My Little Monster

A refreshingly fast paced and bold anime rom-com that works as a great stress buster. My Little Monster derives a lot of its good elements from Maid Sama, quite noticeably. It follows the story of an emotionally confused girl who can't help being a workaholic, and a socially misunderstood boy with an extremely forward demeanor. It's like they took Maid Sama's plot and changed it a little to prevent getting caught, much like that homework assignment you "did yourself" back in college. That being said, My Little Monster introduces just enough of its own novelty to make it an interesting watch, especially because of how quickly the anime progresses and develops character relationships. 

The star crossed lovers in question are Shizuku and Haru, two contrasting personalities who somehow realize they complete each other in a ying-yang-ish manner. The plot starts with Haru's issues at school and inability to make friends, then progresses to his immediate infatuation with Shizuku who makes him feel safe but also confuses him. We see a lot of serious relationship commentary complimented by well done comedy and levity through supporting characters and ridiculous settings. There are small running plot points, but the overarching theme is understanding if Shuzuku can handle this kind of a relationship and figure out what she really wants. The people are real and likeable, and the story telling is succinct while engaging, what more do you need from an anime rom-com? (thank god because I can't do 100 episodes of build up to hand holding like with most other mainstream shows). 

What I don't like about this anime is that while it's fast paced, there's a lot of annoying back and forth where Shizuku keeps changing her mind about being in love or not. Additionally, Some of the humor is strained and makes certain serious scenes awkward, but all other aspects are fairly well done. 



My personal ratings are:

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

Overall recommendation: One angry chicken 

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.  

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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.