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Mar 13, 2026
Look Back is everything to me. Not the film itself, which I only just recently finished, but the underlying message inside of it that Fujimoto is trying to tell.
What does it mean to make art, to be an artist? Why would anyone waste their time making something that doesn't seem to matter very much? Society won't crumble if art ceases to exist, it's only there for the entertainment of others. And if it doesn't matter, who are we even making art for, is it purely for the sake of self-indulgence? If you study hard in school you can go to college and get a
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well-paying job, and even failing college you can still find comfort filling in the gaps in society. You would find acceptance, purpose, maybe even meet new people and have life-changing experiences. So instead of doing any of that, why would a person try to live as an artist instead?
The answer, as Fujimoto presents it, is that people don't choose to be artists; they simply are. It doesn't matter if you make art for a living or just for fun, the part of you that we call the "artist" is an inalienable part of your character that will never leave you, because it IS you. The best art a person can make is that which comes from within, and Look Back is just that. It's not exactly subtle, with the two main characters being named after the author who wrote and drew this story (FUJIno and kyoMOTO), as well as clear references to his previous works, but regardless Look Back speaks for itself.
The two characters of Look Back represent two halves of Fujimoto as he views himself in real life. Fujino is an immature egoist who enjoys comedy and initially does art in order to earn the validation of others. Kyomoto is a hard-working shut-in who fears judgement from others, and despite this she still produces art for the people around her, likely due to the fact that it's the only way she feels comfortable communicating. Fujino wants to create art for the enjoyment of others, and as a result she has a hard time finding motivation to keep making art, because her satisfaction is tied up in what other people think. But for Kyomoto, it was never a question of making or not making art. For her, art is how she sees and is seen, it's how she lives and breathes, it was never optional.
Both of these individuals are missing something important as artists and as people. At a glance, Fujino's art is funny, but amateurish and naive. By contrast, Kyomoto's art is somber and emotional, but also cold and inert. They're both good on their own, but Fujino learns very quickly that her art is flawed and it needs to be improved. So she practices and practices until her art is finally good enough, but the day never comes. It's only when she goes to meet Kyomoto for the first time that she learns that Kyomoto admires her and was always looking forward to seeing her next drawings. To Fujino, the idea that she was able to positively change someone's life with a simple drawing is revelatory, and serves as the foundation of her entire future as a manga artist.
The alternate reality of Look Back exists to tell the viewer that, regardless of what Fujino did the day she met Kyomoto, Kyomoto would have left to better herself as an artist regardless. Not only that, but even in the reality where Fujino stopped drawing, Fujino still adores art and says that she's going to start drawing again. Both of these people would not be able to completely quit being artists even if they tried, even if they have different reasons for why they make art in the first place. Fujino is an artist who thinks she's doing it for herself and learns that it actually only matters when it reaches others. By contrast, Kyomoto is an artist who makes art for others because she is incapable of existing in any other way. They both have different reasons for doing what they do but the primary motivation is the same, they both have an urgent need to be seen and to communicate their message to others.
Look Back is a reminder that even the smallest interactions we have with others can linger more than you'd expect, even if it might not seem like it. This message applies to non-artists as well, the idea that the smallest most inconsequential impact you might have on a person could actually mean everything to them, resonating in ways they might not be able to describe with words. Even if it's from a stranger, a simple thanks or acknowledgement might be all that it takes to keep a person going so that they can blossom into something unrecognizably beautiful one day. If the world's a garden, Look Back is a reminder that it's important to tend to the growing flowers, as well as to take your time to smell the roses.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Feb 16, 2026
The Darwin Incident is an anime that you would assume to be either crazy and off-the-rails or genuinely introspective and thought-provoking, but more often than not it fails to do either. Even still, despite DI's shortcomings I've been enjoying it as a guilty pleasure.
Since much of The Darwin Incident takes place at an American high school in Missouri, you can probably already guess a lot of what's going to happen when a chimpanzee-human hybrid is introduced into the student body. If something like this happened in real life, I'm very confident it would be handled with far more thought and consideration than pretty much
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just throwing this chimp-teen (named Charlie) into the student body and hoping for the best. This lack of forethought and detail is a consistent theme through this anime and it completely destroyed my suspension of disbelief.
As a drama, DI has some really compelling things going for it, even if they are clunky and it accidentally comes off as comedy half the time. I can't think of another anime AT ALL that addresses the ethics of eating meat, the meat industry, and society's normalization of meat-eating in the way that DI does. But the problem is that these ethical dilemmas are presented in such a heavy-handed and clunky way, that as a viewer even if you agree with what's being said you'll find yourself naturally pushing back on it because the arguments rely so much on the author's preconceptions and vibes, and not enough on emotion, logic, or viability. In short, it feels too preachy.
Speaking charitably, if there was an upside to the core message of this show being so bungled so badly, it's that both sides, including the main characters and the literal animal's rights terrorists, have a good heft of moral grey to them, assuming you see the suffering of animals as being bad. The show even addresses this, with characters that will talk about how humans are okay with some forms of suffering but then they arbitrarily ignore others. Like how some people will be okay with a cow suffering for the hamburger, but they wouldn't be okay with their dog suffering for any reason. And moments like these are where the show shines, because these hippocracies are genuinely interesting and they get brushed under the mental rug so often. It's frustrating that these arguments are almost never presented with compelling visuals, just stiff words, but I digress.
And then on the other hand, you have a goofy-looking chimp-human hybrid that really doesn't bring all that much to the anime. He's not often played for comedy, he's mostly just written as a "person" trying to fit in, which doesn't really work because his problems are very hard to relate to since nobody watching this is half-chimp. Maybe some people can, but for the vast majority of people watching this it will not hit at all. He's not completely vacuous though, he's written to be morally upstanding as his only goal beyond survival. He's not written to be entertaining or talkative, but I won't be surprised to eventually see some character development. Heavy emphasis on "eventually".
Characters besides Charlie are mostly written as one-dimensionally as possible with their actions and words being the reason they exist. Every character feels like they only exist to continue the story, almost nobody feels like a real person. The characters are secondary to the script and the actions, and while the story does have its moments, overall it's very sloppy and disjointed. The animation is fine, but not particularly noteworthy. However, DI gets huge points for originality and the (attempt of) thoughtfulness in regards to the subject matter.
If any of what I've written seems interesting to you, I'd recommend you at least try it. If nothing else I admire the author for the clear passion they're putting on display for this project, and despite my many complaints I think this anime will be enjoyable to people who are craving something like this right now. Otherwise, feel free to pass on The Darwin Incident.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Nov 25, 2025
The good news is if you don't like S3 of To Your Eternity you can pretend it doesn't exist. The ending of S2 is satisfying enough to where I can feel comfortable imagining that as the ending of this show. S3 is a complete tonal shift from everything that's come before. If you told me a completely different author was behind this one, or that S3 is an anime-original I would believe you. It would have made much more sense for them to not even call it season 3 and to give it a fresh new subtitle instead because everything here feels like a spin-off.
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That said, I'm still going to watch this to the end just in case I'm wrong, but my expectations are pretty low given what I've seen so far. The mystery behind the Man in Black and the Nokkers are basically the only things keeping me engaged at this point. Previous seasons had captivating characters with progression to keep me interested, but that doesn't really exist here. New characters are introduced, but so far none of them have the magic that any named character from previous seasons had. Another strength of S1 and S2 was the sense of danger and well-animated combat sequences. There's a little of that in S3, but given the context of everything that's happened so far I'm not expecting anything dramatic to happen now. Hopefully I'm wrong.
My biggest problem is that To Your Eternity S3 feels aimless. It tries to handle this problem by adapting and becoming a slice-of-life anime, but this doesn't work for a few reasons, and mainly it just feels like a betrayal of audience expectations. Fushi still has goals but they're vague, and even the Man in Black seems indifferent to what Fushi even does at this point. So if the narrator doesn't care what the main character does, why should the audience? I'm hoping to see some more direction and purpose in future episodes but so far this season has been a disappointment.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Nov 19, 2025
I'm calling a meeting, this anime is sus as hell. I just saw Gnosia come in through the vent and they're trying to convince me they're Kino. But actually, I can tell Gnosia is Mid from a mile away. So while I enjoyed the company of Gnosia to some extent, I still say it's for the best if we eject them out deep into space, never to be seen again.
Jokes aside, Gnosia is very...okay. While I'm happy to see a social-deduction game-themed anime, Gnosia feels like it misses a lot of the potential that it could have had. With shows like these, where they
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are meant to cater to a certain kind of person (deduction game enthusiasts), I'd say you would enjoy it more because you're already a fan of parts of it, but actually here I think it might be the opposite: I think the more you know about social-deduction games already, the *less* you'll enjoy Gnosia, for reasons I'll get into shortly.
First off, the good: I really like the colorful character designs, and while some people will be bothered by the psuedo-3D animation, I actually think it looks pretty good for what it is. Characters are very distinct from each other, which is an important part of any mystery story where you need to keep track of many different people. Sometimes characters will drop breadcrumbs of who they are or what kind of world they came from, which does a lot to make the world of Gnosia feel fleshed out and real. Characters will have their own strategies through which they play the game of Gnosia, but given the ruleset there's only so much a certain kind of person can do to make this engaging.
My main problems with this show come in two varieties: gameplay issues and story issues. Let's start with gameplay. In Gnosia, the main character, named Yuki, awakens on a spaceship and they are tasked with finding which one of the crew members is the imposter, otherwise known as the Gnosian. If you are familiar with a game called Town of Salem, the rules of Gnosia are basically identical to that game. And while I think Town of Salem can be fun in casual social environments, I think as a game it has serious issues that only become more noticeable when it's turned into an anime.
Town of Salem, as well as Gnosia, are games where the winner is effectively decided by who can lie the best. Games like Among Us also suffer from this problem, but it's exasperated here because there are absolutely no additional gameplay elements aside from meetings with the crew. There are no tools players can use or ways you can contradict stories people have told. In later episodes roles are introduced that add some complexity, but these roles still do not change the fundamental problem. There is absolutely no way to ever tell for certain when someone is telling the truth, because nothing in the game is ever verified except for the person accused of being the imposter after the fact.
This might not be an issue if the main character was actually capable of lying or otherwise competent at deductive reasoning. But Yuki is, for at least the 6 episodes I watched, so unfathomably stupid and bad at this game it is just agonizing for someone like me to sit through. I'm not claiming to be a genius, but there are so many moments where someone will say something crazy or revealing, and Yuki will just let it pass by without question. Their character has amnesia, so while being cliched it at least explains them lacking awareness, but regardless it's still frustrating to deal with. It feels like watching a show about Sherlock Holmes except the twist is that Sherlock is an idiot and the audience can do his job better than he can.
I also mentioned earlier that the overarching story is something I also take issue with here. Because when the premise is "Among Us the anime", you can either have one extremely long game for the whole season, or one game per episode, and they decided to go with the later. In order to justify this premise, Yuki is given the ability to timeloop into essentially infinite games of Among Us, which begs the question...why? What am I getting out of this as an audience member? What are the stakes?
Yuki is told that they need to do this to "gather information" over many loops, essentially mimicking the structure of a video game, but again, why? As an audience member I have no reason to be invested in any of this. Yuki, as a character, is quite boring and not particularly likeable. For all intents Yuki is just stuck in hell and if you like watching them play social deduction games forever I suppose you might have fun. But personally I found this lack of direction, purpose, or meaningful progress frustrating. The information being gathered is vaguely interesting, but none of it feels critical to me as a viewer, it's all very shallow.
I think a show like Gnosia can work, it just doesn't in this case, at least not within the 6 episodes I watched. Gnosia needs a better foundation; it wants to be a social-deduction anime without having the fundamentals of a proper mystery or suspense anime first. Gnosia never offers the viewer any "ah-ha" moments, because everything is vibes and nothing is certain. And while themes of trust can be interesting, it's also undercut by how unimportant and impossible it is to trust anyone when, not only do you have amnesia, but in a few moments the game will be wiped and you'll be starting a new game anyways, so who cares? Shows like Squid Games do a much better job exploring these themes than Gnosia does.
And for those reasons, I'm activating the airlock. Good luck navigating the vastness of space, Gnosia, hopefully you come back a better version of yourself some day.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Nov 5, 2025
I wrote a very long review on Sanda that sadly got deleted, so I'll keep this brief for my own sanity. Sanda is very good, and I love this anime. I think Science Saru did an amazing job animating and adapting this and the soundtrack is one of the most eclectic and unique ones I've seen in an anime this year. For crying out loud the ED is a bossa nova song, I don't think I've ever seen an anime where that's been done. The soundtrack throughout the show touches on all different genres and it helps to give the show even more personality.
Sanda,
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both as an animation and as a story, does not feel lazy. It never feels like it's coasting on the pre-existing mythos of Santa Claus and Christmas. The world of Sanda is awash with mystery and it does a really good job of not telling the audience everything at once. The result is that I find myself genuinely very interested in the world and how things go to be the way they are. Why are kids given more respect than adults in this world, whereas in the previous version of Japan it was the opposite? What caused the never-ending winter? Why are so many people trying to find and kill Santa Claus? There's many more questions than those that I won't get into for now.
Another thing I really respect about Sanda is the raw amount of grit on display. In so many ways, it really reminds me a lot of Undead Unluck, both in terms of the tone, some of the storytelling mechanics, the powers, the action set pieces, and this is in no way a bad thing. I personally loved Undead Unluck, but it was a little much for some, and honestly that's fair enough if Sanda is too crazy for you. The action is great, the comedy mostly works well enough, and the characters all feel very distinct and realized. In many ways, Sanda is also a coming of age story. There's so many different layers to Sanda and I haven't even begun to see everything this show has to offer, it's very exciting.
I think if Sanda can keep up the momentum and intrigue, we're in for a really good show. Granted I have no idea how it will do that, and the premise is insane, but that's all the more reason I'm finding myself interested in it all. I don't think it's the best animated Christmas-adjacent film ever, I think Claus is the uncontested champion of that, but Sanda is absolutely worth watching in my opinion, especially if you're looking for something slightly festive and edgy for the holidays, but not overly so.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 20, 2025
At 17 minutes, to say Baan is ambitious would be an understatement. I find myself unsure of how to review something as novel as Baan. Do I give it bonus points because it came from a prominent Youtuber and I'd like for him to find success in his efforts? Or do I grade it more harshly and compare it against something backed with much higher production value?
I think Baan is worth watching for the simple reason that at 17 minutes and being completely free to watch Youtube, I think it's hard to come up with excuses to watch something else. We both know you would
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just default to Tiktok shorts anyways, you may as well spend your limited pockets of time in more novel ways.
In the nicest way possible, I found Baan to be softly disappointing given my unrealistically high expectations. It has a good (but not great) hook that got me interested in the world and both the introduced characters. Instantly it calls attention to a mystical tower-like structure which both characters interact with before pulling away. From here we get two stories: one of a fairy-girl who has made an effort to build a life for herself in a new world, and a man who discovered another world and did the same for himself, each with varying levels of success.
Obviously, Baan tells a story very personal to Garnt and how he became who he is today, as the isekai trope is very clearly a symbolic separation of Asia and the rest of the world. The moral is basically that you should find yourself in places that are happy to have you, but it's not particularly revolutionary or thought-provoking, at least it isn't to me. Maybe it's an issue with the time constraint, but viewers get very little time to experience Rin's dissatisfaction with her job or her new living conditions. Rin seems mopey, but this isn't presented as anything like depression. There are a few ways this could be fixed, but it would come at the expense of other scenes. I'm not sure there's a winning formula here with a potential story this dense that doesn't involve cutting out something else important. It's just a lot to ask of a very short amount of time.
If I wanted to compare this with something similar, I could choose to compare Baan to Porter Robinson's "Shelter" music video, which won multiple awards, and likely served as inspiration for this project. Part of the reason Shelter works is because it's very simple, fun, and the reveal at the end hits really hard. Shelter is 1/3rd as long and in my opinion it tells its story confidently and with no extra filler. By contrast, Baan feels like it's too bloated for the kind of story its trying to tell within the timeframe. I don't know what specifically I would want to cut or rewrite here, all I know is that to me, it somehow felt rushed despite the pace moving at a comfortable slower tempo.
I also found myself a bit confused with the timelines. Since both characters are introduced at once it sets up the expectation that both timelines are simultaneously happening, but this actually isn't the case as it's revealed later. I found the reveal to be genuinely good and clever, although since everything was being introduced so rapidly I didn't immediately put the pieces together on my first watch. Given that it's only 17 minutes it's probably fine that Daichi is boiled down to "kind father figure who cooks curry for his adoptive daughter" If there were 11 episodes after this I would want a lot more depth, but for the runtime this is perfectly acceptable.
I think maybe the reason this all feels unsatisfying to me has to do with the presentation. Baan is presenting itself like any other seasonal anime. Normally this would be fine, but given Baan's short runtime, I think it was a mistake to produce something with modern anime tropes and animation styles because it gives the viewer expectations that won't be met, because Baan does not have a modern anime budget. The decision to structure it as it is feels like a safe compromise in order for anime fans to be happy enough with the results, but as a consequence of that nothing here feels revolutionary or fresh in ways that have usually have people talking about it for years after.
For a first anime ever, especially for the budget constraints, Baan is really good. But presented within a modern context with modern competition, it falls short of expectations. Even still I want to commend Garnt for his efforts here as I think in the hands of another this project could have easily been a mess, and the fact that it isn't speaks volumes of Garnt's writing and directing potential.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 23, 2025
What is it about tragedy that compels us? Among an ocean of potentially positive emotions, why would a person willingly volunteer themselves to indulge themselves in something as dark as tragedy? This is a question I've been trying to answer for a while. I think part of what makes life beautiful is the contrast and balance of all things. Life would become meaningless if death did not exist. And happiness would become dull and muted if not for the threat of sadness. But this still doesn't answer the question: why would a person seek out something as unpleasant as tragedy? And the answer, I think,
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is that it's complicated.
Takopi's Original Sin is not for the faint of heart. I don't often feel the need to issue trigger warnings, but just know that if you struggle with suicidal ideation or depressive tendencies, you may want to either avoid this show entirely, or steel yourself for what's to come. But one thing I want to make clear upfront is that this show is not good BECAUSE it's dark and sad. I'd actually argue it's the complete opposite. If you can stick it out, there is a positive message to be had here.
To quickly summarize the story, one day, a cute Kirby-like alien crash-lands on planet Earth. This alien (later named "Takopi" for his octopus-like appearance) is from planet Happy, and comes from a society where their entire purpose is to make other creatures happy. Takopi as an individual exhibits child-like behavior, and by default is cheerful and naïve. It's hard to not compare Takopi to Pim of Smiling Friends, both in terms of their roles and personalities. But Takopi is far more naïve than Pim could ever be, as Takopi seems to understand absolutely nothing about human cultures and customs.
The show cold-opens with our protagonist, Shizuka, finding Takopi among a pile of trash desperately looking for food. Shizuka offers Takopi some bread. Takopi is thankful and they talk, but it becomes clear pretty quickly that something's off. Shizuka is not surprised or scared of the literal alien she's discovered. Shizuka is cognizant and aware of the situation, but nothing about what's happening seems to interest her. Takopi explains his purpose is to make others happy, and that he has many "Happy Gadgets" which can do wonderful things, such as one that lets people fly. Shizuka says it doesn't interest her, and later on says that she stopped believing in magic a long time ago. Before leaving, Shizuka says she'll be back tomorrow, so it's clear she likes Takopi enough to want to see him again, despite her emotionally distant demeanor.
Takopi and Shizuka spend more time together until one day, Shizuka shows up covered in scrapes and bruises and holding her dog's collar, the dog which she earlier credited as "the only thing that gets me through the day", the only thing that brings her any happiness or comfort in her life. Takopi has never encountered human suffering before so he doesn't know how to properly offer help. Takopi seems to understand basic emotions such as sadness and happiness, but the situation is far too complex for Takopi to grasp. He offers Shizuka a "Reconciliation Ribbon", a "happy gadget" which can be used between two people and allows them to become friends. Shizuka, for the first time, offers Takopi a weary smile and asks if she can use it.
This scene is absolutely agonizing and gut-wrenching as a viewer. If you're paying any attention at all you probably have a strong hunch as to what Shizuka wants to do with the ribbon. You might be screaming at the screen because all the signs are there, but Takopi doesn't understand. Thinking it will make everything better, he gives Shizuka the ribbon. Then, Shizuka says goodbye and leaves. It's tragic not only because of what will happen, but because Takopi isn't equipped with the tools to properly understand and resolve the situation. It's a strong reminder that, as human beings, it's important for us to do our best to be as emotionally intelligent as possible.
Without spoiling too much, one thing I'd like to take a moment to appreciate is that this show never lingers on tragedy in excess. The point is not to force empathy from the viewer. TOS does a great job bouncing back and forth between sad and happy, and the result is an emotional rollercoaster that is very likely to get you sobbing like a baby. The point is never to demonstrate that things are bad and they can't be made better, it's actually the opposite. Bad things can happen, but no matter what there's always a way forward. The path of misery is not a road anyone needs to walk, and walking with others tends to result in different roads taken instead.
It's after this scene that the show reveals it's true colors, but I don't feel the need to linger on any of it. I'd rather not spoil more than I need to, and I think I've done a decent job of walking the line so far. Rather, I'd like to take a moment instead to gush about some of the things that I think this show does really well.
Takopi as a character is so much fun to watch, I can't overstate how cute and lovable this little guy is. Not all of his scenes are happy and lighthearted, but most of them are, and he offers a healthy amount of comedy which is very welcome. If Takopi was more serious I don't think this show would work. Takopi is a perfect counterbalance and foil to the pit of human suffering that he's found himself embedded in. If the main characters of this show are children, then Takopi is essentially a baby with pure intentions, slowly learning through trial and error what humans are like. And Takopi's vulnerabilities act to the show's strengths as it ups the stakes even more.
The other main characters, the three children which includes Shizuka, Marina, and Azuma, are all expertly written and cast. One trope of media I really don't like is when the writers don't understand how to write children. I think the trick to it is understanding that children are basically just small adults that are a little more impulsive and a bit stupider. But there's also lots of nuance besides this to writing a believable child character. Promised Neverland, Made in Abyss, Witch Hat Atelier, Hunter X Hunter, and even One Piece flashbacks are all excellent examples of how to write child characters, and I think it's safe to say TOS is in good company here (It's not strictly an anime but I feel Omori also deserves a mention)
I would also be remised to not mention that the soundtrack for TOS is absolutely fantastic. It features deep moody, spacey synths you can easily get lost in, bright vocals of women harmonizing, lots of happy bell chimes and occasional horns accented by strong piano melodies and string sections. The OST for Takopi's Original Sin is borderline perfect and does a ton of legwork to pull scenes together and lead the viewer to feel a certain way. Takopi's segments are given an air of childlike whimsy, while darker tragic sections feature more serious instrumentation, but at no point does it ever feel excessive or too heavy.
The OP and ED songs are also very good and they both help to give each episode a nice rhythm. I'm personally a bit more fond of the tone of the ED, it's extremely reminiscent to Clannad's ED. But the OP is great in it's own way too.
For now, I'm giving Takopi's Original Sin a 10. It's unique and captivating in a way that I don't think I've ever seen in anime, even including the numerous "sad anime" that I've enjoyed very much in the past. My opinion may change if the ending doesn't meet my expectations, but I'm optimistic that it will.
That being said, I don't think this show will ever be mainstream or widely accepted due to the gravity of it's subject matter. I think this show will be a sleeper hit that anime fans will discover for years to come, and for people who are as fond of this genre as I am, I consider Takopi's Original Sin essential viewing.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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May 2, 2025
I'm sorry, but this show just sucks 😭 I don't like writing negative reviews but this show made me feel some sort of way and I think it's worth talking about. I wasn't just mad or bored watching, I actually felt myself getting offended at how uniquely bad it was, and that's really rare for me. So let's talk about it.
Let's address the elephant in the room right off the bat: the first episode is literally just dollar-store Mushoku Tensei. There is no doubt in my mind the author deliberately used the exact same framework for TBATE to the point where the two are
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almost indistinguishable. You know this genre is in a bad place when, within the first 3 seconds of watching, I correctly guessed that the guy on screen would somehow die and isekai his way into a new world. I actually screamed when I heard the baby crying noises and realized this idiotic cycle was actually happening again.
But let's pull back for a second and ask a question: is it bad or wrong that TBATE is doing an isekai-into-a-baby story? As tired as I personally am of this cliché I actually think in theory it's fine. It's not good or bad, it's just an vehicle through which a storyteller can convey any number of ideas. I actually really liked the way it was done in Oshi No Ko, for example.
That's where my charitability ends, because TBATE is so blatantly stealing EVERYTHING from Mushoku Tensei ep 1 it's actually insane. If I was an author I don't think I would have had the balls to do this. Making your entire original story rest on a foundation that not only someone else made, but that you also stole without permission, is just crazy to me.
TBATE is MT-coded in every possible way. The world is high-fantasy magic with a typical brightly-colored overly-saturated European-medieval slant (a.k.a. boring), the MC's parents are basically the same people as MT's, the MC is the same person (with the one exception that this one's entire identity is "evil", oooh how different and brave) the house and starting area is the same, even the general plot progression is the same. Baby smart, baby read book, does cool magic, wow baby actually strong?? How shocking and revelatory. Baby having such astoundingly unique thoughts as "this world is so different from the one I came from" wow, how very astute of you, extremely impressed.
Also, let me be clear, if it sounds like I'm putting MT on a pedestal here, that isn't my intention at all. I actually don't like MT as much as most others, but I at least think it's good and I respect the quality of the animation as well as the novelty of how the author decided to tackle the concept of isekai. It deserves credit for being the original, the same way shows like Sword Art Online deserve credit for popularizing Isekai in the first place. We've had SAO ripoffs since then, but I still haven't seen a single one which is just a one-to-one recreation of SAO.
If I was judging this entire show just on episode 1 I would give it a 1/10, straight up. If you hadn't seen MT or similar shows before you'd probably enjoy it more than I did, but honestly on principle I think it deserves a 1 for how morally bad it is to just wholesale rip off another story and pretend it's your own. To me, it's the same way how a teacher would give a student a 0/100 score if they saw that the essay their student wrote was plagiarized. But TBATE is complicated than that because it turns out, this show actually DOES have a different story than MT.
Imagine my surprise when I saw that the manhua it's based on is currently 200+ chapters long and seems to go in different and actually creative directions. I did read parts of the manhua. Not enough to get a strong sense of what's happening, but enough to realize that the author actually did have a unique story to tell, which is good.
That said, the manhua is kind of a separate entity to the anime for TBATE. Not only because TBATE is still in the early part of the story, but because this animation is actually so profoundly bad. At best it looks "fine", and non-fight scenes feel like they have at least an acceptable level of movement. But this is an action anime, it NEEDS to have good fight scenes or it just doesn't work. And wouldn't you know it, TBATE has some of the most poorly animated fight scenes I've ever witnessed to in modern Shonen anime. It's really saying something when even Blue Lock Season 2 has better-animated action sequences than TBATE does.
I think I've basically said everything that needs saying. In a world where Mushoku Tensei didn't exist I'd respect the foundation of this story a lot more. All my previous complaints would still stand, but at least I could feel satisfied in that I'm paying witness to somebody's original artistic intent. And honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if TBATE was kind of like Black Clover in that it starts really bad but gets better later. But for now, it's bad, especially the animation and art, and it's really hard to sell people on a show where it's just "bad for now". Curious as I am, can't find enough to enjoy from this show to be bothered watching more of it to see where it goes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Apr 27, 2025
I thought after all this time, I was done with heroes. But thankfully, I was wrong.
There's something immensely gratifying and enjoyable about watching stories of these seemingly divine beings, Superheroes, and attempting to live vicariously through them. People have always looked for role-models and the Superhero is the modern solution to that. But in the modern age, people seem to be tiring of superheroes. We've seen so many by now --Superman, Batman, Goku, Saitama, Deku, and Invincible to name a few-- that the novelty of it all starts to fade. "Hero fatigue", they call it. There's only so many ways one can tell the
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same story, over and over again. Courage and bravery will always be inspiring, and society deserves to have stories that glorify these themes, but if you keep saying the same thing over and over eventually it all just starts to sound like noise.
To Be Hero X made me feel a way I wasn't sure I ever could again after all this time. I've seen MANY shows involving heroes or superheroes and it's been so long since any of it has actually felt remarkable to me. I try not to write reviews this early, but TBHX has left such a strong first impression on me that I am extremely confident that this show will be, to me at least, at worst a 9/10 and at best a 10/10. I'll avoid major spoilers, but just know if any of this interests you I'd recommend skipping this review and watching it.
The first episode of TBHX is fast, maybe even too fast, but it does its job of quickly setting up the world and hooking the viewer. To very briefly summarize, an ordinary man is suddenly thrust into the role of "Superhero", specifically the role of a previous hero known as "Nice", and he needs to act as a stand-in.
The existence of Superheroes in this world is considered normal. It's a similar setup to worlds like Hero Aca, X-Men, and The Boys. Superhero culture is intertwined with capitalism and social media in a way that isn't necessarily healthy, but it parallels the way people tend to worship celebrities in the modern age, so it makes sense and feels real.
The power system of TBHX is maybe one of the parts I find the most interesting about the show, because it's a concept I really enjoy but I very rarely see it explored in media (Chainsaw Man comes to mind). Essentially, Superheroes get all their power from the people around them. They call it their "Trust" score, it's a number that can go up or down in relation to how strongly people believe that a person can do something. But it's more than just their powers, it's seemingly EVERYTHING that that person is in the eyes of the public.
To use a previous example, when Superman is done saving the day, he can assume the role of Clark Kent and relax. But people in TBHX can't do that, they are forced to be heroes ALL the time. In ep 1, Nice demonstrates this by doing something particularly dramatic for reasons we still don't know yet, in ep 2 Moon Girl represents this in her lashing out and lamenting the loss of her freedom, and in ep 3 Mister Stand represents this in revealing that he's secretly been extremely stressed because of his expectations of being strong enough to be able to literally withstand anything and carry any burden no matter the size. The people believe it, and it becomes true. Because of this drawback, being a superhero is actually framed as a curse, rather than something more akin to a job or an occupation.
I really enjoy this representation of what it means to be a "hero", because it strongly illustrates how people in the modern age, such as celebrities and influencers, can be pushed in different directions by the whims of their audience. If you were a celebrity, and you wanted to do something different, would your fans let you? Would changing your routine or being more honest be worth the risk of potentially losing everything? The risk of being judged poorly by people who used to fill you with energy and happiness, or the risk of maybe even losing sponsors? In reality there's no universal thing people choose to do here, but commonly you'll see famous people attempt to ride the coattails of their success and try meet the expectations of their fans, rather than carve their own path into something unknown or different.
This show definitely isn't the first to tackle this concept. I'm sure literally everyone knows the "with great power comes great responsibility" quote. But here it's actually true in multiple directions. Superheroes need to be responsible with their powers, but the people, their fans, also need to be responsible with what they choose to believe in, and who they choose to shine a spotlight on. It's almost Marxian in that without the people, Superheroes are powerless, but actually we see the same thing in capitalism too. The only reason the dollar is worth anything is because people believe in it. But I'm getting sidetracked. These are just my own observations and interpretations, and I'm sure it can be viewed in other ways, but that's part of what I think is so cool about the narrative here.
That's all to say nothing of the rest of the show, which is obviously just visually gorgeous and striking. It's not just the gimmick of 3D and 2D animation mixed, it's 3D and lots of different styles of 2D animation as well. As well as the fact that the style change doesn't feel mundane, it feels like there's a good reason for it and I'm really curious to see how that develops. The 3D animation style here is definitely at least somewhat inspired from Enter the Spiderverse as well as Arcane, and in no way is that a bad thing at all. The 3D definitely isn't perfect, and it's maybe the weakest part of the whole show for me, but if you can get past the occasional 3D jank that doesn't always move right or look right you'll likely not be too bothered by the shortcomings. The OP and ED are also straight fire, really solid tracks and animations on both of those, no notes.
If the believing in the strength of another is what it takes to make somebody a superhero, then maybe the same is true in real life. Maybe if I write a good review, and if others do the same, maybe that can be enough to help propel this show forward, so that it can gain an audience and the success that I feel it likely deserves. My actions here might not be enough, but it doesn't hurt to try. Definitely keep an eye on this one. Giving this a 9 for now and possibly updating to a 10 if it keeps the hype rolling.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 3, 2024
Melancholy. If I had to describe To Your Eternity in a word, that word would be melancholy. To call the storytelling powerful would be an understatement. But it isn't as simple as one word. Simply put, To Your Eternity is a masterclass in how to deliver an optimistic message about the beauty of life, but in a realistic and grounded way that never comes off as forced or artificial. Yoshitoki Ōima, who also wrote the award-winning "A Silent Voice", proves through this show that she is capable of writing some of the most compelling, deep, and emotional characters that anime fans, as well as myself,
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have seen in a long time.
To Your Eternity is an anime about the pursuit of life, the joy in discovery, and preservation for what we now have. Our journey begins with a nameless orb, a being who grows and evolves in reaction to their surroundings. First the orb becomes a rock, then moss, and eventually it comes into contact with a dying wolf who it then took on the appearance of. The wolf later comes into contact with a young unnamed boy, a person who would later become the orb's primary way of representing itself, something the orb can do by means of shapeshifting. There's a magical quality to all this, but despite how whimsical it can be, it somehow ends up feeling like something that could actually happen.
From episode one, To Your Eternity makes it clear that there is going to be a lot of suffering. The featured white-haired boy's entire mission is to make contact with his people, who had left the village long ago. And many times, he encounters signs that they might still be alive. These pings of hope invigorate a sense of optimism and steadfastness, yet at the same time, there's a remarkable sadness within him when faced with the potential reality that everyone he knows and loves might be dead by now. The orb is present for all of this as an observer, as are we, the audience.
Part of what makes this show so enjoyable is that the viewer, as a presumably full-grown human being, already knows the struggles and trials that an experience on Earth as a human brings. There's even an expression for this: the "human experience". When something emotional in the show happens, naturally we have an emotional reaction because we can relate to it. But for a long time, the Orb doesn't understand how emotions work. Watching the orb slowly learn how to deal with complex emotions is deeply relatable to just about anyone. There's something inherently satisfying to watching the orb grow as a person, the same way you'd enjoy watching a flower in your room grow and blossom over time.
For all intents, the orb basically starts off as a baby, and they have to learn everything one step at a time. And like raising a real child, there are moments of frustration, but these frustrations are very important for maintaining realism. The orb doesn't become a "true human" for a considerable amount of time, and while it's frustrating to watch the orb take so long to learn of concepts that I have personally known for decades, it also helps me to believe in the fiction as anything faster would have broken immersion.
I'm going to do my best to avoid spoilers, just bear in mind that the orb eventually leaves the snowy tundra it came from and ventures into new areas. And that's where the show, in my opinion, really starts. From this point on, To Your Eternity becomes a show about people that the orb (later named "Fushi") meets and interacts with, as well as the various experiences they have together.
When writing a story around an eternal character, there are lot of challenges the storyteller faces. How do you make the audience care about the life of a person who cannot die? To Your Eternity answers this question by threatening the lives of every single person Fushi interacts with on a regular basis. Monsters are attracted to Fushi for reasons unknown, and even with Fushi doing his best to defend himself and others, a great many people are killed by these aberrations.
If handled with less precision this might feel contrived and forced, but here the characters Fushi meets are *really* well-written and compelling, so they end up being people you grow attached to and care about. This is one of the few anime I've watched in recent memory where I actually remembered the names of multiple characters because they left such a strong impact on me. March, Pioran, Gugu, Tonari, Hayase, and of course Fushi. Each of these characters (and more) are written with such remarkable realism that it's hard to imagine these ideas didn't come from a real person who had once had similar thoughts and dreams.
I could go on about a great many things, but for the sake of this review I don't think specifics are too important. The main reason I find myself really enjoying this show, aside from what I've already written on it, is the unrelenting optimism embedded in the story's narrative. Fushi is given a singular purpose, to "grow". That is their entire being, their reason for living. But eventually they develop themself and begin to seek more. Growth is important, but equally important is what you *choose* to grow into, and you do have a choice. If you meet good people, you can learn from their ideals and become a better person yourself. I think there's a beauty in that, simple and obvious as it is, but it can become easy for people to forget these basic concepts in a world as fast and demanding as the one we find ourselves living in.
In To Your Eternity, the main character continually grows into a better person from his experiences with both positive and negative people, and I find myself relating with this concept on a deep level. I'd like to think that, even though it's just one anime, To Your Eternity left an indelible mark on me, to where even if I'm not consciously thinking about it, I'm sure it's helped to shape me into an even better version of who I am today. The journey of life never stops; we're always learning, growing, and continuing to reach even higher than we did before. And to me, even though it was all imaginary, I think experiences like these are worth a lot, even if you can't immidiately see the payoff.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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