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Coming from the anime adaptation I was not expecting to like this manga as much as I did.

Indeed, following the adventures of a greedy and avaricious woman with sexy looks in charge of a private agency that deals with ghosts alongside an assistant who can’t keep his pants on and a couple other characters with their own weird personalities didn’t sound like much outside a slice of life show. Many episodes would go like this: introduce a new monster or ghost, justify its presence through a new detail in the world of the occult, deal with it in some fashion, and continue. Here and ... there we would have attempts at continuations with mini arcs yet not enough for the status quo to be affected in any meaningful way.

However, even with 45 episodes, what has been adapted only showed 25% of the story, meaning that a big portion has been left out for those not looking any further. Such is a shame considering the turn it takes as soon as it leaves that realm and concentrates on developing its current characters, creating an overarching story with long standing villains and a new set of secondary characters which are among my favorites in the series. As a result, the reader will find themselves wanting to know what happens next, how are they going to deal with this situation and what the consequences are going to be for the future.

Furthermore, while 39 volumes looks like quite the task, its 18-19 pages per chapter format with an art using lots of impact effects makes it quite an easy read specifically for slow readers such as yours truly. As it progresses the quality especially in battle scenes improves, the expressions entail more meaning and the details and references spread around aid in its comedic charm. The manga knows how to get down to business as the stakes of each new arc increase as well as make fun of itself by breaking the fourth wall.

Unfortunately, the overall climax happens a few volumes towards the end , leaving the epilogue and the subsequent chapter to just plateau into its default slice of life status with a couple of matters left unsolved. It’s a bit of a bittersweet sensation since it seems like the story could have had a more proper way to conclude, maybe with either a timeskip or a chapter dedicated to each of them respectively.

Moreover, the balance between its serious moments and humour doesn’t always work. A big battle with a strong foe might be at its peak only to be suddenly interrupted by a gag, and in some cases the same one over and over again. So the question of whether this is funny or breaks the flow depends on how it lands really. In other words, it’s as if the slapstick comedy bits from a work by Rumiko Takahashi’s were in the middle of a Dragon Ball battle.

Regardless, with all of the above in mind, if you were curious about the world, wanted to read an ecchi battle action manga from the 90s or just wanted to know how it all continues after the anime ended, consider giving it a read.

While playing AMQ (animemusicquiz, a site where you have to guess from a song what anime it was featured in) you are sometimes bound to come across really obscure titles by choosing the hard option. That’s how I initially came across this one, a girl band anime from a few years ago which didn’t quite pick my attention at the time. After listening to its ending song I decided to give it a shot, more so considering it was available on YouTube and lately series like Bocchi the Rock and Girls Band Cry made me more interested in the genre. Little did I know what ... I was getting into.

For starters, the anime looks like a compilation of cutscenes from a Wii game. This isn’t an exaggeration, it’s the kind of 3D anime with exaggerated gestures all over the place from the hair to the arms. The background is filled with used assets and foggy textures and the camera doesn’t help with the way it either stays too static or slowly pans after a change. Maybe this wouldn’t have been much of a problem if it didn’t come out in 2021, 15 years after the Nintendo console, which leads me to believe there was no budget or something in the production went horribly wrong. As a result, it takes some time to get used to how it looks in order to start focusing on the characters and the story, which even in a badly presented series can sometimes be its saving grace.

Unfortunately the writing wasn’t that versed either. There are four main characters forming a band and along the way they run into some issues regarding their aspirations, motivations and relationships. They each grow with each other and become more mature in the process, expressing that journey through their songs which must have been the plan in theory. However, in reality it falls flat due to pacing issues, some personality quirks that quickly fade and how little time is spent on the song practice itself. There’s too much talking at times and the episodes are on average longer than your typical anime series so the time isn’t seized for what it should be worth. There was even a point in the YouTube series where no more English subtitles were available so I had to infer everything from context. Funnily enough I was able to do so thanks to the predictability of the situations and the aforementioned gestures the characters have.

All of this culminated in a project that got cancelled after 7 episodes leaving no resolution as well as a dead channel and some fans questioning whether what they had watched up until that point had been worth it. Personally, I don’t deem it as bad as other shows I’ve watched, in fact, after the beginning I was starting to question why it wasn’t given a chance to finish. Nevertheless, I can’t really recommend it to anyone at this point with the number of good series they could be watching instead. At the very least it’s free.

In this day and age we have been accustomed to an industry of anime and media in general that is filled to the brim by very similar concepts. Genres of series that are so oversaturated at this point that they all look pretty much the same and the ones who stand out either carry a lot of budget behind them or delve into parody territory. With this in mind, how does a series like this manage to break that mold and leave us something not only great to be watched but to be remembered? Let's review Orb: On the movements of the Earth.

From the title ... alone and the setting one can safely see that the approach it's taking is ambitious. Centering a series around an astronomy theory like heliocentrism in the 15th century considering what we know about how prominent religion was at the time is certainly novel. On paper it should work and be enticing so long as the execution and the story carry it out of the boredom realm. As a result, the series takes that into account and sets up a package that is not only exciting to watch week after week but leaves you with a lot to ponder about.

Indeed, the subject matter in this case is not only astronomy but philosophy and religion as well since it asks about not only cosmology but the beauty of the world in its different interpretation. Different ideas and questions get thrown around here and there from people with different backgrounds and beliefs, leaving us with clashes and discussions very rich to analyze. They also connect in a series of twists and a characterizing unpredictability certainly to be praised in an era that much like centuries ago people thought there wasn't anything else new to be discovered. In fact, there is something to say about a 2 cour non mystery series which up until the last episodes keeps you on the edge of your seat and wondering how it is going to continue and wrap up.

In that regard, there is something to say about the anime as an adaptation. Each character, each detail and symbol presented throughout each episode, the sombering yet majestic feeling you get after listening to the folk and classical tracks chosen for the soundtrack and both the opening and ending sequences all follow a theme. They complement the original material really well, enhancing it in my opinion to its maximum expression. Hence, it makes the viewer go back, look for details they might have missed and connect the dots into a satisfying and thought provoking narrative to be praised.

All in all, my hope as a person of science considering the bleak political, economical and social climate in general is that this serves as an inspiration. Maybe not from the astronomy perspective but from the belief, the pursuit of knowledge and the willingness to take a step forward towards the future.

Thaumazeim.

Coming from the title one would not have high expectations coming out of this manga and in a way that is a fair assessment. The isekai trope is used so much that in the market saturation not many stand out from the crowd and this isn't the exception. Needless to say, it didn't surpass expectations but it had some ideas going for it nonetheless.

From the get-go, the story starts with the trope of an adventurer being transported to another world with a skill that at first is deemed useless but quickly the reader realizes it is actually quite overpowered. This time is the skill to ... cultivate anything and considering our protagonist is a merchant it is easy to realize where that leads to: making profit from a business while keeping it secret. The thing is that as the story progresses the companions he meets are ones that also have an overpowered skill but lack a very specific item that can conveniently make our hero convince them to join their business. From this point onwards you can tell how it goes even without spoilers so if this sounds like an interesting enough idea, go for it.

Do take into account though the journey is not a smooth one as our protagonist while being in another fantasy world really treats certain situations as business related. This makes some answers to the requests awkward to read as well as some interactions which don't come as emotional as they could. Plus, knowing the demographic for this title the mangaka made sure to include some fan service content between volumes which while somewhat funny leave the reader with a sense of dissatisfaction. At the very least the art doesn't look half bad outside of some facial expressions, and the detail of some attacks in the battle scenes is commendable. Also, the way they are able to overcome certain situations can be considered clever, so there are some highlights overall.

It's iffy to recommend it since the manga ended a while ago and yet the last 20 or so chapters can be quite hard to find. Otherwise I would spend my time looking for something else.

Coming off from the first season's jazz like style mixed with Poker and stakes regarding cards with magical powers one would think that the second season would follow in its footsteps and maybe even improve on what didn't work as well such as the pacing and the emotional struggle. In the end, it did although in a mish mash of ups and downs.

On the one hand, the character we grew attached too found themselves in much higher stakes, leading to them growing closer not only with themselves but within each other, doing sometimes introspections upon the situation. My personal favorite, Chris, fortunately kept up with ... his charismatic personality from the first season and with the addition of a new roster of villains and distant acquaintances, the narrative was set for a huge number of reveals.

And on that note we certainly had our fair share of twists and flips which sometimes changed our perspective on the cards and the story as a whole. As we went along this season the kingdom of Fourland was presented as having more things up its sleeve than met the eye and the card powers being revealed conducted a flush of events which raised the tension to unprecedented states. Unfortunately, this sometimes came in the detriment of the classy vibes that the first season had at play.

Indeed, on the other hand the animation wasn't spectacular by any means more so compared to other big hits from the season. The use of CGI during relevant scenes as well as the lack of depth in some facial expressions or background characters made for a foul first impression upon newcomers. Regarding the music, it did its job fine enough with the opening sequence staying as its flagship and the sound effects of the cards befitting their respective powers.

All in all, if you were looking for the continuation of the last season, this one certainly counts as one. It's nothing spectacular and by the halfway point you may be tempted to fold it under the dropped category. However, by the end you'll most probably come around to it, going all in as the final episode comes around. Heck, you might even start browsing for a sale of the featured deck, not that I haven't tried that yet.

After almost 6 years of mostly weekly new episodes, Boruto has come to a close... to its first part. It started airing very shortly after Naruto's story came to a conclusion and it had a tie in movie that it had to live up to. Did it manage to do it? No, not by a long shot.

See, one of the main problems of having a weekly shonen that never seems to end is that once you run out of material to adapt you either choose to go the filler route or the anime canon route. The original Naruto went with the former and led to ... an infamous proportion of non relevant episodes, some quite badly scheduled might I add, to the point where you could spend an entire year watching and come out of it with nothing to gain from it. In this case, Boruto decided to go with the latter and the result was somehow even worse.

Not only were some of those arcs dreadful to watch, their lack of quality showed in its poor animation and the same 4 tracks playing over and over again: the chill track, the conflict track, the battle track and the resolution track. It might be an exaggerated number that's the way it was perceived, more so considering that almost 90% of the show isn't adapted from the manga. One would say that this isn't necessarily a bad thing if the anime canon episodes tried to develop some of the other supporting characters in a meaningful way, and very few of them do. But alas, Boruto's classmates are mostly not as remarkable as the previous generation.

I'm emphasizing on this aspect since the set of episodes that do adapt the manga well not only feature the best moments in the show with genuine emotion but also well choreographed battle sequences and a more engaging premise. Yes, not everything in this show is terrible, it does have some merits to it. As a result, it is my belief that if they had adapted only those sections in a spread out seasonal manner, the rating would have been much higher, maybe even surpassing the original Naruto. That of course didn't happen and I highly doubt the next part is gonna be any different.

Digimon Ghost Game is the latest anime installment in the franchise and with the disappointment of Digimon Adventure 2020 one would understandably be hesitant to give it a watch. As such, after finishing its final episode I can safely say that... the recommendation is still up in the air depending on what you're looking for.

On the one hand, compared to its predecessors, here the cast are much more charismatic, cheerful, full of fear and all in all emotional. And I'm not only referring to the main three but the partner Digimon and some of the supporting cast as well. Each of them has a way ... of approaching things that resonates with their partner and they each have their set of episodes to shine... though some more than others. Plus, the way they come to solve their conflicts isn't just to beat up the bad guy rather to come to an understanding and for the most part, even in the horrific situations they are put through, that was a welcome change.

Also, there's the digivolutions, of which there are quite a bunch and in order to not spoil them (though they have already been spoiled if you follow the products such as the VB) I'll just say that I'm really into the way the sequence are short enough to not take too much time out of the episode and they 're really well animated as well. I comment this as a frequent criticism the older series have had to do with this time loss. Plus their design is usually on point and it follows Digimon evolution logic with how one “kind of beast” transforms may transform into something completely different.

On the other hand we have to address the elephant in the room: the narrative. At first it seemed that even though the show was advertised to have an episodic format, it would also feature an overarching story with little to big steps throughout it depending on the Digimon in question to be the main focus of the episode. However, after one of the first glimpses we got of that, there were too many episodes in between where barely no progression at all was made, only for it to take many huge steps by the end.

It probably wouldn't have gone down as bad as it did if from the get-go the show didn't have an end goal or the progression would have been spread more seamlessly. In that way, the viewer has time to process each new development and theorize about their meaning. In reality, as the "Digimon of the week" came by with a new horror theme attached to it, the question was whether there was an endgame or not.

Furthermore, aside from the most relevant and prominent battles, and the digivolution sequences as mentioned previously, there's really not anything remarkable about the animation. Most of the time it looks bland and with some of the horror theming it would have probably benefited more by having a bit more production put into it. The soundtrack at least has a few notable tracks, mainly Faction Faction by The Wieners and Monster Disco by Suga Shikao and a few of the digivolutions tracks whose names I'll have to look up later.

With all that was mentioned above, I'd say this is a mixed bag. If you're into horror and don't mind slow to null story progression but seeing what dark themes can come up from the Digimon setting, then you may get a kick out of it. If on the flip side you've either bounced off previous Digimon series or were looking for a narrative focused one, you'll not probably not have a good time with it. At the very least, you should give the digivolution sequences a quick view.

As a sequel to an adaptation from a game that wasn't too advertised outside of Japan, I had my reservations about this being any good. News about delays in their schedule certainly didn't help and so I decided to wait for it to be completed in order to give it my fair judgment. Having just finished it I can certainly say it was the wise choice.

On the one side, the characters from the previous season make a comeback but also new and quite relevant ones make their dayview. Along these 15 episodes we see their story develop in this war with some twists, revelations, feelings ... and a certain someone getting a huge boost in development. But that's not all as the main attraction is the giant robot fights, the ones from the game, and if you were a fan of them before, you're in for a treat. New robot transformation sequences alongside new moves, fluid 3D action scenes and the frantic music in the background made for some of the best mecha fights I've watched so far.

However, it's not all a bed of roses as there were some aspects I was apprehensive about. Firstly, and weirdly enough, the 2D animation still looks average to bad. Outside of a few scenes, many interactions can look a bit bland. In fact, one of the latter characters to be introduced has curved pupils drawn and it was so distracting to watch them that I had to rewind a few scenes. Oh and speaking of said character, here comes my second gripe: the development of his arc.

It might sound contradictory to what I mentioned above but that's not really the case. For the most part the series follows a clear story plot line with enough exposition for new details to be processed nicely. In this case, every episode started and it felt like some explanation was missing or cut short. My guess is that with its production issues the series might have been reduced in length, leading to certain interactions feeling either unnatural or out of place. In other words, even with longer than average episodes, the final arc in particular was rushed in its setup and the result was quite disappointing.

Taking all this into account, this is a perfectly watchable anime if you manage to find it and were curious where the first season was gonna go. I went back and forth with how I felt about it since I'm sure it could have gone better, but oh well, what's done is done.

This is your typical chibi style tie-in mini series to a parent anime, featuring in this case the 3 main characters from Link Click and their daily lives. Each episode is quite short and is comprised of the opening, the trouble at hand, the ending and an animal short with the characters as if they were pets. So if you find animals cute there's something to look forward to there.

If that's not the case, I must say either way that the opening song can not only be quite catchy but as the episodes go on it improves in its animation and budget. Seriously I was ... honestly surprised at how by a certain point it started changing. Not to mention that there's a chibi version of the iconic ending of the parent series.

Nonetheless, the animation itself is not that of the anime, not by a long shot. It is 3D with few frames per second and the most movement coming out of facial expression changes since the bodies move very slightly. Also, there's also an ambient track from the main series throughout the main part of the episode, so apart from the opening and ending songs, there's not much to jam to.

All in all, the most outstanding aspect of this miniseries is the opening, so if you're not gonna watch it, go look it up.

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Dr. Stone: Terraforming (148859) and has subsequently been merged into Dr. Stone (103897).

Just when one thought that they didn't have enough Dr. Stone after finishing the main manga, this one-shot comes to tell a bit about what happened next in splendid fashion. Without going into the premise, not only did it bring back those memories from the very early chapters in a different way but it also paved the way to inventions that up to this point had not had the chance to shine, leaving me quite satisfied with the result. Also, in the art department it ... stays consistent with its parent manga series so no complaints there what-so-ever.

Since it's relatively short, there's not much to say about it without going into spoilers for not only this but the main manga series. In short, if you were looking for, maybe craving for or maybe just curious about how the story continued, set aside a half hour and enjoy the ride.