r/2000xanime

So I watched OVA 3 and 4 of Haikyuu. It’s been a long time since I watched the main series, but I hadn't seen any of its OVAs or sequel movies. So before watching the movie, I thought of preparing for the Karasuno vs. Nekoma match by watching these OVAs.

​In these two OVAs, the matches that happened off screen were shown. A good amount of focus was given to Lev and their libero (Yaku/Shibayama), and I really liked both of them. I love Kenma too! In Haikyuu, all the teams are great and they all have their own ongoing stories. If the series were shown from their perspective, it would offer a completely different experience.

​The first match against Fukurodani was completely one sided, but the second match against Nohebi was really good. Even though both were short matches, they did their job really well. If there are more off screen matches like these to watch, I'm totally ready for them. So now I'm directly going to watch The Dumpster Battle and I'm super excited for it!

So, I’ve finished watching Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2 as well, and I honestly don’t even know where to start, when there’s so much to say, words just fail you. But if I had to sum up all my feelings in a single sentence, this is easily one of the greatest arcs among every anime I’ve ever watched.

​The core premise of this arc was so simple, yet everything that unfolded was genuinely unexpected. I found myself wondering how they were ever going to survive or escape, as there seemed to be no way out at all. And can I really just call this a war? Because it truly felt like a full scale war arc, people fought with everything they had, and some even gave up their lives. You have to make predictions, analyze the situation, and whether your choices turn out right or wrong, you just have to trust yourself and others to keep moving forward. ​Oh god, this arc was absolute perfection.

One thing I really liked about this show is how it puts characters in situations that are truly difficult to escape from. And this time, they completely nailed it when Levi had to make a choice. Saving Erwin made more sense, while on the other hand, Eren and Mikasa knew this but refused to accept it. When Eren lists Armin's achievements to Levi so that he would save him, and when he asks Levi about the ocean, that was deeply emotional too. Erwin's fate was clear the moment he charged forward with the soldiers, but I hadn't expected that Armin was willing to do this as well. Both Erwin and Armin abandoned their dreams to fight for humanity in that moment, but only one could survive. When Erwin refused the injection, just seeing that was enough but then we realize that this world was a living hell, and maybe passing away was actually better for him.

Floch isn't wrong from his perspective either when you look at it from his point of view. If we were in his shoes, we would have hated Armin too. Even though Armin got a second life, he now carries a massive burden he has to live with, and he’ll constantly have to prove himself, which he has always been doing anyway, and even Erwin trusted him in his final moments.

​And Jean’s leadership, remember that scene where Hange tells everyone to kill Reiner, and everyone hesitates, but then Jean yells that Reiner is their enemy now, forcing everyone to move forward? But later, when a defeated Reiner is right before him and Hange is about to execute him, Jean tries to stop them and makes excuses. When Reiner escapes, Jean blames himself. I absolutely love these realistic human behaviors in AOT.

​Speaking of Jean, that brings up Marco. At the start of the arc, I only expected to find out what was in the basement and maybe learn about Reiner’s homeland. But Marco’s death, which had completely slipped my mind, got revealed, which is wild because I hadn't even thought about it. By the end of Season 1, I assumed Annie killed him, but I never questioned why he was killed. Then we find out it wasn't just Annie. Marco crying in complete confusion, asking over and over what was happening, and finally screaming 'Help me!' was devastating. The very people he considered his friends left him to be eaten by a Titan.

​That exact scene was mirrored with Bertholdt at the end. When Armin as Titan was about to eat him, Bertholdt forgot that just moments earlier he was calling everyone enemies, and he started begging them for help. It was so tragic how this war pushed them to a point where they no longer had an ounce of sympathy left for Bertholdt or Reiner.

One theme I’ve seen repeatedly in this series is that to win, people have to kill their humanity. Near the end of Season 1, I think Erwin (or someone in the Scouts) was saying that if Eren abandons his humanity, they will win, I don't remember it clearly, but we’ve seen this happen again and again. Whenever someone hesitates to kill, the trouble and danger only increase. Erwin has to sacrifice many of his soldiers, Levi's squad gets killed by Annie, here, Jean hesitates and Reiner escapes. Anyone who fails to make those hard decisions ends up living with that heavy burden.

​Erwin was my absolute favorite character, and his survival made complete sense, I genuinely wanted him to survive because, while I like Armin, Erwin is my favorite.

You really have to respect Levi. His entire Scout squad was wiped out, his father figure died right before his eyes, and he lost his mentor, yet he held no resentment toward Eren or Armin. Instead, he took the crushing burden of that choice entirely upon himself, just like Hange did when Reiner escaped.

​At first, I thought Hange was just crazy, but I’ve grown to really like them too. When almost every character is developing so beautifully and showing so many complex layers, Mikasa somehow gets overshadowed in comparison. I don't know, maybe I haven't paid enough attention, but so far I haven't seen that much growth in her. Most of the time, she's just shouting Eren's name. I don't hate her, but she hasn't done anything yet that makes me truly love her character.

​What I really wanted to see from her was an internal struggle. In Season 1, when Mikasa received the news of Eren's death, she didn't overreact because she prioritized her duty. But while fighting, she had that realization, if Eren isn't around, why is she even doing any of this? If the show had focused more on that specific struggle between duty and personal emotions, I think her character would have been much better.

Then, after all this war comes the basement reveal, and can I say that this is hands down the best plot twist in any anime to date? Because this reveal completely flipped the entire story on its head. Just think about it, if they had put in all that effort only to find something predictable like a cure or an antidote to turn Titans back into humans, it would have been so cliché. But what they actually did expanded the scope and the world of the show immensely.

​The story started as a simple humanity vs. Titans plot, and the way it evolved is mind blowing. As someone who mainly watches battle shonen, when people initially told me to watch this show, saying it's about giant Titans, humanity locked inside walls, and a main character seeking freedom, I thought, 'How far can they really take a concept like this?' But looking back now, I realize how horribly I underestimated it.

​Everything that unfolded and was revealed by the end of the season... I don't think Eren was even able to process it properly. Right from the beginning, his Titan form took a heavy physical and mental toll on him, which I assumed he had overcome. But perhaps it wasn't just the Titan form, the immense pressure and internal conflict were slowly consuming him from the inside. At the very end, when everyone was joyfully playing in the ocean, Eren was tormented by the terrifying reality that enemies were waiting for them on the other side. And then he asked, if they kill everyone over there, will they finally be free?

​That line didn't surprise me too much because we've seen him gradually change, and his fear is completely valid. But I am also left confused about where the story goes from here. Until now, they were just trying to figure things out and defend themselves. So if the Marleyans don't make a move, will the Eldians just stay quiet too?

Grisha’s past was so tragic as well. The man from whom he received the Attack Titan power also introduced himself as Eren, and he told Grisha to save Mikasa and Armin. That was extremely confusing to me, and even Kruger himself didn't know why he was saying that. But then we also learn that there are numerous paths that converge at a single coordinate, paths that transcend both space and time.

​Could it be that Titan powers don't just transmit memories from past users, but also reveal information about future inheritors? But if so, why did he specifically say to save Mikasa and Armin, and not Eren? Or were those actually Eren’s own memories speaking through someone to save Mikasa and Armin? Eren even tearfully tells Levi during the serum choice that Armin is the one who will save humanity, not him, so what is Mikasa's role in all of this?

And as far as the name is concerned, I think Grisha named his son after that man out of gratitude.

So these were all my thoughts. Before wrapping up, I had a few criticisms as well. The animation was great, just like in previous seasons, but the CGI was truly awful. Earlier, whenever the Colossal Titan appeared, it was only for a short time and didn't move around much. But when an all out fight was about to happen, they probably shouldn't have used CGI because it looked really bad.

​Also, while I appreciated all the information and lore, on the other hand, I wished the pacing in those sections had been a bit slower so we had more time to catch our breath. But overall, it was so good that I can easily overlook those issues. I'm extremely excited for the final season, and maybe I'll review the final season in three parts.

So, I rated the first season a 9.5, the second a 9.8, and I would give this season a 9.9.

So, let's talk about the final My Hero Academia movie, You're Next. First of all, the movie's main conflict stems entirely from a single line, 'You're next.' I really liked how Dark Might interpreted that line in a completely different way. On top of that, he came from a villain family, and despite being a villain, he was a massive fan of All Might. His powers were also super cool. But when Deku enters his domain, touches the tree, and remarks that it feels hollow on the inside, I loved how that line mirrors Dark Might himself. Even though he resembles All Might on the outside, he is completely hollow on the inside as a person. Later on, we learn that he didn't even naturally look like All Might, he altered his face just to resemble him, that's how deep his obsession went. In the final sequence, when he stops putting on an act after being backed into a corner, he reveals his true form as a monster.

​I also really liked how he served as a direct contrast to the main trio, All Might's true successors. Dark Might admired All Might purely because of his raw power, whereas when the three of them strike him while reciting their own individual reasons for admiring All Might, that scene was awesome! Another thing, I feel like Dark Might's family isn't even a real family, he literally kills one of his own family members. It's more like a mafia crime syndicate that he just calls his family.

​The movie's original characters, Anna and Giulio, were fantastic too. They might honestly be my favorites across all four movies, maybe right after Melissa.

​Another unique thing about this movie was that it didn't bother giving any background context for the main series, it just threw us straight into this world. If a new viewer watched this, they'd think it was set in some post-apocalyptic world. The movie also had its own opening song, which was super cool. The soundtrack was amazing, and while many people found the pacing too fast, I personally didn't feel that way. The animation was top tier, every single fight scene was incredible, and the final battle blew my mind!

​It's kind of ironic how All Might wasn't really featured much in this movie, but since this was more about his true successors than All Might himself, I don't really have any complaints. Other movies might be technically better in certain aspects, but in terms of pure enjoyment, this one takes the crown for me and is my personal favorite. If I were to rate it, I'd give it a 9.2/10.

So I finally finished watching Season 3 Part 1 of Attack on Titan. Starting with the animation, the character designs felt a bit different this time, the characters look a bit older, their faces are longer, and their eyes look slightly different. The animation was great just like in the previous seasons. If I had to pick an animation highlight for this part, it would definitely be the Levi fight scene, I mean, that fight was absolutely incredible! Even though the animation was good, the use of CGI was quite apparent here too, just like in the previous season. But that's fine, it didn't really bother me last season, and it didn't bother me this season either.

​I also liked the fact that the enemies were humans this time, even if it was just for a short while. I really enjoyed all the political intrigue taking place, and it completely shifted the tone of the show. Earlier it was just a simple fight of Titans vs humans, but it’s not that simple anymore, the story is so complex. The fake King looked like such a badass at first, but then it turned out he was just acting, when the nobles told him to wake up and he regained consciousness, that scene was hilarious! Commander Zackly getting his revenge on them was pretty funny too. And I also really loved that interrogation scene! The way Levi tricked that Military Police guy by handing him a script and forced the truth out of the other one was absolute brilliance.

​Two other moments from this arc really stood out to me. First was Armin reflecting after killing that woman, he was crying while thinking about why he shot first even though she had drawn her gun earlier. That line was honestly so deep, rather than simply having him say 'I'm a killer now.' Then Levi calms him down by saying that if Armin hadn't shot her, Jean wouldn't be alive today. I appreciated that Levi didn't glorify what happened, he knew it was a dirty job, but someone had to get their hands dirty.

​I also really loved Jean's scene during the political arc when he recruits Marlo and Hitch. For a second, I was shocked thinking he might actually kill them! But then he tells Marlo that he reminds him of someone, he was probably talking about Eren or Marco. Honestly, seeing Jean step up as a leader felt so satisfying.

​Getting to see so much of Levi in this part was awesome too. His relationship with Kenny was great and very complex, if Kenny had survived, I feel like he might have eventually joined the good side. We also get to see Historia's horrific past. Earlier, she felt like nobody wanted her, which is why she always tried to act nice and please everyone just to avoid being alone, and that's why she was initially listening to her dad. But once she realized her dad was just using her as a tool, the way she slammed him was absolute perfection!

​We see Eren's character develop further as well. He now knows how to fully utilize his Titan powers, and we finally learned what his father did to him. I really liked how Historia changed his perception of his father. Eren had an internal conflict where he wanted to feel special, but was constantly made to feel useless. In this part, that feeling disappeared, and he now views himself as a weapon to fight Titans.

​However, there's another confusion in his mind when he remembers Ymir's words about a nightmare. When I heard that, I thought, Yeah, that actually makes sense. Since the lines between Titans and humans have blurred so much by now, maybe Titans aren't inherently evil, maybe they feel like they're trapped in a bad dream, which is why they eat humans.

​Erwin was even cooler this time around. He has a reason to live, a dream he wants to see fulfilled. Seeing his personal motivation was great. One thing I love about this series is that if any character has believe, a motive, they will lay down their life for it.

​There were so many revelations and callbacks in this part that it almost felt like an information overload! After several episodes, I would just sit in complete silence thinking, Okay, so what all just happened in this episode? But we did get answers to many questions, even though several remain, like where Reiner's homeland is located and why they were killing humans in the first place.

​Wait, something just clicked in my mind! In Ymir's flashback, people were turned into Titans and kicked off the top of the Wall as punishment. Then Ymir ate a Titan Shifter and turned back into a human. I know this might be a wild theory, but could it be that the people kicked off the Wall survived like Ymir and created their own separate civilization? Never mind, maybe that's nonsense!

​Another question is who is that Beast Titan guy? Is he the head of Reiner's squad, similar to Levi on our side? Could we see a fight between the two of them later on? And could Levi end up turning himself into a Titan so we get a Titan vs. Titan fight? I don't know, but the thing I'm most excited and terrified about is that post credit scene, I have no idea what happened there!

One thing is completely clear now, the author had planned everything out from the start, and his vision for what he wanted to do was crystal clear. So many things and details that initially seemed random to me are actually getting their payoff here! For instance, back in Season 1 when Eren's ODM gear belt was broken, I had assumed that maybe Annie or Reiner sabotaged it, but the real secret behind that was only revealed now.

​So yeah, those were all my thoughts. I really liked the music in this part as well, especially the opening song, it was so melancholic and emotional that I'd love to talk about it separately. I'm extremely excited for Part 2 and will give my final rating once I finish the entire season!

So today I finally watched Studio Ghibli's movie Ponyo! Out of all the Ghibli movies available with dubbing on Netflix, I had watched every single one except for this last one remaining.

​To be completely honest, whenever I saw images or posters for it, I used to think it would be way too childish and that I probably wouldn't enjoy it much. It also gave off a very Disney esque vibe. Even while watching the film, the opera style music playing during the opening and closing credits reinforced that Disney feeling a bit. So yeah, before watching, I expected it to feel childish, and while watching it, sure, it is meant for kids, Miyazaki did made it specifically with children in mind, yet I still enjoyed it immensely!

​Ghibli movies have a way of making kids actually feel like real kids, and that was very true here as well. The movie was super cute and deeply heartwarming. The scene where Sosuke makes paper boats for the elderly women at the care center was something I really loved. He gives a blue paper boat to the old woman who was scared when she first saw Ponyo. Plus, that old lady isn't just constantly grumpy, she genuinely cares for Sosuke too.

​Sosuke's mom was really nice as well, though in my opinion, leaving her young child alone like that wasn't entirely right, she felt a bit careless to me. When the storm hit and the officer warned them against taking that dangerous road, she didn't listen to him either, even if she didn't care about herself, she should have at least considered Sosuke's safety. But it's not like she was completely irresponsible, she clearly loves Sosuke deeply. I feel like her frustration and irritable mood stemmed from Sosuke's dad being away. (Maybe I'm overthinking this!)

​Ponyo's parents were also very interesting, especially her dad, Fujimoto, I really liked him. That's another wonderful thing about Ghibli films, there are no straightforward, pure villains.

​I read somewhere that Miyazaki wanted to develop a sequel to this, and honestly, seeing that would have been super interesting. The underwater world and the overall visuals throughout the film felt incredibly unique and stunning.

So I finally finished watching the first arc of Sword Art Online, the Aincrad arc! I initially thought I'd watch the entire first season before sharing my views, but the first arc was long enough on its own to warrant a solid discussion.

​To start with the animation, it was really good! Only the CGI used here and there felt a bit distracting, otherwise, the animation, the world, and its visuals were all quite impressive. The show's music was also great, and I really enjoyed both the opening and ending tracks.

​However, what I didn't like as much was how fast the character bonds and relationships felt. For instance, right at the start, Kirito and Klein become friends, but we hardly spent any time with them to actually feel that connection. Yet the show wanted us to feel it, because when they were parting ways, Kirito was crying, but I didn't feel anything in that moment. Similarly, Kirito and Sachi's relationship felt very rushed to me, when she died, I didn't feel bad at all, even though that was a major turning point for Kirito's character. As for the other girls Kirito met along the way, I couldn't really feel the bond between them either (though I'd say Lizbeth's episode was a bit better).

​When it comes to Asuna, her off screen character development didn't feel entirely believable to me. Just a few episodes prior, she knew almost nothing, but when Kirito meets her again, she feels like a completely different person. After that, a romance develops between the two of them, this time mutual, and to be honest, I couldn't get invested in their relationship at first. Gradually, though, I did get invested because their dynamic was actually given time to breathe, unlike the others which felt rushed. The story was initially giving character relationships only as much time as was strictly necessary to move the plot forward. It was only when things slowed down in the second half that I managed to get invested.

​I also felt Kirito's character development was somewhat rushed. His arc is good, but I think they should have executed it better. Halfway through the arc, when they started focusing heavily on Kirito and Asuna's bond, I realized Kirito's character archetype, someone carrying a heavy burden and trauma who struggles to form connections and feels destined to be alone. So it wouldn't surprise me if learning to connect and form bonds will be an essential part of his arc in the future.

​I liked what they did with Kuradeel, the episodes with Yui were nice, and I liked how the arc ended. It's a good thing they didn't play it too safe, because early on it was starting to feel very generic. But overall, yeah, it's a pretty enjoyable anime!

So, I just finished watching Season 2 of Attack on Titan. This season was titled Clash of the Titans, and wow, what an absolute clash it was.

​I really appreciated the revelation that Titans actually have a purpose, they aren't just mindless evil. I'm talking about Reiner and the other Titan Shifters, of course, putting Ymir aside for a moment, since her story was a bit different. But looking at Ymir's backstory and what happened to Connie's village, it became clear that these Titans are actually human beings, which Erwin also concludes at the end.

​However, even after getting so many answers, even more questions have popped up. First and foremost, Why? Why is someone turning humans into Titans? From what I can gather, they turn humans into Titans and want to use Eren's power to wield them as weapons. But where did all of this begin? Do the people from Reiner's homeland also live inside walls? Probably, since near the end, the Beast Titan was shown sitting atop a wall. There are so many questions! As for the power inside Eren, as far as I reckon, it either belonged to Eren's dad or he had the formula for it, which he injected into Eren so that the enemy nation couldn't take it. Idk, it could be anything. Just when I think I've understood everything, this show throws a bunch of new questions right in my face.

​Okay, putting theories aside, I loved this season. The previous season was already near perfect, but this one went a step above. Something was revealed in almost every single episode, keeping me hooked from start to finish. The early episodes of the first season felt a bit dense and slow paced because they were introducing so many characters, helping us understand the world, and establishing various plot points. But here, every episode from beginning to end was phenomenal back to back.

​Right in the very first episode, we got such a shocking moment when that Titan spoke! My state of mind back then was exactly like Mike's. Then, the reveal about Connie's mom was mind blowing too. Next, there's Historia and her connection to the royal bloodline, which hasn't been fully revealed yet.

​Then came Reiner's reveal. I had already guessed Reiner earlier, but I completely missed the fact that his brother could also be a Titan, how crazy is that! I had correctly guessed Reiner as the Armored Titan, but as for the Colossal Titan standing next to him, I thought it was Commander pixis, I'm such an idiot!

​The fight that followed was awesome, and then came that intense chase scene. Compared to last season, we got to learn so much more about the side characters here, and every single one of them was deeply interesting. I never expected Hannes to show such bravery, and what happened to him was something I never saw coming. Honestly, if this were any other anime, Eren would have learned to control his Titan power by that moment, heck, in other anime, he would have learned it by the end of Season 1! But expectations were completely subverted here. After Hannes was gone, a totally different power awakened inside Eren, and we finally got an idea of why Reiner was after him.

​I knew Reiner's identity would eventually be revealed, but given the way he behaved and helped everyone, I kept praying on the inside that he wouldn't turn out to be purely evil, and thankfully, that was the case. That twist came, but it brought another twist along with it, Reiner developed a split personality due to stress and trauma.

​I also really liked Bertholdt. In Episode 11, tears welled up in my eyes when the Survey Corps members were trying to talk sense into Bertholdt, and then Jean mentioned his sleeping postures, that was the moment I realized how close these guys truly were.

​And yeah, Sasha! We got to learn a bit more about Sasha this season too. Even though her backstory got somewhat overshadowed by the major plotlines, the speech her father gave felt really nice and accurate. Everyone wants to protect their own family, and he also makes Sasha confront the reality that she's just afraid of meeting outsiders and facing the world. It felt deeply relatable to me, I used to be afraid of stepping out of my comfort zone too. I've struggled with social anxiety and still do sometimes, and I think most people have gone through it at some point.

And I completely forgot to talk about Eren! Ever since he fought Annie, the hatred for Titans in his heart has grown even more intense. Unlike last time when he was quite hesitant, this time he couldn't control his rage at all, it was as if his ability to think rationally had vanished.

​In Reiner, setting aside his human side, the guy who used to be such a close friend to him, Eren could now only see a Titan. He kept repeating the exact same thought over and over that all Titans deserve to die. The flashbacks also reveal just how stubborn Eren truly is, once he sets his mind on something, he becomes nearly impossible to handle. I still feel Eren is extremely impulsive, he is so full of anger and hatred that it frequently drives him completely out of control. I still feel like his arc is taking a turn toward the dark side, much like Gon's in Hunter x Hunter.

​Anyway, leaving all that aside! The animation was fantastic again this season. There was just some noticeable CGI here and there, especially during that Colossal Titan sequence, which was a bit distracting, but since it was only for a few moments, it didn't bother me too much.

​Compared to last season, I noticed a slight shift in the color grading as well. While the previous season was dominated by yellowish, barren tones, this season felt dominated by richer greens and darker tones. The pacing felt even better to me than last season, and the soundtrack was amazing, especially the opening and ending, which were even better than Season 1's. Also, the non linear storytelling structure used in the first few episodes might seem a bit confusing, but I found it very interesting and it adds to the rewatch value.

​Overall, I found this season even better than the first. I gave Season 1 a 9.5, so I'll give this season a 9.8/10.

​For Season 3, I'm expecting Levi to recover by then, for us to uncover the secrets of the royal bloodline and Eren's dad, learn more about Reiner's homeland, understand what this new power is, and above all, discover where everything started.

My Season 1 Review – https://www.reddit.com/r/ShingekiNoKyojin/s/765xvxlNMM

I tried to decode Season 2's Ending Song – https://www.reddit.com/r/ShingekiNoKyojin/s/adVjDKgcpc

Sometimes I just put the playlist in Spotify and walk around

Was going through some older anime and found this out in the wild. It's called Ginsoukikou Ordian. I watched and enjoyed plenty of older anime here and there and I was wondering if this is worth my time since it's really obscure and I can barely find discussion on it.