[Manga Review] Umibe no Étranger / The Stranger by the Beach

BEWARE: SPOILERS INBOUND

Drawn and written by Kanna Kii, Umibe no  Étranger is one of your typical shounen-ai/yaoi mangas out there, but somehow this particular manga series stands out for me. Umibe no  Étranger serves as an introduction to the series, introducing the main cast as well as the supporting cast while developing their relationship together.

Story - 9/10

The story is quite simple yet impactful. This manga series has one theme in it that most BL manga lack nowadays. This manga series discusses about the struggles and the challenges of being homosexual. Most BL manga out there just brush off this issue, making most stories out there quite unrealistic, since not that many people are open to LGBT rights.

One of the protagonists, Shun Hashimoto, is a novelist who struggles to keep up with his deadlines. It is stated that he is gay in the first few chapters of the manga. Later on, the manga provides a backstory for our poor Shun, who is apparently engaged to a girl names Sakurako. However, Shun came out to his family during the wedding ceremony, causing a whole lot of disappointment. As a result, Shun decided to leave his family and decided to live on the remote island of Okinawa. At Okinawa, he met our second protagonist, Mio Chibana, who is an orphan and spends his free time looking at the ocean on the beach on some bench.

Shun notices that Mio is always sitting by the beach almost every day, sitting in silence, until he decided to approach him one day, and the two of them get along. Mio had plans to leave the island of Okinawa to pursue his studies. His plans for his future studies went by successfully and while away from Okinawa, Mio slowly developed feelings for Shun over time, confessing to him when he returned to Okinawa.

Overall, a very simple story. I would say it does its job very well in introducing the cast and the story, and I like the fact that the fear and struggles of being part of the LGBT community is taken into consideration in this series.

Character - 8/10

The characters were very well thought out, especially of out two main protagonists, which received their respective backstories. The supporting casts were there, but the author didn’t delve too deep into them. It was nice to see some drama and conflict between Shun, Mio and Sakurako, which was probably the only supporting character in the series that received the most attention.

In terms of character development, it was nice to see that the protagonists somewhat changed over the years with the time skip, leaving behind their childhood tendencies.

Art - 10/10

I really enjoyed the art in this series. Somehow, it was quite different compared to some manga I’ve read out there. I really liked the art style.

Overall - 9/10

Umibe no Étranger is one of my favourite BL mangas out there, and I would say it is unique from BL mangas in its own way. It is more realistic than some romance stories out there, although that depends on the reader’s perspective.

A sequel to the series, Harukaze no Étranger, which is still publishing as of writing this post, continues the stories of Shun and Mio as a couple. We get to see the challenges that await them as a couple in the urban areas of the world.

I highly recommend reading this series if you’re looking for a heartwarming BL romance story, and would like to see the struggles of being a homosexual in Japan.

[Anime Review] Free! & Free! Eternal Summer

BEWARE: SPOILERS INBOUND

To put it bluntly, the Free! TV series is about a bunch of high school kids swimming together in their respective school compounds while participating in competitions and tournaments while strengthening their bond with each other. The first season was aired in 2013 while the second season, Free!: Eternal Summer, was aired in summer 2014. There is a third season called Free! Dive to the Future currently airing at the time this review is posted. With other sports anime out there like Haikyuu!!! and Kuroko no Basket, Free! somehow manages to capture my heart.

The series is based on the light novel series, High Speed!, written by author Ooji Kouji. Two volumes have only been published. While the light novel series takes place during Haruka’s (the main protagonist of the series) life in sixth grade of elementary school, the TV series takes place in his high school life. This makes the story in the TV series to be original, while using Haruka’s life in elementary school as a backstory.

Story - 9/10

The Free! series revolves around an anti-social and often-quiet teenager known as Haruka Nanase. Haruka Nanase, along with his friend Makoto Tachibana started swimming when they were in elementary school, in their early days of their childhood. Haruka has loved swimming since then, and he is exceptionally good at it, but there is a twist. He only swims a particular style of swimming known as freestyle, or front crawl. He refuses to do any other kind of stroke for some unexplained reason. In the first episode of the first season, Haruka started narrating like he’s some kind of emo kid who has a traumatic experience in life and has quit swimming competitively. He also has an unusual relationship with water (yes, he actually loves staying in water). Makoto, who has always been with him since they were young, goes to the same high school as Haruka.

In their second year of high school, Haruka and Makoto reunited with Nagisa Hazuki, a boy who they swam with in their swimming club when they were in elementary school, who is also one year younger than them. Discovering that his high school does not have a proper swimming club, Nagisa decided to form a swimming club in the school. In the end, he manages to form a club with Haruka and Makoto in it, as well as a newcomer Rei Ryugazaki, a classmate of his. Both of them start training in their school’s pool together while participating in local competitions that can lead to nationals. 

While they are progressing smoothly in their swimming club, we were introduced a character called Rin Matsuoka, a competitive teenager with the same age as Haruka and Makoto. In order to explain Rin’s story and his relationship with Haruka, Makoto and Nagisa, we need to travel way back to their sixth grade days. In their last year of high school, Rin suddenly transferred to Haruka and Makoto’s class, the reason being that he learned that there is a good swimming club nearby the school. Rin joined the swimming club known as Iwatobi SC, which is also Haruka and Makoto’s swimming club. Due to his competitive nature, Rin challenged Haruka a swimming race, in which he accepted. Haruka won in the end, which motivated Rin to be stronger and faster at swimming. After time has passed, Rin decided he wanted to form a relay team with Nagisa, Haruka and Makoto. In case that you don’t know about relays in swimming, a relay event requires exactly four people to participate, each member doing one of all the strokes in swimming which are backstroke (Makoto), breaststroke (Nagisa), butterfly (Rin) and freestyle (Haruka) in this particular order. With a perfectly balanced team, they decided to participate in a relay competition as their last competition in elementary school together. They managed to get first place, but the ending was bittersweet. Rin decided that he wanted to study in Australia for middle school to pursue his dream of becoming an Olympic swimmer. However, things were different in Australia. The challenges Rin had to face in Australia were overwhelming, to the point where he hit a wall. The strength in his opponents crushed his confidence as well as his dream. In the winter of Haruka’s first year in middle school, Rin returned back to Japan temporarily. He bumped into Haruka and decided to challenge him to a race once more. Ultimately, Haruka won the race victoriously. This pushed Rin to the limit, and decided that he would quit swimming. Seeing his sorrowful face, Haruka learned that his talent in swimming can hurt others. As a result, he decided to quit swimming in his remaining days of middle school and first year of high school.

Back to the present timeline, Rin has returned to Japan for good and now studies at a boarding school, which is known to have an elite swimming team. Still holding a grudge against Haruka, Rin trained hard as he could in his middle school days and his goal in Japan was to beat his only rival: Haruka. Throughout the series, Rin finally understood the true passion for swimming and the joy of swimming with his friends. In the last episode of the first season, Haruka and his relay team were in regionals, where Rin was also there, but Rin was participating in a solo event. With the recent drama he had with Haruka, Rin couldn’t focus and concentrate on swimming and got last place in his event. Seeing Rin performing unusually, Haruka decided to convince him to be a part of his relay team. This means that he would ditch Rei aside, but that’s fins because Rei’s okay with it. They got first place, but they were disqualified due to the spontaneous change in their team member.

In the second season, the story picks up after the events of the first season and now takes place in their third year of high school. Although their friendship has deepened, they have a new problem to worry about: their future. Haruka has always been on average on everything else except swimming. This caused him to not take much concern on his future, and his friends (especially Makoto and Rin) kept convincing him to take a second thought, but he pushed them aside. Rin decided to take Haruka to rehabilitation by bringing him to Australia to get his head cooled off. In Australia, Haruka managed to find his dream for his future which ended up swimming competitively on the international level. The second season ends off at that point and the third season, which is currently airing now, takes place in Haruka’s life in college.

With that said, I would say Free! has a very deep, meaningful story. Sure, it can be complicating, but once you get the grasp of it, you will find that the story is quite interesting. There is a lot of drama in the story, as well as sexy bodies of teenagers, but that is Free!’s selling point. Although it is directed towards female audiences, men alike, including myself, enjoy watching the series too.

Character - 10/10

The writers of the series did an excellent job in developing the characters in the series. The series takes its own time in developing and introducing their characters and explaining their backstories. The pacing doesn’t feel rushed, and the creators put a lot of personality and soul into the characters, including the supporting cast. The character development and transformation of Rin and Haruka were probably the most significant out of all. We see a significant change in Rin’s character from the first season to the second season. Haruka starts to open up to his friends and is more social.

Art - 10/10

As expected of Kyoto Animation, the same studio that brought you Violet Evergarden and Clannad, the art and animation in this series are amazing. The amount of effort and detail put into the water in most scenes is what makes the art stand out so much. The details of the character’s faces, as well as the beautiful scenery of a rural town of Japan were amazing as well.

Sound/music - 10/10

Both soundtracks of the series were composed by Tatsuya Kato, the same composer who made the music of Shoukugeki no Souma (Food Wars!). I fell in love with the soundtrack and I am attracted to the beautiful and upbeat background music. The opening of the first season, Rage On! performed by OLDCODEX falls into the rock genre of music, and I like the excitement the opening brings at the beginning of each episode. The ending of the first season, Splash Free! by STYLE FIVE, a band consisting of the voice actors of the main cast, provides an upbeat ending. The same applies to the opening and endings of the second season, Dried Up Youthful Fame by OLDCODEX and Future Fish by STYLE FIVE. Out of all of these songs, Future Fish takes the cake for me.

Overall - 9.8/10

The Free! series is my favourite TV anime series of all time. Being a part of a fandom myself, I could say that I was biased when writing this review, but I tried to be as reasonable as possible. The story and the drama of the series excited me and the ending moved me a lot. A prequel movie, High Speed! Starting Days!, takes place in Haruka’s life in his first year of middle school, before he quit swimming. I highly recommend watching that movie as well, as it brings the same excitement and drama from the TV series in a different setting. This prequel film is also a must watch if you plan to watch the third season, as the third season includes characters from the prequel movie and does not provide a thorough introduction. A sequel movie to the second season, Free! Take Your Marks! takes place after the events of the second season and serves as a transition to the third season. There are two compilation films, Free! Timeless Medley :Kizuna  and Free! Timeless Medley : Yakusoku. These compilation films provide a summary of the second season, but the difference between both films is that Kizuna tells the story in the perspective of Haruka and his swimming team, while Yakusoku tells the story in Rin’s perspective. Both compilation films are not necessary to watch as they replay the same scenes from the second season, although they do add in very few original bonus scenes.

I highly recommend watching this series if you’re into the sports genre and if you tend to like shirtless teenage boys. (Seriously, they have amazing bodies).

[Anime Review] Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka Gaiden: Sword Oratoria / Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Sword Oratoria

BEWARE: SPOILERS INBOUND

Not to be confused with the parent story Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?.  Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Sword Oratoria serves as a spin-off series and replays the events of the parent story of the DanMachi series, but this anime retells the story as well as telling new stories in Ais Wallenstein’s perspective, a supporting character in the parent story and Bell Cranel’s (the parent story’s protagonist) idol. In this series, we get a closer look at characters who didn’t stand in the spotlight for too long in the parent story as these characters are connected to Ais.

Story - 8/10

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Sword Oratoria uses the same concepts of the parent story, where gods and goddesses create ‘familias’ so that adventurers can join them. Instead of Bell Cranel as our protagonist, we get Ais Wallenstein as the protagonist in the series, as well as Lefiya Viridis, an elf mage who is in the same familia as Ais Wallenstein.

In the series, we get to experience events that take place at the same time as the parent story, but just in a different location. We also get to know more about Bell’s idol, Ais Wallenstein, and the struggles and challenges she faces, despite being a Level 6 adventurer, which is known to be a top-tier adventurer. Additionally, characters that are in the same familia as her such as Lefiya, Tione, Tiona, Bete, Finn and Riveria have much more interaction and dialogue compared to the parent story. Not only that, we get to see characters that don’t show up in the parent story at all such as Ouranos, Fels, Revis and Olivas. It is hard to believe that so many characters exist in the world of DanMachi that they weren’t even shown in the parent story.

Honestly, this series’ story didn’t excite me as much as the parent story. It just lacked excitement and intensity compared to Bell’s story. One thing I liked though, is the mystery behind the new stories that we are introduced in the series, such as a new species of monsters living underground Orario in the dungeon. These high level threats are taken care of by the top-tier adventurers in the Loki Familia.

Character - 7.5/10

The reason why I put the score at a 7.5 is because of Lefiya. GOD I HATE LEFIYA. She is probably one of the most annoying characters as a protagonist in a TV series. Her motive is very similar that of Bell’s, where she wants to catch up with her idol, which is, coincidentally, Ais Wallenstein. She also has trouble casting her magic because she is distracted by the terror of the monsters when she faces them. She even went as far as making Bell Cranel her own rival because Ais Wallenstein has private training with him, which caused her to become jealous. Overall, Lefiya and her development just put me off.

However, there were some characters I liked in the series. These characters such as Riveria, Tione, Tiona, Bete and Finn had more screen time and stood in the spotlight longer than they did in the parent story. It is nice to see their daily lives and activities in the land of Orario.

In terms of character development, there wasn’t much. Sure, Lefiya started to gain courage and use a new type of chanting to her magic, but that’s about it. As for Ais Wallenstein, we only get to see her wanting to get stronger, but we’ve already seen that in the parent story of the franchise.

Art - 9/10

Similar to the parent story, the art was up to standard. It is the same as the parent story and there aren’t any noticeable differences in this one.

Sound/music - 8/10

Like the parent story, the music or sound were good, but it didn’t stand out for me. The opening,  RE-ILLUSION by Yuka Iguchi and the ending,  day by day by Kano are both equally nice songs, but it isn’t something I would get hyped about and listen repeatedly.

Overall - 8.1/10

I had high expectations for this series after watching the parent story. I really wanted to see more of the same action and intensity, but somehow, this series didn’t execute it as well as it did in the parent story. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t say it was a waste of time watching this. I enjoyed watching it, but there were moments where the series was quite dull.

I recommend watching this if you really liked the DanMachi franchise, after watching the parent story. This series isn’t necessary to watch if you aren’t into Ais Wallenstein. 

[Anime Review] Violet Evergarden

BEWARE: SPOILERS INBOUND

Violet Evergarden, the anime that exceeded my expectations. When I first read the synopsis and took a look at the previews of this series, I got the impressions that the anime was going to be a violent anime due to Violet’s (the protagonist) past of being a tool of war. However, this changed when I fully watched the first episode. This is probably the anime that made me cried the most (sorry, Your Lie in April).

Story - 9/10

Our story starts off with our protagonist, Violet. The first thing we saw was that she was in a hospital recovering from her injuries from The Great War, which ended in victory in her favour. However, Violet has lost both arms and are replaced with prosthetic arms. During The Great War, Gilbert Bougainvillea, the major of the  Leiden Shaf Rich Army, took in Violet when she was about 14 years old, when she had almost no emotions. She was very talented in the skills of martial arts and marksmanship, making her a perfect weapon of war. She was given by Gilbert’s brother, Dietfried Bougainvillea, who had no sympathy nor affection towards Violet. Gilbert, however, treasured her like she is the most important thing to the world. Due to unfortunate events of the war, Gilbert sacrificed himself to save Violet. His last words were “愛している” which directly translates to “I love you”. Incapable of feeling emotion, Violet didn’t understand her major at all, after taking numerous orders from him, even when she ended up in the hospital in present day.

Not knowing what Gilbert’s last words to her bothered her. She really wanted to know the meaning of love. To do this, she decided to become an Auto Memory Doll at a postal company. An Auto Memory Doll is a person who travels to his/her clients around the world to fulfill their request of writing letters to their desired recipient. Being an Auto Memory Doll introduces many new challenges to Violet, as being an Auto Memory Doll requires converting a client’s feelings and thoughts into words on paper. All Violet has written in her life were reports to her major, which implies no feelings or emotions at all. Once she got the hang of being an Auto Memory Doll, she finally managed to learn the true meaning of love.

The series tells the story of Violet travelling around the world to fulfill her clients requests, while mastering the art of an Auto Memory Doll. Each client she visits last for about an episode and each one of them brought tears to my eyes. Their tragic stories really got to me. From sending last words to their loved ones or writing letters that are to be sent over the next 50 years to your young daughter, the series manages to express the feelings and emotions of each client.

Character - 8/10

There weren’t many memorable characters in this series, and to me, the characters aren’t the best selling point of the series. The clients that Violet visits only last for an episode and are cast aside for the rest of the season. Certain characters that stood by her, like her coworkers in the postal company, don’t show that much development and backstory. They were just there to support Violet or is used as an excuse to stir up some drama. In terms of Violet, we manage to see her transform from an emotionless, stone-faced woman into a woman that is capable of showing true emotions, casting aside her violent past.

Art - 10/10

As expected of Kyoto Animation, the studio that animated the Clannad series, as well as the touching romance story of Koe no Katachi, the art in this show was superb. The details of everything: the backgrounds, landscapes, characters (especially their faces) were extremely beautiful. I’ve always liked Kyoto Animation’s art style and their depth of detail. Words cannot describe how beautiful the art and animation in this series.

Sound - 9/10

The opening of the series, Sincerely by TRUE,  was enjoyable to hear as well as the ending of the series, Michishirube by Minori Chihara. The OST fulfills its purpose and it was nice to hear the sweet melodies and emotional music.

Overall - 9/10

So far, Violet Evergarden was the only TV anime series that made me cry so much that my eyes went sore. Call me a crybaby, but the emotional theme and setting of the show really moved me. There were times I had to take a break all because I couldn’t handle the amount of grief and sadness after each episode.

I highly recommend watching this if you’re into emotional stories with deep meanings, but don’t expect too much romance from this series as it isn’t its strong suit.

[Anime Review] Hataraku Maou-sama! / The Devil is a Part-Timer!

BEWARE: SPOILERS INBOUND

Hataraku-Maou sama! or The Devil is a Part-Timer! may seem like a show with a very silly concept. After watching this series, my first impression of the show completely changed and made a whole 180. Hataraku Maou-sama! is a hidden gem among the comedy genre of anime. This show has made me laugh countless of times and the show knows how to make their audience laugh.

Story - 9/10

The story was quite simple, and did not have too much depth into it. The Demon King of Ente Isla was forced to retreat from his world after being confronted by the Hero Emilia and her human comrades. The Demon King, as well as his loyal servant, Shirou managed to flee into another world known as Earth. Upon their arrival, Shirou and The Demon King looked clueless, like a lost child in the busy streets. They arrived in Tokyo and apparently the Demon King has limited use of magic, restraining him from revealing his wrath upon Earth. With this into mind, the Demon King decided to blend in with the humans and decided to live among them, like them. This includes getting into the workforce to earn an income. In order to blend in with the residents of Earth, he decided to take up a fake name to hide his true alias. His name on Earth was Sadao Maou. Living together with his loyal servant, Shirou, the Demon King bumps into many obstacles in this world. Surprisingly, it won’t be long until he manages to adapt and overcome these obstacles.

Emilia, the heroine from the Demon King’s world and the one who caused the Demon King to flee, decided to chase down the Demon King himself. She managed to track down his location, only to discover that she was alone and does not posses enough magical energy to return to her world. Stranded on Earth, the heroine has no choice but to blend in with Earthlings as well. Throughout the series, the Demon King and Emilia bump into each other, but with their lack of magic, it was pointless to fight each other.

Hataraku Maou-sama tells the story of a refuge Demon King, where he faces many obstacles and problems when living in the world we are familiar with. The comedy within the story is hilarious and I had a lot of fun watching it.

Character - 8/10

In terms of character development, there isn’t much to it, besides the fact that the foreigners of this world easily adapted to their surroundings. The foreigners learn many things from the residents of Earth and follow their footsteps to become a better human. Other than that, we don’t see much transformation in the character and any changes to their motives.

Art - 8/10

From White Fox, the studio that brought you Steins;Gate and Re:Zero, the art and animation in this series was also up to standard. The art and animation wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, and it wasn’t perfect either. 

Sound/music - 8/10

Similar to the art and animation, the sound and music in this series also didn’t stand out for me. The opening of the series, ZERO!! by Minami Kuribayashi was decent and nice to hear, but it’s not a song that I would like to listen all the time. The soundtrack of the series were up to standard and made the scenes more impactful.

Overall - 8.3/10

Hataraku Maou-sama! is a hilarious anime. There were some parts where I laughed so hard to the point where tears started flowing out of my eyes. It is among one of the funniest and most comedic anime shows out there. The only thing I was disappointed was the lack of episodes. The light novel series is still publishing, so hopefully we would hear an announcement from White Fox for a second season of the series. I look forward to seeing a second season of Hataraku Maou-sama!.

I recommend watching this anime if you want to take a break from the feels and seriousness of some anime out there. I guarantee that Hataraku Maou-sama! will satisfy your needs of having a good laugh.

[Anime Review] Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? / Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka? / DanMachi

BEWARE: SPOILERS INBOUND

Is it wrong to try to pick up girls is a dungeon? That is among one of the weirdest titles an anime would have. Probably the longest too. To make my life convenient, I will be using ‘DanMachi’ to refer to this anime.

Anyhow, DanMachi may seem like some ecchi anime at first when you take a first glance. However, I beg you to reconsider and take a second look into it. Based on the light novel series with the same name, the anime adapts the source very closely, so you will be rarely missing any vital piece of action when watching this.

Story - 10/10

Story written by Fujino Omori, DanMachi has a very similar concept to some ‘game’ anime out there like that of Sword Art Online or Log Horizon. Instead of a normal human being being brought into the virtual world of gaming, DanMachi starts off in this world where both logic and game mechanics coexist. Some examples may be the leveling system in this series. Each adventurer (player) would have a certain level and it increases over time as they grow stronger.

One thing unique about DanMachi is that it uses characters from various mythologies around the world. There are some gods I’ve never heard of, and some that I am familiar with such as the Norse God of Mischief, Loki or the Greek Goddess of Architecture, Hestia. Apparently, all the various deities from the heavens decided to descend to the Lower World, all because they were bored up there in heaven and wanted more entertainment. As a result, each deity that descended to the lower world will be the leader of a familia. In familiar terms, a familia defined in this series would be similar to a clan or a guild, where adventurers become subordinates of their deities and work together as a family. 

Our protagonist, Bell Cranell, is a young teenage boy. The series starts off with his journey to become a strong adventurer. He joined the Hestia Familia recruited by the goddess herself and is the only member of the familia. Throughout the series, Bell grows stronger at a more faster rate than most adventurers due to his unique ability ‘Liaris Freese’, which grants him increased growth in stats. He also meets new characters along the way in which he befriends and join him on his journey to become a strong adventurer. Initially, he wanted to follow his grandfather’s dream, to have a harem of women. According to Bell’s grandfather’s words, the best method of picking up girls would be in the dungeon, hence the title of the series. While this may be a very weird motive, other elements of the series, such as conflict between other adventurers and deities trying to mess things up around Bell sort of ‘delay’ his objective to have a harem. There were so many plots and subplots that the viewer tends to forget Bell’s true objective in the first place. I don’t mind this concept as our protagonist isn’t too gung-ho about picking up girls. However, many female characters he meets along his journey tend to fall for him.

Overall, the story is one of a kind. It is very rare that you would find a story with such amazing characters.

Character - 10/10

The anime does a splendid job on developing the characters in the series, especially Bell, our protagonist. We get to see him grow from a weak adventurer that has no strengths but courage to an adventurer that can kill a monster hundred times his size. Not only that, other supporting characters like Liliruca Erde and Welf Crozzo take the spotlight as well. Their backstories were very emotional as most characters have a tragic backstory that caused them to what they are in the present timeline.

Art - 9/10

From the studio that brought you Shokugeki no Souma and the popular romcom series Kaichou wa Maid-sama!, studio J.C. staff’s animation and art in this series are still up to standard. The beautiful landscapes and the bird’s eye view of the Labyrinth City of Orario are a sight for sore eyes. Their art and design of the caves and dungeons located beneath Orario are very detailed, as well as the expressions of the characters. The deities’ designs look to be quite interesting, taking a step back from the actual mythology behind them such as Loki being a female in the series, but Loki is a male in the actual Norse mythology.

Sound/music - 8/10

Don’t get me wrong, the sound and music wasn’t disappointing. It just didn’t stand out for me. The openings and endings of the series wasn’t really my cup of tea and I never really bothered sitting through them each episode. The opening, Hey World by Yuka Iguchi was decent. The soundtrack was a great pleasure to hear, as the composer of the series uses various instruments and genres of music to better suit the world of Orario.

Overall - 9.3/10

As a fan of the series, DanMachi always brings a thrill to my heart and I love every episode of the series. I was so hooked into the series that I even started reading the English translated light novels by original writer Fujino Omori. With a second season to bring back the adventures of Bell and his comrades, I cannot wait what the studio would show us in the wonderful world of Orario. A movie is also set to be released in theatres in 2019 entitled  Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka?: Arrow of Orion. This movie has an original plot and story written by the light novel series author Fujino Omori.

A spinoff series dubbed  Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka?: Sword Oratoria or Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon: Sword Oratoria replays the events of the first season of the anime, but the story is told in the perspective of Aiz Wallenstein, a supporting character in the series as well as Bell’s idol.

I highly recommend watching this anime if you want some action and thrills that will leave you asking ‘where has this been in my whole life?’. I believe the DanMachi series deserves more love and attention in the world of anime.

[Manga Review] Ten Count

BEWARE: SPOILERS INBOUND

Enter the world of Ten Count. The story and plot is nothing out of the ordinary, but it’s the characters that makes this manga series stand out from other BL mangas. Having a total of 51 chapters, Ten Count is longer than many BL manga series, since most manga end around 6 chapters. Ten Count takes its time to develop the story and characters, with the addiction of steamy sex scenes.

Story - 8/10

There isn’t much to the story of Ten Count which was quite disappointing since I hoped there was more to it than romance (it’s BL, what am I to expect?).

Meet Tadaomi Shirotani, a secretary/assistant of a president of some company. One day, the president got involved in an accident and had to be hospitalized. When Shirotani was at the hospital, he met Riku Kurose, a psychiatrist, at the elevator. At first sight, Kurose could already tell Shirotani is mysophobic (which is basically the same as germaphobic), which is why Shirotani always wear gloves when he goes outside of his home. Shirotani was left perturbed after his first encounter with Kurose, but after another coincidence with meeting Kurose, Kurose decided to help Shirotani to cure his phobia of getting dirty. The series tells the story of a psychiatrist trying to cure a patient’s sever germaphobia, while they develop feelings for each other and eventually manage to have sex, after managing to overcome a fragment of his phobia.

Art - 9/10

Drawn by the same mangaka of Seven Days, a manga that I made a review earlier, Rihito Takarai’s take in Ten Count was more or less the same as his other works, which is satisfactory to me. I liked his art style and I could recognize it was Takarai’s work.

Character - 8/10

The characters in the story are just basically Shirotani and Kurose. Most supporting characters are just cast aside and don’t actually affect the story and plot. As Shirotani and Kurose spend more time together, each of them slowly begin to show their true colours. An example would be that Kurose may be a gentle giant at first sight, but in fact, he is a sadistic seme. Shirotani is a very shy uke, probably because of his phobia, which explains his passive nature. 

Generally, I was quite disappointed on the character’s development as more work could have been done on them, and more personality could be shown in each of our protagonists.

Overall - 8.3/10

I enjoyed reading this manga. However, certain parts of the story as well as the character development could have more work put into it. The art style is very pretty and I enjoy seeing Takarai’s work. I recommend reading this manga if you don’t mind the sex scenes.

[Anime Review] Akatsuki no Yona / Yona of the Dawn

BEWARE: SPOILERS INBOUND

Oh, boy, where do I begin with this? Akatsuki no Yona (or Yona of the Dawn), is a very thrilling anime, action-packed and addicting. Every time I finish I episode, I click ‘next episode’ on instinct because I just want more of the action, curious of what lies ahead. With only 24 episodes and the manga having 160 chapters (still publishing since 2009), the anime manages to cover the introductory part of the series...barely.

Story - 10/10

The story in this series is very unique, and it’s something you might see every day, but it just feels different when you immerse yourself into the world of Akatsuki no Yona. The story takes place in a fictional kingdom of Kouka. It is estimated that the story takes place between 57 BC and 668 AD (hint: that’s a very long time ago, before mobile phones and internet exists.). The story also revolves around a princess of the kingdom of Kouka, who spent her first 15 years of her life in luxury and pretty much stayed in the kingdom and never ventured out into the world (the backstory of the princess gave me Rapunzel vibes, but that’s off-topic). Anyway, Yona, our protagonist, is head over heels over her cousin Su-won, to the point where she actually has feelings for him (is this considered as incest?! Is this even allowed?!). Most of her childhood is spent playing outdoors with Su-won and Hak, a hot guy who seems to be one of the many generals of the Kouka kingdom. One night, Yona discovered that her father, the king of Kouka was killed by Su-won. Since she bottled up herself in the castle for her whole life, it was a very big of a shock to her. Su-won wanted to take the throne of Kouka to avenge his father and that included getting rid of the princess. Hak, however, managed to rescue her and both of them escaped the kingdom and thus the journey of Yona and Hak begins. It is later revealed that in order to save her kingdom, she needs to travel across the world to find four legendary dragons (which are basically humans that have blood of dragon gods with super powers). 

The first episode was slightly boring at first, until Su-won killed Yona’s father at the end. Ever since that scene happened, I was on a streak of binge watching this anime. The story itself is captivating and interesting. There weren’t any ‘filler’ episodes, which means the 24 episode was packed of thrilling content. One thing that I was disappointed in was that the anime ended once Yona and Hak found the four dragons. The rest of the series are still in the manga and there has been no news of a second season of Akatsuki no Yona, which disappointed me because the second season of the anime has so much potential (I am up to date with the manga).

Art - 9.5/10

Coming from Studio Pierrot, the same studio that animated the ever popular Naruto series and Tokyo Ghoul, the art style and the animation never ceases to amaze me. The designs of the characters as well as the expressions they make were executed perfectly and the scenery of the landscape in some scenes were beautiful.

Sound/music - 10/10

The music in this series was probably one of the best parts of the whole anime. The opening of the first 12 episodes of the series was a purely instrumental song entitled Akatsuki no Yona while the other half was Akatsuki no Hana, performed by a band called Cyntia. Both openings were good, but the purely instrumental opening takes the cake for me. The soundtrack of the series was superb. It made each scene more impactful.

Character - 10/10

The characters in the series was what made me so hooked into it. All characters, including the supporting characters had personality, and the writers of this series did a good job developing their character. I felt like each and every character had meaning to it, and I can’t seem to forget them. One character that stood out was our protagonist, Yona. It was nice to see her develop from a defenseless princess to a woman that takes courage and risks her life to save others. The four dragons also had different personalities and their backstories were explained thoroughly, with the exception of Zeno, but Zeno’s backstory (which was extremely emotional), was explained in the 3 episode OVA of the series.

Overall - 9.8/10

Do I have to say more? The series itself brought life to me and questioned my existence. My situation is pretty similar that of Yona, spending her teenagehood in her own home, never going out. I relate to her so much, but my time to be exiled from my own home to find 4 superhumans is yet to come. 

[Manga Review] Seven Days

BEWARE: SPOILERS INBOUND

This was my first BL manga I read and I have to say, it was a pleasurable experience reading it. This was probably the very manga that got me into the genre itself. Despite having only 13 chapters, the manga manages to execute the plot and story very well,

Story - 10/10

Most BL manga, especially yaoi manga, do not really have much story to it, as most authors produce fanservice work. Every chapter would be full of sex and sweaty bodies with cheesy lines. This manga, however, does not contain a single sex scene as the author wants to emphasize on the actual story behind it. 

In summary, our protagonist is a handsome-looking man named Shino Yuzuru. He is a third year high school student with a very carefree personality and can be a bit rude at times. Every time he dates someone, it won’t be long until his girlfriends would dump him once he starts to show his true colours. Our second main character, Seryou Touji, is a well-known ladies man who is known for dumping his current girlfriend after seven days in the relationship. It sounds unrealisitc at first, but this is what makes the story unique to me. Our protagonist Shino took an interest in him and decides to go out with him. He only intended to ask him out as a joke, but our ladies man Seryou took it as a serious confession and thus their relationship began. The chapters in this manga cover the events throughout their seven days. Halfway through their relationship, Shino starts to develop actual feelings for Seryou, and decides that he does not want to separate ways from Seryou after their 7 days are over. In the end, after some ups and downs, Seryou decides to continue their relationship after 7 days.

Art - 9/10

The artist, Rihito Takarai, who has also drawn a very popular BL manga Ten Count, did an amazing job illustrating the characters as well as the backgrounds in this manga. There are very few cases where the art can be a bit off sometimes, but it doesn’t really affect the reading experience.

Character - 9/10

The characters in this series were quite well developed. However, the supporting characters could have been in the spotlight for a longer time than our protagonists. The protagonists in this manga were pretty well developed in terms of their personality.

Overall - 9.3/10

This manga is a perfect example of a good BL manga. Unlike some BL manga where sex scenes are shown on every page of the book, this manga instead focuses on the characters and the romance between the protagonists. I highly recommend reading this if you want to experience a good BL manga.