Kuroko no Basket (Review)

KUROKO NO BASKET / THE BASKETBALL WHICH KUROKO PLAYS (2012)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sports, Shounen

Kuroko no Basket follows the journey of Seirin's players as they attempt to become the best Japanese high school team by winning the Interhigh Championship. To reach their goal, they have to cross pathways with several powerful teams, some of which have one of the five players with godlike abilities, whom Kuroko and Taiga make a pact to defeat.


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we might not have the same thoughts plus its a mess


First thing I love about KNB: The pace--flashbacks are not excessive. Usually sports anime really spend a lot of time on flashbacks during game. KNB rlly showed that they focused mainly on games, but its kinda another lacking point for the whole setting. They were highschool, but they only had a little scenes on the anime about their lives as a student. It's either it doesnt appeal as an important key element for the story--but I honestly want to see a bit more on their lives outside the court.


Characters. I love Kuroko. I love how the author created him. I love the mysteries at first. What made him leave Teiko really intrigued me. I love how he might be one of the smallest on the team, yet he can stand up for the team, like what the tall players can do. I love whenever he cheers up Kagami. I love how he doesnt give up, and always have a plan to strike back. He's not a character who's only full of words. He's wiser. I love how he's so collected and calm, yet he can get mad.

However, as much as I love the characters--there was a bit unsettling feeling on me. I felt like the author didnt had a time to polish all of the characters--I was asking for atleast all the members of Seirin.

Out of all the Five Generation of Miracles, (lets put aside kuroko for the mean time) I love Kise the most. He won my heart on season one. I just felt bad that all through out the series, he lost. My poor baby. I started to love Aomine and Kiyoshi more on season three. Aomine watching the games will always be my favorite thing.


The arc dedicated to Kuroko just brought so many emotions on me. My point of view on him really changed after that. I understand Momoi too, like for a moment I wanted the six of them to just stay there --welp, not until rough days came. KNB could really get dramatic, the plot can suddenly take a deep dive for the characters. If you're only looking for basketball, dont watch this because the drama and the basketball comes in a pack on KNB.


As for the ending, I sincerely apologize if I offend someone but even though Seirin won I felt like I was lost. It felt like the author made the important characters to reach their limit--making another arc rlly impossible anymore. There wont be any thrill since it's like we've seen everything. It made me sad. Look, I was rlly happy that Seirin won but at the same time--thoughts came on me, that their journey was actually, short--what could have been if the story took on atleast on their second year and make a different approach from there.

But then, I enjoyed this. I was just a bit emotional that the series ended like that.


Rate: 10/10

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Review)

 DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA (2019)

Genre: Action, Dark fantasy, Supernatural, Shounen, Tragedy

Tanjiro Kamado is a kindhearted and intelligent boy who lives with his family, making money by selling charcoal. Everything changes when his family is attacked and slaughtered by demons (oni). Tanjiro and his sister Nezuko are the sole survivors of the incident. Nezuko has now become a demon, but still surprisingly shows signs of human emotion and thought. Tanjiro becomes a demon slayer to help his sister turn human again and to prevent the same tragedy that happened to him and his sister, from happening to others.

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warning: loooong crap, messy, spoilers with feels, at puyat yung nag-type

AFTER FIVE FREAKING MONTHS!!!!
When the first trailer came out last 2018--what caught my attention was, Ufotable studio will animate this--and its actually their comeback project after two years, so I was really excited. I know Ufotable since I've watched their Garden of Sinners series (try that one too haha) so I know they wont fail me.

The true gem of KNY for me--Gotouge sensei showed how important a familial bond is, even in the demons. Demons backstories arent fillers, they serve as an important detail--and they're always as heartbreaking as the backstories of the main characs.  (If Rui made you cry, wait for my Akaza and Daiki)Thanks to Gotouge sensei, for making such an amazing story.

I picked up the manga right after four episodes, so malaking pang-gulat sa akin yung episode one, the Kamado fam only had a brief introduction then they were killed. I almost forgot KNY had a tragedy tag haha. I seriously enjoy the manga. I love it--Manga will always be superior, (Rough example Black Clover--I'd choose the manga over the adaptation--forgive me haha) but in KNY adaptation, you can have both. It's all thanks to Ufotable, they followed every detail in the manga, every action scenes are so beautiful that they left a big impression and even added some panels for the greater good. Example, the part where Zenitsu stepped on the spider's web (refer to episode 17) that wasn't in the manga, yet they added it to highlighted more the action scenes. Even the scene of Giyuu standing in the ocean in a landscape view (refer to episode 20)--in the manga it was just his side view and only his upper body was seen, that's what I meant when Ufotable made it a thousand times better. (and welp, they added some minor fillers on the last five episodes and changed the pace a bit more cause there wasnt enough content to cover in Recovery Training arc, and I'm not complaining cause I saw Giyuu at the last ep haha) Ufotable rlly went all out for the adaptation, I'm rlly thankful for that.

Characters. Tanjiro stood out as the kindest character I've seen this year, yeah we might argue about that but I said "I" so It always left me speechless whenever I remember that one time he didnt stepped on any writings of Kogai (episode 13) while they were fighting. Like in any normal circumstances, u wouldnt care on the belongings of the one you're fighting with. But Tanjiro isnt like that. And remember whenever he kills a demon  he still prays for them. I also love how Nezuko isn't just a "fanservice type" of character--my favorite thing is she's not there to be protected, but she's there to protect. Zenitsu had a rough start, some hated him for being loud and they fell on him when he slept haha. Zen, is actually the realest character, he's the most logical one, him getting scared over a spider human--is reasonable, I'd get scared too. Inosuke on the other hand, had the easiest start, everyone accepted him as soon as he took of his boar mask haha--and I rlly like Ino if he saw someone that might be greater than him, he acknowledges them and tries to be on the same level with them. And I love all the Hashiras, but I love Giyuu the most and Shinobu is my best girl, period.

I hope you enjoyed this adaptation as much as I did. I'm really happy that we were able to witness how great Kimetsu no Yaiba's anime adaptation. Thanks to Ufotable that they made it this long, we were able to see a bunch of amazing things--Tanjiro's Hinokami Kagura, Zenitsu's sixfold, Inosuke's--he's always awesome, Giyuu's eleventh form, Shinobu's frolic form, Nezuko's blood demon art. We almost saw the whole cast, Kanao, Genya, Muzan, the lower demons--only the upper demons left. Soundtrack are osum too. I also loooove the voice actors, this wont be possible without them. This is the kind of adaptation that even though I've read the manga, I'm still looking forward on the scenes. Ufotable made us all excited every week.

Lets all support them on the Demon Train Arc film, and cry an ocean and don't forget, read the manga too.

Rate: 10/10

Inuyashiki (Review)

 INUYASHIKI: THE LAST HERO (2017)
Genre: Body-horror, Psychological, Sci-fi

Ichirou Inuyashiki is a 58-year-old family man who is going through a difficult time in his life.  However, his life takes a turn for the worse when a follow-up physical examination reveals that Ichirou has stomach cancer and only three months to live; though he tries to be strong, his family's disinterest causes an emotional breakdown. Running off into a nearby field, suddenly, a bright light appears and Ichirou is enveloped by smoke and dust. When he comes to, he discovers something is amiss—he has been reborn as a mechanized weapon wearing the skin of his former self.

However, the origins of these strange powers remain unclear. Who was the mysterious figure at the site of the explosion, and are they as kind as Ichirou when it comes to using this dangerous gift?

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Rated-17. Not good for kids. Violence and profanities can be seen here. Boody? Yes! Killings. Gore? Not really. Since sci-fi and more on machines.

Inuyashiki and Hiro are the same but also different, they both became a machine after that night but they're different in terms of using their new acquired powers. 

When Inuyashiki said "I feel more human when I save people and you feel more human when you kill them," that's the turning point of the story. 

There are bad decisions that a character do but u can't help getting excited on what's next--that's how I felt on Hiro. He's clearly bad at first, but when he decided to stop, that's when his story starts. This really gave me chills and the thrill is always there.

Inuyashiki really walk on its genre. Thank you to MAPPA for making such an awesome animation. As for the ending, its sad but when you start such a conflict twisted story, there's no other ending for it--it's either you twist it more, or just break it. 

Rate: 10/10

Un-Go (Review)

UN-GO / ANGO (2011)
Genre: Mystery, Supernatural, Occult Fiction

Un-Go is set in a war-torn Tokyo, in a near-future Japan. In response to Japan sending their military abroad as peacekeeping forces, terrorists launched multiple attacks on Japan, killing many people and destroying much of its cityscapes. Some time after the war receded to a period of uneasy peace, the Japanese Parliament passed the "Information Privacy and Protection Act", which gives the Japanese government control over the Internet. Detective Shinjuurou Yuuki and his strange partner Inga make a living in solving crimes and exposing human souls, all influenced in some way by the dystopian backdrop.

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This reminds me of Death Note. How we got two main characters--Kaishou and Shinjurou and how they kinda had the same rivalry as L and Light.

Anyway, contains spoilers.

"Is there really just one truth?"

When Kaishou said that line, it sumps up everything about this show.

There are always two sides of the stories, the false and the truth. Shinjirou solves the case to reveal all the dirty lies, while Kaishou solve the case to hide the truths. Its so exhausting, yes, but it got better along the way--and I love how it ended. It is decently animated--well, its Bones Studio. The soundtrack isn’t anything special actually they only used one outro song but its suprisingly good and it goes well whenever the tension arises. The cases were pretty average (to me) they are good enough to catch my atention. But Un-go suffered, because it was made to have only 11 episodes. (A movie came out, only to explain how Inga and Shinjorou met) The short length adaptation ended up making the show feel very rushed.

It's not that great if you compare it with other detective shows, but its not that bad either. (huhu i hope u get my point huhu) Un-go still stands on what they're trying to show--its a compelling story of a detective who seeks the truths, even tho he's surrounded by deception and lies.

Rate: 8/10

Given by Kizu Natsuki (Review)

Hi! So, uhm, yeah, Given by Kizu Natsuki had an amazing anime adaptation by Lerche Studio, and it's been a week since the last episode aired. The reason why I shamelessy created this--my love for Given was too much that I had to let it all out, here. Forgive me cause this is still a mess even tho, I've edited  this countless times, I'm pretty (lol) sure there might be gramatically errors and typo errors (as well) that you'll encounter. And I'm not really that good in writing, you can see me doing hundreds of words and I'd still call it a crap ha-ha.

Anyway here: 

SYNOPSIS

"It's stuck deep inside me and I can't get it out of my head. Mafuyu's voice is an insane and dangerous weapon."

That day, Ritsuka Uenoyama started to feel that playing the guitar and playing basketball, both of which he liked very much, were becoming boring. He then encounters Mafuyu Sato, who's holding onto a broken guitar, and decides to fix it. The moment Uenoyama finishes fixing the guitar, Mafuyu becomes completely attached to him. However, after hearing Mafuyu sing it leaves a deep impression on him. (Credits to MAL)


Given is roughly divided into two major story arcs. The first arc, which focuses primarily on the relationship between Mafuyu and Ritsuka, follows the formation of the band and the lead-up to their first live performance. The second arc, which focuses primarily on the relationship between Akihiko and Haruki, follows the band as they prepare for their first music festival.





Let's start with some lines that I rlly love, and they caught my attention: 

          

Given was a suggestion from my friend, it took me months before I picked it up from my pile of mangas to read. 

I remember the first time I've read Given (cause uhm ive been reading it countless times now that it felt like i kinda remember ever chapter haha) As soon as I've read the first pages of Given, I felt how I was digging on something that might be too deep--so yeah, I was right.

Mafuyu and Ritsuka's first encounter didnt amaze me at all. What intrigued me was how Ritsuka pointed out that Mafuyu's guitar was a Gibson, yet it turns out he doesnt know how to play it. That really speaks a lot to me, (altho I own a guitar and I dont know how to play it, mine isnt as pricey as Gibson haha) my theory, it was someone else's guitar I just couldnt point it out that time whether it was a family relative to Mafuyu or not. 

When Mafuyu declined Ritsuka's offer to join the band, thats when I thought it out. Maybe Mafuyu is holding on something he couldnt easily let go. Why would he embrace a thing that he doesnt know how to play? Why even though he wants to learn, yet he doesnt feel like joining the band? 

Given was painfully beautiful.  The plot was there, and I love how it slowly made all the characters in one place. I love how the characters were flawed, and they all desperately holding on to music. I love how music stands as a key element for the story. How Ritsuka was trying to find how to enjoy music a little like how he used to be, when Mafuyu came he brought Ritsuka's passion to music again, and maybe even more lively than before. How Haruki made music as his bridge to Akihiko. How Akihiko depends on music. And how music changed Mafuyu. (those are my interpretation lol)

Haruki was the easiest character to lean on. He's brimming with so much kindness and warmth. One thing I can't forget was how calm  and collected he was when Ritsuka broke  Mafuyu's string. Plus he is really the mother of the band, how he cared  so much on them. But as much as I wanna dig more on his character, I have to let it go for now and go all out on the movie. 

 

Akihiko on the other hand, he's the most perceptive character--he was the first one who found out about Ritsuka's feelings, he kinda knew that Mafuyu is holding on something in the past. I'm really thankful that he was there when Mafuyu and Ritsuka was slowly accepting their feelings.  Having a guy like Akihiko to explain things both on Mafuyu and Ritsuka was really a blessing to me, it was one of the best decision that Natsuki sensei did. 

Mafuyu was really like an infant to me (at first haha). It was hard for him to open up, so I had no clue at all on what's going on his mind well atleast I know if Mafuyu feels jealous or if he's being sincerely happy. 

He had a hard time expressing his feelings. After Yuki died, and considering what was his last words to him, if I was Mafuyu I'd get terrified too. He can't just simply laugh and cries like others, he felt like he doesn't have the right. It broke me when he said he can't forgive Yuki and himself, yet he wants to. 


Given felt more like watching Mafuyu break down the walls he build for himself. 

 

As for Ritsuka, I love him the most. He will always be my fave character in the series--how he loves Mafuyu with all his heart. He accepted him, with baggages and flaws. He never force Mafuyu to speak more about Yuki, he was just there patiently waiting for him. I also love the fact that when Mafuyu confessed on him, he kinda take the responsibility and they started going out. How Ritsuka loves Mafuyu, speaks so much freedom. 

Yuki was that kind of love we had, but was never really for us. If you still think that Mafuyu doesnt love Ritsuka more than Yuki, kindly refer to episode nine, last lines of his song. It felt like that'll be the last time that Mafuyu will say he misses Yuki, cause--he's not lonely anymore. As he said, he found a new love. And he wants to write another song, means he knows his life will move forward and now together with Ritsuka. 

                                                   

                                                                               As I try to move forward again
                                                   Even though I couldn't say goodbye
                                                      You'll always be here with me

                              

Mafuyu decided to move on. Yes, I'm not saying he'll forget Yuki, but on my part, from that moment I knew Mafuyu is ready to love someone more than how he loved Yuki before. I dont want the Yuki stans to hate me, but If I dont pointed this out, dont you think it'll be unfair to Yuki and Ritsuka if Mafuyu loves them both, in the same level? 

I have learned to love Given while I was reading the manga, and fell more with the adaptation.  
I love how Lerche studio put so much effort on the adaptation they did justice on Natsuki's sensei art-style it was aesthetically beautiful. 

 

      edits by Christine Joy Salorico Acop (I got her approval hehe)





I'm really thankful for Centimillimetal for writing the Fuyu no Hanashi. It was rlly awesome. Actually all of the songs in Given are quite eargasm. I remember I shared a clip of their first instrumental song (Episode 1) on some of my friends, and they all said, its catchy haha. You'll really get hooked on the first chords they played. 


And as a seiyuu stan, I love all the voice actors since day one--but I have to give credits on Yano Shougo--he rlly touched the whole fandom's hearts on how he sang Fuyu no Hanashi. I've felt every inch of frustration and pain of Mafuyu. This is why we need anime adaptation. 

Given is something you can't watch without risking your emotions on the line. It brought so much emotions in me. Their passion, Mafuyu's pain, Haruki's one sided love, and I kinda see myself in Ritsuka when you really just like someone so much. As for Akihiko, and Ugetsu--the only thing I can say is--Ugetsu is a real beauty haha. It'll be unfair if I speak more about him, when the anime didnt cover much about him. Let's all wait for the movie. 

It was fun watching Given, if you're still hesitant to watch just because two guys are in love with each other that's your lost anyway haha. I'm not really good at telling people to watch the same animes that I watched, but one thing is for sure Given touched me straight through my heart. I love this.




Once again, thank you Natsuki sensei for creating such a good story. For Lerche studio, for providing us the adaptation.
Let's all suppor them once again, next year for the movie!!!! 💓