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Monster "After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box." It's not a quote from the anime, but it came to mind as I was watching it. Monster is an interesting anime. A lot of emphasis is placed on equality of human life, which can be a touchy subject, but Monster does an outstanding job allowing the audience to formulate their own opinions through the perspectives of the characters. Is every person inherently equal? Should we value the life of one person over another? When there's no surefire indication of the potential each person holds, is it fair to value someone with immense power over a commoner? These are a few of the questions Monster addresses, some of which eventually become the crux of the anime. It spends no time sugarcoating the horrific psychological scars many characters acquire as they ruminate over questions of similar caliber. What made this anime fascinating wasn't the plot but its nonlinear narrative and characters. A sense of foreboding is developed immediately, and pieces of the storyline come together as backstories are dropped left and right. While the purpose of certain characters seem clear at some point, their motives become increasingly blurred as the anime progresses and more is revealed about their past. This is undoubtedly one of its strong suits and why Monster is so captivating. The intricacies of each character truly makes for a brilliant story. Another thing I want to point out is how open-ended the anime is. A lot of what happens is up to interpretation and speculation, which may or may not be to everyone's liking. A solid anime overall, but it isn't without flaws. For starters, it can get pretty predictable. This isn't necessarily the fault of the plot in itself but how it's conveyed. There are certain instances when the anime attempts to create tension but ends up falling flat. It's easy to see through quite a few of these "twists" though it's not a glaring issue. The main protagonist is also far too glorified in the anime. On a similar note, it's understandable that the purpose of the filler was to solidify Tenma's reputation, but it came off as repetitive, and adding so many throwaway characters for the sake of this is overkill. Because Monster is labeled as a psychological thriller, you'd think that the audience would get front row seats to how these massive scandals and manipulations occurred. Nope, the audience is left to grasp at straws wondering how any of this took place. It's a shame, really. With so many holes to be filled, the anime isn't nearly as realistic as it could've been. As a result, much of what happens behind the scenes (or even what the anime blatantly shows you) just comes off as hard to believe and leaves a lot to be desired. And revolving the story around a wild goose chase can get rather stale as well. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed Monster, and it honestly blows my mind how all of these events were woven together so intricately. However, that aspect is a double edged sword because it can be somewhat difficult to follow this labyrinthine of a timeline if you're not giving it your utmost attention. That being said, I appreciate what Monster tries to do, but its flaws impeded my enjoyment a bit too much for me to just brush off. ** would recommend Monster to anyone who wants to question their morals, or anyone remotely interested in the history of eugenics Tenma also reminds me of Kiritsugu.

Well, pretty much everything from this season is wrapping up... and I have to say, I was a bit disappointed with the line-up this season. I think while there were more shows this season that I liked in comparison to Winter, Winter had more exceptional shows as a whole (Konosuba, Erased, Ajin, and Rakugo all sat really well with me) - This season was certainly good, but it didn't deliver in the same manner... RE:Zero - My favorite anime of the season for sure. I think it delivered in pretty much every department and still has quite a bit of potential. I ragged on it before for Subaru being a bit "obsessive" over Emilia or the character interaction between them, but I got some of the answers I wanted to in Episode 13. I was a bit worried where the show was going with Episode 12, but I'm pretty confident I'll enjoy the rest of the series. For not a whole lot happening in the first half of the show, It didn't feel slow, and the character development was well executed. My initial worry about the series was pacing and that it would be repetitive given the concept and "time travel" or whatever you want to call it is involved. Great opening and ending to boot (Still really digging STYX HELIX) 8/10 Ace Attorney - While I did have some fun with the series (some), it did end up being a disappointment even with one of the longer cases towards the end of the first cour (is that the correct term?). A majority of the comedy did not strike me as funny, and the actual cases just didn't leave much to be desired either. I had hoped to enjoy this one much more than I had, and I know... I should play the games (but I still won't have the time to play the games without sacrificing far too much) - and maybe I will someday... The presentation of the cases felt a bit "childish", and the animation and art felt really lackluster. It was too spotty for my liking. Very mediocre as a whole. 5/10 Kiznaiver - I think my main issue with this series was that I had a certain expectation for it and it didn't live up to it. I kinda thought the series would be going somewhere else over its run and maybe explore the "experimental" nature of the city more, not just relating to the Kizna system/project. I will praise the series for having some pretty good/consistent animation and art, and some decent background music (and a pretty unique opening animation), but It didn't really hold my attention that well or give me any sense of urgency as the show progressed. It was pretty obvious that there was something past related to Agata's pain in the earlier episodes and how Sonozaki was connected to it all, but the pacing and time it took to address it was far too long. The concept of the show was simple, and I had really just hoped there would be something more to it. The characters were really nothing special, and they kinda seemed like card-board cut-outs in some cases. That being said, I still did enjoy some of the series, and it was a bit different from the normal... but it was quite the let-down. 6/10 Joker Game - I enjoyed this one quite a bit, but I have one main problem with the series, and that was the "episodic" nature of everything. The order of the episodes also slightly confused me, more or less because of how they handled it... Not that any of the characters of D-Agency were really treated with any value, killing Miyoshi in the previous episode and then having an episode (a conclusion at that) right after that set before the events of Episode 11 was really quite the turn off. There were some characters that were highlighted in the beginning that made you think they would have more of a prominent role, but that just didn't happen. I don't even think we saw Sakuma after the initial set-up and I had the impression he'd be a "main character" so to speak, instead, they just seemed to highlight Yuuki as much as possible. Aside from this, each episode was pretty fun to watch, and I think I got pretty much what I wanted to see out of this series, it was just executed much worse than I expected it to be. OVA confirmed and maybe potential second season on the way? Not sure, but it had a bit of an open ended ending, or that Odagiri's mission will be followed up on in the OVA? Opening for some reason reminds me of Bacanno!, and I like it (probably because both are a bit "jazzy" and set in the 30s) - 7/10 Mayoiga - What a mess... really, is there much to say about it (There is, but nothing positive)? I was really hoping that I'd like this one, but it became a train-wreck quite quickly, and I still don't know what kind of series it was trying to be. Comedy? Mystery? Horror? It didn't deliver anywhere... but I suppose my problem is that because while it was a train-wreck, I didn't enjoy watching it crash. I probably should have just dropped it, but at some point, I just wanted to see how bad it could get, not even for laughs, but because I was genuinely intrigued... and no one died? Well, maybe I had some expectation that there would be a massacre of sorts given they introduced 30+ characters (still think that was a terrible idea). I know we don't have to care about all of them, but you think I'd remember more than 5 by the end of the series, and I was more invested in some of the characters for comedic effect, in contrast to the main character who was unlikable and a complete ditz... at least until it became old, which it did, quite quickly... Animation was pretty mediocre, if not terrible at times (also didn't care for the CGI one bit) to boot. Well, this was one of the worst anime I've seen to date... 2/10 Flying Witch - I think this one ended up surprising me the most this season, particularly because I really am quite turned off by these "slice of life" shows a majority of the time. While it might have treaded into the territory of "cute girls doing cute things" it mostly stayed away from that and felt rather unique for a show like this (contrast to Bakuon). I really enjoyed the art in the show, and it blended really well with the music. It was a relaxing watch, and I think it had pretty good characters, at least for a show in this particular genre (that being said, I've had a pretty bad experience with SoL). The use of magic was probably not what I initially expected, but I liked the approach here, and it meshed very well in the world that was presented to us. If there was any particular complaint, it's mostly about the genre itself, and that just not being appealing to me, or the fact that generally nothing happens, and it feels slow. Comedy was pretty spotty, but there were some pretty solid scenes. I don't want to say any of the humor was terrible... but I'll say this is perhaps the first "Slice of Life" show that I've thoroughly enjoyed (but it did take some getting used to at the start) - 7/10 Boku no Hero Academia - This series wasn't really anything special. It's a concept that has been done time and time again, regardless of anime. It's a very cliche set up, has cliche characters, and does feel like a rather generic Shonen... but that being said, is that really always a bad thing? I think this is one of those series, at least for me, where despite having basically seen something like this done before, it was well executed and fun to watch. The animation was pretty consistent, and quite good at times, and I really like the artistic approach in having it feel like a comic book. I like the pace they've been going at and the anime in general seems well directed. I can't say the music really did much at all for me, including the opening. I don't read the manga, so I was kinda hoping the end episodes would have maybe ended with an important character death to set a "darker" tone in the next season. Well, it was good for what it is, but I really don't think it deserves all the hype it's been getting. - 7/10 Bungou Stray Dogs - The concept of the show, or rather the basis for each character's abilities/names being modeled after famous authors is pretty cool, but I can't say I'm too invested in the concept as I only recognize just a few (though I checked the wiki at some point and recognized a plethora of the to be introduced characters). I am looking forward to the second season, but I have one major gripe with the show as it is... and that's the comedy. It was just far too prominent and I found it increasingly annoying as things progressed. It made little sense to me, and the gags were not funny 95% of the time. Otherwise, the series was pretty decent I suppose? I wish it ended on say Episode 11 rather than 12, it would have made far more sense than to end the season there imo... but whatever... otherwise, Atsushi's progression seemed a bit awkward. He's pretty much every Shonen protagonist ever, at least from what I've seen, but at least he developed and wasn't looking to be a bland character for the rest of the series. On this note, it does feel a little cheap that he was able to defeat Akutagawa on the basis that he was the main character, but I suppose with them presenting him as a character with such an extraordinary ability, it doesn't feel too forced. I suppose It was just partly disappointing how things turned out considering that Akutagawa was the main antagonist for the majority of the season. - 7/10 Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress - This was a pretty decent action anime this season, at least in terms of pure entertainment. The animation started out pretty stellar, but it seemed like they ran into budget issues or something halfway through, with some of the latter episodes relying on stills when there should have been animation. It was a real bummer for some of those pivotal moments, and I was pretty disappointed... The first couple episodes showed quite a bit of promise, but I didn't really care for it after Biba was introduced (but probably even before that with the Kabane colonies). Good music though, and I really enjoyed it this season, even if it's not really the best in terms of "plot" or if there's an awful lot of convenience. Decently satisfying conclusion. Kinda open-ended for Season 2 or not, but I'm guessing it'd be awhile. Only other gripe would be the characters really. Ikoma started out fairly interesting, and Mumei was the star of the show but she quickly became "useless" or treated like a side-character. - 7/10 Sakamoto desu ga? - While I still haven't seen the final episode (I think it airs tomorrow?) - I was really disappointed with this one, partly just because the comedy didn't really resonate with me, and what little did became old fast... very fast. Even for just 12 episodes, there's only so much you can do with this concept, and I don't think it holds up, nor do I really see the appeal in this. Maybe I have a crap sense of humor, but I only had a handful of laughs throughout the series, which isn't good... since that's well... the entire point of the show. - 5/10 Uchuu Patrol Luluco - Aside from Midori being played by Haruko's VA (from FLCL), and that being a nice treat to hear since it's been quite some time... I can't say I really liked this one too much. It's way over the top wacky "fun", with some pretty spotty humor (most of which wasn't funny to me), but the main problem being that it was a side project, and it felt like one. This is my first time watching "short" anime like this (each episode is about 5 minutes once you cut out opening/ending) - and I don't know if the craziness really helps it or not. I quite liked the art-style, but the animation did come across as really cheap, and I wasn't a fan most of the time. The only reason I did not drop this show was because it was so short. - 5/10 Bakuon - I'm still on the fence on whether I'm going to just outright drop this or finish it... but it feels like K-ON with bikes, and I didn't care for K-ON one bit... but I didn't make it very far in either series. I don't really see the appeal of these anime, but I guess it's not just my cup of tea. I've been trying to be open minded and try different things, so I've been trying more "slice of life" type anime. I was pleasantly surprised with Flying Witch, and extremely disappointed with this K-ON clone. - 3/10 (Episode 5) Konosuba OVA - The OVA didn't disappoint, although I'm not fond of them pulling a Wiz again when introducing Yun'Yun (though not nearly to the same extent). It's a bit more on the "ecchi" side, but I think the comedy works here quite well. It held up right with the rest of the series. It wasn't really any better, it wasn't any worse. Consistently funny. I think my problem with Konosuba in general is that with Season 2 starting in January... I think that some of the gags with Megumin and Darkness may become old, and Aqua may just be more of a bitch than I can handle. For now... I'm really looking forward to S2, and this OVA will have to do for now. 8/10 Detective Conan - I know the show doesn't have "seasons"... but I figured I'd include some thoughts here too... Pretty disappointing season for DC, partly because of the shear amount of anime originals, and them being unwarranted at this point in time considering we just had like 15 in a row. Episode 813 was a bit awkward, making DC feel like a cooking anime, but if you ever want to learn how to make Bourbon's delicious sandwiches... give er a go... Episode 814-815 was a pretty mediocre manga case, and the rest of the fillers were pretty mediocre. 820 had some potential, but it, like most other one parters felt too rushed to have a proper mystery, and the rest of the fillers, like 816, were either uninteresting or just flat out terrible. The Ran kidnapping AO wasn't too bad, but it was far from great. Luckily, 822-823 has been one of the best cases in the anime in quite some time. Good case, and great comedy. To recap... - One good manga case, one decent manga case, two decent anime originals, and the rest was trash. Next couple AOs don't have me interested either... Ratings have been particularly bad for the show lately, and I can kind of understand why (though the last couple episodes were great, and they had terrible ratings). - 7/10