Leo Rates Anime

A slugfest story of an underground boxer, no-ID, no-name, not-civilian, from the slums who wants to win a robotic arms boxing tournament in the sci-fi city that anyone may enter, proper civilians only, and show everybody what's the real deal about boxing. It's like Redline , but with boxing instead of racing, with a touch of Cowboy Bepop . The fights aren't as good as those in Hajime no Ippo , it seems to focus more on the journey. Also, Megalo Box commemorates the 50 year anniversary of Ashita no Joe , so it's probably like a sci-fi spin-off of that. 13 episode anime original. 8/10★ - A cool story with a boxer. Strengths: hype, artwork, soundtracks, rap, grittiness. Weakness: boxing. A boxing anime that gets you worked up, with gorgeous art, music, and some pretty dark plot. Enjoyable from start to end. But ironically, despite great-looking, the fights don't feel that special. Like virtually every sports anime since ever, it's the tale of the und...

An edgy story about "hope," "despair," a bunch of girls, an emotionless transfer student the main character saw once in a dream, and a creepy cat with contracts that grant one single wish like a lamp genie in exchange for you to become a magical girl and fight witches. Mix Persona 4 with Houseki no Kuni , replace the fun with long-winded bad sci-fi explanations from Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei , narrate it like Bakemonogatari , add some magical girls in it, then you have this anime. Also similar to: Shinsekai Yori . 12 episode anime original. 2/10★ - Too much talking and overly dramatic. Weaknesses: weird artwork makes fight scenes artsy but sub-par, whole cast is dumb as a rock, way too much exposition. Frustrating. Entirely based on little girls' feelings, rejects logic. Forcibly paced at a crawl, lots of explaining its magical girl system and characters avoiding saying important stuff. Just like in Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei , no matter how m...

A experimental device allows scientists to enter a patient's dream, so they can better understand their subconscious and help cure anxiety, etc. But a villain stole it, and is using it to make people go crazy. If he isn't stopped, the device will be deemed dangerous and its future development put at risk. A bit of  Paranoia Agent , a bit of Ghost in the Shell , but mostly its own thing. Movie, 90 minutes, anime original. 8/10★ - Wha... what in the world did I just watch?! Strengths: dialogue, characters. Weakness: bad science fiction. A bewildering parade of suspense and twists. The artwork captures well the psyche of the characters, whose exchanges are great to watch. It'd be perfect if only the science were better. Like many of the psychological genre, Paprika builds up tension and psychosis as time goes by, things just get crazier and crazier. Both music and art display the nonsensical maniacal euphoria, the disconnect from reality,  with incredible auth...

Five giant mecha-girls are piloted by ten orphan children grouped as boy-girl "partners" who are raised as the only weapon against bio-robotic blue-bleeding monsters, defending their dome-utopia city they mayn't visit that moves around the barren planet. The main character can't pilot a mecha, then he meets a weird girl whose partners keep dying. A new rendition of KADO: The Right Answer , made in collaboration with studio Trigger. 24 episode conclusive anime original. 1/10★ - A joke, lamentable and rather disgusting. Strengths: edgy plot, trash waifus, sexual innuendos everywhere. Weaknesses: you'll feel disappointed no matter what you like in anime. What people like and dislike about it varies: the sci-fi plot, the developed characters, the shipping, the cringey fanservice, the great action with mecha-battles, but there's one factor in common: they're all left unsatisfied by the end. It baits you, then slaps you in the face like a lame prank. ...

An epic mecha adventure of an orphan boy living in a poor underground village who has never seen the surface and his trusty gutsy katana-gang-bro; one day a huge mecha-with-face destroys the cave ceiling whilst fighting a sniper-gun-girl, they find a smaller mecha-with-face, and the non-stop series of mecha battles begin. It's  Kill la Kill , but with mechas instead of almost-naked girls. 27 episode conclusive anime original. Warning: the two movies are summaries with the pacing destroyed, avoid them at all cost, they add very little to the TV anime and spoil the whole story. 10/10★ - The most shounen anime ever. Strengths: blows every expectation out of the water. Great character development. At one point, combines eyegasm with eargasm for what's to be known as the legendary audiovisualgasm. It'll give you a chill in the spine from pure euphoria and awe to its otherworldly levels of epic... in the first episode. And that's gonna happen in dozens of episo...