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Jan 6, 2021
Just read it. Please. You'll waste less time and if you really are interested, it's light years ahead and you won't have to wait for the 4 seasons that they're going to most assuredly drag out.
This story simply could be any more inducive to me banging my head on my desk. It quite honestly hurts to read OR watch. Kazuya is pathetic and the rest of the story is just, quite frankly, cringey. Let's be real here, I'm gonna guess that most of us have had failed relationships and they hurt, that's obvious. But how PATHETIC do you have to be to rent a girlfriend?
...
Is that supposed to make him feel better? The entire premise of the story here just doesn't connect with me nearly at all.
In a story where the creator tries to be so endearing and heartwarming (read the manga), it just ends up being something for everyone to laugh and cringe at. I've found that this story ended up being a, "Well, at least I'm not like that guy!" for a lot of people. Quite honestly, who can blame them?
The bottom line is, it is all a mess. It has no clear direction and tries to be Nisekoi and can't even live up such a bottom tier predecessor. It hurts to watch or read and you may as well just drop it before it even starts.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Jul 9, 2019
!!! ATTENTION: THIS REVIEW IS NOT AS IN DEPTH AS I WOULD HAVE LIKED BECAUSE I WANTED TO LEAVE OUT ANY SPOILERS. !!!
Before getting into this review, I think you need to understand something. That something is: that a majority of the love for this film comes from a love of the series. It comes from a love of the directing style, the character dynamics, and the eccentric plot. If you don't love these things about Monogatari, then you won't love Zoku Owari, the ultimate Monogatari.
Zoku Owari is the ultimate Monogatari. Why is it the ultimate Monogatari? Because it's the most Monogatari, Monogatari. Everything from
...
the wacky artistic direction down to the stupid mannerisms is exactly what Monogatari is to me.
In my personal experience, watching any Monogatari just once is never enough. I feel as if I have to watch each Monogatari at least twice or even three times to truly digest everything. There is so much to marvel at from the perfect dialogue, to background art, to character designs, to the wide array of artistic styles within seconds of one another.
But on top of all that complexity is a deeply intertwined story that requires your full attention for the entirety of the series. It requires you to invest yourself in Araragi Koyomi's world and to devote yourself to seeing his story play out. Although Owari is the, "end," we get to see Araragi finally close the last chapter of his high school life in Zoku.
So now to specifically get into Zuko, I'll start off with possibly my favorite part of the entire film: the stupidity.
The stupidity of this film is completely overwhelming. I would, in most cases, criticize films for bringing up plot holes but then dismissing them as if they didn't exist but actually in Monogatari, I don't care. The story has set itself up as one which can just plainly excuse anything that might be seen as questionable and to be honest, that's fine with me. I think that I am most fine with this because it fits perfectly into the artistic, comedic, and storytelling direction that I have fell so much in love with.
But on top of the usual eccentric direction the story explores, it felt as if Zoku maximized the potential of this artistic style without being too overwhelming. I would normally insert an example here but I can't give mine because it would simply ruin this scene and spoil it for anyone who wants to watch the film. But, what I can say is that it uses something set up as a precedent in Owari, and completely flips it on it's head. Just like you may think you know what's going to happen then you don't as Owari does, Zoku uses an exactly opposite technique but achieves the exact same effect.
This is Monogatari. It sets up your expectations, then undermines them. And you know what? That's the beauty of it. That's what makes it so great to me.
For example, I had questions that were raised in my mind from recent seasons of Monogatari, as anyone would. Shortly after the beginning of the film, an energetic Ononoki Yotsugi appears and directly mentions my questions. But guess what? She doesn't answer my questions at all. She basically says, "Who cares?" and you know what? She's right. Who cares? This IS Monogatari, not some proper, rule-following film that's looking for critical acclaim, it's a film created simply to enjoy. So that's exactly what I did.
I enjoyed it and I think you should too.
Notes: Honestly, I wasn't quite sure what to write about for the entirety of this review since I could ramble on and on about character dynamics and plot but instead I'd rather just give you what I enjoy about Zoku specifically. Every Monogatari has the character dynamics and plot (obviously, that's what makes it a great series and most enjoyable to me) but there really is only one Zoku, just like there really is only one Bake. So I do hope you enjoyed this review and I would love if you could leave a little, "this was helpful." Thanks and hope you read my future reviews. :)
Ratings-
Story: 10
Art: 10
Sound: 10
Character: 10
Enjoyment: 10
Overall: 10!!!
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 1, 2019
FOR THE SAKE OF SPOILERS, I WILL NOT BE PROVIDING SPECIFIC EXAMPLES FOR MY ARGUMENTS.
This manga was painful to watch develop.
You see, I'm not really qualified enough to talk about art and such but what I can talk about is how much this manga fell apart.
You see, I am VERY partial to this manga since it was indeed the first anime I had ever watched from the day it aired. It was my introduction into my now weeb life and what a wonderful one it was.
I remember watching the first season and simply being infatuated with how amazing everything seemed but sadly, this was not
...
always the case.
The quality of the anime started to fall off, albeit the second season still was very good (in my opinion), but this drop-off which took place in the third season spurred me to check out the manga.
Previous to the first part of third season, I had promised myself that I would stick out the anime and would not read the manga since I wanted to finish what I had started in the year of 2015 but, my impatience soon outweighed my self-promises.
As I started to read the manga from chapter one, I was thrown back into the wonder of what I first encountered as a freshman in high school. With this manga came a flood of memories (the most prominent being: when a new episode released the discussions that my friends and I had shortly after watching) and many emotions. Some may say that I am blinded by sentiments but looking objectively, I do believe that Shokugeki no Soma is truly great in its first half. The true turn for the worst is marked by the second trial in the Promotion Exam.
After this event takes place, the manga loses all sense of good character development, good character and story arcs, good character relationships, and consistency which it so masterfully did in its earlier stages.
This dramatic deterioration is most likely what plummeted my ratings to where they stand now (Story: 2, Art: 9, Character: 2, Enjoyment: 1 = Overall: 4).
This is painful for me to write because of my emotional attachment to this manga (and it's anime) but I must be honest. Honestly, you should simply stop reading the manga once the time-skip takes place (Chapter 264).
After this time skip takes place is when the greatest disappointment also takes place. We are now introduced back into the world of Shokugeki no Soma, but this time, we are given the same feeling as if we were back at Chapter 1. For me at least, I felt as though the manga had reset and the Promotion Exams were merely a slip-up in the manga and it would steadily progress. With this time skip we are given hope of the original Shokugeki no Soma that we all know and love BUT, those feelings are quite quickly taken away.
A few chapters into this new arc and we can tell that the manga will never be the same. We know it will never return to its former glory but we press on because of the obligation to finish what we once loved, much like an old married couple's promise to live out their final days together although they no longer desire the others company.
In the latter half of the manga, it seems that the authors simply had given up on putting the same passion into each chapter as they had previously because of the dedicated fan base.
Character development got lazy, extremely lazy. We were fed the same facts and flashbacks over and over with shallow reasoning or shallow attempts at emotion. For me, this lead to characters becoming less and less attached to not only the manga, but to myself. I often caught myself skimming over long monologues which I had once carefully analyzed. The repetitiveness of the manga is mind-numbing.
In the first half of Shokugeki no Soma, character's actions are carefully thought through and logically consistent with their previous actions or decisions but in the latter half, all of this established story and logic falls apart. It falls apart not because it wasn't strong enough to hold itself together, but because things start to contradict themselves. There are many times in the latter half of this manga that I find myself questioning the characters and not being able to come up with logical reasons or examples as to why said action would occur. In the first half, I could quickly reason with myself as to why a decision was made the way it was or as to why an action had taken place.
But on top of all of this, the ending is by far the worst. I will not say any details but this ending single-handedly could have taken this manga from a 9 to a 5. The ending literally leaves an entire arc open-ended and the entire over-arching arc of the manga open. It is so bad it actually feels as if Shounen Jump got bored with the series, axed it, and told Yuto Tsukada and Shun Saeki to wrap it up somehow. The ending was beyond unsatisfying and my least favorite part about the series.
You see, the let down of this manga is one of the worst I have yet to experience (yes, I know My Hero Academia also is quite bad, so far, but I was never really attached to it to begin with). But, even in all of this disappointment, would I recommend reading this manga?
Yes, I would. The feelings cultivated from the first half of the story are priceless and something I will always remember.
Thank you for reading this long, ignorant review.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Feb 17, 2018
!! POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING !!
NOTICE: This review was updated week by week and now that the show is finished, has ended with my comprehensive review.
Now let's get into the final review.
Story: 2 (last week: 3)
Literally this story has fallen so far off I have no words. I had very high expectations for this show but, it seems as if I was wildly off. The story went from a fun, teenage-ish drama with some intriguing concepts (yes, I know they have been done before) and lovable characters to an explosion of the cluster fuck that had been building up. From episode 19-24, I was so lost.
...
The story doesn't stay at all consistent and way too much gets introduced for anyone to make any sense of what the hell is going on. It literally makes me gag because of everything being forced down my throat at once. Not only this, but the story lacks any consistency. By sending Hiro and Zero Two, our protagonists, into space, the importance of the other parasites now becomes literally zero because they cannot affect the outcome of the story anymore. They are simply characters that could've been wiped out in the beginning and it really wouldn't have changed the ending that much since Hiro and Zero Two basically do everything themselves. Not only this, but APE's presence it basically useless and I think that the only thing that was got right in the last six episodes was the killing off of them once they became useless. Also, the focus of the story switching to the earth was stupid since it never was really about the good of the earth but instead about the parasites but whatever.
ART: 9 (last week: 9)
I love the art in this show. This is done by A-1 and Trigger. What more could you ask for art wise? I love this style although they do nothing special. If you look at the FranXX, they each are done very well and with a solid color palettes that show their personalities. But also, if you look at this environments and background arts, no space is wasted. The fact that the FranXX's resemble the female pilots is also a pretty cool concept, while it may just be so the audience knows which is which without needing to memorize each pair and their FranXX. The OP's and ED's are very well done and I actually really like both.
SOUND: 9 (last week: 9)
The sound in this show is nothing special by any means but it isn't bad. They are careful to not use the same sound twice for different types of characters, which is often done in A-1 productions. The sounds of ambience and chaos are balanced fairly well but can be a bit abrupt at times. I think the sound is the same but the sounds of fighting and dialogue are balanced well. The fighting noises aren't way down, and the dialogue isn't extremely loud during fight scenes and the same goes for it vice versa. Plus, the voice actors are paired with characters very skillfully. I prefer the sub VA’s and just based on how well they fit each role. I raised my score in this category by one because I really do love each VA and their roles. They each are paired incredibly well.
Characters: 1 (last week: 3)
Ok so we have lovable and enjoyable go to complete shit in literally like three episodes. By the end of the anime, no one besides Hiro and Zero Two matter, which is fine but the transition is way too sudden and we are just basically strobed with things like, "GORO AND ICHIGO ARE FINALLY TOGETHER, LOOK," "WOW LOOK AT MITSURU AND KOKORO HAD A BABY AND STUFF," and "ZOROME ISN'T COMPLETELY INCOMPETENT," like it really has anything to do with the story at this point. I think it would have been much more effective to just focus on Zero Two and Hiro in space and their relationship during this time then try to switch between them and the other parasites because the people back home really didn't matter in the slightest to the story.
Enjoyment: 1 (last week: 2)
I went from, "I freaking love watching this show every week and waiting for each episode is excruciating," to, "Just end it here."
Overall: 2 (last week: 3)
I recommend this show because of the fun characters, interesting story, and especially Zero Two. You won't regret your decision unless you have a very specific taste and hate these types of shows in general.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Feb 9, 2018
!! POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING !!
Alright. Here we go. Let’s talk about this train wreck. Thank you Perriot for terribly adapting a rather well written manga that one can enjoy thoroughly.
Story: 3
Holy crap. What was this? This was pointless. If there were two seasons, the ending might pass but what is this? Pierrot clearly ruined a story that would have been an enticing adventure. There isn’t even a real reason for Yona to be gathering all the dragons. We are never told an actual reason. I suppose it is to take back the kingdom from Su-won, but what the hell? What is she going to do
...
if she ever fights him? Kill him? Now what? Is Yona going to rule now? Her whole journey seems pointless. The story isn’t even consistent all the way through. Plus, the whole unfolding of events is stupid and we can especially see this when Pierrot rushes the meeting of Zeno (the yellow dragon) because they ran out of episodes. There is clearly meant to be a season 2. We can easily tell this because of the cliffhangers and such that we are left on. We can see that Zeno has more to him than he is letting on. There is so much that was introduced that would have been pointless without a season 2. Way to go Pierrot. You guys really did a great job ruining this adaptation.
Sound: 7
Eh. Sound isn’t terrible and they have a rather all-star voice actor lineup for the sub, in my opinion. I personally really liked the dub in general. But that can probably be acquitted to the fact that it is in my native language. But besides that, to me, the sub voice actors are really good and I personally like subbed Yona more than the dubbed one. Yona’s dubbed VA annoyed the HELL out of me. The OP’s and ED’s are pretty good. I personally like them more than quite a bit of other shows. But, sometimes the insert songs seemed out of place. Other times they were done well and really added to scenes but sometimes I also felt myself distracted by the OST. I think that good insert songs shouldn’t interrupt you watching a show but just add to the scene without you realizing it much.
Art: 8
The art in this was pretty good. I really liked the characters for the most part and the way they looked. The character designs were great. Each characters attire drew me in and suited them. They did a good job here. They didn’t have a ton of detail like a Kyoani, but it wasn’t terrible. The OP and ED’s looked good too, as they should. They were all done well and made me enjoy watching them to an extent.
Characters: 2
Well. It really sucks to give this a 2. I really don’t know if I can give it anything above this. The character development is a joke. No one has any real story. Shin-ha, Hak, Yun, and Su-won, are the only 4 characters that ever get any development. Yona and Jae-ha go under a bit of development but not enough. Most characters turn out exactly how we suspected when introduced to them, and no one really goes anywhere. They all are the same way mostly when we are introduced to them as they are at the end of the show. Most of them suck too. Hak is the only character worth watching in this show. His self-sacrifice makes him admirable and Yona, even after brought up by Yun, never thanks him for all he does. Maybe she does thank him once or twice and I am just forgetting about it, but I guarantee she never does it more than that. She doesn’t change besides the fact that she gets angry when other people get hurt. She is the stereotypical, “I care about everyone but can’t do anything about it,” MC. Hak and Shin-ha are the only two characters I ever gave a flying frick about. Everyone else pretty much sucks.
Enjoyment: 3
Well, I did enjoy it for a time but the more I watched it, the less I enjoyed it. I really feel like giving it a 3 in the enjoyment category is even a stretch.
Overall: 4.6
Well, this is it. It wasn’t great overall and the art and sound are the only things that I don’t hate, besides Hak and Shin-ha. I'm going to go ahead and round this down to a 4 because of the atrocity it is. Forget this show and Pierrot. I can’t believe people gave this show above a 6.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jan 30, 2018
!! POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING !!
To start this off, I have only been watching anime for about 4 months now so I am no expert by any stretch, but I have been writing for a while now and wanted show my love for this show through something I am decent at. But moving on now, this show holds a very special place in my heart since it was the first show I ever watched. So as you can imagine, I might be a tad biased. As you can tell from the shows I have watched, most all of them have been rated fairly well. But boy,
...
what an introduction to anime was this show.
STORY: 9
Let us first discuss the story, since that is most likely the most important part. The story is unique in its own way. Soma Yukihira is a kid that works at a small family-owned diner that is owner by his dad in the Sumiredori Shopping District. His dad leaves the diner and closes it suddenly one day suddenly after Soma saves it from being shut down. Despite Soma's efforts, Joichiro (Soma's father) shuts down the diner and forces Soma to attend a school called, Totsuki Culinary Academy. Here at this academy the students are mostly from elite families in the culinary industry. As the story goes on Soma makes friends and shows his skills to the school through shokugekis, or food wars. The first to experience his cooking is a girl named Erica Nakiri, nicknamed the, "God Tounge", through the entrance exam she is in charge of judging. I'll leave the rest to you to figure out yourself by watching the show. But by now you can get an idea of where the story is heading and I hope that works for a bit of a memory jogger. But, what makes this story interesting and different? The interactions of Soma and the uniqueness of his situation. I think what makes this so great is that he doesn't have some super dramatic background in which his parents died and he lived poor in the slums and had to work his way out of it. They take a kid who honestly has it rather comfortably compared to a lot of people and make him very likable. This is something not many people are doing nowadays, in my personal opinion. Most people now want to take someone from a tragic situation and make you feel something for that character, which in all honesty isn't difficult to do. Most everyone feels sympathy or wants to encourage someone who has gone through something terrible. But in Shokugeki no Soma, they take a kid with no terrible story to tell and put you on a rollercoaster of an adventure that makes you want to, bite your nails, celebrate, and cheer him and his friends on in their journey.
ART: 9
The art is something that can really hurt your view of a show or really add to it. Personally, I really love the art style of this show. Every character seems to be done with detail and care. Not only is detail shown in each character, but the detail in background art and settings really makes this next level for me. You can tell the detail when you watch nearly every scene. Everything from the cherry blossom trees in the background at the opening ceremony to the notes and signs on walls in the school kitchens and in the Yukihira family diner. I think that details like this are really important and are too easily overlooked. Totsuki looks extremely pleasing as well. The art can add a certain feel to a place such as it does to the Polar Star Dormitory. I can't find any fault with the art besides just some things aren't 100% my idea style.
SOUND: 9
Now on to sound. I think sound is something that you can use that can hurt a show, but can help it so much more. The sound in this show adds to effect of each scene. Sound in this show is very key. Not only does it add for comedic effect, in scenes with Satoshi Isshki in particular (if you've seen the show you know what I'm talking about), it also adds a sense of depth in the scenes where the focused character is primarily cooking. In this show, you can hear pans sizzling, knifes slicing, and food simmering. This really immerses you in the story and the world of Totsuki and the world Soma and his friends are in, which you follow. Sound in every show is important but in this show, it is done very well. Even in things like the foodgasm portions this adds for another level of effect, because to just show something of that sort is one thing but for the sounds to be there it really does add a whole other level of what is happening.
CHARACTER: 9
The characters in this show are done very well. Although it is no Toradora! development wise, they do a good job accentuating each characters personality and backgrounds through each individuals cooking. I'll give a few examples. Soma's cooking shows his roots through his style of traditional common food instead of expensive luxury dishes. He can take expensive ingredients and use them in simple dishes served in his family diner. Takumi Aldini's Italian roots are most clearly shown through his use of traditional Italian styles for making his dishes. Like most traditional Italian cooking his methods are refined and proven. One of the many more example we can use is Erina Nakiri's cooking. Her perfectionist personality is seen throughout her cooking. She never fails to be just right on a dish. This further gives us a look into just how deep this personality of perfection she upholds really is. From the interaction of Erina and Soma to the rivalry between Soma and Takumi Aldini, and even the development of Megumi Tadokoro's personality and cooking is done well. Every individuals cooking develops along with their personality. Once someone in the show moves past a large personal challenge, their cooking improves and it's the same way vice versa. Each character makes you love the show even more. That goes for even those such as Nao Sadatsuka. Each character draws you in with their unique style of cooking and adds to the show and it's fulfillment.
ENJOYMENT: 10
Enjoyment. Is this even a question? Not a single second of this show is wasted for me personally. The show, no matter the circumstance, has you captivated and thoroughly involved in the plot. The level of enjoyment I experienced while watching this show has really not been rivaled much by other shows. I certainly loved every second of this season and the rest of them too (which I highly recommend).
OVERALL: 9.2
I am giving this show a 9 and not a 10 simply because although it is amazing, it is not perfect. Would I recommend this show to anyone who likes anything ever? 1000% yes. This show is great and very well done. For me, this was a perfect introductory show and will probably rewatch it 100 times. I hope my review helped and I hope you enjoy the show if you so choose to watch it!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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