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I started watching this anime out of curiosity and decided to follow a guide to watch it in order. I was really interested in the slice of life concept with a camping theme, and the first season did not disappoint me at all. I can’t say the same about the special episodes and Heya Camp, which were so boring and monotonous that I almost dropped the series. Still, I decided to give it another chance with the second season, and overall I liked it, though the ending felt strange, almost too repetitive of what we had already seen.

The good:
The characters: there’s more development for some ... of the supporting cast in relation to camping. Aoi, Aki, and Ena get their own moments going on a trip together. Nadeshiko also has solid character growth throughout the season. Rin remains the same, but she doesn’t feel out of place.
Dynamic opening and ending: this season clearly put a lot of effort into the animation, not only in the beautifully drawn locations but also in the way simple stories are told. In several episodes, the credits roll while the story continues, a very nice touch.

The bad:
(mostly concerning the last batch of episodes)
The final stretch felt repetitive. All the characters had already had their moments, and when it came to camping together, the conversations and routines started to feel too familiar. I get that watching the sunrise is beautiful, but showing it more than four times in different locations within such a short span got a bit tiresome.
The cycle of onsen, sunrise, food, walk repeated too often. I feel they could have tried something different, with six girls in a camp, adding a game or some activity outside the usual routine would have been a refreshing change for the season.

Let’s start with the basics: this part of the story (light novel) on which the anime is based is not exactly the best. We can all agree that, starting from the second season, the quality of the plot dropped significantly, and the direction taken by the animation studio was rightfully criticized for both its animation and direction.

That said, both the third and fourth seasons show a slight improvement compared to the previous one, preventing the anime from sinking as low as season two. Still, this doesn’t change the fact that, overall, the story is far from great. In my opinion, the Silvelt - Q’ten arc ... is one of the weakest in the entire series, and not even the animation work can save it.

The Silvelt section, which doesn’t add much to the main plot, dragged on unnecessarily for five dull episodes. In contrast, the Q’ten part was more engaging, with the final episode’s fight being the highlight of the season. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the new characters, who feel like empty shells (just like in the light novel).

The Rising of the Shield Hero ends up being a series that introduces thousands of characters, only for them to have sporadic relevance without any real development.

That being said, I must point out once again that it’s difficult to create a good show out of source material that already has so many flaws.

The only positive thing I can point out is that what’s coming next in the story is among the best parts of the novels (compared to what we’ve seen so far). Whether the anime succeeds from here on will depend heavily on the animation studio’s work.

I’m not really into reading manga, but I decided to give it a try after some friends recommended I watch the Aku no Hana anime (which I didn’t like). Many people said the manga was far better than the anime, so I followed my curiosity.

Without a doubt, it’s the best thing I’ve read in a long time (though I should point out again that I don’t usually read much manga). I was impressed by how the author managed to make every decision and attitude of the characters understandable throughout the story: everything makes sense from beginning to end. The only part left up to the ... reader is figuring out what was going on with Nakamura.

I really liked all the characters, but by far my favorite is Tokiwa Aya, even though she appears later in the story. Kasuga Takao is a protagonist with a very clear development: he’s someone who feels out of place in the world he lives in. Nakamura, on the other hand, also feels out of place but in a different way, with another attitude and personal struggle. Saeki, meanwhile, is introduced from the start as someone who was never able to live the way she wanted.

Every choice the characters make has consequences, and every action is understandable and coherent. That’s what I liked most about this manga. It’s a real shame that the anime couldn’t capture even 10% of what the original work conveyed to me. I hope it gets another chance in the future, with a less self-indulgent vision and one more focused on telling the story, because Aku no Hana has the potential to be much more highly regarded than it is now.

Clevatess, or as I recommend it to my friends: The anime about the oppai one-eyed blonde zombie.

Overall, I was pretty entertained by this anime, though it still has several points worth analyzing and criticizing.

The good:

Worldbuilding: The first 45-minute episode does a great job explaining the state of the world and the ambitions Alicia will carry throughout the series.

Character development: I really enjoyed the stories of Alicia and Nelluru. Drel is a solid antagonist, and in general, every character gets their moment throughout the episodes.

The fights: I found them quite entertaining. Even though the animation isn’t always at its best, they managed to keep me engaged ... and paying attention to what was happening.

The bad:

One thing that really stood out to me is Clevatess. Considering the anime literally has his name, I thought he was the least interesting character of all. His ambitions felt pretty vague, and honestly, throughout the series he doesn’t do much (except in the first episode). It seems like he only exists to push the plot forward, and nothing more.

Maybe it’s just me, but I felt the humor was pretty forced in some parts. That said, it doesn’t take away from Alicia’s very good character development.

The soundtrack wasn’t anything special, and I feel the story would have benefited from stronger musical work.

Conclusion:
Despite its flaws, I’d still recommend this anime. It has plenty of great moments and interesting characters. Recommended!

Necronomico no Cosmic Horror Show: a story with potential that ends up going nowhere

I started watching this anime attracted by its curious character design and color palette. And although the story seemed to have potential, I feel that after watching all 12 episodes, it ultimately went nowhere. Don’t get me wrong, this anime has some good aspects, but not solid enough to fully recommend.

The good:

A unique character design and color palette.

A story with potential, trying to show how ancient gods use virtual reality and the internet to conquer and destroy the world.

... A soundtrack that does its job well.

Some interesting characters (mainly Kanna, who basically tries to “carry” the anime on her own).

The bad:

Despite the interesting character design, the animation quality is not great.

Many plot holes in both the story and characters that negatively affect the narrative.

While there are some interesting characters, others fall completely flat. Eita, for example, could have been a compelling character with better development, but he ends up wasted. Even Miko, supposedly the protagonist, only starts to get some development in the last two episodes… and it leads absolutely nowhere.

The anime is so poorly balanced that Kanna ends up feeling like the real protagonist, and honestly, she’s the only character who had proper development throughout the story.

Another surprise I came across in 2025. This anime is exactly what the title says: two girls talking about life in a food court. Both Yamamoto and Wada have instant chemistry whenever they talk, starting from the very first episode. The best part of this anime is how the two protagonists develop, and all of that in just six episodes. The one who stands out the most in this regard is Wada who, despite her shy and quiet appearance, ends up being an emotional atomic bomb, while Yamada, despite looking like a gal, is actually a pretty calm and level-headed girl.

Of course, there are details ... in this anime that I personally didn’t like, such as the constant need to show the brands sponsoring it, like KFC, or episode 3 where they play around with several Japanese word puns (I imagine the translators wanted to throw themselves off a bridge after seeing that episode). But honestly, this doesn’t take away at all from how interesting the two protagonists make everything.

I watched this anime based on a recommendation (just to clarify, I didn’t read the manga beforehand, which most people suggest) and I was left with mixed feelings.

Back when it aired, there was a lot of controversy surrounding the rotoscoped animation, but despite some weird-looking scenes, I don’t think that was the worst part of the anime. What really bothered me was the direction, the pacing of the scenes, and the constant coincidences where characters randomly run into each other just to move the plot forward. There’s a scene in episode 8 that lasts almost 8 minutes where two characters are just walking through the ... city holding hands. The show feels painfully slow and ends up leaving a sense of emptiness with the end of part 1.

I also found the character development to be quite weak. The most interesting character is Nakamura, who, in the final episode, felt more developed than the protagonist throughout the whole series. Aside from the animation, there’s never a clear sense through any other means that the protagonist feels the same way as Nakamura. Saeki also lacked depth and felt underdeveloped. With Nakamura, at least, I felt there was meaning behind her actions and who she was.

In the end, I was left with the impression that this anime is trying way too hard to prove it’s different from the rest, sacrificing natural storytelling and flow. Even the OPs give off this vibe of trying to build up to something big that never really happens.

One of the biggest disappointments of 2025.
It was sad to see how an anime with so much hype behind it ended up being a complete letdown. I find it unbelievable that it has a rating of 7, because honestly, it doesn’t deserve it at all. Without further ado, here’s the good and the bad.

The good:
The animation is generally solid, except for one elevator scene that looked really weird. The fight scenes are easily the best part of the anime. They’re fluid, well choreographed, and genuinely fun to watch. The fight between the assassin and the soldiers in the last few episodes is probably the highlight ... of the entire series.

The soundtrack is fine. Nothing mind-blowing, but it gets the job done.

The bad:
The script is a mess. The story goes nowhere. The world is supposedly in crisis after Dr. Skinner announces that humanity will perish in a month if they don’t find him, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the outside world. Everything’s running normally, and regular people seem completely calm. There’s only one scene where you see some panic, with a guy going on a killing spree, but after that? Nothing.

The characters are all terrible. The only one that had some potential was Eleina, who had an interesting backstory about being raised in a cult controlled by an AI. But even that great idea goes nowhere after a single episode.

Hersch is by far the worst character, in my opinion. She feels like her only purpose is to be an obstacle. She hides important information about Skinner for no reason, and at one point she tries to blackmail an intelligence agency while the world is literally a month away from ending. Her character is so badly written that she might be one of the worst I’ve ever seen in an anime.

I could go on about the rest of the characters like Leland, Axel, Doug, or Chris, but it would be more of the same. I really don’t recommend watching this anime.

And like someone I know would say:
Don’t believe the hype.

One of the surprises of the season, and I’d even dare to say one of the best anime of 2025. It’s a 12-episode original that blends sci-fi, post-apocalyptic themes, and slice of life. Both Ponko and Yachiyo are major highlights and truly carry the show as protagonists throughout the episodes. The supporting characters also do a solid job.

The show manages to stay interesting in nearly everything it presents. There are moments of humor, moments of sadness, and also times when it reminds you that the end of the world has already come and that it's a harsh reality.

Personal opinion: Episode 11 is one of ... the best anime episodes I’ve seen in a long time, and episode 9 is also top-tier.
Highly recommended!

TLDR: It's an entertaining anime, not too ambitious but it does its job.

The fights are solid. As for the main characters, Sakamoto and Shin, I didn’t find their personalities all that interesting to be honest. On the other hand, there are other characters I did like such as Heisuke and Lu who are quite charismatic.

My only issue with this anime is how it romanticizes assassins, trying to portray some as "good" (the protagonist's group) and others as "bad". I obviously try to put that aside to enjoy the show, but it's hard for me. For those who can overlook that, I hope you enjoy ... the show.