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Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: A Celebration of Humanity

Sunday, August 2, 2020 / No Comments


WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

 

My mum and I always had a tradition of watching anime together ever since I was a little kid. And because of the COVID-19 situation, both of us had been relegated to staying at home for ungodly amounts of time since, as far as possible, telecommuting has become the norm, and I had three months of summer break before my next semester of school started. So we thought, in the midst of a global pandemic, what better than to start (and complete) a new anime series?

 

A quick scroll through MyAnimeList found Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood to be the top rated anime of all time, standing at a solid score of 9.23/10 above other classics like Stein’s Gate, Hunter x Hunter and Gintama, which generally averaged around 9.12. Of course, I knew that ratings were subjective and tried not to pay them more heed than necessary, but the fact that I’ve so often heard of the masterpiece that is FMAB and to see it unanimously agreed upon to be the best anime/manga of all time no doubt caught my attention very much. So it was decided, that that would be the next show we would watch.

 

I know I’m late to the show (literally), but FMAB it is undoubtedly one of the most complex shounen series I’ve watched. In essence, alchemy is, as the narrator frequently reiterates, the science of understanding, deconstructing, and reconstructing matter. However, it is not an all-powerful art. It is impossible to create something out of nothing. If one wishes to obtain something, something of equal value must be given. This is the law of equivalent exchange; the basis of all alchemy.”

 

Simply put, alchemy involves the manipulation of natural and man-made resources, such as water, fire, ice or metal, and many more. It’s a similar concept to elemental bending in the well-known Nickelodeon series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, except that it veers more in the direction of science and modernity.

 

Edward transmuting his metal arm

Roy Mustang basically fire-bending

 

At this point, one might think that alchemists are overly-powerful, given that there seem to be almost no limits to what alchemy can achieve. That would almost be true, if not for the great forbidden taboo amongst alchemists, which is human transmutation. In short, the only thing that alchemy cannot create is human life, because nothing of an equal value can be exchanged for the gift of life. That is exactly the taboo that the main characters, two brothers named Edward and Alphonse Elric, commit as they engage in a naïve attempt at human transmutation as children to bring their dead mother back to life. Not only does it fail terribly, Alphonse loses his entire body and is relegated to using a suit of armour as temporary vessel for his soul, while Edward loses both an arm and leg that has to be replaced by “automail”, the show’s term for prosthetics. The rest of the story revolves around their journey to get their bodies back, no matter the cost.

 

Alphonse loses his body

Ed loses his leg


The Elric brothers' new forms

 



Yet, despite the supposed emphasis on alchemy, the show slowly but surely makes clear that power derived from alchemy cannot be the main goal of the characters. The real beauty of the show lies in its ability to encapsulate both the humorous and uplifting traits of a shounen anime, while delving into complex issues of the human condition that have plagued humanity since the beginning of time, such as the value of life and the strength of human conviction and familial love. These are the lessons and experiences that the main antagonist fails to grasp in his self-serving and devastating pursuit of power at the cost of great destruction. The main antagonist, referred to as Father, is one of many homunculi in the series, artificial human forms created through alchemy. Arrogant and prideful to the point of playing god, he craves divine power over the world and sees himself as unquestionably superior to the entire human race, who become nothing but pawns to him in his quest for power. He also spawns seven other homunculi from himself, which are named after the seven deadly sins: Lust, Greed, Pride, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Gluttony.


Father and the Seven Deadly Sins

 

But what sealed the deal for me was no doubt the ending of the show. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been emotionally invested in an anime only for it to have ended too abruptly (or lazily). FMAB, thankfully, did no such thing and in fact, managed to conclude on both an unexpected, yet completely believable and extremely heart-warming note. While the brothers start off the anime vehemently believing that only alchemy will get them their bodies back, to the point of obsession, they mature considerably throughout the series and demonstrate impeccable character growth by the end, understanding that alchemy is not the all-powerful and infallible art form they once thought it was. In the end, the answer is simple: Edward gives up his alchemy in exchange for getting his brother’s body back as he finally comes to the conclusion that he does not need alchemy to be truly happy – what’s most important are the relationships he forged along the way with his brother, his friends and his many mentors.

 

Ultimately, both Father and the Elric sought the truth; the difference was that while the Elric brothers had to undergo the inescapable trials and tribulations of life and learn from their failures with the help of the people who cared for them and loved them, Father sought the easy way out, opting for power and allowing his hubris to get in the way of experiencing the variety of life.

 


Father fails to see the truth and dies


Ed gives up his alchemy for Al


Al gets his body back


The brothers are back

 

The experience of FMAB cannot be possibly encapsulated within a single blog post, but I hope that I’ve sufficiently interested you in the show. FMAB is a wonderful testimony to the strength of humanity even in the most of trying of times, and is that not apt in the current reality that we live in right now? We can’t say we’ve truly lived life if we haven’t experienced both the good and the bad. Although times may seem bleak, let’s try our best to take things in our stride and overcome whatever life throws at us!

 

Thanks for reading and take care everybody!

 

 

 

Written by Gin

 

Kaguya-sama: Love is War Anime Review

Thursday, July 30, 2020 / No Comments
During the circuit breaker period, I started feeling bored out my mind, so I thought I should probably start watching a light-hearted, comedy anime to feel better. My friend recommended Kaguya-sama: Love is War to me, mentioning that it made her laugh on multiple occasions, so I decided to give it a shot.



It immediately reminded me of The Disastrous Life of Saiki K, where the episodes were short, standalone skits featuring the main characters. It was immediately very dramatic, the way Shinomiya and Shirogane calculated their every move in order to avoid embarrassing situations that would expose them as being interested in each other.


Shinomiya scheming and plotting against Shirogane

From small things like what kind of birthday present to get for each other, to simply following each other online, the anime heavily dramatizes how each small action they take would lead to the other finding out about their crush.

Shinomiya contemplating the very small decision of whether or not to go to the movies with Shorigane as if her life depended on it

The anime is not as relatable as Saiki K, because Shuchiin Academy itself is full of elite students from rich families, or extremely talented and hardworking students like Shirogane.

Shirogane flexing his perfect grades

Shinomiya standing humbly in front of a collage of her achievements

Shinomiya, daughter of the esteemed Shinomiya Group, who has so many expectations pinned on her not only from her family, but also from the public, acts completely differently when she’s hanging out with the student council, or when she’s panicking over her feelings for Shirogane.

Shinomiya secretly freaking out over Shirogane's cat ears

That is what makes this anime quite amusing to watch, I think. While the two of them maintain composed and professional on the outside, their internal monologues are very relatable, and it is fun to see them have their own personalities outside of being the school’s model students.




Shirogane doing an excellent job at hiding his feelings for Shinomiya

Even Fujiwara, who many people find annoying because of her complete ignorance to the unspoken war between Shinomiya and Shirogane, started to grow on me throughout the series.
Fujiwara dancing without a care while Shinomiya tries to talk to her

She can be annoying at times, when her ignorance and naivety completely ruins the plans of both Shinomiya and Shirogane, but no one can deny the fact that she is absolutely adorable, and her ignorance is even endearing at times.

Fujiwara looking cute while not knowing things


A dance that she did for one of the ending songs went viral, and people all over the world reacted to the video and even shared their own covers of the dance. You can watch it here.

My favourite character of the series, however, is Ishigami. Originally, I didn’t really like his character design, because he just looks like a sleazy loser who plays video games and smells bad (which might actually be true), but I also found him the most relatable out of the main cast.

A dramatic low-shot with cinematic lighting of Ishigami shamelessly declare his desire to play video games and nothing else

He is lazy, unmotivated, and constantly has bad grades, which is something that I think a lot of us have experienced before. His outlook on life is also very depressing, which is something that I relate heavily to. It’s also funny sometimes how melodramatic he can be about things.

Ishigami turning to death at the slightest inconvenience

He does not care about things like reputation and appearance, but he gets the job done as the treasurer of the student council.

Shinomiya and Fujiwara reacting to Ishigami's passionate speech about his opinion on men who wear boxer briefs

During the sports festival arc, a major incident in his past is revealed, and it really confirmed for me that he is my favourite character in the anime. Despite his sluggish and gloomy behaviour, he has a strong sense of justice and will not back down when it comes to standing up for the right thing, which I think is really respectable.

Ishigami speaking his truth, with not a single care in the world

While there are some episodes that make me laugh, there were also episodes that tugged on my heartstrings and made me feel really emotional.



The student council making it just in time to watch fireworks together

Although this is considered a gag anime, I think it definitely has a lot more to offer as well, and I think it’s definitely worth a watch if you’re in the mood for something light-hearted and wholesome.

The student council gathering to take a wholesome group picture



Written by yin

Anime Review: The Disastrous Life of Saiki K

Monday, June 29, 2020 / No Comments
Okay, here's the plan. With your superpowers, you're going to play a prank on your friends. As soon as your George comes in the classroom, you drop the bucket of flour that has been floating in the air for a while now, smothering the unlucky friend with white dust. You guffaw and clutch your sides at the sight of your friend's exasperated expression and mark off another successful day of pranking George!

Oh, did I mention superpowers? Of course! You have superpowers none other could have! Not only do you have telekinesis, but also mind-reading, inhuman strength and so on. With your superpowers, you've been living your daily life with constant excitement, flying high into the sky before freefalling, igniting the bad guys on fire and also using mind-read to score on all your recent exams! 

Of course, 'tis only but a figment of your imagination. You don't have telekinesis, nor do you have the ability to fly. You can only think of the countless things you could do if you ever had superpowers.

However, having superpowers is not what you might think it would be! Having to control your strength to not crush your spoon as you lift it to feed yourself, waking up every morning and hearing everyone's thoughts and also trying hard to not accidentally burn the whole world into a crisp! Suddenly, having superpowers seems more like a burden than a blessing!


Saiki and his group of friends

Such are the thoughts of Saiki K, an ordinary high-school student in Japan, except that he has all the aforementioned superpowers. In this anime review, Saiki-san is going to show to the ambitious you, that superpowers are nothing but a hindrance to him. 

The anime revolves around a high-school student who has been gifted with superpowers ever since he was born. He could talk just 14 days after being born, walk at the age of one, the list goes on. As you can probably tell, he's the subject of envy of all ambitious teenagers in the world. 

However, Saiki seems to beg to differ. His prowess has brought naught but inconvenience to his daily life. Having to constantly keep track of all your powers while also trying to keep a low profile proves to be a hard task for Saiki as he faces many challenges, usually brought by his group of friends that also deserve a top spot for being eccentrics!

Speaking of eccentrics, let's talk about Saiki himself. Including the traits mentioned above, he can be seen as an introvert, a severe case of one, in fact, as throughout the anime, Saiki rarely speaks to any of the other characters. Most of the time, he uses soliloquy to convey his thoughts, even when reacting to his friend's antics. In a way, he seems similar to Sakamoto where his deadpan expression has become a norm for others.


Saiki Kusou

While physically quiet, Saiki is surprisingly loud in his emotions. In the beginning, when Saiki was seen as an introvert to me, my assumptions were that he was a cold and unmoving MC. It wasn't long before my guesses were broken though. Due to his superpowers, Saiki is afraid of causing detrimental and irreparable changes to the world. As such, he taxes himself by making sure that his superpowers stays controlled and helping to solve problems along the way. Think of him as Superman, just that this Superman is extremely quiet and wishes to be left alone.

As always, actions speak louder than words when Saiki used his clairvoyance ability to prevent an accident at the gas station. A rock could've tripped a girl passing by, causing her to trip and kick the rock towards a truck driver. In turn, the truck driver would have lost consciousness and drive the car into the gas station. Seeing the future, Saiki could've ignored it and went on his way but chose to intervene instead by removing the cause of the accident in advance. 


Saiki removing the cause of the accident








Moving on, we have the happy-go-lucky Nendou Riki. Portrayed as a close friend of Saiki, and as such, he's also a quirky individual. His concerning lack of intelligence plus his scary face often pegs him as a bad guy by the others while in actuality, Nendou is just a carefree and kind student misunderstood.





Nendou Riki

In fact, his kindness and compassion can be seen in the anime many times. Once, he mustered up his courage and confessed to a girl at the beach, only to get turned down harsh by her. Later on, the girl could be seen drowning and Nendou immediately rushed to her aid. Upon coming ashore, albeit only with Saiki's help, he did not act all high and mighty in front of her and instead amicably responded to her gratitude. I think Saiki would definitely agree when I say that Nendou has a heart of gold, but his brain is filled with muscles.


Nendou receives the gratitude of the girl he saved

Next on the list is a narcissistic high-school girl with perfect proportions and killer looks. Teruhashi Kokomi is the very definition of Aphrodite, but her heart is much like Medusa. She is shown to be very conceited and a manipulator. This was at the start of the show, though. Over time, you begin to realise that she changes as she interacts more with everyone around her, such as Saiki and his group, rather than using everyone to her benefit.


Teruhashi Kokomi

In fact, the more she hangs out with Saiki, the more she realizes that she's beginning to fall for him. What began from trying to make him fall for her in order to feed her superiority complex, turned to her falling for him. Teruhashi also begins to show different sides of herself in front of Saiki which is something I appreciate. I always prefer character development rather than a stagnant character throughout the series, which some animes tend to do.



Now that we've gone through some characters, let's talk about the anime itself. As stated, the story revolves around Saiki and his daily life, in which he has to deal with ordinary folk while hiding is superpowers. In the anime, there is no specific core or goal as the anime consists of different "arcs" or "segments" that gets crammed into one episode. While this might seem too much for you, I actually think they nailed it. As previously mentioned, this is a comedy anime. As such, having speedy mini-episodes with multiple jokes in between is a diverse way to make sure that their audience stays laughing throughout the series.


The characters are well thought out as well. There's no generic character and there is frequent character development, if not always. I found myself liking it when Nendou and the others get sections to themself, as I get to understand more about them, and in turn, relate to them more. I probably mentioned this in my other anime reviews, but character development is essential to any anime.

However, I did get disappointed in some areas of the anime. One such category is the art. While I understand that this anime was released in 2016, I couldn't help but expect more. That being said, I wouldn't say the art style is absolutely horrible. It just gets the job done. Hence, if you are okay with an art style that is old, you definitely would be able to enjoy the show without minding the art.


An example of the show's art; one tone of colours

All in all, I would say that anyone that wants a laugh and nothing else should try this anime. There is no complex or underlying plot that one should be aware of. The characters were diverse and unique with character development. Fitting for a comedy show, the anime has a plethora of jokes that kept it from becoming too stale or repetitive, which is something I appreciate it kept me hooked to the anime. 



So, should you watch it? If you're looking for a pure comedy show, then I definitely recommend it. If you just want fresh air from the other animes, then this would definitely clear your mind. 

In conclusion, I enjoyed watching this anime and it would definitely lift your spirits up at the least if you give it a try.



Written by Kai Yuichi

Summer 2020 Anime

Sunday, May 31, 2020 / No Comments
While spring comes to an end, I've been busy catching up on both old and newly-released anime. Of course, with more time on my hands, I also had the pleasure of watching recent anime that I refrained from watching. 



Upcoming Summer 2020 Anime

Kaguya-sama: Love is War kept me laughing from their antics while torturing me at the same time with the mind games between the two main characters. It has been quite a while since I've thoroughly enjoyed a romantic comedy like this one and I'm glad I chose to watch it!



On the other end, Sing "Yesterday" for Me caught me off guard by how much it resonates with me. The story dictates one of post-adolescence life of a college student with no ambitions in life. Just this alone struck a chord in me and whatever followed it pulled my heartstrings further. It captured the life of someone wandering about so well that it needed nothing more than that. The writing in this story was neither too excessive nor too minimal. There were many times I found myself in the main character's shoes, trapped in the same dilemma. While it was heart-wrenching to watch, this gave me time by myself that I normally wouldn't find to reflect and think about myself and the future.



Lastly, while it wasn't as good as I thought it would be after reading the manga a few years back, I was excited for Tower of God. Again, the anime was nothing special in my humble opinion, but the precedence of what could happen in the future exhilarated me. 



Tower of God was originally a manhwa, a Korean comic basically, that was recently adapted into its anime version. It came from a renowned Korean website called Naver Webtoon, where many other hidden gems of stories and comics are written. This means that with Tower of God being the first to be adapted to an anime, many other manhwa and comics could soon follow!



Countless manhwa available to read in Naver Webtoon

With that said, I can't say I didn't enjoy the season of Spring 2020 because of all the fun I had in watching them. I would also recommend everyone to try giving all the anime or even the ones that you avoided, a chance! Who knows, there might be an anime that you really love! However, as Spring 2020 comes to a wrap, Summer 2020 is right around the corner with brand new anime as well as sequels to previous anime to watch out for. And of course, I compiled a list of eye-catching anime that would be worth your while to check out!

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season



Promotional image for Re: Zero 2

I would assume that everyone and their friends all know about then prequel of this anime so I would like to address this series first. To me, the news didn't really excite me since I wasn't into the first season of the anime. I just couldn't get emotionally invested into Subaru, who irked me quite a bit. To me, characters are a big part of an anime and would be an integral part of the deciding factor on whether I would enjoy the series. But, I can see the second season becoming a well-talked topic in the future as I am going to watch it myself, just to find out what will happen in that world. Overall, I'm not too excited about this but would definitely give the show a try.



Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Kan (Third Season)



Promotional image for My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU 3

This, however, has kept me waiting for far too long. Ever since the second season ended 5 years ago, I have been waiting for news of another season to continue from the cliffhanger at the end of Season 2. You can imagine my despair when I found out that the newly-announced Season 3 was going to be postponed from Spring 2020 to Summer 2020. Enough about that though, let's talk about the anime. My Teen Romantic Comedy is, as you can obviously tell, a romantic comedy anime. There hasn't been much of this genre lately so I'm glad that a masterwork such as this came back to revitalize the genre a bit. 

Moreover, I can't wait for the revamped art style that might be coming, especially since Season 2 boasted a well-received art and animation style. The characters are also well-rounded in their own way, with each of them having a decently explained background. I just can't wait to sit down and watch the anime as soon as it comes out.



Shokugeki no Souma: Gou no Sara


Promotional image for Shokugeki no Souma: Gou no Sara

The last returning anime of this list, the fifth season of Shokugeki no Souma: Gou no Sara was originally supposed to air throughout April 2020. However, due to the current world affairs, it was postponed to July after its second episode. It definitely upset some fans as they were left hanging after only the second episode. 

I stopped watching the series after the third season because it felt repetitive for me where Souma would crush his opponents one by one, with totally unnecessary erotic scenes popping by once in a while. The series was definitely intriguing at first, but soon dropped down my list of animes to watch. However, it may change and catch my eye again in the fifth season with the upcoming world-class cooking competition in the horizon for Souma. Who knows, maybe our interest in the series will be invigorated in the fifth season!


The God of High School


Promotional image for The God of High School

From Crunchyroll Originals, The God of High School is slated to release Summer 2020. Because it's a brand new anime, I'll put the Preview Trailer here so that we can watch it together!



Official Trailer for The God of Highschool

From what I can see, the anime does seem compelling for me to watch. I do like anime about fighting and this seems to cut the cake for me. The animations look crispy and the animation is not bad either. I might be on the fence about the characters though. They seem pretty generic and cliche but that's only my first impression. Hopefully, the anime will turn out as good as the trailer portrays it to be!


Gibiate


Promotional image for Gibiate

Another new anime, Gibiate is set in Japan 2020, where a virus has spread through mankind and caused all infected to turn into different lifeforms that wreaked havoc all around. Again, I'll leave the trailer below here!



Official Trailer for Gibiate

On paper, the anime seems really interesting to me since I am an avid fan of the apocalyptic genre. The trailer, however, doesn't seem all that promising. Sure, the characters and art look amazing but the monsters and animation for them look weird to me. That wouldn't stop me from watching the anime though. Especially since another favourite aspect of mine is included in this show, which is samurais and ninjas! It's not often you get an apocalyptic anime so I'll definitely be giving this show a chance!


Rent-A-Girlfriend



Cover issue for the manga of Rent-A-Girlfriend

I'm genuinely excited for the release of this anime since I do like my slice-of-life/romance anime and this does seem to fit the bill! This anime references itself from reality as rental services for parents, friends and even love interest exist in modern reality Japan! I can't lie about not being interested in this as it is a novelty that can't be found anywhere other than Japan. In a way, they are showcasing these rental services while delivering a story at the same time. As always, the trailer will be down below to watch!



Official Trailer for Rent-A-Girlfriend

The trailer looked better than I expected it to be. The art style is pleasing to the eye and the characters that they introduce seems to be full of personality. The story revolves around a college student that got dumped by his girlfriend and seeks to find comfort through a rental girlfriend. What happens afterwards seems similar to that of Nisekoi, another masterpiece in the romantic comedy scene. All in all, this will definitely be in my must-watch list for Summer 2020!


With that said, I'll end the list here! Do take note that there are other animes and movies releasing in Summer 2020, so be sure to keep an eye out for them! Let's all welcome the season of Summer 2020 in open arms, along with the entertainment it brings us!


Written by Yeon Hee