"The themes of Season 2 - of privilege, of perspective imbued from upbringing and being a good person despite - are really well handled, it's just annoying that lame plot beats like kidnapping have to move them along."
"They want to use their journalistic craft to bring an end to the bloodshed, and Flag shows how they can do that - by capturing life, humanity and peace"
"In these scenes, no matter how sad it gets, this movie is no tragedy porn; it moves the heart in such a more complicated, genuine and hearty way."
"while the handling of Lena's story in relation to the concept's exploration is 86's best asset, Lena herself is probably its greatest weakness"
"Now and Then, Here and There makes you feel hopeless. Its existential treatment of terror leaves a hole in the stomach that cannot be filled, one that cannot be moved, one that can only be accepted. It feels nigh impossible to carry on, and giving up is the only option left. You feel you must accept this darkness. There is no fighting it, no possible move you can make to escape. But you must."
"Kimi ni Todoke makes its whole raison d'etre putting a bit more depth into every aspect of the banal anime rom-com genre tropes"
"what happens from dating onwards is a dragging-out event, giving us a series of disconnected skits linked to side character romances with no hook pulling you in. It's not good."
"Some sharp comic timing, brutal facial expressions from Tazusa and amusing hijinks mean the series has a real bop to its comic portions, and it naturally glides between them and the more serious or romantic parts with wit and charisma"
"Sure, I love Ai's optimistic energy, and I love the few moments where Setsuna goes off all otakuy (hard relate, girl), but Yuu's go-get-'em attitude and clear communication is what I wanted to see the most of. How often do I get to say that about a protagonist? Not often."
"It's got its fingers in several pies and none of them are given the dedication to be the 'oomph' factor to make the series worth watching"
SpaceWhales Anime Blog 