite for Spy x Family, then this movie will do just that. If you're someone that hasn't seen the show before, then this movie will serve you just fine, and maybe even convince you to check out the rest of this anime
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 30, 2024
To be brutally honest, the Winter 2024 season wasn’t that great. Typically in winter anime slates, we get hundreds of copy-and-paste trash isekai and mind-numbing ecchi that only exists for shock value, and this year’s winter slate makes that case even more apparent. However, there are a few diamonds in the rough anime that air during these three and a half months, and outside of the leftovers from Fall 2023, The Dangers in My Heart Season 2 is the best out of the bunch. After a very engaging first season, Kyotaro Ichikawa and Anna Yamada are back and their story is somehow even better than
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what we got last time. All of the major complaints that I had with BokuYaba, outside of its animation, are all gone in Season 2, so much so that I feel like retroactively bumping down Season 1’s score just a little bit. The reason why that is the case because this season does an amazing job honing in on the main couple of this series while also enriching the overall setting of this anime by providing more depth to side characters, introducing the right amount of new cast members that add more vibrancy to the story, and perfectly progressing Kyotaro and Anna’s relationship. This season is so perfectly pace, with each episode starting off with the main characters living their lives and actually doing things that a normal couple would do, give us some fun and entertaining interactions with the supporting cast, and finally end the episode with a bang. There is not a single episode of this season that doesn’t have a moment that floors you: whether it be Ichikawa’s internal growth finally manifesting or Kyotaro giving Anna the most heartwarming and perfectly executed confession that is more than earned.
This anime likes to take baby steps with its character development and plot progression, with each aspect of both Ichikawa and Yamada’s lives being fully fleshed out so that these characters not only have even more reasons to love one another, but to also make us viewers care about their relationship and all of the hardships and struggles that might come with it. There is not a second wasted in this season when it comes to perfectly developing and fleshing out both the main and supporting cast. Side characters like Kana Ichikawa, Moeko Sekine, Honoka Hara, Kenta Kanzaki, and Shou Adachi are all given the spotlight in this season as well to either progress their own plotlines, like Hara and Kanzaki, or to provide fun yet narratively important dynamics with the main couple. That’s another thing with The Dangers in My Heart Season 2: this show is surprisingly funny. I never mentioned this in my Season 1 review, but that season felt a little tame on the comedic elements of the story, which is something that’s vastly improved this time. The new additions to the show, like Yuuki Yamada (Anna’s dad), Nico Kouda, Kanna Andou, etc. add a ton of humor that makes this season even more enjoyable to watch. Overall, BokuYaba Season 2 is an improvement over Season 1, with gripes from the previous season mostly gone while adding aspects that make this series more vibrant, all while progressing the story and characters to a very satisfying point by the time the finale comes around.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Mar 30, 2024
Every season, there will be an anime that is overhyped to the extreme, with people saying things like “this anime will be part of the new-gen Big 3,” “this anime should be the ONLY anime to watch this season/year,” “this anime will be THE Anime of the Year.” If you’ve been on the anime side of the internet for at least a week, you’ll see people within the community saying this all the time, only for the said anime to be anything but whatever they were hyping up. Solo Leveling is the newest in this long line of annoying-ass overhyped and overrated anime. This series
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revolves around Jinwoo Sung who went through a near-death experience and is given a second chance at life with a video game menu that lets him “level up.” I saw a lot of people saying that this series is “drastically” different from the rest of the fantasy genre, and I don’t know if that statement is bait or if these fans haven’t watched or read any other fantasy animanga or manhwa because Solo Leveling is the most power fantasy to ever power fantasy… except it’s boring. First off, Jinwoo before his reawakening was a very meek and kind character who actually tried to put in any amount of real effort in anything he ever wanted to do, even if it could potentially lead to his death. Once Jinwoo reawakens, gets the video game menu, and starts turning into a fitness YouTuber, his entire character changes, both from a visual and personality standpoint. The transition from weak to buff Jinwoo is very jarring because it happens off-screen and once he does become this super badass, his entire character changes into this stoic and edgy guy who looks like he’s working out for the role of the next Batman in James Gunn’s DCU.
That’s the thing with this anime: information and just overall narrative choices are conveyed to us in half-assed ways like with Jinwoo’s character development, or they’re spoon-fed to us in the most egregious manner possible. There is no brevity in Solo Leveling because when there aren’t fights on screen, the majority of the screen time is devoted to characters in conversations reiterating things that were already conveyed to us earlier in the season. The episode where Jinho tries to start his own Hunter guild consists of a conversation where he literally goes over how the guilds work, but we were literally given this information in the first 2-3 episodes of the season. This show struggles to get its point across, despite the premise being super simple and not hard to understand: a guy almost dies, gets new powers and uses said powers to level up by going into dungeons and fighting monsters. That’s it. The actual fights themselves are decent and A-1 did a pretty good job with the overall animation. However, these moments are severely held back by Jinwoo verbally telling the audience what is visually going on in the fight. This show can’t go on for five minutes straight without characters spoon-feeding you information that we either don’t need or already know. Solo Leveling is a glorified audiobook and nothing and no one can change my mind on that. To those that say that this anime is A-1 Pictures’ best work, please watch more anime that aren’t mindless action schlock.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Mar 30, 2024
The second season of Mashle takes what made Season 1 fun and enjoyable and delivers on pretty much almost the same. If you liked the first season of this anime, then The Divine Visionary Candidate Exam Arc will work for you as well. Comparatively, there are more stakes in this season as Mash now is forced to take the Divine Visionary Candidate Exam to progress not only his academic journey at Easton Magic Academy, but to simply survive in a magical world without magic. This season plays it safe and doesn’t do anything new or different from the first season, which isn’t bad at all.
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If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and it’s very much the case here. The overall atmosphere is a little bit more intense this time around since Mash and his friends take part in an exam where failure would mean the end of their journey, but the whimsical and over-the-top aspects of Mashle is still present here, although not as prevalent as it was in Season 1. The primary focus of this arc narratively is on Mash’s impact on everyone around him. The first season focused on Mash making his mark in the magical world, while this season utilizes more screen time dedicated to the supporting cast and how they perceive the protagonist, as well as the impact that he has left on them. This narrative choice works really well in visualizing the overwhelming contrast in lifestyle Mash has with everyone else around him, as well as giving us a taste of the potential that Mash can have in the larger setting of this story. This arc also fully introduces Innocent Zero and his correlation to Mash Burnedead and this season does an overall good job making him an intimidating overarching villain for this series.
Despite the *slightly* more serious tone of this season, The Divine Visionary Candidate Exam Arc is still a fun ride from start to finish, and fans of the first season will definitely feel at home with this arc. And yes, the opening is peak.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 29, 2024
Sound! Euphonium: Ensemble Contest Arc is the first installment in this series that fully features Kumiko Oumae as the president for Kitauji’s concert band club. I don’t have too much to say about this TV special other than it’s a decent OVA that focuses on Kumiko in a role she’s never been in before. I really like how this arc is just centered around Kumiko not having her shit together, which works really well for her character as she struggles and learns all of the hardships of being THE leader of the concert band club. This TV special alludes to and references the struggles that
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previous presidents of this club have gone through, with it all perfectly reflected in Kumiko’s arc. The Sound! Euphonium series has done a really good job giving its central protagonist challenges that ties in with all of the experiences Kumiko has been through, which end up being moments that she uses as lessons to help her find a satisfying resolution for not only herself, but for everyone else around her. The Ensemble Contest Arc keeps up with this tradition by having Kumiko reflect with her experiences with both the club president in her first year, Haruka, as well as the hardships she has been through with characters like Reina Kousaka.
The only aspects of this hour long special that I have some reservations about were its pacing and the ending. There are many scenes in this arc that dragged on for too long, whether it be small talk between characters or just doing menial tasks. I definitely think that at least 10-15 minutes could have been shaved off of this special in order to maintain a decent level of brevity in this arc. The ending for this arc kind of took me out of it a bit. Instead of actually seeing Kumiko’s group perform at the auditions, this special uses a glorified slideshow to announce the results of said auditions while her group’s piece plays in the background. I would have preferred if this TV special took the same approach as other installments in this series by having a climatic performance and having an actual announcement of the winners. I understand that this arc isn’t anything big, and is ultimately something to hype up the third and final season of this anime, but I think something like what we got before would have made this arc just a little bit better. Overall, the Ensemble Contest Arc is a fine little piece of Sound! Euphonium to build up what we could expect to see in Season 3.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 29, 2024
Out of the four Sound! Euphonium movies, Our Promise: A Brand New Day is the only one that actually progresses the story for the main character’s of this series. The first two films were compilation movies of Seasons 1 and 2, Liz and the Blue Bird is a side story, and now we finally have this movie which focuses on Kumiko’s second year at Kitauji High. I know I’m super late to this series, but when I heard that the entire second year would be covered in one feature-length film, I was definitely worried. I had a few concerns that I had with how the
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execution of this arc would go, and now that I’ve finished this movie, some of my concerns came true, but not all.
Before this review gets all doom and gloom from my contrarian ass, I’ll go over the things that I liked. First and foremost, I did like this movie. The themes in this film I think resonate really well with all of the main characters we’ve been following up until this point and they all do a great job developing and updating said characters. Kumiko going through a very minor romance subplot with Shuuichi Tsukamoto as well as taking on a more leadership role within the concert band was executed very well. The main focus of this movie is to mature Kumiko and it does that very well. Many of the interactions that she has with the first years all do a great job progressing her into a more “mentor” type of role, which all works towards her becoming the captain/president of the concert band club in the post credits scene of the film. One of the many concerns that I had going into this movie was that it would introduce too many new characters for the writing to handle and that many of these new additions to the cast might feel forced, and I’m happy to say that this movie doesn’t fall into that. Many of the new additions have a certain role in this film, even if it’s a minor one. Characters like Kanade, Motomu, Satsuki, and Mirei are the new additions to keep an eye on in this movie and they are all acceptable to great dynamics with the second years and serve as good complimentary pieces to other characters who have more prominent roles in the story. Kanade is a very well written character and in many ways feels like a mix between the likes of Reina and Nozomi, which works really well for her subplot in the film.
I did mention that a concern that I had going into this movie would be that there would be too many characters brought in, leading to their roles feeling forced in the narratives. Although this movie doesn’t fall into that issue, it does suffer from another, that being that some of the plotlines that revolve around the new characters feel rushed and, at times, underdeveloped. Don’t get me wrong, the first years are overall good additions to this series, and I hope we see more of them in Season 3, however this movie tries to flesh them out the same way they did for other side characters in both Season 1 and 2, which obviously doesn’t work the same since this movie is 100 minutes long. Since there’s less time to flesh these characters out, their backstories and motivations are spoon-fed to us via exposition dumping and it does bog down the movie at times. Our Promise: A Brand New Day has pacing issues all around and that is mainly due to the fact that this feature-length film is attempting to be structured like a typical 12 episode anime season. Although the character work for characters like Kumiko are done exceptionally well, this movie has to speedrun the characterization for others so that it can get to the next subplot that it wants to cover. Mirei’s internal conflict with how she fits in the concert band has a lot of potential and the same can be said for Kanade’s backstory with her middle school competition, but there just needs to be more time for these plotlines to be fully developed and enriched with enough depth to feel natural.
For me personally, I feel like the narrative that this movie follows would’ve been better if it was in a TV show format. To sum up my thoughts for this film, I’d say that there are a ton of interesting ideas and an abundance of potential for many of the new characters that were introduced in this installment in the larger Sound! Euphonium series, but the ideas surrounding these characters needed to stay in the oven a bit more for them to be fully cooked. I did mention that the role that these characters had in this movie was good, and I still mean that. Having the new supporting cast be used narratively to help Kumiko grow into a leader role was done very well. The tension between Kanade and Natsuki - although slightly rushed - was very interesting and added depth to both of these characters and overall delivered in a *mostly* compelling subplot. This movie’s third act was also done really well, mainly because that was Kitauji’s performance at the competition. This movie is at its best when it’s focusing on just one thing which allows for the writing to hone in on that one focal point of the story. What made the third act even better was that Kitauji was performing the same piece that was the central focus in the Liz and the Blue Bird movie, which just so happened to be the same piece of the movie’s namesake. This movie actually rewards you for watching Liz and the Blue Bird because it delivers the final emotional payoff of that storyline between Mizore and Nozomi on top of narratively bringing every other character arc relevant to this competition full circle.
In short, Sound! Euphonium - Our Promise: A Brand New Day has some setbacks along the way, with some narrative choices feeling a bit off, but ultimately delivers in the end and brings all characters to a satisfying point in their journey. This kind of narrative would’ve been best utilized as a TV season in order to fully flesh out all of the plotlines along the way. Hell, I’d even say that if this story was turned into a full-on 12 episode season, it honestly would have been better than Season 2. Yeah, I’m not kidding. If there was more time devoted to all of the side characters here, I genuinely think we would’ve gotten a more emotionally compelling story than what we got in Season 2.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 29, 2024
This anime is… fine. I don’t have a ton to say about this show so I’m gonna try to keep this short. The Weakest Tamer is a nice and slow fantasy series about a girl going on a journey to various towns, meeting new people, and just living her life. The intrigue behind the main character of this anime, Ivy, is actually pretty good and the show does a great job putting her through the ringer, having her be rejected by both her family and her entire village as well as uncovering dark truths throughout her adventures. The many subplots that Ivy goes on in
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each town that she visits are engaging and have some level of depth poured into the writing, however the actual execution is the most bare-bone in the fantasy genre. That’s not to say that it’s bad, it’s just very average. Majority of the side characters basically just act as people who are fascinated by Ivy adventuring on her own, although the supporting cast in the last few episodes had some good dynamic with the protagonist of this show. Speaking of, the last set of episodes that revolved around Ivy and her friends exposing a secret organization that trafficked children in that town was genuinely interesting and engaging but it felt a little too short as well as not really fitting in line with what this series is about. That’s the thing with this anime: this show is called The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash. I understand that Ivy helping this town uncover this secret dark organization is part of her overall journey, but there’s something to it that just doesn’t really fit the overall tone of this show.
Another thing that took me out of the anime a bit would be whenever Ivy has a “revelation” given to her by her other life. I don’t really know how to explain this so stick with me here: Ivy occasionally gets messages from her other life before she was reincarnated into the world she’s in now. These messages don’t really progress the show a ton outside of having Ivy talk to herself and verbally explain the message she just got. I think it would have been nice at the very least to hear this other voice in her head instead of just having the main character spoon feed us what was said to her mentally. Outside of that, this anime is okay. If you need a slow and easy fantasy anime to watch, The Weakest Tamer is just for you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 27, 2024
Liz and the Blue Bird is the Sound! Euphonium side story film from Naoko Yamada, who also directed A Silent Voice. Naturally, a director with a filmography that consists of some great hits, a lot of people will check this movie out, whether they’ve seen Sound! Euphonium or not. This brings into question whether or not you need to see the show first before delving into this film, but I will get to that later on.
First things first, how is the movie itself? For me, it’s pretty good, but there are some aspects about this film that I think are some minor setbacks, which I’ll
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also get to later. I’ll go over what worked really well for me, starting with the writing. The plot of this movie revolves around Mizore and Nozomi as they work towards a solo piece they will perform for Kitauji’s concert band. This piece is based off of the ‘Liz and the Blue Bird’ fairy tale, which consists of a girl, Liz, learning to let go of a blue bird she meant. This plot within a plot is solely meant to serve as a metaphor for the two main characters of this story. The piece that is inspired off of this fairy tale also used really well narratively to help both Mizore and Nozomi realize their roles in both the piece’s third movement and their relationship with one another, with that ultimately pushing the two of them to finally find what they want in the future. It’s a very beautiful narrative and this movie really felt like the emotional payoff that I wanted to see from these two characters in Season 2 of the show. I really like the idea of Mizore and Nozomi not immediately being best buds after the big moment that they had in the show as this not only makes their dynamic more compelling, it also gives them a ton of room for character development and to lay out more depth on top of what we already saw from the series. This movie absolutely justifies its continuation of Mizore and Nozomi’s story, and does so in a way that kept me invested from start to finish.
On top of some very compelling writing, the animation is gorgeous. Since this is from the same director as A Silent Voice, expect the same stunning visuals here as well. I really liked all of the fairy tale scenes, and just the scenery overall felt so atmospheric and breathtaking. The use of watercolor painting is great and helps keep the overall movie within the fairy tale-esque setting and tone. Everything about the visuals is a near masterpiece for me. Yes, a “near” masterpiece. Now don’t get me wrong, both the animation and art style are really good, but I’m not sure it fits this particular series. If you go back and watch the rest of the Sound! Euphonium seasons and movies, it has a very distinct art style that screams “Sound! Euphonium.” Characters in the flagship show have unique hairstyles, eye colors, etc. that make them easily recognizable and distinctive. However, in Liz and the Blue Bird, many of the character designs look muted when compared to their TV show counterparts. Mizore doesn’t have that same unique blue hair that further adds to how cold and distant she is from everyone else. Side characters in this film that have main and prominent roles in the show like Kumiko, Reina, and Yuuko have their designs neutered to fit the overall visual tone of this movie. Again, the art style in Liz and the Blue Bird is beautiful, but it doesn’t really fit these set of characters.
Having the plot within the plot narrative in any movie or show is tricky to pull off, but many stories utilize it really well. Liz and the Blue Bird uses it in a way that helps convey the emotional state that the main characters currently find themselves in. However, the only issue that I have with this narrative choice is that the actual fairy tale in the story seems a little under-developed for my liking. We don’t really know why Liz likes the blue bird and vice versa, which makes the departure of the two a little less emotional. I understand that this subplot is meant to further develop both Mizore and Nozomi, but I would’ve liked to have the tale fleshed out just a little bit more to perfectly reflect what the main duo in this movie is going through. Another aspect of this movie that wasn’t to my liking has to be the pacing. I typically like slow-burn movies and shows, especially ones that like to devote the screen time to building depth for the story, characters, and setting. However, this film moves at a snail's pace and doesn’t really justify it. There are scenes that either don’t really need to be here, or could have been cut to be a little bit shorter. I don’t think we need long, drawn-out scenes of characters hanging out for no rhyme or reason, and this is coming from someone who loves the slice of life genre in not only anime, but in entertainment in general. A lot of the slower moments in the movie don’t really work towards anything, and in fact reiterate details we are already aware of at that point in the story. Having the film visually show us the contrast in popularity between the two main characters is nice in the first act, but a lot of screen time is just this over and over again. I definitely think there could’ve been a bit more brevity in building both Mizore and Nozomi’s characters especially since you’d already know most of this if you’ve watched the show. This leads into an aspect of this movie that needs to be taken into consideration.
Liz and the Blue Bird is listed as and is known for being a side story for Sound! Euphonium. A side story means that you don’t need to consume this piece of media to progress to the more narratively important parts of a series. Side stories can also be so detached from the main series that you can go in raw without any prior knowledge of what came before or even after it. As I mentioned earlier, this film is a continuation of Mizore and Nozomi’s characters, who first made their appearance in Sound! Euphonium Season 2. Because of this, many people are under the assumption that because this movie consists of two side characters from the flagship anime, they can watch this without any context of the show, however, that is simply not the case with this movie. First off, the first act of this movie does briefly reference the most relevant plot points regarding Nozomi and Mizore’s relationship and does so in a way that is concise and straight to the point. However, many of the the emotional beats behind these moments in the film, as well as other scenes in general, rely on both the narrative and emotional context from the Sound! Euphonium show. This movie doesn’t cover why Nozomi left Kitauji’s concert band in her first year there, Mizore and Nozomi’s reunion, and the reason why they even wanted to join the concert band in high school, all of which are extremely important plot points that make the emotional beats much more impactful. Hell, even some scenes with side characters here have much more significance without knowledge of the show. The conversation that Reina Kousaka has with Mizore, as well as Reina playing the solo parts of the third movement with Kumiko has a much greater impact narratively if you knew what those two characters went through in the first two seasons of Sound! Euphonium.
The reason why I even have that section of the review is because a ton of people saw this movie for the pure reason that this is from the same director who did A Silent Voice, not because it’s a Sound! Euphonium movie. If you went in with the mindset of the former, then you would not get the full picture if you did the latter, because just thinking about some scenes without any prior context would make this movie make less sense. Why would a film focused on Mizore and Nozomi have a scene dedicated to two side characters playing the solo part? Well, turns out those side characters just so happen to be the main duo of the main Sound! Euphonium series, and those two practicing that part holds much more significance after understanding what those two went through.
Overall, Liz and the Blue Bird is a great movie to watch for anyone who loves the emotional beats and storytelling from Sound! Euphonium. Despite some minor hiccups, this doesn’t stop this movie from delivering an overall compelling narrative with two characters who absolutely deserve the spotlight. But please, for the love of everything that is holy, watch the show first. Please don’t go into this raw. Trust me when I say that you will get the bigger picture if you actually watch Sound! Euphonium Seasons 1 and 2 first.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 27, 2024
This anime is so gay, and I fucking love it. Seriously, Cherry Magic is an anime you need if you just want to experience a great drama/romance that is unapologetic in its themes. The main couple of Kiyoshi Adachi and Yuuichi Kurosawa is probably one of the best couples we’ve gotten in modern romance anime, and the biggest aspect behind why has to be the stark contrast of their lives. The contrasting lifestyles between Adachi and Kurosawa put them in scenarios throughout this show that challenge the bond between these two, which ultimately further builds the dynamic between this couple, making their relationship very compelling.
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From Adachi having magical abilities to read people’s minds, Yuuichi being the most popular and attention-grabbing person in any scene he’s in while contrasting that with how everyone looks down upon Kiyoshi, to given job opportunities that threaten to both physically and emotionally distance the main characters, the writing in this anime puts both Adachi and Kurosawa through the ringer, with the show’s endgame to develop these two into the best version of themselves by the time the finale rolls around. Alongside the KuroAda ship, the show also has a side-couple like in many other romance animanga, with Masato Tsuge and Minato Wataya occupying these roles for this series. This anime also does a great job fleshing out these two and making us care about this couple, however, for me, the last few episodes kind of rushed the subplot between these two just a little bit. These two characters still find a satisfying conclusion for their storyline, and I understand that these two are not the main focus of this series, but I would have preferred if there was just a little bit more time devoted to these two so that their ending can feel just a little bit more natural. Outside of that, Cherry Magic overall delivered on a very compelling romantic narrative that kept me invested in each episode. We really need more BL anime like this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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