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Jan 30, 2014
The story for this manga was really, really cute! I was surprised because judging from the cover, it looks a little generic and silly but the content was very different. The main thing that made it refreshing was the deviation from the typical climax of most BL stories, as in there weren't whole chapters devoted completely to sex scenes. Also, the story does progress somewhat slowly especially for this genre which was really nice, as it gave you time to enjoy the characters.
The second story (there are two so far, just short pieces) I actually didn't really like as there's kind of a large
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age gap and there's that brother/sister conflict for the same guy which weirds me out in general.
But definitely give the first story a try if you like cute characters! I like the understated art as well, it reminds me a lot of mangas like "kuriyami ni strobe" and "Seven Days"
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 26, 2013
Hirunaka no Ryuusei is a really well written manga. I think anyone who likes a more mature shoujo manga where the characters are more realistic would like this. If you've read either Sakamichi no Apollon or Kyou Koi wo Hajimemasu, this has elements in common with both. It has a very nice slow build up of romance, and a lot of introspection that is pulled off really well, unlike other shoujo mangas where the characters come off as being creepily codependent.
I think what moves this manga forward and makes me want to read more is the the art and the character. Simply put, the
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art is gorgeous. Everything from the scenery to the eyes especially is well done and unique. Furthermore, the mangaka is very consistent with the characters' inner monologues as well, revealing deeper motives with time, from different points of view. I feel that this is in particular is one strong aspect about this manga is that the side characters are well developed and play just as an important part in the story.
Without giving too much away, I think that the main character is also a likable female, although one thing that made me rate this manga lower were some things that came off to me as too stereotypical. For example, in one moment the girl fantasizes about making bento for her boyfriend and it just struck me as too typical for this otherwise extremely unique manga. There are a few almost sexist moments like this throughout the story, but overall still far, far less than other shoujo manga.
In conclusion, Hirunaka no Ryuusei is definitely worth a try for anyone who enjoys a manga that will make you think about relationships between people on a very deep level, despite it's few shortcomings
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 13, 2013
Spoiler free~
Story: 10
In my opinion NGE has a fantastic story. It's so deep, and so complex. There are a lot of themes of trauma and detachment that are explored brilliantly. From the start, it's very much in the psychological genre. Without giving anything away, I'll say that there is also so much symbolism that can be analyzed. NGE is set in a futuristic and post-apocalyptic world, so in that sense it follows the standard, but otherwise the plot takes on a very, very unique feel. For the first few episodes, the viewer has to be really patient I'd say, because every episode seems to
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be a separate short story but starting from the 12th or so episode, it really becomes insanely interesting. Like my friend said to me it took her 3 months to watch the first 5 episodes but maybe 2 days for the last 9. I think that is really representative of the momentum of the series, where in the later chapters, a deeper layer is revealed and becomes the driving force of suspense.
Also a lot of controversy surrounds the ending, but I really think that Gainax just ran out of animation money, so if you skip episodes 25 and 26 (these are the ones that people complain are not even completely animated) and go straight to End of Evangelion (which is in canon with NGE, and is episodes 25 and 26 taking place over 2 hours), then you should be much more satisfied.
Art: 8
The art is old, so I would say that I went into it not expecting much. But some aspects were pleasantly surprising. For example, the Angels were so varied and created with unique traits so that it never felt like I'd seen the same design in another anime etc. The EVA movies 1+2, I've heard are literally exact reanimations of the anime series with a higher budget, so maybe if animation is a big deal, watch those?
Sound: 6
NGE has actually really laughable sound at some points, like these extremely odd uses of classical music, but otherwise it's a good soundtrack. The same battle music, this pounding timpani thing, is actually played in each episode over and over again, when they encounter an Angel, but it comes to be a kind of good repetition because it helps you feel the fear of that encounter. Even though there were maybe at least 10 instances of the same music, I never got tired of it. I wouldn't worry too much about the sound in general because it's only one or two scenes where it's really bad, otherwise they do a good job. With this show also, I also wondered whether the disjointed music might have been on purpose.
Character: 10
I love these characters. I love Shinji, I think he's deep and realistic and he's very identifiable. The rest of the cast are all extremely well wrought out characters as well. Each one has such a distinct personality that it's impossible not to care about them. People criticize the animation maybe, but I don't think people can really criticize the characters of NGE because they are just so human and complex. Personally, I also love that this series has a lot of strong women.
Enjoyment: 10
I think that I was watching NGE, thinking of it as a classic. I think it ended up being actually really enjoyable to me, personally and I ended up being way more involved than I thought I would, mostly because I fell in love with these characters. I think that if you're open minded and see what the show does well, then I think it can definitely be a really great experience!
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Sep 25, 2013
Spoiler free!
I think that no matter what, Free! is a really fun anime to watch. It's only 12 episodes, so of course, there is nothing to compare with other anime that is actually based of a manga, since Free! is based off of a light novel. Considering the fact that Free! wasn't even supposed to be an anime, it's held up pretty well.
I started watching Free! very impressed with how well written it was even with the excessive fanservice. I think that the way they animate the water is really beautiful. You can really feel the motivation behind the characters' thoughts. The storyline
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starts out filled with tension and I think that most people will want to continue watching to see what happens. Overall though, I don't think the overall plot is anything very revolutionary, and does very much fall into the slice of life genre with maybe more angst.
I think that later on, the plot does get a little lazy however, which is why I stopped taking it as seriously and just started watching casually to see what happens. The reason that the plot falls flat I think, is because the characters that have been so carefully developed are then used in the later episodes in these really melodramatic ways that made me cringe. For example, the way that some expressions were animated took away from what the anime was trying to communicate.
Also adding to the silliness of the later episodes was the ridiculous soundtrack...there were moments where the music was just ???? completely inappropriate and laughable. Normally, I am fine with whatever music but even to my ears, there was just too much of a disconnect.
Overall, though, I think that in the end I probably just expected too much of this anime from watching the first 3 or so episodes, since I hadn't read the light novel. If you watch the series just expecting something a little fun, I think you would like this. The characters are even pretty amusing sometimes!
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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