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Ore ga Suki nano wa Imouto dakedo Imouto ja Nai
If Franxx was Gurren Lagann on a budget, then Imo Imo is Saekano on the same budget, and in every respect at that. But overall it's not bad — only the art really let it down; though honestly, sometimes I even thought it was done deliberately, because the characters' suffering faces were way too comical at times. I especially liked the scene where the protagonist writes a light novel trying to cater to a wider audience, then rereads his creation and comments "this is just not interesting to read at all..." — that's exactly my impression of many franchises when all that remains is the brand name with no soul left in it.
Release the Spyce
The general impression is about the same as with JJK which I mentioned above, except prettier and with more interesting characters. I really liked the antagonist's design + was pleasantly surprised to hear Shizuka voicing her.
Violet Evergarden
A strange title. Beautiful landscapes, architecture, outfits, interiors — all of it in excellent artwork refined down to the smallest detail; pleasant to watch, although the colors did sometimes seem overly melancholic. On the other hand, the episodic stories are seemingly interesting on their own, but the moment an episode ends you immediately forget about them, so unremarkable they are. Moreover, they don't really lead anywhere — you could replace them with others or cut them out entirely and it wouldn't affect the narrative cohesion one bit. In short, I think I would have enjoyed this much more if I had watched it at least five years ago when I had less experience, or alternatively if I had grown attached to Violet from the very first episodes — then both her journey and interactions with other characters would have carried more weight.
Yuru Camp△
I've never been interested in camping (what am I, some kind of rat, to huddle in a corner waiting for an inattentive opponent?), but I always wanted to travel around Japan, which was conveyed to some extent here. By the way, since I spent my childhood in a resort town, I know firsthand what it means to vacation off-season — it truly is pleasant when there's nobody around and all of nature is yours alone. Anyway, it's a cozy title, though I did get a bit tired during the episodes where they sat on the plains with the teacher.
If Franxx was Gurren Lagann on a budget, then Imo Imo is Saekano on the same budget, and in every respect at that. But overall it's not bad — only the art really let it down; though honestly, sometimes I even thought it was done deliberately, because the characters' suffering faces were way too comical at times. I especially liked the scene where the protagonist writes a light novel trying to cater to a wider audience, then rereads his creation and comments "this is just not interesting to read at all..." — that's exactly my impression of many franchises when all that remains is the brand name with no soul left in it.
Release the Spyce
The general impression is about the same as with JJK which I mentioned above, except prettier and with more interesting characters. I really liked the antagonist's design + was pleasantly surprised to hear Shizuka voicing her.
Violet Evergarden
A strange title. Beautiful landscapes, architecture, outfits, interiors — all of it in excellent artwork refined down to the smallest detail; pleasant to watch, although the colors did sometimes seem overly melancholic. On the other hand, the episodic stories are seemingly interesting on their own, but the moment an episode ends you immediately forget about them, so unremarkable they are. Moreover, they don't really lead anywhere — you could replace them with others or cut them out entirely and it wouldn't affect the narrative cohesion one bit. In short, I think I would have enjoyed this much more if I had watched it at least five years ago when I had less experience, or alternatively if I had grown attached to Violet from the very first episodes — then both her journey and interactions with other characters would have carried more weight.
Yuru Camp△
I've never been interested in camping (what am I, some kind of rat, to huddle in a corner waiting for an inattentive opponent?), but I always wanted to travel around Japan, which was conveyed to some extent here. By the way, since I spent my childhood in a resort town, I know firsthand what it means to vacation off-season — it truly is pleasant when there's nobody around and all of nature is yours alone. Anyway, it's a cozy title, though I did get a bit tired during the episodes where they sat on the plains with the teacher.