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.