ReZero’s Rem: Crystallized Waifu

This will be a smaller character dive than the last two. Natuski Subaru was a character who deserved two parts because his character journey and development was heavy enough that it needed to be. For our character today however I want to focus the dive on the effects that this character has in relation to Natsuki Suburu and his character journey. So after the cut let’s take a character dive into ReZero’s Rem

“Jackpot” is what the figure making companies thought probably.

ReZero’s Natsuki Subaru Part II: Save the World by Saving Yourself

“Before you try to save the world, you need to first try and save yourself.”

I’ve made it clear on his blog that I am a big proponent of the idea of “self-reflection”. The concept of looking back at one’s deeds and actions and pondering on them, whether they were right or wrong, and how it defines oneself both in the past and the future. I’ve talked about this in manga and anime as well, most notable with Issei in the fourth season of High School DxD. It has also allowed myself personally to come to terms with my dislike of Shinmai Maou no Testament, and not devolve into one of those idiots who makes post after post or video after video decrying something they dislike.

Frankly, I think self-reflection is vitally important to how we can behave and act properly in this world, and seeing it in anime has raised many series from good work, to great ones, and that is no truer than with ReZero. After the cut let’s continue our character dive into the main lead: Natsuki Subaru.

Check out part 1 right here!

Still, a long way to go, my friend,

Shinmai Maou no Testament: Self-Reflection and Personal Indulgence

Ugh…

Just…Ugh….

Alright, fuck it. I’ve made so many references to this show before, that I feel I owe to my viewers to explain myself. This is not so much a ‘Shallow Dive’ but more of a personal unloading my cathartic rage about how I feel, one forged from months of thought, self-reflection and just…ugh… After the cut, it’s time to talk about Tetsuto Uesu’s Shinmai Maou no Testament, or in English: The Testament of Sister New Devil.

(This is a reblog of my first ever post here on Shallow Dives, with a little bit of additional information and thoughts. Totally not doing this because I have more viewers now and I want people to see what I view is my best piece of writing.)

 

Fucking god dammit.

High School DxD’s Issei Hyoudou: A Good Guy, but a Better Man.

One weakness that almost all harem shows share is that the main male character is boring and forgettable. They mostly serve as the prize the women are working towards, and as harem animes are focused on the women, the main character mostly just has to look nice, be nice and the rest will fall into place. This is why most male harem leads tend to blur together; they are nice guys, good guys and that is pretty much it. Harem animes don’t need to have a good male character for them to work or be successful, and several series like To Love-Ru, Date A Live, Isekai Smartphone and even (ugh) Shinmai Maou No Testament all have had success despite boring and forgettable male leads.

Yet there are some male harem leads who actually have enough development, personality and attention spent on them, that they actually not only feel like better characters, they actually improve the entire harem anime as a whole. After the cut let’s take a character dive into the main lead of High School DxD: Issei Hyoudou.

(DISCLAIMER: SOME OF THE CLIPS SHOW ARE UNCENSORED AND NOT SAFE FOR WORK, PLEASE WATCH WITH DISCRETION)

(DISCLAIMER 2: THE VIDEOS ARE NOT OF AMAZING QUALITY CAUSE YOUTUBE IS ASS, FORGIVE ME)

If you told me THIS character, from THIS show, would have this much depth? I’d say you are outta your damn mind.

ReZero – Starting Life in Another World: The Masterpiece that brought me back to Anime.

Let’s start this off with a story.

In 2016 my attitude towards Anime was that I was pretty much done with it. While I still read One Piece weekly and caught the yearly Gundam show, I was pretty much done and done with the entire industry. I was done with the tropes, the all too similar plotlines, the silly characters, all of it. Mostly because I was in a point in my life where I was figuring out the next steps in my career while working overseas, I just didn’t have time to devote to anime. It was not a feeling of anger or bitterness, but more in that I had taken up my fill of what Anime had to offer me, and I was just kinda over it.

A close friend of mine, however, wasn’t, and he was watching every anime season and always trying to make me watch the shows, something that I rarely ever took him up on. However in the summer of 2016 something changed, and the one-two punch of discovering High School DxD began to reignite my long dormant love for anime. It was then that for some reason I took my friend’s advice and watched the show that we are discussing today.

Needless to say, this anime was exactly the medicine I needed. So after the cut let’s take a shallow dive into Tappei Nagasuki’s ReZero – Starting Life in Another World.

Indulgence, Self Reflection, and Shinmai Maou no Testament

(Reposted from the Tumblr blog which can be found here)

The series that I have wanted to talk about since I started this blog. The series that is probably the only reason I decided to brace the wild jungle that is Tumblr in the first place. A show that, more than any other piece of anime: harem or not, has taken root in my mind. After the cut, it’s time to talk about Tetsuto Uesu’s Shinmai Maou no Testament, or in English: The Testament of Sister New Devil.

*Angry Noises of Rage*