KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World!

 
People often say things like lol, lmao or even rofl (if you're a boomer). But when was the last time you actually did any of these? KonoSuba once got me so bad, I actually snorted my drink and continued to laugh breathlessly for a couple of minutes after. I can say, without a doubt, that KonoSuba is the funniest anime that I've seen ( and there is weight behind these words). Also called 'Kono Subarashi Sekai ni Shukufuku o!', this show wrote the book on Isekai spoofs and still has other anime trying to rip off its RPG game styled humor and setup. If you're looking for a light, interesting and quirky comedy with outstanding visuals, this one is absolutely perfect. 

The story follows a boy named Kazuma, who's basically a shut-in. One day Kazuma dies in a nonsensical accident and is made fun of by Aqua, a goddess who's supposed to guide his spirit to reincarnation (you with me so far?). Aqua decides to send Kazuma to a world that's fallen into trouble because of a powerful demon king and offers him one super power in order to become a great hero. Kazuma, who is annoyed by Aqua's glib attitude, asks the heavens to send Aqua down with him as a companion instead of giving him powers. Before she can object, both of them are cast into the new MMORPG styled world together, only to leave if they defeat the powerful demon king. Kazuma soon realizes that he made a mistake because Aqua is hilariously incompetent and also a lecherous drunk. Over time he tries to band together a powerful party, but ends up with an egoistical goddess, a sexually masochistic knight and a mage who is overconfident despite knowing just one attack. This party actually gives up on accomplishing anything, but inadvertently ends up solving great mysteries and unlocking difficult quests based on sheer dumb luck. Honestly the combination of these characters is pure genius and their adventures are hilarious enough to knock you off your seat. KonoSuba makes use of circumstantial humor and crafty dialogues to achieve this level of comedy and is unparalleled in executing slapstick perverted jokes. 

While I hold KonoSuba in high regard has a stress-busting and chill anime, I think it has a little more fan service than it needs, and that throws me off sometimes. The show has clever comedy, masked by ridiculous content but is cheapened by un-necessary raunchiness. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate raunchiness, I just think there could be better use here. 

         

My personal ratings are:

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

Overall Recommendation: Two of Kazuma's Lives 

KonoSuba is available to stream on Netflix!

Curious Play - Fushigi Yugi

Let's jump back in time, all the way back to 1995- where anime had a distinctly different style. A great example to represent those times is Curious Play, a bold action-adventure and romance anime that stands out as unconventional, even today. Curious Play has so many elements and sub genres associated to it like: reverse harem, seinen and shojo; which makes it really stimulating and gripping to watch. We see very mature content through the anime's progression, covering dark emotions, raunchy relationships, and violent bloodshed. All of this coupled with a fantasy world and eye catching powers makes for a truly unique anime experience. 

The series focuses on two girls: Miaka and Yui who stumble upon a book in the library called Universe of the Four Gods. They mysteriously get sucked into this book that connects to a parallel world set in a feudal era. In this world they are reincarnated as maidens of ancient gods who must fulfill their duty to the gods of Suzaku and Seiryuu respectively. Miaka must find and assemble the seven celestial warriors of Suzaku so that she can summon the god and be granted three wishes. This is how she meets Tamahome, one of the warriors who pledges his loyalty to her, and becomes a major romantic interest that drives a wedge between the two maidens. The journey is split into different phases in the anime: assembling the seven, figuring out allies and enemies, forging bonds and final battles. Seeing how the two worlds are connected and the different character dynamics across each one makes for great entertainment, especially in that old-school animation which has its own aesthetic vibe. Also giving a quick shout out to comedic elements that really ties the anime together, providing just enough levity to a stern plot.

The primary drawback to watching Curious Play is its lengthy and roundabout manner of story telling. The anime drags on too many arcs that should have been short and creates unnecessary buildup to small plot points. Too much build up makes the conclusion feel underwhelming which is unfortunate given the great set up that the anime creates. 



My Personal Ratings Are:

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

Overall Recommendation:  One Naked Tamahome 

This anime is too old to be found on any new streaming platforms, most of it should be on YouTube to watch. 

Steins;Gate

I never knew something so beautifully intricate and complex, yet absolutely engaging could exist. Steins Gate is a gem of an anime with a justified cult following because of its unique take on story telling. This sci-fi thriller is the anime equivalent of Doctor Who in terms of plot complexity, and is a delight to watch for all time travel lovers. I think watching Steins Gate is like entering a big maze: you start off excited, get worried about where it goes in the middle, and feel utmost excitement when you reach the end. Please note that this is a heavy, occasionally dark, fast paced and sometimes confusing anime that will swing between plot building and culmination like a pendulum. I don't recommend watching it unless you are in the right mindset for such a show. If you like these elements however, be ready for an absolute treat. 

Without giving much away, the story follows a scientist called Rintarou Okabe who is a quirky anarchist that loves to indulge in vague conspiracy theories and whacky scientific ideas. On a faithful day he discovers that he may have altered the flow of time using a tweaked microwave and is able to send messages through time when attaching a phone to it. His team comprising of a pervy programmer, his childhood friend and a renowned female scientist who's destiny gets all mixed up in Okabe's business, are suddenly thrown into a chaotic situation where they may have just discovered time travel. The anime has many angles to this plot: the politics behind inventing time travel, the effects it can have on the world and the stress it puts on their personal relationships. Steins Gate quickly becomes gritty and intense, showing the consequences of even the smallest actions involving time travel. As expected he show eventually introduces villains who have less than scientific motives and pose a threat to our team of protagonists. I think the anime does a great job balancing action and thriller elements with overarching character sentimentality. It creates a world you can get sucked into, coupled by a longing to know what happens next.  

My biggest issue with Steins Gate is that it can be complicated just for the sake of complexity at times. You can tell that certain plot points could have been made simpler without affecting the story, but instead still go about involved and lengthy routes that can cause frustration. 



My Personal ratings are:

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

Overall recommendation: One Future Gadget Laboratory

Steins gate is available on Netflix, crunchyroll and Hulu across different regions.  

My Hero Academia

Shonen Jump's new front running anime has already made the halls of fame with a massive fan following, its own global conventions, and a couple of box office friendly movies. My Hero Academia is an instant classic that follows all shonen tropes the usual viewer loves, with an added spice of social commentary that makes us reflect on more than just the plot outcomes. The anime balances light and heavy elements well to create an action packed, adventurous show full of tasteful plot points and comedy. Not to mention, it does really well on character building and has some of this years most compelling protagonists. I think watching MHA is like making a new best friend, it gives you a happy and safe feeling, even though there are times when it can be annoying and steals your french fries (maybe that's just my friends).

The story is set in a world where a majority of the population is born with a quirk or a power. Society has reformed as a result of these abilities and new jobs have come into existence, a prominent one being professional super hero. We start by following Young Midoriya who was born quirk-less, but desperately wants to become a hero. On a faithful day he inherits a power called 'One For All' from the worlds greatest hero, All Might, who sees potential in Midoriya's future. From there he joins the world's top hero training academy UA High and is paired up with all kinds of aspiring heroes, each with their own backstories and intentions. He even comes face to face with his childhood bully Bakugo who has more to him than meets the eye. This is the story of how a class of ambitious yet problematic heroes face the world's toughest generation of villains, especially when they learn that not everything in the real world is black and white. 

My issue with MHA is that it was intentionally made to appeal to masses and become mainstream. Because of this you see many cliché shonen tropes and filler arcs that can offset an otherwise serious storyline. That being said, this is still one of my favorite shonen anime and it's a must watch for you.

     

My Personal Ratings Are:

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

Overall Recommendation: 20% Delaware Smash! 

Catch MHA on Hulu, Netflix and Crunchyroll across different regions. 

Jujutsu Kaisen

Jujutsu Kaisen is, without a doubt, a bridge that shows us the way to the future of anime. This action Shonen series has visuals so stunning, you'll want to re watch every frame out of disbelief. With this plus Attack on Titan's final season, the production house - MAPPA basically knocked it out of the park. While the show's story itself isn't mind-blowingly special, the anime gets full points for execution and direction. You'll be so engaged by battle sequences, every droplet of sweat from a character's face becomes noticeable. Watching Jujutsu Kaisen is like watching a talented street artist spray graffiti on the wall, it just gives you an innate sense of satisfaction and amusement.   

The plot focuses on athletically gifted Yuji Itadori who inadvertently stumbles upon the hidden world of curses and supernatural phenomenon through an incident at school. To save his friends from danger, he gets himself cursed and obtains special powers, but also becomes a threat to all of humanity. In order to control his abilities, Yuji is enrolled into a school that teaches cursed techniques and is full of odd specimens. There's an interesting angle about the internal politics in the school that sway to and away from supporting Yuji across different levels of hierarchy. Jujutsu Kaisen does a great job in getting us involved with characters, battles and plot outcomes. The thrill of this anime stems from over powered character clashes, vibrant visuals and good old fashioned shonen sentimentality. 

The only negative I find with this anime is its slow story progression. I feel like episodes are too short and don't cover as much ground as I would have liked, but that being said, you can't rush great potentially long running anime.



My personal ratings are: 

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

Overall recommendation: One of sukunas fingers  

Jujutsu Kaisen in on Neflix Japan and on Crunchyroll in other regions, use a VPN to watch!

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.  

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.         

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. 

 

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. 

Your Name

          Your name or 'Kimi No Na Wa' is an iconic anime movie. Not only is it the world's highest grossing anime film with box office earnings just under 358 million dollars (hot damn!), but also has won more awards than I can list here. Why is it so good you ask? Well for starters it's because the creator of Your Name, Makoto Shinkai, is an artistic and creative genius. The visuals and animation style are in a league of their own. In fact every image is so vibrant that you'll be watching with a guaranteed glimmer in your eyes and you might even shed a tear just because of its beauty. Strange thing is, if you ask me to categorize this movie in just one genre, I simply can't. Your Name has everything in it, it's the very definition of a multi-layered plot. But more than that, this one movie encapsulates everything good about anime as a medium, not because of what qualities it has, but because of how it makes you feel.

I don't want to give away much here, but I'll describe he basics of its story. We follow the lives of Taki and Mitsuha who are starkly different people. Mitsuha lives in a rural town and wants nothing but to get out of there and live a fast paced city life. Inversely, Taki lives in Tokyo and is a student struggling to find a corporate job while working part time as a waiter. They one day realize that they're connected somehow and switch bodies from time to time, just for a short period. The story continues to explore the reason for this phenomenon and how the two begin to understand each other, without really meeting. Now I know you'll think this is a sappy and overdone body switching plot, but trust me this doesn't even scratch the surface, there's so much more to it that I can't talk about without spoilers. I'll say it again, the story is genius and unexpected, just go watch it (all hail Makoto-san). Now the cherry on the top here is an absolutely amazing soundtrack done by a band called The Radwimps. They even redid all their songs in English to go with the English dub of the movie which is just some sheer dedication. I genuinely listen to at least one long from this soundtrack everyday. 

I have no criticism for Your Name. I think it has everything a great anime needs and anyone who finds faults here is just reaching for something that isn't there. I actually think I just wrote this post as an excuse to re watch the movie despite having seen it eleven times before. Just go watch it, bring your non anime watching friends along and you might convert them too (I've used Your name to convert many a person into anime lovers).
        My personal ratings are:

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

Overall Recommendation: One Casual Introduction 

You can rent or buy your name on Amazon or Google Playstore for under five dollars. If you need to stream it illegally then at least try and buy its DVD in the future when you have the money.    
      

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

                       

Imagine an anime full of drama, energy and hair-raising action. Now imagine this anime on steroids and that's probably what JoJo's Bizarre adventure is. JoJo has an army of avid and to be honest, scary followers almost like it's a cult, and once you dive in you'll see why. The show stands out as one of its kind with no close peers in the way it's animated or even the unique take it adopts on story progression. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure has soap opera levels of drama and a sense of style that I can only describe as pizzaz or jazz hands. It has riveting story progression and gets you so involved in the characters that you'll want to learn all their family histories. 

Now I have to be careful here so that I don't give away any spoilers. You will be following the story of a character nicknamed JoJo who is someone that just emanates with indestructible energy and righteousness. He happens to attract others to follow him with his charisma (and pizzaz) as he always gets wrapped up in one bizarre predicament after the next. These problems include apocalyptic vampires, murderous Egyptians, Italian gangsters and powered up high school kids among others (only JoJo fans will know how clever I just was in explaining this). Now astonishingly you're not really going to care much about the story. JoJo is all about its execution and style over anything else, much like watching a fancy Broadway musical. You'll find yourself doing weird things like yelling at your screen, repeating JoJo catchphrases in your own mind, trying out JoJo poses and then bam... you're suddenly a JoJo cultist. In all honesty, props to this anime for what its pulled off. Every character is complex and multi dimensional including the villains. In fact Dio, who is introduced early in the show, is one of the best anime villains created till date. Additional credit for setting the anime in many different locations and not just Japan and also for stellar use of music, it's small things like this that gives JoJo extra traction. 

Now please don't start pelting at me JoJo cultists, but let's be real, JoJo is deeply flawed in many aspects despite how great it is. Although that's part of its charm, all forms of common sense and realism go right out the window as the story progresses. In fact, just start believing that anything goes because the show will literally make up anything to tie up loose ends and maintain a facade of sense. That's it though, have mercy JoJo fans! Also please watch JoJo's Bizarre Adventure in the right order to enjoy it and that's (in season names): Phantom Blood, Stardust Crusaders, Battle in Egypt, Diamond is Unbreakable and then Golden Wind with more coming soon. 

       

My personal Ratings are:

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

Overall Recommendation: Muda! Muda! Muda! Muda! Muda!

In India catch different seasons of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure on Netflix and Crunchyroll (watch for free here with ads).