In the afterword of the first volume of Classmates, Nakamura Asumiko wrote of her first BL series, “I wanted to go with something cliche, almost hackneyed.” It’s true, Classmates does indulge many of the standards of the genre. Instead of using these cliches as shortcuts, however, Nakamura uses the reader’s familiarity to build a framework for a humanistic, multifaceted story about queer intimacy, connection, and joy.
This show is an example of just how much strong animation and adaptation can elevate even the most banal of premises.
Watching ATRI feels like watching a Hollywood feature film tailor-made to contend for an Oscar.
I wish the characters were more interesting, because the premise here has a lot of potential.
One good scene and pretty visuals can’t make up for clunky fantasy racism and buckets of exposition.
This show is clearly not afraid of moving into the messier, more interesting parts of romance that many slow burn romances little interest in–what happens when you try to break up with somebody and you can’t let go? What happens when your reason for breaking up was fundamentally a bad one, but you still have to live with the consequences?
Failgirl YouTuber/blockhead vampire yuri, made by PA Works? Yes, please.
Please let Dazai Osamu’s ghost rest. He and Edgar Allan Poe are probably commiserating over brandy in the afterlife.
If all you want is a show that revels in the contrast between pretty anime character designs and gross characterization, hey, you might have a good time.
Wistoria is a competently told take on a familiar story that might make nice casual viewing for action fantasy fans.
How is it that after watching two episodes, I still felt like nothing noteworthy happened.
I would not describe the experience of watching Nokotan in English as it was presented on Crunchyroll as enjoyable. Overwhelming? Yes. Frustrating? Yes. Occasionally funny? Yes. But enjoyable? Absolutely not.
Can I get a sis, boom, bah for slice of life cheerleading anime? Sure, why not!
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin offers a riches to rags to riches story of one failure of a goddess who’s gonna learn how to do her actual duties, come hell or high water.
This premiere would like dudes to know it’s totally cool for girls to like things. As long as they like them in the exact same way you do. And are hot.
If I were to recommend a summer premiere based on visuals alone, I’d pick this one in a heartbeat.
