Scytalle's Anime
| Will not finish▲▼ | Rating▲▼ | Comment▲▼ |
| Aharen-san wa Hakarenai (TV) | Decent | Aharen is a cute show, but it suffers from the same fate as Shikimori does this season. Basically, there's one joke here, and after a few episodes, it just kinda drags as we see the same thing repeated over and over again just with different set dressing. I normally am all about cute slice of life shows, but this is just a little too bland for me. |
| Blade & Soul (TV) | Weak | Pros: Beautiful fighting animations Cons: Everything else Seriously. I don't know if I have disliked a main character as much as this chick since I watched Nyarko-san. Her main character trait is "emotionless". Well... that certainly makes for compelling story... This show has boobs, fighting, boobs, stupid scenes I don't care about, boobs, no plot whatsoever, and more boobs. But it takes itself way too seriously to even have redeeming fanservice. Sorry, just not my cup of tea. At some point this had potential, but I'm certainly done waiting for that to happen. |
| Buddy Daddies (TV) | Good | I recognize that Buddy Daddies is not actually a bad show. PA Works has put a lot of love into this. The Animation looks great, the characters are fun, and the world feels lively. So, why the drop then? Well, as cute as our lovably little gremlin Miri is, she's well... kinda too realistic. This is not Anya from Spy x Family. Miri is a toddler and PA Works has decided to show not only the cute moments, but the bratty, messy, omg will you please shut up and leave me alone for just 2 minutes moments that anyone with kids would be intimately familiar with. The thing is, I watch anime for escapism and to relax. This thing just stresses me out. I could finish it out, but it's just not worth it. |
| Cells at Work! (TV) | Decent | Cells at Work is actually a fine show. It's just... clearly educational fare with no overarching plot. We just learn about diseases and other stuff around the body each episode. Wasn't totally feeling it. |
| Chobits (TV) | So-so | 7 episodes in and I'm still not hooked. This show moves entirely too slow and Chi bugs the crap out of me. |
| (The) Day I Became a God (TV) | So-so | This is a Jun Maeda show, so I went into it with high expectations. I loved Angel Beats a ton, and Charlotte, while somewhat flawed, was still a positive experience. This show though... It just didn't have it. Maeda's works rely on deep character drama. To make that happen, you have to properly set the stage for the audience. For some reason, this show was just unable to make that happen. It spent too long messing around, then suddenly decided oh no wait, this is going to be sad! Except, it's a been a comedy this whole time with slapstick, trope-y, and flat characters. Izanami's backstory with her parents was about the only thing done right, I just couldn't bring myself to care about the rest of the cast. It's a shame, I know Maeda was clearly trying his hardest to make things that would be soul crushing, but this show just couldn't make me buy in. After I saw the depraved lengths that this show was going to go to for the climax, I just couldn't stomach it anymore. I was more disgusted at myself for not being emotionally affected by the just horrible, horrible things that were being depicted. It wasn't my fault, obviously, the show failed. But, it made me feel gross, so I'm dropping it here. Reviews of the last couple episodes seem to reinforce this decision. Sorry Maeda, better luck next time. |
| (The) Detective Is Already Dead (TV) | Decent | I wish this was a mystery show, but it didn't end up that way. It's kind of a generic harem/fanservice-y comedy thing, with light amounts of drama (thus far). There's nothing all that compelling so far about the characters, the mysteries, or the overarching story though, so I'm dropping this as of episode 4 since I'm just about out of patience for shows like this. |
| Encouragement of Climb Second Season (TV) | Decent | I had a hard time deciding whether to drop this or not. In the end though, I just wasn't enjoying it, which means it's time to go. I think there's actually a lot to like here. It's wonderful to see a group of girls going mountain climbing and just enjoying the outdoors. However, the characters just did not mesh with me for some reason. I found myself simply not really caring about them, and this is the sort of show where that kind of thing can really ruin the experience.
Other than the characters, there's really no other plot to speak of, so that's kinda it. There's also this vague undercurrent of melancholy to the whole affair that I was not digging at all (ala Super Cub). Like, I know in real life that, yeah, it's hard to get in shape and climb mountains and you might not succeed, but I don't need the anime to kinda like luxuriate in that. Multiple episodes are primarily about one of the girls simply breaking down. I don't need that. I was hoping this was going to be an iyashikei show kind of in the vein of yuru camp, but aside from both of them being about outdoors activities, they have very different souls. In the end, I don't think this show is bad, but it's not for me. |
| Engage Kiss (TV) | So-so | I thought this was going to be a fanservice-y action show that looked like a throwback to anime I saw when I was first getting into things in the mid 00's-early '10s. And, we did get that a little bit. But there was far too much nonsense, poor character development, uninteresting story and mysteries that failed to surprise or meaningfully inject life into this thing. The animation looked halfway decent, but gosh was the story even tired of itself from early on. It's like there's no weight to anything here. We're just going through the motions so we can show off some waifu's. It's exceedingly boring and I just finally came to terms with the fact that I don't care what happened to the main character's family or what Kisara will end up doing. I've seen this a million times before, and there is absolutely nothing special here. Quite the relief to drop this. |
| GATE (TV 2) | Not really good | Just not good. I couldn't get over how poor the writing was and how poorly it's characters were treated. The plot is a mess and the "political maneuvers" are a joke. |
| Guilty Crown (TV) | Not really good | The action was gorgeous, and I was actually liking the story. Until the second half of the show when the heroes find themselves creating their own society in the ruins of their old high school. And then suddenly, no action, just stupid romance in a stupid school. The show wasn't good enough to survive the lack of action, and I stopped watching during the simulcast. Doubt I'll ever go back to it. |
| (The) Helpful Fox Senko-san (TV) | So-so | This SHOULD have been the absolute show for me. It's a feel good slice of life show about a fox spirit diety (complete with my major weaknesses, ears and tail) who comes to earth to pamper our protagonist as he struggles through a soul sucking job. It should have been funny and cute and silly... but it isn't. It's certainly no comedy. It just kinda tries to make you feel good I guess? I don't often feel like a slice of life type show is too much for me. I've enjoyed countless pointless episodes, but this is where I draw the line. Spending half an episode to watch Senko clean out the protagonists ears, or for the protagonist to hug her tail is just too little to latch onto, it becomes boring with no personalities to really bounce off of. Of course... there's also the latent uncomfortableness that is underneath the entire thing to blame as well. The show isn't shy about the fact that our fox diety looks like she's 8. That is distinctly NOT something I am into or appreciate in any way, and seeing her in the bath or moaning while her tail is touched does nothing but make me unsure if I should really have been watching this to begin with. At the end of it all, the only takeaways I have from this are negative, and for a show like this, where my sole purpose in watching it is to be comforted before falling asleep, this left a sour taste in my mouth and wasn't doing it for me. Onto the next one. |
| (The) Heroic Legend of Arslan (TV) | Not really good | I dunno, sometimes shows just don't resonate with me. The first few episodes of arslan were a struggle, but once the plot was established and we slowly started gaining characters and arslan and his pals got stronger and stronger as they worked to retake their kingdom I really started to get into it. It was a bit like fire emblem. Unfortunately, the momentum kind of fizzled out as the story bogged down with side characters and conflicts that didn't really mean anything and I'm just not excited about it. There's just really not much substance here. |
| Higehiro (TV) | So-so | I was hoping this was going to be a silly comedy, but it turned into a snoozefest of a drama with wholly unlikable characters and a premise that is kind of gross in a lot of ways. It has good production value, but I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. |
| Higurashi: When They Cry – GOU (TV) | Good | Higurashi isn't bad by any means, but... I feel like I get it at this point and it's becoming a bit of a slog. It's also such a downer and winter 2021 just started and I've got tons of other shows to watch. Just wrong place and time for this show. No real excitement left for it. |
| Kaze no Stigma (TV) | Decent | Kaze no Stigma isn't a bad show, but seven episodes in and it still hasn't grabbed me too much. It's an older battle shonen and it shows, there's not much here to set it apart from the crowd. Just having an angsty, overpowered teen lead might have been enough when the show came out in 2007, but these days it just feels cookie cutter, predictable, and boring.
My other complaint is how the show handles Ayano. She seemed like a fun female lead. She's brash and has that "take no crap from anyone" attitude. But, the show basically undercuts her at every turn. She's laughably weak next to Kazuma, and never is able to deal with anything on her own. It just angers me how the show insists on taking away her agency. She's clearly only defined by her budding relationship with Kazuma and it feels icky. Lastly, I made it to episode seven, but when they started setting up a mass murderer for redemption, that was when they fully lost me. I don't know if they do end up redeeming her or not, but going into battle with a girl who has killed hundreds of innocent bystanders and only worrying about whether our lead might like her more was enough to make me shut this thing down. |
| KenIchi the Mightiest Disciple (TV) | So-so | Watched some of this with a friend. Kinda generic yet funny shonen action show, but nothing to really set it apart from the pack. Doubt I ever get back to it. |
| Kokkoku (TV) | Decent | I want to like this show a lot. The opening is top tier and the first few episodes are pretty good. But it just kinda flounders, and not much ends up really happening. It's a bunch of characters running around hitting the same story beats over and over again, and it's not like the animation is particularly striking or the characters particularly well written. It just sort of is, and there's just not enough time for me to stick with something I don't want to watch. |
| Last Period: the journey to the end of the despair (TV) | So-so | This just ended up being more of a cartoon feel than a real anime. It had no real overarching narrative, and the week to week hijinks was just kinda... not engaging. No thanks. Not enough time in my day for this. |
| Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic (TV) | So-so | Kinda boring, a bit repetitive, I just sorta stopped watching it. It was ok I guess... if you really are wanting some shonen. You can certainly find better though. |
| Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (TV 1) | Weak | I tried. I really did. I thought okay, it's only the first couple episodes. But yeesh. The main character and the author are clearly both pretty disgusting. No thanks. I don't need to watch you try to justify why it's okay to be into... children. This is not okay, and I'm kinda disappointed in the anime community in general for defending this. |
| My Dress-Up Darling (TV) | So-so | This was just... a major let down after episode 1. Episode 1 had real horimiya vibes to it. It looked like it was going to be a super cute romance with cosplay as the thing that brings our characters together. Then episodes 2 and 3 happened. It's bad enough that our main girl is a manic pixie dream girl with no real personality beyond "I like to cosplay!", "I like eroge!", and "I like MC-kun for no reason!". It feels like I'm watching a lonely otaku's dream. It just doesn't feel real. No thanks. |
| PERSONA 5 the Animation (TV) | So-so | I think watching a playthrough of the game would probably be more fun than this show. |
| Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ (TV) | Good | This show wasn't bad actually. It's an early effort by Gen Urobochi before he went on to do his more famous projects. It's got a solid mafia/gangster underground aesthetic as it follows two super assassins as they are used by various shady organizations to try to bring order to the word in the shadows. I got about half way through before I kinda lost interest. One big turnoff for me in shows is emotionless characters. I have a super hard time connecting with them and feeling like they are real. Both of the main characters in this show fit the bill. I have to admit, objectively, this is probably worth seeing. Just not for me. |
| Platinum End (TV) | So-so | This show is by the guys who did Death Note. It didn't have great reviews, but I figured I'd give it a shot just to see what they were up to. Turns out it's kinda a Fate style battle royale thing, except it's mostly just people hiding. Kinda boring and didn't grab me. |
| (The) Promised Neverland (TV 2) | So-so | Wow did this season not live up to season 1. The tone has shifted completely away from thriller/horror and into a sort of fantasy adventure style. The show honestly did not have a fleshed out enough world to carry this, and the huge cast of characters, of which we only really know four or five, doesn't help things. In the end, I feel like season 1 is a completely different show. This wasn't what season 1 promised us, and I am too bummed out to complete it. |
| Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace (TV) | So-so | I'm down with the mystery, the blood, the gore, all of it. I want more shows that embrace that. But this show was kinda just creepy, and not in a good way, and was weirdly fetish focused. Not my cup of tea. |
| Recently, my sister is unusual. (TV) | Bad | The first episode was interesting, it crossed a line I didn't expect to see crossed in a normal anime. But anyway, after the first two episodes featured scenes where the main girl has to go to the bathroom but can't due to her being the least assertive person on the planet ("I have to go so badddd, but I can't tell anyone that, I'm just gonna sit here in misery!!"). I told myself the next time hat happened, I was dropping the show. I couldn't wait. Then it didn't happen, so I just had to drop it anyway, because it was terrible. There are much much better ecchi shows than this piece of crap. |
| Restaurant to Another World (TV 2) | So-so | As I watched the first three or so episodes of season 2, I found myself constantly thinking "Didn't I already watch this episode last season"? Basically, that's what season two of this show has to offer. Exactly the same thing as season 1, again. I honestly don't really care about the food being served or the little vignettes of random fantasy characters finding the restaurant. There's only so many times we can see this play out over and over only for them to sit down in the restaurant, order something they don't understand, and then oishii all over the place while showing Food Wars style montages. That's fine as the setup, but it can't be all there is to offer. Season 1 showed us how our main characters came together to form this restaurant. How they ended up working there and why it was important for their character arcs to grow. It wasn't much, but it gave us a through line, as well as a bit of a mystery of how the restaurant actually worked. This is all gone in season 2. There is no character growth, there is no overarching story. There is simply a rotating door of half episode vignettes of new characters trying new food. I'm really bummed out by this and have to admit that each new episode doesn't offer me anything new in any way. Best to leave it alone at this point so my fond memories of the first season aren't tainted. |
| Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie (TV) | So-so | I made it three episodes and change into this one. If there was any more to this show than "look at Shikimori, isn't she just best girl", then it might be worth watching. But... no, there's really nothing more here at all. I kept hoping for some kind of character growth, some kind of anything to latch onto, but after consuming almost a third of the show, I think it's safe to admit that this is all it will be. Shikimori does something cool to protect Izumi, Izumi cowers behind her and thinks about how cool she is and how lame he is, move to the next setting, rinse, repeat, roll credits, the end. If you've seen one episode of this, you've seen them all. In a season as crowded as this one, it's just not worth keeping up with. |
| Smile of the Arsnotoria the Animation (TV) | Not really good | This should be a show I love. It's a slice of life that looks absolutely gorgeous with fun character designs and a whimsical setting. However, it feels completely devoid of life and anything resembling charm. It's just characters going through the motions with zero reason to watch any of it. Excruciatingly boring. Below is my thoughts after episode 4 where I dropped the show. This is a really strange show, and I'm about out of patience with it. I'm not demanding we need to go full Madoka here or anything, in fact, I think they could make this show entirely compelling even if they just focus on the school life of these girls. But, we're what, a third of the way through the show now? We should know at least a little about who these girls are, where they come from, why they are at the school, and what they are studying. For a slice of life like this, if there is no comedy, romance, or interpersonal drama to fall back on, there should at least be a bit of compelling world building with some mysteries that are slowly unraveled as the girls go about their lives. But there's none of that here. The show is taking great pains to ensure exactly zero plot relevant things happen. We spent half an episode simply walking to class in this one, and once we got there, they simply looked at some flowers and left. There was no point to it. So, yeah, it's a bit cute. But wow is it boring. |
| That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (TV 3) | Not really good | It's strange to think how quickly I soured on a show that I've been decently happy with for the past few years. But yeesh, 3 or 4 episodes into season 3 and we're all just sitting around a table still talking about politics that make no sense whatsoever. Slime's politics were always eye-rollingly bad, but it was fine, because they were on the back burner. Not so anymore, I guess. These episodes drag so much, I simply can't bring myself to load up the next one. I'm perfectly happy stopping here. It was a cute show, but I'm thoroughly done. |
| Tiger & Bunny (TV) | Decent | I did enjoy the half of this show that I watched during the simulcast. I sort of lost interest though and its been several years. I dont really feel like forcing myself to finish it, so it will sit here unless I get the itch to watch it again. |
| Tokyo Revengers (TV) | Decent | It was fine for what it was. But I don't care too much about delinquent/gang stuff in school. |
| Tribe Nine (TV) | So-so | An anime about super powered futuristic cyberpunk version of baseball where teams can fight on the basepaths and unleash all kinds of insanity should not be this boring. I felt no excitement watching this, and that's doubly disappointing considering the creators of danganronpa were behind this. |
| Twin Star Exorcists (TV) | Weak | I was relieved when I finished this show. I was just so ready for it to be done. To its credit, it introduced a kinda compelling villain and had a good action scene at the end. It left a lot of loose ends open, but I'm used to that in anime and oh well, it's not like the story was incredible to begin with, so I'm not torn up about having questions not answered. What's that? THIS IS TWO COUR?! Dear god, the number of shows that deserve 24 episodes and never got them while this show gets to continue flailing around for no good reason is a travesty. Seriously, this is the blandest of the bland when it comes to supernatural romance. Everything here has been done before, and much much better. These characters have no depth, no chemistry, and no compelling motive or drive beyond "vanquish all evil" woooooo. The villains are even worse. There's only so much I can take of beating up on monster of the week for no reason. Ugh, get this show out of here. I don't have enough time in my life to force myself to watch another 12 episodes. |
| Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun (TV) | Decent | There's nothing wrong with this show, it just feels more like a kids cartoon than a proper anime. Sometimes I'm in the mood for that, but it just didn't have a compelling narrative or characters that weren't built entirely of cliches. Cute at times, but mostly just kinda boring and far too inoffensive. |
| Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil (TV) | Weak | It just gets to a point with certain shows where I just dread loading up the new episode. This show was so completely unbelievable with a protagonist that I absolutely hated. I thought this was going to be law and order with magic, which sounds AWESOME. But no, there was no mystery or tension surrounding the cases, just stupid tropes and dumb excuses for action. I'm surprised I made it to episode 8 looking back on it. |