Nonomemes Reviews

Black Lagoon (2006)

Interesting

[8/10 · 21 December 2023]

We start with Rock who is a white collar from Tokyo, eventually he ends up being taken as a hostage by the smuggling company "Lagoon", meeting with Revy (the co-protagonist).

Althogh Rebecca (Revy) is advertised as main protagonist (Shonen?), don't be fooled, the real protagonist is Rock and especially the twisting of his mind / character by the passing of the months and months spent in roanapur with the Lagoon team.

He probably get negatively affected by Revy, an maybe fragile due to the stress situation he was suffering back working in Tokio.

The character are very well assorted, however, please keep in mind this series is not suitable for minors.

But the more you get into the series the more the fighting scenes start to look like US 80's action movie scene (not realistic), this is in my opinion the biggest issue, and keep in mind here I consider only the series and not the OAV (which is even worse on this respect).

Finally, I can't forget Shenhua, she is awesome, ok maybe not fully realistic, maybe also some kind of fan service, but in the EN dub versions when she speaks... she drive nuts, especially when arguing with Revy...

Chrono Crusade (2003–2004)

Strange, in its own way

[7/10 · 15 November 2023]

Putting aside the useless controversy of chrno vs chrono (interesting only for who didn't whatch the series).

We follow the steps of Rosette and Chrono, pursuing deamons in the sake of Magdalene order during USA roaring 20s.

Are there freightening scenes? I think here the question is misplaced: the whole sense of the series "is" basically "freightening" the watcher with sudden situation, sometime violent simetimes not, although gore level is not high.

The violence appear more in a subdle form, e.g. When Joshua is introduced, he receive a visit from giant deamon clan, after a few seconds you will feel pity for them, the scene is designed just to shock the spectator, but in its own way.

In general pretty engaging, so what I didn't like? The story is too fast in my opinion, in other series you could make 2-3 times more episodes out of it. Another minus is the Elder Hamilton, he is perv and he hit especially here as the series have in general a totally different tone: dramatic-soft-romantic.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009–2010)

Engaging

[9/10 · 17 October 2023]

We follow the steps of Edward and Alphonse Elric, two alchemists seeking for a way how to recover their bodies lost in a terrible ritual of years ago when they were still children.

Week by week, a piece of the puzzle is inserted and become clear to them that an even worst situation is upcoming, a terrific scale event which can change the fate of the world... Compelling, never boring, I would say really good but some details: The characters are nice but pretty basic, I would say more for children, this collides with level of violence/gore which is high and clearly not for children.

Especially Greed / Lin Yao, if you review carefully from beginning to the end, looks more like a character out of a children anime rather than a knifes battle one.

KonoSuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World! (2023)

As expected

[8/10 · 7 September 2023]

Spin-off the most famous konosuba, this time we follow the steps of a young Megumin trying to grow and to integrate with her peers with mixed to no results.

The character is clearly the best of Konosuba so can imagine why they decided to make her story.

Compared to the main series we have here more or less removed fan service so a major plus.

From my perspective, the main limitation is that it is more like a "prequel" directly connected to the main, so although you don't know the various scenes in advancve, the closer you get to the end the more you have the feeling to know already what will happen. I watched it after main series and legend of Crimson, if you want to enjoy I suggest you to watch 1-This prequel 2-Main series and 3-Legend of crimson (which is a great conclusion).

Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! (2016–2024)

Please spare us ep. 11

[7/10 · 18 August 2023]

Certently refreshing and well executed from technical point of view, the story of of the young NEET Kasuma who is reincarnated in another world as an adventurer in a supposed to be fantasy MMORPG world.

Isekai? Theoretically, but forget it, barely seen.

Fantasy? RPG? Theoretically yes but also this are not really the focus.

To be precise, the goal are the behaviour and relations between the characters, the party is very well assorted and also supporting one are good.

The big issue here is clarly the fan service (broad, although of light nature, and plz skip ep 11) and the fact that main guilty is the protagonist: For example if I compare it with similar series (The hidden doungeon which I only can enter, Dan Machi etc...) the fan sevice always come from other sources and not from main character.

If you have time you can watch the OAV (crimson) which is (one of a kind) better than the series on this respect so better overall.

Last comment: Megumin remainds me the similar Scherkie of a fantasy but totally different series: Berserk. Both are best characters of the respective series but you always have the famous age issue ( min. 3 years difference ).

B Gata H Kei: Yamada's First Time (2010)

Can't be helped

[7/10 · 10 August 2023]

Yamada is a high school student who we will have to accompany in her immature try of discovering "the other sex".

The term "try" is actually on the positive side of the series, as not much is revelead, however in my opinion the series remains not ok for minors, especially for girls, as Yamada and Kanejo could lead to emulation.

It is clearly fun, it looks kind of shojo version of more famous Hajimete no gal: in comparison B. H. have more tenuos the caterpillar part (although still present and ruining the otherwise awesome intro theme) but in contrast it looks less realistic in some situation (fan service I guess).

I also would have appreciated a slower peace, they could have made at least 24 episodes instead of the just 12.

Haganai: I Don't Have Many Friends (2011–2013)

Haganai + Next

[6/10 · 22 June 2023]

The story of a transfer student Kodaka struggling to make friends, originally due to his mixed blonde-brown hair, eventually cross Yozora who also have issues in making friends, they found the "neighbors club" aiming to get some.

Some charters are interesting, but there are also many issues in this series so overall I would say we are barely reaching the bar.

And the cover (theme) does not help, it looks like harem + fan service With regards to harem it is not so pronounced, pretty realistic till half of the 2nd season (not like in theme, don't worry). With regards to fan service instead, yes there is fan service mainly caused by Rika who is clearly the worst character. Especially low the episodes where she says "I do not need glasses, I was wearing just for fashion..."... and also the last episode of second season is very bad.

The fist season and especially the ending of it instead is much better, where driver is Yozora (best character).

I would say 1st season is more soft, teenager series while 2nd series goes slowly towards otaku fan service, just barely saved by Aoi and Hinata who are pretty good characters.

Hinamatsuri (2018)

Wonderful

[10/10 · 5 June 2023]

The proper origin of the 3 graces is unknown to humans in the anime series, they fall more or less from the sky and what is known is just that they are linked by some kind of "organization". The sci-fi part is really irrelevant in this series, the story is more a slice-of-life one, each of them struggle to integrate in a different way, they slowly adapt and retain somehow it's own peculiarity.

There are many hidden stuff but I don't want to spoiler too much, especially related to the Japanese culture and lifestyle, for example think that "Hina" is the one who ends right with a Yakuza guy (Nitta).

Speaking of "normal humans", Hitomi is incarnation of perfection, I can not remind in other series a character who is as much developed as well as flawless, exemplary (E.g. I remember Takagi-san but she is not fully "realistic").

Takes also top of my list of best scenes ever: "Congrats on becoming new lieutenant".

As of today I am still undecided if to read the Manga or not, something tells me that I can hardly make it better than it is. Only the future will tell.

Asobi Asobase: Workshop of Fun (2018)

Extreme fun

[9/10 · 14 May 2023]

The three protagonists of a girls only school end up forming the new "game club".

The 3 are really well sorted, most of the scenes happen inside of school, however the series is more oriented towards slice of life type, as the matter of discussions is almost any kind (for a normal teenager of such a school).

Laughing guarantee, Hanako is awesome.

What I disliked and why I can't give top score are mainly: 1. Maeda: a bit creepy and out of context, even considering a for-fun character, 2: If you watch the Sub. Version I think the dialogues are very fast.

In my opinion they also have a lot of potential improvement in terms of future content as many topics are just scratched in surface.

The Devil Is a Part-Timer! (2013–2023)

Lustig

[9/10 · 28 March 2023]

Maou Sadao (King Satan) teleport himself to an unknown location (earth) in a desperate attempt to temporary escape from raging war in Ente Isla, together with one of his generals Ashiya.

They will learn porting to Earth comes also with some kind of transformation which makes them more similar to humans, so noone is alerted in Japan unless they do something strange.

Eventually they will learn they are not the only creatures teleported from Ente Isla, and more characters will travel back and forth with the story.

Main antagonist of Maou is Emilia Justina, who is often contested between killing Satan or let him living as human on earth: This doubt is the main driver of the story, toghether with the reason why Ente Islan are so similar to humans and how the characters are phisically and mentally chnaged in the process.

The series is very nice, never annoying and almost all characters are great, especially Emi (Emilia).

Unfortunately I can't give top score and this is mainly due to Sariel: It's not just that he is the pro fan service character but also I don't understand why they have to use him as first archangel encountered in the series, like they want to send some messages, really disapproving.

My Dress-Up Darling (2022)

Interesting, but really on the edge

[6/10 · 27 February 2023]

I would position it more on "slice of life" rather than rom-com, as if you watch carefully the details are more about real life situation and the feelings seems to come "on top".

Wakana is a guy who lived more or less his whole life inside the house of his grandpa so he developed interest in hina dolls only (granpa business) and have basically no friends. On the other side, the gyaru (western) Marin: she is addicted to cosplay but she is not good at it, eventually she will find out that Wakana not only makes hina dolls but with little to no practice he is also able to sew real dresses.

Marin is nice, she reminds me Hayase Nagatoro, especially the face expressions, the big difference with Nagatoro's series (although Nagatoro's is a rom-com) is also the biggest issue of this one: the fan service.

I would say here we are ecchi+, really at the edge and especially in a couple of episodes, I can't say certificate 19 is wrong. For other series I criticized the low certificate, especially in Europe and US, in this one really a lot is revealed, additionally, the fan service with Shinju is a big -No-, I can't give more than 6.

What is really nice is the ending theme, it reminds me old 70s US series and it is kind of chill-out of this "pushing stuff".

My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (2013–2023)

Yahallo

[8/10 · 6 February 2023]

Hachiman is forbicely introduced to the service club, as his caracter is totally unsocial and his teacher think there are much room for improvement.

The club is very small and initially composed by just him and super brilliant model student Yukino, shortly enlarged to 3 including the cheerful Yui.

The idea of the guy stubbornly against socialization is pretty good, and with the episodes the audience will learn he is not the only club member in the needs of help....

So the start is good, but in the middle, especially in the second season, it is repetitive, the challenges are diverse but reaction of the characters always the same and predictable. Only at the end it come back more interesting as the guy stand up trying to be man.

Yumiko, Hina and Saki are the best characters, as usual for my drivers as they are the most realistic one, they looks like real persons, especially Yumiko who is has typical behavior of many girls in her age.

One of my all time favorite scene is when Yui tells him she will run for the student council presidency and the reason why: I know it is pretty standard scene for a rom-com, what can I do....

Mayo chiki! (2011)

Especially disappointing at the end

[5/10 · 3 January 2023]

Romance , fan service and harem are all part of the series. Nothing that really break the screen but Suzutsuki is able to keep the story at a minimum level of interest, all the other characters are just ok.

The funny thing is that in the series she keep creating tricks to entertain herself, but watching it from outside she would recognize she is in fact the main entertainer of this show.

Subaru is super passive, so predictable, Usami looks like a doll (one of those small ones some people keep on the shelf), Kureha and Nakuru are Ok.

However, I do not understand the reason for ep.13? It makes the feeling that you can waste the story and important is just the fan service.

Hunter x Hunter (2011–2014)

12 episodes

[6/10 · 3 January 2023]

The creativity effort put in this series for characters and scenarios is huge, we cannot say we lack of content. However it is extremely linear, it looks like some kind of 80's videogame storywise, and 90's videogame in pictures (see e.g. Gon hairstyle? And what about Kurapika design...). You have to pass some test, ok, then? Another test, then? Another checkpoint. Ok then? Another step, another test........ Even the progress of the test itself, is often predictable, and the good guy win.... the bad guy loose etc. Etc. Etc... On one hand you have violence level of modern series, on the other you have a story which is good for young children, I fell asleep.

How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord (2018–2021)

Yet another intercourse

[6/10 · 3 January 2023]

A good fantasy story mixed with harem and fan service. To be precise the service is usually condensed at beginning or end of the episode, and seems to be related to the player stats. Yes because the story basically tells of a super high level player who is teleported inside of the game character he usually play, you can imagine that in the game world he then stand out a bit, then you see also the harem part.

The characters are good and especially the final fight (vs Europa) deserve to be watched, it is one of a kind.

The graphics are also good, and this is not really common in for an unfortunately mix-ecchi series.

Attack on Titan (2013–2023)

The chronicles of Eren Yeager

[9/10 · 22 December 2022]

A gigantic effort indeed, from both content and implementation point of view, however not completely clean from errors so can not reach the top score.

To be precise would say that 1st and 4th seasons value 8, while 2nd and 3rd are much better and I would say 10.

In the first season Eren pursue his revenge, he is pretty monothematic (this I don't like), moreover the situation is kind out of the blue and feels not so realistic, however the animation, design from technical point of view is excellent as well as first opening theme.

In the 2nd and 3rd season the characters are more grown up and they start driving a bit the story (instead of being just shaken by it), these 2 seasons are really good.

In the 4th season the story start to twist too much, moreover one of key characters who is introduced here is totally fake (Gabi) and example of the too much trying of overexpressing characters.

New Game! (2016–2017)

10 episodes

[6/10 · 22 November 2022]

The fresh graduated Aoba starts her career with a first employment in game software house.

The characters are not bad, but also never break the screen. They also look very alike, which makes the overall show super flat, I have to admit, this time the total absence of a male character worsens this situation.

They try to introduce Umiko as "the tough one", unfortunately you will see episodes by episodes she will slowly disclose her hidden soft side.

At start it can be entertaining, especially if you are staring your first job, but the flatness will make it borking sooner or later.

Will not hurt anyway if you watch it.

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku (2018–2021)

A lot of meat on the grill but not much conclusio

[8/10 · 13 November 2022]

Technically speaking, very nice rom-com (seinen) where Narumi try to escape what she think is her otaku complex. In reality we will learn that she is more "normie" than some of her closest office friends / colleagues. Her boyfriend Hirotaka also go through a process of normiezation, however the trick here is that this is more an internal process and not really publicly evident.

I wrote "technically speaking" because they put really many topics on the table every episode, with most of them not coming to a real conclusion, they often argue, but when it comes to decision point you have the feeling that the show is kind of "cut".

I understand that adult relations are more difficult then teenagers one, but this is an anime and not a novel, we do not have time here to create our own image of the character if they keep speaking, and never going out of their shell.

My Sweet Tyrant (2018)

Too short

[5/10 · 27 October 2022]

A theoretical rom-com where the teen Nontan try to deal with her immature boyfriend Akkun.

The characters are not bad, best is Chiho who looks pretty like real person, especially in the second half of the series where more details are available.

Yes theoretically, because guys, this is extremely, extremely, extremely short, and it is not just that the episodes are 3min only: you have to subtract a 52sec opening theme each episode which shrink to 2min the real stuff, and then also what is inside these 2min? Similar supershort series have only 1situation in 1episode, here you get many situations squeezed in the same 2min only frame. I am not even able to understand what I am watching when the episode end.

What remains to me is mainly Nontan's wall slam Vs Akkun, one of the best scenes ever.

TONIKAWA: Over the Moon for You (2020–2023)

A part of

[8/10 · 21 October 2022]

The very smart guy Nasa is apparently an unlucky one, but in reality in a night he see a girl and he starts walking in the middle of the street starting at her, which makes him perfect target for an accident with a truck passing by, he will be saved by the same very person who was starting at.

Here stats his story of unfortunate events which oddly mix with lucky ones or where he manage to find a smart way out.

The season is full of good messages, I cannot criticize any, maybe near the end it starts to be a bit more lewd then I expected, but nothing really serious is shown.

Charlotte is awesome as a character, unfortunately she is also the most hit by the other cons of the series: the image quality are pretty mediocre.

The other thing I did not like is that it leave you the feeling that something is missing, like a slice of live series where many scenes have been cut and focus have been put just on some of them (e.g. Kisses). I would have appreciated more scenes, more daily life outside home (co-workers, etc..)

Made in Abyss (2017– )

Descent into the unknown

[8/10 · 16 October 2022]

Riko is an orphan living in the city edging the famous so called "Abyss", the limit of mankind knowledge where sience, mith, belief mix so that they can not be distinguished anymore. She is natuarally grown as an junior "cave-raider", moreover, her mother was a very famous adventurer who went missing in the depths, she thinks her mother can be still alive and whish to reunite.

But the abyss is also an extreme dangerous place for humans, and this is the force pushing back, balanced by the strong will of Riko to reach the depths.

In order to follow the entire story you have to watch the Season 1, then the "Dawn of the Deep Soul" and then Season 2.

It is a big adventure, in every sense, the characters are average but this is not a problem as the main player here is really the Abyss itself, the source of troubles, fear, love, discord, pain and glory. Strenghts are the graphic part and the fact that it is varied.

What I didn't like is the ambiguity, how the series looks like from the outside (or sold?): it is a really thought one, violence level is huge but posters shows just 12 years old characters, fluffy bunnies, etc.. so I wouldn't wonder if many children come to watch it by mistake. And it is not just the violence, also some messages are not appropriate for young, when not debatable (especially between the 5th and 6th layer), this time I have to agree with Seoul's certificate of 19 (uncut), definitively not for children.

Near the end of season 2 it starts to twist a lot, lose linearity, I would have appreciated a different conclusion, or that we have some episodes more.

Hinako Note (2017)

Wrong market

[6/10 · 27 September 2022]

Hinako, the girl from the countryside who transfer to the city aiming to become a theater actress.

The story begins well and proceed as expected, good characters are introduced with the episodes and the life flow peacefully.

But, at half way you start having the perception this series is not totally immune by fan service, especially with regards to Chiaki, who is subject of some "stolen shots", moreover, the last episode is regretful as she become target of the attention of many schoolmates (too many).

No worries, nothing really serious, problem is that the story looks nice and sweet for a child, for example age 9-14 but inside you get also the "shots" (and Ep. 12) which are acceptable maybe for 15+, the two things do not match, if you are 18-20 you will probably find the story not so interesting as you are too old already.

Another minus is the use of puppets (characters drown as) in many scenes, I mean I can tolerate 3-4 times in an entire series, not every 3minutes.

On the pro side, the themes (opening and ends) are awesome, one of the best I have ever watched.

Darling in the Franxx (2018)

Super actual

[9/10 · 12 September 2022]

The dumbest title for one of the best mecha series to date: you look for your darling, you find it, you put it in the franxx and done! . Simple, and simplicity is one of the strengths of the first part of this series.

In a not so distant future, a group of children are grown like chickens in cage, unaware of the former human era and what was lost in the last decades. But as these guys are key tools for the new world government purposes, they will eventually find out their own "organized to be" future as well as many other "not supposed to learn" stuff. Hiro, the odd most of group and almost kicked out of the group will find himself a place pairing with the super-odd 002.

So here is my declaration: what really is the best of this series (and eventually would have made it the best ever if closed at ep. 15) is the reason why Hiro decide to risk is life by piloting: the reason is what matter, always, and if you watch carefully, you will see the first reason was not much about the girl really but the fact that just piloting itself was giving him a reason to live. The reason why we do the thing is what drive us.

This is about the first part of the series, in the second part it gets much more sci-fi, the plot starts to twist faster like in a whirlpool.

The series have a couple light mistakes: 1. The fan service at Ep. 8 (very light though), the form of Strelizia True Apus at Ep.23.

Animation is very good, thanks Trigger.

A Place Further Than the Universe (2018)

A pearl in the desert of mediocrity

[9/10 · 21 August 2022]

All characters are good, there are no proper male character but we do not feel the need as Gin and Yumiko are able to cover the spot.

It can be educative, so I would reccomend for teenagers.

However, after watching many and many series I have to downgrade the rating to 9 due to lack of punch: it is perfect yes but also takes no risk of any sort so would be unfair to compare to other series rated 10.

Tsuredure Children (2017)

Quick

[7/10 · 9 August 2022]

Fun, I can't say I didn't enjoy it, there are some good characters, Yuki Minagawa, Takuro Sugawara, Takao Yamane in primis. Although I don't like Takao's graphic design, awesome is the scene where he is going to ring the bell to call the waitress at the restaurant.

Problem is that I wouldn't call it really a "Story", it's more like a collage of scenes out of many different characters so at the end you get a small bit out of each couple, not engaging storywise.

The episodes are just 12minutes long so you have this issue summing up with the bite size issue above.