thoughts from tsujirii

Note: This is the review that started it all! It was partially deleted by MAL mods (apparently people reported it? Guess they had nothing better to do with their lives and didn't read my profile disclaimer about age differences). I was honestly infuriated when I got the notice of deletion. It's terribly ironic that as a non-American living in the U.S., known for 'freedom of speech', I've never been silenced so much in my life.  This is probably the 6 - 8th time one of my posts was removed on Reddit, MAL or some other U.S. user-dominant website. It was incredibly hurtful and hostile to know that my own voice was being erased. And, more than that, that the people behind silencing me were undoubtedly racist or xenophobic - those who have no desire or care to learn more about nations and cultures other than their own. Despite being silenced, I know what I said was true and still want my voice to be heard.  I can only wait for the day I'm finally able to return back...

TLDR version: This film was less 'love story in Kyoto' and more 'mediocre sci-fi fanfic'. Everything is half-hearted in this show. Long version: I was so excited going into this film. Seeing the Kibuneguchi (貴船口駅) sign set me off, and I knew it had the makings of a beautiful, heartfelt anime... good looking characters, a colorful craft / souvenier shop set in the heart of Gion... what's not to like? It's got the recipe for the perfect love story in Kyoto, and (almost) everybody loves Kyoto. Except that this film wasn't so much about 'love story in Kyoto/Japan' as it was 'mediocre sci-fi fanfic.' Things they should've improved on to make it a 10/10 in my completely biased and uneducated opinion: - Storytelling Ohmygod. This movie could have been almost completely salvaged if it wasn't for the poor storytelling. There is very little information given throughout the movie, so it's hard to follow the story. You're forced to piece ...

I don't review animes I didn't enjoy - not as often as I used to anyway. But I felt like I had to speak up about this one - it's confusing from start to finish. The first episode had a lot of potential: historic setting, fairy fantasies, and a dash of military power and action. There's clearly a backstory between the protagonist and her long-lost childhood best friend suddenly appearing as an enemy. It had all the makings of a wonderful, intruiging story.  And then it kinda goes downhill by the 4th episode. There's too many plotholes to list (LOL) so I'm just going to type a few points why it the series fell short: - The art is beautiful, but the world building and timeline is communicated very poorly. There's a lot of "U.E. 1940, 1945" etc. when the screen could have simply said "5 years later" "1 year later." Seriously. I don't think they even cover what the U.E. stands for?  - By the way, there's no map of anything. T...

If you grew up or spent a lot of time in East Asia, and then had to move to a foreign country (in a different region)... this is the anime for you! In a land of heroes and fantasy magic, I think food is often overlooked, if not placed on the lowest priority for many people. However, in the case of Mukouda, food *is* his only skill, and he makes it work really well! What sets this apart from other food-based animes is that: - There's an actual storyline It's not just 'one diner, one episode' or 'one meal per visit to an isekai restaurant' *cough*. There's travels, battles, and powers learned along with the "local culture." - Character depth Flat characters are common in this genre, and they don't have much of a role beyond delivering the food or helping out another secondary character... this series focuses on its two - later three - mains, and we learn a lot about Mukouda's likes, dislikes, preferences and consideration towards others. Each...

It's hard to watch a love story unfold when you're rooting for the underdog in a love triangle.  I was drawn in because I love vampires, fantasy, and handsome anime boys - and this ticked all the boxes for me. It's an EXCELLENT series that scores well in thoughtful writing, music, character development and more... it felt like I was watching an anime movie with cinematic frame cuts and zooms, perfect editing and metaphors in every single episode. I wouldn't describe it as anything other than a visual and literary masterpiece, as it evokes the kind of complex emotions one rarely feels from series today.  However. Due to the complex (back)story of the vampire history, it also felt like the series was cramming too much content into 12 episodes. The main arc (the vampire kingdom's rise to success) ended by episode 7, and every episode after that introduced a new plot point that deserved another arc of its own. There was too much going on with too little time. And yet, t...

Man, I almost dropped this show. I was disappointed to say in the least, because I'm a jewelry artist with my own small business. I was over the moon during the initial episodes, where each episode revealed a different 'case' or customer story and their connection with gemstones/jewelry. The insight and knowledge on gemstones was pretty spot-on. But after Episode 5... the series focuses heavily on the relationship between Seigi and Richard. Which, despite my reservations, proved to be increasingly romantic... there's even a marriage proposal. There's nothing wrong with that, I just wish there had been a 'Boys' Love' tag for this title, because it's not my cup of tea. Even 'Romance,' would've sufficed to give more clues to the viewers of what they're getting into.  There was less and less screen time about rocks and gems, and more screen time on how much affection the two men have for each other. It was also very confusing, as the anim...