Anime Wrap-Up #3

Hello hello! Anime Wrap-Up is a new section of this blog, directed to anime I've consumed in any way during the previous week/month. 

Let's get to it!

Today we're covering the week from January 8th to January 14th.

This gif will show you which anime we're talking about:

Based on how long the last wrap-up was, I'm going to try talk only about the anime I finished during that given week.

As this wrap up might contain spoilers, they will be marked like this: this is a spoiler. Watch out for them!

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Migi to Dali

Migi to Dali is a mystery drama anime that has that little touch of comedy. The animation in some places was so goofy, you knew it wasn't a sign of bad quality, but a bad humor. There were some 4th wall breaks and some puns - but it didn't translate for me. I understood that it was a joke, but I didn't laugh.

As for the mystery, it didn't do it for me either. I love horror books, I love detective books... but Migi and Dali failed to give me the goosebumps and failed to keep me entertained.

The story follows the 13 year old twins who pretend to be just one boy named Hitori (or Solo if you're watching in dub) because they are trying to crack the case of their mother's murder. Introduced to fun classmates, weirdos and lovely elderly couple that becomes the twin's new parents, we are put in the middle of a web of secrets.

The story itself was fine, though it dragged here and there. I was confused at times, and I didn't really enjoy Sally or Keiji as characters nor as twists. I felt bad when Dali decided to live as his brother's shadow, that really made me sad. Poor boy just needed some extra love. But my emotions weren't as strong because of the whole scene in the fire, when they tried to save Eiji.

What stood out to me and what I loved can be summarized in three points. These three points contain spoilers, so please go ahead and read the conclusion (under the last two pictures) or go read about a different anime we're covering under this!

    These are the points I absolutely enjoyed:

1) Micchan

2) How the old couple noticed that Hitori was actually the twins.

3) The last episode, where we see the kids all grown up.

Micchan was the GOAT, her character was fun, interesting, likeable and nicely written. I didn't get the supernatural aspect of her writing messages into flour, but you know what, even that was hilarious! This woman has my heart and I thank the author for making her. She made the story feel lighter and gave us someone that was normal and not a psychopath.

I had my doubts about the mother. And I did think it was stupid that the twins could actually pretend to be one. And then this Christmas scene came and my heart melted...

        

    Tell me she isn't a mother of the year!!!

But the third point, them growing up and being adults... that's the anime I'd like to watch! It's a shame that we are not getting the look into their adult lives and the relationships that come with that. The atmosphere was so nice, the characters had great chemistry and when Sally came back on scene, it was just hilarious!

    

Conclusion: Migi to Dali managed to earn a total of 5/10 points, which is a decent number. It's not a must watch by any means, but it will make you laugh and cringe. Granted, there were moments that made me laugh and swoon, but the main point missed me.

Also. Are they dating or not????

Atarashii Joushi wa Dotennen (My New Boss is Goofy)

Atarashii Joushi wa Dotennen is a well made show. With tags like 'Iyashikei ' and 'Slapstick ' you know it can't go wrong. In My new boss is goofy we are introduced to four handsome men that have that bit of homoerotic tension between them. As we follow their daily conversations, we find ourselves fall in love with their wholesomeness and their clumsiness. 

I couldn't help but adore manager Shirosaki. I like him, I relate to him! And when I learned that he is a cat person, but cats tend to not like him very much - I knew he is my man.

I liked it, I really liked it. The humor, the art style, voice acting was simply amazing... but what I really loved was the addition of Hakutou. This tsundere cat was the funniest thing ever and I absolutely adore him!

There isn't much more to say. My new boss is goofy is an episodic anime but it did what it promised - made us all feel good and made us all go 'Awwww'. This show gets a decent score of 8/10.

Ore wo Suki nano wa Omae dake ka yo
(ORESUKI: Are you the only one who loves me?)

Now let's take a look on Ore wo Suki nano wa Omae dake ka yo again. We have talked about it a bit last week, but I finally managed to finish it.

As I mention, the joke with the bench still didn't get old. Some more girls were introduced, we had the obligatory swimsuit episode... And some plot twists too. It was balanced, but not so well.

This anime is not great, but it's not bad. There weren't any moments that made me want to take a screenshot, I was just getting through each minute as it came.

Still, Oresuki managed to keep me entertained between the waves of boredom that came, where the story dragged or not much was happening. And the final twist was just enough to make me decide that I do want to watch the OVA. I think a score of 6/10 is sufficient. I wouldn't really recommend this one, but if you feel like this anime could be interesting, you'll probably like it.

Top wo Nerae! GunBuster (Gunbuster)

Top wo Nerae! GunBuster started out mediocre, but by the third episode, I was a mess. Noriko - our main girl is an incompetent crybaby... which leads to some awful situations. And I honestly can't over the third episode. That had no business being in this show!

Quickly I realized that this anime was more than just old mecha.

It told a story of two girl, but in a hurried way. If this had more episodes, maybe we could see a bit more of their feelings, lives, relationships.

It was very sad to see them grow all alone.

So many things touched my heart... Smith's passing, Coach passing, the girls growing up all alone in the space - even though their friends remembered them. Their lives stagnating in a way while their friends and classmates had kids... 

Some things about this anime were heartbreaking Noriko as a character was incredibly depressing, the pressure, her faith... It was a lot. I absolutely recommend this!

I have no idea why the last episode was in black&white, and I still think they were fighting and invisible villain, but it really created a unique mood. And the occasional boob slips just tried to ease the atmosphere up.

Gunbuster is not something I'll continue watching, I don't think so. But it was a good experience and it deserves a 7/10.

God this was so depressing!!!

"We're the only two people who will be in the same time."

Fruits Basket: Season 1

Let's keep those emotions flowing... the first season of Fruits Basket is finished! I am the target audience for this anime without a doubt. I was extremely invested from the first episode to last. All that drama was keeping me on my toast and given that this is about the Zodiac years, there is ton of characters that will get introduced!!

On the first episode we are told the story of why a Cat isn't one of the Zodiac and that really doesn't figure in the anime much - despite a lot of symbols and lot of implications. Kyou is one of my favorite characters and I loved him since the first episode - which really helped me with focusing on the little details.

Even a bracelet has a backstory!

The way he argues with Yuki about wanting to be a part of the Soma family, the way they keep addressing the "story" as what really happened..! The first season didn't really explain much so I am not sure how everything works yet, but it's fun to try and think about how it works.

Every character has a background you can look into or characteristics that make them somehow special. What I'm trying to say is that it's admirable how much thoughts went into creating all of them.

  

 
That being said, I hate Yuki more than anyone can imagine. I don't feel that strongly about any other of them... On the other hand, one of my favorites are Ritsu, Kyou, Hatori, Hatsuharu, Kisa and Ayame in that exact order.
Honorable mention: episode 19 when we meet Ritsu for the first time. I watched that episode in sub and in dub so I can tell you, it's hilarious in either language. 😂 And then the flashback episodes for Hatori, Hana and Uo. Those were really interesting and really well made.

It's hard to try and show my love for this series with a word limit 😂 but I can't wait to watch more, seriously. I just hope the rest of the series will be just as good as this one!

The only thing that's missing from this anime is romance. At least one happy couple! That's all I'm asking for! 

They went so hard on episode 24... they let out this abomination of faces xD

Fruits basket was a ride from the start to the end and it deserves a 10/10 from me, but I am biased a bit.

.hack//SIGN

.hack//SIGN did not leave a big impression. It's SAO from 2002 -and I know I will get killed for that opinion.

In .hack//SIGN our main character Tsukasa gets trapped in the MMORPG game called The World - so he's unable to log out.

That of course causes commotion and he starts meeting people who are trying to help him deal with this and that are trying to help him resolve the situation while still enjoying the game.

This anime gives us a closer look to some of the relationship - something that stuck with me was this quote: "I am in love with your character, not the real-life you." Which I think was a powerful thing to say.

People can fall in you through the internet, many of us know the feelings. Some of us might have fallen in love with a discord icon or an online friend. But did we really fall of them... or did we fall for the person we thought we're chatting with?

Reading someone's review (I am so sorry I don't remember your name!) they typed something along the lines of 'you can't really say if it's good or bad' and I agree. 

.hack//SIGN got 5/10 because there wasn't really what to hate or what to love. It's the gold middle ground. This anime had fun moment, and confusing moments. I didn't really get the ending, but at the same time, it didn't convince me to watch more of this show...

Not bad, not great - but a fun experience nonetheless. The episodes went by rather quickly, and the characters were likeable and a bit mysterious. .hack//SIGN might just be the anime that shaped this subgenre of being trapped in a game - it is a great template for such show!

Ani*Kuri15

Ani*Kuri15 was not something you discover by wanting to watch something of this sort. (In translation) 15 anime creators got 60 seconds to use for whatever story they can think of and that was merged into a short 18 minute long movie.

Some of those were confusing, some of those were fun. Some were rather emotional and some were a great way to present the creator's skills.

It's not really something I would recommend, but if you want to see a few cute clips and discover new music - go for it. You might just laugh.

And in the end, it's just 17 minutes!