Kotaro Lives Alone is the cutest and most heartwarming anime that you should be watching already. Be warned, this show will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions. Be prepared to laugh, cry, and love as you watch Kotaro make his way in the world.
Kotaro is a peculiar four-year-old who lives on his own. Kotaro is mature for his age and acts like a proper old man from a different time. Kotaro lives in an apartment next to a struggling manga artist. The two will slowly become friends as they spend time together. Kotaro Lives Alone is a story about broken people making friends and dealing with their traumas. The series deals with the themes of neglect, loneliness, abuse, and family while it tells a cute and powerful story.
I watched the English dubbed version and thought the voice acting was great. It is available in the original Japanese with subtitles, but either experience is valid. The art and animation are fantastic for telling this story. Kotaro is so cute, and it’s hard not to fall in love with him as soon as he walks on screen. The rest of the cast is full of broken souls who need Kotaro as much as he needs them. It is heartwarming to see how the characters become friends and go on adventures. This is an anime that is based in reality so don’t expect powers and demons that aren’t metaphorical.
Each episode is made up of different vignettes that neatly come together at the end. You get different perspectives, experiences, and narratives of different traumas as they relate and empathize with Kotaro. This series gets sad, and I cried a lot. If you are someone who gets triggered by abuse or neglect, proceed with caution. It isn’t explicit when it addresses these themes, but it is something to keep in mind. That said, there are a lot of heartwarming moments to make up for it, but they will probably make you cry as well. My only complaint about this series is that I have already finished it.
Go watch Kotaro Lives Alone and thank me later. You can stream it now on Netflix!
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Series Review: Shaman King (2021)
I used to watch the original Shaman King when it first came out long ago. It has been a while since then, and I don’t remember too much of the show, but I remember liking it and playing the game on the Gameboy. I was very excited when I saw that Netflix was remaking the anime, and while it may not be the best, I did enjoy it.
Yoh is a young shaman destined to save the world. Yoh wants to have an easy and carefree life, but his destiny won’t allow it. When Yoh turns 13, the tournament that will determine who the next Shaman king begins. Yoh joins the competition, making many valuable friends along the way. Yoh and his friends must use this competition to beat an ancient shaman who wants to destroy the world. Will they be strong enough to save the world?
This is a cheesy anime, but I believe that it is part of its charm. If you enjoy early 2000s anime, it is very reminiscent of the era. That said, this series isn’t for everyone.
The art has improved from the original series, with better-animated fight scenes. The pacing has some overall improvement, but I felt like the ending was rushed. I was very disappointed by how the series ended, but I still enjoyed it. I read somewhere that this reboot is more true to the manga, but I haven’t read the manga to know for sure. The voice acting was solid for the most part with a few of the original actors reprising their roles. The writing is a bit generic, and it feels like it was written with a younger audience in mind.
What I love most about this show is how they treat death. I was too young to appreciate the amount of work that went into writing this narrative the first time around. This time I was able to catch a lot of the references and I appreciate all the different cultural beliefs about death. Death and the afterlife are heavily featured in this series, and the series explores as many different ideas as they can fit in a season. I like that it never suggests one belief is better than others as they all seem to stem from the great spirit. It was cool to see how each belief and practice manifested as an ability. A lot of this information comes in the form of exposition dumps. I had no problem with these dumps since usually they were very informative.
This anime has its audience. It can be cringey and cheesy at times because a lot of the conflict is solved through the power of friendship. If you are a fan of the original, check it out for nostalgia. If you aren’t and are on the fence, maybe hold off because there are better anime. If you can stomach the overall cheesiness of this show, check it out on Netflix.
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Movie Review: Drifting Home (2022)
Drifting Home is a cute coming-of-age story that deals with grief and loss. I wasn’t ready for the emotional journey this movie was about to take me on, but I am glad I was there for it. Even if you aren’t a fan of Anime, you should check out this film.
Kosuke and Natsume are two kids who lived together due to their circumstances. They were best friends and did everything together. This all changes when Kosuke’s grandfather dies, breaking up the long-existing friendship. Now they only speak to each other when necessary. Unknown forces whisk the pair and a group of friends away and drop them on top of an endless ocean, floating on top of the decrepit apartment they grew up in. The building floats aimlessly, and the kids must band together to survive till rescue comes. If it ever comes that is. Will the kids survive the journey and find a way back home?
I will be rewatching this film regularly. It has become one of my favorite animated films in recent memory. The art is beautiful, the dubbing is fantastic, and the story is cute and compelling. The endless drifting at sea is a perfect metaphor for the kid’s feelings, as they struggle to cope with complex emotions such as grief and loss. The journey acts as the catalyst that will help the kids work through their troubles. It is a well-written journey that will have you sobbing at points but ultimately leave you smiling. Drifting Home is a unique take on a human experience we are all familiar with, making it relatable to all audiences.
Above all, Floating Home is fantasy done right. This is a fun and fantastical world that is well-built and developed. It makes for a fantastic adventure that will have you at the edge of your seat. This isn’t going to be a movie you can only watch once. If you haven’t seen it, I ask you to add it to your watch list and thank me later. You can stream it on Netflix.
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Movie Review: Belle (2022)
There have been a few attempts at adapting the classic fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast for a modern audience. While most fall into obscurity, I believe that Belle is a solid attempt. Belle is the anime version that tells the story in a Ready Player One-like future. In this version, there is a game everyone plays that allows you to log into a virtual world. Suzu is a grieving teen who has lost her mother and is floating through life, trying to find her place in it. She plays the game and becomes the worldwide pop sensation Belle. The rest of the movie is a retelling of Beauty in the beast in a virtual world.
As far as remakes go, this is a sold one. It is far better than the monstrosity that was Beastly, and I even dare say it is better than Disney’s own live-action. The art is pretty, although some of the animation is awkward, and the voice acting is amazing. I did watch it in the original Japanese with subtitles, but there is an English dubbing available if you don’t want to read. I can’t speak on how good the voice acting is for the dubbed version.
Belle is a movie that focuses more on being a slice-of-life anime. Instead of focussing on the bizarre and magical, a lot of the focus falls on the mundane and serene. Scenes will let you admire the scenery surrounding the sleepy town in japan rather than magical transformations. As a result, you get a lot of scenes that pan over rivers or skylines while Suzu deals with the newfound pressures of being popular. There is a lot of beautiful art in this movie that should not be slept on.
This is not your typical action-packed anime. While there is fighting and action, the story focuses more on dealing with grief, loss, and abuse.
The story handles each topic appropriately while telling a decent story. What I liked the most about this version is how active Suzu is in the narrative. Most of the time, this story paints Belle as the smart woman who must save the beast because she has no other option. She is sold or trapped into a situation where she learns sympathy out of necessity. In Belle, Suzu chooses to log into the game as a way to escape and likes being someone different. It helps her cope with a lot of her pent-up feelings. She doesn’t have to help the beast but chooses to on her own. Although Suzu’s motivations for helping the beast are unclear, she drives her own narrative. I love Suzu as a protagonist, and while some of this story is cheesy, it never got unbearable.
I liked this movie, but I love a slice-of-life anime. If you like this art style and genre, this is a solid pick. Otherwise, this movie might be a bit too slow and uneventful.
Recomendation: The Queens Gambit and March Comes in Like Lions
I just watched The Queens Gambit on Netflix and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Normally I am disappointed by the original content as it seems to be cheap copies of better media out there, but this is not the case with this show. If you have not seen the show, it is based on the life of the first woman chess grandmaster. I will warn you, it does start off slow but it’s all worth it in the end. The acting is great, the plot is well written, and I absolutely adored the aesthetics for the show. The sets and the costumes were all well designed. If you haven’t seen the show I would highly recommend it to your watch list.
But I am not here to review this show or even to convince you to watch the show. Instead, I am here to sell you on some anime. Now before you go and dismiss my argument and move on to another article, hear me out. This isn’t what you think. There are no super powers or weird harems. Instead what you get is a slice of life anime about a young professional shogi player and his journey to the top.
The anime in question translates to “March Comes in Like a Lion”. 3-gatsu no raion zenpen for those who wish to watch it in the original Japanese. What makes this anime special I would argue are the same things that make The Queens Gambit so good. I would argue that they are essentially the same plot and wouldn’t be surprised if Netflix borrowed from the anime. What the anime does that the show can’t is that it expands on a lot of the elements that the show can’t address. You get an internal dialogue so you know exactly what the main character Rei is thinking. The supporting cast is given a lot more room to develop into memorable tangible characters for the audience. The show also has a lot more room to address the issues the these players go through in much more detail. Without going into too much detail, it definitely does the Queen’s Gambit a lot a more justice than the Netflix show does.
Now I understand they are not the same story, both are based in entirely different worlds and comparing live action to anime is never fair, but I believe that it is a good refence point especially for those who do not really like anime. I believe both are important bits of media in their own right and if you haven’t already seen them I would motion you to do so as soon as possible. Both are also available on Netflix. But if you have already watched the Queen’s Gambit, make sure you finish strong and watch March Comes in Like a Lion as well.