Spring 2017 Anime Season in Review
I have to say, Spring 2017 was quite an enjoyable ride. Maybe I'm just getting better at identifying shows that suck before they run, or I'm just becoming more accepting of trash. Like most things, it's probably "a little of column A, a little of column B", but unfortunately I'm not here to start a discussion about changing tastes; I'm here to spew my opinions about Chinese cartoons, so let's jump right in.
A few shows from this season went two-cour, so as per usual I'm going to omit them from reviews. If I had to drop any opinion about them though, I'd definitely say that Boku no Hero Academia S2 and Re:Creators are definitely worth checking out.
Title: Alice to Zouroku
Genre: Mahou Shoujo, Mystery, Drama
Studio: J.C. Staff
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Yet another entry in the "My magical girl show can't be this dark" series of shows, with a heavy focus on the importance of family and what it means to be human. I have to give credit where credit is due even if this still feels kind of like a stamp-out riding on Madoka's wave: this show is smarter and more heartfelt than it seems from the outset. Our main characters form a very non-traditional but believable family dynamic. Sana in particular has the trait of complete honesty through total ignorance that never fails to be endearing, while Zouroku's dedication to serving as the family figurehead and protector despite his age is also a joy to watch. For every gruesome or dark moment (and there are a LOT), there is a heartwarming one to balance it out.
Unfortunately this is where a lot of the non-aesthetic positives end. The show suffers from a clean line narrative split, having two separate "mini-seasons". While this isn't inherently a negative, the pacing issues and changes in overall tone are stark and off-putting. In the first half, the plot screams by with heavy doses of action, while the second half grinds to a halt and focuses more on cute family moments with sprinklings of existential dread until the very end. Throughout both halves, there are major issues with character motivations with almost every major character outside the first half's main antagonist and Sana herself. Zouroku's drive to do anything seems to come from nowhere other than that he hates "crooked stuff", and the goals of the two seemingly warring factions and their underlings are seemingly nonexistent. Sanae is also particularly useless other than to provide a motherly figure for Sana while still creating a more "broken" (and therefore predisposed to greater view sympathy) family structure, and could likely be completely removed without consequence. Overall, the show really can't seem to decide if it really wants to get dark or if wants to be a cute comedy that just plays with trend of dark magical girl shows. The whole package would have been much stronger if it could have decided, and kept an already shorter series to one narrative arc.
When it comes to the visuals, J.C. Staff did about as good as a job as they normally do, albeit with some really, REALLY terrible CGI in the early episodes (that car chase still gives me nightmares). The character designs can't really decide if they want to Madoka or Alien Nine, sort of skirting the line and not being particularly powerful in either way. If I had to give any major aesthetic props to the series, it would be the first half's fight scenes, the second half's Wonderland sections, and the general effect composting for Dreams of Alice powers. Audio is good but doesn't have any standout tracks or moments, and does its job well enough. VA for Zouroku is really the only standout out of the bunch, with the rest being your usual smattering of anime tropes and typical voices.
For me, Alice and Zouroku really aired at a poor time to make much of an impact. At this same time it was airing, I was in the progress of rewatching Madoka + Rebellion, and I couldn't help but compare the effectiveness of this sort of "cute plus dread" vibe that they both sort of give off. Alice and Zouroku is much more muted in this, and focuses a lot more on the importance and signifigance of family, but that sort of "this is cute but something is wrong" feeling is always there. If you're someone that prefers something that really tries to play both sides, then this series might be better for you, but as someone who would rather watch two series that went harder in one way or the other, I can't really wholeheartedly recommend it.
Score: 6/10
Title: Berserk (2017)
Genre: Action, Audio-Visual Torture, Fantasy
Studio: Millepensee, GEMBA
Streaming: Crunchyroll
I think it's about time for all Berserk fans to completely and utterly abandon hope of ever getting a proper adaptation of the manga. The fact that a second season of the CGI-laden garbage exists is proof that not only is a good adaptation never going to happen, but that the industry is willing to squeeze the IP dry for every dollar it can while Miura goes on yet another hiatus so that he can play IDOLM@STER alone in his room. To see such an amazing story get torn to shreds is physically painful on so many levels. I would rather watch Eromanga-sensei 6 times over than view yet another frame of Berserk being adapted into such utter shit.
Please, ignore this series and just go read the manga. You won't be disappointed.
Score: 2/10
For all intents and purposes, Lefiya is equally the main character of the series with Ais herself. Most of the plot of the show centers on Lefiya's (seemingly sexual) interest in Ais and becoming stronger in order to support both her and her familia, which take the place of all of the original DanMachi's cringe-inducing Hestia fanservice moments. This the largest (and I'd really argue ONLY) reason why this spin-off is better than the original, as our slotted-out cast is simply more compelling. The Loki familia in general is more interesting than Hestia's, as it actually has members and relationships, even if those relationships are incredibly canned and trite. Lefiya, despite having the same drive as Bell ("I love Ais"), is more interesting simply because of the fact that she doesn't wholly break the rules like he does, and is a "support-based class" rather than a dagger-touting everyman. The actual plot is the same sort of "the monsters were smart and had a plan all along" bullshit, but has more actual information than the original telling of the story, so it's far more interesting to follow and I could totally see someone who is really bought in to this world really enjoying it. To the rest of us, it's a pretty stereotypical anime plot.
Aesthetically this series is pretty much identical to the original. Good, but not great, and carried by character design like every other harem fantasy series. We do get some good animation when Ais is fighting, but also a lot of straight re-used animation from the original when Bell's and Ais' points-of-view cross. Music is incredibly forgettable to downright bad, as is most of the VA. Fans of DanMachi are really only here for one thing though, so if you were worried about the girls not looking cute, fret not. With that in mind, I guess Sword Oratoria fulfills it's aesthetic expectations.
For the life of me, I just can't get why they didn't just move forward with the original story. It's not like Hestia and Bell weren't a popular duo, because they were despite Hestia being one of the worst harem characters in recent memory. Going back to do a spin-off an entire year after your successful series seems to be either an admission of money-grabbing, requiring minimal actual writing, or just a lack of confidence in the actual material that comes later, which is also very likely given the objective quality of DanMachi as an IP. Fans of DanMachi are going to have plenty to like here, but it's really only a minor patch to an otherwise forgettable soft-isekai crank-out.
Oh, and just like how I don't buy a coffee maker for coffee undertones, I didn't watch this for shit yuri undertones either. Go all the way or go home.
...Please come back Demo.
Score: 5/10
I hate everything about this show. I hate what it is, I hate what it represents, and I hate that other people unironically like it. It's a show that's the epitome of what's wrong with anime, in that a show that is this much of pandering, soulless piece of garbage can actually garner a following. I even went in to this show with an expectation of laughing at the OreImo-style flame wars on /a/ or r/anime, but instead got nothing but lowest common denominator loli sister trash that regularly made me want to puke. It was somehow orders of magnitude worse than I expected, by a massive amount of approximately "ochinchin" times.
I catch a lot of flak for being a no-drop watcher, as well as giving some things that people call "bad" higher scrores than normal. Well, if you needed an example as to why "things really can always be worse", look no FUCKING further, because it's right here in the flesh. Yes, a lot of harem series are "not that bad" because they never reach the level of complete degeneracy that Eromanga-sensei seems to drag itself down to. You have to look no farther than the immediate cast to realize this. Not a SINGLE female character here is over the age of 13 and the main heroine is HIS SISTER. OH WAIT, there was one character that as FIFTEEN (as if that's really any better), the bookstore girl. But she might as well just be dead in an alley, because she only got 3 or 4 scenes tops. I'll take any smattering of worthless harem tropes and deal with it but dear fucking god just make them a reasonable age. Also the blatant employment of the "let's put in this shot of this one fetish because that's ONE MORE EXPENSIVE BD SALE". But I guess that's just the point; nothing could ever attain this level of trash if that were the case.
I beg you, just leave this one alone. Shun it. Shun those who liked it. Angrily and expediently make every effort to remove it from the community. Even us most fervent otaku are better than this.
Score: 1/10
The best thing TRIGGER could have done with their Little Witch Academia IP was exactly what they did; reboot the series completely, ignoring most of the content the movies, yet still capture that unique magic and Disney-like fun while extending the content by nearly ten times. The best way I can describe LWA to someone who doesn't already know about is "What if Disney made Harry Potter, but it was also anime". That makes a lot of assumptions for what someone has already experienced, but I really struggle to come to a more apt TL;DR. If something like that doesn't interest you, you can probably just check out now, but I'll warn you that you'd be missing out on one of the most fun, well-animated TV anime in recent memory.
Even though the description that I just handed down doesn't sound particularly "GAINAX" or "TRIGGER", this is through and through a TRIGGER-GAINAX lovechild of a show. From the incredibly expressive character designs, to the bursts of crazy, nearly-nonsensical animation, and even to the "cenote-like" plot. From the outset, you might not think the struggles of a fledging young witch at witch school sounds anything like Ryuuko's insane quest to avenge her father or Shinji's internal struggles in piloting Unit 01, but time and time again TRIGGER will suprise. To dive into the specifics would spoil the fun, but be assured that the story does know exactly where it is going, despite the early seemingly episodic structure.
You can probably tell that I'm going to sing this series' aesthetic praises, and you'd be absolutely right. Every single cut perfectly matches the distinct "magic" of LWA, despite being obviously designed to survive the budget of a TV anime run instead of an hour long movie or thirty minute short. Music is incredible as well; Oshima's history from the original Fullmetal Alchemist and Akagami no Shirayuki-hime combine for both very hype-inducing, bombastic tracks as well as more light and whimsical pieces that keep the lower-action sections of the show fun. However, take all of this with a grain of salt: TRIGGER's style isn't going to click with everyone.
If there was any one thing that I'd recommend from this season to pick up, it would be this. Give it a try and see if you like it. If you do, it'll likely quickly become one of your favorites. Seriously, it's all available on Netflix right now.
Score: 9/10
This show had a little bit of buzz out of the gate due to its initial gag of parodying Death Note, but for a cupid matching couples. It unfortunately devolved into a slightly-funnier-than-most harem comedy, with an emphasis on parody for the comedy parts, but it never seems to come close to something like Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, a very very VERY similar series that does this whole basic idea better. Renai Boukun seems very content to just walk through the motions with very little surprises, sprinking in all the classic tropes one-by-one in varying degrees of intensity. You have your tsundere, yandere, imouto, etc... Everything here is standard faire. The character designs have this sort of "cheapy drawn but endearing" thing going on that I can't exactly explain well, but I think it has to do with these "colored glass" eyes and thin lines.
It's not terrible but it doesn't do anything great either. If you're really looking for a parody comedy, check out Haiyore! Nyaruko-san instead.
Score: 5/10
A few shows from this season went two-cour, so as per usual I'm going to omit them from reviews. If I had to drop any opinion about them though, I'd definitely say that Boku no Hero Academia S2 and Re:Creators are definitely worth checking out.
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| Zouroku's special form of old man "justice" is always a riot. |
Title: Alice to Zouroku
Genre: Mahou Shoujo, Mystery, Drama
Studio: J.C. Staff
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Yet another entry in the "My magical girl show can't be this dark" series of shows, with a heavy focus on the importance of family and what it means to be human. I have to give credit where credit is due even if this still feels kind of like a stamp-out riding on Madoka's wave: this show is smarter and more heartfelt than it seems from the outset. Our main characters form a very non-traditional but believable family dynamic. Sana in particular has the trait of complete honesty through total ignorance that never fails to be endearing, while Zouroku's dedication to serving as the family figurehead and protector despite his age is also a joy to watch. For every gruesome or dark moment (and there are a LOT), there is a heartwarming one to balance it out.
Unfortunately this is where a lot of the non-aesthetic positives end. The show suffers from a clean line narrative split, having two separate "mini-seasons". While this isn't inherently a negative, the pacing issues and changes in overall tone are stark and off-putting. In the first half, the plot screams by with heavy doses of action, while the second half grinds to a halt and focuses more on cute family moments with sprinklings of existential dread until the very end. Throughout both halves, there are major issues with character motivations with almost every major character outside the first half's main antagonist and Sana herself. Zouroku's drive to do anything seems to come from nowhere other than that he hates "crooked stuff", and the goals of the two seemingly warring factions and their underlings are seemingly nonexistent. Sanae is also particularly useless other than to provide a motherly figure for Sana while still creating a more "broken" (and therefore predisposed to greater view sympathy) family structure, and could likely be completely removed without consequence. Overall, the show really can't seem to decide if it really wants to get dark or if wants to be a cute comedy that just plays with trend of dark magical girl shows. The whole package would have been much stronger if it could have decided, and kept an already shorter series to one narrative arc.
When it comes to the visuals, J.C. Staff did about as good as a job as they normally do, albeit with some really, REALLY terrible CGI in the early episodes (that car chase still gives me nightmares). The character designs can't really decide if they want to Madoka or Alien Nine, sort of skirting the line and not being particularly powerful in either way. If I had to give any major aesthetic props to the series, it would be the first half's fight scenes, the second half's Wonderland sections, and the general effect composting for Dreams of Alice powers. Audio is good but doesn't have any standout tracks or moments, and does its job well enough. VA for Zouroku is really the only standout out of the bunch, with the rest being your usual smattering of anime tropes and typical voices.
For me, Alice and Zouroku really aired at a poor time to make much of an impact. At this same time it was airing, I was in the progress of rewatching Madoka + Rebellion, and I couldn't help but compare the effectiveness of this sort of "cute plus dread" vibe that they both sort of give off. Alice and Zouroku is much more muted in this, and focuses a lot more on the importance and signifigance of family, but that sort of "this is cute but something is wrong" feeling is always there. If you're someone that prefers something that really tries to play both sides, then this series might be better for you, but as someone who would rather watch two series that went harder in one way or the other, I can't really wholeheartedly recommend it.
Score: 6/10
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| Who made this and thought for even a second that it would be acceptable? |
Title: Berserk (2017)
Genre: Action, Audio-Visual Torture, Fantasy
Studio: Millepensee, GEMBA
Streaming: Crunchyroll
I think it's about time for all Berserk fans to completely and utterly abandon hope of ever getting a proper adaptation of the manga. The fact that a second season of the CGI-laden garbage exists is proof that not only is a good adaptation never going to happen, but that the industry is willing to squeeze the IP dry for every dollar it can while Miura goes on yet another hiatus so that he can play IDOLM@STER alone in his room. To see such an amazing story get torn to shreds is physically painful on so many levels. I would rather watch Eromanga-sensei 6 times over than view yet another frame of Berserk being adapted into such utter shit.
Please, ignore this series and just go read the manga. You won't be disappointed.
Score: 2/10
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| This is an accurate depiction of the level of emotion Ais will show throughout all 12 episodes. |
Title: DanMachi: Sword Oratoria
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Fanservice, Adventure
Studio: J.C. Staff
Streaming: Amazon Anime Strike
Remember DanMachi? That show that everyone loved because of the boob strings? Well it's back, this time without (much) Hestia and Bell, slotting them out for over-popular kuudere Ais and a new character, Lefiya. The story follows the same timeline as the original show, just from Ais' point of view rather than Bell's, hence the show's status as a "spin-off" of the core series. The question that everyone is looking for the answer to: is a lack of Hestia and yuri undertones enough to save such a intellectually bankrupt and boring concept? Well, it's definitely not, but it's thankfully somehow more palatable than its parent.Genre: Action, Fantasy, Fanservice, Adventure
Studio: J.C. Staff
Streaming: Amazon Anime Strike
For all intents and purposes, Lefiya is equally the main character of the series with Ais herself. Most of the plot of the show centers on Lefiya's (seemingly sexual) interest in Ais and becoming stronger in order to support both her and her familia, which take the place of all of the original DanMachi's cringe-inducing Hestia fanservice moments. This the largest (and I'd really argue ONLY) reason why this spin-off is better than the original, as our slotted-out cast is simply more compelling. The Loki familia in general is more interesting than Hestia's, as it actually has members and relationships, even if those relationships are incredibly canned and trite. Lefiya, despite having the same drive as Bell ("I love Ais"), is more interesting simply because of the fact that she doesn't wholly break the rules like he does, and is a "support-based class" rather than a dagger-touting everyman. The actual plot is the same sort of "the monsters were smart and had a plan all along" bullshit, but has more actual information than the original telling of the story, so it's far more interesting to follow and I could totally see someone who is really bought in to this world really enjoying it. To the rest of us, it's a pretty stereotypical anime plot.
Aesthetically this series is pretty much identical to the original. Good, but not great, and carried by character design like every other harem fantasy series. We do get some good animation when Ais is fighting, but also a lot of straight re-used animation from the original when Bell's and Ais' points-of-view cross. Music is incredibly forgettable to downright bad, as is most of the VA. Fans of DanMachi are really only here for one thing though, so if you were worried about the girls not looking cute, fret not. With that in mind, I guess Sword Oratoria fulfills it's aesthetic expectations.
For the life of me, I just can't get why they didn't just move forward with the original story. It's not like Hestia and Bell weren't a popular duo, because they were despite Hestia being one of the worst harem characters in recent memory. Going back to do a spin-off an entire year after your successful series seems to be either an admission of money-grabbing, requiring minimal actual writing, or just a lack of confidence in the actual material that comes later, which is also very likely given the objective quality of DanMachi as an IP. Fans of DanMachi are going to have plenty to like here, but it's really only a minor patch to an otherwise forgettable soft-isekai crank-out.
Oh, and just like how I don't buy a coffee maker for coffee undertones, I didn't watch this for shit yuri undertones either. Go all the way or go home.
...Please come back Demo.
Score: 5/10
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| Just running a Google search to find this GIF skeeved me out... |
Title: Eromanga-sensei
Genre: Harem, Ecchi, Comedy, OreImo
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Genre: Harem, Ecchi, Comedy, OreImo
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Streaming: Crunchyroll
I hate everything about this show. I hate what it is, I hate what it represents, and I hate that other people unironically like it. It's a show that's the epitome of what's wrong with anime, in that a show that is this much of pandering, soulless piece of garbage can actually garner a following. I even went in to this show with an expectation of laughing at the OreImo-style flame wars on /a/ or r/anime, but instead got nothing but lowest common denominator loli sister trash that regularly made me want to puke. It was somehow orders of magnitude worse than I expected, by a massive amount of approximately "ochinchin" times.
I catch a lot of flak for being a no-drop watcher, as well as giving some things that people call "bad" higher scrores than normal. Well, if you needed an example as to why "things really can always be worse", look no FUCKING further, because it's right here in the flesh. Yes, a lot of harem series are "not that bad" because they never reach the level of complete degeneracy that Eromanga-sensei seems to drag itself down to. You have to look no farther than the immediate cast to realize this. Not a SINGLE female character here is over the age of 13 and the main heroine is HIS SISTER. OH WAIT, there was one character that as FIFTEEN (as if that's really any better), the bookstore girl. But she might as well just be dead in an alley, because she only got 3 or 4 scenes tops. I'll take any smattering of worthless harem tropes and deal with it but dear fucking god just make them a reasonable age. Also the blatant employment of the "let's put in this shot of this one fetish because that's ONE MORE EXPENSIVE BD SALE". But I guess that's just the point; nothing could ever attain this level of trash if that were the case.
I beg you, just leave this one alone. Shun it. Shun those who liked it. Angrily and expediently make every effort to remove it from the community. Even us most fervent otaku are better than this.
Score: 1/10
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| This sort of animation isn't a special case for LWA TV; it's the norm. |
Title: Little Witch Academia (TV)
Genre: Adventure, Mystery, Fantasy
Studio: TRIGGER
Streaming: Netflix
Genre: Adventure, Mystery, Fantasy
Studio: TRIGGER
Streaming: Netflix
The best thing TRIGGER could have done with their Little Witch Academia IP was exactly what they did; reboot the series completely, ignoring most of the content the movies, yet still capture that unique magic and Disney-like fun while extending the content by nearly ten times. The best way I can describe LWA to someone who doesn't already know about is "What if Disney made Harry Potter, but it was also anime". That makes a lot of assumptions for what someone has already experienced, but I really struggle to come to a more apt TL;DR. If something like that doesn't interest you, you can probably just check out now, but I'll warn you that you'd be missing out on one of the most fun, well-animated TV anime in recent memory.
Even though the description that I just handed down doesn't sound particularly "GAINAX" or "TRIGGER", this is through and through a TRIGGER-GAINAX lovechild of a show. From the incredibly expressive character designs, to the bursts of crazy, nearly-nonsensical animation, and even to the "cenote-like" plot. From the outset, you might not think the struggles of a fledging young witch at witch school sounds anything like Ryuuko's insane quest to avenge her father or Shinji's internal struggles in piloting Unit 01, but time and time again TRIGGER will suprise. To dive into the specifics would spoil the fun, but be assured that the story does know exactly where it is going, despite the early seemingly episodic structure.
You can probably tell that I'm going to sing this series' aesthetic praises, and you'd be absolutely right. Every single cut perfectly matches the distinct "magic" of LWA, despite being obviously designed to survive the budget of a TV anime run instead of an hour long movie or thirty minute short. Music is incredible as well; Oshima's history from the original Fullmetal Alchemist and Akagami no Shirayuki-hime combine for both very hype-inducing, bombastic tracks as well as more light and whimsical pieces that keep the lower-action sections of the show fun. However, take all of this with a grain of salt: TRIGGER's style isn't going to click with everyone.
If there was any one thing that I'd recommend from this season to pick up, it would be this. Give it a try and see if you like it. If you do, it'll likely quickly become one of your favorites. Seriously, it's all available on Netflix right now.
Score: 9/10
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| Haha so funny yandere stabbing haha (sigh) |
Title: Renai Boukun
Genre: Comedy, Harem, Parody, Romance
Studio: EMT^2
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Genre: Comedy, Harem, Parody, Romance
Studio: EMT^2
Streaming: Crunchyroll
This show had a little bit of buzz out of the gate due to its initial gag of parodying Death Note, but for a cupid matching couples. It unfortunately devolved into a slightly-funnier-than-most harem comedy, with an emphasis on parody for the comedy parts, but it never seems to come close to something like Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, a very very VERY similar series that does this whole basic idea better. Renai Boukun seems very content to just walk through the motions with very little surprises, sprinking in all the classic tropes one-by-one in varying degrees of intensity. You have your tsundere, yandere, imouto, etc... Everything here is standard faire. The character designs have this sort of "cheapy drawn but endearing" thing going on that I can't exactly explain well, but I think it has to do with these "colored glass" eyes and thin lines.
It's not terrible but it doesn't do anything great either. If you're really looking for a parody comedy, check out Haiyore! Nyaruko-san instead.
Score: 5/10
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| When it isn't fanservice or melodrama, it's probably just this. |
Title: Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata Flat
Genre: Harem, Comedy, Romance, Drama?
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Streaming: Amazon Anime Strike
Genre: Harem, Comedy, Romance, Drama?
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Streaming: Amazon Anime Strike
Everyone's favorite meta-harem, Saekano, is back for a second season with one of the densest harem MCs known to man and the same host of meaninglessly head-of-heels girls for him to turn away. Or at least, that's what you'd think from watching the first season, or even from this season's ultra-fanservice "episode zero". This season took a much different direction, planning to splice some sort of strange misplaced philosophy about being a "creative" needing to be scourned to be challenged and grow inbetween the painfully abundant fanservice shots. That aside, Saekano's strange form of meta-humor manages to abound, skirting the line between making fun of being a harem show, yet at the same time fully embracing being a harem show. Although this season tried very earnestly to push the series closer to a character drama than a comedy, the same uncanny valley of the humor (my main issue with the first season) is still there, making everything seem stupid and meaningless instead of some sort of actual "meta" humor.
Those Utaha and Eriri scale figures flew off the shelves, and A-1 definitely knows it. Shot composition in general is almost entirely for the purposes of showing off the girls at any given moment. If one of our core female cast is on screen, expect SOME sort of compromising camera angle, even when the series is trying to get serious. Everything outside the character design and facial animation is beyond forgettable; there's no real movement that's worth speaking of. Same goes for the music and sound, as nothing really stands out as even remotely notable.
In my opinion, Saekano gets points over the average for a harem series by at least heavily delivering on what most people believe they are promised when they sit down for one of these shows (sans any actual romance), but I fail to see the real appeal as to why this particular harem series is as popular as it is. If the character designs are really that strong (and I think they very well might be), then so be it, but the rest of the show and especially the attempts at meta-humor really fall "flat" for me...
I'll see myself out.
Score: 6/10
Title: Tsuki ga Kirei
Genre: Romance, Drama
Studio: feel.
Streaming: Crunchyroll
The most awkward little romance drama that could. And rightfully so, as it paints a pretty accurate description of middle school relationships. If these kind of feel-good romance drama shows are your shit, you've probably already picked up or been recommended this show. If you dislike them though, check out immediately. Tsuki ga Kirei definitely doesn't really do anything new or even anything that interesting, but it gives a perfectly and wonderfully awkward screenshot of that time in life. It's greatest strength is that in manages to do this while remaining completely wholesome and heartfelt, with no stupid gross Eromanga-sensei-like bullshit in sight. However, because of this fact Tsuki ga Kirei will never throw a curveball. The "plot" is callable from episode one. "Formulaic" wouldn't even begin to describe just how straight-played this show is as a romance drama. It does wrap up to a nice, feel-good ending though, which is more than I can say for a lot of its contemporaries.
Studio feel., despite this not being their strongest showing by a long shot (nowhere near as good as Oregairu S2), does a great job with a watercolor inspired, softer-colored style while still having the necessary facial animation. There are some incredibly egregious CGI crowds though that really pull me out of it, but otherwise it definitely gets a unique visual "pass". The music is pretty standard but it sets the mood when it needs to, but it isn't anything I'd seek out outside the actual show. VA definitely shines here, conveying the quiet, hushed awkwardness of a middle-school relationship very effectively.
If this kind of show is your thing, you'll definitely enjoy this, but it's not going to change any detractor's mind. However, I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it unless you're really sentimental for your middle school days; there are much better romance dramas out there that examine more mature themes and have less predictable plots.
Score: 6.5/10
Title: Uchouten Kazoku 2
Genre: Slice of Life, Fantasy, Drama
Studio: P.A. Works
Streaming: Crunchyroll
I never expected this series to get a season two, but dear god am I enjoying it. Probably even more than the first season. Uchouten Kazoku 2 manages to keep the same blend of whimsical fantasy slice of life while mixing in a complex family drama. Explaining the series in a sentence or two is fairly difficult, but if there's was I could describe it, it would be "great execution". The plot of both this season and the last are in and of themselves very simple, with small bits of it being revealed through heavily character-building based conversations. This series genuinely gets you to care for its charcters, and when important confrontations or answers finally come they carry that much more weight due to just how invested you are in every character. A slow burn with big explosions every so often along the fuse line.
This is enhanced by the series' distinct visual style, lovingly animated by P.A. Works. Tanuki transformations and mystical happenings give the animators a high degree of freedom in creating interesting and eye-catching animation, and they take advantage of this to the fullest. Every frame of Uchouten Kazoku might not be wallpaper-worthy, but the series is incredibly beautiful in motion, with its unique orange-laden color pallet creating a warm and happy environment for unique and varied character design. The music consists of a mixture of more pop-sounding punchy versions of classic Japanese folk music and relaxing "zen garden" style pieces that enhance the sort of warm and fun atmosphere the show strives to create, even if the show regularly gets heavy with the drama.
If you haven't had the pleasure of watching the first season of Uchoten Kazoku, definitely check both the first and second seasons out. It's another series that probably isn't for everyone, but those who dig good slice-of-life won't be able to stay away.
Score: 9/10
Title: Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Action
Studio: White Fox
Streaming: Amazon Anime Strike
This one is really a mixed bag. Take Spice and Wolf, role-reverse it, then mash it up with Berserk, and you'd get something that looks similar to this. It's also very much a light novel adaptation, and plays out exactly like you'd expect one would, but this one has honestly been pretty enjoyable. It follows the same sort of interspliced fantasy anime action, drama, and humor that any staple of the genre would, while clipping along at a fairly decent pace with a realizable end goal in place. Our characters try their hardest to be unique while fulfilling their stamped-out tropes, with the Mercenary and Zero rightfully standing out as our two main characters.
Visually I'd say that Grimoire of Zero looks "good enough", although I sometimes find myself theorizing that someone did Zero's character design first then just drew everything else to make her look good. If I had any real complaints with art, it would be total lack of opportunity with the beastman designs. They are so incredibly vanilla when they could have been anything, and it was a missed opportunity to create beastmen that seemed truly frightening and powerful (as they are referred to in-universe) rather than the cookie-cutter designs that were put on screen. Music is incredibly generic, especially the OP, but it at least does its job well enough.
If I'm gonna be honest here, this one really feels like someone ripped out their Dungeons and Dragons campaign, wrote it into a light novel, and then somehow got lucky enough for White Fox to put it on their "we need to generate money for our next real project" list. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but the quality really isn't there. It can be a fun series, but it will definitely leave you wanting something more when it wraps up. I recommend that only heavy fantasy adventure fans to check it out.
Score: 5.5/10
Title: Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) S2
Genre: Action, Drama
Studio: Studio WIT
Streaming: Crunchyroll
The long awaited season two finally arrives. Although nothing could ever live up to the incredible amount of hype following this series, making the second season at a mere 12 episodes to the first's 24+ couldn't have been a worse decision. AoT is not at all hurting for revenue, even this long after its heyday, and the immediate announcement of season 3 following this season's last episode makes the decision all the more confusing. This is all not even considering the massive amount of questions left unanswered by this season's short run, with an even greater amount of egregious cliffhangers than was normal for AoT's first season. But enough about what we didn't get or what we were left with; let's discuss what we got.
SPOILER ALERT: Attack on Titan is still hype as all hell. The series has always been known for its intense in-fight dramatic builds and incredibly detailed animation, and season two did not disappoint. As someone who primarily watches AoT for this, and could care less about the 'intrigue' of the story that I've spoiled for myself long ago, I'm pretty satisfied with what we got. However, these moments are overall lessened from the first season, due in part to reduced runtime but also a greater focus on revealing story. AoT continues its textbook "dangle the carrot" storytelling that people just seem to eat up, and for those of you that are very much invested in the lore and characters of AoT, you won't be disappointed by this season in the slightest as it's much more dense with plot and character scenes than it is with action. It also still does episodic cliffhangers better than average, although I can't say they even come close to the ones we got in last year's Re:Zero.
I shouldn't need to sing AoT's visual and audible prowess at this point, but for those not in-the-know, AoT is an absolutely gorgeous show. It is grittier than most and sometimes the character designs suffer from this, but in general the show looks great both at rest and in motion. In particular, the use of steam to emphasize fast motion in action sequences is an incredible way to add to the already great animation for aerial fights with titans. Music and sound is perfectly crafted and composed for the content, driving those incredibly hype moments that you're likely watching the show for in the first place to even greater highs. For all this praise though, there is one incredibly bad aesthetic issue this season has that I honestly could not remember from the first season: titan size inconsistency. Whether this be an issue with budget (no reason), directing (doubtful), or rushed art (likely), it's a damning issue in many scenes. Titans seem to grow and shrink at will, and in ways that barely make sense for the shots they're included in. The most notable example of this is Sasha's encounter with the titan inside of the house mid-season. In this scene, the titan goes from 7 ft. tall, to about 11 ft. tall, to a towering giant who's face is twice the size of Sasha's body. I'm all for making the titans seem as scary and imposing as possible, but this is just laughably bad. It unfortunately wasn't a one-time issue either, and seemed to regularly pop up in fights all throughout the season.
Overall, what we got for waiting so long was only decent. AoT still has an incredible amount of plot inconsistency and poor character development that continue to drag it down to an "only pretty O.K." when it could be so much more. These have been beaten to death by people much more eloquent than I, and I'm sure you've heard them so I won't get back into it, but those same issues with pacing and lack of meaningful interaction continue from the first season. Seeing the visuals remain so good only makes me long for the series to be far more engaging from a plot standpoint, but I know that I'll probably never get invested in it. However, I'll continue to happily watch the scouts cut down titans so long as they keep animating it in such an incredible way.
Score: 7/10
Title: Koe no Katachi (A Silent Voice)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Studio: Kyoto Animation
Streaming: N/A (Subbed BDs available)
Damn has it been a hell of a year for anime movies. We're usually lucky to get even one that is legitimately great, but between Kimi no na Wa, Kizumonogatari, and now Koe no Katachi, there are incredible choices to pick from. I've been meaning to write something more in-depth up for Your Name for a long time now, and although I haven't had a chance to get to it, I'll spoil my thoughts a bit so that I can give you all a better idea of why Koe no Katachi was so effective. Your Name exceeds by leaps and bounds in execution; the story is by no means something overtly original or greatly introspective, but rather takes a concept that's been done before but smashes it out of the park. This isn't typical of anime, and is likely a great boon to Your Name's popularity and reception outside the general anime community. Conversely, Koe no Katachi is far more "anime" in its story and goal, creating drama through sequences of heavy characterization and emotional pangs rather than presenting large setpieces or grandiose imagery. If I were forced to make some sort of comparison, I'd say Your Name is a lot more like a beautifully large painting whereas Koe no Katachi is an intricately carved box.
Now, neither is a poor approach, but I feel that Koe no Katachi is definitely something that is going to appeal to those that seek out these shows with emotional gutpunches like AnoHana or CLANNAD moreso than other watchers. The plot starts out emotionally heavy, stays heavy, and ends by dropping an anvil on your face. Even though Your Name did elicit quite an emotional response from me (even upon multiple viewings), I don't think that the underlying message or meaning of the film really stuck with me as hard as Koe no Katachi's did. It would be fair to wrap this back into the "execution" argument but I'm not sure if this is a totally apt conclusion, as Koe no Katachi is a far more multilayered beast and therefore a tad harder to analyze. Our characters are far more "Eva-like" in that they are all damaged in some way, and we get to watch them deal with and overcome their issues as they grow. I'm not going to give a real synopsis or anything but in terms of themes, our highlights are guilt, self-loathing, and redemption.
The film also has a heavy focus on disability, and its VERY important to evaluate this through a Japanese cultural lens. I don't think its much of a stretch to assume that if you have any exposure to anything Japanese, you at least understand the pillar of grooming all people to be "productive members of society" above all else, and to a lesser extent their work culture. These lead to having a disability being considered far more "damning" in Japan than in many other countries (especially the U.S.), and the effort to provide even remotely adequate accessibility or job opportunities for the disabled is a relatively new effort. A "culture of shame" is very prevalent, with families regularly attempting to hide the disabilities of their children while sending them to dedicated schools for children with disabilities. When Nishimiya enters a public school classroom in the beginning of the film, this is meant to show just how strong both she and her family is, as they are directly challenging that "culture of shame" by allowing her to attend a public school. You could get the full experience and impact of Koe no Katachi without this information, but remaining in cultural ignorance of such a large focus of the movie doesn't feel right to me, and the movie doesn't do a great job of highlighting these differences for an international watcher since you're not the real "target audience".
The film clips along at a slow but reasonable pace for a heavy drama such as this, and I'd argue that KyoAni did an incredible job adapting the manga series into a single 2 hour and 10 minute movie. I've heard some of the usual belly-aching from manga-readers about lack of secondary character development or difference in events, but as per usual those arguments are fundamentally broken. Anime is a very different medium than manga, and your content IS and rightfull SHOULD morph to meet the needs of the medium, especially when the deliverance of such a heavily emotional message is the goal. As for characters, Nishimiya and Ishida are the focus of this FILM, and regardless of what the manga did with its secondary cast its not really a relevant case against something that is meant to stand on its own. I won't sit here and grandstand about source vs. adaptation, because if you let me I'd talk about it for days, but if you want to read the source, then read the source and evaluate it separately.
Visually, this one is predictably a knockout. Kyoto Animation has never failed to produce gorgeous art both at rest and in motion, and this film is no different. You can see that the additional time and budget given for a movie vs. a TV anime in every frame, and although it's not up to say the ridiculousness of something like Your Name, Koe no Katachi is a damn beautiful looking anime movie. If I could make any complaint, it would be that some of the secondary characters' designs really bleed in from other KyoAni work. Ueno in particular shows heavy shades of Mitsuki (Beyond the Boundry) and Reina (Hibike Euphonium) a lot of the time, almost as if animators were referencing old design sheets. In a vacuum of just this film though, that's a non-issue, so although I can't knock too much off for it on those grounds it's still something worth noting for viewers familiar with a lot of KyoAni anime. For as good as the visuals are though, I felt the music fell a little short of what it could have been. Yes, the film opening to "My Generation" was a welcome treat but our actually composed pieces do fall a little flat outside of the pieces from the climax of the film. To sum it up, I'd say that I've never once really thought of looking up much music from Koe no Katachi outside of the movie itself, compared to the now hundreds of times I must have listened to Your Name's soundtrack on its own musical merit.
Overall, Koe no Katachi comes in as a close second for best anime film I've seen this year. Comapared to something like Your Name, I don't think its as apt a choice to recommend to people that aren't into anime, it's still an incredible movie that has one hell of a message to pass down. People who are out there for drama and "feels" will be right at home, and you certainly won't be disappointed.
Score: 9/10
Those Utaha and Eriri scale figures flew off the shelves, and A-1 definitely knows it. Shot composition in general is almost entirely for the purposes of showing off the girls at any given moment. If one of our core female cast is on screen, expect SOME sort of compromising camera angle, even when the series is trying to get serious. Everything outside the character design and facial animation is beyond forgettable; there's no real movement that's worth speaking of. Same goes for the music and sound, as nothing really stands out as even remotely notable.
In my opinion, Saekano gets points over the average for a harem series by at least heavily delivering on what most people believe they are promised when they sit down for one of these shows (sans any actual romance), but I fail to see the real appeal as to why this particular harem series is as popular as it is. If the character designs are really that strong (and I think they very well might be), then so be it, but the rest of the show and especially the attempts at meta-humor really fall "flat" for me...
I'll see myself out.
Score: 6/10
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| This is the new fidget spinner. |
Genre: Romance, Drama
Studio: feel.
Streaming: Crunchyroll
The most awkward little romance drama that could. And rightfully so, as it paints a pretty accurate description of middle school relationships. If these kind of feel-good romance drama shows are your shit, you've probably already picked up or been recommended this show. If you dislike them though, check out immediately. Tsuki ga Kirei definitely doesn't really do anything new or even anything that interesting, but it gives a perfectly and wonderfully awkward screenshot of that time in life. It's greatest strength is that in manages to do this while remaining completely wholesome and heartfelt, with no stupid gross Eromanga-sensei-like bullshit in sight. However, because of this fact Tsuki ga Kirei will never throw a curveball. The "plot" is callable from episode one. "Formulaic" wouldn't even begin to describe just how straight-played this show is as a romance drama. It does wrap up to a nice, feel-good ending though, which is more than I can say for a lot of its contemporaries.
Studio feel., despite this not being their strongest showing by a long shot (nowhere near as good as Oregairu S2), does a great job with a watercolor inspired, softer-colored style while still having the necessary facial animation. There are some incredibly egregious CGI crowds though that really pull me out of it, but otherwise it definitely gets a unique visual "pass". The music is pretty standard but it sets the mood when it needs to, but it isn't anything I'd seek out outside the actual show. VA definitely shines here, conveying the quiet, hushed awkwardness of a middle-school relationship very effectively.
If this kind of show is your thing, you'll definitely enjoy this, but it's not going to change any detractor's mind. However, I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it unless you're really sentimental for your middle school days; there are much better romance dramas out there that examine more mature themes and have less predictable plots.
Score: 6.5/10
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Title: Uchouten Kazoku 2
Genre: Slice of Life, Fantasy, Drama
Studio: P.A. Works
Streaming: Crunchyroll
I never expected this series to get a season two, but dear god am I enjoying it. Probably even more than the first season. Uchouten Kazoku 2 manages to keep the same blend of whimsical fantasy slice of life while mixing in a complex family drama. Explaining the series in a sentence or two is fairly difficult, but if there's was I could describe it, it would be "great execution". The plot of both this season and the last are in and of themselves very simple, with small bits of it being revealed through heavily character-building based conversations. This series genuinely gets you to care for its charcters, and when important confrontations or answers finally come they carry that much more weight due to just how invested you are in every character. A slow burn with big explosions every so often along the fuse line.
This is enhanced by the series' distinct visual style, lovingly animated by P.A. Works. Tanuki transformations and mystical happenings give the animators a high degree of freedom in creating interesting and eye-catching animation, and they take advantage of this to the fullest. Every frame of Uchouten Kazoku might not be wallpaper-worthy, but the series is incredibly beautiful in motion, with its unique orange-laden color pallet creating a warm and happy environment for unique and varied character design. The music consists of a mixture of more pop-sounding punchy versions of classic Japanese folk music and relaxing "zen garden" style pieces that enhance the sort of warm and fun atmosphere the show strives to create, even if the show regularly gets heavy with the drama.
If you haven't had the pleasure of watching the first season of Uchoten Kazoku, definitely check both the first and second seasons out. It's another series that probably isn't for everyone, but those who dig good slice-of-life won't be able to stay away.
Score: 9/10
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| Zero in her natural element. |
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Action
Studio: White Fox
Streaming: Amazon Anime Strike
This one is really a mixed bag. Take Spice and Wolf, role-reverse it, then mash it up with Berserk, and you'd get something that looks similar to this. It's also very much a light novel adaptation, and plays out exactly like you'd expect one would, but this one has honestly been pretty enjoyable. It follows the same sort of interspliced fantasy anime action, drama, and humor that any staple of the genre would, while clipping along at a fairly decent pace with a realizable end goal in place. Our characters try their hardest to be unique while fulfilling their stamped-out tropes, with the Mercenary and Zero rightfully standing out as our two main characters.
Visually I'd say that Grimoire of Zero looks "good enough", although I sometimes find myself theorizing that someone did Zero's character design first then just drew everything else to make her look good. If I had any real complaints with art, it would be total lack of opportunity with the beastman designs. They are so incredibly vanilla when they could have been anything, and it was a missed opportunity to create beastmen that seemed truly frightening and powerful (as they are referred to in-universe) rather than the cookie-cutter designs that were put on screen. Music is incredibly generic, especially the OP, but it at least does its job well enough.
If I'm gonna be honest here, this one really feels like someone ripped out their Dungeons and Dragons campaign, wrote it into a light novel, and then somehow got lucky enough for White Fox to put it on their "we need to generate money for our next real project" list. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but the quality really isn't there. It can be a fun series, but it will definitely leave you wanting something more when it wraps up. I recommend that only heavy fantasy adventure fans to check it out.
Score: 5.5/10
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Title: Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) S2
Genre: Action, Drama
Studio: Studio WIT
Streaming: Crunchyroll
The long awaited season two finally arrives. Although nothing could ever live up to the incredible amount of hype following this series, making the second season at a mere 12 episodes to the first's 24+ couldn't have been a worse decision. AoT is not at all hurting for revenue, even this long after its heyday, and the immediate announcement of season 3 following this season's last episode makes the decision all the more confusing. This is all not even considering the massive amount of questions left unanswered by this season's short run, with an even greater amount of egregious cliffhangers than was normal for AoT's first season. But enough about what we didn't get or what we were left with; let's discuss what we got.
SPOILER ALERT: Attack on Titan is still hype as all hell. The series has always been known for its intense in-fight dramatic builds and incredibly detailed animation, and season two did not disappoint. As someone who primarily watches AoT for this, and could care less about the 'intrigue' of the story that I've spoiled for myself long ago, I'm pretty satisfied with what we got. However, these moments are overall lessened from the first season, due in part to reduced runtime but also a greater focus on revealing story. AoT continues its textbook "dangle the carrot" storytelling that people just seem to eat up, and for those of you that are very much invested in the lore and characters of AoT, you won't be disappointed by this season in the slightest as it's much more dense with plot and character scenes than it is with action. It also still does episodic cliffhangers better than average, although I can't say they even come close to the ones we got in last year's Re:Zero.
I shouldn't need to sing AoT's visual and audible prowess at this point, but for those not in-the-know, AoT is an absolutely gorgeous show. It is grittier than most and sometimes the character designs suffer from this, but in general the show looks great both at rest and in motion. In particular, the use of steam to emphasize fast motion in action sequences is an incredible way to add to the already great animation for aerial fights with titans. Music and sound is perfectly crafted and composed for the content, driving those incredibly hype moments that you're likely watching the show for in the first place to even greater highs. For all this praise though, there is one incredibly bad aesthetic issue this season has that I honestly could not remember from the first season: titan size inconsistency. Whether this be an issue with budget (no reason), directing (doubtful), or rushed art (likely), it's a damning issue in many scenes. Titans seem to grow and shrink at will, and in ways that barely make sense for the shots they're included in. The most notable example of this is Sasha's encounter with the titan inside of the house mid-season. In this scene, the titan goes from 7 ft. tall, to about 11 ft. tall, to a towering giant who's face is twice the size of Sasha's body. I'm all for making the titans seem as scary and imposing as possible, but this is just laughably bad. It unfortunately wasn't a one-time issue either, and seemed to regularly pop up in fights all throughout the season.
Overall, what we got for waiting so long was only decent. AoT still has an incredible amount of plot inconsistency and poor character development that continue to drag it down to an "only pretty O.K." when it could be so much more. These have been beaten to death by people much more eloquent than I, and I'm sure you've heard them so I won't get back into it, but those same issues with pacing and lack of meaningful interaction continue from the first season. Seeing the visuals remain so good only makes me long for the series to be far more engaging from a plot standpoint, but I know that I'll probably never get invested in it. However, I'll continue to happily watch the scouts cut down titans so long as they keep animating it in such an incredible way.
Score: 7/10
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Title: Koe no Katachi (A Silent Voice)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Studio: Kyoto Animation
Streaming: N/A (Subbed BDs available)
Damn has it been a hell of a year for anime movies. We're usually lucky to get even one that is legitimately great, but between Kimi no na Wa, Kizumonogatari, and now Koe no Katachi, there are incredible choices to pick from. I've been meaning to write something more in-depth up for Your Name for a long time now, and although I haven't had a chance to get to it, I'll spoil my thoughts a bit so that I can give you all a better idea of why Koe no Katachi was so effective. Your Name exceeds by leaps and bounds in execution; the story is by no means something overtly original or greatly introspective, but rather takes a concept that's been done before but smashes it out of the park. This isn't typical of anime, and is likely a great boon to Your Name's popularity and reception outside the general anime community. Conversely, Koe no Katachi is far more "anime" in its story and goal, creating drama through sequences of heavy characterization and emotional pangs rather than presenting large setpieces or grandiose imagery. If I were forced to make some sort of comparison, I'd say Your Name is a lot more like a beautifully large painting whereas Koe no Katachi is an intricately carved box.
Now, neither is a poor approach, but I feel that Koe no Katachi is definitely something that is going to appeal to those that seek out these shows with emotional gutpunches like AnoHana or CLANNAD moreso than other watchers. The plot starts out emotionally heavy, stays heavy, and ends by dropping an anvil on your face. Even though Your Name did elicit quite an emotional response from me (even upon multiple viewings), I don't think that the underlying message or meaning of the film really stuck with me as hard as Koe no Katachi's did. It would be fair to wrap this back into the "execution" argument but I'm not sure if this is a totally apt conclusion, as Koe no Katachi is a far more multilayered beast and therefore a tad harder to analyze. Our characters are far more "Eva-like" in that they are all damaged in some way, and we get to watch them deal with and overcome their issues as they grow. I'm not going to give a real synopsis or anything but in terms of themes, our highlights are guilt, self-loathing, and redemption.
The film also has a heavy focus on disability, and its VERY important to evaluate this through a Japanese cultural lens. I don't think its much of a stretch to assume that if you have any exposure to anything Japanese, you at least understand the pillar of grooming all people to be "productive members of society" above all else, and to a lesser extent their work culture. These lead to having a disability being considered far more "damning" in Japan than in many other countries (especially the U.S.), and the effort to provide even remotely adequate accessibility or job opportunities for the disabled is a relatively new effort. A "culture of shame" is very prevalent, with families regularly attempting to hide the disabilities of their children while sending them to dedicated schools for children with disabilities. When Nishimiya enters a public school classroom in the beginning of the film, this is meant to show just how strong both she and her family is, as they are directly challenging that "culture of shame" by allowing her to attend a public school. You could get the full experience and impact of Koe no Katachi without this information, but remaining in cultural ignorance of such a large focus of the movie doesn't feel right to me, and the movie doesn't do a great job of highlighting these differences for an international watcher since you're not the real "target audience".
The film clips along at a slow but reasonable pace for a heavy drama such as this, and I'd argue that KyoAni did an incredible job adapting the manga series into a single 2 hour and 10 minute movie. I've heard some of the usual belly-aching from manga-readers about lack of secondary character development or difference in events, but as per usual those arguments are fundamentally broken. Anime is a very different medium than manga, and your content IS and rightfull SHOULD morph to meet the needs of the medium, especially when the deliverance of such a heavily emotional message is the goal. As for characters, Nishimiya and Ishida are the focus of this FILM, and regardless of what the manga did with its secondary cast its not really a relevant case against something that is meant to stand on its own. I won't sit here and grandstand about source vs. adaptation, because if you let me I'd talk about it for days, but if you want to read the source, then read the source and evaluate it separately.
Visually, this one is predictably a knockout. Kyoto Animation has never failed to produce gorgeous art both at rest and in motion, and this film is no different. You can see that the additional time and budget given for a movie vs. a TV anime in every frame, and although it's not up to say the ridiculousness of something like Your Name, Koe no Katachi is a damn beautiful looking anime movie. If I could make any complaint, it would be that some of the secondary characters' designs really bleed in from other KyoAni work. Ueno in particular shows heavy shades of Mitsuki (Beyond the Boundry) and Reina (Hibike Euphonium) a lot of the time, almost as if animators were referencing old design sheets. In a vacuum of just this film though, that's a non-issue, so although I can't knock too much off for it on those grounds it's still something worth noting for viewers familiar with a lot of KyoAni anime. For as good as the visuals are though, I felt the music fell a little short of what it could have been. Yes, the film opening to "My Generation" was a welcome treat but our actually composed pieces do fall a little flat outside of the pieces from the climax of the film. To sum it up, I'd say that I've never once really thought of looking up much music from Koe no Katachi outside of the movie itself, compared to the now hundreds of times I must have listened to Your Name's soundtrack on its own musical merit.
Overall, Koe no Katachi comes in as a close second for best anime film I've seen this year. Comapared to something like Your Name, I don't think its as apt a choice to recommend to people that aren't into anime, it's still an incredible movie that has one hell of a message to pass down. People who are out there for drama and "feels" will be right at home, and you certainly won't be disappointed.
Score: 9/10