Tag: schoolgirl

Toradora Review

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Why does anime keep looking at me like that? It’s not as if I like anime or something. That’s impossible.

Hello and welcome to Nerdshit reviews, and on the agenda for today is Toradora, the tale of perfectly well adjusted girl with no anger issues torment by the biggest jerk in the universe. That may not be entirely accurate, but who’s counting?

On a more serious note, this show is about Ryuji, a kind young man with the face of his yakuza father, who accidentally receives a love letter meant for his best friend from a famously dangerous girl in his school named Taiga. Taiga attacks him to get the letter, but relents when he promises to help her get with the target of her affection. Soon, the two develop an interdependent relationship, as they live close(next door), and Ryuji is a great cook and homemaker, unlike Taiga, who forces him to cook and clean for her.

Before long we come to realize that Taiga’s closest friend is the object of Ryuji’s affection, and that is where things become really interesting. The interactions between these four characters never fails to be completely hilarious. They feel like people you might know.
This is why, when things take a turn for the dramatic and deeply sad later, it hits so incredibly hard, at least for me. You can really feel for these people, and one scene in particular may be the saddest I’ve seen not involving a character death. It definitely kept me watching, and destroyed my Christmas.

The animation of the series has its moment, but due to the slice of life nature of the show it is usually fairly average, The music’s over all slightly above average, but is drop dead gorgeous at least a couple of times. It is a key(one of many) to the show’s greatest success, its deep understanding of human emotion.

So, at the end of the day, this show is a rare animal. It is a romance, set in an ordinary world, that does what so few shows can do, makes the audience genuinely feel something. I was riveted to the screen for much of it, and I have never really been a romance guy. The show is available to view for free on crunchyroll, and comes recommended. Over all, I award Toradora an 8 out of 10. See you next time!

Bakemonogatari review

 

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Author’s note: I try not to spoil too much, but some is only natural. Read at your own risk!

Fuck this show is weird. See you all next week!

In all seriousness though, bakemonogatari, and its sequel nisemonogatari, both based on graphic novels of the same title, are possibly the strangest franchise in anime when taken together. Even separate they are strange, but they connect very well, and I recommend both very highly.

The story follows Araragi, a high school student and half vampire who can as a result take a ridiculous amount of abuse, and does so, without lasting harm, as he battles various supernatural happenings after discovering a mildly psychotic girl in his class had her body weight stolen by a crab, and helps her get it back. This is one of the more straightforward stories in the show.

The show has a truly ludicrous amount of cultural, mythological, literary, and pop cultural references, and also more than a fair amount of, lets say, erotic material. It can be highly off putting to many people, particularly to anime newcomers. The large cast of strange characters can also be a bit much for some. The animation, however, is worth it.

Bakemonogatari is a visual wonder. The animation is dynamic, detailed, and fluid, with a unique style entirely its own. Literally anything can be a visual treat, even the mundane. And when the supernatural stuff shows up, it causes jaws to drop and become anchored to the floor. The music is also very good, mirroring the off kilter feel of the show as a whole.

Over, the main draw of this show is not the animation, the story, the fanservice, or anything like that. It is Hitagi Senjogahara. You may recall I mentioned a mildly psychotic weightless girl earlier, well that’s her. She is also perhaps the best female character in any anime I have come across.She describes herself and tsudere, but no simple cliche does her justice. In her first interaction with Araragi, she threatens him with a stapler and exacto knife to either cheek, makes him swear not to tell anyone about her weightlessness, and then staples his cheek anyway, essentially for the kicks. Also, she fights with school supplies.

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Over time, her deep and troubling family history, and her sharp mind, come to the forefront, and her presence all by itself kept me watching, though most of the others are cool too. Araragi can be bland, but call it protagonist syndrom. Over all, Senjogahara is incredible.

And bakemonogatari isn’t bad either. Though it will be far too strange for some, most experienced anime fans, especially fans of dark, supernatural, or surreal highschool adventure shows, will find plenty to love. By an excellent creative team which also worked on the excellent madoka magica show, Bakemonogatari is not one to be missed. After tallying score for various factors on an extremely in depth and in no way fictitious scale I did not just make up, how dare you imply such slander, I award Bakemongatari an 8 out of 10. The series can be enjoyed on Crunchyroll for free if you deal with ads well. See you all next time!