First Thoughts – Akagami no Shirayuki-hime

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime or Snow White with the Red Hair is a new anime produced by Studio Bones (YES ❤ ) about a female herbalist named Shirayuki with rare red hair. And just like her rare hair color, shoujo anime nowadays are also become more and more rare. Especially GOOD shoujo at that. Thankfully, this anime has given me some hope.

All I can say from the first episode, is that it’s cute. There’s a very distinct fairy tale-ness to this which I adore. I’ve yet to find a good Snow White based story and this would be the first. The characters, the dialogue…I’ve seen it all before but I still like it. Why? Because it’s a fairy tale. It’s impossible for me to grow tired of them. The stories I memorized as a child, the various versions and adaptions I discovered growing up…Akagami no Shirayuki-hime fits in that category and I’m loving it so far. That’s not to say the first episode is too predictable. I was guessing different things that could happen within it and I was wrong everytime -which is great.

And the characters! A big YES to that. If red-haired heroines become a trend I have absolutely no problems with that. I love how Shirayuki embodies both spirit and courage, yet is still gentle.

One of the very first shots is of her reaching for beautiful flowers when suddenly the camera pans over and she’s actually grabbing a type of herb to use in her medicine. I thought that was so clever and already revealed so much about her character!

Although I’m somewhat of a fanatic when it comes to fairy tales (Blame Disney ❤ ) I still didn’t see the small twists here and there in the first episode. It’s clever, cute, and personally, I’m enjoying it so much it’s practically sinful. I cannot WAIT to see more of such a charming anime!

Yona of the Dawn

• Characters: 1.7 /3
• Story: 2 /3
• Enjoyment: 1 /2
• Art: .7 /1
• Animation: .8 /1

Overall Score: 6.2/10

Yona of the Dawn in one word: Smart

Truthfully, I finished this anime some time ago, I just never got around to writing about it. It’s been a long time since I’d been excited by a new(ish, now) anime….and the fact that it was a reverse harem that got me excited really shows how disappointing the anime industry has become.

Nonetheless, Yona of the Dawn is an anime that can be enjoyed by either gender regardless of it being a reverse harem. Yona, the heroine continued to be a strong character throughout the entire show which I was very pleased with. She’s a heroine to admire and just like I predicted, seeing her grow as her adventure went on was one of the best parts of this anime.

Now, let’s talk about the boys. Basically, I’m a sucker for reverse harems. I have the oddest love-hate relationship with them. Something like “Ugh, it’s so obvious they’re pandering to the female audience. But at the same time, this is a rather rare thing… Ugh, another one of THOSE male characters; I’ve seen that trope a thousand times! But….it’s still cute.”

So as a reviewer I had to take away points for the fact they played on the “types” – i.e. shota, prince, happy-go-lucky, flirt, mysterious, and childhood companion. But at the same time…I guess it’s because I’m a girl but I loved it. xD

The anime is smart because it could’ve gone any way. It could’ve taken the road of normalcy and simply pandered to female audiences. But the story of Yona of the Dawn is what actually kept me to stay. Sure, cute boys are great but I can’t watch an anime just for that. It’s boring. Yona of the Dawn brought on a great story and actually developed its characters. (Except for a certain one but I think the short meeting was the point of his character).

If this anime doesn’t get a 2nd season I will be severely disappointed. The focus of this first half was to introduce the characters and SET UP for something bigger. There was plenty of story, as I discussed above, but it never dove too deeply like I wanted. If a 2nd season comes, they’ll have to push into the actual meat of the story.

The art stayed consistent throughout the whole thing. They never pulled an A-1 Pictures (where the art in the first episode is great but quality slowly declines as the series continues because they blew their budget on moe gestures -_-) You get the same quality in every episode only, and this is rare….the fight scenes have the best animation.

Yes, you heard it here. In a reverse harem anime with romance and drama….the action sequences have the best animation. (Oh how I love you Pierrot Studios!!)

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So to sum it up:

Pros: The story is the best part. And if you’re into reverse harem anime, THIS IS A MUST WATCH. There’s at least one boy you’ll absolutely adore. But even if you don’t like reverse harems, the story is great for anyone. A strong heroine whose kingdom has been usurped and now she has to reclaim it? Reminds me of Fire Emblem, I’m in! The characters are good, the story is great, and it’ll make you wish for a season 2.

Cons: It’s still just a reverse harem anime. And the obvious pandering to the female audience members can get annoying – I’m a girl and even I found it annoying at times. The story also feels TOO slow at times. Focusing on a character for 6 episodes gets rather tedious.

Worth watching?: For a reverse harem anime, Yona of the Dawn is by far one of the best I’ve ever seen. The story is great and yes, the romance in it is well directed. What I love about reverse harems in comparison to harems, is that the majority of them can be for anyone. Because they actually come with stories not JUST pandering. It’s great, I would definitely recommend this anime to anyone interested in a good story. And if you like reverse harems, this is a plus.

First Thoughts: Yona of the Dawn

I haven’t done reviews lately simply because nothing has caught my attention. And by nothing, I mean absolutely NOTHING. That is, until I happened to see a trailer for Yona of the Dawn on my Facebook newsfeed.

Has anyone realized the difference between harems and reverse harems? One thing, reverse harems seem to focus just as heavily on story as romantic interaction. Whereas in harems, no one gives a crap about story and just want to see fanservice. (These speculations come from my own personal experiences, mind you. Though I’d love to see someone prove me wrong.)

So far, Yona of the Dawn looks just as promising as what I saw in the trailer. Obviously they’re geared toward female audience members so I’m biased. While all the basic storytelling components are rather mediocre, there’s still something entertaining about it. Perhaps I’m just happy to at last find a new anime that doesn’t look like garbage.

Let’s talk art. I can’t say I like it, honestly. The hard blush characters have and the overall moe/shoujo style has never impressed me. The character designs are…fence-sittingly generic. What I mean is, I feel like I’ve seen Hak’s design thousands of times..

Yet Yona is a heroine I could easily recognize.

As for the animation…I’m once again, still on the fence. They’ve hardly used still frames (10 points to Griffindor) but there’s nothing impressive about the animation. Hopefully we’ll get some good action scenes later though (here’s hoping~)

Voice acting…define “acting”. I’ve yet to see the dub, but I’ll probably switch over to it simply because Yona’s voice gives me a headache. Her voice doesn’t sound natural at all, as if her seiyuu is trying to be 8 years old. But I see potential with this show, so I’m hopeful actual acting will occur later.

The score fits the anime, but it isn’t memorable. It does remind me of the score used for the Soul Calibur games, however, so +100 points for nostalgia.

Now let’s talk about plot. Here’s the reason I’m continuing this show. While the first episode was predictable and they do have a couple drops of exposition, I have high hopes for Yona’s character. I’m excited to see her development from a helpless princess to the determined and fierce girl shown in the banner art. I want to know what trials she’ll go through to become stronger. Unfortunately, exposition is still exposition. Characters say things that are out of place and obviously directed to the audience. There’s only been a small amount of it so far, however, and I’m guessing it’s because they wanted to jump straight into the story within the limited time of the pilot episode. It’s irksome, but I have a feeling this will not continue. The good thing is, what exposition they use are only little things like “I can’t wait to see my cousin who is 3 years older than me!”. No one says things like that, but it’s tolerable to be used here because it’s not some reveal that will impact the story.

Overall, I’m just happy to finally find a series that has caught my interest. Yona of the Dawn looks promising and hopefully it’ll continue that way.

Reaction: Gun Gale Online – Episode 9

The episode starts off and we’re immediately bombarded by still frames. Oh, A-1 Pictures, you.

So Kirito’s harem is in some room watching the BOB tournament. And of course, all they can do is talk about how AMAZING Kirito is. And that he’s sooo smart and such an amaaazing strategist.

All hail Digital Jesus!

WE GET IT. He’s amazing and you all want the D. Now SHUT UP. Please.

DEASU GUNNU kills someone and the overly dramatic bad guy speech ensues. Hey, Kirito! Sinon! While he’s giving his stupid speech why don’t you try to…you know…attack him? Sinon fires one shot, misses, and they just…sit there.

DEASU GUNNU leaves and our two GGO heroes go after him. But not before they get attacked by some nameless guy and they beat him. Nothing new.

I suck at shooters and I hardly play them, so I can’t really criticize the tactics they use. But even I know that there were A LOT of idiotic things that characters did throughout this tournament. Starting with that guy who went after both Kirito and Sinon. Yes. Go after not only the 2 best players in GGO, but go after TWO people at once. Genius.

Also, can I just say again, WHY ISN’T EVERYONE A SNIPER?! Clearly you’d have a huge advantage in this stage! But, whatever.

Kirito tells Sinon that DEASU GUNNU can actually kill people in real life and she’s in disbelief that “someone like that plays GGO”! How dare a psychopath play her precious video game.

What’s even worse is that as he tells her this, she has another one of her flashbacks and starts freaking out. Sinon THEN proceeds to tell Kiritina that she has a hard time believing his story.

Uh, if you don’t believe him, why are you freaking out? Sigh.

Oh yeah, and we now know that Sinon CAN get panic attacks in GGO. So all these people saying that the “headgear keeps her trauma in check” can now SHOVE IT.

If anyone is actually fearing for Sinon’s life…and were at the edge of their seat at this scene…. I seriously laugh at you.

Who wants to bet that in the next episode, Kirito will show up and “heroically” save his haremette? No one? That’s right, because it’s so painstakingly OBVIOUS that’s what will happen.

Misogyny Online. Where females can’t save themselves. Ever.

If you haven’t noticed the trend, Kawahara CONSTANTLY uses the whole “damsel in distress” trope as a way to heighten drama. And when Kirito inevitably saves said damsel, he’s suppose to be glorified as some kind of mighty savior.

-throws up-

This all goes back to the whole self-insertion theme that is Krito. When something good happens to him…you cheer NOT because you’re cheering for Kirito, but because you want that to be you.

And the “Highlight of the Episode” award goes to….

Heck, I don’t even know anymore.

Next episode, I guess.

Reaction: Gun Gale Online – Episode 5

Well, I’ll say this much about the SAO franchise: It knows its audience and EXACTLY how to pander towards it. But since the core of SAO is wish fulfillment and nothing more, this is NOT a good thing.

The episode starts off with Kirito– er….Kiritina… and Sinon “just barely” making it to the sign up for BOB. It’s funny because Sinon says “hurry!” as they casually WALK in. Nice.

As Kiritina is about to enter his info for sign ups, the form asks for his real information in order to sign up. Obviously he can’t say he’s a male because….no. There is no logic behind that. What’s even funnier is the fact the form he entered was EMPTY. (That’s right. EMPTY.) AND HE WAS STILL ABLE TO ENTER THE TOURNAMENT!! What? He entered a BLANK form and was able to get into the tournament? How????? 

Actually, I’m not surprised. This is SAO afterall. Where logic does not apply. (“THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THE AMOUNT OF DATA!!”)

Wrong, Sinon. You’re both in Block F because of plot convenience. 

Something I forgot to mention last episode is the fact KIRITO STILL LOOKS MALE. Look at him! Look! He’s just a male with long hair and big eyes! Jeez.

So they go to the dressing room and Sinon strips down. Kirito, being the “oh so pure and innocent” boy he is immediately acts bashful and reveals he is in fact, a male. And then there’s that stupid 30 second pause before Sinon actually reacts. (WHY do they always take so long?! WHY?!?!) And she pulls the stupid moe-tsundere face –

And then she slaps him of course. Because…I don’t know. It’s suppose to be funny I guess? Because that trope hasn’t been done in THOUSANDS of other anime, obviously. Really though, look at that stupid moe face. THIS is why SAO is popular. For the pandering. Who needs actual good writing, right?

So then Sinon is all upset for whatever reason. Because, a male using a female avatar online is SO rare.

Some people counter this and say “Kirito lied to her, she felt betrayed! That’s why she’s so upset.” Seriously? That’s the best you can come up with? At most I would feel awkward. And it’s not like Kirito took advantage of her account or anything! Honestly.

It’s her fault for believing he was female in the first place. Doesn’t she know anything about stranger danger? The online world is full of lies, Sinon. Don’t you live in the future? Don’t they teach anything about online safety or whatever? Apparently not!

Anyways, Sinon is pissed off at Kirito but tells him not to lose in the tournament.

Get off your high horse, Sinon. You don’t teach Digital Jesus. Digital Jesus teaches YOU.

Really though, they were probably together for like, an hour or two? The only things she taught him were things that SHOULD’VE been explained in one of those first-time user tutorials. But there was no such thing, because this is SAO. Where video games are nothing like video games.

Kirito enters his first fight (but not before Sinon pulls yet ANOTHER moe-tsundere face) and if you thought he would have ANY trouble winning, you’re obviously watching the wrong show. (And if you are, keep it that way.)

He acts like deflecting bullets will actually be difficult for him. Har. Har.

I’m still laughing at how he’s seriously the ONLY user with a lightsaber. Of course we need to make him a super special snowflake. But the thought of NO other users having a melee weapon? I assure you TONS of other people would have one if not simply for the cool factor. Also, why WOULDN’T more people have a melee weapon?! WHY?! Don’t tell me Kiritina is the only person who thought of using a gun for distraction and having a sword as the main weapon. But that’s EXACTLY how it is! He is literally the only one! 

Ugh. 

Anyways, Kiritina wins and is ported back to the lobby. The fact that they took the time to show Sinon’s friend was still in the lobby only PROVES he’s related to DEASU GUNNU!! They tried to be “clever”, however and trick the viewers into thinking this isn’t the case because DEASU GUNNU himself appears in the lobby too. But it’s still so blatantly obvious how they’re playing this out…it’s pathetic.

The two have a stare-down and the only thing I can think of is Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.

Wait a second.

WAIT A SECOND.

Lightsabers….Cyberpunk….. A villain that looks like Darth Vader himself?! GGO IS A POOP COPY OF STAR WARS!!! The Gary Stu Mary Sue is strong with this one.

(They missed a perfect opportunity to call DEASU GUNNU, “Darth Gun”!!)

So, Kirito realizes that DEASU GUNNU is also a SAO survivor and the episode ends.

Boy was this episode dry. Obvious and forced “suspense”, idiotic dialogue, more moe-tsundere faces and fanservice that will boost rating…Same stuff, different day.

Sighhhhh.

This episode gets no “Highlight of the Episode” award. I’m mostly watching this series now so when people ask me “Have you seen SAO?” I can say “yes I have and it’s garbage!”. And I won’t be accused of saying that, quote, “only because I haven’t watched it all.”

Also, it’s still a lot of fun to laugh at. Onto episode 6!

Reaction: Tokyo Ghoul – Episode 5

Major episode spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.

Not gonna lie, guys…. This week’s episode was a MESS. 

The way this has been progressing is abysmally awful. The story is fine, but they way events skip around is SO frustrating and confusing!

The opening scene starts off with Kaneki having a nightmare about Tsukiyama (the flamboyant blue-haired dude) and he wakes up in a cold sweat at…some office. Wait, wait, wait. What? How did he get there? What happened at the ghoul restaurant?! Did they just let Kaneki go?! They left off at a cliffhanger last week and they’re not even continuing from that point?!?! WHAT HAPPENED?!

As the episode went on I thought that maybe they would at least mention the events from last week…. Boy was I pissed off.

Nothing. They gave us NOTHING. They didn’t tell us how Kaneki escaped, they didn’t show Kaneki even asking Tsukiyama why he did what he did – NOTHING! It’s like they stopped mid story and started a new one!!! If they’re trying to pull a Scheherazade on us, it’s not working.

Tsukiyama: “I may have been a bit hard on you. Can we forget about this?” Don’t you DARE tell me this is legitimately how they ended things. You’re kidding me. No. *Frustrated growling*

Something else I immediately noticed right off the bat was the animation quality. 

Okay, what the heck happened there? In the first few episodes, I highly praised Tokyo Ghoul for it’s strong art and animation. I don’t know if anyone else noticed, but both have been progressively dropping. Character movements were strange and choppy, and the way characters were drawn was pretty disappointing in most scenes. 

The biggest flaw I’m seeing with Tokyo Ghoul so far is how RUSHED everything is. Events happen so quickly and don’t connect well to one another. The story line feels choppy, like they’re leaving out lots of important points.

Moving on to characters, there’s one in particular that bothered me this episode – Hinami.

I like Hinami’s character, I really do. Which is why I was disappointed with last week’s episode because she didn’t show up. Well…she showed up this week, but now I just have to wonder… WHY? Maybe she’ll be important to the story later, but I feel like the only reason she showed up this episode was…just for the heck of it. Just so she can wave at the audience and be like “yeah, I’m in this show. Remember me? I’m that one character.” There’s no point in putting a character into an episode if they’re not going to either A) progress the plot, or B) foreshadow something. Which Hinami did neither of.

Anyways, we get to the real meat of this episode where Kaneki finds Nishiki being beat up by some ghouls in an alley.

He fights them, wins, yadda yadda. But the way he won was just like….Really?

Last week, they LITERALLY showed 3 seconds of Kaneki’s “training”…and now we’re suppose to believe he’s the melee king? No kidding, he punches out a burly ghoul with one hit. I completely facepalmed during this scene. Just….sigh.

Kaneki takes Nishiki back to his home where Nishiki’s girlfriend, Kimi, a HUMAN, is waiting. Remember her? Yeah, me neither. Until about 17 minutes into the episode where I was like “…Oh, she’s that one chick from episode 2!”

It was frustrating the way she spoke as if she’d been in the anime the whole time. Ugh.

Kimi then talks to Kaneki and he….promises her he’ll “see what he can do”. That is, about Nishiki being a ghoul….Are you kidding me?! What do YOU know about being a ghoul?! You were only recently turned into one! He really had the nerve to act like he’s some ghoul expert and can help the couple’s relationship. Or…actually, he never even MENTIONS what he’ll help her with! Again – WHAT THE F**K IS GOING ON!?

And Kimi immediately trusts Kaneki (to do whatever the heck he’s going to do) like as if they hadn’t just met 2 seconds ago. This is so laughable. SO laughable.

So, blah blah blah, Kimi is kidnapped by Tsukiyama so Kaneki and Nishiki go to save her. A fight happens, of course, and Touka shows up.

I feel like I’m mostly watching this anime just for the sake of Touka. Because seriously, she’s BY FAR the best character.

As much as I’ve been slowly turning to somewhat dislike Kaneki….1000 awesome points to him for roundhouse kicking Tsukiyama in the face.

So we get halfway through the fight and Nishiki starts having flashbacks about his past.

Okay, fine. I do have sympathy for what happened to him. But the way everything was executed was SO melodramatic. It was like, I had a sister, she died, now I have a girlfriend.

That is literally how I felt it was presented. I couldn’t get invested into his story at all.

Touka takes a bite out of Kaneki, Tsukiyama flips out, the episode ends…and I’m still wondering what the heck happened after the events at the ghoul restaurant.

I’m just….SO disappointed in this episode. It was an utter atrocity. Plot holes, forced drama, rushed events, dropped art/animation quality, and SO many times I facepalmed.

And the “Highlight of the Episode” award goes to..

Touka. Just like last week. Because she’s slowly becoming the main reason I’m watching Tokyo Ghoul.

Let’s hope episode 6 plays out better 😛

Reaction: Barakamon – Episode 4

Because of last week’s episode I was pretty hesitant of this week’s….

But thank GOODNESS I worried for nothing! Episode 4 definitely brought back the same feelings I had the first time I checked out Barakamon. Laughs for everyone!

This episode was so much fun to watch! I just couldn’t help smiling!

I’m actually SUPER allergic to cats myself so Seishuu’s reaction to them made me laugh at how relatable it was. (But unlike him, I’ve always preferred dogs ❤ )

Naru and Hina both appeared in this episode for a large majority too, which already made this episode FAR more enjoyable than last week’s.

This episode was just tons of fun! Which is exactly what I expect from Barakamon. I’m glad this series got back on its feet after episode 3 was such a flop.

And the “Highlight of the Episode” award goes to…

Being an actual episode of Barakamon. Unlike whatever that mess of an episode was last week…

Glad to see it got back to its hilarious, fun roots. Hopefully next week’s will be just as good.

Grave of the Fireflies

• Characters: 2  /3
• Story: 3  /3
• Enjoyment: 1  /2
• Art: 1  /1
• Animation: 1  /1

Overall Score: 8/10

Grave of the Fireflies in one word: Powerful.

The story is about a young boy named Seita who passes away shortly after the end of World War II. His spirit looks back at his experiences during the war as he struggled through various hardships…

I love Studio Ghibli films to death. But, surprisingly, I’d never seen Grave of the Fireflies until recently. I had no idea what it was about before watching it, and wanted it to be a surprise, so I didn’t do any research on the film prior.

Immediately I realized I was about to watch something that would have me crying at the end. And yep. I was.

The characters, the story, the animation…it’s everything I expected from a Ghibli film, but completely different from any other I’d seen. I fell in love with both Seita and his sister, Setsuko. Their bond, their struggles, their laughter, their love for each other…I was completely sucked into the story because of them.

As always the case with Studio Ghibli, the characters were very realistic and well written. But what captured me about Grave of the Fireflies was definitely the story.

I can’t believe how many people bash this movie and say it “demonizes Americans” when it absolutely DOESN’T. The point of the story is not to show how horrible us Americans were – or anyone for that matter. It was to show the devastating effects war has in general while also telling a story that tugs at your heartstrings. There was a comment on the site where I was watching the movie where the person called this movie laughable. That they couldn’t feel sympathy for the characters because they were Japanese, America’s enemies during WWII. How pig-headed do you have to be to say something like that? I understand that in war, you do what you have to do. But it doesn’t change the fact that war is ugly for everyone. And the fact he couldn’t sympathize with Seita or Setsuko, war victims, is lost on me.

This movie is definitely, er…depressing. Like….very depressing. Yet it’s so powerful that it’s ultimately a masterpiece. I’ve said this before, but the best kind of writing is something that makes you feel. Something that can move an audience and bring out emotion. Grave of the Fireflies brought tears to my eyes and made me feel like I’d been punched in the gut. (In a good way, if that’s possible) I felt so much watching this movie; it’s such an enthralling tale.

And of course, as expected of a Studio Ghibli film, the animation was SUPERB. The hand-drawn, smooth movements characters have never cease to impress me.

You can call the art style of Grave of the Fireflies outdated if you want. But that doesn’t change the fact it’s done not only very well, but makes it a classic anime movie. 

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So to sum it up:

Pros: It’s powerful. Definitely a classic anime movie. The characters, story, atmosphere – everything is done brilliantly. It’s a very deep, enthralling tale. For something that came out in 1988, the art and animation are both top quality.

Cons: It’s rather depressing. Kind of like someone beat up your emotions and left them to rot…

Worth watching? If you can handle an anime with deeper, more mature themes… If you can handle being handed a masterpiece at the expense of having your feelings ripped to shreds… Grave of the Fireflies is exactly what you want. It’s a beautiful, compelling, and gripping story that WILL get you to tear up. Plus, it’s a Ghibli film which automatically makes it a top-notch anime movie.

 

Reaction: Zankyou no Terror – Episode 3

I feel like the only reason everyone has been going nuts over this anime is because it gives off such a Death Note kind of vibe. I don’t know what it is about Zankyou no Terror, but I have a tendency to zone out while watching it.

It took me a bit longer to finish watching this week’s episode because of how many times I had to rewind and re-read the subs. Before I knew it, the episode was over and I could hardly recall anything that happened. Maybe I’m losing interest, maybe my attention span depletes once I hit the play button….whatever it is, I always find myself zoning out.

 

To be honest, I’m really only interested in Shibasaki. He’s somehow ended up becoming my favorite character. Probably because he’s the only thing keeping this series even remotely interesting for me….

 (Maybe it’s because he kind of reminds me of Dr. Ozaki from Shiki.)

This series does a great job at trying to keep it as realistic as possible (regardless of the fact they play the “teenagers can do anything” trope). But whenever Lisa’s mom appears, I can’t help but feel it loses its believability in those moments.

Aaaaaand STILL waiting to see how Lisa’s character has any importance to the story.

I just don’t really know what I WANT from this series. A psychological thriller? Something with more action? More mystery? I’m just waiting for something to happen that’ll actually strike my interest. For now this series is nothing more than a mind numbing experience to pass the time with.

I guess what I’m waiting for is something that’ll make me go “No way!” or “Aha!”. That’s why I keep coming back every week. I’m just waiting around hopefully for SOMETHING….And I really want that something to come soon…

The “Highlight of the Episode” award goes to…

Shibasaki.

I guess I’ll check out episode 4 next week….

 

 

 

Daily Lives of High School Boys

• Characters: 3  /3
• Story: 3  /3
• Enjoyment: 2  /2
• Art: 0  /1
• Animation: 0  /1

Overall Score: 8/10

I finished Daily Lives of High School Boys (Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou) the day I started it, but my internet connection was messed up, so I couldn’t write a review.

First off, writing a review for a comedy is obviously different from reviewing something like, oh, Angel Beats!. So, even though I gave Daily Lives a higher score, it’s in a different category entirely. The two can’t be compared because they’re so DIFFERENT. So with that out of the way, let’s get started.

Daily Lives of High School Boys is about exactly what it’s called. Can’t get any simpler than that. It’s comprised of short stories rather than a linear plot.The entire anime is nothing but short, simple, hilarious, rollicking stories. It’s probably the funniest anime I’ve ever seen. 

Pretty much every character in this show is hilarious. The conversations and childish antics they partake in is the center of Daily Lives. Not to mention all the characters are completely likable/lovable! The thought of a comedy centered around high school boys definitely sounded interesting to me. I stress “boys” because school comedies seem to always be centered around high school girls for some reason. Lucky Star, Nichijou, Azumanga Daioh, etc. But one about boys? At first I expected an anime with lots of video games and trying to pick up girls. And while there was a conversation or two about both, Daily Lives had SO much to offer! Something I was really surprised about was the fact that there are actually a LOT of girls in this anime too. Regardless of the fact the main characters attend an all boys school. In an anime like Lucky Star where the characters even go to a coed school, I’m pretty sure there was a maximum of 2 males in the entire show. (It doesn’t count if they’re just characters in the background.) There’s even a short at the end of every episode called High School Girls are Funky! Just because of that, Daily Lives brought something totally new to the table!

I really had to pause the video a couple times because I was laughing so hard! While there were some jokes I normally wouldn’t laugh at in any other anime, Daily Lives gets away with it because of how ridiculous it KNOWS it is. It’s been a while since I could just shut off the “critic” part of my brain, sit down, and just watch something without ever making a snide remark!

 

Even without a plot, Daily Lives managed to become one of my favorite anime. I enjoyed every second of it because I never stopped laughing!

While the art and animation isn’t the best by any means, that doesn’t take away from the show at all. It’s too funny to just NOT enjoy!

While Daily Lives portrays pretty much every female character as treating males like monsters or lower beings, it’s only to give way to funny moments. Rather than coming off as misogynistic, it seemed like the opposite, in fact. It felt a lot more along the lines of “girl power!”.

And the males were all completely lovable as well. There’s even a scene where one of them rants on how guilty he was when he accidentally saw up a girl’s skirt. I feel like it’s rare in anime to find males who act like gentlemen without being either overly flamboyant, prince-like, or shy. Daily Lives breaks the norm once again.

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So to sum it up:

Pros: It’s HYSTERICAL. You will be entertained to the very end. There is not one story that didn’t at least make me smile. Not one. The characters are all memorable and lovable – even though it’s not necessary to remember their names!

Cons: The art/animation is under average. (But this definitely doesn’t take away from the anime AT ALL.)

Worth watching? If you like slice of life comedies, this is probably the best one you will ever find. (It’s definitely my favorite.) If you want to watch something that will have you on the floor laughing, Daily Lives is DEFINITELY worth checking out!