Category Archives: Final Thoughts

2020 Summer Anime Season: Final Thoughts

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2020 summer anime season

It’s that time of the year again, so enjoy our Final Thoughts of the 2020 summer anime season that just came to an end~

Lapis Re:LiGHTs
Length: 12 Episodes | Genre: Fantasy, Magic, Music

lapis re:lights anime
As you can tell by the number of anime on this season’s list, it was a REALLY disappointing season. Probably the most disappointing season we’ve ever covered, and the one full-length anime we watched wasn’t all that great either. At first glance, Lapis Re:LiGHTs seemed like an interesting mix of magic and idol anime, but at the end of the day, I thought that it failed to capture the magic (pun intended) of either of those genres. Because it was used so rarely, there were times that I almost forgot that these girls can actually use magic, and the musical performances were few and far between, so I feel like this anime could’ve been a lot more entertaining than it turned out to be.

Too often this felt like just another slice of life anime, and although I thought the main cast was decent, they weren’t enough to right the ship and get me to become invested in this show. There were other girls at the academy that I simply didn’t care about and didn’t enjoy watching, and if you’re hoping that yuri would come in and save the day, you’re going to be disappointed as well. The first episode made it seem like Tiara and Rosetta were going to have this really strong connection that would result in, at least, a lot of yuri subtext between them, but it didn’t quite work out like that. The situation kind of reminded me of Koisuru Asteroid, and after Tiara and Rose get acclimated at the academy and join the other Lapis girls, that connection mostly disappears. There were a couple of other bit characters that seemed kinda gay, but their roles were tiny and they made practically no impact on me.

Overall, I didn’t expect Lapis Re:LiGHTs to just be so bland and forgettable. It’s kind of what might happen if you were to take Love Live!, strip away 80% of the singing and dancing, allow the girls to use magic, then not give them any worthwhile reason to use that magic. At least the final episode was a bit better, but it was too little, too late. I’ll forget all about this show in a month, so good riddance, 2020 summer anime season, you won’t be missed. 😛

Total Enjoyment: 5/10

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Anime Spring Season 2020: Final Thoughts

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2020 spring anime season

It’s that time of the year again, so enjoy our Final Thoughts of the 2020 spring anime season that just came to an end~

BNA
Length: 12 Episodes | Genre: Action, Fantasy, Super Power

bna anime
We didn’t watch a lot of shows this season, did we? 😀

Whenever Trigger comes out with a new anime, I’m either all over it, or I’m not interested at all. There’s no in-between. Kill la Kill? All over it. SSSS.Gridman? I couldn’t care less. BNA had an interesting premise, so I gave it a chance, and my curiousity was certainly rewarded. This turned out to be pretty entertaining and had the action, comedy, and flair that I’ve come to expect from Trigger.

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Anime Winter Season 2020: Final Thoughts

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2020 winter anime season

It’s that time of the year again, so enjoy our Final Thoughts of the 2020 winter anime season that just came to an end~

22/7
Length: 12 Episodes • Genre: Music

22/7 anime nanobun no nijyuuni
Last year, I watched a Korean horror movie titled White: Melody of Death. It wasn’t great, but I liked how it was different than what you’d normally expect from something featuring idols/pop stars. I mention this because, at this rate, I’m kind of over idol anime. Almost all of them seem really similar, and the whole process feels like it’s just about selling some real-life CDs and merch (who still even uses CDs?!). Anyway, early on in 22/7, “The Wall” was pretty intriguing, and this show seemed different enough to make me hopeful that this wouldn’t be just another idol anime, but while it wasn’t as unique as an idol horror movie, 22/7 still wasn’t your typical idol anime.

The focus here isn’t so much on the music as much as it is on the individual girls themselves. Most of the girls had their own episode (there were eight girls in the group), so we get to see their backstory, learn their motivations, and get to know them much better. It’s a far more effective approach than what you typically see in other idol anime, so I was a lot more emotionally invested in these girls than those of other similar shows. Some of the episodes were better than others, and while some of the drama was kinda predictable, I still enjoyed it more than your typical song and dance. This anime was recommended in the comments, so I was hopeful it would have some yuri, and early on, things were looking promising. Miu and Sakura seemed to have a really close relationship (Miu x Nicole as well), but the show gets away from that, so yuri wasn’t as big as a factor as I was hoping for. Still, I found this a little more enjoyable than something like Love Live!, although I’m not sure that fans of that series or “traditional” idol anime would like this as much as I did.

7/10

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2019 Fall Anime Season: Final Thoughts

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2019 fall anime season

It’s that time of the year again, so enjoy our Final Thoughts of the 2019 fall anime season that just came to an end~

Azur Lane
Length: 12 Episodes • Genre: Action, Historical, Military

azur lane anime
We would’ve included our Final Thoughts for this show, but considering how the production problems have led to the final two episodes being delayed till March, it’ll just have to wait. And yeah, you read that right, delayed all the way until March. MARCH. That seems like forever, but at least we should have a few yuri-ish anime to enjoy until then~

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Anime Summer Season 2019: Final Thoughts

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2019 summer anime season

It’s that time of the year again, so enjoy our Final Thoughts of the 2019 summer anime season that just came to an end~

Carole & Tuesday • 8/10
Length: 24 Episodes • Genre: Drama, Music, Romance, Sci-Fi

carole & tuesday anime

This may not be a yuri anime, but romantic two-girl friendship is a thing, and Carole & Tuesday is another example of how to do it right. The relationship between our two protagonists never quite threatens to cross over into real romantic territory, yet the bond forged between these two girls was beautiful to watch, and I think that quite a bit of yuri fans will be content with what we got. There was even a (creepy) yuri character, and two insignificant female characters were even planning to get married. Again, not a yuri anime, but it’s enough to warrant a review. 😛

For the most part, this was a simple story of girls chasing their dreams of making music, and I’m not just talking about Carole & Tuesday. Another girl, Angela, also plays a big part in this show, and her path to stardom couldn’t be any more different than our two leads, but let’s get back to the stars of the show. Coming from very different backgrounds, Carole & Tuesday meet by chance and then overcome all sorts of difficulties and challenges in an attempt to make their dreams come true. The show was surprisingly funny and extremely charming, and you can say the same thing about the characters.

Towards the end, the show drifted over towards the dramatic side of things, and you might even call it melodramatic. Personally, I preferred when the show was lighter and more easygoing (like the entire Mars Greatest arc), but I still applaud this show for delving into some serious topics, even if it was kind of clumsy. All in all, this was an extremely watchable and enjoyable show that I think was one of the best anime of the season (this show was actually two cours). Regardless, this was one of my favorite shows of the year thus far~

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Anime Spring Season 2019: Final Thoughts

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2019 spring anime season final thoughts

It’s that time of the year again, so enjoy our Final Thoughts of the 2019 spring anime season that just came to an end~

Since Carole & Tuesday is heading into its second cour, it’s not on the list this time, so we’ll have to wait until the summer Final Thoughts post to wax poetically about it. With that out of the way, let’s do this.

Length: 12 Episodes • Genre: Comedy, School, Slice of Life

hitoribocchi

Our review should be coming in the near future, so I don’t want to say too much about this one, other than it was quite a pleasant surprise. Despite her crippling social anxiety and lack of social skills, Bocchi was absolutely adorable, and you couldn’t help but root for her and her quest to befriend the entire class. I think it would’ve been a little too convenient if she actually did that, so I’m glad that she was happy with the handful of friends that she did make, and those friends were pretty good characters, too.

The comedy mostly focused on the eccentricities of these girls, but they had the charisma to pull it off and help make this a pretty funny show. As you might be able to tell from my avatar (Tomoko~), I have a special place in my heart for characters like Bocchi, so even though she’d never believe it, she was really charismatic and it was surprisingly enjoyable to watch her inch closer to the person that she wants to be. There wasn’t a lot of yuri subtext, though, that’s okay, because even without it, this was an enjoyable experience, and I hope we somehow get a second season~

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Anime Winter Season 2019: Final Thoughts

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2019 winter anime season final thoughts

It’s that time of the year again, so enjoy our Final Thoughts of the 2019 winter anime season that just came to an end~

Endro~! • 7/10
Length: 12 Episodes • Genre: Fantasy, Magic, Slice of Life

endro~! anime
Ever since we heard of Namori’s involvement with Endro~!, yuri fans were hoping we’d get a little something something from this show, and now that it’s finished, I can confidently say that it does indeed have a little bit of subtext. Not a ton, but it’s probably somewhere in the 3 range in our patented YuriReviews rating system. It’s definitely less than that other anime that got some help from Namori, Release the Spyce, but it’s better than nothing. 😛

There aren’t enough cute girls doing cute things anime that have a fantasy setting, so this is a nice, little treat we have on our hands. I would have liked the show to play up the fantasy a little more though, because it did it in the goofiest of ways. Quests are ridiculous, tropes are numerous, and this ended up being quite a bit of fun, so I wanted more of that type of stuff. It’s nothing exceptional, yet I think fans of the genre will still enjoy Endro~!‘s brand of humor, and I also think they’ll take a liking to these characters. Yusha, Seiran, Mei, and Fai ended up being quite charming, even though they’re definitely fitting very snugly into established character types. Despite her showing a little bit of interest in Yusha, Rona was definitely my least favorite character, and I honestly, I’m glad she didn’t play a bigger role. While I’m at it, Mao was someone I wanted to see more of, since she’s so cute and funny (and she kind of reminds me of Satania from Gabriel DropOut). Anyway, they’re all very cute (Mao, Rona, and Chibi included), and together, they form a pretty solid cast of characters.

Overall, I think Endro~! was a slight upgrade over Release the Spyce (not a very impressive feat, I know), and fans of cute girls doing cute things stand a good chance of being entertained by what this anime has to offer. It’s super cute and colorful, and even though it doesn’t have as much subtext as fans would prefer, it’s still an entertaining little show that I wouldn’t mind seeing get a second season.

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