a (hopefully) informative list

I got tired of every anime reveiwer never mentioning all the awful stuff so heres my blog to keep track of it.

[istheanimeweird]

how did jjk wind up being

Still haven’t watched pass episode 3. i think it looks....just fine? Like every shonen these days is carried by its animation but i found the monster design ugly. Every character beyond hammer girl was just ok to me. If you like shonens just skip the middle of episode one and it should be a fine watch?

[istheanimeweird]

about jjk, that's actually the one and only scene like that in the whole thing. all of the female characters have their own personalities, are strong in their own ways and don't depend on their male counterparts for development. there are no misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic or racist 'jokes' and the story as a whole is very interesting!! I'd give it another shot (the manga is great and the animation is so so good...)

Thank you for the information! I think I heard from another person that was added in the anime and wasn’t in the manga? Still very disappointing to see this kind of thing in 2020, and will definitely skew its rating up--but hardly enough to damn it compared to some of the other anime’s I have reviewed here haha XD. I’ll probably watch a little more when time permits, as the animation was nice and I very much enjoyed rude Hammer Girl. 

[istheanimeweird]

I tried to watch jjk to review it here but the first episode has a girl getting groped so im rating it 4 after like three episodes. -_-  i thought after boku no hero and kimistu no yaiba most mainstream shonen had moved beyond putting blatent ecchi shit in their productions. like i found those shows boring but at least they didnt put so much Weird in. 

[goodscreencaps]

[nge24-1]

oh if only hideaki anno used all the energy he spent on sexualizing young teenage girls and *exploring a boy's sexuality* on actually picturing shinji's inner conflicts over being gay and not conforming to gender norms VS trying so hard to please everyone and being forced into toxic models of masculinity/reproducing the same cycle of abuse and reliance on women as his father before him

[istheanimeweird]

IS THE ANIME WEIRD: MADE IN ABYSS (2017)

Made In Abyss

The Abyss—a gaping chasm stretching down into the depths of the earth, filled with mysterious creatures and relics from a time long past. How did it come to be? What lies at the bottom? Countless brave individuals, known as Divers, have sought to solve these mysteries of the Abyss, fearlessly descending into its darkest realms. The best and bravest of the Divers, the White Whistles, are hailed as legends by those who remain on the surface. Riko, daughter of the missing White Whistle Lyza the Annihilator, aspires to become like her mother and explore the furthest reaches of the Abyss. However, just a novice Red Whistle herself, she is only permitted to roam its most upper layer. Even so, Riko has a chance encounter with a mysterious robot with the appearance of an ordinary young boy. She comes to name him Reg, and he has no recollection of the events preceding his discovery. Certain that the technology to create Reg must come from deep within the Abyss, the two decide to venture forth into the chasm to recover his memories and see the bottom of the great pit with their own eyes. However, they know not of the harsh reality that is the true existence of the Abyss.

Rating: 5 ( Really Weird ***SPECIAL WARNING***) 

Personal Feelings:  With a unique plot, beautiful music, animation done by ghibili background staff, and a dash of the old “seemingly cute plot becomes horror”. Made in Abyss looks like it has a lot to like. 

But its worth stating that its author is absolutely a pedophile. This is not...in any way a secret if you’ve even glanced at the manga. Its not exactly the obvious sort of boob shots this blog usually deals with, but once you understand that, it sort of colors the entire anime experience. The violence and horror happening to this kids is absolutely some kind of fetish thing, and the way its presented, without a lot of morals or growth for their character and solely for the veiwers enjoyment, really starts to leave a bad taste in my mouth. Child nudity shows up every once in a while, and there are plenty of comments about the main male character that are pretty sexual. You probably could have an alright time with this one if you like dark shows and the weird sexual overtones went over your head, but really, as much as I liked the worldbuilding concepts and soundtrack of this one, its really not worth your time unless your prepared to sit through some really uncomfortable stuff.  It’s movie just came out so just like..be warned. 

[istheanimeweird]

[attacks you with my sinister “please watch erased” aura]

[istheanimeweird]

*SLAMS IN HERE* *SLAPS HAND ON DESK* ERASED

---

Its done queen!

[istheanimeweird]

IS THE ANIME WEIRD: Erased (2016)

Erased 

When tragedy is about to strike, Satoru Fujinuma finds himself sent back several minutes before the accident occurs. The detached, 29-year-old manga artist has taken advantage of this powerful yet mysterious phenomenon, which he calls "Revival," to save many lives. However, when he is wrongfully accused of murdering someone close to him, Satoru is sent back to the past once again, but this time to 1988, 18 years in the past. Soon, he realizes that the murder may be connected to the abduction and killing of one of his classmates, the solitary and mysterious Kayo Hinazuki, that took place when he was a child. This is his chance to make things right. Boku dake ga Inai Machi follows Satoru in his mission to uncover what truly transpired 18 years ago and prevent the death of his classmate while protecting those he cares about in the present.

Rating: 2 (Fairly Normal) 

Personal Feelings:  Despite not being a classic, Erased is an anime I often show to friends who are just getting into anime but have watched the immediate classics like FMAB. Its got a simple, clean plot that unfolds over 12 episodes, with minimal weirdness an a fun mystery. There is very little that can dissuade the appeal of a bunch of kids in the 80′s trying to solve the case of a murderer loose in their town, along with some fun timeline shenanigans.  The OP also slaps.  I’ll note a lot of the plot centers around trying to get a young girl out of an abusive situation, and while much of it is not explicit, there is a lot of discussion of the abuse.  I bumped this up to a two instead of a one for moments where the 29 year old MC (who behaves very appropriately inside a child’s body!) shares a bed with another eight year old and occasionally blushes when they do cute hand holding things. There is also some romantic tension between him and his high school age coworker in the future.  However, there is no explicit relationship between either of these “””””pairings””””””--everything is kept very platonic--but such moments might make certain people uncomfortable. 

[istheanimeweird]

IS THE ANIME WEIRD: Soul Eater (2008)

Soul Eater

At the "Death Weapon Meister Academy" teams, each consisting of a meister or wielder and a weapon that can transform into a humanoid, try to make the latter a "death scythe" by collecting the souls of 99 evil humans and one witch Soul Eater Evans, a Demon Scythe who only seems to care about what's cool, partners with straight-laced  meister, Maka Albarn. The contrasting duo work and study alongside the hot headed Black☆Star and his caring weapon Tsubaki, as well as the Shinigami's own son, Death the Kid, an obsessive-compulsive dual wielder of twin pistols Patty and Liz. Soul Eater follows these students of Shibusen as they take on missions to collect souls and protect the city from the world's threats while working together under the snickering sun to become sounder in mind, body, and soul.

Rating: 4 (Pretty Weird)

Personal Feelings: Another personal favorite, Soul Eater is an offbeat anime that prides itself in its weird and fairly dark plot. The entire Halloween aesthetic, likable characters and villains and incredible animation make this one a classic (and complete!) shonen with a female main character. Its famous for having a different anime ending then the manga, and while I feel the second half is a bit weaker, its a fun watch thats entirely on Netflix. English Dub is also great.  Love Maxey Whiteheads performance as Crona. 

Unfortunately, it also has a fair amount of anime weird. It strays away from to much around its female protagonist aside from a few flat chested jokes--but there are at least two “boy character accidentally see’s the girls in the hotsprings uwah~ so funny!” scenes and an entire (adult? shes an adult cat women thing) character who periodically runs around naked and rubbing up against an underaged male character. At one point there is a battle between two big chested adult characters in very scanty clothing with lots of weird jokes. It’s played for laughs, but you can decide if you find it funny or not. You can skip the worst of the horny adult catgirl  and one of the hot springs scenes if you just skip the first three episodes, which are mostly filler introducing the main characters. I honestly skip them almost every re-watch, and I think the anime functions fine without it. 

[istheanimeweird]

Moé, Misogyny and Masculinity: Anime’s Cuteness Problem–and How to Fix It

Let's talk critically about cuteness--specifically moé, a subgenre in anime that emphasizes cute young girls in a way that often veers into subtle misogyny.

Not exactly the post I was looking for, but a good article around the real issues with “moe” style which I think go far beyond simple misogyny. There’s a reason you can find so many figures of these girls in skimpy bathing suits or worse. 

[istheanimeweird]

like it or not moe anime is absolutly sexualizing of its characters.....i wish i could find the post again about how insidious it is in marketing childlike purity and “cuteness” for a sexual gaze. 

[istheanimeweird]

[istheanimeweird]

actually better question whats the deal with My Hero Academia i get the impression its politics get pretty sus real quick but I dont wanna check it for myself for real and get brain worms

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ates you really want me to put all the lame stuff on my wonderful avant garde anime review blog, huh? huh? >:(  done right over here  

[istheanimeweird]

IS THE ANIME WEIRD:  MY HERO ACADEMIA (2016) 

My Hero Academia

Since he was a child, an ambitious but powerless middle schooler has wanted nothing more than to be a hero. Izuku Midoriya’s unfair fate leaves him admiring heroes and taking notes on them whenever he can. But it seems that his persistence has borne some fruit: Izuku meets the number one hero and his personal idol, All Might. All Might's quirk is a unique ability that can be inherited, and he has chosen Izuku to be his successor!  Izuku enrolls in UA High, a prestigious high school famous for its excellent hero training program, and this year's freshmen look especially promising. With his bizarre but talented classmates and the looming threat of a villainous organization, Izuku will soon learn what it really means to be a hero.

Rating: 3 (Somewhat Weird) 

Personal Thoughts:  MHA is...fine. Its fine. I’m not the biggest fan of it anymore, but it has a lot less problematic weirdness on screen then some of the stuff I’ve reviewed here. There’s a reason its been a lot of peoples starting anime. It’s a nice big budget shonen with all the fun that entails, but I don’t think it really stands out in the genre. Opening seasons are pretty solid animation and story wise. 

MHA is a great example of the dead middle of the weird spectrum. I actually might put it a bit lower on this scale then other shonens that would get a 3; because it actually has less boob shots for its underaged characters then some of its shonen predecessors. It doesn’t shy away from sexualizing its adult female heros, and it has one character entirely devoted to spouting rancid commentary on how horny he is--but you know, we could consider it a small victory? 

A few underaged female characters outfits are pretty sexualized, but many of them fade into obscurity after the first season, so I don’t know if you’d consider that a plus or not. 

[istheanimeweird]

Whats the deal with Kill la Kill

(answered!) 

[istheanimeweird]

IS THE ANIME WEIRD: KILL LA KILL  (2013)

Kill la Kill 

After the murder of her father, Ryuuko Matoi has been wandering the land in search of his killer. Following her only lead—the missing half of his invention, the Scissor Blade—she arrives at the prestigious Honnouji Academy, a high school unlike any other. The academy is ruled by the imposing and cold-hearted student council president Satsuki Kiryuuin alongside her powerful underlings, the Elite Four. In the school's brutally competitive hierarchy, Satsuki bestows upon those at the top special clothes called "Goku Uniforms," which grant the wearer unique superhuman abilities. Thoroughly beaten in a fight against one of the students in uniform, Ryuuko retreats to her razed home where she stumbles across Senketsu, a rare and sentient "Kamui," or God Clothes. After coming into contact with Ryuuko's blood, Senketsu awakens, latching onto her and providing her with immense power. Now, armed with Senketsu and the Scissor Blade, Ryuuko makes a stand against the Elite Four, hoping to reach Satsuki and uncover the culprit behind her father's murder once and for all.

Rating: 5 (Really Weird)

Personal Feelings:  A hot mess of sexualized nonsense, somehow this is the only studio trigger work I’ve ever really enjoyed watching (I was 15, ok!). Characters are likeable, and the plot is unique, but the sexualization of its main female lead and every other character is inseparable from any moment of the series. 

Every magical girl shot in the show has both an ass and boob shot, and these show up once an episode. Outside of that, everyone is wearing skimpy, clothing. Outside of that, the camera will linger on every single jiggle. I won’t even give it points for sexualizing its male characters just as much with weird BDSM gear. That sucks.

Its fights were well animated and when I was fifteen I found the english dub funny, but as an adult in 2020, theres really no reason to go back to this one.