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Jan 9, 2026
It’s a fine popcorn movie, but it's ultimately pointless just like every other alternate timeline in SAO. The film primarily focuses on Asuna's perspective of the events on the first floor, and it does her character justice, but.... who cares? It's the same shit repackaged, but this time slightly better.
SAO in general isn't nearly as bad as some make it out to be; it has contrivances and some uhh… “problematic” elements, but it’s nowhere near the seasonal isekai slop of which it serves as a blueprint for. Aincrad, Mother's Rosario, and Alicization are range from good to really good, though the Phantom Bullet arc is
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pretty awful.
Reki Kawahara needs to just finish the main story and start over with a new series. He’s improved considerably as a writer, and it’s okay to just let SAO be that series that had a really cool premise and alright execution, that we still love because we watched it when we were fourteen. Instead, the man is going to spend the rest of his life trying to continuously tweak it to please the haters who think it's the worst thing ever made.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 23, 2025
This anime was already testing my patience before it pulled some of the dumbest shit I've ever seen. Despite sharing a total of like two onscreen conversations throughout the entire anime, one of the female characters kisses the protagonist after being rejected by her love interest. This is after the protagonist's childhood friend expresses jealousy over another pilot wearing his clothing or something. Did I mention that the other pilot wearing his clothing is also in love with him now? I don't really care about whether this is an offensive depiction of women or whatever; it's just bad writing. It was so bad that I
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dropped the show.
Even before this, Last Exile takes forever to get to the point. I appreciated some of the tell-don't-show storytelling (seriously, it's actually solid for anime), but the character writing ranges from above average to absolutely abysmal. When the plot slows down and it hits you with some of the abysmal character writing, the show is almost unwatchably bad.
I've cooled off enough to give Last Exile a 5/10, but don't underestimate how ass this show gets at some points, because for every amazing scene, there is one bad one.
Alex Row and Dio have super cool character designs; it sucks they are stuck in a mediocre ass show like Last Exile.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Aug 31, 2025
Ignore all the people complaining about this being a bad adaptation; it's simply trying to do something different than the source material. I was honestly confused seeing the score here, until I remembered that anime communities tend to be overly hostile towards anything that takes the source material in a different direction.
I really love this film; it has a unique fairy tale vibe that is furthered, not hampered, by how mysterious its world is. The story also makes sense if you are able to put two and two together without exposition. I highly recommend watching this if you desire an anime that plays out like
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a literary fairytale.
So, if you are on the verge of watching it, but the reviews are pushing you away, ignore them and give this OVA a chance. It's really a shame, because if this weren't connected to manga, it would easily be sitting above an 8.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 17, 2025
Throughout its nearly two-hour runtime, the Project Sekai movie explores how music can help us reconcile with our negative emotions in a relatively surface-level manner (which is fine; it's a kids/family movie after all). The film also has an auxiliary message: How people, even strangers, can assist each other in a world that often feels dark and uncaring. Some of these elements are presented in a genuinely touching manner, but the narrative fails in many other aspects.
When I first heard about this movie, I was doubtful a coherent narrative could be weaved between five groups while authentically presenting the characters dealing with their struggles (something
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Project Sekai excels in). My predictions were correct; this movie barely touches on the characters or their internal and external conflicts. Instead, the focus is solely on the Fragmented SEKAI Miku and how she interacts with the rest of the cast. This choice is simultaneously extremely disappointing and the only method by which it could be even somewhat enjoyable to those unfamiliar with the source material.
Even with these compromises, it is questionable if the story will fully resonate with individuals unfamiliar with the source material. Sure, they might understand the series' message from afar, but the emotional weight is lost. They might appreciate moments of high-budget animation, but they won't perceive the artsy MVs often filled with symbolism and esoteric references. Most importantly, though, they won't have any attachment to the characters, which is a problem when many Project Sekai fans simply derive enjoyment from their interactions with one another.
Fundamentally, Project Sekai is about characters struggling in their youth—struggling with themselves, struggling with their parents, and struggling with their peers. So, this film perfectly summarizes what Project Sekai is about, but it fails to tell a story about these conflicts as powerfully as its source material. There is no moment where you feel intimate with any of the characters like you do in the game.
How could the creators have fixed this? Well, honing in on one of the five groups and loosely retelling their stories in a sort of "alternate timeline" could have fully conveyed the essence of what Project Sekai is. This premise could appeal to newcomers by removing all the baggage while also appealing to fans by being a sort of "what if" scenario for their favorite characters. That being said, I also understand the outrage that would follow a movie with a one-group focus. For example, if this movie had been exclusively Nightcord-focused, it would have felt unfair to the other groups' fans.
These conclusions bring us to the core of my review: The Project Sekai movie attempts to attract and entertain too many audiences at once. It tries to ride off the contrails of Miku's popularity while also using characters that have, in many ways, outgrown the Vocaloids originally used to sell them. However, the Colorful Stage movie also has moments that will touch the hearts of those watching; it demands attention despite the repetitive hammering of its themes through the viewer's skull and even through the abysmally cringe Vivid BAD SQUAD rap song. The reason for this is simple: Most of us love music; music has helped almost all of us to some degree—it is something we all have a genuine connection to, so when we visually see how music affects the individuals in the story, it becomes hard for even the more cynical of us to mock in its entirety.
So yeah, this movie is pretty dumb and silly, but I feel like anyone who hates the Project Sekai movie, in its entirety, lacks a heart.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Feb 19, 2025
tl;dr: Prose = good, characters = good, art = my personal favorite light novel art, plot = abysmal.
Torture Princess is at its best when flaunting the eccentricities of its world and characters; it's at its worst when the plot actually stops by and demands the reader's attention. Some people might humor a story for a while, to give it a full chance to hook the reader to its plot. I did such a thing with "Torture Princess," and was subsequently forced into reading drawn-out action sequence after drawn-out action sequence. Yes, the prose is better than the average light novel, but who cares? Especially when
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said prose is wasted on in-depth descriptions of gore for the umpteenth time.
I would like to preface this review by saying that I dropped this series partway through the fourth volume. I've heard from some people that the series gets better, but I just found the series too boring to continue. It wasn't even horrible, I genuinely liked almost all of the characters, but the plot from volume to volume just did not hook me. The premise is fine: evil but maybe not so evil girl has to kill x of evil entity to atone for doing something evil in the past; the problem is that there are so few moments of actual interest, and the one's that do exist, are scattered about in gallons of bullshit. I swear the author could condense the first four volumes into two by cutting down a lot of the demon hunts that feel like filler. Also, at the end of volume 3/start of volume 4, there is one of the most contrived plot points in the entire series which feels more like a desperate attempt to keep the series running than anything else.
Look, if all of the meanderings in the first four novels are somehow important in the end, that's great. It doesn't change the fact that reading them in the moment is uninteresting, it feels like you are reading a literal fetch quest. I'm unsure of what the series is building towards, or rather I don't think it is really building towards anything at all, and that is not something you should be struggling with on the fourth volume. I should be thinking about how I really want to see x or y happen, and not wondering what the author even wanted me to be excited about to keep reading. And if anyone tries to bring up the aforementioned "character drama" at the beginning of Volume 4, then you are out of your mind if you think that can carry a story (even if wasn't horribly done).
I don't hate Torture Princess, I've probably wanted to like this series more than any other light novel I've read, if only for how gorgeous the art is. But the three-and-a-half novels I just finished were not enjoyable enough to me. Would I recommend it? Maybe, if you are into gore or something. For me though, I'll be generous and give this an extremely light 6 as this is definitely of more artistic value than the average light novel. In the end though, I am rather disappointed that this series could not implement the many interesting ideas it had in a more cohesive manner.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Sep 16, 2023
What does it mean to have lived a good life?
This is one of the many themes explored in “Mori no Majuu ni Hanataba wo,” a light novel whose contents I have been mulling over since finishing it just a few weeks ago(for the purposes of this review the title will be shortened to Mori no Majuu). While the story doesn’t offer a definitive answer to this question of life, it both rejects falling into a sort of daily hedonism while acknowledging the riskiness of living for the future. The story offers a middle ground for its frail and sickly protagonist, Cleo, who has essentially been
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disowned by his noble family in about everything but name.
There are other themes explored as well, such as the purity of a beast that has no hidden malice for its prey, compared to the sinister nature of human sociality which cuts all the more deeply for Cleo. Contrasting ideas are the name of the game here and Mori no Majuu explores each of its dichotomies in an interesting and beautiful manner. Even the worldbuilding is masterfully done with each fantastical item or magic serving multiple purposes throughout the story. In other words, there is little fat. Despite this lack of fat, there is also never a mechanical feeling of visiting one plot point to the next as a train would visit its next station. Instead, the storytelling effuses a certain childlike sense of adventure, mystery, and wonder with each part.
That being said, I don’t want to spend too long discussing the themes of the story when you can simply read the story. This is, after all, a review not an analysis. So why exactly should you read this novel? Well, I feel that first I should appeal to you with my personal experience with the story. For now, I think it has become one of my personal favorite pieces of media because of how well it was executed. Or maybe it’s because some of the themes just struck a chord with me in particular. The narrative follows a young boy who is forced to overcome a trial to become the new head of his family, and if you couldn’t tell by how I have already described Cleo, the chances of him doing this are slim to none. Without spoiling anything, as this aspect is discussed in the description of Mori no Majuu itself, the boy meets a plant monster and begins to live with it. Although this isn’t simply a light-hearted tale of a boy living with a girl, there is conflict that arises throughout the story and many emotional moments. If I were to attempt to convince someone who was on the fence about reading it, I would say that it was very well-written and enjoyable regardless of whether the themes hit you on a personal level as they did for me. On top of all this, the tale is quite short as well, only boasting a length of 200 odd pages.
Another reason why you should give this story a chance is because of the romance aspect, Mori no Majuu mostly shows the reader that the two main characters are in love through action rather than telling you that they are through dialogue. I know that two characters love each other in most romance media because they say it, there was an entire scene dedicated to a long-winded confession, how can they not be in love? In Mori No Majuu no such thing exists, the reader knows that the hero and heroine are in love because of how they act rather than what they say. This is shared most brilliantly and beautifully multiple times in the story, one of which was in the epilogue which caused my heart to essentially melt after reading it.
The reason why I am rating this 10/10 is not just because of the aforementioned heart-melting, but because in addition to hitting me on an emotional level, there is absolutely nothing I would change about the narrative or writing. Everything was executed perfectly and thus I don’t have much to say about criticisms of the story. If I had to imagine what someone who would take issue with the story would say it would probably come down to one of two main “criticisms.” The first one is that the English translation that currently exists is riddled with typos and broken sentences. The second one is that at its core, this is a story that leans heavily into cuteness for some of its scenes. The first of these complaints is a non-issue in terms of the novel itself, while the latter complaint is one that will come down to personal preference. A complaint I would see as unjustified would be one surrounding Cleo’s somewhat cowardly behavior, because everything regarding Cleo’s personality and character is perfectly explained by his upbringing, current predicament, and sickly nature. I hesitate to even call this cowardly behavior because anyone in his situation would probably act the same way, and this isn’t even taking into account the aspects that make it uniquely difficult for Cleo.
In summary, all I can say is that this story hit me deeply on an emotional level. This may not be the same case for you, but I believe Mori no Majuu is worth reading nonetheless, the story is well-written and structured which should make it at least an enjoyable read. I obviously adore this light novel in its entirety and could go on for ages about the smaller details and larger themes(and trust me I really could), but for the sake of brevity, I will leave that for another day. I hope that anyone reading this will be motivated to at least give the novel a shot. Who knows, maybe Mori no Majuu will become a personal favorite like it did for me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Mar 13, 2022
The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?) or shortened "Tensai Ouji," is an amazing series of light novels which perfectly balance political drama, war, and the cute interactions of its main duo. Each novel thrusts the main character and prince of a nation on a downturn, Wein, into some sort of new political strife. At his side is his "heart" and aide, Ninym, who is oppressed due to her race. Although it takes place in a medieval fictional world, it's somewhat unique in the fact that there are no magical elements or mythical creatures to speak of.
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Other than the totally different world, the only other fantasy element is the Flahm race, who possess white hair and red eyes. However, they don't possess magical powers either. Contributing to this grounded atmosphere is what Wein is able to achieve through politics. While his achievements are fantastical, they rarely feel like they break the believability of the world(with a few exceptions like memorizing the names of his army).
Story & Characters:
The arcs taking place over the span of one novel benefit the story greatly as well. The story is able to focus on one area or one central conflict, which is then complicated by shifting alliances or twists on that conflict. This hyperfocus on specific areas acts as a sort of lightning rod for the rest of the plot elements. This means that the story can introduce as many new elements as it needs without being convoluted or slowing down the plot like many other political dramas. Tensai Ouji also accomplishes foreshadowing and world-building naturally because of this, rarely does it feel like the author does so unnaturally… Except for one habit they have. Sometimes the story will take a break from its usual storytelling to hop ahead of time and show the results of a certain situation, then it goes back and shows how everything led up to that point. This writing technique is used well, but if you aren't bought into Wein's antics and just want to see the consequences of a certain arc, it might become a little tiresome. Luckily, Wein is an extremely entertaining character to watch in my opinion, his obsession with Ninym, his intelligence, and the mysteries about his past and "true intentions” all put a certain charm into his character. As aforementioned, his plans seldomly break the believability of the story, and he even sometimes fails to obtain his goal in certain areas. It's also nice that the characters act like human beings. In most light novels, anime, and manga any mention of romance is met with blushing and bashful behavior like everyone is a child. However, in Tensai Ouji characters are usually able to at least flirt with one another - with the two main characters even being able to show some physical affection. All of Wein’s mastermind schemes genuinely made me want to see what would happen next, whether it be the next page or volume.
Conclusion:
While having darker moments, Tensai Ouji always has a vibrant edge to it that is never overshadowed. Wein is able to ride the line of believability with his insane plans in just the right way, and it is great fun to watch. The series might be a little niche, but if you have the craving for a political drama that can maintain the right balance of light-hearted elements; this series might be for you. Fans of darker political media will still find enjoyment, but to what extent greatly depends on your liking of the more "anime" side of the story. I obviously fall on the former rather than the latter given my rating, as I enjoy the unique spirit of Tensai Ouji.
(Also completely unrelated, but the art on the cover of each novel is 10/10).
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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