Jeoffrey

The second season has some interesting moments even though there are fewer than in the first season. Some of the twists, such as one unexpected return, make me a little embarrassed rather than pleased. Yes, the last episode stands out and is probably the only one that is fully comparable (has the right feel) to the episodes from the first season, the rest are (+/-) about one point weaker. 6.1/10.

What starts out as a silly comedy about a prisoner who is a bit of a weirdo grows over time into a pretty well-produced heroic space odyssey. It features some pretty interesting characters, and an entertaining and narrative full of suspense, that easily keeps you glued to the screen for the entire first season. The pacing is quite slow at first, packed with a ton of jokes, even though only some are actually funny. However, as it starts to get more serious, it gets better and better and it inspires that feeling of wanting to know as soon as possible how it will all turn out. On the other hand, it is full of heroic pathos, with characters throwing out one cool line after another, and at some moments it seems so terribly over the top that I was laughing even in the most serious situations. Was that their intention? Well, personally speaking, I do not know, however, the only thing stopping it from being "perfect" was the classic "I love you" - "I know..." conversation. However, despite all that, I was really entertained by the show, as it managed to keep me glued to the screen for a few hours and enjoy it all in its entirety, as well as perhaps appreciate that the characters just had to be killed off in this show, so who knows what will happen in the second season... 7/10.

"So, did you like it?" asks Misaka Misaka curiously. "Did you think it was clearer and more interesting than the last part of the TV series with Index, and more suspenseful than the entire anime series with Railgun?" asks Misaka Misaka enthusiastically. "I tried to be as adorable as possible, even though the director did not give me much of an opportunity in this show because it was much more about the main protagonist, the Accelerator, and it is also named after him, so it is understandable that he had to be in it all the time instead of me." explains Misaka Misaka. "Sure, he keeps going on about what a Great Villain he is, even though I did not really buy it most of the time anyway, and despite that he is still so emotional in such a beautiful way." says Misaka Misaka dreamily. "On top of that, there is a mad scientist, a giant overgrown carnivorous plant, an uninteresting main female protagonist who is just like a Bond girl, and then there is this other Mikoto Misaka clone who is always meddling and does not even let me clean his room!" says Misaka Misaka angrily. "I think you should at least give us three stars, for all the gore, good fight scenes, decent action sequences, good soundtrack, and clear narrative..." says Misaka Misaka listing all the positive aspects of this anime series... 6.4/10.

The second season is more or less in the spirit of the first, except, I guess, with the difference that the innocent competitions and games have become much more about how the main female protagonist is trying to hook up with the main male protagonist. It is much more about that supposed romantic element, which doesn’t work that well because of Nishikata's wooden nature, and sometimes it is not even that funny. The other supporting characters are given less and less screen time, and the main focus is on Takagi, who seems to literally want to put Nishikata in the situation where he is forced to choose between making a move towards a relationship with Takagi, or just losing another bet. Nishikata is therefore simply pushed into dealing with the same dilemma over and over again - if he does this, it is going to be embarrassing, however, if he does not, he is going to lose again... So, with the way Nishikata is, it all ends up the same way in most cases, and even when he is finally pushed so hard that you could talk about some kind of development, you still feel like that development is just once again a tiny step. So my question is - does someone like Nishikata deserve someone like Takagi? I for one do not think so. However, Takagi is of a different opinion, and so everything just repeats itself again, and most of the time it is just going around in circles, and it gets boring and pretty exhausting... Plus, that is why I was not so entertained, and the second season is not going to get more than 6/10 from me.

A Certain Magical Shitshow! You just do not see something as hectic and confused as this part of the anime series. Even readers of the manga series told me that this was incredibly "rushed", so it is, therefore, no wonder poor Jeoffrey was completely lost at times. Is it that someone is fighting someone, only to end up fighting someone else with the help of the first someone, then without the former, then perhaps fighting the latter, while someone else fights the former with the latter, while someone else fights against the first someones with the second someone, and then a fourth someone fights the first someone, or is it the fifth? That is kind of what it seemed like... Fortunately, it contained at least some reassuring things, and so Touma is still Touma, and he will pretty much punch anyone, without any prejudice or discrimination - regardless of race, faction, or gender. Index, after whom the show is named, is not actually in this season very much, and Railgun does not really get much of a look in either, so it is good that at least it has some pulling power from Accelerator and another likable main male protagonist who should maybe get an anime series of his own as a reward (because, why the hell not?). Anyway, the action scenes are really entertaining and fun to watch, even if I did not really understand who was fighting who and why. The soundtrack is also really good, - in other words, if you like Mortal Kombat because of the killing, brutality, and gore (and somewhere some weird narrative hidden in the campaign), then this anime series is for you... If you want a sophisticated narrative, then try reading the manga, where you might get what you want, or who knows, perhaps you are going to find what Jeoffrey could not in this show (not without some help from Wikipedia). This was not Misaka Worst, however, it is still clearly the worst season of Index so far - as it is a frantic and rushed magical shitshow! 5.5/10.

The Japanese discovered Girls On Top and made a show based on that premise without any excessive awkwardness. It has surprisingly likable characters and interesting dramatic scenes that are ultimately resolved in a rather surprising and original way. SPOILERS I guess no one would have believed that you could build a really good romantic love triangle narrative with understandable high points. I mean, who could have imagined you would be subconsciously wishing an unhealthy relationship between a teacher and a pupil would actually work out, and that the end result would not be disappointing? Also, what about the brilliantly implied exploration to find your true sexuality and sexual orientation, or the discovery that the healthiest romantic relationship in the show has the most avowed puritan? END OF SPOILERS. This anime series offers quite a lot and shows it all in a way that is not offensive and is rather entertaining. Even though it is fun, it also approaches some of the subject matter very responsibly at the same time, and so the dramatic moments are quite emotionally charged, and the motivations and behavior of the teenage girls are understandable and in line with how you would imagine them to be in real life (although it is still perhaps a bit far-fetched at times, even though this to be expected regarding Japanese productions). Also, it even has one character who gave most of the audience goosebumps because the anime’s creators portrayed him in a very realistic yet uncomfortable way... All in all, I have to rate this as a very good production, even though at the end of the penultimate episode I had very grave misgivings over how over the top they were going to end this - however, in the end, it worked, and so I am awarding it a well-deserved 7.5/10.

A good comedy should be very entertaining and a makes you laugh non-stop. However, what could I possibly say about a comedy where I did not find more than half the jokes funny at all? I would say it is very poor! In all honesty, the whole main trio, who should be the prime movers driving the plot, are pretty weak too. Therefore, a lot of the supporting characters (Loli, Mayo, Yamai, Waseda) are much more entertaining than most of the main trio. It is these supporting characters, then, who are in the funniest scenes, and so practically the only episode I found really good with one of the main female protagonists was the penultimate eleventh episode (even though this is where the teacher also excels again). Sometimes there is hysterical shouting, sometimes it is frantic, sometimes it is childish and sometimes it's just plain "baka". However, despite all that, this anime series is easy to watch, even though its purpose - to entertain - unfortunately only happens occasionally. I did not find it irritating, it was only sporadically boring, so when I take everything into account it is just a little below average. 4.7/10.

Given has an overabundance of what, for example, the aforementioned Carole & Tuesday is sorely lacking - a quality focus on the characters. On the other hand, at least Carole & Tuesday gave you one new song per episode, and showed you, albeit rather unrealistically, how it was composed. However, Given does not come out with even the first whiff of a song until (I think) the third episode, when Mafuyu finally launches into song and showcases his angelic voice (which is rather late for a musical anime series...). Instead of the music that they promised, we are rather just left with the characters, their problems, their insecurities and misgivings, their emerging love for music, and, of course, romantic relationships that develop slowly and quite naturally. This show teaches you to appreciate its characters and to sympathize with them. In other words, it is more about being entertained by and interested in the drama of the show, rather than the music. It also pushes you to root for the characters in following their slow steps to musical stardom (rather than in C+T, where you immediately see that the girls are very talented and that it is all about trying to make it as fast as possible). In other words, this anime series has a narrative which is much more focused on the characters and their relationships rather than the music itself. However, this, therefore, creates a problem for anyone who signed up mainly for the music… In conclusion, I have decided quite firmly that romantic relationships take up way too much time for a music anime series (and for me personally), I do not want to wait for all the relationships to be sorted out (which will probably take a long time because of the pacing), so I am going to pack up my instruments and head off into the maelstrom of crappy isekai or silly comedies and leave this anime series to those who are able to enjoy it. I wanted to rock and roll, damnit, not get dramatic! Dropped after the fifth episode and 6.2/10.

I was really looking forward to this anime series before this season started. It features a tough main male protagonist who protects a cute girl in a fatherly way from demons, monsters and other vermin - so cute and cool, so I was obviously going to award it a clear 10/10! Unfortunately, the reality turned out to be completely different. Sure, Latina is an adorable little girl who is amazing, cute, smart, kind (and absolutely unrealistic...) - in other words, she is perfection itself. However, I failed to see the point when Dale is definitely not half as cool a character as you would have liked. Dale is much like your irritating auntie who uses baby talk with your kid every chance she gets and she thinks it is so cool to say things like: “Oh my gosh, what a cute little guy you are, yes you are...".  You get that kind of weird feeling with her like you are watching a grown adult acting like an infantile idiot, and everything inside you is screaming for her to just stop. Well, this is exactly the feeling I got when I was watching Dale act like that in more than half the situations he was in. Yeah, right, so looking at someone as adorable as Latina makes you do silly things like that, go ga-ga, making you wish for all kinds of things, and making you melt inside like a kid does over a piece of candy. However, then you see how stupid it is when someone says such things in that way, and you start to be ashamed of yourself because if you had been the main male protagonist you may perhaps have acted that stupidly too. Even so, you would have immediately denied it, because no sane person (except for your silly auntie) acts in such an obviously infantile way like Dale does... I did not enjoy watching Dale at all, and it rather left me with a certain feeling of awkwardness, and that is not a good thing. If the divine and adult Lord Hakuto Kunai had been in the show with his manly hoarse voice instead of Dale, it could have been a brilliant anime series, and I would not have even minded that most of the twelve episodes were about nothing, that there was almost nothing of substance, or hardly any fighting. This show was actually basically just about Latina doing cute things (plus Dale drooling over her and whinging on...) and being introduced to new people. However, the way this show went on meant I alternated between a pleasant smile (Latina) and a sour expression (Dale). Sometimes I was slightly bored (because there is really hardly anything going on), and probably the biggest emotional moment I had was with the behavior of a certain teacher. However, in retrospect, even this storyline seems quite far-fetched. In other words, as much as I would have liked to, I cannot give more than 5/10 right now (after the first season) because of Dale.

There was so much wrong with this anime series that if, after the first two episodes, someone had told me that I would have finished watching this season and then have even been convinced to watch a second season out of curiosity if it ever came out, I would have laughed at them. However, here I am, after twelve episodes into this season, and really I saw and heard things I really did not need to - like a freaked out one-hundred-and-fifty-pound madam in the spa baths, or a young "trap" boy who is constantly obsessed with anal sex, and other such "delights." So what the hell drew me to it? Surprisingly, the main male protagonist himself! Hakuto Kunai is a Demon Lord with the voice of Nolan's Batman, and also a walking cigarette commercial who has made it his mission to rescue damsels in distress, plus conquer the world with a cultural revolution! He is the cheap version of Overlord  protecting a twisted B-movie version of Ram or Rem. He is also a Demon Lord who understood that the biggest problem of the Middle Ages was lousy sanitation, and so he brings the spa baths and the hospital to others! He is a main male protagonist who is actually two characters in one, someone everyone admires, they adore him and he is so stoic! A person who knows the remedy for pampered spoiled girls! Anyway, this is because Hakuto Kunai is who Jeoffrey would want to be and look like if he was transported to another world! So, this is the reason I had no problem finishing this pile of repetitive wannabe jokes, perversions, and weirdness - despite the animation which is not very good, and a sometimes slightly irritating soundtrack. Also, surprisingly, there are plenty of clichéd moments that do not have a clichéd ending, because the main male protagonist always keeps his cool and has a cigarette or pours himself a drink, and explains it all to us about as well as Jeoffrey is doing now. Jeoffrey is attempting to justify giving this anime series, which was supposedly intended (based on Sermone's review) for "semi-retarded pre-pubescent otaku", whilst being a thirty-three-year-old man, a likable (considering what a massive washout it is!!!) 4.4/10, and promises to try and stick with the second season, just because he is curious to see how the story of this show’s Batman, or sorry, Demon Lord, is going to continue…