Jigoku Shojo

         

Jigoku Shojo or Hell Girl is an extremely compelling horror anime that never fails to send a chill down the viewer's spine. This horror thriller seems very docile and slow paced at first, but always gets you in the end because of its vivid dark imagery and portrayal of twisted human minds. The story is broken into many seemingly unrelated arcs that are all individually and suspensefully brought to culmination in a repetitive yet intriguing manner. I'll explain this plot device more below.

The story follows an urban legend of a cursed website. According to rumors, if someone holds a real grudge against another person, they can visit this website at midnight and request the 'Hell Girl', Enma Ai to kill their enemies. Here's where it gets interesting- if Enma and her associates from hell believe the grudge is strong enough, they will appear in front of the website user and hand them a black doll with a red string around its neck. If the string is removed, the grudge will be realized and any person the doll's owner chooses will be tortured and instantly dragged down to hell. The consequence is that the doll owner will also give up their soul and be sent to hell when they naturally die. The choice of using this double edged sword is what makes most of the show juicy. Hell Girl will explore the dark depths of human psyche and show what it takes to push a person to their limit. Each story arc is short and will get you ambivalent about the respective doll owners who range from petty and selfish individuals to helpless and victimized ones. This eerie plot bolstered by its creepy art style and sound track makes for a great pick if you love horror as a genre. 

Hell Girl does have a main overarching plot, but spends a lot of time on individual stories of people's grudges. Now because each story is unique, story progression can get a little disjointed. Think of this as a horror novel with many creepy chapters and a big finale, but you can only appreciate the finale if you put up with all the precursory chapters, some of which can be dry or monotonous. I for one, recommend sticking till the end.  



My personal ratings are: 

Story: 3/5
Character Development: 2/5
Dialogue: 3/5
Music: 3/5
Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall Recommendation: When One Soul is Cursed, Two Graves Are Dug

Irodoku: The world in Colors

Irodoku is a slice of life, shojo anime with one short season of thirteen episodes. It's a sweet and cute show that isn't very plot intensive, but rather focuses on the sentiment behind its story progression. Watching Irodoku feels like staring at a cuddly teddy bear- it's attractive to look at, and makes you feel warm for a second, but you'll get bored if you keep looking. While I still do recommend giving it a watch, don't let it become your primary anime, it works better as something to fall back on when you need a break from everything else. 

The story of Irodoku follows a high school girl called Hitomi and is set in Japan 2078. It's well known that the world has rare individuals who are able to perform magic, Hitomi's family is full of such mages. Hitomi is colorblind and very introverted, she does not try to make friends and has some deep rooted abandonment issues because of her childhood. Determined to broaden Hitomis' perspective, her grandmother, Kohaku casts a spell on her and sends her 60 years into the past. In the past, Hitomi meets teenage Kohaku and now attends school with her as a transfer student, whilst trying to figure out how to return to the future. The story then explores how this extremely closed of girl manages to join an arts and photography club and makes genuine friends. She opens her heart to new experiences also falls in love for the first time. It's also interesting to see how she initially hates magic, but now begins to enjoy using it because it gives her a chance to see colors and make others happy. But as reality catches up, we must ask, what happens when she returns to the future?     

What I dislike about Irodoku, apart from its snails pace on story progression, is that it completely disregards any laws of time travel. There are no consequences or paradoxes that should be created by her actions in the past, which I find really illogical. They also have a great start to building characters, but don't really pull through in making them interesting enough to support the plot. In the end, just watch this anime for its 'feel good' factor, it does not have much else going for it. 

      

My personal ratings are:

Story: 2/5
Character Development: 3/5
Dialogue: 2/5
Music: 3/5 
Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall recommendation: A Monochromatic Photograph 

Irodoku is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.  

The Disastrous life of Saiki K.

Saiki K. is a slapstick shonen comedy anime that's all about the laughs. The show is full of unrestrained nonsensical humor that is guaranteed to put you through a fit of laughter. Saiki K is basically the anime equivalent of a fart bomb or a whoopy cushion, it's the most base form of comedy, but still undeniably effective and funny. Be prepared for unexpected gags, fast paced comedic dialogue, constant breaking of the fourth wall (something I'm guilty of too) and unapologetic jokes at the expense of other mainstream anime. Saiki K is a great way to shut off your mind and let laughter therapy take you to a happy place. 

The anime is basically one long commentary on the life of its protagonist, Kusuo Saiki. I mean an actual commentary as we're always hearing the inner working of his mind throughout each episode. He's basically a boy born with psychic abilities and god tier levels of power. Saiki does not see himself as gifted because his powers come with many burdens and restrictions. He is good at heart and wants nothing but to be an ordinary high schooler and to be left alone. Unfortunately the world keeps introducing chaotic people into his life who always create impossibly messy scenarios, forcing him to use his powers while still trying to hide them from others. Nothing makes sense here, but it's all ridiculously funny and spoofs various anime cliches to make great content for seasoned anime watchers. I think of this one as an instant classic, it's great to binge with friends as well.    

The thing about this anime is...there's no real story. With the absence of an overarching plot, Saiki K becomes almost mindless, especially because it goes on for four seasons counting specials. Even though this is intentional, and works well for most viewers, I feel like a small main story line would give a little more direction to this otherwise brilliant comedy.     



My personal ratings are:

Story: 1/5
Character Development: 2/5
Dialogue: 4/5
Music: 3/5
Enjoyment: 5/5    

Overall Recommendation: Yare Yare 

All seasons of The Disastrous life of Saiki K. are on Netflix, you can use a VPN if not in your region. 

Beautiful Bones: Sakurako's Investigation

          Also called 'A Corpse is Buried Under Sakurako's Feet' or 'Sakurako-san No Ashimoto Ni Wa Shitai Ga Umatteiru', this anime is an unusual one. It's a slow paced murder mystery and crime drama that focuses on the story told by the bones of different victims. It's an interesting and unique premise for a crime anime and has pretty intelligent plot points, however the approach will be a hit or miss for most viewers. If you don't enjoy the very first episode, don't bother continuing or expect it to pick up later because the anime will follow the same methodology, pace and vibe throughout. 

The story follows an ostentologist (bone analyst) called Sakurako and a high school boy named Shoutaro who eventually becomes her assistant as he's intrigued by her intelligence. We will be shown different crimes being solved by Sakurako, applying logical deductions to the analysis of a victim's bones and also peek into her personal psychology. She's a basic Sherlock Homes styled character with the only difference that she's female and looks just at bones as a crime solving instrument. An interesting angle added is that of Shoutaro's impression of Sakurako, who can't decide if she's a good person or an evil mastermind. The first half of Beautiful Bones has no overarching main plot, it just builds on characters and focuses on solving individual incidents which are still enjoying to watch. The second half picks up on a main plot but leaves the heavy lifting to a potential season two.  

It's funny that this anime is about bones because that's what you'll be reduced to by the time you reach the climax of any episode. This anime, while intriguing, follows a methodology to crime solving that is too lackluster and fails to hold a viewer's attention for too long. You'll find yourself casually checking your phone and glancing away so many times that you'll miss many explanations, but you won't even care as long as you get to see the story progress. Like I said before, it's going to be a hit or a miss. 

         
My personal ratings are:

Story: 2/5
Character Development: 3/5
Dialogue: 3/5
Music: 3/5
Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall Recommendation: One Broken Femur  

This anime is available on Netflix and amazon under the name 'A Corpse is Buried Under Sakurako's Feet'.

Shokugeki no Soma

Shokugeki no Soma or Food Wars is a shonen anime series about the culinary world. It brings a lot of color to this otherwise sparsely explored genre and is a must watch for you anime food lovers! This mouth watering and brilliant show has a great balance of exciting plot points, vibrant visuals and entertaining characters. It also does a great job in involving comedic elements so that it's not just an intense food anime with no other focus. Although Food Wars sounds like an innocent cooking anime, beware as it's very ecchi (suggestive sexual content). And I mean overtly ecchi moments, that can be off-putting. Since this is a culinary show let me put it this way: think of Food Wars as an Oreo Milkshake. You're blending milk, oreos, chocolate, ice cream...but bam someone throws a handful of broccoli in there! The un-necessary ecchi hits just like that broccoli (at least for me), but the rest is so on point.

The plot of Food Wars is not complicated. We follow the story of Yukihira Soma, a chef at his own family diner. Soma has no formal cooking accolades or fancy training but is an undeniably amazing cook. One day his father sends him to a prestigious cooking academy called Totsuki where only elite chefs can survive. Soma decides that he will outperform everyone at this academy but is up for quite a challenge. You get to see really entertaining story arcs about how Soma and his friends train to become better and how the existing egotistical chefs challenge them, only to realize they aren't ordinary chefs. All viewers get pulled into an expertly crafted culinary universe that's fairly educational and full of heated cook-offs. The show is also full of motivational content and unexpected reveals. My favorite aspect is that Soma has no special abilities, he gets his victories through sheer hard work and practice. A quote said by Soma's dad really gets me pumped, "people tend to dislike Soma because he wins but isn't special. Recognizing him means, realizing your own shortcomings and lack of determination."

While I have mentioned the shows ecchi natured drawbacks, I do also want to point out that the format of cooking battle after cooking battle can get tiresome. Food Wars will explain the science behind every chef's cooking, which is great, but can also cause an information overload if you're binge watching. 

    

My personal ratings are:

Story: 3/5
Character Development: 5/5
Dialogue: 4/5
Music: 4/5 
Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall recommendation: One Yukihira special. Glad you liked it! 

Shokugeki no Soma/ Food Wars can be streamed on Netflix or on Crunchyroll based on your region. You can use a VPN to watch on either platform. 

   

Tokyo Ghoul

Tokyo Ghoul is a dark action and fantasy series that took the anime world by storm when it first came out in 2014. It was unquestionably that one anime that edgy kids would watch to prove that they have, well, edge. While I agree that it had massive potential, I can't bring myself to say it's a good watch. Tokyo Ghoul let me down in the worst way possible: they built an amazing premise and interesting characters, only to destroy everything they built in the later seasons. Imagine that you've just been served a mouth-watering meal, say a delicious looking bowl of spaghetti. But just as you look away for a moment, someone comes and takes a stinking shit all over it. That's pretty much what you'll feel as you transition from season 1 to the later seasons of this anime.   

It's known in this world, that there are beings called ghouls who possess extraordinary strength and feed off the flesh of humans. As a result, the government creates an agency focused on the eradication of ghouls, and its inspectors are trained to wield special weapons. In the beginning, the plot follows a boy named Kaneki who lives a normal school life. He goes on a date with a girl way out of his league (first red flag) just to find out that she is a ghoul and attempts to eat him. By some twist of fate, they get caught up in a construction site accident, and Kaneki wakes up in a hospital with vague memories of what happened to him. It seems that the ghoul's organs were transplanted into his body by the doctors in an attempt to save him, and as a result, Kaneki has forfeit his humanity to become a ghoul. The story gets interesting when he starts to enter the secret world of ghouls and finds a way to survive without eating his friends. The dynamics of this society and interactions between ghouls make for great content coupled with gritty social ideologies, mysterious back stories and engaging fight scenes. Be warned, Tokyo Ghoul has its fair share of bloodshed, gore and death which can get borderline disturbing. All of this builds up to the ultimate question: will Kaneki choose to live as a human or a ghoul? And what are the consequences of each path. 

I'll make myself clear again, watch season one of this anime and stop then while you can. Anything after season one is a jumbled and confused mess with sloppy to careless story arcs. You'll see characters with great backstories being sidelined and even worse, randomly nonsensical story developments. I guess this is just the outcome of straying away from the manga to create a random anime story arc. 



My personal ratings are:

Story: 3/5
Character Development: 2/5
Dialogue: 2/5
Music: 4/5
Enjoyment: 2/5 

Overall recommendation: One kinky BDSM gimp mask

Tokyo Ghoul is available on Netflix and Crunchyroll in select regions, with a censored version that is less bloody as well. 

Blue Exorcist

Blue Exorcist or 'Ao no Exorcist' is an action shonen series about the age old battle between demons and priests. The anime finds its own niche in depicting a word where the church maintains order on Earth by exorcising demons and covers it up to protect normal people. It has a good art style, nice flashy battle animations and decently built characters. But here's the deal, if Blue Exorcist was a type of food, it would be toast. Nothing wrong with toast, everyone likes toast... but its just so plain. Blue Exorcist has the makings of a hot and spicy anime, but falls short in leveraging its own premise to become something exciting. And that's why while it's a decent watch, that's all it will ever be.

This toast is all about a boy called Rin Okumura and his brother Yukio. Their guardian is a priest called Fujimoto who wants them to live normal lives and loves them like a real father (pun intended). One faithful day Rin learns that he is actually the spawn of Satan, and has massive demonic powers sealed inside of him. Rin's emotional turbulence puts stress on his relationship with father Fujimoto, and before he can make amends, he witnesses Fujomoto being killed by Satan himself. Determined to get revenge, Rin goes to the True Cross school of exorcists and tries to master his own abilities, only to find that his brother is an instructor there. He faces a lot of resentment from others for being Satan's son but still tries to prove himself to his exorcist peers. It's interesting to see how these relationships develop, and it helps that the show keeps things pretty light and funny when portraying his life at True Cross. Furthermore, the anime has good action sequences with many power ups and flashy sword play, so definitely give it a watch if you usually enjoy action and humor combinations. 

One massive annoyance about Blue Exorcist is that season two resets the events that take place in the second half of season one. They just decided that they didn't like the ending and re wrote a season two, which completely changes the character's traits and relationships. Why destroy what you've already built? I could not be more irritated by how badly this was done. It also has a god awful English dub, but you shouldn't be watching dubs anyways. 

     

My personal ratings are:

Story: 3/5
Character Development: 1/5
Dialogue: 2/5
Music: 2/5
Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall recommendation: Severe Daddy Issues 

Blue Exorcist is on Netflix and Amazon Prime in selective regions. You can use a VPN to stream it online.         

Kaguya-Sama Love Is War

           

Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War or 'Kaguya-Sama Wa Kokuraswtai: Tensai Tachi No Renai Zunousen' is 2020's most popular romantic comedy, and here's why. While early scenes in the first episode feel preachy, complicated and depict characters that are designed to look distant or unrelatable; these negative aspects clear away pretty quickly. The anime recognizes those uncomfortable feelings it initially gave you and goes on to make fun of it by introducing much whimsy and idiosyncratic sub plots. What emerges is a tastefully senseless comedy that allows you to let your guard down and enjoy. 

Kagua Sama's story follows the student council president (Miyuki Shirogane) and vice-president (Kaguya Shinomiya) of Shuchiin Academy, a prestigious Japanese school. Both of them fancy the other but have twisted ideologies about the power dynamics in a relationship and refuse to be the first one to confess to the other. They deploy several nonsensical tactics to force the other into making a move but end up in a romantic stalemate every time. There are refreshing side characters, as other members of the student council, who add to the chaos and create great comedic situations. The anime also takes its 'love is war' title seriously, as each episode is divided into segments that has battle results and victors announced, which really gets you in the competitive mood. You'll want to pick sides and support your character as if your watching a sporting game, however most results leave you thinking 'eh?' and giggling to yourself. That's the essence of Kaguya-Sama: it attacks you with jokes inducing fits of laughter and when you think its over, it sneak attacks with context to make you giggle. All in all, it's a great experience and a must watch if you are a romantic comedy fan. 

Disclaimer: anyone looking for a fast paced show with a developing plot and introduction of casual relationships, stay away. By season two you'll be pulling your hair out and yelling at the screen asking for some tangible story development. So I repeat, watch Kaguya-Sama just for the laughs and leave your desire to see evolving love interests for my next romantic anime review. 

         

My personal ratings are:

Story: 2/5
Character Development: 4/5
Dialogue: 3/5
Music: 3/5
Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall Recommendation: Battle result- Kaguya Sama wins. 

Watch Kaguya-Sama Love Is War on Netflix and use a VPN if not in your region. 

 

Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan or Shingeki no Kyojin is a revolutionary anime with multiple dimensions to story progression and beautiful visuals to go with it. This show is the anime equivalent of BDSM: you are beaten, broken down, built back up and eventually forced into euphoric submission. The creator Hajime Isayama is an outspoken sadist who loves to torture his fans with extremely bold plot twists and unexpected turns. He is not afraid of killing any characters off, or making astoundingly incomprehensible changes to the story. And as much as you might think that's a put off, it really isn't. In fact, I think he has come up with the most amazing story progression the anime world has seen till date. Fair caution, this anime is not for the weak willed as the dark elements and gore can get quite intense (Game of Thrones has nothing on this). 

Attack on Titan will suck you into its world -full of despair, mystery and action- and when you finally think you know what's happening, you need to think again. I can't hope to accurately capture the different aspects of this story in a brief summary, so I'll just describe the world the anime is set in. We follow the life of Eren Yeager, who lives in a civilization enclosed by tall walls. Beyond these walls lie titans, giant humanoid looking monsters that enjoy human flesh and are extremely difficult to kill. Eren is victim to a tragedy and as a result despises titans. He joins the military and trains to become a member of the Survey Corps, a body devoted to exploring the outside world and learning more about titans, to destroy them. The plot will explore several dimensions like the mentality of characters in this dystopian world, the limitations of technology, socio-economic politics, religion and hard core bloodshed. You will find yourself at the edge of your seat every episode, trying to understand what hope do these people have, what exactly are titans and what will happen next. This action-thriller will definitely keep bringing you back, craving for more answers as you explore its world.  

The anime has four seasons with the latest one set to release in December 2020. The latest season will be changing the anime's animation studio and there's a potential red flag on how the standard of visuals will be upheld. Furthermore, if I had to pick flaws in the anime itself, I think it does not cover as much as the manga does, which is not an uncommon issue in the anime world. I also think there is too much darkness and decadence being expressed in the show, which can make it too heavy on viewers.  

My personal ratings are:
Story: 5/5
Character Development: 4/5
Dialogue: 4/5
Music: 4/5
Enjoyment: 5/5 

Overall Recommendation: Ten casualties and just another day for the survey corps!

Attack on Titan is on Netflix, Hulu or Crunchyroll across different regions. 

Violet Evergarden

Violet Evergarden is well renowned Netflix original series that won the award for best animation in the 2019 Crunchyroll Anime Awards. This anime is a beautiful coming of age story that will definitely pull on your heart strings and make you feel for its characters. I really struggle with thinking of any criticism for Violet Evergarden, it has outstanding visuals, a complex plot, intriguing characters and makes you feel connected to its world. I think this is a prime example of new age anime pushing the conventions of vibrant story telling. Please be warned however, Violet Evergarden is like an onion: It has many delicious layers, but as you cut through them, you are likely to find yourself brought to tears. 

I love a good period anime, this one is set in a time just post the war (which war? doesn't matter). People are starting to move on from the scars left behind by the war and new businesses are booming, despite the worlds limited technology. Violet Evergarden wakes up to this unprecedented peace after a traumatic accident in which she lost her arms, only to realize she has no idea how to live in a society devoid of the battlefield. She was orphaned in the war and taken in by a kind army major who taught her how to fight and survive. She attaches herself to this major and becomes a war weapon, to be used at his disposal. Now with the war over and her beloved general missing, she has no idea how to move on with her life. Violet gets automated metal arms to replace her torn off ones (full metal violet?) and sets off to become an 'auto memory doll'. This profession requires understanding the feelings of your client and then writing a letter on their behalf to support their lack of ability to express themselves well. These letters can be between lovers, friends, businessmen or even politicians and convey the sentiment of the sender. The journey of Violet going from not being able to comprehend basic human emotions to being able to emote for others is astoundingly wonderful. You begin to root for her as she navigates society and learns how to interact with people, how to make friends. You'll stay with her on her search to understand, what does it mean to say "I love you". 

I'm not going to lie, This anime has actually made me cry, it gets you so emotionally invested and deals with the most sensitive of human feelings that you won't help getting teary eyed occasionally. Because of this, watching it can be emotionally taxing if you aren't mentally prepared. Other than this, I find no basic faults with Violet Evergarden. It stays true to its style and is a great blend of action, drama and romance.   



My personal ratings are:

Story: 4/5
Character Development: 5/5
Dialogue: 4/5
Music: 4/5
Enjoyment: 5/5 

Overall Recommendation: One perfectly written letter 

This is a Netflix original and should be available there in all regions. 

Weathering With You

       

Sometimes anime is made for the heart and not the mind, 'Weathering With You' is one such movie. Makoto Shinkai does it again! (that bloody genius) Even though 'Weathering With You' didn't do as commercially well as his previous movie 'Your Name', he still knocked it out of the park with 193 million dollars worldwide in box office collections. This movie will take you places and make you feel like you've had an actual experience. Forget the critics, forget trailers, forget reading reviews (except this one), just chance upon this movie and let the magic happen. 

I have an instinct when it comes to detecting good anime, if even one scene manages to make me feel enough to have the hair on my hand stand up, the anime has 'it'. While watching 'Weathering With You' (even after the first three times) I get full fledged goosebumps every 15 minutes just because of it's sheer beauty. The movie takes place in the same universe as 'Your Name' and explores an unnatural phenomenon. High schooler Hodaka runs away from home to try and make it on his own in Tokyo, and through a series of fateful events meets Hina, a girl who can change the weather when she wants to. The Tokyo depicted in this movie is one that seldom see's any sunshine because of its constant rain. Seeing this as an opportunity, they try to clear the weather for people who want to see the sun and charge them a small fee. It's all fun and games with cheery friendships across well developed characters, amazingly portrayed, until they realize that there's more to this ability and that the world holds many mysterious secrets linked to this phenomenon. Expect love, laughs, friendship, anticipation, fear and mystery all leading to excitement and one unforgettable experience- Weathering With You is an absolute must watch! Also expect brilliant music because The Radwimps whipped up a new album for this movie and it really lives up. 

I think I've made it clear that I'm in love with Makoto Shinkai's works and hence am not the right person to point out its flaws, but the main criticism 'Weathering With You' receives is that it draws too many similarities to the style of 'Your Name'. Now while I personally don't have any issues with that, many people ho came in expecting something completely new were a little let down, and I can understand why. Either ways you should watch it and decide where you stand for yourself. 
        My personal ratings are:

Story: 4/5
Character Development: 3/5
Dialogue: 4/5
Music: 5/5 
Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall recommendation: One Sunny Day

This movie holds a special place for me because it was the first anime movie to release in actual theaters in my home city (Mumbai). Its distribution rights were given to PVR pictures and it won't be found on OTT platforms for a while, you may have to rent it online or stream otherwise but still try to pay for your view if possible because I'd like to see more anime movies releasing here. 

Mob Psycho 100

Mob Psycho 100 is a diamond in the rough that doesn't look like one at first. While initial thoughts for most people will be that it's strangely animated and looks too odd to continue watching, you'll regret not continuing. This anime is pure comedic gold and its vibe begins to suit the animation style very well. If you aren't sent into a fit of laughter over how the show builds up intense situations and immediately introduces levity to defuse it, I'll change my name. Mob Psycho 100 is so refreshingly hilarious and exciting- It's the anime equivalent of getting comically punched in the stomach so hard that you can't breathe (but like, in a good way).   

I see Mob Psycho 100 drawing a few similarities to One Punch Man and I mean that in a really good way. You'll see an OP protagonist who's pretty likable and is somewhat oblivious to how ridiculously strong they are, which makes for great laughs. The story follows young Shigeo Kageyama, nicknamed Mob, who's a powerful psychic despite looking like a weak school boy. Real psychic's are rare in the world which is why his master Reigen, who's about as real as Tsunade's boobs, employees Mob as an assistant (yes I meant Tsunade from Naruto and before anyone argues with me please remember that she changes her appearance using her creation rebirth, aka boob job jutsu). He pretends to be a know-it-all psychic guru, but is really just a glib con man. Mob however looks up to Reigen and actually learns to control his powers through his master's fake but somehow still relevant advice. Over time even you begin to think that Reigen is just amazing. The anime progresses to explore the limits of Mob's powers, that erupt into unstoppable carnage when he gets too emotional about something. There are many delightful side stories and supporting characters like Mob's friends and family that add flavor to this anime, which has a steady progression over two seasons and hopefully more. 

Mob Psycho 100 is unapologetically a comedy. This means that it frivolously plays around with story progression and uses any means to tie in loose ends. While that's generally entertaining, it puts me off just a little because they actually build those plot points really well. 

                    

My personal ratings are:

Story: 3/5
Character Development: 4/5
Dialogue: 4/5
Music: 3/5
Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall Recommendation: hilarious 100% outburst 

Catch Mob Psycho 100 on Cruncyroll with subscription and Netflix. 

 

My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu

Also called 'My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong, As I Expected' and Yahari Ore no Seinshun... you know what, this one has too many long names, we shall refer to this as 'Oregairu' (as most people do online). This show is a three season slice of life, teenage love story that's different from the usual anime rom-com. Oregairu is focused on realism and tries to portray an actual representation of how people think and feel in high school. This means you can't expect cliche and silly rom-com lovie dovey moments, but instead we get brilliant dialogue, stimulating sub plots and witness genuine human interactions. Coupled with its amazing animation style and complex character development, this one makes a great weekend binge!

Oregairu, likes to throw social ideologies and scenarios at its viewers with the intention of making them actually think about it, and I find that fascinating. The story starts with Hachiman Hikigaya, also called Hikki (yes, I giggled too) who is a realist that is very blunt and has no care for what others think of him. He is fine being a social outcast and thinks he is smarter than most. He is forced to join the schools social service club by his teacher where he meets Yukinoshta, an intelligent girl who is narcissistic and is socially awkward because of her limited interactions with friends. Added to the club is Yuhigahama who is a very social, likable and has many friends. The clash between these three personalities which buds into friendship and then something more is very entertaining. The anime will explore complexities of love triangles, high school friendships and social groups within schools. Honestly what makes Oregairu great for me is Hikki's monologues and commentaries about life that are just masterfully written and extremely amusing. You'll start for the cute anime girls (guys too), and stay for the Hikigaya wisdom.   

My biggest issue with this anime is that it gets too convoluted the further to go along watching it. They rely heavily on subtext and circumstantial understanding of feelings which can make even simple plot points seem confusing. Oregairu is also ridiculously faced paced in terms of dialogue, one look away from the screen and you'll be lost, so you need to pay attention. 

                          

My personal ratings are:

Story: 3/5
Character Development: 5/5
Dialogue: 5/5
Music: 4/5
Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall Recommendation: Yahalloo!

Catch My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu on Crunchyroll. Use a VPN if not in your region. 

K

The winner of the shortest anime title award is... K! This anime is beautifully chaotic and extremely fast paced. K is very much like what you'd expect from an orgy: nobody knows what's happening but you'll definitely enjoy all of it. Despite the strange story progression, you will always be engaged by the plot points and happy with their conclusions. I love the art-style, visuals and battle choreography in K, it has some real top tier stuff. It even has one of the best sound tracks in the anime world, guaranteed to get viewers pumped. A must watch for action fans; this is a story of loyalty, power, friendship and of modern day kings.      

K stands for 'King' which is a concept this anime revolves around. An ancient power allows 7 kings to exist in the world, the kings are assigned a color and abilities that they can share with their clansmen. The story will follow certain kings very closely and the relationships they have with their followers. We start with getting thrown into a turf war between the Red and Blue kings who fundamentally don't agree with each other's ideologies. Then added into the mix is a boy called Yashiro Isana who seems to be a regular school student but is suddenly targeted by other clans because a viral video has surfaced in which he claims to be the new colorless king and murders a friend of the Red king. this entire story unravels in a very engaging manner and does not fail to entertain. K is very good at captivating its audience, in fact, I challenge you to watch the first five minutes of episode one and not progress further. You'll have so many questions like, who is Yashiro? how will the conflict get settled? How do other kings fit in? and the only way to know is by diving deeper. 

Now I know that I've already described K as chaotic or confusing, but let me tell you to what extent. The anime has a unique world set up- different species exist, government/society structures are different, magic selectively is in play- but NONE of this is explained, like ever! You have to contextually figure everything out including what I've explained in the paragraph above, which tends to cross a line between intriguing and downright frustrating at times. I think that some blanks need to be filled, we as viewers can't just assume everything. 

       

My personal ratings are:

Story: 4/5
Character Development: 5/5
Dialogue: 3/5
Music: 5/5
Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall recommendation: No blood! No Bone! No Ash!

K is on Netlix and Hulu in most regions. Use a VPN if not available in yours. 

BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt so I'll Max Out My Defence

"Ew, not another cliche virtual reality video game based isekai anime, I'm done with this boring and repetitive concept". WRONG, there is no isekai out there like this one. Bofuri is a refreshing video game isekai featuring a female protagonist, and just seeing a shojo isekai that won't objectify women is reason enough to watch this. Even that aside, this is a very calming anime, full of positive vibes and amazing imagery. The focus of Bofuri is to display the perfect virtual reality gaming environment and community, a story about friendship, inspiration and hardcore RPG style fun!

The story of Bofuri is like one of those amazing dreams you get once in a while: it's a great experience, and you wish it was real when it ends. We follow a young girl called Kaede who plays a new online virtual reality video game for the first time, on her friend's recommendation. She names herself Maple in the game and is in it just to have fun. Not being a veteran gamer, she does a lot of unusual things like allocating all her skill points just to defense. Eventually through many events, unexpectedly becomes a strong player that even game developers start to keep an eye on. She goes through a journey of balancing her online life with her school work, learning how to make comrades in-game and exploring the unique game world. What I love about all this is that nothing ever goes wrong! The anime is all about positivity and showing viewers what the perfect online gaming experience would look like. And honestly, it worked, I want to be able to play this game. They absolutely nailed the battles, the power ups, the scenery and even the costume design (amazingly with zero lewd fan service). Watch the anime to see what unexpected things Maple will do next! 

Bofuri has just one short and sweet season with 12 episodes and a season two in development, while I like the anime's pacing, it falls flat in many episodes because of its general lack of direction. There are moments when you feel like the entire anime is a giant form of product placement but the game they are promoting is fake. I don't like that it's teasing an experience that does not exists.



My personal ratings are:

Story: 2/5
Character Development: 3/5
Dialogue: 3/5
Music: 3/5
Enjoyment: 4/5 

Overall Recommendation: Well if its fine with Maple then I'll do anything 

Watch BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt so I'll Max Out My Defence on Netflix and use a VPN if it's not in your region.            

Demon Slayer

                     

Demon Slayer or Kimetsu No Yaiba is a stellar recommendation for you shonen lovers. This critically acclaimed series won the 'Anime Of The Year' award during Crunchyroll's 2020 Anime Awards and also uses special CGI technology to make its visuals more stunning (kudos to you animators at UFOtable). Demon Slayer becomes an immediate classic and fan favorite as it brings to life a heart-rendingly touching story that takes viewers through a roller-coaster of emotions. You'll feel all sides of the spectrum, from empathetic character development to exciting action sequences, all balanced by light comedy that's done very tastefully. 

Demon Slayer's plot starts off dark unlike most of its shonen peers. It's a period anime set in the Taisho-era that follows the story of young Tanjiro who loses his entire family, except his sister in a gruesome demon attack. While attempting to rescue his sister he realizes that she is slowly transforming into a demon herself and has now become the target of demon hunter, Giyu. In an emotional display of faith the sister, Nezuko shows that she is different from other demons and is able to control her blood lust, giving reason for Giyu to recruit them into the Demon Slayer Corps instead of killing the siblings. The story progresses with Tanjiro training to become a powerful demon slayer who vows to find a way to restore Nezuko's humanity. The journey of transforming from weak to strong, for both siblings, is very entertaining. Even side characters introduced as companions play vital roles in setting an interesting structure to prevent the anime from getting monotonous. Setting story aside, Demon Slayer's visuals are enough to rope you in for the long haul. Expect beautifully choreographed battles, creative attacks and vibrant environments. 

The anime doesn't really leave much for anyone to complain about. I just think that season one spent too much time focusing on Tanjiro's training. I would have liked to see more of him unleashing hell on enemies with his new found abilities, but that being said I'm sure the Demon Slayer movie set to release in October 2020 and season two in 2021 will cover this in due time. 

      

My personal ratings are:

Story: 4/5
Character Development: 5/5
Dialogue: 4/5
Music: 4/5
Enjoyment: 5/5 

Overall recommendation: 5 Total Concentration breaths! 

Demon Slayer is available to stream on Netflix. 

How Not To Summon A Demon Lord

              

Imagine you were taking a walk in the park and came across a pile of shit that's on fire. It's an odd thing, but you find that you can't stop staring at it. Why? maybe you just want to see what happens to it or maybe it amuses you. We humans have been attracted to fire since ancient times after all. But that's 'How Not To Summon A Demon Lord' in a nutshell, it's a flaming turd that you probably want to stop looking at, but end up mysteriously looking at for longer that you expected. The show is unapologetically pervy, and is the epitome of Harem. If you like a simple plot with an OP main protagonist who goes about simply eradicating every enemy in sight, you might enjoy this show. You'll come for the action sequences, but stay for the unlimited fan service, if you like that stuff that is. I'm just a neutral blogger whose girlfriend reads this page and will comment no further on the quality of the fan service. 

How Not To Summon A Demon Lord has the story line of a basic Isekai anime (transported to a fantasy world genre). A boy named Takuma who spends most of his life mastering an online RPG under the username Diablo suddenly gets sucked into the game world. He finds out that he has been summoned by two girls called Shera and Rem who bungled a summoning spell and ended up enslaving themselves to Diablo who is now stuck in his OP video game persona. Rem has a demon sealed in her body who is the final boss of the game, and Diablo pledges to destroy it without harming her so he can return home. As expected the anime is rife with ridiculous perverted comedy around the dynamics of these three. Apart from that, it is interesting to watch Diablo's power unfold in this world as he goes from being a weakling in his world to now becoming a buff and attractive demon lord. There are many satisfying scenes where annoying and overconfident villains are pretty much obliterated by Diablo. There's just something wholesome about watching an underestimated hero destroying these type of villains. 

Oh boy where do I begin with the problems in this anime. It is blatantly sexist with extremely problematic scenes even by Harem standards. It tries to go for raunchy content but tries too hard and ends up with a mix of uncomfortable and strained parts far too many times. In all honesty, while I do enjoy fan service in certain anime, this one crosses too many lines. I've seen tasteful fan service in many an Isekai, this one just wasn't for me. That being said, no judgement if you, like I'm sure many (after all it has been renewed for season two) happen to enjoy it. 

             

My personal ratings are:

Story: 2/5
Character Development: 2/5
Dialogue: 3/5
Music: 2/5 
Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall Recommendation: Two anime wifus! 

 How Not To Summon A Demon Lord is available on Netflix. 

Fruits Basket

 

If like me, you love slice of life anime or any show that allows you to kick back relax and forget your troubles while you watch, Fruits Basket has to be your next watch. Watching an episode is almost like meditation, it just soothes your soul with its calming and relaxing vibe. Fruits Basket was once animated in 2001 but has now gotten a remake in 2019 with a face-lift and boy was it worth it! The two new seasons of Fruits Basket have been beautifully animated and the story is evenly spread out for you to enjoy slowly. It's not exactly a tear jerker, but be ready to feel some emotions. 

The plot follows the life of seemingly ordinary college girl Tohru Honda who one day accidentally bumps into the Soma family while attempting to live in a tent on their property. She reveals that her parents have passed away and that she needed a place to stay without bothering anyone till her other relatives could renovate their house and take her in. Tohru is a bumbly girl who can be very clueless, but has a certain innocence or purity to her, this charms the two Soma cousins who agree to let her stay with them in exchange for some household chores. Straightforward right? But I forgot to mention that the Soma family is actually cursed by the Chinese zodiac signs and that 13 members of the family turn into a particular zodiac animal assigned to them at birth when they are hugged by someone of the opposite gender (I think you can see where this is going). Tohru accidentally hugs Yuki Soma who is also her classmate, and discovers their secret. The anime will take you on a journey about how she meets all the Somas' and how she accepts them when most people never could. There are dark elements that lurk in the background of Fruits Basket like the secret behind the curse, the horrible childhood each Soma endures and how they had given up on normal lives before realizing that all is not lost for them. But all cards on the table, it's a heart warming tale and easily narrates the intricate stories of many different characters without becoming slow or boring.  

No anime is perfect and Fruits Basket is not an exception, like many slice of life shows it does that annoying thing where there are ridiculously obvious plot points that need to be addressed and can be addressed easily but are instead stretched out over a long period of time. Also, and I don't know if this counts, but I know many people who find Tohru's voice annoying and it puts off the calming vibe the show normally has for them (not me Tohru, I support you a hundred percent). 

                     

My personal ratings are:

Story: 3/5
Character Development: 4/5
Dialogue: 3/5
Music: 3/5 
Enjoyment: 5/5

Overall Recommendation: 12 Zodiac Animals 

Fruits Basket is available in India on Netflix and outside India, Hulu.

Bungou Stray Dogs

                        

Bungou Stray Dogs is a top tier seinen anime (targeted to mature audience). It takes the dramatically overdone concept of people with superpowers fighting each other and gives it a refreshing new art style and uniquely interesting narrative. So what exactly makes it stand out in this crowded (and I mean ridiculously crowded) genre? It's the expertly choreographed fights, the stunning visuals, the imaginatively different power-ups, hilarious dialogue and an overabundance of style. It's like watching a bunch of pigeons wandering around the park, normal right? But then there's this particular one that's wearing bling and has dark shades on. This badass pigeon that makes the others look bad, it's Bungou Stray Dogs. Don't let this pigeon fly away, watch it as soon as you can... Okay, I promise that's the last of the pigeon analogy.

 Bungou Stray Dogs is set in the port town of Yokohama. It's established that there are certain people in the world that have super powers and as expected they are split between criminal gangs and law enforcement agencies. There's a brilliant dynamic shown of the criminal underbelly of Yokohama and the surface world much like a ying and yang that together creates the very workings and foundation of the city. The two parties of focus are the Port Mafia and the Armed Detective Agency, both posses several powerful members and are ideologically very different. Their only similarity is their love for the city they run. Thrown into this mix is young Atsushi who is new to Yokohama and on the run from a mysterious tiger that is out to kill him. He bumps into Armed Detective Agency member Danzai who was trying to research different ways to commit suicide without experiencing much pain (it's um... his thing) and so begins their union. Atsushi discovers his own powers and joins the agency as a rookie, he gets attached fast as he was craving a sense of belonging being an orphan since his childhood. Atsushi's experiences as a new comer show us the intricate set up of this world and allows you to rush into those exciting scenarios with him, they've also incorporated comedy really well in this medium. Every character both good and bad have interesting backstories and are well developed. Before you know it, you'll be sucked into the happenings in Yokohama and that grip is truly binge worthy.

While Bungou Stray Dogs stays as an intelligent anime with many crafty and amusing schemes or strategies afoot, things can get a little too convoluted which is a put off. Also Atsushi's character is so whiny and self deprecating that it begins to get on your nerves. There is a cut scene that plays every time he pities himself that must have been shown at least fifty times by the time the series ends, the exact same scene. You could actually play a drinking game and take a swing every time he throws a pity party, if you want to get real drunk that is. 

                          

My Personal Ratings:

Story: 4/5
Character Development: 5/5
Dialogue: 5/5 
Music: 3/5
Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall Recommendation: Rashomon!
                       
Bungou Stray Dogs season one and two are available on Netflix. 

Great Pretender

A truly unique Netflix original with an abundance of style and excitement. Ladies and gentlemen, it's a heist anime! Great Pretender has a jazzy and classic vibe to it, very much like an anime Oceans Eleven. It has set itself apart from conventional anime in so many different ways: It's realistic with no complicated powers or other worlds, it is set in multiple different countries, it has an original English soundtrack (with one done by Freddie fricking Mercury) and its English dub is actually better than the Japanese subs! The cons and heists are smart, unpredictable, original and stirring. Great Pretender is a breath of fresh air personified, everything is novel right down to the animation style, you won't find any other anime similar to this. 

Because I don't want to give away the twists in any of the cons or capers, I'll stick to explaining the very basics of Great Pretender's story. Makoto Edamura is a con man living in Japan who makes a living off petty theft. He meets Laurent one day and in an attempt to rob him, realizes that he is a con man too. They eventually partner up and have a bet to see who can swindle more money from a target. Their journey takes them to different countries, makes them meet a variety of people and gets intensely exciting. I particularly love how this anime actually introduces new cultures and people of different ethnicity, you don't get to see this in most shows, let alone accurately done. Great Pretender has even nailed its plot twists, they are like Russian nesting dolls- there's always a new and unexpected one coming up.  

When you start watching the first episode of Great Pretender, expect crappy dialogue audio until the five minute mark. They are just trying to establish that the characters speak differently and have accents derived from their home countries. After the five minute mark, the dialogue audio will normalize and the real dubbing will begin. Don't stop watching early because of this.

   

My personal ratings are:

 Story: 5/5                                                                                                                                         Character Development: 5/5                                                                                                           Dialogue: 3/5                                                                                                                                       Music: 5/5 (Seriously an anime with a song by Freddie Mercury, like how)                             Enjoyment: 4/5 (Yes, this is a new metric I'll be adding from henceforth)  

Overall recommendation: One portion of steamed Edamame!

Since Great Pretender is a Netflix original, it should be on Netflix in all geographies. 

High School DxD

                 

Turn away kids, we're about to discuss some adult content. Us anime fans and weebs constantly fight the social stigma of anime being broadly classified as hentai or tentacle porn by normies who just happen to always walk in on us when something questionable is on our screens. Now while I respect this fight and would throw down with anyone, at any time to defend the integrity, complexity and wholesomeness of anime; lets be honest for a sec. We all eventually come across at least one erotic, raunchy or sexually promiscuous anime that we secretly or 'ironically' enjoy. Sometimes I just want to turn my mind off and watch absolutely ridiculous and inappropriate content, for these moments there is the gem that is High School DxD (forgive me lord for I have sinned). 

Bless the writer of High School DxD for actually coming up with a story line to demonstrate the actual plot here (if you know what I mean). But even he doesn't try too hard, as the story follows Issei Hyodo who is a pervy high schooler with the dream of becoming a Harem king (he basically wants to be Hugh Hefner). Poor Issei is killed on his very first date and is resurrected as a demon by Rias Gremory who is a demon aristocrat's daughter and is collecting people to join her household. He also becomes the next wielder of the famous Red Emperor Dragon who resides in his right arm and becomes his partner in combat. Issei pledges his loyalty to Rias because... well... because she puts the DxD in the title of the anime. As the story progresses many more are added to this new family and everyone has romantic interest in Issei, leading to several hilarious stand offs and spicy scenes. Surprisingly High School DxD has extremely well directed fight scenes and great visuals involving power-ups and transformations. You almost get involved in the intense fights until you remember that Issei powers up based on his erotic desires and not the usual hero driven motives. 

This goes without saying, but the biggest fallback of the show is that you can't watch it with anyone nearby or even in earshot. You also begin to get bored of the same plot device being used time and again i.e damsel in distress who riles Issei up enough to get angry and take out the bad guy. But despite my description, High School DxD is not Hentai, it's doesn't cross that line and still focuses on comedy and story progression over the shady stuff. So give it a try!

              

My personal ratings are:

Story: 2/5
Character Development: 3/5
Dialogue: 2/5
Music: 2/5 

Overall Recommendation: Boosted Gear Level 3!

High School DxD is on Netflix in most regions. You might have to use a VPN. 

Nisekoi

Nisekoi is a romantic comedy that's just the right amount of ridiculous for it to be a fun and light binge. This anime makes for a great stress buster with its slapstick comedy and purposefully complicated love triangles that are guaranteed to amuse you. The love interests of these poor characters are in such disarray, that unraveling them would be harder than finding a needle in a stack of needles. But that's what makes Nisekoi so good, the nonsensical story progression and tastefully done romantic moments or "accidents" make for great comedy.  

The story is so stupidly chaotic that you'll have a great time just watching each character muddle up their love life while desperately trying to fix it. It starts with the introduction of Raku Ichijo, the sole heir of an old yakuza crime family who has no particular interest in being a criminal. When he was young, he made a promise to a girl, they both agreed to marry each other if they ever met again in the future. To remember this promise he keeps a necklace with a lock in it, while the girl holds on to its key. Many years later, Raku moves on and falls for another girl in his class called Onodera. Before he can confess to her, he meets Chitoge, the daughter of a mafia family. Their respective crime families go to war with each other and to prevent things from getting bloody, Raku and Chitoge decide to fake being in a relationship so as to bring peace between the families. While Raku and Chitoge are absolutely different types of people who initially hate each other, their fake relationship brings them closer. Throw in the fact that Onodera actually loves Raku back, there's a murderous mafia butler spying on them and that the key bearing girl from the past is potentially nearby, and you get a beautifully nonsensical love story.  

Of course Nisekoi's not perfect, the story progresses in a painfully slow manner. Imagine being on a fishing trip, but every time you think you've made a big catch, it's just junk. Just like that, Nisekoi will toy with you, letting you think there's going to be a juicy love story development- but instead they'll delay any outcome and keep you hanging. But besides this, it's a cute and fun watch for rom-com lovers!

      

My personal ratings are:

Story: 2/5
Character Development: 3/5
Dialogue: 3/5
Music: 2/5

Overall Recommendation: One accidental girls changing room entry

Nisekoi can be streamed on Crunchyroll and on facebook watch. You might have to use a VPN based on your region. 

Haikyuu!!

Have you ever come across something that's impossible to dislike? If you haven't, Haikyuu will be a definite first. It's like looking at a cute and fluffy puppy that's yawning, no sane human being can resist falling in love with it. I think Haikyuu is the best sports anime that exists today, and I don't say that lightly because there are so many brilliant options out there. Even though I was an uninterested volleyball novice, this anime immediately roped me in with its flair and passion for the sport. If you ever thought that volleyball was just a non-complicated and chill beach game, be prepared to get blown away. 

Like most sports anime, Haikyuu's story is very straightforward. It follows an ambitions underdog volleyball team from Karasuno High that wants to compete seriously. While watching we explore the various dynamics of the people in the team, as well as the sport itself. Don't worry if you aren't familiar with volleyball because the anime will explain this to you pretty well over time. The show is extremely realistic without any fancy powers or over-the-top animations, but still gripping and exciting. What really sets Haikyuu apart is that even though it has a strong central protagonist, Shoyo Hinata, every single character is still detailed perfectly. I mean each and every one because there is nobody who gets sidelined or who isn't complex with unique characteristics, counting players on other teams. It's done so well that I think each player in the anime has enough backstory for a spin-off season of their own. This is also where the danger lies, as Haikyuu gets you attached, and you won't let go without going all in emotionally. Be prepared to binge so hard and fast that you won't even realize when you've finished five seasons (counting specials) and four movies. What else do you really need in a great sports anime: Get's you fired up (check), has amazing visuals (check), great characters (check), does justice to the sport (check). So what are you waiting for to watch this?

While Haikuu's animation style is really great, I've noticed that they repeat the exact same animations for certain actions like volleyball services and receives pretty often. This, for me, is a slight put off because everything else is so damn perfect. Watching those few frequently reanimated scenes makes me feel uncomfortable, like I'm driving a Lamborghini with a play mobile steering wheel. 



My personal ratings are:

Story: 4/5
Character Development: 5/5
Dialogue: 4/5
Music: 5/5 

Overall recommendation: Nice Kill!

Catch Haikyuu!! on Netflix.

Natsume's Book of Friends

                 

Natsume's Book of Friends or Natsume Yuujinchou has aired six seasons and a movie, with season seven on the way. This is a special anime for me because it has such an immense calming effect that you can't help but smile and de-stress as you watch. I watch an episode of Natsume Yuujinchou exclusively on days that I need a pick-me-up and I refuse to watch the last episode of season six till there are more, because I won't be able to handle not having more to look forward to. It's not just me, Natsume Yuujinchou has a massive fan following due to its chill vibe and peaceful motif. This is a must watch for those of you who have a lot going on and want a few minutes of real peace in a day. Just shut off your phone and watch a single episode, I guarantee you tranquility (otherwise you're just not human). 

The story is that of a boy called Natsume (duh), who unlike most humans could see ghosts and spirits since he was a child. He also lost his parents at a young age and understandably had it really rough moving from one home to another and never finding any real friends. Thankfully Natsume finally gets taken in by an understanding and loving couple, and gets a stable school life with friends who find his behavior strange at first but eventually begin to understand him. The story really picks up when he inherits his grandmother's 'book of friends' which has entrapped the names and powers of several spirits and can be used to control them. Instead of looking for more power, the mild mannered Natsume decides to return each spirit's freedom to them and in the process meets Nyanko sensei, a cute cat like creature who can turn into a powerful dragon at will. Nyanko has never met anyone like Natsume and decides to help him and keep him out of danger as his 'pet cat'. Natsume who wants no trouble out of life is constantly pulled into various extraordinary situations and eventually learns how to rely on others to get through them. The rest of the story is an astonishingly good blend of making us see the world through his eyes and how others perceive him. In no time you'll find yourself invested in finding out what happens next. 

While Natsume Yuujinchou has the makings of a show that is full of exciting battles and riveting plot twists, it just isn't that. There are several powerful beings and potential mayhem causing plot points but the anime refuses to indulge in much action or trepidation that will harm its chill vibe. While I don't see this is a fault, turn away if you want to see any of these things or if you're looking for a fast paced show. 
                                                

My personal ratings are:

Story: 4/5
Character Development: 4/5
Dialogue: 3/5 
Music: 4/5

Overall Recommendation: One of Nyanko Sensei's Jelly Sweets 

Unfortunately options to watch Natsume's Book of Friends are limited in India. You'll have to find a streaming service online, but if you like what you see try to support the creators by buying the manga as well: https://www.amazon.in/Natsumes-Book-Friends-Vol-1/dp/1421532433/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=natsume&qid=1596127228&sr=8-2