Summer Anime Review, Part 2
Let's finally bid Summer farewell
Hello again, friend of a friend.1
I knew you when. [guitar riff]
Our common goal [pause] was waiting for [pause] this review to come out.
So here we are. Finally. Let's get on with it
SPOILER ALERT: FROM HERE ON OUT, THERE WILL BE LOADS OF SPOILERS FOR THE REMAINING TWO SERIES AND THE BONUS.
1. The Dreaming Boy Is a Realist
I have to apologize to the fans of this show.
After watching all 12 episodes of it, I have to say it was actually not all bad. It was still pretty terrible, but not so much as to be worthy of the mountain of hate I gave it.
I do have to point out that some of my points still stand. The animation is still dookie, and at various points throughout the episodes, I could see reused animations, frames where pretty much nothing changes except the mouth opening and closing (what I like to call semi-static frames), and frames that were nothing but background. Now, I hate calling animations lazy because I know I could never do better than the animators, but my lack of skill doesn't make this show's animation any less than that: lazy.
Another point that I kinda didn’t like on the show, though I didn't put it in the (P)Review, was the Voice Acting. It felt forced, like none of the actors actually wanted to do their part, which impacted some of the scenes that were supposed to be more emotional.
And lastly, the soundtrack (OP & ED) was unremarkable, and I don't even remember hearing its score throughout the series, so I give it a 0/10 on that.
Now, onto one of my points that I can refute.
In my Summer Anime (P)Review, I remember giving this show a hard time for its premise and its relentless introduction of new characters without the slightest bit of exposition.
After watching it, though, I felt a bit disappointed, if I'm being fair. The Animation was utterly unremarkable, there were characters being introduced without any bit of explanation, and the story kinda bugged me out. Here's why:
Based on contextual clues, our “Dreaming Boy”
Has been relentlessly following our main female lead for most of their school lives, to the point where everyone knows it.
Clearly is madly in love with her.
And yet, he somehow stops after being very nearly hit by a…Soccer ball?
Well, turns out the plot was actually not all bad.
After following the characters for a while, we see that the story's male lead, Wataru Sajo, is just trying to move on with his life after one rejection too many. Yes, the show introduces characters relentlessly, but we do eventually get an explanation of who they are and why we should actually kind of care.
One thing that I did find strange in the story is that the Female Lead, Natsukawa Aika, acts more like a supporting character than anything. She gets less screen time than other female characters, and we seem not to get her viewpoint explicitly on the situation until the end of the anime, where she actually says she misses him. For the record, we do see bits where she implies that she misses his presence, but never explicitly until the last few episodes.
Ultimately, the show feels like what it is: a low-budget adaptation of a light novel. But it did make me wish I could read the Light Novel, so maybe it succeeded as an adaptation, I guess?
I don't know. Maybe I'll review its light novel one day.
Expected Grade: 5/10
Actual Grade: 6/10 I simply can't find it in me to forgive the lazy animation and the weak Voice Acting.
2. Rent-A-Girlfriend Season 3
I’ll start this review by blaming this series for the delay in the Summer Anime review's publishment.
At various points in time, this series made me cringe so hard that I had to physically take a break from watching it, lest I risk my brain turning liquid right then and there. So, you can imagine the surprise on my face when it was rated higher on MAL than the two previous seasons. So you can imagine the surprise on my face when I visited MAL and saw that this season ranked higher than the previous two.
I decided to thug it out, and, much to my surprise, the impression described in the previous paragraph only applied to the first four or so episodes. However, it seems that from episode 5 onwards, things actually started moving. We see Kazuya make some progress both as a human being and as Mizuhara's potential lover. It's possible to see some progression in the story (partly because the objective of this arc is more concrete: to finish the movie), and, for the first time in this anime's three seasons, it progresses at a reasonable pace.
However, I do have to shoot some flak on it for the copious amounts of character development opportunities that it shoots down. Nothing displays this point better than the part of the arc that transpires in the Hospital right as Granny Sayuri draws her final breath.
I do understand that Mizuhara is supposed to be a strong woman, but it's not healthy for the story, nor is it realistic, to have her crack a smile and say “I’m Fine” when Kazuya asks her if she’s ok, following the death of her only remaining family. It doesn’t matter how good of a performer one is. It is not humanly possible to fake it that much.
And, again, you would not believe the relief I saw on my face when we saw her “immovable mountain” facade crack in the last two episodes. “Progress!” my mind shouted at me, “Character development at last!”
Do understand that it is not the anime's fault for having a shit story. It’s the Manga’s.
Animation-wise, there was an improvement this season. The art style was better than ever, the animation was smooth, and the character's emotions were fully displayed in their faces (when they were showing it, of course. Keep in mind when watching that Mizuhara's character sucks at displaying emotion).
Another bit that deserves a compliment from me is the Voice Acting. The cast must've been on a mission to redeem this series because they absolutely poured their hearts out into this performance. And in a story arc as important as this one, it was imperative that they did so. The scenes where characters cry have that signature crying mumble, but it's different than other shows: this time, it feels real.
With this probably being the best of their three seasons, I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that they did not announce a Season 4 right after the last episode of Season 3 aired, breaking the pattern they maintained for the previous two seasons. On one hand, it's great. It means I won’t have to see Kazuya's face for a while. On the other hand, they finally found their groove on the story, and canceling now would not only be a shame for the story, it would be the stupidest decision relating to this franchise to date.
Being three seasons in, I don't think it's financially responsible for the studio to cancel, so there’s some “hope” that the series will return for season 4.
In the end, watching that series finale felt like a situation I’ve never been in, but I can still describe it perfectly.
Imagine you have been trying to teach this small kid how to ride a bike with no training wheels for months now, with little progress. Finally, one day, he starts riding really well, almost like he's known how to his entire life. Then, suddenly, he slams the brake, dismounts from the bike, and says, “I'm going home now.”
It just makes me want to say, “Why now? You were doing so well!”
Expected Grade: 4/10
Actual Grade: 6/10 You were finally onto something, but the progress proved too much for you to bear
3. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
To everyone's surprise, Netflix announced it was releasing an animated adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim series, a series with so many different takes on its story that it made me conclude that there's no “right” version of the story.
To explain my previous statement: The original story is a series of novels by Brian Lee O'Malley. The first volume was released in July 2004, the last in July 2010. They were then re-released from 2012-2015 in color and with an Evil Edition.
After that, in 2010, A movie called “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” was launched, and later that year, a game was launched under the title “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game.”
Then, at the end of 2023, thanks to affiliated studios Science Saru and Fixzilla Aura, Netflix released the anime “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.” All stories are different from each other, some more than others, so I don't really know what’s really canon and what isn't
Most people know of Scott Pilgrim from the popular 2010 movie “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World.” I watched that before watching the Anime. I thought it was pretty funny. Honestly, I rate it a solid 8/10. The ending felt a bit rushed if anything.
So, I chose to watch the anime right after.
First of all, I wanted to appreciate the series for having 7 episodes for 7 evil exes and one for Scott himself. That was a pretty cool detail. Secondly, I want to give the animation team some props. That was some of the most delicious animation I've ever seen. It was smooth when it had to be smooth and hectic when it had to be hectic, which made for a very enjoyable watch. And lastly, having the original movie cast for the voice acting was really nice.
The art in the movie is honestly insane. I feel like they nailed the design of very single one of the characters. From little 17-year-old Knives Chau to the buffed-out Even Older Scott from the future, from Ramona's end-of-career actor ex-boyfriend Lucas Lee to Vegan powered Todd Ingram. And Ramona's design, God. I actually preferred the Anime's design of Ramona over the Movie's idea. And they even doubled down, gifting us Older Ramona and Even Older Ramona, both of which have amazing designs.
Soundtrack-wise, you can't really go wrong with anything Scott Pilgrim. I think “Blach Sheep” by Metric, sung by Brie Larson, is one of the hardest-hitting songs in any OST ever.
But life is not all roses. First of all, as nice as it is to have seven episodes for seven evil exes, plus one for Scott, limiting the series to 8 episodes rushes through some important plot points and makes them feel weaker than they could've been.
Secondly, as nice of a detail as it is to have the cast of the Scott Pilgrim movie as the Voice Actors, they're not voice actors. That's not their profession. And that becomes ever-so-evident when you compare this series with other series with a cast of people that do voice acting as their main job. Yes, it felt nice to hear the voices in the anime and recognize them from the movie, but the emotional delivery was ever-so-slightly off, which infuriated me a little.
Overall, it is still a fun, entertaining watch. Would recommend
Grade: 8.5/10 Good series.
“Black Sheep” by Metric, Part of the OST for “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” and “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.” There's even a version of it with Brie Larson at the vocal.