anime review: watashi ga motenai no wa dou kangaetemo omaera ga warui

when i started this anime i was hoping for a buck load of laughs. i do get them, but after each laugh, i bury my head in shame. this anime really prick on my consciousness.  as a minor case of misfit myself, i can relate to the main character, Kuroki Tomoko. i really pity her and at the same time i want to "shout get over it, dumbass!"

what make this story hilarious is that Tomoko is disgustingly positive with herself and always ended up in disastrous and hilarious result. she had a seemingly foolproof plan for the day but it always went haywire thanks to her inability to talk to people around her.

Tomoko has a serious case of shyness and had a nervous breakdown when people talking to her or when she tried to talk to people. in this anime, Tomoko was not bullied. there are always people around her that was nice to her but she close herself up because of her shyness. i laugh in a lot of scene but then i buried by head in the pillow and think, why is she like that? she reminded me of something in my younger days and i hate that.

the opposite case of Tomoko is her middle school friends Naruse Yuu. she and tomoko both were once an otaku and quite a misfit but she breaks her shell nicely and become a butterfly. tomoko could do the same but in my opinion, she didn't even break her shell. she didn't even really try or maybe she had expected that she would fail so she didn't even bother trying.

here's a little tidbit of the anime:

the plot is about a high school first year trying to become popular. she had simulations on it many times and confident that it will work out but the moment someone talks to her, she had a nervous breakdown. even a simple conversation is hard on her. but she didn't give up and formulate plans after plans, albeit failed to execute it as she hoped.

the animation is this story really center around Tomoko so the animators wahsed out the background and the other characters. but there are also times when the one being washed out is Tomoko. it is to show how she didn't feel like she didn't belong there.

the opening make me expect a fighting scene of some angsty lines but there are none. the ending song was either this one cute pop song on how she feel or random songs that fit the moment. i kinda like the idea of putting random songs in it because it gave a fresh feel and it relate to the episode quite well.

watamote is a hard slap on reality on our face. we are either Tomoko or we know a Tomoko. we are either helping them or we ignore them. we know that Tomoko need help and there are times when we really wanted to reach our hands to her. but then come the Tomoko side of story, which she unknowingly rejected people's help and build a fence around herself.


it was funny and sometime it was depressing especially for those who had  experience of being a missfit. it wasn't an emotional rollercoater but at the end of every scene i look back into myself and feel depressed. for the anime to be able to bring out the deepest feeling and dark secret of the person watching it, it was a really good anime.

anime review: monogatari (1st season)

i have already read the light novels of this series and to be honest i kinda watched it according to the time flow of the novel, not the release sequence of the anime.
the story center around Araragi koyomi, o boy who was turned into a vampire then turned back to being human. after he return back to normal human it seems like he life got involve with more Kai (oddities/monster/ spiritual being). this story tell his journey in helping those affected by the Kai and the stor of the Kais itself.

what really got me hooked up on this is two things. the first one is the involvement of supernatural beings in the series. a guess every girl love supernatural things. what make it much more enjoyable is that you could reseach on the kais on your own. the idea of using japanesse kai and folklore really make this story stand out.

the second thing that got me hooked up is the animation. the animator of this anime is shaft studio. i like how they just eliminate unnecessary characters in the anime, even it is a scene in the school but there was no other students, just araragi and whichever girl (hitagi/hanekawa/kanbaru) he was dealing with. i figure out that everything that appear in the anime is related to the story, wheter to emphasis or to give a clue on something. oh and, don't forget the head tilt. only shaft can do it and it convey different emotions,

the plot:
to tell the truth the plot was kinda messed up for first timer.  i already read the light novels so i can understand it quite well. basically it is a story of a former vampire, dealing and helping girls that was affected by Kai or spiritual beings. in a way it seem like those who was affected by kai will always ended up meeting Araragi, or he himself seemed to attract those who was affected by kai.

characters:

araragi koyomi- a boy who was attacked by a vampire and became and vampire during his spring break before third year. with the help of oshino meme and hanekawa tsubasa, he gained his mortality back along with few vampire traits.
he is an honest person and selfless, often hurting himself in order to save the girls. after the mayoi snail arc, he and senjougahara hitagi started going out.

Senjougahara hitagi- one of the girls that was affected by the kai, the Burden/Weight Crab, causing her to lose her  weight. Araragi helped her to gain her weight back and since the she was thankful to him. she consider herself a tsundere and quite abusive towards Araragi Koyomi, even after dating. however she seemed much more normal and opened up after the Tsukuhi Pheonix Arc. despite being abusive, she really loves Araragi Koyomi.

Hanekawa Tsubasa- the epitome of goodness. she is the class representatives in Araragi class. she is so righteous that it sickened oshino memes. however, in Nekomonogatai, it is revealed that Hanekawa has a serious family issues. an issues big enough that a bakeneko possesed her and harmed her parents and lots of civillian in order to release her stress. hanekawa is smart and knows alot of things with her taglile 'i don't know everything, i just know what i know'. araragi first thinks he was in love with her but Araragi Tsukihi said that he just lusted after her. however, she is one among the peoples Araragi trust and cared so much, mainly because he owe her a life debt.

Araragi karen- the middle child of the Araragi household. she is into martial arts and had a lot of energy to spend. she is a part of the fire sister and always ready to uphold justice. she is a bit of hot headed, a trait that caused her to be bitten by the kai bee that caused her a terrible fever.

Araragi Tsukihi- the youngest of the araragi siblings. she is sweet like any younger sister should be but also prone to histerics. she loves to do indoor activity and also part of the fire sister. in Nisemonogatari, it is revealed that, tsukihi is not really their sister but a pheonix llike kai that had taken a residents in their mother's womb and born as Araragi Tsukihi. this pheonix like ability gave her a regenerative ability.

HAchikuji mayoi- a elementary schooler that Araragi met at the park on mother's day. she is playful and always mispronounce Araragi's name. Mayoi is actually a lost snail kai that led those who didn't want to go home astray, a role even she herself didn't like. after the help from Araragi and Hitagi, she become the wandering ghost, which suit her best because she can travel around. while being the lost snail kai, only Araragi and Hanekawa can see her. implying that both teenagers didn't want to go home.

Kanbaru Suruga- a star basketball player that was in love with Hitagi. Kanbaru was affected by the Rainy devils, a power that make her tried to kill Araragi because of her jelousy towards him for being with Hitagi. kanbaru is boyish and always bright and positive.

Oshino Meme- a kai experts that helped Araragi gain his mortality back. he is the man that araragi will consult any girl with kai problems to him.

Oshino Shinobu- a former vampire that bit Araragi and caused him to become a vampire. when araragi return to his mortality, she alse stripped of her power, leaving her in a child body. she suck Araragi blood daily so that she can stay alive. in akemonogatari, she stay silent and brooding in a corner but in nisemonogatari, she lives in Araragi shadows and speak. she has an obsessive fondness of donuts.

Sengoku Nadeko- araragi junior and also one of his childhood friends (friend of his sisters). Sengoku was affected by double curses from both her friend and a boy that she rejected. she had a crush on Araragi and Kanbaru called her the final boss (in relation to Araragi love life)

arts:
the arts was simply stunning. the fact that Shaft used a lot of geometric elements in this make it quite exceptional compared to other anime. it uses the colour that is bright and vivid on the gray background.

music:  the opening song is different on each arc. i like it that way because it won't be redundant. the animation during the opening is also related to the girl in the arc, it gives the hist of the girls feeling and characteristic.

all in all, it is a must watch for those who love anime based on supernatural. the fact that it wasn't gloomy make it much more enjoyable. it is supernatural but it is not represented in a ghost story mode.